Prayer Time and Breakfast: Saturday, January 5th, 8am

Please remember that our monthly prayer time and breakfast will be this coming Saturday morning at 8:00am - 9:00am. Come for a time of prayer for our community followed by a light breakfast and fellowship.

New Year...Same God Manuscript

Text: Isaiah 63:7-9

I love this time of year. A time to look back on the past twelve months and a time to look forward to the next twelve months. I am a self-confessing new year's resolution junkie. I have bought many of the books and have gotten lots of people excited and on board. I had in mind that we would work through together a new year's resolution sermon, but I thought better of it. You probably are very happy about that! Instead, I want to take the next two weeks to celebrate where we have come and explore where God is calling us in my view. This week we will be looking back and celebrating what God has done in our lives and next week take some time to lay out where I see God might be moving us in 2008.

Let' s begin with a passage as a framework for our time together today. Isaiah 63:7-9 says,

NLT Isaiah 63:7 I will tell of the LORD's unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love. 8 He said, "They are my very own people. Surely they will not be false again." And he became their Savior. 9 In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

This passage describes for us God's covenantal character. Unfailing love, "chesed" in the Hebrew, paints an image of God as steadfast, long-suffering, and faithful. God does not simply sit on high and wait for us to mess up in order to strike us down. God works in our lives. His goodness toward his people can be counted upon as can his mercy and love. He calls us, his people, by name as His very own. We are not distant neighbors for whom good fences are needed, rather we are the closest of family. And God's hope in us goes without saying. God would not be willing to wait on us if it were hopeless would he? Why would he create us in the first place if we were not able to be capable and productive people? He would not, he did not. I have seen it with my own eyes.

I too, like the writer of Isaiah want to tell of the LORD's unfailing love. There were a people who began meeting in the Masterson's home North of town under the direction of Francis Asbury in 1789. Asbury was ordained Bishop by John Wesley and sent to America to start new congregations and to offer leadership, sacraments, and spiritual guidance to those already meeting together. Many conclude this to be the first gathering of Methodist west of the Alleghenies and therefore the mother of Kentucky methodism. For 218 years this people, sometimes a church, sometimes a Sunday School station, met and forged ahead bringing the good news of Christ to the people of Lexington and beyond. In 1908, now called First UMC because there were other church's established by then, moved into its current sanctuary on the corner of High and Mill. This congregation, already responsible for several church starts, either by split or intention, was a leader in the region and continued to be blessed as it had its hand in starting most of the churches in Lexington directly or indirectly. Three words can best describe First Church, in my view, evangelical, foreword thinking, planters.

But not since the 1960s had First Church begun anything new away from its downtown location. Not until this past October at least. We are part of the first new expansion of ministry off the downtown campus in 40 years. How this place came about is another story in itself, but I want to focus on the past 3 years. Three years ago this February, Susan and I came to Lexington to talk to Paul Brunstetter and the staff about an Associate Position. I still had approximately a year and a half of seminary left. Part of our time in Lexington was a trip to this place. I remember praying with Paul in the back of what is now the sanctuary that God would reveal his will for us and the church. Susan and I left that day and got to about Georgetown when one of us finally spoke up. I said, "we are going to Lexington aren't we?" And she said, "yes." I am not sure if the Staff Parrish Relations committee knew at this point that we were coming, but we did. Susan looked at me and said that the only thing she was worried about was her Mom who had been sick for an extended number of years. Her quality of life had gotten so very bad that our prayers had turned from healing to mercy.

That was on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Susan's mother's doctor called saying that he had run out of tricks. There was nothing else he could do for her mom and that it might be time to call in hospice. On Friday hospice was called in. On Monday, after a wonderful weekend of saying good-bye, she went home to be with the Lord. Answered prayer? God at work? I do believe so.

We moved to Lexington in June of that year and began settling into a time of ministry within the church downtown. Approximately 18 months ago, discussion about Andover and its future heated up and it was decided that we should plan for a new service to begin sometime in 2007 or 2008. But where to start? Who would want to be involved? The Lord led person after person right to my door who wanted, and were most capable of helping.

On a Tuesday evening last April, there was a group of us out here meeting and beginning to put together a plan of attack. Before we left, I was assigned the task of getting someone to help us decorate this place by picking out color schemes and textures and lighting and so one. And oh, by the way, I did not have formal approval or any money. The following evening on my way to preach the Wednesday evening chapel service I got a phone message to call someone named Christy. When I called her back, she said that she and her sister were looking for a place to do some cooking out of and wanted to know if our kitchen would be available for rent. She said that this was a second business for her and that her main business was….any guesses? Yes, she was an interior designer who worked with LCA; had decorated many professional offices around town, and had finished the local synagogue. Answered prayer? God at work? I do believe so.

Early on, we knew that we wanted to do a traditional style service. Everyone told us that we were crazy and that no one wanted it anymore. Even if we did it, we would never find someone who could pull it off musically. In June, a man in the downtown church called me and asked if I was still looking for someone to lead music. I said yes, and he suggested I call Richard Dwyer. It did not take me long to realize Richard's impeccable credentials and gifts and I spent the first 15 minutes of our first time together trying to talk him out of it. I can't pay you what you are worth? I can't guarantee you that anyone will be there? To which he answered, "sounds like a great adventure" and quickly agreed to lead us in music. Answered prayer? God at work? I do believe so.

Direct mail doesn't work they told us. Too many churches are starting in that neighborhood they screamed. No matter, we forged ahead and drew 300+ that first Sunday. You have to have a full complement of programs before you start or they won't come back they said. The first Sunday was a fluke, they were all from Downtown. No matter, we have averaged 140 for our first three months excluding the first Sunday. They will all be coming from other churches. This will just be a swapping sheep exercise they said. I have met some of you who had not found a church home in 3, 5, 10, 20+ years until you walked through those back doors and said you were "home". Answered prayer? God at work? I do believe so. For that is the only way I can describe what has happened over the past three months.

Has everything been perfect? Hardly. Have we had our starts and stops? Yes. But every week I stand at the back door and someone comes out and you can see God's fingerprints all over their countenance. God is here and has been working in your lives. You are the reason for this thing called Andover being talked about throughout our community. You are the reason. I give thanks for you.

I do not know what the next year holds, but I do know who holds next year. And it is in God that we place our trust and focus.

THE SURVEY SAYS Sermon Series Begins 1/13/08

We need you help! What are your burning questions about faith, the church, or life in general? We are building a sermon series around your questions and how we can begin to address them by understanding the basic tenents of our faith. We have already received some great questions from many in our Sunday School classes and we are excited about hearing from many others as well. You can either post a comment on this site or email Todd at todd@1stumc.org. Thanks!

Calendar Added and Updated

We have added a calendar of events to the blogsite for your convenience. We will be refreshing the calendar to keep it up to date. If you have a Google account, you can add the Andover calendar to your list of calendars within Google by selecting the button on the lefthand side of the site.

Music Sunday Blessings

A great big thank you to so many people who made this past Sunday such a blessing and worshipful experience. Music Sunday definetely became a 'tradition' we will be continuing in the future! Thanks to the Andover Choir led by Richard Dwyer who continue to share their music that leads us in worship. In addition, the Jubilees and Glorious ReBELLion handbell choirs were outstanding. Thank you Sarah Reeves for sharing your musical talent with us. Dick Dedick did a wonderful job with Panis Angelicus on the violin during the Offertory. One of the many highlights of the day was the Memory Tree dedication. To be remembering so many special people while Matthew Eubanks sang Sweet Little Jesus Boy was a time of worship that I will take with me for many years.

If you would like to add ornaments to the Memory Tree this coming week, feel free to bring the ornament to the service on Sunday. It is hard to believe that Christmas is a little over a week away. Please don't forget that the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be at 5:30 on Monday evening. I look forward to seeing what else God has for us during this special time of Advent.

Advent Meditation: What are you expecting?

TEXT: Matthew 11:2-11

John the Baptist had fallen such a long ways in a very short while. It seemed like only yesterday that John was in the Judean desert, preaching his message, "repent for the kingdom of God is at hand", baptizing those who confessed their sins and need for God and rebuking the religious leaders for being two-faced. And here he sits a prisoner of Herod Antipas. And without giving too much of the story away, he is serving what will be a death sentence for offending Herod's wife. John's timeline goes from anointed to prophet to prisoner to martyr. And this for the man Jesus alludes to as the greatest person born of a woman. What an unpredictable and shocking twist of fate.

And here we see an apparent moment of weakness for John. He sits in prison having come so far. Just a few pages back, John introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. And now, he is not so sure. Things have not turned out as he had expected. And those unmet expectations have caused him to question. Is Jesus truly the one they had been expecting? Is he the anointed ONE or should they continue to look for another?

John is not alone. Unmet expectations can play havoc with all of us. They have the capacity to reduce the strongest among us to doubters. Doubters of ourselves. Doubters of others. Doubters of God. Unmet expectations can create a sense of desperation and lead us to do things that we would never have thought we would or could do.

So if expectations are dangerous, do we then just not expect? Anticipate? I think not. Just as we spoke about two weeks ago, our vision of the future brings us hope and freedom. Hope in God creates a sense of peace. Hope in God allows us to do things that we would never have thought we would or could do. Does that sound familiar? We are dealing with a two-edged sword here. Setting our expectations upon the right thing can propel us and our society to be the people God created us to be. Setting our expectations upon the wrong things can lead us down a path to destruction.

So, what are you expecting this Christmas? Are you wrapped up, literally, in the rat race or are you focused on the reason for the season? It will mean the difference between coming apart at the seams and living a life of peace regardless of your circumstances.


Just like John, you are surrounded by friends here who stand willing and able to help you get to the bottom of your situation. They helped John to get refocused. They helped John face his ultimate end that he had not planned on having. And today, John's life is a witness to God that transcends the centuries. May it be that way with us today. What are you expecting?

Memory Tree Dedication: During the Worship Service on 12.16

Wanted to give everyone a quick reminder about the Memory Tree being dedicated this weekend. We want to remember those who lives have impacted ours in a special way and are now gone from this earth. Please bring a small Christmas ornament that reminds you of this person along with a 3x5 notecard with their name and a couple of sentences that encapsulates what the person means to you. This can be someone who has recently gone to be with the Lord or someone from past years. We will then decorate a tree as a part of our worship time.

Devotional Thought: The Light People

NAU Isaiah 9:2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

The Book of Common Prayer uses the phrase "light breaking upon us" throughout the daily prayer forms. What a powerful image of God's power and care. We do walk in a great darkness of evil throughout this earth. You have to do nothing more than flip on a TV to see tangible evidence of a world gone wrong. Just as light breaking into a dark place illuminates and brings hope. Light also describes right from wrong and provides a solution.

Our world is in great need. We are in a great need. And our need is quickly answered in the person of Jesus Christ for whom victory is assured over darkness, death, and the powers that bind us.

Some of the greatest light in this world are those who call themselves followers of the Christ child. They are bound and determined to make a difference in the lives of those around them. They care for the needy and are willing to sacrfice for others. I am in a positively great position to see how caring and effective the church is in the world.

I believe what we need more than anything else is to recognize light when we see it. All too often, the only thing we call light is a bright shiny strobe light (ie. Grand Opening of a Wal-mart light) and miss the small pen lights that are equally as powerful in their own right. Let's celebrate the small victories. Let's recognize the light in all its powerful forms.

All too often, we give up thinking that anything will make a difference because the task is too great, the evil too major, the obstacle too large. But when a group of people band together and bring their Christ lights (ie. gifts and talents and passions), there is nothing in this world that too large. May we dream big dreams and tackle big obstacles. For the light within us is the Christ light. And the Christ light knows no limitations.

Advent Schedule

DECEMBER 9TH - Sermon title "Are You Ready?"

DECEMBER 16TH - Music Sunday with the Andover Choir, Glorious ReBELLion handbell choir,and Jubilee Singers along with other special music. Sermon title "What are you expecting?" Bring ornaments to decorate the Memory Tree.

DECEMBER 23RD - Sermon title "What You Have Been Waiting For!"

DECEMBER 24TH - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 5:30pm. Sermon title "A Christmas Story...Imagine That"