My congregations have always had some form of liturgy. So, there's usually a written prayer everyone follows at some point. In those prayers, I always try to include two important elements. As Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord to pray and dedicate the Temple, he included them as well. As you pray throughout your day, you, too, can let them guide your praying.

Solomon stood in front of "the whole assembly of Israel." As he spread his hands to heaven, he prayed to God. But notice in today's reading there was no mistaken who this God was and what this God had done. To say "God of Israel" is to recognize the Lord as his God and his people's God. And this God keeps covenant and steadfast love with Israel. God had done it before with David. God promised and God kept true to those promises.

That to say, Solomon directly acknowledged who God was and what God has done. Sure, "Dear Lord" is an appropriate way to open a prayer. But also reflect more on who you're praying to. Consider who you know God to be and what you know God has done. Both in your life and in the world around you. Acknowledge that in your prayers.

Stay blessed...john

"And many mooore!" wasn't so sure this year. There were some intense moments in the hospital after my transplant. How dangerous things were was lost on me at the time. I was just mad they wouldn't let me out of the hospital bed. There were times, though, I could see anxiousness and fear in my wife's eyes.

Eventually, they did let me out and now my family and I are getting closer to our normal lives again. As the world is reopening up to me, so to speak, I've reflected a lot about my birthday. This whole experience with cancer helped make my birthday this week all the more special.

Of course, so did my family, friends and so, so many of you. I haven't read any of the Facebook messages yet. I'll do that over the next couple of days. When I do, please know I'll take time to pray and thank God for each name I read. That's the same thing I've done with all the cards we've received over the last two years. Friends, you are a gift!

I've long treasured the prayer of the psalmist "Teach us to number our days." I was never good at math, but I've learned that part of numbering my days means appreciating the frailty of life. Of course, faith and hope play a major role as well. Those can be frail, too.

Stay blessed...john

When I read today's passage, I thought of the "King of Queens" opening credits. The starring couple stand at an ice cream truck and then turn to leave. Both have an ice cream cone in hand. As they turn, Doug drops his cone to the ground. Instinctively and in sync, they both turn back to get another cone because once the ice cream hit the ground it was useless.

These days, a lot of words fall like that ice cream.

So many people have so much to say. Political commentary fills our airways. Constant speculation about the economy and world events consumes many of us. And then there's the sports and entertainment worlds. People host television and talk shows every day. They so often share what turns out to be misguided or hollow observations. A lot of it is downright silly and absurd, if not meaningless and dishonest.

We're so accustomed to the bombardment of words we don't realize how much goes unchecked. But they keep talking because we keep listening.



The ancient Israelites must have worried about what they were really supposed to listen to. In Deuteronomy, God says, "You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?' (18:21). In other words, people will say a whole lot. So, how do we know what comes from God and is worth our attention?

God explains, "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken" (8:22). Don't be afraid of that prophet.

That's what makes what 1 Samuel says about Samuel so important. As the young Samuel grew, "the Lord was with him" (3:19). Samuel's words would've been as useless as Doug's dropped ice cream if God wasn't with him. But the young prophet spoke what God instructed and the Lord "let none of his words fall to the ground." I've read that's either an archery image or an allusion to wasted alcohol. 

Either way, it meant that what Samuel spoke came true. The people had become accustomed to hearing the empty words of the priests. So, Samuel's ministry was much needed.

Of course, that reminds us of something about Samuel's place in our faith story. But it also challenges us to pay attention to what we listen to. Why do we settle for and give so much attention to words that merely fall to the ground?

Stay blessed...john

"Focus on the children."

That's something an older colleague ingrained in my mind. It was his advice on how to nurture and grow a congregation. Of course, he was repeating something important within our Wesleyan heritage. John Wesley emphasized the church's need to prioritize ministry with children. If we don't, he said, "the present revival will be res unius aetatis; it will last only the age of a man."

Wesley instructed his Methodist preachers to hold a 5-point plan for this ministry. If a preacher didn't feel called to this ministry, it didn't matter. A preacher might say, "I have no gift for this." Wesley's response was, "Gift or no gift, you are to do it; else you are not called to be a Methodist Preacher."

So, childhood education, spiritual and otherwise, was a high priority for early Methodists. And just so you don't think this is about quaint, cutesy lessons or programs, consider something Wesley wrote in his journal. He wrote, "God begins his work in children. Thus it has been also in Cornwall, Manchester, and Epworth. Thus the flame spreads to those of riper years; till at length they all know him, and praise him from the least unto the greatest."

John Wesley had experienced how focusing on the children spreads revival among us in "riper years."

And that is something we also see in Samuel's story. His mother, Hannah, offered him as a "loan" to God. In 2 Samuel 2, as a boy, he's already "ministering before the Lord." As his story continues, you'll notice he stands at the turning point for the people. Eli, the priest, couldn't keep reigns on the evil of his sons. They would have replaced him when he died, but God called young Samuel instead.

Are we so sure God doesn't still call young souls today to ministry among us?

Teaching and leading our children should be one of the biggest priorities in our churches. If you want revival, focus on the children.

Stay blessed...john