As many of you know, for the past two weeks my family has been trying to make sense of the untimely death of my cousin. It has been a difficult two weeks to say the least. My uncle, aunt, and their son have been thrown into deep sorrow and confusion as they’ve tried to make sense of it all. The problem is that no matter how much you try to make sense of the situation—it simply doesn’t make sense.
On Monday of this past week we all gathered for her funeral and I witnessed firsthand the devastation and agonizing grief that was present in the room and in the hearts of those who loved her so much. It was an “untimely” death. An “untimely” death catches us off guard, we can’t anticipate it, we aren’t prepared for it, and as a result we feel like we have been hit by a truck when they occur. The American Heritage Dictionary defines, “untimely,” as 1. occurring or done at an inappropriate time; inopportune. 2. occurring too soon; premature: an untimely death. I have spoken at the funerals of hundreds of people over the course of the past 20 years. In a way, all of those families felt like the death of their loved one was “untimely.” Anytime you love someone, and enjoy their company, you believe that their death occurred too soon, that it was premature. It doesn’t matter if they were 100 years old; you still would like to have more time with them. I don’t want to minimize the grief that any of us has experienced when we’ve lost a loved one, but I want to focus our study this morning on a particular kind of loss. Let me give you an example other than the example of my cousin.
Two weeks ago Sara was a promising Senior at Heritage Hall High School. She was brilliant, had a bright future, and could have done anything she set her mind to do in life. She went to bed on Sunday night so that she would be rested for school on Monday morning. Her mother woke her up on Monday morning, went to fix breakfast, and when Sara didn’t come to the breakfast table, her mother went to check on her. Sara was laying on the floor in her room. She had died. Just like that, in an instant, her life was over. Now her family is forced to deal with the sudden loss of their daughter. They were preparing for her graduation, they were looking forward to her going to college, getting married one day, and beginning a family. The furthest thing from their mind was planning her funeral. That is an untimely death.
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Archive for February, 2009
An Untimely Death
Job 1
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Conformed to His Image
Romans 8:29-30
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Predestination vs. Free will. John Calvin vs. James Arminius. Calvinism vs. Arminianism. “The Battle of the Titans” that began long ago still rages on today. I could easily spend several weeks going through the “tell of the tape” of these two Bible teachers, but we have more important matters to deal with this morning. I do want to give you who are unfamiliar with these guys a brief run-down.
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I’m Amazed!
Monday, February 16th, 2009It has been a long day. Started at 5 am and ended after the sun went down. A long day. An incredible day! I want to thank all of you who contributed or came to our Spaghetti Luncheon and Auction today. With your help we raised $4400.00 to help take our kids to Colorado for their Spring Break Ski Trip. The kids know that our trip is a community effort. The cost of going skiing during Spring Break is far too expensive for most of them to go, but because of very generous folks like you they will have an opportunity to make memories they will never forget.
After all of you had left the gym today I called all of the adults and kids together and told them the total of the amount raised for our ski trip. I also reminded them of how gracious God, and others have been in helping us. One such individual is Reggie Smith who plays football for the San Francisco 49er’s. Reggie not only donated his jersey to be auctioned off, but he also talked to Curtis Lofton of the Atlanta Falcons and Tommy Harris of the Chicago Bears and they donated their jerseys. I asked the kids, “How many of you know Reggie Smith?” (None of the kids know Reggie personally.) I said, “Isn’t that amazing! You don’t even know Reggie and yet he believes so much in what we are doing that he wanted to help us raise money so that you could go skiing.” There are many others, like Reggie, who have helped us during the past year and we want to say, “Thank you!” Thank you Wes Welker, of the New England Patriots. Thank you Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Thank you Sam Bradford, the Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma. Thank you Tracey Rodriguez for the beautiful cross you donated for the auction. Thank you to the person who donated the autographed football signed by three of the Heisman Trophy winners from OU. Thank you Rick Dunning for taking a special interest in our kids and helping us with our project. Along with these folks we want to thank everyone who has helped in any way. It is going to be a great Spring Break for 50 folks from BCC as we hit the mountain and make memories that will last a lifetime.
“All Things!”
Romans 8:28
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Today we come to one of the best known Scriptures in all of God’s Word. If you don’t know Romans 8:28 by heart then you have surely had the verse shared with you at some point in your life. The person who quoted it to you, or wrote it in a card, meant well. They meant to comfort you in the midst of your difficult time. It may or may not have brought you comfort. I’m not being cynical or questioning the truth of God’s Word, but I am simply pointing out that our emotional state also comes into play. Proverbs 25:11 says, 11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. (Proverbs 25:11 NIV) The New American Standard translation of the same verse says, 11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. (Proverbs 25:11 NAS)
Words that are spoken at the right time, in the right circumstances, have tremendous power for good, but words that are spoken at the wrong time can cause great harm. When a parent is following behind the casket of their young child, at the funeral procession, what they need are our comforting arms and not our spoken words. When a wife finds out that her husband has been unfaithful to her and she drives to her friend’s house for comfort, the most fitting response might be wrapping her in your arms and crying with her instead of reaching for your Bible. When a young person applies to the college of their dreams only to be rejected, Romans 8:28 may not be the solace they need at that time. We need to know the “times” of our friends suffering and pray for wisdom about what to say or do. Let’s take a look at our Scripture for today found in Romans 8:28.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28 NIV)
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Silent Auction and Spaghetti Luncheon
Sunday, February 15
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to remind you that we will have a silent auction going on this Sunday while we have our Spaghetti Luncheon Fund Raiser at 12 noon. We have an unbelievable line-up of items that you can bid on. The great news is that all of the money raised will go towards sending our Middle School and High School kids on their Spring Break Ski Trip to Colorado in March. Items to be bid on include:
Sam Bradford’s jersey and helmet autographed.
Adrian Peterson autographed OU helmet.
Curtis Lofton autographed Atlanta Falcons jersey.
Reggie Smith autographed San Francisco 49ers jersey.
Wes Welker New England Patriots autographed jersey.
Tommy Harris autographed Chicago Bears jersey.
An OU football signed by Steve Owens, Billy Sims, and Jason White.
NFL football autographed by Tommy Harris.
20X24 Picture of the Big 12 Champion OU Sooners taken after the game.
Beautiful hand made cross.
I hope you will all plan to stick around after church and share in the fun of the silent auction and spaghetti luncheon. It is always so much fun to watch folks fight to the finish over the item they want to take home with them.
In His Steps,
Mike
Rollin’ Right Along
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009These young people have something smile about. After preparing food on Sunday morning, the youth headed down to S. OKC to serve the less fortunate at the Indian Mission. All of the High School and Middle School kids went out of their ways to serve: they served food, they cleaned, and they were light in a pretty gloomy place. Please continue to pray for our youth. We have seen great numbers during Mission Sunday, so pray that God would open up doors for us to be effective for His name sake!
These High School Kiddos are taken a break from their perfect games. We had 10 High School kids and 20 Middle School kids serve with us this month! God is doing great things at BCC!
Do You Twitter?
Monday, February 9th, 2009Good Morning Everyone,
Have you heard of “Twitter?” Twitter is a free online “micro-blogging” service that allows you to post short updates (text based and limited to 140 characters) via text messaging, instant messaging, the twitter.com website or several applications designed for the service. –wiki–
One of the cool things I’ve discovered about Twitter is that I can “follow” some of my favorite commentators, preachers, news outlets, etc. For example, I am a “follower” of Len Sweet, the author of “The Gospel According to Starbucks” and “The Church of the Perfect Storm.” If you are a Max Lucado fan then you can get updates from Max himself by becoming a follower. you are a technology nerd like me and interested in all things tech, then you might want to “follow” Leo LaPorte, the “Tech Guy.” Most importantly, if you want to stay up on using coupons to cut your monthly grocery bill then you will definitely want to follow our very own Shannon Snow, the “Coupon Princess.”
All you have to do is head on over to www.twitter.com and sign-up. You can follow “Brittonchurch” and keep up with random thoughts as well as important information about what’s happening at BCC. You will instantly get the updates via text message on your cell phone, instant message on your computer, or at the Twitter website. There is no charge for the service.
In His Steps,
Mike
Good Grief!
Sunday, February 8th, 2009Hi Everyone,
This past weekend we hosted “The Road to Healing a Broken Heart” Grief Conference at BCC. I had no idea how things would go since we’ve never done anything like a “grief” conference before. If I would have sat down before the confernce and written out what I hoped might happen, I could have never come close to describing what actually took place. We laughed. We cried. We laughed. We heard stories that resembled our own. We listened to Dr. Harold Ivan Smith share with us from his years of experience. We were blessed. I have no problem in saying that each of us came away from the conference thanking God for the pain we have experienced in our losses. Dr. Smith said, “Grief is the consequence of daring to love.” What a thought!
I want to thank two very special people who “birthed” the idea for the grief conference. Mike and Lisa 
Curtis have traveled the grief journey in their own life. They lost a newborn son many years ago and from that tragic loss God has brought healing, hope, and a heart for broken people. Lisa has led our grief ministry at Britton Christian Church for ten years. Mike has been the “Aaron and Hur” of Lisa’s ministry, providing support for her every step of the way. Mike is Lisa’s support, but he also fired up the smoker and prepared the most scrumptious BBQ meal you could ever imagine for the conference.
Along with Mike and Lisa there were many, many people who came together to help make our first “Grief Conference” happen. You know who you are. We are grateful for the time and love you put into the making our first conference one that we will never forget.
Last of all, I want to thank Dr. Smith. Wow! Many of us had never heard of you before you arrived in Oklahoma City on Friday. After having spent a few hours with you–we will never forget you. Thanks for allowing the Lord to use you to bless each of us.
My Help!
Romans 8:24-27
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
What is the one thing that we all need, but that we are so reluctant to ask for? I’m sure you could come up with many answers to that question, but the first thing that comes to my mind is “help.” When we find ourselves in a quandary, we need to ask for help. When we lose our way, on the way to our destination, we need to stop and ask for help. (That is unless you are a guy, right fellas?) When we lose our way on the highway of life, we should stop and ask for help. When the questions in our hearts and minds outnumber the answers at our disposal—we should stop and ask for help. When we finally recognize that we are in the pits and there is no one around holding a shovel except ourselves—we should put down our shovel and cry out for help. When we come to a fork in the road and are uncertain as to which way we should go, we should ask for help. We all need help. At many times in our lives, in various ways, we will need help. It is the rare individual who is willing to humble themselves and say, “Will you help me?”
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Super Sunday Indeed!
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009On behalf of the youth, I would like to say “Thank You!” Last Sunday we opened up The BCC Sub Shop in preparation for the big game. As a result we made over 150 sandwiches and we received some “super” donations. Our youth will be so blessed once they hit those slopes in March!
If you missed out on making a donation, you are in luck. There will be a Spaghetti Luncheon on February 15 immediately following the second service. The cost is $5 per person and $20 per family (4 or more). Also, we will be auctioning off some priceless sports memorabilia, so bring your checkbook…we will help you put a price on these items:
OU Football Helmet Signed by Heisman Trophy Winner Sam Bradford
OU Football Helmet Signed by Adrian Peterson
New England Patriots Jersey Signed by Wes Welker
Chicago Bears Jersey and Football Signed by Tommy Harris
San Francisco 49′ers Jersey Signed by Reggie Smith
OU Big 12 Championship Photo (framed 16 x 20)
Again, thank you for your continual support!
*All proceeds go to the Ski Trip.
“Is It Worth It?”
Romans 8:17-23
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
Each and every person from time to time asks themselves the question, “Is it worth it?” Is “what” worth it? The answer to that question is as varied as the people asking the question. Some young athletes ask themselves if it is worth it to give up hours and hours each week just to play a sport. Some of us older folks ask ourselves if it is worth it to starve ourselves and run like a hamster on a Habitrail just to get in shape? Just recently, the news program 20/20 asked the question, “Is the price of a college education worth it?” This week members of Congress have been asking themselves if the projected outcomes of President Obama’s “Stimulus Package” are worth the cost? I’ve even heard folks ask out loud, “Is it really worth it to be ‘good?’ To try and be faithful to God?” Richard Dawkins doesn’t think so. Dr. Dawkins is a professor at Oxford University and has written a book called, “The God Delusion” that is an attempt to shoot down belief in God. In his book he writes,
Do you really mean to tell me that the only reason you try to be good is to gain God’s approval and reward, or to avoid his disapproval and punishment? That’s not morality, that’s just sucking up, apple polishing, looking over your shoulder at the great surveillance camera in the sky, or the still small wiretap in your head, monitoring your every mood, even your every base thought. As Einstein said, ‘If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.’
(Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. pg. 226)