"Teaching With Authority" - January 31st, 2021

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"Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path."

Psalm 119:105

Message of Stewardship

from Claudia Tumaliuan

Hello! I'm Claudia Tumaliuan, the church's Children and Youth director.

I have already done this before where I say, “Oh, you know, please give to the church!” and I've even shown you guys cool cards and stuff - what I use your offerings for!

But I decided to ask Pastor Michael this week. So I went to the office and asked, “What does are offering go to when our doors are closed?” And he gave me a list.

The first one? Lights! Every time we're filming our services for you, we have to use our lights...meaning that's a bill we have to pay. If you've ever driven by either one of our locations, you've probably seen some beautiful gardens.

Our rose garden over at Little Brown Church and our backyard garden are both being up kept by gardeners and just regular staff members around making sure everything is beautiful.

Oh, and let's not forget the handiwork! That's right, folks. If you've driven over here to COV, I'm sure you've seen the beautiful paint job around the church.

All of these things are things your offering is paying for. Without you, these things wouldn't happen. So please, when you are giving, if it's a little bit or a lot, it is all important. It all goes to the upkeep of these beautiful buildings.

It also goes to the trash pickup here at church, water, and lots of other things. And then of course when we're in service, we have so many activities! Our children's goldfish, and our food pantry pickups, and just so many other things.

So please, no matter what you give, it's important. It all goes back to you!

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Church of the Valley in Van Nuys, CA

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. They were all amazed and they kept on asking one another. “What is this? A new teaching with authority!”

Mark 1:21 - 22, and 27

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Pastor Michael's Sermon - January 31st, 2021

I attended Dunsmore Elementary School in La Crescenta, and I don't know how it is now, but when I was there the grade school went through sixth grade.

I was very shy when I was in grade school and most of the time I just tried to blend in. If the teacher was doing a problem on the board and I knew the answer, I probably wouldn't even raise my hand because I didn't want to draw attention to myself.

There were many people that I was friendly with. There were others that I would call my friends, but for the most part I tried to stay out of the limelight.

I remember one time when I was in about fourth or fifth grade, our teacher received a note calling her to the school office and as she left the room she looked back right at me and said, “Mike!” Yes, that's what everyone called me back then. She said, “Mike, I'm going to the office. You're in charge until I get back.” Then she turned the class and said, “Everyone, Mike's in charge till I get back.”

And the moment the teacher left, I remember all eyes slowly turning toward me

and I was frozen, realizing that they had all locked eyes with me. There was a brief moment before suddenly everything broke loose. Kids were screaming and running around the room! Paper airplanes flying through the air! Spit wads were being shot across the room! The noise level was through the roof and all I could do was stare at the door for fear that the teacher was going to come back.

In a couple of moments she did and instantly she yelled at the class to knock it off.

I remember her looking at me with such disappointment and I felt terrible the rest of the day.

The next year in another class that teacher approached me one day. She said, “I have something I would like for you to do.” I thought she was going to ask me to bang chalkboard erasers or go to the office and take the copies off of the ditto machine. So, if you don't know what it ditto machine is, ask somebody over say 45. Anyway, neither one of these were tasks that she wanted from me. She was letting me know that it was my turn to be Hall Monitor for a week. She wanted me for an entire week to stand in the hall before and after school and during recess telling kids not to run and make sure that they had hall passes if they were somewhere they weren't supposed to be.

Immediately my mind went back to the last time I was put in charge and how horribly that went in the short time it took for the teacher to go to the office and back. But I had no choice.

I was Hall Monitor the next day.

I was sent out into the hall to fulfill my responsibilities. But before I went, I was given the hall monitor badge. Now this wasn't something that you wore on your lapel. Really it was was a round metal disc and of course on it it said “Hall Monitor” and it was attached to a sort of thick fabric ribbon that was about 8 inches long.

So I went out into the hallway and when I took my place I began to do with the badge something that I had seen other Hall Monitors do and that was to spin the badge so that the ribbon would wrap around my index finger and then spin it back the other way, and over, and over. I thought it looked so cool when all the other Hall Monitors did that.

Anyway, right away there were kids in places that they weren't supposed to be.

And when I built up my confidence to tell them to go back to the playground, they did. They went back to the playground.

I saw a couple of kids running and I said, “Hey, hey, no running!” and they stopped.

This was very different than the last time I was left in charge in the classroom that year before and that's how it was for the whole week.

Kids listened to me. And I know exactly why. It was because I had the badge!

What I said meant something because of the badge. The badge gave me authority.

Today's scripture is one that talks of authority. In it, the people of the synagogue are astounded to hear Jesus speak. They're used to the scribes speaking and putting their own interpretations on the instructions they're given, or their explanations of what God wants from us. But then there comes this man!

Jesus! Whom they've seen perform miracles and healings and he has a new message and it seems to come directly from God.

The authority with which Christ speaks to them sends a clear reminder of the lack of authority the scribes and the pharisees really possess. Christ's authority is why we continue to follow him even today.

Christ's authority lives in who he is and the message he brings to us. We don't question Christ's authority to spread the word of God because he is the son of God sent by God. That is his Hall Monitor badge.

But consider this, as Christians we too spread the word of God.

So I ask you, do we have the authority to do so and if so what gives us that authority? Well, I won't keep you in suspense. Yes, we absolutely have the authority to do so and what gives us that authority is that we are followers of Jesus Christ, and we have been asked to continue telling the story and spreading the message of God Christ brought to us! We do this through our words and how we live our lives.

The problem lies in the fact that all of the followers of Christ have been given authority but that doesn't mean that all of Christ's followers are using their authority in a way that you and I might deem Christ like.

We've all heard some Christians use the name of Christ to spread a message of

division, a message of exclusion, a message of condemnation. It is important for us not to misuse our authority when we further God's message through Christ. We must remember that first and foremost Christ brought to us a message of sister and brotherhood. A message of inclusion, a message of lifting up all others, a message of hope, and a message of love. This is who we know Christ to be. This is how we must represent Christ to the rest of the world.

Right now in our country, we are laboring to get to a place of unity. We need so badly to get past an “us against them” mentality.

A message of love and inclusion and compassion is exactly what we need right now.

Our world is suffering. All over this planet, people are sick and people are dying from this terrible virus. Christ's message of God's hope is exactly what we need right now.

It is up to us to further God's message from the place that Christ delivered it. From a place of love for all people. A place that validates. A place that empowers and affirms.

We use our authority wisely when our understanding of the word comes from a foundation of caring and is delivered to others from a foundation of caring.

Throughout our daily lives, we must live the word. We must tell the word from a Christ like place. Playing out our authority in this way shines light upon the world.

It is a light of peace. It is the light of hope.

It's a lamp that lights our path and when we share it, God's word is a lamp to light the path of others as well.

If we remain constantly aware of the Christ that lives in our hearts and we know him to be compassionate, and we know him to be kind, and we know him to be loving, the message that we deliver to the world will be just as compassionate and just as kind and just as loving.

Go out and use your authority.

Shine the light of Christ before you and may that light be a beacon to the world.

Let’s pray.

Holy God, we thank you so much for entrusting us to continue teaching your word. As we do so, lead us and guide us so that your will shall be done. It's in the name of Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen.

"Following Christ" - January 24th, 2021

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"Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."

- John 12:26

"As Jesus passed along the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him."

- Mark 1:16-18

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Pastor Michael's Sermon - January 24th, 2021

Following isn't always easy. I remember some time ago when I was still the Associate Pastor of this church, and I was still working with the children as wel, former Assistant Pastor VeAnn and I had this idea to take our children and our older kids, the youth group, all the way to Loch Leven camp for the weekend.

Now Claudia was the Assistant Children's Director at the time, and so Pastor VeAnn and Claudia and I together took our kids, younger and older, away to camp for the weekend and we had a wonderful time!

I remember the last morning before we could go home, after eating breakfast, we and the kids had to clean the lodge from top to bottom. The lodge at Loch Leven is really big so this took some time. We told the kids that cleaning the cabin together would enforce teamwork and that accomplishing something together would draw us closer together as a family...the truth is we were really trying to save the cost of paying a cleaning crew.

Anyway, when we finished we poured into a couple of vans and we were ready to set back on our trip to Church of the Valley. Now, if you've ever been to Loch Leven, you know that it is quite a drive. It's at a place called Mentone California out in San Bernardino County. It's way past Redlands - a couple hours driving.

I think this trip might have been my first visit to the camp so I was quite unsure how to get there. Because of that, on the ride up I simply followed VeAnn because she had been there many times.

Well...I shouldn't say that I simply followed her.

You see when VeAnn drives, VeAnn really drives! So it was quite an effort as we drove to camp to keep up with her, especially with a van full of kids screaming, “How much longer?”

Now, I figured the drive back would be very different. The kids were tired from cleaning the cabin. They weren't excited and bouncing off the walls like they had been on the trip up. I imagined we'd all have a nice leisurely ride home.

So, VeAnn and Claudia and some of the kids were in one van, and I and the rest of the kids were in another van, and I was still going to have to follow VeAnn for our trip home because there was no way I was ever going to figure out how to get home from where we were.

So, we started out on what was going to be, like I said, I thought a leisurely drive home. But no! It was as if someone shot off a starting pistol and we were off and that was just driving through city streets!

When we finally got to the freeway, it was really hard to keep up with the other van. Now we had been on the highway for, I would say less than ten minutes at one point, and apparently one of the kids in the other van had announced that they needed to use the restroom. But of course, we didn't know anything about that in our van.

Now, at that moment I had finally caught up to VeAnn and Claudia's vehicle and we were right behind them and right next to my van was a great big truck just to my right. We were all on the left side of the highway - this highway with many, many lanes. When, without notice because of the needed bathroom break, VeAnn’s van suddenly veered across five or six lanes all the way across the freeway to the right and disappeared off of the highway!

We, on the other hand, were unprepared for such a move. And even if we had been prepared the truck to the right of us was preventing us from going anywhere.

So, now there I was with a van full of kids soaring down a highway with absolutely no idea where I was. You know, we may have been camping but at that moment I was not a happy camper.

Anyway, the point is, following can be very difficult sometimes.

In today's scripture, we see an example of that. What I mean is when Simon and Andrew begin to follow Jesus, we're told immediately they left their nets and followed him. Which sounds like it wasn't a very difficult decision for them. But consider this, consider the fact that when they left their nets they were leaving behind their life's work, their means of income. And when they followed Christ, they were leaving behind loved ones, family, friends, and their whole way of life.

But of course we understand the importance of being a follower of Christ and with making that decision to give our lives to Christ there comes some adjusting within our lives.

Nets are things that snare and hold something back.

So, when we follow Christ and we leave our nets, this metaphor reminds us that to be a follower we need to leave behind things that have snared us, things that have held us back.

But for us, unlike Simon and Andrew, leaving our nets doesn't necessarily mean doing away with them all together. But rather putting them behind what's really important. For instance, getting ahead in our jobs, prestige, personal pleasures,

these are all areas that are fine to achieve. It's just that we shouldn't be achieving them at the expense of our relationship with Christ.

It is important for us as Christians to put Christ first in all that we do. In our decision-making and choosing our path because when we throw down our nets and we put Christ first, we are now in the right position to follow. We can't say that we're going to follow someone if we haven't put him ahead of us.

You know, I was thinking about the many nets that we need to lie down if we want to follow Christ and many of them we make a decision to lie down, things that we choose to reposition, like the ones I mentioned earlier, our jobs, our pleasures. And then there are some other nets that other than repositioning, we choose to leave behind all together so that we can follow Christ. Like selfishness, and despair, and hopelessness.

But then there are also nets that we do not choose to lie down, but rather they are taken from us. And yet to follow Christ, we must continue to move forward.

We've seen a lot of this over the last 10 months. The Coronavirus has taken from us many parts of our lives. The chance to be with our loved ones, for some of us the freedom to leave our homes. Some have had family and friends who were sick, others have been infected themselves, and for the loved ones of the over 2 million people worldwide who have died from Covid, they have faced a horrific loss.

John 12:26 - Phone Wallpaper

Now, it could be easy for some during these difficult times to lose hope. To pick

their nets back up and walk away from faith. But to be a follower of Christ, we continue to move forward through all of life's challenges, keeping our eyes on the hope in front of us. Keeping our eyes on the Christ in front of us.

And I'll tell you, there is something else that we've all shared during this most unusual time. There's something that maybe we've always held onto as a net, something which most of us thought was essential to our walk with Christ, essential to our following Christ. And that something was taken away from each of us unexpectedly. And that is our coming together each Sunday.

Our coming together in person inside of our buildings, worshipping together, singing together, eating meals together, singing in a choir, teaching Sunday school, attending Bible study, embracing one another, and being lifted through seeing the smiles and feeling the love of our sisters and brothers within our congregation.

For many of us ten months ago, we would have said without these things we are really not a church. Without these things, we're not a church family. Without these things, we really can't worship God as a congregation. Without these things, we really can't follow Christ.

But of course as we have seen this has proven not to be true. Here we are 10 months later and we are a stronger church than ever. We are more of a family than ever. I believe we are worshipping God from an even deeper place and our need to follow Christ is mightier that ever.

We have found that our beloved church buildings, our gatherings, our meals together, our singing are so important to us and they should remain important to us. And I hope we get back to them very soon.

This pandemic has reminded us that they are not what allow us to follow Christ as individuals and as a congregation. They are not our unity with Christ. They are not proof to the world that we follow Christ. They are wonderful, but they are not essential in our walk with Christ.

What is essential in our walk with Christ is Christ. What is essential is our relationship with Christ. It's our knowing Christ and our desire and our efforts to know him even more deeply. And although we may be apart and we can't worship in the same room, or sing in the same room, or eat in the the same room,

or help those who we love so dearly, we continue to put Christ in front of us and we continue to seek to know him more dearly. That's what it means to follow Christ.

To have our nets taken away - nets that we thought we couldn't do without - and yet what binds us with Christ does not change! That remains as strong as ever! That's what it means to follow Christ.

As we move forward, may we continue to keep Christ in front of us. May we continue putting him in the lead and may we as individuals and as a mighty church family continue to follow.

Let's pray.

Holy God, we thank you for your son who leads our way. May our eyes remain fixed upon him as our feet walk his path of love.

It's in his holy name we pray.

Amen.

"Unity, Harmony, Peace" - January 17th, 2021

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Roses at Little Brown Church

"Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed."

- Jeremiah 22:3

Message of Stewardship from Laura Hall

This pandemic has shaken up all of our lives. I can't remember a time when pretty much everyone has had to rethink what normal is. Who could have ever guessed a year ago that wearing masks, standing six feet apart, and not hugging each other would be the new normal?

It's been a difficult and isolating time for a lot of us. We felt separated from friends and family, traditions have been changed...look how different Christmas was this year!

Some businesses have thrived during this time. Some surprising ones like puzzle making companies and craft supplies. And if only we'd invested in Zoom a year ago!

But other businesses, many others, have struggled and shuddered. Especially small restaurants and stores. And many of us have experienced huge economic insecurity.

This has continued on longer than I think most of us expected. We are now experiencing what psychologists call pandemic fatigue. And even though we're tired, I try to do my best to remain hopeful and positive. I feel like in this process, I've learned to be more resilient, more grateful, and to rely on my faith.

I have new found appreciation for the important relationships in my life, and many of those relationships have come out of this church. Not only has this church been my spiritual home for many years, but I've met some of my dearest friends here.

And even in the pandemic, the church continues to minister with these weekly online services, the food pantry serving our community, the preschool that just reopened, and even the ways that as a community we ministered to each other during these difficult times.

We're all doing our best to get through this, but as always we do better when we do it together.

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Camellias at Church of the Valley

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."

Romans 12:15-18

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Pastor Michael's Sermon - January 17th, 2021

When I was a child, I remember watching the television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and my favorite part of the show was when the toy train came through the tunnel and into Mr. Rogers living room. Now, of course, it was just a small little train, no problem with the train coming into the living room! And then the train would take us to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe where there lived an array of puppet characters including King Friday the 13th and Lady Elaine Fairchilde. I know, I can't believe that I remember the names either!

Anyway, there was also a time when we were in the real world and that usually meant people visiting Mr. Rogers at home. People like Mr. and Mrs. McFeely, and Lady Aberlin, and then there was the police officer. His name was Officer Clemmons and he was played by an actor named Francois Clemmons.

Francois was really a singer that Fred Rogers had heard sing at a church that they both attended, and he asked Francois to be a part of the show. Now, once he was added to the cast, Francois became the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children's television show and he remained on the show for 25 years!

With such a long time being on the series, he was on many, many episodes and he made many, many appearances. But there was probably one scene that Francois did with Mr. Rogers that he is most remembered for.

It originally aired in 1969...the scene opened with Fred Rogers sitting outside on a chair on the front lawn of his house. His pant legs were rolled up and he was cooling his feet in a child's plastic pool. Officer Clemmons came by and said hello to Mr. Rogers and he greeted him back, and then Mr. Rogers invited Clemmons to put his feet in the water and rest with him a bit. So Clemmons took off his socks and his shoes and he sat in a chair next to Mr. Rogers and they both chatted and cooled their feet together in this plastic pool.

This was a huge deal at the time.

Across the country, there were still pools who were refusing to integrate. Black and white people were not allowed to swim together.

This small act of producing a scene on a television show with a black man and a white man sharing a pool, even if it was only with their feet, was making a tremendous statement and most importantly, it was making that statement to children.

This image of two men of two different skin colors sharing something was normalized to millions of children who were watching. But then there was more to the scene...

When they were finished with their chat, Mr. Rogers offered to dry Officer Clemmons’ feet for him and he did just that. One foot at a time, Mr. Rogers toweled off the officers feet, allowing children and adults to not only see a white man sharing with a black man, but they also saw a white man serving a black man.

And to those of us who happen to be Christians, the illustration was even deeper

because we were reminded of the story of Jesus Christ washing the feet of his disciples. Right there, millions watched as Mr. Rogers humbled himself, reflecting an act of Jesus Christ.

This weekend as we celebrate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we are reminded once again of Dr. King's legacy of peace. We are reminded of a man who humbled himself. We're reminded of his ministry and his message.

We’re reminded of how he used the message of Jesus Christ to help people understand the importance of equality. How he used the message of Christ to remind people of how God intended for us to treat one another. And although we have made great improvements, this past year the Black Lives Matter movement has reminded us that we still have a lot farther to go.

We have a lot farther to go when it comes to equity for African Americans and we have a lot farther to go when it comes to equity for all of the groups of God's people who are being discriminated against, treated unfairly, and oppressed.

As people of faith, I believe it is important for us to be taking direction from Mr. Rogers and Officer Clemmons, and we do this by setting an example. We set an example of what harmony looks like!

I believe that as Christians, we need to lead by example much like Fred Rogers did that day in 1969. And the reason we need to do this is because our living in harmony and in equity is fully the intent of God.

It was fully the intent of God when God created a world and the people. And how do we know this? Well, we know this because the word of God was sent to us through the message of God's son, Jesus Christ.

And that message was one of love.

That message was one of compassion.

That message was one of care.

I've looked pretty closely at the message of Christ and as far as I can tell there isn't anything that says thou shalt stereotype those who look, believe, or love differently than yourself.

There is nothing that says thou shalt spout hateful language in person and on social media about races that are not your own.

God never asked us to attack and oppress those who don't fit into the mold that we deem to be a worthy person.

Christ's message never said build your own privilege and turn your back to those without it.

Indeed as part of repairing the social injustice of all the oppressed groups in our country and in our world, we need to begin to pay attention to where we have privilege and where we don't. To where others have privilege and where they don't.

If you have never been shopping in a store and been followed by security because of the way you look, you've been privileged.

If you're able to walk down the street holding the hand of someone you love without fear of someone shouting hate speech at you or causing you harm, you've been privileged.

If you've never had to worry about being paid less than your male co-workers, you've been privileged.

If you've never been at the bottom of a flight of stairs in your wheelchair wondering how you're going to get to the top.

If you've never had 911 called because you're walking down the street.

If you've never been asked to show your green card, even though you were born in Pasadena.

If you've never stood in line at a food bank, and if you can walk into your house or your apartment at the end of the day, lock the door, and have a roof over your head,

you've been privileged.

When we acknowledge where we have been privileged and others have not, we can begin to build the equity that was intended for God's creation. We can begin to see the world as it was Illustrated through the message of Jesus Christ.

Living in harmony with one another means living in community. And as I said a moment ago when I read the passage from Romans, we should be rejoicing with those who are rejoicing and weeping with those who are weeping. Being at one with the lowly and not claiming to be above anyone. Living in harmony, living peacefully.

We need to continue being an example of harmony, being an example of peace. By the way that we act, by the words that we use, and how we live.

And even if it feels sometimes like people aren't paying attention, even if it feels like we aren’t making a difference, we need to have faith that we are even if we can't always see it.

In an interview with Francois Clemmons, he once said at the end of each of the shows, Fred Rogers would take off his sneakers, and he would hang up his sweater,

and he would say, "You make every day a special day just by being you,

and I like you just the way you are."

Clemmons said one day, “I was watching him and the show and I was looking at him as he said those words, and when we finished taping I said, ‘Fred, were you talking to me?"‘ and he said, 'Yes, I've been talking to you for years, but you just heard me today.’”

People are watching us. People are listening to us. Let's let them hear us today.

Let's allow others to know the message of Jesus Christ and to let them know that that message is one of love. It is one of unity. It is one of harmony. It is a message of peace.

Let's pray.

God of love, help us to find ways of becoming a more unified people. Allow us to share your love with others as your love has been shared with us through your son and it is in his name we pray.

Amen.