H. Henry Williams

Thursday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here.

#2 – Great time today as our staff served at the Feed My Starving Children event. So much fun to see 17 people come from the Hartford to serve at the 11:30 time slot. Their company gives them time off this sort of thing.

#3 – Over the last two weekends, 13 Five Oakers went through 20 hours of training for our Care Ministry Befriender ministry! It was a marathon, and it will yield great results. You’ll be hearing more about this ministry in the coming weeks. But thank you to all of you who went through the training and for the leadership of Jake Eyler, Dan and Betty Juntune and Kent O’Grady in launching this ministry.

#4 – Last weekend we had a film crew shooting for a new 60-second video we’ll post prominently on our website. The idea is to give a little snapshot of our church. Not informational. More an impression. By the way, here’s a screen shot sneak peak into our new website that is still in development.

#5 – The worship leader search continues, but it's incredible how many people who have told me we haven’t skipped a beat. We are so blessed by the hard work and excellence of our volunteers in Worship Arts and Dan Lukas’ leadership. Thank you to all of you.

#6 – Kingdom Rock VBS online registration will be opening soon and a decorating team is dreaming up a Throne Room plan for the worship center.

#7 – The Student Ministry team that will be going to Jersey City this summer is learning the Kingdom Rock program to lead at Woodbury and then on the following week in Jersey City for their short-term mission!

#8 – The city had a public meeting for our new street sign and everything went well. We’re getting closer to getting permission to build it on the same location as our current sign.

#9 – I mentioned it last weekend, but in case you missed it, I think Bill O’Reilly has been watching our podcasts: "Bill O'Reilly's next blockbuster: 'Killing Jesus'." Actually, after hearing him talk a bit about it, I'm not so sure.

#10 – Here are the comments from the cards we send to first-time attendees:

• 1/28 – It was different than what we were used to but so nice, and welcoming.  The kids loved the band.
• 2/10 – People were welcoming as soon as we walked in the door!  We are looking for a new place to worship on Saturdays – we’ll be back!

#11 – Here are your comments from the Communication Cards:

• It’s amazing to see God working in this church and my life over the last year. Beautiful growth.
• Awesome praise leader last week. 
• First song set the tone for the wonderful service.  [That Prelude song was incredible!]
• What a blessing to hear Revelation song. Please pray it more often. 
• Great opening worship set!
• Beautiful singing ladies! Worship and service, again awesome! Thank you all. 
• Pre-service song – very nice, beautiful lyrics. Loved the cup and kiss part Henry.
• Dan rocks! 
• Pastor Henry, thank you for the suggested book! “A Praying Life”. It was written as if it were personally for me. It’s helped greatly. God bless you. [SO glad it impacted you. My absolute favorite book on prayer.]
• Beautiful opening song (though a bit too loud) in the middle. Henry – I love how you look deeper into the specific words and historical context in Bible passages. 
• I liked the lower more reflective music this week. But ready for some stand-up, clap-your hand, feel the Holy Spirit down deep in here – music – just saying.
• Awesome worship set this morning Dan and worship band. Excellent message Henry. I am blessed! 
• Beautiful, beautiful opening duet. Alex you wailed on the second song on the drums – awesome. That worship set was absolutely an awesome selection and performed set – thanks. I felt ushered into the presence of God. Great worship! 

#12 – Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:39-53, “When you are Desperate & God is Silent”:

1. God’s silence is serious stuff. But silence is exactly what Jesus experiences while he prayed desperately in the Garden of Gethsemane.
2. Hearing from God in a crisis takes more time if you weren't listening to God before the crisis.
3. “Devote yourself to prayer” (Col. 4:2). You don’t have to devote yourself to what comes easy.
4. Focus on the relationship, not the ritual.
5. Take every opportunity to pray that you already have. Don’t waste your opportunities during worship, meals, small group prayer times...
6. If you’ve been building your life on sand and the storm is washing it away, find a rock and start rebuilding.
7. God speaks even when he is silent. Seven Orfield: "The quieter the room, the more things you hear."
8. Jesus endured God’s silence so you can experience God’s presence.
9. Jesus drinks the cup because of our kiss. Cup = God’s wrath. Kiss = Independence, separation.
10. This is the gospel. And it’s to the gospel that we need to return when God is silent.

#13 – Remember, no worship services this weekend. We’ll be worshiping through service all weekend.

God bless you, Pastor Henry

Off the Cutting Room Floor

Here's part of the sermon that ended up on the cutting room floor for the sake of time and to allow me to go deeper in some other areas. But it resulted in not covering these verses, so here are my notes.

³⁵ And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” ³⁶ He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. Luke 22:35-36)

Jesus is recalling the last time he sent them out on a mission. On there last mission they were, by and large, welcomed with open arms. They were not persecuted. Now the conditions have changed. It’s in keeping with the way Jesus often spoke that he’s speaking figuratively here. Like walking into a meeting a work and your team leader says, "They're going to fight this, so keep your guns locked and loaded." That's consistent with other uses of sword in the New Testament. But it's in keeping with the way the disciples heard him that they missed it. One commentator notes that when Jesus spoke literally, they took him metaphorically. When he spoke metaphorically, they took him literally. And that’s what you see in the following verses.

³⁷ For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” ³⁸ And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.” (Luke 22:37-38)

It’s possible Jesus is saying bring a literal sword for your self-defense. The fact that they already had two with them suggests they may have routinely carried swords—and these are really more like daggers. But even if Jesus meant a literal sword, it’s obvious from everything else he taught and from his response when one of them uses it at his arrest that his bidding is not to be done with a sword. There have been movements in history where people thought they were doing God’s bidding by evangelizing with a sword. It can’t mean this in the context of Jesus' teaching. And when you look at Luke's second volume, the book of Acts, there is no mention of disciples using swords are force in their mission. 

Not only that, the fact that Jesus says, “It is enough (singular),” suggests they have missed the point once again. If he meant literal swords, he would have more likely said, "They are enough. It's more likely he’s had enough. Enough talk. The lesson on violence will come later.

Wednesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here.

#2 – A half million meals for Feed My Starving Children means we need you to sign up if you haven't already! And it means we need to fill up our slots on Thursday and Friday. Those are tough times to fill, and there are still many openings, so can you bring a group from work to one of those days?

#3 – Here are your comments from the Communication Cards:

• The new “guest” music leader today was great! Bring him back for more sometime! [I’m sure we will.]
• Henry, thanks. some of the best messages from Luke have been when you (and Tim) have tackled the “familiar” stories. You’ve passed along truths from a new perspective or drive home again the old story unapologetically.
• Worshipful worship, genuine. Nice to have some ‘older, familiar’ songs. 
• In the midst of my alcoholism I sat down to do a Bible study as I lost my battle again and was drinking a glass of wine, the first verse I read was Luke 22:31-32. I wept to know it wasn’t’ “if” I turned back, but “when”. Really spoke to me again today as I haven’t been here in a while.
• Worship was great! 
• Henry, thank you for your encouraging words. Jeremy, you did a wonderful job, thank you.
• Really like the worship leader. [I really enjoyed Jeremy too.]
• New worship/music director??  [Nope. A friend of Dan Lukas and has led here one other time.]
• Loved the music today, especially “Let God Arise”. Thanks! 
• Loved the worship leader this morning! 
• Great sermon Henry.
• I really like the worship leader today.
• Amazing worship today! Thanks!
• Jeremy was fantastic! Lots of energy, great voice! Would be a great replacement for Justin. 
• The worship leader was tremendous. Thanks for leading.
• Loved the message! I needed this today. Had been feeling guilty about my own weakness and vulnerability! (I thought it was funny Peter argued w/Jesus – then realized I am absolutely the same.) 
• Henry, your message was sent by God to me tonight. Every word that you spoke pierced my heart and was exactly what I needed to mend my relationship with [a relative of mine].
• This Jeremy guy who filled in for worship, he’s awesome! Keep him if it’s possible.
• Great overall sound in the music. 
• Thank you for the great worship set! Nice job. Great message again Henry. Great worship!!
• I so appreciate Jeni and how composed she is in all situations! She is such a joy to me and I love seeing her each week. Consider you spoke directly to me -  and I heard you.  Well, a very relevant message today!! I leave with hope again. 
• Awesome lead vocals!
• Beautiful worship today! 
• Music was great tonight!
• Really enjoyed the worship leader today! Great energy – good volume.
• Worship leader – nice voice, seems at home; plays well. We like him! Would Peter have had to tell or the Holy Spirit could have inspired the writer, possibly?? [Yes, it’s possible, but given the fact that the gospel writers all depended on sources (as Luke tells us explicitly in Luke 1), more likely Peter reported it, not that the Spirit “ratted” on him. Haha.]
• Every once in awhile you show financials on the worship program – would love to see this – once a month maybe – to see if we are + or – each week. Thanks. Great message and rocking worship. Thanks. [I’m sure Brian read this and will consider it.]

#4 – The worship leader search team is working away and doing some preliminary interviews. Keep praying for God to make the match! 

#5 - Several projects are making great progress:

• Redesign of the look of our children's areas and children's Sunday school in the CLC. We received the first draft from the designer this week.
• Total redesign of our web site. Working on content.
• The development of a new weekly Worship Guide.
• New Street sign: After a delay of more than two years because of possible expansion of Radio Drive in front of our building, we are moving much closer to getting approval to put it in this spring of fall.

#6 – Here’s a comment from the first-time guest cards:

• 2/3 - Not sure about ‘casual’ attitude with coffee in sanctuary.  Liked stations, but enjoy communion given to me by pastor.  Really enjoyed music/band.

#7 –You might notice a videographer here this weekend. He's shooting footage for a new feature for our website that will give a quick view of Five Oaks in one minute.

#8 - Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:31-34, 54-62, “Your Failures & Your Future”:

1. How you face your failures will determine how your failures will shape your future.
2. Peter disagrees with Jesus. He seems to have made a habit of disagreeing with Jesus.
3. There’s a direct correlation between the possibility of failure and the awareness of our propensity to fail.
4. What if Peter had admitted his own weakness and vulnerability instead of confidently vowing to stick by Jesus no matter what?
5. Paul Tripp prayer: I am a man in desperate need of help. Send help today. Help me accept it.
6. True repentance begins when you say, “Yes, I was mistreated or duped or disadvantaged, but I own my own reaction.”
7.  “Worldly grief” is self-defeating, devalues God’s sacrifice and is self-centered.
8. Jn 21, Jesus never refers to his denial, lies or breaking his vow. He lifts the lid of the sin. He asks, “Do you love me more than these?”
9. Story: “I can’t forgive because my career is more important to me than Jesus.”
10. Peter didn’t lick his tendency to cave under pressure (see Gal 2; but also 2 Pet 3:15-17). Repentance is a way of life for those in Christ.

#9 – Powerful passage this coming weekend: Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Hope to see you this weekend.

God bless you, Pastor Henry

Wednesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here.

#2 – Loved the service of repentance this morning. Simple and simply beautiful time with God. Thanks to Nathan Stocker and Dan Lukas for leading us. Now looking forward to Encounter. Great day focused on launching the season of Lent in a new way for us at Five Oaks.

#3 – Here are your comments from the Communication Cards:

• Beautiful solo on the “You Are Faithful” song. Wonderful job on the first solo, also.
• Thanks for the worship set. Welcome back Ashley! Henry, terrific, paced, set-up to the message today and prayer to ready us for God’s word. Darn you Henry, beautiful message and closing story. I’m a grown man and it made me cry. We have hope!!! Fantastic closing worship set!
• Amazing music this week!
• God is faithful, even when I am not. Praise God!
• The opening song was fantastic. What is the title? 
• Thank you for telling that story, it made me cry! We know boys without much hope, we try to serve them in our home. God bless! 
• Really enjoyed “Never Walk Alone” solo. What a blessing to me this morning and to everyone else in attendance. Thank you.
• This service restores my hope! I so needed this today! 
• Loved Ashley’s passion while worship time, very inspirational, worship was awesome! So glad I’m a true Minnesotan and braved the weather, it was a great sermon and beautiful story.
• Beautiful job Ashley; could feel your awe of God! Welcome back. [Unfortunately for us (and especially for her family) she’s back to Australia at the end of the week.]
• Thank you for the Spirit led setting for a wonderful start to worship, (Opening songs, the reading and quiet time.) followed by a message encouraged me to go to God for – forgiveness, love, hope and a challenge to live for Him. 
• Thank you for letting Ash be part of the worship team this weekend. It will be helpful sending her back – being able to see she is learning! So thanks.
• Sound with feedback/reverb or whatever to loud is during sermon today – usually always for music. 
• Thank you for this message about hope today. I was losing hope in the hardship I have been dealt. 

#4 – Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:1-6, 24-30, “Up Close and Impersonal”:

1. We sin at the most inappropriate times.
2. You can be really up close to God without really loving God.
3. Judas betrayed the location where the leaders could find Jesus when he was away from the crowd.
4. "Judas the Scariest." Chosen as a disciple, mentored for 3 years by Jesus, performed miracles, saw Christ's miracles, and still...
5. What motivated Judas? Greed. And Satan capitalized on it. That’s all the Bible gives us, but it's sufficient explanation for most sins.
6. Failure isn’t final, except when it is.
7. Someone has said “the hand of him who betrayed Jesus has 12 names.” But actually it has many more…
8. Even your epic failure isn’t final until you die apart from God or your heart is permanently hardened to God.
9. Faithfulness is marked by humility, hardship and hope.
10. Stanley: “What do you do when it dawns on you that you’re the most powerful person in the room?”

#5 – Here’s a link to the ESPN magazine story.

This weekend we look at Peter's denial. I love the direction this message is going as I prepare it.

God bless you, Pastor Henry

Prayers for Impact

I love praying through the requests you share on your Communication Cards each week. As I was praying today I noticed how many prayers were for Impact--evangelism, compassion and missions. Here are a few:

• Three family members are going on a short-term missions trip with a college group of athletes.
• The need for someone to lead GriefShare with kids.
• The desire to be a strong witness for Christ.
• The desire to be faithful in leading people to Christ is a prison ministry.

If you were at the Leadership Summit last summer you heard a very moving faith story by Carly Fiorina. It's seven minutes long. If you have more time, the story is followed by an interview with Bill Hybels regarding how to effectively coach influential leaders in their faith journey. The interview part is not from the Summit. It's from the monthly leadership podcast called Defining Moments put out by the Willow Creek Association.

 

Thursday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here. 

#2 - Remember, Coffee House is on Friday, 7-9pm. Great fellowship, fun, food, beverages and live acoustic music. Here's this year's crazy Coffee House video.

 

#3 - Here's the Coffee House song from two years ago.

#4 - Here are the comments from the Communication Cards:

• Thank you for today’s message. The worship team was exceptional today!
• Pastor Henry, thanks for your passionate teaching on the Lord’s Supper – answered a ton of questions I had about “rules” of it at different churches. 
• Most freeing communion message ever.
• Pastor Henry, thank you for delivering such a sound message. PREACH IT! 
• Praise God for His church; this church. Keep trusting God, He, through you, is doing great things! 
• Awesome service! And worship. 
• ...This was a pivotal message for me. I have a desperate need for forgiveness; therefore I am worthy.
• That was very good! … it was such freedom when I understood communion the correct way. Thank you for explaining it by God’s word!
• Thankful today for my husbands birthday yesterday and having the opportunity to share another birthday with him!
• Kara, you rock – what a great clear voice for Hosanna. Great music this week.
• The worship set was so nice. Loved the vocals on Hosanna, great lead and harmony. Musical arrangements for all the songs were terrific. Tim, you are so relaxed, fun and thorough in doing announcements. You represent our church so well. Henry, you continued that. We are so blessed to have you guys! What a beautiful touching message. I learned so much from you. The Holy Spirit helps you/directs you in those messages. Thanks for submitting to the Spirit. Great close.
• WOW! A totally new way to look at celebrating communion – and the progression from Passover to Last Supper – an aha moment for me.
• I really missed upbeat music today and needed some. 
• Add paper recycling in the commons. 
• Thanks for AWESOME message and worship. Much needed for me.

#4 – Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:7-23, “Savoring the Lord’s Supper”:

1. Communion is known by many names: the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the Mass. This was Jesus' 1st and last Communion.
2. The Lord’s Supper is more than an important ritual; it’s an opportunity for reflection.
3. The original Lord’s Supper took place during the Passover meal. It was a Passover meal.
4. The L.S. is the completion of the Passover. Christ's death on the cross is the completion of the entire sacrificial system.
5. It was God's plan all along. He designed Passover and sacrifices to point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
6. Jesus’ ministry on earth was about our exodus from our captivity under sin’s power to freedom in Christ.
7. “Now I come here instead, and I finish the evening with the body of Christ on my tongue, and I wash it down with the blood of Christ.”
8. The Lord’s Supper represents redemption embodied in a meal for a meal with God.
9. Tim Chester: “It’s the real thing begun in a partial way.”
10. Campolo’s father: “Take it, girl! It was meant for you. Do you understand me?”

#5 - Here are some of the Impact activities our small groups, our staff team and some families did this last quarter:

• Prepared and serving breakfast at Dorothy Day.
• Holiday bake sale raised $3K for World Vision.
• Volunteered with the Salvation Army in Somerset, WI, to bag and distribute Christmas gifts.
• Gathered donations for Operation Christmas Child, rang bells for Salvation Army, supported one of their members for the Haiti team.
• Sponsored 11 kids for Christmas through the Friends in Need food shelf serving Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul Park.
• Adopted a couple of families through Friends In Need food shelf in St Paul Park.
• Assisted at the Families Helping Each Other Christmas Party and distribution of toys for Toys for Tots.
• Went to the Woodbury Retirement Center and did activities with the elderly.

I'm blessed by you, your love and your service. Pastor Henry

Weekend Message Q&A

Here are the questions I received from this weekend's message.

Q – I really appreciated your sermon on this topic this week! As a former Catholic, I often have felt we EFree folks forget how significant communion should be in our faith journey, even if we are just "remembering" and it isn't for salvation purposes (only Jesus saves, not something we do). How would you suggest we take this a step further to our time OUTSIDE of these church walls? Often times, I still think of communion as something I do at church. Clearly, in Jesus' day, it wasn't a church function only.....it was with your family, at your home, and together as well as corporate worship times. It is also more than symbolic ideals, as you shared, so it should be something more long-lasting in my thoughts and my faith journey. It shouldn't become a ritual I do every week, or once per month only at Church. How could we go further with this do you think?

A – I think you may have answered the question. The early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper as part of community meals. I know of some churches that celebrate it in their small groups. A church I visited a few weeks ago only celebrated it at a monthly meal of their church community until recently. I think we (that includes me) need to deepen our experience of this meal. And I think it has as much to do with our experience of anticipating Christ’s return and eagerly anticipating his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. But it also has to do with the depth of our community life as a church. I know I have a long way to do on this.

Q – Awesome message! When talking about one’s often twisted history of communion in the church, were you calling out [any particular kind of] church? I grew up for many years with the strict rules, regulations, and “being worthy enough” to receive communion. Please clarify. I certainly have lived through it. 

A – I wasn’t calling out any particular church denomination. In fact, I had churches like the ones in our own particular tradition in mind. Damaging religiosity is everywhere, in every church tradition.

Q – I just wanted to make a slight note to you about a part of your message today that I found very confusing. It was towards the later part of the message when you were talking about the verse in 1 Cor about not taking communion in an "unworthy manner".

I felt like you were very passionate about it but I had a hard time following what you were trying to say. [My husband] made the comment that might be assuming people understood the traditional or "high church" interpretation of that passage. I felt like you laid out very well why you disagreed with that interpretation, but I didn't understand what you were necessarily disagreeing with….

Maybe I wasn't following along as well as I could have been, but it would have been very helpful if you could have given a quick "This is what churches have mistakenly taught about this passage" and "This is what I believe scripture actually saying" then laid out the reasons why.

A – I’m guessing you were not alone. I could have been much clearer. I should have focused in more on that point. I tried to take on way too much with too little time.

My basic point is that churches too often put unnecessary barriers to people at Communion. And I’m not even talking about requiring membership in their church. I'm talking about the idea I’ve heard throughout my life that if you have any “sin in your life” or if you have relational conflict with anyone you should pass on Communion. I can’t find that teaching in the Bible, and my concern is that when people hear things like this they begin to put up even more personal barriers to taking Communion. And then, when they take it, I’m afraid they’ve become arrogant enough to believe they no longer have “sin in their life” or they are relationally whole. Everyone who takes Communion is unworthy apart from Christ, and we can’t add anything to what Christ has done.

What complicates it is that people misinterpret the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 by ignoring the context of those words (i.e., the problem he clearly describes and he is addressing). The problem was that the rich people were going ahead and eating before the poorer folks arrived. The poorer folks would go hungry. And some of the rich folks would even drink too much. So all of Paul’s words have to do with this particular relational injustice and sin, not whether or not the Corinthians had unconfessed sin or relational conflicts in their lives.

Q – Why didn’t Pharaoh die during the 10^th plague? Wouldn’t he have been the firstborn?

A – I can only assume he was not the firstborn. Maybe he had an older brother who had died.