Henry Williams

Hi Five Oakers,

I have five things I want to share with you.

#1 – No matter what your political leanings, here’s a word we can all agree on regarding politics and politicians (look closely and don't assume you know what it says):

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. (1 Timothy 2:1-6; NLT)

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

#3 – Do you think you might be interested in writing Group Life lessons? Come to an information meeting this Sunday morning. Email me for times.

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

Excellently done, Pastor Henry. Loved it.
Thank you, Pastor Henry, for the new way of looking at these verses. [Scripture is amazing!]
Kara rocks. Glorious is glorious. [Loved the part she led and her harmonies.]
Great message Henry, thank you!
Thanks for speaking the truth in love last week (and always).
Thanks to all volunteers/staff that make “church” possible and effective! Great job Pastor re: Christian character in voting and not being divisive on the delicate issue!
Peace to you all. Love, peace, happiness.
I like the subdued worship. Nice change for the opening even though Tim normally a morning, lets-get-going kinda guy. Thanks for the reflective music. Thanks for the sobering message. It corrected, readjusted some of my thinking Henry.
Excellent message Henry! Perfect!
Great list of the 10 commandments – important to remember when voting.
Thank you Henry for the clarification at the beginning of today’s message and for recognizing there isn’t one way to vote that is the Christian way! Love the education you’ve provided on these issues, last few weeks. So thankful for this church and how it has taught me how to live with God in my heart – everything else works itself out when our foundation is God! My daughter loved fifth grade kid’s church last week! She is learning (and teaching me) the books of the bible.
Cornerstone – Christ is Lord of all even elections. I am far less apprehensive about voting Tuesday after today’s message. I will be mindful of the 10 commandments of voting and remember that no matter who is president, Jesus is still (and always will be) the Kings of Kings.
Amazing commandments! I pray people remember them and act in them!
Is it possible to use the picture in picture feature on the commons TV’s to show the slide during the message? [I don’t think so with the current technology we have. And if we had the technology, we’d have to have someone run it for every service (I think). Dan Lukas, what do you think?]
Seriously – can we just say good morning to each other! My least favorite part of the service. [Oh how I wish I could convince you of its importance. We came to the conclusion that the old way of doing greeting was too lame to keep doing it that way. If you missed my post about it, please take some time to read it (here and here. It may not convince you, but that’s why we do it.]
When can we have communion passed in rows again? It’s been awhile and is nice for those who can’t physically go up and for those who really aren’t comfortable going up who still want to participate at least once in a while. Can we at least do it once a quarter that way? [We are going to come up with a plan to get Communion help for those who have trouble making it to the station. I think that's what you’re asking. That may include doing a quarterly passing of Communion. Thanks for the idea.]
Hi, you sent us a thank you (thanks!) but it had our names wrong.
Just wondering why we don’t have dramas during the services anymore, and if they will ever bring them back? I miss them! [Hard to say exactly. It's been a long time since we did regular dramas as part of the message. I can say that once we stopped using them regularly, it became harder and harder to maintain a team for doing dramas.]

#5 - I love that you guys get so jazzed about me simply teaching the Bible. I treasure that in you. We really can't figure out life on our own. What a privilege to have in our possession God's message to us!

#6 - Here’s the message in 10 Tweets—Luke 20:19-26, “How to Vote on Tuesday”

The Bible informs everything we do, including our politics and how we vote.
They're not asking about taxes in general but about one particular tax: tribute tax.
Jesus asks for a particular coin that has Caesar's image & inscription: Emperor Tiberias Son of the Divine Augustus Chief Priest.
When they produce it, incriminates them. No pious Jew would carry that coin into the temple.
The contrast between Tiberias & Jesus could not be any clearer. On the cross Jesus gave up all power/riches for you!
He was a king without a penny to his name for your sake. He took the rejection...we deserved for pursuing recognition...instead of God.
Render=give back. “Whose image? Well then, give that blasphemous coin back to him if he wants it.”
"But give to God what is God’s. Whose image is stamped on your life?"
Vote (and live) reflecting God’s image stamped on your life.
Check out the 10 Commandments for Voting & a great quote from N.T. Wright here.

God bless you all, Pastor Henry

These are the 10 Commandments from the message this weekend. They result from my study of the passage and make the most sense in the context of the message. You can listen to when it is posted on iTunes or our website. I've also included the N.T. Wright quote. (I did not use this on Saturday night, so it's not something you missed when you were sleeping, Debbie.)

Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind in the voting booth. So you will seek to vote in a way that reflects the stamp of God’s image on your life.
Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself. You will not simply vote for what’s good for you. You will vote for what is good for your neighbor.
Thou shalt seek God's glory by promoting his values. Incidentally, everyone goes to the voting booth voting their values. It would be a shame for our country if Christians left their values at home. It is quite obvious from this passage that God is Lord of your life always, even while you're in the voting booth.
Thou shalt not idolize a party or candidate.
Thou shalt be informed about the issues and candidates. Love demands it. Policies have consequences. And sometimes those consequences are unintended, so don't leave your mind at home.
Thou shalt be humble in the voting booth. God has not revealed what to vote for. Only God knows all the consequences of our votes. He is chosen not to give us a particular political philosophy to pursue. Therefore Christians will go into the voting book voting with the same motivations and informed by Scripture, but they will inevitably come out having voted for different candidates and policies.
Thou shalt treat those with whom you disagree with honor. Even if you don't respect their positions or their logic, you will treat them with respect.
Thou shalt be hopeful. You will pin your hope on a Kingdom that transcends all others.
Thou shalt be joyful. The Spirit’s joy is not dependent on our immediate circumstances.
Thou shalt not be cynical. Cynicism is rooted in arrogance or hopelessness.

N.T. Wright from Luke for Everyone:

"Underneath the debate stands a darker theme. The accusers have failed this time; but Jesus knows, and Luke’s readers know, that they will soon succeed…. The leading Jews are going to hand over to Caesar not only the coin that bears his image, and his false title son of God, but the human being who truly bears God’s image, and who truly bears that title. But, in that act, they are unwittingly offering to God the one stamped with the mark of self-giving love. The cross itself is taken up into both Caesar’s purposes and God’s: Caesar’s favorite weapon, the cross, becomes God’s chosen instrument of salvation."

I explain why our church does not promote particular candidates or policy solutions here. We speak to the issues behind the policy solutions. And we would comment on policy if a policy coerces or tries to force people or sin.