Wednesday, February 24, 2010

My Tribute to a Friend



Pastor's Weekly Devotion

February 24, 2010

Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Duke is the Senior Pastor at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton, Indiana.
Hillside United Methodist Church Online
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The Weekly Devotion


My Tribute to a Friend
Loud! That s the first word that comes to mind when I think of my friend. This tall outspoken leader, of the church that I am serving, would become a support and colleague in ways I could never imagine from a man who was 40 years my senior. Many people will talk of Zeke Smith s accomplishments in the community. And, the list is long and genuine. Others will talk of his long career with Potter and Brumfield, an international company, and how he helped to steer its success. But I am reminded of many talks in my office of his faith, family and God.

When Zeke entered the church office I could always hear his voice through my door. Is he in? he would boom. Then he would saunter into my office and take a seat and begin to unravel the stories of his life and the questions of his faith. One phrase I often enjoyed was, to make a long story longer After living 8 decades, at the time, he was still reading current authors on theology. He liked to discuss their views. One of his favorite theologians was William Barclay. He thought that he got most of it just right. I loved the stimulation to my own mind and heart that Zeke provided. And I was humbled that, this educated man, from an educated family, who had traveled extensively, and entertained bishops in his home, trusted my council and respected my opinion. He cannot be replaced.

He often came through the line at church at the conclusion of worship to shake my hand. You were wading in deep water today he would say in reference to the controversial or challenging theme of the message. He had been listening. He was attentive and active and a great visionary.

Zeke quietly died in his home Monday night. Even at 90, his death was unexpected.

I will miss his voice, but I will miss our talks. I have lost my loudest cheerleader, my deepest thinker and my strongest voice for the future of the church. The last experience I had with Zeke was on Ash Wednesday. I placed ashes upon his tall forehead and said, you are dust, and to dust you shall return. As I caused him to face his own mortality he politely said, Thank you.

As I prepare to conduct the celebration of his resurrection, I am reminded of his own assurance of Christ s love for him. I am reminded that Zeke got it. I am reminded that God now holds him. I am reminded that I have been fortunate and blessed to have known him as a brother in Christ and to call him a personal friend.

Sharing in Faith,

Rev. Craig W. Duke




Contact Info

Senior Pastor
Rev. Craig Duke
(812) 385-2910

Office Administrator
Brenda Witt
(812) 385-2910

Choir Director
Sandy Nixon



Pianist
Debbie Ford



Preschool Director
Julie Goedde
(812) 385-2910

Worship Coordinator
Linda Duke
(812) 385-2910


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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Sacrifice

  Pastor's Weekly Devotion
February 17,2010

Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Duke is the Senior Pastor at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton, Indiana.
Hillside United Methodist Church Online
Hillside Welcome
Meet Our Staff
Hillside History
Hillside Calendar
Hillside Ministries

The Weekly Devotion
Luke 14:12-14 (New International Version)

12Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

"Sacrifice"
It's the difference between the stairs and the elevator, the bike or the car, the narrow and the wide. Sacrifice. I've been watching smatterings of the winter olympics this week. These young athletes astound me with their abilities but even more so, with their level of sacrifice. A pair of figure skaters take the ice. They look like most of the other competitors with their custom made outfits, skates and planned choreography. But, they are in debt. They have been working 8 years to get to this point. The house is mortgaged, the creditors call and the times are hard. They are not medal contenders. They are just excited to be in the olympics at all. They have no corporate sponsors. Sacrifice.

Sacrifice by its very nature causes us to take the "road less traveled." In Luke's passage he admits that as followers of Christ we need to make a different guest list to our parties than most. We are to invite those who cannot repay us, who will not thank us and who will not sing our praises. Sacrifice. The reward, which is not the goal, comes much, much later. Are we willing to delay our own gratification for the sake of others?

Jesus says we have to do this! Have to!!!! A little later in verse 27 Jesus says, "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follw me cannot be my disciple." Ouch! If you want to be a Christ follower, you must sacrifice. I must sacrifice. The faith community must sacrifice. We must take the "stairs" instead of the "elevator" and reflect on our love of Jesus with every painful, uphill step.

Today is Ash Wednesday. What a great day to begin this new journey. Worship at Hillside begins at 6:30pm. Sacrifice.

Sharing in Faith,

Rev. Craig W. Duke

Contact Info
Senior Pastor
Rev. Craig Duke
(812) 385-2910
Office Administrator
Brenda Witt
(812) 385-2910
Choir Director
Sandy Nixon
Pianist
Debbie Ford
Preschool Director
Julie Goedde
(812) 385-2910
Worship Coordinator
Linda Duke
(812) 385-2910

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Outlandish Love

  Pastor's Weekly Devotion
February 10, 2010

Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Duke is the Senior Pastor at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton, Indiana.
Hillside United Methodist Church Online
Hillside Welcome
Meet Our Staff
Hillside History
Hillside Calendar
Hillside Ministries

The Weekly Devotion
John 4:7-12 (New International Version)

7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
11"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

Outlandish Love
Im not going to bash Valentines Day. That would be too easy. You know, to complain that it has gotten of control with candy hearts and $5.00 cards and stuffed animals and restaurant packages and on and on. It would be easy to say that the commercialization of love has distracted us from the bigger and better picture of Jesus. But to be honest, any day that is set aside for the cause and discussion and focus on love cannot be a bad thing. It can help us to contemplate what the whole love thing is about and it should.

I also have to admit that the love that Christ offers causes anything else to pale in comparison. Why? Because Jesus love was initiated before we ever did anything to attract his love. We didnt woo God. We didnt write love letters. We didnt take God out for dinner. On the contrary, most of us ignored God. We turned our proverbial backs on the Almighty for more selfish endeavors. What makes Jesus love so remarkable, is that it was offered to us while our backs were turned. God sent Jesus to love us and to show us love even when we didnt care. Now thats outlandish!!!

For the person who desires to be in a relationship on the love holiday and is not.thats why Jesus loves us.
For the person who has been in love for decades but whose relationship has ended because of death or divorce.thats why Jesus loves us.
For the person who has never known appropriate love and only known abusive love.thats why Jesus loves us.
Jesus loves us because thats who Jesus is; the ultimate lover of God and therefore Gods creationus Outlandish!!!!

It doesnt matter if you are in a relationship today or not, the point for you to understand today is that God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for you out of love. Thats worth sending out a card. Outlandish!!! Valentines Day falls on Sunday this year. What a great day to go to worship and celebrate Gods love for us and our love for God.

Sharing in Faith,

Rev. Craig W. Duke

Contact Info
Senior Pastor
Rev. Craig Duke
(812) 385-2910
Office Administrator
Brenda Witt
(812) 385-2910
Choir Director
Sandy Nixon
Pianist
Debbie Ford
Preschool Director
Julie Goedde
(812) 385-2910
Worship Coordinator
Linda Duke
(812) 385-2910

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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Rev. Duke's Weekly Devotion

  Pastor's Weekly Devotion
February 3,2010

Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Craig Duke
Rev. Duke is the Senior Pastor at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton, Indiana.
Hillside United Methodist Church Online
Hillside Welcome
Meet Our Staff
Hillside History
Hillside Calendar
Hillside Ministries

The Weekly Devotion
Jeremiah 8:6-7 (New International Version)

6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

Lip Service
It was hilarious. One group after another took their place in the middle of the gymnasium floor and began to strut their stuff. To an outsider, it would have seemed remarkable for 6th,7th and 8th graders to be able to sing so well and to be so musically talented. They must all be child prodigies. Great vocals and smooth musical transitions made it appear like an episode of Glee or the forerunner Fame. But alas, these were not musically gifted students but rather musically gutsy. It was the annual lip sync competition at our local middle school. I had gone to watch my daughter and cheer on her class that I had the privilege of helping to prepare for this years theme; disco! Complete with costumes and props the different challengers moved their mouth to someone elses words and voice and dance to someone elses music. Thats what makes it so funny, watching these youth imitate the real artists. They were just moving their lips and the sound track did the rest.

This is what Jeremiah the prophet is so peeved about in the book named after him. He was speaking for God about the lack of integrity of Gods people. They were going through the motions without any intent of following through. It was all theological lip service. They were faking it. God was not fooled. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. (verse 7) Do we know what we really pleases God? If we are not careful, it can happen to us.

Do you feel that your faith is real and personal? Do you experience more days of just going through the motions and providing lip service to those you think need to hear it? The good news is that God wants more than lip service. God desires that we have a faith that lives in our hearts, that we live out each day and that we share with others. God is less concerned with the movements of our faith and more concerned about the intent of our hearts. Our genuine intent is what pleases God. Are you prepared to be authentic today?

What made the lip sync fun was the underlying relationships that the students have with each other and their teachers. We laughed at their antics, but reveled in the fact that they were doing this because they wanted to! Today, do something for God that you want to do instead of what you feel you have to do. Make your own music and sing with your own voice!

Sharing in Faith,

Rev. Craig W. Duke

Contact Info
Senior Pastor
Rev. Craig Duke
(812) 385-2910
Office Administrator
Brenda Witt
(812) 385-2910
Choir Director
Sandy Nixon
Pianist
Debbie Ford
Preschool Director
Julie Goedde
(812) 385-2910
Worship Coordinator
Linda Duke
(812) 385-2910

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