Happy New Year!

2017 – what a gift to enjoy a brand new year! I know that life is not lived on a calendar but this is a new start – a brand new year. Every day is a gift – every morning is a new beginning – life made new, through the power of God. “Even young people grow tired and but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” I am planning on this being the greatest year of my life and for all those I love. (Which is a lot of people.) If this is the greatest year we have ever lived, then let’s grow closer to Jesus Christ. Let’s be intentional about letting His purposes have first place in our lives. Let’s love like Jesus would have us love. Let’s release past burdens, with barrier breaking hope and mountain moving faith.

On New Year’s day our young, enthusiastic youth pastor, Josh Zappone will be preaching a short message for the whole family.  The entire worship will only be 55 minutes and I promise you it will be fun. Not only will you be able to experience great friendship with the amazing people of Washington Cathedral, but you will witness a growing future leader in the cause of Jesus Christ, Josh Zappone.

A new year is a time to set new goals. A new year is a time to dream new dreams. A new year is a time to remember how much we love one another. A new year is a time to surrender to God’s exciting dreams for our lives. Let’s start 2017 out the right way by committing together to let every day be an adventure as we follow Jesus Christ. Let’s follow Him as His disciples in a world desperately in need of His love. If He is to give us another day, another month, a whole year - let’s live it to the fullest!

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Anticipating Christmas

I love the scene from the classic Christmas movie, “Christmas Vacation”, where Clark Griswold has spent an entire day hanging an obscene amount of lights on his house. He’s gathered the entire family outside in the freezing snow to witness the glorious display of his lights. The Griswold family, like most everyone’s has their fair share of characters and bits of dysfunction, and it’s on full display out on the front yard as Clark excitedly plugs in his cords.

The Griswold’s don’t quite share Clark’s excitement and anticipation about the light display. Some are angry because they have to stand out in the cold...most are indifferent to the whole experience. But Clark...Clark is gleaming with anticipation, wonder and excitement over his light display!

Most people are a little bit familiar with the story of the 3 wise men who visit baby Jesus. The story (Matthew 2:1-12) begins with them seeing the bright star and and asking “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” Their anticipation and excitement is met with anger from King Herod and indifference from others.

Sound familiar? Not everyone gets excited about light at Christmas...

Sometimes it’s challenging to anticipate and be excited for Christmas. Many times the busyness of the season causes us to miss the light all together. Our post-Christian society generally looks upon the light of Christmas with general indifference as sort of an “it’s just another Christmas season” belief.

Are you seeing the light this Christmas? Are you able to slow down enough to let the anticipation of the story reach deep into your heart and renew your hope and faith in the Messiah?

Upon following the star-light with great anticipation, the wise men came upon Jesus and they worshipped him. What happened next is not to be overlooked.

Join me this Sunday as we explore the story of the wise men, the experience they had in worshipping the “light of the world”, what happened next and how we can experience Christmas in a fresh, transforming way.

See you Sunday and make sure to invite your friends!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

The Vision of Christmas

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:26-33

Every year, as I was going to college and then seminary, I loved Christmas break.  When that last final was taken and the sometimes month long break at Christmas began, it was such a refreshing time of year.  Yes, I had to work but I had more free time than at any other time of the year.  Jackie and I were just nuts about being in the “Christmas Spirit.” It was a time for long detailed research, prayer, and Bible study to take place.  It was a time of refreshing the vision that God had given us as teenagers to someday build Washington Cathedral.  And even though that was many years ago, it has always remained that kind of time.  As we started the church and began to raise a family, Christmas quickly moved from the slowest time of year to the busiest time of year.  But despite the busyness, it remained inspiring and refreshing because it was a season of vision. 

What a metaphor for “Light the Night.”  The darkest time of year is the greatest time of vision.  Isn’t that just like God?  And it is true of all life -- the darkest, hardest crucibles of life are always the times when we dream the most beautiful dreams. Dreams that will revolutionize our lives and our world.  The Christmas story is a season of vision.  Mary has a vision, Joseph has a vision, Elizabeth has a vision, Zechariah has a vision, and almost everyone else involved in Christmas has a vision.

Let me ask you a question as I prepare my message for this weekend on “The Vision of Christmas.”  How much would it be worth to you to receive a vision for the rest of your life from God?  I mean his plan, his purpose, his innovations for you and your family.  Join us this weekend I promise you – your vision will be refreshed.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Light the Night

The Bible, in the book of Isaiah Chapter 9, gives a prophecy of the first Christmas.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as a people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  Isaiah 9:2-3

I have watched an incredible Christmas celebration every year since I have been a pastor.  People facing death become more fully alive every day of this season as they see a great light.  They are the fortunate ones because they alone really acknowledge the truth that “all of our days are numbered and we are all destined for eternity.”  Their witness increases tenfold and no bad news can eclipse their light because the very presence of the Savior is the source of their light. 

This Sunday is going to be a very special Sunday as we kick off our Christmas campaign to bring joy and light to this world through the wondrous message of Jesus Christ.  I have a very special illustration which expresses our church’s mission to try to build the greatest caring network the world has ever seen.  Our Music Pastor, Rhonda Jones, wrote a beautiful love song for my recent book Ulysses Dream. This Sunday the song will be performed by Keaton Markey and Noe Phillips with the choir backing them up. 

Ulysses Dream captures the story of God’s grace working in the life of a girl living in the city dump of Honduras.  She enters an adventure to become a citizen of the United States and falls in love with a First Nations warrior named Ulysses.  He becomes her champion until she discovers the hero inside of her because of her relationship with Jesus Christ.  The book Ulysses Dream will be available for sale (hopefully to be purchased above peoples tithes and offerings), and all money from the sale of the book will be given to retire the remaining debt that our church needs to resolve before launching our next big dream. The book will also become available in an audio version through Amazon, Apple, and others by December 14^th.  The audio version is read by renowned Spanish actress Yareli Arzimendi who has starred in, produced, and directed many movies and television shows.  We will listen to a two-minute clip from this captivating recording.

My text will be Isaiah 9 which will announce a bold new moment in our lives:

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this. 

Every day is a new beginning and every morning is the whole world made new.  Just as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

This weekend will be a historic service – one that will never be forgotten.  Maybe the most moving worship in the history of Washington Cathedral.  Don’t miss it.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

What You Talkin' About _____?

One of my favorite childhood shows was Different Strokes. In each episode there was sure to be the line from Arnold that helped make the show so famous. That’s right, I know you remember it.... “What you talkin’ about Willis?”

If I’m honest, sometimes I hear people say certain statements about God that cause me to say to myself...”What you talkin’ about Christian?” 

My favorite phrase is, “God only helps those who help themselves”.  Really?!?  Do we really believe this? Yet, I’m sure that if you’re reading this, you have heard someone say this at some point in your life.

The above statement is a myth. A lie. And it’s hurting people’s ability to believe in an all-powerful God.

Why? Because it’s simply not true. Look at John 5:1-6, for example. Is the lame man helpless? Yes. Does Jesus heal him despite his helplessness? Yes.

Join me this Sunday as I explore this fascinating story of Jesus’s encounter with a helpless man. Maybe you’ve heard me say this before, that when we read the stories in the gospels, we have to ask ourselves...”Who am I in this story?”.  Well, this is surely one of those stories.

You see...we all find ourselves stuck in life at some point, or another. Physically, spiritually, financially and relationally. ALL of us.  The question Jesus asks the lame man in John 5 is a very important question for us to answer as well.

Grace and Peace

Pastor Rex

Undeserved Honor

In this life so much of our economy, politics, religion, relationships and families are based upon the motivational summary --- “We all get what we deserve.” Right? Athletic teams when they are working out in the gym and they are completely drenched in sweat, will hear their coach yell, “Earn it!” I remember when Redmond Junior High won the National Jazz Competition (this was many years ago before some of you were born), but I am sure others will remember that great moment also. The director of this jazz group became a legend because he could motivate kids to work harder than practically any other program in the nation; and they had fun in the process. We all want to teach our kids that if they want good grades they will have to earn them.

In the middle of this known life axiom, which has been around since the beginning of humanity, we see a strange parable by Jesus in which he is talking about undeserved honor. It almost sounds like a concept from another planet. When I first read Pastor Ben McCary’s sermon title, I was thinking about what goes through the mind of a war hero when they receive a medal for heroism from a grateful nation. They always sound authentically humble. It seems out of place, but it is so honest that every time it takes us back a bit in trying to understand what they have been through. This is true of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, WW2 and on and on. They will often say something like this ---“the real heroes didn’t make it home and I accept this for them.” They receive the medal gratefully, but still feeling like it is an undeserved honor. For those of us who are thankful for their service we can think of no reason why they feel this way, after all, they earned it. Where is the contradiction?

Jesus dives into that issue in Luke chapter 14, (in which Pastor Ben will bring us all to a unique understand this coming weekend) where Jesus uses a wedding feast, not to destroy the idea of working hard and earning what you get in life, but to introduce the idea of grace and undeserved honor. He tells a parable of what it would be like if you were a wedding crasher, (my words not Jesus) and you sat in the seat of honor to get the best view, drink and food. What would happen when you are found out? Of course, you would be given the worst seat in the house. Because that is the way the world works… (again my words not Jesus). Don’t you invite guests to your wedding who can repay you by inviting you back to theirs? What would it feel like if a host invited the least-deserving people in the community and put them in a place of honor and treated them with the respect that the most-deserving person should be given. That would be crazy, right? (Again, my words not Jesus.) Jesus is showing us a picture of grace in the kingdom and how a hero feels receiving a medal and feeling it is because of the heroes who gave their lives so that he could be there. This single idea could change your view of the world and how you relate to people. It could take our church another step towards being a healing place of what seems like crazy love.

Don’t miss this insightful message,

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Who is The President Elect in Your Life?

I woke up Wednesday, November 9, 2016, shocked to find out that Donald Trump had won the election to lead the United States of American for the next four years.  Actually, I wasn’t shocked at all. I had stayed up and watched the election the night before.  It was interesting for me to see this election.  I love to watch history.  That does not mean I don’t feel compassion for all the people whose hearts are broken and whose lives have been crushed through events in history.  I guess I love history because I love people and I love God.   In ways that surprise us - God works through the fallible people and events that make up our lives. I write this devotion not to take a political side, although I have strong political opinions.  I write this in hopes that an event that is greater than history will take place in your life.  That event is that Jesus Christ becomes the President Elect of our lives.  That is huge.  That is not just a onetime choice, but a lifetime way of living through hardships and times we don’t understand, through victories and defeats.

 Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and give unto God the things that are God’s.  Mark 12:17 

 This verse gives Christians a formula to focus on changing the world.  We are always going to be good citizens, unless an injustice takes place worthy of our taking a stand against.  There is no greater love than this, than when a man would lay down his life for a friend.  John 15:13   We cannot stand by without acting courageously if a holocaust were going to take place.  Yes, we can be change agents as we reach and touch one life at a time or -  build one church at a time to change this world with love.  We have a lot of work ahead for us.

 I pray for President Elect Donald Trump.  I pray for his family, his success and his authentic spiritual growth. I pray for those who have shared with me how shocked and disappointed they are at the election. I pray for candidate Clinton, her family and all Democrats.  There is a lot of fear and division in our nation right now.   That is why  I am most excited that Jesus Christ is the President Elect of my life.   

 Your friend for the rest of my life,

 Tim White

One Leader-One Way

If you travelled the country and asked random people, “who said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’?” you would probably get the correct answer from all kinds of people. Christians...Agnostics...Muslims...Hindus....Mormons and even Atheists. Jesus is a renown teacher who’s words reach far beyond our Christian circles.

I’m certain that along with finding people who are familiar with many of Jesus’s words, you’d also hear many people have only heard this teaching in the context of “if you want to get to Heaven, you can only get there through a personal relationship with Jesus."..."Otherwise, you’re wrong, lost and hell bound!".

Do I believe that it’s only through Jesus that we have eternal life with the Father? Yes! But is this the only way in which we should understand Jesus’s famous words found in John 14? No!

The reason I know this? Look at the audience to whom Jesus is saying “I am the way, the truth and the life...”. The disciples. His already committed followers. Should Jesus’s words be understood in both a ‘today’ and ‘eternity’ context? I think so.

Jesus isn’t just our one way ticket to Heaven; he’s our way, truth and life in everything we are and do today. The big question is...how can we fully realize his way, his truth and his life for our everyday kind of living?

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we seek to find out!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

I Believe-Help My Unbelief

This week I will be preaching on an incredibly insightful event in the life of Jesus Christ – Mark Chapter 9. A father with a deeply troubled son comes to Jesus for help. And at one point in the drama he utters what has been on every human being’s mind for some time.  “I believe, help my unbelief.”  I hope that agnostics, atheists and struggling Christians come this week.  But I also pray that all of us will come with an open heart ready for the power of God’s Word to give us new practical steps to strengthen our faith. 

We live in an age of cynicism.  Webster’s dictionary defines this commonly used word as “a belief that the motivations of people are generally selfish.”  But that definition is far from its origin of the early Greek cynics.   This was a system of philosophy as well as a rejection of the complicated life of the age and a choice of simplicity.  Today, we use it for someone who has secretly given up on the viewpoint that lofty ideals really don’t have a practical place in life.  Therefore, our society has often been called living in the age of cynicism.  

This is a common reference to our day today.  For example, in the Salt Lake Tribune, Howard Lehman, a professor of political science at the University of Utah, wrote within the last year, “However, young people today deserve better. It may be impossible to return to the Age of Idealism, but surely our political leaders can provide a more optimistic and hopeful environment for them as a way to reject this Age of Cynicism.”

The point is that there are a lot of discouraged, frustrated, and pessimistic people today and we need faith now more than ever.  For parents of troubled children and children of troubled parents this story speaks to all of us.

My question for you as you consider whether you have time to make it to church this busy week is: Can you afford to miss an inspirational experience that will build solid, practical, honest belief into your life?  We all have prayed the prayer of this father -- “I believe – help my unbelief.”  It is time we let God do just that in a surprisingly spiritual way.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

The Beauty of Our Diversity

In the book of Acts, we see a young, thriving Church just trying to figure out this new way of following Jesus within their culture. They were committed to this Way and because of that, it grew. A lot. One of the most overlooked reasons for the growth of the early Church was their diversity. Throughout the New Testament, we see a very diverse church. Diverse in their thinking, personalities and even beliefs of how they understood the Church to function. Yet, despite their diversity, arguments and disagreements, there was unity - because they kept their focus on Jesus and the mission he bestowed upon them as his followers.

There's real beauty in our diversity as a church. But only when there's unity, too. These are days when politics and culture can and in some instances are dividing the church. Friends, we have to do everything we can in these important days to be united, rather than divided. We can learn to embrace and celebrate our differences, while still displaying the beauty and wonder of the gospel. It's really possible!

How can we better unite ourselves with those who are different than us?

Stop worrying about who's right or who's wrong...

Seek to discover some commonalities and grow in those...

Join with them to serve others who are less fortunate...

Remember that love and grace are central to our faith. Practice them daily...

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Rex