The Power of the Congregation

September 30, 2012 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 “The Power of the Congregation” 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Cut your bills in half A man was recently arrested for a scam that he had going. He was advertising that he had a sure fire way to guaranteed to cut all of your bills in half. You had to order a kit with all the necessary tools that you need. The kit was $250. But inside the envelope was a pair of 50 cent scissors. A surefire way to cut bills in half As we look at the last chapter of James this morning. It may not offer a surefire way to cut your bills in half. But it does offer a surefire way to cut your worry in half. And that surefire way is through prayer. But for James, it is more complicated than that. In chapter 5 – James talks about the power of prayer – but he more specifically talks about the power of the prayers of the righteous. The righteous are those who follow the ways of the righteous. Elijah and the righteous There is a story of Elijah visiting his rabbi on a regular basis. And one day he was six hours late. When he finally arrived, the rabbi asked what took him so long. Elijah said that he had a very important task. First he had to wake up Abraham, wash his hands, wait while he prayed, and then put him back to sleep again. The he had to wake up Issaac, wash his hands and put him back to sleep. And then he had to wake up Jacob, wash his hands in purification, wait for him to pray and put him back to sleep. The rabbi asked why he didn’t just wake them all up at the same time and let them pray together. Oh if I Let them pray together, their prayer would have been too powerful. The world can only take them so much goodness in one place. James says that there is power in the prayers of the righteous. As a matter of fact, James says that there is power in coming together as a congregation once a week. There is power in our worship for ourselves and for the world. Are you suffering, then pray, are you celebrating – then sing, are you sick, then call the elders to pray over you. The church was the first HMO – the church was the place where you come if you have a problem. The church is a place of healing and well being. The people of the church have the power to change things. James says that when you are sick – you should have the elders pray for you and anoint you. But who are the elders? In the United Methodist Church elders are ordained clergy. In many other denominations elders are lay people who have been special training or special authority to do the work of the church. But I think that it is important to point out today that is not James understanding of elder. Because for James – an elder is someone who is a part of the church. You don’t have to have special training, or be of a certain age. You just have to have a relationship with God that is lived out in the church. If you know God – you know all that you need to know to be an elder. We all have the power of healing – the power of healing is given to ordinary church members – with the understanding that faithful church members are not ordinary. We get our power from God. From trusting in God and following Jesus. John Wesley says that everything that happens to us is a result of prayer. God hears the prayers of the faithful. If you look in Mark 9 – it talks about what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus. To be a disciple. There is a lot in Mark 9 – but I want to talk about the middle verse, where Jesus says that if our hand sins, it is better to cut it off then to go to hell with it, or because of it. A man’s arm goes to jail I heard a story of a man in court because he had robbed a store. The lawyer’s defense was that it was the hand and not the man who was guilty. The hand was not a part of the man’s body, and did something the man did not want. The judge sentenced the hand to ten years in jail. The judge said that the hand had to pay for what it had done. The man was free to accompany the hand to jail, or he could leave it behind. Everyone in the court room was surprised when the defendant thanks the judge – detached his artificial arm and walked away. In our ordinariness, we are still human and we are still prone to sin. James reminds us to stay connected to our community. Mark reminds us to disconnect ourselves from the parts of us that make us sin. Of course Jesus would know that the sin is not in our hands, or our feet, or our eyes. The sin is in our heart. Remember what goes in our ears and eyes, comes out of our mouth, lives in our heart and is acted upon with our hands and feet. It is the sin in our hearts, not the sin our hands and feet that lead us down the wrong path. Have you wandered away from righteousness, James says – let the elders lead you back to God. Confess what is in your heart James says that one of the most important aspect of being a disciple is being able to confess what is in our hearts and to let it our, so that we can be free. The community of elders should always be a safe place for us to confess and be held accountable. Confession is healthy, because it releases us from bitterness. If we hold it in our hearts, it destroys us. If we let it go – we can move on. The good news Bishop Woodie White, a retired United Methodist pastor – lives in Chicago for awhile. But he said that no matter how bad things get in our lives – everything always ends with the good news of Christ. It has been an interesting ride through the book of James. He has said some pretty harsh things to us. but he ends in the good news. Are you suffering – pray, are you in need of testifying about what God has done for you – sing; are you sick – ask the elders to pray for you – and if you have sinned – confess and ask forgiveness. The good news for today is that there is power in the prayers of the righteous – all of us together are the righteous. We are the elders of the church. Not because of what we know, but because of who we serve. Our strength is in how we work and trust together. Faithful – let us unleash the power of God - Let us pray…..

Who is wisest amongst us?

Who is wisest amongst us? September 23, 2012 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8 Mark 9:30-37 17th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Who is Wise amongst you? I have just one question for you today - who is wise and understanding among you? James says - those who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. I want us to remember that, so let us read that together – those who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. James has been telling us how to live a life based on the wisdom above. In chapter 1 – and all throughout the book he says that faith without works is dead. Today he is telling us faith without good character is dead. in chapter 2 he tells us that faith is judged according to those who are less then us. In chapter 3 he tells us that we have to be careful about what comes out of our mouth. If we call us ourselves good, then bad language should not come out of our mouth. Today we will look at the end of chapter 3 and chapter 4. He talks about conflict and jealousy, and the importance of not only being gentle to others, but being in prayer to God. But I want to go back to my original question – who is wise and understanding amongst you. We have a lot of examples of wise people – people in our family, people who taught us in school, people who taught us in church, people we see on the news, people we admire. An example of wisdom Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a glowing appraisal of Dr Myron Mccoy that he was selected President of St. Paul's School of Theology. Somebody on that search committee understood, in a flash of genius, that those who live close to Christ become so secure in his love that they no longer relate to other people according to rank or power or money or prestige. They treat janitors and governors with equal dignity. They regard everybody as a VIP. Children seem to do this intuitively; adult Christians have to relearn it. It is a telling little piece of scripture in verse 32: "But they did not understand." That's a picture that can be hung in the halls of the museum of mankind. When confronted by true greatness, we simply do not see it… Some of you may know that Dr. McCoy was also the pastor here at St. Mark. We all know that no pastor is perfect and does everything right. But let us use this example of his job interview as an example of wisdom. An example of what Jesus calls servant leadership. Servant leadership is when someone puts the needs of those who others may think of as unimportant, before our own. Jesus says that those who want to be first, but put themselves last. Our greatness is in serving others, not ourselves. Our wisdom is in doing the will of God, not what we contrive in our own hearts and minds as what is good. As a matter of fact, James says that wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. But James is also not afraid to list the characteristics of those who have wisdom from the earth. He calls this devilish, unspiritual wisdom. Where there is envy and self ambition, there is disorder and wickedness of every kind. He says that were there is conflict amongst us, there is jealousy and where there is jealousy there is selfish ambition, and not ambition for the things of God. I don’t know if that is always true, but Jesus also talks about selfish ambition in Mark 9. The disciples are back in Capernaum, at Peter’s house. That seems to be the safe house for them to come to when they have been out traveling. And Jesus gives them the news for the second time. He knows that he will be betrayed and killed. Scripture says that they start to have a discussion about who is the greatest among them. Jesus tells us that is not the discussion of a servant leader. In servant leadership, it is not about how great you are, or how talented you are, or how much more knowledge you have then anyone else. In servant leadership is it in how you treat others. It is how you listen, not in how you talk. How you are aware of the needs of those that no one else is listening to. The selfish ambition of the frog I read a story once about a little frog that wanted to go south for the winter. It was too far to hop and he did not have wings to fly. Two Little birds felt sorry for the little frog and together they came up with a plan. The little birds would hold each end of a stick in their beaks, and all the frog would have to do was to clamp down on the stick with his mouth and hold on. The sky was clear and everything seemed hopeful for the little frog. Two farmers were standing in a field and saw the little birds carrying the frog and one said to the other, "That was a brilliant idea, I wonder who came up with the plan." The little frog couldn’t keep his mouth shut and He said, “I-I-I-I-I- I”. All he had to was to keep his mouth shut. That is happens to all of us, when we feel that we need to take credit for what God has done is our lives. We don’t get anywhere. When we work together and respect one another, then we get to our destination. James is trying to address how we work together, and reach our destination. We will learn more in chapter 5 about the beauty of Christian community and the love and healing that it can bring. How wisdom for one of us is wisdom for all of us. But James likes to give the bad news first, and in chapter 4 he talks about what happens when God’s wisdom is not put first. When we don’t respect others as children of God. There is conflict and trouble. We become jealous of what we perceive others to have. The dictionary describes jealousy as a painful sorrowful, resentful desiring of others. Where does that come from, but more importantly, where does it lead us as a community? We don’t get very far. Perhaps that is why Jesus was so hard in his disciples when they tried to set up a system where one would be greater than the others. Perhaps that is why he set a little child among them, and reminded them that if they had to ambition to lead, then they needed to be like a little child. Totally dependent on others for their care. The role of a child in the old world You have to remember that in Jesus day, children were not the sweet innocent things we think of in our world today. In our world – we put our children first. In jesus day, if a house caught on fire, first a person had the responsibility to save his father as head of the household, then his mother, then his inlaws, then his wife, and if there was time – you thought about the children. Children were dead last in society. In Jesus world, a child did not have any needs. If you could put yourself into the shoes of a child, then you understood what servant leadership was. But the conversation that the disciples had that day was not totally off base. Their master had just told them that he was going to die. He was not going to be with them. The most obvious concern of all of them was, who was going to lead them. The most obvious person to take over is the person deemed the greatest, the most like Jesus. In the ways of the world, who is going to take over once Jesus is gone. James asks us that question, who is wise and understanding among you. Perhaps that person should be running things. Jesus is trying to help us as the church understand that he did not raise up a leader – he intentionally rose up leaders. Who is going to take over the work of Jesus – we all are. Not one of us does it alone – we do it together. Our gifts, our talents, our servanthood is for the good of us all. For the community. A servant leader never serves alone. Carry Someone with You There was a tribe of Indians who lived a long time ago in the state of Mississippi. They lived next to a very swift and dangerous river. The current was so strong that if somebody happened to fall in or stumbled into it they could be swept away downstream. One day the tribe was attacked by a hostile group of settlers. They found themselves with their backs against the river. They were greatly outnumbered and their only chance for escape was to cross the rushing river. They huddled together and those who were strong picked up the weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick, the old and the infirm, those who were ill or wounded were carried on the backs of those who were strongest. They waded out into the river, and to their surprise they discovered that the weight on their shoulders carrying the least and the lowest helped them to keep their footing and to make it safely across the river. Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, about leadership. He is saying to them and to us, "Have you lost the childlike joy and love and faith that once were yours?" He is also saying to them and to us, "If you want to walk on secure ground in this world it helps to carry someone with you." King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Who is wise and understanding amongst you – the one - the ones who show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. In the midst of a chaotic world, that can push up in all types of directions. The message for today is that it is important for us to stay grounded. The best way to keep both feet firmly on the ground is to have someone on your shoulders to balance you. In helping others, you help yourself. In caring for others, you care for yourself. The greatest leader is one to serve. James lesson follows the prophets of old. Bad news first so that you can end with the good news. He takes us through the ringer first, and then sets us out to dry in the sun. He talks about the effects of our bad character. James is talking specifically to Christians in the church. He is not talking about bad people. He is saying that sometimes even the best of us get misled. And a lot of the things that we do, especially to one another, come not from being evil but being confused. The come not from being mean, but from getting comfortable with being double minded. From calling ourselves Christian, but forgetting that the fruit of our actions says all that needs to be said about the condition of our hearts. James asks where does all of this conflict and division come from? It comes from jealousy – where does jealousy come from? From wanting something that we think someone else has over us? But we are all children of God – anything we need, we don’t need to take from another – we can pray to God for ourselves. This is where the famous saying you have not because you ask not comes from. And if you did not get it, James says that you asked in the wrong way. There are three answers to our prayers, yes, no, and I need to prepare you to fully receive what you ask for. If we don’t have it yet – God is working it out for us. Finally martin luther tells this story of how he overcame the devil. HOW MARTIN LUTHER OVERCAME THE DEVIL Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, "Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks 'Who lives here?' the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, 'Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.' The devil seeing the nail-prints in the hands, and the pierced side, takes flight immediately." It is surely good for every life and for every one to have Jesus as a permanent resident. These assured heavenly blessings are sure to fall upon such bodies. (Sword of the Lord. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, The Blind, 8/5/2010) Who is wise and understanding among you? The one who is at peace with God, and God’s intention for our lives. How much strife is out there in the world because people have not come to terms with God’s plan. They are still trying to come up with their plan. Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. James good news is that you draw near to God by bringing your entire life to God in prayer. Let God take over your heart and your soul. Stay grounded by helping others- and you will finally find the peace that you are looking for. Let us pray……

Wisdom in the Streets

September 16, 2012 Proverbs 1:20-33 James 3:1-12 Year B “Wisdom in the Streets” Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost What proverbs have stuck out in your life? Start out by asking people to share proverbs that they grew up with, or may have been important to them…… Proverbs are an important learning tool of our lives, and that wisdom sticks with us forever, we even pass it on to others. The feminine aspect of wisdom When I think of this story of wisdom crying out in the streets, I always think of my grandmother. My grandmother used to speak to me about life night and day. As an eighth grader I would tell her that I don’t wont to hear it any more, let me make my own mistakes and figure it out for myself. After she passed away a year later, felt that was the biggest mistake of my life. she was only trying to help me. Throughout the bible, wisdom is always portrayed as a woman – a wise woman telling the ways of God. The bible says that wisdom or Sophia has always been a partner of God. She was there with God from the beginning, a partner in the creation process. John 1 says in the beginning was the logos, the word and the logos was with God. Logos is a form of wisdom. Wisdom has a place in our faith, but wisdom also has a place in our lives, in the streets. A young man came to talk with me just this week, saying that he was lost and confused and did not know where to turn and did not want to go back to jail. I listened and prayed with him, but I also told him that he needed God in his life and that he needed to start coming to church. His eyes glazed over, as I talked about religion. He was sure that he would be okay. Teaching our young people a sense of respect I don’t remember who I was talking with just this week, as we talked about how our children don’t listen anymore. It seems as if they have forgot the meaning of respect. They don’t respect anyone, they don’t fear anyone, they don’t care about anyone. They are free to say things, that even in my generation I would never say to an adult. This verse of wisdom crying out in the middle of the streets and no one listening was written thousands of years ago, but people say that it is still the same. People say that our children and youth still don’t listen to the words of wisdom. One of the most important things that Sophia, lady wisdom is trying to tell us is that fear of the Lord is the beginning of true wisdom. Wisdom is living life according to God’s will. Fear of the Lord But we have to be careful about what that means. What is fear, and what does it mean to fear the Lord. A man says that he used to play a game with his kids, where he would be a monster. The game would start out as fun. But as he roared with his deep voice and started to make faces at the kids, they would become afraid. The daddy that the loved and adored would become something that might hurt them. They would always start crying before the game ended. One of the first hebrew words in the bible for fear or the lord is indeed paschad. Paschad means terror. When we are sinners and not honoring the willof God – we indeed should be terrified of his wrath. Isaiah 2:10 says go into the rocks, hide in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty. Sometimes I think that there are many of us, Christians who either have not read the bible, or have not seen God in action. The consequences of sin and not obeying the laws of God can be brutal. But there is a deeper fear of God – a spiritual fear. A fear of what God can do. If you have seen the destruction of a storm. The older I get the more afraid of heights I become. I do not like high places. But I wanted to take my nieces and nephew to the Arch while we were in St, Louis. This was the day, the tornado hit Joplin Missouri two years ago. As soon as we got on the elevator and started going up, I knew that was a bad idea. When we got up, the arch was rocking back and forth. They say it is designed to sway with the wind, in order to saty standing. But that did not matter to me. I stood in the corner waiting for this nightmare to end. They jumped up and down, took pictures, climbed on the window, and had a good time. All I could think of, was anything could happen, and I don’t want to be in this thing when it does. There was a man who shared my fear of heights as he went up another tall building with his family. His children had a great time in the glass elevator, with a glass floor. All he felt was fear. Fear at the grand canyon Unlike the fear he felt when he went to the grand canyon, which was equally as high up. There were no glass walls, no gates, no protection. Yet as he saw the beauty and wonder of what God created, all he could do was walk toward it and say wow. The second word for fear in the bible is yara. That is the world used here in proverbs one – it takes into account all three types of fear – terror, trembling and awe. Awe of God The God that we serve is awesome. God is not just in nature, God is everywhere in our lives. God is in our children, in our relationships, in our fearfully made bodies, in our souls. The miracles of God is in our lives. A great modern day prophet, says that the temple of God is our everday lives. That is where the miracles of God abound – just have to be willing to see and recognize. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – o Lord, let me not forget to tremble – be afraid. Two types of wisdom Just like there is a physical fear and a spiritual fear, there are two types of wisdom. Proverbs 1 says that there is lady wisdom, Sophia who leads us to God and lady folly who leads us to the ways of the world. And there are two responses to the call of wisdom. We can choose to live according to our will, or the will of God. The only real choice is to choose to fear the lord, live in righteousness, be a person of good character, and to accept the wisdom of God. Lady wisdom says that if you don’t, she is going to talk about you. In Acts 17 – Peter says that being a Christian means walking in the fear of God. The new testament goes on to call those who follow Jesus – God fearers. Two ways of experiencing life There was once an optimistic farmer who couldn’t wait to greet each new day with a resounding, "Good morning, God!" He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, "Good God... morning?" They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems. Where he was satisfied, she was discontented. One bright morning he exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful sky! Did you see that glorious sunrise?" "Yeah," she countered. "It’ll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!" During an afternoon shower, he commented, "Isn’t this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today!” And if it doesn’t stop before too long," came the sour reply, "we’ll wish we’d taken out flood insurance on the crops!" Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in her hardened attitude, he bought a remarkable dog. It could perform remarkable and impossible feats, which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform.” Fetch!" he commanded, as he tossed a stick out into a lake. The dog bounded after the stick, walked on the water, and retrieved it. "What do you think of that?" he asked, smiling. "Not much of a dog" she frowned. "Can’t even swim, can he?" Just as optimism & pessimism are diametrically opposed to each other, Like oil & water, Greed & godliness do not mix! In order to pursue the one, we must flee the other. James regard for teachers I said earlier that I was not going to talk about James. Nor relate it to the teachers strike. I think that it is a timely message that James says that most of us should not think about becoming teachers. Because teachers will be held to a higher standard because of what they teach. Teachers teach by using words, and words can close doors in the hearts of our children, or they can open up worlds just by what comes out of their mouths. Teachers are put on a pedestal because of the power they have. For James teachers are just behind apostles and prophets in importance. As I read this I am not a teacher by profession, but a pastor. But I think that James is not talking just about the profession of teachers, but about the role of being a teacher. We all have to teach our children fear of the lord As a matter of fact, I think that he is using the negative to challenge all of us in our roles as teachers. Because if we are a practicing Christian, then we all have something to teach others. But we cant take that role too lightly. We have to teach our children. We can teach them fear. We don’t have to work too hard on that one, fear is a human instinct to protect ourselves from danger and extinction. But we also have to teach our children the meaning of respect. Teach them to respect elders, teach them to respect others, teach them to respect themselves. But the greatest lesson that we need to teach our children is to learn to have a sense of awe and wonder for God’s amazing world. Einstein said that if you have never stopped in life to have a sense of wonder, then you are not alive. A teacher opens up the door to wonder Our children spend so much time out here in these streets, caught up in drama- they never stop to take the time to look at God’s great creation and have a sense of awe and wonder. Being a great teacher, means opening up that door to God’s world for them. Exposing them to things that make them stop and think and realize just how great God is. When we open up the door or awe and wonder for them – we open up the door to God in a way that they can listen.

Good Advice about God

September 9, 2012 Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23 James 2:1-17 Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost “Some Good Advice About God” Year B Telling of short story by Natalie Babbitt – Boating from the book the Devil’s other storybook…… (This is a story about three sisters who are sent to hell. But they are convinced that they are too good to be with all of the common people. So they ride in a boat circling the rivers of hell for eternity, because they refuse to get out and stand with everyone else.) The major lesson of both our scriptures for today is that Jesus has no partiality, and neither should we. Jesus doesn’t care what you have on, what you do, how much money you have in the bank, and neither should we. the way we treat the poor , determines where we will spend eternity. Proverbs 22: 1-2 says a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and God’s favor is better than silver and gold. The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is make of them all. Proverbs is a set of all the wisest sayings in the land. All of the things that mama used to tell us about life. Solomon was the king of wisdom, so these sayings are associated with him. But this is a mother’s advice to her son, who is being groomed for a royal life. She knows that growing up, that he will face many choices, and she wants him to make the right choice. The godly choice. We are not all men, but we are all being trained for a life of royalty. This life on earth is preparation for eternal life with God. But we have to remember, that where we spend eternity is determined by how we treat people. Especially how we treat God’s people. All people are God’s people those we like, and those we don’t. Those we understand and those who we don’t. God has helped us, and God expects us to help others. James word for us today is to always remember, that God does not show partiality, so neither should we. James 2:16 ask what good is it if you see someone in need and you smile at them and send them on their way without helping. Faith without works is dead – dead as those three sisters dressed to the nines, yet aimlessly circling hell. The message of James is that faith without works is dead. The message of chapter two – show no impartiality and always make sure that your faith is alive. What is it that really matters in your life and in your faith? What you say or what you do? What makes a difference in the lives of others? What you say you will do, or what you actually do? James says that those who go to church and listen to God and say that they believe, are God’s people – but their faith is dead. Those who do the work of God – have a living faith. Remember, what goes in the eyes and ears, comes out of the mouth, and the hands and the feet. Which Flowers Are Real? The queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, and one day she put him to the test. She brought artificial flowers so perfectly formed that no human eye could detect them from real flowers. She put them in a vase on Solomon’s table, in his throne room next to his flowers. As he came in, the queen of Sheba is reported to have said, "Solomon, you are the wisest man in the world. Tell me without touching these flowers, which are real and which are artificial." It is said that Solomon studied the flowers for a long time and spoke nothing, until finally he said, "Open the windows and let the bees come in." There are ways to tell the artificial from the real—let the bees come in; they will know where the real is. If we live with the authentic Jesus long enough, we will recognize the artificial when we see it. Brooks Ramsey, When Religion Becomes Real Is our faith living or dead? sometimes when we are not paying attention to the wisdom of God, we are going through the motions, and don’t know that we are in hell. Spending our faith, circling around eternity. But God always knows…..

The Heart of Love

September 2, 2012 Song of Solomon 2:8-13 James 1:17-27 Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost Year B “The Heart of Love” Your mind is here with me When I was in high school, there was a song that used to come on the radio, Your Body’s here with me, but your mind is on the other side of town. – your messing me around. (give some more of the lyrics….., The O'Jays Your Body's Here With Me (But Your Minds On The Other Side Of Town) (Chorus 2x) Your Body's here with me (But your Mind is On the Other side of town) Your Messing me around I thought you told me you straightened out your life When We agreed to try it one more time It Would be my job to work and protect you And you would make our home life sublime But I keep hearing you crying after midnight While the whole world is still And I know the Reason You hurt to come home He gives you plenty thrills But I'm the one who pays your bills (Chorus 2x) Your Body's here with me (But your Mind is On the Other side of town) Your Messing me around you Never denied it but kinda hurts me bad Cause you never ever call my name All I tried to Do I just can't break through I just can't make it Feel the same I did all I could do To hold you close Did my very Best to Love you Straight up and down It's Getting plain to see Your mind just not for me When you get the urge to get down You go to the other side of town (Chorus 4x) Your Body's here with me (But your Mind is On the Other side of town) Your Messing me around I Cant Make it feel the same Your Body I'm THe one who pays the bills He's the one who gives you thrills Obviously, this is a song about a relationship. A relationship that has gone sour and stale. It is a story about a couple who had decided the give their relationship a chance. And yet the woman has someone else. And even though she is still in the relationship, the man realizes that her heart is just not in it. What does this song have to do with church? A song from the Ojays is probably not something that you would expect to hear at church on Sunday morning. God’s name is not mentioned anywhere in this song. But that is okay today, because neither of the scriptures this morning mention God or Jesus. Scriptures no mention of God The Song of Solomon was not written by Solomon, and scholars agree that it is not even about Solomon. This book is a collection of love poems, probably not even about the same person. At times, the poetry gets pretty intimate, and a little racy. The bible may be all about love, but we don’t like to get that close to the subject of love. A passionate, healthy, almost sexual type of love. Why is it in the bible, to remind us that if our minds are in the right place, and we are in love with God, then we can see the God in anything. Even in the midst of a love song. James is our second scripture. One of my favorite books, because of James blunt advice. You won’t find Jesus name mentioned anywhere in these 5 chapters. But it does contain practical advice on what it means to live on earth. It mentions the church, but it also seems to realize that the church is made of people. People who may strive to go to heaven, but still live on this earth in some difficult and confusing circumstances. It is not about eternal life, but about everyday life. Beginning of journey of wisdom For the next few weeks, we will spend some time with the wisdom literature. Reminding us that the beginning of our love affair with God is being able to listen to the wisdom given to us by God. When we are not paying attention to the call of wisdom. Our bodies might be here in church, but our spirits our out there in the world. We are depending on God to pay the bills, but looking to the world to give us our thrills. Sin happens in a broken world We live in a world that is controlled by divisions, brokenness, and fragmentation. When we look at all of our lives, there are disagreements, arguments, places where we are torn between two sides of an issue. We are most likely to sin when we are broken It is when our souls are torn and broken that we are most likely to sin. The temptation to sin comes to us all of the time, everywhere. Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when… they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent). James’ message to us is that temptation is a part of life. We are all going to go through some sort of temptation in or lives. That temptation has the potential to distract us from our focus. Temptation not from God We can blame temptation on a lot of things. A 4-year old girl was caught by her Mom standing on a stool in the kitchen eating cookies. Her Mom had told her that she was not to be eating those cookies until after dinner. When caught red-handed and confronted by her Mom, she said “Mom, it’s not my fault, honest! I climbed up on that stool because I just wanted to smell them, and my tooth got caught!” We might blame temptation on a lot of things, we can blame it on our circumstances, we can blame it on the devil. But James tells us not to ever blame temptation on God. God would never do that to you. God will always love you. God is the lover who will always care for you, who will always be good to you, who will always pursue you. And when you decide to give in to temptation and walk away, God waits for you. There are a lot of things in life that will change, everything in life changes, but God stays the same. Our text in the song of Solomon speaks of a lover who leaps with vigor and energy in search of his live. But the woman is not available. He has to coax her out. Arise, my fair one, come away says the lover. Temptation is a part of our lives, but God calls us away from all of that. God calls us to be in relationship with him. When relationship gets old But I am sure that we have all been in a relationship that has gotten old and stale. A relationship that we no longer pay attention to. A relationship where we are going through the motions, but our heart is not there. Our body is here in church, but our mind is on the other side of town. And even in that state, God’s relationship never goes old for him. He is constantly pursuing you, trying to get your attention. Through prayer, God is listening to you, and asking you to listen to him. The heart of any good healthly relationship is the ability to listen. The most important thing that and child wants from a parent, is for you to listen. The most important thing that any spouse wants is to be paid attention to. The most important thing that a relative in a nursing home wants – is company. God desires the same thing for you. Christian just going through the motions There was a Christian doctor, who went on a mission trip to Honduras. Before he left, he went to church, but it didn’t mean anything to him. He was going through the motions, but it had no meaning. But when he went to help the people of Honduras – he saw the word of God being put into action and he started to understand why he was coming to church. We he returned, he gave more in the offering plate, he volunteered more, he even was able to share his faith with others in a meaningful way. There was something that changed inside of his heart, that affected what he was able to do with his hands, his feet. Faith without works is dead According to James, there are three zones of the body – the heart, the ears and eyes, and the mouth. We take in information from the world through our eyes and ears, we take it inside to our heart, and it comes out through what we do with our hands and feet. The message that James wants us to understand that faith without works is dead. If God controls what we take into our minds through our eyes and ears, of God determines what we hold in our hearts, then it will be evident to everyone else by what we do with our hands and feet. God loves you more than anything. Learn God’s story, spend time with God, seek to please God, reflect on how much better you life is, when you are in full and complete relationship with God. A certain downtown businessman became fond of the little boy who shined his shoes every day. He did such a good job that one day the businessman asked him, “Son, how come you are so conscientious about your work?” The boy felt complimented. He looked up to the man, and said, “Mister, I’m a Christian and I try to shine every pair of shoes as if Jesus Christ were wearing them.” The businessman saw something genuine in the shoeshine boy. Soon after that he began reading his Bible. When he decided to be a Christian himself, he credited his decision to the little boy who shined every pair of shoes “as if Jesus Christ were wearing them.” That’s a blessing. James says that every good thing in our lives is a gift from God. Every good things. So are you going to continue to live in the brokenness and fragmentation, with your mind body and soul in three different places. Or will your mind, body and soul be here with God. Being one with God is the definition of salvation. Let us pray…. In Luke 7:32, Jesus observed that this generation is like school children who pipe and their friends won't dance, who wail and their chums won't cry. "There is no pleasing you!" We simply find something wrong with everything. John Wesley pointed out that every gift God gives man is quickly sullied by human hands. He said every revival comes with defects. So he'd pray, "Lord, send revival without the defects." But then he told the Lord, "If you won't do it, then send the revival with the defects." Pharisees only see the smoke, never the fire. They complain about defects, never seeing the revival. Negative, critical persons, they are judgmental. Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? I'm sure it would. You see, the truth is that the thing is what it is, not what someone calls it. Names are assigned to us, based on our outward circumstances by ourselves and other people. "Sinner, Failure, Stupid, Dummy, Unclean" all are names which label us. But what we are called, either by others or by ourselves does not determine who we are. It might speak of those external circumstances, but it might be wholly inaccurate. You see, a failure is not someone who fails. In reality, the people who fail the most are the ones who succeed. You only get to success by taking risks and risk-taking brings many failures along the way. A failure is someone who simply doesn't try. No, names do not determine who you are. You are who you are on the inside. So, the first important lesson is that we must cultivate the inner person. The inner person is the person who counts. The apostle Paul desired that we be strengthened in the inner man. It boils down to relationship. We are only as strong as our personal relationship with Christ. May I summarize for you? First, learn God's story. Second, spend time with God. Third, seek to please God. And, fourth, reflect on what your life is becoming with God. A mother told her son that he was not allowed to go swimming that day. However, when he returned home that afternoon his mother noticed that his hair was wet and that he carried under his arm a wet bathing suit. “Johnny!” his mother scolded, “I told you not to go swimming today.” “I couldn’t help it, Mom. I walked by the lake and it looked so clear and inviting. I was just going to stick my feet in it for a minute, and the water was so warm and felt so good on my legs. I just couldn’t resist!” he said with a big wide smile. Mom looked at Johnny and said, “One question son, why did you take your bathing suit with you when I had told you that you couldn’t swim today?” “I didn’t trust myself Mom, so I took it with me just in case I was tempted.” Webster’s Dictionary tells us that temptation is “the act of enticement to do wrong by the promise of pleasure or gain.” Now isn’t that just like the Devil, getting us to do something wrong by promising us something good? There isn’t a day that goes by in any of our lives where we aren’t tempted in some way. Temptation comes packaged in a variety of ways; we are tempted to lie, cheat, gossip, over eat, to hold grudges, to steal, and yes, to not give the Lord the first fruits of our treasure, time and talent.