They will know we are Christians by our Love

April 28, 2013 Acts 11:1-18 John 13:31-35 Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C They will Know we Are Christians By our Love Updated version of 5/2/10 – Sharing our Differences The sandwich swap as a story of how food separates us Salma and Lily were best friends at school. They drew pictures together. They played on the swings together. They jumped rope together. And they ate their lunches together. But just what they ate was a little different. Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch. Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch. And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck. And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross. That is an excerpt from a childrens book coming out by the Queen of Jordan called the “sandwich Swap”. It is about her experiences as a child, where she at one type of food and her best friend ate another. Both felt uncomfortable with what the other was eating. But it was through food that they came to understand one another and developed a closer relationship in the process. It is a cute little story that talks about how food separates us, and keeps us apart. The realize that their feelings about food is deeper than that, our feelings about food oftentimes harbor our personal predjudices about certain people. In the end, as they come together as friends and agree to try each other’s food, they get the whole school involved in a sandwich swap, in order to learn to be more accepting of each other. This story is a perfect example of how what we eat is one of the greatest expressions of who we are. Food can divide us and tear us apart. And food can bring us together in a very special way. When God says that we will come together in heaven with him, he says that it will be around the table at a great feast, where we share each other’s food. Scripture says that God’s greatest expression of love and care for us is to feed us. This is a perfect story for our scriptures this morning. Peter prided himself on being a good jew and making sure that everything that he ate was kosher. He considered that to be a part of what God called him to do – that is until he heard from God – which told him something different. That in the name of trying to understand others, he was free to eat whatever god’s people ate. There was nothing wrong with it But not everyone of the disciples heard that same voice, and they criticized Peter, until he explained it for them. Once again this is a demonstration of how the holy spirit works in our lives It takes something that makes sense to us (in this case food- we all understand food) in order to explain something that doesn’t make sense to us. (in this case how to get along with other people) This fits in with the gospel lesson which talks about love- Jesus tells his disciples to strive to love one another as you have been loved. – we know that there are 10 commandments – many say that this is the 11th commandment from God – to love. Love is not a concept unique to Jesus – because there are many commandments to love – love the lord the god with all of your heart, mind body and soul. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, there is even a commandment for Esau and Jacob to love one another as brothers. Jesus is just trying to get them to follow the law of love in a brand new way. Not to love because you are supposed to, but to love because you have been loved. Not to guess what love means, but to know what love means. To realize that love is not about what you do – it is about the relationship that you have. In order to love somebody, you have to identify with that person, get into their lives and know what it going on, and be willing to eat with them. For instance Peter could very well have refused to eat with the gentiles and kept his kosher habits. But somewhere along the way he realized that his relationship was more important than his beliefs. And that it was the relationship that changed him and transformed the situation. The gentiles became a part of the family, the outsiders became insiders. All because the holy spirit took something that made sense and used it to teach something that they otherwise would not have understood. Commentators point out that the story of how Peter met Cornelius and baptized his whole family is one of the longest stories in the book of Acts. It shows just how close Christianity came to being just another faction of Jews. If Peter had not had the dream, if Peter had not listened to God to try something different, If Peter had stuck to his tradition – we would have no access to the good news of Jesus. This is an important story in my own faith life also. I have been intentional about following in Peter’s footsteps. One of my values has been not to set up any restrictions on things that I eat. As a minister of God, I want to make sure that wherever I am in the world, when I an invited to someone house, to make sure that I can eat whatever is put in front of me. One of the greatest expressions of someone’s love is to invite you to their house to eat. I want to make sure that I am always in a position to accept that love, and eat what is put in front of me. Doesn’t scripture say that it is not so much what we put in our mouths that pollute us, but what comes of our mouths that causes the trouble. Even though I do have to say that I am grateful that McDonalds shares my philosophy. It is great comfort to know that whatever I may have to eat, and wherever I may be in the world, if all else fails, I can find a Mcdonalds – and know that they have an American hamburger on the menu. Learning how to accept love and be loved is an important mark of what it means to be a Christian. If you read and listen to the book of Acts this Easter season, you will learn the marks of a true Christian as one who follows Jesus, who trust in the teachings of Jesus, one who looks for the presence of the holy Spirit in their lives and is willing to follow it, and one who puts Christ as the center of their lives, allowing the spirit of Christ to dwell and live in them. Love is the 11th commandment. Moses gave the 10 commandments to the children of Israel so that they could live together in a community of peace. Jesus gave the 11th commandment to his disciples. – love one another as I have loved you. Love can be painful – but it still makes a difference, it still transforms people – one relationship at a time. Love is a way of speaking, a way of doing, love is who you are in Christ. Love is the one mark of a true Christian. And yet it is hardest thing in the world to love one another. Have you noticed that as Christians, we are like the two girls in the sandwich swap story – we claim to like each other and yet we find things to continue to keep us apart. And what is Jesus doing with his disciples as he is teaching them love – he just fed them as the host of the Passover. Eating is such an important part of our faith. WHEN WE COME TOGETHER Dr. J. Vernon McGee told a story about a little community where there were three churches on the same corner, a Presbyterian church, Methodist church and Baptist church. One Sunday night, all the windows were open and they could hear each other singing. They didn't get along very well. The people in the Presbyterian Church were singing this song, "Will There be Any Stars in My Crown?" When they finished, the Methodist church sang, "No, Not One." Then the Baptists sang, "Oh That Will be Glory for Me." Dr. McGee said that all three of those churches ought to sit down together and sing the doxology of praise to God. That's what the world needs to see. They need to see us together. Jesus said, "When we come together, that's when the world knows that God has sent us." (From a sermon by Bob Joyce, Like Lucy, 8/4/2011) But seriously, we truly have to be careful about how we treat one another as Christians, especially within these walls. We forget that the world is watching us. they are watching how they treat one another, and coming to a decision about whether they want to be associated with us. Love is not about who we feel about one another. It is a commandment. It is an act of obedience. Jesus had some reason for pointing to the disciples and telling them that if you don’t learn anything else from me, you need to learn how to love one another. Love is not a feeling it is an action. You cant tell someone how to feel about a situation, but you can tell then what to do and how to act. Jesus commanded us to love one another – to pay attention to our actions toward one another. A woman got a divorce and lost her family. She sank into a deep depression, and was in desperate need. The people in her church only shook their heads and pointed their fingers at her failure, so she left and began frequenting a bar. One day the preacher came and asked why she had done this. She replied, “The people at the bar smile when they see me.” We have to do the same when we come to church. Finally I just want to say – that learning to love one another is not a new commandment. We are all taught from an early age to learn to love. As jews the disciples would have been taught the importance of love for others in your community. Even as Jesus was talking – he didn’t say that you needed to love the whole world – he just said love your fellow disciples. There is nothing new about love- it has been around from the beginning of love. What is new about the commandment to love is that Jesus says to love as I have loved you. Jesus gave everything he had, so that you would know how to love. You may not have to love everyone in the world, but The world is watching us, so that they can see that example. What is it that they see – Let them know we are Christians by our love. Let is pray…. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬____________________________________________________ WE REQUIRE LOVING A little girl was making but poor progress toward recovery, though the ailment had been checked and there seemed to be no reason why she should not rapidly improve. But it didn’t happen, and the doctor in charge was keenly interested to know why. She was a very sensitive child, easily scared, responding quickly to kindness. Perhaps she was afraid of Nurse or Sister or her unfamiliar surroundings. The doctor decided it was the lack of understanding which was retarding recovery, and so wrote a directive upon the temperature chart: "This child requires loving every four hours." God is even better than that: He says, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." (Winship Storey in his Methodist Recorder. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, God’s Infinite Love, 12/25/2010) ATHERINE LAWES: A STORY OF COMPASSION Max Lucado relates this story. When Catherine Lawes’ husband, Lewis, became the warden on Sing Sing prison in 1921, she was a young mother of three daughters. Everybody warned her never to step foot inside the walls. But she didn’t listen to them. When the first prison basketball game was held, in she went, three girls in tow, and took a seat in the bleachers with the inmates. When she heard that one convicted murderer was blind, she taught him Braille so he could read. Upon learning of inmates who were hearing impaired, she studied sign language so they could communicate. For sixteen years Catherine Lawes softened the hard hearts of the men of Sing Sing. The prisoners knew something was wrong when Lewis Lawes didn’t report to work. Quickly the word spread that Catherine had been killed in a car accident. The following day as the acting warden took his early morning walk, he noticed a large gathering at the main gate. Every prisoner pressed against the fence. Eyes awash with tears. Faces solemn. No one spoke or moved. The warden made a remarkable decision. "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure to check in tonight." These were America’s hardest criminals. But the warden unlocked the gate for them, and they walked without escort or guard to the home of Catherine Lawes to pay their last respects. And each one returned. Real love changes people. That’s genuine love. That’s true love.

A Good Life

April 21, 2013 Acts 9:36-43 Revelation 7:9-17 4th Sunday of Easter A good life Year C Modern Day Resurrection stories Easter is the season of resurrection. We have been hearing stories of Jesus appearance to certain people after the resurrection. Some of my favorite news stories are stories of people who appeared to be dead, but before they were buried they were really alive. I seem to remember these stories when I hear them. 3 of my favorite stories this year are the one about…. 1. The Brazilian toddler who died twice Not all resurrections end well. A heart-wrenching case in point: Little Kelvin Santos, 2, died last week — or so his parents were told — while being treated for pneumonia. The child's devastated family held a wake through the night. Then, an hour before the funeral was to begin, Kelvin sat up in his open coffin, and said, "Daddy, can I have some water?" People started screaming. "We thought a miracle had taken place and our boy had come back to life," the boy's father, Antonio Santos said. "Then Kelvin just laid back down, the way he was. We couldn't wake him. He was dead again." The family filed a medical malpractice complaint, and police are investigating. Mourners nearly died of shock when a 101-year-old woman sat up and spoke - as she was being put in her coffin. Peng Xiuhua asked why so many people were in her house in Lianjiang, Guangdong province, China. Peng, who lived alone, had taken a tumble and hurt herself so her two daughters, who are in their 70s, were looking after her. However, 10 days later her daughters could not detect a heartbeat and her body had gone stiff so she was declared dead. The daughters gave her a bath, an undertaker dressed her and they were about to put her in her coffin when she came back to life. Peng said: “I am a lucky woman. "Not only did I get to see how many people care for me, but I also woke up before they took me to the crematorium,” she said. Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/dead-woman-sits-up-and-speaks-1567510#ixzz2R3nAt0Hb Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook A prostitute in Bulowayo, Zimbabwe, is bringing new meaning to the term "killer sex" after authorities thought she died during an encounter with a customer. However, she came back to life just as officials placed her in a metal coffin. The incident occurred last week at the Manor Hotel and the escort, later identified as "MaNdlo," reportedly collapsed and died while having sex with a client, the Herald-Sun reported. But when authorities came to collect the body of the prostitute and put it in a steel coffin, she suddenly woke up in a panic screaming, "You want to kill me!" at the officers, according to NINEmsn.com. Seeing a woman presumed to be dead spring back to life shocked onlookers, many of whom ran away in fear, Bulawayo24.com reported. "It was like a movie," a source told the website. "People were running away in different directions. It was a scary incident because we were all convinced that she had died because she was just cold. Miracles surely do happen." MaNdlo was taken home by another working girl and the unidentified john who allegedly "killed" her reportedly sneaked out of the hotel moments after the cops had left, according to AniNews.In. What happened to those people when they arose? When I think of that story I always hope that the woman took this experience literally as a wake up call and that she changed her life and did something different. I hope that she was able to see the work of God in the midst of those circumstances. This is the Easter season, the season of resurrection in our lives. The scripture from Acts gives us another resurrection story, a story that is just as dramatic as the ones in the news today. This is actually second miracle story, Peter has just healed a man who was in bed sick. And now he has been called to the funeral of a beloved follower of Christ. Dorcas, or Tabitha. Dorcas was very faithful in the church. The scripture calls her a saint, which is the same word that is used for the twelve followers of Christ. She spent her time making clothes for the widows when she was healthy. Now all of them have come to the funeral. Now you have to get how loved this woman was. Scripture says that they showed their tunics to Peter, so show what she has done to them. A tunic was an undergarment. The women were so grateful for what Dorcas had done for them that they were at the wake showing their undergarment to a strange man. And just like the news stories – this is a story of resurrection because Dorcas ends up coming back to life. Unlike the news stories it is not something that she does on her own, Peter prays for her, and through the power of the Holy Spirit she comes back to life. As a matter of fact, this is more than a resurrection story. It is a story of the power of faith. Because of her faithful life, and the love of those who mourn her, Peter takes the time to bring her back to life, hopefully so that she can continue her work. But the story is told so that we could witness the power of Peter’s faith. Peter watched Jesus, and now with the presence of Christ within him, he has the power to perform all of the miracles that Jesus did – he did it in the name of Jesus. When he prayed over Dorcas, he prayed in the name of Jesus to bring her back to life. This is not the first resurrection story that we hear in the bible. The bible is full of them. Elijah bought back the son of the widow, Elisha bought another woman’s son back to life. many people bought their children and loved ones to Jesus, and he was able to bring them back to life. and now that mantle has been bestowed upon Peter. And yet this story is different because Peter wants to the world to know that he is working under the power of Jesus. He is carrying on the ministry of Jesus. He was able to do this powerful work only because he believed in the risen Christ. The miracles of the prophets point to the power of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus points to the power of God in him, the miracles of Peter and Dorcas point to the power of the risen Christ, and we hear this story of Peter, so that we can understand that we also have that power, as the church of today. Resurrection stories are still being told today. But the good news for us is that the miracles of faith are still possible today. Everything in the old testament point to the events of the news testament, the events of the new testament point to the church, and what is possible for us today. The book of acts is to remind us of our power as a congregation, because we embody the spirit of Christ for the world today. We could spend days upon days thinking about the miracles of God and what they mean for us. the author of Acts, Luke wanted us to know about the faith of Dorcas, and the faith of Peter. But he really does not want us to get stuck on resurrection stories. Every story of faith told in the book of acts, is told to introduce us to a new phase in the growth of the new church. Every time God is about to do a new thing and bring the church to a new level, one of the disciples demonstrates a new miracle. Peter encounters the faith of Dorcas in Isreal, just before God calls him to go out to spread the gospel and to build the church to include the gentiles. I think that we all, even seasoned church members struggle when we hear stories of resurrection, of people being bought back to life, and the disciples being able to do what Jesus did. Afterall, none of us have that power today, if we did, we would use it every day. The church expected to do the stuff in the bible A few years ago, John Wimber the founder of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship was interviewed. Wimber said that the first time he went to church he expected dramatic things to happen, but they didn’t. After attending church for threeSundays, he became frustrated. After the worship service, he approached a man who looked like someone with authority. "When do you do it?" he asked. "When do we do what?" the man replied. "You know, the stuff," Wimber answered. "And what stuff might that be?" the man asked. "The stuff in the Bible," Wimber said, becoming more frustrated by the moment. "I still don’t understand," the man replied. "You know," said Wimber, "multiplying loaves and fish, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, giving sight to blind people. That stuff." " Oh," the man said, apologetically, "we don’t do that. We BELIEVE in it, and we pray about it. But we don’t actually DO it! Nobody does, except for those crazy pentecostals." That was 20-25 years ago, have many Christians have really changed? Is the church today really doing the stuff, as John Wimber put it? On the whole I believe that we aren’t. No, I believe that it’s because we don’t take God at His word. We go through the motions saying that we believe in these kinds of things, but we don’t actually do them. As we look at our Bible passage this morning we can see what happened when someone did the stuff. When we look at verse 42 in our passage we can see why doing the stuff is important. It says, ’The news about this spread all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.’ It’s interesting to note at this point that doing good didn’t bring people to faith, but the raising of Tabitha from the dead did. What does this say about our attempts at evangelism? So often in this country, we, the church, reach out to our communities by doing good. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t do that either, but rather than we should also do the stuff. John Wimber described these actions as ’power evangelism’. It’s evangelism by the healing of the sick, and the performing of signs and wonders in public. We can see this happening right through the book of Acts, and even in isolated pockets of the church today. We have to remember in this story that the miracle is not the star of the story – the faith and good works of Dorcas and Peter is the point. Peter had no control over what the holy Spirit did or didn’t do- he was a willing vessel to be used. There is a saying that everything in life is either God sent or God used. God has a way of using the events of our lives and turning them into a miracle. We have to remember that a miracle is not about what happened, it is about how we used it in our lives to move forward. We would hope that Dorcas went on to continue to do good, but we know that Peter went on to a new an bigger understanding of How God was working in his life and what he needed to do in order to spread the gospel to a bigger audience. Both Peter and Dorcas are referred to as saints. The greek word is hagios. When Paul is talking to the church he calls all who listen to him saints. Hagios doesn’t mean holy, or one with special powers. Hagios means different. One who is willing to be different. One who is willing to be used in any moment by the power of God? Are you different? Are you willing to embrace the power of God, already present with you. God dwells in the presence of God’s people. We don’t have to believe in it, just embrace it. And let it flow – witness to it as it flows. As we have been here in worship and heard our choir sing. – we can witness to the presence of God in this place. And know that we are saints, set aside for the service of God. Finally I don’t want to dwell too long on our second scripture – Revelation. But it dwells on those who are present in heaven with God. Last week we talked about the angels and heavenly beings. And today – we talk about the beautiful choir of unnumbered saints – those who were willing to be different for God. When we make a commitment to be used by God we are never alone. We never have to sing a solo – we always sing with a choir of faithful. Scripture says they were dressed in white and carrying palm leaves – to represent victory over all of their circumstances. And what song did they sing? Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the lamb. It is the Easter season, and the point of Easter is not so much about what happened in the miracle of resurrection, but why it happened. It happened so that you could have the power to be different, to claim the victory of God in all things, to help you understand that your faith in God has the power to change things, situations, even people. And to remember that it is not you – but the power given to you by God through Christ. Everything in our lives is either God sent or God used. In order to be used by God we have to willing to be used, to be prayerful and to be flexible. The real story of resurrection is the power of the faithful to sing to the salvation of God, and to watch our faithful choir grow in numbers. That is the story of Acts. We want the world to know…. I have an insurance policy Written in the blood of the Lamb, Sealed by the Cross of Jesus, Redeemable wherever I am! The company will never go bankrupt, It is bonded by God’s promise true; It will keep every word of its contract, Exactly what it says it will do. I don’t have to die to collect it, No premiums do I have to pay; All I do is to keep God’s promise And walk in His holy way. No collector will ever come calling, It was paid on Calvary’s tree; It insures me for living and dying And for all eternity. —H. H. Hover Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------- Fred Craddock, who taught at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, once said: “To give my life for Christ appears glorious. To pour myself out for others ... to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table — ‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’ But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, ‘Get lost.’ Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.” Magic Mustard Seeds There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, “What prayers,what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?” Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.” The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a beautiful mansion, knocked at the door, and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me.” They told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,” and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, “Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?” She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that ultimately she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life. (Brian Cavanaugh). ix. Point Summary – The big idea today is this. Four things that I want us to take away from this message. If you don’t take away anything else, take this: 1. God uses people that make themselves available. 2. God uses people that are prayerful. 3. God uses people that are flexible. 4. If we seek God, He will find a way for us to find Him. x. I‘d like to close with a short story. h. Conclusion i. A Soap maker, who was not saved, walked along the road with a preacher one day. He said to the preacher, “The gospel you preach has not done much good. There is still a lot of wickedness in the world, and wicked people, too.” ii. Quietly they walked on. The preacher did not reply to his friend’s comment until they passed a dirty little child making mud pies in the gutter. With this before them, the preacher spoke, “Soap has not done much good in the world, I see; for there is still much dirt in the world, and many dirty people about.” iii. “O, well, you know,” said the Soap maker, “soap is only useful when it is applied.” “Exactly,” said the preacher, “so it is with the gospel we proclaim.” iv. Cornelius was dirty, and he knew it. He had seen the decadence of mighty Rome, yet chose to live his life in the backwater town of Caesarea, seeking the God of the Universe.

Praise the Lord in Everything

April 14, 2013 “Praise the Lord in Everything” Third Sunday of Easter Revelation 5: 11-14 John 21:1-19 Year C Bad Advice at graduation There is an important event coming up in the lives of many of our young people. At the end of the school year, many people will graduate from kindergarten, fifth grade, eighth grade, high school, college, and even grad school. There will be many ceremonies, and parties. There will be many cards and well wishes. Even in my own family, I have a niece who will be graduating from the eigth grade. At least this year we only have one, three years ago all three girls graduated from something or another. It is at these moments, that we try to give those who are graduating some words of wisdom. One popular word of wisdom that we like to pass down to those younger than us – “These are the best years of your life, enjoy them while you can”. These are the best times of your life, enjoy it while you can. Now that sounds like pretty good advice. But when you think about it what are your really saying? Life only gets worse from here, so you might as well wake up and enjoy it now. Because you have nothing to look forward to. That is not very encouraging to someone who is trying to start a new life. Peter feeling discouraged That must have been how Peter and all of the other disciples felt after Jesus was crucified. That they had just lived the best years of their life, and that there was nothing else to look forward to. They had no idea of what they were supposed to be doing – so they went back to what they had always been doing in life – they went back to catching fish. The Richness of John 21 John 21 is the last chapter in the gospel according to John. It is a very rich chapter if you know the background story. It is believed that John 21 has to be an afterword to the original book. John 20 ends by saying that Jesus performed many miracles that are not recorded in this book so that other may believe. And then John 21 records yet another miracle, and yet another appearance of Jesus. John 21 is the fourth time and final time that Jesus appears just to the disciples. Jesus found them fishing in the sea of Galilee, and that is what they go back to doing. They don’t catch any fish, until jesus tells them to switch their nets to the other side. They catch fish, and return to shore. Jesus has prepared fish and bread for them to eat breakfast. This is an interesting chapter, because it records the whole story of the disciples in a few short minutes. Jesus calls them from being fishers of fish to fishers of men, Jesus feeds them as he feeds the 5000. Peter jumps into the water when he sees Jesus on the shore, just as he jumped into the water in the midst of a storm. When Jesus is taken by the authorities, Peter denies Jesus three times, in John 21 Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and peter answers yes three times. Each time Jesus tells Peter that if you love me, then feed my sheep. Jesus ends the conversation by saying to Peter – follow me. Peter gets a second chance Jesus cant complete his lesson to the disciples without giving Peter a second chance. A chance to redeem himself and to prove that he is indeed worthy of being a disciple of Christ. That is the good news of Easter – when the world tells us that the best years of our life are behind us – Jesus comes to give us a second chance and to tell us to follow me. Follow me to a world unknown. The best of who we are and how we live is not behind us, but up ahead. If we have ever failed in our task before – Jesus comes to us where we are in our lives and gives us a second chance. If we have ever denied Christ, he will come and ask us again when we are ready to truly follow him. Thomas Edison gives helper a second chance – Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a "light bulb" and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You've probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men twenty-four more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. That's true forgiveness. Jesus had spent invested a lot of time into teaching these 12 to carry on his ministry, to give the world his message of love, and he was not about to desert them because of one mistake, no matter how large and how painful it was. The character of the disciples – MEMO TO: Jesus of Nazareth FROM: The Jerusalem Management Consulting Firm Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken a series of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer, but we have also conducted an in-depth interview with each of them by our staff psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. It is the staff's opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept and we would highly recommend that you continue your search for persons with more experience, higher qualifications, and greater managerial abilities. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and is given to fits of temper. Andrew simply has no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above company loyalty and are quite boisterous. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale among the ranks. It is also our duty to inform you that the Better Business Bureau of Greater Jerusalem has received reports on Matthew regarding questionable business practices. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings and both demonstrate attitude problems which would present difficulty in their dealings with the public. However, one of your candidates shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, responsible, and is not afraid to takethe initiative. We recommend Judas Iscariot as the most qualified of all of your prospective candidates. Sincerely, The Jerusalem Management Consulting Firm > Jesus called them anyway. He trained them for three years in his way > of thinking and his method of working with people in crowds and one on > one. He instilled in them his philosophy of ministry. He even sent > them out in pairs in a short course of ministry in context, with > moderate success. Then came Jesus’ crucifixion. You could say that it > was their one-question final exam: What are you going to do now? > I guess you could say that their final grade wasn’t all that great. > Most ran away. One denied he had ever taken the course. Another was a > basket case left to Jesus’ mother. The women weren’t much better. And > a couple of people not part of the inner circle had to take care of > the final arrangements. > Three days later, after reports started arriving that Jesus was not in > the tomb, that he had risen, the class met again in a locked room. > Jesus appeared to them and, according to John, breathed on them and > put his peace on them. By the skin of their teeth they had graduated, > even the skeptical one, who came late. > What we have in today’s reading from John is a post-graduate seminar > on the topic, “What Do You Do When the World Has Been Changed?” Or, if > we follow Peter, the main focal point of the reading, then the session > was a job retraining course. Peter’s response was to go back to what > he knew best. Yes, he had experienced the risen Christ. Yes, he knew > what had happened. But still, his world had been torn apart, the world > had been changed, and he and his friends went back to what they knew > best. After all, there is comfort in the familiar. And there they meet > the risen Christ again. Sometimes you just can't escape the changed > world. Peter may be the main actor of the group in the story, but the > seminar topic is for all of them. > Jesus calls the disciples back to the subject matter that he had been > pressing them on for three years. Only now, the context was radically > different. They would be on their own; no supervision from him. Their > support system would be the Holy Spirit and each other. While the > question, “Do you love me?” has special importance for Peter, it is a > question each of the disciples must answer for himself. > This job retraining course, this post-graduate seminar is around what > the topic of servant hood. The last and most poignant lesson that > Jesus gave the twelve was in the upper room when he loved them by > washing their feet. He poured out the final bits of pride, privilege, > and presumption and knelt before each of the disciples Thoughts from Rev. Richard Hayes First Presbyterian Church Waverly OH The good news of Easter is that if Jesus cared that much about Peter and the other disciples, that Jesus also cares that much about you. If he gave Peter a second chance, then he will do the same thing for you. But more importantly – he will do that for the whole world. For all of us. I mentioned the tradition of holy humor Sunday. Usually it is the second Sunday after easter. The greatest joke that god played on the devil, he tricked him into thinking that he had won. That the grave had indeed taken his son. That death, and sin played the final word. And yet Jesus was raised from the dead, he was given a second chance, he gave his disciples a second chance, so that they could give other a second chance. These are not the best days of our life, the best is yet to come. If God played a joke on the devil, some say that God also played a joke on us. and if you have ever been called by God to be a faithful servant, it can certainly feel that way sometime. Easter is the biggest joke of all. Forcing us to believe in the impossible, to celebrate a phenomenon we will never understand, knowing our shortcomings and trusting in us all the same, asking us to give up the life that we know and to follow Jesus into a new life. I In honor of the greatest joke of all, I want to end with the Clown’s Prayer – let the joke be on us, in us, and played in the rest of the world by us….. As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears, dispense more cheer than gloom, spread more cheer than despair. Never let me become so indifferent, that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged. Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy, and forget momentarily, all the unpleasantness in their lives. And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper: "When you made My people smile, you made Me smile." -Anonymous- Amen.

Easter is a Choice

Easter is a choice Acts 5:27-32 Second Sunday of Easter Year C It is Easter all over again today. If you used all of your energy to prepare for last Sunday, what did you do this Sunday? This is usually known as the lowest Sunday of the year, a Sunday that people are just trying to get through. But I am here to tell you that it is Easter all over again today. As a matter of fact the next 5 Sundays are easter Sundays. But Sunday is considered Sunday. Do we have the energy to make every Sunday easter? Well the good news is that the power of easter is not dependent on us. It is the holy spirit that makes every Sunday easter. It is the power of the holy spirit that raised jesus from the dead. it is the power of the holy spirit that ensures that it is a new day now – it is easter Sunday. The Easter Choice When faced with new realities, you have at least three options for how to respond (and it is nearly certain that you will opt for one of these three possibilities). First, you can stay bewildered. You can let this event knock you flat on your back and then stay there. Second, you can engage in world-class denial. You can look at the facts and ignore them. Or third, you can, slowly perhaps, assimilate this new information. You may get knocked as flat on your back as the next person by this new realization, but eventually you pick yourself up. You embrace this new truth and then go through the long, sometimes painful, process of re-assessing life in the light of this new evidence. This is the Easter choice. When faced with the incredible proclamation that Jesus rose again from the dead, you can be agnostic and cynical by saying that you don't know what to make of this but then neither are you going to try. Who cares anyway? Or you can deny it. The whole thing is fiction, fantasy, a pious wish but something that never really happened. Or you can move past the shock toward acceptance. But let me caution you: if you are going to accept the truth of the bodily resurrection, you need to let it change you totally. That's the Easter choice. The problem for most of us is that we are not surprised enough by Easter to realize we face a choice. Easter is a part of the background scenery of our lives. We've never been afraid of Easter, never been bewildered by it. Believing that Jesus rose again from the dead becomes a little like believing the earth is round and that it orbits the sun. Once upon a time people didn't know that. They thought the earth was flat and that the sun orbited the earth. It caused quite a stir when this view had to be revised. But that was a long time ago and now we accept that picture of our solar system without much thought. Sure the world is round and we orbit the sun, but what does that have to do with anything? It doesn't change what I have to do at work tomorrow, does it? Is that what Easter becomes for us? We believe it happened but then, we've always believed that. Even Easter has somehow become part of the “routines” of this world. So why would it have much of an effect on what we do tomorrow? Easter is no longer shocking for us--it surely does not make us re-evaluate everything else we think we know. And anyway, we're not sure we want to have everything in our lives changed. Of course, if we can believe in the resurrection at all, it is a gift of faith granted to us by the prior gift of grace. But if we have received that grace and accept the truth that gets proclaimed from every Christian pulpit in the world each Easter Sunday morning, then we have to know that this truth changes everything. This is not some fact we can ponder just once every twelve months. This changes everything.... and on EVERY day. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations Usually, the message on this Sunday is about how to deal with doubt, negativity and pain. Usually on this day we hear the story of doubting Thomas- and how doubt is a part of our faith. But that is not the message that God gave me today. He gave me acts 5 to focus on today. I love the book of acts, which is why I love the easter season. Because it tells the story of how the church grew – and as the disciples realized that they must be witnesses and tell what happened – people listened to them. The church grew b leaps and bounds, because there were other witnesses to the power of resurrection. In acts chapter 5 - the apostles are bought before the jewish authorities, not the roman authorities. And told not to talk anymore. Not to tell people about jesus. They continue to preach and they are put in jail. Scripture says that angels came in the middle of the night and released them. We don’t know if the angels mentioned are spiritual or human. The scripture gives us no clue. But the point of the story is that when they get out of jail, they continue to tell the story. The message of acts 5 – the apostles say that they have to listen to God and not to man. They have to do what god says and not what makes man comfortable. Have you ever noticed that whenever there is a message that will bring freedom to the people, whenever there is a message that will make life easier, that the authorities don’t want silence. They want nothing said about that situation. That is why it is so important to have witnesses, who know the story and are willing to tell the story. The world values manipulation, domination and retaliation. God values love, grace and peace. If we are witnesses to the resurrection, then we must do the will of God and not the will of man. We have to do what God says and not what man says. The cool thing about the book of acts, is that when the apostles followed the will of God, then the world started listening to them. As I was preparing for this Sunday – God told me to be simple in my message – Easter is a choice. Easter is a choice for all of us. Have you noticed that the world is changing. Even within the last few months there are many things that are going on that will change the world. There are changes in the church, changes in our laws, changes in our situation. Even from last week, it is Easter all over again. Everything is transforming right before our eyes. But when we choose to live inside of the power of the living Christ. We are given the power to change, to transform. God is at work in the lives of those who choose to serve him. The text from the book of Revelation is not very long, but it makes it clear who God is and Who Jesus is. Jesus is a faithful witness to the promises of God in our lives. Jesus was willing to be faithful even to death and resurrection. It is Easter all over again today. It is Easter in our doubts and in our faith. It is Easter in our weakness and our strength. When we choose Easter – acts says we have the power to be brave, Revelations says we have to the power to witness to a miracle, and John says we have the power to bring peace. Choose Easter – and you choose the power of God in your life. We Know Where We Are Going The story is told about Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of Princeton University in the early 20th century. Einstein was traveling from Princeton on a train, and when the conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’ tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked in his vest pocket, he looked in his pants pocket, he looked in his briefcase, but there was no ticket. The conductor was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.” As the conductor moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The conductor returned to Einstein; “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said “Young man, I too know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going.” And that is the good news of Easter; that we know where we are going. We have been told by the Savior that his life and death has promised us life eternal. And Low Sundays don’t change that promise. And unemployment doesn’t change that promise. Neither does divorce, or bankruptcy, or cancer, or depression, or felony, or failure. Through elation and deflation and every emotion in between, this truth remains; we know whose we are and we know where we are going, because the Son of God has promised. And this, my friends, is faith. Steven Molin, Elated....Deflated God's Back It was Saturday, the day before Easter, and Joanne Hinch of Woodland Hills, California was sitting at the kitchen table coloring eggs with her three-year-old son Dan and her two-year-old daughter Debbie. She told her kids about the meaning of Easter and taught them the traditional Easter morning greeting and response, "He is risen...He is risen indeed!" The children planned to surprise their Dad, a Presbyterian minister, with that greeting as soon as he awoke the next morning. Easter arrived, little Dan heard his father stirring about in his bedroom, so the boy got up quickly, dashed down the hall and shouted the good news: "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, God's back!" David E. Leininger, "Laugh, Thomas, Laugh!" I have a habit that may seem strange to some: I tape football games and watch them again—and again and again, if the game turns out right. Super Bowl 32 is one of my favorites, the one where the Broncos defeated Green Bay 31-24. (I’m a Bronco fan.) The first time I saw the game there were some tense moments: every turnover was nerve-wracking, every mistake was a potential disaster. Now the setbacks don’t bother me; I know how it ends. With every play I savor the victory that I know is coming. It may seem crazy, but there’s a sense in which a well-played game is a form of art. Have you ever watched a movie that you’ve already seen? Maybe the first time it was suspenseful, but not so the second time because you know how the story ends-—you know the good guy doesn’t fall off the cliff and the bad guy eventually gets caught. But you still enjoy the movie. In fact, since you’re not all tied up in the plot, you begin to appreciate other aspects of the film: clever dialogue, outstanding camera work, the use of a special effect, and so on. Since you know the ending you can enjoy the movie on a whole different level. That’s how we can enjoy life--as if we we are viewing it for the second time. We don’t have to sweat the outcome because we know God’s ultimate outcome. We need not wonder if he will take care of us, or if he will make cause all things to work together for his good. We know the outcome. And we know that since Jesus conquered death, we can, through him, conquer life. And in the process, we can enjoy the journey. Everyday is part of the celebration--even the tough days. That’s God’s promise. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11) SOURCE: Steve May in "The One Minute Newsletter" from www.sermonnotes.com. One Sunday morning a pastor was dressing for church and had the radio on listening to a local church service. Suddenly he heard to minister say, "It’s Easter, and it doesn’t make any difference if Christ be risen or not..." Shocked, A.H.Ackley shouted," It’s a lie! He is risen!" His wife said," Why don’t you write a song about it?" Reading the gospels again" He is risen" and feeling God’s presence, he began writing. "I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today, I know that He is living, whatever men may say..."