Bearing God

December 21, 2014 Luke 1:26-38 Bearing God Year B This is the Sunday before Christmas. This is the time when scripture comes to earth, the prophecy becomes real. This is my favorite scripture as it talks about how Mary bought the gift of salvation into the world. This is a story of how Mary and Elizabeth, two women talk about how to change the world. Just their acts of giving birth, will change politics, economics, and even the destiny of the world. There is a lot to this story – there is the promise of God, there is the discussion of Mary and Elizabeth. Today I want to focus on the message of the angel. Whenever an angel comes to deliver a message from heaven, the first thing that he says is Fear not – he is always going to tell us something that is out of our realm of understanding. In this case Mary will give birth to a son. But how is that possible, if I am a virgin. The angel says that all things are possible with God. God will not be everything that we ask, but if it is in God’s will it will happen, whether it is impossible or not. Angels always protect, guide, announce, and instruct us to fulfill Gods will. This is a good day to focus on the angel’s lesson….. The Angel's Lesson Illustration Information Title The Angel's Lesson Author Unknown Reference received from a friend on the Internet Submitted By Ellen Klinke Submitted On March 13, 2006 Last Modified March 13, 2006 Labels • Acceptance • Choice • Conversion • Grace • Love • Trusting God He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground. All of the Garden's inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched. "You will love me, nature," God said. "I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose." All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. "It's called 'choice.' The seed of choice." Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form. An angel spoke, "But what if he..." "What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you." Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow. "There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter." The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth. "Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation." "Ah, but you've only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter." A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, "What is it?" The Creator spoke only one word: "Selfishness." The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths. "This is the result of choice?" the angel asked. "Yes." "They will forget you?" "Yes." Yes." "They will reject you?" "Yes." "They will never come back?" "Some will. Most won't." "What will it take to make them listen?" The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him. With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler on a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it. He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear. "Will you go down there?" the angel asked. "I will." "Is there no other way?" "There is not." "Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?" "It would," the Creator spoke slowly. "But to remove the choice is to remove the love." He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind. Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed. Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought by killing this false one. Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. "I will stay," she said softly, "I will stay." All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command. "It must be done...," he said, and withdrew. But as he stepped in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He wrenched at tomorrow's agony. The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful..." The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love." They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened. But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped. Perhaps it was the wind that said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it: It looks like... it appears to so much like... it is him!" The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside--at the soul. "It's eternal!" gasped another. Within the man, God has placed a divine seed. A seed of his self (a seed of choice). The God of might had created earth's mightiest... And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return. Now it's our choice. Those who give messages from heaven are angels. Those who spread the good news on earth are called evangels. Ev- good – angel message. Let us in this season be evangels that spread the good news of Christ to all those in the world! Extra illustrations…….. An Extraordinary Gift Wade Burton tells about a man who was riding a bus from Chicago to Miami. He had a stop-over in Atlanta. While he was sitting at a lunch counter, a woman came out of the ladies' rest room carrying a tiny baby. She asked the man, "Will you hold my baby for me, I left my purse in the rest room." He did. But as the woman neared the front door of the bus station, she darted out into the crowded street and was immediately lost in the crowd. The man couldn't believe his eyes. He rushed to the door to call the woman, but could not see her. What should he do? Put the baby down and run? When calmness settled in he went to the Traveler's Aid booth and they soon found the real mother. The woman who had left him holding the baby was not the baby's mother. She had taken the child, perhaps to satisfy a motherly urge to hold a child. The man breathed a sigh of relief when the real mother was found. After all, what was he to do with a baby? In a way each of us is in the same situation as this gentleman. We are left with the question, "What will we do with the baby?" Have we really come to terms with the fact that this baby is not simply extraordinarily gifted, but that he is himself a gift from the heart of God? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com A Jewish comedian tells about a Jewish lady named Mrs. Rosenberg many years ago who was stranded late one night at a fashionable resort on Cape Cod - one that did not admit Jews. The desk clerk looked down at his book and said, "Sorry, no room. The hotel is full." The Jewish lady said, "But your sign says that you have vacancies." The desk clerk stammered and then said curtly, "You know that we do not admit Jews. Now if you will try the other side of town . . . " Mrs. Rosenberg stiffened noticeably and said, "I'll have you know I converted to your religion." The desk clerk said, "Oh, yeah, let me give you a little test. How was Jesus born?" Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born to a virgin named Mary in a little town called Bethlehem." "Very good," replied the hotel clerk. "tell me more." Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born in a manger." "That's right ," said the hotel clerk. "Why was he born in a manger?" Mrs. Rosenberg said loudly, "Because a jerk like you in the hotel wouldn't give a Jewish lady a room for the night!" King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com CHRISTMAS SURVEY What do people believe about the birth of Christ? A few days ago Newsweek Magazine conducted a poll asking some questions about Christ and His birth.* Here are some of the results: 67% - believe that the entire story of Christmas is historically accurate 24% - believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention If Jesus had never born, people believed there would be: 63% - less charity 61% - less kindness 59% - less personal happiness 58% - less tolerance 47% - more war (16% say less, 26% say the same) 38% - less religious divisions (21% say more, 26% say the same) Maybe you think "everyone in my church believes the right things". Well, maybe, but maybe not. Hopefully you are reaching people who believe the wrong things too. SOURCE: Brian Mavis, SermonCentral.com. Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6653824/site/newsweek/ * For this NEWSWEEK Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed by telephone 1,009 adults, aged 18 and older on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The margin of error Billy Graham says: “As an evangelist, I have often felt too far spent to minister from the pulpit to men and women who have filled stadiums to hear a message from the Lord. Yet again and again my weakness has vanished, and my strength has been renewed. I have been filled with God’s power not only in my soul but physically. On many occasions, God has become especially real, and has sent His unseen angelic visitors to touch my body to let me be His messenger for heaven, speaking as a dying man to dying men.”

What did you get for Christmas?

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 28, 2014 What did you Get for Christmas? Matthew 1-11 Year B Sermon Opener –Surprise, It's Christmas! The greatest thing about Christmas morning is the surprises. When else in life do you get to pile 10, 20, 30, 40 sometimes 50 surprises all together and sit for an hour enjoying each of them? One after another, surprise after surprise. Christmas Morning is wonderful in that way. I can remember still today the way I felt as a child, the amazement, the astonishment of Christmas morning. ( Leonard Sweet – Christmas Surpise) Every year I am always blessed with some very special gifts. And this year was not different, I received some gifts that I really appreciated. I think that the one that will stick out the most, will be the ticket that I got from the Brookfield police department for running a stop light. It took not one, but two police cars with flashing lights to pull me over, in the end the officer gave me a warning, but even the warning ticket was $35. I was also blessed to spend Christmas day here at church, and to see more than 100 people come here for good food and fellowship. We had to have at least 25 other people who volunteered in the community. I hope that we continue to this as a tradition, because there is a definite need in the community. Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. It is not about the physical things that we receive. It is about what they represent to us. Gift for Nicolas Cage When the actor Nicolas Cage was a young boy, his father gave him a little Pinocchio for Christmas. Being a boy, he was a little rough with it, and broke its head off. So his father suggested they bury Pinocchio. The next morning, on the very place where they had buried Pinocchio, was a large wooden sculpture of Pinocchio. The next day he went about burying his matchbox cars, toy planes, a castle, even his GI Joe doll hoping, they too would transform into something larger. Although they didn't, to this day Nicolas Cage says that his little Pinocchio gift was one of the best gifts he had received, because it gave him the gifts of imagination, hope and inspiration. And these continue to help him through life and in his career as an actor. As I told the children, the best gift that we received for Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ. In our two texts Paul comments on the real Christmas gift by saying "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal "life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Then after writing to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 9:15) about their generosity in response to God's generosity to them in Christ he simply concludes with, "Thanks be to God his indescribable gift!" The art of gift giving and gift receiving is an important theological issue in the Bible and in real life. The Apostle Paul uses for the word "gift", "charisma." The "charisma" was a totally free and unearned gift which the army sometimes received. On special occasions, for instance on his birthday, or on his accession to the throne, or the anniversary of it, an emperor handed out a free gift of money to the army. It had not been earned; it was a present; it was simply a gift of the emperor's kindness and grace. So Paul says, "Our sin has earned us death. If we got the pay we had earned it would be death. It is death that is due to us as a right." Then Paul goes on to say, "But what we have received (from God) is a free gift, a "charisma"; we did not earn it; We did not deserve it. What we have earned is eternal death, but out of his grace God has given us the gift of eternal life, a really indescribable gift." Jesus in our New Testament reading (Matthew 7:7-29) asks his hearers, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Would you? I wouldn't. "Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?" Would you? I don't think so. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" The point is, if we who are evil, know how to give good gifts to loved ones, which we do at Christmas and at other times, then God, who defines Himself as love, certainly knows how to and will give us good gifts also. The Psalmist in our Old Testament reading (Psalms 84:11) says in the Living Bible Translation, "No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right." God's nature is to give us good gifts. (taken from C Thomas Hilton – real Christmas gifts) We know how to give good gifts, we also know how to receive good gifts. God loves us, God knows us from the inside out, God knows what it is that we need. Jesus is a gift to each of us, -but that gift comes alive and becomes something greater in the world. Let this be a season of putting our gifts to use and making them a part of the world. Think about your spiritual gifts, be thankful, and use them. Amen. Extra illustration…… Chuck Swindoll writes, "surprises come in many forms and guises: some good, some borderline amazing, some awful, some tragic, some hilarious. But there's one thing we can usually say -- surprises aren't boring." Surprises are woven through the very fabric of all our lives. They await each one of us at unexpected and unpredictable junctures. I like the story about a professor who sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that days mail and papers at his desk and he began to shuffle through them discarding most to the wastebasket. He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to an article titled "The Needs of the Congo Mission". Casually he began to read when he was suddenly consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one - one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast - that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." Professor Albert Schweitzer closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the Congo. That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone else, was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was, the surprise that took place when an angel by the name of Gabriel appeared to a young teenager by the name of Mary…

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Us

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 14, 2014 Isaiah 61:1-11 Year B The Spirit of the Lord is upon us The debate continues – do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? People continue to say that we have strayed away from the true meaning of Christmas. They say that we have taken Jesus out of Christmas. And then there is the endless discussion of how xmas is the world’s way of x-ing Christ out of Christmas. You do know that the x is the greek letter chi- the first letter of Christos. And as far as taking Christ our of Christmas. I don’t know if Jesus was ever in Christmas. The historical Christ was born in the spring. Cultures all over the world celebrate December as a turning point . December 25th is an old Roman holiday. It is not a matter of taking Christ out of Christmas, but it is a way of putting Christ in Christmas. The point is for us to remember God’s promise to bring change. We have to put flesh on the prophecy in Isaiah 61 – the spirit of the lord is upon me to feed the hungry, to free the captives and to preach good news. That is God’s promise to the righteous victims. God recognizes that we live in an unjust system – there are those who suffer just because of where they are. God promises to raise up a righteous leader to change the system. Today is solidarity day – many people are marching to say that #blacklives matter I think that we have to remember the prophecy that God is going to send a person to act on behalf of God. I am still listening for he voice of God in this situation. I think that the prophecy of Isaiah still applies for today. Who is speaking in this situation and who is leading with God’s authority. This whole story is unfolding and yet to emerge. God is in the season of advent and Christ himself must be our leader. Once again it is not a matter of God being taken out of the movement, but God must be put in it. I went to see the new movie – Exodus – God and King. And of course it did not go exactly as the book says it was. It was a strange movie. But I have found that every movie has at least one good line. In this movie – Moses has led the Hebrews across the red sea and they are in the desert. One of them says to Moses – We are not slaves any more. And Moses responds, you may not be a slave anymore, but you are still not free. That is us today. Freedom is a process. We have to discover there God is in the process, where the world is,and where we are. It is a process to go from Hebrews to Isrealites – those who struggle with God and prove victorious. This particular issue is not an us and them matter, the police are part of our families and our community. There are many people right here in this community that profit from injustice. We mourn the loss of Demario Baily, who was a student across the street at Johnson Prep. The principal said that there should be marshal law all throughout the south side. What does that mean? And where is God in that solution? What does God want us to do in this situation. We have to put Christ in the situation. Once again we have to put Christ in Christmas. We have to be Christ for the world. THE GIFT OF THE SKATES So how do we recognize His authority in our lives? How do we express our faith and our love to Him? By committing ourselves to His mission. Jesus doesn’t say anything about saving sinners and getting them into heaven. The primary priority of his mission is to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” So why do we do what we do? Not just because it’s a good thing but because Jesus is the mashach, the Messiah. The way we recognize His Messiahship is that we give ourselves to him and his mission. Elizabeth English tells the story of Christmas 1949 when she and her husband Herman locked the doors to their small town appliance store at 11 PM. They were dead tired and had sold out of everything including record players, bicycles, dollhouses and games. They had only one lay away package left and the person never came for it. The next morning, Elizabeth, Herman and their 12 year old son Tom woke up and opened their gifts. But it just wasn’t the same. Tom was growing up and all he asked for was clothes and a few games. His childish exuberance of past years was gone. As soon as breakfast was over, Tom went next door to play, Herman mumbled that he was going back to sleep and Elizabeth found herself cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast and the opened gifts. And the holiday doldrums set in. It began to sleet with snow mixed in and the wind rattled the windows. Suddenly, she had a feeling hit her that she should go on a walk. "That's crazy," she thought, looking out the window and she fought it for an hour but finally gave in. She told her husband she was going to walk to the store. "That was crazy," he said, but she put on her coat, gloves and scarf and went anyway. She shivered as she tucked her hands in her pocket. When she got to the store, she was surprised to see two small boys, exclaiming, "There she is. See, I told you she would come." They were half-frozen and one of the boy’s face was wet with tears. "What are you children doing here? You should be home on a day like this!" They were poorly dressed with no hats or gloves and shoes that barely fit. "We’ve been waiting for you. My little brother Jimmy didn’t get any Christmas gifts and we want to buy skates. We have $3, see." It broke Elizabeth’s heart to tell them that they had sold out of everything. But then the layaway package came to mind. "Wait a minute" as she went to the shelf praying that they would be the right size. And miracle upon miracle, they were. They were a perfect fit. When they handed the money over, Elizabeth refused to take it, and she was rewarded with awe and wonder and joy in the boy’s eyes when they realized she was giving them the skates. "Now take that money and get some gloves!" she said. Then she said to the boys, "How lucky you were that I came." "I knew you would come," the older boy said. "How?" "I asked Jesus to send you." And upon hearing that tingles went down Elizabeth’s spine. God had planned this. As they waved goodbye, she turned home to a brighter Christmas than she had left. Family and friends soon arrived, and we had a delicious diner and a wonderful time. But the one thng that made that Christmas really joyous was the one thing which makes every Christmas wonderful--Jesus was there. (From a sermon by Tim Smith, Good News to the Poor, 10/19/2009) Christ is in the world when Christians are present in the world.when Jesus said that spirit of the Lord is upon me – he was empowered to be the messiah, and he did the work of the messiah. The spirit is upon us to preach good news, the feed the hungry and to free the captives. If you want to put Christ in Christmas we have to reach the oppressed, brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, and the mourners – the righteous victims. This is the 3rd week of advent – we light the pink candle – the candle of joy. the documentary on recent studies in happiness, called "Happy" and available on Netflix Canada -- probably also Netflix America) says recent studies indicate that all of us have our own baseline of happiness (that is pretty constant throughout our life, and is the happiness quotient we normally return to after spikes of ecstasy or drops of sorrow), and that this personal baseline or happiness quotient is determined 50 % by genetics, only 10 % by circumstance or situation (like money, status, job, possessions, health, etc -- in other words, all the things we strive for, to make ourselves happy), and 40 % by activities we choose that help create contentment and happiness (like exercise, walking, healthy living, charity, meditation, etc) we put Christ in the world by what we do. Where can joy be found? What does justice look like in this world? 2832 Where Is Happiness? Not in Unbelief—Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.” Not in Pleasure—Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.” Not in Money—Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.” Not in Position and Fame—Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” Not in Military Glory—Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.” Where then is happiness found?—the answer is simple, in Christ alone. —The Bible Friend Our joy is in Christ, and in Christ alone. Putting Christ in Christmas is not in lights, baby Jesus, singing or putting money in the red kettle. The true spirit of Jesus, the messiah came forth to serve the righteous victims. To feed the hungry, to free the captives, to preach good news to the poor. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us this year – we have to work to put Christ in Christmas! Amen. Extra illustrations…… Merry Xmas For years folks have complained about that "XMAS" abbreviation. They shout, "Keep Christ in Christmas," decrying the commercialization of the whole season as much as the use of "X." Half of the complaint is valid. No one would deny that the season has been taken over by the wizards of mass marketing in their quest to be the first-est with the most-est. Most of us remember the not too distant past when Christmas advertising began on the day after Thanksgiving. Now we get it in late September. I am told that buyers for the major retail chains begin their search for Christmas merchandise in February and March. There is no question as to the over-commercialization of Christmas. As to the other part of the complaint...the X...there is less validity. To the English-speaking world, X is simply the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet. But to the Greeks, the ones in whose language the New Testament was written, those diagonally-crossed lines are the letter "Chi," the first letter in the name "Christos," the Messiah. Through the years it has been an acceptable abbreviation for Christ. If you look at the lecture notes I took years ago in seminary, you will see it all over the place. To backtrack a moment, I am less than accurate when I say that "X" to us is only a letter of the alphabet. Any math student would happily correct me. In algebra, it represents an unknown: 2+3=X...3x3=X. But in Christianity X represents someone you do know. David E. Leininger, Adapted from “Merry Xmas” _________________________ Principal Rainy, of whom a child once remarked that she believed he went to Heaven every night because he was so happy every day, once used a fine metaphor about a Christian’s joy. “Joy,” he said, “is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.” These words have been made into a popular chorus. Our attention is often directed to the two shortest verses in the Bible noting that “Jesus wept” is the shorter of the two. But in the Greek we find this “shortest” verse has three words whereas the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice evermore”) has only two. However, one surely can see the lovely connection between the two verses. The Christian’s joy flows from the sympathy and grace of their Saviour. Jesus wept—we rejoice evermore. —Daily Readings God’s Daring Plan Once upon a time – or before time, actually before there were clocks or calendars or Christmas trees – God was all there was. No one knows anything about that time because no one was there to know it, but somewhere in the middle of that time before time, God decided to make a world. So God made a world – this world – and filled it with the most astonishing things: with humpback whales that sing and white-striped skunks that stink and birds with more colour on them than a box of Crayola crayons! The list is way too long to go into here, but let’s just say that at the end when God stood back and looked at it all - God was pleased. Only something was missing. Everything he had made was interesting and it all fitted together really well, only there was nothing in the world that looked exactly like him. So he got busy making his signature piece, something made in his own image, so that anyone who looked at it would know who the artist was. So God decided to make two things, which were alike but different, and both reflections of him – a man and a woman who could keep him and each other company. Flesh was what he made them out of – flesh and blood – extremely flexible and warm to touch. God watched his two creatures stretch and yawn, laugh and run. And he liked nothing more than walking with them in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. It almost broke God’s heart when they got together behind his back, did the one thing he had asked them not to do and then hid from him – from him! Things were different after that. God still loved the human creatures best of all, but the attraction was not mutual. Human beings had other things on their minds. It was not long before most human beings forgot all about him. Without God, they got into so much trouble that it almost killed him to see what they were doing to each other. God shouted to them from the sidelines, using every means he could think of, including floods, famines, and messengers. But they didn’t seem to hear. Babies were the exception to this sad state of affairs. Babies did not go to war. They never made horrible speeches, or littered, or refused to play with each other. They depended on other people for everything necessary to their lives. Almost everyone seemed to love them and that gave God an idea. Why not create himself as a baby and come to earth to sort everything out? He tried the idea out on his angels in heaven and at first they were all quiet. Finally the senior archangel stepped forward to speak for all of them. He told God how much they would worry about him. People could do anything they wanted to him, and there would be no escape for him if things went wrong. Could he at least create himself as a magical baby with special powers? It would not take much – just the power to become invisible, maybe, or the power to hurl bolts of lightning if the need arose. The baby idea was a stroke of genius, the angel said, it really was, but it lacked adequate safety features. God thanked the angels for their concern but said ‘no’, he thought he would like to be a regular baby. How else could he gain the trust of his creatures? How else could he persuade them that he knew their lives inside and out, unless he lived a life like theirs? It was indeed a daring plan, but once the angels saw that God was dead set on it, they broke into spontaneous applause. At this, God turned around and left the room, shedding his robes as he went. The angels watched as his midnight blue robes fell to the floor, so that all the stars on it collapsed in a heap. Then a strange thing happened. Where the robes had fallen, the floor melted and opened up to reveal a scrubby brown pasture speckled with sheep and – right in the middle of them – a bunch of shepherds sitting round a camp fire. It was hard to say who was more startled, the shepherds or the angels, but as the shepherds looked up at them, the angels pushed their senior member to the edge of the hole. Looking down at the human beings who were all trying to hide behind each other, the angel said in as gentle a voice as he could muster, ‘do no be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Messiah, the Lord.’ And away up the hill from the direction of town came the sound of a newborn baby’s cry. As I look at the scriptures for Sunday, I am thinking about the gift of joy. What does that mean in, to, for our time? What does joy taste like? What does joy look like? What does joy feel like? Can we touch joy? HOw does it touch us, transform us, heal us? Any thoughts would be welcome.

God will make all things Right

December 7, 2014 God will take care of everything Second Sunday of Advent Year B Isaiah 40:1-11 We start out this morning with one of the most inspirational verses from the bible. 5843 “Comfort Ye” Possibly no Bible chapter has exerted a greater influence on the world’s leaders than Isaiah 40. Handel begins his Messiah with “Comfort ye”; Luther pored over it in the castle at Salzburg; John Brown read it in prison at Harper’s Ferry; Oliver Cromwell went to it for help in time of storm; Daniel Webster read it again and again when he was crushed and broken in spirit; Tennyson called it one of the five great classics in the Old Testament record. —J. H. Bomberger The words of this verse are “Comfort, Comfort you my people. What makes these words more amazing is that God himself is speaking, and God is speaking to all of his angels and to all of us. God is saying that the people have suffered long enough, and it is time for them to know that things will get better. The scholars note that God does not say comfort once, but he says comfort twice. That means that God has spoken comfort for the people, but that God is also saying that anyone who speaks thus forth on God’s behalf must repeat God’s message of comfort. There must be absolute peace from all of the madness, this is a time of comfort. God guarantees comfort through his presence, his word, his people, and as we will see unfold – though his appointed leader with the power to bring this comfort to the people. Now what I find interesting, God’s word is timeless and applies to all situations. The Hebrew word used in Isaiah for comfort is nahum. Nahum also means to repent. But the underlying meaning of nahum is to take a deep breath. What happens when you have been tense for so long – you tend to tense up your muscles and you hold your breath. When you are finally comforted and feel as if things are okay – you take a deep breath. You let the air in. so God could be saying take a deep breath and think about what has been going on, and how you can repent and make things different. Or he is saying make a point to go to someone who is tense, and tell them that it is okay to breathe now – because your pain and suffering will be relieved. Ironically, what has become the slogan of our latest protest sweeping the nation – I can’t breathe. Eric Gardner’s last words as he was choked to death by the New York Police – I cant breathe. There was no relief for him. He never got the chance to live in the promise of God – comfort. And thus we march and protest all over the nation and in many other places in the world. There are those who are protesting even today in church to say that black lives matter. That the justice system does not serve and protect our black men, and the lesser knows stories of our black women. I celebrate that this is a new generation that has gotten involved in the protest. One of my biggest fights with my son growing up was around racism. I would point out how racism was still a part of life in America, and he would argue that we live in a different age, where everyone is treated equal. He and other youth that I would talk to would say that the protest of the 60’s were no longer relevant because the world has changed. And now that they are coming of age and seeing the world as it is, they too realize that the world has not changed. Racism is alive and well. And that we still have reason to protest and demonstrate. Every week, it seems that the plot thickens, and we are reminded of just how insidious injustice for black people really is in America. And as the story unfolds – I have more and more questions. Where is the comfort in this situation? What will it take to bring comfort to the hearts and souls of our people? I cant help but to think about the example that Isaiah brings to this situation. We have lived in a world where there is pain, and discomfort for generations. The hearts and souls of the people even in Isaiah’s time was uneasy. So uneasy that God himself spoke up and said give them comfort. As I said, God promises comfort in several different ways. God’s presence, his word, his people. But the whole point of Isaiah is that God’s promises that a leader will rise up with the power to fix the situation. That God has sent comfort in the form of a leader. God says comfort twice, because he knows that not only will his presence make a difference, but that all those who speak on God’s behalf will do God’s work. As I look at the protest, that is my question, where is our leader – who is speaking and doing the work of God. and I wonder, who will take responsibility for the change? Who will repent? I think that in time we have become weary of leadership, and putting our trust in people. Isaiah says that people are like grass, in time we fade away. God is hesed – constant – steadfast- but people are not. But the good news, the comfort for is that God, God’s word, God’s promise can never be taken away. God’s promise is that there will be comfort – in God’s presence, God’s word and the faith of God’s people. A colleague – Rev. Larry Hilkeman would always remind us that God is here, God’s is always present in our pain and suffering. Often it is God who sheds the first tear, before we are even fully aware of what is going on. God is there at the beginning of the situation, and God will be present in the end. As we approach this advent season, we are in the dark. We are not for sure of what the future holds. But we know who holds the future. We are getting our homes, and our community and our church ready to welcome the King of Glory. Last week we said that the best way to prepare was to acknowledge the awesomeness of God. This week we focus on one of God’s primary characteristics. In today’s world it is also God’s most overlooked characteristic. That is God’s righteousness. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com In our protest, in our lifting up the lives of black people, in those who stand in solidarity – the people of the world are not asking for change, they are announcing that a change has come, they have loosed change in the world, and with that loosing – we will all have to change with it. Justice will prevail, because justice is a basic trait of an unchangeable God. When we see the face of God – the only response there is to be like God, and to live in justice. In shalom. When there is justice, there will be peace, and when there is peace for the people, there will be justice amongst the people, and when I live in a world of justice, I have no choice but to have peace. Comfort. I can breathe easy again. Justice starts with the presence of God. God's Treasure Tom Long asks the question in his book Shepherds and Bathrobes: "Have you ever noticed where God placed his treasure on this earth?" The treasure is not gold, but gospel. Not silver, but good news. Not hard, cold cash, but grace, love, and peace. He points out that God could have left it with the politicians, those who are responsible for collecting taxes, building schools, and passing laws, but God didn't. God could have left this treasure with Zechariah, the high priest, but his unbelief took him out of the picture. Tom Long states that God left the treasure in the least likely of places: in the love, care, and nurture of a first century peasant woman chosen as the "handmaiden of the Lord." God's treasure was left with the most powerless figure in the ancient world. Doesn't that tell you something about God's grace in today's world? John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing Company. This advent we are reminded that God’s appointed leader has already come. Christ is the messiah who comes to change the world. Christ is coming to bring comfort. And as we wait in the world, we have a mission – not to bring comfort – but to speak God’s words of comfort to the people as they move forward. God command us to speak compassionately to the pain. To cry out in the streets, to raise your voice and to shout. Here is the Lord God, coming with strength, with a triumphant art, bringing his reward with him and his payment before him! As the people continue to cry out I cant breathe – God says take a deep breath – you will receive comfort. Let us pray……… God's Special Mission for You Passage: Isaiah 40:1-31 • Lectionary: Advent 2 Item 1 of 2 | Back to Results "... for [God] has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden." (Luke 1:48) You've all heard us speak of Mary in church this Christmas season: do you know what is really so amazing about Mary? (Let them answer) It's not just that she was the mother of Jesus, which is pretty amazing in itself. No, I think the most amazing thing about Mary is that she was such an ordinary person. Mary was just a young teenager when God chose her to be Jesus' mother; in fact, she wasn't much older than some of you. She lived in a small town in a small house with her parents and the rest of her family. Everything about her life was ordinary. The Bible doesn't give any particular reason to explain why Mary was chosen by God. It doesn't say she was especially smart or unusually pretty. It doesn't say she was the bestknown or most popular girl in town. We know she wasn't from a rich or important family; in fact, Mary came from a rather poor and simple family. In other words, Mary was just an average, everyday child ... the kind you play with or go to school with ... a lot like any of us ... a lot like any one of you. Sometimes, we get the wrong idea about the Bible stories we learn in Sunday school. We learn about people like Moses, Samson, Ruth, or Deborah. We hear exciting stories like Daniel in the lion's den or David and Goliath and we think that everyone who does something special for God must be exceptionally strong or brave or bright, and then we think that God couldn't possibly have any use for us since we are all quite ordinary people. Well, the truth is that most of the people in the Bible are not superheroes; most of them are average people like us, with their own strengths and weaknesses. But, it's also true that God had a special mission for every one of them just the same. God's special mission for Mary was to give birth to His only Son, Jesus. He picked an ordinary girl for the job, but Mary had one quality that was very important. She had a spirit which said "yes" when God asked her to do something. What do you think God's special mission is for you? If you imagine that you are God's secret agent, what might your assignment be?

Choose You This Day Whom You Will Serve

November 9, 2014 Joshua 24:14-28 Choose Who You will serve Year A Joshua This is one of the most important lessons in the bible for me. Moses of course was the leader who led the Isrealites out of Egypt. But it was Joshua who had to take them to the next level. Joshua led them to the promisedland, and it was Joshua who helped them to understand what it meant to be a child of God. God requires something of us all – we all have work to do. The isrealites had started to get comfortable in the promisedland, but along with being comfortable, they seemed to forget about God’s place in their life. It was God who led them out of Egypt, It was God that provided manna for him, It was God who led them in timesof trouble, It was God who provided a place for them. But now that all of those promises has been fulfilled, life was about them, and what they did, how hard they worked, and what they depended on to get through every day life. What do we depend on besides God? Today, we may not have quite reached the promisedland in our lives, but we all do have a life routine. We all have people, practices, and things that we rely on to get through every day life. What things do you rely on to get through your life? Some of us depend on our jobs, or a monthly check in order to pay our bills, some of us depend on a friend or family member to get us through hard times. Some of us depend on our car – to get us where we have to go. We all depend on somebody to get us through. What are the things that you depend on every day? There is nothing wrong with depending on something to get through life. The problem comes when we forget that all of those things, those people are agents of God’s grace in our lives. The problem comes when we put the things that we depend on first, and God last. God should always be first. If we depend on the Lord to get us through, then everything that we need will fall into place That is what Joshua was trying to get the children of the promise to realize. They had gotten comfortable in their life. But in their comfortableness, they started to rely on themselves, and not God. So Joshua calls them together and challenges them. - choose you this day whom you will serve, Will you serve the gods of the past, or the God of the present. When we set others things in our lives as more important than our relationship with God – those things become our god – with a little g. The Choices we make Choose ye this day whom you will serve? Are you going to serve God, or are you going to choose other things. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that you can tell a lot about a person from the choices that they make. BILLY GRAHAM: CHOICES Billy Graham said, "The strongest principle of life and blessings lies in our choice. Our life is the sum result of all the choices we make, both consciously and unconsciously. If we can control the process of choosing, we can take control of all aspects of our life. We can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of our life. So start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. "If you don’t make a decision, then time will make it for you, and time will always side against you." Where do we put God in the midst of our choices. There were a lot of people who constantly reminded Joshua of how wonderful things were in Egypt. They did not have to worry about anything, life was easy. They did not have to make any hard choices. Remember how you used to make a choice when you were a child? Suppose you had to chooses between wearing the red shirt or the blue shirt – and you couldn’t decide – you would go eeny meeny miny moe – catch a tiger by the toe if he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miny moe. And wherever your finger was pointing – that was the choice that you made. Choosing to serve God is not a eeny meeny miny moe choice. It is much deeper than that. Joshua says – choose ye this day whom you will serve. If we don’t make a choice, a choice makes us In Egypt life may have been easier, but you were a slave – a slave to every day life. That things that you depended on to get you through life became your master. But the things that hold us in bondage – do not always have our best interest at heart. People who hold us hostage – don’t have our best interest at heart- they only care about themselves. Former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, "Do you want square toes or round toes?" Unable to decide, Reagan didn't answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn't decide, so the shoemaker replied, "Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready." When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! "This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you," the cobbler said to his indecisive customer. "I learned right then and there," Reagan said later, "if you don't make your own decisions, someone else will." Today in the Word, MBI, August, 1991, p. 16. colored divine was once asked to explain the doctrine of election. Said he, “Brethren, it is this way: The Lord he is always voting for a man, and the Devil he is always voting against him; then the man himself votes, and that breaks the tie!” Choose ye this day whom you will serve – will you serve the gods of your life, or will you serve the living God who loves you, who supports you – who led you through the wilderness – who promised you a fulfilling life, and who never goes back on his choices. Rechoice a recommitment Joshua offers this time of decision, just as he is about to die. This is his last conversation with the people. But he reminds us that sometimes when you make a choice –you will find in life that you will have test in your life, when you will have to make that choice over and over again. When you get married, if the relationship last for a long time, you will have to make a choice to marry that person all over again, and again, again. When we choose to follow God – we will have to make that choice again, and again. When we choose to join a church, we will have to make that choice again and again. When we make a decision to have faith- there is no guarantee that things will turn our well. We will all come to those times when we have to ask ourselves if me made the right choice. Choosing God does not mean everything will be perfect. As a matter of fact, most of the time it makes things worse. And yet when we choose god we cant go wrong. God has no policeman to pass around and grab us by the neck and say you must read your Bible, or you must go to Church, or you must give to Missions. When God created man, He made man superior to all other creatures. He gave man the power and privilege of CHOICE. Up to now the Lord respects that privilege. He will not force us. With that privilege of Choice, goes the terrible responsibility of abiding by the results or consequences of our choices. Perhaps you’ve heard about the man who died, then awoke in a splendid city of golden streets and fine homes. He was shown to one of thefinest, one with arolling front yard, lovely flowers, luxuriant shrubs. Wondering how to care for those things, hewastold that others would dothatforhim. So, he climbed in a hammock and spent the daycontemplating his happy state. Days passed, thenweeks. Finally,bored, he sought to do someyard work but was told that hecouldnot. He then inquired what kindofwork hecould do. He was told by thefellow incharge that he was not allowed to do anything butrest. Finally, theman complained. He said, I neverthought heavenwould bethisboring. The man in charge asked – whatmakesyou thinkyour areinheaven? Choose the Lord God requires something of us always – to make a choice and to live in that choice. I love Joshua’s final words so much, I have them on the wall in my house – as for me and my house – we choose to serve to Lord. Choose you this day whom you will serve. when I was a child, and played games with my friends we used to use the “Eenie, Meanie, Miny, Mo” method to make decisions concerning which game to play, or who would be in the game. And at the end of that ryhme we would say, “if he hollers let Him go... eenie, meanie, miny, mo.” Well... now that I’m grown, physically and spiritually, I realize that Jesus is the best choice for my life! AND CHURCH... I CAN’T LET HIM GO! I’ve made up my mind to be like Jacob, who wrestled with God all night long... I won’t let Him go until He blesses me! And guess what... He doesn’t have to holler... I’ll holler myself!! Somebody said, “When I think of His goodness and all that He’s done for me, my soul has to holler hallelujah, I think Him for saving me!” Let uspray…..Amen. Children’s Sermon…… Theme: Choosing to follow Jesus - Proper 18 (23) Year C Object: A soccer ball and a book of piano music. Scripture: "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27 (NIV) A soccer ball and a music book -- two very different things that play an important part in a story about Katy, a girl about the age of some of you. Katy faced a very difficult decision. Many of her friends had signed up to play soccer. Katy liked to play soccer too, and she wanted to be with her friends, but she also liked to play the piano and had been taking piano lessons for a couple of years. Soccer practice was at the same time as her piano lesson and playing soccer would take away from the time she needed to practice the piano. There was no way she could do both. What should she do? Should she quit piano and play soccer with her friends, or should she finish what she had started and continue with her piano lessons? Finally, Katy came up with an idea. She sat down with a sheet of paper and drew a line down the center of the page. At the top of the page on one side of the line she wrote, "Piano." On the other side of the line she wrote, "Soccer." Below the word soccer, she wrote all of the advantages of playing soccer with her friends. Below the word piano, she wrote all of the advantages of being able to play the piano. After she had considered all of the advantages and disadvantages of each choice, Katy made her decision. She decided to continue her piano lessons. After all, she could still see her friends at school, and playing the piano was something that she would enjoy for the rest of her life. We all face important decisions in life. The most important decision we face is whether we will follow Jesus or not. Perhaps you might say, "Oh, that is an easy decision. Of course I will follow Jesus," but Jesus warned that it isn't always easy to follow him. He said that we should sit down and count the cost. Will we choose to follow him if it means giving up friends who are making bad choices? Will we choose to follow him if it means moving to a far away place and leaving our family behind? Will we choose to follow him if it means we will never live in a big house or drive a fancy car? Jesus said, "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Where did Jesus carry his cross? He carried it to Calvary. It was on that cross that Jesus gave his life so that you and I could have everlasting life. When we choose to carry our cross, it means that we are willing to give up everything to follow Jesus. It is a choice we have to make. Dear Jesus, we thank you for being willing to carry your cross to Calvary. Help us to make the choice to take our cross and follow you. Amen. Text Illustration: THE BIG BLACK DOOR An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?" The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad. Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice." The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?" "Freedom," replied the general. "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it." -- Don McCullough, "Reasons to Fear Easter," Preaching Today, Tape No. 116. FAITHFUL INSTRUCTIONS There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: "pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need". Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didn’t work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveller.” The man refilled the jug and added to the note: “ Please prime the pump, believe me it works”! We have the same choice to make, do we hold on to what we have because we don’t believe there are better things in store for us, and settle for immediate satisfaction?

Don't Worry Be Happy

November 2, 2014 All Saints Day Matthew 5:1-12 Don’t Worry Be Happy There seems to be a lot of talk this morning on the news about the spaceship crash on Friday. For $250,000 you can take a personal flight to the moon. And people are signing up, in spite of the accident that happened. I wish them well, me I prefer to keep my feet grounded here on earth. But as I was thinking about the meaning of All Saints Day - the founder of the Virgin company – Richard Branson said something that made me think. He said that we stand on the shoulders of giants, and yet we have failed. I think that we all stand on the shoulders of giants – that is why we are here. There is someone in our life who believed in us, someone who always gave us words of encouragement. Some of the very people that we honor today – made a difference in who we are. There was a rabbi who also said words of wisdom to me this morning and made me think – He said the only direction that God gives us to go is forward. The only thing we can do in life is to go on. There are times when we would like to be able to go back, and yet God does not give us that choice. No matter what we may be dealing with in life – we have to move on, we have to go forward. I think that is why the words of Matthew 5 – stood out to me this All Saints Day. Blessed are those who…. Says the King James version of the bible, and the New revised standard version says happy are those who….. This is the sermon on the mount. Where Jesus goes up to the mountain, the disciples follow him. And he gives them this special message. Be happy when you are hopeless, when your mourn, when you are humble, when you are hungry, when you are harassed for righteous sake. For your reward is in heaven. But how can you be happy, when you are hopeless, or hungry, or grieving, or treated unfairly? That is the question that plagues us all throughout this life. No matter who we are, no matter how long we go to church, no matter how much family we have, no matter how much money we have – there are going to be times when life causes us despair. This is one time when I feel that the later translations of the bible, don’t do justice to the meaning of the text. The first blessing in the NSRV says – Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Yet the King James says blessed are the poor in spirit, for your shall inherit the kingdom of God. The difference. The original greek word for poor – tochos – means a person who is dirt poor and has nothing but God to depend on. Who has ever been in a situation in life when you felt that you didn’t have nothing. You could not depend on anything or anyone. And yet it was at that moment that you realized that in the midst of your nothingness – you still had God. And God was all that you needed to get through. Into every life sadness will fall. And Jesus says that it is okay to mourn, to mourn the loss of our people, to mourn the loss of situations in life. But when you believe in God, it is in those times of sadness, when you invite a special kind of joy to come beside you and give you comfort. It is not the joy of getting a something new, or winning the lottery. It is a joy of knowing that in times of sadness that you are not alone. And that the holy spirit will come to you in ways that you did not expect, and give you the strength to move forward. To help us understand that the only direction that we can go is forward. I like this verse for All Saints Day – because as I look at the blessings, the blessings are not just for those who have passed on – they are for all of us. Those in our lives who have gone on before us have had their hard times, but so have we. Those that we honor today have sacrificed so that we can have, but so have we. They are children of God, but so are we. And Jesus says that the now have their reward in heaven. And yet the struggle continues. Life is still hard for us. Jesus says that there will be times when you will be harassed, just because you are a Christian. And yet you are guaranteed comfort in the midst of the struggle. The only way that we can go is forward. Dr. Earl Palmer is a biblical scholar. And he says that Jesus got his inspiration for the sermon on the mount from psalm 1. Psalm 1 starts out by saying blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. But who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate in his law day and night, they are like a tree planted by streams of water. Like sermon on the mount, Jesus takes a blessing and turns it into a story. He says that the word that Jesus uses for the word blessing is Ashur. Ashur means headed in the right direction, or on the right journey. Remember, the only way for us to go in this life is forward. When we know that we have God in our lives, we are headed in the right direction. The key is – just that – we have to believe that God is with us in the midst of our struggles. Only then can we truly be happy, - when others are stuck in sorrow. Dr. Carlyle Marney once remarked that a person can be understood as being similar to a house. We have our living rooms, where we entertain, and our basements, where we hide the trash. The way to observe All Saints’ Day, he suggested, is to walk out into your front yard and salute the people on your balcony. The balcony people in our lives are those who have gone before us, who have been our encouragers, who have left a legacy. (1) That’s what we do on this Saints’ Day. We salute all the saints who have gone before us, whose faithfulness provided us with the faith we have today. Amen

Where do your Loyalties Lie?

October 26, 2014 Where do your loyalties lie? Matthew 22:34-46 Year A Proper 24 The world series is going on now. I have paid attention to the world series in a while. But the church of the resurrection in Kansas City is excited that the Kansas City Royals are in the world series, and they talk about it on face book quite a bit. And then they made a big deal about the song Royal – San Francisco refuses to play the song as long as the world series is FIRST THINGS FIRST When Coach Bobby Bowden played baseball in college, he never hit a home run. His senior year at Howard College, he was the only player not to hit a home run. One day, he hit a line drive against Auburn. As he approached third, the coach was waving him on. As he made his turn, he heard his third base coach say, "But hurry!" When he touched home, the team was ecstatic, slapping his back and shaking his hand back in the day before "high fives." The first baseman yelled for the catcher to throw him the ball. The umpire yelled, "out." When he ran the bases, Bobby Bowden never touched first. Maybe that's why he became a football coach. Anyway, you can probably imagine he told his players, "If you don't take care of first base, it doesn't matter what you do." Our sermon for today is about first things first. All of the scholars of the time have been questioning Jesus, testing him. In today’s lesson, Jesus is being questioned by the pharisee’s. Jesus if you were to summarize the most important thing in the bible what would it be. Jesus says – First – you must love the lord you god with all of your heart, your mind and your soul. And then you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. The first thing about being a Christian is love. And if you don’t get that right, you can be the best person in the world, your can sing the most beautiful song, you can give the most wonderful gifts – but if it is not done in love, it means nothing. So the first question we may have is what does love mean? Why do we love? How do you love someone? ________________________ What Is the Will of God? "What, positively, is the will of God? The demand for love. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself!" as the second greatest commandment belongs together with the first: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mk. 12:28-34) There is no obedience to God which does not have to prove itself in the concrete situation of meeting one's neighbor, as in Luke (10:29-37), probably unhistorical but with the right of correct understanding of the subject matter, makes clear by combining the illustrative narrative of the Good Samaritan with Jesus' discussion of the greatest commandment. The demand for love surpasses every legal demand; it knows no boundary of limit; it holds even in regard to one's enemy (Mt. 5:43-48). Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, p. 18. Whatever the will of God is, that is also the will of Jesus. I think that it is interesting, that as the concept of love goes beyond our cultural understandings of love. I think that it interesting to note that the middle eastern culture of Jesus would have heard this commandment much different than we do. In the middle eastern culture – love means loyalty. It is not about how you feel inside, it is not even about your actions. When Jesus says love God – he is saying make sure that you are loyal to god in all that you do. To love someone, is to be loyal to them, and to hate them meant to be disloyal to them. To have no relationship with them, to not care about them, to not listen to them. But when you are loyal to someone, you take them into account in everything you think, do or say. So when Jesus asks Peter, do you love me – will you take my commandments into account in everything. Do you plan to be loyal to me. Jesus says if you do, them you will feed my sheep. Jesus made that challenge to Peter and Jesus makes that challenge to each of us. Do you love me? Where are your loyalties in life? What will you forsake, and what will you stick to no matter what. I think that it is important part of our faith to be clear about our loyalties. What is most important, and what do I need to let go of. When I come to church, when I am in service – why am I doing that and what does it mean. What does it really mean to love to the lord with all of my mind, my heart, my soul? And what does it mean to love my neighbor as I love myself? How do you love God with everything, when you are at church, at work, in your family, out in the world. What activities do you do because you love God? Do you sing in the choir? Or work with the kids? Or help to cook meals. Do you learn to forgive others? Do you depend on God for your strength? Do you feed Jesus Sheep? What does it mean to love God, and at the end of the day where are your loyalties – with God or with something else? In talking with Pastor Forbes, she pointed out that there was not just two commandments, but three. Love God, Love your neighbor, but to love yourself. You can only treat others the way you treat yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then you cant love somebody else, not even God. It has been said that a lot of suffer from poor I sight. Not eyesight with our eyes, but I sight with our heart. Text Illustration: POOR I-SIGHT We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see self too highly. Maybe it's the PhD or pedigree. A tattoo can do it; so can a new truck or the Nobel Peace Prize. Whatever the cause, the result is the same. "I have so many gifts. I can do anything." Brazenly self-assured and utterly self-sufficient, the I-focused have long strutted beyond the city limits of self-confidence and entered the state of cockiness. You wonder who puts the "air" in arrogance and the "vain" in vainglory? Those who say, "I can do anything." You've said those words. For a short time, at least. A lifetime, perhaps. We all plead guilty to some level of superiority. And don't we also know the other extreme: "I can't do anything"? Forget the thin air of pomposity; these folks breathe the thick, swampy air of self-defeat. Roaches have higher self-esteem. Earthworms stand taller. "I'm a bum. I am scum. The world would be better off without me." Divorce stirs such crud. So do diseases and job dismissals. Where the first group is arrogant, this group is diffident. Blame them for every mishap; they won't object. They'll just agree and say, "I can't do anything." Two extremes of poor I-sight. Self-loving and self-loathing. We swing from one side to the other. y bump us back and forth. One day too high on self, the next too hard on self. Neither is correct. Self-elevation and self-deprecation are equally inaccurate. Where is the truth? Smack-dab in the middle. Dead center between "I can do anything" and "I can't do anything" lies "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Neither omnipotent nor impotent, neither God's MVP nor God's mistake. Not self-secure or insecure, but God-secure -- a self-worth based in our identity as children of God. The proper view of self is in the middle. [Lucado, M. (2012). Life to the full: 3-in-1 featuring. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.] What are the things that I do to love myself, those things help me to love God. The things that I do to love God help me to love others, in spite of their unlovability. But I have to put first things first. Love – myself, God and others. If my I sight is right –it all falls into place. People say that you cant make someone love you. And Yet Jesus commands us to love. How can he force us to o something that we may not want to do? How can he command us to love? 3218 Love Makes Obedience Love makes obedience a thing of joy! To do the will of one we like to please Is never hardship, though it tax our strength; Each privilege of service love will seize! Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go, And eager to defend a name or cause; Love takes the drudgery from common work, And asks no rich reward or great applause. Love gives us satisfaction in our task, And wealth in learning lessons of the heart; Love sheds a light of glory on our toil And makes us humbly glad to have a part. Love makes us choose to do the will of God, To run His errands and proclaim His truth; It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song; Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth! —Hazel Hartwell Simon 3219 He Chooses To Be Seraphim It is said that the young son of Bishop Berkeley once asked him the question, “Papa, what do the words, “Cherubim and seraphim” mean?” The bishop took time to tell the little questioner that cherubim was a Hebrew word meaning knowledge, and the word seraphim stood for flame, explaining that it is commonly supposed the cherubim are angels that excel in knowledge and the seraphim are those who excel in love for God. “Then I hope,” the boy said, “that when I die I will be a seraphim. I’d a lot rather love God than to know everything.” —Evangelistic Illustration Finally, I have one more illustration. Perceptions of Church: There for the Right Reasons In her book, Memories of War, Promises of Peace, Sister Mary Jo Leddy writes about her parents' World War II experiences. Her father, Jack, was a surgeon in the Allied army. Jack, stationed in a French town, often went to a nearby church for rest, refuge, sanctuary and prayer. For him it was a special and holy place. Forty years later, he returned to the village with his wife and daughters, insisting that they all visit the precious chapel. When they reached the church, Leddy was delighted and wanted to go inside right away. But the family was horrified by the homeliness of the building. Ugly was the word. The walls were beige stones, stained and covered with fungus. On the roof was something that looked more like a chimney than a bell tower. In any case, there was no bell to ring. Not a single flower or blade of grass grew in the grim clay ground around. Mother and daughters criticized the church's appearance. They remarked that it was like a scene from a Gothic horror movie. Leddy's Dad looked at them rather blankly. In 1944, he had never really noticed what the church looked like. "It looked pretty good at the time," he said. "It was a place to go and pray." Leddy eventually came around to her father's viewpoint. Speaking of the church she writes: "This was where he was at home in the world, where he knew who he was with God." It is amazing how much better a church looks when you are there for the right reasons. Some people use putdowns, and criticism to keep from confronting their own spiritual poverty. When we are in the church for the right reason, and when know where our loyalties lie, when we put love before all other acts, then God promises that we will be happy and live a good life. God’s commandments are always for our own best interest and I sight. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Jesus lesson on love is part of a much bigger story. As I said at the beginning of the sermon – the Pharisees were intentionally testing Jesus. They were asking questions in order for him to slip up. After he gave them the most important lesson on love – scripture says the they could not argue with him and they did ask him any more questions. The stopped talking to him and started plotting against him. Obviously they did not get the message. We can be grateful that we did. Let us pray…. The Greatest Commandment by Brett Blair Passage: Matthew 22:34-40 • Lectionary: Proper 25 Item 4 of 14 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: A working understanding of the Greatest Commandment. Props: None Lesson: I need your help this morning. I am trying to figure something out. Jesus said we need to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. First of all who can tell me about love? What do we do when we love someone? (response) If they answer by describing feelings ask the question again. You have just described feelings of love can you tell me what you DO when you love someone? (response) Now, can you tell what you do when you love God? (response) Maybe this will help: Can you tell me what it means to love God with all your strength? Hold your arms up like your making muscles. (response-if needed, help them with ideas) What does it mean to love God with all your brain? Point to your mind. (response) Alright, what does it mean to love God with all your heart? Hand over your heart. (response) Last one, what does it mean to love God with all your soul? Cross your arms over your chest.(response) Use your strength to help someone this week. Love God with your mind and memorize the Ten Commandments this week. Use your heart and care for someone by telling them you like them. And, love God with your soul this week and pray for someone that is sick or in trouble. These are all things we can DO to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let's Pray: Lord we love you and we want to love others. Show use how to use every part of body to do your will. Amen. Brett Blair, ChristianGlobe, 2000

Come to the Party

October 12, 2014 Matthew 22:1-14 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year A Come to the Party Text Illustration: Five brothers were walking along a road when they saw a sign: “party tonight!” It announced. “Free food, drink, music, dance.” And best of all, at the bottom it said, “hosted in person by The King.” The first brother read the poster and said, “I’m not interested.” I’m going to stay home and eat leftovers and go to bed early. This is as close to the King as I ever want to be.” The other four were excited to go, and spent the rest of the day choosing their best clothes and getting cleaned up and talking about what it was going to be like. The appointed time came and they set out together. As they neared the hall they could already hear the music pouring out of the windows, and they could see the smiles on people’s faces as they walked in. It was a glorious sight, and they could feel the excitement. The second brother stopped and sat down on the curb. “This is close enough,” he said. “I can sort of hear the music and I can see the people going in. This is pretty good, I don’t want to go any further because I’m not sure what I’ll find. And maybe I’ll get a glimpse of the King going in.” The three remaining walked into the hall together, and the sight was amazing. The smells were incredible, the food unbelievable, the music was supreme. They sat and feasted and enjoyed the party, and could see the King at the head table feasting and laughing and radiating joy. As they finished the meal, the tables were cleared away to make room for the dance floor. The third brother got up and said, “I’ve had enough. My belly is full, I enjoyed the meal, I’m leaving before I have to really join in the party. I got to see the King, this is close enough for me.” As the last two sat there, they saw a beautiful woman walking across the dance floor straight towards them. As she got closer they recognized her as the daughter of the King, who had been seated beside Him at the head table throughout the meal. She approached the two and reached out her hands to them both and said, “Come and dance! My Father saw you and wants you to come and join He and I and the others in dancing for joy!!” One brother looked down at his feet. “No, thanks. This is close enough. Besides, I don’t know how to dance.” “Just let go, I’ll teach you!” said the Daughter of the King. “No,” he replied, I might get embarrassed. This is close enough.” And he got up and left. The last brother also bowed his head. “I’m not worthy. I’m not good enough to dance with the King, and besides, I don’t know how to dance either. I’m afraid He will send me away, or I’ll get it wrong and look silly.” He paused, and looked up into the eyes of the daughter of the King. She repeated the invitation, “Just let go, I’ll teach you!” She reached her hand a little closer, and though his was shaking, he reached up and took her hand. Her faced came alive with a smile, he saw joy in her face, he felt life and boldness and love and exuberance come flooding into him and with joy he followed her across the dance floor to the King, who embraced him like a long lost son and then took both of them by the hand. And then they all danced. That story describes a lot of how we go to church, and more importantly how we manage our relationship with God. God extends the invitation to all people to come to the party. We are all excited about the party, but we don’t all show up. Sometimes we think that just being invited us enough excitement, we don’t even bother to show up. And then there are those who think being near the party is enough for them. And them some of us come to the party, but are determined not to do anything. That is me – I don’t like to dance at parties I will come and sit around and talk about people, but not dance. Some are invited to dance and still say no. Only those who are willing to dance with God, come to know the true joy of God. when was the last time God invited your to dance? And how did you respond? How far were you willing to go? And when did you decide that it was time to sit down? Today I am going to do something a little different, because I want our sermon time to be interactive. I don’t want to be long because I want us to think about our invitiation to dance, and to respond to God’s invitiation. I want us to have time for our new member celebration, but I also want us to remember that the celebration is for all of us. As they take their vows, it is our chance to remember our vows, and to think about what God is calling us to do to get involved in the building of the kingdom of God When I went to the church of the resurrection, in one of our workshops I was struck by one instructor, who said there there is a difference between us saying that we want to grow as a church, and that we are growing. It is a decision, just like coming to the party. Either we are going to stand outside of the party – or we re going to decide to come in and have fun. But growth starts with our relationship with God, and how much fun we want to have to the party. I think that this celebration is a sign that God has invited us and all that we have to do is come. 1266 Record Banquets The largest recorded banquet was given by President Loubet of France to every one of the 22,000 mayors in France in 1900. Indoor banquets, however, is topped by the 10,158-guest, $15-a-plate extravaganza in support of Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago in 1971. Living with God in our lives is a big feast. When we become a part of God’s family, there are thousands of people who are able to come. Some who don’t know that they have been invited. We wont see all of them present here – it would be good if we could get a hundred, and them 200 to come and party with us Jesus liked to party – Jesus especially liked to go to weddings. Because there was always a lot of good food, good music and an opportunity to dance. One king, took pride in his musicans. So he asked to question of them, what instrument was the most beautiful sounding. And the orchestra started to brag about their insturments, of course the clarinet is the best, and the strings spoke up, and the organist talks about all of the beautiful instruments. The drums thought they had to most compelling sound. Even the cymbal player thought his instrument was the best. The king would not choose between them. But he said wait until the party, and I will tell you what the sweetest sound of the party is. The party came, and the instruments were so nervous about being the best, no body played. There was silence, no chatter, no dancing, nothing. Until it was time to eat – the cymbal player led the procession – and the plates started to come our. There was rattling of bowls and dishing, the swoosh of the water, the clanging of silverware. And then the king announces, when you re hungry, the sweetest sound is the sound of a feast being prepared. When you are hungry, it is not the band that you listen for it is the sound of food coming to the table that is the sweetest sound of all. When we are hungry in our soul – the sound of god preparing our feast of joy and fulfillment is the greatest sound of God – How hungry are you in your soul? I invite those who are joining the church to come…… Perhaps you have heard of the family that moved into the neighborhood and the little country church decided to reach out to the family. When they arrived at the doorstep the members of the church were surprised to find that the family had 12 kids and were for the most part poor. They invited the family to services and said goodbye. Later that week the church responded to their need. They delivered a package to the family and said, "We want you to know that you and your entire family are welcome at our church anytime. We have bought you these gifts and we want you to feel comfortable and at ease in our congregation. We hope you can use these," and they left. The family opened the package to find 14 suits of clothing, beautiful clothes for every member of the family. Sunday came and the congregation waited for the family, and they waited. The family never showed. Wondering what could have possibly happened, after lunch the members of the church returned to the home and found the family just getting back, all dressed in their new clothes. "We don't mean to be nosey but we would like to know what happened. We had hoped to see you this morning in church," the leader of the church inquired. The father spoke up. He said, "Well, we got up this morning intending to come. And we sure do appreciate your invitation. But after we showered, shaved, and dressed, why we looked so proper we went to the Episcopal Church." God doesn’t care what we wear on the outside, it is the inside our soul that God wants to see. Children’s Sermon…… Invited To A Feast by King Duncan Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 • Lectionary: Proper 23 Item 5 of 10 | Back to Results Object: envelope that is addressed, a postage stamp (don't put stamp on envelope yet) Good morning, boys and girls. I want you to pretend with me for a moment. Let's pretend I'm going to have a really big party, and I wanted to invite you. How would I send you the invitation? That's right, I'd mail you the letter. Okay, here's my envelope, and I've got your address on it, and I'm all ready to send it out, right? Can I send the invitation out like this? No, I can't. You know why not? It doesn't have a stamp on it. The post office won't deliver mail that doesn't have a stamp on it. (Affix your stamp to the envelope) That stamp shows that you've paid for the mail. After you put the stamp on, then the post office will deliver the invitation. Our Bible story today is about a very special invitation. God invites us all to be a part of His kingdom. He invites us all, every last one of us, to follow Him and live the life He's planned for us. And He put a very special postage stamp on that invitation: Jesus! I bet you never thought of Jesus as a postage stamp, did you? Well, Jesus came to earth to deliver God's invitation to us. He wanted to tell us that God loves us, and God wants us to be a part of His family. And just like a postage stamp shows us that the piece of mail has already been paid for, Jesus tells us that He's already paid for our sins, so there's nothing standing between us and God. So let's pray and tell God that we accept His invitation; we want to be a part of His family. Collected Sermons, King Duncan, Dynamic Preaching, 2005, 0-000-0000-20 Extra illustration Text Illustration: THE MICROSCOPE AND THE BIBLE Many years ago, while on a visit to America, a wealthy Chinese businessman was fascinated by a powerful microscope. Looking through its lens to study crystals and the petals of flowers, he was amazed at their beauty and detail. So he decided to purchase one of these devices and take it back to China. He thoroughly enjoyed using it until one day he examined some rice he was planning to eat for dinner. Much to his dismay, he discovered that tiny living creatures were crawling in it. Since he was especially fond of this staple food in his daily diet, he wondered what to do. Finally he concluded that there was only one way out of his dilemma -- he would destroy the instrument that caused him to discover the distasteful fact! So he smashed the microscope to pieces. "How foolish!" you say. But many people do the same thing with the Word of God. They read it and would like to get rid of it because it reveals their evil nature. (From a sermon by Billy Bevan, Making Light of God’s Call, 5/26/2011)

Anointing

Anointing Exodus 30:22-31 1 Peter 2:4-5 1 John 2:24-27 (Prepared for Student Pastor Jacqueline Forbes) October 5, 2014 God Preparing his people Exodus is the story of God preparing to live in the promisedland. God said that he wanted to bring his people out of slavery and to bring them out into the wilderness, so that they would be free to worship their God. Worship is not just what we do, or what we say – true worship of God is who we are. God wants to have all of our being, and God knew that as long as they were in slavery, they could not give their whole selves to God. We have been looking at Exodus as a part of our lectionary readings. But I am going to take us a little beyond the lectionary today. Once the Isrealites were free of Egypt, Moses needed to teach them how to prepare a tabernacle in order to worship God. Once the tabernacle was completed, God said that everything and everyone that was used for worship must be set apart and made holy in order to be of service to God. Ingredients for anointing In Exodus 30 God gives Moses instructions on how to make special oil to anoint people and things for worship. He gives Moses 5 ingrediants: myrhh, cinnamon, calamus,cassia and olive oil. As I was doing research for this sermon, there are many meanings of these particular ingrediants. Myrhh was used in anointing people for death. In order to serve God, we have to be dead to our own wishes and desires. In looking for these ingrediants, I was reminded to be careful with this oil because cinnamon is hot. We have to be hot with the spirit of God. Calamus is a root the gives off a sweet aroma – Christ calls us to live a life of sweetness. Cassus is the bark of the cinnamon tree- it is very fragrant – out faith should stick out and make others aware of our presence, and finally there is olive oil. In the mediterannean world – olive oil is the essence of life. There is nothing without it. I think it is interesting that none of these ingrediants would have been readily available in the wilderness, but they would have been very familiar with them in Egypt. Also, there was nothing special about each of these ingredient alone. But together they were holy. God tells Moses that this oil was so holy, that no one should try to make it. And that it should be used for only special purposes. In the Isrealite tradition, anointing was reserved for priest, prophets and kings. And eventually, only kings were to be anointed. Eventually they began to speak of the anointed one who would come and save his people. The anointed one was the messiah. Jesus the anointed one The messiah was definitely not Jesus. Jesus was a layperson, not a priest, not a prophet, and he was a carpenter,not a king. Jesus was never anointed with God’s special oil. As a matter of fact, when Jesus begins his ministry, he does not use oil – he says that it is the spirit that anoints him to heal the sick, feed the hungry, free the captives, and to preach the good news of salvation. We call our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is his name, Christ is his title. Now we have always been told that the Jewish word messiah and the greek word Christ mean the same thing – the anointed one. Well I did a little research and discovered that is not true. Messiah is a special person, give a special task anointed with a special oil. Oil that was literally poured over the persons head. Christos does not mean anointed one- it means smeared with ointment. Jesus the common messiah Last week when we went to the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas – Leonard Sweet was the keynote speaker. And he gave an inspiring sermon on the anointing of Jesus. Now according to him – I couldn’t find this anywhere else – but he says that Christos was the name of a common grease that you would keep around the house. It was cheap and easy to come by. In modern times we have become afraid of any type of grease or oil. Never mind the fact that our bodies need to have oil in order to function. Our brain needs it, our hearts need it, our joints need it – but health experts are constantly telling us that greasy stuff is bad for you. It all depends on what kind of grease you use. Christ who can take the heat About 14 years about – I went on this health kick and decided that I would only use healthy ingrediants in my kitchen. I got rid of all of my butter, Crisco, corn oil. I decided that I would only use olive oil in the kitchen. A few years ago I decided being healthy was nice, but being practical made more sense. You see, you cant heat olive oil. Heat makes olive oil break down and disintegrate. So recently I had to make the decision that if I couldn’t use olive oil to fry chicken, then there was really no need to have it in my kitchen. I don’t saute a lot of vegetables. Now mind you, I only fry a about two or three times a year, but my point is that when I do fry, I need something that can take the heat. So common everyday cooking oil came back into my kitchen, along with my butter and other greasy things. Now if olive oil is the high grade oil of today – what is the common everyday oil that used to be in every household kitchen in America – Crisco. They took transfat out of Crisco in 2004 – but I still don’t use it, so if someone wants it they can have it after service, if not I will put it in the food pantry. But I wanted us to think about Crisco – because there is a lesson in this can for us today. Jesus is the Christ of the common person. He is the practical messiah that can be used by the common person. He intentionally didnt want to be anointed with the good stuff – olive oil – he wanted to be anointed with every day Crisco. Paul was the first to call Jesus Christo. Christo was a joke at the time. The jews would have been scratching their head when they heard Jesus Christ. They would be thinking –if he is not a priest, a prophet or a king. Of he has not been ordained – then how is he the anointed one – themessiah. The greeks would have been scratching their heads - Christos means the smeared one. They would be wondering why would you smear a man with Crisco? Why would you smear a man with Crisco? Because we the common people live in a world full of troubles and concerns. I need a Lord and Savior who can take the heat. An olive oil messiah wont do me no good. A messiah smeared in Crisco, prepared to deal with the realities of life is what we need. Christos. Jesus Christ. Why we are Christians And now to take it even further. We are to follow Christ into his anointing. That is why they started calling his followers Christians. We are Christians, not resurectionists, or Easter people, or Jesusonians. Christ means the anointed one – Christians are those who take on his anointing in their own life. 1 Peter says that we are the priesthood of all believers. 1 John 27 says that the anointing that you have received of him lives in you. Christ intentionally chose to be the messiah of the common person. He choose to remain a layperson. And he chose to give us his power, his anointing so we can continue his work in our everyday lives. Honor student pastor On this day we want to honor the ministry of our sister, Jacqueline Forbes. At his point in her life, Jacqueline is a layperson. She has not been ordained. Yet she is in seminary, which means that she has started her journey to some type of service to God. While she is here, she is Pastor Forbes, or Pastor Jacqueline. The terms pastor and Reverend are not synomous. Pastor is a role, a job description. Reverend is a title for someone who has been ordained by some denominational church. Pastor Forbes has chosen to wear a robe for worship, which is well within her right. She is not however entitled to wear a stole. A stole is a symbol of ordination. A lot of new clergy like to brag that they have been appointed as Senior Pastor of a church. In the United Methodist Church, Senior Pastor is term for a pastor who has an appointed associate pastor serving under them. My official role in this congregation is pastor. (unless you all want to pay me more money to be senior pastor). But a pastor is simply the shepherd of the flock. I am going through this all pretty quickly. When we use the words anointing, consecration, ordination, these are all terms that have varied meanings according to the situation, the denomination, and who you ask. Today – consecration simply means our acknowledgment of the beginning of Jaqueline’s walk toward specialized ministry. And acknowledgement of her work with us in the coming year. She may share her journey and indeed why this is a time of being set apart. Jacqueline I want to share this story 820 Take All The Keys, Lord Dr. F. B. Meyer came to a crucial, transitional time in his ministry. He sat dejectedly in his study. “My ministry is unfruitful, and I lack spiritual power,” he said to himself. Suddenly Christ seemed to stand beside him. “Let me have the keys to your life,” Christ said. The experience was so realistic that he reached into his pocket and took out a bunch of keys! “Are all the keys here?” “Yes, Lord, all except the key to one small room in my life.” Christ said: “If you cannot trust me in all rooms of your life, I cannot accept any of the keys.” Dr. Meyer was so overwhelmed with the feeling that Christ was moving out of his life because he was excluding Him from one interest in his life that he cried out, “Come back, Lord, and take the keys to all the rooms of my life!” —Walter B. Knight Let this be a moment to be reminded that we are Christians – we share in Christ anointing to heal the sick, feed the hungry, free the captives, and to spread the good news. Amen. Children's Sermon: A New King by Patricia Hatfield Can anyone tell me what a king is? (Listen to the children's answers.) Yes, a king is a leader or someone who is in charge of a country. Do you know what a king does? (Makes laws; leads the army; speaks for the people.) So what do you think a king looks like? (Old or young; tall and strong; wears a purple robe and crown.) Someone who looks like that we expect would surely be a strong and powerful king, able to lead the people in war and in peace. In our Bible story today, we hear how God chooses a new king for the Hebrew people. God tells the priest, Samuel, to go to Jesse, a father with eight sons. The Lord would tell Samuel which one of the eight boys would be the new king. When Samuel arrived at Jesse's house, he saw the oldest son, Eliab. Eliab was very tall and handsome. Samuel was sure this was the son who would be the new king. But God said to Samuel, "Don't pay attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have not chosen this son because I do not judge by how a man looks on the outside. I look at the heart." One by one, Jesse brought seven of his sons before Samuel, but each time Samuel said, "No, the Lord hasn't chosen him. Do you have any more sons?" Jesse answered, "There is still the youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep." "Tell him to come here," Samuel said. So Jesse sent for him. He was a handsome, healthy young man, and his eyes sparkled. The Lord said to Samuel, "This is the one!" And right in front of the older brothers, Samuel marked David with special olive oil to show that he would be the new king. Did you expect God to choose the youngest son to be king? It doesn't matter to God how old we are, or how tall we are, or what we look like. We can still be a king for God if we have a good heart. Do you think there are any kings here today in our congregation? (Children will probably think this is funny. Mention some of the church leaders such as Sunday school teachers, the board moderator, or the elders.) All these people were called by God to be leaders in our church, to make rules for our church, and to speak for the people of the church. Do any of you think that you will be called by God to be a leader in our church? Probably David didn't expect to be chosen. Perhaps some of our leaders didn't expect to be chosen either. But they are serving God through their good hearts and by what they are willing to do. Let's pray: