Inspiration

May 24, 2015 Romans 8:22-27 Inspiration Pentecost Year B Today is a special holiday for the church, but we don’t have to share this day with the world like our other days. No one knows what Pentecost is, I am sure that not all Christians even know what Pentecost is. And how much does a Penta Cost anyway. I got you – a Penta is a flower, and home depot likes to put them on sale at this time of year. But seriously, Pentecost is simply the birthday celebration of the church. The day the church was born. Jesus had promised that he would send his spirit to guide and comfort us. And on Pentecost, the spirit arrived. Pentecost is the festival of the wheat harvest. Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem. But this Pentecost they came to understand one another, even though they spoke different languages. There was a spirit of unity and communication. In the old testament when they gathered to build Babel, God sent them a spirit of confusion, lest they get too arrogant. But on Pentecost, God reversed that spirit. Even today, we don’t speak the same language. And even in the church, we don’t always agree with one another. Pentecost is not about uniformity, but harmony. In the midst of our differences, we can still put Christ first in our lives. Our unity comes from the power of God amongst us. There is no one of us that possesses the power of God alone. Clergy need laity and laity need clergy. The musicians work with the sermon, and the pastor works with the choir. We have to understand that our unity is a gift from God, equally bestowed. The purpose of the church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to save souls. It is the Pentecost experience that gives us the power to do that. It is the churches birthday, because it is the day when we receive some very important gifts. But the gifts are not for us- they are through us- to be given to the world. Acts 2 quotes verses from the old testament book of Joel, where God says the I will pour out my spirit on all people. For Jesus, all people meant that there were no restrictions, no qualifications. All people meant all people. Whether it was the durg addict or the church mother, the young child or the middle ages woman, the sick or the healthy, the rich or the poor. God has a heart for all people, and God is doing whatever he can to save all people. The gifts of Pentecost are there for those who say that they are followers of Christ to have the power to bring salvation to any life and to any situation. Russ Blowers is a minister who is active in his local Indianapolis Rotary club. At club meetings each week a member gives a brief statement about his job. When it was his turn, Russ said: "I'm with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives in nearly every parliament and boardroom on earth. We're into motivation and behavior alteration. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.) Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead--I talk with him everyday." The church is the most amazing organization in the world! Russ Blowers The gifts of Pentecost are unity, understanding, power, purpose and inspiration. But we have to remember that the source of each gift is God. There is a pertinent dialogue in the sixteenth chapter of Judges. Delilah says to Samson: “Please tell me wherein your great strength lies” (v. 6). After three unsuccessful attempts to discover the source of Samson’s strength, Delilah renews her efforts. Finally Samson succumbs and declares his power is in his hair. You remember the rest of the story. He not only lost his hair, but he lost his strength. When we consider Christian ministry of all believers, irrespective of station or training, we must inevitably ask, where does the strength come from? First and foremost, it comes from God! “God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7). And it up to each one of us to remember – that the power in our life to truly be effective in ministry comes from our relationship with God. I asked us to wear red, orange or pink, today –because I wanted each of us to realize that the flame of Christ is personal. It is about us, our life, our faith journey. Each of us is a unique flame for Christ. We should be on fire for Christ, each in our own way. We get power through the ways we life out our faith. The representations of the holy spirit is a flame, but it is also a breath. Each and every one of us has a unique breath inside of us. Recently, I ordered this device called a spire. It measures my breathing all day long. Then it sends messages to my phone to tell me whether I am calm or tense. When it senses that I am tense, it sends a message that perhaps I should calm down and take a deep breath. Spire means to breathe. To inspire is to take a deep breath in. To conspire is to work closely with, to aspire is to hope for something better, even spirit comes from the root word spire – which is the power within each of us to live and love with God. The breath is God’s mark upon us that God has a plan for us. Even scripture says to let everything that has breath praise God. Breath, wind is an important symbol of the holy Spirit and of Pentecost. And I want to encourage each of us to use this Pentecost to look at our relationship with God and to be inspired to new life, a new mission, a renewed spirit. This Pentecost, be inspired to conspire with God and aspire to a renewed sense of mission. Let the power of God’s spirit flow through you, and have a use your gifts in order to bring salvation to God’s people. More than any other holiday in the church calendar – Pentecost is about the here and now. It is not about remembering a time in the past, it is not about what happened 2000 years ago, it is about what is happening now. Each and every year, we have to rekindle the Pentecost spirit inside of us. We have to look at what is going on inside of us and what it going on In the world. What is God calling each of us to do about it. Every Pentecost is different. Pentecost is not about what God has done for us, it is about what God is doing through us. The spirit has to be born anew, we have to be inspired anew. God says to each of us – I have given you my gifts, now I want to see what you are going to do with them. A young artist, who was studying under a great master, came one day to the studio to beg for permission to use his master's brush. The request was granted, and with a singing heart the young man went away to his own painting, thinking that now his work would be much better. A short while later he returned with the brush, complaining that he could do no better with it than he could with his own brush. An assistant in the studio, hearing the young man's complaint, said to him: "Friend, it is not the master's brush you need, but the master's devotion, the master's spirit."—Sunshine Magazine It is God’s spirit, but it is our life that makes the difference. God is saying that the future is so much better than the past. But I am depending on you to usher in the hope of the future. I am depending on you to do greater things than what is now in existence. One of the most theologically sophisticated screenplay’s ever written is the one written by Steve Koren, Mark O’Keefe, and Steve Oedekerk for the 2003 film “Bruce Almighty.” When things happen in Bruce’s life, Bruce blames God and finally declares defiantly that if there is a God, God is a bad God. God is bad at being God. In fact, Bruce says he could do God better than God does God. So God surprises Bruce and says, “Okay, go ahead. You show me how I can do God better. So now it’s “Bruce Almighty.” Here’s the conversation: God: “You have all my powers. Use them any way you like. There are just two things you can’t do: you can’t tell anyone you’re God. Believe me, you don’t want that kind of attention.” Bruce: “And the other?” God: “You can’t mess with free will.” Bruce: “Can I ask why” God: “Yes you can! That’s the beauty of it.” The film ends with God saying to a frustrated and defeated Bruce: “The problem is that people keep looking up, when they should look inside . . . You want to see a miracle—-then be a miracle.” The gift of Pentecost enables each one of us to be a miracle . . . an ongoing incarnation of the presence of Jesus on Earth. You want to see Jesus? Then be Jesus. We have not had testimony time in a long time. I think next Sunday will be a good time for us to continue this conversation. I am telling you this week, so that people can think about what they will say. But I want us to testify about the presence of the holy Spirit in your life? How is God at work in your life, What is God calling you to do in the future, What are you up to in your life, that only the spirit can help you to succeed? I would encourage everyone to think about those answers this week, so that some will be able to share with us next week. That is the greatest gift of the presence of the holy Spirit, is the ability to witness to the presence of God in our lives. Finally, Waiting to Exhale A character in John Updike’s novel, A Month of Sundays, reflecting on his youthful experience of the church, says, "Churches bore for me the relation to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola; they promoted thirst but did nothing to quench it." The Holy Spirit empowers the church to be the agent of change in the world, a counter-cultural entity. The task of the church is to breathe in the Spirit and be inspired by the Spirit to act on behalf of God. But the church has been waiting to exhale far too long. As the Spirit of God flows into us, it also ought to flow from us in the way we treat one another, the way we speak to one another, in the way we treat others in our community, in the way we live out the new life we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Staff, www.eSermons.com Let us pray this prayer Jesus, though you were of one age, you spoke to the ages. Jesus, though you lived long ago, you spoke words that continue to move, motivate, mature, and transfigured us. Jesus, though you were of Palestinian color and culture, you spoke to all cultures and colors. We thank you for your timeliness and timelessness. May the church that bears your name continue to reach out with love and compassion toward other members of the human family, no matter what age, culture, color, or context. –Leonard Sweet Children’s Sermon Human Rain Storm Activity This Activity is meant for Cub Scouts. Notes: This works great in a larger gathering. Instructions: The leader explains that a rain storm is coming but not to worry because it won't last long. If we listen, we can hear it come and go. Direct the scouts on the right side of the room to sit facing forward, but watch the scouts immediately to their left and do exactly what they do. Don't watch the leader or other scouts. Just watch that scout and listen to the sounds. Repeat the instructions across the room, having everyone watch the scouts immediately to their left, but keep sitting forward so the scouts on their right can see what they do. Then, the leader should stand at the left side of the room and tell those scouts on the far left to watch him. When the leader does an action, he should try to do it so scouts across the room can not see it. The leader does each of the following actions, and continues doing it until it has propagated across the room: • Rub hands together • Snap fingers • Clap hands • Slap thighs • Stomp feet • Slap thighs • Clap hands • Snap fingers • Rub hands • Hands on lap Extra illustrations…… A Harnessed Power Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Honda in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene; His presence was like "tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God's power. But He also works through the church--the institution God began to tap the Holy Spirit's power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power. Unknown The Cape of Good Hope Do you know that the southernmost point of Africa has for centuries experienced tremendous storms. For many years no one even knew what lay beyond that cape, for no ship attempting to round that point had ever returned to tell the tale. Among the ancients it was known as the "Cape of Storms," and for good reason. But then a Portuguese explorer in the sixteenth century, Vasco De Gama, successfully sailed around that very point and found beyond the wild raging storms, a great calm sea, and beyond that, the shores of India. The name of that cape was changed from the Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope. Until Jesus Christ rose from the dead, death had been the cape of storms on which all hopes of life beyond had been wrecked. No one knew what lay beyond that point until, on Easter morning Christ showed us. His disciples trembled in fear, even after seeing evidence of His resurrection. Eventually, Christ turns their Cape of Storms into a Cape of Good Hope with His appearance and the peace He brings. Pastor Buchs, Peace and Forgiveness The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost. Part of the poem says: Unless the eye catch fire, God will not be seen. Unless the ear catch fire, God will not be heard. Unless the tongue catch fire, God will not be named. Unless the Heart catch fire, God will not be loved. Unless the mind catch fire, God will not be known. William Blake An Amazing Organization Acts 2:1-11, vs. 6: And at the sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Object: A hand bell. [Begin with the ringing of the bell.] Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! How do you like that for starting a children's sermon? Did that get your attention? What does it mean to ring a bell like I just did? [Let them answer.] What do I want to happen when I ring the bell as I just did? [Let them answer.] That's right, I want all who are present to come together so that I can make an announcement, or tell everyone something that I think they should know. Do you think that would be a good way to do it? A long time ago people did it this way. A man might stand in the middle of the town, if it wasn't too big, and ring his bell, and when all of the people came together he would tell them something that he thought they should know. That isn't exactly what happened a long, long time ago, but it was pretty close. I want to tell you about something that happened in the world just after Jesus went back to live with his heavenly Father. I suppose you remember how disappointed the disciples were when Jesus left and returned to the Father. They were disappointed and afraid. Now, Jesus told them not to worry or be afraid, because very soon after he left, God was going to send someone called the Holy Spirit to them, and they would see more marvelous things happen than even the ones that Jesus did. Well, the disciples wanted to believe that, but they just couldn't. They were so afraid. Then one day, a large wind came to Jerusalem and it made an awful noise. The people were so afraid that they ran out of their houses and into the street. Even the disciples came out of their house where they were hiding and they stood outside with the people of Jerusalem and a lot of other people from a lot of strange countries that the disciples had never visited. This strange wind with the weird noise was kind of like my bell, because it brought the people together. But then even something stranger happened. People began to talk, and you can imagine what it must have sounded like. Everyone was speaking in their own language and they filled the streets with noise. Ordinarily, no one would have been able to understand anyone else, but on that day everyone understood what the others were saying. I told you that Jesus promised when the Holy Spirit came there would even be more marvelous things happen than had ever happened before. Well, this was just one of them. The Holy Spirit started the church that day, and he did it by letting everyone listen to Peter speak, and all of the people understood him. Three thousand people listened and joined the church on that first day, and the disciples believed that Jesus had kept his promise. God is still doing wonderful things like that, but the next time you hear anyone ring a bell, you think of the odd wind that brought people together on the birthday of the church.

Mother's have joint custody of our souls

Mother’s Day May 10, 2015 1 John 5:1-6 John 15:9-17 6th Sunday of Easter Year B There is a story about two tribes in the Andes that were at war. One tribe lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains. The lowlanders didn’t know how to climb the mountain. They didn’t know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn’t know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain. Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home. The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only several hundred feet. Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below. As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby’s mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn’t figured out how to climb. And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be? One man greeted her and said, “We couldn’t climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn’t do it?” She shrugged her shoulders and said, “It wasn’t your baby.” (4) Today we celebrate the care and concern and love of our mothers. Leonard Sweet says that we never have sole custody of our souls. A mother has joint custody. Wherever we are and whatever we are doing, our mothers are always thinking about us. They go with us, and they have just as much of a stake in what we do, as we do. On the other hand, I have also heard it said that being a mother has to get used to her heart living outside of her body. Being a parent changes you, because suddenly your life is not all about you. It is about that child, who never grows up, and is never able to be on his own. Mothers are with their children through each stage of their life, and with each new stage you learn to love your children in a whole new way. One pastor said that the price of love is a broken heart. And no matter how hard we try, at some point we have to give our children away. We give them away to God when they are baptized, we give them to the teacher when they go to kindergarten, we give them away to life, when something happens to them, we give them away to the system when they go to college, we give them away to a stranger that they call boyfriend or girlfriend, we give them away to a husband or wife, we give them away for life, to live their own life, we give them away out of love, for love, to love. And ever since Easter, that has been our constant scripture lesson. And what better message for Mother’s day for us to remember, is the love that we have received, and the love that we give to others. 1 John 5 says whoever loves someone who is a parent, loves the child born to the parent. Not only do we love Jesus because he is the son of God. we love the children of God. this scriptures says that the children of God are those who are willing to do God will – and God’s will is to love. We all need to be loved, and we all have to learn to give love to others. Love is not good at math. Love does not do division, it does not know how to divide. Love only knows how to multiply and to grow. There are important qualities of love, especially God’s love that help it to multiply and spread throughout the world. God’s love is inside of us, in every cell of our body. It is round us, it flows every where. God’s love is pervasive and ever present. Like sap flows through a tree and nourishes the inside of the tree, God’s love nourished our soul. In John 15 God says to love one another as I have loved you. Love yourself, love your neighbor, love your enemies. If love is inside of you, and flows within you, then spread it around to others. We all saw the pictures of the mom last week in Baltimore, who fought with all that she had to keep her son out of the rioting. She came with all that she knew in her soul and her heart to make her son do the right thing. That is that all present all pervasive love. God’s love also spreads like wildfire to everything that it touches. Jesus says I am the vine and you are the branches. If you are connected through Jesus to God’s love then you can bring love to any situation. And you automatically know when to spread love. In her book Making babies, stumbling into motherhood, Anne Enright talked about breast feeding her child. When she heard the baby cry, then the milk would start to form in her breast. But she said that the brain, understands the signal for love, but does not recognize the face of love. So whenever she would hear a baby cry, or hear a story that touched her, then the milk would form. That is an example of being a mother, but it teaches us that love is not just for our relatives ad friends, but it is for anyone. Anyone who asks for the love of god will receive it. Love is no respecter of receiver, it is a respector of the giver. That is why we are taught that we should love all, God loves all. And finally god’s love is there for us when we are not there for ourselves. There is a new novel called family life. In the story an immigrant from India, who now lives in New York pays the airline fare for his mother to go to India every month. The mother is very proud of her son, and proud of what he has done with his life. But she takes the money but she does not spend it. Afterall, what will happen if her son loses his job and cannot take care of himself. She keeps his money and set it aside, just in case he may need it some day. Only a mother would think like that. She uses God’s love to take care of her son. God’s love is all encompassing, continually growing, and always thinking ahead. Happy Mother’s Day to all who are albe to share that kind of love. But I think that it is important for us to remember, that God’s love is not just about women. We speak so much as God the father, that we forget that God is both mother and father. God is a spirit that transcends our idea of gender. Which seems to be changing anyway – but that is a whole different sermon. But I wanted to point out that there are just as many mothering images of God as there are fathering images. Motherhood and Compassion. A few days ago I made a marvelous discovery. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament the word for “compassion” comes from the root word, “womb.” The picture is of a birthing. Something new is being born. If I apply this in a human experience, it means that my compassionate acts always give the other person another chance. I do not hold past failures against them. I offer a “fresh start.” I want this for myself from others. Am I willing to give it to the other person? Such compassion will dramatically change the way we relate to each other. Brooks Ramsey, Pastoral Counseling and Consulting Center, Memphis TN. John 15 says that the gift of giving love to another is complete joy. Joy that all is well. I am able to get through this mothers day, after having just lost my mother because me joy is complete. I know that my mother did all that she could to love me and all of her family. I am not sad today, because in love, joy is complete. She gave what she had, and now god has called her to another task. Blessed be the name of the Lord. If I know how to love others, then she has done her job. Robert Brault says that if you have a mother, there is no where that you can go that prayer has not already been. We do not have sole custody of our sole, our mother has joint custody. Let us make sure that we give God full custody. That we live in God’s love, feel God;s love and give God’s love. No matter what – love is a lot of hard work! to love is to be for another, to act for another even at the cost of oneself. Happy Mother’s day to all! We have all felt god’s love in our life in some way, given by someone. Today let us spread that love, not just to our family, but to someone in need of God’s love in their lives. Amen. Exegetical Aim: Obedience is the most appropriate expression of our love. Props: None Lesson: [With each of these questions allow several children to express their thoughts.] Who knows what love is?(response) Ok, what is love? (response) A little humor for the adults: Now I suppose that your mom's love you...they do don't they? (response) How does your mom love you? What does she do for you? (response) Those are all very good ways that mom's show their love. Now let me ask you a different question. Do you love your mom? (response) How do you show your love to your mom? What do you do for her? (response) Those are all very good ways to show your love for mom. Who knows what today is? (response) It's Mother's Day! Are you going to do anything special today to tell mom how much you appreciate her?(response) What are going to do? (response) Well, if you haven't gotten her anything yet, I can get you out of a little hot water. Here's what you do. All day today when your mom ask you to do something, I want you to say, "Yes, ma'am," and immediately go and do what she told you. It will be the best Mother's Day ever if you do this. Listen to something Jesus said; he said, "If you love me, you will obey me." What did Jesus mean: If you love me, you will obey me? (response) He was telling us that the best way to show our love for God is to obey him and do what he tells us to do. This is also the best way to show our love for Mom. We need to do what mom tells us to do. If she tells you to sit up and eat your lunch then you need to sit up and eat your lunch. If she tells you to pick up your toys then what do you need to do? (response) That's right. If she tells you to be polite and say excuse me, then what are going to do? (response) This is Mother's Day. Today you are going to tell mom how much you love her. The best way to show her your love is by being obedient and doing what you are asked to do. Then she will know how much you love and care for her. You cannot take Jesus to India. You cant take Jesus to Africa. We cant take Jesus anywhere. He is already there. He is making a difference, Jesus takes us and asks us to join him in service to his children. He has already been there. He takes us, we never take him. Ripley’s Believe it or Not says that the longest love letter ever written was written in 1875 and it was written from a Parisian painter by the name of Marcel de Leclure. The letter was addressed to Magdalena de Villeray. The painter was so in love with Magdalena that he wanted to write, Je t’aime “I love you” in French a thousand times for every year on the calendar. This was in 1875, so he decided to write “I love you” one million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand times. Of course, he didn’t want to write “I love you” that many times himself. So he hired a secretary to do it. But, he did not want to diminish his expression of his love, so he did not tell her to write the sentence one million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand times. Rather, he dictated each “I love you” to her separately. So he said “I love you” one million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand times and she wrote it one million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand times. Ripley describes this feat like this, “Never was love made manifest by as great an expenditure of time and effort.” (7) It’s a great story, but Ripley was wrong. There was once a time when love was made manifest by a greater expenditure of effort than that of this Frenchman. It was that time when the Lord Jesus hung on a cross to show us how important we are to God. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command . . . This is my command: Love each other.” The Golden Rule, as wonderful as it is, is insufficient for this task. We are not simply to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We are to do unto them as Christ has done unto us. -