Lookup, pray up, Stand up

November 29, 2015 Year C First Sunday of Advent Luke Author Doug Mendenhall shares a brief parable that should cause all of us to pause and reflect: Jesus called the other day to say he was passing through and [wondered if] he could spend a day or two with us. I said, "Sure. Love to see you. When will you hit town?" I mean, it's Jesus, you know, and it's not every day you get the chance to visit with him. It's not like it's your in-laws and you have to stop and decide whether the advantages outweigh your having to move to the sleeper sofa. That's when Jesus told me he was actually at a convenience store out by the interstate. I must have gotten that Bambi-in-headlights look, because my wife hissed, "What is it? What's wrong? Who is that?" So I covered the receiver and told her Jesus was going to arrive in eight minutes, and she ran out of the room and started giving guidance to the kids—in that effective way that Marine drill instructors give guidance to recruits. … My mind was already racing with what needed to be done in the next eight—no seven—minutes so Jesus wouldn't think we were reprobate loser slobs. I turned off the TV in the den, which was blaring some weird scary movie I'd been half watching. But I could still hear screams from our bedroom, so I turned off the reality show it was tuned to. Plus, I turned off the kids' set out on the sun porch, because I didn't want to have to explainJon & Kate Plus Eight to Jesus, either, six minutes from now. My wife had already thinned out the magazines that had been accumulating on the coffee table. She put Christianity Today on top for a good first impression. Five minutes to go. I looked out the front window, but the yard actually looked great thanks to my long, hard work, so I let it go. What could I improve in four minutes anyway? I did notice the mail had come, so I ran out to grab it. Mostly it was Netflix envelopes and a bunch of catalogs tied into recent purchases, so I stuffed it back in the box. Jesus doesn't need to get the wrong idea—three minutes from now—about how much on-line shopping we do. I ran back in and picked up a bunch of shoes left by the door. Tried to stuff them in the front closet, but it was overflowing with heavy coats and work coats and snow coats and pretty coats and raincoats and extra coats. We live in the South; why'd we buy so many coats? I squeezed the shoes in with two minutes to go. I plumped up sofa pillows, my wife tossed dishes into the sink, I scolded the kids, and she shooed the dog. With one minute left I realized something important: Getting ready for a visit from Jesus is not an eight-minute job. Then the doorbell rang. Used with permission from author. Doug Mendenhall, "Getting Prepared for the Arrival of Jesus,"www.reporternews.com (9-24-09); submitted by Kevin Miller, executive vice president, Christianity Today International Well the message for today is that it is time for us to get ready. Advent is here and Jesus is coming. And it does take more than 8 minutes to get ready. It takes a lifetime. But God reminds us that we don’t have a lifetime. We only have 27 days. A little less than four weeks. The rest of the world is dressing up for Christmas, but for us – it is time to get ready for the second coming. It is funny, no matter how I try to prepare for this day – I am always caught off guard. The Sunday after thanksgiving sneaks up on me. This is the first Sunday of a new year. We finished year B and now we are into year C. Last week we were reading from the gospel of Mark, for the rest of the year it will be Luke. I spent all weekend shopping for Christmas decorations for the church, while my pumpkins are frozen and rotting on my steps. Am I the only one who gets freaked out walking through the neighborhood and seeing some yards with santa claus and other Christmas decorations, while the house next to it still have fall leaves and turkeys, and then some people even have jackolaterns and other Halloween decorations up. It is a sign of the times that things are changing, and we are all in different places within the change. Advent starts with the end first and ends with the beginning last. Today – there are no manger scenes, no doting mother mary’s. no baby Jesus. – no glory to the newborn King. Today is not about the first coming of Jesus, it is about the second coming of Jesus. The words of today are not hope, joy, love and peace – it is destruction, despair, judgment. Once again this year if you look at the headlines in the news – you see upheaval. Once again this time of year people are marching in the streets, people are afraid of a war breaking out, we are even getting warnings of strange weather this year, as el nino season approaches. Perhaps the politicians waited to tell of the death of Mr. Mcdonalds – because they wanted it to be an advent announcement. I am being facetious. But my point is – this is a dark time in history. There is a lot going on. As we look at the first reading from Luke, we look at the end of the book, not the beginning. Luke speaks of the endtimes. It is obvious that Luke used Mark as a resource, but he takes Mark one step farther. Luke specifically talks about the second coming of Christ. And he reminds us of what it means to wait for Christ. The solution to this despair is not anything we can manufacture – we just have to wait on God to make an appearance. And God will make an appearance in each and every situation that we are going through. Advent is a new day, a new way of thinking and praying and beliving. We tend to face life with the tools of the past, we compare the future with what we have been through before. It is time to erase those old tapes. Put aside those familiar ways of doing things and to embrace a new way for a new day. This is the time for angels and prophets. The message of the angels is to fear not. Face the future with your hear up, unafraid of the darkness ahead. And prophets don’t know what God will do next anymore than we do - but they know the signs of God. They point to us evidence that God is indeed in the situation. Text Illustration: I DIDN'T GO AND SEE The story is about shepherd who was a youth on that first Christmas night. And now he is old and as his grandson sits on his knee he recalls that night, "A long, long time ago, when I was a little more than a boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping watch over the flock. And an angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout us. And we were very afraid. But the angel said, "fear not... for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord... you shall find the baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." When he had said this the old man’s lips quivered and ceased to move and there was silence. Then the grandson turns and looks with wide, puzzled eyes into his grandfathers face and says, " But, grandfather is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was what the angel said really true? Was the Christ child ever really born?" The old shepherd sadly shakes his white head and answers, " I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him, the light of God and the power for life. But for me I could never be quite sure. Because I never did go to see." Have the courage to face life unafraid of what will come next. Luke tells us that Christ is coming again – the signs of the times show us that. His message is for us to observe the signs and to watch and wait for his presence. Ancient philosophers used to believe that history repeated itself every 3000 years. There was no need to step outside the box, because life never changed. I remember in Thailand, there was a sign, that if you were having a problem with someone, not to despair. In 100 years there will be all new people. People pass away, human nature stays the same. We are still dealing with the same hatred, oppression, greed, violence that Jesus talked about, and that was in the old testament. 50 years later, we are still marching asking for justice for black lives. What is the point of us fighting to make a better world, when the same issues get recreated from generation to generation. Man does not have the power to change themselves – but God has the power to make all the difference in the world. That is why God sent his son Jesus to intercede in the world. The world has not changed, so he will intercede again. History does not repeat itself over and over – History has a purpose. The story is moving – and its final chapter will be the redemption of history by Jesus Christ. Christ is never on the side of the status quo - one friend said – You want to be first? Be last. You want to find your life? Lose it. You want to be exalted? Be humbled. You want wholeness? Face your brokennness. You want to be as wise as a serpent? Be as innocent as a dove. You want peace? Show me your sword. I am the Son of God. I am the Son of Adam. Jesus if fully divine. Jesus is fully human. You want the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? Meet the Lamb of God. You want rest? Wear my yoke and take up my cross. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Give to God what is God’s. But don’t forget to give to Caesar what is Caesar. If you’re not against us you’re for us. (Mark 9:38-41). If you’re not with me you’re against me (Matt.12:30). Don’t worry about tomorrow. But sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The last words of our text – Luke tells us when you see sign of despair in your world – keep the faith and have hope. These are the signs that Jesus is on the way – and that it is time for a change. Don’t hold onto the past – but look forward to the future. Don’t give up, but keep going. Hope will change your present and open the door for Christ to come in. we are to look up, pray up and stand up. Bruce E. Olson tells of his experience as a missionary in South America. "I got off the plane in Venezuela that hot August day back in 1962 with only seventy-two dollars in my pocket, nineteen years old, alone, unable to speak Spanish, but convinced that the Lord had told me to go to South America and preach to the Indians." He made friends with some natives and learned to speak Spanish. One day a respected colleague asked him, "Have you ever heard of the Motilone tribe?" He then described a legendary Stone Age Tribe that had resisted civilization. No one had ever learned their language. Few entering their territory ever returned. Bruce felt his heart stir, and he wrote, "I sank back in awe. I knew then that those were the people to whom God wanted me to go." It was no easy task to reach these people. "We chopped our way through the jungle for seven days," he remembered. As they were making their way through the jungle, an arrow pierced his thigh. He fell to the ground. Out of the ferns stepped five squat brown men, eyes glittering under short-cropped hair. "I had met the Motilones," he writes. "They dragged me to my feet and I limped with them to their settlement." As the days passed his wounds festered. "I developed amoebic dysentery and began hemorrhaging blood," Bruce recalled. Things would get much worse before they got better. "The period that followed was a nightmare of pain and trial," he remarks. "I continued to try to bring God's love to those people." For two weeks he lay in a hut dying. Finally, one of the natives took him to a clearing where he was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a hospital in Maracaibo where he was told it would be six months before he would recover. He could never return to a jungle climate. "But I had a deepening peace in my heart," Bruce wrote. "God had brought me to the Motilones; God would help me to continue. Within three weeks I was back up the river." Bruce Olson never gave up. He lived with this tribe for four years and eventually introduced these people to the love of God. (4) Where do we get the ability to keep going even when everything appears to be going wrong? From God and God alone. In times of need we receive help from beyond. Thus we perseveLukre. This brings us final thing to be said. FOLLOWERS ARE NOT TO SIT BY AND DO NOTHING WHILE WAITING FOR CHRIST'S RETURN. While we wait we have work to do. There is nothing that we can do to make a difference in the world, But God makes all of the difference in the world. Luke says that this generation shall not pass away until things change. Sometimes I get sad as I see people pass away that they did not get a chance to see the fruits of their labor. They did not see the redemption of situations, they did not see the redemption of history. But I think that God’s message for us – is not to mourn but to do what we can. Deal with the issue at hand, do the work we must do. Address the problems of today. We were put on this earth for such a time as this. And if we deal with the evil of today – we are doing what God called us to to do. Text Illustration: A. Years ago an interesting sign was seen hanging in a store window during the Christmas season. The original message stated, “Let’s make this the best Christmas ever.” Underneath, some perceptive person had scribbled a legitimate question: “How will we top the first one?” God has promised an event that will easily overshadow the events that surrounded the first coming. Let us pray……. Text Illustration: I DIDN'T GO AND SEE The story is about shepherd who was a youth on that first Christmas night. And now he is old and as his grandson sits on his knee he recalls that night, "A long, long time ago, when I was a little more than a boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping watch over the flock. And an angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout us. And we were very afraid. But the angel said, "fear not... for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord... you shall find the baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." When he had said this the old man’s lips quivered and ceased to move and there was silence. Then the grandson turns and looks with wide, puzzled eyes into his grandfathers face and says, " But, grandfather is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was what the angel said really true? Was the Christ child ever really born?" The old shepherd sadly shakes his white head and answers, " I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him, the light of God and the power for life. But for me I could never be quite sure. Because I never did go to see." When the Play Is Over C. S. Lewis said that when the author appears on the stage, you know the play is over. This is how he understands the doctrine of the Second Coming of our Lord. It means that he who has begun a good work will bring it to the best conclusion of which he is capable. After all, no one has ever claimed that this planet earth was intended to exist forever. In what is called by scientists "the second law of thermodynamics," it is clearly predicted that the energy supply of this planet will eventually come to an end, which means that a conclusion of life as we know it here is inevitable. The concept of the Second Coming merely affirms that such a conclusion will be purposeful. The drama of history is not going to just fizzle out or end in a whimper! It is going to come to the kind of climax that he who conceived the drama wants for it. Gary L. Carver and Tom M. Garrison, Sermons for Sundays in Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany: Building a Victorious Life, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. When Everything Becomes "Merely" Virginia Owens in her book, And The Trees Clap Their Hands, suggests that we lose the wonder of it all, because along the way everything becomes "merely." Things are "merely" stars, sunset, rain, flowers, and mountains. Their connection with God's creation is lost. During this Advent season many things are just "merely." It becomes "merely" Bethlehem, a stable, a birth -- we have no feeling of wonder or mystery. That is what familiarity can do to us over the years. Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing -- I'll take it. It is "merely" an object -- I'll destroy it. It is this "merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and grandeur of God. John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing.

God Loves Faitfulness

November 15, 2015 1 Samuel 1:4-20 Year B 25th Sunday of Pentecost "Mom, why am I called Samuel?" The boy asked the question one day during the evening meal. Nervously she toyed with her dinner napkin. She hadn't dared tell anyone for fear that they would think her foolish. After all, she lives in the modern world, not the world populated by Old Testament characters. All of her friends knew that for years she had tried everything possible in order to be able to have children. First there were the specialists who insisted on taking all sorts of tests, making all sorts of observations, and trying to figure out what the biological impediment was. Then there were the endless sessions with counselors trying to find out whether or not there were emotional blocks. Other counselors had indicated that perhaps her concerns about her husband were interfering with conception. The list of tests and the observations seemed to go on without end. Almost unconsciously she kept going to church. Every week she would be in her regular place. Every week she sang the hymns, prayed the prayers and joined in the celebrations of the church. She also prayed silently that God would be able to work a miracle. Yes, she had a certain amount of trust in the miracles of science and medicine. She would hardly have been willing to discount the insights of psychologists. But if anyone had bothered to ask her what she really trusted she would have had to say that she really trusts in the power of God. Among some of her friends this was a little too much. "Surely you don't think that prayer itself will make much difference, do you?" they would ask. "Surely you don't intend on trusting something you can't see or measure?" said others. In fact, she had overheard one acquaintance suggest that perhaps she was getting a little too involved in the church. Nevertheless, she kept her doctor appointments and remained active in the church. At length she and her husband received the great, long-anticipated news. Her pregnancy test revealed that she would indeed have a baby. The name, what should the child's name be? Should they name the child after a favorite aunt? an uncle? perhaps a friend. No, the now-expectant mother knew what the child's name would be. It would have to come from the Bible, maybe the Old Testament. If it's a boy, then Samuel would be his name. Years later, when the boy had gotten old enough to wonder, he asked one day, "Mom, why is my name Samuel?" her answer came softly, "Son, everyone else may say that you are the result of modern science and medicine. But your father and I are convinced that you are a gift from God. So we called you Samuel which means 'I have asked of the Lord,' You are an answer to prayer." The name Samuel means heard by God. This story we are going to focus on today is the third story in a series about women, who were thought of as worthless in society – whose faith was heard and rewarded by God. At their absolute lowest point in life God stepped in and made a difference. If God can do that for them, then God can make a difference in our lives also. Today I want to ask you what is your Samuel? And who is your Hannah. And yes I said what is your Samuel, not who is your Samuel. The world has not changed as much as we think it has, and the role of women has not changed much either. We still compare ourselves to one another, we still place value on one another. In this story Elkanah was a very rich farmer with two wives. This is a significant fact, because even though it was legal, it was not common for a jew at that time to have two wives. It was expensive, but as demonstrated in this story it fostered competition. Getting married and having a boy child to take care of you was everything. And when one wife was doing better than the other, it created a very unhappy household for everyone. That is probably why marriage evolved into one woman and one man. But even today, women don’t have to be married in order to fight over a man. Women would rather fight one another, than leave the man who is coming between them. As demonstrated in our story – women still pray for a boy child that will take care of them. Even today some of those prayers are answered, and some of those prayers are not. Today, women are present in every arena of life, not just the family. So the prayers of women may be a little different. There are other things to define us, besides our children. That is why I ask what is our Samuel, not who is your Samuel. What is your lifelong dream? What is the things that defines you. And makes a difference to you. Christian music star Kathy Troccoli shares how her ministry has filled an important place in her life: Being single at 42, I'm realizing I may never have a child. But God has repeatedly brought me stories from women who have chosen life over an abortion as a result of hearing a song I wrote. At a concert in Dallas, I had just finished singing when a 21-year-old woman's voice came over the loudspeaker. She talked about when she was pregnant with her second child and was being encouraged to abort the baby. During that time, she had come to one of my concerts. I'd sung, "A Baby Prayer": "But if I should die before I wake, I pray her soul you'll keep. 'Forgive her, Lord; she doesn't know that you gave life to me.'" The Holy Spirit used that song to clinch her decision. She kept her baby. God has shown me that more children have been born through that song than I could ever bear. Kathy Troccoli and Dee Brestin, Falling in Love with Jesus (Word, 2001) I just spoke with a university professor who said that in the Catholic church, a woman is not considered relavant unless she is a mother. And once again, in her 40’s she never married, thus never had children. In the meantime she pursued her education. And yet she works at a Methodist college, because she is not considered a real woman in the Catholic world. Hannah returned her Samuel back to God. She prayed and prayed for a son. Not just a baby, but a son. She made a promise that he would be in the service of God all of his life. When she has her son, she keeps him for three years and then returns him back to God. Samuel goes on to become one of the most important men in Isrealite history. He is the man who ushers them into a new way of living, he gives them a king, first King Saul, and then king david. In those days it was believed that either God heard your prayers, or God did not. The opposite of answering, was thought to be neglect. All those years that Hannah prayed for a son, was God neglecting her prayer, or was God preparing for what she was asking? Someone said that prayer is knocking at a locked door for years with your knuckles bloody, waiting for an answer. Samuel does not mean I prayed – it means God heard. What is your Samuel? What is it that you have prayed for and still waiting for answer? What is it that you have at stake, that you just need to know that God hears in order to a make all the difference in the world? More importantly, what are you doing to prepare yourself to receive it? And how will you say thank you to God? Your answer from God is not just about you. I want you to hear me this morning. Your answer is not just about you. It will affect your family, it will affect your life, it will affect the world that you live in. What is your Samuel. Two parents who went to church faitfully had two sons. But, as is often the case with kids, one of their sons (along about the fourth grade) protested that he didn't like Sunday school….didn't see what was so great about Sunday school….and didn't see why he had to go to Sunday school. Sunday school was boring. And in a world where there are enough kid-friendly electronic bells and whistles to make life exciting, why settle for boring? Fortunately, not all kids feel that way. Some do. But not all. Maybe you have heard the complaint. Or maybe, light years ago, you made the complaint. So, what to do? Some parents, of course, capitulate to the kid. "All right, stay home. We'll all stay home. We can't have this fighting, Sunday after Sunday. It isn't worth the hassle. When you're old enough, you'll choose for yourself, anyway." Which is true. The kid will….when older….choose for himself. The choice generally being: "None of the above." Other parents call us with a set of implicit demands. "Make it more interesting," they say. "Less boring," they say. "Recruit people who will capture my kid's interest," they say. "Go knocking on doors in my neighborhood and recruit seven or eight of my kid's best friends (so that my kid will see faces he knows when he comes to Sunday school)," they say. And we accept many of those challenges, given that a subtle justification often underlies them. While others beat the kid….bribe the kid….or hit the ecclesiastical trail, going from church to church with the kid, effectively surrendering all control to the kid, mumbling quietly: "Wherever he's happy, we're happy." Which may be a reason to make one change, but when you're staring at your fourth or fifth change, it may be time to inquire as to whether your home is a dictatorship….and if so, just who the dictator is. But back to my friends and the complaint of their son: "Why should I go when I don't want to go….don't need to go….and don't have many friends who go?" To which they said (after listening attentively to his concerns): "Son, you've seen baptisms in church, haven't you? Well, when you were really little….so little that we had to carry you in our arms….we had you baptized. And, on the day of your baptism, we made a promise to God that we would bring you to church (at least until you're a whole lot bigger than you are right now). You wouldn't want us to break that promise to God, would you?" Which he thought about. Then thought about some more. Before saying: "No, I guess not." Which is pretty much the last thing he's said about it since. I suppose you could say: "He's one smart kid." Or you could say: "He's one lucky kid." All I know is what I heard his parents say: "Hey, he's not our kid." Asking for Help The early church asked for the Spirit. They acknowledged His power and His way. Sensitive souls have always turned to the Spirit for help. The Spirit does not add qualities of life we do not possess. Those qualities are not something poured into us from the outside. They are inside humans and respond to the Spirit, developing every potential to its fullest. John Milton asked the Spirit to aid him as he began his epic poem, Paradise Lost. But it would have been of little help had he not possessed the genius of a poet. John Wesley declared that the success of his work was due to the Spirit, but we must remember that Wesley was a born leader. The Spirit used him. There was something in Wesley that responded to the Spirit. "God honors radical, risk-taking faith. When arks are built, lives are saved. When soldiers march, Jerichos tumble. When staffs are raised, seas still open. When a lunch is shared, thousands are fed. And when a garment is touched -- whether by the hand of an anemic woman in Galilee or by the prayers of a beggar in Bangladesh -- Jesus stops. He stops and responds." (Lucado, 69) What is your Samuel? Rest Assured that we worship a God who hears. The related question for each of us is who is our Hannah? Hannah is one of my favorite persons in the bible. I love her faith, I love her devotion, I appreciate her gift to God. There is a Hannah in our lives who prayed for us, but there is a Hannah in our lives who we need to love and understand and support in her prayer. Sometimes in the church today we fail to minister to those who have great odds stacked against them because we fail to look beyond our prejudices and rituals and see their real need. Bishop Noah Moore, Jr., often told of a woman who came to the altar during one of the worship services when he pastored the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He said that the woman's clothes were torn. Her hair was not combed and her eyes were red and bloodshot. Assuming her to be drunk with alcohol, he said to her: "Daughter, you know better than to come to church drunk like this." She said, "Pastor, please let me pray. You don't understand. I had to fight my husband in order to get out of the house to come to church and I will have to fight to get What is your Samuel? Who is your Hannah? Let us pray….. …..additional illustrations….. 108 Daily Routine Of Bishop The late Bishop John H. Vincent had the custom of repeating to himself each morning the following simple but far-reaching solution, which may serve as a model for us: “I will this day try to live a simple, sincere, and serene life; repelling promptly every thought of discontent, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.” —Christian Observer back in. But I had to come here this morning to get the strength to make it another week."