Come Follow Me

January 26, 2020 Year A Matthew 4:12-23 Disciples Answering the Call 3rd Sunday after Ephiphany Children’s Time Matthew 4:12-17 · Jesus Begins to Preach 2 of 5 Children's Sermon by Wesley T. Runk Turn Around! Matthew 4:17 Object: A framed picture with the back showing. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we have one of the simplest lessons to learn, but one of the hardest things to do that we have ever talked about. I brought along a picture with me and I am going to put it right in front of you so that you can see it very clearly. (Put up the picture with the back facing them.) It's a beautiful picture and one that I enjoy having in my house. Sometimes I just stand in front of it and look at all of the wonderful things that it describes. It must have taken someone a long time to paint such a beautiful picture, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. (By this time the children are telling you that they can't see it and you must turn it around.) You can't see it? You mean that it is going in the wrong direction? If you are to see this beautiful picture, I must first turn it around. I will if you will listen to me for just one more minute. Jesus used to preach, "Repent," and he would say it over and over again. "Repent, repent, repent." Do you know what repent means? (Let them answer.) It means to turn around. Jesus was telling people that they were going in the wrong direction with their sin, and they should stop and turn around and come back to God. In other words, when Jesus was saying, "Repent" he could have said, "Turn around, turn around, turn around." The right way to go is towards God and not away from him. When we commit sin we are going away from God and Jesus tells us to turn around. Now I am going to turn the picture around because this is the way it was meant to be. No one ever painted a picture to be hung on the wall facing the wall. When people paint pictures, they want them to be seen. When God made us, he meant for us to go in the right direction and he didn't make us to sin. But we do sin and we do head in the wrong direction. That's why Jesus preaches for us to repent, to turn around and head in the right direction. The next time you see a picture and it is hanging so that you can see it, I want you to remember the day that someone asked you to look at the back of the picture. We knew it was the wrong way and we had to turn it around. That is the same thing that we must do with our lives after we sin. We must repent and turn them around. C.S.S. Publishing Company, THE ONE-HANDED CLOCK, by Wesley T. Runk Stewardship Moment Once upon a time there was an old man who owned a donkey. He loved his donkey more than anything in the world. He talked to it; he curled up beside it on cold nights and it carried him and his belongings when he was tired. One day the old man met a woman who had three daughters. Now the woman had 17 donkeys. She was very rich! The woman wanted to divide her donkeys between her three daughters do that they had a fair share. She wanted her oldest daughter who did most of the work to have a half share of her donkeys, She wanted her second oldest daughter, who didn’t do quite as much work to have one third share of her donkeys. Ans she wanted her youngest daughter who did little work to have one ninth share of her donkeys. The problem was it just didn’t work out Seventeen donkeys cant be divided in half – so this did not work out. But when she see’s the old man and his one donkey, her problem was solved. She asks the old man for his only donkey. He is upset, but helps her out. So now the division works out. Half, then a third, then a ninth. But she discovers that she still has one donkey left over – the old man’s, he gives it away, but in the end he gives it away – how is that mathematically possible? Scripture Matthew 4:12-23 Common English Bible (CEB) Move to Galilee 12 Now when Jesus heard that John was arrested, he went to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, which lies alongside the sea in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what Isaiah the prophet said: 15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, alongside the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who lived in the dark have seen a great light, and a light has come upon those who lived in the region and in shadow of death.[a] 17 From that time Jesus began to announce, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” Calling of the first disciples 18 As Jesus walked alongside the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, because they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” 20 Right away, they left their nets and followed him. 21 Continuing on, he saw another set of brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father repairing their nets. Jesus called them and 22 immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Ministry to the crowds 23 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues. He announced the good news of the kingdom and healed every disease and sickness among the people. Footnotes: a. Matthew 4:16 Isa 9:1-2 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Tools of the Trade I think that we all have them – for me it is pens. I have collections of pens all over the place at home and at church. As a writer, I never want to be caught anywhere without a pen. For me they are the tools of the trade. For a carpenter it might be tools, for a crafter it might be yarn, for a teacher it might be books. Tools of the trade are more than just tools, the represent our identity, our sense of being. You never lend your tools to other people – they have to get their own, you keep them in a place where you can get to them when you need them, and you never get rid of them, no matter what you hold onto them. For Peter, Andrew, James and John their tools of the trade would have been their nets. As a fisherman, a net was something that you held onto for dear life – because it was your life. But one day a strange man walks by and makes an even stranger request – follow me – and just like that, they give up their nets, their identity, their family and everything else. The bible never says if Jesus knew them ahead of time, it never tells us what it going on in their lives at the time, it doesn’t even tell us if Jesus had to say anything else to convince them. But it does tell us that they did walk away from their lives and follow Jesus to become fishers of men. Jesus tools of the trade were his relationships- his connections to the hearts of people. The message of Matthew is to help us to understand that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is trying to help us to see the kingdom and to see clearly that God is in our midst. What is so important that these men would just walk away from their lives? The promises of God – light, salvation, a stronghold. They had a chance to become disciples to the most distinguished teacher of all of the world – the Son of God. But at that moment none of that was obvious to them – they were just following the voice of God. Rob Bell is a pastor from Michigan. In one of his sermons, he talks about what it takes to become a disciple of a dinstinguished disciple. You were expected to start studying the bible at age six, and work at remembering it my heart. Only the best and brightest students were invited by a rabbi to study. There were very few who made the cut. These men were adults who had gotten into their family trade. So they weren’t the best of the best – and yet Jesus saw something in them that would make then disciples- they were willing to follow when asked, just because they were asked. In John 15:16 jesus explains 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last— We can be grateful that Jesus is still choosing disciples – he chose you and me so that we can bear fruit. He wants us to be fishers of men – to develop relationships, to show love, to spread the world – that the kingdom of God is at hand – and God is still looking for people to come and follow him. Modern Disciples as fishers of men I think that sometime we have lost sight of what it means to follow Jesus. We follow ourselves, but we don’t invite others to follow. We are not fishers of men. I think that what we don’t realize is that Christ is not asking us as disciples to do anything that he did not do himself. We focus on the story of how the disciples dropped everything. But we don’t realize that Jesus did the same before. He was born in Nazareth, his family trade was carpentry. And he left all of that behind and moved to Capernaum in order to be by the sea – what did he know about fishing? Only what God taught him. Giving up today for tomorrow I often wonder, how many of us as modern disciples are willing to give up who we are today in order to become who we need to be tomorrow. We are too busy holding onto who we are today for dear life, to even listen to what God is telling us about the future. Over the weekend, I have been thinking about how I keep holding onto a lot of activities, and tools, and my understanding of life. When I have been doing one thing for awhile, and this year I am not asked to repeat that activitiy. I feel like a failure. But if I keep holding on the old activities, there is no space to get new activities. If I am holding on to the past for dear life, then how is the future ever going to seep through? Repent! A Whole New World Is Headed Straight at You! "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!" That is what Jesus says (plagiarizing his cousin John) in Matthew 4:17. In his wonderful commentary on Matthew, Frederick Dale Bruner paraphrases this, "Move, because here comes the whole new world of God!" The verb translated as "is near" is the same word Jesus uses later in Matthew when he sees Judas in Gethsemane and says, "Here comes my betrayer." So when Jesus says in verse 17 that the kingdom of heaven "is near," he means it's coming straight at you! If you're crossing a street and see a garbage truck barreling down on you, you may well say, "Hey, look out!" (or words to that effect). Jesus' words have that same urgency. "Look out! Move! A whole new world is headed straight at you!" As Bruner says, every word that comes from Jesus is nuclear. These words are urgent and the implications of this kingdom's approach are immediate. If someone yells "Watch out!" when you're crossing a street but then you just stand there, something is going to happen to you and it's probably not going to be good. Jesus' point is the same: you can't hear him tell you that the kingdom is approaching and then just stand there like a statue with your hands in your pockets. You need to repent, literally to turn around, so that you're ready to embrace this kingdom, so that you can hop onto the kingdom instead of getting crushed by it as it rolls right over you. As disciples we have to tell others that the kingdom of God is at hand. If you have truly seen the light – how hard is it to help others to see the light for themselves. We have to provide a space for others to see that life is so much better in the light of Christ. Invitation from a Jogger Tom and Stuart McLean had been with their father in his growing business for three years. Their father was an electronic genius and had developed some exotic products that fit a very narrow customer need in the industry. When Stuart graduated from M.I.T. with a degree in engineering, he had accepted his father's offer to come into the company as his older brother had done two years before. In three short years the father and his two sons were the chief cogs in the business. While Tom and Stuart enjoyed working with their father, their work didn't give them much physical exercise, so they put on their jogging shoes in order to get back into the physical shape they both enjoyed in college. After gradually getting into shape, they settled into a jogging routine, and eventually covered three miles per day. By the sixth month of their regular jogging they began to recognize other joggers on the trail, occasionally nodding to them or greeting them with a smile. One day as they neared the end of their three miles, an African-American jogger joined them. He said very little other than a greeting, but joined them again during the following week. On one of those days he sat with them in the locker room of their club and chatted with them after they all finished their showers. "How would you like to join me in a project I'm thinking of starting?" he asked during their chat. "What do you have in mind?" Stuart asked. "I came from the bad side of town," he started to explain, "and I'm going to go back there and set up programs for the kids. I was lucky, because I got an athletic scholarship to go to college, but most of those poor kids have got nothing to look forward to," he continued. "Well, that's all well and good," Tom commented, "but what are you going to do? And ... and this kind of thing usually takes money ..." The man went on to explain his plan and what it would do for the young people in the poor neighborhood from which he had come. "But who's sponsoring you?" Stuart asked, not wanting to demean what the man was proposing, but at the same time knowing it takes money to do things like this. "No one is sponsoring me," the man replied. "The need is so great, I can't help believing that somehow we'll make it. I'm quitting my job to get into this project ... how would you guys like to join me?" The three of them were dressed by now and the brothers said parting words to the other man and headed for home. On the way home Tom said, "Craziest thing I ever heard of," not quite convincingly. "Yeah, perhaps so," Stuart agreed. "You know, we were raised in a pretty privileged home and don't really know what poverty means." "So?" Tom replied. "What are you driving at?" "Let's help him," Stuart challenged. "Are you crazy, too?!" Tom accused. But they talked about it, and sat in the driveway giving it more thought before entering the house. Their dad was watching the 6:00 news. "Dad," Tom stuttered, "Stuart and I are leaving the company." "What did you say?" their dad asked, not quite believing what he had heard. "It's a long story," Stuart began. Merle G. Franke, Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit Cycle A, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Commentary Jesus lived three years with his disciples. They went everywhere together and did everything together. They ate, slept, and breathed the life of Jesus and yet it was difficult for them to make the transition in their minds from a Messiah who would be a mighty King of Jews to a Messiah that would die for the sins of mankind. But Jesus never wavered in his mission. Throughout his entire ministry among the people and his training of the disciples he held in his heart this hope: That Peter along with the rest of his disciples would lose their earthly ambitions and become feeders of sheep--fishers of men. The very first words of Jesus when he and Peter met at the waters was, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men." His very last words to Peter, again down at the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and after his resurrection, were, "Feed my sheep, Follow me." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com Peter understood the invitation to salvation in his life and in others – what about you? Let us pray….Amen. Additional Illustrations Working for Christ Christianity began as a working man's religion. No, that is not the gospel according to Marx; it is the Gospel According to Matthew. Matthew tells us that immediately after Jesus began a public preaching ministry, he took four fishermen as his apprentices. He was walking by the Sea of Galilee and spied Andrew and Peter casting their nets. He called them to follow him, promising to make them fishers of men. In Matthew's Gospel, then, linked tightly together are Jesus' ringing pronouncement, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and his invitation to the fishermen, "Follow me." You and I, who believe in Jesus Christ and count ourselves his disciples, are not to follow a trade or profession as though it were the Holy Grail. We are to follow Jesus. Work is to take a secondary role in our lives. If Christ is truly our Master, then work cannot be equally important. We may be engaged in work, but never married to it. And whenever we are pressed or tempted to make work supreme, we are to recall the story of the four fishermen. We are to remember how they left their nets and their boats to go and be with Jesus, to do what he would have them do. John C. Purdy, The Call to Adventure A Job vs. A Ministry Someone has said there is a huge difference between having a job at church and having a ministry at church. ... If you are doing it because no one else will, it's a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it's a ministry. ... If you're doing it just well enough to get by, it's a job. If you're doing it to the best of your ability, it's a ministry. ... If you'll do it only so long as it doesn't interfere with other activities, it's a job. If you're committed to staying with it even when it means letting go of other things, it's a ministry. ... It's hard to get excited about a job. It's almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry. An average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry. Mickey Anders, The Beginning of Ministry Essential Personnel Even if we live where it rarely snows, the phrase is a familiar one. When budget talks collapse and the government shuts down, this is the phrase that is trotted out. When the earth suddenly moves under the people of California, often a certain group of people are called out while the rest are told to stay at home. When tornadoes blow through the Southwest and disrupt everything in their course, only certain people should risk the dangers involved. These are maintenance people, road crews, ambulance drivers, fire fighters, electric and gas company workers, truck drivers, and a whole host of service people who are taken for granted when things are running smoothly. We call them "essential personnel." Think about that phrase. Think about what it means to be essential personnel. Then, if you want to be humbled, think about what it is like to be non-essential personnel. Consider the fact that the world can go on without some of us. The good news is that in the church we are all, or at least all can be, essential personnel. We are called to be a special group of people and to do some important things. William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came The Angel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Fishers of Men (Witnessing) Most of our witnessing is likely to happen in passing moments of conversation--those occasions when we show, in relatively minor ways, who we are and to whom we belong. I think of a suburban woman who was playing tennis with her good but quite secular friends. In a conversation break between sets she began referring to something she had read that morning. It would have been easy to say, "I read something this morning." Instead, with no attempt at piosity, she simply introduced one word: "In my devotional reading this morning." It was not a major soul-winning engagement. It was, however, a true sowing of seed. By a word, she had opened the door for some further conversation. Perhaps our greatest problem in becoming Christ’s fishermen is that we are not enough in earnest to grasp the opportunities that come to us; or we are so possessed of the idea that we must say something dramatic and far-reaching that we fail to say the small, immediate and potentially significant thing. To put it in the language of our lesson for the day, most of us really don’t act as if we even have a call to "fish." We’re out in the waters of human need every day, but we don’t seem to know it. The issue is not that we should become more aggressive about sharing our faith. It is that we should be more sensitive to the needs of the world around us, and more sensitive to the subtle prodding of the Holy Spirit. The two sensitivities are wonderfully intertwined. To be sensitive to the Holy Spirit must mean that we will be more sensitive to people and their pain; to be more sensitive to people ought to make us more open to God and his purposes. J. Ellsworth Kalas, Reading the Signs, From Empty Nets to Full Lives, CSS Publishing Company Follow Me There was a field covered with freshly fallen snow. A father and a son enter the field. As they walk across the field, you notice that the father pays no particular attention to where he is going, but his son, on the other hand, follows directly behind, making a special effort to step in his father’s footprints. After the two have crossed the field, you notice that there is only one set of tracks visible in the field, although two had walked across it. The Christian life is that way. In our daily walk we ought to be following Christ's example. Whether in times of suffering, sorrow or need, whether in times of health, joy, or abundance--if someone were to observe the snow-covered fields of your life, would there be one set of tracks, those of Christ? Or would there be two sets, one belonging to Christ and the other distinctly yours? Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p.53. Adapted One Unknown At the end of Albert Schweitzer's book "The Quest for the Historical Jesus" Schweitzer writes these words: He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside. He came to those who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!" and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands, and to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, he will reveal Himself in the toil, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is. Staff, www.Sermons.com Commentary Jesus lived three years with his disciples. They went everywhere together and did everything together. They ate, slept, and breathed the life of Jesus and yet it was difficult for them to make the transition in their minds from a Messiah who would be a mighty King of Jews to a Messiah that would die for the sins of mankind. But Jesus never wavered in his mission. Throughout his entire ministry among the people and his training of the disciples he held in his heart this hope: That Peter along with the rest of his disciples would lose their earthly ambitions and become feeders of sheep--fishers of men. The very first words of Jesus when he and Peter met at the waters was, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men." His very last words to Peter, again down at the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and after his resurrection, were, "Feed my sheep, Follow me." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com God Reigns Archbishop William Temple wrote in 1930: While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns -- the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Archbishop William Temple. Quoted in "Context," February 1, 1992.

Let Justice Roll Down

January 19, 2020 Isaiah 49:1-7 2ns Sunday after Epiphany Let Justice Roll Down Year B Announcements Remember Martin Luther King weekend – Invited to be a part of the leadership conference. Will be one of the presenters – along with pastor of New Lenox, workshop on racism – living together in harmony. Children’s Time Object: A pillow. Good morning, boys and girls. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? You've heard that old rhyme, haven't you? I don't know the answer to it, but I do know that woodchucks don't chuck wood this time of year. You know what they are doing? They are hibernating. A woodchuck normally has a pulse rate of about eighty beats per minute--about the same as you and me. But when it goes into its long winter's nap, that pulse rate slows down to about four beats a minute. And he lives off of the fat cells he has stored up. He is patiently waiting for springtime. I brought my pillow with me this morning. Sometimes when I have lots of problems or the weather is miserable outside, I would like to be that old woodchuck, and just hibernate and wait for spring when things will be better. But God didn't create us to live in a cave. God created us to love one another and serve one another. God is not hibernating and God didn't create us to hibernate either. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Stewardship time ." People say "charity should begin at home," and that is surely correct. Our problem is that so often it ends there. The person or the church with the world view, with the cosmic view, is so filled with compassion for others, that the people close at hand end up being beneficiaries of that same compassion. The task of the servant in our world today is to be a giver. Let me encourage you, in spite of the high cost of giving and the small number of servant models you may see around you, to determine to be different. We are never more Godlike than when we give. Shortly after World War II, Europe began picking up the pieces. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of the little orphaned children starving on the streets of war-torn cities.Early one morning an American soldier spotted a little lad with his nose pressed against the window of a pastry shop. Inside the baker was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence. His eyes glued to the glass as he watched those mouth-watering morsels being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The soldier's heart went out to the nameless orphan. Hurrying inside he quickly purchased a dozen hot doughnuts and took them outside to the hungry boy. "Would you like these doughnuts?" he asked. As he turned to walk away, the soldier felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child say, "Mister, are you God?" We are never more like God than when we give. The glory of being God's servant is the opportunity to do what God did in Jesus Christ our Lord. "For God so loved the world, that he gave...." Scripture The servant speaks up 49 Listen to me, coastlands; pay attention, peoples far away. The LORD called me before my birth, called my name when I was in my mother’s womb. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of God’s own hand. He made me a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in God’s quiver, 3 saying to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I show my glory.” 4 But I said, “I have wearied myself in vain. I have used up my strength for nothing.” Nevertheless, the LORD will grant me justice; my reward is with my God. 5 And now the LORD has decided— the one who formed me from the womb as his servant— to restore Jacob to God, so that Israel might return to him. Moreover, I’m honored in the LORD’s eyes; my God has become my strength. 6 He said: It is not enough, since you are my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the survivors of Israel. Hence, I will also appoint you as light to the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. 7 The LORD, redeemer of Israel and its holy one, says to one despised, rejected by nations, to the slave of rulers: Kings will see and stand up; commanders will bow down on account of the LORD, who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, who has chosen you. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Some years ago in Chicago, a parish minister sent out hundreds of questionnaires to people in every walk of life. He received a surprisingly great response, all of which he carefully indexed and tabulated. In each questionnaire only one point was raised: What is the outstanding problem or question you face daily in your thinking or living? Twenty-two percent named their family. Forty-eight percent mentioned personal living: the seemingly loneliness, general failure and futility of it all. On the bulletin board of an Ivy League university, this item appeared: "WANTED - a young couple to care for an elderly millionaire who has been taking tranquilizers for twenty years. The need is desperate in order to give him meaning to life. He has nothing to live for." Have you ever felt discouraged? All of these instances have a common factor that can be expressed in one word: futility. This mood is reflected again and again in our human story, and the Bible is no exception. In the fourth verse of Isaiah 49, we hear a cry of discouragement from this great prophet: "I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing...." Now, for more than a half-century the people of Israel had been exiles in pagan Babylon. But God had not abandoned them, for a new chapter of their history was beginning to emerge: out of the north came Cyrus, the Persian warrior, whose pressures on the Babylonian Empire eroded its strongholds and set the captives free. What a tremendous hour for the prophet! Now his hopes were being fulfilled and his prophecies vindicated. God had intervened and opened up a highway for the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple as a free nation. Well might he sing: "Lift up your voice with strength ... fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ " (Isaiah 40:9). In life, in service even in the church it is easy for us to ask the question what is the point in what I am doing? If we ask that question, we are in good company. Question asked by many in the bible, Elijah, Moses, Job. Question asked by many people in scripture for today. Question asked by the suffering servant. This is the second of stories told of a servant who has been encouraged to do do things – bring the exiles back to Israel to rebuild and then to become a light to the nations. This suffering servant admits that they have been called by God from birth, and that they have followed God to this point. They will do anything, but right now they don’t see the point. No one is listening, things are not changing, and his mission is filled with one disappointment after another. Kathy dropped by her pastor's study one Saturday morning on her way to her last university class before graduation. Pastor noticed that Kathy's left arm was wrapped in a towel. In her right hand, Kathy held a straight razor. The towel dropped from her left arm revealing a long, open, bloody gash. Holding up the razor, with tears in her eyes, Kathy pleaded, "Convince me not to finish this." With a gulp and a silent prayer, Pastor Michael said, "I don't know if I can, but let's take a memory walk first." Together they strolled through the church building, pausing to share stories of nursery school, confirmation classes, and youth group activities. Kathy recalled how her clinical depression kept coming back, reminding her how empty and meaningless her life had become. Even though she was on the dean's list, she felt stupid. Even though she had received a superior rating for her student teaching, she believed that she would be a disaster as an elementary school teacher. Even though her parents had chosen to adopt her while she was still in her birth mother's womb, Kathy could only see that she did not live up to their expectations. Just like God's servant in our text, Kathy believed: "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity" (Isaiah 49:4). "Come on, Kathy," urged Pastor Michael, "we have one more stop on our memory walk. Let's go into the sanctuary." Together they stopped at the baptismal font. "Here is where your mother and father promised to introduce you to an enormous family who would support you always. Here is where God named and claimed you and chose you as a child in God's forever family," said Pastor Michael. Kathy remained silent still clutching the towel around her arm. Yet she allowed the pastor to lead her down the center aisle toward the altar. "Look at the cross, Kathy. Here is where Jesus suffered and died so that you might have life. Here is the altar where Jesus gave his own flesh and blood for you." Kathy dropped to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. After a few minutes, just when Pastor Michael was planning to call the emergency squad, Kathy stood up. Placing her bloodstained towel and straight razor on the altar, Kathy announced, "Okay, I remember. Let's go get some help now." And they did. "Yet, surely," remembered the servant, "my cause is with the Lord" (Isaiah 49:4). Surely, remembered Kathy, servant of God, there is still work to be done; a life to live, and a baptismal commission to fulfill. At first the task of God's servant was limited to restoring the scattered children of Israel ... no simple job, but the servant knew that he was honored and strengthened by God to carry it out. "I am honored in the sight of the Lord and my God has become my strength" (Isaiah 49:5). At first, the task of God's servant, Kathy, was to begin to heal and to graduate. At first, the task of God's servant, Harold, was to provide driving lessons for his daughter. Each of these servants of God experienced failure and discouragement. What about us? What failures confront us? What dreams seem futile? Yet, surely, just as the Lord refreshed the memory of God's servants with reminders of God's forever love, God reminds us, as well. Not only did the servant in our text receive the necessary strength to complete his first mission, God expanded it. God said: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Wow! Not only did God's servant, Kathy, graduate with honors from college, she became Third Grade Teacher of the Year in her elementary school. Today she is principal of that school and serves as a youth advisor in her congregation. Wow! Not only did God's servant, Harold, renew a relationship with his daughter, he now volunteers as part of a ministry team working with youthful gang members. Recently, some of these young people presented Harold with a cross, made from melted down pistols, knives, and chains. Wow! These servants of God could not remain faithful to doing any of these things by their own efforts. They could only carry out their tasks in God's word to them, "... because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you" (Isaiah 49:7). Kathy was able to find hope in her memories and her relationship with God. When you are discouraged, where do you find hope. Where do you look for hope? Where do you find it? Scripture says that the suffering servant found hope in two words – yet nevertheless. Friends, pay attention to the turning point in our text. The next two words in verse 4 are decisive for the complaining servant and for God's discouraged people. They are decisive words because they announce that God is about to transform our perception of reality from failure and futility to promise and possibility. With these two words God gets our attention. God is about to reverse our self-definition from weak, depressed, and exhausted to named, claimed, and commissioned. For the servant and for God's people, it's not all about us. It's all about God. What are these two transforming words? They are, "Yet, surely." In the middle of the servant's exhausted complaining, he declares, "Yet, surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God" (Isaiah 49:4). Yet, surely, in his discouragement, Harold had a vision of God's renewal as he remembered the plaque given by his students. Yet, surely, in the midst of our own frequent failures and depleted energy, God gives us visions of renewal. Look around you right now. Look at the cross, the font, and the altar. See the scriptures opened. See God's gathered people around you. Yet, surely, right here, among us, God is naming, claiming, and commissioning us. Yet, surely, right here, God is reversing reality for all splashed and nourished sinner servants of the Lord. Yet, surely, with the servant, today we remember, both God's claim of us and God's commission to us. Celebrates God has been with him, but God named him. In culture the name of a child was not only something to be called, it was also a purpose to live into. Interesting thing – we never learn the name of the suffering servant. As a matter of fact, there is debate is it Jesus? It is the nation of Israel? Is it the church. Many think the ambiguity is on purpose. It is all of those things – but the suffering servant could be any of us in this room. Anyone who has become discouraged in their service to God. The point is being discouraged in not an excuse to give up. We are not let off the hook. Yet nevertheless, God is still with us, still loves us – still asks us to serve. I've always been intrigued by the story, supposed to be true, of a man who was so discouraged by his poor health that he decided to end it all by running until he dropped. So, he got his things in order and one day started to run until he dropped. He ran and ran and ran and ran, and, while he got exhausted, he didn't "drop." So he decided he'd do it again the next day, but this time he absolutely wouldn't stop until he dropped. Perhaps you can guess the end of the story. The man ran and ran, pushing himself to his limit instead of pampering himself in an armchair popping pills, and his body became strong and the man had a new life Servants are people of God to serve and to give. God wants to build into our lives the same serving and giving qualities that characterized the earthly life and ministry of our Lord. To me, it is always inspiring when someone in the public spotlight remembers this basic call of God to be a servant. Many of you will recall the name of Colonel James B. Irwin who was a part of the team of astronauts who made the successful moon walk. When Irwin returned, he spoke of the thrill connected with leaving this planet and seeing it shrink in size. He mentioned watching earthrise one day, and thinking how privileged he was to be a part of this unique crew. And then, as they were en route back to earth, he began to realize that the experience he had shared with his crew in space would make them overnight international celebrities. It was then that James Irwin, a person of deep faith in God, made a decision. In his own words, he said: "As I was returning to earth, I realized that I was a servant, not a celebrity. So I am here as God's servant on planet Earth to share what I have experienced that others might know the glory of God." That is still our calling from God - to be servants The late John A. Mackay once remarked: "We become related to Christ singly, but we cannot live in Christ solitarily." Commitment to God in Christ directs our lives ever outward to work his purpose for all people. And when we are so engaged, the thrill of our enthusiasm outstrips any assault by futility. At one time in Africa David Livingstone felt his work was hopeless, futile and in vain, but it was then that he fell back on Christ’s promise, "Lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world." And later he wrote in his diary, "These are the words of a man of the most sacred and strictest honor." There is a point in living! How happy we can be if and when we find it. Let us pray……. Additional illustrations Who is the servant? Is it Jesus? Is it the Church? Is it your congregation? Is it you? Is it all of these and more? Preaching task - To tell the story of how God’s work is being opened to all, and then bring it back down to the local level. In other words, this passage is about a relatively small group of people being used to bring justice to the world, and opening up God’s love to all people. How can this message be transposed to another group of people? The good news isn’t our good news. It isn’t news for this party, or this nation, or this race. It is for all. The Good News isn’t just for this church or this neighborhood - but it also IS for this church and this neighborhood. A senator, a clergyman and a Boy Scout were passengers in a small plane that developed engine trouble. "We'll have to bail out," the pilot announced. "Unfortunately, there are only three parachutes. I have a wife and seven small children. My family needs me. I'm taking one of the parachutes." And he jumped. "I'm the smartest politician in the world," said the senator. "The country needs me. I'm taking one of the parachutes." And he jumped. "I've had a good life," said to the clergyman to the Boy Scout," and yours is still ahead of you. You take the last parachute." "Don't need to," shrugged the youth. "There are two parachutes left. The smartest politician in the world jumped with my knapsack!" There are some of you here today who are feeling totally overwhelmed by life right now. I know that. And the issues for some of you are not light ones, they are bona fide heavy ones. Only you know the application in your life of the truth that Isaiah and Jesus were preaching. All I know is that God is sure to bless with new energy and new options and new vigor and new joy the persons or the church that chooses to dare great things for people beyond themselves, to be, as Isaiah said, "a light to the nations" out of commitment to and gratitude for God's great love for us which we have seen and known in Jesus Christ. Focusing only on ourselves and on easily reachable goals is simply too light a thing. It leads to un-health, dis-ease, and plugs up the flow of God's Spirit and power, so that even the "easy goals" are found to be unattainable. What this might mean for you and me and this church might make great dinner conversation, church committee discussion and prayer time contemplation this week. May we be open to what God would speak to us. All of these instances have a common factor that can be expressed in one word: futility. This mood is reflected again and again in our human story, and the Bible is no exception. In the fourth verse of Isaiah 49, we hear a cry of discouragement from this great prophet: "I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing...." Now, for more than a half-century the people of Israel had been exiles in pagan Babylon. But God had not abandoned them, for a new chapter of their history was beginning to emerge: out of the north came Cyrus, the Persian warrior, whose pressures on the Babylonian Empire eroded its strongholds and set the captives free. What a tremendous hour for the prophet! Now his hopes were being fulfilled and his prophecies vindicated. God had intervened and opened up a highway for the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple as a free nation. Well might he sing: "Lift up your voice with strength ... fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ " (Isaiah 40:9).

It is Time to Get Up

January 4, 2020 Epiphany Sunday Isaiah 60: 1-6 It is Time to Get Up Year A Announcements Children’s Time Good morning, boys and girls. (It may be appropriate to say a few words about the meaning of Advent or Epiphany.) One of the most interesting and familiar stories about what happened at the birth of the baby Jesus is told to us by Matthew. It is the story about a special star and of a group of men who were led by it to where the young child was. We even sing a song about these men. Who knows the name of the song? (Response -- "We Three Kings.") The three men were known as Magi. They were followers of a man named Zoroaster, and they were astronomers. Can you tell me what an astronomer is? (Response -- You may get some guesses but someone will say it's someone who studies the stars.) These men were wise. They not only studied the stars, they also studied the writings of the prophets. They knew that a new leader was to be born to Israel, and they wanted to come and worship him. When they followed their special star, do you know what happened? (Response.) Yes, it led them right to the place where Jesus was, and they presented very precious gifts to him out of their joy and respect. We may not have special stars in the sky to lead us to Jesus today, but we can find our way to him, too. The Bible tells us all about who Jesus was and is, and what He did when He came into the world. We can come to him in faith and receive him as the King of our lives today, even as wise men did so many centuries ago. (Prayer to encourage us to seek Jesus in our lives today.) (Give them a star to remind them of the Wise Men and the star of Bethlehem.) Stewardship Moment This is the twelfth day of Christmas, well tomorrow is the 12th day of Christmas. This is the day when we celebrate the three wise men coming to bring gifts to Jesus. Gold Frankincense and Myrrh. These were the gifts needed to fulfill his mission to the world. On this modern day epiphany – we have a chance to find Jesus and give gifts, but gifts that facilitate ministry a willing spirit and gold – still takes gold – cash and checks, but they work just as well. Perfect time for stewardship. Scripture People Returning for the Reunion 60 1-7 “Get out of bed, Jerusalem! Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight. GOD’s bright glory has risen for you. The whole earth is wrapped in darkness, all people sunk in deep darkness, But GOD rises on you, his sunrise glory breaks over you. Nations will come to your light, kings to your sunburst brightness. Look up! Look around! Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you: Your sons coming from great distances, your daughters carried by their nannies. When you see them coming you’ll smile—big smiles! Your heart will swell and, yes, burst! All those people returning by sea for the reunion, a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations! And then streams of camel caravans as far as the eye can see, young camels of nomads in Midian and Ephah, Pouring in from the south from Sheba, loaded with gold and frankincense, preaching the praises of GOD. And yes, a great roundup of flocks from the nomads in Kedar and Nebaioth, Welcome gifts for worship at my altar as I bathe my glorious Temple in splendor. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Sermon The first of the year is always a busy time with a lot of things going on. Every year, I always wait to see what ball will drop at the beginning of the year. 2020 seems to have bought huge changes to many areas of our life. With all of the big news stories, there are a lot of pastors who have even taken the time to change their sermons in order address some of the stories that we have seen on the news. Lucky for me, I don’t start writing to late Saturday night, so I don’t have to change. There are a lot of different themes that a pastor can focus on at the first of the New Year. We can do the Wesley covenant service, we can think about the second Sunday after Christmas, today I thought it would be important for us to think about epiphany. This is actually the oldest season of the Christmas year. Winter solstice used to be celebrated on January 6th – but they moved it to December 25th. That is when they celebrated the twelve days in between. Traditionally, we can take our Christmas decorations down tomorrow. I also learned recently, that January is women’s Christmas – women work so hard to make Christmas special for everyone else, so January 6th is a day of rest and celebration. An epiphany is an awareness that makes all of the difference. An aha moment. It is also the time of the year when we celebrate the return of the light – even though it is still dark most of the day- each day we get more and more sunlight. I think that the season of epiphany is important – because it is a time to look at who we are as a church, to recommit to our mission, to think more about what it means to follow Jesus, and to get one step closer to the son – the son of God – Jesus Christ. This year epiphany will be six weeks – lent starts the first Sunday of March – Easter is April 12th. Epiphany is that dark time before, where we relive the story of Jesus life, and examine our walk with Jesus to the cross. It is more important than ever, for us to think about who we are as a church. One of the big news stories of the New Year has been the fact that the Methodist church is splitting. When stories hit the news, it is easy for things to get sensationalized and blown out of proportion. Therefore, I wanted to clarify the news. • There was a small group of people who met together to hash out a plan for the church dividing. At this point, this is just a proposal. The only body that can make official decisions for the church is general conference. General conference meets every 4 years. So the next general conference will be this May. • Every year certain people meet behind closed doors to make some grand proposal for restructuring the church to present to general conference – and it always changes once it is debated • We had a special general conference in 2018 to talk about the churches views on sexuality – it was decided to keep the language in the book of discipline that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, and it was voted that anybody who is gay or performs a gay marriage would have tough consequences. • Many churches and pastors felt that it was unfair, that they needed to serve and welcome all people. • Those who want to keep the traditional language, have already met, wrote their own book of discipline, and are prepared to form a new denomination. • The agreement is that they can leave and they will get 25 million dollars to start this new denomination. • The united Methodist church will stay the same- and meet again next year to restructure. If a church does not make the effort to join this new denomination, they will automatically stay a part of the united Methodist church • We don’t know what the final proposal will be until after general conference, and any changes that are voted on will not take effect until January of 2021. I know that is a lot to process, there is a lot of written material on it on the website, and I will make sure that we as a church have access to the information. Nevertheless, listen to the facts, not the emotion. With all that is going on I felt that the message of our scripture for today was more important than ever. Arise and shine for your light has come. It is a wakeup call for the faithful – that even though it is dark that the light is already here. I saw on Facebook, a posting that said that we all should have found the baby Jesus by now, if we were looking. Somewhere in our lives, we should have seen Jesus presence of love and light. Isaiah wrote these words to a people who had come back to Israel to discover that everything was in shambles, and they were looking for their faith. They were at a loss of what to do. They were waiting for some miracle to happen – that would change their faith. And this scripture was written to remind them to stop waiting for change – and be the change they are waiting for. I think those words are important for our church. In the midst of all of the changes, it is most important now for us to focus on who we are as first united Methodist church of Wilmington. Who is God calling us to serve, what does it mean to be Methodist in this context, what does it mean to be a church that welcomes all. In addition, to stay focused on what we must do locally. But more important to wake up, arise and shine – to stand up and to realize that the Jesus we are looking for is inside of each of us. Not in outside forces. Epiphany – let us arise and shine and be the people who have seen God for ourselves. Additional Illustrations