Seeing God with our own Eyes

February 23, 2020 Seeing God with our Own Eyes 2 Peter 1:16-21 Year B Transfiguration Sunday Children’s Time I am wearing my shiny shoes today, because today is a special Sunday. Transfiguration Sunday – the day that God told us a very special secret. The secret is that God loves us. God sent Jesus into our world – to who that love. Jesus was with his friends one day, and they noticed that there was a bright light, and they heard a voice say this is my son whom I love and I am proud of. Jesus asked that no one tell that story – was he embarrassed that his dad spoke to him? God’s secret. But is a story that God tells pretty often, there are a few times when God spoke about Jesus in public. Jesus told his friends to keep this a secret until the right time. The time is now – we all have a job to spread the secret until everyone in the world knows that God loves us all! Stewardship Moment As a little child we are all taught how important it is to share and to not be selfish with the things that we have. It is easy for us to think that the bible reinforces that lessons of not being selfish. But Jesus actually does not say a whole lot about being unselfish, Jesus tells us to be loving and giving. What is the between being unselfish and being loving – one is the a negative, and the other is a positive. One is a list of things not to do, one is a list of things that we should do. When we are not being selfish – we think about what we have and chose to give what is left over. When we are loving and giving, we help others in spite of what we have. God does not give to us out of what God has left over, God gives out of God’s heart. God does not give out of what God has, but out of what we need. If God can do that for us, then surely, we can do that for others. As we give today – give to the mission of our church to reach out, to make a difference and God has given to us…. scripture 2 Peter 1:16-21 Common English Bible (CEB) Christ’s return is true 16 We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 In addition, we have a most reliable prophetic word, and you would do well to pay attention to it, just as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon I was on facebook a few days, and saved this post on how to identify fake news. 1. Read Past The Headline 2. Check What News Outlet Published It 3. Check The Publish Date And Time 4. Who Is The Author? 5. Look At What Links And Sources Are Used 6. Look Out For Questionable Quotes And Photos 7. Beware Confirmation Bias If a story looks suspicious or claims to reveal major news, search to see if other news outlets are also reporting the story. A single article from a suspicious source making a grand claim should be viewed with heavy skepticism. If no reliable news outlets are also reporting the story, then it’s very likely fake. 9. Think Before You Share Fake news sites rely on readers to share and engage with their articles in order for them to spread. In extreme cases, these fake articles can balloon out of control and have unintended consequences for those involved in the stories. After fake news stories claimed that Hillary Clinton was sexually abusing children at a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant, the business owner and his employees received death threats and vicious online harassment. The staff is still under attack even though these false claims have been debunked. More Resources For Spotting Fake News: • Snopes.com • Melissa Zimdars’ List Of Fake News Sites • On The Media Fake News Handbook • FactCheck.org • Poynter’s Tips For Debunking Fake News • TinEye Reverse Image Search • Washington Post Fact Checker In the world that we live in, we hear lot about fake news. And as we hear news everyday – and we can struggle with what to take seriously. Why are people telling us this story. The phrase fake news is a modern term, but the concept is not new. It has been going on for many years. Our scripture for this morning - 2 Peter was written to address this situation. Just who was this Jesus Christ anyway? And if he has not come back, is he really going to return? Some preachers were saying that he was coming back and some were not? In such a divided political climate, who do we believe? The author of 2 Peter makes the point that Peter was a witness to the transfiguration of Jesus. He was there, he heard the voice of God speak, he saw the face of Jesus shine and transform. More importantly – his life was changed from being present at that moment. In other words, Peter was not speaking from heresay, but personal experience. Peter was establishing himself as an authority figure on preaching the gospel. The words of Peter could be trusted. I don’t preach on this scripture very often, but it does offer a very different persective. Each of the gospels tell the story of the transfiguration. But this is the only reference to that day in the rest of the new testament. Peter tells this story in order to dispel the fake news of the day. Just as I gave the nine rules of spotting fake news. Peter says that he is an authority. The story of Jesus transfiguration and resurrection is not a myth – it is truth that Peter say for himself. He heard the voice and saw that sight for himself. The stories of Jesus should be a light to our understanding of the world. “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 2 Peter 1:17 After the experience on the mountain, The Voice tells the disciples to "listen to Him (Jesus)". Discipleship is nothing more or less than “listening to Jesus.” To move forward in faith is to listen to Him, to recognize His voice, The Voice that is a transfiguring power, the same power that created the world out of nothingness. This is The Voice that transfigures sinners into saints, that heals the broken-hearted and makes the wounded whole human beings. The Voice is the voice of change, of transfiguration, The Voice that transfigures water into wine, and wine into blood, and death into life, and transgressive people into transfigured people. Can you hear the voice of Jesus in your life? In our culture? Do you have a hearing problem? Can we hear the voice of Jesus over the drone of voices calling you elsewhere? Listening for Jesus voice is "serious" [siri-ous] business. To “Listen to Him” we need to do four things. 1) We need to mute other voices. 2) We need to learn to listen and be silent. 3) We need to recognize The Voice. 4) We need to megaphone The Voice. 2) Twenty-one centuries after Peter, we are still called to a voice-activated faith. Today the voices we hear may not be declaring, “This is my Son,” but they are declaring “these are my children, my sons and daughters.” The voices we are now hearing may be declaring, “I need help.” Or “my children and I are sleeping in our car.” Or “I’m not able to show and share my faith with my family.” Those are all voice-activated calls to faith that demand a faith response. It is not an accident that this story takes place on a mountain top. Jesus went up on the mountain top in order to find God, just as moses and Elijah before him. As a matter of fact, both of those prophets join him on the mountain top. Meanwhile, Peter, John and James are also there sitting in a corner watching all that is going on. This moment actually changes their lives, and inspires their ministry from this day forward. It is the moment where everything becomes clear and makes sense. We all have had those moments in our life when everything makes sense, and we can see clearly. Those moments when everything in the world seems to come together, and we believe that everything will be alright. We have all had those moments, but have you every realized that those moments in life don’t last forever. There come and they go. Peter, James and John wanted this moment to last forever, they wanted to stay on that mountain forever, and yet Jesus said it was time to move on and come off the mountain. Just as quickly as the moment came it passed. Just like it does in our life. I just learned about this, this morning. But if you climb a mountain. If you stand between a cloud and the sun, then a halo will develop around you. A round circle with a rainbow on the outside. The phenomenon is called a glory. But isn’t that how we spend most of our lives, somewhere in the middle of a cloud and sunshine? We all have those moments of sunshine, but most of our lives are lived in the clouds – of confusion, or yearning or wanting better. We see some clarity, and then it is back into to the clouds. Glimpses of God When I first heard Chet Atkins play guitar, it made me want to be a better guitar player. The intricate way that he played made me want to learn his style and to try to make a guitar sound that way myself. But the first time I heard B.B. King play guitar, one simple note at a time, hung out in the air, sighing breathlessly or screaming in pain, it made my heart hurt – and it made me want to ease the pain that caused that sound. When I see the babies who are brought to the altar rail here, I have to smile at them. They make me want to touch them and to tell them how beautiful they are. But when I saw my own children as babies, they made me want to be a better person, so that I could be what they deserved as a father. Glimpses of God call us to alter our lives and to begin to see and do things differently. John Bedingfield, Little Epiphanies An Hour of Glory on a Windswept Hill Dr. William Stidger once told of a lovely little 90-year-old lady named Mrs. Sampson. Mrs. Sampson was frail, feeble, even sickly. But Dr. Stidger said that when he was discouraged he always went to visit Mrs. Sampson. She had a radiant spirit that was contagious. One day he asked this 90-year-young woman, “What is the secret of your power? What keeps you happy, contented and cheerful through your sickness?” She answered with a line from a poem, “I had an hour of glory on a windswept hill.” Bill Stidger said, recounting this experience, “I knew she had been in touch with God and that was the whole reason [for her cheerfulness].” Listen again to her words: “an hour of glory on a windswept hill.” It sounds very much like the experience Peter, James and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com We Can’t Live on the Mountaintop A young woman made an announcement one morning to her co-workers, "My honeymoon is over and I am so relieved. Now we can get on with our marriage." That's the way it is with our mountaintop experiences. We can't live there forever. The light is too bright, the pace too frantic, and the demands too great. It is a relief to return to normal lives where we can be ourselves and let others be themselves, but that doesn't mean the honeymoon is forgotten. Just because we don't live on the mountain all the time doesn't mean we forget what happened on the mountain. William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came The Angel, CSS Publishing Company The point of those moments of sunshine is to give us strength to live the rest of our lives. It gives us an experience of God that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. The transfiguration, was a glimpse of the glory of the resurrection. When the disciples left the mountain, the vision of Jesus stuck with them for the rest of their lives. Each of them had their own ministry. Each of them was willing to tell their story. What is interesting about the scripture in 2 Peter, it was written to address the fake news of the day – that Jesus was not coming back. It says that I Peter was a witness to the transfiguration – the moment when Jesus became the Christ, the messiah the one loves by God and called to bring salvation to the world. What is interesting is that this scripture was not written by Peter. It was written by a disciple of Peter, someone who was not a witness to the transfiguration. But the point of our lesson for the day – is that we should act and believe, not out of what we have heard , but what we experience in our hearts. We should all seek the personal experience, when God speaks directly to us to inspire us and give us the courage to go on. That moment of sunshine is our assurance that life is unfolding as it should. That God is leading us to a place where it will all make sense and we will understand God and God’s love. Faith Gives off Light A few months ago I read the best-selling novel Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. It is the story of Sister John, a cloistered nun, who is slowly drawn into the intimate presence of God through stunning, dazzling, disintegrating visions. An ordinary woman becomes a quivering mystic, disappearing into "pure awareness." She became an ember carried upward by the heat of the invisible flame ... until the vacuum sucked the feeble light out of her. A darkness so pure it glistened, then out of the darkness ... nova.... More luminous than any sun ... all that was her ceased to exist. Only what was God remained. Unfortunately for Sister John, there is a complication. Along with her visions come excruciating headaches, which demolish her for days at a time, making her unavailable for the work of the cloister and causing her to be a great burden to the other nuns. Finally, a doctor diagnoses her with epilepsy, a condition that will get worse unless she chooses an operation - an operation that will relive the pain, but most likely destroy the visions. What should she do? After an intense wrestling match, Sister John chooses the operation. Why? With great reluctance, she denies herself, for the health and well-being of the larger, convent community. And sure enough the debilitating pain disappears. But so, too, does the exquisite passion - those intimate, ecstatic encounters with God. She goes back to the ordered, plodding life of the community where she is but one of many, serving God in the mundane moments of daily discipleship. In a final moment of wisdom in the book, the Mother Superior offers Sister John words that sustain her after the mountaintop moments have disappeared, when her daily faith journey seems dull and tentative: "We stretch out our emptied hands to take hold of the Light. We may feel that our prayers are arid, or that God has abandoned us. Although we suffer deeply, those become our most precious hours, because only in complete darkness do we learn that faith gives off light." Susan R. Andrews, The Offense of Grace, CSS Publishing Company Consulting an oracle God presence is with us all of our lives – but we have to take special times to learn to move and navigate our way through the thickness and beauty of the Shekinah glory – of god’s presence on earth. Lent is one of those times. Time to get in touch with the cloudiness of God. In the midst of cloudiness many people consulted special people to get the answers to your questions. Perhaps you are still thinking about what to do in Lent – so I have a special way to help you think about what to do for lent…… Okay some of the suggestions may not really be helpful – you will have to eat something in 40 days, and it is probably not a good idea to stay in bed for 40 days. Only God can truly tell you what to do- to see God more clearly in your life. ( not used) May you enter into the clouds of lent, discover the sunshine of Christ in your life- and be willing to keep God’s little secret to yourself until after Easter. Amen. Let us pray…. Amen. Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener – The Voice-activated Life - 2 Peter 1:16-21 When parents are trying to teach their very young children basic social skills one of the first big lessons is “Use your words.” Instead of grabbing, hitting, screaming, or crying, we teach our children to communicate their needs and desires through the use of words. Instead of snatching a toy away from another child we teach our kids to say “May I please play with that for a while?” Instead of screaming and throwing a tantrum, we teach our children to say, “I’m really mad,” or “He was mean to me,” or “She hit me!” The power of our voices, the power of words, is the first power we want our children to tap into. Verbal communication is uniquely human and is a uniquely empowering gift. Despite all the image-based advances in technology, “The Voice” is still the driving force in electronic developments. Voice power is still the ultimate power. Every new, successful emerging technology — for the past seventy-five years -- knows that voice power means market power. Remember RCA? RCA famously advertised its first record player, the “Victrola,” by showing the family dog with its head cocked in curiosity as it listened to a record player. The advertising tag line was, “His Master’s Voice.” The “next best thing” in the past few years has almost always been a voice-based development. We now all routinely talk to our cars… Transfigured: Who Changed? Laurel A. Dykstra, a scripture and justice educator living in Vancouver, British Columbia, wrote the following in an article for Sojourners Magazine: "My first night at Guadalupe House, a Catholic Worker “transition house” where I spent nearly 10 years, I sat at the wobbly-legged table amid a circle of men’s faces, black and brown and white, and looked at the peeling linoleum, tattered sheer yellow curtains, broken couches, and roach-filled corners. I had never seen a place so ugly. After a week of hospitality, laughter, community, and connection, I sat in the same seat and caught myself thinking, 'What a kind and homey room this is.' Transfigured. "So I wonder: In Matthew’s story of the mountain, was it Jesus who changed or was it that John, James, and Peter could now see the face of God shining in the man they knew? Did the thin air and the elevated perspective contribute to their clarity of vision? When they came down from the mountaintop, did they take their new capacity to see into the low places and crowded city streets? Can we? And when we see the face of God shining through those who are familiar to us, do we truly, deeply listen to them?" Laurel A. Dykstra, "See and Listen," article in Sojourners Magazine Sermon Opener - Lessons from the Mountaintop Frederick Buechner in his book, Peculiar Treasures, writes about Moses in the following way: "Whenever Hollywood cranks out a movie about Moses, they always give the part to somebody like Charlton Heston with some fake whiskers glued on. The truth of it is, he probably looked a lot more like Tevye the milkman after 10 rounds with Mohammed Ali. Moses up there on the mountain with his sore feet and aching back serves as a good example of the fact that when God puts the finger on people, their troubles have just begun! Hunkered down in the cleft of a rock, Moses had been allowed to see the Glory itself passing by, and although all God let him see was the back part, it was something to hold on to for the rest of his life." Mountaintop experiences in our faith journey become those moments of revelation that give us something to hold on to for the rest of our lives. That certainly is the kind of experience Moses had on Mount Sinai, and the kind of experience our Lord had with Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. Any experience in which we recognize the Living God can be a transfiguration. It may take place on the summit of a mountain, or as we kneel in prayer on a wooden floor at sea level. It can happen in the midst of a service of worship where God becomes dramatically real to us, and we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ is our Living Lord and Savior. So as we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord, let us consider some spiritual lessons from the mountaintop. 1. The Value Of Spiritual Mountaintops 2. The Mystery In Mountaintop Experience 3. The Temptation Of The Mountaintop 4. The Urgency Of Spiritual Mountaintops Robert A. Beringer, Something's Coming...Something Great, CSS Publishing There is a story told of an old man and his grandson who were walking down a business street in a downtown district. As they walked along, the grandfather suddenly stopped, turned his head slightly, and tweaked his ear. After a moment he said to his grandson, “Follow me.” They slowly moved from where they were standing to a small planter box next to a sidewalk café. The planter was filled with various seasonal plants, but as the old man gently pushed back the flowers, behind them was revealed a small bird’s nest filled with baby chicks, their chirping almost indistinguishable from the din of lunchtime dinners and people on the sidewalk. No one seemed to pay any attention to the old man, his grandson or the little nest, but the grandson was amazed. After watching for a few minutes and then moving away the little boy looked up at his grandfather. “Grandpa, how did you hear the birds? There is so much noise, so much happening, how could you hear?” Without saying a word, the old man took several coins from his pocket and tossed them on the ground. With the tinkling of the coins on the sidewalk it seemed everything came to a stop. People turned around. Diners stopped eating to look their way. Several almost seemed to want to reach down and pick up the dropped coins. Then as quickly as it had happened – everything went back to the way it was. That’s when the old man spoke, “It’s all in what you are listening for, my child, it’s all in what you are listening for.” 4) We need to megaphone The Voice. This sanctuary is a sacred place to most of us. We meet God here. For some of us this is the most beautiful and meaningful hour in our week. We could pitch our tents and stay here all week long. Some of our most active members are thinking to themselves, “I might as well, as much time as I spend here.” But we need to remember the time-honored story of the lady who happened in on a small Quaker congregation. They were sitting in silence. “When does the service begin?” she asked a man sitting near her. His answer: “As soon as the meeting is over.” Hannibal was the son of a general around 220 B.C. in the days of the Roman Empire. His father, a Carthaginian officer, trained the young Hannibal to disdain the Romans. Later, after Hannibal's commander was assassinated, Hannibal, at age 26, was named commander in chief by the acclamation of those under his command. The Carthaginian leadership quickly affirmed the field promotion. Hannibal strengthened his armies until they were ready to confront Rome. Leaving Spain with approximately 40,000 troops, horsemen, and 38 elephants, he made his way through southern France (Gaul) and prepared to enter Italy from the north over the Alps. We remember Hannibal as the one who took the elephants over the mountains, but few remember the challenges he faced along the way. First the river. He crossed the Rh“ne using commandeered boats for his troops, and for the elephants, he built earth- covered rafts. But how would they find their way in the Alps? Some friendly, local Gallic leaders assigned guides to help with the complicated Alpine passes, but many Alpine natives were hostile. As Hannibal and his ten thousands threaded the precipitous mountain paths, local residents rolled heavy stones down upon man and beast from the heights above. His descent on an icy base covered with fresh snow caused animals and soldiers to founder, and a landslide blocked their narrow path, delaying progress for a day. After fifteen days crossing the Alps, Hannibal descended into Italy, with 26,000 troops and a few of the original elephants. So, Hannibal got the elephants over the mountains, with mixed results. For some time he controlled large sections of Italy, but he never reached Rome, and finally was driven from there. Unwelcome at home because of his perceived mismanagement of the Roman campaign, he died a man on the run, pursued by When Hannibal came down from the mountains to the plain of northern Italy, he expected to find there the enemy. And the enemy he did find: endless struggle, conflict, eventual defeat -- he was driven from that place. A temptation for us is to think that taking the elephants over the mountains will leave us the same -- unchanged. And that simply we need to arrive upon the plain and be on our way, which is never the case. We can, however, plot a new course and travel the plain differently and successfully. But there are a few things to keep in mind. When Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain, they saw only Jesus, which meant that their view of everything else had changed. Eventually Peter's ministry took him far and wide to unfamiliar places and people. When we come down from the mountain, learn the terrain. Learn in a new way the interests, the appetites, the gifts, of those around us and the special opportunities afforded by this location. Thoreau reminds us that the entire world may be seen in a few acres of ground if we will only see. So learn the terrain. Secondly: say "yes" to the plain. Hannibal came down from the mountain and expected to find the enemy, and he found strife and conflict, misery and defeat. Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain and saw Jesus only. When we in our life journey have taken the elephants over the mountains, who will we be and where will we find joy? Whom will we see? Whom will we expect to meet on the plain? Will we be ready to receive the treasures of a new place? Will we be ready to receive the blessings which are ours to receive as changed people? Will we patiently and gently come to know the worth of those we meet who are differently gifted than ourselves? And will we be free in an unexpected place to touch the fringe of his garment? From the lofty places to the plain, our descending approach can make all the difference. And Jesus, who Peter, James, and John saw differently on the mountain, after the Resurrection said to his disciples, "I am going ahead of you and I will meet you on the plain." ________________________________________ 1. "Hannibal," The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1993 edition, vol. 5, pp. 683 - 685. My Special moment I have two questions for you – have you ever had that time in life, when everything came together for you? When life just seemed to make sense. It may have been your wedding day, or graduation, or birthday or some other special day that you felt that you were on top of the world. My second question is if you could talk to any two people, dead or alive to get advice, who would you ask. For Jesus those two people were Elijah and Moses. Thursday was that moment for me. I have not been that excited about anything in a very long time. I have not had a chance to sit on edge, and watch such an exciting scene unfold before me. A moment of intrigue, a moment where I question what is real. A moment where you can clearly see that there is a thin line between life and death, between the past and the future, between what you expect and what you don’t understand. It was that moment where you realize that there are those rare moments in our lives where all of our questions are answered, where we realize that the anticipation of waiting is finally fulfilled. But most of the time you realize that you have to spend most of your life in a cloud of confusion, that never goes away, because the answering of one set of questions, just brings about more questions. Perhaps Jesus did not have the season premier of the television series lost in mind when he bought his most trusted disciples with him to a mountaintop to pray. Season premiere or no, Lost is just a very clear mind game that is not scheduled to end until 2010. But Jesus must have known that there are those moments in all of our lives. The moments where the true identity of the Christ becomes clear to us. The transfigurations story When Jesus took his disciples up to the mountain – it must have seemed like a very cruel mind game to them. Jesus takes those 3 of the brothers that we talked about last week – Peter, James and John to the top of the mountain…….. The significance of clouds In the gospel, God talks to the disciples through a cloud and encourages them to listen to Jesus. In the Hebrew gospel God also talks and acts through a cloud. Moses takes his trusted helpers with him to Mount Sinai to talk with God to get the Ten Commandments. No one is allowed at the top except Moses. But once again a cloud covers the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day – a special day Moses comes out of the cloud with a message for the people. Now we tend to think of clouds as a bad thing- a bad time in our lives, a time of uncertainty, a time of confusion, a time when we are not able to see things clearly. What are the things that cloud your vision? What are the clouds in your life that prevent you from doing what you really want to do. The Shekinah Glory Clouds are actually a good thing in the bible. A cloud signifies the presence of God on earth. The presence of God was somewhere far away on a throne on heaven, but there is also a presence of God here on earth. God’s earthly presence is called the Shekinah glory – and you knew the Shekinah glory was present when you saw a cloud. It was a cloud that guided the Israelite to freedom by day and a pillar of fire by night. It was in a cloud in the mountain that Elijah was able to find the silence of God, it was a cloud that constantly talked with Moses to give him instruction to lead the people, it was a cloud that talked with the disciples to tell them that he was his beloved son listen to him, and when you think about it is that cloud of confusion, doubt, questioning, misunderstanding that constantly stays with us and shapes our faith journey. Cloudiness is a way of life for us. Moments of Sunshine When you think about it – those moments when things are totally clear and obvious are few and far between. An organization that I am a part of calls them moments of sunshine- those times when you are totally happy, when you are on the top of your game, when all of your questions have been answered, when you see life very clearly. The disciples hold onto that moment We are a lot like the disciples in those moments – we want to worship them forever – do you know anyone who still talks about that moment in high school. We want to build a temple so that moment can last forever, so that we can keep that feeling of clarity, so that we can live in that high of understanding. When the disciples asked if they could build temples for the appearance of Moses, Elijah and Moses, Jesus says no. Jesus usually reminds us that those moments in our lives are not intended to last forever. They come to give us perspective on the clouds, they come to give us a sense of hope to go on, and they come to give us special memories. But they always come to end Most of our lives are lived in a cloud Most of our life is to be lived in the cloud – a cloud of confusion and questions – because life is to be lived in the presence of an awesome, overwhelming, unknowable, mind boggling God. A God so big and so wonderful that we will never find the words to describe God. And yet a God who cares so much for you – that God is with you all of the time.

We are God's Coworkers - repreach 2/14

February 16, 2020 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Year A Sixth Sunday of Epiphany We are God’s Coworkers Children’s Sermon Object: A pile of bricks Lesson: Do you not know that you are God's temple. Good morning, boys and girls. How is everyone today? (Let them respond.) I'll bet you are wondering why I have this pile of bricks here! When I read Paul's letter for today, it made me think of brick and stone and all the things we do with them. What are bricks used for? (Let them answer.) Good. We use bricks to build all sorts of things, don't we? Fireplaces, houses, all kind of buildings, like libraries and banks and churches. Do you think that bricks are good things to use for a building, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) That's right. They are usually very strong. A house or building made with bricks would probably last a long time. Do you remember the old story about the three little pigs? (Let them respond.) Each one of them decided to build a house. Do you remember what the first pig used to build his house? (Let them answer.) That's right. One of them used straw. What happened to that pig's house? (Let them answer.) The wolf came and blew it all down. The second pig built his house with sticks. What happened to his house? (Let them answer.) That's right. The wolf came and huffed and puffed and the house fell apart! But the third little pig was smart. What did he use to build his house? (Let them answer.) Right! He used bricks, just like these. (Point to bricks.) And his house turned out to be safe and strong. Today we will hear Paul say that you and I are like the bricks that make up "God's building," the church. In fact, he says we are God's church! That means that we have to be very strong and sturdy parts of the building, don't we boys and girls? (Let them respond.) We can't be like straw that will blow away when the winds blow, or like sand that will crumble when a storm comes. We have to be like one of these bricks. How can we be good bricks in this church, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) That's right -- by coming to our worship service, listening very hard to God's word and to the sermon. We should also pay good attention to our Sunday school teachers and to our parents. Then we will be good, strong bricks for God's church. Will you try to do that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) Good. God bless you. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, WE ARE THE CHURCH, by Wesley T. Runk Stewardship Moment There was a church who had a big building project, and have a campaign to raise the money to make it happen. After the project, the finance committee met to decide how to acknowledge those who gave. One person felt that each person who gave should be named on a placque. Another person made the comment that they ran the risk of forgetting someone, so names should not be used. This debate went back and forth. Until another person decided that instead of naming names, that they should just say thank you to all who donated. Another thought that people should be named in the order of the amount of money that they gave. Finally, one woman who had not said anything in the meeting, reminded everyone that God was the one who gave all of the gifts. God invites each of us to participate. But it is all a gift from God to be able to give and to help. They decided that the placque would be in honor of the blessings of God. It is a privilege to work right along side of God and to give. Scripture 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Common English Bible (CEB) Wisdom applied to divisions in the church 3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet. 3 Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards? 4 When someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and someone else says, “I belong to Apollos,” aren’t you acting like people without the Spirit? 5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants who helped you to believe. Each one had a role given to them by the Lord: 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7 Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor. 9 We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field, God’s building. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Digging a hole, but no planting A fellow stopped at a gas station and, after filling the tank on his car, he paid the bill and bought a soft drink. He stood by his car to drink his cola and he watched a couple of men working along the roadside. One man would dig a hole two or three feet deep and then move on. The other man came along behind and filled in the hole. While one was digging a new hole, the other was about 25 feet behind filling in the old. The men worked right past the fellow with the soft drink and went on down the road. "I can’t stand this," said the man tossing the can in a trash container and heading down the road toward the men. “Hold on,” he said to the men. "Can you tell me what’s going on here with this digging?" "Well, we work for the government, " one of the men said. "But one of you is digging a hole and the other fills it up. You’re not accomplishing anything. Aren’t you wasting the People’s money?" "You don’t understand, mister," one of the men said, leaning on his shovel and wiping his brow. "Normally there’s three of us--me, Sam and Jesse. ”I dig the hole, Sam sticks in the tree and Jesse here puts the dirt back. Now, just because Sam’s sick, that don’t mean that Jesse and I can’t work." When it comes to the church of Jesus Christ, sometimes people do not think very much, either. People attend church, but they don’t get what church is all about, or they are blinded by assumptions. They just dig holes instead of planting trees. I think that is how a lot of us go to church. We go through all of the motions of being a Christian, but every Sunday that we come to church, we expect to go out the same way that we came. Nothing changes. We Have to grow We don’t realize that things are always changing. Everything that we do as Christians is intended to change us. Everything that we do is intended to help us to grow spiritually. Everything that we do should bring us closer to God, make us a better person, help us to have a better understanding of our purpose, and give us more power to do it. Explanation of Corinthians Paul’s message is to encourage us to grow, and to constantly examine what it means to be a Christian. Paul tells us that there were two types of people in the world. There are spiritual people who are attuned to God, and there are physical people who think that this is all that there is. He encouraged us to strive to be spiritual persons. Flesh vs Spirit In chapter 3 this week Paul goes a little more in depth. In all of the teachings of Paul, he is obsessed with distinguishing life in the flesh and life in the spirit. We are all flesh – that what it means to be a human being. As long as we are alive, we are flesh. Jesus was flesh – that was the point that God put on flesh and showed us what it means to live a holy life. But Paul accuses the Corinthians of being obsessed with the fleshly life. But when Paul talks about life in the flesh – he doesn’t just mean life as a human. He means life as a human with no relationship with God. Who would you be and what would you be doing if you did not have a relationship with God. Living in the flesh while still in the spirit We may be very different people, doing very different things. It would be okay for us to hate people, to be resentful, to be destructive, to be disrespectful, to steal, to run red lights, to do whatever we wanted as long as there were no consequences to our actions. Paul expects that from others, but not from Christians. Even though we may have started with that fleshly nature, we should be growing and maturing in order to do different. We should be able to make that move from being ordinary to extraordinary. Paul’s concern is that the same behavior that he would expect in the streets is present in the church. We separate ourselves, we disagree with one another, we have unresolved resentment, jealousy, an unwillingness to help one another, we learn all there is to know about God, and we still live in the flesh. All that is a sign of life in the flesh. Human nature – with no relationship with God. Are there Methodist in heaven? The story is told that John Wesley, a founder of Methodism, changed his view about church division after a dream in which he was first transported to the gates of Hell. He asked, “Are there any Presbyterians here?” “Yes,” was the reply. “Any Roman Catholics?” “Yes.” “Any Congregationalists?” “Yes.” He hesitated, then said, “Not any Methodists, I hope!” To his dismay the answer was “Yes.” Suddenly in his dream he stood at the gate of Heaven. Once again he asked, “Are there any Presbyterians here?” “No,” was the reply. “Any Roman Catholics?” “No.” “Any Congregationalists?” “No.” Then he asked the question which most interested him: “Are there any Methodists here?” He was shocked to receive the same stern reply, “No!” “Well then,” he asked in surprise, “please tell me who IS in Heaven?” “CHRISTIANS!” was the jubilant answer. From that dream Wesley determined that unity was essential to the church’s success in her mission. What are we to think of division? Some today agree with Wesley: division is one of our greatest sins. We must unify at any cost. Others believe any effort toward unity necessarily involves compromise; therefore we must avoid it. Jesus prayed for unity; yet he preached that we must leave even father and mother for his sake and the go When I was in seminary, I was fortunate to attend some lectures of the World Parliament of Religions. They are coming again this year to Chicago. At one event, I heard Hans Kung, a catholic scholar tell it like this. At the end of the world, someone asked God, if the Baptist get it right and make it to heaven, or the Catholics, or the Pentecostals. And God said no, because in the end there will be no Baptist, no Catholics, no Pentecostals, No Methodist. End the in – none of them will exist, because in the end all that there is is God – and those who made a point to get right with God. In order to get right with God, we have to grow, we have to learn more, we have to do more, we have to commit more. We have spend less time trying to judge the journey of others, and concentrate on our own walk with God. And reach out to help others on their positive journey. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 is one of my favorite verses. I used these verses are the guiding verses for my campus ministry at UIC. Paul says “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. I want to repeat that – I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the growth. The king james version of the bible says God gave the increase. We do all of the work, God gives the blessing. Without God’s blessing our work is in vain. We can plant trees, we can take care of them, but we cant make them grow. When we are obsessed with who gets credit for our work – we are living in the flesh. When we give God the credit – we are living in the spirit. We are excited about what we did – we are living in the flesh. When we are excited about what God has done, we are living in the Spirit. It is God’s ministry, not ours. But here is the good news for us. Paul planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase. Paul, Apollos, God. The work of man is put on equal footing with the work of God. God needs Paul and Apollos and God needs you and me to do God’s work. If we do God’s work, we don’t need to be acknowledged, God will acknowledge us. what we don’t get from others, we get from God. Paul says “For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” It is okay for us to work, to be faithful, to give with all of our heart – God gives the rest. We are to be planters, and to water the crop. That is good news to a declining church, a church who wonders if the next generation will take over, who struggles with who is going to join our church. None of that is our issue. God works harder than any of us. God has a bigger stake in the future than we do, God will be here much longer than any of us. All that we have to do is plant and water and let God do God’s work. 1854 Tam’s Partnership With God Young Stanley Tam had failed in his silver reclamation business—even though he had tithed since its beginning! “Why God?” he prayed as he drove homeward with numb disappointment. Then an inner voice from the Lord seemed to say, “You don’t need to fail; turn your business over to Me and let Me run it. Remember the promise. “My God shall supply. …” “ Finally, Tam replied: “Take it God and if you’ll make it succeed, I’ll honor you in every way I can.” He returned home and the business grew. Many months later, after he had married, he wrestled with his conscience once more and told his wife, “I feel God would have us take a bigger step of faith than tithing and make Him a senior partner in the business—50% of the stock belong to Him.” States Smelting and Refining Corp. of Lima, Ohio, was reorganized that way. Soon a new corporation, United States Plastic, was added to God’s partnership. Growth was so phenomenal that the IRS audited their books for 10 consecutive years. Dividends from God’s 51% were put into the Stanita Foundation which helps overseas missionaries mainly. As the business passed the multimillion dollar mark, God’s share was upped to 60% annually. Then one day the ultimate happened. Stan and Juanita Tam turned over the ownership of the entire business to God. They became just salaried employees. Since then, a new plant quadrupled its original size sprung up and the business continued to prosper. I think that is the greatest lesson of this text, that when we work in God’s church and fulfill God’s mission – we get to work with God as co creaters. God has given us an awful lot of power and control. God has put a lot of trust into each one of us- to plant, to water, and to trust God for the increase. The Greek word used for cocreater is synergoi – that is the same root word for synergy. – working together. We are all different people, with different gifts, but when we work together in unity we work with God. Paul’s message to us is that you can tell the quality of a person’s relationship with God, with how they work with other people. Believe and Behave There is a church in Columbia, SC near a seminary which has one of those bulletin boards out front to list service times, special events, sermon subjects, and so on. For several years there was one other thing on that bulletin board, one of those little "sentence sermons" that we see so often. It said, "The same Bible that says BELIEVE also says BEHAVE." I do not know if there were any significance to the fact that it was located so near to all the seminary students; perhaps someone figured they would need it more than anyone. At any rate, it was there, and for a LONG time: "The same Bible that says BELIEVE also says BEHAVE." David E. Leininger, Make it Right! Our primary purpose is walk in God’s ways. Walk in God’s ways together. We are truly blessed – because we are the people who are called to walk with others who have chosen to walk in God’s way – be part of the church – those who make a difference because we are walk in the presence of God. Let us pray in thanks…….. Let us pray……Amen. Additional Illustrations….. Christians under Construction People print all sorts of things on T-shirts, from advertisements to obscenities to affirmations of faith. One fellow was seen wearing a T-shirt with the words, "Christian Under Construction," printed on it. We can all appreciate what he meant by that. We can talk about the difference faith in Christ is supposed to make in our lives and about how it is supposed to work and even about the samples of the new life in Christ that we have already experienced. But, most of us know that we are not yet what God wants us to be. At our best, we are Christians under construction. And, that is all right. That is a good way to be. The changes that God will make in our lives don't happen all at once. It is a good thing to know that we are in the process of becoming what God wants to make us and to participate in that process very intentionally and joyfully. In our scripture lesson for today, Paul reckons with the fact that the Christians at Corinth, to whom he is writing, are still Christians under construction. He has been talking about new life in the Spirit and about the Spirit interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Then he comes down to earth and says, "But, you folks obviously aren't there yet. If you were, you wouldn't be arguing about petty little things like which pastor you like best." He says, "I could not talk to you as spiritual people. I must speak to you as people who are still in the flesh, as infants in Christ." Paul seems impatient at this and disappointed in the Corinthians. But eventually Paul came to understand that this is just part of the process, something that has to be worked with. James L. Killen, Jr., From Expectancy to Remembrance, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. You Are Promise If you say, "She is grace," you tell others more about a dancer or gymnast than if you say, "She is graceful" or "She has grace." If she is grace, she takes on all the properties of gracefulness; you will not know how grace looks or is supposed to look until you watch her in action. Similarly, the phrase, "He is courage" tells us that an athlete or a soldier shows all the qualities that go with heroism. These phrases are rarely used because we do not find many people who live up to them. "You are promise." People should feel free to use this phrase more liberally. In some sense or other, it ought to apply to virtually all humans. I would say everyone is promise, but that might be too literal. Does someone who is "hopelessly retarded" or in a coma near death embody or represent promise? On the basis of reports of what severely handicapped and dying people have done to expand the lives of others, it might be wiser to reserve judgment. In the meantime, it seems worthwhile to use the equation sign and say that "to be human = to be promise." Martin E. Marty, You Are Promise (Allen, Texas: Argus Communications, 1973), pp. 16, 18. Copyright 1973 by Tabor Publishing, 25115 Avenue Stanford, Valencia, California 91355.

Gospel Flavoring

February 9, 2020 Matthew 5:13-21 Gospel Flavoring 5th Sunday of Epiphany Year A Repreach of 2/6/11 Children’s Sermon Object: A salt shaker. Lesson: As salt makes a difference in food, we, as Christian people, are called to make a difference in the world. What kinds of foods do you like to put salt on? (Children respond. Acknowledge each response.) We really like to put salt on scrambled eggs and french fries and popcorn. Anything else? French fries without salt taste kind of different, don't they? They taste kind of plain, like something is missing. The same with popcorn. It needs something to spice it up a little. And scrambled eggs, they're just no good without a little salt. Salt spices things up. It adds flavor and taste to foods. It makes a difference to our taste buds. Certain foods just aren't the same without salt. Popcorn without salt; yuck, how boring. The Bible tells us that we are the salt of the earth. That means that those of us who love God are here to make a difference in our world. We are here to add spice to life so that things don't seem so plain or boring. God wants us to spice things up, just by being around other people. Salt is strong. It only takes a little to make a big difference. God wants us to make a difference by sharing our strength. How can we be like salt? We can tell others about Jesus and how much he loves us. We can do nice things for people and we can help those who need us. We can be like salt by standing up for what is right even when everyone else chooses to do wrong. We can share how happy we are that we have Jesus in our lives. We can be like salt in the world by living lives that please God. French fries, eggs, and popcorn just aren't the same without salt, and the world just wouldn't be the same without Christian people to spice it up! Go out and spice up your world this week. God bless you. CSS Publishing Company, A TIME TO PLANT, by Teresa L. Major Stewardship Moment We have been talking about what it means to be generous. The spirit of generosity goes beyond money, but encompasses everything in life. We can be generous with our time or with who we are. Our lesson for this week is how to live a life of purpose on behalf of God. That we should live a life that reflects the light of God. Giving is not just what we give it is the attitude in which we give. Khalil Gibran, a spiritual leader says that bread baked with bitterness feeds but half a persons hunger. It may feed someone physically, but it leaves them spiritually hungry. The bible is filled with stories of people who gave, but who gave with the wrong attitude, and their offering was not accepted. And then there are people like the widow who gave a little, but who gave it earnestly, and was rewarded by Jesus. When we give to the church, do we give freely or out of obligation. Our lesson for today is to follow the example of Jesus, who not only gave freely, but gave everything in love. Scripture Matthew 5:13-20 Common English Bible (CEB) Salt and light 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. Jesus and the Law 17 “Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them. 18 I say to you very seriously that as long as heaven and earth exist, neither the smallest letter nor even the smallest stroke of a pen will be erased from the Law until everything there becomes a reality. 19 Therefore, whoever ignores one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called the lowest in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps these commands and teaches people to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 I say to you that unless your righteousness is greater than the righteousness of the legal experts and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Once upon a time, (which means this is a fairy tale, a made up story from long ago, containing great truth) – Once upon a time, there lived a rich man who had three daughters. He was a little insecure and needed some reassurance one day so he called each of his daughters into his counting house (where he counted all of his money, of course,) and asked each one of them, “Dearest daughter, how much do you love me.” The first to visit his counting chamber was his oldest daughter and she replied, “O Father, I love you more than all the gold in the world.” The father knew that there was a great deal of gold in the world so he was happy with this answer and he gave her some gold coins to spend as she wished. The second daughter came in and was asked the same question. She replied, “O dearest most loving and special Father, the best father ever, I love you more than all of the silver in the world.” And the father was pleased with this answer. He gave her some silver coins so she could order some new dresses which she had been wanting. The third daughter came in and when she was asked the question she paused and then replied, “Father, I love you more than fresh meat loves salt.” The father exploded in a rage and ordered that the daughter be thrown out of the great house and not allowed to return. The servants threw her out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back and she was left to wander in the woods. She decided to disguise herself so she made clothing out of the rushes she found in the nearby swamp. She knocked on the back door or a large mansion, owned by one of her father’s friends, and asked the servant who answered the door for a job so that she could eat. She would not tell them her name so they called her “Cap O’Rushes” because of her clothing. She was given a job washing the pots and pans and keeping the house clean. She worked very hard and everyone liked her work, but she seldom spoke. One day the servants were all abuzz because a great party was to be given. There was food to prepare, room to clean, silver to polish and lots of other things to do. Cap O’Rushes discovered that her own father was invited. She convinced the cook to let her prepare the meal for her own father, though of course they did not know he was her father. She prepared all of his favourite dishes, but did not use any salt at all. (Remember, this was back when people used a lot of salt and well before blood pressure had been invented.) When the food was brought to him and he began to eat he was most unhappy with the meal and the host ordered the cook be brought to apologize to his guest. The cook brought Cap O’Rushes and explained that she had cooked the meal for this particular guest. “What is the meaning of this”, he demanded. “You have embarrassed me. He says his food is bland and tasteless. Why have you done this to me and to him?” She turned to her father and said simply, “I love you as much as fresh meat loves salt”. He father recognized her and wept in sorrow as he asked for her forgiveness. His other daughters had been nothing but a trial to him and were always wanting more and more fine clothes and jewellery and he realized that this daughter had really loved him a great deal. I think that story is a good demonstration summary of the entire gospel of Jesus Christ. The heart of the gospel is God’s love for us. God loves us more than fresh meat loves salt. The challenge for us in our loves is always how we demonstrate our love for God. In the gospel lesson for today – Matthew 5 – Jesus has just went up on the mountain to talk with all of the people below who are following him and listening them. This is a mixed crowd, some are his committed disciples, some are his fair weather disciples, and some are just interested parties. But the point that Jesus us trying to make to all is what it means to be a righteous person. He is telling what it means and the gifts that God will give to those who are faithful. In verses 13-20 which we read for today he is continuing that conversation, and speaking more about the character of a Christian. It was said that in WWII that in some cities, people were asked to make black curtains to put on their windows, so that when the enemy planes flew overhead, they would not be able to distinguish towns and cities to drop bombs on them. Washington DC was of course very vulnerable to attack, so workers got to work making black curtains for the white house. One of the workers commented however, that it did not make sense to try and camouflage the white house. The white house was such an icon for America, it was so clear to everyone in the world where the white house was, it was such a distinctive house, and was so well advertised, that if someone was looking for it, they would have no problem finding it. There was just no way to hide its identity. In the Isaiah, Jerusalem is called to be the city on a hill. Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion, there is one road up and one road down. it is the city which all people would flock to in order to learn the ways of peace. God calls the church to be the city on the hill, the place where people look for light in a very dark world. Light transforms the situation. Light changes the situation. Light illumines. Light doesn’t hide, but is present. Jesus has the same message for us as Christians. Christianity should be so much a part of who we are, following God should be so much a part of our character, that there was no mistaking who we are. You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. Salt, light, water, fire, are all key ingrediants for our lives. Today, we are told that we are to cut down on our salt intake, but salt is still an important part of our lives. What are some uses of salt ?........ Salt has the properties of flavor, of preserving, of healing, of preventing germs, of cleansing, and many other things. In Jesus’ day salt was also used in cooking. Every house or neighborhood would have had a stove in front of it. The fuel for these stoves would have been animal manure. In order for the manure to burn, they would add salt to it and make it into patties. Once all of the salt burned from the patties, they were no good. The Hebrew word for earth is the same word for an earthen stove. We are the salt used to burn the manure of life. In other words, we have a mission and a purpose as the people of god. As the church we are the body of Christ for the world. Our challenge is to not just be Christ, but to be Christ crucified and resurrected. this is the last sentence of Matthew and it will be my last point. The scribes were professionals, usually priest who had been given the task of putting God’s word into writing. The Pharisee were committed lay people, who committed every part of their lives to God and doing what God said was right. Jesus was saying that they were pretty good people, they were faithful and righteous. Jesus set the bar pretty high for us. They were the best of the best, and we are being called to be even better. They were extraordinary, but we are called to be even more. As Christians we are to give the world an unheard of amount of generosity, love, and understanding. Such as the world has never seen. Your are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. The good news is that we don’t have to do anything or know anything. All we have to do is to love God. From Basement to Craft Fairs Doris was most comfortable when she was busy at work in her secluded spot in the basement of her parents' home. She had been born with a deformed left arm which wasn't of much use to her; hence, she had chosen not to participate in sports nor in the school band. But she had studied art and in that she excelled. Her quiet personality stemmed partly from her physical impairment and partly because she hadn't received much encouragement to excel in anything. But she did have her little workshop in the basement, where she spent a good deal of her time. She cherished the hours spent there because she was doing the one thing she felt confident she could do well -- painting. Yet even her parents weren't much aware of -- nor appreciative of -- her growing artistic ability. During her last two years in high school and the two years following graduation, she devoted increasing time to oil and acrylic still life paintings. As she looked out of the basement half windows at the familiar Wisconsin countryside, she captured ever more vividly the seasonal changes and the varieties that nature offered. The completed unframed canvasses were standing in ever thickening rows beyond her little nook in the basement. Doris' secret talent was clouded by only one fact -- she was the only person who knew about it. That is, until her favorite cousin Denise came to visit. Denise was quite the opposite of Doris -- a bubbly personality, outgoing and adventurous. She hadn't seen Doris since her high school graduation and now Denise had come to spend a week with her. Doris would not have shown her cousin all those canvasses stacked in the basement, but Denise's inquisitive nature soon led her to the dozens of paintings that stood facing the walls. "Doris, where did these paintings come from?" Denise asked, remembering that Doris had taken a few art classes in high school. "Did you do this wonderful work?" Denise asked with her hands on her hips. "They're nothing special," Doris tried to apologize. "Wrong! They're marvelous!" Denise argued. She spent the next half hour quickly going through one stack after another, while Doris stood by a bit embarrassed. "Doris, you need to get these paintings out where people can see them and buy them," Denise pleaded. "People will buy good paintings like these." Doris demurred, offering timid apologies for the paintings and her talent. But Denise would have none of it. "There's arts and crafts shows everywhere during these summer months, and I'm going to help you get these paintings out where people can see them," Denise challenged. And for the next few weeks there was no stopping Denise. She extended her visit beyond her original plans. "I don't have a job yet anyway for the summer," she rationalized. "I want you to sign your name to every one of these paintings," she instructed Doris. After four weekend arts and crafts shows, more than two dozen of Doris' paintings had been sold. As she and Denise headed back to Doris' home on a Sunday evening, Doris reflected the warmth of her feelings as she admitted, "I guess people do like my stuff." "Well, like I said, you have to get it out where people can see it," Denise commented as she gave her cousin a hug. Merle G. Franke, Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, Cycle A Ann Landers printed a story a few years ago from a lady who had attempted suicide. She lay unconscious for three days before the police found her and took her to the hospital. But they went above and beyond the call of duty by calling her every day and once she returned home they would visit her and bring her cards and flowers on a regular basis. They went out of their way to show kindness and love. We are not all called to be police, or nurses, or firemen. We are not all called to have to faith of the scribes or Pharisees. But Jesus point is that whomever we are, and whatever we are doing, we are called to show compassion and to go out of our way to express it. That is what being a Christian is all about. God loves you, how to you show the love of God in your life? Let us pray….. Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - Let My Little Light Shine - Matthew 5:13-20 There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton hadn't won a game in eight weeks. A critical member of the press was suggesting that he be dropped from the starting rotation. The future looked bleak, and Sutton felt terrible. Then, before a game, Dodgers manager Walter Alston tapped him on the shoulder. "I'd like to speak with you, Don," he said. Sutton prepared himself for the worst. "Don," said Alston, "I know how the past couple of months have been for you. Everyone's wondering whether we can make it to the play-offs . . . You know there's a lot of pressure . . . I've had to make a decision." Sutton had visions of being taken off the mound. Then Alston continued. "If the Dodgers are going to win this year," he said, looking Sutton in the eye, "they're going to win with Don Sutton pitching. Come what may, you're staying in the starting job. That's all I wanted to say." Sutton's losing streak lasted two more weeks, but because of his manager's encouragement he felt different about it. Something in him was turning around. He found himself pitching the best ball of his career. In the National League pennant drive, he won 13 games out of 14. (1) There are all kinds of theories about how to motivate people. We can do it through guilt, through fear, through shame. But these were not Jesus' methods. Jesus motivated through positive messages of hope and encouragement. Consider our lesson for today. Jesus says to his followers, "You are the light of the world. . . ." Can you imagine that? Here was a motley crew of farmers and fishermen and tax collectors and housewives in a tiny and remote village in an obscure part of the world and Jesus was saying to them, "You are the light of the world." Talk about a statement of faith! Let's go farther than that. Talk about a crazy idea! Light of the world? That bunch? It must have sounded absurd at the time even to them. Only Jesus could have seen that through this motley crew God would indeed change the world forever. At the time, however, it probably sounded like so much idle chatter. "You are the light of the world," he said and so they were. Now do you want to hear something really absurd? So are we. Jesus says to us this morning that WE are the light of the world. Think about that for a moment. Sink your teeth into it savor it. You and I are the light of the world. What does it mean? Well, let me suggest some possibilities. 1. We Have a Responsibility for the World. 2. We Have Something the World Desperately Needs. 3. We Are Not the Source of Our Light, but We Reflect a Much Greater Light. Turn On the Lights! - Matthew 5:13-20 Wauconda is a small village in the state of Illinois. For over 40 years the town had placed two large illuminated crosses on the city water towers during the Christmas season. Until one year when the town council received a threat of legal suit if the crosses were continued, based on the separation of church and state. The town council grudgingly took them down. But that's when the citizens of Wauconda took matters into their own hands. They decided to place lighted reminders of Christ on their own property. So, allover the community, up went crosses and nativity stars and lighted manger scenes and trees. You could see Wauconda from the interstate freeway! You could see Wauconda a hundred miles away. All night it was as bright as day because the people decided to turn on the lights. In our scriptural text for this morning, Jesus is urging us to turn on the lights. Each of us is supposed to shine for Christ's sake. Our light is not like that of the sun. Our light resembles that of the moon; it is a reflected light, from the Christ-spirit who lives within us. We care supposed to shine that other persons might see that light and give glory, not to us, but to the Lord who illuminates us. Think for a moment how Jesus' first-century audience would have understood his words. The typical home in Palestine was very dark with only one circular window perhaps not more than eighteen inches across. Lamps were essential. The typical lamp was nothing more than a bowl of oil with a wick floating in it. It was not easy to light lamps; remember, this was before the age of matches. Therefore, lamps were kept burning continuously. And, when the family was sleeping or was out, an earthen bushel container was placed over the lamp so that nothing would catch on fire. But when the family was at home and awake, the lamp was placed high on a stand so that all corners of the room would have some light. The essential message this scripture has for us today is this: A Christian must reflect Christ as surely as the moon reflects the sun. Our task is to illuminate a dark world with the reflected light of Christ, always giving him the glory. I believe that our Lord is calling us to turn on some lights in three particular ways: 1. By pledging, ambitiously, our time, talent, and money 2. By setting a good example 3. By your witness Changing the World It was during the early days of television. A workman was placing television transmitters at the very top of the Empire State building in New York City. Seeing him at work up there, so far off the ground, a reporter thought this would make a fascinating human interest story. So, when the workman had completed his task and had returned to the ground, the reporter approached him and asked, “Aren’t you frightened to work under conditions like that that? Isn’t it dangerous to work so high off the ground?” The workman replied, “Yes sir, it is dangerous.” Then he added, “But then, how many people can say that they have changed the skyline of a city like New York!” God offers us the privilege of changing the skyline not of a city, but of the world. We can help make this world healthier, more humane, more harmonious, and more blessed. God made a good world. Now He wants us to help Him make it good again. We can do that. By God’s grace, we really can do that. If we can, surely we must. James McCormick, Selected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Parable of the Three Candles Three children carried their candles home from church. Each thought of it preciously in relationship to the commitment made in the beautiful Candle Light Service. One had not even lit the candle in order to keep it good as new. The other had let the candle burn during the service and carried it forth still lit from the church, but it blew out at the doorway. The third blew out his candle and took it home and lit it a number of times during the year until it was burned down into the dish. "Look," said Mary. "after ten months have passed, I still have my candle as good as new. I was smarter than the others. John's is all burned up and Eddie's just lays in the drawer half used up. Who's the smartest, mother?" "I don't know," replied the mother. "Candles are made to be used. They give forth their light for whatever the user decides. Who can say what John was thinking, as he did his work with the lighted candle, and who knows how Eddie feels, when he opens his drawer and sees the candle. We are meant to use our lives being helpful to others and; whether you light a candle or don't use candles, there is a spiritual light that should be in you and which should shine out to make others happy. It is not how big your candle is, but how you use the light that it gives." Read St Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Illustration, www.Sermons.com

How to Be Happy

February 2, 2020 Matthew 5:1-12 How to be Happy 4th Sunday of Epiphany Year A Repreach of 2/214 Children’s Sermon Happiness Matthew 5:1-12 Exegetical Aim: Happiness comes from a life emptied and humble before God and not from a life full and easy. Props: Several dollar bills or a hand full of coins, a toy that laughs, some kind of food, and a toy sword like a light saber or any object to represent conflict. Also a box or big glass jar. Optional humorous prop: A football or some sports object that is presently in season. If there is a crucial local game then focus on that. Try to hide the sports object. Lesson: I have a question for you this morning: What makes you happy? (responses) With the items hidden behind your back and the jar out in front: Well, I have some things I want to show you. After each item is presented put it in the jar. What is this? (money) Would you be happy if you had this money? (response) Why would that make you happy? What would you do with it? (response) What is this? (laughing object) Listen to this. Make the object laugh. What is it doing? (laughing) Would you be happy if you laughed all the time? (response) Why would that make you happy? (response) What is this? (apple) Would you be happy if you had some food? (response) Why would you be happy? (response) What is this? (boxing gloves) Would you be happy if you had a gun (response) Why would you be happy? (response) This morning I brought something that makes me very happy. Do you want to see it? (response) Do you really want to see it? (response) All right, this makes me so happy! Bring out the football hold it up or toss it air. When Tennessee wins today I am going to be happy! Application: Each of us has something in our life that makes us happy. What makes you happy? (response) It could be chocolate chip cookies or a special toy or a pet. Happiness is pretty important. Jesus even talked about happiness. He said the truly happy people in the world are those who...take out the money...are those who don't have a lot of money. Fold the money and put it away. Then he said, the happiest people in the world are those who take out the laughing object and make it laugh again have some sadness in their life. He also said, the happiest people are those who take out the food are sometimes hungry and have nothing to eat. And he said, the happiest people are those who take out the sword...try to have peace in their life. Finally he said take out the football well, he really didn't say anything about football. But he did say that we could be happy if we remember that true happiness comes when we have a life that is empty. Show that the jar or box is empty. A life that is empty is a life that is ready to be filled with all the good things God wants to put there: His Kingdom, his peace, love, forgiveness, and comfort. Let’s Pray: Lord help us to empty our lives so we can be filled with your goodness. Amen. ChristianGlobe, , by Brett Blair Stewardship Moment A Quote from the Dalai Lama Giving material goods is one form of generosity, but we can extend an attitude of generosity into all our behaviour. Being kind, attentive, and honest in dealings with others, offering praise where it is due, giving comfort and advice where they are needed, and simply sharing our time with someone—-all these are forms of generosity, and they do not require any particular level of material wealth. Scripture Matthew 5:1-12 Common English Bible (CEB) 5 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat down and his disciples came to him. 2 He taught them, saying: Happy people 3 “Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4 “Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad. 5 “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth. 6 “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full. 7 “Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy. 8 “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God. 9 “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children. 10 “Happy are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 11 “Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. 12 Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Fill in the blanks When I'm teaching a class, and want to get a discussion going, I often begin with something that's called a sentence stem. I start a sentence and let the participants complete it. This morning, if I were to ask you to complete this sentence, what would you say? "Happy are those who...." What would you use to complete the thought? Happy are those who have lots of money and can go anywhere, do anything, have anything they want? Happy are those who are successful and well acclaimed in their businesses or professions? Happy are those who are healthy, or those who have good marriages, or who have perfect children? What is happiness? The reality is that is happiness in the world’s eyes. Today we are going to talk about happiness in the eyes of God. We are going to look at the text of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Jesus has gathered his disciples, and in Matthew he takes this opportunity to teach them. A rabbi teaches while sitting down. Scripture says that Jesus went up on the mountain and taught. We cant tell whether he was talking to just the twelve, or if he was talking before a large crowd. But we do know that he was teaching the secrets to a happy life. Jesus came preaching that he might defeat all ignorance, he came teaching that he might defeat all misunderstandings. He came healing that he might defeat all pain. We, too, must proclaim our certainties; we, too, must be ready to explain our faith; we, too, must turn the ideal into action and into deeds. The Sermon on the Mount Now scholars don’t believe actually this was one sermon. It is much too dense. Scholars believe that this was Matthew’s way of summarizing all of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus Christ also once set down eight principles for the measure of a person. His standards stand in stark contrast to the aforementioned. There would appear to be a wide gulf between the popular image of the successful person and what God sees as the successful person. Jesus encourages us to be humble, to hunger for righteousness, to be merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, to endure suffering, to be encouraged when we are down and to give ourselves permission to mourn our losses. If we were to look at each of the beautitudes, each deserve a sermon within themselves. But today I want to talk about happiness. Funny things about that word happiness. The first syllable - hap means to achieve something by luck or by chance. We are happy according to our lot in life, we hang tend to hang our happiness on things that are external, and most of the time are beyond our control. We get attached to them by chance, and it is by chance that we keep them, and it is by chance that they make us happy – and yet we continue to seek this thing called happiness. If you are not happy without it, you wont be happy with it In the movie, Cool Runnings, John Candy played a former American gold medallist who became coach to the Jamaican bobsled team. As the story evolves, the coach's dark history comes out. After his gold medal performance, his competitors discover that he broke the rules by weighting the U.S. sled. By doing so, he brought ppiidisgrace to himself and to his team. One of the Jamaican bobsledders didn't understand why someone who'd already won a medal would cheat, so he asked Candy to explain. The coach said, "I had to win, but I learned something. If you are not happy without a gold medal, you won't be happy with it."2 Markarios Interestingly – Matthew does not use the word happy – he used that word blessed. Personally, I think that the word blessed, is just as misunderstood – but that is a sermon within itself. The word that is used in Matthew is actually – markarios – which literally means the happiness of the Gods. And the point is that the happiness of the world is not the happiness of God. Happiness of the world is based on external things which we have no control over. So the happiness of the Gods must be the joy that we have inside – right? Well actually that is wrong. The happiness of the Gods is not about what you have in your heart. It is about how your heart reacts to God. Jesus is trying to help us to understand that the only true way to be happy is to have a relationship with God. We all go through life, we all have feelings, the things that happen in life affect us all. But do we respond to those things according to how we feel, or according to the word of God? It is not what we want in life, it is what God wants. You can only be happy in your relationship with God The whole point of the sermon on the mount is Jesus is teaching us what it means to believe in the promises of God. What makes you a Christian is how you use these principles – hunger, mercy, peace, humility – in your life. Life is not easy for any of us. We all feel anger, hurt, pain, suffering and struggles. But when we experience those things how do you respond? Do you respond to pain with revenge or mercy? With hatred or peace? With righteousness or with what others deserve? When you respond to life with revenge, anger, and hatred – do you really find happiness – or more pain? Jesus wants us to know that blessed are those who follow the ways of God – even in a difficult situation. Last week I went to see the movie Just Mercy, about men on deathrow, one in particular who was wrongfully convicted, and a young lawyer from Harvard worked to get his aquitted. I thought that it was an important movie. But the one line that struck out at me was the lawyer said: Poverty is not the opposite of being rich, poverty is the opposite of justice. As Jesus was talking on the mountain, he would have been addressing a crowd that lived in poverty. They would have had no hope of life ever changing. Because of the circumstances of life. Just last night I heard someone say that poverty is not about how much we lack materially, but how much we lack in spirit. When life is hopeless, people are mourning the loss of something. He knew that no matter how good life is, there are always those amongst us who are mourning. Poverty is living a life in constant mourning. That is why in this lesson he addresses, poverty, and those who hunger for change. The good news for us, happy are those who realize that they need God in their lives. We are closest to God in our suffering, our mourning. We are Godlike in our happiness – blessed when we mourn, God hears us, God will bring us comfort and peace. Upside down glasses In the 1800’s there was a scientist who invented upside down glasses. When he put them on, everything in the world was upside down. For awhile, whenever he put them on, he was disoriented. But after 5 days, he adjusted and the world made perfect sense upside down. The mind has a way of doing that for us. Of making us comfortable in upside down situations. No one has ever been able to recreate his experiment. The good news is that there was another man who was able to turn our perspective of the world upside down. Jesus reversed the values of the world – he said blessed are those who the world considers unblessed – the poor, the vulnerable, the powerless. It all boils down to the power of mercy. Look at your life, where would you be without the God’s mercy in your life? God’s mercy covers all sins. The message for us is that in an upside down, topsy turvy world we all have a choice. We can seek our happiness in the world or in God. Said the wealthy woman to the disabled young man at the door, sure I will buy your magazine to help you through college. Possibly by education you’ll overcome your condition, although I’m sure it colors everything that you do. Yes maam it does, but I get to choose the color. (Gary Carver). No matter what it is that colors your life – God lets you choose the color. You can chooses to blessed. Let us pray….. Additional illustrations