The Apostles' Testimony

April 27, 2025 Second Sunday of Easter Holy Humor Sunday Acts 5:27-32 The Apostles Testimony Year C Prelude Greeting Knock, knock. Who's there? Ya. Ya who? I'm happy to see you too. Call to Worship (inspired by Colossians 1: 19-22) In the face of a culture of death a world of killing fields a world of the walking dead Christ is at the head of the resurrection parade transforming our tears of betrayal into tears of joy giving us dancing shoes for the resurrection party And this glittering joker who has danced in the dragon’s jaws of death now dances with a dance that is full of nothing less than the fullness of God this is the dance of the new creation this is the dance of life out of death and in this dance all that was broken all that was estranged all that was alienated all that was dislocated and disconnected is reconciled comes home is healed and is made whole ~ excerpted from targum 2: subversive poetry in a postmodern world col 1:15-20, published in Colossians Remixed: Subverting The Empire by Sylvia C. Keesmaat and Brian J. Walsh Song Lord of the Dance UMH Affirmation of Faith We believe in a God who enjoys a good laugh, who made platypuses and penguins just for the fun of it. We believe in a Savior who knew how to surprise people— with healing, with hope, with resurrection. We believe in the Spirit, who gives us the gift of holy giggles and grace. We believe that joy is a form of resistance, and laughter is a taste of the kingdom to come. Amen. (Thom Shuman, Lectionary Liturgies) A Sermon for all Ages Twin seven year old boys were always getting into trouble. Their parents knew if any mischief was reported in town, the twins were probably involved. Their mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually. The mother sent one boy in the morning, with the other boy to see the preacher in the afternoon. The preacher, a huge man with a deep booming voice, sat the boy down and asked him sternly, “Do you know where God is, son?” The boy made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?!” Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, “WHERE IS GOD?!” The boy screamed, ran directly home and hid in his closet. When his twin brother found him in the closet, he asked, “What happened?” His brother replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time! GOD is missing, and they think WE did it!” Baptism Responsive Reading Psalm 150 UMH 862 Scripture Acts 5:27-32 Sermon The Apostles’ Testimony Our bible is full of stories about the relationship between God and the devil, and their constant battle for the hearts of people. Both of them are known for their tricks, they seem to love to go back and forth, somehow with the destiny of creation caught in the middle of the game. Now just because they play games with one another, that does not mean that they are equals. The devil in not omnipotent, or omni present. The devil is not able to create anything but chaos out of thin air. But he is always trying to get one over on God. He needs to feel in control. He makes himself feel superior, by demeaning others. The games start at the beginning of the biblical story in the book of Genesis. God creates the world, and realizes that he needs a steward to take care of creation. He creates Adam, then Eve. God entrusts them with all of the knowledge to take care of the world and everything in it. Everything seems to be going well, until the day the devil shows up to question Eve. She starts to think that may God didn’t tell her everything , perhaps God is keeping secrets from her. She plays into the devil’s games and gives in to temptation. Life becomes a struggle for her and for her family. In the beginning she always felt connected to God, but eventually she was not even sure if God was even there anymore. For God, this was a major setback. He was not mad at Eve or Adam, or humankind, he was just disappointed. But he would not give up on creation not his stewards, he would continue to work in spite for their free will. But for humankind, trusting the devil turned out to be catastrophic. It changed our quality of life even until this day. We are still struggling to find our connection to God. The devil is full of himself, he has just as much power of creation, and some people are so easy to influence. If he can control the hearts of men, then he can take over all of creation, even if that means running it into the ground. In the meantime, God loves us, God is determined to make things right. Even if it means working with one person at a time. God is always working in silence. God remains a gentleman – even to the devil. The devil is busy too, but there are still people who choose to follow God. The bible mentions the wager between the devil and God again in the book of Job. Job is a righteous man who has caught the attention of the devil. The devil barters for the heart of Job, God says do what you will, just don’t kill him. It appears that Satan wins once again by gaining control of the situation. But he never captures the heart of Job. Job chooses to stay faithful to a God that he sometimes does not understand. God is still in control – but the war is not over. The devil won’t quit until he has complete dominion. Even if that means destroying all that God created. Satan would have known something about the birth of the messiah, he could read the bible just like anyone else, He would have read in Micah 5:2 that the messiah would be coming to Bethlehem. Perhaps that is why he sent so many demons there. The New testament is full stories of demons thrawting the lives of humans. But God is always at work in the background turning things around in spite of peoples lack of jugdement. God chooses a family Nazareth to slip into Bethlehem quietly. Satan has his eye on the king in charge, making sure that he is jealous, territorial and prone to corruption. God sends the presence in to form of an unassuming child. Satan knew that God’s son was accustomed to the finest of luxury while living in heaven. He would never have thought that the messiah would come into the world to ordinary people in a stable. When the devil catches on to the fact that the messiah had been born into the world. God sends the family away to live in secrecy for 30 years. Unbeknown to us, God does Gods best work in secret and silence. God prepares his only Son for the work of redeeming creation. One day Jesus steps into the waters to be baptized into the work of his cousin, and the secret is revealed. God proclaims his son, and the devil knows he has to do something to stop him. He meets Jesus in the wilderness to tempt him, and yet Jesus remains faithful to his mission for God. For three years, God’s secret weapon is reaching the hearts of men. People are listening, lives are changing. It all comes to a head – on a hill in Jerusalem. The devil is prepared for this all or nothing game with God. The devil is convinced that this will be his final victory. If he can get rid of this messiah, then he will have control of all of creation. Even if it means destroying all that God worked so hard to create and build. God full of grace and always a gentlemen – takes on the devil’s challenge. May the best man win, but the cross, a tool of torment is just a part of God’s plan. The passion story has a lot in common with the George Forman/ Muhammed Ali boxing fight for the world championship fight in 1976. I actually remember the fight very well. Muhammed Ali was the underdog. It was a pretty ugly fight. George Forman soon knew that he had the best of Ali. He pummeled Ali. He was winning so ugly, that he thought that he had gone too far. In the midst of it, Ali just remained silent. In his silence, and his pain, Ali whispers in Foreman’s ear – is that all that you got. Forman realizes in that moment, that he had been fooled and that he was about to lose. He had indeed used all of his signature moves, he was tired and Ali was just beginning. On the cross, the devil has used all his signature moves – control, torture, meanness, shame, guilt, pain, death. He had used all that he had, and God was still at work. The messiah was just getting started. By being willing to lose, Jesus became the ultimate winner. By being strong enough to take the punches, Ali became boxing champion of the world. By standing faithful through the devil’s greatest tricks Jesus became the world’s champion. He didn’t just win for himself, he won for all of us. Through are darkest moments he gave us the strength to remain faithful. The devil is still busy, But God is working too – behind the scenes. Through Christ, he opened to doors of eternal life for us. He finally beat the devil at his own game. Finally in our scripture – the apostles are challenged by the religious authorities to stop proclaiming the power of the resurrection. In their eyes, Jesus had not overcome anything. Yet they knew that the messiah had finally won. HE won for all of us. God is still at work for those who are faithful. In the days to come let us be witnesses to that faith to endure the fight and to proclaim the victory. Amen. Song I Love to tell the story UMH 156 Prayer O Lord, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for giving us these gifts. For the moments of laughter and unbridled joy you give to us: for opportunities to laugh at ourselves, for the belly laughs of children, for friends and family who love us because of our quirks, and not just in spite of them, for artists who give us the opportunity to see the world through the surreal, for the courage to smile even when difficulties arise, for those who have hope even when others think there is no hope, for saints in the Lord who overflow with laughter and spread your joy to all of us. For the words of Jesus that defy our logical minds; for teaching us that we can be born again, for the woman who finds a lost coin and calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate, for the absurdity of a camel trying to fit through the eye of a needle, for the father of the Prodigal Son who is willing to look like a fool as he runs to greet his son, for the generosity of the landowner who will pay workers a whole day’s wage when they only worked one hour, for tiny bits of faith that can move entire mountains, for the reality that nothing can live unless it first dies. For the great reversal of the Gospel: that the last shall be made first, that the rejected stone became the cornerstone, that those who wish to become great must serve, that the lost will be found, that the small will become great, that though you are Wisdom, you choose to forget our sins, that when we are weak, your strength shines through us. O Lord, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for giving us these gifts. Thank you for the gift you give us that allows us to enjoy these things to the full. We can laugh because of the most amazing thing of all – that you conquered death, that the tomb is empty, that light shone so bright that it overcame the darkness. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Amen. (April Fiet) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (Do not Print out text) Scripture reminds us to be stewards, caring for all God has entrusted to us. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 A young child recognized we’re not often able to live up to what God does. He told his Sunday school teacher: “When you die, God takes care of you like your parents did when you were alive — only God doesn’t yell at you all the time.” — via Rev. Dennis R. Fakes Lodi, CA Tithe if you love Jesus. Anyone can honk! And remember, our church is open to all denominations – but it prefers 20s and 50s. The Lord loves a cheerful giver…..but God also accepts from the grouch. How is your giving a faithful response to the abundance God has provided? God doesn’t yell…but cares for each of God’s beloved ones. Let’s let our gifts be full-hearted! (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Prayer of Dedication Generous God, you’ve filled our lives with laughter, our hearts with hope, and our pockets with more than enough loose change and holy possibility. We bring these gifts not out of guilt, but out of gratitude— because you keep surprising us with love, grace, and the kind of joy that makes us snort when we laugh. Use what we offer— our coins and our kindness, our time and our talents, our dollars and our dancing— to tickle the world with resurrection joy and to spread your love like laughter in a quiet room. In Jesus’ name, Amen. (Thom Shuman, Lectionary Liturgies) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Go now— we will go with pockets full of laughter, with eyes squinting from the brightness of grace, with hearts wide open to holy surprises. Be bold in your joy. Be generous with your giggles. We will tell the good news with a grin, and live like resurrection is the punchline that changes everything. May your steps be light, your burdens be lifted, and your spirit be as free as a kid on a swing in the sunshine. The world needs our joy. Let us go to share it. (Thom Shuman, Lectionary Liturgies) Community Time Sharing of Joys and Concerns Benediction May the God of Isaac, that is "laughter," the Christ, who for the joy set before him endured the cross and the Spirit of Joy be with you both now and forever. Amen. — from the God is Still Laughing website.