The Problem with Two Masters

October 13, 2018 Matthew 6:24 Year B The Problem with two masters (based on the Treasure stewardship program) Children’s Sermon: PREPARATION: This lesson can be given with no preparation OR you can cut a heart out of "fun foam" and attach a magnet to the back. (At a craft store you can buy strips of magnet with sticky back that you can cut into strips.) With a sharpie, write, "Jesus wants my heart" on the heart. LESSON: There is a story in the Bible about a rich young man. He came to Jesus and wondered what he needed to do to get into heaven. Jesus told him he needed to follow the 10 commandments. The young man assured Jesus that he had always done that, even since he was a child about the same age as some of you. Jesus loved this man very much. He could tell what was in his heart--what he treasured most. Jesus told the young man there was only one thing left. He should sell everything that he owned and give the money to the poor and then he would have treasures in heaven. The young man went away very sad because he had many possessions and he wanted to keep them. Now, Jesus wasn't telling the man that his possessions were bad. Jesus was telling the man that he wanted him to love him, Jesus, above everything else and then he would give the young man the free gift of heaven. Jesus wanted his heart. Jesus wants our hearts too. He wants each of us to love Him more than anything else because that is how much he loves us. If we love him most of all, we will get to go to heaven with Him. [If you have hearts for the children, pass them out now and say, "This is a reminder for you that Jesus wants you to love him most of all."] PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Help each of us here to give you all of our heart - to put you first in our lives so we can go to heaven. Thank you for loving us so much. AMEN Sermon #2 “The Problem with Two Masters” OUTLINE Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Outline I. A House Divided Perhaps you have seen the license plates that show the phrase A House Divided accompanied by the logos of two rival college football teams. This phrase often reminds people of Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech in 1858. Lincoln was speaking about a nation divided on the issue of slavery. What many people don’t know is that the line was not unique to Lincoln but that instead Lincoln was quoting Jesus. Jesus said, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:24-25 NRSV). Jesus is telling us, in other words, that competing allegiances in a kingdom, a house, or a heart will lead to destruction. Division leads to war in which either there is constant strife or one side wins out. II. A Reminder about Heart Investment Last week we were challenged to consider where we are investing our hearts. If we look at where we spend our time, money, and energy, we will see where our hearts are invested. One easy way to check this investment is to look at our budget or our calendar. In doing so, most of us would find that our hearts indeed are divided. We have said yes to too many commitments, signed too many contracts, and swiped too many credit cards. Now we must work to pay off a bunch of stuff that doesn’t make us happy. I want us to look at this short video on serving a master…. Who is the master of your life? is it God or is it the cares of the world. Today I thought rather than dwelling on the problem of living a life divided, that I would talk about the solution. The solution is to put God first, front and center of everything that we are and that we do. As we talk about stewardship this week, all of us can’t help but to ask the question of why. Why should I give. What is the point of spending 4, 5 weeks talking about such an uncomfortable topic. We talk about it because the bible talks about it. We talk about it because the jews learned that tithing was one of the best kept spiritual secrets in the universe. Money is never really about the green stuff that we have in our pockets. Money, and spending money is always a matter of where our spirits are. When we are able to make a plan to give God the first 10% of everything that we earn – we learn to have a sense of purpose and intention for our lives, we learn how to have discipline, we are able to clearly see the gifts that God gives us in return for putting God first. We learn that not only can we put God first in our bank accounts, but we can put God first in everything in our lives. If the Jewish society was anything – it was full of purpose, and order. They organized their whole society around the concept of purpose and order. We have all heard of the word Shalom. We have heard that shalom is the jewish word for peace. But shalom means much more than that. Shalom means that in a community where there is justice, there will be peace, and where there is peace, there will be wellbeing and wholeness. And where there is peace, justice, and wellbeing for the community. There will be justice, peace, and wellbeing for the entire society. But the only way to have a shalom – a whole society is for the society to be centered around the presence of God. Shalom means to put God into the center of everything that you do. (show the shalom center). The funny thing about a community centered around God – is that it looks like a circle. In a circle- you will notice that there are no sides. And there is only one center. God is the glue that holds everything together. When you are in the shalom circle – then it is harder to attack, define and separate yourself from others – because if we are focused on God. we are all facing the same direction – the center. When we are standing in a circle, and God is in the center of that circle, not only do we have a focusing point, but we also have a purpose and a uniting point. The one thing that I remember that Adam Hamilton said at the Leadership Institute at the Church of the Resurrection, was that the church had a mission statement. And that mission statement was read every Sunday in church, it was said at the beginning of every church council meeting, at every event. It was read together for everyone to remember their center. And their purpose for coming together in community. Not just in any community – but in Christian community. When Englewood and Rust Methodist churches merged they too developed a mission statement. I would have them read that mission statement every Sunday as a way of centering us together for one purpose. Now I had a program where if a child could remember and recite the Lord’s Prayer in front of the congregation they would get a $10 gift certificate to the restaurant of their choice. All of my kids – even the two year olds know the Lord’s Prayer. For the adults – if they could remember and recite the mission statement in front of the congregation they too got a $15 gift certificate. The adults were not as successful. But the point is that I wanted to keep that mission statement in existence – by saying it all of the time. It was a centering point. Why is it that we deal with people that we really can’t stand in any other setting? Why is it that we come to meetings and take trainings when there is so many other things that we could be doing, why is it that we sins corny songs every Sunday, why is it that we give our money to church- when there are so many other things to spend it on. In order to support our common mission. Our reason for being a church. First United Methodist Church does have a mission. This week it is printed in the bulletin, to inform some and to remind others of why we are here in the first place. I want us to read it together now. Our mission is based on putting God in the center of our community, which means putting God in the center of our lives. Our mission challenges to follow the mission of Jesus Christ to witness to grace, to love others and to life as followers of Christ. It is our purpose for living in a shalom circle, where there is only one center and no sides. If we choose to stand in the shalom circle it is impossible to serve two master, because there is only one center. Where are you in the circle? What is your place in the mission? Who is your master? Let us pray….. Amen. The rest of the sermon that I did not use…… III. Serving One Master A. Two Is Too Many Jesus says in Matthew 6 that no one can serve two masters. A person trying to do so will inevitably like one master and hate the other, be to devoted to one master and despise the other. Jesus says that we can’t serve both God and money. As we examine our lives, we may see that we have many more than two masters calling for hearts! B. Our Hearts Are Hurting When we are serving two, three, or ten masters and are dividing our hearts among them, we are not living as God intends us to. I think this may explain why we resent or even hate the things that pull us away from our intended treasure. We end up hating our job or our boss, because they have become an unintended master in our lives. Does this mean you can’t make money? No! Does this mean you can’t have a healthy relationship with money? No! It does mean that you can’t serve God and money. They can’t both be your master. You can’t live under the lordship of God and the lordship of money; you must choose. C. Jesus Has to Be Lord God doesn’t want shared allegiance. God doesn’t want a piece of your life. God wants to be everything to you. If you make Jesus Lord and Master, the other allegiances will find their proper place. You still will have to work and be committed to other people. But you will not have a heart or house or life that’s divided. You will be standing on firm ground. For additional commentary and articles on this theme, please go to MinistryMatters.com/Treasure.

The Joy of Worshiping with Christ

August 25, 2013 Hebrews 12:18-29 The Joy of Worshiping with Christ 14th Sunday of Pentecost Year C The City has a sound Shhh, listen. Have you ever noticed that if you are quiet enough, you start to realize that there is a distinct sound to the streets of Chicago. If you listen close enough, you will see that every big city have a voice. People say that Chicago has a bass voice, whereas London has a baritone voice, and New York with all of its horn blowing and yelling has a tenor voice. Every church and community has a personality We have been studying the book of Revelation in bible study, and in the first chapters we were told that the book was written to the angel of the church. John’s point is that every organization, every community, every church has its own personality. It’s set way of understanding life. And it is impossible to lead in that community, or get anything done in that community, or even live comfortably in that community unless you understand and honor the personality. And you come to realize that personality is a living being determined to get its way; that is why John calls the personality of the church an angel. John was not the only writer in the new testament who understood the church as a living organism. That is why the books of the new testament are written to different communities. If you read the epistles the letters to the churches, you will see that each of them have a very similar message, that Christ is the center of our faith. But they each use different words- to help us understand the same message. It is said that Romans, Ephesians, and Hebrews are all based on one verse from the old testament. Habbakuk 2:4 says “the Just shall live by his faith. Romans tells when it means to be a just or righteous person, Ephesians tells how a righteous person should live, and Hebrews tells what it means to have faith. All three books in every chapter of the book talk about Christ being the center of our righteousness, our lives and our faith. Christ is the author and finisher or our faith. Christ is the source of all that we are – whether we confess Christ or not. Another commonality of Romans and Hebrews is that they are not written to a specific church. They are written to a whole community of people. Every city has a personality, a way of dealing with things. Both Romans and Hebrews were written specifically to Christians in the city, reminding them to hold on the faith in Christ, in spite of what is going on around them that may distract them and pull them away from Christ. The text of hebrews Hebrews has been our text for three weeks now, and we still have one more week of the book of Hebrews. God told me that it was a good time to focus on the message of Hebrews for us to day. The message of Hebrews is basically keep the faith. That message was not written to a church but to a community. We don’t know who wrote Hebrews, or what city he was even talking about. It was a unique community because Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians were worshipping together in the same church. They had achieved what is impossible for most churches today. When I started out in ministry I asked if I could be placed in a multicultural church, where different races worshipped together. And was immediately told that there was no such thing in the whole conference. There were white churches that accepted ethnic people, but were still white in character, and there were ethnic churches that accepted white people, but were still ethnic. But there was no church that had a personality of acceptance of all people regardless of race. Churches have always been segregated into like minded people. But somehow, this church was able to overcome all of that and learn to live together. They had achieved the goal that Jesus had set for them to learn to put Christ first and their differences second. They had come up and were now heading down They had reached the heights of what a community of Christ was supposed to be – but leaders realized that instead of them climbing up to bigger and better things, that they started to go backward. They started to revert to their old understandings of life. The older jewish members started to believe that the newer gentile members had to become jewish before they became Christian. They needed to be reminded that we are saved by grace alone. Christ freed us from the law and set us free to be saved. Our salvation is in Christ, not the rules and not the past. I know I seem to say that I love all of the books of the bible, but I really do appreciate Hebrews. Paul was an amazing writer, but we know that this was not written by Paul, because the author of Hebrews has an amazing understanding of the jewish faith. This is the only history book that we have in the new testament. In each chapter of the book the author goes back into the old testament and reminds us of an element of faith. He talks about the angels, the prophets, the saints, the priest, and in each chapter he reminds us that what we had in the past was truly awesome, but what we have in a future with Christ is so much more awesome. The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God's grace. The prologue (1:1-4) presents Christ as God's full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in the OT. The prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the "new covenant" (or "new testament"), of which Christ is the mediator. From the OT itself, Christ is shown to be superior to the ancient prophets, to angels, to Moses (the mediator of the former covenant) and to Aaron and the priestly succession descended from him. Hebrews could be called "the book of better things" since the two Greek words for "better" and "superior" occur 15 times in the letter. A striking feature of this presentation of the gospel is the unique manner in which the author employs expositions of eight specific passages of the OT Scriptures:Communications, Inc. The Book of Hebrews is one of the most profound sections of the Word of God. In it we get a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the God man more clearly than we do in any other portion of the Scriptures. Moreover, we understand by a study of this epistle that He is God's Apostle to the human family and our great High Priest. Because He is what He is and has done what He has accomplished for us, we have a covenant better than that of Israel; a sanctuary better than that of the Hebrews; a better sacrifice than the blood that flowed on Jewish altars; a better ministry than that conducted by the Aaronic priesthood; and better promises than those made to the Jews. In every way we have things better than those enjoyed by the Israelites. Comparison of Mt Sinai and Mt Zion On today’s lesson the teacher says that in the old days we used to talk about Mount Sinai, and moses and how moses had awe and wonder for God because he was told that he was on holy ground. But in the olden days people could not have a direct relationship with god. In the old days people were afraid of God, and they had these rules and rituals that they had to follow. Today we don’t need to go back to mount Sinai and its ways of doing things. Because today we have a new mountain, mount zion, a new way of understanding God and a new way of doing things. You don’t need to go looking for God because God knows where to find you. When god finds you there is not fear and judgment, there is joy and celebration. 3816 The Holy City Thirty men, red-eyed and disheveled lined up before a judge of the San Francisco police court. It was the regular morning company of “Drunks and disorderlies.” Some were old and hardened, others hung their heads in shame. Just as the momentary disorder attending the bringing-in of the prisoners quieted down, a strange thing happened. A strong, clear voice from below began singing: “Last night I lay a sleeping There came a dream so fair.” Last night! It had been for them all a nightmare or a drunken stupor. The song was such a contrast to the horrible fact that no one could fail of a sudden shock at the thought the song suggested. “I stood in old Jerusalem, Beside the Temple there,” The song went on. The judge had paused. He made a quiet inquiry. A former member of a famous opera company known all over the country, was awaiting trial for forgery. It was he who was singing in his cell. Meantime the song went on, and every man in the line showed emotion. One or two dropped on their knees; one boy at the end of the line, after a desperate effort at self-control, leaned against the wall, buried his face against his folded arms, and sobbed, “Oh mother, mother!” The sobs, cutting to the very heart of the men who heard, and the song, still welling its way through the courtroom, blended in the hush. At length one man protested, “Judge,” said he, “have we got to submit to this? We’re here to take our punishment, but this—” He, too began to sob. It was impossible to proceed with the business of the court, yet the judge gave no order to stop the song. The police sergeant, after an effort to keep the men in line, stepped back and waited with the rest. The song moved on to its climax: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Sing for the night is o’er! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna for evermore! In an ecstasy of melody the last words rang out, and then there was silence. The judge looked into the faces of the men before him. There was not one who was not touched by the song; not one in whom some better impulse was not stirred. He did not call the cases singly- -a kind word of advice, and he dismissed them all. No man was fined or sentenced to the workhouse that morning. The song had done more good than punishment could possibly have accomplished. —Author Unknown Stumbling upon God Verse 18 begins by saying you have not come to something that can be touched. Come means you have approached, you have walked into. The old God was unapproachable, but Christ is fully approachable, he understands us because he came into the world as one of us. Our task in not just to look for God in the places and people we recognize, but to see God in all things and in all people. In Christ we worship a better God, so we need to be a better people. We need to continue to go forward, not backward, to go up and we have no reason to go down. The biggest message of our verses today is to trust the voice of God in all things. Do you listen to the sounds of the city or the voice of God. Hebrews tells us to listen to the voice of God. the city sometimes can mislead you, but God never does. The voices of the city can lead us away, but the voice of God is always the voice of faith. God shaking things up Hebrews also talks about God shaking our lives, and shaking anything that is not of the new kingdom out of our hands. We are given five important warnings as people of faith. We are warned of the danger of neglecting our faith, of allowing unbelief to take over, of falling back into spiritual immaturity, of failing to endure, but the message for today is don’t ever refuse God. it is not just our faith, but our life depends on it. Verse 25 says see that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven. Keep the faith in all situations and God will not lead you astray. HOPE AND A GRATEFUL HEART There is an old legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human heart. On finding the seeds of discouragement more numerous than others, he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When questioned, Satan reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could never get them to thrive. "And where is that?" asked the man. He replied sadly, "In the heart of a grateful person." (From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, "Remembering the Blessings" 1/19/2009) We have been a superior faith – let us it We have been given a superior faith, when we put Christ as the center of our lives. We have been given a superior faith than those who came before us, because we have all that we need in the arms of Christ. Christ is our sanctuary, our salvation, our peace. There is a lot of stuff on Hebrews, it covers everything when it comes to faith. But the important thing to remember – that faith in Christ, and in Christ alone is the source of our salvation. Amen. ________________________________________ 7120 Seeing Other Mountains Talking with John Dewey several months before his ninetieth birthday, a young doctor blurted out his low opinion of philosophy. “What’s the good of such claptrap?” he asked. “Where does it lead you?” The great philosopher answered quietly, “The good of it is that you climb mountains.” “Climb mountains!” retorted the youth, unimpressed. “And what’s the use of doing that?” “You see other mountains to climb,” was the reply. “You come down, climb the next mountain, and see still others to climb.” Then, putting his hand gently on the young man’s knee, Dewey said, “When you are no longer interested in climbing mountains to see other mountains to climb, life is over.” —Maxwell Droke 7122 They Saw The Goal Napoleon saw Italy, but not the Alps. He had an objective and knew where he was going. Washington saw the Hessians at Trenton. A man of smaller stature would have seen the Delaware choked with ice. The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the former while oblivion is the reward of the latter. —Healthways 4457 Every City Has A Voice High above a city, the medley of street noises is blended into one overall note, sound, or murmur. For instance, we are told that the overall note of Chicago is bass; of London it is baritone; and that of New York is tenor. The Book of Hebrews addresses three separate groups: believers in Christ, unbelievers who had knowledge of and an intellectual acceptance of the facts of Christ, and unbelievers who were attracted to Christ, but who rejected Him ultimately. It’s important to understand which group is being addressed in which passage. To fail to do so can cause us to draw conclusions inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Hebrews.html#ixzz2cvybhecM There is an old story of a man who had just become a Christian. He was experiencing some of the difficulties that new Christians often have of uncertainty in his faith; he was wondering if he really was a Christian, and was feeling frustrated with his own lack of growth. He felt he had come to the place where he just could not stand any longer; he could not live as a Christian any more. He came into a church service where a pastor was speaking on the verses in Ephesians that tell of Christ being seated at the right hand of the Father, and that we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God. He talked about Christ as the head of the body, and said that we are the body, and that Christ as the head is seated at the right hand of the Father. As the truth of this gripped this man's heart, and he realized that although he was struggling to swim against the current down here below, his head was seated in victory and triumph already at the right hand of God, he jumped out of his seat, and shouted, "Hallelujah! Who ever heard of anyone drowning with his head high above water!" That is what Hebrews does to us: it helps us to focus on the One who is already in the place of victory. We are fighting a battle already won, and that is what encourages us. When we walk in the flesh, we are fighting a battle already lost; there is no chance, no hope of victory; but when we walk in the Spirit, the battle is already won. The Book of Hebrews addresses three separate groups: believers in Christ, unbelievers who had knowledge of and an intellectual acceptance of the facts of Christ, and unbelievers who were attracted to Christ, but who rejected Him ultimately. It’s important to understand which group is being addressed in which passage. To fail to do so can cause us to draw conclusions inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Hebrews.html#ixzz2cw36oneQ

The Power of Prayer

July 28, 2013 Colossians 2:6-19 Luke 11:1-13 The Power of Prayer 10th Sunday after Pentecost Year C ROOTED FOR LIFE There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home, one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the two seeds lay was rather fertile, and miraculously they took root. After about a week the squash seed showed signs of growth. The second seed showed none. After two weeks the squash began to sprout leaves. The second seed showed none. After seven weeks the squash began to show fruit. The second seed still showed no progress. Four more weeks came and gone. The squash plant reached the end of its life bearing much fruit in that time, but the other seed finally began to slowly grow. Many years later the squash was all but forgotten, but the other tiny seed, an acorn, had grown into a mighty oak tree. Many people want their faith to be like the squash. They want to experience it all right now...rather than be rooted for life. (From a sermon by Ajai Prakash, Rooted in Jesus, 4/29/2011) That story reminds me of psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3 In order for us to be firmly rooted in life, our faith has to be planted in Jesus Christ. We have to know that it is Christ who frees us from our sin, and who loves us, who guides us, and who teaches us how to prosper. Let our faith grow along with our lives When we are rooted in God, we stay connected to God. But we also are willing to grow in our knowledge and understanding of who God is. Our spiritual life only goes as far as we are able to grow. Many people leave the church, because they learn about God, but they don’t do anything to grow in faith. When trials and tribulations come upon them, they are still praying to the God they learned about in high school. When things don’t turn out the way they think they should, there is something wrong with God, when really, their faith has not grown to fit the situations of their life. It is so important to be rooted in God, and to continue to let the roots of our lives reach for the nurturing of God. This morning, our scriptures give us two important lessons on staying rooted in the ways of God. Colossians main lesson is to make sure that Christ is the center of our lives. Luke – talks about the importance of prayer. When we pray – we learn to depend on God for everything in our lives. VACANT HOMES, VACANT LIVES TIFTON, GA — The most interesting thing about Tifton is an abandoned Victorian house filled with thousands of bats. Tift County declared the once-elegant house in the town’s historic district off limits after a bat specialist said that maybe 20,000 bats had moved in, apparently for good. Now, teenagers call it the bat house. People talk about the smell, which is an unholy mix of animal urine and decaying wood. "In the summer, ooh, does that place reek," said Linda Turner, 69, a retired nurse and neighbor. "You ain’t smelled nothing until you come back here on a hot day." Brothers and Sisters, I’m not going to visit that bat house. WHAT A SIGHT AND WHAT A STINK IT MUST BE! Vacant houses get infiltrated with all kinds of creatures and probably not just bats. And many of these creatures make a mess, create a big stink, and eventually ruin that dwelling. But it doesn’t just happen with vacant houses, it also happens with vacant lives! If a person doesn’t fill their life with good stuff, the bad stuff and sometimes, the evil stuff will move in and take over. What’s going on in your house? That is, the house you live in, the fleshly body you live in? Who has moved in? Who has taken over your residence and controlling your life? God wants us to stay clean in this world and that will only happen when we let Him move in, that is, when we fill our lives with worship, prayer and service. Thy word have I hide in my heart that I might not sin against thee! Ps. 119:11. The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible! (From a sermon by Steve Shepherd, Our Walk in This World, 4/4/2011) In her book A Practical Guide to Prayer, Dorothy Haskins tells about a noted concert violinist who was asked the secret of her mastery of the instrument. The woman answered the question with two words: "Planned neglect." Then she explained. "There were many things that used to demand my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted, and did whatever seemed necessary. When I finished my work, I turned to my violin practice. That system prevented me from accomplishing what I should on the violin. So I reversed things. I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was complete. And that program of planned neglect is the secret of my success." Colossians says don’t let anything or anyone disqualify you from growing in Christ. There are a lot of things going on in life. when Christ is in perspective however, the other things fall into place. In the last few years, used this week to talk about the meaning of the Lord’s prayer. Very important – teaches us what it means to put Christ first. What are we praying for when we pray the Lord’s Prayer "In a world too full of injustice, hunger, malice and evil, (this) prayer cries out for justice, bread, forgiveness, and deliverance." N. T. (Tom) Wright It is a prayer for material blessings of food to eat daily, but it is more so a prayer for spiritual blessings. The request not only for the ability to forgive, but for forgiveness in our lives. The strength to overcome temptation. These spiritual request are all things that support us in feeding our roots and growing in Christ. This prayer teaches us to pray in boldness and confidence for the things that we need. The life of a Christian, is a life of prayer. Luke speaks of prayer as a good gift from God. God provides for us our of God’s nature – which is always kind, merciful and generous. We think of this as the Lord’s prayer – but some have called it the disciple’s prayer. The prayer that we need in order to become disciples of Christ. For three years, the disciples learned by hearing Jesus preach and teach “as one who has authority.” They heard the sermon on the mount preached by the Son of God. They heard him condemn self-righteous Pharisees and encourage a woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more.” The disciples heard Jesus command the wind and waves (and witnessed their obedience). They heard him forgive sins. I suspect that they somehow knew the sins were forgiven. For three years, the disciples learned by watching Jesus do the impossible. They saw him heal the deaf, the blind, the lame, and the sick. They saw him feed 5,000 men plus women and children with a boy’s lunch. They saw him cast out demons. They saw him raise the dead. Incredibly, they did not ask Jesus to “teach us to teach and preach with authority.” They did not ask Jesus to “teach us to feed a multitude with a little.” They did not ask Jesus to “teach us to overcome disease, demons, and death.” Jesus was God incarnate. His divine power was beyond human comprehension. But the disciples noticed something he did that they could learn. Luke 11:1 - One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord teach us... to pray.” Jesus is the center of our lives as Christians, to be a christian, prayer must be the center of you life. Pray in boldness and confidence, for the right things in the right way, Christ will always answer. Active Prayer God is not passive, and neither are we. In fact, Jesus calls us to an active life. We tend to think of prayer as a passive affair, which in many ways it is. After all, prayer is listening before it is speaking. However, it is active listening. You know the difference between passive and active listening? Passive listening is the husband who has one ear to the television when his wife speaks. Passive listening is the wife who has her "to do" list between her and her spouse. Passive listening is the young person who hears everything through ears that are "bored" with anything and everything that isn’t more exciting than what is possible. Active listening, on the other hand, is giving 100% attention, and facing toward the One who speaks, putting aside remote-controls, "to do" lists, and boredom. Active listening is anything but passive. It’s really hard work, when you think about it. It’s not "zoning out." Far from it. Prayer is, in part, active listening. How do you receive daily bread from God, if you’re not faced in his direction, attentively reaching out? How does forgiveness become a reality if we don’t step into it - and how are we to step into it if we’re not walking in the direction of, toward the One from whom forgiveness flows? The Lord’s prayer, whether it be the version Matthew remembers, or the one Luke recalls, encourages active movement toward God on our part. As a rule, if I have used an story once in a church, I try not to repeat it again. At least not intentionally. Today I am going to break that rule. As I was looking at my old sermons, I have gone through the lectionary twice since being a solo pastor. And I used this story here in this church in 2010. But I think that it is an important lesson in active prayer as we look forward to a new worship service and a new way of being present in the community. Actively pray for people A church was having a friends and family day, and each person was asked to invite a guest. But before they were to invite them they were to pray for them for one week. One lady wanted to invite her neighbor Kate. She and Kate had sons that were on the basketball team together. She prayed for Kate, but it seemed the the opportunity to talk about church never came up. So she was convinced the prayer didn’t work and that Kate would never come to church. On the Friday before the friends and family she got a call from another parent, who told her that she and her son wanted to come to church with her. And o by the way, Kate was coming too. God works in mysterious ways. God hears our prayers. Let us make sure that this new beginning is firmly rooted in prayer. There may be a lot of things that need to be done as we move toward that day – but the most important thing always is to pray. The bring everything to God in prayer. If Christ is truly in the center of our lives, we can pray in boldness and confidence and know that God know better than we do. But he wants us to be rooted, and watered in prayer. He wants us to have an active prayer life, and to be willing to be challenged so that we can grow in our relationship. Lord, teach us to be faithful, to be knowledgable, to be grateful, but most of all Lord teach us to pray – in boldness, confidence and in faith. BURIED IN THE DEEPEST SEA Several years ago Rick Stacy baptized a man in Lake Superior. It was late October and about 9:00 PM. Rick had been talking with Myron and his wife about accepting the Lord as their personal savior and sealing that decision with baptism into Jesus. Myron was hesitant for a long time and then finally said, “Yes, I want to accept Jesus – and I want to be baptized tonight – right now in Lake Superior. In case you don’t know Lake Superior is cold. The average temperature (year round) is about 38 degrees. This was late October and the gales of November (remember the Edmund Fitzgerald) had come early. The waves were running 3 feet high. The water was very cold. They were going to walk out waist deep into the water, but only made it about knee deep. Rick laid Myron down and the waves washed over him as he was baptized in the name of Jesus. When they went back to Myron’s home for some hot cocoa and a hot soak for their cold feet, Rick asked him why it was so important that he do this that night in Lake Superior. His answer: “I was in the army, an officer in the infantry during Viet Nam. I saw and did things that no man should see or do. I wanted my sins buried in the deepest and coldest place…” Peter L. Haynes, Asking...Seeking...Knocking Keeping God Alive in Our Hearts Jesus prayed: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. In the novel "The Great Hunger," a newcomer comes to a farm community. He refuses all friendship with his neighbors and puts out the no trespassing sign. One day a little child from the town climbs underneath his fence to pet his dog. The vicious animal leaps on her and kills her. Hostility spreads throughout the community. When the newcomer comes to town no one will speak to him. Clerks refuse to wait on him. Spring comes and the merchants refuse to sell him seed. Finally, the father of the girl who was killed comes over and sows his field. This act of kindness is too much for the insufferable newcomer. “Why—you of all people?” he asks. The father responds: To keep God alive in my heart. The experience of forgiveness is basic to our spiritual health. It is the way that we keep God alive in our hearts. But there is more. The petition says: Forgive us as we forgive others. In other words, we are asking God to forgive in proportion to our forgiving. We become our own judge and jury. How do we forgive the unforgivable? By remembering that God forgives us for our sins against him. Staff, www.Sermons.com. For three years, the disciples learned by hearing Jesus preach and teach “as one who has authority.” They heard the sermon on the mount preached by the Son of God. They heard him condemn self-righteous Pharisees and encourage a woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more.” The disciples heard Jesus command the wind and waves (and witnessed their obedience). They heard him forgive sins. I suspect that they somehow knew the sins were forgiven. For three years, the disciples learned by watching Jesus do the impossible. They saw him heal the deaf, the blind, the lame, and the sick. They saw him feed 5,000 men plus women and children with a boy’s lunch. They saw him cast out demons. They saw him raise the dead. Incredibly, they did not ask Jesus to “teach us to teach and preach with authority.” They did not ask Jesus to “teach us to feed a multitude with a little.” They did not ask Jesus to “teach us to overcome disease, demons, and death.” Jesus was God incarnate. His divine power was beyond human comprehension. But the disciples noticed something he did that they could learn. Luke 11:1 - One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord teach us... to pray.”