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.

What did you get for Christmas?

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 28, 2014 What did you Get for Christmas? Matthew 1-11 Year B Sermon Opener –Surprise, It's Christmas! The greatest thing about Christmas morning is the surprises. When else in life do you get to pile 10, 20, 30, 40 sometimes 50 surprises all together and sit for an hour enjoying each of them? One after another, surprise after surprise. Christmas Morning is wonderful in that way. I can remember still today the way I felt as a child, the amazement, the astonishment of Christmas morning. ( Leonard Sweet – Christmas Surpise) Every year I am always blessed with some very special gifts. And this year was not different, I received some gifts that I really appreciated. I think that the one that will stick out the most, will be the ticket that I got from the Brookfield police department for running a stop light. It took not one, but two police cars with flashing lights to pull me over, in the end the officer gave me a warning, but even the warning ticket was $35. I was also blessed to spend Christmas day here at church, and to see more than 100 people come here for good food and fellowship. We had to have at least 25 other people who volunteered in the community. I hope that we continue to this as a tradition, because there is a definite need in the community. Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. It is not about the physical things that we receive. It is about what they represent to us. Gift for Nicolas Cage When the actor Nicolas Cage was a young boy, his father gave him a little Pinocchio for Christmas. Being a boy, he was a little rough with it, and broke its head off. So his father suggested they bury Pinocchio. The next morning, on the very place where they had buried Pinocchio, was a large wooden sculpture of Pinocchio. The next day he went about burying his matchbox cars, toy planes, a castle, even his GI Joe doll hoping, they too would transform into something larger. Although they didn't, to this day Nicolas Cage says that his little Pinocchio gift was one of the best gifts he had received, because it gave him the gifts of imagination, hope and inspiration. And these continue to help him through life and in his career as an actor. As I told the children, the best gift that we received for Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ. In our two texts Paul comments on the real Christmas gift by saying "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal "life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Then after writing to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 9:15) about their generosity in response to God's generosity to them in Christ he simply concludes with, "Thanks be to God his indescribable gift!" The art of gift giving and gift receiving is an important theological issue in the Bible and in real life. The Apostle Paul uses for the word "gift", "charisma." The "charisma" was a totally free and unearned gift which the army sometimes received. On special occasions, for instance on his birthday, or on his accession to the throne, or the anniversary of it, an emperor handed out a free gift of money to the army. It had not been earned; it was a present; it was simply a gift of the emperor's kindness and grace. So Paul says, "Our sin has earned us death. If we got the pay we had earned it would be death. It is death that is due to us as a right." Then Paul goes on to say, "But what we have received (from God) is a free gift, a "charisma"; we did not earn it; We did not deserve it. What we have earned is eternal death, but out of his grace God has given us the gift of eternal life, a really indescribable gift." Jesus in our New Testament reading (Matthew 7:7-29) asks his hearers, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Would you? I wouldn't. "Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?" Would you? I don't think so. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" The point is, if we who are evil, know how to give good gifts to loved ones, which we do at Christmas and at other times, then God, who defines Himself as love, certainly knows how to and will give us good gifts also. The Psalmist in our Old Testament reading (Psalms 84:11) says in the Living Bible Translation, "No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right." God's nature is to give us good gifts. (taken from C Thomas Hilton – real Christmas gifts) We know how to give good gifts, we also know how to receive good gifts. God loves us, God knows us from the inside out, God knows what it is that we need. Jesus is a gift to each of us, -but that gift comes alive and becomes something greater in the world. Let this be a season of putting our gifts to use and making them a part of the world. Think about your spiritual gifts, be thankful, and use them. Amen. Extra illustration…… Chuck Swindoll writes, "surprises come in many forms and guises: some good, some borderline amazing, some awful, some tragic, some hilarious. But there's one thing we can usually say -- surprises aren't boring." Surprises are woven through the very fabric of all our lives. They await each one of us at unexpected and unpredictable junctures. I like the story about a professor who sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that days mail and papers at his desk and he began to shuffle through them discarding most to the wastebasket. He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to an article titled "The Needs of the Congo Mission". Casually he began to read when he was suddenly consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one - one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast - that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." Professor Albert Schweitzer closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the Congo. That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone else, was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was, the surprise that took place when an angel by the name of Gabriel appeared to a young teenager by the name of Mary…

I Believe in Jesus - Women's Day at Mandell United Methodist Church

Turn in your hymnals to #881 – as we say the apostles creed together.

The apostle’s creed is the official faith statement of the Christian church. It is what we all agree on, what we believe to be true about the man we call Jesus the Christ. It is our theology – what you have to believe about jesus in order to consider yourself to be a true Christian.

And it is a blocking stone for many who are not able to accept the Christian story as truth.

Why would any of us be willing to believe in things which we know to be impossible in the every day world. We all know that a virgin cannot give birth, we all know that once you are dead that you cant come back to life, and who would be arrogant to consider themselves a blood relative of God?

Yes the apostles creed, the Christian faith statement is a blockage for many to the Christian faith.

Lew Wallace was the governor of New Mexico when he decided that he wanted to write a book disproving the existence of Jesus. He was encouraged by his other agnostic friends to write this book, because the world really needed to now the truth. He set out to find the facts around this ficticius man – and he found that there really was a women Miriyam – which is closer to the name Miriam then to Mary, who gave birth to Yshua – which is closer to Joshua than Jesus. He really did recruit twelve disciples, and he was really crucified in the cross.
In the midst of his fact finding – he found something else – the real Jesus came to him one night and introduced himself. Lew Wallace immediately fell to his knees and started to pray. Surely this man must be the son of God he thought.
Eventually he became a fervent Christian, something that his Methodist wife had been praying for every since he decided to prove that Jesus was not real.

Jesus is indeed a real person, Jesus indeed made a signigificant influence on history. Even the muslims uphold Jesus as an important prophet. They even have scriptures in the Koran supporting the virgin birth.

Carl Sagan was another famous scientist – who did not believe in the existence of God. He did not understand why people clung to their beliefs about God, based on the testimony of people who have been dead for 200 years. He once asked a pastor – why do you believe in a Jesus that you have never seen? The pastor replied – why do you believe in black holes which you have never seen? Carl Sagan went to his death – refusing to believe in Jesus. His wife commented that there was no deathbed conversion, no appeals to be saved, no hope for the afterlife, as he lay dying there was no acknowledgement that this was the last time that he would ever see his loved ones. After he passed away – someone asked his wife – didn’t he want to believe in Christ- didn’t he want to believe that there was more to life. She commented that he didn’t want to believe in Jesus – he wanted to know Jesus.

That is the good news – that in order to believe in Jesus – you have to know Jesus. Belief in Jesus in not just in the facts about his life, it is not just in the stories that you hear in church – but it is in the way Jesus comes to you in your life – and speaks to your heart and soul. In order to believe in Jesus you always have to have a personal story to tell. A story of how Jesus came to you and ministered to just you and just your situation.

Jesus comes to each of us in a special way. The book of acts records the fact that Jesus came to Saul, another agnostic on the road to Damascus. And changed his life forever.

Jesus has come to me at many points in my life. As a matter of fact, there was never a time when Jesus did not come to me. As a child, would ask him why he had to talk to loudly in the thunder – I could hear him clearly. He would explain that I did not have to be afraid of the thunder. As a teenager, I was the victim of a crime – and I told Jesus that if he loved me he would not have allowed that to happen. And he explained that he loved me even though that happen, and that it was his love that would help me heal from the incident. As a young adult I spent 9 months living in a homeless shelter, looking for some grounding to get my life together. Things Got better, but I have never forgot the faith lesson from that experience. And even today, when I am discouraged, he lifts me up. When I think that I am at the end of my rope, he supports me. When I am crying and saying that I am lost and I don’t know what I am doing – he explains that is why he has called me to this situation, because he know that I am the one to make a difference.

Jesus is alive – and at work throughout the world. I don’t have to tell the story of Jesus to others – because in my experience Jesus always speaks for himself. I don’t have to think about what would Jesus do in this situation, because in my experience Jesus has a mind of his own. He acts as he sees fit to show others the will of God. All I have to do is witness to how I see Jesus at work in my own life.

Charles Templeton was a friend of Billy Graham’s in the 40’s. He was a preacher too, until one day he decided that it was all too much. He left the ministry and became a news reporter. At 83, he was interviewed and asked why he left – he commented that he saw suffering in the world and nothing seemed to be helping. If God was real – he would not allow all of these things to happen he said.
He was then asked what he thought of Jesus. He said he was the greatest human who ever lived. He was wise and had a deep moral conscious. He was a genius. He is the most important part of my life. Everything that I know about life, I learned it from Jesus. Everything right, pure, and loving Jesus taught me. And if I had to admit it – I really miss him. His eyes filled with tears, he cried, and he refused to go on with the interview.

I don’t know your story - I don’t know your relationship with Jesus. I don’t know how you know Jesus – But I know that you do. Somehow, someway you know Jesus. And that Jesus knows you and your story well.

I know Jesus. I know Jesus as a friend, I know Jesus as a savior, I know Jesus as my Lord. I believe in Jesus, because Jesus is an intrical part of my life story.

You now all religions acknowledge the importance of moral ethics. All religions strive for us to be a more loving world.

But Christianity is the only religion which offers salvation. Salvation is healing and well being in the midst of the suffering of the world. Salvation is the knowledge that you have been set aside because God has a greater purpose for you.

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you know Jesus to be your Lord and Savior?

The apostle creed is more than just a faith statement, it is more than a creed of what we should believe about Jesus?

It is a reminder, and affirmation of the power of Christ at work in the world today. When Jesus walked the earth – that power was unleashed in the world. When he was resurrected – that power was free to roam the earth – making itself known everywhere, at any time for anyone.

When you believe in Jesus, and know Jesus and live Jesus - then the world become the holy place – that God created for us all.

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can it saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are a light to the world, a city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your father in heaven.

Be a witness to what God has done for you – wherever you go. Amen.