The Hope of Abraham

Romans 4:13-25 Second Sunday of Lent The Promises of Abraham Year B Opening song Welcome Opening prayer Lord of presence and power, be with us on this second step of our Lenten journey to the Cross. Help us to make a commitment of our lives, our spirits, our hearts to ministry in your name. AMEN. Stewardship Moment (just print the prayer of thanksgiving) The story of God finally responding positively to Abram and Sarai challenges many of us. After seeking to follow God for nearly their whole lives, they are finally given that for which they’ve yearned: the promise of the birth of their child! At 99 years old, was Abram really still waiting to receive what God promised to give? YES! Fast forward to Jesus, who offered to give the crowd and the disciples a new identity as “followers”. Were they waiting to receive what Jesus offered, even if it meant “deny yourselves and take up your cross”? YES! This season of Lent provides opportunity for us to receive what Jesus offered. Can you imagine Jesus, waiting to see how we deny ourselves and offer back to the Holy what we might have grasped for ourselves? In this season, our congregation is __________________________ (name what your special offering is, and up-date where you are in underwriting this). An additional way for us to deny ourselves is to step up and participate with generosity and enthusiasm in the Week of Compassion offering, “Let Love Flow”. (video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zDMgubCd1U, or at weekofcompassion.org). Our congregation’s goal is $__________ (or if you don’t have a goal, provide a giving challenge which will stretch folks’ “giving muscle”. Do you have an outreach team who will match what the congregation gives?) With true desire to live our lives as followers of Jesus, let us receive the gifts of the people of God. Prayer of Thanksgiving Holy Giver of Life, You’ve provided for us all that we have. So receive these gifts, offered because this is one way to act out our desire to be followers of Jesus. Help us grow in our ability to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and truly walk in the Way of the Christ, in whose name we pray, AMEN Scripture Romans 4:13-25 Common English Bible Abraham’s promise is received through faith 13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.[a] So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence. 18 When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, in keeping with the promise God spoke to him: That’s how many descendants you will have.[b] 19 Without losing faith, Abraham, who was nearly 100 years old, took into account his own body, which was as good as dead, and Sarah’s womb, which was dead. 20 He didn’t hesitate with a lack of faith in God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith and gave glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness. 23 But the scripture that says it was credited to him[c] wasn’t written only for Abraham’s sake. 24 It was written also for our sake, because it is going to be credited to us too. It will be credited to those of us who have faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over because of our mistakes, and he was raised to meet the requirements of righteousness for us. Sermon The Promises of Abraham The season is upon us once again. Around this time every year we can expect the annual cycle to bring us to this special season when we are intentional about carving out extra time in our lives for that which is most important to us. It's not like other times of the year. Instead, during this season, for many of us, our thoughts and our conversations take a distinctively different focus. Of course, most of you probably realize what season I'm talking about. We are now in the midst of the latest season of American Idol on television. One of the most entertaining parts of American Idol comes at the beginning where thousands of people audition to become contestants on the show. The ones we end up seeing are the very best and very worst. I have a feeling that there are some contestants who are intentionally weird and awful so that they will be televised and can have their brief moment of fame. They seem to have no sense of embarrassment, even though I find myself being embarrassed for them. I have watched American Idol since the first show in 2002. It stays relevant, because it has launched the careers of many people. I think the show has endured for 19 years because it gives us a sense of hope, that with a lot of hard work, and a little luck the every day person can become a star. There have been some real talent on the show. There have been some real tears of people who thought they had talent, but they were told the truth. And then there are some people, like to model who sung in his speedo’s where it is obvious that person has not talent, but is just looking for 5 minutes of fame. But all of these people have one thing in common – hope. Hope for a better future. I don’t think that it was an accident that American Idol started this season on the first Sunday of Lent. Lent also is a season of hope – Hope in things that we cannot forsee. Hope in a God who always keeps God’s promises. All of us here are people who, in spite of great odds – have chosen to take that God at God’s word. We live in trust of God. In Romans, Paul uses Abraham as an example of faith, of a model of one who trusted God in all things. The message for us today is that when we are able to have faith in God, we become children of Abraham. I love Paul’s explanation of Abraham’s faith. At 90, he knew that he was much closer to death than he was life. But God promised him life. One night he invited Abraham to count the stars in heaven, when Abraham realized that he could not count all of the stars that he saw, God promised that he would be the father of that many children. Today we are those children, not biologically, but by faith – that is a good thing. The Book of Romans was written to people who were loosely Christians. They did not belong to organized churches, they were part of family churches that met in houses. They were clearly gentiles – converts. They became Christian on profession of faith. This was a time where there was a debate of whether you could truly be a Christian if you were not circumcised. The Jewish Christians would have been circumcised as babies. These new converts would have had to go through that ceremony as adults if it were not for Paul’s words. It was not the ceremony that made us children of Abraham – it was faith. We are Christian because were like Abraham were willing to take God at God’s word – even when it did not make sense. But back to Abraham and his fit of laughter. Abraham's wife, Sarah, wasn't any more dignified when she heard the news. Author Dave Meurer claims that Sarah laughed because she was secretly thinking, "Surely the Lord would not make me go through menopause TWICE?!?" (4) Christian humorist Martha Bolton, in her book A Funny Thing Happened on My Way Through the Bible, envisions what a baby shower invitation might look like for ninety-year-old Sarah. In one column are the gifts for the baby: pureed foods, a bib, gum ointment, a walker. In the other column are the gifts for the mother-to-be, Sarah: pureed foods, a bib, gum ointment, a walker. (5) Do you imagine that Abraham began carving a baby rattle for his intended boy? Did he clear some extra space in a corner of the house for a crib? Did Sarah begin letting out the seams of her clothes in anticipation of her expanding belly? The Bible doesn't fill in these little details, only the most important detail: they believed God's promise, in spite of its impossibility. That is all it took. Abraham believed that God was going to keep the promise. For the first time in all the Bible, God said, "Here is a child who is made right with me." Abraham believed, and said, "Yes," to God. That's all it took. When we are able to trust in God- it has a huge effect on how we live our lives and how we use our faith. Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word. Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word. Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word. get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word Paul says that there are two types of hope – a fool’s hope and a child of Abraham faith. There are two ways to live – we can live by the law which requires circumcision, and there is life by faith where we trust the promises of God. Some of us have a yearbook faith – we keep it safe in a book so that we can look back on it when we need it. It gives us wonderful memories, but not a whole lot of power. Some of us have a ticket booth faith - By contrast, consider the ticket window. You go up to the box office, make a purchase, and then you are allowed in. We can think of God in Christ as the official ticket agent who lets us into the stadium, and that is true enough. The problem with a ticket window, however, is that you must have some earning power to get your ticket. You need to work hard and long to accumulate enough money, and then you will be allowed through the gate and shown to your seat. The problem, however, is that the ticket costs too much for anybody to buy. Nobody else can afford it, either. The only available tickets are the tickets that somebody gives you. So how do we make our way through the world? Not by remembering memorable achievements in the yearbook. Not by buying our own admission. We make our way through the world by responding to the free gift of God. Imagine, says Robert Capon, a sign over a stadium that announces, "Open to all for free." You draw near and discover somebody has already stuck a free ticket in your pocket, given you a fine seat, and brought you a hot dog and a drink. You did not ask for any of it. It is given to you, and you have to decide if you can accept it. There is nothing else to remember or forget. There is nothing you need to do to earn your way inside. You are already there, as a gift - unless, of course, you refuse the offer which has been offered to everybody. Capon says the work of Jesus on our behalf is like this. It says not only that we don't need to have the wherewithal (good works) for a ticket, but that even to think we could buy a ticket is to misunderstand the whole setup ... The only appropriate thing to do about such a fantastic arrangement is just shut up, believe it, and enjoy it - because we've already got it.1 In the church, the ten-cent word which we use for all this is "justification." It's the idea that God-in-Christ justifies us; that Christ makes us right in God's sight; that in our unacceptable state, God accepts us, because Jesus has done all the necessary work on our behalf. That is all it ever takes. All that faith requires is to trust that the one ticket you could never earn has already been slipped into your pocket. The good news is that the ticket booth faith is a faith that is offered to all – not just Christians, but all people who believe like Abraham. It is also a faith where all things are possible. One summer in the village of Crete, the drought of the past winter threatened the crops. The priest in the local church told his congregation: "The only thing that will save us is for us to offer a special litany of rain. Therefore, I ask that you go back to your homes, fast during the week, and believe that the rains will come. Then return next Sunday for the litany of rain." The villagers listened to him and fasted during the week as he had told them. On Sunday morning, they returned to the church. But as soon as the priest saw the people filing into the church, he was furious. "Go away," he shouted to them. "I will not do the litany. You do not believe." "But, Father," they protested, "we fasted just like you told us and we came back today believing as you asked us. Why are you being so harsh to us?" "Believe, you say?" the priest questioned. "And where are your umbrellas?" Where is your faith? Where is your faith in our church? How are you willing to stand on the faith of God? Listen to a young black girl from Botswana, writing a moving novel, When Rain Clouds Gather: I really liked this country from the very day I came here. I have always been lonely and to me it was just like a fish finding a pond at last. A country like this forces you to find your underground spring in order to survive.1 When one knows in his experience the love of God, then he has found the "underground spring." Faith is, for all, that underground spring, without which we do not really survive. In London, a few years ago, I chanced to have dinner with an official of the London Oil Company, which was then drilling in Libya. He told me that in drilling for oil they had discovered an immense lake of fresh water (something like the Great Lakes) underneath the desert. He said this could mean more to Libya than the oil. It could mean new life to Libya, irrigation for fertile soil, farms, green life. And then he added, "You know, when they bring this water to the surface, it might even start raining in Libya again." If we stand on our faith perhaps it will start raining in Wilmington again this spring. "Wait! Listen a minute! We cannot overlook the fact that the Christian movement has been the most creative and healing movement in the last 2,000 years of history. What is it? What is the source of its effectiveness? Only to our own hurt do we close our eyes to this fact. We owe it to ourselves to discover its secret." Comedienne Kathy Buckley says, "I have learned that faith is having the patience to wait, knowing that all things will be done in God's time. I only wished I owned one of [God's] watches." (3) What would happen if we were able to take God at God’s word? This is the season of lent, the seasons of dreams, trust and faith. This is the season where the contestants of American Idol are stepping out on faith in using their hope. There are two types of hope – a fools hope and the hope of Abraham. This is the season for us to choose hope in God. Amen. Prayer (just print the prayer of confession and the words of assurance) Prayer of Confession: Guiding Lord, even though we hesitated on our Lenten journey; we vowed to come with you through all the trials and fears toward the Cross. Today we face the challenge which true commitment brings. Are we willing to offer our whole selves to you in service? We would like to think that we can do that, but we are aware of how many times we have turned away from service and instead focused on our own desires. Remind us again of the commitment you would have us give if we are to become disciples. Forgive our stubbornness and fears. Lead us forward, gracious Lord, up these steps toward the Cross. AMEN. Words of Assurance: The journey of discipleship is never easy; but you can be assured that you will not be on this journey alone. Place your trust in Jesus. AMEN. Pastoral Prayer: You stop us in our tracks, O Lord, with your reminder that discipleship is not a “sometime” thing. We are called to place our whole lives in your care; to follow you; to serve you by caring for others, not just once in a while, but always. We admit that we’re not always ready to do this. The demand is great; the need is great; our energies are limited. Help us to place our trust and our lives in your care. You will give us the strength and courage that we will need for this step on the journey. Be with us. Help us to remember that your love is poured out for all your people; you are never far away. It is in Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN. Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection Faith of Our Fathers UMH 710 Announcements Benediction The step of discipleship requires commitment and faith. Go now in peace, bringing the good news of Jesus’ love to all people. Do not be afraid. God is with you. AMEN. Children’s Sermon Can We Really Trust God? Romans 4:1-25 Object: A branch from a tree Good morning, boys and girls. Our lesson for today is about trusting God. It may surprise you to know that adults have questions about life just as you do. We have questions about the future, about what life will be like after we die, all kinds of questions. We don't know the answers. But God knows. All we can do is trust God. I have this branch from a tree with me to remind me of a wonderful little story. It is about a snail that climbed a cherry tree in the middle of winter. Someone asked the snail, "Why are you climbing a tree with no blossoms at the top?" The snail answered, "It will have blossoms by the time I reach the top." The slow-moving snail knew that blossoms would appear with the coming of spring. We're kind of like that snail creeping up the cherry tree. We don't have all the answers to life's questions, but we trust by the time we get to points in our lives when we need answers, God will provide them. The most peaceful person in the world is the person who has learned to trust God. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Additional Illustrations "We owe it to ourselves to discover its secret." God in Christ forgiving my sins. God in Christ making me a loving person. God in Christ redeeming the world by love - "the love activity of God" - "the underground spring of the universe" by which we survive - the "mercies of God" which we receive by faith! But so many of us are unaware, blind; we stumble on "unloved and unloving." We won’t admit God’s love for us; so we go on slapping back, getting even, retaliating, hating. We think that God has hurt us (when we have only hurt ourselves), so we go on hurting others. Wake up! Come to! Realize that you are loved, so that you can truly love others. Back to our Scripture: "(Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith." And the world became a different place. Am I ready for this? Am I? What would you do in Pham's place? What happens when our fears collide with our faith? This morning we are continuing the sermon theme for the Lenten season, Choosing Christ at the Crossroads. It's an old joke, but an insightful one: A man slipped off the edge of a cliff, and just before he fell the hundreds of feet to the valley floor below, he grabbed a protruding branch. There he was, dangling precariously from that little branch, afraid that any second it would pull out from the side of the cliff. "Help!" he began to cry. "Help! Is anyone up there?!" Finally, after no answer, he began to pray desperately, after which he heard a big booming voice. "I am the Lord. I am here to save you!" The man was beyond relieved. "Oh, thank you. Thank you, Lord! But please hurry. Do something!" The Lord returned, "I will, my son. All you have to do is follow my every direction without doubting or fear." "Fine. Fine," hollered back the man. "Anything! But please hurry! What do you want me to do first?" The booming voice came back, "Let go." The man was silent for a moment. Finally he hollered out, "Is anyone else up there?" Imagine, if you will, a tightrope stretched across the street between two tall buildings (you might insert the names of two well-known buildings in your town or city, or you might name some high spot with which your people are familiar). That's a pretty good drop. A man stands at one end of the wire and announces his intent to walk across the wire from one side to the other. A crowd gathers to watch because what he intends to do is dangerous, not to mention, a bit strange. The tightrope walker asks the crowd if they believe he can make it across. They respond that they believe he can do it in order to encourage him to take the risk. Carefully, very slowly, he teeters his way across, almost falling, but not quite; then dances on the wire proving that the crowd was right to believe him. Reaching the other side, he holds up a wheelbarrow and again asks the crowd if they believe he can push it across the wire ahead of him. Some nod their agreement that they believe; others shrug their shoulders in a "not too sure" response. The tightrope walker then singles out a man who had nodded and points to him. "Sir," he asks, "do you believe I can make it?" The man responds, "I sure do." The tightrope walker says to the man, "Then prove your faith by riding in the wheelbarrow." Perhaps it is something like this. You are at one of those wonderful inland lakes in Indiana on a beautiful summer day. You are standing on a pier watching a family in their small boat taking in the beautiful day a hundred feet or so off shore. Suddenly the boat capsizes. The children are screaming for help. You want to be able to help them. All you can see is the deep water, that it is cold, that a strong wind is blowing, that there are tall waves ... and you can't swim! That is the bad news. But the good news is that standing there next to you is a lifeguard. He has a life jacket for you to put on. He invites you to join him in performing the rescue of your life. He invites you to believe, "hoping against hope," in spite of evidence to the contrary, that together with his help you can do it. Jesus is standing at our side. He has given us his promise. We cannot fail. There is nothing in this universe that can separate us from his love and his commitment to us. Given that reality, now is the time to jump in the water! Amen. CSS Publishing, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third): The Good News, The Bad News, and The Only News That Matters, by Steven E. Albertin Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word. Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word Paul saw things in terms of black and white. He saw two mutually exclusive ways of trying to get into a right relationship with God. On the one hand there was dependence on human effort; on the other, dependence on divine grace. On the one hand there was the constant losing battle to obey an impossible law; on the other, there was the faith which simply takes God at his word It is told that once Saint Theresa set out to build a convent with a sum the equivalent of twelve pence as her complete resources. Someone said to her, “Not even Saint Theresa can accomplish much with twelve pence.” “True,” she answered, “but Saint Theresa and twelve pence and God can do anything.” A man may well hesitate to attempt a great task by himself; there is nothing which he need hesitate to attempt with God. Ann Hunter Small, the great missionary teacher, tells how her father, himself a missionary, used to say: “Oh! the wickedness as well as the stupidity of the croakers!” And she herself had a favourite saying:” A church which is alive dares to do anything.” That daring only becomes possible to a man and to a church who take God at his word.

A Promise for a New Day

Februarry 25, 2018 Modern Promises of God Romans 4:13-25 Second Sunday of Lent Children’s time Getting Stronger Every Day Romans 4:1-25 Exegetical Aim: We grow strong in our faith as we give glory to God. Props: A feather, a rock, a dictionary, a chair, and a heavy table. Have the objects placed on the table, except for the chair. Lesson: Which one of you is the strongest? (response) Let’s see who is the strongest. I’ve got some things for us to lift. I’m going to start us off with this. Who thinks that they can lift this feather? (response) Choose the smallest child. So you think you can lift this feather? Let’s see you do it. Be careful! Don’t hurt yourself. As the child picks up the feather: That’s great! Okay, you can lift a feather! But I don’t believe any of you can lift this rock. (response) Repeat the challenge with the appropriately sized children for the dictionary and the chair. After the chair, proceed to the table. We do have some strong people here. You even lifted the chair. Not everyone can do that. But there’s one more thing. Who thinks that they can lift this table? (response) Choose the strongest child and instruct him or her to lift one leg of the table off the ground. Wow! That’s a heavy table. To lift that table leg takes a lot of strength. How did you get to be so strong? (response) Eating right, exercising, working hard, and playing are all ways to make our muscles real strong. Application: We now know that you have strong bodies. Let me ask: Are you strong in faith? (response) The Bible says that there was a man named Abraham who always believed God no matter what happened. That means he had a lot of faith. And do you know how he became strong in faith? (response)In the book of Romans it says that Abraham became strong in faith, as he believed God. In other words, the more he trusted what God told him the stronger he became in faith. Eat right and exercise so your bodies will be strong, but remember to trust in God so that your faith might grow strong. Let’s Pray: Dear Father, we praise you today and ask you to make our faith stronger. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Children's Sermons, by Brett Blair Romans 4:13-25 Common English Bible (CEB) Abraham’s promise is received through faith 13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.[a] So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence. 18 When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, in keeping with the promise God spoke to him: That’s how many descendants you will have.[b] 19 Without losing faith, Abraham, who was nearly 100 years old, took into account his own body, which was as good as dead, and Sarah’s womb, which was dead. 20 He didn’t hesitate with a lack of faith in God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith and gave glory to God.21 He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised.22 Therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness. 23 But the scripture that says it was credited to him[c] wasn’t written only for Abraham’s sake. 24 It was written also for our sake, because it is going to be credited to us too. It will be credited to those of us who have faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over because of our mistakes, and he was raised to meet the requirements of righteousness for us. Footnotes: a. Romans 4:17 Gen 17:5 b. Romans 4:18 Gen 15:5 c. Romans 4:23 Gen 15:6 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Lent is the time for us to look at our lives and our relationship with God. So I wanted to pass out a special gift to remember our relationship with God. All of our scriptures are important this week. Mark says for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus. So I wanted to make sure everyone had a cross to keep in your pocket, wallet, or somewhere where it will remind you daily of the gift of Jesus. As we enter into lent, I want to tell you about the importance of a very special word – a word that we have all heard, but today I want us to think about what it really means. That word is Hallelujah – praise God. During the season of lent, many churches honor the tradition of hiding the hallelujah’s until Easter. True Lenten music, which we don’t really hear lot because it is so slow and depressing. And you will never hear a hallelujah. Until Easter – Easter music is very upbeat, loud and fast and uplifting- and the way to tell a true Easter song is that it will have lots of hallelujah in it. When I was in Oak Park, I would argue with my music director who was raised catholic. She would insist that we had to hide the hallelujah for lent, and I would tell her that we couldn’t take away the hallelujah during a recession, because some people needed their hallelujahs. You see there is a difference between a jewish hallelujah and a Christian Hallelujah. Hallelujah - hallelu means praise and jah means God. I don’t know if you all are familiar with the popular song by Leonard Cohen – hallelujah. There is a line in there where he is talking about Samuel – and he says she tied you to the kitchen chair, she cut your hair and you said the hallelujah. In the jewish understanding – hallelujah is what you say when you are at the end of your rope, you have lost everything, and you have nothing else to say or do – but say hallelujah. Or praise God anyhow. The Lord giveth, the lord taketh away – blessed be the name of the Lord. A muslim would say allahu akbar meaning God is greater. Allahu means praise God Akbar means greater. You see Hallelujah is a victory cry in the midst of battle. For the Jews and the Muslims, You cry hallelujah before giving up, to show that you may have lost – but God always wins. - Our victory is always in God, because of God and the name of God is to be lifted up in the midst of all circumstances. That is why as Christians we save our hallelujahs for Easter. Our victory is in the resurrection of Christ. Christ overcame all of our troubles by overcoming death. Hallelujah – praise God. If you look in the hymnal there is a song from India called Jaya Ho - it is a victory song. Claiming victory in God. Even they used the name of Jah – God. During lent we praise God in spite of our problems, when Easter comes we will claim victory over our circumstances I want to point out one thing in our scripture today – it is about Abraham and Sarah. God made a promise to them that they would have descendants as numerous as the sun. considering the fact that sarah was 90 years old when God made that promise – she was faithful, but not very confident it would happen. When the victory in God happens and they become parents both she and Abraham changed their names to show their new roles in life. What we may not realize is that God also changed God’s name as God’s role changed amongst the people. Early Israelites would have known God as Elohim. Mothers named their children after attributes of God such as Israel, Michael, Gabriel. But as the Israelites became unified as a people, and became aware of other people and other gods, and wanted others to know that their God was stronger and kept them together. God changed God’s name to Jehovah – or Jah. That is why Mary named her baby Jah shua – meaning Jah saves instead of Elisha meaning El saves. Jesus is the latin derivative of Joshua. Elijah ‘s mom thought she would cover both bases and give her baby both names of God. So when we say Hallelu Jah – we give praises to Jah. So when Easter comes – we will all be running up and down the isles shouting hallelujah! Or maybe not, we are still Methodist. But I wanted you to know what we mean when we say hallelujah. We praise God – we claim victory in the resurrection of Christ. But in the meantime, on this second Sunday of lent let us remember the promises of God. God will make a way out of no way, God will open doors that are closed, God can bring life out of death. There was a lady who lived in a nursing home, and at 80 years old she kept telling her nurse that she was expecting a baby. Of course the nurse dismissed her and paid her no mind, there was no way a woman that old could have a baby. One day her granddaughter came to visit with her newborn daughter. The woman asked to be taken in her wheelchair throughout the halls with the baby. She wanted to tell everyone that she had had her baby – that god has kept god’s promise. God made the impossible possible. God did it for her, God did it for Abraham and Sarah, God did it for Christ, surely God will do it for us. And when that day comes – we can shout hallelujah – praise God. Amen. Hiding the Hallelujah Many of the white churches have a tradition, that for lent, you are supposed to hide the alleluia for lent. Alleluia is just the Greek version of hallelujah, since they don’t pronounce an H at the beginning of a word, and there is no y, so Jah is spelled with an I. Alleluia is a victory cry- when we cry alleluia or hallelujah – we are saying that Jesus Christ is our victory over sin and death. The thought is, that in lent, there is no victory, and there is no triumphant Christ. So we are supposed to hide the alleluias until Easter, and then fervently bring them back again on Easter morning. Lenten music is naturally slow and sad, and liturgical music – music that is intentionally written for the season – has no alleluia’s in it, and churches go through this elaborate rituals on the first Sunday of lent in order to put the alleluia in a box and bury them so that they won’t be said in church. Interestingly, I have never been in a church that formally hid their alleluias. In my last church, my church musician and I used to fight constantly every lent, being that she was raised in the Catholic Church she would insist that I had to hide the alleluia’s. And I would tell her that during a recession, we can’t take hallelujah from people. What is the use of asking people who are already suffering, to suffer more by suppressing their alleluias? The Difference between a lent hallelujah and a easter hallelujah Besides, there is a big difference between a lent hallelujah and a Easter hallelujah. There is a big difference between a Jewish hallelujah and an Easter alleluia. (I ended up firing my musician, but that was because she was the church accountant- not because of our differences, we fought about everything). Hallelujah – I just think that is a wonderful song, all by itself. What a beautiful word. But why did the Israelites say that word – hallelu jah – praise God? The Jehovah names of God Lately, we have been talking about the names of God. Your English bible will intentionally make it easy for you, and anywhere God’s name is mentioned – they will refer to God as God. But in the original Hebrew bible, God had many names, coming from many traditions. The name I have focused on is Jehovah. Jehovah is a Christian pronunciation of the sacred 4 letters of God’s name. A Jewish person would never say Jehovah, because they believe that it is not man’s place to call God by name. But I am using Jehovah because there is a tradition of using the names of Jehovah. I counted about 50 different Jehovah names for God in the Old Testament. Examples of some: in Gen. 22 – Jehovah Jireh – God my provider – psalm 3:3 Jehovah kabodhi – The Lord is my glory, in 1 Chronicles 29 – Jehovah Nissi – the lord is my banner; in psalm 19 – Jehovah Tsori – the lord is my strength. Isaiah 5:3 Jehovah Rophe – God is a healer, Isaiah 9:6 – Jehovah shalom – the lord is my peace. God is all of those things to us. But here is the thing, the reality is that in a world of sin there are no provisions, people are hungry. There is no glory- people are struggle, there is no strength, no healing, and no peace. So you can’t use those names. All that you have is jah – just plain God. No attributes, no names. Just God in his most basic plain form. And yet still worthy to be praised. When life has stripped you of everything, when you have lost your peace, your strength, your shield, your armor – the one thing that no one can take away from you, not even the devil – is your praise God, your hallelujah. Hallelujah is your battle cry in times of despair. A Muslim would say – allahu Akbar – God is greater! They say it for many reasons, but we hear it when they are protesting – or killing someone on behalf of God. It is as if they have given up all hope of peace in a sinful world – and they praise God as they give up the ghost. Except our god says that thou salt not kill, and that there is never a reason to kill yourself if indeed God is greater. Hallelujah is your cry – which I may be defeated, that in a sinful world I may pass away – but God will never fail. And as a child of God – my life, my victory, my well being is centered around God – and not me. If you look at the Methodist hymnal – there is a song Jaya Ho – from India. Even the Hindus use praise God as a victory cry. Even the rocks will cry out You see, my thing is, even if the Catholics, and the Lutherans, the Methodist and the Presbyterians refuse to say hallelujah, it really doesn’t matter – because my Pentecostal cousins are always going to say praise the Lord. They may not say it to me, but every time they great one another they say praise the lord – so that is every day – even in lent. And it really doesn’t matter, because if the Pentecostal forget one day to day praise the lord – the bible says that God doesn’t need man to say hallelujah, because if we forget, that even the rocks will cry out – and say hallelujah. God is the creator of all things – and worthy to be praised. Even in a sinful world. But for Christians – our great victory cry comes on Easter morning – When Christ rose from the dead – he conquered all of our enemies – the devil, sin, death, sickness, disease, hunger, hatred. On Easter morning, we won’t have to cry hallelujah in a time of despair – but in a time of joy and celebration. When Jesus wins, if my life, my hope, my faith is centered in God – I win. We win. Invitation to christ I want to pass out these nails for us to keep with us during lent. The nail is a reminder that we still live in a world of sin. But it is also a reminder that the Jesus went to the cross for us once and for all – so that sin, our sin and others does not have to bury us alive. God is always with us, and whatever stands in the way can be nailed to the cross. The rest of scripture reminds us that in baptism we die with Christ, in baptism we rise with Christ. In our commitment to Christ- we share in Christ victory. This is your chance to claim the victory.

The Rest of the Story - March 8, 2009

March 8, 2009
The Rest of the Story
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38
Year B
Second Sunday of Lent

Telling of a story that we have all heard before.
Once upon a time there was a little girl, with a read hood. Her mother sent her to her grandmother’s house with some cookies. In order to get the grandmothers house, she had to pass through a forest. Along the way, she met a wolf. She told the wolf where she was going. The wolf seemed intrigued, and wished her well on her journey. She made it to her grandmother’s house – they sat down together with milk and cookies and told stories all afternoon, and both lives happily ever after.

That is not how the story goes. Stories don’t have happy endings – there has to be some drama, some struggle between good and evil, something bad has to happen.

We all know that in the real story – The wolf gets to the house before little riding hood and eats the grandmother and that both have to eventually be rescued, before they live happily ever after.

We want happy endings – but that is not how the story goes.


That is the point that Jesus is trying to make in the gospel for today.

Back up a little, Jesus is talking with disciples and Peter realizes that he is talking with the messiah.

But in his mind the messiah is the happy ending, the triumph, the answer to his prayers. When Jesus starts talk about suffering and dying, and giving up what you have to follow me – Peter is upset and tells Jesus not to talk like that.

Jesus response – get behind me Satan

Reminder that because we want happy endings – that is not the life that we live. Life of suffering, pain and problems.

Jesus not here to be the hero of our dreams – the savior of our lives. The definer of our faith. In order for faith to matter – it has to be connected to real life.

We all fall into the temptation of Peter – Jesus this is who you should be for us. Jesus reminds us this is who he really is. Jesus reminds Peter, and us, that we get out fairy tales and our faith tales confused. We confuse the stories of man and the stories of God. No matter how bright and creative we are, we could never create the stories of God.

This lent we are dealing with the promises of God. The things God said would always be so. God promised Abraham that the world would be blessed for generations to come – because of his son.

We know that this was strange for a couple who were almost in their 90’s. But it happen. And today- Abraham is our biggest example of faith. The story of his life sticks with us. Not because it was a strange story – but because it is a faith story.

Faith is not belief in things that we can’t see, or in things we don’t understand. Faith is being willing to be obedient without reservation. (repeat that again).

In God’s story of faith – are we Peter, or are we Abraham? Do we tell God what God should be doing to fit into our story and make us happy – or do we listen to God, and trust that God knows far more about us that we could ever know?

In our story of faith, where is Jesus? Is he the hero who makes everything perfect for is, or is he an example of what God can do in our lives, or is he the one who stands next to us to support us every step of the way in life.

Most importantly, where are you in God’s story of faith? Does your trust in God enable you to follow instructions, or does it limit your actions?

God asks each of us that question – are you willing to go forward in trust, or do you need to stand back until things go your way. True faith is being able to go forward, even though things are not going as you planned. True faith is knowing that God can make some pretty improbable promises to us – but God is always reliable. The story does not go on the way we would write it, but there are reminders along the way that it is not our story – but God’s story. Life is not a story of happy endings – but a story of faith. Which is a grander story then we could ever imagine………. (the end of the sermon)

The story of faith is not just a story of words – it can be told in many ways. This morning – our word from God will be in song. Songs of faith, of God’s promise of love, and of our response to God’s love in our lives.