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.

Lift up Jesus

March 18, 2012 Numbers 21:4-9 John 3:14-21 Lift Up Jesus Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B Complain, Complain, Complain The story is told of a young man who entered a very strict monastic order. It was so strict that members were permitted to speak only two words per year to the abbot. At the end of year one the young man appeared before the abbot and spoke his two words, "bad food." At the end of the second year the young man appeared before the abbot and spoke two more words, "hard bed". At the end of year three he came to the abbot and spoke his last two words, "I quit." The abbot responded, "Well it is about time. Complain, complain, complain - that’s all you’ve done since you came here." We humans are people of darkness. People, who complain, rebel, work against the Kingdom of God. Death is all we know. Lives filled with the patterns of sin. However, God does an astonishing thing. He brings the light. He erects a cross of death that we might look up and live. He leads us out of the darkness. He loves the world and does not condemn it. He does not condemn you, if...if you will believe. It seems that no matter what the situation, no matter how many words we get to use, complaining is a part of our nature. There is always something to complain about. There is a saying which says that Jesus can take care of any situation. Jesus can do miracles, Jesus can turn water into wine, but he can’t do anything about your whining. Complaining in Numbers Interestingly enough, in many ways you can call the book of Numbers – the book of complaining. It is the story of the exodus generation. The generation of Hebrews who were born and raised in the wilderness – that is all that they ever knew of God. It could also be called the book of lost faith. Because this is the book of discouragement, and lost faith. They were following Moses, but not really sure of why. And what do we usually do when we are discouraged, and unsure of what is going on? We complain. If you read the book of numbers, there is the story of the wanderers complaining about not having enough meat – God gave them more quail then they could eat. They complained about water – and God them water. And in the scripture for today, they complained about bad food, and God sent them poisonous snakes. There is a lesson in that complaining for us – whatever it is going on in your life, if you don’t like it don’t tell God. Jesus can turn water into wine, but he can’t do nothing about your whining. But of course that does not seem like the God that we know. But if you look at the bible, later God does indeed say that he punished that nation with more exile, because they complained. More importantly it is not their complaining that was a problem, but they were more interested in being negative, then trusting God. God heard their prayer, and was working it out, and they were so busy complaining, that they could not see what God was really doing. The lesson in that for all of us But there is a bigger lesson in all of this for us – and that lesson is in realizing the power of our God. Our God can do anything. Our God is omnipotent, Our God can do anything. God caused the snakes to bite for a reason, and God gave them a cure for snake bites. The lesson for us – what does it mean to worship an omnipotent God. A God fully in charge of our lives. When the people realized their sin of complaining and Moses prayed on their behalf – God tells Moses to take a snake and out it on a pole and anyone who looks upon the snake will be saved. How do you worship an omnipotent God? A God who takes the very things that we are afraid of and makes it a tool of our healing? A God who takes our problems and makes them a part of the solution? A God who challenges us to trust our lives to him? The fiery snake parasite Parasites were a big problem in the ancient world. And in many poorer parts of the world that don’t have clean water – parasites are still a problem. There is one called the fiery serpent. Poisonous means fiery. The fiery serpent lives and grows very long in the body. It forms painful scabs on the body where it feeds on the skin. The only way to get it out of the body is to make a slit in the skin, when it starts to come out- a special healer must take a stick and let the worn wrap itself around the body. You have to be very careful though – because if the worm breaks, it will continue to grow in the body. The need for a special healer to take care of this worm – that today – it is the universal sign of healing. The universal sign for a doctor is a snake wrapped around a stick. So this story of God telling Moses to wrap a stick around the stick, so that those who looked upon it could heal. It wasn’t the snake on a stick that healed them or the person with the stick – it was God- an omnipotent God. A God who can do anything – even heal our wounds. John picks up the theme Perhaps that is why John picked up this theme in his gospel. At the beginning of the scripture for today – Jesus says And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of God be lifted up, that whoever believed in him may have eternal life.” The cross is the source of our salvation What does that mean? All lent we have been talking about the meaning of the cross. Why did Jesus have to die on a cross? What does Jesus on the cross mean for us? The cross is the source of salvation. When we sin against God – we can look to the cross, and be healed. What does it mean to worship an omnipotent God – it means that he loves us enough to be the source of our healing. Healing physically, mentally and spiritually. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross – if we believe in Jesus as the son of God, of we can look on that horrific scene and see the love of God – there is salvation for us. John 3:16 is the gospel in a nutshell For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life Other religions accept Jesus, but don’t accept the cross What does it mean to worship an omnipotent God? Interestingly enough – Jesus is not just the center of Christianity. There are many religions that see value in the gifts of Jesus Cross. Those religions love Jesus, but they hate the cross. They can’t do nothing with that cross. The Jews don’t understand a messiah who suffers and dies. The Muslims love the story of Christmas, but the story of Good Friday is offensive to them, Hindus only want to hear about the peaceful part of the story. Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh says the cross is a very painful image, it does not contain joy or peace, and it does not do justice to Jesus In order to be a true follower of Jesus – you can’t separate Jesus from the cross. If there was no Cross – there is no salvation for you. Without the cross Jesus is just a nice, wise person, not the Son of God. Jesus says that he has to be lifted up. It is in John 12 that he says that if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. God Is Seeking You in Love Fred Craddock tells the story of his father, who spent years of his life hiding from the God who was seeking him out: “When the pastor used to come from my mother’s church to call on him, my father would say, 'You don’t care about me. I know how churches are. You want another pledge, another name, and right? Another name, another pledge, isn’t that the whole point of church? Get another name, another pledge.' My nervous mother would run to the kitchen, crying, for fear somebody’s feelings would be hurt. When we had an evangelistic campaign the pastor would bring the evangelist, introduce him to my father and then say, 'Sic him, and get him! Sic him, get him!' May father would always say the same thing. 'You don’t care about me! Another name, another pledge. Another name, another pledge! I know about churches.' I guess I heard it a thousand times. One time he didn’t say it. He was at the Veteran’s Hospital. He was down to 74 pounds. They had taken out the throat, put in a metal tube, and said, 'Mr. Craddock, you should have come earlier. But this cancer is awfully far advanced. We’ll give radium, but we don’t know.' I went in to see him. In every window—potted plants and flowers. Everywhere there was a place to set them—potted plants and flowers. Even in that thing that swings out over your bed they put food on, there was a big flower. There was by his bed a stack of cards 10 or 15 inches deep. I looked at the cards sprinkled in the flowers. I read the cards beside his bed. And I want to tell you, every card, every blossom, every potted plant from groups, Sunday School classes, women’s groups, youth groups, men’s bible class, of my mother’s church—every one of them. My father saw me reading them. He could not speak, but he took a Kleenex box and wrote something on the side from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. . . . He wrote on the side, 'In this harsh world, draw your breath in pain to tell my story.' I said, 'What is your story, Daddy?' And he wrote, 'I was wrong.'” It is not until you know God is seeking you in love, not in condemnation; it is not until that moment that the gospel becomes Good News for you. What poison inside of you needs to be healed? What does it mean to worship an omnipotent God? It means that God loves you. It means that Jesus went to the cross for you. It means the lifting up Jesus- is the source of our healing. What poison needs to be removed from your body? Your soul? What healing needs to be done? Where do we need to go for salvation and healing? What does God do in order to save us? How do we worship an omnipotent God? We go to the cross – and follow Jesus to the resurrection. Let us pray….

The Covenant and the Cross

March 4, 2012 The Covenant and The Cross Second Sunday of Lent Year B Genesis 17:1-7,15-16 Mark 8:31-38 A father and a son are in a sports store admiring a set of weights. The son asks if he can have them, “ I Promise dad I will use them every day” – can we buy them? “I don’t know son, they are pretty expensive”, yeah but they would really help me to get in shape. – If I had them I promise you will not be disappointed. The father gives in and buys them. The son looks as him – you mean you are expecting me to carry these heavy things to the car? So much for making a promise. It is our second Sunday in lent, our journey with Christ to the Cross, how are we doing with keeping our promises? Have they become as heavy as dumbbells? I have to confess, that keeping my Lenten promises are a struggle. I said that I would go to bed on time. – And I have not made it yet. Truth be told, I have had a harder time going to sleep in the last two weeks, then I have any other time. But that is how it is – when you are trying to change, all of the reasons that you can’t change come to the surface. That is how it is for us – there are some promises that we have no problem with, and there are some that we struggle with. Some we have to work on. And yet God does not give up on us. God never breaks his promises to us. I want to start out this morning (afternoon) talking about the promises of God. I found this wonderful article on the things that God has promised us What can be said about God's promises to us? 1. He has promised to supply every need we have. The Bible says: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus". That's Philippians 4:19. Now notice, God has obligated Himself only to the extent of our needs. That would include food, clothing, shelter, companionship, love, and salvation thru Jesus Christ. It would not include the multiplicity of luxuries that we have come to think of as needs. 2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. (II Corinthians 12:9). In fact, He has made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8. It is through an obedient faith that we have access into the grace of God according to Romans 5:2. 3. God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. Instead, He assures us that a way of escape will be provided. This promise is recorded in I Corinthians 10:13. Jude wrote: "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you’re faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude v 24). Darius, King of the Medes, said to Daniel, "Thy God whom thou Servest continually, he will deliver thee" (Daniel 6:16). He did deliver Daniel from the den of lions. 4. God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Peter said: "This Jesus hath God rose up, whereof we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:3,4). Later on he adds: "but thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57). 5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver. 6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. (Read Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38). 7. God has promised His people eternal life (John 10:27,28). In closing, let me appeal to you to live so that the promises of God will be yours. All of those promises come from the promise that God made to our mother and father in faith Abraham and Sarah. That they would be the parents of a large nation, kings shall come from this promise. Today – according to recent statistics – 50% of the population of the world attribute Abraham as the father of their faith. That means that there are 3 billion people on the earth who are a part of Abraham and Sarah’s family. There are Christians, Muslims and Jews – the people of the book. Who are a part of God’s promise. And yet in the story, Abraham was 99 years old, Sarah was 89. He already had a son by Hagar, and he had gone on with his life, accepting things just as they were. He had done the best that he could in his life, he was only a man – so when God says that he will have another child, and create another nation – he laughs. And yet God did not ask Abraham about his future, God promised him a future. And God does not break God’s promises to man. God had come to Abraham when he was 75 and made a promise that he would be the father of a great nation. When he comes again at 99 I want to point out that he introduces himself as God Almighty – meaning El Shaddai – interpreted as the one with breast. Or the God of the mountains. Also in psalm 34 God is referred to as the all sufficient one. The breasted one – a baby depends on its mother for all things, and a baby does not have to ask a mother just takes care of them. In psalm 34 it says Hear what Ps 34 4-10 says I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Seek him and get to know him as the One who is all sufficient. God takes care of all of our needs. God says that I will make a covenant with you – a promise, a committed relationship with you God says walk before me and be blameless and I will make a covenant between you and me. What’s so hard about that? It seems pretty easy to do. Let me tell you another story – a story that we have all heard before. Once upon a time there was a little girl with a red hood. Her mother sent her to her grandmother’s house with some cookies. In order to get to grandma’s house she had to pass through the forest. In the forest she met a wolf - she told the wolf where she was going – and he wolf wished her well. As a matter of fact, things went so well, they sat down together and ate cookies and told stories all afternoon. And lived happily ever after. We all know that is not how the story goes. The wolf does not wish her well, as a matter of fact, he gets to the house before she does and eats grandma. Before they can live happily ever after – they both have to be saved. The stories of our lives don’t have happy endings – there has to be some drama, some struggle, something bad to overcome. In a perfect world – it would be easy to live blameless before God – the problem is we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world of sin and of suffering. Things don’t go our way. God made a promise to be the all sufficient God –but somewhere along the way – life, situations circumstances problems got in the way. God had to make a new promise to us – the promise of Jesus Christ being the messiah of the world. In mark 8:29 – right before the story for today – Peter makes a confession – that Jesus is the messiah. God’s promised one. The one who would come and make everything right. Peter’s messiah was a fairy tale messiah – where everyone lived happily ever after. Peter believed that they were following Jesus, who was going to stand up and fight the Romans, win and gain glory for himself, his disciples, and his people. Jesus told him that the messiah would die, they would die, and instead of glory, there would be shame. Jesus has to remind him that we still live in earth. In earth things happen, life gets in the way. There are no happy endings. In life we suffer in some way, and in life the messiah must suffer also. The truth of the gospel is not so exciting – but Mark wants us to know the truth. Mark is the gospel of Good Friday – the cross is God’s greatest event. God asks Abraham to walk blameless with him, Jesus tells us that we must go to the cross with him. He talks not just to the twelve, but to all of us – If you want to become followers of me, you must deny yourself, take up you cross and follow me. For Mark, the cross is everything. And the only way to be a true Christian is to be willing to follow Christ. We have to suffer as he suffered. The good news is that he had to suffer because we suffer. In this world, life gets in the way for all of us. Life is a struggle. God does not ask us to endure suffering for suffering sake. God does not ask us to take abuse for abuse sake, or to neglect ourselves for neglect sake. Everything that God does for us is done for the sake of love. And when we make the journey to the cross, we have to make that journey in love. If we are obedient to Christ, then the cross is salvation, freedom, redemption, grace. Everything God is – the cross is for us who are faithful. I am god almighty, walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly fruitful. That is not a promise that we can make to God – But it is a promise that god makes to us. A promise that has been fulfilled in the cross. Wherever you may be in your promises, remember – faith does not believe in things that we don’t understand, it is in being obedient without reservation. God says walk blameless before me, Jesus says follow me to the cross. Life will get in the way of your obedience, but an all sufficient God will lead the way. Let us pray…..

My God, My God why Have you Forsaken Me - Good Friday - 7 last words

Good Friday service
7 Last Words
Mark 15:33-34
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
Fourth Word
April 22, 2011

Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani – translated My God, My God why have you forsaken me.

That’s actually the title of a short story about a man who developed an explosive that can create darkness. He was also fascinated by the passion story. He considered himself a devout Christian.
Mr. Baumoff was also a scientist, when he saw the explosives of war, he was fascinated. He couldn’t wait to tell his friends about his new invention. But none of them seemed to be interested.
Mr. Baumoff wanted to impress his best friend so he actually drank the invention to demonstrate it’s effectiveness. His friend really did not want to watch to see what would happen, but Mr. Baumoff told him the he should be priveledged to watch, and should document all that he saw.
Mr Baumoff started to sweat and to turn red. His friend became scared. Then Mr. Baumoff felt that he needed to reenact the crucifixion. He started to out nails in his hands and feet, he tied himself to the chair. All of a sudden there was a loud boom and everything dark. The friend fainted. When he woke up, he found Mr Baumoff dead. When they did an autopsy, they found that he died from heart failure, not from the cruxifixion. But the friend remembered that the last thing that he said before he died was “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani.

The story is intended to remind us of cruxifion – the darkness – the last words, the torn curtain, the anguish of Christ.

Baumoff is not intended to be a hero- he is sort of like a suicide bomber. He had a confused and contorted theology of pain and suffering. He was also confused about why Jesus died on a cross. Confused about the darkness surrounding the day and the events of the cross

God’s response of darkness is not about his disappointment of Jesus. But disappointment with others, with us: our need to blame, to not take responsibility for our actions, to disregard for how our actions affect others, disappointment basically in our sin.

The darkness surrounding the cross, darkness surrounding our lives. Our world today.

Arthur Blessit got a call from God to carry the cross across the country in 1968. In 1969 he was called to carry the cross across Ireland. 42 years later, he has taken the cross to 315 countries, and travelled over 39,000 miles. Wherever there is calamity, he brings the cross. One day a reporter asked him if its heavy – he reported that it is not nearly as heavy as the burden of listening to peoples stories –stories of pain, war, loss hunger, and untold suffering.

The New York times says that the mood of the nation is worse then it have ever been. That is the darkness of the day – the suffering of Christ.

The suffering of Christ was not about his physical pain, but about his spiritual and emotional pain. The pain of bearing our suffering and sin.

Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani – My God, My God, whi have you forsaken me.

We know from these words that Jesus spoke Aramaic. Hebrew, araimaic and Arabic are very similar but not the same. But aramaiic is a beautiful language, because words can carry double meanings at the same time.

Eli – means My God
Not the God of the situation, that the God that I have always heard about, Not the God that I read about, but My God.

The God of my soul, the God of my life, who knows me and understands my situation and feels my pain, My God.

Lama – means why
I am asking you a question God – why?
Why is this happening , why does it hurt so bad, why is the darkness so deep?
It’s the question that God never answers, not for me of for Jesus. But Jesus has to ask anyway
Why god, Why?
Not a day goes by in my life that I don’t ask that same question.
Why God, why?

Jesus was speaking in Aramaic…

In hebew the word is azabathani, in greek it is transliterated sabachthani. But it cant be properly translated in Aramaic.
It is a grief that is too deep for words. A sorrow that cannot be explained.

It is the pain of being abandoned by God. jesus is literally saying that the spirit of God inside of him has left – after he cried a second time he gave up the ghost.

But it also means totally and completely separated from God. beig abandonded by God.

Why would god abandon his son on the cross?

Habbukuk 1:13 says that God cannot look upon sin and approve it. God cant ignore that it happens, god cant pretend it is okay, God cant participate in it, not even for his Son.

The consequences of sin is death.
The darkness cant be dispelled, but dark and light cannot exist in the same place.

My God, My God why have you forsaken me? Those are the first words of palm 22. This is a cry of aganoy – a request for relief and victory over the darkness

But it is also a psalm that speaks of the cruxifision of Christ. Verse 17-18 says I can count all m bones, they stare and glote over me. The divide my clothes amongst themselves and for my clothing they cast lots.

In times of despair – I believe Jesus us leading me to this psalm. The first 21 verses speak of suffering of the world, of people of the results of sin. The last 10 verses are the hope of God.

Verses 23-23 says that he has not despised me or afflicted me. Thse who seek him shall not be disappointed. Praise the Lord in your hearts forever!

The work of Christ on the cross – to give hope to overcome all despair, no darkness, cant be overcome by light.
No pain that can be sung in a song
There is no time in my life that God will ever leave me. There is no death that will not someday find new life. All because Christ’s work on the cross.

There are times when I might abandon God, times when I may think God has left me.

Those are the times when I need to remember the cross, Christ unspoken love for me, and know that I am never alone.
Amen.