Foolish Things

March 7, 2021 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Psalm 19 Third Sunday of Lent Year B Opening Song Welcome (don’t print) Call to Worship (from Psalm 19) One: Welcome to this time of worship! Today, the Psalmist reminds us Many: “The heavens are telling the glory of God!” One: We look to the heavens and rejoice, for God’s decrees are sure, Many: making wise the simple. One: So let the words of our mouths Many: and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to our Rock and our Redeemer. Opening Prayer We’re grateful, God of all life, for these 40 days of Lent. As we walk on this journey with Jesus, even knowing we’re moving toward the devastation of his death on the cross, may we seek awareness of our own sin (transgressions) and assurance of your greater love, AMEN Stewardship Moment Stewardship is an important part of our faith. Every week, as we listen to the word, as we pray and as we sing the songs of faith, we should also be challenged to put our faith into action. Stewardship is giving a part of ourselves in order to build the kingdom of God here in our world but it is so much more than that. Stewardship is giving of our gifts, our time, our service, our support, and our witness in the world. Today we begin our intentional stewardship campaign, in order to allow all of us to create our church budget in order for the church to do ministry. Our theme for this year is selah – this word is found primarily in the psalms. It means take a break and stop what you are doing. Take some time to listen to God. In the coming weeks, we will be taking some time to listen to what God wants us to do as a church. You will receive the Easter letter in the mail during the week of the 15th. Along with it will be a pledge card for you to ponder what you will give to the church this year. You are welcome to send both your Easter offering and your pledge back in the mail. We will have activities to encourage us to think about what our church means to us in the coming weeks. You can bring your Easter offering to church on Easter, and your pledge card on celebration Sunday on April 11th. Our theme for today – pause and ponder. Pause and ponder the goodness of God in your life. How do you define goodness? If you were to explain it to someone what would you say? We don’t know what it means, but we do know when it has happened to us. The bible explains the goodness of God – people can only experience the goodness of God through our actions. How we treat them, how we understand their needs, how we are willing to give what we have to make a difference. Stewardship is our chance to pause and ponder – the goodness of God and to be willing to be a part of it. When we give – God uses our gifts to bless us and to bless others. Let us pray for God’s goodness to be manifest in our lives. (you can give in person, online or through the mail) Moment for Stewardship (John 2 connection) Every time I hear or read the story of Jesus going ballistic in the temple, evicting the money changers and stampeding the ritual animals out of the courtyard, I wonder: what would happen if Jesus were to walk into our time of offering? I wonder if he would question how people who have so much still find it difficult to give? I wonder if Jesus would find us too passive, too emotion-less? I wonder if he would rejoice over those among us who truly offer themselves and all that they have back to God, who gives us life? Imagine how we would respond if Jesus were standing beside each of us, whether we’re in the sanctuary or in our own living room. With this Christ as our companion, let us share our tithes, our offerings, our monetary gifts, all as symbols of offering God our whole selves. Prayer of Thanksgiving Loving God, with these gifts we declare we are yours! May this money be translated into bringing your Realm more fully on earth, through the many ministries of this congregation. Use our tithes and offerings as symbols of our lives, and use US to proclaim you as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer of all the earth. AMEN Scripture 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Common English Bible Human wisdom versus the cross 18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved. 19 It is written in scripture: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the intelligence of the intelligent.[a] 20 Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 24 But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 This is because the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Sermon There is a story of a man from a third world country who came to this country. He went with a friend to a restaurant. They ordered tea. The waitress brought them a pot of boiling water and set cups and some tea bags in front of them. The third world man poured a cup of hot water. Then he picked up the tea bags and tore them open and proceeded to dump the tea into the cup of hot water. The man with him gently explained to him that this was not how the tea bags were intended to be used. They were made so they could be put in the water and the water would seep through the tea bags and there would be no messy leaves in the cup. Well the newcomer thought that was a great idea and so he took two packets of sugar which also had been provided and drop them in his cup of hot water, unopened. That makes sense, doesn’t it? He wasn’t supposed to open the tea bag, so why open the packet of sugar? The man had good logic, but still he got it wrong. (1) We all have done foolish things at times. I’ve done foolish things; you’ve done foolish things. But we would never attribute foolishness to God. God is perfect. However, St. Paul says that some of God’s actions may look as foolish to those who do not understand as putting unopened packets of sugar into a tea cup. He writes, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ One of the foolish things that we can do is to carry this thing here around. Who in their right mind would carry a symbol of ancient torture around. Who would want to be reminded of a man speaking out against a corrupt government, and hanging for hours until his death? Most of us want to separate ourselves from gruesome events. But some people want to carry this around as a symbol of our most sacred faith. Who does that? Those who want to follow the pathway of God. One theme that is prevalent in all of Paul’s teachings is the two pathways of life. There is a pathway that seems to make sense on the surface, but in the end leads to death, sorrow and the perishing of the soul. And there is a way to seems strange to those who don’t understand, but it leads to life. Paul’s point is that the pathway to God never makes sense to those who don’t know God. Both the Jewish culture and the Greek culture have contributed to our present understanding of God. But Paul points out that the true way to God doesn’t even make sense to them. When those of the Jewish faith here about Jesus it does not make sense with what they have been taught all along, and they dismiss it. When Greeks hear it they cannot find God in a book, so he must not exist. Paul’s point is that true faith is always in the opposite direction of what we have been taught anywhere. God works in ways that go against our expectations. The way up is down The way in is out The way first is last The way of success is service The way of attainment is relinquishment. The way of strength is weakness The way of security is vulnerability The way of protection is forgiveness The way of life is the way of death. if you want to be first, you must be . . .last; if you want to find yourself, you must . .. . lose yourself; if you want to be exalted, you must . . . be humbled If you want to be happy you have to sacrifice. If you want to be free, you have to be willing to be disciplined. The importance of the counter-intelligence engendered by self-discipline and daily disciplines of life is reflected in this “inside” story of the great African-American theologian Howard Thurman. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder and spiritual leader of the Jewish Renewal Movement, tells this personal account about his meeting with the African-American theologian and writer Howard Thurman: “Howard Thurman once came to visit me in Winnipeg. I asked whether he wanted to visit the Trappists, and he did. I asked, ‘Do you want to see the abbot?’ he said, ‘No, the abbot is just a manager. I’d like to talk with the master of novices.’ So we see the master of novices and Howard asks him, ‘What’s the novices’ biggest complaint?’ The master says, ‘they have to be up at 2:30 in the morning to attend matins and lauds. They aren’t too happy about it. They tell me that it’s so much better when they’re out in the fields and they feel ecstasy and love for God and hallelujah and so on. So I say to them, ‘I forbid you to come to any services now except for the obligatory masses.’ Well, after a while they came back and said, ‘We didn’t come here to be farmhands.’ ‘What happened to your ecstasies?’ the master asked. ‘They dried up,’ said the novices. So the master told them, ‘Of course, now you realize that what you are doing at 2:30 in the morning is what gives you the ecstasy in the fields.’” As cited in “Great Teachers on Teaching,” Spirituality & Health, March-April 2007, 57. Paul’s challenge to each of us is not to just hold this cross, not just depend on this cross, but to use it to guide our lives. In spite of all of the suffering that the cross represents, it also represents our salvation through Jesus Christ. There is the crucifix and the cross. Both are valued symbols with a valued message. The cross tells us that Jesus rose from the dead and is no longer there. He has risen. What was a symbol of death is not a symbol of salvation. Life always offers us a choice – the obvious or the spiritual. One leads to life one to death. In order to choose life, we have to be willing to look deeper than our cultural understanding and see God. The foolishness of God is still wiser than any human thought. Psalm 19 gives us a wonderful lesson on how to find the pathway of God. We should hold God in reverence and awe. When we think of the word Torah – we think of the law. And we are told to walk away from the law. But the word Torah is deeper than that. Torah means pathway to God. In psalm 19 All we have to do to find God is look up at the sky and marvel at the sun. The sun is like the glory of God – it shines everywhere on every one, without then doing anything to receive it. All we have to do to find it is to be willing to look up and see it. Even if you can’t see, you still know that sun is there. Just like God. God’s way is the source of all good things in life. Nothing in life can escape God’s touch. God’s word is beautiful, delicious, reviving, clear and priceless. God’s way is beyond anything that we can come up with in our culture or our minds. The cross is the pathway to leads us to the wonderful saving grace of God. In this interview Rogers told of an incident that helped him to see what this meant. He and his wife were vacationing with friends. They went to church one Sunday morning. Rogers said the sermon was terrible. As the minister was preaching, Rogers was listing all of the things the preacher was doing wrong. When the sermon was over, he turned to his friend to tell her what he thought of the sermon. He saw tears running down her face. She whispered to Rogers, "He said exactly what I needed to hear." God continues to work in mysterious ways. Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Pardon Prayer of Confession Almighty God, we are a sinful people. We always want to control things – like the Jews in Jesus time who tried to control their lives by placing the temple at the center of their adoration. Jesus threatened their temple and all their customs because he called them to worship you only. You are the one who is really in control. How many times do we worship our building, our clique, or something besides you? Help us to focus only on you. Help us to bow down before you and submit our lives and fortunes to your gentle control. Only Christ can open the door to eternity for us. Assurance of Pardon Take heart brothers and sisters For Jesus cleansed the temple and Jesus has cleansed your soul. And as a sign of his truth and power, Jesus offers us the temple of his body. Rejoice and be glad because God has given Jesus control over our destinies. Amen. Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection Take Time to Be Holy UMH 395 Communion (just print the first paragraph of the invitation) Invitation to Communion (I Corinthians 1 connection) In the season of Lent, Christians around the world recognize we are traveling ever closer to the cross. Paul calls that a “stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” When we come to the table of the Lord, we recognize God’s power and wisdom shows up in a new symbolic form: bread and juice. What is ordinary becomes extraordinary. What is simple becomes elaborate. What is tiny becomes huge! For Jesus, knowing he was gathered for the last time with his disciples, offered them new meaning for familiar objects. Bread from their meal = “this is my body”. The wine they’d shared = “this cup is the new covenant in my blood”. Let us feast, for when we eat this bread and drink from the cup, we proclaim Christ’s death until he comes. Announcements We will have a bible study on the psalms – and how they get us to pause and ponder. It will premier on facebook on Wednesday at 7:00 pm. We will study Psalm 23 – how the psalm gets us to pause and ponder – God’s caring, God’s comfort, God’s generosity and God’s love. I will send out the study guide on Tuesday. Next week is the end of Daylight Savings time for the year – so we will spring forward and lose an hour. Set your clock so that you can be ontime for church. Benediction Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up, is the sign that Jesus gave his critics. Now go and tell others that Jesus has kept his promise. That and all other signs point to Jesus. May you always remember Jesus words and believe the holy scriptures. Such faith will be rewarded. Go in peace! Children’s Time Key Verse: For God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Props: A handful of sand, and a piece of coal (if you can gain access to them, a pearl and a diamond) Lesson: Today I want to show you something that I got once for my wife as a gift. Would you like to see it? It was her birthday and I wanted to get something real special for her. Here it is! Hold out a handful of sand. Do you think she liked it? (Of course the kids will say, 'No') Why not, what is it? (They all will say, 'sand') Oh, I see why you are confused. You think this is sand. Well, I didn't give her sand. I gave her something that used to be sand. Actually, did you know that there is a pearl in this sand? If you have a pearl, hold it out for them to see it also You see, there is an animal called an oyster, and it gathers sand inside of its shell. And because of a lot of things happening in that shell, God has made it to where a pearl comes out of the shell. Isn't that neat? I gave her another gift at our wedding. What do you think I gave her? (some of them will probably say, 'a ring') And do you know what kind of ring it was? Hold out the piece of coal Do you think she liked it? (No) Why not? (Because it's coal) Oh, you think it's coal. Well did you know that inside this coal is hold out the diamond if you have one is a diamond? You see, God takes ordinary coal like this. And over a long, long time the earth moves a little and it gets real hot, and after a while the coal becomes a diamond. Application: St. Paul once said that God takes very simple things and makes them great, so that everyone will know what a great God he is. And do you know who he makes into wonderful things for his kingdom? You and me, if we let him. You might think right now that you're little or not as strong as other people, or maybe you don't know as much stuff as other people, but God can make you into something beautiful and wonderful. Just trust him, love him, and pray to him, and he promises he will. Remember, just like coal becomes diamonds and sand becomes pearls in the hand of God, you are never too simple for God to love and make into something great! Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for making us, and thank you for letting us know that none of us are too small, too weak, or too simple for you to do great things with. In Jesus' name. Amen. Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - The Outlandishness of Lent - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Lent is a solemn season in the Church calendar. Supposedly, it’s not meant to be fun, but rueful. It is a penitential time when devout Christians have typically “given up” some earthly pleasures — meats, sweets, parties, television, movies — to focus instead on spiritual growth — Lenten Bible studies, prayer groups, singular meditation-time. In the words of Lord Williams of Oystermouth, from a 2012 sermon in Rome at St. Paul’s Within the Walls, "Every Lent, we ought to be looking at the various ways in which we get involved in manufacturing the gods that suit us. Every Lent is a time to get that little bit further beyond the idolatry that constantly keeps us prisoner and draws us back to the old world. When Jesus has cleared out the temple, when he has thrown out those people involved in manufacturing religion, there he stands with his friends in a great silence and a great space." But this week’s epistle text from Corinthians finds us reading about a topsy-turvy world, a ditzy divine scenario, which suggests the Lenten season is the time when Christians should be preparing themselves not to go all centered and solemn, but to go flat out “crazy.” Paul’s declaration in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 is not about rising to be super spiritual, but about daring to be super strange. Lent is the season in the church when we actively “celebrate” Jesus’ doomed entry into Jerusalem and anticipate his criminal conviction and his cruel crucifixion upon the cross. Talk about weird holidays... Some of you will remember Aesop’s fable about an old crow who was out in the wilderness and was very thirsty. The old crow had not had anything to drink in a long time. He came to a jug that had a little water in the bottom of it. The old crow reached his beak into the jug to get some of that water, but his beak wouldn’t quite reach. So what did he do? He started picking up pebbles one at a time and dropping them into the jug. What happened as those pebbles accumulated in the bottom of the jug? Why, of course. The water rose until finally the old crow was able to get a drink. My friends, that is my understanding of the way God has chosen to work in this world. Each of us dropping in our own little pebble teaching that Sunday School class, making that visit, working on the finance committee and on the church board, making that special gift to missions, serving as an usher, etc. Each of us serving in his or her own special ministry doing that little task that may not seem so important at the time but pebbles are accumulating in the bottom of that jug, and the water is rising, and one of these days God is going to bring in His own Kingdom. That is God’s plan for creation. It is centered in this group of people. There’s an old, old story of a small country church that was given a big gift of money. They had a board meeting to decide how to spend this money. You know how church board meetings can be sometimes not here in our church, of course but in other churches. One little lady stood up and said, “I’d love to see us put a new chandelier in our sanctuary.” One old brother got up and protested. “We don’t need any new chan-de-leer in this sanctuary!” he said. “In the first place, I doubt that there’s anybody in this church who can even spell chan-de-leer. In the second place, even if we had one, I doubt there’s anybody here who could play it. And in the third place, what we really need is more light for this room!” Rapper Snoop Dog coined a phrase “Church on the move” which was the new word for last week. In Snoop Dog’s world the announcement of “Church on the move” meant it was time for him and his entourage to make an “en masse” exit from the club where they were “partying.” So in popular parlance, to say “church on the move” is to say, “it is time to leave” or “it’s time to head for the EXITS”. .

Who do you trust? God or the world?

March 8, 2015 Year B 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Who do you trust? God or the World? Third Sunday of Lent Lent is journey to cross We have to be reminded that lent is our journey to the cross and its power to change our lives. We have to be reminded that lent is our reminder that it is time for a serious change in our lives. But in order to truly change what is wrong with our lives, we have to truly face it, understand its affect on us, and come to terms with the fact that things don’t change because we want, but because of the power of the cross. Before we can live in the light, we have to face to the darkness in our lives. That is the journey of lent. We are all sinners, we are all in need of salvation, and the cross is the only thing that can transform the world. The cross is a very powerful symbol in our lives. The power of the cross There was a catholic priest who went to do some missionary work on a tropical island. He preached to them many times about the power of the Christ. One native man refused to listen to the priest and the message of the cross. When he heard the priest preach, he ran into a tree. Not to be defeated the priest followed him out of the church and started to pray for him under the tree. After the prayer, the priest looked up at the man and made the sign of the cross, as catholics are taught to do. The man immediately ran down from the tree and said that he would follow Jesus. The priest was excited and said that his prayers worked. The man said no, it was not the prayer but the sign he made. The sign of the cross, yeah said the man, as he made the sign of the cross. You told me to come down from the tree – or you would cut my head off. The cross is a powerful sign, and it brings about powerful changes in our lives. The cross is our call to action – the cross challenges us all to come down out of our trees of complacency and to step into the life of Christ. The sense of the world Lent is a time to remind us that if we are not careful, if we are not intentional about our relationship with God, that it can be easy to start to make sense of the things that we see in the world. I am amazed at how much money Mcdonald’s will spend on lent commercials. They photograph that fish filet sandwich just right, so that it looks so good, that we can be fooled into thinking that honoring lent is about going out to spend money at Mcdonald’s to buy the perfect fish sandwich. Or lent is about watching finding Jesus on CNN and not about finding Jesus in the word of God. The world knows that we as humans have an incessant need to make sense of the world. And they play on our need to make sense in order to put money in their pocket. Lent is our reminder that sometimes we have to unplug from the world in order to truly make sense of the world. Riddles Let me test your need to make sense by asking you some questions. Smith and Jones had an oyster eating contest, to see who could eat the most oysters. Smith at 90 and Jones ate 101, how many more oysters did Jones eat? Here is another one – There are16 earsof corn in a barrel. A rabbit carried 3 ears off each night, how many nights did it take him to empty the barrel. If you make sense of what I said. – when I said that jones at 101 you heard a number. You did not hear me say Jones ate 100 and won – won. And when you heard me say the rabbit carried 3 ears, you forgot that the bunny carries two ears on his head all of the time, so he would only carry one ear of corn in a night. Just like we get caught up in riddles, we get caught up in the reasoning of the world. Until we come to understand that God does not make sense, things will never change. The world we live in teaches us to make sense. The cross teaches us that the actions of God – don’t make sense. You see when Paul is talking to the Corinthians, he tells them that what is foolishness for the world, is wisdom for God. And what is wisdom in God’s – is foolishness to the world. To the world the cross was foolishness. Only a criminal who was a menace to society would be crucified on the cross. If you had a family member who died on the cross – your family lived in shame. Even the bible says that those who die on a tree are cursed. To the world, the cross does not make sense. In order to know what the cross really represents you have to know the power of God. God turns the world upside down First comes Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice his human life for eternal life. First comes the gift of weakness that overwhelms the “human” power of wisdom and strength. First comes “we” rather than “me.” This is the Christ “meta-narrative” — the BIG Christ story — the story of love and sacrifice that over-trumps the “me-only” soliloquy — the separate, solo tale that so many of us live by. The BIG Christ story, the ridiculous road that Paul offered by proclaiming a Savior who was weak enough to be crucified and yet strong enough to redeem all who follow The Way, offered strange, “nutty” directions: The way up is down The way in is out The way first is last The way of success is service The way of attainment is relinquishment. The way of strength is weakness The way of security is vulnerability The way of protection is forgiveness The way of life is the way of death. Taken from Leonard Sweet’s sermon “The Outlandishness of Lent” NUTS for God The truth is, God’s invitation for those of us, who take the cross seriously is for us to be nuts in the eyes of the world. Nuts are those who never underestimate the spirit. Corinthians reminds us that the foolishness of God is wiser them human wisdom, and that the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. The cross is a reminders that the divine was willing to take on human flesh, human problems, human sin. In order to give us a chance to a better life. Things don’t change, until we stop trying to make sense of the world, and accept God’s amazing grace for our life. Paul says that the message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved. This lent, let the cross be your call to action. The Cross—A Call to Action “And they crucified him.… And sitting down they watched him there” (Matt. 27:35–36). Like those Roman soldiers, many of us merely lapse into inaction. But the cross of Christ is infinitely more than a showcase, an exhibit to arouse curiousity. It is a clarion call to action, commitment, and discipleship. Confession andPardon Amen. Children’s Sermon…… A Green Couch For God by King Duncan Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5 • Lectionary: Lent 3 Item 10 of 28 | Back to Results Object: Two colorful socks that don't match Boys and girls,Choosing Christ at the Crossroads, #2 What do I have here? I have two socks, don't I? Notice that I did not say I have a pair of socks. These socks don't match, do they? One is green and one is red. I started to wear these two socks to church, but I was afraid someone might see them and I would feel very foolish if I people saw me with two socks that don't match. Our Bible lesson tells us that God did something that many people think is foolish. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. To people who don't know God, that sounds like a very silly thing to do. But we know it is not foolish. God wanted to rescue us from the power of sin and this was the only way it could be done. So what seems like foolishness to many people is very important to us. It reminds us that God loves us enough to look silly to the world. Extra Illustrations Text Illustration: Knowledge is exploding at such a rate—more than 2000 pages a minute—that even Einstein couldn’t keep up. In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished. How can it be, in a world where half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40—and half the things he knows at 40 hadn’t been discovered when he was 20? (Campus Life, Feb., 1979). "Maybe it’s time we reconsider what it means to be intelligent,” says David Brooks of the Weekly Standard. After being questioned about his experience and smarts for the job as President, George W. Bush has amazed us during these troubled times. Experts are confounded. “Why is George W. Bush, the ‘simple-minded president’ getting everything right? He’s got something the pointy-heads don’t understand. “ It’s his Faith--his faith has made the man. His faith brings confidence--"God has chosen me for this moment in time.” His faith brings humility--he can be a good judge of character because he is not absorbed with himself. His faith provides good judgment—he has a standard by which to weigh right and wrong. So if faith seems un-intellectual to you-- if you believe faith is un-necessary and obtrusive in the government of America-- think again. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” SOURCE: SermonCentral Staff. Citation: 1 Corinthians 1: 25, AND David Brooks. “You Gotta Have Faith.” 3/01/2002. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/ Priorities To know and to serve God, of course, is why we're here, a clear truth, that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernible but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. What is the last word, then? Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids - all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Garrison Keillor, We Are Still Married, New York: Viking, 1989. From the essay: The Meaning of Life. __________________________ 1996 One Thing God Can’t Do A Sunday school teacher was examining her pupils after a series of lessons on God’s omnipotence. She asked, “Is there anything God can’t do?” There was silence. Finally, one lad held up his hand. The teacher, disappointed that the lesson’s point had been missed, asked resignedly, “Well, just what is it that God can’t do?” “Well,” replied the boy, “He can’t please everybody.” —Together 1996 One Thing God Can’t Do A Sunday school teacher was examining her pupils after a series of lessons on God’s omnipotence. She asked, “Is there anything God can’t do?” There was silence. Finally, one lad held up his hand. The teacher, disappointed that the lesson’s point had been missed, asked resignedly, “Well, just what is it that God can’t do?” “Well,” replied the boy, “He can’t please everybody.” —Together The Cross—A Call to Action “And they crucified him.… And sitting down they watched him there” (Matt. 27:35–36). Like those Roman soldiers, many of us merely lapse into inaction. But the cross of Christ is infinitely more than a showcase, an exhibit to arouse curiousity. It is a clarion call to action, commitment, and discipleship.

Jesus Christ is Lord

April 1, 2012 Jesus Christ is Lord Isaiah 50:4-9 Philippians 2:5-11 Year B Palm Sunday The suffering Servant Song In Isaiah 50 – The suffering servant is speaking. This is a part of his song, he speaks of his call from God, he speaks of what he must do to save his people, he speaks of what he endure in his service to God. Isaiah 50:4 says The Lord God has given me to tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. The tongue of a teacher – one who speaks, not what the people want to hear, but what God instructs. Teaching what the world wants to know In his autobiography, Up from slavery, Booker T Washington talks about how many people chose to become teachers, because they discovered that it was an easy way to make a living. Many were not about getting rich quick, but needed some way to make a living. Booker T. Washington talks about such a man who went from town to town teaching. He would be paid for his services, and he would move on. In one town, before allowing him to teach, the town interviewed him. They asked if he taught that the world was flat, or the world was round. He informed them that he taught whichever the crowd wanted to hear. He didn’t get the job. Other translations use the term instructive tongue, or the tongue of a disciple. We have the freedom to speak, but we must also listen towhat God is telling us. Teaching what God wants us to know The lesson of Philippians is to let the same mind be in you that was in Christ jesus. Christ was exalted, once again not because of his personhood, but because of his relationship with God. Today we celebrate palm Sunday. When Mark speaks of this event, he want to show us that jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. A palm parade was reserved for royaltly. Matthew speaks of the king humble himself in the parade. Yet in Mark, jesus rides triumphantly ahead, allowing those on the sideslines to honor him. Allowing us on the sidelines today to honor him. He was entering into a journey not to be led to victory, but to be led to the cross. Not for his salvation, but for ours. In his suffering, he brought our freedom. The cost of our salvation We are like a slave in the antebellum South named Tom. His owner allowed him to take jobs off the plantation at night, on holidays, and on weekends. He worked hard for his owner and then would walk fifteen miles into town, work there, and return home. After two hours of sleep, he would repeat the action. This went on for years, and he saved every penny. He refused to marry but spent every waking hour working. After he saved a thousand dollars, he went to his owner and asked how much he was worth. The man said that most slaves brought from between 8 hundred to 12 hundred dollars. However, since Tom was getting old and did not have any children, if he wanted to buy himself, the owner would let him go for 6 hundred dollars. Tom thanked his owner and went back to his cabin and dug up his money. He fondled the cash and remembered how long it took to get it. He put it back into his hiding place and went back to his owner, and said, freedom is a little too high, I am going to wait until the price comes down. On this palm Sunday the price is still too high. Next week the price will be lower for us. Next week we will not have to pay anything because Jesus paid it all for us. Palm Sunday is a day of victory, palm Sunday is also a day of historical significance. Historical Palm Sunday April 9, 1865 the civil war ended. It was on that day that Robert E Lee called a meeting with Ulysses S. Grant and signed a peace agreement. I just read a biography of Abraham Lincoln recently. And if I remember correctly, General grant notified the president of what was going on. So even though the president was not there, he was certainly there in spirit waiting for this momentous occasion. The fighting was over, and the war was over. April 9th of that year was palm Sunday. – I tell you that fact, because even though the war was over, that was by no means the end of the story for our nation. Freedom for us, salvation was not that easy. Five days later, was good Friday – And our good president prepared himself to relax a little bit after the long war and to attend a play with his wife. He was mortally wounded on good Friday, and on holy Saturday he was dead. There was no salvation for our nation on palm Sunday. The war was not over, there was no peace. As a matter of fact, the journey of healing had just begun. Why am I telling you that story – because it is palm Sunday 2012. We wave palms, we celebrate, we sing we worship, we praise, we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is our lord. We sing Hosanna – Lord save us – Save Us When we wave our palms and boldly cry out, "Hosanna," do we dare imagine what we really want God to save us from? Save me from anger. Save me from cancer. Save me from depression. Save me from debt. Save me from the strife in my family. Save me from boredom. Save me from getting sent back to Iraq. Save me from the endless cycle of violence. Save me from humiliation. Save me from staring at the ceiling at three a.m. wondering why I exist. Save me from bitterness. Save me from arrogance. Save me from loneliness. Save me, God, save me from my fears. In viewing Palm Sunday from that angle, we can begin to see the potential for some real depth in this celebration, for embedded in our quaint pageantry is an appeal to God that originates in the most vulnerable places inside of us; and it bubbles, almost beyond our control, to the surface. "Hosanna." "Save us." Please God take the broken places that will tear us apart and make them whole. We beseech you, God, jump into the water and drag our almost-drowned selves to shore. "Save us." "Hosanna." Scott Black Johnston, Save Us Just because we are asking to be saved, and Jesus hears us, and rides triumphantly into you lives, that does not mean that we are saved – yet. The salvation story has just begun, five days from now will be good Friday – where Jesus will die on the cross for us. again. The truth is, someone else is going to lose their life again, on April 6, 2012. Palm Sunday is not about history it is about now. People are still in pain, people are still dying, people are still suffering, people are still in need of a savior. What is Palm Sunday? Maybe another way to approach that question is to ask another question: what if the gospel story ended with Palm Sunday? Like the disciples, we maybe would like it if the gospel could conclude right here. After all that the disciples had been through, and with their own secret hope that Jesus would be a political success on whose coattails they would ride to prominence, the disciples looked at the Triumphal Entry and thought, "Now this is more like it!" They probably wanted to capture and bottle that festive atmosphere. It was rather like Peter's reaction to Jesus' transfiguration when Moses and Elijah also appeared with Jesus on the mountaintop. Peter piped up and said, "Let's build some tabernacles right here so we can keep this great thing going forever!" So also on Palm Sunday: if they could have hit the pause button on the remote control of life, this would have been a wonderful image to freeze frame. The problem is that there is no salvation for anyone on Palm Sunday. The people cried "Hosanna," which means "Save us!" But given the world we are in, there could be no salvation from that kind of happy parade. That festive atmosphere, though in one sense befitting the true, deep-down royalty of Jesus as God's Son, still all that hoopla just doesn't fit our world. It doesn't address the problems that need solving. And maybe at this time of war and carnage, of terror and multiple threats of violence all around us, maybe we preachers don't need to work very hard to convince anyone of this point. If we look back upon history, we see that human sin has resulted not in one long string of happy parades but rather in a series calamatis, one long and sad parade of calamity and sorrow. Instead of a festive throng, history shows us things like the Trail of Tears on which Native Americans tramped into exile. History shows us boat-loads of black people in chains, taken from their native country and brought to a place called "America," then paraded before potential buyers, not of their services, but of their very lives. History shows us long lines of Jews marching not in some victory parade but shuffling along toward Nazi gas chambers in Auschwitz. History shows us the Killing Fields of Cambodia, the death squads of Rwanda and Sierra Leone. These are the real parades of human history. Carnivals of sorrow, festivals of death. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations Preparing for this Palm Sunday In my faithfulness to God and to my task of being a pastor, in my mind, I have to work on two sermons at a time. So I planned what to do for palm Sunday two weeks ago. And once I pick the scripture, my task is to look, not at what I want to say, but what the scripture says. Usually on palm Sunday – I have a reading of the passion story so that we can hear the story for ourselves. Sunday is the only day that all of us are together as a group. So if we don’t focus on the passion of Christ on palm Sunday, most of us will not hear the story at all. This year rather than deal with the passion of Christ – I was led in a different direction. Isaiah and Philippians don’t deal with the passion of Christ they deal with his character as one suffering and yet obedient to Christ, and in his suffering, he entered into our suffering, and he became Lord of our life. Living palm Sunday this year I chose to go in a different direction, because I want to extend an invitation to all of you to not just listen to the story this year, we all live the story of pain, suffering, redemption, and victory every day. But I want us all to do more than live it, I want to invite you to experience it for yourselves. This is the beginning of holy week, and every day there is a lesson about our salvation to learn, every day we have a chance to get closer to the cross. Not all of us are going to come to bible study this week and talk more and expound upon the scripture. Not all of us are going to attend the Maundy Thursday supper, some of us are going to come to good Friday service to hear Rust sing, or to hear our district superintendent preach, some of us are going to have a real light day on Saturday, and some of us are going to be running around like a chicken with our head cut off, most of us if God allows will be hear again next Sunday with bells on. The thing is, if we just come hear together on Sunday, without reading the scriptures during the week, you miss the heart of the story. You will come here next week and know that you are saved, with no idea of how you got there. I want to invite to set some time aside this week to read the scripture for yourself. If you read scripture all of the time, take it a step further and reflect on it and ask how God is speaking to you. Wherever you are in your faith journey- go one step further this week. Experience the passion story for yourself. Salvation is not just for Sundays it is every day. Pain and suffering is not just in the bible, it is in the world, it is in our lives, it is in the lives of those around you. As Jesus goes from the upper room, to the garden in earnest prayer for his life, to mount calvary, to the grave, to the glory of God, let us also journey into the landscape of our lives, to the places and people who bring us comfort and joy, to the places and people who challenge us, to the people who bring our the worst in us, to the places in our lives that are in pain, to the places that are in need of healing, to the places that are in rebellion, to the places where God is taking control and making you a new person. Your journey will not look like my journey. The way in which God speaks to you will not be the same way that God speaks to me, the things that I am dealing with are not the as the things that you are dealing with, your testimony of how Jesus is your Lord and savior is not my story. Our week will be totally different. Our journey to the cross will be different. Just as Mark, Matthew Luke and John speak of the same events in different ways, so will we. Imitate the suffering servant 1. Here...during the Lenton Season... we turn our focus upon Christ... but we also must reflect upon ourselves as well... We have been called, like Christ, to be obedient... 2. Just like Christ was obedient in speaking... We are to be obedient in speaking... do we speak to people? do we share the Gospel message? do we encourage others with our words? Or do we use our words to criticize? and judge? and tear down? 3. Just like Christ was obedient in listening to God and others... We too are to be obedient in listening to God’s voice and to other people... During our prayer time... do we pray..."God help me with this... Help me with that... Help me get more money... help me ...me...me...me..." Or do we actually close our mouths for a moment... and open our ears... so that we can hear what He wants to tell us? Do we listen to others...like Jesus did? Or when people talk to us... do we just kind of look in their general direction... and let our eyes glaze over... while our minds are thinking about everything else BUT listening to that person? 4. Just like Christ was obedient in suffering... we are to be obedient if we face suffering for our faith... When we start talking about crosses... and criticism... many people will turn away... but Christ Isaiah encourages us to have the tongue of a disciple. To have the courage to speak and to act in the name of Christ. To speak not just what you have to say, but to speak based on your relationship with God. To speak the truth, knowing that it wont be accepted by everyone. But we are to speak, listen, suffer and obey all in the name of what Christ has done for us. Palm Sunday is just the beginning of the story of our salvation, let the events of this week speak for themselves, until we meet again next Sunday. Finally, I want to share this story about Christ triumphant entry into our lives and our salvation on palm Sunday. Without Jesus we are just ordinary people The colt which carried jesus went home to his village the next day after palm Sunday. He went to the watering hole and expected the other horses to cheer – they pretended not to even see him. He entered into the village expecting palms to be waived in his honor, still no one paid attention to him. Finally he said yesterday, was palm Sunday – you gave me so much attention, kneel to me now. He went home devastated to his mother, telling her that he did not understand what was going on. She explained, yesterday you had Jesus with you. You were in the service of the master. Today – without Jesus you are just an ordinary colt, just like everyone else. May you carry the cross of the Lord, may you carry the joy of the lord, may you carry the salvation of the lord with you as you go into this week.

A New Covenant, A New Heart

March 25, 2012 Year B Fifth Sunday of Lent Jeremiah 31:31-34 John 12:20-33 The marriage covenant To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow. The marriage vow is one of the most sacred vows that two people can make to one another. It is a very personal vow, where two people promise to live 2 lives as one. They promise to live and love one another no matter what. Lent is the season where we look at our covenants, the sacred promises that we have made in our lives. Are we living inside of the promises that we have made, or are we ignoring them. Just as in marriage, two people make promises. Scripture shows that God has made promises to each of us. Promises that were made before we were born, we did nothing to facilitate them. There are two kinds of covenants – there is the convenant such as marriage between two equals. ( the Methodist marriage covenant is between equals – that has historically not always been the case). But the other covenant is always between a greater party and a lesser party. For instance, there is also a covenant between parent and child. The parent is the responsible party – so the terms of the agreement are always set by the parent. That is like the promises that God made with us. God did not ask our permission, God did not ask us to agree. God said this is what I will do, and this is what I expect of you in return. Jeremiah 31 has a covenant from God. God says I will be your God and you will be my people. The conditions of this covenant – I will make a new covenant that will be written on their hearts. Why? Because the people broke the old covenant. The story of the promise of marriage Thornton Wilder, in his play, The Skin of our Teeth, depicts a WWII soldier, George, who returns home to his wife Maggie. He’s been away for years, and the experience has broken him. George announces to his wife, Maggie that he’s decided to leave her for another woman. Faced wither her husbands moral weakness, Maggie mounts a spirited defense. I married you she says because you gave me a promise…That promise made up for all of your faults. And the promise I gave you made up for mine. Two imperfect people got married, and it was the promise that made our marriage. To this, George objects that the war has changed him. But Maggie refuses to let it go: Oh George, you have to get it back again. Think, what else kept us alive all those years? Even now, it is not comfort that we want, we can suffer what is necessary, only give us back the promise. In the play, George and Maggie do reconcile. It’s a difficult road, but they find a way to get the promise back. Jeremiah is also concerned with how to get the promise back, only he’s not talking about marriage, but about the relationship between the people, Israel and their God. All the people had to do was to obey the covenant, and they couldn’t do that. George said that the war had changed him. Life has a way of changing us. Of giving us excuses of why we could not obey God. We can choose to live in the promises of God or we can live above them. It can get so easy to live above them. God is our husband I found it interesting that in Jeremiah, God says I was the husband of the people and they broke the covenant. The people didn’t make the covenant, yet for some reason they disrespected it. They were given the law as terms for the promise, but they broke them. They refused to live according to the law. And maybe that is just it, there is a difference between obeying God and making a commitment to live within God’s will. Obeying is about outer behavior, it is about control, it is impersonal, it sets us up to make justifications of why we cant do it. Living within the law is a personal commitment to do what is right. The convenant of forgiveness God says that I will be God and you will be my people. But the condition of the new convenant is that God will forgive and forget your sins. You are able to live in freedom, most importantly you are able to live in hope. Our scripture starts out by saying – the days are coming. Jeremiah is intentionally creating a future. New circumstance bring new reactions. A town with no hope A Little town in Maine, flagstaff was scheduled to be flooded in order to make way for a new damn. People knew for months that their town was doomed. Roofs needed to be repaired, buildings needed to be fixed. But no one was willing to spend on a house that they knew was going to be destroyed in the future any way. People noticed that as time got closer for the town to be destroyed – thinks started to look more and more bedraggled. No one was willing to fix anything or clean up anything. There was no hope, there was no freedom, no reason to try to do anything different. If God doesn’t love you, if God is threatening to divorce you and to forget all about you – what is the point of living in God’s will? Why obey laws that are designed to mess you up? Jeremiah knew that he had to create a new future, a future with hope, a promise that if you mess up, God will let you start all over again. God wont hold sin against you. Jesus says the time is now Jeremiah says that the time is coming – Jesus says that the time is now. In John 12 Jesus says that it is now time for God to be glorified. But throughout the gospels Jesus reminds us that the future is now – don’t wait for it – but live in it now. The cross ratifies the covenant When Jesus goes to the cross – God is glorified – God has already forgiven and forgotten our sins, our new life can begin. We don’t have to carry our sins around, God wants more for us, but God wants more from us. He is God – we are his people. We are a forgiven people If we are forgiven we don’t have to obey out of obligation, we are free to live in honor, and respect. We are free to change from the inside not the out. Son moved by fathers tears Wangerin has a wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" about how he tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried various uses of the law over several years and continued to fail. Finally, he resorted to something he rarely used: a spanking. He did it deliberately, almost ritualistically, and he was so upset when he finished that he left the room and wept. After pulling himself back together, he went in to Matthew and hugged him. A number of years later, Matthew and his mother were doing some general reminiscing, and Matthew happened to bring up the time when he kept stealing comic books. "And you know why I finally stopped?" he asked. "Sure," she said, "Because Dad finally spanked you." "No!" replied Matthew, "No, because Dad cried." He cared for me, and his tears made all of the difference. The passion of Christ The story of Jesus is our chance to respond to God’s passion. Next Sunday is palm Sunday –the beginning of our journey through the passion story. The story of Jesus pain on the cross, but also the story of God’s love for you. He was so concerned about your sins that he led his son to the cross. Jesus says that if he be lifted up, he will draw all men to him. All will understand God’s love. The cross a chance for our inner transformation Many say that the cross was a ransom for our souls, a sacrifice of God, the supreme act of obeying God. Most important reason, - knew it would create a new community of people committed to transformation, willing to have a relationship with god. A new relationship based on that forgiveness on the cross. We the Easter people, the body of Christ, the church – are the people who dwell in forgiveness. Jesus showed us a new way of being human. A new relationship with God. A new life, full of renewal, full of life, full of hope. The united Methodist marriage ritual says that the covenant of marriage is just life the covenant between Christ and his church. He is our savior – we are his body. In a marriage ritual there is the exchange of rings. In the covenant of Christ and his church there is the cross. It is our symbol of how much God loves us. A symbol of God’s love A baby bird asked his mother, that is air – she said no words to her baby, she just spread here wings and flew. A baby fish asked its mother- what is water – she said nothing, she just swished her tail and started to fly. A baby ant ask his mother what is dirt, she said nothing she just dug a little more. A baby child asked her mother what is love – she opened her arms and hugged the baby. A God fearer asked God what is forgiveness – he sent his son to the cross to die for you. What better promise do you need of God’s love for you? Live your live dwelling in the love of God. Let us pray…..

No other god Before God

March 11, 2012 No other god before God Exodus 20:1-17 John 2:13-22 Year B Third Sunday of Lent God’s Grace God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that God loves us unconditionally. God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that our lives are of value, that our souls are of value, and that God desires the best possible life for all of us. God’s grace is the most important thing in life, sometimes it has to go out ahead of us, and pave the way for us to have what we need. God’s Grace goes before us Several years ago, psychiatrist Scott Peck wrote a national bestseller called The Road Less Traveled. It was filled with what he had learned about life from his work with people with all sorts of mental ailments. One thing he observed was a tendency toward mental wellness even among patients who had reasons to seek psychiatric help. Some of these people had survived serious emotional traumas much better than the circumstances seemed to warrant, and Peck came to think of a force of goodness in the world. He eventually identified this force using the word “serendipity,” which the dictionary defines as “the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” As a Christian, Peck also realized that the word “grace” fit that definition too. So in the book, he wrote extensively about this force, using both words. Associating grace with serendipity was one of his original contributions to the subject of grace. Several years later, Peck was on a flight to Minneapolis. He usually took advantage of flying time to do some writing, so when a man took the seat next to him, Peck gave the usual nonverbal signals one gives when one doesn’t want to engage in conversation. The man soon buried himself in a novel, and they flew side by side in silence for most of the flight. Finally, the man looked up from his novel and said, “I hate to bother you, but you don’t happen, by any chance, to know the meaning of the word ‘serendipity,’ do you?” Peck responded that as far as he knew, he was the only person who had written a substantial portion of a book on the subject, and that it was perhaps serendipity that at the precise moment the man wanted to know the meaning of the word, he happened to be sitting next to an authority on the subject. This, of course, led to further conversation, and Peck explained that his book was a kind of integration of psychology and religion. The man said, “Well, I don’t know about religion anymore,” and went on to tell Peck about some doubts that had him thinking he needed to leave the church. In response Peck explained how questioning helped individuals move from the hand-me-down religion of childhood to a mature, personal one. When the two landed in Minneapolis, the man said, “I don’t have the foggiest idea what all of this means, but maybe I don’t have to leave the church after all.” (M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond [New York: Touchstone, 1997], 260-261). That was God’s prevenient grace, running ahead of the man, putting him into a conversation with someone who could help him when he needed it on his spiritual road. You see, prevenient grace is just as amazing as saving grace. It runs ahead of us, preparing the way for us to respond to God. We just couldn’t do that without him. God’s grace on the cross During our Lenten journey, we have been looking at the grace of the cross. How did Jesus turn a symbol of pain and shame into a symbol of grace, of God’s love for us. If we were headed into a life of sin, how and why did God send Jesus to take out place. God took our place There is a story about a man who visited a church. He parked his car and started toward the front entrance. Another car pulled up nearby, and the irritated driver said to him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside and found that Sunday School was about to begin. He found an adult class, went inside, and sat down. A class member approached him and said, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down in an empty pew. Within moments another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was troubled, but said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to be present with them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Scars became v isible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and cried out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place." Some things that happen in church are silly. Some things are down right scandalous. Some things may even be sacrilegious. But the Church is still the body of Christ and it was for the Church that Christ died. Jesus took our place, so that we could have a better life. The greatest gift that God gave us and will never take away from us is our free will, our freedom to experience life. Exodus 20 If you look at the beginning of Exodus 20 – before it tells you the 10 commandments, it says that these are the words of God for us. Once again, you will notice that God introduces Godself. Who is that God speaking to us – I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Out of the house of slavery. In other words I have set you free. Grace is freedom Freedom is a wonderful thing, the problem is that we don’t always know what to do with it. We have no idea of how to use it in our best interest. The 10 commandments are guidelines in how to use our freedom in a way that benefits us, not hurts us. Why freedom hurts us A preacher was depressed that he lost his bike….. In a small town there were two preachers, one Methodist and one Baptist. They both liked to ride bicycles around town, and they would greet each other when they met on their way somewhere. Well, so one day when they met, the Baptist preacher was on foot. Methodist preacher asked him, "What happened to your bicycle?" Baptist preacher said, "I don't know. I put it somewhere, and can't remember where. I hope somebody didn't steal it." So the Methodist preacher said, "I know what we can do to get your bicycle back. This Sunday we'll both preach on the Ten Commandments. When we get to 'Thou shalt not steal,' we'll dwell on it long and hard. I'll bet that'll get your bicycle returned." So they proceeded to do this, and one day the next week they met up again, and the Baptist preacher had his bicycle back. "Hello, friend," said the Methodist preacher. "I see one of our sermons did some good." The Baptist fellow hung his head and said, "Yeah, but not how you'd think. I preached on the Ten Commandments, just like we said, and when I got to 'Covet not thy neighbor's wife,' I remembered where I'd left my bicycle!" I don’t want to get into what the 10 commandments are, and the meaning of each commandment means, we all know right from wrong. Our relationship with God and our relationship with others But I do want to remind us that the 10 commandments remind us of our relationships. Our sacred relationships first of all with God. And then with our family and our community. The first 4 commandments talk about our relationship with God, and the last 6 talk about our relationship with one another. All of them ask us how is our relationship with freedom. How do we use freedom? For ourselves, or for the good of all. Always remembering that there is no benefit of freedom for ourselves, without our connections with others. Not a mirror, but the word of God I went to visit the students of Urban Prep this week. And right in the front of the classroom, there was full length mirror as the students come in the door. There was a sign on top of it which said look at the man in the mirror. The thing is, God is asking not that we look at the mirror at ourselves, but to look at God’s word. Not to adjust ourselves according to what we see in ourselves, but to adjust ourselves according to the word of God. 10 questions that 10 commandments ask us There is a tradition- instead of calling the laws of God the ten commandments, they are the 10 words. 10 words to order all of our life and all of our relationships according to. the Ten Commandments ask us ten questions, "Do you honor anything or anyone above the one true God? Has God been replaced by something physical or material in your life? Have you dishonored God’s name by using it in a frivolous manner? Is your work more important than your relationship with God? Do you honor your father and mother? Do you value human life? Have you kept your marriage vows? Do you respect other’s rights of ownership? Do you tell the truth? Are you content with what you have or do you covet the possessions, relationships and successes of others?" To God, our answers to those specific questions about behavior and morality demonstrate our willingness to follow Jesus to the cross. Jesus simplified 10 to 2 commandments Jesus simplified the 10 words to two - Mark 12, Matthew 22, and Luke 10 – Jesus says the first commandment is to love the lord our God with all of our mind, our heart, our soul. And he second commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That all goes back to the fact that the first 4 commandments tell us how to have a right relationship with God and the last tell us how to have a right relationship with each other. How to be in right relationship with our freedom. We are in the third week of lent – our journey to the cross, our time to get in touch with our sinful nature and the control that it can have on our lives. But also our chance to truly experience the grace of God’s love for us. To come out of slavery, and to look at freedom in a way that we never imagined, never saw before. If God sets us free- then there is nothing that can hold us down, no situation. The interesting thing about the 10 commandments – it that there is not situation attached to them. There are no circumstances . how many times in our lives do we- put circumstances on our freedom. I can be free, as long as others are treating me right, as long as things are going me way, as long as I am happy. God gives us freedom in every situation, in every relationship. Why follow Jesus to the cross Why follow Jesus to the cross – because God knows what you need better than you do. God has given it to you, before you even knew what it means. If you are willing to go the cross, whatever it is, it will all make sense with the coming of the resurrection. Jesus promises us that. Iive your life, not in the confines of the situation, but in the freedom of your relationship with God and with one another. The God gene Time magazine reported that there is a gene inside of each of us that seeks a relationship with God. Something that causes us to look to God for the ultimate answers of our lives. Remember these 10 words to have the best relationship with God Remember these 10 words Recognize that God comes first in all things Put nothing in God’s place in your life Honor the name of God Worship God faithfully Honor one another Protect the truth Having an attitude, a selfish attitude can be destructive to yourself and to others. If you obey God’s rules – you will truly understand what it means to be free. If you follow Jesus to the cross you will understand what it means to be saved. Let us pray…