Children of Abraham

March 12, 2017 We are children of Abraham Genesis 12:1-4 Lent 2 Imagine that you are going on a long journey – we are all going on a long journey, - we are going to divide up into groups, some of us are going to the artic, some of us are going to antartic, some are going to climb mount Everest. All of these are pretty long trips. We all need to get together and plan our journey together. What do we need to know before embarking on a journey? What do we need to take with us and what needs to stay behind? What is the one thing that we need from home on such a long journey to comfort us? What problems might we encounter on the journey? How are we going to get there, what is the cheapest way to get everyone to their destination? Lent is supposed to be a journey – a long journey from to faith for us. But nevertheless we all go on a journey in order to get to easter. Lent is our time to take some time to plan how we are going to get there. I think that is why we are going to continue to look at the book of Geneses today. The first 11 chapters of the book talk about the creations story and the first family of Adam and Eve. Chapter 12 is the story of another first family – Abram and Serai. Most important it is a story about a long journey that they must take. God comes to Abram and encourages him to leave home. Most people today never go any further than 50 miles away from the place that they were born. So the fact that God was able to get a 75 year old man and his 65 year old wife to just pull up and leave is a big deal. They did not go by themselves, Abram’s dad also went along, and his nephew. But what was it that made a 75 year old man just pick up and leave everything that he knew, all of his family, the life that he led and just walk away and start wandering around in the desert. It was his faith, his willingness to trust God even in the midst of the unknown . It was a faith that was so strong that we now call him the father of 3 faiths. Today more than 60% of the people in the world are either jewish, Christian, or muslim. And we are all called children of Abraham. The scripture from romans points out that we are not genetically related to Abraham, but we all inherited his faith, and more importantly, we all inherited the promises of God that God made to Abraham for following him. For being willing to take a long journey. I am reminded of the journey that many of our forefathers made. One of the best books that I ever read was the warmth of other suns – by Isabel Wilkerson. She follows the journey’s of four individuals who were born in the south, and traveled north, west, east to a new life. The title of her book comes from a poem from Richard Wright – I have been looking for the longer poem, but this stanza says- I was leaving the south to fling myself into the unknown… I was taking a part of the south to transplant in alien soil, to see if it could grow differently, if it could drink of new and cool rains, bend in strange winds, respond to the warmth of other suns and perhaps to bloom. I am reminded of the story that my cousin just told me last week of my uncle, her father. Who grew up on a farm, my grandmother rented a house on that farm. When he grew up, and more than likely all throughout his teenage years, he worked on that farm. My grandmother was a maid, so she was never home with them. But as he grew up, he became a sharecropper, and worked from sun up to sun down on that farm for little of nothing. He married early in life, and the owners of the farm wanted his wife to work as a maid, and my uncle insisted that we was more than willing to work as hard as he could for them, but his wife never would have to work. And as they began to have children they wanted a better life for them. So when the opportunity presented itself to move to Illinois and work in the factory he took it. As a matter of fact, not only did he leave, but all of his brothers, male cousins, and other male relatives all relocated to Peoria, IL. My other uncle retired from caterpillar as a very rich man. What was it that made them all leave their mother, their life, - Langston Hughes says it in a poem one way ticket – I pick up my life And take it with me And I put it down in Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Scranton, Any place that is North and East— And not Dixie. I pick up my life And take it on the train To Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Seattle, Oakland, Salt Lake, Any place that is North and West— And not South. I am fed up With Jim Crow laws, People who are cruel And afraid, Who lynch and run, Who are scared of me And me of them. I pick up my life And take it away On a one-way ticket— Gone up North, Gone out West, Gone! They wanted a better life for their children! They did not want their children to suffer the way that they did. My mother is 20 years younger than her brothers. But when she became an adult, she followed them- for many of the same reasons. We all heard the Ben Carson quote this week where he said that slaves were immigrants. I was going to try to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there is no saving him. As he talked about slaves coming here on slave ships as immigrants so that their children could have a better life. But that is just stupid and wrong. I was going to say that maybe he got his timetable wrong. The great migration was the story of former slaves wanting a better life. I even have an article from the 1917 Englewood Methodist Church newsletter entitled the negroes - which talks about all of the black people coming to the south side from the south. I am still looking for the article from 1920 entitlted “The Negroes are coming” at least they talked about how they needed to welcome them and be open and understanding. My point for this morning is that long journey into the unknown are not strange, not even for us. As I do my family history, I have relatives that remind me that my family history does not begin and end in Arkansas. That before they came to Arkansas, they came from somewhere on the east coast – when the crops started to fail in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia – many farmers and their slaves moved to the delta states where the soil was better. And they came to the coastal states because they came off of boats from parts of Africa. Not that far from where Abraham would have wandered. So we are a long, long long way from home – in a new land, doing things in a new way – still practicing the same faith that Abraham practiced, still worshipping the same God, most importantly still keeping the same promises. The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, those who curse you I will curse; all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.”[a] That is seven promises that we live in when we have the faith of Abraham. The Promises of God Are True Tom Long says that while he was at Princeton, he went to a nearby Presbyterian church that prides itself on being an academic, intellectual church. Early on, he said, he went to a family night supper and sat down next to a man, introduced himself, told him he was new, and said, "Have you been here long?" "Oh yes," the man said. "In fact I was here before this became such a scholarly church. Why I’m probably the only non-intellectual left. I haven't understood a sermon in over 25 years." "Then why do you keep coming," Tom asked? "Because every Monday night a group of us get in the church van and drive over to the youth correctional center. Sometimes we play basketball, or play games. Usually we share a Bible story. But mostly we just get to know these kids and listen to them. "I started going because Christians are supposed to do those kind of things. But now I could never stop. Sharing the love of God at that youth center has changed my life." And then he said this profound statement. "You cannot prove the promises of God in advance, but if you live them, they’re true, every one." During this Lenten season how are you living the promises of God? Where is it that God is calling you to go? Our ancestors came from a very long way for us to get where we are – but we still have a long way to go – especially in our hearts and souls. The genesis story says that when Abram set out – that not only was he75 years old – but he had not children. His wife was barren. So when God said come follow me – he had nothing to lose – but he had nothing to gain. When God started making these promises to him about becoming a great nation it meant nothing to him personally because he did not have any children of his own. His future was barren, he was not even thinking about the next generation and his legacy because there was no way that he was ever going to have a future. But this is how amazing God is – he created a future. In the beginning God created adam out of nothing – but he created Abraham’s future out of barreness. Suddenly no hope – became hopefulness! No future became a bountiful future; everyday routine because a lifechanging adventure. Imagine looking at your life one day and seeing absolutely nothing and the next day looking at the same place and seeing a gold mine. The journey that we have to go on now – is a spiritual journey. A journey within our hearts and souls. It is up to us to take those 7 promises and to create a future of hope and fulfillment for those who are yet to come. A story from Yugoslavia tells of four angels who witnessed creation. The first angel observed God’s handiwork in awe and said: “Lord, your creation is beautiful! How did you do it?” That’s the worldview of a scientist. The second angel observed in awe and said: “Lord, your creation is beautiful! Why did you do it?” That’s the worldview of a philosopher. The third angel observed in awe and said: “Lord, your creation is beautiful! Can I have it?” That’s the worldview of a materialist. Finally, the fourth angel observed in awe and said: “Lord, your creation is beautiful! Can I help?” That’s the worldview of God’s faithful. (8) That is the kind of obedience that God honors. God told Abram to leave his home and God made Abram a promise and an assignment—that he would be blessed and that he would be a blessing. May we be blessed and may we be a blessing to others as well. Amen. Other illustrations… Lane Alderman, Asking All the Right Questions “I was leaving the South to fling myself into the unknown . . . I was taking a part of the South to transplant in alien soil, to see if it could grow differently, if it could drink of new and cool rains, bend in strange winds, respond to the warmth of other suns and, perhaps, to bloom” ― Richard Wright “One-Way Ticket” by Langston Hughes I pick up my life And take it with me And I put it down in Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Scranton, Any place that is North and East— And not Dixie. I pick up my life And take it on the train To Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Seattle, Oakland, Salt Lake, Any place that is North and West— And not South. I am fed up With Jim Crow laws, People who are cruel And afraid, Who lynch and run, Who are scared of me And me of them. I pick up my life And take it away On a one-Gone up North, Gone out West, Gone! “It poured rain the day I left. But I was filled with excitement, a strange sense of taking wing. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew what I needed. I needed a new land, a new race, a new language; and although I couldn’t have put it into words then, I needed a new mystery.” (John Fowles, The Magus, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 965, pg. 150) Children’s sermon… Object: A cap Boys and girls, How many of you like to wear caps? Some people do and some people don't. I read somewhere that if your feet are cold, you should put something on your head. That didn't make sense to me until someone explained that your body works extra hard to keep your brain warm. It will even let your feet freeze in order to keep your brain warm. That is why a cap is so important on a cold day. But why does the body work so hard to keep the brain warm? Your brain is the most important part of your body, isn't it? What do you do with your brain? That's right, you think. That is also where you see and hear and feel. Your eyes let in light, but it is your brain that turns that light into a picture. Your brain is by far the most important part of your body. Your brain is where you dream. It is where you dream at night--some of those dreams can be scary, can't they? And it is where you day dream during the day. Do you ever dream of what you will be some day? Do you dream of being an astronaut or a policeman or a teacher or a mommy or a daddy. Dreams are important. Dreams help us have a road map of where our lives will some day lead. Some of those dreams come from God. In fact God has a dream for your life. Did you know that? God has a dream for you--a dream in which you will grow up to be the kind of loving, honest, courageous person that He has created you to be. He dreams that you will be like His Son, Jesus. Gee, we have dreams and God has dreams. Wouldn't it be great if the dreams were the same? Then someday we could be all God means for us to be. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan

A Mother's Love

I John 5:1-6 John 15: 9-17 May 13, 2012 “A Mother’s Love” Sixth Sunday of Easter Mother’s Day Year B When God Created Mothers – Erma Bombeck When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.” And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order? • She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; • Have 180 movable parts... all replaceable; • Run on black coffee and leftovers; • Have a lap that disappears when she stands up; • A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; • And six pairs of hands.” The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands... no way.” “It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.” “That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ’What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, ’I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.” “Lord,” said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, “Go to bed. Tomorrow...” “I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.” The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed. “But she’s tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure.” “Can it think?” “Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator. Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You You were trying to push too much into this model.” “It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.” “What’s it for?” “It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.” “You are a genius,” said the angel. The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” He said. Mother’s Love a divine love What better way to talk about love, than to talk about our mothers. Mothers show a special kind of love. Mother is not just a person, a divine function, more importantly it is a divine relationship That is the lessons of these two books – I John and John 15. Love is a divine relationship- that comes only from God. Like grapes, God clings to us and we cling to God. These books teach us to abide in God, love only comes from God. Today the lesson that Jesus gives us is to love as I have loved you. Because of love I no longer call you a servant, I call you a friend. What it means to be a friend Mother is not a friend, has to discipline us, but in the true understanding of Jesus idea of friend, she is. Jewish understanding of compassion is the same word as womb. Place of love and nurturing. A friend is someone who is loved. The old English word friend mean someone who is beloved. A special relationship – a clinging. A mothers clings to her son During the holocaust whole families were taken and put in prison camps. Families would worry about mothers and fathers, because knew that the older people who couldn’t be productive would be the first to be killed. The Russel family knew that also their young son Frank would also be killed – he was frail and couldn’t work. One day the father came home from work and found his older son in a corner crying. Frank couldn’t do his work today – and they took him away. Where is your mother – when Frank started to cry – she assured him that he would be okay – she held his hand and walked away with him. She clung to him no matter what. A mother’s love is like Jesus love, like God’s love for us – clings to us and our situations – no matter what. Jesus says what greater love does one have for a friend then to lay down his life. Hold our hand to death – but leads us to resurrection life. Hank Aaron’s mother In the 1970’s in the south, a baseball player, Hank aaron was scheduled to break babe ruth’s record of most home runs. Many white people were really upset, and the closer he got the the record, he got death threats. The day he broke the record, two white males stormed onto the field. Security rushed to stop them. Along with the security guards – they looked around and found a 65 year old African American women – his mother. Mom what are you doing here – anyone who tries to get you – has to get me first. In some way – our mother is our first relationship, our primary relationship. The relationship where we learn how to receive love, but most importantly how to receive love. How to care for others – how to care for all of God’s children. 1870 call to peace Mothers day started out in 1870 as a call to peace. Julia Ward Howe gave a proclamation to all mothers. Arise, the women of this day Arise, all women who have heart, who have been baptized with water or with tears. She called all women to unite, to from groups and to stop the violence and war that plagues our nation. What would the world be like if women ruled the world? Te capital building would probably have more curtains and tablecloths. But each of our children killed by violence and war would be remembered by name. they would be children, not numbers. And we would have a mandate to make the world safe for them. Love one another as god loves us – is an important message. I John adds to that message. If we are able to love the son, we are able to love the father. Love is a commandment that we are called to obey. If we just obey that commandment – we can overcome the world. Transform the world and overcome our troubles. Love transforms the world Mother’s day story that is going viral - story of a mom who was told that something wrong with baby in the womb. Decided that she would love her baby no matter what. Born with no eyes, cleft palate so bad he could close his mouth. Try to take the baby out – people would ask what’s wrong with your baby. Girl said that she was wrong for not aborting her baby. Hurt by all of the comments. Baby Christian continued to grow and respond to love. Learned to laugh and smile – as he laugh, everyone else started to love with him. The rest of the world started to laugh and smile with him and call him and his mother blessed. When we understand love, we are beloved, learn to give life, and have the power to change toworld. – God gave us mothers so that we could know a mother’s love. Mother’s love is the best bible Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beauty and eloquent old English. Another said he liked the New American Standard Version for its literalism and how it moves the reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. The third scholar was sold on the New Living Translation for its use of contemporary phrases and idioms that capture the meaning of difficult ideas. After being quiet for a moment, the fourth scholar admitted: “I have personally preferred my mother’s translation.” When the other scholars started laughing, he said, “Yes, she translated the Scriptures. My mom translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I have ever read.” Let us pray…