The Gifts of the Spirit

Pentecost May 27, 2012 Year B Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27; 16:4-15 “The Gift of the Spirit” Are you Pentecostal? The well known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." Thoom grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was nowhere to be found. The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?" He said, "No, I mean are you Pentecostal?" Craddock said, "Are you asking me if I am charismatic?" the student said, "I am asking you if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?" He said, "I want to know if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "I don't know what your question is." The student said, "Obviously, you are not Pentecostal." He left. What are we talking about this morning? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?... What does it mean to be a Pentecostal? Depends on who you ask. But today is a big day for the church, no matter what denomination. Pentecost The world celebrates Christmas with us, and even celebrate easter, but Pentecost is only for those who are true Christians. And jewish. Last week one of our children asked what does Pentecost mean anyway. Pentecost means 50 – 50 days for us after easter, but for the jews its 50 days after Passover. They are celebrating the first harvest of the season. For the jews the celebrations is from the 26-28th. This is the celebration that the apostles witnessed in the bible. Jews from all over the world were gathered in Jerusalem. And of course, they bought their customs and their languages with them. But as they came together , speaking in their own languages. it seemed that everyone could understand one another. It is important for us to remember, that different people read and interpret and find importance on different parts of the bible. For some the holy spirit was present in the fact that they were speaking in different languages. For others it was that they were understood. Difference in theology I remember my aunt used to always tell me to make sure that when I was baptized- that I was baptized in Jesus name as it stated in acts. But was baptized in Baptist church which uses the gospels, which says be baptized in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit. But today want to talk about the presence of the holy spirit in our ability to understand, in spite of our differences. Our ability to be one body – with different opinions as proof that the holy spirit is here. Church on fire Pentecost is the day that the church was on fire. I remember growing up in Peoria, on sixth street. One of the biggest events of the day – the day the Baptist church down the street caught on fire. The whole neighborhood came to watch. When had to go back in the house, people stopped by to give reports. Two persons were talking together before a large church which was being destroyed by fire. The first man spoke in a voice which could be heard above the voice of the firemen: "This is the first time I ever saw you at church." To this the second responded: "This is the first time I ever saw the church on fire." There are many prophets of doom saying that the age of the Christian Church is over - that it has lost its zeal! We're taking a beating right now in this country and around the world. Our theology is being questioned. Everyone is writing a critical book against the organized church. We have had to take some unpopular r stands on social issues. Magazines are attacking the ministry, and it isn't the thing to do anymore to join the church. John Kelman said, however, "God pity the nation or city whose factory smokestacks rise higher than her church spires." The church can be on fire in may different ways. Way we sing, way the pastor preaches, what we do, in how we hope. We can be Pentecostal in who we are – but also in how we do it. In how we wait in God, but also depend on God. We handle our differences. Five promises of the spirit – comforter, teacher, bear witness to Jesus to the world, prove that sin was wrong, and guide the church. Promise of acts 2 – hold us together. Remember in Genesis 11 – all of the people got together and decided that they were going to build a giant tower to heaven. If they got together there is nothing they can accomplish. Sort of like the NATO summit. Remind them that the emphasis was on we and not on God. Planned everything to the detail and forgot to pray and leave room for God. The punishment was that they would all speak in different languages and head in different directions. We can all speak English and still not understand. Recently, a judicial friend was presiding over a case in a small, rural county. The defendant was charged with drunk driving and trying to assault the police officer who arrested him. To convict the defendant on the assault on an officer charge, the District Attorney had to proved that the defendant knew the person he was assaulting was a police officer. And the easiest way to do that is to show that the officer was wearing a police uniform, and therefore the defendant knew that this was a police officer. So the District Attorney asked the officer on the witness stand "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" The witness looked at him blankly. It was clear he didn't know what the District Attorney meant by "attired". Everyone saw this but the District Attorney. "Would you repeat the question, please?" In a slightly irritated voice the District Attorney said, "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" The witness still was puzzled. "Say that again", he pleaded. "How were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" barked the District Attorney. My friend said you could suddenly see the light bulb come on in the officer's head, and he proudly proclaimed "I was traveling on standard issue radial tires!" This officer needed an interpreter even within the English language! That's what I'm getting at: We all need our own personal interpreter, full time, 24/7. So much of what we hear, even within the English language, we don't understand. And nowhere is that truth more evident than with people who are new to the church. The problem is not just in language, the problem is in our understanding. We can be in same family, same church, working on the same plan and still disagree. We are prone to misunderstanding. The good news is – that we don’t have to think alike, we have to think together. Know the holy spirit is with us. Understanding comes from god and not us. “How did you get saved.” He was asked. He replied, “God did his part and I did my part.” The man asked, “What was God’s part and what was your part.” The young man replied, “God’s part was saving and my part was sinning. I ran from Him as fast as I could, but He took after me till He ran me down.” When you see people coming to Christ, then you know that God is at work for only God can save souls. We have to let God do his part and we do are part. Our part is to be confused, and to learn to trust in God for understanding and agreement. Acts is a wonderful book to read, last day we read it in worship for awhile. Shows what it means to be Pentecostal. No matter what your denomination. Wait and witness on the holy spirit. Results may not be like to first formation of the church. We can convince people, but only the holy spirit can convict them to be followers of Jesus. You Are in the Spirit It’s like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, “You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?” The whale responded, “The ocean is what you are in now.” The shark would not believe it. “Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!” The whale repeated, “The ocean is here, now; you are in it.” Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean. The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don’t spend too much time looking for God because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, within this community. And that truth is nurtured in prayer. Pentecostal is a noun – who you are, verb – what you do, but is is also a adjective – how you do it. Witness and wait in the presence of the spirit. Amen.

Why are you looking up, when you should be looking in?

May 20, 2012 Ascension Sunday Acts 1:1-11 Luke 24:44-53 Why are you looking up when you should be looking in? Year B Read the Apostles Creed The apostle’s creed is written in the hymnal, but I wanted to make copies of it for each of you to keep in your bulletin graveyard. Wherever you put old bulletins – pull this out and read again. This is the ancient creed of the church. Many United Methodist churches read the creed every Sunday as a part of worship, so that people can start to store it in their hearts. Written about 100 years after Jesus was ascended by the church – it is called the apostles creed, because it is said to contain sayings from each of the 12 apostles. It is not everything that we believe – says nothing about Jesus being divine – but it is basic. The basic life of Jesus – Christmas, Easter and last Thursday. Do you remember what you were doing last Thursday – last Thursday was Ascension Day – in the bible – it is the day that Jesus ascended into heaven. The significance of the Ascension No one saw what actually happened on Easter – it remains between the father and the son. But for 40 days after, Jesus did come back to his disciples to tell them that he was okay. That is actually not a big mystery – a lot of people come back to us after they have passed away to tell us not to worry about them. But what is surprising about this story – is that Jesus made sure that everyone saw him as he ascended into heaven. Not only the disciples, but anyone who happened to be around. There is a famous painting of this event – where the disciples are gathered around, looking up – and all you can see is Jesus feet in the clouds. The word apostle means witness – someone who saw it for themselves, and has the job of telling others what they know. They saw Jesus go up into the sky for themselves, so there is no question about where he is today. Ascension can be a sad day I am sure that the day that their master left them was a sad day for them indeed. The day that Jesus left this earth, and went into heaven. Must have been sad. I get sad when I am reading through the bible, and I finish all of the gospels. No more red letters in the bible, no more words and teachings directly from Jesus. Truth be told I think Ascension Day can be a sad day for all of us – when we realize that Jesus has gone on, we get comfortable with being told what to do, with being able to follow and not having to think or be responsible. To put our lives in Jesus hands, and not have to worry about anything. The days are coming, when we will have to stop sitting in the pews listening, and we will have to start talking. The days are coming when we will have to stop worrying about what would Jesus do, and do for ourselves. When we stop listening to the story – and to be the story for ourselves. We don’t have to change today – we have one more Sunday. One thing Jesus did tell us about ascension – is that we have to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be true witnesses – but that day is coming soon – next Sunday is Pentecost. Sadness of being left alone It is sort of the sadness that we feel – on our first day of real school when we are away from our families for the first time. My mother was a single parent – so I think by kindergarten I was sort of ready to go to school. I do remember the first time my mother left me with a babysitter, who was not family. I was three, and I remember after a couple of weeks of that mess, I told me mother that she was going to have to find something else to do with her day – because was not going back to that lady. The lady was really mean to me, and all of the kids for that matter, but it was hard being away from my mother all day. She put me in the preschool next door to her job. LEAVING YOU IN GOOD HANDS The story is told of a mum who would take her son to nursery school, kiss him good bye and would always say to him "Darling, I’m leaving you in good hands, OK?" She will do this every day she takes her son to school. When the son was of age and mum was quite old now and experiencing dementia, the son took his dear mum to a care home. As he said good bye, he remembered the words of his mum when he was quite young; he then kissed her and said, "Mum I’m leaving you in good hands." His mum who could hardly remember things now because of dementia held on to his son’s hands and tears started streaming down her eyes; she remembered her own very words years ago. Jesus is just turning the table for us The good news for us is that Jesus is not leaving us alone – he realizes that it is just time to turn the tables. We have been taught, now it is time for us to teach, we have been blessed, now it is time for us to bless others, we have witnessed – now it is time for us to witness, we have been loved, now is it time for us to love. The apostles creed contains the good news for us is that everything that we need to go into an unspoken. Undeveloped future has already been given to us. The whole message of Luke is that Jesus did everything to fulfill the scriptures. He is the messiah spoken of in the scriptures. He suffered, he died, he atoned for our sins, and he has given us the gift of salvation. We have been sitting here all year listening and living the story – we know all we need to know. Jesus has done all he needs to do. We don’t need anything else than what we have to build the kingdom of God around us. Don’t You Believe in Shoes? There is a story by Hugh Price Hughes titled, “The City of Everywhere.” In this story a man arrives in a city one cold morning. As he gets off the train, he sees that the station is like any other station except for one thing everyone is barefoot. No one wears shoes. He notices a barefoot cab driver. “Pardon me,” he asks the driver, “I was just wondering why you don’t wear shoes. Don’t you believe in shoes?” “Sure we do,” says the driver. “Why don’t you wear them?” asks the man. “Ah, that’s the question,” the driver replies. “Why don’t we wear shoes? Why don’t we?” At the hotel it is the same. The clerk, bell boys, everybody is barefoot. In the coffee shop he notices a nice looking gentleman at a table opposite him. He says, “I notice you aren’t wearing any shoes. I wonder why? Don’t you know about shoes?” The man replies, “Of course I know about shoes.” “Then why don’t you wear them?” asks the stranger. “Ah, that’s the question,” says the man. “Why don’t we? Why don’t we?” After breakfast he walks out on the street in the snow but every person he sees is barefoot. He asks another man about it, and points out how shoes protect the feet from cold. The man says, “We know about shoes. See that building yonder? That is a shoe manufacturing plant. We are proud of that plant and every week we gather there to hear the man in charge tell about shoes and how wonderful they are.” “Then why don’t you wear shoes?” asks the stranger. “Ah, that’s the question,” says the man. Dr. Robert E. Goodrich told this story in his book, What’s It All About? Then he asks, “Don’t we believe in prayer? Don’t we know what prayer could mean to our lives? . . . Of course we do; we know about prayer. Then, why don’t we pray? Ah, that’s the question. Why don’t we pray? . . . Why don’t we?” Robert E. Goodrich, What’s It All About, adapted by King Duncan We have heard the story, we know the story, and we even say that we believe the story – so what is stopping us from living the story? What is stopping us from witnessing about what Christ has done for us in a way that not only changes our lives, but the lives around us? You live in Christ, but does Christ live in you? I came across an interesting question while preparing for this sermon. We all know that we live in Christ – but does Christ live in you? In your actions? Your thoughts? Your feelings? Most important your deeds? How do you know that Christ lives in you? When you know that Christ leaving is not a sad day – but a day of celebration. Jesus is not leaving you, he is just stepping out of the way so that you can have the power to live your life in the spirit of Christ. That the power of the holy spirit is going to work, in spite of my doubts, my fears, my sadness. I have told this story before, but it works here too… NO OTHER PLAN An old legend imagines Jesus arriving in heaven right after the Ascension, welcomed by all the angels. Then the angel Gabriel asks Jesus, "You suffered much, dying for the sins of mankind. Does everyone down on earth know it?" "Oh, no," replied the Savior, "just a handful of folks in Jerusalem and Galilee know about it." "Well, Master," continued Gabriel, "what is your plan for everyone to know of your great love?" The Master replies, "I asked all my apostles to carry the message into all the world. I told them to tell others, who will in turn tell others until the last person in the farthest corner has heard the story." Gabriel’s face clouds, for he spots a flaw in the plan. "What if after awhile Peter forgets, and goes back to his fishing on Galilee, also James and John and Andrew? Suppose Matthew returns to his tax booth in Capernaum, and all the others lose their zeal and just don’t tell others. What then?" After a pause comes the calm voice of the Lord Jesus, "Gabriel, I have no other plan." You are not just a part of the plan – you are the plan. You are blessed by God The most important message of the gospel lesson comes at the end. It says that Jesus walked with them as far as Bethany, and then he realized that he must depart. As he left, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And they were so happy to receive his blessing, that he went praising God forever in the temple. The word in the old testament for bless most often is baruk – but that word is used for a blessing for God. How do we bless God? Through praise and worship. The new testament adds a new element of spirituality to the meaning of blessing. The Greek use the word marakus – which means to be as happy and well as the gods in heaven. The one thing I can say about the Greek gods – they were very well indulged – they had everything. And the one thing they loved to do – was party and have a good time. Every day that Christ lives in us – is a party. When we know that we are truly blessed by God – we have an abundance of joy. That does not mean that we will not have sorrow, pain, loneliness, or sadness. It means that we have joy in our hearts and souls to get us through. We are never alone, and we can act in courage, we can witness to our hearts content. Jesus is not above us – Jesus is in us. We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. Pentecost – next Sunday is the day we receive our power – today Ascension is the day we receive our joy, our confidence, our blessing. Let us pray.

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…

Connected to the Vine

I John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Year B Fifth Sunday of Easter “Connected to the Vine” The importance of love in John I have not been preaching in awhile, haven’t had to do my sermon prep in awhile. Looked for an old sermon to preach, but couldn’t find one to talk about the scriptures for today. I John is important to our faith – lots of sayings about love and about being the church – the community of Christ. “Love one another because love is from God. God is love and those who abide in love abide in God. Those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love god whom they have not seen. We love because he first loved us. Abide in Christ The most important saying for today is that if you abide in love, you abide in God and God abides in you. The key word for you to take with you from today is abided. In Greek, the word for abide is meno in English it means to dwell, to tarry, to stay , not to perish, to endure, to survive, to remain. Abide in God means to be in union with God. To have a relationship with god. To pray, to worship, but most importantly – to live in community with the people of God. The vineyard If you look in the Hebrew Scriptures, you will see that the vineyard is an old old metaphor for the people of God. If you look at a grapes, grapes always grow in bunches, not alone. The people are the vineyard and God is the farmer. The people grow and God gives the increase. God tends and if we obey we are the fruit. Jesus turns that whole metaphor around, and says the he is the true vine, and the Father is the vine grower. Christ is the true nature of God. If we have seen Christ, you have seen God. A man was asked if he had ever seen God – no never seen God, but I have seen a few Jesus’ in my life. We have none ever seen or talked to God. But if we have experienced love in some way – we have experienced the reason Jesus died on the cross for us. In the book of John, Jesus gives seven I am statements – I am the true vine is the last. That means that everything that we need in life is present in Christ. In the Hebrew scripture – the vineyard is a symbol for living in union. In the New Testament the vineyard is a symbol for living in communion. Union is living together; communion is about living together, abiding in the love of God. Union is about us as the people, communion is about what God did for us in the presence of Jesus Christ. I stayed up all night to write a new sermon – because this is the most important scripture for our faith. Abide in me as I abide in you. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. If you read the whole verse again carefully it is saying that without Jesus the church is wordless, prayerless, hopeless, powerless, and most important fruitless. Jesus is our word, our prayer, our hope, our power and our fruit. Without Jesus we are a union, with Jesus the church is a communion. General Conference Report For the last few days I have been struggling with coming back to church after General Conference. I was not for sure of what I was going to tell you. It is sort of like before GC we were all headed down 94 going south. And during it was like we were kept on 94 on the bishop ford, and I think the church decided to take 57 – and all that we could hope was that somewhere further down the road I was hoping we would meet back up again, and all would be well. General Conference was a perfect example of what it means to be the church. Is it a union of people, or a communion of faith? What does it mean to abide in Christ? What does it mean to love one another as God loves you? The issues are always the same, and the drama is always present. On my way home I sat next to a UMW president from Indiana. It was her first time attending general conference – she asked is it always this crazy? GC is always crazy, but this one was a little over the top. They voted to get rid of guaranteed appointments, they eliminated the structure of the church, in the process the eliminated the organizational structures that protected the rights of women and minorities, and they voted that homosexuality is still a sin, so gays cannot get married in the church and they cannot serve as clergy. The intervention at the end There were many of us present who were prepared to leave and come home feeling very disempowered and left out of the whole process. You may have seen on the news that those fighting for gay rights go to great lengths to get attention. And many of them left hurt and wounded. People of color were wounded for another reason. They had voted to develop this committee on inclusiveness. Many were trying to explain that inclusiveness is a very broad term. And women’s rights, minority rights and gay rights are different things, and cannot be defined by one committee. A friend of mine defined the conference as the day the white man took back his church, and left everyone else outside. After that decision, I checked out and stopped paying attention to any of their decisions. I just didn’t care anymore. I was only present because I loved God, wasn’t quite sure about the Methodist church. As a matter of fact, at 5 o’clock Friday I went to dinner, prepared to come back for the closing worship – and go home frustrated and confused. Only to come back and learn that the judicial council had ruled the new structure unconstitutional. Everything that the conference had debated and voted on for the last two weeks was null and void, and could not be put into effect. At that late hour, the only thing the church could do was put the old structure back in place, the individual commissions were saved. The united Methodist church is divided like the us government. The bishops are the executive branch like the president, the general conference is the legislative section life like the senate, and the judicial council is the Supreme Court. The judicial council has the task of checking church law to make sure that any new decisions honor our present constitution. So the decision was that the new plan did not honor present church law. We are still awaiting a decision of whether the vote on guaranteed appointments is in keeping with the constitution. Many people felt that 11th hour decision from the judicial council was like the Holy Spirit intervening on behalf of those who didn’t have a voice. It was sort of reminding us that even in our best moments –the church is still just a union- a group of imperfect humans working together. And it takes a fresh voice of God – the Holy Spirit to make us a communion – God’s vineyard – being tended by God. Cutting and pruning If you look at John 15 – you will see that God’s way of tending the vine is by cutting and pruning. You cut what is dead and you prune or cleanse what is alive in order for it to grow out more fully. In fairness that was all the church was trying to do in developing a new structure. If the united Methodist church continues in its present structure, it will go bankrupt. On the surface, they want to get rid of guaranteed appointments in order to get rid ineffective pastors. They want to get rid of what some define s dead weight. And before you think that is a good thing- the vital congregation process is designed to do the same for churches. That is why I am trying to spend so much time making sure that you understand it. They want to get rid of churches that they deem as not bearing fruit. The problem comes along when you wonder who it is that determines what it means to bear fruit. In the united Methodist church the southern white churches are the ones with control of all of the money, and the African churches are the ones who claim to be growing in leaps and bounds. And if the proposed structure would have passed – everyone else would be defined as dead weight. Individual pruning The lesson for us is that pruning is not just about the church as a whole, it is about us as people. We live in a world where we are being cut back in all different places. Being pruned, cut back to almost nothing is not a good feeling. It is not just about finances, but about our spiritual life also. Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback was the youngest to ever win the super bowl – he was on top of the world doing what he wanted. Once he was asked why he didn’t wear a helmet when driving his motorcycle. He replied that he did not have to. And that if there was ever a law against it, he would change his mind. What changed his mind was not the law – it was an accident. He had motorcycle accident where he endured several facial injuries and a fractures skull. He extended an apology to his fans, saying that he understood why he needed a helmet, and if he ever recovered – he would have one all of the time. That was his pruning experience. A time of struggle, that would help him make better decisions, live a better life, be a better person. Are we being cut or pruned? Pruning is painful. But how do you know whether you are being cut as dead weight, or cleansed for a better life? It all depends on whether you abide in Christ. Whether you realize that apart from Christ you can’t do or be anything. Are you in union with the church or in communion with God. Are you still able to love to give love and receive love in spite of what you are going through? Are you determined to live, to endure, to survive, to stand firm, to wait on God? Or have you just given up? Abide in Christ John 15 is that chapter, which say in my father’s house, there are many mansions – the Greek really means in my father’s house there are many places to abide. – To dwell – to live in God. In my Father's house there are many places to live in Christ. Are you being cut or pruned? Where is God in your life? Where are you? What is going on in your life that needs an intervention from God himself to change – because there is nothing else for you to do – but to abide. To stand in the place, in that need- and depend on God. Apart from Christ – apart from inside of Christ – we can do nothing. In communion with Christ – we can do all that is within God’s will. May The Holy Spirit be with you. Let us pray….. Amen.

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…..

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….

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…

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…..

Hallelujah Anyhow

February 26, 2012 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15 “Hallelujah Anyhow” First Sunday of Lent Year B Hiding the Hallelujah Many of the white churches have a tradition, that for lent, you are supposed to hide the alleluia for lent. Alleluia is just the Greek version of hallelujah, since they don’t pronounce an H at the beginning of a word, and there is no y, so Jah is spelled with an I. Alleluia is a victory cry- when we cry alleluia or hallelujah – we are saying that Jesus Christ is our victory over sin and death. The thought is, that in lent, there is no victory, and there is no triumphant Christ. So we are supposed to hide the alleluias until Easter, and then fervently bring them back again on Easter morning. Lenten music is naturally slow and sad, and liturgical music – music that is intentionally written for the season – has no alleluia’s in it, and churches go through this elaborate rituals on the first Sunday of lent in order to put the alleluia in a box and bury them so that they won’t be said in church. Interestingly, I have never been in a church that formally hid their alleluias. In my last church, my church musician and I used to fight constantly every lent, being that she was raised in the Catholic Church she would insist that I had to hide the alleluia’s. And I would tell her that during a recession, we can’t take hallelujah from people. What is the use of asking people who are already suffering, to suffer more by suppressing their alleluias? The Difference between a lent hallelujah and a easter hallelujah Besides, there is a big difference between a lent hallelujah and a Easter hallelujah. There is a big difference between a Jewish hallelujah and an Easter alleluia. (I ended up firing my musician, but that was because she was the church accountant- not because of our differences, we fought about everything). Hallelujah – I just think that is a wonderful song, all by itself. What a beautiful word. But why did the Israelites say that word – hallelu jah – praise God? The Jehovah names of God Lately, we have been talking about the names of God. Your English bible will intentionally make it easy for you, and anywhere God’s name is mentioned – they will refer to God as God. But in the original Hebrew bible, God had many names, coming from many traditions. The name I have focused on is Jehovah. Jehovah is a Christian pronunciation of the sacred 4 letters of God’s name. A Jewish person would never say Jehovah, because they believe that it is not man’s place to call God by name. But I am using Jehovah because there is a tradition of using the names of Jehovah. I counted about 50 different Jehovah names for God in the Old Testament. Examples of some: in Gen. 22 – Jehovah Jireh – God my provider – psalm 3:3 Jehovah kabodhi – The Lord is my glory, in 1 Chronicles 29 – Jehovah Nissi – the lord is my banner; in psalm 19 – Jehovah Tsori – the lord is my strength. Isaiah 5:3 Jehovah Rophe – God is a healer, Isaiah 9:6 – Jehovah shalom – the lord is my peace. God is all of those things to us. But here is the thing, the reality is that in a world of sin there are no provisions, people are hungry. There is no glory- people are struggle, there is no strength, no healing, and no peace. So you can’t use those names. All that you have is jah – just plain God. No attributes, no names. Just God in his most basic plain form. And yet still worthy to be praised. When life has stripped you of everything, when you have lost your peace, your strength, your shield, your armor – the one thing that no one can take away from you, not even the devil – is your praise God, your hallelujah. Hallelujah is your battle cry in times of despair. A Muslim would say – allahu Akbar – God is greater! They say it for many reasons, but we hear it when they are protesting – or killing someone on behalf of God. It is as if they have given up all hope of peace in a sinful world – and they praise God as they give up the ghost. Except our god says that thou salt not kill, and that there is never a reason to kill yourself if indeed God is greater. Hallelujah is your cry – which I may be defeated, that in a sinful world I may pass away – but God will never fail. And as a child of God – my life, my victory, my well being is centered around God – and not me. If you look at the Methodist hymnal – there is a song Jaya Ho – from India. Even the Hindus use praise God as a victory cry. Even the rocks will cry out You see, my thing is, even if the Catholics, and the Lutherans, the Methodist and the Presbyterians refuse to say hallelujah, it really doesn’t matter – because my Pentecostal cousins are always going to say praise the Lord. They may not say it to me, but every time they great one another they say praise the lord – so that is every day – even in lent. And it really doesn’t matter, because if the Pentecostal forget one day to day praise the lord – the bible says that God doesn’t need man to say hallelujah, because if we forget, that even the rocks will cry out – and say hallelujah. God is the creator of all things – and worthy to be praised. Even in a sinful world. But for Christians – our great victory cry comes on Easter morning – When Christ rose from the dead – he conquered all of our enemies – the devil, sin, death, sickness, disease, hunger, hatred. On Easter morning, we won’t have to cry hallelujah in a time of despair – but in a time of joy and celebration. When Jesus wins, if my life, my hope, my faith is centered in God – I win. We win. 1 Peter – Christ died for our sins once and for all But in the meantime – it is lent; we still live in a world of sin. Our lives are still affected by our sin and by the sin of others. This is the time to reflect on our sin, and how it drove Jesus to go to the cross – because he realized that somebody had to do something to change the system, to change the situation. I want us to look at the words of 1 Peter. “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” And then we read one of the most difficult verses in the bible – it says he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison. – Who are the spirits in prison? Some say that they are the spirits who live in Hades – the place of the dead. Those who had died before they knew Christ. But I would say to you that in a world of sin, our lives can be a living hell. Living in a world with racism, with hatred, with hunger, with lack of respect can be hell. Living with sickness, and worrying about others in our life can be hell. Living with drugs, with addictions can be hell. Living in fear of your life, of your belongings, can be hell. Worrying about how to take care of children, how to make ends meet can be hell. All a part of living in a world, with people who lives are not centered around God. An example of a living hell In thinking about this sermon, I came across the story of James Byrd. A young black man coming home in the middle of the night in 1998. He was picked up by three white men – we heard this story on the news. They beat him, and then attached him to the back of the truck and dragged him alive, until he died. That is a story which angers me, disgust me – I looked hoping to find another example – but indeed his ordeal is an example of a living hell. Something so horrendous, so inhumane, and so inexcusable, something much worse than any suffering that we have experienced. But the point is, Jesus came into the world, took on our flesh, experienced our suffering, and went through a similar torture on the cross – in order to free us all from the effects of a sinful world. Whatever it is that you are going through, whatever it is that you are suffering over – God understands, Christ knows what it feels like. And by dying on the cross – he made a way out of no way. Christ entered into this world – so that he could understand what it means to be in a living hell. Whatever it is, his death made a doorway. His resurrection gave you permission to go through. Don’t let your suffering be in vain Living in a sinful world – Jesus chose to endure unjust suffering rather than be unfaithful to God. The message of 1 Peter to us – is that life in a sinful world can be tough – but don’t give up. Don’t let your suffering be in vain. Stay committed to Christ in the tough times and Christ will stay committed to you. Lent is your time to stay committed. To look at your relationship with God – does your suffering bring you closer to God or further away? Are you working to clear sin out of the world? Or do you accept it as just the way things are? In the resurrection, will you claim the victory or continue you life as it is? Will hallelujah be a cry of despair? Or a celebration? Let your defeat be your victory I want to end this sermon on sin, on suffering, on claiming the victory, on why we this lent we are on a hallelujah journey to healing and wholeness with this lighthearted story of an old dog who fell into a farmer’s well. Looking into the well, the farmer decided that it was too much trouble, and the dog was too old for him to waste his time in getting the dog out. So he decided to just bury the dog alive. Of course once the dirt started to fall on his back, he realized what was happening. But every time the dirt fell, he would just shake it off and let if fall under its feet. Until all of the dirt intended to go on top of him, ended up up under him. Until the ground was high enough for him to get out of the well himself. Living life in a world of sin –can get the best of us. Living life in a world of sin can sometimes bury us alive and make our world a living hell. But the good news is that we worship a God that is worthy to be praised. In good times and bad. In lent and in Easter. The time to claim God’s victory – is now in the midst of the pain, so that we can feel it that much more in the resurrection. Hallelujah! Invitation to christ I want to pass out these nails for us to keep with us during lent. The nail is a reminder that we still live in a world of sin. But it is also a reminder that the Jesus went to the cross for us once and for all – so that sin, our sin and others does not have to bury us alive. God is always with us, and whatever stands in the way can be nailed to the cross. The rest of scripture reminds us that in baptism we die with Christ, in baptism we rise with Christ. In our commitment to Christ- we share in Christ victory. This is your chance to claim the victory.