Feed my Sheep

April 10, 2016 John 21:1-19 Feed My Sheep 4th Sunday of Easter Year C SERMON ILLUSTRATION Fish Heaven Four-year-old Danny was fascinated with a dead fish floating in the river. After studying it for hours, he asked his mother, "Will the fish go to heaven?" Knowing she was out of her theological league, she said, "We'll ask Pastor Dave when we get to church." "Does he know lots about fish?" Well today I want to talk a little about fish, sheep, the resurrection and love. We are going to think about the lesson of John 21 –the last chapter of the gospel. This book is the lesson after the lesson. John 20 is the resurrection story. But in each of the gospels, an interesting thing happens, in each of the gospels, there is always one more chapter. In each of these chapters, Jesus returns as the resurrected Christ, in order to teach his disciples one more lesson. In each of the gospels, the disciples were not expecting Jesus and did not recognize who he was until after he had taught then a lesson. I would encourage you in this Easter season to expect Jesus to appear in some way in your life. Most likely when he appears, he will be a stranger to you- someone who you don’t recognize until after that fact. But once you have learned the lesson he is present to teach – you can be grateful for the blessing. The disciples had went fishing in order to deal with his death. That is what you do when in doubt and don’t know what to do – you go fishing. But they were not catching anything. Until this strange man told them to switch their nets from the left to the right. Then they caught all kinds of fish. Scripture says that Peter pulled the net to shore and there were 153 fish in the net. Now you need to bear in mind that there are no coincedences in John. Everything in John happens for a reason, and everything in John has a meaning. So it is no accident that they caught 153 fish that day. Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century said that the 100 represented the fullness of the gentiles. Remember, 99 sheep means that the shepherd still has to look for one. The flock is not complete unless there are100 sheep. the 50 symbolized the remnant of Israel and the three of course was there for the Trinity. Augustine’s theory (5th century) was a little more complicated. He said, there are 10 commandments and 7 is the perfect number of grace and that’s 17 right? Now if you add all the numbers from 1 to 17 together, you know 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 all the way up to 17 you’ll get 153. And not only that but if you were to arrange them with 17 fish in the first row, and 16 in the next row, and 15 in the next row, all the way down to a row of 1 you get a perfect triangle which of course symbolizes the Trinity. Jerome, he also lived in the 5th century, suggested that there were 153 different types of fish in the sea and it was symbolic of the church reaching all the people in the world. This verse always stands out to me because that was the combination to our key box at a former church. When we would give out the combination, we wouldn’t say 153, we would ask how many fish did the disciples catch in John 21:11. That way if we were going to get robbed, at least the thief would have to pick up the bible first. But if you read the story in verse 11,you will notice that the disciples caught big fish, and the net was very heavy for Peter to pull to shore. But the net was first of all big enough to hold all of those fish, and second – the net did not break from the weight. The net is the church of Christ, and we are the fish. The church should be big enough in thought to catch and hold all kinds of fish- big fish, little fish, black fish, white fish, smooth fish, prickly fish, fish of all kinds. It takes all kinds to fill the net, it takes all kinds to make a church. The story continues and says that once the net was pulled to shore, a fire had already been made. Jesus was cooking breakfast for them. In those days, a meal was not complete unless you served someone fish and bread. You had to make sure that everyone had enough fish to eat. Even the servants were to be given fish. I remember on our trip to Israel, we went to the sea of Galilee, and whenever you go to the sea, your tour is not complete until you eat at this restaurant, and of course you have to have Peter’s fish. It is interesting that in each gospel story, in these stories of the appearance of the risen Christ, Jesus sits down to have a meal with the disciples, and then he teaches them a lesson. The lesson he teaches us as we prepare to take communion and to have a meal with Jesus. Is the lesson of love. I said that today I would talk about fish, sheep, the resurrection and love. I already talked about the fish. This is where sheep, love and the resurrection come in. Remember Peter denied Jesus three times. So three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Jesus is giving Peter a chance to redeem himself and to be the person Jesus called him to be. Jesus had already declared that Peter was the rock upon which he would build his church. And yet time after time, Peter messed up. He fell into the water as he was trying to walk on water. He denied Jesus in his time of need. And yet Jesus still believes in Peter. He asks Peter – do you love me? And what does he tell Peter to do if he really loves Jesus? - he says feed my sheep. It is not about what you say – it is about what you do. People don’t care whether you love to preach, they want to know if you really love them. SERMON ILLUSTRATION How Much You Care Those to whom you minister may not always perfectly understand what you say, but they will soon know whether you love them or not. The secret of many a successful Christian worker is not that he is skilled, knowledged, and has endowments which are superior to others, but that those to whom he ministers know that he really cares about them, not in some abstract way, or from sense of duty, but wanting with all his heart the best that God wants for them. Love Isn't Love Till You Give It Away One night in New York, on Broadway, the great star Mary Martin was preparing to go on stage, as she had a 1000 times before, in Rodger & Hammerstain's South Pacific. Just before she took stage a note was handed her. The letter was signed by Oscar Hammerstein who was that evening on his death bed. The note was short. It simply said: “Dear Mary, A bell’s not a bell until you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” When the play was over the cast rushed her backstage and asked, “What happened? We’ve never seen you perform that way before?” Mary read to them Hammerstein’s note and said, “Tonight, I gave my love away.” I can hear Jesus' words to Peter in that: Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep. Jesus was saying, Peter you know the song. Sing it! Peter you've got the bell. Ring it! "Peter, love isn't love till you give it away." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com So there you have it – fish, sheep and love. And my final thought is on the resurrection. That is the point of this whole story – the power of the resurrected Christ. That is why John ended his gospel with chapter 21. The resurrection of Christ is just a fact, an event in history, until you are touched with love, and you know how important it is to touch someone else. Jesus is alive and well in the world today. Jesus is still traveling the world as a stranger, blessing people, making their lives easier, opening their awareness of the presence of God, teaching valuable lessons. Look for Jesus to appear to you in your life in some way. Listen as Jesus ask if you really love him. And when you answer, make sure that you do something about it! Feed his sheep! Amen Children’s Sermon…. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Object: Some charcoal and a loaf of bread. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you ever thought about Jesus cooking breakfast? (Let them answer.) Did you think that Jesus could cook? (Let them answer.) You probably knew that he was a carpenter, but there are not many places in the Bible that tell you about Jesus as a cook. I don't know how often he cooked, but the Bible tells of one time that he did, and it was one of the most exciting events in the Bible. First of all, you have to know that Jesus had been dead and had come back to life. This story happened during one of the times that Jesus visited with his disciples after he was risen from the dead. As you can imagine, the disciples were lonely without him, and some of them had decided that they would go fishing rather than just sit around and think about the good times they used to have with Jesus. They fished all night and did not catch anything, but I guess they really did not care about catching fish. Then, as it became morning, they saw a man on the beach waving to them and asking them how they had done with their fishing. Some of them thought right away that it might be Jesus, but they were not sure. He told them to put their nets down on the other side of the boat to catch some fish. They told the man on the beach that they had fished all night, but that they would cast their nets once more the way he told them to. As you might guess, they caught more fish than the nets could hold. Peter knew by now that the man was Jesus. He jumped into the water and swam ashore. The others followed him in the boat, and when they got there, they saw that Jesus had already started a fire with some charcoal and had some bread ready for them to eat. (Show them the charcoal and the loaf of bread.) It may not have looked like my charcoal or my loaf of bread, but it cooked and tasted pretty much the same. I suppose you can imagine how glad they were to see Jesus. They were thrilled to share breakfast and tell stories about all of the good times they had spent together. Most of all they were glad because they knew once more that Jesus was alive and well, and that he remembered them as people whom he loved and cared for every day, whether he was eating or walking with them. Jesus is that way with us today. He doesn't have to cook for us to show us that he cares for us. We know it anyway, but for the disciples, who had spent so much time with him on earth, it was one of the best things that ever happened to them. Maybe the next time that you have a cookout and you put the charcoal on the fire, you will remember the day that Jesus cooked breakfast for his disciples, and shared some bread and fish with them. I hope you remember it, because it was one of the best moments in the disciples' lives. CALL IN THE CLOWNS! by WESLEY T. RUNK Additional illustrations…… Pulpit Helps. Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 4. SERMON ILLUSTRATION How Much You Care Those to whom you minister may not always perfectly understand what you say, but they will soon know whether you love them or not. The secret of many a successful Christian worker is not that he is skilled, knowledged, and has endowments which are superior to others, but that those to whom he ministers know that he really cares about them, not in some abstract way, or from sense of duty, but wanting with all his heart the best that God wants for them. Pulpit Helps. Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 4. Humor: 153 Fish It is so easy to get caught up in trivial interpretations of scripture and miss the point. Take a look at John 21:11: "Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn." Now, why in heaven's name was there 153 fish? Have you ever wondered about that? No? Well others have. . Personally I have my own theory, want to hear it? I think that it’s mentioned because there were 153 fish in the net. Here's another theory of mine: they had to divide them somehow, and so Peter being the Skipper he got 21% or 32 fish, and John being mate got 16% that’s 25 fish, and the other five got 10.5% each or 16 fish.... You see we can get so caught up in really trivial stuff and miss the point that we need to be obedient to Christ, today. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com, Adapted from the sermon "Live for Today" by Denn Guptill. Missing Fish Children's books with names like One Fish, Two Fish; Red Fish, Blue Fish. Screen savers on our computers that pretend to be an aquarium. Long weekends in the north woods, on silent lakes waiting for the first nibble on the line, or sea stories about "the one that got away." It seems like fish turn up everywhere. Maybe that's because fish are such fascinating creatures. Fish come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes and colors, and they move so gracefully through the water. Watching them can be soothing or entertaining. They can be eaten in any setting, from around a campfire to the finest restaurants. Fish just never seem to be boring. From early childhood to old age, fish seem to be a source of wonder and delight for so many people. Maybe that's why, in today's gospel passage, the words that really stand out are Jesus' first words to the disciples: "Children, you have no fish, have you?" Such sad words. After trying all night, the disciples still have no fish. The people Jesus loves like his own children have no source of wonder or delight. They can't even make a decent meal. In the ancient Middle East, for a meal to be considered complete, you had to have bread and fish. Fish weren't just part of a heart-healthy diet, fish were essential. No decent host would let even his guest's slaves go without fish; to do that was to treat them as less than human, and risk being thought of as a poor host. So, without fish the disciples weren't even human beings. No fish. A whole night's work, and nothing to show for it. Just an empty boat. No wonder, no delight, and no breakfast. Wendy Dackson Who Are The Sheep? Jonathan Kozol has written several books about the plight of children in blighted areas in the United States. An educator of international distinction, he speaks passionately about the grotesque inequities which exist in our society today, and which are especially evident in public schools, often in the same cities. Kozol speaks to all kinds of audiences but when he speaks to church leaders he asks for their support on behalf of children echoing the words of Christ saying, “When Jesus said to Simon Peter, "If you love me, feed my sheep," he didn’t say only the sheep who dwell in the green pastures. He didn’t say only the sheep whose mothers please us by acceptable behavior. He didn’t say only the sheep whose fathers have good jobs and mothers come to PTA. He didn’t say only the sheep whose parents make smart choices. He didn’t say only the sheep that have two parents in the pen. He just said, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Brent Porterfield, www.eSermons.com. We Are the Fish There is a classic story that comes out of humorist Robert Benchley's college days. For one of Benchley's final examinations, he was to write an essay on fish hatcheries. He hadn't cracked a book all semester. Undaunted, he started his final something like this: "Much wordage has been devoted to fish hatcheries. No one, however, has ever covered this subject from the point of view of the fish." And this he proceeded to do in what is probably the most entertaining final exam in Harvard's history. We've looked at this Bible passage from the perspective of the disciples. Now let's look at it from the point of view of the fish. Because that's who we are. That's right, we are the fish. The nets represent the unity of the disciples and of the church. And the fish represent all the souls who will be brought to salvation by the witness of the disciples. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com

Today is the First Day of the Rest of your Life

March 27, 2016 Luke 24:1-12 Easter Sunday! Year C We all know the story of the empty tomb, most of us. We know that Jesus was unfairly put on trial, was crucified. His mother and his followers watched as he died on the cross. They had to hurry up and bury him, because it was the Sabbath. And the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, the women set out for the tomb. They wanted to make sure that Jesus was properly prepared for burial. But when they got there they found the stone rolled away and there was no body. The reports do not agree on how many women were there – Luke says that there were a lot of women. Luke also says that two angels came to them and reminded them of how their master told them that this had to happen – the betrayal, the death in order for him to rise again on the third day. And then they realized what happened, they ran to tell the male disciples. But what struck me as significant about Luke’s telling of the story is the last part of our scripture. It says that the women ran back to tell the disciples what happened, and scripture says that the disciples thought that the words of the women was nonsense. They did not believe any of it. The word nonsense in our text for today is a euphemism for a bunch of crock. Total insanity, making no sense. It was no outrageous, that only 1 of the 11 even bothered to go to the tomb and to see what was going on. And when he saw the empty tomb, and he saw the linen cloth, he had to take a walk and figure out what was going on. Sometimes I think that is our problem too. We all know that story, we hear it again and again. But we are still struggling with whether it is a bunch of nonsense or not. We don’t struggle with the story we struggle with whether we believe that story or not. Is it fairy tale or is it real. And if it is really real, what does that mean for our lives? Peter struggled with his unbelief even back then. He knew that story too, he was there. When Jesus was in court being tried, he was outside denying that he even knew that man. When Jesus breath his last breath, he ran with the rest of them to hide and make sure that they would not be next. And now his body was missing. If anybody was going to steal his body – it would have been him and the other disciples. And all of them thought this whole story was a bunch of nonsense. But now what would it mean for him if it is not nonsense. What if it really happen. What would that mean for Peter? But more importantly, what does that mean for you and for me? Peter realized that if this story was real, then he would really have to believe in Jesus. And if he believed in Jesus, then he might have to change his lifestyle. He couldn’t be a coward any more. He couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know Jesus. He couldn’t just run and hide. There was no more taking the easy way out. Jesus said Peter if you love me, them feed my sheep. He said that Peter was a rock upon which the church would be built. If this story was more than nonsense, if he was really going to believe this story, then there were a lot of other things that he was going to have to believe also. One biblical scholar made a good point, when he said that the empty tomb and the resurrection has to be the center of our belief. If we don’t believe that, then we are not Christian. It was Billy Graham that said if the devil is going to attack anything about the church, then he is going to attack our belief in the resurrection. He wants us to doubt the story and call it nonsense. Because if it is nonsense, then everything else that Jesus said is wrong. And what Jesus was trying to do for the world has been defeated. This is not something that Peter came up with on his own, and made up on the church. If Peter had not moved from nonsense to truth – the church would not exist, and we would not be sitting here today. But here we are, what difference does the resurrection make today in your life? Let me tell you about one woman who had a special way of sharing her resurrection faith. Her story is told in a book by her physician, Dr. Will Phillips of San Antonio. Her name was Edith Burns. She was an elderly widow who loved Jesus. She would often sit down with someone and say, "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" If they said yes, she would ask them what they believe about Easter. If they talked about Easter bunnies and colored eggs, she had a chance to share with them the real meaning of Easter. Countless people were led to Christ by Edith Burns, including Dr. Phillips’ head nurse. One day Dr. Phillips called Edith into his office and said, "Edith, I’ve got bad news for you. Your tests have come back positive. You have an aggressive form of cancer, and you may not have long to live." Edith replied, "Why Dr. Phillips, you need not look so sad. I have had a full life. Now you are telling me that before long I’m going to see my Lord Jesus face to face. I will be reunited with my dear husband, my parents, and so many old friends." After several months of chemotherapy, it was clear that the cancer was winning the battle for Edith’s life. She went into the hospital. Everybody who met her was attracted by her warmth and positive faith. And if she got half a chance she would say to anyone, "Hello, I’m Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" She picked up a nickname in the hospital—"Easter Edith." But there was one person who was not attracted to Edith. Phyllis Cross was a mean, ornery nurse. She had been an Army nurse for twenty years. She had been married four times. Phyllis told her supervisor, "I don’t want to have anything to do with that religious nut, Edith Burns." One day Phyllis had to go to Edith’s room to draw some blood. Edith said, "Phyllis, God loves you and I love you too, and I’ve been praying for you." Phyllis said, "Well, you can stop your praying for me. It won’t work and I’m not interested." Edith said, "I can’t stop praying for you. And I’ve asked God not to let me go home until you have come into his family." Phyllis replied, "Then you will never die because that will never happen." Then she walked out. Edith and Phyllis saw each other regularly over the coming weeks. But Edith never asked her the question she posed to everybody else, "Do you believe in Easter?" Finally, Phyllis’ curiosity got the best of her. She said, "Edith, why have you never asked me if I believe in Easter?" Edith smiled and replied, "I asked God to cause you to ask me about the Easter question, and you just did." Phyllis was caught off guard. Her defenses dropped. Edith shared Christ with her. This tough old Army nurse invited Jesus into her heart as Savior and Lord. A few days later Phyllis walked into Edith’s room and said, "Hey Edith, today is Good Friday." "No," said Edith, "It’s Easter. In the life of a Christian, every day is resurrection day. Happy Easter, Phyllis." Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis walked into Edith’s room and noticed a tranquil smile on her face but it was obvious that her soul had departed to be with the Lord. Phyllis placed her hands on Edith’s and said, "Happy Easter, dear." Then she assisted the family in making funeral arrangements. Several hours later Phyllis managed to get a few minutes off duty. She sat down in the break room to have a cup of coffee. One of the new student-nurses happened to be there. Phyllis said, "Hello, my name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?"(5) So what about you? Do you believe in Easter? If the story is true and the tomb is empty – how are you going to have to change. If Peter went from coward to evangelist, if the disciples put aside their fear to tell the world about Jesus? What is going to happen to you? If God can raise a man from death to life, then anything is possible. Easter is the first day of the rest of your life – what does God have in store for you? The resurrection is God’s creative response to death. It is new day, a new way of doing things. It is time to put aside old beliefs about yourself, about life about others, It is time to give up old predjudices and to move forward. God has a plan for you and for your life. And just like God left the tomb empty, the holy spirit is working quietly behind the scenes to transform you and your life. You may not believe god’s story, but he believes yours. I Want to See Your Resurrection Father Basil Pennington, a Roman Catholic monk, tells of an encounter he once had with a teacher of Zen. Pennington was at a retreat. As part of the retreat, each person met privately with this Zen teacher. Pennington says that at his meeting the Zen teacher sat there before him smiling from ear to ear and rocking gleefully back and forth. Finally the teacher said: “I like Christianity. But I would not like Christianity without the resurrection. I want to see your resurrection!” Pennington notes that, “With his directness, the teacher was saying what everyone else implicitly says to Christians: You are a Christian. You are risen with Christ. Show me (what this means for you in your life) and I will believe.” That is how people know if the resurrection is true or not. Does it affect how we live? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com You know the story, you may even believe the story, but the real meaning of Easter is in how you live the story. Go in peace…. Amen. Children’s Sermon – Object: An egg Boys and girls: If I brought with me a firecracker this morning, what holiday would you think of? That's right, the Fourth of July. How about if I wore a mask? That's right, Halloween. How about a turkey? That's right, Thanksgiving. How about brightly colored lights? Christmas. How about this egg? That's right, Easter. There are many things we can do with an egg. We can break it and eat it, can't we? Some of us like having eggs for breakfast. Or we could dye it. Some of you have been on Easter egg hunts this week, haven't you? Or we could let the egg alone and let a mother hen set on it and wait for what to happen? That's right. A new little baby chick would hatch out of this egg. That is a miracle, isn't it? That is why since from early in the life of the church, the egg has been a symbol of Easter. A baby chick comes from the egg just like the resurrected Jesus came forth from the tomb. Years ago in the church people were not allowed to eat eggs in the six weeks leading up to Easter. But on Easter Sunday they brought out the eggs and they gave eggs to their children as a symbol of the New Life in Christ. So the Easter egg has a great and glorious history. And I am glad for Easter egg hunts that allow us to have fun with our friends. But I hope as we think about Easter eggs, we will remember their original significance. They help us remember that Jesus is alive and that because of him, you and I have eternal life, as well.

A New Understanding of an Old Situation

Mission Sunday March 6, 2016 SERMON ILLUSTRATION Don't Recycle Old Life In the late 1920s my grandparents married and moved into Grandpa's old family home. It was a clapboard house with a hall down the middle. In the '30s they decided to tear down the old house and build another to be their home for the rest of their lives. Much to my grandmother's dismay, many of the materials of the old house were re-used in their new house. They used old facings and doors, and many other pieces of the finishing lumber. Everywhere my grandmother looked, she saw that old house—old doors that wouldn't shut properly, crown molding split and riddled with nail holes, unfinished window trimming. It was a source of grief to her. All her life she longed for a new house. When God brings us into the kingdom, the old way of living must be dismantled and discarded. Len Sullivan, Tupelo, Mississippi Even Jesus says not to put new wine into old wineskins, it just doesn’t work. If you are going to do a new thing, you have to do it all the way. As a matter of fact, did you know that you get a totally new body every seven years. The cells in your body totally die and have to regenerate themselves every 7 years. So there is not one part of your body, that is the same part as it was last year. It looks the same, and some of us may even say that we are worse off now than we were seven years ago. But that is not true, life and death occurs in our bodies somewhere every day. And as long as you have breath, the body is continually working to regenerate itself. The problem is that we may have a new body, but many times we have the same old thoughts and feelings. We don’t want to change, or to adapt to new conditions. And yet the bible says that when you are living in Christ, you are a new creation, on the inside and the out. Everything is new, your thoughts, you feelings, your way of dealing with things, even your commitment. We have been dealing with renewing ourselves through renewing our relationship with God during the time of lent. Stewardship has been about us renewing our commitment to Christ and to christ’s church. That process should continue long after today. But I wanted us to come together on this last day of the stewardship campaign in order for us to rethink who we are as a community, to rethink how we are working together as a church, and for us to recommit to doing the work of the church. This has been a tuff year for us. Have you noticed that we have had very few outside guest coming to our church this year? Paul says that our task is not complete, until we give someone else a chance to renew their mind and spirit. He tells us that we should be ambassadors for Christ, spreading the good news, that everything and everybody can be a new creature in Christ. God is trusting us to not only renew ourselves, but to pass this message on to others. It is like a fisherman who was in his boat off the coast of Alaska where the tides vary up to 25 feet. The tide was going out fast and he was too close to the shore. His boat got stuck on the rocky ocean bottom. It was rocking back and forth and would break apart shortly, destroying his whole livelihood. A fellow fisherman further out to sea saw his plight. Without hesitation, he drove his boat alongside the mired boat and threw lines to the other boat, lashing them together catamaran fashion so that both boats could ride out the low tide together without rocking back and forth. When high tide returned, they could both back off to safer, deeper water and go their way. (5) In order to pass this message on, you have to see people the way God sees them. And want for them what God wants for them. I don’t want to talk for too long because we have a lot of work that needs to be done. And I don’t want people to think that the pastor got you to church and held you hostage. But this is the culmination of our stewardship drive. So it is time for us to recommit our selves to the work of Christ. I do want to say one thing, and I could write a whole sermon on this, and just might a little later in the year. When I hear you all talk about the ministry of the church, you tend to think that your are helping the pastor out in her ministry. When something needs to be done then the pastor needs our help. Whenever there is a function, in order for it to happen, then the pastor needs to be a part of it. There is nothing further from the church. I am here to help you, you are not here to help me. As a matter of fact, all of us are here working together, to help God. Have you noticed that the scripture never says that God need to be reconciled to man. It is always man who needs to be reconciled to God. God never gives up on any of us. but we tend to give up on ourselves. And we can give up on the church. I say all that to say – that the ministry of this church is about all of us, we all have a role to play. Not the same role, but I role. Sometime we even have to learn how to switch our roles and to do something different in order for God’s kingdom to move forward. Today – we celebrate the work of the laity. This is your church, your future, and your walk with God. We have three task to perform today. So I want to allow as much time as possible to get through those task. The task are: a special building project led by the lay people, and Peggy Jackson Turner is going to talk about that, Next since it is mission Sunday – we have to fill out our pledge cards, and Rosalynn Anderson is going to lead us through that portion of giving not must our treasure, but our time and talent. And finally, we have to put that commitment into action. I am not sure that we will get everything on the calendar today, but we will do the basics and continue to work on these projects. We will have communion and then celebrate our work with a meal together.

Imitating Christ

February 21, 2016 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Imitating Christ Second Sunday of Lent Year C In honor of black history month I want to start out our sermon time with a little time of testimony. I don’t want to take a long time, but a little time to ask who in your life do you model your life after? Who as a child did you say – I want to be just like him or her as a child. I have had a lot of mentors in my life, but the person I strive to be – is my grandmother. And the thing that I most admired about her was what I called her cool abiding. Now my mother, had a temper and would tell you what she thought of you at the drop of a hat. But my grandmother would just look at you. She never got mad, never corrected me, She would just get real quiet and not say anything. She would let me figure it out for myself. there are lessons that I am learning about today, that I look back and realize that my grandmother taught me in her silence. I can only imagine what she was thinking in her head – but she kept her cool and never said anything. The thing I want most in life is her patience to let others learn from their own lives and to correct themselves. What about you? Who in your life do you want to imitate? I could never be as bold as Paul in Philippians and tell you to imitate me. Some say that he is encouraging his congregation to compete with one another in imitating me. I would never try to be an example. Because I don’t know for sure what stands out the most – the human part of me or the divine part. They don’t teach cursive writing anymore, but remember when the teacher would write something on the board and tell you to write just like her. The first line was an imitation of what she wrote. The second line was an imitation of an imitation and the third line was an imitation of the second line. And by the end of the page you were imitating so many mistakes that you could not tell what the words were really were supposed to look like. I would not tell anyone to imitate me, because I would be afraid that you would be imitating my mistake, my humanness. But some have said that instead of encouraging people to compete in imitate him, to work together in imitating Christ. That is what it is all about – imitating Christ. All of us being able to say – when I am fully mature in spirit – I want to be just like Jesus. I want people to know who Jesus is – Just by looking at my life. February is black history month. But we are also going through another important time in the life of our country – electing a president. There is one very important duty that we have to fulfill as citizens of this country – and that is vote. Our ancestors that we admire so much also fought for our right to fulfill our duties as citizens – and that is to vote. Paul was a Roman citizen, so he took his civc duty very seriously. Even though he travelled all over the world – he never forgot his duties as a citizen. As a matter of fact, Paul believed that there were only 2 types of people in the world. And for Paul those two types were not democrat and republican. He believed that there were citizens of this world and there were citizens of heaven. Those who were imitators of Christ were citizens of this world. It is what separated the two that might surprise you. It was not so much those in the church and those outside of the church. And it was not those who believed in this world and those who looked forward to the next. Paul’s biggest message to citizens of heaven, is that we all have duel citizenship. We are a part of this world and we are a part of heaven. There are some who believe that you are to go to church and pray, but it is not necessary to vote. And there are some who believe that if you vote you don’t have to pray. But citizens of heaven have to do both – vote and pray. We are a part of both worlds. Paul says that there are two types of citizens. There are those who imitate Christ and there are enemies of the cross. Both types go to church. Both types claim to be Christians. It is just that one type of citizens is caught up in the world and the world circumstances. And one type can see beyond the world and can rise above and transcend circumstances. One has hope in what Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton can do to save the world and the other has hope in what Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton can do, and yet prays to Jesus to have to ultimate say in what will happen. What makes us imitators of Christ? Hope in the Resurrection. Hope in what Christ can do for the world. A willingness to participate in making the world a better place, but a recognition that when Christ comes he will make everything new. Those who are imitators of Christ know what it mean to wait upon the Lord. They trust that God will make any scene better. They are obedient to the Word of God. Paul says that enemies of the cross worship their bellies and their shame. They are slaves to their own thoughts and desires. Here is how St. Paul describes citizens of the world. FIRST OF ALL, HE SAYS THEIR DESTINY IS DESTRUCTION. Recent wire reports carried the story of a motorist who stole $9 worth of gasoline and died in a fiery wreck while making his getaway. The speeding car exploded when it hit a tree. Police said the unidentified motorist had filled up at a gas station without paying. Station manager Gary Adams, 35, drove after him, honking, waving his arms and yelling as the cars raced through a residential area. After the crash, the driver struggled to pull himself out a window of the burning car. The station manager tried to rescue him. "He tried to pull him out. It got too hot. He gave up," said Corporal John McLain. "He died a very painful death for $9 of gas," said Vince Sullivan, a witness who tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher. How very, very sad. Rarely when we do wrong do we see what the end result can be. Life is different for those who are able to wait upon the Lord and do something different. Psalm 27 has a beautiful lesson for us – put all of our hope, trust, desire into the hands of God. The Hebrew word for waiting on the Lord is qavar. That is the difference between citizens of heaven and citizens of the world. Have you noticed that the world encourages us to have everything right now, no waiting. When we are hungry – we want to go to a restaurant and eat now. When young people are in a relationship they want everything to work out now. When we are in a bind, we want to answer right now. Paul says it, that enemies of the cross are slaves to their belly and their shame. And yet imitators of Christ are able to wait on the Lord because their hope is in the Lord. Psalm 27 says I have asked the Lord one thing, it is all that I seek. To live in the Lord’s house all of the days of my life. seeing the Lords beauty and constantly adoring his temple. In other words – I will be a citizen of heaven. The psalm ends by saying But I have faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in the Lord! Be strong! Let your heart take courage! Hope in the Lord. It seems that when Paul was writing to the Philippians, he had this concept of qavar – waiting on the Lord in mind. Paul loved the Philippians congregation. And when they wrote to him, he wanted to do everything he could to encourage them. He encouraged them to live in Jesus Christ. His last words of this scripture is to stand firm in the Lord. As he continues to talk to the people that he calls his crown he gives them three great commands of life in the Lord – Stand firm in the Lord, agree in the Lord and to rejoice in the Lord always. There are two kinds of people in this world – those who will vote for Donald Trump and those who won’t. Just kidding, kind of. There are citizens of this world and citizens of heaven. There are those who imitate Christ and live in Jesus and there are enemies of the cross? Which one are you? Two kinds of people. Citizens of the world, citizens of heaven. You and I have a choice to make, don't we? D. L. Moody told a story about two men who, under the influence of liquor, found their way to the dock where their boat was tied. The two men wanted to return home, so they got in the boat and began to row. Though they rowed hard all night, they did not reach the other side of the bay. When the gray dawn of the morning broke, they were in exactly the same spot from which they started. They had neglected to loosen the mooring-line and raise the anchor! Mr. Moody used this story as an analogy of the way in which many people are thwarted in their striving for heaven because they are tied to this world. "Cut the cord! Cut the cord!" he would admonish. "Set yourself free from the clogging weight of earthly things, and you will be headed toward heaven." (5) Let us pray……. Children’s sermon…….. Props: A flower Lesson: Good morning. Before you show the flower you might ask if anyone knows what is means to worry. I have something today that is very pretty. Would you like to see it? What do you think it might be? (Responses) Well, let’s see. (Hold flower up for everyone to see) Do you like it? It’s pretty, isn’t it. This kind of flower is called (substitute name of flower). I want to talk a little bit about this flower. How do you suppose that it became a flower? What happened before this could be a flower? (A seed was planted) Yes, a seed was planted. Then what happened? Did the seed have to work real hard every day? Did the flower have to worry about getting enough to eat or drink? Did it become pretty because it took care of itself? (Responses) No! Of course not! Who took care of this flower and made it beautiful? (response) Yes, God did. Application: One time in the Bible Jesus reminded the people that God would take care of them even more than God takes care of the flowers. And so the Apostle Paul said this, “Do not worry about anything, but by prayer let your requests be known to God.” In other words, if God takes care of the flowers, and makes them beautiful without them really doing any work, then he will care for you even more. So there’s no need to worry about life, because God will hear us when we pray and will see to our needs. So the next time you see a flower, remember to say a prayer and know that God will take care of you. Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate God’s provision for those he loves. Let us Pray: Thank you God for taking care of us, and for letting us know that we do not need to worry about anything. In Jesus’ name. Amen. by Brett Blair Other illustrations……. How Can I Be Sure? In the Russian novel, The Brothers Karamazov, a woman has come to talk with a holy man about her problems with faith. "What if I've been believing all my life, and when I come to die there is nothing but burdocks growing over my grave? . . . How can I prove it? How can I convince myself?" The holy man's answer is: "By the experience of active love. Insofar as you advance in active love, you will grow surer of the reality of God and of the immortality of the soul." Robert C. Shannon, editor, 1000 Windows: A Speaker’s Sourcebook of Illustrations, Standard Publishing Company, 1984. It is somewhat like the story of a very wealthy young man who had all that a person could want ” materially. However, he was born with a deformity which left him with a very ugly face. Because of this one flaw he would stay in his house and walk around in his garden, which was closed in by a high wall. However, in the evening he would leave his walled-in garden and walk down by the seashore. One night he heard beautiful music. He hid himself in the shadows, and there he saw a young girl playing a violin. Each night he would leave his house, walk down to the seashore and listen to the young lady play the beautiful music. However, because of his ugliness he would hide in the shadows, hoping not to be seen. Later, the young man told his servant, "Take this money and give it to the lady with the violin, in order that she may go to the best school of music in Europe and master the beautiful music." After years of study, she returned home and was taken to the house of the man who paid for her education. He was standing in his garden. The gate was opened for her and she came up behind him, threw her arms around his waist and cried, "I love you! I love you!" He said, "No, it's impossible for you to love me." All the more she cried, "I love you." The young man turned around and said, "How can you love me when you see much ugliness in my face?" She replied, "You see, sir, I'm blind." So it is with those of us who are citizens of heaven. We are not perfect people, but because of what Christ has done in our behalf, God, too, is blind to the ugliness of our sin. (4) Perhaps that is Christ's word to some of us this morning. Cut the cord! Get rid of any encumbrance that might slow your progress toward heaven.

Love is the Key

January 31, 2016 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Year C Love is the Key When I pastor in Aurora, there was this older couple who always sat in the first row, they had a fairly young daughter when I started, she was about 7th grade. I was there long enough for this young girl to graduate high school and go off to college. I remember her coming to me when I was about to leave, and she told me that I had come along way in my preaching. She said that I laughed at you so hard when you first came. It was July and you were preaching about being thankful. I could not understand why you would be preaching about being thankful, when it was not even thanksgiving. She meant that to make fun of me, but I thought the she just did not understand what it really meant to be a Christian. Because if you are a Christian, then everday is thanksgiving, even a day in July. Because there is not a day to goes by that we should not be thankful. Well, unfortunately I find myself in that predicament again. The scripture for today is the love chapter in 1 Corinthians, but Valentine’s Day is still two weeks away. Well the good news is that God’s love is so wide, and so deep that I could preach a sermon on love every Sunday, and still not say enough. Someone said – love is not God, but God is always love. That is a good starting point for my sermon this morning. What is God’s love, or what is the difference between our love and God’s love. Whenever I am doing premarital counseling, I always tell couples, do not pick this bible verse to be read at your wedding. Because 80 percent of the weddings that you will attend in your lifetime, this 1 Corinthians chapter 13 will be read. You will hear more wedding sermons preached on this chapter then you ever want to hear. And the funny thing is, that is not really Paul’s intention in writing this chapter. We have heard that there are three types of love – eros, philio, and agape. There is personal love, brotherly love and love for all of humankind. But Paul is actually talking about a 4th type of love – God’s love. And Paul is not writing these words to two people in a relationship, who are happy together. Paul is writing these words to a congregation in turmoil. He is telling people that don’t want to be bothered with one another, to remember God’s love. Human Love Falls Short I was preaching in the Midwest one day, when a woman came to me with a little girl at her side. This woman showed by the cast on her arm and some scars on the side of her face that she had been in the hospital. She said, "I was in the hospital because of a very serious fire. There were burns over two-thirds of my body. My husband walked into the hospital room, took one look at me, and said, 'You're not the woman I married.' " He left her to marry someone younger and more beautiful. Human love says, "As long as you stimulate me, as long as I can be proud of you, as long as you're beautiful, I can love you. If you change, my love for you changes." Erwin Lutzer, "Learning to Love," Preaching Today, Tape No. 99. The point is that human love always has its limitations, and God’s love is eternal, all encompassing, and able to withstand all situations. And sometimes in a congregation, we can reach our limits, we can get tired of people’s stuff. But we have to be reminded not of our feelings for one another, but our mission and determination. I would be willing to bet that if you look at the person that you are sitting next to right now. You have some type of relationship with them, some type of affinity. You sit next to that person every Sunday. So by now you have learned to like that person. It doesn’t take a lot of encouragement to get along with that person. But what about the person across the room? Or in the next pew? Paul is encouraging us to learn to love those who we don’t have a relationship with, those who we don’t understand, those we don’t want to be bothered with. But who are still members of your church. You love them because God loves them and not because you don’t. The Dalai Lama challenged us in a class – to think about our mother and all of the wonderful things that she has done for us. There is no other person in the world who has loved us more than our mother. Now hold onto all of the good feelings that you have about your mother. If you have a picture of your mother in your minds eye, all of that love automatically comes into focus. – but instead of thinking of your mother, think of someone that your are upset with, someone that you don’t like to be around. Someone that gives you the creeps every time that they open their mouth. – for me that person would be Donald Trump. But the Dalai Lama’s challenge was that instead of feeling to anger and resentment that you normally feel around that person, to intentionally replace it with the love that you have for your mother. To learn to give that person the same love that you would give to your mother. That is not an easy thing for us humans to do. And it certainly does not come natural. Paul’s point is that when we learn to do that effectively that we are expressing that 4th kind of love. It is not romantic, it is not brotherly, it is not even agape. It is God’s love. You should love everybody in the same way that you love your mother. Not because they deserve it. But because you love God and God loves them. Love is not God, but God is always love. In Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth) is a small-town, West Virginia girl who enters a contest and wins a date with movie star Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel). After their date in Hollywood, Rosalee flies back home to resume her life. Her date with Tad, however, causes him to reflect upon who he has become. He decides he needs to change who he is and flies to West Virginia, hoping Rosalee's small-town values will rub off on him. Meanwhile, Rosalee is unaware that her best friend and boss at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store, Pete, is secretly in love with her. As the romance between Rosalee and Tad blossoms, Pete suffers in silence. Angelica, the local bartender, eventually convinces him to talk about what is bothering him. Angelica says, "You know, as a bartender, you do learn to kind of recognize those customers who need to talk." "Angelica, I'm fine, but, uh, could I have like six more of these?" Pete says, indicating his drink. "No, Pete, you really need to talk." Pete replies, "Okay. Um, I think that our friend Rosie might be falling in love with Tad Hamilton." "Yeah…didn't have to be a bartender to see that one coming." Pete says, "Right, but the problem with that is that I'm in love with Rosie." "You know, I always thought that maybe you were. So how much do you love her? Is it love, is it big love, or is it great love?" "Like, what do you mean?" Angelica answers, "Well, love, you get over in two months. Big love…two years. Great love…great love changes your life." Elapsed time: The scene begins at 01:09:39 and lasts 1 minute and 30 seconds. Content: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, some drug references, and language. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (DreamWorks SKG, 2004), written by Victor Levin, directed by Robert Luketic; submitted by Rod Reed, Fresno, California Whenever we are talking about human love, there is always some doubt in our mind as to whether what we feel is really love. We are always wondering if it love, big love or great love. One of the reasons that this scripture is preached at so many weddings is to remind us that we have to put God in the center of all of our relationships in order to have a great love. But Paul breaks it down for us even more. He tells us what love is and what love is not. He tells us what loves does and what it does not. Paul gives 15 different characteristics of love. Love is patient. And the word here means to be patient with the person, even when you are not patient with the circumstances. No matter how bad the situation is, still be patient and understanding with the persons involved. Love is kind – which means be sweet to all people, not just the ones you are sitting next to. Love knows no envy. There are two kinds of jealousy – one is where you want what others have, and the other is when you don’t want that person to have anything, and you will fight to take everything that person has away from them. Love overcomes both of these. Love never brags, it never speaks of its own importance, love is always graceful, love does not insist on its rights,it does not fly into a tamtrum, it does not remember the wrongs of others, it finds no pleasure in wrongdoing, it rejoices in the truth, it trust it endures, it always hopes. The only thing in life that will live up to all 15 of those things all of the time is God. And it is only the love of God that helps us to love our fellow church members, our fellow family members, our fellow people of the world all of the time in all circumstances. These are my friends that I got in Greece, faith, hope, charity. These are the greek girls, you can also get them in the Christian version where they are fully clothed. These figures are popular in Greece, because Paul was not the first person to put these three qualities together. Plato uses them to say that all of humanity is dependent on these three virtues to keep us together. Paul just takes the concept a few steps further. You can’t separate the three sisters, faith, hope and love. One theologian says that faith is the door that we have to walk through in order to understand God’s love. Hope is the reward of faith. Hope expects what hope believes and faith believes what hope expects. You cant have one without the other. In the middle of the two is always love. If you don’t know how to love, then it is a forgone conclusion that you wont have faith in anything or hope in things changing. Love is the key to life. In the end that is all that we really want – is to experience love. To know that we are accepted completely for who we are. To have God’s love in our lives. Love is not God, but God is always love. Faith, hope and love travel together, but the greatest of them is love. Paul is reminding us that is it good to have love in all areas of your life. You should love the person that you are married to, you should love the people in your household, you should love the people that you work with, that you should love the person that you are sitting next to. But if you can show love in all of those places, you should also love the people that you see at church, love the people that you sing in the choir with, love the people at church council, love the person that always disagrees with you, love the person who is struggling and asking questions, love the people who travel this spiritual journey with you. Sometimes the only thing that is holding us together as a church is God’s love. We are united by faith, by hope, but the greatest of these is love. God’s love, not ours. Love is not God, But God is love. Amen. The film 127 Hours tells the true story of then 27-year-old Aron Ralston. In 2003, while hiking in Blue John Canyon in Utah, Ralston was trapped by a chockstone that pinned his right arm to one wall of a crevice. After surviving for five days on 500 ml of water and exhausting all other options, he fashioned a homemade tourniquet and with a blunt pocket tool cut off his arm and stumbled out of the canyon to find help. At one level, this film sounds like just another gory action movie, but more deeply, this film explores what it means to love. At the beginning of the film, Aron barrels into the canyon, music blaring in his headphones. He arrives there after ignoring phone calls from his mom and sister and brushing aside his boss' queries about where he was headed. Ralston acts like a completely self-centered loner, incessantly snapping pictures of himself and flirting with girls he meets on the trail. Clearly, Ralston doesn't need or want anyone else in his life. But by the end of the film, he's motivated to fight for his life by a memory of his ex-girlfriend looking at him with a mixture of pain and pity and saying, "You're going to be so lonely, Aron." At the time, he wanted the loneliness, savoring freedom from entanglements. But remembering her love and thinking about the possibility of starting a family provides the motivation to pull out his pocket knife. He realizes he's made a terrible mistake by isolating himself, and he wants another chance to live differently. So he cuts off his arm and escapes to freedom. Near the end of the film, when Aron has made it out of the canyon and is on the trail with his severed arm, he sees some other hikers a little way ahead. Barely audible at first he says, "Help me." Then, bellowing hoarsely, he cries out, "Please Help Me!" The hikers hear him, and turn around puzzled. Then, seeing what's happened, they come running. It's when Aron asks for help that the film reaches its climax. "Please help me" is itself a form of "I love you." The two cries belong together. Ralston's vulnerability, his plea for rescue, is what leads him back into the arms of his family, back into relationships with people, back to love. Adapted from Wesley Hill, "Love Is a Cry for Help," C

Into the Wilderness

February 14, 2016 1st Sunday of Lent Luke 4:1-13 Into the Wilderness A preacher tells a story of the time the devil came to him and invited him to take a walk to the store. They walked past the church and into the convenience store. The devil took him up to the counter and bought him a lottery ticket. He encouraged him to hold on to it. Just in case, if he won, he would never have to work a day in his life. Not wanting to offend the devil, the preacher took the ticket and put it in his pocket, fully planning to tear it up once the devil left him. Then the devil took him to all of the great pulpits of Chicago, he took him to Salem, with all of those people in the congregation depending on the pastor, he took him to Trinity UCC, he took him to St Sabina, he even took him to Chicago Temple to look on Rev Myron McCoy – and the devil whispered in his ear- all this can be yours – if you just follow me. Now notice I said this preacher was a man – so I am not talking about myself being put in this position. The devil continued chiding him, telling him that his church could be even bigger than this, that he could do even more than this – the preacher looked at all that those churches were doing, and still he said no – I will stay put where I am in my little church in the hood. But them the devil took him to Sears Tower- Willis Tower. They took the elevator to the top floor – even higher that the observation booth – and he let him look through a telescope. There was a crowd of people on the sidewalk below. And then he looked around and saw that all of the television crews were there, channel 7, channel 5, channel 2. The devil whispered in his ear again, go ahead and jump – You can make it. It has never been done before, but God will protect you. And just think when you succeed – you will make it into the Guiness book of world records – you will be a hero. Just then he heard the crowd below encourage him to go ahead and jump. That’s when the preacher fainted – he was afraid of heights. When he came to – the devil was gone – but he had a funny feeling that this was not the last time that he would see the devil, as a matter of fact, he checked his pocket – and he still had that lottery ticket. This is a modern day telling of our gospel passage. We can find this story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. So if the preacher is following the lectionary, then we hear this story every first Sunday of lent. And you all might get tired of hearing this story – but I have to say that I never get tired of telling it. Even as I was preparing for this sermon this week – because this story is so rich – and there is just so much in this story for us to think about as we enter into the wilderness of the Lenten season. And the exciting thing this year is that nobody can tell this story like Luke Our understanding about who Jesus is, and why we need a messiah come from Luke’s telling of Jesus story. And this is why this story is so important for us to hear. We know Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we know that Jesus is the son of God, who came to life in human form to show us how to truly live, we know what a messiah is and what a messaiah does, we all know that we are sinners who need to be saved. All of that comes from Luke’s telling of this story. This story is important because Jesus realized that his people had been sinning for thousands of years. God had led them for thousands of years, and they were still sinners. In need of a messiah. Jesus realized that something had to change. There had to be a new way to salvation, a new hope for people. And if he was the son of God and if he was the messiah then he had to be the one to change things and to make a difference. That was more than enough to drive him into the wilderness to think. I think I have told this story before, but I love Asian movies, because there is always a lesson in them. I remember watching a movie about an old budisht monk – who became a great master. As he began his journey – he went into the wilderness to meditate. And his task was to be a spiritual leader for lay people who needed a retreat from life. And they would come in streams to learn their lesson, and then go on with their lives. Well one layperson went came to the wilderness thinking he wanted to give up his life and become a monk- but in his time away realized that he loved his wife and kids, and his job and his life and decided to go back to the city, but a changed man. When his wife came to pick him up and take him home, the man lashed out at the monk and asked him why he had chosen to be a monk. Who does this, why would you give up your life and live in the woods? And the monk calmy replied – because I know that there are always fools like you who need to get away and your run to the wilderness in order to get a perspective on life. And when you come out here in the middle of nowhere – there has to be somebody here to guide you so that you have sense enough to get back home. And that somebody is me. For me, that was one of the altime greatest story lines. And I tell that story now- because whenever we are are all alone and can quiet all of the noise in our lives – there is still a voice that speaks. I remember someone came to me once and said that she thought that she was called to be a minister – because a voice spoke to her. But she told me that she was not for sure if the voice was the devil or God. and that she could not tell the difference between the two. So she asked how could she tell the difference. I told her it depends on who she is used to listening to. If she is used to listening to God- then she will know its God speaking to her right away. And if she is used to listening to the devil- then the devil will continue to talk to her. In Luke’s story – it is God’s voice saying this is my beloved son that drives Jesus into the wilderness in the first place. But when he gets there it is the devil who speaks to him. In verse 3 the devil sows seeds of doubt, in verse6 and 7 he outright lies, and in verse 23 he even uses scripture by reminding Jesus of psalm 91 that God will protect him. The devil uses that same tactic on Eve in the book of Genesis. When he takes what she already knows and puts a spin on it causes her to doubt causes her to question what she already knows to be right. The devil’s tactics do not change – he does the same thing all of the time. The bible says that God speaks to us through the prophets, and that if we want to hear God’s voice and know God’s will – then we have to know what is in the bible. God’s word will never change. The meaning of God’s word will never change. When God speaks to you – you can find it somewhere in the bible. When the devil speaks to you, he is going to take the word of God and twist it and cast doubt upon it. That is what is going on in this story. The devil is tempting Jesus with scripture, and each time Jesus responds with another scripture. That is why we hear psalm 91 and dueteronomy this morning. The devil misuses psalm 91 and says that God will protect you no matter what. And Jesus responds with the words of deauteronomy and says but the word of God says…. I think it is interesting however that in our culture we are taught that temptation is wrong, and that the devil is wrong for leading us into temptation. We are taught that the devil is bad, and wrong and even evil. And that is not really what the bible says. We get a little of that in the new testament, but that is not in the old testament. Satan is that one who asks – those really strange questions. The problem is not in the question, the problem is in how you answer the question. We think that temptation is really bad. When in reality, we all know right from wrong. And most of us don’t wake up in the morning to do wrong. People don’t carry guns for the sake of killing people, people don’t sell drugs because they want them to be destroyed. We have complete control over the wrong in our lives. It is that little bit of right that we don’t have control over that leads us into sin. It is that justification for protecting ourselves that leads someone to pull the trigger, it is the desperation in feeding our family that leads someone to give someone else drugs. For eve, it was that what if God is hiding something that led her to sin. And for Jesus – if he is the son of God and if God had just outwardly claimed him – then just maybe God would also deliver him if he jumped from a high tower. But in this story Jesus teaches us that it is not the devil, and it is not even the temptation that leads us to sin – it is our response. Each time the devil comes at him with a twisted version of the truth – Jesus responds with the word of God. and the determination to stick with the word of God. the good news in this story is that when jesus was in the wilderness – the devil spoke to him. But the scripture says that the holy Spirit never left him. Luke says that the spirit led him into the wilderness. But there is not mention that that spirit ever left. Now Mathew and Mark both say that the angels had to come and minister to Jesus after this temptation. But if you read the book of Luke – he stresses that that spirit is always upon Jesus. The spirit was there when he was born, the spirit was there when he was baptized, the spirit was there in the wilderness, the spirit was there during his trial, the spirit was there at the cross. It was that spirit that led him to resist temptation. The good news for us is that there is nothing wrong with the devil speaking to us. It is nothing wrong with the devil telling us the wrong thing. If we are a child of God and we have claimed Jesus Christ – then the spirit is with us at all times. We can claim the promises of Psalm 91 – that God will protect you in all circumstances. Even in the presence of the devil. Even in the presence of temptation. And if I know the bible, and I know that I am a child of God – then I have the power to resist doing the wrong thing. I love this story – because it is so rich I could preach on it forever. The scripture says that the devil left him until an opportune time. What are that opportune times? It is a common understanding in healing circles that we should never let ourselves get to the point of halt. Never get to hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Because those are the times when we are most likely to pay attention to the devil’s foolishness. But the lesson that jesus was trying to teach us – and everything jesus does is a lesson for us. The lesson is that salvation is not a means to an end, it is a commitment to God. the biggest temptation that the church and all of face is the temptation to survive. To make it by any means necessary. Jesus could have turned stones into bread and ate them, jesus could have become ruler of the world – if jesus was in charge how would that be a bad thing. Jesus could have jumped and God would have caught him. But what would that have taught you about salvation? And how would that help you in your life today? God did not put you here to survive. God did not intend for you to just get by. There is more for you! God intended you to live your life to the fullest. To be a child of God. Jesus came out of the wilderness a better man, with a clearer understanding of what it meant to be the Son of God. If the devil had not tempted him, he would never had the opportunity to realize what it meant to be saved. He would never have been able to claim salvation in his own heart. We read this story every time it is time for us to go into the wilderness. So that we will have the strength to stand with Jesus on the other side. Let us pray…. Children’s Sermon: Exegetical Aim: The body is more than food. Props: A loaf of bread (Wonder Bread if your region of the country sells it). Lesson: [Hold the loaf of bread before them.] What do I have in my hands? (response) Can you tell me some of the things we make with bread? (response) That's right. What's your favorite thing you make with bread? (response) Peanut butter and jelly sandwich? That's my favorite too. What do we need in order to live? (bread) That's right, and why is bread important? (response)Bread is food, and we need food for energy. What else do we need in order to live? (response)Possible answers are water, clothes, etc. Try to draw these ideas out of them, and talk to them about why these are important. If one of the children guesses early where you are headed, then use that thought for the following discussion. As important as food and water and clothes and houses are, we need more than this to live. Can someone tell me what else we need besides food, water, clothes, and a home? (response) It will be great if you get something spiritually related but, if not, then suggest something. Do we need our parent's love in order to live? (response) What about the lessons they teach us? (response) What kind of lessons do they teach you? (response) Do your parents teach you what an A and a B and a C look like? (response) What else do they teach you? (response) Do they tell you not to hit and not to tell any fibs? (response) You know we need to be taught how to behave. Application: So, you see, we don't live by bread alone hold up the bread or by water alone. We also need to be taught how to live. We need to be taught to be kind and to tell the truth. Your moms and dads know this because God told them not to live by bread alone. They need to listen to God in order to live. It is God who tells us not to lie and to be kind to one another. You see, it takes a lot more than just bread to live. We need to listen to our parents, and we need to listen to God. Let's Pray: Lord, give us your Word. We know that we cannot live simply by eating bread and food. We must have your Word to live. Amen.

Dream in Gold

February 7, 2016 Transfiguration Sunday Luke 9:28-46 Has anyone ever said to you- you look like someone that I know? I am sure that they have lots of times. But has anyone ever said that you remind me of someone that I know. And then said that that person is Jesus? That you look a lot like Jesus to them? Well if not, then it is time for us to do something about that. Lent is here. And that is what lent is all about – looking a lot like Jesus. Well you say – no one knows what Jesus looks like, so how can I style my hair, and put on my make up to look like Jesus. It is winter time so we cant wear tunics and sandals to church. Looking like Jesus is not about our physical appearance, it is about the condition of our heart. It is about how we feel. So it is not about combing our hair as much as it is about checking our attitude and our ability to live. Jesus constantly tells us that when you have seen him, then you have seen the face of God. If God is a spirit, then how can he have a physical appearance. Looking like God is more about your actions, your words. Lent is our time to check our actions and our words. This year since our stewardship time is during lent, we are going to highlight three themes – Prayer, service, fasting and penitence. And our first theme is prayer. Transfiguration Sunday is all about prayer. Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray. It is in his prayer that he comes in contact with God and magical things happen. He starts to glow, the spirits of those who were before him appear, and God even speaks. He brings his disciples up with him, so that they can know what God looks like. And yet they are at a loss at what is going on and even what to do about it. And yet Jesus prayer is changing things and making a difference. Today, we don’t have an image of what Jesus really looks like. We see all different faces of Jesus. But we do know what Jesus is doing at this moment. Revelations says that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. And what is he doing?.......He is interceding. He is praying for you and me. So the best way for us to look like Jesus is to pray. Pray for ourselves, but to also intercede on behalf of others. If God comes to us in prayer, then that is when we are changed and transformed is when we pray. Our Bible story today is about the power of God. Jesus and a few of His disciples went up on a mountaintop to pray. The disciples fell asleep, but Jesus just kept on praying. And while Jesus was praying, God sent His power down on Jesus. A light filled Jesus, and His clothes turned pure white. The disciples woke up to see Jesus all lit up and filled with the power of God. And then they heard God's voice saying, "This is my son, who I love very much. Listen to Him." It was only when Jesus was praying that God filled Him with all that power. Just as a match has to come into contact with the matchbox in order to catch fire, Jesus had to come into contact with God, His Father, in order to be filled with more power. Prayer is powerful. We have on Gold and white to show the world that the power of the spirit is upon us. and where God is – things are destined for change. To focus on our scripture for today – Luke continually focuses on the power of prayer all throughout his book. And in his understanding of life, when you need to talk to God, and be close to God. What do you do? You go to the mountain top. When Moses needed to give a word to his people – he went to the mountain top. In Martin Luther King’s most powerful speech to the world – he says – I have been to the mountain top. In our lives, we don’t have to climb a mountain to get to god, but sometimes we do have to get away, a mountain is a metaphor. we have to look at life in a new perspective, we have to separate ourselves from the life that we live so that we can come back with a new perspective. I just got back from Nashville in a day trip. But it reminded me how important it was just to leave, if only for a day. Lent, we get 40 days to step away from live as usual – and to leave room for God to speak to us. Jesus takes his disciples up to the mountain. But my favorite part of the story is when they come down. Luke tells us what they talk about when they descend. Jesus tells them to tell no one what they saw. But as they were coming into the valley. The valley is where we live most of our lives. There are times when you get away, but you got to come back. And as you notice, that when we come back, there is always something waiting for us when we come. Something that we have to do. Someproblem to take care of. There is a young boy – who needs to be healed. Jesus does heal him- but no thanks to the disciples. Jesus tells them not to tell the event, but he does not tell them to forget the event. But that is what they do. How many times in our life have we went to a worskshop or training and been inspired to make a difference. But when we get back into our lives, we can do nothing. We get back into our normal routine with no change. The lesson for us to day – is to remember that when we pray – we are asking for change in our lives. That when are touched and inspired by God – that needs to translate into action! Spiritual inspiration should always lead to spiritual power. Power to make a difference. Begin this lent in prayer What parts of your life do you need to bring to God? Where do you need to see a miracle? Where do you need to see a change? When you pray – feel the closeness to God? Know that the spirit is listening. But after prayer – look for evidence of God’s presence. Have you seen the commercial for the Oscars – which says that sometimes we dream in gold. We yearn for the impossible and make it possible with God. We ask for a change – and we become empowered to be the change we are asking for. Jesus prayed, and it changed and transfigured him, but all of history and all of the world. Lent is our mountain top – the rest of the year is the valley. That valley is the place that needs to be changed. It is the place to remember our power – God. And we have the power to unleash God to the rest of the world. Studies show that when you tell someone that they are beautiful their whole demeanor changes. Their shoulders square, their posture changes, they face lights up and they smile. They are eaiser to deal with and to talk to. If no one has ever told you that you look like Jesus, maybe you should start to tell others. Find the good in the and tell them about it. Tell them that they have the face, the arms, the feet of Jesus, and that they are spreading love all over the world. See what difference it makes. I will leave you with the blessing from numbers. May God bless you and keep you; May God’s face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; May God’s face radiate with joy because of you. And give you peace. Amen. Children’s sermon Object: a box of matches Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever seen your mommy or daddy light a match? Now, matches can be dangerous; they are not something to play with. But, it is pretty neat to see someone light a match. Did you know that matches were invented by accident? There was a man named John Walker who was trying make a chemical that could be used in guns. He wanted something that would explode and make a loud bang. Well, John Walker was stirring a great big vat of chemicals with a wooden stick, then he scraped the stick on the ground to get the chemicals off. When he scraped the stick on the floor, the stick caught fire! And this is how John Walker got the idea to invent matches. Pretty neat, huh? Today, matches are made so that they will only light up if they are scraped across a surface, like the side of this box. The match can't catch fire by itself. Only when it is scraped against the rough side of the box will it light up and catch fire. All the chemicals, all the power is in the match, but it can't be seen until the match comes in contact with the box. Then, its power is seen. Other illustrations: As Jesus once prayed for Peter, now he prays for us… In fact, the New Testament's only glimpse of what Jesus is doing right now depicts him at the right hand of God 'interceding for us.' In three years of active ministry, Jesus changed the moral landscape of the planet. For nearly two thousand years since, he has been using another tactic: prayer. Let's say I have a neighbor, and I want to "preach Christ" to him using my deeds. I greet him over the garden fence. I invite him and his wife round for dinner, where I show them the best hospitality of which I am capable; I explain that I am a Christian, but make no attempt to shove the gospel down his throat. Noticing that his garden could use a bit of work, I offer him my lawnmower, which he accepts, and eventually, through repeated usage, breaks. I do not complain, or ask him to replace it; I replace it myself, and continue to allow him to use it whenever he sees fit. I help whenever I can. In all things, I seek to display unconditional kindness towards him, and to love him as I love myself. Eventually, he dies. Now what have my actions preached to him? They have preached that Christians are people who do good things for their neighbor. They have preached that niceness, and kindness, and morally upright behavior are what make you a Christian. In short, they have preached justification by works. Your works have indeed "preached" something. But it isn't the gospel

A Good Work in You

December 6, 2015 Philippians 1:1-14 Year C Second Sunday of Advent A Good Work in You The major themes of Advent are Hope, Joy, Peace, and love. So today I thought that instead of looking at the gospel lesson and the story of John the Baptist, that we would look at the Philippians text because it focuses on joy. Christian Joy. The joy of Christ. A priest once told his congregation that if you are a true Christian, - then your worse day in life is always ten times better than a non Christians best day. Why – because you have hope, joy, peace and love. And that makes all of the difference in the world. Several years ago Frank Court told the story of a student at Iowa State University who took to selling magazine subscriptions for additional income. He determined that a likely customer might be the president of the University. The student was greeted at the door by the president's wife who was able to resist his sales pitch by saying that her husband already received more magazines than he could read. The student assured her that he understood and turned to leave. It was then the president's wife saw something she had not noticed before. The student was crippled. She felt bad that she had turned him down, and probably out of a twinge of guilt called out to him and said, "I did not know you were a cripple." The student responded that his being a cripple was a result of having polio when he was a child. The woman then said, "My, how being a cripple must color your life." The young man brightly responded, "It certainly does, but, thank God, I can choose the color!" When we know Christ, which is a little different then just calling ourselves a Christian – them we get to choose to go through life with joy. Christ is responsible for our lives, not ourselves. Life has a way of getting us down. He shared how "there was a certain fox who wanted to eat the skylark. The fox, having a plan, caught a bunch of earthworms and tempted the skylark with them. When the skylark asked the price of the worms, the fox said, `I will give you one earthworm for one of your wing feathers.'' After making a bargain, one for one, the skylark was full, but he had no feathers in his wings. The story ends with the statement: `Here lies the skylark who sold his wings for earthworms.''" Dr. Brown believes "that there are a lot of Christians who have done that. We bargain off our wings for the earthworms of business, education, fame and money...and then we die because we can no longer fly." If we find ourselves pouting a whole lot more, rather than praying in life, then we can be sure we have traded the real gifts of God for a poor substitute. I am feeling a little down myself. But the message of Christ makes all of the difference in the world. Some people like to depend on hallmark to give words of comfort. But for me, there are no finer words of comfort than those in the bible. Paul had a way of preaching love like no other. There are no more poetic words than those in Philippians. Wanted to read this text for you again, It is short – but a powerful message. Paul is praying for you and for me and for our joy. Prayer makes all of the difference in the world. Prayer changes the situation, but it also changes ourselves. Prays for three things – your live will give you insight, you decide what really matters in life, and that as you go through life you are filled with righteousness. That we are partners in Christ. Joy is not a selfish things, it is given to us so that we can give it to others. As I watch each of you I am excited, because I see growth. Each person has a goal and working toward that goal. Not a dying church, a growing church. Everyone knows that we have so much farther to grow. Theme for advent is to think about our savior. What does Jesus mean to us. but to carry that one step farther and to give Christ to someone else. Doesn’t take a lot. Give what we have been given. A little boy was standing on a busy street corner near his home. There were two things odd about this. First, he had his school lunch bucket in hand. Second, it was Saturday morning. A neighbor noticed the oddities and came outside to ask him where he was going since it was not a school day. The little boy replied that he was running away from home, because his mother had refused to let him play some video games. The neighbor inquired how far he was planning to travel and where he was headed. The would-be fugitive said wistfully, “I don’t know! I’m not allowed to cross the street.” How many of us are like that little boy . . . . afraid of the other side, the overflowing and odd as we trod well beaten paths and stay in our boxes. That “overflowingness” is what Paul is talking about as the “norm” for all those who walk the path of Jesus smarts. The “good news” of Jesus smarts gets you a ticket to daily poverty, which is the secret of unbounded abundance. Share our joy with others, we are giving a lot. God does not always ask us to solve others problems or to have all of the answers, we just have to plant seeds in the hearts of others – God will make them grow. Text Illustration: There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the two seeds lay was rather fertile, and miraculously they took root. After about a week the squash seed showed signs of growth. The second seed showed none. After two weeks the squash began to sprout leaves. The second seed showed none. After seven weeks the squash began to show fruit. The second seed still showed no progress. Four more weeks came and gone. The squash plant reached the end of its life bearing much fruit in that time, but the other seed finally began to slowly grow. Many years later the squash was all but forgotten, but the other tiny seed, an acorn, had grown into a mighty oak tree. Many people want their faith to be like the squash. They want to experience it all right now… Love, hope, peace, joy. I never focus on them in advent, because we need all 4 in order to survive. Enjoy Philiippians, short , clear, positive message. Paul truly loved this church and truly wanted to encourage them. Praise them for who they are, not for who the could be. Prayer was a prayer of love for them. Said something about them that was said to no other church – treasure you in my heart. Carry tools in hands, carry thoughts in head. Only thing carry in your heart is love. Joy of Christ. Joy is not joy unless it affect our life, the way we talk, the way we treat people. Way we forgive people Treasure this church and the work ahead. Care we show for one another. The joy we share. Trust that God carries you also – just do the work of God in our lives. Gone are the days when open the doors and hope hear us and come in. go out into the streets and bring them in. not coming to see us, see God and who God calls them to be. Grow in spirit – grow in numbers. Show others our joy. Priest said sadness to the devil and his angels. Joy for who Christ is and for what Christ can do. My prayer continues to be for you Christian joy. Let us pray……. You Can Only Take 200 Pounds Glenn Adsett was a minister in China. He was under house arrest in the late 1940s, waiting to receive word concerning what the communists were going to do with him, his wife, and two children. They said, "You can only take 200 pounds with you." The family went home and began arguing about what to take. The conversation got heated around typewriters, vases, and toys. Finally they worked it all out and packed 200 pounds on the nose. The army men came for them and asked if they were ready. "Yes, we are," they replied. "Did you weigh everything?" They answered affirmatively. Then the soldiers asked, "Did you weigh the kids?" Suddenly there was an about-face: in that moment the typewriter and vase and books looked like trash in the shadow of their children's combined 200 pounds. Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing Company DwightL. Moody once said, "There are two ways of being united frozen together or meltedtogether." Thank God that we are not rusted together by ritualism, frozentogether by formalism, linked together by liberalism, or even chained togetherby conservatism. We are melted together by the Holy Spirit and a blazing lovefor the Lord Jesus Christ. Paulsaid something about this church he never said about any other church. He saidin v.7 "I have you in my heart." You may carry thoughts in your head and toolsin your hands, but you only carry treasures in your heart. This church was atreasure to Paul, for where a man's heart is, there will his treasure be also. Thatexplains two things about Paul: The late Dr. David Roberts, a psychotherapist, told a story he had read somewhere of a French soldier who was suffering from amnesia. His face had been horribly disfigured by a shell blast at the front, and all his identification was blown away. When he recovered from his injuries, there was no way of telling who he was. The social services located three possible families he might belong to, on the basis of his general physical description, and made arrangements for him to visit each of the families in different parts of the country to see if the families recognized him. The first two visits ended sadly with no glint of recognition on either side. When he stepped off the train in the third village, something about the station and its environment seemed familiar. As he walked down the street, it all began to come back, and he turned this way and that growing increasingly more certain of where he was, until he arrived at the cottage where his family lived and knew that he was home. (2) Perhaps Saint Francis of Assisi said it best: "Let us leave sadness to the devil and his angels. As for us Christians, what can we be but rejoicing and glad." He said, "Sis, just remember, theworst thing that can happen to a Christian is the best thing that can happen toanyone else." St. Paul begins his letter to the church at Philippi by calling them "partners in the Gospel." That phrase aptly describes our relationship to those around the world with whom we share this celebration of bread and cup this day. That relationship cuts across national, racial, and ethnic differences. It is based on an elemental spiritual truth: WE ARE ALL ONE FAMILY. A reporter asked a white teenaged girl in Philadelphia why she participated in a riot to run a black couple out of her neighborhood. "I wouldn't want my kids to get to know the blacks," she said. "Why?" the reporter asked. "Because they might get to like them!" she answered. It is correctly said that the difference between a piece of coal and a diamond is pressure. The difference between an admirer of Jesus Christ and a faith-filled servant of Jesus Christ is how we handle the pressures of life and how we allow them to "to color" our lives. Christians are those who can cope with the changing circumstances of life because of the constant presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Websites Will Help You Buy 'Friends' Whoever said that you can't buy "friends" didn't know about the shallow shortcuts of our internet age. An article in Hemispheres magazine explored a number of sites that are dedicated to helping you find online "friends." These companies will create fake users or pay real account holders to follow and like you on various social media sites. For instance, on the site Socialyup.com you can buy 500 likes for $30 or 20,000 likes for $699. For a mere $10, FanMeNow will find you 1,000 Twitter followers and for $1,750 you can buy a million followers. If you need to beef up views for your YouTube video, for $150 you can buy 30,000 views from a site called 500views.com. For $3,100 they'll make your video go "viral" by getting you a million views. The article concludes with the following advice: "No matter what social network you're on, you can buy your way to popularity." Possible Preaching Angles: Of course we can't "buy" real friends so use this illustration to focus on (1) Friends, Friendship, Community, Small Groups--by showing the the need for true friendships that can only be found in authentic community. Also use it to to highlight small groups. (2) Leaders, Leadership--Effective leaders have real followers, not fake followers that they have to purchase. Eric Steuer, "Best Friend$" Hemispheres magazine (April 2013)

Lookup, pray up, Stand up

November 29, 2015 Year C First Sunday of Advent Luke Author Doug Mendenhall shares a brief parable that should cause all of us to pause and reflect: Jesus called the other day to say he was passing through and [wondered if] he could spend a day or two with us. I said, "Sure. Love to see you. When will you hit town?" I mean, it's Jesus, you know, and it's not every day you get the chance to visit with him. It's not like it's your in-laws and you have to stop and decide whether the advantages outweigh your having to move to the sleeper sofa. That's when Jesus told me he was actually at a convenience store out by the interstate. I must have gotten that Bambi-in-headlights look, because my wife hissed, "What is it? What's wrong? Who is that?" So I covered the receiver and told her Jesus was going to arrive in eight minutes, and she ran out of the room and started giving guidance to the kids—in that effective way that Marine drill instructors give guidance to recruits. … My mind was already racing with what needed to be done in the next eight—no seven—minutes so Jesus wouldn't think we were reprobate loser slobs. I turned off the TV in the den, which was blaring some weird scary movie I'd been half watching. But I could still hear screams from our bedroom, so I turned off the reality show it was tuned to. Plus, I turned off the kids' set out on the sun porch, because I didn't want to have to explainJon & Kate Plus Eight to Jesus, either, six minutes from now. My wife had already thinned out the magazines that had been accumulating on the coffee table. She put Christianity Today on top for a good first impression. Five minutes to go. I looked out the front window, but the yard actually looked great thanks to my long, hard work, so I let it go. What could I improve in four minutes anyway? I did notice the mail had come, so I ran out to grab it. Mostly it was Netflix envelopes and a bunch of catalogs tied into recent purchases, so I stuffed it back in the box. Jesus doesn't need to get the wrong idea—three minutes from now—about how much on-line shopping we do. I ran back in and picked up a bunch of shoes left by the door. Tried to stuff them in the front closet, but it was overflowing with heavy coats and work coats and snow coats and pretty coats and raincoats and extra coats. We live in the South; why'd we buy so many coats? I squeezed the shoes in with two minutes to go. I plumped up sofa pillows, my wife tossed dishes into the sink, I scolded the kids, and she shooed the dog. With one minute left I realized something important: Getting ready for a visit from Jesus is not an eight-minute job. Then the doorbell rang. Used with permission from author. Doug Mendenhall, "Getting Prepared for the Arrival of Jesus,"www.reporternews.com (9-24-09); submitted by Kevin Miller, executive vice president, Christianity Today International Well the message for today is that it is time for us to get ready. Advent is here and Jesus is coming. And it does take more than 8 minutes to get ready. It takes a lifetime. But God reminds us that we don’t have a lifetime. We only have 27 days. A little less than four weeks. The rest of the world is dressing up for Christmas, but for us – it is time to get ready for the second coming. It is funny, no matter how I try to prepare for this day – I am always caught off guard. The Sunday after thanksgiving sneaks up on me. This is the first Sunday of a new year. We finished year B and now we are into year C. Last week we were reading from the gospel of Mark, for the rest of the year it will be Luke. I spent all weekend shopping for Christmas decorations for the church, while my pumpkins are frozen and rotting on my steps. Am I the only one who gets freaked out walking through the neighborhood and seeing some yards with santa claus and other Christmas decorations, while the house next to it still have fall leaves and turkeys, and then some people even have jackolaterns and other Halloween decorations up. It is a sign of the times that things are changing, and we are all in different places within the change. Advent starts with the end first and ends with the beginning last. Today – there are no manger scenes, no doting mother mary’s. no baby Jesus. – no glory to the newborn King. Today is not about the first coming of Jesus, it is about the second coming of Jesus. The words of today are not hope, joy, love and peace – it is destruction, despair, judgment. Once again this year if you look at the headlines in the news – you see upheaval. Once again this time of year people are marching in the streets, people are afraid of a war breaking out, we are even getting warnings of strange weather this year, as el nino season approaches. Perhaps the politicians waited to tell of the death of Mr. Mcdonalds – because they wanted it to be an advent announcement. I am being facetious. But my point is – this is a dark time in history. There is a lot going on. As we look at the first reading from Luke, we look at the end of the book, not the beginning. Luke speaks of the endtimes. It is obvious that Luke used Mark as a resource, but he takes Mark one step farther. Luke specifically talks about the second coming of Christ. And he reminds us of what it means to wait for Christ. The solution to this despair is not anything we can manufacture – we just have to wait on God to make an appearance. And God will make an appearance in each and every situation that we are going through. Advent is a new day, a new way of thinking and praying and beliving. We tend to face life with the tools of the past, we compare the future with what we have been through before. It is time to erase those old tapes. Put aside those familiar ways of doing things and to embrace a new way for a new day. This is the time for angels and prophets. The message of the angels is to fear not. Face the future with your hear up, unafraid of the darkness ahead. And prophets don’t know what God will do next anymore than we do - but they know the signs of God. They point to us evidence that God is indeed in the situation. Text Illustration: I DIDN'T GO AND SEE The story is about shepherd who was a youth on that first Christmas night. And now he is old and as his grandson sits on his knee he recalls that night, "A long, long time ago, when I was a little more than a boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping watch over the flock. And an angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout us. And we were very afraid. But the angel said, "fear not... for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord... you shall find the baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." When he had said this the old man’s lips quivered and ceased to move and there was silence. Then the grandson turns and looks with wide, puzzled eyes into his grandfathers face and says, " But, grandfather is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was what the angel said really true? Was the Christ child ever really born?" The old shepherd sadly shakes his white head and answers, " I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him, the light of God and the power for life. But for me I could never be quite sure. Because I never did go to see." Have the courage to face life unafraid of what will come next. Luke tells us that Christ is coming again – the signs of the times show us that. His message is for us to observe the signs and to watch and wait for his presence. Ancient philosophers used to believe that history repeated itself every 3000 years. There was no need to step outside the box, because life never changed. I remember in Thailand, there was a sign, that if you were having a problem with someone, not to despair. In 100 years there will be all new people. People pass away, human nature stays the same. We are still dealing with the same hatred, oppression, greed, violence that Jesus talked about, and that was in the old testament. 50 years later, we are still marching asking for justice for black lives. What is the point of us fighting to make a better world, when the same issues get recreated from generation to generation. Man does not have the power to change themselves – but God has the power to make all the difference in the world. That is why God sent his son Jesus to intercede in the world. The world has not changed, so he will intercede again. History does not repeat itself over and over – History has a purpose. The story is moving – and its final chapter will be the redemption of history by Jesus Christ. Christ is never on the side of the status quo - one friend said – You want to be first? Be last. You want to find your life? Lose it. You want to be exalted? Be humbled. You want wholeness? Face your brokennness. You want to be as wise as a serpent? Be as innocent as a dove. You want peace? Show me your sword. I am the Son of God. I am the Son of Adam. Jesus if fully divine. Jesus is fully human. You want the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? Meet the Lamb of God. You want rest? Wear my yoke and take up my cross. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Give to God what is God’s. But don’t forget to give to Caesar what is Caesar. If you’re not against us you’re for us. (Mark 9:38-41). If you’re not with me you’re against me (Matt.12:30). Don’t worry about tomorrow. But sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The last words of our text – Luke tells us when you see sign of despair in your world – keep the faith and have hope. These are the signs that Jesus is on the way – and that it is time for a change. Don’t hold onto the past – but look forward to the future. Don’t give up, but keep going. Hope will change your present and open the door for Christ to come in. we are to look up, pray up and stand up. Bruce E. Olson tells of his experience as a missionary in South America. "I got off the plane in Venezuela that hot August day back in 1962 with only seventy-two dollars in my pocket, nineteen years old, alone, unable to speak Spanish, but convinced that the Lord had told me to go to South America and preach to the Indians." He made friends with some natives and learned to speak Spanish. One day a respected colleague asked him, "Have you ever heard of the Motilone tribe?" He then described a legendary Stone Age Tribe that had resisted civilization. No one had ever learned their language. Few entering their territory ever returned. Bruce felt his heart stir, and he wrote, "I sank back in awe. I knew then that those were the people to whom God wanted me to go." It was no easy task to reach these people. "We chopped our way through the jungle for seven days," he remembered. As they were making their way through the jungle, an arrow pierced his thigh. He fell to the ground. Out of the ferns stepped five squat brown men, eyes glittering under short-cropped hair. "I had met the Motilones," he writes. "They dragged me to my feet and I limped with them to their settlement." As the days passed his wounds festered. "I developed amoebic dysentery and began hemorrhaging blood," Bruce recalled. Things would get much worse before they got better. "The period that followed was a nightmare of pain and trial," he remarks. "I continued to try to bring God's love to those people." For two weeks he lay in a hut dying. Finally, one of the natives took him to a clearing where he was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a hospital in Maracaibo where he was told it would be six months before he would recover. He could never return to a jungle climate. "But I had a deepening peace in my heart," Bruce wrote. "God had brought me to the Motilones; God would help me to continue. Within three weeks I was back up the river." Bruce Olson never gave up. He lived with this tribe for four years and eventually introduced these people to the love of God. (4) Where do we get the ability to keep going even when everything appears to be going wrong? From God and God alone. In times of need we receive help from beyond. Thus we perseveLukre. This brings us final thing to be said. FOLLOWERS ARE NOT TO SIT BY AND DO NOTHING WHILE WAITING FOR CHRIST'S RETURN. While we wait we have work to do. There is nothing that we can do to make a difference in the world, But God makes all of the difference in the world. Luke says that this generation shall not pass away until things change. Sometimes I get sad as I see people pass away that they did not get a chance to see the fruits of their labor. They did not see the redemption of situations, they did not see the redemption of history. But I think that God’s message for us – is not to mourn but to do what we can. Deal with the issue at hand, do the work we must do. Address the problems of today. We were put on this earth for such a time as this. And if we deal with the evil of today – we are doing what God called us to to do. Text Illustration: A. Years ago an interesting sign was seen hanging in a store window during the Christmas season. The original message stated, “Let’s make this the best Christmas ever.” Underneath, some perceptive person had scribbled a legitimate question: “How will we top the first one?” God has promised an event that will easily overshadow the events that surrounded the first coming. Let us pray……. Text Illustration: I DIDN'T GO AND SEE The story is about shepherd who was a youth on that first Christmas night. And now he is old and as his grandson sits on his knee he recalls that night, "A long, long time ago, when I was a little more than a boy, I was out on the Judean hills one night with some other shepherds, keeping watch over the flock. And an angel of the Lord came upon us and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout us. And we were very afraid. But the angel said, "fear not... for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord... you shall find the baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." When he had said this the old man’s lips quivered and ceased to move and there was silence. Then the grandson turns and looks with wide, puzzled eyes into his grandfathers face and says, " But, grandfather is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was what the angel said really true? Was the Christ child ever really born?" The old shepherd sadly shakes his white head and answers, " I never knew. I never went to see. Some say that it is all a myth. Others say they found in Him, the light of God and the power for life. But for me I could never be quite sure. Because I never did go to see." When the Play Is Over C. S. Lewis said that when the author appears on the stage, you know the play is over. This is how he understands the doctrine of the Second Coming of our Lord. It means that he who has begun a good work will bring it to the best conclusion of which he is capable. After all, no one has ever claimed that this planet earth was intended to exist forever. In what is called by scientists "the second law of thermodynamics," it is clearly predicted that the energy supply of this planet will eventually come to an end, which means that a conclusion of life as we know it here is inevitable. The concept of the Second Coming merely affirms that such a conclusion will be purposeful. The drama of history is not going to just fizzle out or end in a whimper! It is going to come to the kind of climax that he who conceived the drama wants for it. Gary L. Carver and Tom M. Garrison, Sermons for Sundays in Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany: Building a Victorious Life, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. When Everything Becomes "Merely" Virginia Owens in her book, And The Trees Clap Their Hands, suggests that we lose the wonder of it all, because along the way everything becomes "merely." Things are "merely" stars, sunset, rain, flowers, and mountains. Their connection with God's creation is lost. During this Advent season many things are just "merely." It becomes "merely" Bethlehem, a stable, a birth -- we have no feeling of wonder or mystery. That is what familiarity can do to us over the years. Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing -- I'll take it. It is "merely" an object -- I'll destroy it. It is this "merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and grandeur of God. John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing.