April 1 Sermon Celebration
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40
The other day I watched a show about how the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders train and are picked out. Man that’s some tough standards they set. They shake this way, they shake that way. They jump and smile and do the splits. But if a girl shimmies instead of shakes or jumps instead of splits, she is gone.
And for what?? A job that pays very little, $50 per game in fact. Of course they make $$ from other gigs outside of the stadium, but why in the world would anyone want to be a cheerleader, go through that torture, and only get $500 a season?
They believe in the team. They are excited to be a part of this team. What about the non-paid cheering section. You’ve seen these people. The kids in uniform, the women with pom poms. The grown men who will paint their faces and maybe even their bodies the colors of their favorite team and go to the game to cheer them on whether they are having a winning or losing season. This is devotion at its highest point. I’m waiting to see that kind of devotion from God’s church. I have not seen any men on TV in a worship service with their shirts off and big cross painted across their backs.
Today is the beginning of Holy Week. Many churches will focus not only on the palms, but also on the passion of Christ. Not only on the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, but also on him being sentenced to death. There is so much imagery and so much prophecy being fulfilled it’s just amazing.
Lets look at verse 31 again. Jesus tells the disciples about the colt “if anyone asks you about it, tell them The Lord needs it.” Let’s say he sent Peter and John to get the colt. What would that conversation be like??
Peter says, “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? When Jesus says someone will ask us about taking the colt, it will definitely happen.” John looks at Peter saying, “your right…and YOU tell them The Lord needs it. I’ll be behind you all the way.” I see a Three Stooges skit acting out, “you do it. No you do it. No you do it.” I bet it was Peter who said it. He was always sticking his foot in his mouth.
Why a colt though? Zechariah 9:9 says “Shout, Daughter Jerusalem. Your King comes to you. Righteous and having salvation. Lowly and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Prophecy fulfilled. Jesus was not coming to start a war and overthrow the government in Jerusalem. When a King comes in on a donkey, it’s a sign of peace.
The people cry out “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and on earth.” Remember that from Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. The people knew what the donkey meant. They wanted peace also. Peace from conflict. Peace from backbiting. Peace from the hatred that filled their society. A second chance to make a difference in the world.
Jesus came on a donkey into Jerusalem…..this time. Do you know when Jesus comes riding on a horse as the King who seeks to conquer? Revelations 19 starting in verse 11 where John tells us “I saw heaven open up and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dripped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
The armies of heaven are following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations….on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
If Jesus would have stayed away from Jerusalem, he probably would have lived a lot longer. The religious elite would not have seen him as much of a threat out there. It was only when he came into Jerusalem that he was a real danger to the status quo. He was going to upset the apple cart.
The mascots were running around. The cheerleaders were cheering.
WAVING YOUR PALM
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We love you. You’re the best. Keep up the good work.” Then the religious elite come into the picture. “Tell them to stop. They are making fools of themselves and soon the Romans will be upon us.” And Jesus, probably smiling the whole time “I can’t stop them. If they stop, the rocks will cry out.”
Rocks and artifacts are the words of life for archeologists. They want the proof in hand for what they believe. They travel around the world to get proof, as Sir William Ramsay did. This son of an atheist (and an atheist himself) was a wealthy PhD archeologist from Oxford.
He set out to the Holy Land to disprove the bible, specifically the Book of Acts. After 25 years of digging and writing books about his finds, he declared that “Luke in writing Acts was accurate,” and to the shock of his critics he declared himself to now be a Christian.
Praise God that different people can be reached in different ways, and Christ is big enough to be different sizes in a one-size-fits-all world. And so we follow Jesus in faith into Jerusalem.
Jesus’ grand entrance, and what happens afterward means there is hope for us. If you are a true disciple of Christ, you will be persecuted in some way. Either the Devil will work on beating you down, or those who are against God and giving him glory will beat you down. The success of Christ’s mission [Lk 4:18-19] is not dependent upon me. I am called (as Mother Theresa has said) to be; “Faithful, not successful.”
We may be abandoned by the crowds, scorned by leaders, unsuccessful according to this world, and even persecuted, but that would make us more like Christ than if we were accepted by the crowds, praised by leaders, successful according to this world, and living a life of comfort and ease.
Though we may fail by this world’s standard, Christ’s name will be proclaimed. All of creation, all of history faithfully points to him. The longer his claim has stood, the more his evidence is corroborated.
I’m going to tell you the story of Pastor Li De Xian from mainline China in 2002.
April 1 Sermon Celebration
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40
The other day I watched a show about how the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders train and are picked out. Man that’s some tough standards they set. They shake this way, they shake that way. They jump and smile and do the splits. But if a girl shimmies instead of shakes or jumps instead of splits, she is gone.
And for what?? A job that pays very little, $50 per game in fact. Of course they make $$ from other gigs outside of the stadium, but why in the world would anyone want to be a cheerleader, go through that torture, and only get $500 a season?
They believe in the team. They are excited to be a part of this team. What about the non-paid cheering section. You’ve seen these people. The kids in uniform, the women with pom poms. The grown men who will paint their faces and maybe even their bodies the colors of their favorite team and go to the game to cheer them on whether they are having a winning or losing season. This is devotion at its highest point. I’m waiting to see that kind of devotion from God’s church. I have not seen any men on TV in a worship service with their shirts off and big cross painted across their backs.
Today is the beginning of Holy Week. Many churches will focus not only on the palms, but also on the passion of Christ. Not only on the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, but also on him being sentenced to death. There is so much imagery and so much prophecy being fulfilled it’s just amazing.
Lets look at verse 31 again. Jesus tells the disciples about the colt “if anyone asks you about it, tell them The Lord needs it.” Let’s say he sent Peter and John to get the colt. What would that conversation be like??
Peter says, “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? When Jesus says someone will ask us about taking the colt, it will definitely happen.” John looks at Peter saying, “your right…and YOU tell them The Lord needs it. I’ll be behind you all the way.” I see a Three Stooges skit acting out, “you do it. No you do it. No you do it.” I bet it was Peter who said it. He was always sticking his foot in his mouth.
Why a colt though? Zechariah 9:9 says “Shout, Daughter Jerusalem. Your King comes to you. Righteous and having salvation. Lowly and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Prophecy fulfilled. Jesus was not coming to start a war and overthrow the government in Jerusalem. When a King comes in on a donkey, it’s a sign of peace.
The people cry out “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and on earth.” Remember that from Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. The people knew what the donkey meant. They wanted peace also. Peace from conflict. Peace from backbiting. Peace from the hatred that filled their society. A second chance to make a difference in the world.
Jesus came on a donkey into Jerusalem…..this time. Do you know when Jesus comes riding on a horse as the King who seeks to conquer? Revelations 19 starting in verse 11 where John tells us “I saw heaven open up and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dripped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
The armies of heaven are following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations….on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
If Jesus would have stayed away from Jerusalem, he probably would have lived a lot longer. The religious elite would not have seen him as much of a threat out there. It was only when he came into Jerusalem that he was a real danger to the status quo. He was going to upset the apple cart.
The mascots were running around. The cheerleaders were cheering.
WAVING YOUR PALM
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We love you. You’re the best. Keep up the good work.” Then the religious elite come into the picture. “Tell them to stop. They are making fools of themselves and soon the Romans will be upon us.” And Jesus, probably smiling the whole time “I can’t stop them. If they stop, the rocks will cry out.”
Rocks and artifacts are the words of life for archeologists. They want the proof in hand for what they believe. They travel around the world to get proof, as Sir William Ramsay did. This son of an atheist (and an atheist himself) was a wealthy PhD archeologist from Oxford.
He set out to the Holy Land to disprove the bible, specifically the Book of Acts. After 25 years of digging and writing books about his finds, he declared that “Luke in writing Acts was accurate,” and to the shock of his critics he declared himself to now be a Christian.
Praise God that different people can be reached in different ways, and Christ is big enough to be different sizes in a one-size-fits-all world. And so we follow Jesus in faith into Jerusalem.
Jesus’ grand entrance, and what happens afterward means there is hope for us. If you are a true disciple of Christ, you will be persecuted in some way. Either the Devil will work on beating you down, or those who are against God and giving him glory will beat you down. The success of Christ’s mission [Lk 4:18-19] is not dependent upon me. I am called (as Mother Theresa has said) to be; “Faithful, not successful.”
We may be abandoned by the crowds, scorned by leaders, unsuccessful according to this world, and even persecuted, but that would make us more like Christ than if we were accepted by the crowds, praised by leaders, successful according to this world, and living a life of comfort and ease.
Though we may fail by this world’s standard, Christ’s name will be proclaimed. All of creation, all of history faithfully points to him. The longer his claim has stood, the more his evidence is corroborated.
I’m going to tell you the story of Pastor Li De Xian from mainline China in 2002.
April 1 Sermon Celebration
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40
The other day I watched a show about how the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders train and are picked out. Man that’s some tough standards they set. They shake this way, they shake that way. They jump and smile and do the splits. But if a girl shimmies instead of shakes or jumps instead of splits, she is gone.
And for what?? A job that pays very little, $50 per game in fact. Of course they make $$ from other gigs outside of the stadium, but why in the world would anyone want to be a cheerleader, go through that torture, and only get $500 a season?
They believe in the team. They are excited to be a part of this team. What about the non-paid cheering section. You’ve seen these people. The kids in uniform, the women with pom poms. The grown men who will paint their faces and maybe even their bodies the colors of their favorite team and go to the game to cheer them on whether they are having a winning or losing season. This is devotion at its highest point. I’m waiting to see that kind of devotion from God’s church. I have not seen any men on TV in a worship service with their shirts off and big cross painted across their backs.
Today is the beginning of Holy Week. Many churches will focus not only on the palms, but also on the passion of Christ. Not only on the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, but also on him being sentenced to death. There is so much imagery and so much prophecy being fulfilled it’s just amazing.
Lets look at verse 31 again. Jesus tells the disciples about the colt “if anyone asks you about it, tell them The Lord needs it.” Let’s say he sent Peter and John to get the colt. What would that conversation be like??
Peter says, “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? When Jesus says someone will ask us about taking the colt, it will definitely happen.” John looks at Peter saying, “your right…and YOU tell them The Lord needs it. I’ll be behind you all the way.” I see a Three Stooges skit acting out, “you do it. No you do it. No you do it.” I bet it was Peter who said it. He was always sticking his foot in his mouth.
Why a colt though? Zechariah 9:9 says “Shout, Daughter Jerusalem. Your King comes to you. Righteous and having salvation. Lowly and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Prophecy fulfilled. Jesus was not coming to start a war and overthrow the government in Jerusalem. When a King comes in on a donkey, it’s a sign of peace.
The people cry out “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and on earth.” Remember that from Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. The people knew what the donkey meant. They wanted peace also. Peace from conflict. Peace from backbiting. Peace from the hatred that filled their society. A second chance to make a difference in the world.
Jesus came on a donkey into Jerusalem…..this time. Do you know when Jesus comes riding on a horse as the King who seeks to conquer? Revelations 19 starting in verse 11 where John tells us “I saw heaven open up and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dripped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
The armies of heaven are following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations….on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
If Jesus would have stayed away from Jerusalem, he probably would have lived a lot longer. The religious elite would not have seen him as much of a threat out there. It was only when he came into Jerusalem that he was a real danger to the status quo. He was going to upset the apple cart.
The mascots were running around. The cheerleaders were cheering.
WAVING YOUR PALM
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We love you. You’re the best. Keep up the good work.” Then the religious elite come into the picture. “Tell them to stop. They are making fools of themselves and soon the Romans will be upon us.” And Jesus, probably smiling the whole time “I can’t stop them. If they stop, the rocks will cry out.”
Rocks and artifacts are the words of life for archeologists. They want the proof in hand for what they believe. They travel around the world to get proof, as Sir William Ramsay did. This son of an atheist (and an atheist himself) was a wealthy PhD archeologist from Oxford.
He set out to the Holy Land to disprove the bible, specifically the Book of Acts. After 25 years of digging and writing books about his finds, he declared that “Luke in writing Acts was accurate,” and to the shock of his critics he declared himself to now be a Christian.
Praise God that different people can be reached in different ways, and Christ is big enough to be different sizes in a one-size-fits-all world. And so we follow Jesus in faith into Jerusalem.
Jesus’ grand entrance, and what happens afterward means there is hope for us. If you are a true disciple of Christ, you will be persecuted in some way. Either the Devil will work on beating you down, or those who are against God and giving him glory will beat you down. The success of Christ’s mission [Lk 4:18-19] is not dependent upon me. I am called (as Mother Theresa has said) to be; “Faithful, not successful.”
We may be abandoned by the crowds, scorned by leaders, unsuccessful according to this world, and even persecuted, but that would make us more like Christ than if we were accepted by the crowds, praised by leaders, successful according to this world, and living a life of comfort and ease.
Though we may fail by this world’s standard, Christ’s name will be proclaimed. All of creation, all of history faithfully points to him. The longer his claim has stood, the more his evidence is corroborated.
I’m going to tell you the story of Pastor Li De Xian from mainline China in 2002.
http://www.jesusfreaks.net/excerpts/JF2_China.pdf
We can stand as affirmed in our faith as Jesus stood, knowing that his purpose is victorious, that love is stronger than fear, and that God’s salvation is greater than man’s sin. Though our lives may appear as failures; our God turns disaster into hope, for (as Paul has promised); “Love never fails [I Cor 13:8].”
It is because of this love Jesus has for us, that he died for all of us. All we have to do is accept him as Lord and Savior of our lives. We go feast in communion at least once a month as a family of Christians together. And we go through the hymnal with the words that say exactly what communion means…
”This is the body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.” With your salvation, continue to be a cheerleader, faithful of Christ, even when it seems to be you can’t find the truth in the rocks. Continue you faith walk and search for evidence of your salvation as we do the same. On Friday night we will be seeing this communion in a new way and I heartily encourage you to come to that service at 7pm.
We can stand as affirmed in our faith as Jesus stood, knowing that his purpose is victorious, that love is stronger than fear, and that God’s salvation is greater than man’s sin. Though our lives may appear as failures; our God turns disaster into hope, for (as Paul has promised); “Love never fails [I Cor 13:8].”
It is because of this love Jesus has for us, that he died for all of us. All we have to do is accept him as Lord and Savior of our lives. We go feast in communion at least once a month as a family of Christians together. And we go through the hymnal with the words that say exactly what communion means…
”This is the body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.” With your salvation, continue to be a cheerleader, faithful of Christ, even when it seems to be you can’t find the truth in the rocks. Continue you faith walk and search for evidence of your salvation as we do the same. On Friday night we will be seeing this communion in a new way and I heartily encourage you to come to that service at 7pm.
We can stand as affirmed in our faith as Jesus stood, knowing that his purpose is victorious, that love is stronger than fear, and that God’s salvation is greater than man’s sin. Though our lives may appear as failures; our God turns disaster into hope, for (as Paul has promised); “Love never fails [I Cor 13:8].”
It is because of this love Jesus has for us, that he died for all of us. All we have to do is accept him as Lord and Savior of our lives. We go feast in communion at least once a month as a family of Christians together. And we go through the hymnal with the words that say exactly what communion means…
”This is the body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.” With your salvation, continue to be a cheerleader, faithful of Christ, even when it seems to be you can’t find the truth in the rocks. Continue you faith walk and search for evidence of your salvation as we do the same. On Friday night we will be seeing this communion in a new way and I heartily encourage you to come to that service at 7pm.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
March 25 sermon Mary and Judas
March 25 Sermon Mary and Judas
John 12: 1-8
Our scripture from the Lectionary today is a comparison of Mary and Judas. Now everybody knows who Judas is. He is the guy who basically stabbed Jesus and the disciples in the back for money…30 pieces of silver to be exact. Judas was a pretty sad character. I think he would be the 1st to be voted off the
We have two weeks before Easter. Easter is a joyous celebration of devotion to our Lord and savior for his unbelievable act of forgiveness. But right now we are still in Lent. Our scripture has bookends of murderous plots. Before it is a plot to kill Jesus because he raised Lazarus from the dead, and many people are starting to follow him.
After it, is the plot to kill Lazarus because the people were believing in Jesus even more and following him. The first couple verses of our scripture today are setting. It was a week before Passover, and Jesus and the disciples go to the house of Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus for dinner.
Mary and Martha were basically throwing a dinner to thank Jesus for what he did. As I said, in the chapter before, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha served him from her heart.
She had the spiritual gift of hospitality. And she thought of others. And then Mary. She decided to show us exactly what a disciple of Jesus looks like.
In verse 3, Mary took a pound of perfume, anointed Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. It’s not believed Mary was a person of any means. She was not someone who could give a lot of money as a tithe or gift to Jesus. But Mary took a pound of special perfume and anointed his feet. Why would she do that?
There’s just something about Mary. She got it. She understood Jesus was going to die soon. She understood who the Passover lamb truly was. Mary’s action was in gratitude for bringing her brother back to life. But then there is more. John has this account right before the entry of Jesus into
Generally people washed their own feet. In Genesis, Abraham said “let some water be brought out to wash your feet and you can recline under the tree.” The other option was to have slaves wash your feet…if the house you’re in was rich enough to have slaves. But Martha and Mary were not rich. So Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a significant amount of perfume.
And then what? She wiped his feet with her hair. This is significant because long, well kept hair was a sign of dignity in the ancient world. Women took pride in their hair. Showing her hair in public or any sign of damage to her hair was considered degrading.
YET MARY USES HER HAIR….this is the amazing. Nice hair is the only thing a woman had. They did not have jobs outside the house. They were not speakers or preachers anywhere. Their main goal was to be good mothers and good wives.
But Mary lets her hair down…a big no-no.
Then she wipes the feet of a man with her hair. By using her hair, Mary lessened herself even more in regard to Jesus. To become a disciple, you have to lessen yourself in comparison to Jesus and to those around you. Mary is the model disciple. In fact, so much so, Jesus models her in the beginning of chapter 13 when he bows down to the 12 disciples and washes their feet.
If Mary is modeled as the perfect disciple, then Judas is presented as the counterexample. Mary is ACTION and Judas is all TALK. Mary takes a year’s worth of perfume and WORSHIPS Jesus. She gets down on her hands and knees. Luke has her crying in gratitude also.
She gets down on her hands and knees, pours the oil over his feet, takes her hair down….her hair…… the one thing that is precious to any woman then and wipes his feet. Complete devotion. Complete submission. Honest worship. Mary’s actions model the life of love that should characterize all of the church.
Judas on the other hand is all talk. Judas was the treasurer of the group and he was skimming off the top. “That could have been sold and given to the poor.” We know he did not care about the poor, but only about money.
It’s been said the 30 pieces of silver Judas gets for betraying Jesus could have been the amount he skimmed from the selling of this oil. That’s an interesting thought. What is amazing is Mary and Judas were doing the EXACT SAME THING. Both were getting Jesus ready for burial. Her by the anointing and him by the betrayal.
Jesus yells out at Judas. “Leave her alone.” Mary has her priorities in the right place. She bought this specifically for my burial. You will always have the poor with you but I will soon be gone. Mary knows what is important…giving her best with all her heart, in ACTION of selfless giving, to her Lord.
Easter…the time of ultimate forgiveness, is just around the corner. We have two examples in front of us now…one of love and action, one of lies and deceit. Which one will you follow?
Without reservation, are you going to pour yourself out to God in devotion? Are you holding back anything you should be given? Mary’s extreme action in her time, challenges us today in our time. Do you hear her? Are you ready to follow?
John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to
4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
March 18 sermon Prodigal Me
March 18 Sermon Prodigal Me
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
We are all on a spiritual journey. Some of us have just gotten on the boat. Some are riding the waves of the sea right now. Some feel like they are in a hurricane. Others can see land ahead and believe their spiritual journey is coming to an end, but in actuality it’s just about to start up again.
If you think I’m crazy on this, think back 10 years. What was your spiritual life and beliefs like? Have they changed or evolved in any way? Are you more tolerant (or less tolerant) now than you were before? Are you quick to agree or disagree with a plan of action in the church knowing your way is the right way?
Do you let the BIBLE guide your decisions in life? You know what the bible is right. B-I-B-L-E….Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
If your beliefs never evolve and your spirituality never grows, you are stagnant in your God Life. Usually the factors that contribute to this stagnation is 1) little or no prayer life, 2) insignificant bible study, 3) skipping worship on a regular basis. Did you know that the more you skip worship, the easier it is to skip next week. Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not calling anyone out or throwing them under the bus. I know how hard it can be to get up here for a 9:45 Sunday School gathering and an 11 am worship service; especially since it’s one of the two days we have off during the week. Work Monday – Friday and off Saturday and Sunday. And we are up 14 hours a day, so that 2 hours on Sunday morning is like…2% of the time we are awake. It’s significant right.
But we are here this morning to grow. To hear what Jesus said 2000 years ago and be able to apply it to our lives; not just our individual lives, but also our congregational lives too. As we go through each person in this parable, I want you to figure out where you are and where you want to be. You’ll need it at the end.
Let’s look at the father in our parable first. He was the man of the house. He had servants and property. And he had two sons. The pride and joy of his life. Oh what fine men these two would grow up to be. He was completely SINCERE in this.
Throughout the scripture, there is not a time the father walks away from his kids. He loves them and only wants the best for them. But the younger son comes to his father and asks for his share of the inheritance. The father without question, but I’m sure he was sorrowful, and gives a percentage to the son.
He was the younger, so his inheritance was smaller than half, as the older son receives a larger portion.
Have you done with your kids or friends or nieces and nephews what the father did with his son? He knew what the son was planning, but he let him go anyway. There was grief and heartbreak, but love.
But we can look at the end of the story and see the father again. All those days he had been waiting for his son to come back. The father was always watching for him, waiting for the day he can put his arms around him again.
And that day finally came, and oh what HOSPITALITY was lavished on the lost son. The ring on his finger. The robe on his shoulders. The sandals on his feet. The fatted calf killed in celebration. The one who was lost was now found. He was dead but now is alive.
But the older brother was not happy. The father went to console him. The father was always NURTURING both his sons, even if they did not receive it in the way intended. We are going to look at the father in two ways.
First as God. God is sincere in all he does. He is more open, loving and honest than anyone you will ever know. When we become Christians, we know God. We get to feast with and be in communication with him. He will give us what we need.
But then sometimes we want to go our own way. We want to take our ball and play on another court. So we walk away. John Wesley would call this backsliding. God is a gracious host and won’t force anything on us. He will never drag you kicking and screaming into an eternity with him when you don’t want it. That is true hospitality.
And every time we come back to him, he will nurture us. He will clean up our wounds and bandage our scrapes. He will give us a cup of tea and a nice chair to sit in next to him. He is always watching and waiting for us to come back to him.
The other way to look at the father is the church. We are called to be sincere in our faith. Christianity is the truth. Christ is God; he came down from heaven; he was crucified and killed and on the 3rd day rose again. As a Christian, you must come to believe this.
The church must offer hospitality to each other and to the stranger among us. We welcome anyone who desires to be a part of the joyous celebration we call worship service. And we must nurture each other and the strangers among and around us. 1 Peter says to “have a reason for the joy within you and be able to share that reason with others, but share it with gentleness and kindness.” We must share the love and truth of Christ with everyone, with gentleness and kindness.
Let’s look at the brother now. The brother was SULLEN. He was brooding. 1st because father had given in to the younger son. 2nd because he was the elder son. He is the one who should be able to make request like this. And yet, when the prodigal comes back, father accepts him without question.
Did you notice how the older brother disowned the younger?? He says to his father “when this “son of yours” came back…” The brother had been OBEDIENT all these years. He had done all the right things. I can hear him jump on the OFFENSIVE immediately. “Nothing should change, father. We have been living and doing things a certain way all these years. He must conform to us. He must do it our way.”
But no…the father accepts him in as a beloved son. The brother was NOT SATISFIED with the answer. The father said to his oldest son “You are always here and now all I have is yours. But I desire to have both my sons with me.”
At the beginning of chapter 15, the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The righteous, the Pharisees, those who had been in the church the longest, the brother saw themselves as doing it right. They could not see any other option except what they had all these years.
And now to the prodigal son. The Prodigal son is the one we hear about so often. He was so SELFISH. Before his father was even on his death bed, the son wanted his share of inheritance. How much more can you put ones self ahead than that. He was tired of being #2. He wanted to make his own life. He had lived long enough and knew what to do.
He went to his father and instead of offering himself as a responsible part of the family, he became so self centered and wanting his way, he OFFERED NOTHING. Do we do that sometimes? Do we feel we have all the right answers, and we push and push to have it our way instead of looking at the possibilities on the horizon or in our own backyard? Do we look at others in society or close by and think “We need to train them how to do it the “right” way.”
In the son’s stubbornness and glee of getting his way, he went and wasted his future. He had so many options. His youthful vigor and excitement could have been directed in some great ways. But he ran. His brother and father watched him go. We see the gravity of the situation in the lost son with his decline into a lifestyle far removed from Jewish faithfulness and his downward mobility in economic terms (from a son to a hired hand).
He was NEEDY too. When you have lost everything and have burned bridges in the past, you need shelter, food, and care. It’s not there.
He was broken. He ran home. But not as a son…he ran home as a hired hand. Why?? He thought back and realized that his father treated the lowly workers in the field better than he was treated now. Having our spirit broken will do that.
When we run from God, we think…”oh this new life is great. I can do whatever I want whenever I want.” The Devil whispers in our ears, “You don’t need that church. It’s full of hypocrites. They don’t like your style. They don’t like what you wear. You’re better than them.” Then your out in the world and you realize what a pig sty this world is. It’s cheap and works as a black hole sucking you dry.”
You turn to go back and the Devil whispers again, “You can’t go back. Look at you. You’re not worthy to be a part of the church. You’re not good enough. You ran away.” Have you ever felt that way. First you’re better than THAT congregation or THAT pastor and then you’ve been away and feel you’re not good enough.
The Prodigal Son thought that way. But he sucked it up and went back home to be a servant. He had NOTHING TO OFFER. But the father accepted him back as a son. God will do that for us.
He is always waiting for us to turn from our selfish ways and come back as sons and heirs to the kingdom. Even when we mess up, even when we make mistakes, He will welcome us back. We are SANCTIFIED once again.
But the older brother was not impressed. He was still sullen. He still was not satisfied. The older wanted the younger kicked out of the house. In his mind there was nothing here for the son.
The parable is open ended. We don’t know if the older brother came to the celebration. I think it’s open ended because it’s up to us now.
*You see, you can be in the role of the father. You can welcome everyone in to the house, and when some stray away, you can urge them to come back and welcome them back into without question.
*You can be in the role of the prodigal son. I know I was at one time. I left high school and turned my back on church. Luckily I came back. It’s not as likely for young people to come back nowadays. Over 85% of them don’t. Maybe you left and are just now coming back. We are glad you are here. Maybe you left and have not felt welcomed back by your older brothers. Let me assure you, you are always welcome here.
*You can be in the role of the older brother. As an older brother you have a chance to accept everyone into the church, even if they are different than you. You have a chance to join the celebration taking place in our worship.
I started off this morning talking about your spiritual journey. The Kingdom of God is before us. All we have to do is go in the door and join in the celebration. The father is waiting for us.
I want to invite you to the alter rail now. This is not a time to be called out, but to be blessed.
If you feel like the prodigal son and are ready to get out of pig slop and come in to the house to clean off for the feast, come up and be blessed.
If you are the older brother who sees the changes before you and is wondering if you can make it through this storm, come up and be blessed.
If you want to be in the father role now to accept and be accepted, come up now and be blessed.
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
We are all on a spiritual journey. Some of us have just gotten on the boat. Some are riding the waves of the sea right now. Some feel like they are in a hurricane. Others can see land ahead and believe their spiritual journey is coming to an end, but in actuality it’s just about to start up again.
If you think I’m crazy on this, think back 10 years. What was your spiritual life and beliefs like? Have they changed or evolved in any way? Are you more tolerant (or less tolerant) now than you were before? Are you quick to agree or disagree with a plan of action in the church knowing your way is the right way?
Do you let the BIBLE guide your decisions in life? You know what the bible is right. B-I-B-L-E….Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
If your beliefs never evolve and your spirituality never grows, you are stagnant in your God Life. Usually the factors that contribute to this stagnation is 1) little or no prayer life, 2) insignificant bible study, 3) skipping worship on a regular basis. Did you know that the more you skip worship, the easier it is to skip next week. Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not calling anyone out or throwing them under the bus. I know how hard it can be to get up here for a 9:45 Sunday School gathering and an 11 am worship service; especially since it’s one of the two days we have off during the week. Work Monday – Friday and off Saturday and Sunday. And we are up 14 hours a day, so that 2 hours on Sunday morning is like…2% of the time we are awake. It’s significant right.
But we are here this morning to grow. To hear what Jesus said 2000 years ago and be able to apply it to our lives; not just our individual lives, but also our congregational lives too. As we go through each person in this parable, I want you to figure out where you are and where you want to be. You’ll need it at the end.
Let’s look at the father in our parable first. He was the man of the house. He had servants and property. And he had two sons. The pride and joy of his life. Oh what fine men these two would grow up to be. He was completely SINCERE in this.
Throughout the scripture, there is not a time the father walks away from his kids. He loves them and only wants the best for them. But the younger son comes to his father and asks for his share of the inheritance. The father without question, but I’m sure he was sorrowful, and gives a percentage to the son.
He was the younger, so his inheritance was smaller than half, as the older son receives a larger portion.
Have you done with your kids or friends or nieces and nephews what the father did with his son? He knew what the son was planning, but he let him go anyway. There was grief and heartbreak, but love.
But we can look at the end of the story and see the father again. All those days he had been waiting for his son to come back. The father was always watching for him, waiting for the day he can put his arms around him again.
And that day finally came, and oh what HOSPITALITY was lavished on the lost son. The ring on his finger. The robe on his shoulders. The sandals on his feet. The fatted calf killed in celebration. The one who was lost was now found. He was dead but now is alive.
But the older brother was not happy. The father went to console him. The father was always NURTURING both his sons, even if they did not receive it in the way intended. We are going to look at the father in two ways.
First as God. God is sincere in all he does. He is more open, loving and honest than anyone you will ever know. When we become Christians, we know God. We get to feast with and be in communication with him. He will give us what we need.
But then sometimes we want to go our own way. We want to take our ball and play on another court. So we walk away. John Wesley would call this backsliding. God is a gracious host and won’t force anything on us. He will never drag you kicking and screaming into an eternity with him when you don’t want it. That is true hospitality.
And every time we come back to him, he will nurture us. He will clean up our wounds and bandage our scrapes. He will give us a cup of tea and a nice chair to sit in next to him. He is always watching and waiting for us to come back to him.
The other way to look at the father is the church. We are called to be sincere in our faith. Christianity is the truth. Christ is God; he came down from heaven; he was crucified and killed and on the 3rd day rose again. As a Christian, you must come to believe this.
The church must offer hospitality to each other and to the stranger among us. We welcome anyone who desires to be a part of the joyous celebration we call worship service. And we must nurture each other and the strangers among and around us. 1 Peter says to “have a reason for the joy within you and be able to share that reason with others, but share it with gentleness and kindness.” We must share the love and truth of Christ with everyone, with gentleness and kindness.
Let’s look at the brother now. The brother was SULLEN. He was brooding. 1st because father had given in to the younger son. 2nd because he was the elder son. He is the one who should be able to make request like this. And yet, when the prodigal comes back, father accepts him without question.
Did you notice how the older brother disowned the younger?? He says to his father “when this “son of yours” came back…” The brother had been OBEDIENT all these years. He had done all the right things. I can hear him jump on the OFFENSIVE immediately. “Nothing should change, father. We have been living and doing things a certain way all these years. He must conform to us. He must do it our way.”
But no…the father accepts him in as a beloved son. The brother was NOT SATISFIED with the answer. The father said to his oldest son “You are always here and now all I have is yours. But I desire to have both my sons with me.”
At the beginning of chapter 15, the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The righteous, the Pharisees, those who had been in the church the longest, the brother saw themselves as doing it right. They could not see any other option except what they had all these years.
And now to the prodigal son. The Prodigal son is the one we hear about so often. He was so SELFISH. Before his father was even on his death bed, the son wanted his share of inheritance. How much more can you put ones self ahead than that. He was tired of being #2. He wanted to make his own life. He had lived long enough and knew what to do.
He went to his father and instead of offering himself as a responsible part of the family, he became so self centered and wanting his way, he OFFERED NOTHING. Do we do that sometimes? Do we feel we have all the right answers, and we push and push to have it our way instead of looking at the possibilities on the horizon or in our own backyard? Do we look at others in society or close by and think “We need to train them how to do it the “right” way.”
In the son’s stubbornness and glee of getting his way, he went and wasted his future. He had so many options. His youthful vigor and excitement could have been directed in some great ways. But he ran. His brother and father watched him go. We see the gravity of the situation in the lost son with his decline into a lifestyle far removed from Jewish faithfulness and his downward mobility in economic terms (from a son to a hired hand).
He was NEEDY too. When you have lost everything and have burned bridges in the past, you need shelter, food, and care. It’s not there.
He was broken. He ran home. But not as a son…he ran home as a hired hand. Why?? He thought back and realized that his father treated the lowly workers in the field better than he was treated now. Having our spirit broken will do that.
When we run from God, we think…”oh this new life is great. I can do whatever I want whenever I want.” The Devil whispers in our ears, “You don’t need that church. It’s full of hypocrites. They don’t like your style. They don’t like what you wear. You’re better than them.” Then your out in the world and you realize what a pig sty this world is. It’s cheap and works as a black hole sucking you dry.”
You turn to go back and the Devil whispers again, “You can’t go back. Look at you. You’re not worthy to be a part of the church. You’re not good enough. You ran away.” Have you ever felt that way. First you’re better than THAT congregation or THAT pastor and then you’ve been away and feel you’re not good enough.
The Prodigal Son thought that way. But he sucked it up and went back home to be a servant. He had NOTHING TO OFFER. But the father accepted him back as a son. God will do that for us.
He is always waiting for us to turn from our selfish ways and come back as sons and heirs to the kingdom. Even when we mess up, even when we make mistakes, He will welcome us back. We are SANCTIFIED once again.
But the older brother was not impressed. He was still sullen. He still was not satisfied. The older wanted the younger kicked out of the house. In his mind there was nothing here for the son.
The parable is open ended. We don’t know if the older brother came to the celebration. I think it’s open ended because it’s up to us now.
*You see, you can be in the role of the father. You can welcome everyone in to the house, and when some stray away, you can urge them to come back and welcome them back into without question.
*You can be in the role of the prodigal son. I know I was at one time. I left high school and turned my back on church. Luckily I came back. It’s not as likely for young people to come back nowadays. Over 85% of them don’t. Maybe you left and are just now coming back. We are glad you are here. Maybe you left and have not felt welcomed back by your older brothers. Let me assure you, you are always welcome here.
*You can be in the role of the older brother. As an older brother you have a chance to accept everyone into the church, even if they are different than you. You have a chance to join the celebration taking place in our worship.
I started off this morning talking about your spiritual journey. The Kingdom of God is before us. All we have to do is go in the door and join in the celebration. The father is waiting for us.
I want to invite you to the alter rail now. This is not a time to be called out, but to be blessed.
If you feel like the prodigal son and are ready to get out of pig slop and come in to the house to clean off for the feast, come up and be blessed.
If you are the older brother who sees the changes before you and is wondering if you can make it through this storm, come up and be blessed.
If you want to be in the father role now to accept and be accepted, come up now and be blessed.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
March 18 sermon Prodigal Me
March 18 Sermon Prodigal Me
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
We are all on a spiritual journey. Some of us have just gotten on the boat. Some are riding the waves of the sea right now. Some feel like they are in a hurricane. Others can see land ahead and believe their spiritual journey is coming to an end, but in actuality it’s just about to start up again.
If you think I’m crazy on this, think back 10 years. What was your spiritual life and beliefs like? Have they changed or evolved in any way? Are you more tolerant (or less tolerant) now than you were before? Are you quick to agree or disagree with a plan of action in the church knowing your way is the right way?
Do you let the BIBLE guide your decisions in life? You know what the bible is right. B-I-B-L-E….Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
If your beliefs never evolve and your spirituality never grows, you are stagnant in your God Life. Usually the factors that contribute to this stagnation is 1) little or no prayer life, 2) insignificant bible study, 3) skipping worship on a regular basis. Did you know that the more you skip worship, the easier it is to skip next week. Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not calling anyone out or throwing them under the bus.
But we are here this morning to grow. To hear what Jesus said 2000 years ago and be able to apply it to our lives; not just our individual lives, but also our congregational lives too. As we go through each person in this parable, I want you to figure out where you are and where you want to be. You’ll need it at the end.
Let’s look at the father in our parable first. He was the man of the house. He had servants and property. And he had two sons. The pride and joy of his life. Oh what fine men these two would grow up to be. He was completely SINCERE in this.
Throughout the scripture, there is not a time the father walks away from his kids. He loves them and only wants the best for them. But the younger son comes to his father and asks for his share of the inheritance. The father without question, but I’m sure he was sorrowful, and gives a percentage to the son.
He was the younger, so his inheritance was smaller than half, as the older son receives a larger portion.
Have you done with your kids or friends or nieces and nephews what the father did with his son? He knew what the son was planning, but he let him go anyway. There was grief and heartbreak, but love.
But we can look at the end of the story and see the father again. All those days he had been waiting for his son to come back. The father was always watching for him, waiting for the day he can put his arms around him again.
And that day finally came, and oh what HOSPITALITY was lavished on the lost son. The ring on his finger. The robe on his shoulders. The sandals on his feet. The fatted calf killed in celebration. The one who was lost was now found. He was dead but now is alive.
But the older brother was not happy. The father went to console him. The father was always NURTURING both his sons, even if they did not receive it in the way intended. We are going to look at the father in two ways.
First as God. God is sincere in all he does. He is more open, loving and honest than anyone you will ever know. When we become Christians, we know God. We get to feast with and be in communication with him. He will give us what we need.
But then sometimes we want to go our own way. We want to take our ball and play on another court. So we walk away. John Wesley would call this backsliding. God is a gracious host and won’t force anything on us. He will never drag you kicking and screaming into an eternity with him when you don’t want it. That is true hospitality.
And every time we come back to him, he will nurture us. He will clean up our wounds and bandage our scrapes. He will give us a cup of tea and a nice chair to sit in next to him. He is always watching and waiting for us to come back to him.
The other way to look at the father is the church. We are called to be sincere in our faith. Christianity is the truth. Christ is God; he came down from heaven; he was crucified and killed and on the 3rd day rose again. As a Christian, you must come to believe this.
The church must offer hospitality to each other and to the stranger among us. We welcome anyone who desires to be a part of the joyous celebration we call worship service. And we must nurture each other and the strangers among and around us. 1 Peter says to “have a reason for the joy within you and be able to share that reason with others, but share it with gentleness and kindness.” We must share the love and truth of Christ with everyone, with gentleness and kindness.
Let’s look at the brother now. The brother was SULLEN. He was brooding. 1st because father had given in to the younger son. 2nd because he was the elder son. He is the one who should be able to make request like this. And yet, when the prodigal comes back, father accepts him without question.
Did you notice how the older brother disowned the younger?? He says to his father “when this “son of yours” came back…” The brother had been OBEDIENT all these years. He had done all the right things. I can hear him jump on the OFFENSIVE immediately. “Nothing should change, father. We have been living and doing things a certain way all these years. He must conform to us. He must do it our way.”
But no…the father accepts him in as a beloved son. The brother was NOT SATISFIED with the answer. The father said to his oldest son “You are always here and now all I have is yours. But I desire to have both my sons with me.”
At the beginning of chapter 15, the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The righteous, the Pharisees, those who had been in the church the longest, the brother saw themselves as doing it right. They could not see any other option except what they had all these years.
And now to the prodigal son. The Prodigal son is the one we hear about so often. He was so SELFISH. Before his father was even on his death bed, the son wanted his share of inheritance. How much more can you put ones self ahead than that. He was tired of being #2. He wanted to make his own life. He had lived long enough and knew what to do.
He went to his father and instead of offering himself as a responsible part of the family, he became so self centered and wanting his way, he OFFERED NOTHING. Do we do that sometimes? Do we feel we have all the right answers, and we push and push to have it our way instead of looking at the possibilities on the horizon or in our own backyard? Do we look at others in society or close by and think “We need to train them how to do it the “right” way.”
In the son’s stubbornness and glee of getting his way, he went and wasted his future. He had so many options. His youthful vigor and excitement could have been directed in some great ways. But he ran. His brother and father watched him go. We see the gravity of the situation in the lost son with his decline into a lifestyle far removed from Jewish faithfulness and his downward mobility in economic terms (from a son to a hired hand).
He was NEEDY too. When you have lost everything and have burned bridges in the past, you need shelter, food, and care. It’s not there.
He was broken. He ran home. But not as a son…he ran home as a hired hand. Why?? He thought back and realized that his father treated the lowly workers in the field better than he was treated now. Having our spirit broken will do that.
When we run from God, we think…”oh this new life is great. I can do whatever I want whenever I want.” The Devil whispers in our ears, “You don’t need that church. It’s full of hypocrites. They don’t like your style. They don’t like what you wear. You’re better than them.” Then your out in the world and you realize what a pig sty this world is. It’s cheap and works as a black hole sucking you dry.”
You turn to go back and the Devil whispers again, “You can’t go back. Look at you. You’re not worthy to be a part of the church. You’re not good enough. You ran away.” Have you ever felt that way. First you’re better than THAT congregation or THAT pastor and then you’ve been away and feel you’re not good enough.
The Prodigal Son thought that way. But he sucked it up and went back home to be a servant. He had NOTHING TO OFFER. But the father accepted him back as a son. God will do that for us.
He is always waiting for us to turn from our selfish ways and come back as sons and heirs to the kingdom. Even when we mess up, even when we make mistakes, He will welcome us back. We are SANCTIFIED once again.
But the older brother was not impressed. He was still sullen. He still was not satisfied. The older wanted the younger kicked out of the house. In his mind there was nothing here for the son.
The parable is open ended. We don’t know if the older brother came to the celebration. I think it’s open ended because it’s up to us now.
*You see, you can be in the role of the father. You can welcome everyone in to the house, and when some stray away, you can urge them to come back and welcome them back into without question.
*You can be in the role of the prodigal son. I know I was at one time. I left high school and turned my back on church. Luckily I came back. It’s not as likely for young people to come back nowadays. Over 85% of them don’t. Maybe you left and are just now coming back. We are glad you are here. Maybe you left and have not felt welcomed back by your older brothers. Let me assure you, you are always welcome here.
*You can be in the role of the older brother. As an older brother you have a chance to accept everyone into the church, even if they are different than you. You have a chance to join the celebration taking place in our worship.
I started off this morning talking about your spiritual journey. The Kingdom of God is before us. All we have to do is go in the door and join in the celebration. The father is waiting for us.
I want to invite you to the alter rail now. This is not a time to be called out, but to be blessed.
If you feel like the prodigal son and are ready to get out of pig slop and come in to the house to clean off for the feast, come up and be blessed.
If you are the older brother who sees the changes before you and is wondering if you can make it through this storm, come up and be blessed.
If you want to be in the father role now to accept and be accepted, come up now and be blessed.
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
We are all on a spiritual journey. Some of us have just gotten on the boat. Some are riding the waves of the sea right now. Some feel like they are in a hurricane. Others can see land ahead and believe their spiritual journey is coming to an end, but in actuality it’s just about to start up again.
If you think I’m crazy on this, think back 10 years. What was your spiritual life and beliefs like? Have they changed or evolved in any way? Are you more tolerant (or less tolerant) now than you were before? Are you quick to agree or disagree with a plan of action in the church knowing your way is the right way?
Do you let the BIBLE guide your decisions in life? You know what the bible is right. B-I-B-L-E….Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
If your beliefs never evolve and your spirituality never grows, you are stagnant in your God Life. Usually the factors that contribute to this stagnation is 1) little or no prayer life, 2) insignificant bible study, 3) skipping worship on a regular basis. Did you know that the more you skip worship, the easier it is to skip next week. Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not calling anyone out or throwing them under the bus.
But we are here this morning to grow. To hear what Jesus said 2000 years ago and be able to apply it to our lives; not just our individual lives, but also our congregational lives too. As we go through each person in this parable, I want you to figure out where you are and where you want to be. You’ll need it at the end.
Let’s look at the father in our parable first. He was the man of the house. He had servants and property. And he had two sons. The pride and joy of his life. Oh what fine men these two would grow up to be. He was completely SINCERE in this.
Throughout the scripture, there is not a time the father walks away from his kids. He loves them and only wants the best for them. But the younger son comes to his father and asks for his share of the inheritance. The father without question, but I’m sure he was sorrowful, and gives a percentage to the son.
He was the younger, so his inheritance was smaller than half, as the older son receives a larger portion.
Have you done with your kids or friends or nieces and nephews what the father did with his son? He knew what the son was planning, but he let him go anyway. There was grief and heartbreak, but love.
But we can look at the end of the story and see the father again. All those days he had been waiting for his son to come back. The father was always watching for him, waiting for the day he can put his arms around him again.
And that day finally came, and oh what HOSPITALITY was lavished on the lost son. The ring on his finger. The robe on his shoulders. The sandals on his feet. The fatted calf killed in celebration. The one who was lost was now found. He was dead but now is alive.
But the older brother was not happy. The father went to console him. The father was always NURTURING both his sons, even if they did not receive it in the way intended. We are going to look at the father in two ways.
First as God. God is sincere in all he does. He is more open, loving and honest than anyone you will ever know. When we become Christians, we know God. We get to feast with and be in communication with him. He will give us what we need.
But then sometimes we want to go our own way. We want to take our ball and play on another court. So we walk away. John Wesley would call this backsliding. God is a gracious host and won’t force anything on us. He will never drag you kicking and screaming into an eternity with him when you don’t want it. That is true hospitality.
And every time we come back to him, he will nurture us. He will clean up our wounds and bandage our scrapes. He will give us a cup of tea and a nice chair to sit in next to him. He is always watching and waiting for us to come back to him.
The other way to look at the father is the church. We are called to be sincere in our faith. Christianity is the truth. Christ is God; he came down from heaven; he was crucified and killed and on the 3rd day rose again. As a Christian, you must come to believe this.
The church must offer hospitality to each other and to the stranger among us. We welcome anyone who desires to be a part of the joyous celebration we call worship service. And we must nurture each other and the strangers among and around us. 1 Peter says to “have a reason for the joy within you and be able to share that reason with others, but share it with gentleness and kindness.” We must share the love and truth of Christ with everyone, with gentleness and kindness.
Let’s look at the brother now. The brother was SULLEN. He was brooding. 1st because father had given in to the younger son. 2nd because he was the elder son. He is the one who should be able to make request like this. And yet, when the prodigal comes back, father accepts him without question.
Did you notice how the older brother disowned the younger?? He says to his father “when this “son of yours” came back…” The brother had been OBEDIENT all these years. He had done all the right things. I can hear him jump on the OFFENSIVE immediately. “Nothing should change, father. We have been living and doing things a certain way all these years. He must conform to us. He must do it our way.”
But no…the father accepts him in as a beloved son. The brother was NOT SATISFIED with the answer. The father said to his oldest son “You are always here and now all I have is yours. But I desire to have both my sons with me.”
At the beginning of chapter 15, the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The righteous, the Pharisees, those who had been in the church the longest, the brother saw themselves as doing it right. They could not see any other option except what they had all these years.
And now to the prodigal son. The Prodigal son is the one we hear about so often. He was so SELFISH. Before his father was even on his death bed, the son wanted his share of inheritance. How much more can you put ones self ahead than that. He was tired of being #2. He wanted to make his own life. He had lived long enough and knew what to do.
He went to his father and instead of offering himself as a responsible part of the family, he became so self centered and wanting his way, he OFFERED NOTHING. Do we do that sometimes? Do we feel we have all the right answers, and we push and push to have it our way instead of looking at the possibilities on the horizon or in our own backyard? Do we look at others in society or close by and think “We need to train them how to do it the “right” way.”
In the son’s stubbornness and glee of getting his way, he went and wasted his future. He had so many options. His youthful vigor and excitement could have been directed in some great ways. But he ran. His brother and father watched him go. We see the gravity of the situation in the lost son with his decline into a lifestyle far removed from Jewish faithfulness and his downward mobility in economic terms (from a son to a hired hand).
He was NEEDY too. When you have lost everything and have burned bridges in the past, you need shelter, food, and care. It’s not there.
He was broken. He ran home. But not as a son…he ran home as a hired hand. Why?? He thought back and realized that his father treated the lowly workers in the field better than he was treated now. Having our spirit broken will do that.
When we run from God, we think…”oh this new life is great. I can do whatever I want whenever I want.” The Devil whispers in our ears, “You don’t need that church. It’s full of hypocrites. They don’t like your style. They don’t like what you wear. You’re better than them.” Then your out in the world and you realize what a pig sty this world is. It’s cheap and works as a black hole sucking you dry.”
You turn to go back and the Devil whispers again, “You can’t go back. Look at you. You’re not worthy to be a part of the church. You’re not good enough. You ran away.” Have you ever felt that way. First you’re better than THAT congregation or THAT pastor and then you’ve been away and feel you’re not good enough.
The Prodigal Son thought that way. But he sucked it up and went back home to be a servant. He had NOTHING TO OFFER. But the father accepted him back as a son. God will do that for us.
He is always waiting for us to turn from our selfish ways and come back as sons and heirs to the kingdom. Even when we mess up, even when we make mistakes, He will welcome us back. We are SANCTIFIED once again.
But the older brother was not impressed. He was still sullen. He still was not satisfied. The older wanted the younger kicked out of the house. In his mind there was nothing here for the son.
The parable is open ended. We don’t know if the older brother came to the celebration. I think it’s open ended because it’s up to us now.
*You see, you can be in the role of the father. You can welcome everyone in to the house, and when some stray away, you can urge them to come back and welcome them back into without question.
*You can be in the role of the prodigal son. I know I was at one time. I left high school and turned my back on church. Luckily I came back. It’s not as likely for young people to come back nowadays. Over 85% of them don’t. Maybe you left and are just now coming back. We are glad you are here. Maybe you left and have not felt welcomed back by your older brothers. Let me assure you, you are always welcome here.
*You can be in the role of the older brother. As an older brother you have a chance to accept everyone into the church, even if they are different than you. You have a chance to join the celebration taking place in our worship.
I started off this morning talking about your spiritual journey. The Kingdom of God is before us. All we have to do is go in the door and join in the celebration. The father is waiting for us.
I want to invite you to the alter rail now. This is not a time to be called out, but to be blessed.
If you feel like the prodigal son and are ready to get out of pig slop and come in to the house to clean off for the feast, come up and be blessed.
If you are the older brother who sees the changes before you and is wondering if you can make it through this storm, come up and be blessed.
If you want to be in the father role now to accept and be accepted, come up now and be blessed.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
March 11 sermon Growing in Christ Luke 13:1-9
March 11 sermon
Luke 13:1-9
Growing in Christ
I love to garden. I have pretty much all my life. When I was a kid, we always had a large garden, one time, almost half an acre. I love to watch everything grow, and anticipate just what is growing and how big it will get.
When I was in Jr. High, we lived just outside of town and (of course) had a garden. It was in what used to be a horse pen or some sort of cow pen. I tell you, everything in that garden grew better than any of the others. I’m not sure why… We had rows of tomato and pepper plants. Mom really liked to can hot sauce. We also had squash and cucumbers.
I would plant some watermelons, because there is nothing better than being a kid in the summer sitting on the front porch eating a slice of melon. Unfortunately, we had the wrong soil or wrong bugs or the wrong color of thumbs for watermelons. At the end of the season they looked more like green grapefruit than watermelons.
But we didn’t just grow veggies. We also grew flowers. Some flowers attract a certain type of insect which eats another type of insect and then WE can eat our veggies and not the bugs.
Mary Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow? What does it take to make a garden grow? Water of course. It’s good when it rains every week or two so you don’t have to water. What about fertilizer?? Of course that will help…according to the TV commercials. What else helps your plants grow bigger and better than ever??
Did you ever prune your plants? As you cut off the runt branches, the bigger and higher up ones can grow even better. In my mother-in-laws front yard there used to be a nice sized tree. Every couple years she would have it pruned. Actually she would have it chopped. If the tree had feelings, I think it would have felt the same way a long haired man feels when he joins the Marines. This tree had a huge trunk going up about 12 feet and then 10-12 nice size branches going out. No leaves anywhere. You wonder how it will make it. But within a year, it’s all filled out again.
Jesus, of course, was not talking about gardening. As with every other parable, this one had a spiritual undercurrent ready to sweep us in just like it did those first believers. He says twice, for emphasis, “unless you repent, you will perish.” Man that sounds kind of harsh. The report of the tragedy experienced by the group of Galilean pilgrims is not an attempt to test Jesus’ attitude toward the Romans and specifically Pontius Pilate.
Rather, those who offer this report are giving Jesus what they see as a good example of the sort of judgment Jesus has been talking about. Jesus rejects that idea and focuses on repentance. What is repentance?? The Greek word for repent is “met-an-eh-o”. It’s a verb meaning to “think differently or reconsider.”
Repent, is to see your sin and disobedience, turn away from it, and (this is most important), turn to God. Jesus says in Luke 11, “when an evil spirit comes out of someone he goes looking for another resting place. If he does not find one, he turns and comes back to the original house. When he finds the house empty, he brings 7 of his friends and inhabits the house again. They have a toga party.”
Repentance is more than just turning away from a sin, bad habit, making bad judgments, gossip, and everything else against God. When you turn away, your house will be empty. If you don’t replace the sin or bad habit, it will come back. Let’s think of an example. I run up my credit cards. I buy a new car, big house, a nice boat. But I don’t make enough money to pay for all this.
Well I get my tax return in and I pay off a credit card, ‘cause that’s what I should do. What do I do then? Go on a shopping spree of course!!! Xbox 360; plasma TV. YEAH….No. sorry. What do I do?? God gives us specific rules for money management.
The bible says I give to God 1st in my tithe. I then pay for food and shelter. Those should be my $$ priorities. Repentance is turning from the sin, and then turning to God. God takes over my life. God takes over my priorities. No looking back.
How do we grow now? When we get our priorities straight, how does our garden grow?? Water is our baptism. Do you remember your baptism?? Baptism is a using a common element, in this case water, as a vehicle of divine grace. When Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water, the sky opened up. The Holy Spirit came down into Jesus. Grace was in him. The Holy Spirit was working thru him. The water for us and for Jesus was a growth agent.
The gardener says “let me fertilize it.” What is spiritual fertilizer? John Wesley talked about Spiritual Disciplines being our fertilizer. He called them “works of piety”. The main one of these was prayer, whether private or with the great congregation like this one. He also emphasized searching the scriptures (meaning reading, hearing, and meditating on them), receiving the Lord’s Supper, and fasting among others.
Christians are to pray constantly without ceasing. “Whether we think of, or speak to God, whether we act or suffer for God, ‘All is prayer’ when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him.” What is your prayer life like?? How do you talk to God? God is not looking for a bunch of “thees and thous”. He is also not wanting a grocery list, although he will take it. My prayer life can be like that many times. “Lord, bring more people to the church. Lord heal my friend, fix my car, give me a good nights sleep, warm up the weather.”
How does Jesus tell us to pray? Our Father who art in heaven, hallow be your name….that is, God you are my God and I will ever praise you. You are awesome and all powerful. Everything you do is perfect, even if I don’t recognize it.
Your kingdom come, your will be done….Lord, I want what you want. Your will is mine. Do with me what you will.
On earth as it is in heaven…earth is not the Eden it once was. Adam and Eve had everything and threw it away. Lord, I want that back. I want to see your perfection reign supreme in this land. No more death and destruction, just beauty and love.
Give us this day our daily bread….Lord supply my needs for today. I won’t worry about next week. I’ll wait for you.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us….Lord, forgive those things I’ve done against you, like not trusting and not believing in you.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….Lord show me how to turn away from my sins and turn to you. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and glory forever and ever. Amen.
When you wonder what to pray, you can’t beat copying the master. Transform it to your own words. God is not looking for anything fancy. He is looking for your conversation to come from your heart.
Next on Wesley’s list is bible study. Set apart a specific time each day either in the morning or evening for bible study. Search for the holiness and the Lord’s words to work in your life. Pray before and after you read the scriptures. Only the Holy Spirit can give us discernment on what the bible actually means.
The last thing Wesley says is to pause, and examine ourselves when we read. This will give us praise where we find God conforming our will to his, and give us humiliation and prayer when we find our will falling short.
There are other means of grace and piety, and all these are to bring you closer to the divine God. As you get closer, this fertilizer will help you grow.
What about pruning? We prune trees, shrubs, flowers. What about spiritual pruning. Times when you don’t feel God standing next to you. Times when the signs aren’t flashing with direction arrows for you.
Times when you’re not on the mountain top, but feel like you’re sliding down, rolling over rocks and bushes as you go. These are spiritual pruning times in your life.
The best advice I can give you is to “fake it ‘til you make it.” What does that mean?? Just because you don’t feel God with you doesn’t mean he is not there. You will get out of worship what you put into it.
In our worship service we must embrace both the transcendence (or the out of this world awesome powerfulness) of God and the immanence (or the close personal availability) of God. An undue emphasis on the transcendence makes God remote and disconnected, whereas an exclusive focus on the immanence of God can lead to a preoccupation of holy intimacy.
God will be reduced to a special “buddy” who provides comfort and support but seldom challenges. It is in the dynamic tension between the immanence and transcendence of God that people encounter the holy mystery that both attracts us and causes us to withdraw in awe-inspired reverent fear.
If you don’t feel God, he hasn’t moved. You will get out of worship what you put into it. In the process, you might get pruned. You will feel vulnerable, alone, beat up, bloody, going thru fire, and out of options.
When you come thru this though, you will grow into something special for God. Don’t turn away. This time of trial will make you, not break you.
Who is the gardener in your spiritual life? Who is watering, fertilizing, and pruning? If you say “I’m the gardener. I went and got baptized. I study my bible. I pray. I fast. I have Christian conversations with friends. I go on retreats.” With you as the gardener, your spirit may grow, but your fruit will be that grapefruit sized watermelon.
But with Jesus Christ as your gardener, with the Holy Spirit guiding you, the fruit you produce will show your true colors. Every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit.
By my fruit, does God recognize me? Jesus says in Matthew 7, “every bad tree is cut down and thrown into the fire. Not everyone who says to me “Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to him “Lord did I not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles.” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoer.”
Jesus went into all the towns in Ellis and the surrounding counties preaching and teaching the Good News. Then he said to us, his disciples “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Whom shall I send?” Do I raise my hand? Do you? He is the vine, we are the branches. Are we plugged into him?
The gardener Jesus waters and fertilizes and prunes us. Are we able to make fruit now. Are we growing spiritually and are those around us (not just in the church) growing because of us? I want to grow. I want to follow the directions he gives me. I want to see golden red tomatoes on my spiritual branches that nourish those around. What about you? Do you want to produce fruit? Do you want to nourish? On the last day, will you hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Luke 13: 1-9 page 848
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with there sacrifices. He asked them, “ Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?
He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I did around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”
Luke 13:1-9
Growing in Christ
I love to garden. I have pretty much all my life. When I was a kid, we always had a large garden, one time, almost half an acre. I love to watch everything grow, and anticipate just what is growing and how big it will get.
When I was in Jr. High, we lived just outside of town and (of course) had a garden. It was in what used to be a horse pen or some sort of cow pen. I tell you, everything in that garden grew better than any of the others. I’m not sure why… We had rows of tomato and pepper plants. Mom really liked to can hot sauce. We also had squash and cucumbers.
I would plant some watermelons, because there is nothing better than being a kid in the summer sitting on the front porch eating a slice of melon. Unfortunately, we had the wrong soil or wrong bugs or the wrong color of thumbs for watermelons. At the end of the season they looked more like green grapefruit than watermelons.
But we didn’t just grow veggies. We also grew flowers. Some flowers attract a certain type of insect which eats another type of insect and then WE can eat our veggies and not the bugs.
Mary Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow? What does it take to make a garden grow? Water of course. It’s good when it rains every week or two so you don’t have to water. What about fertilizer?? Of course that will help…according to the TV commercials. What else helps your plants grow bigger and better than ever??
Did you ever prune your plants? As you cut off the runt branches, the bigger and higher up ones can grow even better. In my mother-in-laws front yard there used to be a nice sized tree. Every couple years she would have it pruned. Actually she would have it chopped. If the tree had feelings, I think it would have felt the same way a long haired man feels when he joins the Marines. This tree had a huge trunk going up about 12 feet and then 10-12 nice size branches going out. No leaves anywhere. You wonder how it will make it. But within a year, it’s all filled out again.
Jesus, of course, was not talking about gardening. As with every other parable, this one had a spiritual undercurrent ready to sweep us in just like it did those first believers. He says twice, for emphasis, “unless you repent, you will perish.” Man that sounds kind of harsh. The report of the tragedy experienced by the group of Galilean pilgrims is not an attempt to test Jesus’ attitude toward the Romans and specifically Pontius Pilate.
Rather, those who offer this report are giving Jesus what they see as a good example of the sort of judgment Jesus has been talking about. Jesus rejects that idea and focuses on repentance. What is repentance?? The Greek word for repent is “met-an-eh-o”. It’s a verb meaning to “think differently or reconsider.”
Repent, is to see your sin and disobedience, turn away from it, and (this is most important), turn to God. Jesus says in Luke 11, “when an evil spirit comes out of someone he goes looking for another resting place. If he does not find one, he turns and comes back to the original house. When he finds the house empty, he brings 7 of his friends and inhabits the house again. They have a toga party.”
Repentance is more than just turning away from a sin, bad habit, making bad judgments, gossip, and everything else against God. When you turn away, your house will be empty. If you don’t replace the sin or bad habit, it will come back. Let’s think of an example. I run up my credit cards. I buy a new car, big house, a nice boat. But I don’t make enough money to pay for all this.
Well I get my tax return in and I pay off a credit card, ‘cause that’s what I should do. What do I do then? Go on a shopping spree of course!!! Xbox 360; plasma TV. YEAH….No. sorry. What do I do?? God gives us specific rules for money management.
The bible says I give to God 1st in my tithe. I then pay for food and shelter. Those should be my $$ priorities. Repentance is turning from the sin, and then turning to God. God takes over my life. God takes over my priorities. No looking back.
How do we grow now? When we get our priorities straight, how does our garden grow?? Water is our baptism. Do you remember your baptism?? Baptism is a using a common element, in this case water, as a vehicle of divine grace. When Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water, the sky opened up. The Holy Spirit came down into Jesus. Grace was in him. The Holy Spirit was working thru him. The water for us and for Jesus was a growth agent.
The gardener says “let me fertilize it.” What is spiritual fertilizer? John Wesley talked about Spiritual Disciplines being our fertilizer. He called them “works of piety”. The main one of these was prayer, whether private or with the great congregation like this one. He also emphasized searching the scriptures (meaning reading, hearing, and meditating on them), receiving the Lord’s Supper, and fasting among others.
Christians are to pray constantly without ceasing. “Whether we think of, or speak to God, whether we act or suffer for God, ‘All is prayer’ when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him.” What is your prayer life like?? How do you talk to God? God is not looking for a bunch of “thees and thous”. He is also not wanting a grocery list, although he will take it. My prayer life can be like that many times. “Lord, bring more people to the church. Lord heal my friend, fix my car, give me a good nights sleep, warm up the weather.”
How does Jesus tell us to pray? Our Father who art in heaven, hallow be your name….that is, God you are my God and I will ever praise you. You are awesome and all powerful. Everything you do is perfect, even if I don’t recognize it.
Your kingdom come, your will be done….Lord, I want what you want. Your will is mine. Do with me what you will.
On earth as it is in heaven…earth is not the Eden it once was. Adam and Eve had everything and threw it away. Lord, I want that back. I want to see your perfection reign supreme in this land. No more death and destruction, just beauty and love.
Give us this day our daily bread….Lord supply my needs for today. I won’t worry about next week. I’ll wait for you.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us….Lord, forgive those things I’ve done against you, like not trusting and not believing in you.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil….Lord show me how to turn away from my sins and turn to you. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and glory forever and ever. Amen.
When you wonder what to pray, you can’t beat copying the master. Transform it to your own words. God is not looking for anything fancy. He is looking for your conversation to come from your heart.
Next on Wesley’s list is bible study. Set apart a specific time each day either in the morning or evening for bible study. Search for the holiness and the Lord’s words to work in your life. Pray before and after you read the scriptures. Only the Holy Spirit can give us discernment on what the bible actually means.
The last thing Wesley says is to pause, and examine ourselves when we read. This will give us praise where we find God conforming our will to his, and give us humiliation and prayer when we find our will falling short.
There are other means of grace and piety, and all these are to bring you closer to the divine God. As you get closer, this fertilizer will help you grow.
What about pruning? We prune trees, shrubs, flowers. What about spiritual pruning. Times when you don’t feel God standing next to you. Times when the signs aren’t flashing with direction arrows for you.
Times when you’re not on the mountain top, but feel like you’re sliding down, rolling over rocks and bushes as you go. These are spiritual pruning times in your life.
The best advice I can give you is to “fake it ‘til you make it.” What does that mean?? Just because you don’t feel God with you doesn’t mean he is not there. You will get out of worship what you put into it.
In our worship service we must embrace both the transcendence (or the out of this world awesome powerfulness) of God and the immanence (or the close personal availability) of God. An undue emphasis on the transcendence makes God remote and disconnected, whereas an exclusive focus on the immanence of God can lead to a preoccupation of holy intimacy.
God will be reduced to a special “buddy” who provides comfort and support but seldom challenges. It is in the dynamic tension between the immanence and transcendence of God that people encounter the holy mystery that both attracts us and causes us to withdraw in awe-inspired reverent fear.
If you don’t feel God, he hasn’t moved. You will get out of worship what you put into it. In the process, you might get pruned. You will feel vulnerable, alone, beat up, bloody, going thru fire, and out of options.
When you come thru this though, you will grow into something special for God. Don’t turn away. This time of trial will make you, not break you.
Who is the gardener in your spiritual life? Who is watering, fertilizing, and pruning? If you say “I’m the gardener. I went and got baptized. I study my bible. I pray. I fast. I have Christian conversations with friends. I go on retreats.” With you as the gardener, your spirit may grow, but your fruit will be that grapefruit sized watermelon.
But with Jesus Christ as your gardener, with the Holy Spirit guiding you, the fruit you produce will show your true colors. Every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit.
By my fruit, does God recognize me? Jesus says in Matthew 7, “every bad tree is cut down and thrown into the fire. Not everyone who says to me “Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to him “Lord did I not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles.” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoer.”
Jesus went into all the towns in Ellis and the surrounding counties preaching and teaching the Good News. Then he said to us, his disciples “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Whom shall I send?” Do I raise my hand? Do you? He is the vine, we are the branches. Are we plugged into him?
The gardener Jesus waters and fertilizes and prunes us. Are we able to make fruit now. Are we growing spiritually and are those around us (not just in the church) growing because of us? I want to grow. I want to follow the directions he gives me. I want to see golden red tomatoes on my spiritual branches that nourish those around. What about you? Do you want to produce fruit? Do you want to nourish? On the last day, will you hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Luke 13: 1-9 page 848
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with there sacrifices. He asked them, “ Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?
He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I did around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”
Monday, March 05, 2007
March 4 sermon The Path of Jesus
March 4 Sermon The Path of the Lord
Psalm 27
Luke 12:31-35
What would a journey with Jesus look like? This Lent season for many is a time of giving up. Some will give up sodas or chocolate or some other food. Maybe they will give up spending money on something that has been near and dear to them in the past.
It’s a time for many to think about their own mortality. Just like in Genesis it says “from ashes you came and to ashes you will go.” I was taught that when I am fasting and I start to get those hunger pains, they are a reminder for me to meditate on what Jesus gave up for my sake. Lent is 40 days of walking with Jesus on the path to the finish line.
He is going thru the towns and villages teaching all who would listen, on his way to Jerusalem. So Pharisees come up and warn him, “Get away from here. Harod is looking for you and wants to kill you.” Harod was not an idiot. His people were every where. When you are king, the last thing you want is any sort of disturbance or uprising.
He had already killed John the Baptist who was beginning to get a following. Now this Jesus is making waves.
Some people think all the Pharisees are bad. Actually they were not.
Jesus had some Pharisees learning from him. When the Pharisees in this text come up to him, you notice he does not chastise them like he does in many of the texts.
“Go and tell that fox for me…” ‘Fox’ can have a few different meanings. Cunning and craftiness is probably what Jesus meant in saying this. It could also mean intelligence and destructiveness. When you read about Harod, that definitely sounds like him.
Jesus says he is casting out demons and curing people for the next few days and then he will be finished. While he is alive, Jesus planned to do everything he could for the people. He was not looking for the cross, just walking toward the cross.
He did not stop working just because he knew the end was near. Could he be calling us to do the same? I’ve been asked, “when do you think Jesus will come back?” I think he will come back soon, at least sooner than if you would have asked me yesterday or the day before.
It’s like all those “What If…” questions. What if I lose my job? What if someone in my family dies? What if my car breaks down? What if it rains? What if it doesn’t rain? ‘What if’ can put you in an indecisive limbo, can’t it? OCD kicks in and you walk between your car and the front door 5 times to make sure it’s shut and locked.
Jesus didn’t do “what if”. This is my destiny. This is my calling. The father called me to go to Jerusalem, so that is where I am going. Nothing will happen to me on the way. He made his decision. At all costs (and he knew the costs) I will keep going after the prize.
Like our Psalmist said today, “whom shall I fear? Who shall I dread? My heart will not fear. I will remain confident.”
Jesus probably looks up at this time, looking out in the distance toward Jerusalem, lamenting over a city that is a symbol for all of Israel. He talks like the loving mother. “Oh how I have desired to bring you all together and hold you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”
What a comforting thought. Even though Jesus knows what is about to happen to him and who is perpetrating it, he still wishes to bring all of Israel under his care.
That’s what Psalm 27 is all about….A fearless trust in the Lord. “Teach me your way Lord and lead me on a level path. Do not turn your servant away.” We are able to say the same thing to God. When we feel the “Harod of our time” breathing down our necks, we can call out “The Lord will take me up. Whom shall I fear.”
Jesus was looking toward the future. He was seeing what could be done in the time he was here on earth, fully knowing what was going to happen. He yells out “hey…I’m going to keep healing. I’m going to keep praying. I’m going to keep teaching.
My goal is to bring as many people to the feast table of the Lord as I can during my time on earth. Today I will work for my Father. Tomorrow I will work for my Father. On the 3rd day I will continue to work for my Father. His goal is all I seek. To dwell in his house all the days of my life is what I desire. To be in God’s will….that’s what Jesus was doing. He was going about the business of the Father.
He was prophesying during this exchange. For 3 days Jesus’ body was in the tomb. On the 3rd day his work was finished and he was resurrected. When he is lamenting over Jerusalem, the last thing he says is “you will not see me until you say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” We will get to that exact time on Palm Sunday in just a few weeks.
How does all this relate to us in the 21st century, and how can we tie all this together for Lent?? We come back to the ‘what if’ questions. What are you worried about?? What takes up your thoughts most of the day? Maybe it’s the kids or grandkids.
You worry about them getting a good education, and having friends that won’t corrupt them. How about your spouse…does he think I’m pretty; does she believe in me and my ability to provide for the family. You worry about your career, health, car, house. Maybe you could have done it differently all these years.
But what does Jesus say? “Do not worry about tomorrow”. The Apostle Paul tells us to run for the prize. This is not a prosperity message. This IS a Good News message. The cross is a prize. On the cross is Jesus. By the blood he has shed on the cross, we are able to come before God Almighty.
For these 40 days of Lent, as you give up whatever God has led you to give up, I want you to meditate on Psalm 27 and set your eyes on the goal ahead as Jesus did. Don’t stop seeking and doing the will of the Lord.
In the day of trouble he will conceal you. Your head will be lifted up. You will shout for joy and sing praises to God. He will lift you up on a rock. One thing we shall seek is to dwell in the house of the Lord all our days. Be strong and let your heart take courage. He is gathering us up like chicks to the hen so we can be together once again.
That’s what communion time is for us. It’s a time to gather around a common Christian table to renew and live again. Join me on page 12 in our hymnals.
Psalm 27 page 437
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Luke 13:31-35 page 849
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Psalm 27
Luke 12:31-35
What would a journey with Jesus look like? This Lent season for many is a time of giving up. Some will give up sodas or chocolate or some other food. Maybe they will give up spending money on something that has been near and dear to them in the past.
It’s a time for many to think about their own mortality. Just like in Genesis it says “from ashes you came and to ashes you will go.” I was taught that when I am fasting and I start to get those hunger pains, they are a reminder for me to meditate on what Jesus gave up for my sake. Lent is 40 days of walking with Jesus on the path to the finish line.
He is going thru the towns and villages teaching all who would listen, on his way to Jerusalem. So Pharisees come up and warn him, “Get away from here. Harod is looking for you and wants to kill you.” Harod was not an idiot. His people were every where. When you are king, the last thing you want is any sort of disturbance or uprising.
He had already killed John the Baptist who was beginning to get a following. Now this Jesus is making waves.
Some people think all the Pharisees are bad. Actually they were not.
Jesus had some Pharisees learning from him. When the Pharisees in this text come up to him, you notice he does not chastise them like he does in many of the texts.
“Go and tell that fox for me…” ‘Fox’ can have a few different meanings. Cunning and craftiness is probably what Jesus meant in saying this. It could also mean intelligence and destructiveness. When you read about Harod, that definitely sounds like him.
Jesus says he is casting out demons and curing people for the next few days and then he will be finished. While he is alive, Jesus planned to do everything he could for the people. He was not looking for the cross, just walking toward the cross.
He did not stop working just because he knew the end was near. Could he be calling us to do the same? I’ve been asked, “when do you think Jesus will come back?” I think he will come back soon, at least sooner than if you would have asked me yesterday or the day before.
It’s like all those “What If…” questions. What if I lose my job? What if someone in my family dies? What if my car breaks down? What if it rains? What if it doesn’t rain? ‘What if’ can put you in an indecisive limbo, can’t it? OCD kicks in and you walk between your car and the front door 5 times to make sure it’s shut and locked.
Jesus didn’t do “what if”. This is my destiny. This is my calling. The father called me to go to Jerusalem, so that is where I am going. Nothing will happen to me on the way. He made his decision. At all costs (and he knew the costs) I will keep going after the prize.
Like our Psalmist said today, “whom shall I fear? Who shall I dread? My heart will not fear. I will remain confident.”
Jesus probably looks up at this time, looking out in the distance toward Jerusalem, lamenting over a city that is a symbol for all of Israel. He talks like the loving mother. “Oh how I have desired to bring you all together and hold you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”
What a comforting thought. Even though Jesus knows what is about to happen to him and who is perpetrating it, he still wishes to bring all of Israel under his care.
That’s what Psalm 27 is all about….A fearless trust in the Lord. “Teach me your way Lord and lead me on a level path. Do not turn your servant away.” We are able to say the same thing to God. When we feel the “Harod of our time” breathing down our necks, we can call out “The Lord will take me up. Whom shall I fear.”
Jesus was looking toward the future. He was seeing what could be done in the time he was here on earth, fully knowing what was going to happen. He yells out “hey…I’m going to keep healing. I’m going to keep praying. I’m going to keep teaching.
My goal is to bring as many people to the feast table of the Lord as I can during my time on earth. Today I will work for my Father. Tomorrow I will work for my Father. On the 3rd day I will continue to work for my Father. His goal is all I seek. To dwell in his house all the days of my life is what I desire. To be in God’s will….that’s what Jesus was doing. He was going about the business of the Father.
He was prophesying during this exchange. For 3 days Jesus’ body was in the tomb. On the 3rd day his work was finished and he was resurrected. When he is lamenting over Jerusalem, the last thing he says is “you will not see me until you say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” We will get to that exact time on Palm Sunday in just a few weeks.
How does all this relate to us in the 21st century, and how can we tie all this together for Lent?? We come back to the ‘what if’ questions. What are you worried about?? What takes up your thoughts most of the day? Maybe it’s the kids or grandkids.
You worry about them getting a good education, and having friends that won’t corrupt them. How about your spouse…does he think I’m pretty; does she believe in me and my ability to provide for the family. You worry about your career, health, car, house. Maybe you could have done it differently all these years.
But what does Jesus say? “Do not worry about tomorrow”. The Apostle Paul tells us to run for the prize. This is not a prosperity message. This IS a Good News message. The cross is a prize. On the cross is Jesus. By the blood he has shed on the cross, we are able to come before God Almighty.
For these 40 days of Lent, as you give up whatever God has led you to give up, I want you to meditate on Psalm 27 and set your eyes on the goal ahead as Jesus did. Don’t stop seeking and doing the will of the Lord.
In the day of trouble he will conceal you. Your head will be lifted up. You will shout for joy and sing praises to God. He will lift you up on a rock. One thing we shall seek is to dwell in the house of the Lord all our days. Be strong and let your heart take courage. He is gathering us up like chicks to the hen so we can be together once again.
That’s what communion time is for us. It’s a time to gather around a common Christian table to renew and live again. Join me on page 12 in our hymnals.
Psalm 27 page 437
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Luke 13:31-35 page 849
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Sunday, February 25, 2007
February 25 sermon Temptation Luke 4:1-13
Feb 25 Sermon
Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16
Luke 4:1-13
Title: Temptation
What are the temptations in your life??? Is it magazines? TV? Something on the internet? What about a nice looking girl or guy in the mall? Are you tempted by food? The chocolate cake on the table is calling out “eat me, eat me.” Maybe you’re tempted by power. You could be the mayor, governor, or president.
In Luke, Jesus had just been baptized by John in the Jordan. When he came out of the water, the Holy Spirit filled Jesus. Immediately he was led out to the wilderness.
For 40 days he was tempted by the devil. What does 40 days have to do with anything? For 40 years the Israelites were walking in the wilderness and were tempted by the unknown. For 40 days, Noah was in the ark being rained on, and Noah’s faith was tested.
For 40 days, Moses was on Mt. Sinai. The people did not know what had happened to Moses and even doubted he was alive. Elijah was on Mt. Horab for 40 days. Do you notice how 40 just keeps coming up. It’s this great time of testing.
Jesus went into the wilderness. Have you ever been in a spiritual wilderness?? This is a place where you can’t seem to feel the presence of God anywhere around you. You pray, you fast, you worship and raise your hands. But…nothing. There’s nothing there. Walking around in a daze, you ask “what happened to that mountain top experience I was on.” Wilderness.
So for 40 days Jesus ate nothing and he was famished. He was hungry. And the Devil tempted him. “If you are God, turn this stone into bread.” Ahhh bread. It’s a basic food to live on. Do you remember that first week in July when we had bread cooking in the sanctuary for communion? Oh that smell was delicious. Did you go thru the church looking for the fresh bread? Is your mouth watering yet?
Jesus answered back…”man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” That’s a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. He humbled you, then when you hungered he fed you with manna, to teach you man does not live on bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God.”
Jesus is saying that bread is just bread. There is nothing of real substance there to completely nourish you. He is saying “You got bread, but that bread came directly from God. God is the one that supplies all your needs.” He’s the one you have to lean on.
While the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years, God supplied their every need. He was there for them.
After Jesus said that, the devil took Jesus up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. “If you worship me, all this will be yours. You will have glory and authority.”
That is a temptation. Riches, power, love, glory. The people also wanted Jesus to be a conquering messiah. They wanted him to come in on a white steed and save them. Which one of us would have given in to THIS temptation??
Money equals power, right. People deferring to you whenever you come into their presence. Getting to be first in line every time and sitting at the head of the table. Giving the toast to start the party. Being the head marshal in the parade. Quick promotions. You name in the paper. “Bob is the new (fill in the blank) of our city.”
Bill Clinton when asked why he did some of the “least flattering” things he did, he answered “because I could.” It wasn’t an arrogant answer, just an honest one. Unfortunately the devil is a liar. He does not have the authority to give that power to anyone. The devil shows his hand. “If you worship me…” yes that’s what those who want power are looking for.
Worship. I’ll put my name on buildings all over the country and have large casinos and a TV show. Worship me. But Jesus answered him “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Look back at the 10 commandments. “You shall not have any other Gods before me…nor serve them.” Did you notice that Jesus said to the devil “worship the Lord YOUR God”??
Even if the devil didn’t believe him to be almighty God, he still was. If a guy jumps off a tall building and says “I don’t believe in gravity,” he is still going to fall. That reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw the other day. It said “God doesn’t believe in atheist.”
For the last test, the Devil takes Jesus to the top of the temple. “Jump off. If your angels are really yours, they will not let you be hurt.” Where were they?? On the temple. Why? Glory, honor!! Yes….the temple. That’s where the people go to meet with God.
The temple. If someone jumps off the top of the temple and then lands softly on the ground, people are going to notice. People are going to bow down and worship. We read this in Psalm 91, and believe me, the Israelites read the same Psalms. “His angels shall watch over him and he will not dash his foot on a stone.” Even the devil can quote scripture.
Why do we go thru scripture each Sunday?? There will be many false prophets that come into your life and they will know scripture. Jehovah’s Witness will say Jesus was a created being just like any other creature. Muslims will say Jesus was just a prophet. They will all use scriptures out of the bible to quote these. False teachers will come up in the church like wolves in sheep’s clothing. They will say thing to tickle your ears.
Another way to test God….Homer Simpson says this “Dear Lord.. The gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here's the deal: You freeze everything the way it is, and I won't ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely NO sign. OK, deal.” You ever make a deal with God like that?? “Just get me out of this mess….just get me the money to make it thru this month….just don’t let my wife find out.”
Jesus answered “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” And the devil left him until a more opportune time. D o you know what that means?? The devil comes back again and again. He doesn’t just ping us once and then run away. This isn’t the drive by devil. This is the drive by, shoot, go around the block, shoot again, go around the block, shoot again.
Have you ever said “I never fight with my husband?” And then have a fight the next week. Have you ever said “I manage my money and don’t have problems?” And then miss a payment the next month. Each person has points of vulnerability that are like a crack in the dam.
Just a few drops of water will get thru at first and you may not think anything about it. But soon it’s a squirt. Then a water fall. Then the whole dam comes crashing down. Temptation will come in when you least expect it.
How do you deal with these temptations?? Be grounded in the Word of God.
Our Psalm 91 says “They say of the Lord, he is my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” I had a conversation with a friend the other day about spiritual attacks and spiritual warfare. That is what Jesus was going thru in those 40 days in the wilderness. This was not human attacks where people attack your credibility or authority.
These are spiritual attacks that can only be defended spiritually. That is what Jesus does. He holds up the shield of protection…that is the bible. Those flaming arrows that are hurled at us can be blocked by the Word of Life.
When you are attacked like this, ground yourself in the word. Seek out scriptures that talk about situations like yours. Seek out other believers who have gone thru the same problems. Trust me, you are not the first person to go thru ANY situation.
If you are having a situation right now (whether it be sickness, loss, loneliness, anything) and you’re not sure what to do, come up during out last song or stay after the service and we can pray about it. It’s not too great for you and God to tackle together.
Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16
Luke 4:1-13
Title: Temptation
What are the temptations in your life??? Is it magazines? TV? Something on the internet? What about a nice looking girl or guy in the mall? Are you tempted by food? The chocolate cake on the table is calling out “eat me, eat me.” Maybe you’re tempted by power. You could be the mayor, governor, or president.
In Luke, Jesus had just been baptized by John in the Jordan. When he came out of the water, the Holy Spirit filled Jesus. Immediately he was led out to the wilderness.
For 40 days he was tempted by the devil. What does 40 days have to do with anything? For 40 years the Israelites were walking in the wilderness and were tempted by the unknown. For 40 days, Noah was in the ark being rained on, and Noah’s faith was tested.
For 40 days, Moses was on Mt. Sinai. The people did not know what had happened to Moses and even doubted he was alive. Elijah was on Mt. Horab for 40 days. Do you notice how 40 just keeps coming up. It’s this great time of testing.
Jesus went into the wilderness. Have you ever been in a spiritual wilderness?? This is a place where you can’t seem to feel the presence of God anywhere around you. You pray, you fast, you worship and raise your hands. But…nothing. There’s nothing there. Walking around in a daze, you ask “what happened to that mountain top experience I was on.” Wilderness.
So for 40 days Jesus ate nothing and he was famished. He was hungry. And the Devil tempted him. “If you are God, turn this stone into bread.” Ahhh bread. It’s a basic food to live on. Do you remember that first week in July when we had bread cooking in the sanctuary for communion? Oh that smell was delicious. Did you go thru the church looking for the fresh bread? Is your mouth watering yet?
Jesus answered back…”man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” That’s a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. He humbled you, then when you hungered he fed you with manna, to teach you man does not live on bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God.”
Jesus is saying that bread is just bread. There is nothing of real substance there to completely nourish you. He is saying “You got bread, but that bread came directly from God. God is the one that supplies all your needs.” He’s the one you have to lean on.
While the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years, God supplied their every need. He was there for them.
After Jesus said that, the devil took Jesus up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. “If you worship me, all this will be yours. You will have glory and authority.”
That is a temptation. Riches, power, love, glory. The people also wanted Jesus to be a conquering messiah. They wanted him to come in on a white steed and save them. Which one of us would have given in to THIS temptation??
Money equals power, right. People deferring to you whenever you come into their presence. Getting to be first in line every time and sitting at the head of the table. Giving the toast to start the party. Being the head marshal in the parade. Quick promotions. You name in the paper. “Bob is the new (fill in the blank) of our city.”
Bill Clinton when asked why he did some of the “least flattering” things he did, he answered “because I could.” It wasn’t an arrogant answer, just an honest one. Unfortunately the devil is a liar. He does not have the authority to give that power to anyone. The devil shows his hand. “If you worship me…” yes that’s what those who want power are looking for.
Worship. I’ll put my name on buildings all over the country and have large casinos and a TV show. Worship me. But Jesus answered him “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Look back at the 10 commandments. “You shall not have any other Gods before me…nor serve them.” Did you notice that Jesus said to the devil “worship the Lord YOUR God”??
Even if the devil didn’t believe him to be almighty God, he still was. If a guy jumps off a tall building and says “I don’t believe in gravity,” he is still going to fall. That reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw the other day. It said “God doesn’t believe in atheist.”
For the last test, the Devil takes Jesus to the top of the temple. “Jump off. If your angels are really yours, they will not let you be hurt.” Where were they?? On the temple. Why? Glory, honor!! Yes….the temple. That’s where the people go to meet with God.
The temple. If someone jumps off the top of the temple and then lands softly on the ground, people are going to notice. People are going to bow down and worship. We read this in Psalm 91, and believe me, the Israelites read the same Psalms. “His angels shall watch over him and he will not dash his foot on a stone.” Even the devil can quote scripture.
Why do we go thru scripture each Sunday?? There will be many false prophets that come into your life and they will know scripture. Jehovah’s Witness will say Jesus was a created being just like any other creature. Muslims will say Jesus was just a prophet. They will all use scriptures out of the bible to quote these. False teachers will come up in the church like wolves in sheep’s clothing. They will say thing to tickle your ears.
Another way to test God….Homer Simpson says this “Dear Lord.. The gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here's the deal: You freeze everything the way it is, and I won't ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely NO sign. OK, deal.” You ever make a deal with God like that?? “Just get me out of this mess….just get me the money to make it thru this month….just don’t let my wife find out.”
Jesus answered “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” And the devil left him until a more opportune time. D o you know what that means?? The devil comes back again and again. He doesn’t just ping us once and then run away. This isn’t the drive by devil. This is the drive by, shoot, go around the block, shoot again, go around the block, shoot again.
Have you ever said “I never fight with my husband?” And then have a fight the next week. Have you ever said “I manage my money and don’t have problems?” And then miss a payment the next month. Each person has points of vulnerability that are like a crack in the dam.
Just a few drops of water will get thru at first and you may not think anything about it. But soon it’s a squirt. Then a water fall. Then the whole dam comes crashing down. Temptation will come in when you least expect it.
How do you deal with these temptations?? Be grounded in the Word of God.
Our Psalm 91 says “They say of the Lord, he is my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” I had a conversation with a friend the other day about spiritual attacks and spiritual warfare. That is what Jesus was going thru in those 40 days in the wilderness. This was not human attacks where people attack your credibility or authority.
These are spiritual attacks that can only be defended spiritually. That is what Jesus does. He holds up the shield of protection…that is the bible. Those flaming arrows that are hurled at us can be blocked by the Word of Life.
When you are attacked like this, ground yourself in the word. Seek out scriptures that talk about situations like yours. Seek out other believers who have gone thru the same problems. Trust me, you are not the first person to go thru ANY situation.
If you are having a situation right now (whether it be sickness, loss, loneliness, anything) and you’re not sure what to do, come up during out last song or stay after the service and we can pray about it. It’s not too great for you and God to tackle together.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ash Wednesday Service sermon
Ash Wednesday Service
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51
Ashes signify mourning and repentance.
Ash Wednesday is the 1st day of Lent…a time of fasting and repentance before God. It emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality and we confess our sin before God within the community of faith. Today we do the imposition of ashes.
That is when you come up before the alter. A cross made of ashes will be put on your forehead. It is a sign to remind us of our own mortality and how we came from ashes. This is also a time for us to come before God in repentance seeking to confess our sin individually and as a community.
King David gave us a perfect example in Psalm 51. After he and Bathsheba had sinned together, the priest Nathan confronted David. This is the Psalm to God David wrote when confronted with his sin.
Have Mercy on me, O God. Why?? Because God has unfailing love and compassion. The God of love never fails when we come before him. During this time of lent, you will probably fast from something. Many Catholics fast from meat on Fridays.
Some people may fast from sodas or Monster Energy drinks (God bless you, I will watch from a far). Others might fast from eating one day a week or do bread and water fast a day. But I think God is looking for more from us.
In Psalm 51:10, David says to “create in me a pure heart and renew my spirit.” In verse 16, David says “You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” Then in verse 17, we find what God is looking for in us. My sacrifice is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
I think about that cross of ashes coming in just a few minutes. That is the cross I prefer. Put the cross on my forehead. Whatever you do Lord, don’t put it on my heart. I don’t want my heart to be ripped apart by the red hot branding iron of the cross that will expose all my weaknesses.
In the world I live in, self-reliant individualism is put on a pedestal. Any sign of weakness or emotional predisposition is automatically help suspect. It’s difficult to return to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning. However, it is fashionable to appear in public the smear of a cross on my forehead.
I can go around like the Pharasees of the 1st century or the self described righteous piety of the 21st century with my cross around my neck and say “see, see. I am a Christian. Yes I am saved.” I have a cross necklace and a T-shirt with a cool saying on it.
I saw one for girls the other day that said “I am taken” and then reference the scripture that says “I am a possession of God”. I can put a bumper sticker on my car that says “in case of rapture this car will be unmanned.” I can put that fish symbol on the back…one on each side and then a little one so I have my whole family covered.
I have some great silver Christmas ornaments that say Faith, Hope, and Love. And every time Veggie Tales comes out with a new DVD, I’m first in line.
But no, God is not looking for these things. God is looking for a broken spirit and a contrite heart. What does that mean for us??
We have a broken spirit when we come to realize we are not immortal, we are not God, and we will die some time in the future. We have a contrite heart when we come before God repentant of our sins before God.
And so I will invite you to the observance of Lenten discipline.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
The early Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the church that before the Easter Celebration there should be a forty day season of spiritual preparation.
During this season converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins and had separated themselves from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to participation in the life of the church.
In this way the whole congregation was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need we all have to renew our faith.
I invite you therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, to observe a holy Lent:
By self examination and repentance;
By prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
And by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.
To make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature,
Let us now individually bow our hearts in prayer before our Creator and Redeemer.
Joel 2
An Army of Locusts 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.
Rend Your Heart 12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ; you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51
Ashes signify mourning and repentance.
Ash Wednesday is the 1st day of Lent…a time of fasting and repentance before God. It emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality and we confess our sin before God within the community of faith. Today we do the imposition of ashes.
That is when you come up before the alter. A cross made of ashes will be put on your forehead. It is a sign to remind us of our own mortality and how we came from ashes. This is also a time for us to come before God in repentance seeking to confess our sin individually and as a community.
King David gave us a perfect example in Psalm 51. After he and Bathsheba had sinned together, the priest Nathan confronted David. This is the Psalm to God David wrote when confronted with his sin.
Have Mercy on me, O God. Why?? Because God has unfailing love and compassion. The God of love never fails when we come before him. During this time of lent, you will probably fast from something. Many Catholics fast from meat on Fridays.
Some people may fast from sodas or Monster Energy drinks (God bless you, I will watch from a far). Others might fast from eating one day a week or do bread and water fast a day. But I think God is looking for more from us.
In Psalm 51:10, David says to “create in me a pure heart and renew my spirit.” In verse 16, David says “You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” Then in verse 17, we find what God is looking for in us. My sacrifice is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
I think about that cross of ashes coming in just a few minutes. That is the cross I prefer. Put the cross on my forehead. Whatever you do Lord, don’t put it on my heart. I don’t want my heart to be ripped apart by the red hot branding iron of the cross that will expose all my weaknesses.
In the world I live in, self-reliant individualism is put on a pedestal. Any sign of weakness or emotional predisposition is automatically help suspect. It’s difficult to return to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning. However, it is fashionable to appear in public the smear of a cross on my forehead.
I can go around like the Pharasees of the 1st century or the self described righteous piety of the 21st century with my cross around my neck and say “see, see. I am a Christian. Yes I am saved.” I have a cross necklace and a T-shirt with a cool saying on it.
I saw one for girls the other day that said “I am taken” and then reference the scripture that says “I am a possession of God”. I can put a bumper sticker on my car that says “in case of rapture this car will be unmanned.” I can put that fish symbol on the back…one on each side and then a little one so I have my whole family covered.
I have some great silver Christmas ornaments that say Faith, Hope, and Love. And every time Veggie Tales comes out with a new DVD, I’m first in line.
But no, God is not looking for these things. God is looking for a broken spirit and a contrite heart. What does that mean for us??
We have a broken spirit when we come to realize we are not immortal, we are not God, and we will die some time in the future. We have a contrite heart when we come before God repentant of our sins before God.
And so I will invite you to the observance of Lenten discipline.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
The early Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the church that before the Easter Celebration there should be a forty day season of spiritual preparation.
During this season converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins and had separated themselves from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to participation in the life of the church.
In this way the whole congregation was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need we all have to renew our faith.
I invite you therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, to observe a holy Lent:
By self examination and repentance;
By prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
And by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.
To make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature,
Let us now individually bow our hearts in prayer before our Creator and Redeemer.
Joel 2
An Army of Locusts 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.
Rend Your Heart 12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ; you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)