tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31678400663879982932024-03-13T11:52:53.409-04:00The Other Six DaysBarefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-90934383749378104892011-08-22T15:21:00.002-04:002011-08-22T15:24:36.004-04:00Reflections of Healing and PeaceSERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE AND PEACE:
<br />On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 we will honor the lives of those killed in the attacks, those who gave their lives in the recovery efforts, and the many people around the world who have died since, as nations have gone to war. We will also look forward with hope and peace, working towards continued healing of individuals and healing of communities. Sunday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m.
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<br />REFLECTIONS OF HEALING AND PEACE BOOKLET: Please submit your poems, prayers or short reflections in response to the events of September 11. We will select a few to read at the service and the others will be published. Submit them to the Church office or email me at jen at calvary-mtairy dot org by Labor Day, September 5.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-37470635675338026692011-05-09T12:29:00.000-04:002011-05-09T12:30:01.854-04:00A Tale of Three Kings Review<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> 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mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">A Tale of Three Kings Review – </p> <p class="MsoNormal">A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards is a worthwhile listen for anyone in church leadership. This dramatic retelling of the stories of Saul, David, and Absalom should give all leaders pause to think about what kind of leader they are and how to approach leadership.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, I do not recommend this book for the average Christian. The book seems to advocate that regardless of what our leaders do or how far they stray from God’s will, we should simply submit to them because we never know how God is using them. The book does not take into account the goft of discernment that God gives us or our responsibility as Christians to lovingly hold one another accountable. </p> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The style of the book was very easy to listen to and helps the listener to see the drama unfold. The narrator did a wonderful job and makes the many varied voices in the book come to live. Thanks to the christianaudio Reviewers Program (<a href="http://christianaudio.com/">http://christianaudio.com</a>) for providing the opportunity to listen to and review this book.</span>Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-84110336147456235592011-04-21T12:26:00.004-04:002011-04-21T12:59:55.205-04:00Searching for EasterJust a few minutes ago I found out that my friend's sister had a miscarriage. It's an incredibly painful thing to go through any time of year. But perhaps especially this time of year. Just as we are seeing signs of new life all around us, the flowers blooming, the birds chirping. And then for Christians, there's the business of the resurrection.<br /><br />My friend is also a pastor and I find myself wondering how she will prepare to lead a congregation in <span style="font-style: italic;">celebrating</span> the resurrection in just a few days. How do we even begin to wrap our head and our hearts around newness of life when the sting of death is so present? How do we celebrate an empty tomb when the only emptiness we experience is the void left by those we love and the tombs in our lives are full? How do we shout for joy when our hopes and dreams for the future have been crushed?<br /><br />And yet, that's how the disciples must have felt on Easter morning. The very present sting of death, the empty seat at the table, the crushed hopes and dreams. Easter morning was greeted not with trumpets blowing and joyful shouts but with the painful reality of death. It's no wonder they didn't understand why the tomb was empty. When you're grieving it's hard enough to grasp that reality, let alone a new and impossible reality.<br /><br />The resurrection makes no sense. And yet it is the only thing that makes sense out of this painful world we live in. And so as I face this day and the days to come with a heavy heart, grieving along side those who are grieving, I trust God to work the resurrection miracle again this day. I trust that the pain and the emptiness and the death that is felt by so many people today, it not the end. I trust that there is life after death. But I also trust that in our Good Friday moments and our silent, Holy Saturday moments where it seems like nothing is happening and death really does have the final say, I trust that even then, even now, God is working the resurrection miracle once again. I trust that Easter really is coming.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-84489317755911666192011-03-10T17:31:00.001-05:002011-03-10T17:32:38.465-05:00Knowing God - Book ReviewI recently listened to "Knowing God" by J. I. Packer. "Knowing God" is a theological treatise of sorts. Packer is clearly well versed in scripture and well read in a variety of theologians and biblical scholars. He does a good job of laying out many of the tenants and concepts of fundamentalist theology. His book makes complex ideas and concepts accessible to the average believer. But this book is best listened to and digested in small bites rather than trying to digest it all at once. Regardless of where you fall on the theological spectrum, "Knowing God" will challenge your thinking and broaden your understanding of a variety of topics. If you endeavor to listen to this thought-provoking book, put on your boots and prepare to wade through complex ideas. Packer will often take you down a rabbit hole to show you where it ends up.<br /><br />While I personally do not agree with everything Packer says in his book, it is helpful in thinking through what I do believe.<br /><br />Simon Vance is the narrator and does a good job. His voice is clear and smooth and is not distracting at all from the material at hand. Thanks to christianaudio Reviewers Program for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-32889868566469962492011-02-13T20:19:00.001-05:002011-02-13T20:21:02.822-05:00Blessing in disguise<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">The other day I had to go to the pharmacy to get medicine for my son who has an ear infection. It was a bitterly cold day and for some reason the shopping center where the pharmacy is located was particularly busy. I circled around looking for a close parking spot but the only parking spot I could find was on the far side of the shopping center. As I pulled into the spot, I was frustrated at the inconvenience of having to park so far away. I didn’t want to have to carry my sick child so far in the cold weather. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As the frustration was rising, I heard a small voice say, “Be thankful. Be thankful you have access to medicine at all. Be thankful you can afford the medication. Be thankful you don’t have to choose between food and the medicine. Be thankful you can go to any number of pharmacies in the area to get the medication. Be thankful you only have to walk a few hundred feet to get it.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And as I walked as quickly as I could, wrapping my jacket tight around me, it continued, “Be thankful you have warm clothes to wear. Be thankful you have a warm house to live in. Be thankful you have warm clothes for your son. Be thankful.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">By the time I made it back to my car, medicine in hand, I was keenly aware of the blessings God has poured out on me. And I was thankful. </p> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">What are you thankful for?</span>Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-89539958317113308072011-02-03T13:03:00.001-05:002011-02-03T13:03:52.226-05:00The Devil in Pew Number Seven<div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix"><div><p>I recently listened to the book The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo with Bob DeMoss. I must admit I was intrigued by the books title. The book is a story of forgiveness in the face of repeated painful acts of violence. For the most part, I enjoyed this book although it was slow at times. There are points where, in my opinion, the author spends a little too much time using overly flowery language or explaining too much of a back or side story.There was a point where I probably would not have finished the book if it weren't one I was supposed to be writing a review on for the christianaudio.com reviewers program.</p><p> </p><p>I appreciated that at various points in the book she gave voice to the various theological questions that naturally arise when bad things happen in our lives. She raises up hard questions, and for the most part, avoids giving simple pat answers. I do wish that she spent more time talking about her journey to forgiveness. She talks about that some through out the book but I was disappointed that the book ended with more of an abstract sermon on forgiveness than the honest questioning and wrestling I found in the rest of the book.</p><p> </p><p>The narrator of the book was Pam Ward. She had some weird voices for some of the characters that I found a bit distracting but over all she has a clear smooth voice. For more information about the book, click here: <a href="http://christianaudio.com/the-devil-in-pew-number-seven-rebecca-nichols-alonzo?utm_source=ca+Reviewers+Program&utm_campaign=8c8f3351b8-Jan_B_Review_Opp&utm_medium=email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://christianaudio.com/the-devil-in-pew-number-seven-rebecca-nichols-alonzo?utm_source=ca+Reviewers+Program&utm_campaign=8c8f3351b8-Jan_B_Review_Opp&utm_medium=email</a></p></div></div>Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-30528762005595425162010-11-02T15:59:00.001-04:002010-11-02T16:01:34.745-04:00Hallowed be Thy Trick or Treat?This is the sermon I preach this past Sunday, October 31st. 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hallowed be Thy Trick or Treat?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Did you know that Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in America? Today, Americans spend roughly $6.9 billion on Halloween each year, making it second only to Christmas. On Halloween, young and old alike dress up in costumes, attend parties, go trick-or-treating and make bonfires. Some people even dress-up their pets. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But have you ever wondered where these traditions come from or why we do them? Have you ever wondered where the name Halloween comes from or if it’s ok for Christians to participate in halloween? I thought it would be fun to take a few minutes today to talk about the origins of Halloween and some of the customs associated with is. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The word Halloween actually stems from All Saints Day which is celebrated on November 1<sup>st</sup>. The liturgy used for All Saints Day was called Hallowmas, or Mass of the Holy Ones. Hallow means holy so Hallow be thy name, like we say in the Lord’s Prayer means Holy be thy name. And Hallowmas means mass of the holy ones. The night before was called All Hallow’s eve, which eventually turned into Halloween.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Some of Halloween’s traditions can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1<sup>st</sup> which marked the end of summer and the harvest and marked the beginning of the cold, dark winter. The Celts thought that the boundary separating the world of the living and the dead became blurred and the ghosts of the dead were able to return to the earth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They believed evil spirits could roam the earth for one night, as they greeted their season. Winter was filled with long cold night and many people died from cold, hunger, and disease during the winter months. The Celts also believed that the ghosts of dead ancestors were able to roam the earth on this night as well. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Celts believed that if they left their house after dark, they would run into spirits so they would wear costumes to disguise themselves. They thought that if they wore a mask or dressed as a spirit, then the spirits would think they were a fellow spirit and would leave them alone. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The tradition of trick-or-treating could have come from a couple different places. The two most likely possibilities are that it came from the Celts or from England. The Celts would leave food and drink on their door steps as a way to appease these roaming spirits. They hoped that by leaving food on the doorstep, the spirits would find no need to enter the house. Another possibility comes from the All Soul’s parades in England where poor families would beg for food and people would give them “soul cakes” if they would promises to pray for the family’s dead relatives. Later, children would go around to houses in the neighborhood and be given food and money, also in exchange for praying for the family’s dead relatives. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It has been traditional for the church to hold a vigil on the eve of major feast days. When Christian missionaries came to evangelize the Celts, they would allow Christians to participate in the festivities of All Hallows’ Eve and then at midnight, they would lay aside their masks at the door of the church. They would then process into the church for a prayer service, during which they chose to identify themselves, not with evil or other powers, but with the saints of God. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In recent years, it has been the tradition of the church to celebrate All Saints’ Day on the Sunday closest to November 1<sup>st</sup>. As a result, the connection between Halloween and All Saints’ Day has been forgotten by many. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So what’s a Christian to do on Halloween? It’s a question that has been asked throughout the centuries and, very faithful Christians have ended up on different sides of the issue. Still today, some Christians chose to avoid Halloween all together because some of the traditions have pagan roots. Other Christians still choose to partake in the festivities, claiming that many different holiday celebrations, even Christmas, have incorporated and redefined pagan traditions into something with Christian meaning. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here’s my take on Halloween. You don’t have to agree with me but here’s where I come out on the issue. I think when we do hold these two days, Halloween and All Saints’ Day together, it can be a powerful witness to Christ’s victory over all evil. Even if the celebration of them can sometimes be held days apart instead of back to back. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the end of Halloween night, as you wash off the pace paint, take off your masks and lay aside your costumes, it can serve as a reminder that even though we often hide from other people and from God behind various masks, our true identity lies in Christ. Ultimately our identity lies not in the masks we routinely wear in front of other people, or the way other people perceive us. Our identity is defined by our baptism. We are ones who worship the One who has conquered death and raises us to new life. As you take off your costumes, take a moment to remind yourself that you align yourself with God, not with the powers of this world. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I also believe Halloween can be a reminder of the power of Christ. We know through the death and resurrection of Christ, ultimately all evil will be overcome by God. When Jesus died on the cross it may have looked like evil won. Even now, in our lives, there are times when it looks and feels like evil is winning. But we know the end of the story. We know, that just went evil seems to be the strongest in the crucifixion of Christ, that’s actually when God is triumphing. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">None of the things we see on Halloween can overcome Christ. And when we take off the masks, it can be a wonderful reminder that Christ is stronger than anything else we face. Halloween can be a wonderful reminder that, despite the way things may appear, nothing can separate us from the love of God. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Halloween and All Saints’ Day also serve as a reminder that we do not go through this life alone. Trick-or-treating is a community event, where people travel together in groups. Faith is much the same way. We do not go it alone. We have a community of faith that travels with us on our faith journey. And All Saints’ Day reminds us of those Christians who have gone before us. Hebrews reminds us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Not even death can permanently separate us from our loved ones. Instead they travel with us, in the great cloud of witnesses that serve as an example and encouragement to us in our faith journey. Halloween and All Saints’ Day can remind us that not even death can separate us from the love of God. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Halloween has a mixed history. Some may consider it a form of worshiping the devil or evil. Others may consider it a way to proclaim our faith in Christ. If you do chose to participate in the festivities of Halloween, remember it’s connection to All Saints’ Day and hallowed be thy trick or treat. <span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-12364935790110260612010-09-09T09:40:00.004-04:002010-09-09T10:05:21.649-04:00To blog or not to blog?I haven't blogged in awhile. Partly that's because I have been dealing with baby stuff but mostly it's because I've been wrestling with blogging in general. I've been doing a lot of thinking about how in our society feels so over stimulated. So many people are blogging, tweeting, facebooking, texting, emailing, etc that sometimes it feels like everyone is yelling and no one is listening. Everyone wants to claim their right to freedom of speech but no one wants to take up our responsibility to listen. One of the things I've learned is that while you have the right to speak, you still have to earn the right to be heard.<br /><br />So I have been pondering what role this blog has. Is it just another voice in the masses? One more thing adding to information overload? Am I just one more person wanting to voice my own opinions without earning the right to be heard? Is this blog something that facilitates genuine conversation and listening to one another or is it something that shuts down conversation?<br /><br />It's hard to answer some of those questions, especially since the reality is that it's probably some of both. My hope is that this blog will help facilitate conversation with one another. This is intended to start conversation, whether online or in person. With that in mind, I've decided to try to resume this blog.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-306965411404514932010-04-11T10:51:00.003-04:002010-04-11T10:59:27.544-04:00And so it begins...This is the sermon I preached this morning on <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gen&c=1&v=26&t=NIV#26">Genesis 1:26-30</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gen&c=1&v=26&t=NIV#26">Click here to read the scripture passage first. </a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And so it begins…<br /><br /></div> Over the last couple of weeks, Dennis and I have officiated at several different funerals. Having all these funerals in such a short amount of time has made me realize that we all have a story. As I met with the families to discuss how they would like their loved one remembered, I was privileged to hear some of the family stories. You know, those stories that seem to be told over and over again at every family gathering. These are the stories that are told so often, that people who weren’t even around when the story happened still tell it like they were there. They are stories that don’t belong to any one person, but belong to the whole family. These are the stories that ,whether we realize it or not, help form our understanding of who we are.<br /><br /> In my family, one of the stories that’s told over and over again is the story of my father having his appendix removed. It’s a long story so I won’t tell all of it but I’ll give you the overview. My parents were both stationed at Ft. Polk, LA. My mom worked as a critical care nurse. Apparently my dad had been complaining of abdominal pain all weekend. My mom finally convinced my dad to go in and get it checked out and sure enough it was appendicitis. The dr. sent him to get blood work done and so he stopped off to find out which surgeon was on duty. Apparently my mom and the other nurses used to talk about how one surgeon wasn’t quite up to par. One of my parents’ friends Cathy was working at the desk so my dad asked her which surgeon was on duty. She tells him but asks him why he’s interested. My father then proceeds to tell her that he has to have his appendix removed. She, knowing my father, doesn’t believe him and says “oh, yeah right! So I suppose it hurts when I do this.” And pokes him in the stomach.<br /><br /> My father insists he did not crumple to the floor. He swears his knees sprung up and hit him in the chest, then with no feet under him he fell to the ground. Needless to say she believed him after that. A whole lot of other chaos and hilarity happens after that. The orderlies couldn’t get the gurney unfolded so my father had to help set up his own gurney because they insisted he was too sick to walk. The hospital roof started to leak , and the critical care section of the hospital flooded while my dad was in recovery. My mom who wasn’t on duty that day but was there to take care of my father ended up helping move the unit to a different section of the building that wasn’t flooding.<br /><br /> It’s a funny story. One that often leaves us with a stitch in our side and tears streaming down our cheeks from laughing so hard. But it’s also a story that tells me a lot about my family and who we are. For starters, we are stubborn, sometimes refusing to do the things we need to do just out of sheer stubbornness. We are a family of jokesters and sometimes friends are going to joke back. It tells me we are family who handles crisis well, who is able to remain calm and is willing to step in and lend a hand. Stories tell us a lot about who we are.<br /><br /> We all have stories that help form our identity, that help us understand who we are. These are individual stories and family stories, but they’re also the stories from groups of people. As Americans, we tell the story of how we came to this country. We tell the stories of the struggle for independence, the struggle born of the desire to govern ourselves. We tell the stories of brother fighting against brother, a nation divided against itself. We tell the stories of a woman who refused to stand and a man who had a dream. They are stories that tell us we are a people who value freedom. Freedom for all people regardless of religion, or gender, or race, or economic class.<br /><br /> As Christians we have stories that we tell over and over again that tell us something about who we are and whose we are. They are the stories of our faith family passed down to us in scripture. Each year we tell the story of a virgin giving birth in a stable. We tell of an innocent man who willingly died in place of the guilty, and of an empty tomb. They are stories that tell us that we have value, that we are a people loved and cared for by God. They tell us that God does not stand aloof and distant from us but enters into our condition and relationship with us. They are stories that tell us we are a people who will be defined not by power and might but by sacrifice and forgiveness.<br /><br /> Genesis tells us another story. It tells us that God created the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon and the stars. It tells us that the seas and the mountains, the deserts and the rainforests, the frozen arctic and the volcanic islands were all formed by God. Then God created all the living things on the earth and in the sea. God created the redwood trees of California, the baobab trees of Africa, coconut trees, and maple trees. God created whales and octopi, and algae that emits a blue glow in the dark. Kangaroos and penguins, elephants and mice, dogs and cats are all the work of God.<br /><br /> It’s a story that tells us everything we see was intentionally formed and made. Nothing that exists in nature was an accident. Not even the cicadas that take 16 years to develop underground, only to live for a few short weeks after emerging from the ground were a mistake. Each tree that we see, each piece of fruit we eat, each dog that we pet, started as a dream of God’s and was intentionally and delightfully brought into existence. It’s a story that tells us everything we see has its beginning in God. It’s a story that tells us that God, not us, is the Creator. God, not us, is the source of all that exists.<br /><br /> Genesis goes on to tell us that God created humankind in God’s image and set us as overseers of God’s creation. We are tasked with caring for what God has made. Genesis tells us the story of our beginnings. Human beings, each one of us, are the creation of God. We are different than the rest of creation because we are made in God’s image but we are still a part of creation.<br /><br /> This is a story that reminds us of our place in the world. We are beloved by God, lovingly and intentionally made. But we are not God. We are created, not the Creator. We are given the task of overseeing and caring for creation, but creation is not ours. It doesn’t belong to us. Everything the exists belongs to God and we are simply given the task of caring for it.<br /><br /> And so it begins. Stewardship is instituted by God. God created the earth and every living creature in it. Then God created humankind and set us as stewards over God’s creation. According to merriam-webster, a steward is “one employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic concerns.” I’d say being tasked with the care of all creation counts as managing the domestic concerns of a large household! Genesis tells us the story that we are called to be stewards of all that God has created.<br /><br /> Stewardship, is not something that the church invented to pay the bills. Stewardship is part of God’s plan. God created everything, and everything belongs to God. A life of stewardship starts with that affirmation. It begins with the affirmation that everything is God’s and we are merely entrusted with the care of things, none of it actually belongs to us. Our pets don’t belong to us, they are God’s and we are tasked with caring for them. Our time doesn’t belong to us, each breath that we take is a gift from God. The time that we do have is given to us by God to achieve God’s purposes. Our bodies are not our own, to use and treat however we choose. They are formed by the hands of God and entrusted to our care so that we might further the kingdom of God.<br /><br /> A lot of the times when we hear the word stewardship, we automatically think of money. Stewardship certainly includes what we do with our money but stewardship is much more than that. It involved every aspect of our lives.<br /><br /> Adam and Eve didn’t have money and yet stewardship begins with them. They are tasked with caring for all that God has made. As stewards of God’s creation, every aspect of their lives would be affected. It would affect how they treated the land and the sea, the air. It would affect how they would treat the animals God has created, the fish and the birds. It would affect how they treat each other, since human beings are also part of God’s creation. It would affect what they chose to eat and how they chose to spend their time. Every part of their lives is affected by God’s command to care for creation.<br /><br /> We as God’s people have inherited this role as steward. This story in Genesis tells us not only who we are and whose we are, it also helps us to understand our purpose. We weren’t created simply to sit around and consume everything within our grasp. We weren’t created to use the creation God made with no regard for how it affects creation. We are tasked with caring for God’s world.<br /><br /> But Genesis is not the only story we’re told. In fact, we hear different stories all the time. Each a competing voice, trying to convince us of their claims. Burger King’s slogan “have it you way” gives voice to society’s story that we can have whatever we want, whenever we want, regardless of how it affects others. It tells us that satisfying our desires, our happiness, is the ultimate goal and the most important thing.<br /><br /> Revlon’s slogan “you’re worth it” gives voice to the story of entitlement that’s told over and over again. You deserve these things because you’ve worked hard for them. You’re entitled to over-eat while millions die of hunger. You’re entitled to waste thousands of gallons of water while millions don’t have access to clean water. You’re entitled to pay the cheapest price you can find, without regard for those laboring in sweat shops to make those “bargains” possible.<br /><br /> We have sayings like, “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” that gives voice to the story of prosperity. It tells us that if you’re poor you must be lazy. You must not have studied hard enough or worked hard enough. If you’re unemployed it must be that you’re too proud because there are plenty of jobs out there if you want work bad enough.<br /><br /> Society tells us a lot of stories, stories that complete with the biblical witness. Unfortunately, we are told these stories much more frequently then we are told the biblical stories. The average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertising messages a day. Everywhere we turn, someone is trying to get us to buy into their story.<br /><br /> With these stories being told over and over again, it’s hard to hear the voice of the biblical witness. That’s part of why daily prayer and devotion is so important. It helps give us time to hear anew the stories of our faith family. It helps us to be reminded of the stories that tell us of our true identity.<br /><br /> Keeping our identity as God’s stewards is hard with so many competing claims on our identity. But that doesn’t change the fact that we were created with a purpose. Part of that purpose is for us to act as stewards of all that God has entrusted to us.<br /><br /> In two weeks you are going to be asked to make a commitment of your prayers, your attendance, your financial gifts, and your service. That commitment is a private act between you and God. It’s an opportunity for you to make a statement about which story you’re going to believe.<br /><br /> Whether we like it or not, we all have to choose which story we’re going to believe. We make that choice over and over again multiple times a day in the way we live. We make a choice about what story we’re going to believe by how we treat others. We make a statement about which story we believe by how we spend our time. We make a statement about which story we believe by how we care for the environment. We make a statement about which story we believe by what we spend our money on. We make a statement about which story we believe by how we care for our bodies.<br /><br /> We all have to choose. As you prepare to make a commitment of your prayers, you attendance, your financial gifts, and your service, I encourage you to spend time in prayer and searching scripture. Take time to hear again the biblical story of who you are and what you were created for. Take time to consider what story you will tell with your life.<br /><br />Amen.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-42487642671410379372010-03-14T12:00:00.000-04:002010-03-14T12:00:02.087-04:00A Holy Waste and a Traitorous FriendThis sermon is the fourth in our Journey to the Cross Series for Lent. The sermon is based on the scripture passage <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=14&v=1&t=NIV#top">Mark 14:1-11</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=14&v=1&t=NIV#top">Click here to read the scripture.</a>
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Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A Holy Waste and A Traitorous Friend<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Today is the fourth week in our Lenten sermon series “Journey to the Cross.” In this series we have been taking time each Sunday to look at one day in the last week of Jesus’ life. It’s a week we now refer to as Holy week and a lot happens during this time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>We started this series by talking about Palm Sunday. We remembered and celebrated Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We talk about the symbols he used from Israel’s history and how he was hailed as king. But we also talked about how Jesus was a different kind of king than the crowds had expected. They wanted him to overthrow the Romans by force but he had a different plan in mind. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Then we talked about Holy Monday and Jesus’ visit to the temple. We spent some time exploring why Jesus would have been so upset with the moneychangers and dove sellers. We talk about the corruption that was prevalent in the temple, not only by the merchants but the priests as well. By the end of Monday, Mark tells us that the scribes and chief priests were angry enough with Jesus that they were looking for a way to kill him. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>But they were afraid of Jesus because he was so popular among the people. So the religious authorities spend all day Tuesday testing Jesus, trying to trap him in the controversial issues of the day. They test him with questions about his authority, whether or not to pay taxes, the resurrection, and which commandment is the greatest. But it’s not the issues that the religious authorities care about. They are just trying to trap Jesus by asking him about the most controversial topics of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>By the end of Tuesday, Jesus has answered all of their questions so well that we’re told no one else dared to ask him any more questions. Jesus spends the rest of the day teaching the crowds in the temple, and then privately instructing the disciples. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>So far this week, Jesus’ activity has been in Jerusalem and primarily in the temple. Each morning he and the disciples walk into Jerusalem and then in the evening they head back to Bethany where they stay the night. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Today, we pick up on Wednesday. We’re not told much about Jesus’ activity on Wednesday but we do know that he shares a meal with several other people in Bethany and that the religious authorities are still trying to find a stealthy way of killing Jesus. This passage is an example of what many scholars call a “Markan Sandwich.” It’s something that happens frequently in the gospel of Mark. Mark will begin to tell a story, then part way through the story he pauses to tell another story. Once the second story is finished he goes back and finishes the first story. It’s like the two half of the first story is the bread in the sandwich, and the second story, inserted in the middle, is the meat or the filling of the sandwich. Often when this happens in the gospel of Mark, the two stories act to illuminate one another. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>In this case, Mark begins to tell us about how the religious authorities are looking for a sneaky way to arrest and kill Jesus. Mark specifically tells us that they are afraid of the crowds. This “fear of the crowds” that the religious authorities had wasn’t just about their public approval ratings. It’s not just that they wanted to be liked by the crowds to maintain their power. In this case, they are afraid of the rioting that might ensue. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>You see, Passover is one of the mandatory pilgrimage festivals. All Jewish males who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem were required to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Additionally, every Jewish male was supposed to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem at least once in his life. So during the Passover, people from all over the world were converging on Jerusalem. Josephus, a history from around the time of Christ, reports that on one Passover, 256,500 lambs were sacrificed. The law required that there by at least 10 people to one lamb. Which means the population of Jerusalem during Passover would be upwards of 2.5 million people. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>So Jerusalem was way over-crowded and more than any other time, there was a strong nationalism sentiment among the people. Passover is the time set aside every year to remember God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and many people long at this time, more than any other, for God to deliver them from the Romans. Everyone was proud to be Jewish and full of a sense of expectancy about what God might do. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The crowd was so large and so energetic, that during Passover, there were always extra Roman troops deployed to Jerusalem to maintain order. It’s a situation that would have been ripe for someone to rally the people together to over throw the Romans. When Jesus doesn’t do that, the religious leaders also know that there’s a strong possibility the crowds will riot if Jesus is arrested. So it’s with good reason that the religious authorities are looking for a way to kill Jesus without setting the crowds off. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Then Mark interrupts the story of the religious authorities looking for a way to kill Jesus by telling us about a woman who anointed Jesus during a meal. We are given very few details about this woman. But we are told that the ointment she anointed Jesus with was costly. In fact, many scholars believe that the nard contained in the alabaster jar would have been worth almost an entire year’s wages for the average worker. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>I want you to think about how much you earn in a year. That’s before taxes, before paying your mortgage or rent or any other bills. Just think about how much total you earn in a year. That’s roughly the equivalent of what this ointment the woman poured out on Jesus was worth. That’s a lot of money to spend on ointment! No wonder, those who were watching this were upset. It seemed like a huge waste to them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>But it didn’t seem like a waste to the woman or she wouldn’t have done it. It was a truly extravagant gift. She could have used just a little of the ointment to anoint Jesus. It was customary to pour a few drops of perfume on guests when they arrived at the house or before they began eating. But she didn’t just dab a few drops on Jesus, she poured out the entire bottle. She uses the whole thing. An entire year’s wages is poured out on Jesus. And we have no idea why she did it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Some scholars suggest it’s a symbolic anointing of Jesus as King. Luke’s version of the account suggests that the woman’s anointing of Jesus is a sign of her overwhelming gratitude at having her sins forgiven. But none of the other gospel writers give any hint of the woman’s motives. Some scholars, based on Jesus’ words of explanation, suggest that the woman knew Jesus was going to die. They suggest that unlike the disciples who were unable to understand or accept Jesus’ predictions of his death, this woman had understood what Jesus was trying to say and so anointed Jesus in preparation for his burial. The text is unclear as to whether or not she actually understood Jesus was going to die. But Jesus certainly interprets her acts as preparation for his burial. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>The truth is, we simply don’t know her motivations for anointing Jesus. We don’t know what prompted her to make this gesture. But we do know that it was an extravagant act of selflessness. It’s an act of generosity, love, and faithfulness that is made even more poignant by its setting. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After telling us about this anointing of Jesus, Mark goes back to the original story by telling us that Judas has decided to betray Jesus to the authorities. We’re told that Judas went to the chief priests. The text says nothing about the chief priests soliciting this role from Judas so we can assume that Judas willing went to the chief priests on his own accord with no previous prompting from them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It’s a striking contrast to the story of the woman anointing Jesus. On the one hand we have this woman, who’s unnamed and whose story we don’t know, who literally pours out her love for Jesus. And does so in such a lavish way that others call it a waste. On the other hand we have a disciple, one of the original twelve who is supposed to be one of Jesus’ closest friends, who becomes a traitor and betrays him to the religious authorities. On the one hand we have a woman who is willing to give up an entire year’s income to show her love for Jesus. On the other hand we have a disciple who is willing to give up Jesus for a relatively small sum of money. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It makes me wonder, what are we willing to waste, what are we willing to pour out? Which one would we be in this story? Are we willing to give up our prized possessions for the sake of Christ? Are we willing to give up our status and reputations because we love Christ more? Are we willing to give up our priorities, our dreams for the future so we can follow where Christ calls us? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Or are we willing to trade in our values so we can get ahead and climb higher and higher up the corporate ladder? Do we try to take back control of our lives when we don’t like the direction God’s leading us? Are we willing to let our love of comfort overcome our love of Christ? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My guess is, there’s a little of each of these characters in each of us. Sometimes in life we’re more like the woman who anointed Jesus. We’re willing to make the sacrifices and to pour ourselves out because of our love for Christ. And other times our comfort is more compelling than our relationship with Christ. My guess is, we all have a little of both in us. The question is, which are you going to intentionally nurture?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I don’t know what your answer will be. But I do know, that by the end of this week in Jesus’ life, ointment isn’t the only thing that will have been wasted in the eyes of some. By the end of this week, Jesus will have poured out his life for you. In the eyes of some, he will have wasted himself, allowing himself to be beaten and killed. And he will have done it all, for you. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The truth is, it won’t have been a waste. The ointment wasn’t a waste, and Jesus didn’t waste his life. Both were freely and lovingly given for the sake of another. The truth is, love always involves a certain amount of extravagance. It doesn’t ask how little it can decently give. As William Barclay says, “There is a recklessness in love which refuses to count the cost.” This woman gave all that she had to Jesus. Judas gave up Jesus, for money. And before this week is out, Jesus will have given all of himself for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What will your response be? Which will you chose to love more?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-6071021114838753282010-03-01T09:44:00.003-05:002010-03-01T10:02:38.609-05:00Journey to the Cross: Clean SweepThis is the sermon I preached yesterday. It's based on the scripture passage <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=11&v=12&t=NIV#12">Mark 11:12-19</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=11&v=12&t=NIV#12">Click here to read the scripture passage first</a>. Please note that this is part of a sermon series. We are doing a sermon series for the season of Lent. Each Sunday in Lent we will preach on one of the days in Holy Week. We hope this series will help you to have a more meaningful Easter celebration.
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Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Journey to the Cross: Clean Sweep<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Last week we began a sermon series on the last week of Jesus’ life. This week is </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >traditionally called Holy week by the church. Last week Dennis talked about the events of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This week we are going to talk about what </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >happened on the following day. A day we now refer to as Holy Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >When we left off in the gospel of Mark, Jesus had used powerful symbols from Israel’s history as he enters</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > the city and the people hailed him as king. Dennis explained last week that the people probably expected him to be a very different kind of King than Jesus is. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >It’s likely, based on Israel’s history that the people expected Jesus to raise an army and overthrow the Romans by force. But that’s not the kind of king Jesus is and he doesn’t act that way at all. In fact, his triumphal </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >entry into the city, has a very anti-climatic end to it. Mark tells us that he visits the temple, looks around, and then leaves. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >If the people were expecting him to raise an army and overthrow</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > the Romans, it’s likely they were expecting that once he reached the temple, the center of communal life, he would give a rousing speech about conquering the Romans or rally the </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >people together for a revolt. Instead he walks into the temple, looks around, and then heads right back out of the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Today we read the passage from the gospel of Mark that picks</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > up the next morning. When Jesus comes back into the city the next day he heads straight for the temple. When he gets there he doesn’t teach as he has in the past, or engage in theological debates,</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > or heal anyone, nor does he make any attempts to raise a revolt against the Romans. Instead he overthrows the moneychangers’ tables and the seats of those selling doves. It’s a disruptive and symbolic act that was </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >sure to draw a lot of attention. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >I think it’s worth noting that this is a pre-planned, thought out action. It’s not something he does spur of the moment in a bout of unchecked anger or rage.</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > <span style=""> </span>This is not Jesus’ emotions getting the best of him. He surveyed the temple the day before, and when he comes back, his actions are intentional and pre-planned. And </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >not at all what the people would have expected. They would have expected him to express anger and discontent with the way things were. But they would have expected that anger to be directed</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" > towards the Romans. With this one act Jesus makes it really clear he is not going to be the kind of the King they wanted. And it would seem his anger is against Israel, not the Romans.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >But why? Why does Jesus do this? To truly understand what Jesus was upset about, we need to understand a little of the history and culture. If you look at the sermon notes page in your bulletin, you will see that </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >we included a diagram of the temple layout.(The image below was found at <a href="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusalem.htm">http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusalem.htm</a>)
<br /></span></p><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/REVJEN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh8MklBO1nZkXl4KucdmwVjPX6Rof-joPkQGUEAnG_ja7OVBOoxLMLkDV4rWeW22DV0KzYrmDpmQ4SGyh6pP3dmGwAg5ua-cw5_UgYr7xRp63uS3CD9BgBcJg4uNwfEgxDMEnIcibXJIQ/s1600-h/temple.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh8MklBO1nZkXl4KucdmwVjPX6Rof-joPkQGUEAnG_ja7OVBOoxLMLkDV4rWeW22DV0KzYrmDpmQ4SGyh6pP3dmGwAg5ua-cw5_UgYr7xRp63uS3CD9BgBcJg4uNwfEgxDMEnIcibXJIQ/s320/temple.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443679276394777650" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >This is what the temple would have looked like at the time of Jesus. You’ll notice around outer edge of three sides of the temple is what’s marked as the Court of the Gentiles. Anyone, Jews and gentiles alike, were allowed to enter the court of the gentiles. But it you were a gentile you were not allowed to go any further into the temple.
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >There was a wall separating the court of gentiles from the Court of the women. On this wall hung signs warning gentiles that the penalty for passing this point was death. If you were a Jewish woman you were only allowed to go as far as the court of women unless you were giving a sacrifice to the priest to offer on your behalf. If you were bringing a sacrifice then you were allowed to go to the Court of the Israelites. It was here that worshipers handed over their offerings to the priest to be sacrificed. Men were allowed to gather in the Court of the Israelites at any time. Only priests were allowed into the Court of the priests where the altar was. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >This whole area, called the temple mount was considered sacred. It wasn’t supposed to be treated like any other space. It was supposed to be treated with the utmost of respect and honor because it was believed that the physical presence of God resided in the Holy of Holies. That presence of God, meant this whole area was to be approached with the greatest level of respect and reverence.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >In Jesus’ time there was an annual temple tax. All Jewish males over the age of 20 had to pay ½ a shekel each year to the temple. This tax is in addition to the normal tithes and offerings and was typically paid each year when they came to the temple for Passover. The tax was equivalent to about 2 days wages for the average laborer. Jesus didn’t really seem to have an issue with the temple tax and he even paid the temple tax himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >The difficulty is the temple tax couldn’t be paid in any old currency. It had to be paid in the currency of the temple. It couldn’t be paid in roman currency or foreign currency because they had graven images on it and that couldn’t be presented as an offering to God. It couldn’t be paid in regular gold or silver either. It had to be the currency of the temple. <span style=""> </span>If you didn’t have the right kind of currency, which most people didn’t, then you would have to exchange your currency for the right currency. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >This is where the moneychangers come in. They were the ones you would go to if you didn’t have the right kind of currency to pay the temple tax. Just like modern day money exchangers, there was a fee for this currency exchange.<span style=""> </span>This fee was the equivalent of about 3 hours wages. If you didn’t have exact change and wanted to receive change back then you had to pay another fee of about 3 hours wages. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >These moneychangers weren’t set up outside the temple. They were setup inside the temple in the court of the gentiles. It would be like if we required you to pay your offerings in Calvary money and we set up tables all around the inside of the sanctuary. And then we charged you heavy fees for the exchange. The dove sellers were also setup in the court of the gentiles. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >The dove sellers were selling doves that could be used as sacrifices in the temple. A dove or pigeon was the offering of a poor person, someone who couldn’t afford to offer a larger animal. This is what Mary offers as a sacrifice after Jesus’ birth. All animals, regardless of what type, that were offered as sacrifices had to be pure, without any defect or blemish. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >The price for a dove on a street was about one days wages. But if you bought one off of the street it was likely that the priests would find something wrong with it and declare it unfit for sacrifice. Your other option was to buy one in the temple courts that had already been certified as pure and without blemish. But those for sale inside the temple sold for more than 20 times the price of a dove on the street. It would take almost a month’s wages to make the offering of a poor person. Most people couldn’t afford this exorbitant price. Those selling these sacrificial animals were essentially robbing the poor. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >What makes matters worse is that a portion of the profits made by the moneychangers and dove sellers was given to the priests. The very people who are supposed to be looking out for the sanctity of worship and helping to nurture the relationship between God and the community are instead making a profit off the poor. The issue isn’t that the priests are getting paid. God makes provisions for the priests. The issue is that they feel like they need more and more. And that they are getting that money by cheating the poor. There is no way the moneychangers and dove sellers could have remained setup in the court of the gentiles without the permission of the priests. Not only are the priest permitting the fleecing of the poor, the priests actually received a portion of the money.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >These are the priests! These people started off on the right path. They started out serving God and ministering to the needs of the people. But somehow money had become more important to the priests than serving God. They turned from that path and are now doing things that oppose the will of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >I know there have been areas of my life that get off track. It happens little by little, almost imperceptibly at first. Then before I know it, I’m off the path. I’m not living how God expects me to live. What areas of your life have gotten off track? Maybe it’s money, or being a workaholic, maybe it’s ignoring your health or cheating on a test. Whatever it is, lent is a time for all of us to reflect on the areas. It’s a time for us to turn and to get back on track.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Not only does Jesus overturn the tables of the moneychangers and dove sellers, he also insists that no one carry vessels through the temple. The entire temple mount was considered a sacred area. But people were using it as a short cut. To cut through the court of gentiles drastically reduced the distance between the eastern part of the city and the Mount of Olives. It was much more convenient to cut through the temple than to walk the long way around. But that’s not what that space was intended to be used for. And it was a sign of disrespect for the presence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >But we all do that in some ways, don’t we? We all have areas in our lives that God intended to be sacred, and yet we misuse them. We treat them with disrespect, and do whatever is easiest or most convenient.<span style=""> </span>What parts of your life have you treated as common and ordinary or as a means to an end rather than as something sacred? Lent is a time to reflect on that and to begin the process of making those areas sacred again. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >After Jesus over turns the tables and prevents people from using the temple as a short cut, he quotes Isaiah (56:7) saying the temple should be a house of prayer for all nations. All nations. All this money exchange, buying and selling, haggling, and cutting through was happening within the court of gentiles. The only place the gentiles were allowed to be in the temple had now become a crowded and noisy place where the poor were cheated and the moneychangers and dove sellers were trying to make as big a profit as possible. Not exactly a prayerful environment. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >In exodus (19.6), God tells Moses and the Israelites that they are to be a priestly nation. In other words, they are to bring other nations to know God. They are to live in such a way that their lives and conduct will bring others to know the God of Israel. But it’s clear Israel isn’t living into the purpose God intends for them. The priests are corrupt and the moneychangers and dove sellers are stealing from the poor. Not exactly the kind of example God wanted them to be to the other nations. They had strayed not only individually but as a community from the path God intended for them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >What kind of example does your life set? Does the way you live your life lead others to know God?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Lent is a time for self-reflection and self-examination. It’s a time to take a serious look at our lives and ask ourselves, what are the tables in my life that Jesus would overturn? What are the thoughts and deeds that need to be cleaned from your heart? God wants to help us set those things right. Lent is an opportunity for us to cry Hosanna, Save us, with the crowds. Only we get to cry Hosanna knowing the kind of King Jesus really is. I invite you to use this Lenten season to cry out to the Prince of Peace, the one who came to bring forgiveness and reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" >Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-73587955874561926552010-02-17T17:05:00.002-05:002010-02-17T17:08:59.222-05:00Love is....hardThis is the sermon I preached this past Sunday on <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=13&v=1&t=NIV#top">1 Corinthians 13:1-8. Click here to read the scripture passage first.</a><br /><br />Love is…..hard!<br /><br />Well in case you somehow managed to overlook the giant candy displays, the mountain of red balloons, the massive crates full of flowers, or the multitude of commercials with couples cuddling, today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day when a lot of time and energy goes into celebrating our love for one another. We send cards, give candy, buy balloons, go out to dinner, order flowers, and buy things that sparkle. But it’s a day that is received with mixed emotions. It’s a day that is loved by some, a day that’s dreaded by some, and a day that, to some, feels more like an obligation than anything else. <br /><br />Valentines’ Day for some is a day to tell that special someone how much you love them. For other’s it’s a day that serves only to remind them that they are alone, that they don’t have a special someone or for whatever reason, can’t be with that special someone. And there’s always a few people that say we shouldn’t need a special day to tell us to be thankful for the special people in our lives, instead every day should be Valentine’s Day. And in some ways that’s true. But regardless of how you feel about Valentine’s Day, it’s a day that causes just about all of us to think about love in one form or another. <br /><br />If you asked someone to pick out a passage of scripture that talks about love, a lot of people would pick 1 Corinthians 13. Perhaps that’s because it is probably the most commonly read scripture passage at weddings. In beautiful and poetic language, Paul describes the nature of love for us. As a result, many of us have come to read and hear this familiar passage in an overly romanticized way. When we hear it we think about how beautiful it sounds, how a relationship founded on that kind of love would be seemingly ideal and how much we want to experience the kind of love that’s described. Perhaps that’s because it is used so often, in the context of such a joyous occasion.<br /><br /> This passage is beautiful and poetic and when we read this passage, most of us are much more focused on how this passage makes us feel than what it actually says. But when you stop to think about what it actually says. It’s basically a really nice way of saying, “Love is really really hard and a whole lot of work.” And it’s not just about the love between a husband and wife, this is the kind of love that Jesus calls us to when he says they shall know we are his disciples by our love. <br /><br /> Let’s look at the passage again. Paul lists several attributes of love. Let’s break them apart and spend a few minutes looking at each one. The first is, Love is patient. Someone once said, “Patients is a quality you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one in front.” It’s true though isn’t it? We all want other people to be patient with us but we aren’t so quick to be patient with others. Who can say that at the end of a long day where nothing seemed to go according to plan, you respond in a particularly patient way when you get home and find that your children didn’t do the dishes like you asked, or your spouse didn’t pick up the suit from the drycleaner that you have to wear to a meeting tomorrow? Who here can say that around day three or four of being snowed in you were feeling patient towards your little brother or sister, or your spouse for that matter? I’m guessing not too many of us. Patients is one of those qualities that sounds real nice, but not too many of us have. <br /><br /> Paul then goes on to say, Love is kind. Kindness is one of those qualities that is undervalued in our society. The smallest of kind gestures can make a difference in someone’s day. Maybe it’s as simple as a smile or a wave, letting a car in in front of you, or helping one of us short people reach something on the top shelf at the grocery store. Love seeks good for others in even the smallest and simplest of ways. <br /><br /> Love does not envy. It’s so easy in our society to think the grass is greener on the other side. We’re constantly being told to upgrade our phones and computers, to get the fastest internet out there, or to buy a bigger house. And when we for one reason or another, can’t do those things, it’s easy to become envious. We get to a point where we want those things so badly that we actually begin to have negative feelings towards people who do have them. Not only that, but all this business of upgrading and getting the latest model of something, slowly seeps into how we view relationships. Envy is one of the things that lead to affairs. Sometimes it’s tempting to think our relationship needs an upgrade, so we start looking for a newer model with sleeker packaging. Or we envy the way another person makes us feel or how they seem to have fewer responsibilities than we do. Love means not coveting other people’s position, or possessions, or partners.<br /><br /> Love does not boast. And by the way, boasting doesn’t have to be out loud. A lot of the times, us good Christians, keep boasting to ourselves, but we still do it. Boasting can be as simple and subtle as thinking to ourselves, “I can do that better than they did.” Or “When was the last time someone else did the dishes?!?” or when we get frustrated or impatient with someone who’s trying to fix something, and we literally take it out of their hands and say, “Just give it to me. I’ll do it!” We are being boastful anytime we think or act as if we are better than someone else. Instead, loving someone is <br /><br />Love is not proud. This is similar to being boastful. I don’t think of myself as an overly proud or arrogant person. But I know I have been guilty of being prideful, it’s a subtle kind of pride. I know for me, the times it comes out the most, is when I’m wrong about something. And sometimes pride prevents me from seeing that as soon as I should, or from being willing to admit I’m wrong when I realize it. But loving others means being willing to admit we aren’t always right. Sometimes we mess up and we need to apologize and ask for forgiveness. <br /><br /> Asking for that forgiveness is made easier by knowing that Love is not easily angered. This is similar to being patient. Love recognizes that none of us is perfect. We all mess up and we all need forgiveness. Love recognizes that and is slow to get angry. <br /><br /> Not only that but Love keeps no record of wrongs. It’s so easy in the middle of a fight to bring up past incidents. We fight with friends and we bring up every time they ever snubbed us at school, or told someone a secret. We fight with coworkers and we bring up every time they were late on a deadline or gave us wrong information so the project was all messed up. We fight with our spouses and we bring up every time the toilet seat was ever left up, or every time they spent too much money without consulting us. Sometimes we bring up past wrongs because we’re being prideful and we want to feel like we’re better than the other person. Sometimes we bring up past wrongs because we haven’t fully dealt with the issue. But love means confronting an issue head on, and working to resolve it completely, so it would be pointless and petty to bring it up again. Keeping no record of wrongs means completely resolving or completely forgiving that that act becomes like a speeding ticket that’s been expunged from your record. <br /><br /> Paul’s description of love is beautiful but when you stop to really read the words, it’s a whole lot of work. It’s all about how we act towards others, and nowhere in this passage does Paul talk about the feeling of love. It’s not some warm, butterflies in your stomach feeling towards someone else. Love is how we act towards others and it’s acting in profoundly self-sacrificing ways. It means giving of yourself and not counting yourself better than anyone else. When we really stop to think about love in these terms, it’s really overwhelming.<br /><br /> If you still don’t think it’s overwhelming, then try this little exercise. Take a minute now to read this passage silently to yourself, except every time you see the word love, replace it with your name. Take a minute and do that now. <br /><br />No seriously. Try it now before reading any further. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=13&v=1&t=NIV#top">Click here for the scripture passage.</a><br /><br />How did it feel? Good? Encouraging? Overwhelming? Convicting? I personally always find that to be really humbling and convicting. Because for each one of those things, I can almost immediately think of a time, usually quite recently, when I haven’t lived up to that. This love thing, this Christian Love thing is hard. <br /><br /> Christian Love requires more of us than we have to give. It’s not something that we can just will ourselves to do. We don’t just wake up one morning and say to ourselves, “well I’ve been cranky and selfish long enough. Today I’m going to be kind and really love others.” It doesn’t work that way. <br /><br /> This kind of love, starts be recognizing that God loves you with this kind of profound Christian love. God is patient with us. God is kind to us. Jesus wasn’t boastful or proud, instead he humbled himself and became a human to show us the extent of God’s love for us. He even died on the cross to expunge all our sins, so there would be no record of wrong. Until you truly experience the love of God, the freedom that comes with forgiveness of sins, you won’t be able to truly love others. Until then, the passage from Corinthians is just going to feel like one big list of obligations, things you really ought to do. Instead they are supposed to be a natural outgrowth of our relationship with God. We are capable of love because God first loved us.<br /><br /> And we grow in our capacity to love others when we walk in step with the spirit. Galatians tells us that the fruit of the spirit includes love. When we seek to live each day, each moment in step with God’s will, we become more and more loving. That’s why Jesus ties together loving God and loving our neighbor. We cannot love our neighbor, not this kind of self-sacrificing love, without loving God. And when we love God and truly enter into that relationship, we become more and more loving towards our neighbor. <br /><br />When you find yourself in the midst of a moment where you don’t feel very patient or humble, or forgiving, when you find yourself in the midst of one of those moments where you’re saying to yourself, “This love thing is hard” remember that God loves you. God loves each of you just as you are. It is this love of God that makes us capable of loving at all. It’s the love of God, that is able to flow through us and into our relationships with one another. When you feel like you cannot love one another, ask God to help you see that person as God sees them, ask God to help you be a vessel of God’s love for them.<br /><br />I encourage you to continue to allow God to be an active part of all your relationship, in good times and in bad, and to allow the love of God to be the basis for the love you share with one another. In doing so, you will continue to be an example to those around you. May the love of God continue to guide you and uphold you. <br /><br />Amen.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-46761164541975282472010-01-24T09:15:00.000-05:002010-02-25T09:19:27.405-05:00How Can Sabbath Time Help?This scripture passage this sermon was preached on is <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Exd&c=20&v=8&t=NIV#8">Exodus 20:8-11</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Exd&c=20&v=8&t=NIV#8">Click here to read the Scripture passage first. </a>
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Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">How can Sabbath time help?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This week we are continuing our sermon series called Restart your life. We started the series talking about how to discover our purpose in life. Last week we talked a little about how to simplify our schedules. Today I’m going to talk some about Sabbath time and next week we are going to talk about how to get personal finances under control. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In undergrad, my degree was in kinesiology, which is the study of how the body moves. Many people who get this degree end up going into physical therapy school or doing sports medicine or sports training. A few of them become personal trainers and not very many of us end up in seminary but that’s neither here nor there. Because of what my degree was in, in college and in seminary I ended up as a personal trainer to many of my friends. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Many of them wanted to learn how to lift weights so I would show them the proper technique and would spot them when necessary. With just about every person, I have ever shown how to lift weights, at some point in the process I would find myself saying to them, “Breathe! Don’t forget to breathe!” And with that, they would exhale a huge breath, they didn’t even realize they were holding. It seems really simple, like how could you forget to breathe? But they were concentrating so hard, on all the other things they were supposed to do. They were thinking about holding their arms in the right position and keeping their shoulders in the right alignment and come up this far and down this far and don’t go too far to the left or the right and oh by the way don’t drop the weight on yourself. They were so focused on all the other things they had to do that they inadvertently forgot to breathe. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It seems silly and yet it’s something that almost all of us are guilty of doing. Life gets so busy, and we get so preoccupied with all of the things we need to do that sometimes we forget to do even the most basic things that sustain our life. John Wesley said that Sabbath time is like our spiritual respiration. Sabbath time, like breath, is what sustains our spiritual lives and keeps us filled with the Spirit. Just like we won’t last very long without breathing, our spiritual lives won’t last very long without Sabbath time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sabbath time is time that is set aside to God. It’s a time where we rest from working. But not all rest time is considered Sabbath time. Martin Luther noted that the drunk who’s passed out on the bathroom floor is not working but he’s certainly not keeping the Sabbath either. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So what exactly is the difference between any time off and Sabbath time? As we explore the difference, I think it would be helpful for us to explore the Jewish tradition of Sabbath. Jesus was a practicing Jew and he would have been familiar with the Jewish requirements for keeping the Sabbath. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In Judaism, there are several restrictions of things you are not to do on the Sabbath. First off, you are not to do any of your regular work because God rested on the seventh day. This includes working in the fields or working around the house and doing things like cooking, cleaning, mowing the grass, etc. The Sabbath and the probation on working, reminds us that our worth does not come from what we produce. We live in a society that tells us our worth is based on what we produce, the quality of what we produce and how much we produce. But God thinks otherwise. We have value, not because of what we produce but because we are made by God and God deemed all of creation good. Sabbath is a day to rediscover that our worth lies in who we are not what we do. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Not only are you supposed to rest from working but you are not to make anyone work on your behalf. The scripture that was read for us this morning says, “On [the Sabbath] you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or your daughter, nor your manservant or maid servant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.” In other words, you are not to force anyone to work on your behalf to get more work done. In Judaism today, this has led to a prohibition on commerce. You are not to go shopping or go out to eat on the Sabbath because that would require someone else to work on your behalf. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You are also not supposed to do any gardening or play a musical instrument. You are not to write anything down or draw anything. Basically, you are not to create anything because God rested from creating on the seventh day. Rabbi Harold Kushner puts it this way, “Sabbath rest is leaving the world alone.” When we stop interfering with the world we acknowledge that it is God’s world. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There are not only specific things that are prohibited for Jews on the Sabbath day, there are also some activities that are encouraged.<span style=""> </span>One of the things that Jews are encouraged to do on the Sabbath is worship. That may be worshiping God together in community or worshiping God as an individual at home. This might include singing hymns or saying prayers. You might read scripture or sit in silent prayer. Worship on the Sabbath gives us an opportunity to be more aware of the presence of God in our lives and in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another thing that’s encouraged on the Sabbath is fellowship. It’s an opportunity to get together with other people to eat together and to talk with one another. When we set aside our to-do lists and stop trying to be productive every second of the day, we realize that we have time for people. Ceasing our normal routines helps us focus on people instead of tasks. We have time to actually listen to one another instead of just waiting for our turn to talk. The Sabbath is a day to remember that we were created to live in community and it’s an opportunity to truly experience that community in a way we don’t the other six days of the week. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">All in all, the things that are prohibited on the Sabbath, and the things that are encouraged on the Sabbath both seek to accomplish the same thing. <b style="">The Sabbath is designed to help us open our hearts to God. <o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So what does all of this mean for how we as Christians should keep the Sabbath? Does it mean that we have to adhere to all the restriction and regulations of a Jewish Sabbath? I don’t think so because Jesus didn’t do that. In the book of Mark, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees because the disciples were picking grain as they walked through a field. When asked about it, Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus also breaks the strict observance of Sabbath by healing a man on the Sabbath. It seems that Sabbath time for Jesus wasn’t about a strict observance of a certain set of rules. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sabbath is intended to reorient us back to God. It’s intended to honor God and to refocus us on God. In her book Mudhouse Sabbath, Lauren Winner says, “In observing the Sabbath one is both giving a gift to God and imitating him.” And Scripture tells us to keep Sabbath Holy. Holy means set apart. It means different. So while, Jesus frees us from having strict rules to follow on the Sabbath, it should be a day that we spend differently than other days. It should be a day that orients us back to God.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What are the things you need to set aside to focus on God? At a bare minimum we should set aside our work. This means we shouldn’t go into the office. We shouldn’t check our email. We should turn off our pager and our blackberry. Yes, they do actually have an off button, and one day a week we should use it. If your work is around the home then you shouldn’t cook or clean. Don’t do laundry or go grocery shopping. If your work is school then don’t do homework. Now obviously, if this is going to work then we have to do some advance planning. If you’re not going to do homework on your Sabbath day then it needs to be done before then. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Maybe on the Sabbath day you need to lay aside shopping. The Sabbath can be a time for you to remember that your worth isn’t based on how much you produce OR how much you quire. Maybe you need to lay aside your ordinary routines on that day, so it is a day that is different and set apart for God. Don’t set an alarm and sleep late on the Sabbath. Now if you’re in the choir, Beckie probably wouldn’t be happy if you slept late. So maybe Sunday isn’t your Sabbath, maybe you need to set aside another day as your Sabbath. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sabbath is a chance to lay aside all the things we so often focus on so we can remember to breathe, so we can spend time focusing on our spiritual respiration. Just like there are some things we need to stop doing, there are something we need to start doing on the Sabbath. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I think one of the things we need to do on the Sabbath is worship. This might be individually or as a community. If your Sabbath is on Sunday, you can come to church to worship. If your Sabbath is another day of the week then maybe that means listening to music or making a joyful noise to the Lord. Maybe that means reading scripture or sitting silently in prayer. Whatever way you worship, it should be included on your Sabbath day. Because worship helps to reorient us back to God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another thing that’s good for us to do on the Sabbath is play, recreation. Because recreation is re-creation. The things we do on the Sabbath shouldn’t feel like work. They should be fun and playful. It should be something that opens ourselves up to God to be re-created. Maybe for you that’s playing in the garden. Maybe that’s practicing an instrument or reading a book. Maybe it’s going on a hike or playing a game of football in the backyard with your family. Whatever it is, it should be something that opens you up and allows you to be created anew by God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another thing that’s good for us to do on the Sabbath is fellowship. One of the ways we experience God is through one another. Setting aside our regular tasks to make room for people can be an excellent way to open ourselves up to God. Maybe that’s eating a meal together or playing a game together. Maybe it’s something as ordinary as grocery shopping but it’s something you and your spouse turn into a sort of date together. We can fellowship in all sorts of different ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the end, everyone’s Sabbath is going to look differently because we all connect with God in different ways. This sermon isn’t intended to put one more item on your to-do list. It’s not meant to add one more thing to your obligations and things you have to do. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Instead it’s intended to help you realize that we all need to breathe. Our spiritual lives can be so much more vital and healthy if we pause from our regular routines to intentionally breathe in the spirit of God. Not only will it help infuse our Sabbath time with God’s presence, it will help us be more open to the presence of God throughout the rest of the week. Life gets so busy but don’t forget to breathe!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-11574128958583798072010-01-17T09:09:00.003-05:002010-02-25T09:14:08.274-05:00How can I Simplify?This sermon is based on the scripture passage <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=1&v=35&t=NIV#35">Mark 1:35-39. Click here to read the Scripture passage first. </a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">How can I Simplify?<br /><br /></div>This week we are continuing our sermon series called Restart your life. Last week Dennis talked about how we can discover the purpose of our lives. Today I’m going to talk a little about how we can simplify our lives. Next week we’ll talk about Sabbath time and the week after that we’ll talk about how to get personal finances under control.<br /><br />Many of you know that I moved around a lot growing up. Which means that I have a lot of practice packing and unpacking boxes. Every time we moved to a new house, one of the exciting things, and sometimes challenging things, was figuring out where we were going to put everything. We’d almost always start in the kitchen, deciding which tools and utensils were going to go in which drawer. We’d figure out where the silverware was going to go based on which drawer was situated closest to our kitchen table. Hotpads always went in the drawer closest to the stove and the non-stick sprays, cooking oils, and sauces always went in those small half cabinets over top the stove.<br /><br />The nice thing about this process is that with each house it was like we got to start fresh. We would tell ourselves that we were going to do thing in a way that made sense this time, that every item was going to have a spot where it belonged. That things were going to be neat and organized this time. The challenge is, that there’s always that stuff, that doesn’t seem to belong anywhere. And try as we might to avoid it, every kitchen I lived in growing up had what we referred to as “the junk drawer.”<br /><br />How many of you are familiar with “the junk drawer?” Now I don’t know about your house, but in our house, the junk drawer always started out as a drawer of useful things. It was where we kept pens and a pad of paper for making the grocery list, a pair of scissors for opening things while cooking, stamps and other functional things of that nature. But before we knew it, other things started to find their way into the drawer. You know those little packets of powdered food you get with flowers. Those would end up in there. And so would the extra zip-ties left over from the box of garbage bags. And rubber bands that seem to multiply on their own when the drawer is closed. And pretty soon, this drawer became the catch all for anything and everything we didn’t know what else to do with. The drawer would be overflowing with things like keys that we had no idea what they went to, or broken pieces of magnets that we always said we’d fix but never got around to, or the little toys that come in the cereal boxes, or the left over packets of soy sauce.<br /><br />The junk drawer started out useful but then it gets so cluttered and unwieldy with all the extra stuff that we shoved into it that it became hard to find the useful stuff when we needed it. And sometimes, particularly in really busy and stressful times, I begin to feel a little bit like my life is just one big junk drawer. It’s got some useful, and important, and functional things in it. But it’s also got a lot of other stuff crammed into that doesn’t really need to be there. And sometimes that other stuff takes up so much space that it’s hard to make room for the things that I think are important.<br /><br />How many of you have ever said, “there just aren’t enough hours in the day?” or how many of you have ever found yourself thinking, if only I had more time, if only life weren’t so busy? I know I have. Most of us live lives that are packed to the brim or overflowing. There’s work and kids, school, and homework, sports practice and music lessons, there’s grocery shopping to be done and clothes to be washed, there’s friends who want to see us and family that feels neglected. Most of us are so busy that we’re just barely managing to keep our heads above water and then something like flu season comes along, or the car breaks down and we have to add yet another thing to an already over packed schedule. <br /><br />I often find myself thinking, “I would love to do this or that if only there was more time.” Or I hear of some worthy cause and wish I had time to volunteer but I don’t. So instead I just end up feeling guilty that I’m too busy to help. And I can’t help but wonder, is this how life is supposed to be? Is life supposed to be lived at such a frenzied pace? Because when I look at Jesus’ life, I don’t see him living that way. In fact, we read a lot of passages, like the one today, where Jesus gets away from everyone and everything and spends time alone. He doesn’t seem to be nearly as frenzied as I feel.<br /><br />Here’s Jesus, the savior of the world, and not once do I hear him say “there just aren’t enough hours in the day.” He sometimes remarks that his time with the disciples is coming to a close, or he’ll predict his death but I can’t remember a single time we have recorded where Jesus said, “If only I had more time, if only life weren’t so busy.”<br /><br />So why is it that the savior of the world, someone with a much more important and demanding job description than I have, never complains about being too busy and yet I complain about it all the time? Jesus has the slight advantage of being divine, but he was also fully human. And for all the miracle stories we read about, I don’t remember any stories about Jesus slowing time down so he can get more stuff done. In this instance, I don’t think we can use Jesus’ divinity as an excuse for why we aren’t more like him. So what is it that Jesus does differently than we do?<br /><br />In the scripture passage immediately before the one that was read for us today, we read that Jesus had spent the night healing many people and driving out many demons. In fact, the passage tells us that the whole town gathered at Jesus’ door. Then the next day Jesus gets up early and goes to a solitary place to pray. The word that’s translated here as solitary place it actually eremos and many scholars agree that a better translated of the word is desert or deserted place. Here it’s translated as solitary place because there aren’t any deserts near Capernaum. But translating it as solitary place, misses the author’s parallel to the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert.<br /><br />It’s an important parallel here because Jesus is about to be tempted again, by other people’s expectations of him. When the disciples finally find Jesus they say to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” This isn’t a simple observation. The Greek used here has the connotation of reprimanding or rebuking Jesus. It’s more along the lines of a parent saying to a wayward child, “Where have you been? Everyone is looking for you!” And presumably they were looking for him so he could do more healings and drive out more demons. The disciples and the town are clamoring for Jesus to do more of the good things he’s been doing.<br /><br />Sometimes in life it’s so easy to give into other people’s expectations of us. We want to please people and we know how messy it can be when we don’t meet certain people’s expectations. It’s especially hard to disregard those expectations when it’s a good thing to be doing. That’s how we find ourselves on committees that we aren’t excited or passionate about. Inevitably, someone comes to us and asks if we’d be willing to serve in such and such a role. It’s hard for us to say no, even though we’re not excited about it, because we know it’s a good thing. It’s a worthwhile ministry and something someone should be doing. But God hasn’t called us to that ministry so we just end up feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from a schedule packed with good things. It can be really tempting to let other people’s expectations dictate how we spend our time and energy. We have to be willing to say, “no” to some things, even some good and worthwhile things so we can say, “yes” to other better things, things that God has called us to, things that we are passionate about and excited by.<br /><br />In some ways I think Jesus was probably tempted to give into those expectations as well. The town would be perfectly happy for Jesus to stay with them and be the local healer. He probably could have lived a long and prestigious life doing that. Being a local healer is a good purpose, and one to which someone is called, but Jesus was called to much more than that. Jesus response to the disciples is to say, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”<br /><br />Jesus knows what his purpose is in this life. He uses that purpose to help him decide what things to say yes to and what things to say no to. While healing is a good thing, he knows he has been called to more than that. So even though the disciples and townspeople expect Jesus to come back and do more healings, he doesn’t. Instead he chooses to do what will fulfill his purpose for coming, even when that fails to fulfill other people’s expectations.<br /><br />Like Jesus, one of the things we can use to help decide what to do and what not to do is to figure out what God has called us to. Last week Dennis talked a little about how to figure out your purpose in life. God calls each of us to something. Sometimes we are called to multiple things or to different things at different times in our lives. But God created each one of us with a purpose in mind.<br /><br />If you feel like God has called you to be a parent, then look at that purpose and decide what’s important to you based on how well it will help you be a better parent. If you feel like God has called you to promote health and wellness, then maybe you’ll spend your time going on hikes or putting together disaster response health kits. We should decide how to spend our time based on what God has called us to, not just what other people’s expectations are.<br /><br />Another thing we can do to simplify our lives and take back more control over our schedules, is to schedule the most important things first. For example, one thing that’s important to me is continuing to nurture and care for my marriage. So every Friday night, Scott and I have a standing date night. What we do on that date night varies a lot but I know I’m going to spend Friday nights with Scott. Other things, things that are not as important to me, get scheduled around that. Maybe time with your family is important to you, so while the kids are still young you can schedule a regular family night. That might be once a week, or every other week or once a month. Whatever works for you. Maybe sports, or music, or some hobby is really important to you. Schedule time for those things and treat it like it’s an important meeting with your boss that you can’t cancel.<br /><br />You really can simplify your life and not run at such a frenzied pace. Simplifying, by its very nature, means letting go of some things. Realize that you can’t do everything, nor should you. Jesus was divine and he didn’t do everything. There were some things that he said no to. There will be some things that you can’t do. Maybe that means your house won’t be as neat or maybe you won’t get around to hanging outside Christmas lights this year. Maybe that means saying no to a ministry you’re asked to volunteer for so you can say yes to something you’re passionate about.<br /><br />This is where the body of Christ comes in. We are all called to something. God created each of us with a purpose and gave each of us gifts for the building up of the community. A few people can’t do all the work of the community. Everyone in the community needs to be doing something, whether it’s big or small. If you are one of those people that says yes to everything, know that you don’t have to do it all. It’s likely that God has called some other person to do some of those things.<br /><br />Simplifying isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work and intentionality. And unfortunately, it’s something we have to do repeatedly in life. All of the items in our junk drawer were functional at one point. Like the activities in our life, some of them have served their purpose and we need to let go of them. Others are still functional but need to be handed over to someone else who can use them. Still others are things we need to keep in our lives and need to make more space for. If we want to simplify things, we are going to have to do that more than once, just like we had to clean out our junk drawer more than once. When things start to feel too full, that’s when we need to re-evaluate things.<br /><br />We aren’t called to do everything. Even Jesus didn’t do everything. What are you going to say no to so you can say yes to something you’re passionate about?<br /><br />Amen.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-51937441773149075712009-11-29T09:48:00.001-05:002010-02-25T09:56:27.096-05:00Living in ExileThis sermon is based on the scripture passage <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jer&c=33&v=14&t=NIV#14">Jeremiah 33:14-16</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jer&c=33&v=14&t=NIV#14">Click here to read the scripture passage first. </a>
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<br />I did not write out a full manuscript for this sermon but below is the outline I used to preach from. I would have included the audio but I haven't been able to figure out how to make it work.
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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Living in Exile<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jeremiah’s words came to people in exile.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Literally deported to a foreign country. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Exile meant God had been defeated<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Or at the very least, God doesn’t have jurisdiction here<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Many of us experience exile at some point in our lives. We may not be literally deported to a foreign land but we still experience exile. Exile is when things are not as they should be. It’s when you can’t remember who you are. Exile is when you feel far from the presence of God, far from home or a sense of security. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Bureau of Labor statistics reported that in October the US unemployment rate rose to 10.2%<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As of 2007 an estimated 33 million people world wide are living with HIV/AIDS<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Roughly 16,000 children die every day of hunger, that’s one child every 5 seconds, that’s more than 144 children who will die due to hunger related illnesses before this sermon is over<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Addictions<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Unmanaged Depression/mental illness<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Death of a loved one<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our response to exile is similar to Israel<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where are you God?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why do bad things happen to good people?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How long will things be this way?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jeremiah’s words are also for us<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The days are surely coming when God’s promises will be fulfilled<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What exactly are the promises Jeremiah is referring to?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jeremiah 33:6-9<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Despite all the pain and destruction, there will be restoration. In other words this time of exile will not last forever. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Health and healing<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Abundant peace and security<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Forgiveness of sins<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God will do for Israel what they cannot do for themselves. We cannot return from exile on our own. It takes the work of God, the fulfillment of God’s promises to bring us home.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God promises that we will not live in exile forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">David is often considered to be the most prominent king of Israel. He’s certainly the most well remembered. David was not without his faults but overall he was faithful to the Lord, and sought to lead Israel in accordance with God’s will.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God will not raise up any descendant from the line of David, God is going to raise up one who is righteous and who does what is just and right.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What exactly is justice and righteousness?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s actually the same word in Hebrew.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It means to be in right relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Someone who is righteous and just lives in right relationship with God. That means obey the commandments and laws of God. It means discerning and doing the will of God in every day live. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Someone who is righteous and just lives in right relationship with their neighbors. That means caring for those who cannot care for themselves. It means upholding the covenants we make with one another. It means speaking up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. It means not being a workaholic and ignoring our families. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Someone who is righteous and just lives in right relationship with themselves. They don’t engage in self destructive behaviors like not getting enough sleep or eating too much.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Being righteous and just is doing not just some of those things but all of those things. Being righteous and just all the time is a tall order. In fact it’s something none of us can live up to. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But there’s one person who did manage to live a just and righteous life. One person who was able to always be in right relationship with God, and neighbor, and self. Jesus did all of those things all the time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Many scholars believe the birth of Jesus is one fulfillment of this prophecy. According to the genealogy of Jesus listed in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is considered part of the Davidic line. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus managed not only to live an earthly life of justice and righteousness, but also came to set us back in right relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Right relationship with God, neighbor, and self.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Many of us experience exile at some point in our lives. We know what it’s like to feel like things are not as they should be, where it seems like God is far away, and safety and comfort are nowhere to be found.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But God promises that exile will not last forever. Two thousand years ago, God sent Jesus to bring us back from exile we experience when our relationship with God is not as it should be and to restore us to right relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God promises to do it again. God promises that Jesus will come again, to set the whole world in right relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">During advent, we celebrate not only the birth of Jesus long ago, we also wait in anticipation and hope, for Jesus to return again and set all things right.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Let this advent season be a time of self-reflection. What are the parts of your life that are not in right relationship with God, with your neighbor, or with yourself? What are the parts of your life God is asking you to hand over so God can set them in right relationship?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We typically go through advent at such a frenzied pace. Instead of a time for waiting and anticipation of Christ’s return, we seem to be inundated with holiday parties and frantic shopping trips. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Use this as a time of prayer, devotion, and reflection. I encourage you to set aside ten minutes each day to reflect on what God is telling you needs to be set right in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God has promised that one day, all things will be set right. Jeremiah reminds us today that the days are coming when God’s promises will be fulfilled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-38626845638449806312009-11-17T14:13:00.006-05:002009-11-17T15:34:39.298-05:00Hannah RoseOn sunday, I preach on 1 Samuel 1:1-20. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Sa&c=1&v=1&t=NIV#top">Click here to read the scripture passage first.</a><br /><br />Since I did not preach off a manuscript, I've included the audio file of my preaching. For those of you who prefer to read it instead of listening to it, I apologize.<br /><br /><embed src= "http://www.odeo.com/flash/audio_player_standard_gray.swf" quality="high" width="300" height="52" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars= "valid_sample_rate=true&external_url=http://www.fileden.com/getfile.php?file_path=http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/10/27/2161743/04%20Hannah%20Rose.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"> </embed>Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-8592301810355328922009-11-04T09:23:00.002-05:002009-11-04T09:26:44.184-05:00Stuck in the MiddleThis is the sermon I preached this Sunday for All Saint's Day.
<br /><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=11&v=32&t=NIV#32">
<br />Read John 11:32-44</a>
<br />
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mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 115%;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Stuck in the Middle<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is All Saints’ Day. It’s a day set aside in the church year for us to remember the saints who have gone before us. Now when we say saints we don’t mean just the people that the catholic church recognizes as extraordinary Christians. We don’t mean just the Martin Luther King Jr.s or the Mother Theresas of our time. When we talk about saints, we mean all those who believe in Christ. All Christians are considered saints. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On All Saints’ Day, we remember those Christians who have died in the last year. We celebrate the way God was at work in their lives and the way they gave their lives to the work of Christ. We give thanks for their lives and look forward to the day when we will all feast together at the heavenly banquet. All Saints’ day is one of those bitter-sweet days in the life of the church. There is joy as we remember their lives and the impact they had on us. There’s also joy in knowing that we will one day see them again. But there is also sorrow as we grieve their death and know that it will be sometime before we are with them again. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We believe that God began creation and that God will bring creation to completion. When that happens, we will be reunited with all of God’s people. It will be a day of praise and thanksgiving as all Christians around the world and throughout history join together in worshiping God. But the culmination of creation is not yet here. For the time being we are stuck somewhere in the middle between the beginning of creation and the culmination of creation. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s scripture reading is one of those in-between moments. It’s a time where some cry and some criticize and some hope. It’s a moment where we see how God is at work in the time between death and new life. Mary and Martha are in that in between time. The time between when a loved one dies and is given new live. Even Jesus himself is in one of those in-between moments. This story is right in the middle of the gospel of John and Jesus is in-between this life and the death that awaits him in Jerusalem. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As we read this story, we catch a glimpse of how God is at work in the in-between times. And as we catch a glimpse of how God is at work, we see how we are to live during this in-between time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the first striking things about this story that Jesus does is weep. Jesus knows that he can and will raise Lazarus from the dead. But he still weeps. He sees how deeply grieved Mary, Martha, and the others are over the death of Lazarus. His reaction to their grief is to grieve with them. He doesn’t give them a theological discourse on how Lazarus is with God, or how he’s in a better place. He doesn’t try to comfort them by promising them that they will see him again someday. All those things are true, but Jesus knows that this is not the time for those words. Instead he enters into their pain and tears. He’s willing to live in that in-between moment and to demonstrate that he cares about them by feeling their pain, their grief, and even crying with them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In this in-between time, there will by weeping and mourning. In this in-between time, there will still be pain and death. There’re still cancer and suicide bombers. There’re still divorce and abuse, there’s still unemployment and foreclosures. There’re still addictions and hunger. In this in-between time, there’re still many reasons for crying and mourning. There is much that we grieve, no matter how strong our faith is or how certain we are that God will redeem everything in the end. Our pain in this in-between time is real. Jesus’ tears in this passage, not only give us permission to cry in this in between time, but also serve as a reminder that God is present with us, even when we are hurting and grieving.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But Jesus does more than just weep with Mary and Martha. Jesus sets about bringing Lazarus back to life. Have you ever stopped to wonder why Jesus asked them to roll the stone away from the tomb? The obvious answer is so that Lazarus could get out after Jesus brings him back to life. But let’s think about this for a minute. Jesus is bringing back to life, a person who has been dead for four days. We’re not talking about when someone dies on an operating table and a few seconds or minutes later the doctors are able to resuscitate them. Lazarus has been dead for four days. His body is already starting to rot and decay, tissue is deteriorating and there is the unmistakable stench of a dead body. Jesus is bringing that person back to life, to a state where the decaying body will once again hold life and operate in a normal healthy way. If Jesus can bring Lazarus back from the dead, if Jesus can make rotting, decaying tissue function and support life, then surely he could just roll the stone away with the wave of a hand, or somehow transport Lazarus’ body to the other side of the stone. If not even death can thwart the power of God, then I know that a simple stone can’t stand in the way of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And yet Jesus asks those who are gathered there to roll the stone away. Not only that but he even after Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, he asks those who are watching to remove the grave clothes. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It would seem that even during this in between time, we have work to be doing. Jesus does the hard part. It’s Jesus that brings people back from the dead, it’s Jesus that transforms death to life, it’s Jesus that is able to bring healing and wholeness and life to the living dead. Jesus does all that, not us. We don’t raise people to new life in Christ. God does that. But Jesus still gives us a role to play in his transforming work. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s the way God chooses to work. God often chooses to involve us, to give us a role to play in achieving God’s purposes. God doesn’t have to, but God chooses to work that way. God chooses to use human agents to bring about God’s purposes. God doesn’t need our help, but chooses to allow us to participate in God’s work in the world. Even though God does the hard part, we are invited to participate in God’s work. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus told the disciples and us to follow him. We’re told to love as he loves, to put others first, to serve rather than be served, and if need be to lay down our lives for others. Jesus doesn’t need our help. God doesn’t need us to roll away the stone. I think sometimes we get it into our heads that we are doing God a favor when we do those things. But really it’s the other way around. God is doing us a favor.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God gives us the privilege of being a part of God’s work in the world. It’s not something to be taken lightly. That’s why we take seriously the membership vows to participate in the ministries of the church. The church is God’s way of inviting us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. God has chosen to use the church to redeem and transform the world. It’s through the church, not just worshiping on Sunday mornings but by committing ourselves to living in community with one another that we are given the opportunity to love one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, learn from one another, hold one another accountable, and serve one another. It’s through the church that we are given the opportunity to live out the work Jesus gives us in this in-between time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus invites us during this in-between time to be a part of his transforming work in the world. You’re invited to roll the stone away from the tomb by joining Kairos to visit the prisoner, or taking a meal to someone who is sick. You’re invited to take off someone’s grave cloths by listening to them when they doesn’t have anyone else to talk to or encouraging someone recovering from an addiction. You’re invited to be a part of God’s work transforming the world. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One day God’s kingdom will be present on earth as it is in heaven. Like Revelation tells us, one day God will bring to completion what God started in creation. One day there will be no more death or mourning, no more crying or pain. God will wipe away every tear and will realize our hope in Jesus Christ. One day we will see again those saints who have gone before us, who now rest from their labors. Until then, know that Jesus grieve when we grieve. One day we will feast with all the saints at Christ’s heavenly banquet. One day. Until then, we have a lot of work to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-49129472626049982802009-10-05T08:39:00.002-04:002009-10-05T08:44:04.447-04:00Bread for the World<div style="text-align: center;">Bread for the World<br /><br /></div>Hocus Pocus. It’s a phrase that many stage magicians have used in their various acts. With the wave of a wand over a top hat, they cry Hocus Pocus before pulling a rabbit out of the hat. Hocus Pocus is one of those phrases that we have come to associate with magic, illusion, or even scams. We’ve even been known to say things like, “It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus.”<br /><br />I recently stumbled upon one theory about the origins of the phrase Hocus Pocus. Some people believe that is stems from the Latin phrase “hoc est enim corpus meum.” During the middle ages, the priests celebrated all services, including communion, in Latin. Often the words were spoken or whispered, as the priest stood in between the congregation and the communion table with his back to the congregation. When at the appropriate place in the liturgy, the priest, with his back still to the congregation, would raise the bread high into the air and say, “hoc est enim corpus meum” which is latin for “this is my body.” The Catholic Church believes that the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. So it was believed by many people that at the moment the priest said these words, the bread and wine are transformed. It easy to see how the whispered or mumbled phrase hoc est enim corpus meum could have been garbled into hocus pocus. It’s also easy to see how the original use of the words, created this mysterious, even magical, air around them. We can see how it wouldn’t be a big leap for the congregation to believe that these words held some magical power.<br /><br />Most of us today know that Communion isn’t magic. But there’s still a lot of confusion around what’s happening in communion. Communion is transformed from ordinary bread and juice into a physical sign of Christ’s continual presence with us. That transformation happens by the power of the Holy Spirit, not because we speak a certain set of words like some magical incantation. It’s God’s Holy Spirit that makes communion special, not the words. But the words that are used in the communion liturgy can still help us understand what is communion is and what’s happening.<br /><br />I’d like to invite you to open up your hymnal to pg 13 and we’ll look together at the communion liturgy. While you’re flipping to the right page, I want to start by reminding everyone that this whole thing is a prayer to God. It sometimes is a bit confusing because the liturgy talks a lot about the things God has done in the past. But that’s a form of praising God as we remember with grateful hearts the things God has done in human history. Praise of God is always prayer.<br /><br />If you look at the communion liturgy the first thing that happens is a series of short lines that go back and forth between the pastor who is presiding at the table and the congregation. This series of lines is called the Opening Dialogue or the Sursum Corda and it’s actually really ancient. The earliest written record we have of it is from the writings of Bishop Hippolytus and is believed to have been written around 215 A.D. But part of it we know is even older than that. The opening phrase, The Lord be with you, is found in Ruth 2:4. It’s used as a call and response greeting between Boaz and the workers. Its use in scripture suggests it may have been a common greeting, a blessing of sorts, in use during biblical times. That means this phrase has probably been in use long before the birth of Christ.<br /><br />The opening dialogue then goes on to invite us to lift our heart up to God, which is just another way of inviting us to focus our attention on God. Then it says let us give thanks to the Lord our God. This is a way for the pastor presiding at the table to ask permission to offer this prayer on your behalf and to invite you to join in the prayer.<br /><br />The next section is called the preface. You’ll notice as we go through the communion liturgy that it is Trinitarian in nature. That means that it is a prayer offered to all three persons of the trinity. This first part talks about God the Creator. The preface here on pg 13 is fairly short but it can be longer. This part can be varied based on the season of the church year or for special occasions but it should always recall the works of God the Father. So basically it should talk about God as creator and God’s activity in human history before the incarnation of Jesus.<br /><br />You’ll notice that the preface ends by talking about how we join with God’s people on earth and all the company of heaven. This part of the liturgy reminds us that we are not the only people who worship God. Every Sunday, there are Christians all over the world who participate in this communion meal. This meal is not just about me and God, it’s not even just about Calvary UMC and God, this meal is between all believers, all over the world, and God.<br /><br />Not only do we join together with all the other Christians around the world, we also join together with the whole company of heaven. This means we are joined with all the heavenly beings but also with Christians who have gone before us. We are joined together with all of the Christians through-out all of history as together we praise God. We are essentially asking to be made a part of the heavenly chorus while we are still here on earth. That means we are asking God to make us, this gathered community, a glimpse of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We’re asking that God would so transform this community, that when other people look at us and the way we live, they will see a glimpse of God’s kingdom being lived out here on earth.<br /><br />Then the liturgy moves into the congregational response that begins with Holy Holy Holy. This part is called the Sanctus which, not surprisingly, is the latin word for Holy. The Sanctus is actually comprised of two parts. Both of which are derived from scripture. There first part comes from Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8. These scriptures are of heavenly beings singing this song before the throne of God. This image of unending worship that surrounds God’s heavenly throne reminds us that God is transcendent, that God is beyond any of the limits of the universe, beyond our knowledge, beyond our ability to completely comprehend God. This part reminds us that we worship an awesome God that is not human.<br /><br />The second half of the Sanctus that begins “Blessed is he” is actually a reference to Jesus. This part is in scripture as well. It can be found in Matthew 21:9 when the crowd shouts praise as Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. This part of the Sanctus reminds us that God has become incarnate. God who is all powerful and worthy of our unceasing praise has become one of us. God has become human so that we can know God’s love for us and we can be reconciled to God. The Sanctus, as a whole, holds in tension the believe that God is almighty and worthy of our constant praise but also that God has become incarnate, living among us that we might live in relationship with God. What an incredible testimony to the God we worship!<br /><br />The section immediately following the Sanctus is about Christ’s life and ministry. Just like with the preface, this section can be changed based on the season of the church year. Sometimes we want to highlight different parts of Jesus’ ministry. But this part should always be about Christ and what he has done on our behalf.<br /><br />Then we have the section that is known as the Words of Institution. This section starts on the top of pg 14 with the words, “On the night in which he gave himself up for us.” The words of institution recall Jesus’ final meal with the disciples as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This section reminds us that we celebrate this meal because Jesus told us to. In it we remember Christ’s final meal with the disciples before he was betrayed but it also reminds us of the meal the risen Jesus shared with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. In that meal it was through the breaking of the bread that the disciples recognized Jesus for the first time. So too it is with us. One of the ways that we recognize the risen Christ’s continual presence with us is through the breaking of the bread. The words of institution also remind us that we have gathered here to worship God, to celebrate the risen Christ and to give thanks for what he has done for us.<br /><br />At the end of the words of institution we say “So in remembrance of these your might acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us.” That’s a really packed sentence. But let’s start with the end. Christ’s offering for us. We just talked about the words of institution and how they remind us of both Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ’s offering was his whole self. He offered us his body in the crucifixion, but he also offered us his time and energy and resources while he was with the disciples here on earth. Christ gave everything he had on our behalf. So out of praise and thanksgiving, in other words, out of gratitude and thankfulness for what God has done for us, we are to offer ourselves to God. That doesn’t mean that we have to die, but we’re to be a holy and living sacrifice to God. So our whole lives should be devoted to praising and serving God because Christ first offered himself for us.<br /><br />So we are offering our whole selves as we remember Christ’s sacrifice for us and as we proclaim the mystery of faith. That’s when we recite together what’s called the memorial acclamation. This is the central belief of the Christian faith. The central belief is that God loves us so much that God took on human form, lived among us and then went so far as to die for us. But not only to die for us, we believe that Christ rose from the dead, and that Christ will come again. That’s the summary of Christian faith and we proclaim it together as we celebrate this distinctively Christian meal.<br /><br />Then we have the section called the epiclesis. It’s a Greek word that means “calling upon.” The first part of the liturgy recalled the saving acts of God the Father, the second part recalled the saving acts of God the Son, and this part calls upon the Holy Spirit to act now. We pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on us. Often our minds skip over this part and jump right to the part about the bread and the cup being transformed into the body and blood of Jesus, but we’re also asking the Holy Spirit to make all of us who are gathered in this place and around the world, into the body of Christ for the world. This parts really important. It’s the Holy Spirit that makes these ordinary things something special. It’s not some magic hocus pocus. It’s God’s spirit that makes the difference. Just like it’s God spirit that is able to transform us from broken people to whole people. It’s also a way for us to proclaim that God didn’t just abandon the world after Christ’s resurrection. God is still active in human history. We believe that so strongly that we are asking God to transform us, and the bread and juice right here, right now.<br /><br />Following the Epiclesis there is a prayer for unity. The flow here is important. It moves from individual to global. First we pray to be one with Christ, then we pray to be one with each other, that is with other Christians. Then we pray to be one in service to the world so the whole world may come to know God.<br /><br />The second half of the prayer for unity is when we proclaim our trust that Christ will come again and we will feast with him at the heavenly banquet. This part points to the future reign of God. We believe that God didn’t just set creation in motion and then walk away. But that God has been active throughout history and God continues to be active in history to bring about the completion of creation when God’s kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven. It’s this belief that allows us to look to the future with hope, despite all the negative things happening in the world around us.<br /><br />The last section of the prayer is the doxology. Doxology actually comes from the greek word Doxa meaning glory. So a doxology is giving glory, or praise to God. The liturgy opened with praise of God and it closes with praise of God. And here is brings praise of the trinity together. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all praised.<br /><br />The very last thing in the liturgy is everyone saying Amen together. Believe it or not, there is actually a meaning to the word Amen. It’s not just some word we say to mark the end of a prayer. Amen actually means “so be it.” And by saying it at the end of a prayer it means you are giving your assent to all that’s been said. It’s a way for you to say you agree with a prayer that’s been said on your behalf. You should only say Amen at the end of the prayer if you agree with what’s been said.<br /><br />That’s your whirlwind overview of what that communion liturgy is about. There’s a lot more nuances to it than that but that’s the basic gist of it. But so what? Why does it matter what the communion liturgy says?<br /><br />Well for one thing, I think it’s important for you to know what’s being said in prayers that are prayed on your behalf. But also, because those prayers, and the things that are said or symbolized in the communion liturgy have serious implications for how we live as Christians. These prayers and participation in this meal place an ethical claim on our lives.<br /><br />In the liturgy, we pray that the Holy Spirit would transform us into the body of Christ for the world. That means we are supposed to live in such a way that people are able to experience Christ through us. That means that as Christ’s body in the world, we are to live out here and now, God’s intent for the world. We’re to pray for the things Jesus would pray about, care for those Jesus would care about, love those Jesus loves, feed those that Jesus would feed, heal those that Jesus would heal, strive for the freedom of those that Jesus would free, not just here in Mt. Airy but all over the world.<br /><br />Jesus is the Bread of life and we, the body of Christ, are called to be bread for the world. How is it that you are doing those things? Are you praying on a regular basis? Are you part of a small group where you care for the needs of one another? Are you participating in any social justice ministries? You don’t have to do everything yourself, but as the body of Christ, eat of us are called to do something in ministry to one another and to the world. How are you being bread for the world?<br /><br />Amen.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-2016522337417966022009-09-28T09:43:00.002-04:002009-09-28T09:47:42.120-04:00Things we avoid<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CREVJEN%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CREVJEN%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CREVJEN%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> 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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Yesterday I preached the following sermon based on <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=9&v=38&t=NIV#38">Mark 9:38-50</a>. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=9&v=38&t=NIV#38">Click here to read the passage first.</a> I promise you the sermon makes way more sense if you read the scripture first. If you only have time to read one, then read the scripture and not the sermon.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">Things we avoid</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In the movie Office Space, there is a passive-aggressive boss named Bill Lumbergh. Bill discovers that Milton, one of the workers, was supposed to have been laid off years ago. Except no one told Milton so he continues to come to work and, due to a system glitch, he continues to receive pay checks. Bill, the boss, is passive aggressive and wants to avoid conflict so instead of firing Milton, he moves Milton’s desk to a dingy cockroach infested room in the basement and stops paying him. Bill hopes that in not paying Milton, the problem will “resolve itself” and Milton will just stop showing up for work. Milton through-out the movie tries to tell Bill he’s not receiving a pay check anymore but Bill just brushes him aside and ignores him. Milton repeatedly mutters to himself and to anyone else who will listen that if they push him too far he’s going to burn the building down. In the end, Milton does just that. Fed up with being ignored, pushed around, and unpaid, Milton sets fire to the building. It would seem that the situation didn’t “resolve itself” quite the way that Bill hoped it would. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I think one of the things that makes this Bill character in the movie so funny is because the film-makers take this personality type that we’re all familiar with and have experience to some degree or another and then they take it to the extreme. We’ve all either avoided someone at some time in our lives or we’ve been the person that other people are avoiding. Most of us have never taken it to this extreme but we have experienced it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">For instance, I don’t have a facebook page but I recently typed “avoiding people on facebook” into google and it returned 63,800,000 results. Over 63 million results! That’s incredible to me. Facebook was designed to help connect people, and instead over connecting, over 63 million people are talking about how to avoid people on facebook! We all know what it’s like to avoid others or to be avoided. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In the scripture reading for today, we find the disciples acting a little like Bill from Office Space. Except instead of avoiding people, the disciples are avoiding letting the teachings of Jesus sink into their hearts. In the passage right before this, which we read last week, the disciples argued amongst themselves who was the greatest. Jesus settles the matter by telling them that whoever wants to be first must be servant of all. But today we see that the disciples weren't doing such a great job of paying attention to the part of the gospel that says to become great you must become the least. That competitiveness and need to be the best continues this week as they try to stop the exorcist.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It seems like Jesus has barely finished his sentence about becoming the servant of all and welcoming all. And now the disciples are already telling him that they tried to stop someone from driving out demons in Jesus’ name because he wasn’t “one of us.” Maybe the disciples were just trying to divert Jesus’ attention from them to someone else. Or maybe it’s just their competitive nature coming out again. They were competing earlier with one another about who among the disciples is the greatest. So perhaps they see this successful exorcist as a threat, especially since just a few chapters ago we hear how the disciples themselves had failed to drive out a demon. Scripture doesn’t tell us their motivations but it’s almost like the disciples are expecting Jesus to pat them on the back. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Instead Jesus rebukes them and tells them not to stop the man. Jesus even goes so far as to tell the disciples that anyone who is “not against us, is for us.” Jesus doesn’t approve of the competitive nature of the disciples. He doesn’t want them arguing among themselves who is the greatest. Nor does he want them to compete with those outside of the group. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The disciples avoided the words of Jesus about competitiveness and serving all, just like Bill avoided Milton. It’s easy to point fingers or to shake our heads at the disciples. We find ourselves wondering how they could make the same mistake again so quickly. <span style=""> </span>But haven’t we all done that? We all have some part of the gospel that we struggle with, that we wish wasn't part of the bible, that perhaps we choose (consciously or unconsciously) to ignore. We all have certain parts of the bible that that make us uncomfortable, and like Bill we move those parts to a dingy room in the basement in hopes that the situation will “resolve itself.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This passage from the gospel is often one of those that is ignored. With its intensely graphic images and radical demands it makes a lot of people really uncomfortable. I actually think this passage is more uncomfortable for most people than the passage where Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow him. Maybe it’s because the words Jesus uses evokes more graphic images in our minds. Maybe it’s because we have so domesticated the cross that we often forget that is was a very painful and drawn out way to kill someone. Maybe it’s because no one wants to think about willingly cutting off parts of their own bodies or the topic of hell. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When things make us uncomfortable, we have a tendency to avoid them. We do it with people that annoy us or make us uncomfortable. We do it with scripture passages that are a little too graphic. But we also avoid the scripture passages that challenge us. When our life and scripture are at odds with one another, we have this tendency to just avoid or ignore that scripture passage and hope that the tension will “resolve itself.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">We all have parts of the gospel that we'd rather not listen to. For some it's about what we do with our money. For others it's about forgiving those who have wronged us (or forgiving ourselves). For others it's about humility, the struggle to acknowledge that our culture leads us astray when it convinces us that everything is permissible, that life is all about pursuing our own pleasure and happiness. Others of us try to follow Jesus by spending a lot of time talking about Jesus or this theological issue or that but never actually spend time alone with God praying or reading scripture just for our own spiritual growth.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">We all have parts of the bible that make us uncomfortable. It’s human nature to try to avoid discomfort. But when we ignore parts of the bible that challenge us and convict us, we in essence are cutting off the hand of the gospel. Instead of observing our own lives and removing the behaviors or attitudes that put us at odds with the gospel, we choose to remove parts of the gospel. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">But Jesus says it should be the other way around. Instead of avoiding parts of the gospel, we should remove the things in our lives that in get in the way of us following Jesus. In really graphic language Jesus calls us to follow him regardless of the cost. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">So what is it that's getting in our way? What is the part of the gospel that we want to avoid, that we wish wasn't there? What's the part that makes us the most uncomfortable and makes us cringe? Because chances are, the parts that make us the most uncomfortable are probably dealing with those things we are struggling with. Chances are those are the things we need to work on removing from our lives in order to fully follow Christ.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">If you find yourself cringing or squirming in your seat every time a scripture passage about forgiveness is read, then maybe you need to pray about any anger or resentment you might be harboring. If you find yourself uncomfortable with scripture passages talking about how to spend your money, then maybe you need to pray about how God would have you spend your money differently. If you find yourself uncomfortable with scripture passages dealing with being a servant, then maybe you need to pray about if you are prideful and trying to rely on yourself instead of God.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In his book, <i style="">The Life We Claim,</i> James Howell writes, “We live in a society that permits everything and forgives nothing; but we will never be whole until we realize there are things God does not permit, and therefore that God can forgive everything.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">God loves us enough that there are some things that God does not permit. Scripture helps us to know God’s heart and God’s desire for our lives. There are some things that God does not permit and scripture tells us that. God can forgive everything. But we shouldn’t use God’s abundant forgiveness as an excuse not to try. There are some things God doesn’t permit. So when you find yourself uncomfortable with scripture, chances are there is something in your life you need to change.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">What part of Scripture do you avoid? What are the things you need to remove from your life so you can more fully follow Jesus?
<br /></p> Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-43854888220611998212009-09-15T15:16:00.003-04:002009-09-18T09:16:09.935-04:00outburstsIt seems like lately there have been a lot of incidents in the news about angry outbursts from people. Last week Congressman Joe Wilson shouted, "You lie!" at President Obama during his speech on health care. This weekend Serena Williams lost a match in the US Open because of a penalty for berating a line judge after having a foot fault called on her. On Sunday, Kanye West literally jumped up on stage at the MTV awards and stole the microphone out of Taylor Swifts hands to rant about how Beyonce deserved to win instead. Yesterday Roger Federer cursed at a chair umpire after Juan Martin del Potro was allowed to challenge a call after what Federer thought was too long of a delay.<br /><br />We could talk about how disappointing it is that these well known people act in such a way, that they let their anger get out of control. We could chalk it up to the celebrity lifestyle, or say that it's yet another example of how people living in excess come to expect everything to revolve around them. But let's be honest. These well known people are not the only ones who have angry outbursts.<br /><br />How many people have ever had someone show them an obscene hand gesture while driving in traffic? (How many of you have been the one <span style="font-style: italic;">giving</span> the obscene hand gesture?)How many people have witnessed the pushing, shoving, and actual fistfights over the hottest gift at christmas? Or how many people yell at their kid or pet for the slightest infraction? Whether you have personally done any of these things or not, most of us have witnessed these types of angry outbursts for minor infractions.<br /><br />It seems like there is this undercurrent of anger in our society and the slightest little thing can set people off into a tirade. And even in the moment, when you're watching something happen, you know that the reaction is way out of proportion to the incident. The person who's yelling or giving obscene hand gestures in traffic is angry, but probably about more than just a person driving too slow or cutting them off. People fighting over the hottest gift at Christmas are angry and desperate, but probably not just over that particular gift. People who yell at their kid or their dog for making a mess, are probably mad about more than just needing to clean up the mess.<br /><br />And what I find fascinating about all these angry outbursts in our society over such trivial things, is how deafeningly silent we are as a society about things that actually matter. We get indignant about the slightest hint of being treated unfairly ourselves, or someone infringing on our personal freedom. But when it comes to the genocide in Darfur, or the AIDS/HIV pandemic happening all over the world, or the millions of people around the world without access to clean water or enough food we are surprisingly silent.<br /><br />So why is it that we are so angry about such little things, and not angry about such big things? In one of his NOOMA videos, Rob Bell says, "Some people are looking for a fight because they aren't in one." In the gospels we have all sorts of stories of the religious leaders getting angry at Jesus. In Mark there's a story of Jesus healing a man with a shriveled hand on the sabbath. The Pharisees were angry that he would heal on the sabbath day. They were more concerned with the rules and regulations than with having compassion on the man who had a shriveled hand. It says they were so angry that they began to plot how to kill Jesus, all because he healed a man.<br /><br />Jesus gets frustrated and angry in the bible, but each time it's in response to other people being stepped on or oppressed or marginalized. Yet so often we claim, "I have a right to be angry!" This person has hurt me or taken away my rights. But I once heard it said that it's not a matter of if we have a right to be angry, it's a question of if we have a responsibility to be angry.<br /><br />Do you have a responsibility to be angry because you were cut off in traffic. No, not really. Do you have a responsibility to be angry that children are being turned into soldiers, that girls are sold into sex slavery, that millions die of preventable diseases every year? Yes, absolutely. You have a responsibility to be angry, and to do something about it.<br /><br />What is your next outburst going to be about?Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-50577110672812349972009-09-03T14:12:00.002-04:002009-09-03T15:42:27.852-04:00Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?I just finished reading a book called, <span style="font-style: italic;">Jim And Casper Go To Church. </span>It's a book where Jim, previously a pastor, pays Matt Casper, an atheist, to go to church with him. Casper, as he's refered to in the book, has been hired by Jim to go with Jim to churches all over the country and to give his honest impression of the experiences to Jim.<br /><br />Casper has a lot of interesting perspective on many of the common things that happen in a typical worship service. One of the questions that he asks over and over again is, "Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?" He often asks this question in response to large waterfalls in the entryway, or big fog machines in a stadium, of cameras on cranes and things of that nature. It certainly is an interesting question coming from an atheist. But in many ways I think that makes the question even more relevant.<br /><br />What is it that Jesus told us to do? How does what we do in a worship service correlate with what Jesus told us to do?<br /><br />And no, I'm not answering either of those questions for you. I'm interested to hear your thoughts first, then I'll put my two cents into the conversation.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-6228372615328008342009-08-29T16:02:00.001-04:002009-08-29T16:02:42.473-04:00<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDk6EnxFu1gNBugRfZqh87KHwPqcFp03A3QR5p7eaRriKO_bl-USYRhdcDSQKIm3uIjkZMjhUqZUtXOJVKVrr2HQgwNT7f5mgNE2uqa02eFAQp4mje-ZRo1iT1spUeHvU65djsVOaEok3i/s1600-h/0829091600-762474.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDk6EnxFu1gNBugRfZqh87KHwPqcFp03A3QR5p7eaRriKO_bl-USYRhdcDSQKIm3uIjkZMjhUqZUtXOJVKVrr2HQgwNT7f5mgNE2uqa02eFAQp4mje-ZRo1iT1spUeHvU65djsVOaEok3i/s320/0829091600-762474.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375478687980764258" /></a></p>missy expressing herself at the yound adult retreatBarefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-35017723781576147342009-08-18T12:45:00.002-04:002009-08-18T13:03:13.666-04:006 QuestionsSo I recently came across this video.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u3E3oKRHDHo&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u3E3oKRHDHo&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />It's a promo video for this website:<br /><a href="http://umcyoungclergy.com/6qumc">http://umcyoungclergy.com/6qumc</a> This is the United Methodist young Clergy Website which will lead you to this website:<br /><a href="http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=6e3d1">http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=6e3d1</a><br /><br />The basic premise is a quote the my church leadership professor Lovette Weems used to remind us of all the time. Lovette Weems believes, "Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions."<br /><br />So what exactly are the right questions? What are 6 questions that the United Methodist Church should be asking ourselves as we seek to remain faithful to God in the future? Check out the <a href="http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=6e3d1">website</a> and you can vote on questions that have already been submitted or you can submit your own questions and topics.<br /><br />What are your questions?Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-68477804434933687422009-08-16T13:12:00.003-04:002009-08-17T09:05:57.195-04:00Praise the LordThe following is a sermon I preached this morning on <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=111&v=1&t=NIV#top">psalm 111. Click here to read the psalm first.<br /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Praise the Lord?<br /></div><br />Have you ever noticed that on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and especially on Valentine’s Day there are always a few nay-sayers? There’s always a few people who feel the need to share with anyone who will listen their thoughts on how Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the like are all just made up holidays. Holidays, they claim, that were invented for the sole purpose of boosting Hallmark’s bottom line.<br /><br />Maybe I’m a naive optimist but I really don’t think that’s true. But even if that is true, even if these holidays were started for the sole purpose of making Hallmark money, they still strike a nerve with the general population. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and the like are all so popular because many people recognize the value in their mother, father, or significant other. We also recognize that we often overlook or undervalue those people. We support or participate in the holiday because we do value those people and the special relationship we have with them. It’s not like Hallmark has somehow conned us into supporting a holiday about something we don’t care the least bit about. It’s not like we are all rushing out to buy greeting cards or flowers in celebration of “chair day” or “filing cabinet day.”<br /><br />Those holidays exist, or at the very least continue to exist, because many of us know that we do not appreciate those people in our lives enough. We know that often we overlook and under appreciate all of the things our spouses or parents do for us.<br /><br />Certainly we don’t mean to. We don’t intent to overlook our mother or father or significant other. We still love them a lot and want them to know that we love them. We know they do a lot for us. But often we don’t think about it all that much. A lot of times the things they do for us just happen and we don’t really notice until for whatever reason those things stop happening for awhile.<br /><br />We don’t notice how often they do the dishes until they are away for a few days and we have to do them ourselves. We don’t realize how often they cook dinner or mow the grass or fill the car up with gas until we have to do it ourselves. We don’t fully appreciate how much comfort they bring us when we are sick until we have to go to the hospital alone for the first time.<br />And while we know that we should tell them more often and appreciate them more each day, the reality of life is that often we don’t. So, many of us still welcome a special day that is set aside for us to tell the special people in our lives that we love and care about them.<br /><br />I think in a lot of ways our relationship with God is the same way. If we act this way with people we see every day or at least on a regular basis, imagine how much more we act like this towards God who we don’t interact with in a physical way. Many of us love God and know that God loves us. We know that God does a lot for us. We know that we should be more attentive to the things that God does for us. But so often we overlook or don’t even notice the things God does for us. As a result many times we forget to say thanks or show our gratitude to God.<br /><br />Our scripture lesson for today is a praise psalm. Usually psalms are pretty specific. Often they will talk about being thankful for a specific thing or event. Sometimes that’s God’s creation, or for being delivered from Egypt. Sometimes they will talk about their thankfulness for being delivered from the hands of an enemy or for being healed of a specific illness.<br /><br />But this psalm isn’t as specific as many of them are. It talks about general things God has done like providing food, remembering the covenant God made with us, or that God’s works are faithful and just. The psalm does give some general reasons to praise the Lord but the psalmist doesn’t seem to have one event in particular for which they are praising God. In some ways, the generalness of this psalm invites us to read and hear our own stories in this psalm.<br /><br />In verse 2 the psalmist says, “Great are the works of the Lord.” Most of us would agree with that statement. We think, “Yeah, God’s works are great. God has done some pretty amazing things.” But what exactly are the works of the Lord? Be specific and think about it for a minute. What are the ways that you have experienced God at work? Maybe find a blank spot on the bulletin that you can jot down a thought or two. I’m asking you, right now, to take a minute and try to think of at least one time in your life that you have experienced the work of the Lord.<br /><br />Maybe you are most aware of God when you are in nature and so you really connect with the image of God as creator. Maybe the expansiveness of the ocean or the complexity of our ecosystem leave you in awe and you can’t help but stand amazed at the work of God’s hands.<br />Maybe the way you have seen God at work is through healing. It could have been yourself or a loved one who was healed from an illness. Or maybe they weren’t healed physically but there was spiritual or emotional healing that took place. Maybe you resonate with the image of God as redeemer. God may have helped you or a loved one get over an addiction, or even just realize that an addiction exists and needs to be addressed. Maybe you felt God’s presence with you as you went through a difficult time or grieved the loss of a loved one.<br /><br />Most of us, when we take a few moments to think about it, can pick out the big ways that God has been at work in our life, at least in retrospect. And sometimes we even remember to give God thanks for those things. But many of us are often so overwhelmed with the busyness of life that we find it difficult to recognize the smaller ways that God has been at work in our lives.<br />Now I’d like for you to take a minute and think about when in the last week have you experienced God at work in your life? If you are jotting things down in your bulletin, you can write that down to. When in the last week have you experience God at work?<br /><br />Maybe God helped give you a sense of peace about something that has been stressing you out. Maybe God helped you recognize a problem in your life that needs to be changed. Did you feel like God laid a particular person on your heart for you to pray for? Did you experience an answer to prayer? Did you feel God’s spirit rejuvenate you while you were on vacation? Did you experience forgiveness this past week? Maybe God gave you a sense of meaning and purpose that helped guide your choices and activities this week.<br /><br />The psalm goes on to tell us, “They (that is, the works of the Lord) are pondered by all who delight in them.” God’s works are pondered by all who delight in them. Besides just a minute ago, when was the last time you pondered the works of the Lord? When was the last time you even paused long enough to notice the things God has done and is doing in your life? A lot of us don’t do that on a regular basis.<br /><br />Just like we don’t thank our significant other or parents enough, we often don’t take time to thank God for the little things. We celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day but we also have the Lord’s Day, Sunday, to give thanks to God. That’s part of what we do on Sunday mornings. Instead of buying greeting cards or flowers, we come together to worship and spend time with God. Worship is offering our praise and our thanks to God for all the things that God has done in our life. Coming to worship helps us intentionally set time aside to reflect on what God has done in our life and to give thanks.<br /><br />It’s important for us to give thanks to God. Giving thanks for the things God has done for us helps cultivate a humble spirit within us. When we give thanks to God, we recognize that we could not have done those things on our own. Giving thanks recognizes that we are dependent on God for some things and shows that we are aware of the things God does for us.<br /><br />Praising the Lord is also the first step in sharing our faith with others. Praise is the prelude to faith sharing because we first have to recognize what God has done before we can share it with others. If you’ve ever felt like you wanted to share your faith with others but didn’t know where to start, start with praise.<br /><br />You can start by being more attentive to the ways God is already at work in your life. Consider starting a new practice of writing down at least one way you have seen God at work that day before you go to sleep. Or you could talk about it as a family at the dinner table. Or during the time that we are sharing our joys and concerns on Sunday morning, try to think of at least one thing you are thankful for that happened in the past week. You don’t have to share it out loud, but you can at least lift it up in your own prayers.<br /><br />Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. God has indeed done many great things in our lives. Let us ponder the works of the Lord and Praise God’s Holy name.<br /><br />Thanks be to God!Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167840066387998293.post-56139043627737888572009-08-03T09:00:00.000-04:002009-08-03T09:00:02.197-04:00BirthdaysToday is my birthday! And yes, I am still in Africa. Although by now I'm sure I'm really ready to come home and see my husband. <br /><br />I love birthdays, mine and other peoples. I always have. I just think there's something really special about birthdays. My husband likes to give me a hard time because I will stretch out my birthday celebration for as long as I possibly can. I will go out to lunch or dinner or visit with friends or whatever with different groups of friends over the course of several weeks. <br /><br />In part it's just fun to have a reason to get together to visit with friends. But also, I think a birthday is really intended to be a celebration of a person's life. And you can't pack the celebration of a whole life into one day. That's just not sufficient celebration. <br /><br />So I spread it out, I celebrate with as many of my friends as possible. If you've ever read the Lord of the Rings Series, the hobbits have a tradition where on your birthday you give a gift to your friends. Not the other way around. What I like about that tradition is the way it recognizes that other people have helped to mold and shape your life and who you are. <br /><br />Although I am far away from the many people who have helped shape my life and who I am, today I give thanks for being blessed with such wonderful friends and family. <br /><br />Who is it that has helped make you who you are? Have you ever told them? Maybe you should.Barefoot Preacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500496265021693250noreply@blogger.com1