180 Matthew 7: 15 – 29 (NIV) January 8, 2012

Key Verse: Matthew 7:24  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

 On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver his last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that was devouring his pancreas and that would claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.

Randy’s lecture has become a phenomenon, as has the book he wrote based on the same principles, celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities. Sadly, Randy lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008

My preaching plan this year is very simple: I am approaching each Sunday as if it were my very last sermon to preach. No, I don’t have cancer or another life-threatening illness; I am just sensing some greater urgency in the task that is before me as your pastor, and us as a church.  It could be the whole Mayan calendar thing, or it could be, as I have had several conversations, the signs we are experiencing that according to the Bible are predictors of the end times. Whatever the case, I am approaching this sermon as if it were my last.

And to do this, I simply went to the best: Jesus. You see, we only have one sermon from Jesus in what we can assume to be its entirety: the Sermon on the Mount. We have many other parables, stories, and quotations, but this is the only full-body sermon that is available to us, some 2 millennia later. And, by most accounts, it is the best sermon ever preached. One noted psychologist wrote that “In the Sermon on the Mount we have then, not only a directive for spiritual well-being, but the model of a manual of mental health as well.”

In it, Jesus covers a wide range of subject matter:

First, the preamble: the Beatitudes, the path to true contentment. Each starts with “blessed” or “happy” are those…

Second, the identity of the believer: you are SALT, you are LIGHT.  Then, the identity of the preacher (Jesus) – the FULFILLMENT of the LAW. Not a rebel, not an anarchist, but one who upholds and fulfills the law.

Jesus then goes about talking about different elements of the law that he is fulfilling: murder, adultery and divorce, the swearing of oaths, matters of justice (an eye for an eye); treatment of your enemies (he says to LOVE them!)

Then Jesus goes to meddlin’:  he talks about MONEY (giving to the poor, storing up treasures in heaven, RELIGION (prayer and fasting), and two of our principle preoccupations: WORRY for ourselves, and JUDGING others. I was told you never talk about three things at the barber shop: money, religion, or politics. Unless you want to walk out bald!  Yet Jesus says these are exactly the things that matter in His new Kingdom!

He then gives instruction for living with wisdom: ask, seek, knock;  enter through the narrow gate (or don’t take the easy way).

 And then, at the end of Jesus’ sermon, He gives three examples:

 A tree is known by its fruit: Jesus begins by pointing out that there is such a thing as truth; that we do not live in a moralistically relative society where I have my truth, and you can have your truth, and if our truths oppose each other, well that’s OK.  NOT SO!  There are such things as absolutes, and Jesus uses words like “True/false” and “good/bad”.  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. (7:17). And furthermore, there are consequences to living a false or bad life:  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (7:18)  And just as false prophets will be known by their fruit,

 A disciple is known by following the will of God

Jesus begins this part by saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…”

That tells us 1. that there is a Kingdom of Heaven, and 2, there will be those who do NOT enter it. Even if they “prophesy in Jesus name and drive out demons and perform miracles’!  It all comes down to doing the will of the Heavenly Father. What is that will? Well, Jesus just laid it out for us!  How do you relate to others, even your enemies? How do you spend your energies? How do you spend your money? How do you practice your faith?  These are the marks of discipleship.

 Jesus then concludes with this parable, prefacing it with these words:  Those who are wise will put these words into practice.

 We know this story because we learned the song in Sunday school: oh the wise man built his house upon the ROCK…oh the rains came down and the floods came up…

 The wise and the foolish are separated by one thing: their actions

 Jesus assures us: there will be those who hear these words and put them into practice, and those who hear these words and don’t put them onto practice.

You may hear this message today and walk away totally unaffected. You will keep on living your life just as you had before; it won’t change how you look at relationships, your enemies will still be your enemies, you will have biases and prejudices against others; you will still store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy; you won’t pray or fast, and inside, you will be driven to succeed out of a near-pathological fear of failing, of being poor, of being alone. You, my friend, are a fool. Not my words, blame Jesus.

But there are, maybe a few, hopefully more, who will become wise today:  you will turn over your will and your life to Jesus Christ, and put HIM first in all you do. And when you do that, when you seek to every day conform your will to His, then Jesus’ priorities become YOUR priorities:  you will love your neighbor, AND love your enemy. You will take Jesus’ words on money and its proper use seriously. You will begin to tithe, and if you just can’t get to the tithe (that’s 10% of your paycheck) you will decide TODAY to move TOWARDS tithing. You will commit to daily turn over all your cares and worries to Christ, for He cares for YOU. Then you, my friend, will be able to count yourself as one who hears these words and puts them into practice. You will be identified among the WISE. And your feet will stand on the ROCK, unmovable.

Those kinds of changes don’t come all at once; but they do come. That’s why, even though this is my “last sermon,” if God gives us another week, I will begin going through these different areas in the Sermon on the Mount so that we all can be WISE.

I said last week this sermon was going to be about turnaround in the Elm Springs church. You may say, all you’ve talked about is individual turnaround. Well, that’s right.  But I believe that the challenges that face the Elm Springs church:  seeking those without a family of faith to introduce them to Christ (reaching);  deeper knowledge of God’s Word (teaching); seeing the needs in our community and world and acting on them (sharing) and spreading the love of Christ for all (caring) will be met by the turnaround each of us receives as we turn away from our foolish selves and turn toward Christ, following His will, His way, and His lead. And when the rains do come (and they will), we will be able to stand.

Time for a 180 Jonah 3:1-10 January 1, 2012

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne? 

It’s what we sing for every New Year; it is a tradition from the Scottish, and written by poet Robert Burns. It means “old times since” and the full body of the poem talks about how friends have been parted, some by busyness, some by “seas between us broad a’roarin” (translated to mean bad feelings or conflict) but that those things should be put aside and only remember the good times: drink a pint together, join hands and agree.

It would be great if we could just remember the good times, right? Our text from Jonah today, it is a remembrance of the good times. Unfortunately, the writer chose to include chapters 1, 2, and 4!

If we take Chapter 3 of Jonah all by itself, that is sort of what is happening with today’s scripture. All the good stuff, none of the bad stuff. We pick up this famous story in chapter three, and if you knew nothing else about Jonah, all you would know was this: God calls Jonah, and he immediately answers; he runs into Nineveh to proclaim God’s message, and the entire town – even the king! – is compelled to repent and follow God. It’s ALL GOOD!

But there is much more going on in this story. In a good news/bad news kind of story, this is the shiny good news in the middle. But there is a lot of bad stuff surrounding this passage that can’t be ignored. We can’t just focus on the good, because without the bad surrounding it, this passage makes little sense at all. Without the bad, we can completely misunderstand the good. It’s like a few of these examples from the world of Pastors – the good and the bad:

Good news: You baptized seven people today in the river.
Bad news: You lost two of them in the swift current.

Good news: The congregation voted to send you a get-well card.
Bad news: The vote passed 21-20.

Good news: The Staff-Parish accepted your job description exactly the way you wrote it.
Bad news: They were so inspired by it, they formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.

Good news: Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons.
Bad news: Mrs. Jones is also wild about soap operas, the “Gong show” and the “Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”

Good news: The women’s softball team finally won a game.
Bad news: They beat your men’s softball team.

Good news: Church attendance has been up the last three weeks.
Bad news: You were on vacation.

Our story from Jonah is a little bit like that:
Good news: God is finally going to clean up that wretched city Nineveh.
Bad news: He’s sending you to do it!

Good news: You are going on a long trip!
Bad news: It’s for work, not vacation.

Good news: You’re being sent to an exotic location.
Bad news: It’s to the most despicable place you can think of.

Good news: You survived a terrible storm.
Bad news: You are in the belly of a whale!

Good news: The entire town is being converted because of your preaching.
Bad news: This means God will actually forgive them now.

One could read chapter three filled with positives: God called… Jonah listened… Nineveh repented! But that would neglect so much of this story going on in the background. You see, while this story is only four chapters long, Chapter 3 is only a small part of the whole story. So we need to remember the other chapters as well. The first time God called in Chapter 1, Jonah told him no way! When God pushed him, Jonah finally got in a boat…GOING THE OTHER WAY! In Chapter 2, when God sent the storm to persuade him, Jonah chose to be thrown overboard INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING GOD’S CALL!

It is only in Chapter 3, that we find Jonah working with God…RELUCTANTLY.  It is one of the funniest lines in print:  “Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time…³ This time Jonah obeyed…” He agrees to go, he heads to the city, and he proclaims God’s message: with an eight word sermon! “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” And I’m betting it wasn’t in the Charlton Heston voice; it was more like the Charlie Brown voice!  I wish I could do that… [counting on fingers] “Jesus Christ, the son of God, lives… today!” Ta-Da… No? It was worth a shot.

Now here is the most amazing thing in this entire story: God was able to use Jonah’s 8 word sermon! “The people of Nineveh believed God’s message…”  God was able to use Jonah’s 8 word sermon! Despite his unwillingness, and his rotten attitude!

Now, many scholars have argued why Jonah was so unwilling.  Some say it was just simple bigotry and hatred against the people of Nineveh.  “I don’t like THOSE PEOPLE.”  Perhaps it was some insecurity on Jonah’s part; perhaps he thought, “There has to be someone MORE qualified than ME.”

Despite what any of us may think of Jonah, maybe we can  sympathize with him a little. Who hasn’t felt unqualified to carry out God’s work? We don’t feel adequate; we don’t feel prepared; we don’t feel like were good enough to do the task in front of us. Jonah’s story should comfort us: God is able to use us! We may indeed be inadequate, unprepared, and not good enough… but our God is a God who chooses to use the broken, the imperfect, and the unprepared.

But you know… maybe that isn’t you. Maybe you are adequate… prepared… and good enough… maybe … you just don’t like the direction you are being called. I am your humble and faithful servant, and I don’t always like the direction I’m being called! But like Jonah, sometimes with some pretty persuasive maneuvers, God gets me going the right direction. Because another thing we can learn from Jonah is this: God’s call doesn’t change; our response does.

In Scottish tradition, when singing the last verse of Auld Lang Syne, you gather together in a circle, cross right hand over left, grab the hand of the person next to you, and at the end of the song, you turn outward, doing a 180, to symbolize turning in a new direction (do this with volunteers)

And there’s a hand my trusty friend! And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne.

 180. It means to turn around. It means a half-circle. To do a 180 means to go in a totally different direction. Make a U-turn.  We talk about people doing a 180, companies doing a 180, even churches doing a 180. It is also the meaning of the word “repent.”  It was what Jonah was sent to call the people to do, but in so doing he himself had to do a 180: he had to turn physically around, and also had to turn mentally, and even spiritually, around.  Go a new direction. Repent.

This number is meaningful on a day like today. We do a 180 from the things that have weighed us down in the previous year; we vow that this year will be different. But most New year’s resolutions fail in the first two weeks!  Why?  We don’t do a 180; we don’t turn around from those things; we don’t REPENT.

180 is also the number of years this congregation has been in existence. In 1832, 8 years before the town was founded, a group came here and settled, and began worshiping in homes as a Methodist group. It took them about 18 years before a dedicated meeting house was built on these grounds, and about 12 years later, union soldiers burned the church because the confederacy was using it as a munitions depot. Then, in 1866, a revival broke out and people came from miles around. The Elm Springs church became a pivot point for other churches as they turned around.

Next week, I’m going to be preaching on 180 again, how each one of us can be a part of the 180 here in Elm Springs, as we turn around our lives to reflect God’s will and God’s character as we seek to reach, teach, care, and share in Christ’s love. In the meantime, I want to leave you with this: where is God calling you to go that your first response has been “NO WAY!” It may not be to Ninevah, it may just be to cross the street to visit with someone who has lost a loved one. It may be to cross the hall to reconcile with that person at work. It may be to befriend that person at school that others make fun of. What does it take? YOU have to do a 180. It’s time.

OCCUPY BETHLEHEM Luke 2: 1 – 20 December 24, 2011 Christmas Eve

Who said this?   “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or the one” – SPOCK, 1982 “Wrath of Khan” just entered a room filled with radiation to get the USS enterprise going again and save the lives of the whole crew. “It is logical…”

This statement has been adopted by the “Occupy” movement. Since September of this year, started in NYC, as Occupy Wall Street. By October, it had caught fire, up to 600 cities in North America; 92 other cities in 85 countries.  As of today, in America, 2,720 cities have an “occupy” movement in their town. They are protesting things like government irresponsibility, corporate greed, a number of other things. Some I’m sure show up just to protest something.  And they use the phrase in their literature, “the needs of the many (the 99) outweigh the needs of the few (the one).

This movement has become so pervasive, in fact, that Time Magazine, who normally names a person of the year in December, this year, 2011, named as person of the year “The Protestor.”

Tonight I want to talk about another “Occupy” movement.  It is centered in a small Judean town, where different groups of people, all converging on this town to occupy it.

• There is the general population converging to occupy Bethlehem by government edict.
• There is an angelic host, coming to occupy the airspace of Bethlehem
• There are shepherds who then come and occupy Bethlehem upon the pronouncement of the angels

This occupation is not anything like the modern occupy movement…from a human perspective, it is because the king has required a census, “so that all the world should be taxed.”

But from a spiritual perspective, this “occupy” movement is one that is going to affect the world in a way that no other “occupy” movement has, or ever will.

I think the first thing we can dismiss is the notion that it was a “silent night.”  Sure, we love the song, we will even sing it tonight; but I don’t think it was quite accurate.

So let’s go to the story, as it is told in Luke 1:  First, we hear the noise in Nazareth, a low rumble about this young girl, 14 or 15 years old, who was betrothed, but not married to Joseph. They traded a more elaborate traditional wedding for the more vegas-style. And people were talking!  So when the news of a census came down, I bet Joseph was very relieved!  I can get outta this town!

So Jesus’ family, Mary and Joseph, occupy Bethlehem as strangers.  Joseph’s family was from this town, but he hadn’t lived there in who knows how long. He was a distant relative of King David, but he was a commoner. And like all the others who had come to Bethlehem for this census, they were away from home; they were out of place.

There are only two reasons to take a census at this time:  first, for military reasons; to know how many men they could muster in order to dispel foreign attack.  The other reason, simply put, was because the government needed the money. The Roman government was just like our modern governments; when governments can’t live within their means, they tax the people to get more. And by doing a census, they can make sure they count every person, and get all the tax they can!

The Roman government brought good things to the people:  the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, but you gotta pay for it.

The Romans also built roads and buildings all over the world “all roads lead to Rome,” and if you visit that part of the world today, you will still find some of those ancient roads and buildings.  (find picture) here is a picture of me in Zurich, Switzerland, standing on top of some Roman ruins, from the 4^th century.

There was a woman screaming for help, and a man ran up to find her over her young child who was obviously choking.  The man picked up the child and shook him by the ankles until a quarter came out. “Oh, thank you!  You must be a doctor; you knew exactly how to get that quarter out!”  “Oh, I’m not a doctor,” the man replied, “I work for the Internal Revenue Service.”

Rome also knew how to get it out of people!  Gaius Octavius Caesar, given the name Augustus, had an incredible amount of power. So when he said “everyone has to be registered” he turned everyone into occupiers; he put a lot of people out of place.

For Mary and Joseph, it meant a trip of 90 miles. An average person, traveling by foot, would make that trip in about 5 days. Mary, very pregnant, took probably double that. No protestors along the road; (if anyone had tried it, they would have just killed them).

“There was no room in the inn…”  You’re thinking, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, but you’d be wrong!  Possibly a caravanserie, where caravans would stop and rest, using their own bedding, and the animals would stay outside. But more likely they had tried to stay in a relative’s home.  The typical home in those days was a small two-story dwelling, often built into the side of a hill, usually with four rooms in the upper chamber: a living room/dining room, a kitchen, and a couple of bedrooms. And by bedrooms, I mean a space not much bigger than a bed. The whole thing would probably fit in half of the choir area.  Then the lower chamber was used to house the animals; where they would feed and bed down. The warmth from the animals during the colder months would actually help to heat the home!

It was here that the Messiah was probably born; envision Joseph going from relative’s home to relative’s home, and at each one, you find a distant cousin or uncle has already pre-occupied the guest room; he found one relative, having compassion on them (but not enough to kick the indwellers out and give the pregnant lady a proper bed!) who invited them to use the lower chamber. So Mary and Joseph were most likely in this lower chamber, not a separate dwelling, but sharing the space with animals and using a feed trough (a manger) as a crib.  Out of place, to be sure.

What they found was a bunch of “pre-occupied” dwellings.  I’m sure there were many who in that day were “preoccupied” with the issues of the census, or being hospitable to guests, or in making some extra coin from the tourists that were occupying the town.  “He came into his own, and his own received him not.”

An aside: that story hasn’t changed in 2000 years.  I’m sure all y’all have been quite busy the last several days and weeks; it is a busy time of the year. You might even go so far as to say you have been “pre-occupied” with certain things. But it doesn’t come just at Christmas. Busy-ness has become a part of our culture:  we respect busy-ness;  we value busy-ness!  Like it is a badge of honor to say “oh, I’m SO busy!”  So busy, so hyper-connected, that we have become more distant in the real relationships in our lives; even so busy that we’ve pre-occupied ourselves from a real relationship with God.  And so it is to the out-of-place that the true Messiah comes.

The second occupiers:  the announcing angel and the Heavenly Host

Came to shepherds; the outskirts of town. If it was a silent night for these shepherds, it wasn’t any longer!  Imagine the shepherds, nice, quiet, sheep sleeping, and all of a sudden, it was like the scene from Close Encounters! Lights, sound!  And the first words: “be not afraid!”  Well duh!

34 books of the bible refer to angels (17 in the old, 17 in the new, interestingly enough).  The word angellos means “messenger.”  They do two things: one, they worship, and second, they do God’s work. They bring messages to earthly beings. But here’s something: we have all these songs, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and the like, but nowhere in the Biblical story of Christ’s birth do the angels sing!  They SAY.  In fact, only two times in all of the Bible are angels recorded as SINGING: once in Job, and once in Revelation.  Once to praise the act of Creation, once to praise the act of Consummation. Why don’t they sing?  Well, I don’t know this for sure, but that may be OUR job.

Where was the singing on that amazing night?  Where were the Joy to the Worlds, the Sing We Now of Christmas, the First Noels?  They were overshadowed by the events of the day.  The oppression of the Roman government, the onus of being far from home, the ordeal of eking out a day-to-day existence.  There wasn’t much singing going on because there wasn’t much to sing about.

And today, there are millions of people around the world, and even in this room, for whom the joy of the Birth of the Messiah is overshadowed by the needs of the now. And the angels, the same angels who occupied Bethlehem’s skies on that night, those angels who are just ACHING to sing, and say to themselves, “why don’t they SING?!?”

Third group of occupiers:  the shepherds.

The first group, Mary and Joseph and all the people who came by government edict.

The second group, the Angelic occupiers, who filled the airspace around Bethlehem. And the third group: it says “let’s go to Bethlehem to see what the angels told us about. “and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby in a manger. And when they had seen it, they told it widely what they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.”

The shepherds weren’t there for the moment of the birth; they probably came first thing in the morning. Now, truth be told, if they weren’t in the story, we wouldn’t give a second look to the shepherds!  They were smelly, dirty, even ceremonially unclean because of the work they did. They were, by all accounts, overlooked.

Every culture, even ours, has overlooked people. Not the “popular” overlooked people: the homeless, the hungry.  I’m talking about the average, everyday people that you see often. The 99. The grocery checker at Harps: what’s her name? The person who gives you your coffee in the morning or works the drive-thru, where are they from? Have you taken the time to get to know your trash collector?  THESE are the overlooked; the everyday, blue-collar workers.

And THESE are the ones to whom the message of Christ’s birth was given!

It says “they came with haste.”  The first Christmas rush!  They saw, and they left!  But they left having found Christ!  They left with Christ having a place of great prominence in their life!  And it says, “After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.”

There are only two recorded responses to the birth of the Messiah:  the shepherds were astonished, and left and told everyone what the angel had said;  and there was Mary’s response: “Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

So we have these occupiers: the out-of-place, the overwhelmed, and the overlooked. The out-of-place have a place in the new Kingdom; the overwhelmed are given a Prince of Peace;

Does Jesus occupy a place of prominence in YOUR heart? If so, what are you doing about it?  Or, more to the point, who are you telling?

As we light these candles, as we sing Silent Night, as we celebrate the birth of the Christ, I want to encourage you to first find the light of Christ in YOUR life. And if you have the light of Christ in your life, I want you to light this candle for the out-of-place,  the overshadowed, and the overlooked, and vow to bring the Light of Christ to them in some way.

Jesus: The Word Made Flesh John 1: 1 – 17 December 18, 2011 Fourth Sunday in Advent

Key Verse: John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

A quick review of the Legends of the Bible (from this fall’s sermon series)

God gave a PROMISE to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

That promise was to Abraham, a childless old man, that he would make him a “father of many nations.” That he would give him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. And “Abraham believed, and it was credited as righteousness.”

God gave PROVISION  to Joseph – at a time when it didn’t make sense, and in a manner that seemed cruel and hateful, Joseph, that young upstart, braggart dreamer, was made a captive to the Egyptians. But in time, God used that captivity to provide not only for Joseph, but to all the sons and daughters of Abraham. Through Joseph’s hardships, God provided during a time of famine so that His people survived.

God gave a PATH  to Moses

This stuttering murderer was called to lead God’s people: he provided a path not only out of captivity, through the Red sea, and through the wilderness to the promised land of provision; God also gave Moses the path to civil peace through the Ten Commandments.

God gave a PLAN  to David

It was to David that God revealed that He would not live in a house made with hands, but that God Himself would provide a descendant of David that would rise as a mighty king.

2 Samuel 7:12-14 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son.

Christ fulfilled the PROMISE  – through MYSTERIOUS INCARNATION

One of the “reality” shows to make a hit 2 years ago was called “Undercover Boss.”  In it, a president or high-level executive of a company goes undercover to see how their company runs from a different perspective. They take on the identity of a common man (or woman) and pose as if they are trying to get a ground-floor job in the company. In so doing, they encounter some very touching personal stories, as well as some corporate decisions that have had very negative effects on their employees. They then go about fixing some of the problems they found, as well as meeting some needs they uncovered through hearing people’s stories.

Christ came so that He, the BOSS, would be among His people. He was fully human: he ate and drank, he felt joy, suffered pain, endured grief,

Christ gave the PROVISION  – through DIVINE HUMILIATION

God provided – by humbling Himself. It wasn’t just a pronouncement from an angel, or a dream; it wasn’t a visit to a fiery mountain with a cloud. This was a voluntary adoption of Himself into the human family.

John 1:14  So the Word became human^[d] and made his home among us.

As Paul writes in Philippians 2:7-8 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave  and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God  and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Christ provided the PATH  – of SALVATION

The SOLE purpose of Christ’s incarnation was our redemption!

Without this incarnation, redemption is impossible.

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If your greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

And in so doing, the incarnation provided us one more thing:

Christ laid out the PLAN  – for A GLORIOUS CULMINATION

Jesus came so that we might have life – and life ABUNDANT. So much life that it spills over into eternity! John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

 Christ came so that we might, as God promised Abraham, have a family of faith; Christ came, as Joseph experienced, so that we might have our every need provided for at just the right time. Christ came, as God showed Moses, to give us not only a way to salvation, but a way to live in light and godliness, And Christ came, so that we might know the plan for the glorious culmination in His second coming!  That he will make all things right if we patiently and persistently live in the light.

But here’s one thing about light:  it exists to be shared. You’ve heard of greedy actors “hogging the spotlight” but let me tell you, if you’ve ever been camping, you can’t shine a flashlight that only YOU can see!  Don’t try to hide your light; shine it out!  Be as Jesus was the light for all the world to see!  There are those living in darkness, and they’re longing for some light. Shine your light!

Things Not to Say to a New Mom Luke 2: 25 –40 December 11, 2011 Third Sunday of Advent

Key Verse: Luke 2:34-35

Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. ³⁵ As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Things said to a new mom:  what a cute baby!  How are YOU doing? How can I help?

Things NOT to say to a new mom (from thebump.com) and some sometimes-snarky replies:

“I can’t believe you’re not… (insert nosy comment here)! How can you do that to your baby?” What to say back: “Not that it’s any of your business, but how I ________ my baby is MY choice — don’t judge me for it.”

“Here, let me do it. You’re not doing it right.” What to say back: “I know you’re just trying to help, but I’d rather get constructive criticism than just plain criticism.”

“You don’t need to feed her every time she cries. You’re going to spoil her!”  What to say back: “I didn’t know that feeding my child was spoiling her.”

“‘He looks just like his daddy!’”  What to say back: “Yep, it’s true, I wasn’t having an affair.”

“You think you’re tired now? You have months of sleepless nights ahead of you.”  What to say back: “And I can’t wait!”

“Your baby’s huge…what are you feeding her?”

What to say back: “Your leftovers.” (Okay, we wouldn’t really say this, but we might think it.)

“My son never cries.”   What to say back: “I guess you’re just very lucky.”

“So when are you going to give him a sibling?” What to say back: “Let’s see how things go with this one first.”

“Oh, you’re just hormonal.” What to say back: “No, actually, I’m not.”

“So when are you due?”  What to say back: “I just had my baby, but when are you due? Maybe our kids will be in playgroup together.”

“Are you finally going to get your tubes tied?” What to say back: “Are you finally going to get some manners?”

“What’s its name?”  What to say back: “‘It’ is a person, just like you, and I’d prefer you address her that way!”

And from our text today:  Things NOT to say to a new mom:  “a sword will pierce your very soul”

Like all pious Jews, Jesus’ earthly parents carefully carried out the provisions of the Law of Moses. Specifically, after eight days (as called for in Leviticus 12), they circumcised Jesus (which, like baptism today, was a sign that he belonged to God). Thirty-three days later, in Jerusalem, they offered a sacrifice that the law allowed the poor to present (Lev. 12:8). This gives us some idea that Joseph and Mary were not wealthy; the required sacrifice was a young lamb and a turtledove; if they couldn’t afford a young lamb, they could provide two turtledoves or pigeons, which is what they provided.

Simeon was “led by the Spirit” to the Temple area. The text implies that the Spirit must have also led him to Mary, Joseph and their infant son rather than to any other parents who brought infants to the Temple that day. For Simeon, this was a “dream come true.” God had promised Simeon that he would see God’s anointed one, the Messiah, before he died, and now that promise had been fulfilled! Oh how happy Simeon was!

If Mary was like most young mothers, she must have felt a little uneasy as this elderly man, probably a stranger, took her baby in his arms. Simeon amazed her by saying Jesus was a savior for “all peoples,” even Gentiles (verses 31-32), and a “glory to your people Israel!”

Then Simeon turned to Joseph and Mary, and specifically to Mary, he warned her that her “blessed” lot would not always be easy: that even though Jesus would bring God’s saving grace to all people, and bring glory to Israel, that many would oppose him, and “a sword will pierce your innermost being too”.

Now that may seem odd, but sacrifice has always been the way of redemption. Even in our passage today, in order for Mary to be purified after childbirth, someone had to shed blood. In our story today, it is of note that Joseph and Mary did not have money for a lamb to sacrifice, but only doves. Yet, they brought the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

And thus it is a harsh reminder in this season of celebration and gift-giving that the reason we celebrate is not that a baby was born, but we celebrate that a baby was born to take away the sins of the world!  And how did that happen?  We cannot divorce the manger from the cross; we cannot, even very carefully, dismiss the scene from Bethlehem from the scene at Golgotha. The two are horribly juxtaposed. And Simeon’s words to Mary reflect that juxtaposition:  “A sword will pierce your very soul.”

Imagine being Mary, the mother of the Messiah, as she daily had to live with the knowledge that her son, that precious boy playing in her front yard, would bring her such pain and yet such pride:  pain in seeing him naked and alone on that cross, but pride in that in so doing He was restoring the glory of God to its rightful place. Pain in being undeterred in his march to Jerusalem, the very city she was standing in when Simeon gave his pronouncement, and pride in that he did so with the knowledge and grace that can only come from God.

So as we celebrate and revel, let us remember that the sweet treats we taste are mixed in a bitter cup. And Mary knows too well the tip of the blade.

The Prophet with No Voice Luke 1:5-20, 57-66 December 4, 2011 Second Sunday of Advent

I don’t think it is any secret that I LOVE Christmas!  But I think that my very favorite part is not the gifts, the decorations, the parties, the food, (though I love all of those) my favorite part is the MUSIC!  Christmas music is like no other; perhaps because you only hear it during this time of year (If we played Silent Night or Jingle Bells or Grandma got run over by a reindeer at other times of the year, it just wouldn’t fit, would it?)

But today I want us to look at one of the very FIRST Christmas songs. That’s right!  Two of the very first Christmas songs is written for us in Luke chapter 1!  And this one comes to us from a very unique place: a prophet with no voice!  So here’s the story:

It is a dark time in the days of the Jewish faith: the Romans occupied Jerusalem, made people worship Caesar, and they were under a particularly heavy-handed ruler named Herod. Luke begins by introducing us to a family, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were on in years, and had not been able to have any children, but we are told  Zechariah and Elizabeth were RIGHTEOUS. Now what does that mean? It means that in spite of the overwhelming pressure by the ruling authorities, the ambivalence of the social class, and the simple struggles of being a human in a sinful world, they remained steadfast and faithful to God.

Their names gave them a great reminder to be faithful:  First, Zechariah’s name means GOD REMEMBERS.  There has now been roughly 3,000 years of Jewish history; several weeks ago we heard of the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and how God kept his promises. Well, the last time God spoke to anyone through a prophet was 400 years before, to the prophet Malachi! Yet there are still some who hold on to hope; Zechariah’s parents named him “God Remembers.”  There is still a hope that God will remember His people!

And Elizabeth’s name means PROMISES OF GOD.  So here we have a couple whose name reminds those in a very spiritually hostile culture that God remembers His promises!

And so Zechariah was in the temple, for it was his turn to fulfill the priestly duties. He was burning incense representing the prayers of the people, while many others waited outside, praying. And it is here where a messenger came to Zechariah to proclaim a message. And here was the message: he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son, and name him John. And this wasn’t going to be any baby; no, this was going to be a special and righteous child from birth!  Luke 1:17  “He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

This was a direct fulfillment of the promise God made long ago through the prophet Isaiah, when he proclaimed, “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,  “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! ⁴ Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills.   Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

What do the names of Zechariah and Elizabeth say? God remembers His promises!

Now, this was amazing news; almost too much even for a righteous man like Zechariah; and so his first response was one of disbelief!  He said, “how can this be? We’re too old to have children!”  Never mind that he is the generational product of two old barren people in Abraham and Sarah;  never mind that God was promising something MUCH bigger than what he had already fulfilled before (the redemption of the world!) Zechariah got stuck on his immediate problem: his age, and his wife’s age!

Yet this is typical of us:  We too often look at GOD  through our PROBLEMS.  We look at our problems as these monstrous insurmountable conundrums.  The problem is, we are too close to them!  Our perspective is all wrong!  When we hold our problems close, God stands afar off; and it skews our perspective of God!  We see God as at best impotent, and at worst uncaring about our plight!  We too often see the obstacles; a sign used to hang in our kitchen that said “obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal.”

But God asks us to look at our PROBLEMS through our GOD!

God asks us to change our perspective!  When we surrender our problems to Him, and we go and stand beside God, our problems miraculously shrink, and our God miraculously grows!

Because of his doubt, Zechariah was struck mute; his voice was taken away from him. He completed his two weeks of priestly ministry and then returned home and shortly thereafter, Elisabeth conceived. Nine months later the baby was born, and on the 8th day he was circumcised . It was customary to name the child at this time, and it was a common practice to name a boy after his father. So the relatives and friends who had gathered to see this special baby born to these two senior citizens probably figured that this first-born son—surely the only child this couple would ever have—would be called “Zechariah”, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No, he shall be called JOHN”

The neighbors and relatives then appealed to Zechariah as to what his will was in the naming of his son. He asked for a writing tablet, on which he wrote four words: “HIS NAME IS JOHN!” Not “Shall be,” but “is”. Zechariah knew that God had already named him–that he was already JOHN. And in so doing, Zechariah agreed with God in God’s promises.  And God loosed his hold on Zechariah’s vocal chords.

Zechariah found his voice when he OBEYED God’s VOICE

When Zechariah wrote this note—the last of nine months of notes—his mouth “was opened”…. the first thing he did was begin to sing. Zechariah’s first words were a SONG OF PRAISE

Over the years the church has given this song the title of: “THE BENEDICTUS” or “The Blessing” In the lyrics of this brief song, sung by one of the proudest fathers of all time, Zechariah verbalizes the joyful realization that the meaning of both his and Elisabeth’s names was true.

And even though it hasn’t had the late popularity of an “O Holy Night” or a “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, this Benedictus was the first Christmas song: (Luke 1:68-79)

⁶⁸ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
⁶⁹ He has sent us a mighty Savior^[g]
from the royal line of his servant David,
⁷⁰ just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
⁷¹ Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
⁷² He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant—
⁷³ the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
⁷⁴ We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live.

⁷⁶ “And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
⁷⁷ You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
⁷⁸ Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,^[h]
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

It Seemed Good to Me…Luke 1: 1 – 4 November 27, 2011 First Sunday of Advent

A long while ago now, I was dating this young woman: she was beautiful, and in my estimation well above my station (I did not dare tell her!). We had gone on quite a few dates, and had actually held hands a time or two (remember when just holding hands felt like electricity passing through you, and you couldn’t tell if it was from her to you or from you to her?)  Well, after several dates, at least one DTR (what we called a “Define the Relationship” talk), I took the bold step and I leaned in and kissed her!  To my delight (and surprise!) she didn’t reel back in horror, but kissed me back!  But when the kiss ended, she simply said, “what did you do that for?”  To which I replied, “It seemed good to me!”

Now, each one of us in our lives do things for which we later think, “what did I do that for?!?” but in the moment that “it seemed good to me!”  The proof, then, in what “seemed good to me,” is in its effect; its result.  In my case, what “seemed good to me” has had its effect in 15 years of marriage, and 5 children!  And while I have moments of “what did I do that for?!?”, in large part, it still “seems good to me!”

“It seemed good to me” is how Luke introduces his writing of the story of Jesus.  He is writing to someone named “Theophilus”, probably not a single person, but the name Theophilus means “one who loves God”.  In effect, he is writing to everyone who loves God, and if you love God as I do, Luke wrote these things down for you and me as well!

This account is one of many

Verse 1: “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,.” Luke’s account of Jesus is not the only one. We have 3 others – Matthew, Mark and John. Over time, the 4 gospels as we have them were recognized to be those that God had inspired. But as Luke wrote to Theophilus, Luke knew that Theophilus could check what he had written against what others had written.

Authors like Dan Brown, of the DaVinci Code, will try to tell us that these gospels were written hundreds of years later by powerful bishops and rulers trying to force their version of Christianity onto others. But that’s nonsense. The stories of Jesus were making the rounds right from the beginning! If anyone started adding new stories, they’d have been rejected right away. We can trust Luke’s account because it matches what others have said about Jesus. But not only that, Luke was writing in the same time as others who had seen and heard first-hand the miracles that Jesus performed.

This account is based on eyewitness testimony…

Verse 2: just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,.” This isn’t some elaborate version of the telephone game. This isn’t some rumor spread on Twitter or some viral email or Facebook message. These are eye-witness accounts.

…but they went from eyewitnesses to witnesses

Do you remember how the apostle John began his 1^st Letter? 1 John 1:1-2a  (NIV) “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it.”

As Luke says in v.2 “just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,” (Luke 1:2 NRSV). These Eyewitness and servants of the word are people who had encountered Jesus and were forever changed. Their eyewitnessing of Jesus lead to their conversion into people who were servants of that word.

They went from eyewitnesses to witnesses. They were drawn into the story Jesus was creating, the world he was telling into existence. They didn’t just view the story from a third-person perspective; Jesus invited them to enter the story, and they were changed.

And Luke wrote down this narrative with the hopes that, far beyond being a historical account, it would invite us, dear Theophilus, to enter into the story as well; that WE would not simply be eyewitnesses, but that we would be gloriously transformed into WITNESSES of God’s continuing work of grace through Jesus; that we would be changed by this amazing  message of salvation, and we would continue to tell the story.

This account has been carefully investigated

Back to the Bible. Verse 3, “it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

Careful investigation. Luke admits that he is not an eyewitness, so he has investigated and researched the stories. All the stories. For example, it is very likely that Luke met with Mary, mother of Jesus. This is a gospel written with an eye for detail and accuracy.

So we put these 4 things together:

• this account is one of many
• it is based on eye-witness accounts
• those who passed it on were servants of the word
• it has been carefully investigated

put these together and we can have confidence in this gospel. That is so important. If this message is true – then it changes everything. God wants you to put all your eggs in the basket marked ‘Jesus’. You are called to entrust yourself entirely to him.

Growing up, our Boy Scout camp was Camp Falling Rock. It was built into the side of a huge hill; it had a waterfall, and if you knew where they were, a lot of caves and crevices. One of these was called the Lemon Squeeze. It was a small, but deep, crevice in the rock; it looked like you could barely squeeze anything through it, much less a human. But we did it anyway!  We would drop in, feet first, and by putting pressure on the rock with your hands and feet, you dangled in mid-air, shimmy-shifting over and down, praying those rocks didn’t move! You have entrusted yourself entirely to that rock!

We are to entrust ourselves entirely to the rock that is Jesus. You can be a churchgoer and actually your life depends on the size of your bank account, or the security of your job. But being a disciple is completely different. Being a disciple means adapting our spending according to Jesus’ teaching. Being a disciple means raising children according to Jesus’ teaching. It means setting our church priorities in line with Jesus’ priorities.

If we are to put our full trust in the rock that is Jesus then we need to know that this gospel is trustworthy. And Luke insists it is. Here, in these pages, Luke’s writing will enable you to know the CERTAINTY of the things you have been taught.

Back to the Lemon Squeeze: why would we do such a thing? Because after shimmy-shifting and a controlled descent of about 20 feet, putting your trust in the rock, our feet would find a solid ledge; we would then move to the left about 20 more feet, and a huge, magnificent, underground world would open up to us!  A spring of fresh water was at the bottom, that which had created this magnificent cave, and our flashlights would shine on the walls of the cave, seeing the cave markings of all those who had been there before us; the witnesses to the Lemon Squeeze; those who had gone before us and put their full trust in the rock.  This is what Luke was writing for us: the story of those who had gone before us and put their full trust in the Rock.

Let me close with one final thought.

Look back at verse 1. “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,.” He doesn’t say, “the things that have happened among us” but “the things that have been fulfilled among us.”

This account is of things fulfilled

Luke’s gospel will show us how to live. But more importantly it will show us God keeping his promises. The promises, predictions and plans made long in the past, recorded in the Old Testament: these have been fulfilled and Luke shows us how.

Luke’s account is trustworthy, but it also reveals a trustworthy God. A God who keeps his promises. A God whose word you can depend on.

Keeping promises can be costly. Just look at the mayhem of Black Friday!  Stores promise (through ads) super low prices on items. It costs stores a LOT to slash the prices of some of these items well below cost; to open at midnight, to pay all those employees. All because they put an ad in the paper (which cost them as well!)  It’s a silly example, because we know the cost is worth it; after all, it’s called Black Friday because stores have been in the red for all year, and finally go in the black! But it shows how keeping promises can be costly, but ultimately worth it.

Keeping this promise cost God everything. God promised to save a people for himself. He promised to create a people who would bring his blessing to the whole world. And it cost him. To keep his promise God the Son left the glory of heaven and was born as a servant in a backwater of the Roman Empire. To keep his promise the Lord was persecuted, tempted, rejected, despised.

To keep his promise to you and me Jesus went to the cross. There he paid the ultimate price. The sin of the world was heaped on him, judgment day fell on him as he died. But ask him, “was it worth it?” and the resurrected Lord Jesus will say, “YES.”

Luke’s gospel is trustworthy. To be a disciple means entrusting every part of your life to him. Yet, as you do so, you are giving yourself to One who gave himself for you. He paid the price. He is trustworthy even to the point of death. Come, put your full trust in the Rock.

Legends of the Bible: Moses Exodus 2:11-14, 16:1-8; Deuteronomy 34:1-7, 10-12 October 9, 2011

Key Verse: Deuteronomy 34:10

 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

 Many of us are familiar with the story of Moses; we remember it because every year they show “The Ten Commandments” on network TV.  Moses is a big, strapping, handsome man that looks and talks like Chartlon Heston!

Video clip of “Ten Commandments” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guGEM8de0AY

And, if you’re so inclined, this is possibly what you recall about Moses:

Clip from “History of the World Part I”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAtRCJIqnk

Now, you might say, “I know everything there is to know about Moses; what more is there?”  Well, I would say there might still be a wrinkle here and there that is new for us. So What can we learn from the story of Moses?

 God chooses unlikely  leaders

From last week’s story of Joseph and the Israelite’s migration to Egypt due to Joseph’s authority and a famine, we see in Exodus 1 that the Israelites grew greatly; then a new king came to power in Egypt who was threatened by the presence of a large Israelite clan. He ordered a hostile takeover, and enslaved the Hebrew people. He then ordered that all male children born to the slave women be killed by throwing them into the river.

So a descendant of Levi had a male child, and the Bible says his mother saw he was special, but she followed the Pharoah’s decree – sort of. She threw him into the river, in a waterproofed basket!  Pharoah’s daughter found him, named him Moses (which in Hebrew means “I lifted him out of the water”), hired Moses’ own mother to nurse him, and then adopted him!  He was raised as Pharoah’s grandson. We may not have put together that because of Pharoah’s edict, we can assume there were NO other male children of Moses’ age in the Hebrew camp; he was truly unique.

So we have an unlikely beginning; we also know that Moses had anger issues:  he went slumming to see “his people;” and here is our first Scripture text:

¹¹ Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. ¹² After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.

¹³ The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight.

¹⁴ The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”

Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.”

Did you remember Moses was a murderer?

Not only that, he was a fugitive, because when he heard that others knew what he had done to the Egyptian, he ran far away, to Midian.

Many years later, after Pharoah had died and was replaced by an even more ruthless leader, God saw the plight of the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it was time to act. So who does he choose? He chooses to go to the murdering fugitive Moses and speak to him through a burning bush!  He calls Moses to go back to Egypt and lead his people back to the promised land and freedom, and here’s where we learn that Moses has, at best, a fear of speaking in public; and at worst a speech impediment!  He pleaded with God to send ANYONE else, but God insisted; and Moses went, staff in hand to face Pharoah.

Now, it took some convincing on God’s part through Moses,  (ten plagues, to be exact – side note, the ten plagues came from the ten ‘gods’ of the Egyptians) but after the death of Pharoah’s firstborn, he finally let Moses lead his people – some 3 million – out of Egypt towards the land of God’s promise.

 And they lived happily ever after, right?  Well…

But, Pharoah had a change of heart, and pursued them; then came the miracle at the Red Sea, and God protected them. But evidently, not in the way the people wanted to be protected.  Just listen:  Exodus 16: 1 – 8

¹ Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin,^[a] between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.^{[b] 2} There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

 ³ “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

 ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

 ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” ⁸ Then Moses added, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”

 Which leads us to our next point:

God chooses unlikeable followers  (People be grumblin’)

In fact, this was a pattern for the people:  when they were between the red sea and Pharoah’s army, they said, “what, there weren’t enough graves in Egypt?  You had to lead us out here to be killed?” People be grumblin’. And yet God provided.

When they didn’t have food, or water, or it was too hot, or it was too cold, or they wandered into unfriendly areas, God would provide, but people be grumblin’. When they got into arguments with one another, they came to Moses and told him that he had to decide between them; Moses would pray, and God would provide. But people be grumblin’!

I can say this: people haven’t changed much in oh, 3,000 years. People be grumblin’!  Whether it’s the price of gas, or the state of the economy, or the government, or the church, traffic, or changes to Facebook, people be grumblin’!  And even when God provides, we be grumblin’ that it’s not enough!  We don’t tithe because we think we need a big house, a new car, and a smartphone in every pocket!  We don’t give thanks because thanksgiving and grumblin’ can’t come from the same mouth, just like fresh and salt water can’t come from the same stream!  What we need to remember is this: God HAS PROVIDED, and He has provided WELL.  If we spent as much time giving thanks for what we have, instead of grumblin’ about what we have not, we wouldn’t have time for grumblin’!

 And lastly, and this applies to our Legacy Project, listen to this passage:

Deuteronomy 34: 1 – 7, 10 – 12

¹ Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; ² all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea^[a]; ³ the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho—the city of palms—as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.”

 ⁵ So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. ⁶ The Lord buried him^[b] in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. ⁷ Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. ⁸ The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over.

 ⁹ Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

 ¹⁰ There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. ¹¹ The Lord sent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and his entire land. ¹² With mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.

Did you catch it?

Like Moses, we may not see the promised land

I think of all the people who have been a part of this church; from the historical names like Steele and Greathouse, and Mustain; to those in recent memory, like Anderson, Kever, Hurlbut, and Eddleman; we all have a legacy to leave. But we may, no, we most likely, will not see the fulfillment of that vision.

What if Moses, when learning he would not see the promised land, just settled where he was? What would have happened to the Israelites? Would we still have a story of Joshua at Jericho, or? I don’t know. Would we have had a lineage that stretched Judges, or Ruth, or King David, or any of the legends that followed to Jesus, and the 12, and beyond? Would we be here at all?  It’s hard to say. But I know what I can say:  because Moses kept on marching (and yes, I know the joke about why it took 40 years)

What if, after the Civil War, the people of Elm Springs looked at the burned out shell of the church building and said, “eh, we had a good run.”  And left? What if, upon deciding it was too hard to build and plan and vision, they had settled and adopted the too-often used mission statement, “when I die, this church will probably close.”

What if we had not taken seriously the call by God to reach, teach, share, and care; what if we stopped? We wouldn’t have a future generation to talk about, because there wouldn’t be one. But we, like Moses, even though we may not see the promised land, must still march ahead.

Legends of the Bible – Joseph Genesis 37: 2-13, 18-36 October 2, 2011

(done in first-person narrative, complete with many-colored coat)

Born the 11^th son of Jacob and the first of Rachel

When I was young, dad liked me best. And I knew it. And God had blessed me with visions and dreams (wheat and stars)

Perhaps the most obvious of my father’s favors to me is this coat; it was very expensive, and I loved it!  But my brothers didn’t. They tried to kill me, by leaving me in a cistern in the desert, but had a change of heart and sold me into slavery. I was eventually taken to Egypt, and I went to work in the house of a man named Potiphar.

The Lord was with me, so I became very successful in everything I did.

Everything was great in Potiphar’s house except his wife. I don’t know if she was lonely, or just bored, or what, but she kept hitting on me. I was able to dodge her advances until one day I found myself in their bedroom, and she appeared. And that cougar pounced!  I was able to get away, but I had to leave my coat behind; later she used it to frame me, and I was sent to prison.  ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.

Genesis 40 – Joseph interprets dreams in prison: the cupbearer and the baker.  (the cupbearer made it; the baker didn’t)

Genesis 41 – Joseph called to interpret Pharoah’s dream:  the dream was to warn us that there would be seven years of great crops, but following that would be seven years of famine. Now believe me, the irony of this situation was not lost on me!  Here I was, a prisoner, telling the Pharoah what to do!

⁴⁶ He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

Genesis 42 & 43 – Joseph meets up with his brothers again during famine

-          now he spoke Egyptian, and pretended to not understand when they spoke Hebrew

-          they came looking for food; the country of my fathers had been terribly affected by the famine.

Genesis 45 – Joseph reveals himself to his brothers

-          he was 39 the 2^nd time they came to him for food, when he broke down and revealed his identity; at least 12 years after they had last seen him

Genesis 46 – 48  Joseph is reunited with his father

And when Jacob was on his deathbed, he blessed me with this blessing:

“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.^[d]
23 Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.
²⁴ But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
²⁵ May the God of your father help you; May the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
²⁶ May the blessings of your father surpass the blessings of the ancient mountains, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
who is a prince among his brothers.

After my father’s death, my brothers were terrified of me; they were afraid that I would now meet my vengeance upon them. After all, I had the power to do it!  They threw themselves at my feet and begged for mercy. But instead of giving them grief, I extended them grace, replied,

^{Genesis 50:19} I said, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. ²¹ No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.”

You know, when I had those dreams about my brothers all those years ago, I know it made them jealous. I know it angered them. And those dreams were not fulfilled until after my father’s death. I know now that these things didn’t happen then because I wasn’t ready for them; I was arrogant and proud; “daddy’s favorite.”  And the thing I’ve learned is this: God does everything in His time. And what’s more important, He never leaves your side in the meantime. From the highest of heights to the darkest prison cell, he is beside you. I know, I’ve been there.

[break character]

As we approach the Lord’s table this morning, it is a reminder to us of Christ’s constant presence with us; a reminder to us of His great love for us. So if you are on the highest peak, or in the darkest place, or somewhere in between, His presence is with you.

Legends of the Bible: Jacob Genesis 32: 22 – 32 September 25, 2011

Key Verse: Isaiah 40:27

O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?  O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

 I used to LOVE wrestling! Not the Olympic sport, mind you; the “professional” kind! I would get up every Saturday morning and watch my heroes: Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant; and they would take on those evil foes like the Iron Sheik, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy,  and the man everyone loved to hate, Jake “the Snake” Roberts! Just as their names imply, these guys didn’t get along with anybody!  Sure, sometimes the storylines were twisted to make a bad guy a good guy, and a good guy a bad guy, but they would always turn back around again.

Today we are going to look at another Jake “the Snake.”  He is Jacob; the son of Isaac, the grandson of Abraham. A legend in the Bible, his name is synonymous with the covenant God made with his people. But I will tell you: Jake was a snake!  In family systems class, we learned how to draw a genogram; to chart family function (or dysfunction) and hopefully diagram where a family’s problems might take root. Red lines represent discord; green lines represent love.

 Jacob lived a life of strife!

Look at these red lines!  Jacob is surrounded by discord, violence, and distrust.

 Jacob wrestled with Esau,  his brother

Rebekah was disturbed by the wrestling match going on in her belly as she carried the turbulent twins, Jacob and Esau. There in the womb, these two brothers who were destined to become two nations, were duking it out for dominance! Later when they came forth from the womb, Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel as if to pull him back in an effort to be the first born, a position of prominence in the Hebrew family. His parents observing this unusual trait named him, “Jacob.” You see in the ancient Hebrew culture, a person’s name carried with it the very essence and identity of the person. No Hebrew parent chose a name for their baby just because it sounded nice, or was popular, but only because the name fit the child! The name “Jacob” means “supplanter, schemer, cheater; one who grabs from behind.”

You can imagine what that household was like with the two of them growing up!  Esau, the redhead, and Jacob, the cheater! And Jacob lived up to his name; the remainder of Jacob’s life up to this main event reveals that Jacob was named properly. He later wrestled with his brother Esau to get his birthright (the inherent rights of the firstborn – chiefly, a double portion of the inheritance). Not that Esau didn’t give it up willingly just because he was hungry!  The story goes that Esau had been out hunting, came home very hungry, and Jacob had made up a batch of stew. Esau was so hungry he gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew!

 Jacob wrestled with Isaac, his father

Sometime later, when Isaac was on his deathbed, he was ready to give his blessing to the firstborn (a big deal back then).  He asked Esau to go hunt some game and make him his favorite meal, and he would give his blessing. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, who always liked Jacob best, overheard this and told Jacob to go imitate his brother, even making him smell and feel like Esau (he was hairy) and Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. When Esau and Isaac found out about it, they were very distressed; in fact, it says that Esau “was comforted by plotting Jacob’s death.”

Rebekah, fearing for Jacob’s life, told him to leave and never return.  And so he did. He never saw his mother or father again.

But Jake wasn’t the only snake in the land! Jacob’s next stop was when he found this beautiful woman named Rachel, and agreed to work for seven years for her father so that he could have the right to marry her. Can you imagine? But when the seven years had ended, and the wedding night came, Laban snuck his older daughter Leah into the tent with Jacob, and he didn’t realize it until it was too late!  Jake the snake had been out-snaked!  So he had discord then with Laban and Leah.  Jacob wrestled with Leah, his wife. He then agreed to work another 7 years to marry Rachel; and when Rachel and he got married, it caused discord between Rachel and Leah!  This discord was furthered by the fact that Leah was very fertile, and bore several sons for Jacob, but Rachel was not able to conceive.  This discord grew so much so that when Leah found some mandrakes (which were thought to give barren women the ability to conceive) she traded marital favors with Rachel!

 Then, there was the issues with his father-in-law.

Jacob wrestled with Laban,  his boss/father-in-law

Jacob had worked for Laban for 20 years, tending his flocks and working miracles with husbandry to make a strong and wealthy farm. But Laban, in addition to the switcheroo with his daughters, kept changing his wages; Jacob finally had enough, and packed up his family and belongings and left.  This sent Laban into a rage, and he pursued Jacob and his daughters and grandchildren, and when they met up, there was another big ruckus about some family idols that had gone missing, and he said this, and she said that…

But it was shortly after this that Jacob’s real wrestling match took place:  Jacob wrestled with an angel,  his God.

In our text, Jacob places his wives, servants, and company, over across the Jabbok river to the south side, and he estranges himself on the north bank. Completely alone with his doubts, dreams, and fears, Jacob was set for his encounter with God. Now would begin his long night of struggle, and in the agony of his soul, Jacob would wrestle in prayer, and actually, literally, wrestle with God. What was it that so troubled Jacob? What has brought him to this spiritual crisis in his life as he sits alone at the river gorge? What are the REASONS for his wrestling?

One obvious reason is his name and nature. Jacob was growing weary of his wrestling, his struggle with life. Sure, he had some previous encounters with God. The Lord’s blessings had been upon his life despite Jacob’s insistence on singing, “I’ll do it my way!” The truth remained that he had done it his way, and now it was a royal mess! Jacob at the river gorge is a tired, weary, frightened, searching man, a man who is slow to trust God and quick to grab from behind. His name and nature has woven a web of trouble and conflict. What does Jacob have to show for all of his scheming?

He has family problems. Jacob had left home with a father who no doubt was disappointed in him and a brother who swore to kill him. He wasn’t exactly popular with his uncle Laban and the in-laws. Now he had two wives who were continually fighting. His family life was a wreck!

Sounds much like today, doesn’t it? Families everywhere are fighting and falling apart because they have forsaken God, His house, His Word! Like Jacob, many fathers and husbands turned away from God to follow the god of money. A home built upon this world with its philosophy and mind set is like building a house upon the sand. It will stand for a while, but when the wind and waves of trouble come and beat upon it, great is its fall!

He was wrestling with his destiny, his purpose. He was supposed to be heir to the promise of God first given to his grandfather Abraham and passed down to his father Isaac. Without doubt, Jacob struggled with the timing of God’s plan for his life as well as the direction his life had taken. His patience had run thin and perhaps he was perplexed as to where his life was going.

One thing was for sure, the Lord had kept His end of the bargain. Jacob was a blessed man. He came to Laban’s house empty, and now he was leaving full. Jacob was on his way to becoming the person who could fit that promise made by God, however Jacob still had the same nature and name. He was not entirely the Jacob who left home twenty years earlier, but he had not yet come to the end of his ways. There were some things in his life he had not set aside.

Today the average American has more than ever before, and yet a sense of hopelessness and despair has never filled the country as it fills it today. We have raised a whole generation without God, values or absolutes, and now we are both seeing and hearing the emptiness within. When we walk away from God, we walk away from our purpose for existence!

He is certainly troubled about his future. He knew he would have to face his past;  “BIG JAKE VERSUS BIG RED.” He knew he was not match for his big brother!

Now the main event: Jacob versus God.  Jacob in his desperation realized the precious opportunity before him. If he let go, then God would leave with his needs unmet, his prayers unanswered! So, Jacob WRESTLED WITH GOD, back and forth, a head lock here, an arm hold there, the struggle went on for hours. God in His grace and mercy allowed Jacob to wrestle, …to work out his name, his nature …for in his struggle, in his wrestling, his faith and understanding was growing! The turning point came when God touched Jacob on his hip. Suddenly he was weakened and immobilized. Jacob yelled out in pain, “Ahhhhh,” as he stopped wrestling and started clinging!

There is a difference between wrestling and clinging. To “wrestle” is to contend and fight for dominance. However, to “cling” is to hold on to, to grasp in desperation. The angel knew that morning light was breaking, and instructed Jacob to let him go. Jacob responded in verse 26, “I will not let you go, until you bless me.” He was persistent in his prayer; persistent in his plea; serious in his request from God, even though his body was racked with pain. I believe God knew the change which had come in Jacob’s heart. Jacob was now holding on in faith, rather than wrestling in fear. God was moved by the persistence of Jacob.

God blessed Jacob, not because He had to or was forced to, but because Jacob was ready to receive the blessing. What a blessing! “What is your name?” God asked. What He was really asking Jacob was, “Who are you?” As Jacob hung on to Him in pain, he answered, “I’m Jacob, the schemer, the one who grabs from behind, the scared mama’s boy, the con-man, the self-centered, self- serving, self-sufficient one!” Then God said, “Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: (which means (struggles with God).” God was saying, “This is who you were, from now on you are the one who prevails with God, not wrestles without Him!”

God’s blessing to Jacob was a new name, a new nature. From now on God would help Jacob fight and conquer the baser elements in his character. The old tendencies no doubt would assert themselves again, but with God’s help they would never dominate his life! God had touched Jacob to the bone, to the nerve, to the innermost part of his heart.

As Jacob released God, he walked with a limp, a weaker man, yet stronger. And we hear the words of Paul in II Corinthians 12:9, “for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

In every struggle, we must at some point  make amends.You see, the struggle of Jacob is our own. We all have the name and nature of Jacob. We all have the tendency to wrestle with life, to take things in our own hands, to set our own agenda, and work things out in our own strength. The result? The result is much the same, we make a mess of things which drives us to the river gorge, the banks of our own Jabbok. Family problems, financial problems, relational problems, no purpose, no sense of destiny, fear about the future, all drive us to the end of ourselves and hopefully into the arms of a God who has revealed Himself in the person of a loving, caring Savior, Jesus Christ. But we must stop wrestling and start clinging! We must surrender our lives, our wills, our dreams and schemes, to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and let Him change us. In Jesus Christ, we can have a new name, a new nature, a new destiny, and a secure future.

Right now, you may see yourself in Jacob. You are in the night of your struggle, feeling all alone, scared, and afraid. Are you tired of wrestling? Are you at the end of yourself? Are you ready to acknowledge your weakness, the futility of grabbing from behind? Can you see that when you wrestle with life you are indeed wrestling with God? Perhaps this is the day, bruised, tired, and lame, you will surrender your heart and life to Jesus Christ.

« Previous Page — Next Page »