Dec 1 Sermon for the first week of Advent

Luke 1:1-25

 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

  5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

  8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

  18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

  24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

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Now that we’re in the thick of winter, it seems like a good time to think about summer, right?  When it’s freezing cold and we’re contemplating how many layers of fleece to put on, it’s a good thing to focus on the coming warmth, despite the fact that it’s another 3 weeks until winter even truly begins.  As of this moment, we have five different space heaters in our house.  The fifth one is a new addition—4 just weren’t enough.  Hard to believe we were both raised hundreds of miles north from here.  We don’t fare well in the cold. 

We know what the depths of winter feel like.  It’s achingly cold, and the car cannot warm up quickly enough.  We find every warm piece of clothing we have, and yet the wind somehow sneaks through anyway.  We try and seal the house against the elements, but a draft gets in and reminds us of the winter cold.  Snow flurries drift down and torment us.  Sometime around the beginning of February, it feels like winter will never end.

And yet, just as surely as the sun rises in the morning, each and every year the cold of winter turns to summer heat.  The question for you is this:  when does winter end and summer begin?

Now, each and every one of us may answer this question differently.  For you, it may be when the first flower blooms in early spring, when the crocus appear and give us green in the midst of brown.  Perhaps it is Easter Sunday, when the church is in bloom.  Maybe it’s March 21, the first day of spring.  For me, winter ends every year on February 15, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  Each and every one of us may latch on to a different sign, but the point is that there are all sorts of different reminders for us—each one points to the reality of the coming spring, to the return of warmth, and the end of the winter cold.  They are all signs that point to the coming future.

At one point, we’ll be standing outside in mid-July when it’s 115 degrees outside and we’ll be unable to contemplate the fact that it was once 25 degrees outside.  We’ll have forgotten what it feels like to be cold, because we’ll be too busy melting into the parking lot.  All we’ll know is heat.  The cold will have been lost to the past.

 In a similar train of thought, Scripture is moving.  God is moving creation from one place to another.  The world is changing around us.  Creation is being transformed.  And there are signs along the way.

Take a moment to look at Genesis 1, the beginning.  Verse 2 says that the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep.  In the beginning, there is nothing but darkness.  God’s first creation is light.

Now, flip to the other end of Scripture, from the beginning to the end of the story.  There, in Revelation 22, its says in verse 5 that there will be no more night, for the Lord God will be the light forever.  In the end, there is nothing but light.

So we move from darkness to light.  From one end of the spectrum to the other.  At one point there was no light, and in the end the darkness will have been vanquished and there will be nothing but light.  It is as drastic a change as you can imagine.  Similar to the transition from freezing cold to searing heat—in the midst of the light, we will scarcely be able to remember what the darkness was like.

And along the way, there are signs.  God has given us reminders that the light is coming.  God has sent prophets and apostles and angels and miracles to assure us that the light is indeed coming, because the darkness is still here.  We are in a transition period, a time when the world is being shifted from darkness into light, and the darkness is not yet gone.  We do not have the ability to forget what darkness is like, because it is all around us.

And yet, there is also light.  There are signs of God’s presence and God’s work in our midst.  We are constantly being reminded that God is coming, that darkness will vanish.  We are being reminded that God wins.  We just need to remember to pay attention to the signs, and to let them encourage us in our common walk with Christ.

So we come to Advent, here in the middle of winter, a time when the leaves have fallen off the trees and the weather outside is pointing to the dead of winter, and we spend these 4 weeks being reminded that Christ not only has come but also is coming.  We look forward to celebrating the birth of the Christ child, that pivotal moment in history when the light himself entered into the darkness and shone among us, even though the darkness did not understand it.  We also look forward to Christ’s return, when the light shall conquer the darkness and destroy it, catching us up in the light forever, banishing the darkness to the pages of history.  Advent is a time to be reminded of the light.

The story today, the story of the announcing of John the Baptist, is another one of those moments.  John the Baptist’s parents were too old to have children, and yet God brings life to Elizabeth’s womb.  It had been barren and hopeless, and yet it was there that God brought life.  When Zecheriah dared not to believe the angel Gabriel, he was struck mute until the time that the baby was born.  God gave the people a sign, life in the midst of death, a reminder that the darkness would not win, and signpost pointing to his final victory over sin and death. 

The Bible is littered with signposts that God sent to remind us that the light wins in the end.  God was constantly reminding us that the darkness would not prevail.  When Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children and God promise to make a nation out of them, Sarah laughed at the promises of God, and yet she gave birth to a child.  When the children of Israel were stuck between the watery sea and the Egyptian army, God made a way through the water, bringing them to safety and life when threatened with death.  Throughout history, God has a habit of reminding us that life conquers over death.  When the Roman army had invaded Jerusalem and there seemed to be no champion for the Jews, God brought life into the womb of a virgin and Jesus Christ was born.  When Jesus was dead and in the tomb, a place of darkness and death, God brought forth resurrection to demonstrate that life would win over death.

Friends, God has not ceased sending these signposts into the world.  God has not stopped reminding us that life is bigger than death, that darkness will be forgotten and light will prevail.  The question for us is whether we are willing to pay attention to what God is doing.  There is resurrection in our midst.

So, this Advent season, I invite you into the discipline of waiting and watching.  Will you watch for signs of life that are all around you?  Will you wait patiently as God reveals himself to the world around us?  Will you stop trying to make everything happen on your own and trust in the God who promises to make light prevail over darkness?  When the walls are closing in and frustration and despair are all around, will you look to the hills, from whence your help comes?

I know that there are plenty of reasons for despair.  As a congregation, there is pain and suffering in our midst.  We mourn.  We pray for miraculous healings.  We struggle to look for hope.

Advent is a season of hope.  It is a time that we are reminded that it is not by our own strength that we conquer, but by the strength of our Savior that we will prevail.  God’s light will win, and in Christ we, too, will win.  All we have to do is trust in him, and as we do so may we have the wisdom to look for the signs of life that are all around us, to look for light in the midst of the darkness, and hold onto hope that spring is coming.

Let us pray

The Call: Us (Sermon on Mark 16:1-8 for 11/24/13)

Mark 16:1-8

  16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
  5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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Did you ever read those ‘C hoose-Your-Own-End’ books?  I was into them for a while as a kid.  It was pretty exciting at the time, having control over how books ended.  Then I realized that it was just frustrating.  At the end of every chapter, I’d read the next chapter for both alternatives so I could know which one was best, except in some cases that ended up being the worst, so I’d have to backtrack and start all over.  In other words, I was trying to cheat, and that made it pretty frustrating. 

In a sense, the Gospel of Mark is somewhat similar to those types of books.  The Gospel ends rather abruptly—the women, seized by terror and amazement, run from the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, saying nothing to anyone.  If this were truly the end of the story, we’d be in big trouble, because the women were the only ones who witnessed the empty tomb.  If they had actually said nothing, this resurrection account would be lost.

Fortunately, they did say something.  They did tell the story, but Mark doesn’t include that part.  Mark leaves it blank for us to fill in the details.  Mark leaves the women as terrified and amazed, running from the angelic instructions to tell the story.

I think Mark does this on purpose.  I think Mark leaves the remainder of the story blank as an invitation to us—this is where we join in.  We’re all standing before the empty tomb, and we’re all amazed at what God has done.  Will we go and tell the story, or will we run from our own call?  Each of us has received instructions—how will we answer the call?

 Each and every one of us is called.  We spent the last two weeks studying specific call stories in the Gospel.  We talked about how Levi, Simon, Andrew, James & John were called to follow Christ.  Their lives were forever changed, and they saw the world differently.  Everything they did from this point forward was affected by their call to discipleship.

In the same way, we are called to live differently because of our call.  It should absolutely color our lives.  What we need to do, however, is recognize that our stories may not look the same as the ones in the Bible do.  The question is what Jesus would have us do.  That’s why this particular Gospel story is so relevant—we’re called to write our own ending to the invitation of the angel.

It’s easy to think of big, dramatic examples of ways individuals live out the Gospel.  We can look at Mother Teresa, making her home in the midst of the most dramatic slums in India, spending her life caring for the poor and sick.  We can think of Pope Francis, who seems to be remaking how everything in the Vatican is done, shunning opulence and choosing simplicity and service.  These examples spring to mind readily.

But I don’t know how helpful they are to us today.  Let’s be honest—most of us aren’t called to leave behind family and friends and go live in the slums.  While we can take short-term mission trips to places like Haiti and Honduras, we aren’t going to move there on a permanent basis.  Yet, we are still called.  Christ still wants us to live out the Gospel story here and now.  So what does that look like?

Well, I think it has everything to do with our habits.

I recently finished reading a fascinating book called ‘The Power of Habit’.  It’s a glimpse into human behavior, focusing on how humans are really an assembly of habits.  Everything we do is governed by habits—from our morning rituals to the way we interact with others.  We’re creatures of our habits.

But the good news is that habits can be changed.  We don’t have to always live the same way—we can alter our habits and live the abundant life Christ has in store for us.

I believe that is starts with small actions.  These small actions shape the kind of people that we become.  When we are habitually looking for small ways to serve, these small actions are woven together into a tapestry of a life that shows what the Gospel looks like, what it looks like for us to live into a call.  We start small, and it becomes a way of life, where we are constantly looking for ways to live the story, ways to tell the story.

Take, for example, the generosity shown by the visitors to Heavenly Donuts in Amesbury, Massachusetts.  You all have heard of the idea of paying it forward, where you pay for the car or person behind you in line, showing unexpected generosity?  On one morning, 55 consecutive cars paid for the order of the person behind them.  I know what you’re thinking—we all instantly judged the 56^th person in line.  The good news is they did not hear the good news that their meal was free and drive off.  There just wasn’t another person in line behind them. 

But it’s small actions like this that create habits within us.  They get us looking for opportunities to serve.  They begin to open our eyes to see God’s kingdom at work around us.  They tune our hearts and minds to think in certain ways so that we look for opportunities to tell the story of God’s grace.

It’s like what we do with $.02/meal.  Now, setting aside two pennies each time you eat a meal isn’t a very big thing, is it?  It doesn’t feel like a massive investment in God’s kingdom.  It feels pretty small in the face of everything that is going on in the world.

But those two pennies come together to feed hungry kids in East Brainerd.  Those kids will know that a church cares enough about them to make it a point to offer food to them.  They’ll know that the love of Christ has a real impact in our hearts and their lives.  They have food to eat on the weekends because the church’s habit is to look for ways to serve. 

Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting that we content ourselves with little things.  But we need to start there.  We need to become the type of people who are constantly looking for ways to live into our call, where we tell the story and live out the story.  Our call is comprehensive—Christ has claimed all of life, and we are to offer all of our life back to Christ.

Now, there is a rhythm within this text, and I’d like to explore it a little, because I believe that it has something to teach us.

First of all, notice that the women wait until after the Sabbath to go and prepare Jesus’ body.  Their time with God is their first priority—before they go and serve others, they must ensure that they are properly spiritually prepared.  If we are to live a life of service, we have to ensure that our relationship with Christ comes first, that we’re serving out of hearts focused on Him.  May we wisely prepare ourselves to live into our call.  15 minutes a day, in a chair, with a Bible.  Simple & straightforward.

Next, the women prepared themselves.  They bought their spices and went to the tomb.  But, we know that they weren’t completely prepared.  They weren’t sure how to overcome the obstacle of the stone in front of the tomb.  We don’t know what they would have done if the stone wasn’t rolled away—but we don’t have to.  They couldn’t prepare for everything.

In the same way, we need to be prepared to serve.  We need to know ourselves, and we need to be ready to serve.  We need to look around us, to pay attention to what God is doing, but we don’t know exactly how everything is going to work out.  Some people will reject our proclamation.  Other things will surprise us.  We aren’t in control.  We have to leave room for God to act.  Make way for the Holy Spirit.

After this, the women are amazed by the resurrection news they receive.  They are stunned by what God has done.  And Jesus goes ahead of them, leading them into the future.

In the same way, Jesus leads us forward.  We follow him into the world, ready to serve, ready to proclaim, ready to announce the Good News of what God has done.  This isn’t about us—it’s about us being selfless, about proclaiming Christ’s story, about inviting others into the amazing news of resurrection.

May we cultivate small habits that lead to big changes in our lives, and may we live into Christ’s call on our lives.

Let us pray

November 21 E-News

Announcements

Toy Drop & Clothing Drive-- Thanksgiving Day, a time of celebrating our blessings, seems in danger of being replaced as a national holiday by Black Friday, a day that elevates consumerism. Rather than retreat in fear, the Outreach Committee has chosen to see this as an opportunity. They're going to have a toy drop/clothing drive from 8 pm on Thanksgiving Day until noon the following Friday. We're encouraging people to pick up an extra toy and drop it by the church to benefit the Forgotten Child Fund. What we need: volunteers willing to staff the church, people willing to take fliers around the community, and all the publicity we can get!

Community Kitchen Spot

There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf.

#10 Cans of Sweet Potato / Yams

#10 Cans of Italian Style Green Beans

No-Bake Pumpkin / Apple Pies

No-Heat Dinner Rolls

Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons

Dinner Napkins

Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates

Dessert Plates

3 Oz. Souffle Cups

New Hope News

Wednesday Bible Study—Last night was our final study of the year. We'll pick up again in the new year.

Thanksgiving Supper – For over 10 years, JoAn & Philip Wright have been faithfully leading a Thanksgiving meal here at the church (@ 2:00) for any and all who would like to join us. If you'd like to come, please speak with JoAn beforehand.

Pray For:

Lynn Meyer, Norma Capone & Christine Dyer

For Jessica and so many others wrestling with cancer

Dorothy Parks-Piatt, as she continues her journey

For those who look at Thanksgiving and feel their hearts tremble as scars, old and new, remind them of who will not be sitting around the table because of conflict, death or sickness.

Links

Like Christmas music? Want to change the world?

The 7 habits of highly effective monks

5 ways to engage global poverty

Fear of the Lord

Reflections

You are not a bad person

Cooking dinner in your coffee maker

Some options for Thanksgiving morning activities:

The Grateful Gobbler (benefits Chattanooga Homeless Coalition)

Turkey Trot (Benefits Kidney Foundation)

Stuffing Strut (Benefits various causes)

Keith's Random Thoughts

Tuesday morning, we realized the toilets in the church weren't working properly. By Tuesday night, enough dirt had been pulled back from where we had some work done in the yard to reveal a 4 foot gap in the sewer pipe. It had been severed by someone who believed that it was an entirely different and irrelevant pipe. As it was put, “assumptions were made that should not have been made.”

We do this all the time. We assume the person who cut us off in traffic is an arrogant jerk, rather than an over-tired new father who isn't thinking properly because he's slept 4 hours in the past week. When we say hello to someone and they ignore us, we assume they are upset, rather than wondering if they are consumed by some terrible news they just received.

I've done this with people. I've assumed that Caleb has a good reason for throwing 24 crayons on the floor. I've assumed that I know the full picture of someone's situation. I think that people are fine when, in reality, their lives are falling apart.

The reason I make assumptions is because I haven't taken the time to know the full situation. I haven't made time to sit down with someone and listen, truly listen, to what's going on in their lives. It certainly requires a willingness and trust on their part to share with me, but it also demands something from me—patience. I have to be willing to sit down with someone and make them the most important thing for the time we have together. Rather than get distracted by all the other things competing for my time and attention, I have to be willing to listen.

Jesus astounds me. He had the power to fix every single problem in the world. He could have healed everyone at once, then rectified global injustices with a word. There were countless things demanding his attention.

Yet, in the midst of all the demands, he intentionally made time to sit down with individuals and break bread, to listen to their joys and deepest heartbreaks. He would eat with anyone, regardless of social position, and he loved them, individually.

When we invest time in relationships, we are then able to stop making assumptions, because we have a fuller picture of why people act the way they do. When we truly listen with a loving heart, we stop assigning motivations and understand why they are the way we are. Then the Holy Spirit knits us together, drawing us ever closer as we wander this journey of life together.

Text for this Sunday

Mark 16:1-8 (ESV)

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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The Call: Levi (Sermon for 11/17/2013) Mark 2:13-17

We focus today on the call of Levi, also known as Matthew.  Now, before we delve into this story, it’s important to say a few things about Levi’s chosen profession.  Levi was a tax collector.  To you and I, this doesn’t sound entirely objectionable.  While we all make occasional jokes about the IRS and do not enjoy giving them large sums of money, I don’t think we harbor grievances against all those who work there.

Ancient Jerusalem worked a little differently.  See, Rome was reviled as an invading army, but they had the Roman army, so people had to do what Rome said.  Rome also needed to collect taxes, but rather than send people from Rome to Jerusalem, they hired Jews to do this for them.  So any Jew who elected to work for Rome was choosing to be employed by the occupying army.  They were reviled as traitors.  Also, they were given free rein to collect as much as they wanted.  As long as Rome got their cut, they didn’t care how much extra the tax collectors picked up.  So tax collectors were notoriously corrupt, but people had to comply, because the tax collectors had the Roman army at their beck and call.  No one liked tax collectors.

It’s important to understand this.  In our story today, tax collectors even get their own special category.  They’re not just ‘sinners’, like everyone else—the sinners don’t look so bad when compared to tax collectors.  No one of good repute would be associated with tax collectors.  They’d probably cross the street if they saw one coming.  When people thought of the Kingdom of God, they may have had some questions, but I’m sure they didn’t expect tax collectors to be associated.

With that knowledge tucked in the back of our minds, let’s dive into Mark 2:13-17.

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Mark 2:13-17

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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How many of you passed a fast food restaurant on the way here?  How many did you pass?  Did you pay attention?  Or did you notice the billboards that line Shallowford Road? 

I imagine you saw them—they’re hard to miss.  But the question is how much attention did you pay to them?  We’ve all seen them so many times that we don’t pay much attention to them.  They’re like commercials on television—your brain is so accustomed to being shouted at that it turns down the attention whenever they come on.  We see, but we don’t really see.

Now, this isn’t too much of a problem for us.  It’s not like we’re missing anything.  But the problem results when we start to act this way around people.  It’s easy to do—we pass by so many people in a given day that we can’t possibly spend in depth time with all of them.  Also, we’re often so wrapped up in our own lives and busy-ness that we don’t really pay attention to them.  Anymore most people you see have their faces buried in some sort of device anyway.

It’s easy to pass by people without truly seeing them.  We don’t notice when their faces are contorted by grief, or when their souls are heavy with troubles.  We don’t see them when they are consumed by joy or want to share some good news.  We’re so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to see people.

Jesus, however, didn’t have this problem.  He saw people, and when he looked he saw more than just a human shape.  He instantly was able to see their needs and desires, to recognize them as the individual child of God that they are, to treasure and celebrate them.  So in an age when most people would have passed by the tax collector with little more than a sneer, Jesus saw Levi, and he went to him.

Now, this is all relatively simple narrative, but it’s so important for us to notice the little things.  Jesus went to Levi.  He didn’t wait for Levi to recognize who he was and then come to Jesus.  He didn’t sit back and hope that Levi got it all sorted out so that he could approach the throne of grace.  Levi, in the midst of his tax collecting, was approached by Jesus.

In the same way, Jesus comes to us.  He sees us for who we truly are, sons and daughters of God, and he comes to us.  He notices each and every one of us, and he approaches us.  He doesn’t coldly sit back and hope we sort it all out—he reaches out in love to us.  He initiates our life of faith and beckons us into the waters of discipleship.  He invites.  We, like the tax collector, may be in the midst of sin, but Jesus still comes to us.  We don’t have to be perfect or ready for the call—we just have to be willing to hear it.

So Jesus comes to us, just as he came to Levi, and invites him to follow.

Levi, we read, gets up and follows.  Just like that.  His life is disrupted.

Here we see the disruptive love of Jesus Christ at work.  When Christ calls us, he doesn’t call us to stay the same.  He doesn’t just add to what we have—we are transformed, waken from some half-slumber and bid to walk in the light, to experience the abundant life of which our souls have always dreamed, often unconsciously.  We are called from death into life, and it is disruptive.  The sins which we have been carrying for so long are called to be left behind.  The patterns of living for ourselves are set down.  Old habits that no longer fit are shed so that new life can be put on.  The love of Christ is disruptive, jostling us, transforming us, and when we rise to follow, we are never the same.

Notice, though, that all is not left behind.  As we discussed last week with Jesus and the fishermen, Jesus wanders into our lives and transforms what is there.  In the same way, Jesus wandered into Levi’s life and changed what was already present.  When Jesus called Levi and Levi responded with obedience, we often assume that Levi never returned to his familiar surroundings.  Instead, we see here that Jesus is now dining in Levi’s home with all of Levi’s friends.  Jesus knocks on the door and comes in, sits down and makes himself comfortable.  Jesus longs to have an intimate relationship with us, to know us at our deepest level, to sit down at table and dine with us.  Jesus calls Levi and ends up in Levi’s house, surrounded by his friends, and the table conversation is surely transformed by the presence of Christ.  What might have been sinful conversation is now centered around Christ, and surely more than one of Levi’s friends comes to understand just who the Messiah is.

Now, if it were you or I, we might be afraid to wander into a house like Levi’s.  Surely, our reputations would be on the line.  We might be afraid to be seen with someone like Levi.  We might be nervous about what other people might think.  We wouldn’t want our spotless image to be tarnished, right?

Jesus isn’t concerned about that.  He is willing to engage with all, regardless of what their previous choices might have been.  He doesn’t worry what others might think—he sees people for who they are, and he sees their need.  He recognizes that within the brokenness we have created is a person, made in the image of God, precious in God’s sight.  To that person, he goes.

We, too, are called to go and love.  We can’t be so worried about what the world thinks.  We can’t be so caught up in believing that our reputations are more important than loving others.  We can’t let fear prevent us from love.

The scribes and Pharisees see Jesus eating with these sinners, and they can’t believe that the Messiah would act in such a way.  They believe the Messiah should only be there for those who are living rightly.  They can’t see that all people are in desperate need of a Savior.  They don’t recognize their own need for a Savior.  What they really want is a Savior to show up and congratulate them for saving themselves.  Their pride prevents them from seeing their own sin.

Jesus tells them that he hasn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.  At first, we may wonder what this means, for it would seem like the righteous should be included, too.  But Jesus understands what is really at the heart of the claim of righteousness.  If we believe we can manufacture our own righteousness, we believe that we are our own saviors.  If we can save ourselves, what need have we of Jesus?

Tax collectors and sinners easily recognize that they cannot save themselves.  They believe they are outside the scope of religion, that their lives are too messed up for any religious figure to care about.  Jesus comes to correct that, to remind them that it was God who crafted them, that it is God who loves them, and that it is God who wants to save them.  Sinners are wise enough to be humble and let Jesus be Lord.  The proud want to be their own Lords.

So what will it be for you?  Will you accept Christ as Lord, and recognize that you cannot save yourself?  Will you be wise enough to be humble, to accept the love of God that does what we cannot?

If we are willing to be this humble, we then understand that we are led forth in humility.  Once we see ourselves as sinners who need to be saved, we are then able to understand our position as servants of others.  When we humbly see ourselves as sinful and broken, the brokenness of others is no longer an obstacle.  When we are proud, we look down on the sins of others.  When we are humble, we see ourselves reflected in the sins of others, and we recognize our common humanity, our unity as sinners, and how important it is that we remind each other of the central truth of a Savior who sees us, who comes to us, and who invites us into life everlasting.

Let us pray 

11/14 New Hope E-News

Announcements

Toy Drop & Clothing Drive-- Thanksgiving Day, a time of celebrating our blessings, seems in danger of being replaced as a national holiday by Black Friday, a day that elevates consumerism. Rather than retreat in fear, the Outreach Committee has chosen to see this as an opportunity. They're going to have a toy drop/clothing drive from 8 pm on Thanksgiving Day until noon the following Friday. We're encouraging people to pick up an extra toy and drop it by the church to benefit the Forgotten Child Fund. What we need: volunteers willing to staff the church, people willing to take fliers around the community, and all the publicity we can get!

Community Kitchen Spot

There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf.

#10 Cans of Sweet Potato / Yams

#10 Cans of Italian Style Green Beans

No-Bake Pumpkin / Apple Pies

No-Heat Dinner Rolls

Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons

Dinner Napkins

Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates

Dessert Plates

3 Oz. Souffle Cups

New Hope News

Wednesday Bible Study-- Next week will be our final Bible study of 2013. Join us as @ 6:30 as we study 1 Samuel 20. Bring your supper and share in fellowship at 6.

Thanksgiving Supper – For over 10 years, JoAn & Philip Wright have been faithfully leading a Thanksgiving meal here at the church (@ 2:00) for any and all who would like to join us. If you'd like to come, please speak with JoAn beforehand.

Pray For:

Lynn Meyer, Norma Capone & Christine Dyer

The Ivey family

The people of the Philippines, and those in distant places filled with anxiety about loved ones

Teachers. Teachers who feel overwhelmed. Teachers whose joy is contagious. Teachers whose hearts break for their children. Teachers who are overworked and underpaid. Teachers who wake up early and do everything they can to prepare kids for the future and help them face today. Teachers who see vulnerable kids and often go above and beyond what is expected of them. Teachers who sometimes feel helpless. Teachers who are excited and empowered and changing lives. May God give them grace, strength and peace to continue to do their jobs well.

Links

To follow up on last Wednesday's visit from David Martin:

La Paz Organizational Video

La Paz Women's Leadership Video

A report from the Philippines

How churches can help without hurting in times of disaster

Are fans of Jesus killing the church?

Did a prayer meeting bring down the Berlin Wall?

Keith's Random Thoughts

I've spent a lot of time trying to process what I witnessed in Haiti, the good, the bad and the tragic. At some point, maybe I'll run out of things to say about Haiti. At some point, maybe I'll get so caught up in the chaos and busy-ness of life in Chattanooga that Haiti will recede into the background. The turbulence there will take a backseat to whatever is right in front of my face.

I think there is always the danger that we forget.

By that, I don't mean that there is danger that we'll forget about Haiti, that we'll forget about poverty in Chattanooga and hungry kids in our neighborhood. There will be times that we forget, that we're not actively in prayer or support of that ongoing work. The important thing there is that we allow our lives to establish rhythms where we continue to circle back and spend our time and energy in regular service to others.

When I speak of the danger of forgetting, I mean there is danger that we'll forget that our every waking moment is an opportunity to participate in God's ongoing mission. That's the danger—that we stop seeing the bigger picture and start getting caught up in our own little story, believing that is all there is.

Think about what you're doing right now. What you've done today. What you'll do tomorrow. Now think about this: God cares about it, and whatever it is that you are doing is an opportunity to glorify God.

Maybe you just finished folding laundry. You can pray while you're folding laundry. Maybe you're about to cook dinner. You can pray while you do this, and you can also use God's creation to create something that tastes wonderful, and if you're feeding others along with yourself, that's a moment of service. If you're at work, when you work well and work ethically, you're using the gifts God has given you for his greater glory. You're earning money which can be used well to love others as well as yourself. You can build relationships through your work that may lead others to recognize God's sovereignty over all of life. Are you out shopping? Look at the people around you. Pay attention to them. Is there someone who looks like they need someone to listen? Can you be in prayer for the people around you?

Being Presbyterian means we don't have to shrink back from the world. We can engage in it and trust that God is at work there. We can participate fully in the outside world and know that God is redeeming it, using faithful servants like you and I to spread that message of redemption.

Life moves in rhythms. There are times to help and serve the people of Haiti. There are time and ways to help the people of Chattanooga. Whatever we do, we join in God's mission to participate in going out to spread the Good News of salvation. We don't always have to be in Haiti to do so. There are times we need to go out with intention, to be in foreign places, but there are ways and times to join in with God's mission in your work and your school and your house. May we not forget God's mission—he calls us with the intent that our lives are used to make disciples in all the world. When we shrink God's call to focusing only on our personal salvation, we've missed the larger point. God sends the church out with purpose. May we participate constantly in this mission, looking for ways to reach out in all we do. May we recognize his claim on ALL of life and on ALL of the world.

Text for this Sunday

Mark 2:13-17 (ESV)

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of[a] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat[b] with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Life is Crazy

  So this was taken in Cite Soleil, the poorest slum in Haiti. The kids ran up and took my hand, just content to walk with me. I'm not sure exactly why, but it made the connection so much more real. Those are kids, just like my kid, with needs and joys and hurts and wonder. They deserve to know love, to be fed, to grow up with hope in their hearts. We strive to give Caleb so much. I'm sure the parents of these kids do, too. Maybe they can't afford the material gifts that we can, but they can love their kids like we can. Is hope a little harder to find in Cite Soleil? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Just because their lives may be harder in some ways doesn't mean they don't have just as bold a hope for the future as I do. I'm sure they do everything they can to feed their kids, too. Maybe they don't have applesauce in single-serving pouches (those things are delicious, by the way. I eat almost as many as Caleb does), but I'm sure they do everything possible for their kids.

  The world is a small place, and we're all so similar. We may look different, and it's easy to believe that some people are better off than others. It's easy to think that we're not going through the same experiences--that my stress at work makes me different than someone who has different kinds of stress. But we're all the same--we're here on this earth for a few years, and in that time we have a choice to make. How are we going to love one another? What have we been given, and how are we going to use that? What will we live for? If we have extra, will we share it? Or build bigger barns? 

  When a kid from the slums of Haiti takes my hand and we walk together, it's pretty hard for me to believe that my extra shouldn't be used to feed hungry kids in Haiti. Or Chattanooga. We're all in this together, and if we recognize how similar we are, perhaps we can strengthen each other as we walk together.

  After all, how different is the picture above from the picture below?

The Call: Simon & Andrew (Sermon for 11/10/13)

Mark 1:16-20 

 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

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How many of you have ever had a job? I've had several, everything from shoveling horse manure to valeting cars to cleaning pools. I had to pay for my own car insurance as a teenager, and the thought of losing the privilege of driving kept me hard at work.

The only problem with working is that people expect you to do something for the money they're going to pay you, right? Have you ever had a job that consisted entirely of you not working, not showing up, but the paychecks keep on coming? There is a Sherlock Holmes episode which is based entirely around the fact that a man comes to visit Holmes because he can't figure out why he is being well-paid to copy the encyclopedia. It just doesn't make sense.

All jobs require work in order to be paid. Well, at least all the jobs I've done or heard about. Know what happens when you see a sign by the side of the road promising lots of pay for little work? You ignore it, right? You know it's too good to be true. If such things were possible, they wouldn't have to advertise for people to sign up for such jobs—we'd be beating down the door demanding them, right?

There are two parts to a job. One is the pay you receive, the other is the work you put in. To do work without pay is slavery. To receive pay without work is too good to be true, right?

Well, this is what makes the message of the Gospel so astounding. What the Good News tells us is that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, doing the work of atonement that we did not and could not do. In return, we receive the glory and honor that is due to the eternal Son of God. The righteousness that belongs to him is imparted to us, while the suffering that is due to us is imparted to him. It's absolutely not fair, and we are the benefactors of this arrangement, thanks be to God. We receive eternal life as a free gift.

Now, let me be very, very clear. We are not saved conditionally—we are not saved by God on the assumption or as the result of anything we can or will do. Our life isn't some grand 'trial period' by the end of which we are required to prove ourselves as worthy. If you leave today with the belief that you must prove yourself worthy to God or meet some celestial requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven, then this has all gone terribly wrong.

While I don't believe that we will be 'fired' from the church for not fulfilling perfectly our end of the bargain, I do believe that we fail to experience the fullness of the abundant life Christ promises here on earth when we fall short. Sin interferes with our ability to experience the grace of God.

What I do want to emphasize, though, is that our call has two parts to it. We see that here in Mark 1. When Jesus called the first disciples, Simon and his brother Andrew, it wasn't just a call to 'follow me'. It was first that, but Jesus tells the disciples what will happen if they follow him. Note, he doesn't say, 'follow me and then I'll let you keep following if you do this.” He describes to them what their lives will be like if they choose to follow him.

“Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”

There is the call to follow, and there is a description of the life that follows. The link is made by Jesus Christ – if Simon and Andrew choose to follow Jesus, that will directly affect the lives of others around them. If they so choose to leave their old life behind and be transformed by the grace of God, their future interactions will be so colored by the grace and love of God that nothing will ever be the same.

Rather than be inwardly focused, Jesus tells them that their lives will be focused on other people. They will be an outward-looking group, sharing the awesome good news of God.

Now, the Christian church in America focuses a lot on the promises God makes to individuals, and with good reason. We talk about the unconditional love of God and the grace and strength God gives you that allows us to make it through whatever challenges come our way. We talk about how Christ is light for our darkness and hope for our despair, and these are all vital, vital things. We cannot stop talking about these promises of Christ, about the victory over death that we participate in when we baptize. These are all part of what it means to follow Christ.

But, as the church, perhaps we have not done as good a job in describing the transformation which Christ details in this conversation. Perhaps we have failed in noting that following Christ means that the gifts we already have will be used to help us reach outward, that the rest of our lives are called to be focused on other people, on inviting them into the wonders of a life lived with the recognition of God's gracious and selfless love.

Notice, friends, that Jesus tells the fishermen that they'll fish for people. He affirms the gifts they have and tells them that God will use those same gifts in their future lives of discipleship. In the same way, our calling doesn't mean we leave the old behind—it means that Christ transforms it and promises to use it for his kingdom, rather than just using it to enrich oruselves or for our own little kingdoms. God uses what we have. God gave it to us, after all.

So the call to life in Christ is a call to be transformed, and its a call to look outward, to reach out. To sit comfortably and focused on ourselves doesn't conform to this call. To be still and rest with all of our lives (there is a place for rest, but not always) isn't allowing ourselves to be transformed. We're called to reach out.

Two weekends ago, I was in Haiti. Haiti is a desperate place, filled with desperate poverty. In the poorest slum in Haiti, I witnessed children running around naked because they didn't have clothes. In that same slum, I watched as people baked mud pies, desperate for anything with which to fill their stomachs. There are not words to describe much of Haiti—it must be seen to be understood. It is a poor country, with 80% unemployment, and from far away it would seem that there is little hope. It would be easy to give up on Haiti.

But Haitians have not given up. They believe God is at work in their country, and they are hard at work joining in with what God is doing. The Christian church is alive and well in Haiti, and one individual at a time, they are reaching out. Lives are being transformed, and children are being educated with the hope that they might grow up to be the future leaders of Haiti. There is great hope in Haiti, and many of the Haitians are excited about what God is doing. Many Americans have joined in with God's work in Haiti, partnering with the Haitians to work together to reach out to people. They understand it as their calling. They are following Christ, and he is leading them to reach out to love others.

Friends, following Christ's call to be transformed doesn't mean you have to go to Haiti. There is plenty of work to be done in America, even here in Chattanooga. Around you are some boxes filled with sack packs for hungry kids here in Chattanooga. It may not seem like much, but I promise that the kids who receive these sack packs are excited each week to know that a church in this city loves them enough to reach out, to leave what is easy and comfortable behind and reach out to transform others in simple but profound ways.

There is plenty of work to be done in Chattanooga. There is other work around the world. As a church, I believe we are sent forward, sent out into the world. When Christ calls us, he calls us not only to be transformed but to live for the purpose of others. We are called and sent, and we gather to worship and be strengthened so that we might be sent out to proclaim his glory through word and deed. It's not just about being saved. It's about living into our calling and living out the radical message of God's unconditional love. You have been called. You have been sent.

So may we seek to join in with what God is doing. I believe that God has plans for this church, that we as a body may join together with God's work in the world. Maybe it's sending a team to Haiti. Maybe it's finding more comprehensive mission in Chattanooga that might involve all of us reaching out to the community around us. Maybe it's both. But I believe that we, as a church, are called to reach out, are called to be transformed and to live for the sake of others. God will use what we have—he gave it to us for that purpose. May we live boldly for him, never giving up, always believing that Christ has a next step for us in mind.

Let us pray.

November Newsletter Letter

Friends in Christ,

Less than a two hour flight from Miami, there are kids running around naked in the slums of Port au Prince because they don't have any clothes. I think I knew that Haiti would be poor, but I was unprepared for the level of poverty in parts of Haiti. It is amazing to see the spirit of life in the eyes of the children, especially considering their surroundings. Looking at such a situation, it's hard to imagine anything other than despair, and yet there is life there.

It always seems easy to choose despair. Modern media certainly makes it easy for us—the news seems to be a non-stop option for reasons for despair. CNN had a countdown clock to the second of when the debt ceiling would be breached and the world would be thrown into chaos—they were counting on your anxieties keeping you glued to the screen. Our own city has plenty of options for despair in the midst of violence and inequality. You can choose between crime, hungry kids or countless other options as reasons to give up hope in the future.

But we're not a people called to despair. The Holy Spirit always prods us to choose hope—God reminds us of our ultimate destination, and he reminds us that we are to spend our time wisely on earth, looking for signs of God at work and joining in with what God is doing as he builds his Kingdom. We don't just huddle in the corner and wait for heaven—we're called to let our hope be a living hope, an active hope, a hope that gets its hands dirty in the mess of the world and shines light into the darkness of despair.

God is at work in Haiti. Even in the slums of the poorest country in the western hemisphere, God is working to shine the light of redemption, one transformed life at a time. God is at work here, too, through the ministries of congregations and individuals willing to get their hands dirty amidst the chaos with which the world threatens us. Never lose hope, and never stop working as an agent of change and hope in our world. In the end, God wins, and we're called to participate with joy in his eternal victory march!

In Christ,

Keith