Mark 8:27-32

Mark 8:27-32 

The Message 

  The disciples are asked two questions -- who do the crowds say that Jesus is, and who do they say he is.  There's a charge for us here -- we need to pay attention to the world, and we need to pay attention to ourselves.

  It's tempting to shut the door to the outside world, to lock out all the bad and form a tight-knit Christian community that is only inward-facing.  And Christian community is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be engaged with the outside world in some way.  We're called to know what the outside world thinks.  How else can we frame our message if we don't know the recipients of the message?

  We're also called to have an answer for ourselves, to build our own faith.  We can't live off the faith of a family member or friend or pastor.  We need to build our own faith.  This may mean we have to ask some tough questions to figure things out for ourselves, to dig a little deeper to ensure a solid foundation.  It may mean we need to grow in certain directions.  It might mean we need to work a little harder.  But we need to know the answer to the question, each and every day -- who do you say that Jesus is?

Mark 8:16-26

Mark 8:16-26

The Message 

  Stop for a moment right now and think about the thing that is worrying you more than anything else...  Got it?  

  The disciples were with Jesus, who had just demonstrated a superhuman ability to produce abundant bread miraculously, and they were arguing with each other about not having bread.  The solution to their problem was directly in front of them, and yet they were completely missing the point.

  And so Jesus asks, "Do you still not get it?"

  Jesus asks the same of us.  We worry about all sorts of things... we worry about big things and little things and unimportant things and things that are vitally important.  We worry about ourselves and our family members and our neighbors and complete strangers on the other side of the world.  We worry.  

  And Jesus assures us that God provides for us, that God cares for us, that we are loved and treasured and safe for all of eternity.  This doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us here on earth (just look at the suffering Jesus endured), but it does mean that in the big picture, we can entrust our worries to God because things really will turn out better than we can ask or imagine.  We will find our ultimate rest in God, and so we can sleep easier, trusting in the God who abides and the God who provides.

  Cast your cares upon Christ, for God cares for you.  You matter eternally, and you matter here and now.  Do not let your worries overwhelm you, rather pray them into the hands of God and live faithfully, with the confidence of a person who has read the end of the story and know that we emerge victorious.

Mark 8:11-15

Mark 8:11-15 

The Message 

  The Cincinnati Bengals started off the year with lots of promise, but a massive injury to their star QB ended any hopes of the season.  There have been other injuries, and any number of other obstacles, and the season hasn't gone according to plan.  They haven't proven to be very adaptable, so the obstacles have been too much.  

  I'm willing to bet this past year has presented a number of obstacles for your life.  Could be illness, or perhaps unemployment, or isolation.  You likely had an idea of what the year would look like, and you've had to adapt as the year went on.  Sometimes we adapt well.  Sometimes, I feel like the world changes faster than my ability to adapt.  

  Jesus faced opposition throughout his ministry.  The Pharisees were constantly pushing him, opposing him, probing for weaknesses, hoping to catch him in his words.  They despised him, and sought to discredit and destroy him.  In the end, they likely thought they had been victorious... until the resurrection happened, and Jesus demonstrated to the entire world that no opposition would overcome the power of God.

  In your baptism, you are claimed by God and marked as Christ's own forever.  Whatever forces oppose you in the world, they will not overcome you.  They will not destroy you.  Jesus' victory over sin and death covers you as well, and through his victory, we are victorious as well.

Christmas Eve Meditation

Mark 8:1-10

Mark 8:1-10 

The Message 

  We all have a pretty short memory when it comes to God's blessings.  I doubt that the modern world is any more anchored to the idea of 'What have you done for me lately?', but it's certainly a pervasive way of thought. We pretty easily gloss over the memories of the good times and often find ourselves holding onto faults, thinking about how unfair some things can be.

  The apostles had seen Jesus feed large crowds miraculously, and yet when Jesus begins talking about the hunger of the crowd, they are dismayed at the prospect of feeding the people.  They see only obstacles, as though their faith has been left to history and only pragmatism is allowed.  They'd seen Jesus perform miraculous feedings, so why were they unable to look expectantly to Jesus to perform the miraculous again?

  Maybe they were blinded by the limitations of their vision.  We're all guilty of this -- we see what we expect to see sometimes, in people and situations and places.  Rather than expect the miraculous or wonder about what might be, we assume we understand what can and cannot happen.

  As we collectively peer into 2021, may we do so with hearts ready to be amazed by God's grace and God's ability to provide.  Who knows what God has in store for the coming year?

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25 

English Standard Version 

  Reading the whole story, it's a beautiful tale with a joyous ending -- the birth of a Savior, Immanuel, God with us.  Knowing how the story ends, we hear it with joyous anticipation.  It's like re-reading your favorite novel -- when you get to the stressful parts, you push through, knowing that the resolution will be favorable.  I've read The Count of Monte Cristo three or four times, and I don't worry about the darkest parts, because I know how it will end.  I can read with hope.  I'm reading another book now, and it's hard to carry on, because things look as dark as can be.  I don't know how the story ends.

  There's a moment here when all seems lost.  Joseph is planning to divorce Mary quietly.  Hope doesn't seem to abound.  

  There are moments like that in all of our stories.  You may well be in one now.  You don't know what will happen next.  Circumstances seem overwhelming.  Fear is abundant.  What will happen next?

  I'm not going to promise that everything always resolves neatly.  I will assure you, though, that God is at work in your life, and there is hope for your future.  The light shines in the darkness, and your darkness, whatever it is, will not overcome the light.  Cling to hope, friend, because hope clings to you.  There is light, no matter how dark the night, and we know that on the other side of fear and pain, the joyous light shall continue to shine, for life triumphs over death and hope over despair. 

  Have a merry Christmas!!!

  

Mark 7:31-37

Mark 7:31-37 

The Message 

  Mark's Gospel is fascinating for many reasons, one of the many being the urging of people to keep quiet the miraculous things Jesus is doing.  Jesus is healing the deaf and mute -- there is no way word won't get out!  The people were thrilled with excitement, and so they told everyone about the miracles being performed -- the Pharisees must have been beyond frustrated with every additional story that was told.

  How do you tell the story about what Jesus has done for you?  Do you have a clear concept in your mind about how Jesus has intervened in your life?  Can you think of the ways you have been changed?  Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the church in America isn't partially due to the inability of Christians to talk about the things Jesus has done for them.  Maybe we're too fixated on salvation of the individual and have lost the focus on how the salvation of one impacts an entire community.  Maybe we've put too much emphasis on the benefits of faith after death and haven't focused enough on how faith should impact our day-to-day lives -- we're called to pick up our cross and die to ourselves daily.  Maybe we don't look at our resources through a sacrificial mindset, focused on how we can give what we have.  

  Just as Christ reaches out his hands to this man, Christ reaches out to you.  May we tell our story, for no matter if you have been in the church since birth or wandered every road and only recently found the Christian way, it is a dramatic story of Christ conquering sin to claim you as Christ's own forever.

Mark 7:20-30

Mark 7:20-30 

The Message 

  Preachers tend to avoid this passage when possible -- it's a hard one to explain.  Depending on how you read it, it might be easy to read it as Jesus lacking compassion.  Jesus is telling this woman that any food on the table goes to the children at the table, and only afterwards to the dogs.  It's never good to compare people to dogs.  At the end of the story, the woman's child is healed.

  What the passage is reminding us is that God first made a covenant with the Jewish people.  God came to Abraham, and the idea was that the Israelites would be a light on a hill, and that other communities would come to know God through their relationship with God.  Jesus then comes as a Jew, but while he is rooted in that community, the Gospel is not contained there -- it spreads, eventually to every country on earth.  What started with Abraham and the very specific Israelite community has spread to us all.

  So we stand as having inherited the faith from those who have come before us, and so our responsibility is to think about others who haven't heard the Good News, those who might standing at the edge of the table, and to invite them to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Mark 7:14-19

Mark 7:14-19 

The Message 

  The speed limit isn't there just to keep you from speeding -- it's to keep you safe.  That's the ultimate purpose of it -- so you don't harm yourself or others.  In the same way, we keep our kitchen knives on top of the fridge not because we want to deprive our children of the joy of playing with knives, but because we don't want them to hurt themselves or someone else -- our goal is to deliver our children into adulthood with all fingers and toes still attached. 

  The dietary laws were initially established as part of the overall law -- it's a small part of how every single piece of Christian life was oriented around God.  The point was never just about the food -- it was about the people's relationship to God.  The Pharisees were using the dietary laws to keep themselves in power, but they'd lost sight of the purpose.

  When Jesus came, that relationship shifted.  Jesus fulfilled the Law, and so while we are still obligated to serve the moral law, the ceremonial laws no longer were in force.  Jesus tried to strip away what had been built up that was obstructing the worship of God.  Jesus wants our eyes and hearts fully focused on God.  

  So what would your day be like today if you fully focused yourself on God?  Can you pray while you work?  Set aside time to be in silence before God?  Who can you call?  How can you serve?

Sermon for December 20, 2020

Mark 7:5-13

Mark 7:5-13

The Message 

  So Jesus could, on occasion, be quite confrontational.  Jesus wasn't afraid to confront the Pharisees on their hypocrisy.  On the surface, they were very religious, but Jesus saw that in their hearts, they were twisting everything for their own benefit, using people as pawns to advance their own agendas.  It was all about them, and Jesus called them on it.

  It's a little harder for us to take the same position, given that we can't see into the hearts of others in quite the same way Jesus can, but we can pay attention to people to see if their words and lives match.  Other people are watching us, and it's especially important within the church that we set a good example.  When Christians, especially Christian leaders, fail to match their lives and their words, it only gives society yet another reason to turn their back on the church.  I doubt you have to think very hard to come up with recent examples.

  So in the church, let us be faithful to one another by having a willingness to hold each other accountable.  When we see other Christians, may we find a way to confront each other.  This has to be done carefully, with humility, so that it's not about grinding someone down but rather about restoring the faithful practice of the community.  Don't do this on your own, but join with a community in love.  It's a fine line -- but it's worth walking.

Mark 7:1-4

Mark 7:1-4 

The Message 

  We can approach one another in one of two ways.  We can look for things to criticize, for ways to tear them down, or we can look for things to encourage, ways to build them up.  The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat, and so they looked to tear him down.  How their lives and their worship might have been enriched if they'd chosen a different approach!  

  We build bridges into the lives of those around us through our words and actions.  May we choose a way of humility and kindness, reaching for encouragement, and in so doing, may we choose to be a people of hope and light in an often dark world.  May we speak of our hope and live out our hope, inviting others to come and see what God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Mark 6:50-56

Mark 6:50-56

The Message 

  If we're being honest, there's a lot of things I don't understand.  There are evenings where I sit on my couch and just wonder... 

  I wonder about the power of death and evil in the world.  (If you ever want to experience despair, just read social media arguments -- nothing quite like reading people arguing on the internet.)  Things on this world are not the way they're supposed to be, and it doesn't always feel like they're getting better, does it?  COVID has been brutal, both in devastation to personal health as well as economically to millions who are out of work or facing impossible decisions with businesses they own.  

  I wonder about eternity.  It's so far beyond what I can comprehend -- my mind is limited by the time and space that I inhabit, and yet I try and grasp what heaven is like, and it is so far beyond me that I am sometimes left with nothing but questions.

  I wonder about a lot of things, and yet the reality is that no matter how stunned I sometimes am, shaking my head at what is going on, not understanding what is going on in the world around me, there are times when the reality of the Holy Spirit penetrates my heart and I'm left with nothing else but to fall on my knees and praise God.  

  The disciples saw Jesus perform countless miracles, and yet it didn't always penetrate their hearts.  They didn't always get it.  So let's not pretend that we'd be in a different place if we had walked with Jesus on dusty roads in 32 AD and seen him perform miracles.  Even the people who did that didn't always believe!  It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to help the Truth penetrate our hearts.  Only then can we perceive that there is a God in heaven who is not only all powerful but also all loving.  

  Last evening, I was talking to some children about their mother.  She had been quite a woman, and her son said something remarkable -- he said that she was a woman who always had answers, but when she didn't, she went searching -- she had to find the Truth.

  It's what we're all looking for.  And yet we sometimes miss it.  Even when it happens in front of it, we see but we don't perceive.  

  May the reality of Jesus Christ penetrate our hearts, and may it do so in a way that it awakens our sleeping hearts, that we may go and tell others to bring their sickness, to bring their brokenness, to bring their lives to the Savior, the One who walks with us and heals us, the One who enters into our despair and gives us hope, the One who goes to death to find life for us, the One who comes to our darkness and brings light.

Mark 6:45-49

Mark 6:45-49 

The Message 

  Here's the pattern for life:  Pray, then go into community.  Repeat.

  For my whole life, I'd always read "He intended to go right by them" as meaning that Jesus intended to go by without them noticing.  It was only recently that I read something that made me realize that makes no sense.  If Jesus didn't want to be noticed, he wouldn't have been noticed.  No, he intended to go close enough for them to see.  It was dark, they were alone on the sea, and they were having a rough time, and so Jesus went to be with them.

  The same is true for you, and for me.  In our lives, it is often dark, the world is against us, and we feel alone.  In worship on Sunday, we prayed for the lonely.  We are all lonely at times, right?  In those times, we can be sure that Jesus notices, that Jesus cares, and that Jesus comes to be with us.  

  You are not alone.

  Now, the challenge to us is to go into the world and remind others that they, too, are not alone.

Mark 6:37-44

Mark 6:37-44 

The Message 

  God has the ability to feed people without starting with anything.  Remember the manna in the wilderness?  That came down every morning as bread from the heavens.  It was miraculous, and yet the people grew tired of the miracles.  They complained about eating manna everyday.  

  Here, though, Jesus is teaching the crowds.  He's starting with the five loaves and two fish.  It feels meager in the face of five thousand, but Jesus uses what is already there.  

  In the same way, Jesus starts with us where we are.  What we have may feel meager.  You may feel inadequate.  You might not believe that God can do something amazing through you.  I promise you, God can do miraculous things starting from ordinary places.  Jesus consistently creates abundance in places of scarcity, and God will do so in your life, as well.

Sermon for December 13, 2020 -- Third Sunday of Advent

Mark 6:30-36

Mark 6:30-36 

The Message 

  A few things to note here.

  First, Jesus cares for more than just the task at hand.  The apostles are reporting back on all that they have done, and yet Jesus' priority is getting them some rest.  Jesus can tell that they are weary, exhausted, worn down, and so they are invited, commanded even, to set some time aside to rest.  

  I doubt that many of us manage to care for ourselves in that way.  We push and we push and we push to go faster and do better and then we feel guilty for not being perfect, for not getting it all done.  Take some time, rest.  It's critical. Jesus cares for the needs of your soul.  

  Second, Jesus' heart breaks for the people who are lost, like sheep without a shepherd.  I've heard so much in my life that fits the expectation of the old 'Sinners in the hands of an angry God.'  People get so caught up on judgment, ready for God to rip people apart.  I don't get that impression when I read the Gospels.  Jesus genuinely has compassion on the people.  He cares for them.  He cares for your.  Fear not, little children,.  Jesus gets to work teaching us, leading us.

  Finally, what amuses me about this passage is the crowd is gathered around Jesus, learning from the Master, drinking from the fountain, receiving the one thing they need most, and when it grows late and the needs shift from spiritual  to physical, the apostles propose to send them away.  They haven't yet grasped that Jesus can meet every need.  They have in front of them the one man who can cure everything, who can supply every need, and they're ready to send the crowd away from the solution to their problems.  They don't get it.

  The apostles often got it wrong.  I do, too.   You may as well.  We perhaps don't fully understand what it means for Jesus to be Lord of all.  We try, but we struggle to wrap our minds about Jesus as Lord and Savior.

  It's ok. The teacher has compassion on us.  The Lord loves us, and invites us in, where we may find a full rest, and peace for our wearied souls, and mercy for our aching hearts.

Mark 6:21-29

Mark 6:17-29

The Message 

  I heard somewhere that there have been around 108 billion people to have ever lived.  It's a lot, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that my life felt pretty small after that.  That, and this story, make me think of the saying that one death is a tragedy and 1,000 deaths is a statistic.  It's easy to get lost in the numbers -- even COVID seems so big that it's hard to wrap your head around, but then you hear about friends and family and it becomes very real, very fast.  

  I don't know how God keeps track of us all.  Scripture tells us how intimate each and every one of us are to God.  I often quote the Augustine idea that Jesus Christ would have died for you, even if you were the only one.  The individual matters to God in a way we have a hard time grasping.  We get lost in ourselves, lost in the numbers.

  It's a challenge to each of us -- how can you reach out to one person today, just one person, and treat them like the most important person in the world?  Listen to them, care for them, pay attention to their needs.  Put them first.  I don't know what it might look like for you -- could be a relative or spouse or a friend.  Just try and pay attention to them like they are the unique treasure that they are.  Your attention is a gift you can give to another person and in doing so, you honor them, and in honoring them, you honor the God who created them.

Books of the Bible in Five Minutes: 1 Kings

Mark 6:14-20

Mark 6:14-20

The Message 

  There's something about the Holy Spirit that gets inside of us, that worms deep into our hearts, and doesn't let go.  It's happening here to Herod -- Herod would have had everything he ever could have desired, and yet he's spending time listening to John, curious about what John has that Herod doesn't.  When the Holy Spirit digs in, all of those big questions that are unanswered sit in the front of our minds, and we seek out answers, we seek out Truth.  John had Truth, and Herod wanted it.

  Everyone, at some point, reaches a point in life where they discover that many answers are inadequate.  They realize that money and power or whatever else they were seeking don't answer the questions that keep us awake deep at night.  At some point, we ask questions about Truth, and what is truly transcendent.  

  If we're lucky, there are people like John around to point to the Truth.  The Holy Spirit places people like that, uses people like that, so that when we are wrestling, truly wrestling, with the most fundamental questions in life, we find that there are people around us to remind us that God is at work in this time and place.  

Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:7-13 

The Message 

  I pray for the ability to preach with joyful urgency, to proclaim the truth that life can be radically different.  I think we forget that in the church -- that life can be radically different.  That joy can exist within you, anchored in the reality of what Christ has done for you, offering you living water when the entire world around you can leave your soul parched.  Everyone and everything can let you down, and yet there is still eternal life and a God who treasures you.  Life can be radically different -- the things that weigh us down don't have to keep us down.  The setbacks in life don't have to be devastating, because an eternal hope can carry us forward.  Joyful urgency can fill us as we leave the church doors, having been reminded of the incredible things that God has done for us!

Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:1-6

The Message 

  I'll admit that I don't watch much news these days, but I see a lot of negativity.  The way up the mountain has never seemed, in my opinion, to be climbing over everyone on the path.  Seems like it's much more productive to find fellow travelers and be a voice of encouragement, a voice of hope, along the way.  

  Jesus encountered those who were so focused on where he came from that they were unwilling to consider who he might be.  They thought they understood everything about him based on his past, and so they tried to limit his future.  They talked down about him based on what they thought they knew.

  You'll encounter people like this along the way.  I can promise you that.  Find voices that encourage you, that remind you of the promises of Scripture, that remind you that light shines in the darkness and that God treasures you as a handcrafted child made in the image of God.  

  And as you go, remind others that they, too, are beloved by God.  Serve willingly.  Elevate and encourage.  Don't assume that you understand someone's future based on where they came from.  Who knows who you might meet along the way...

What are we Waiting for? An Advent Hope in the face of Disease

Mark 5:37-43

Mark 5:37-43 

The Message 

  A parent's worst nightmare is to lose a child.  It's unfathomable.  To have a child, the saying goes, is to decide to spend the rest of one's life with your heart outside of your body.  This Father, at the depth of his despair, is given his child back.  They were all, as it says, beside themselves with joy.  The understatement of the century!  What could they have possibly said, possibly done, that would express their gratitude?  

  It's the position we're all in -- we've been given back our own life, our own future.  How can we express our gratitude, our own joy, at what we have been given?  It's impossible. 

  Let's not forget the other side of the equation.  God knit us together in our mother's wombs.  God knows us intimately, as a mother hen knows her chicks.  God is a parent to us, and so think of the inexpressible joy God has at restoring us to himself!  God is, of course, beside himself with joy (which is funny to me when I think of the Trinity and maybe God could actually be beside himself, but that's neither here nor there)!  

  I'd imagine we're all a little guilty of forgetting the level of joy we bring to God.  It's easier to feel guilty about not doing enough to express our gratitude.  I, like many others, can do a better job of that.

  But what if we spent more time imagining the joy of God at the knowledge that God's children have been restored?  That kind of joy is what led God to pay the ultimate price on Calvary.  That kind of joy made Christ willing to stay on the cross when suffering and pain and despair were piled on Christ's shoulders.  God knew the reward, and knew we could never pay it, and so rather than see his children lost due to sin, God paid the price to restore us to life.

  God delights in you.  No matter what.  Like a mother delights in her child, God delights in you.  And God cries tears of joy at the thought of your restoration in Jesus Christ our Lord.  

  

  Thanks be to God

Mark 5:30-36

Mark 5:30-36 

The Message 

  Mark's Gospel is known for the structure -- it's stories within stories, with interruptions throughout the book.  This is the clearest example, with Jesus distracted from healing the child by a woman with a great need.  I sometimes picture Jesus like a modern-day athlete, unable to walk anywhere without being constantly hounded for autographs.  In those days, everyone would have been crowding Jesus, begging for healings, for miracles, for help.  Jairus and the woman here are two examples, and each of them have reasons to fear.  The woman fears that she is caught, Jairus fears the worst when people from his house come and announce that his daughter has died.  For a second, you can imagine the light in their eyes going out, their souls going dark, as the worst hits them.

  But with Jesus, the very worse never lasts.  This is the Good News of the Gospel -- that our story ends in hope, that any darkness ultimately ends in light.  Lighting the Advent candles are visual reminders that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

  For each and every one of us, there are moments where we despair.  It may be because we get caught in the midst of something, or it could be tragic news that we fear but hope it will not come to pass.  2020 has brought moments of despair to all of us, and the Gospel message is that these do not have the final word in your life.  Do not listen to the voices that tell you that the darkness will win, no matter how loudly they may shout in your soul.  Trust Jesus, and our ultimate hope will not betray us.

Mark 5:21-29

Mark 5:21-29 

The Message 

  The leaders of society reach the end of their resources and realize that help comes only through Jesus, and so they come, in desperate need.

  The poor and downtrodden in society, long at the end of their meager resources, realize that help comes only through Jesus, and so they come, in desperate need.

  The question, for so many of us, is when do we realize that the resources that we are told will sustain us are not strong enough to deliver us from all the things that torment us?  When do we realize that we, too, are at the end of our resources and that true  help comes only through Jesus, and will we come, recognizing our desperate need?

Mark 5:18-20

Mark 5:18-20 

The Message

  Does God ever say no to your prayers?

  Or, I suppose it would be more accurate to ask how often God says no to your prayers?  We've all experienced it.  We've prayed and prayed and prayed... only to see life take a different course than the one we would've chosen.

  Here, this man who has just been miraculously cured by Jesus wants nothing more than to get in the boat with Jesus and go along with him.  There are likely leadership books written about how you just need to get in the boat and leave the old behind, but that's not the lesson here.  Jesus says no, and sends him on a different mission, one that involves going away from Jesus and telling his story.  It's not what he would've chosen, but it's how Jesus tells him that he is most useful to the Kingdom.

  The same is true for us.  When God tells us no, it's not because we are rejected.  It's because there is another path for us.  The hard part is keeping the eyes and ears of our hearts open to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us, that we may find the most faithful path when life redirects us another way.

Mark 5:9-17

Mark 5:9-17 

The Message 

  Change can be terrifying.  The Pharisees faced this -- they saw Jesus' ministry as a threat to their power, and so they opposed Jesus out of fear of change.  In this story, the villagers came to see Jesus and saw a madman who was calm and a herd of pigs that was drowned in the sea.  Everything they knew was turned upside-down, and out of fear, they urged Jesus away from them.  

  Jesus demands that we, too, change.  He demands that we turn from our selfish ways and learn to think of God first, and others second.  It's a hard change, and it can be inherently scary for us.  If we think of ourselves last, who will look out for us?  What might happen to us?  Will we have enough?  

  It's a tremendous act of trust, to believe that God holds us so tightly in the palm of his hand that we need not look out for ourselves.  We are safe in God's hands, and this frees us from worrying about ourselves, frees us to look towards others first.

  It requires us to change, but in changing, we discover there is abundant grace.

Sermon for November 29, 2020

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 

English Standard Version 

  Have a safe, happy, blessed, and healthy Thanksgiving!  May the power and grace of God fill your hearts with the love of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit reminds you that nothing in this world can separate you from God!

Mark 5:1-8

Mark 5:1-8 

The Message 

  This passage has always intrigued me by the way it starts.  The madman comes up to Jesus.  The madman has been rejected by every community, and yet he finds hope in Jesus.  All other hope has fled, some of it restraining him in chains, but he's not afraid of Jesus.  There is something about Jesus.  And when he approaches Jesus, he isn't disappointed -- his hope is well-placed.

  Friends, if everything else in the world has rejected you, know there is still hope in Jesus.  If all else has fallen apart, don't be afraid to run to Jesus.  He won't reject you.  Your hope is not misplaced in him.  He will not turn from you in your moment of need.  Trust in Him, and you will find open arms.

Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41 

The Message 

  I have shouted into the wind many times.  I have done so out of frustration with the weather, out of frustration with my own choices.  I have done so out of grief at the loss of a loved one.  I have done so out of anger at the way society has trampled upon individuals and groups.  I have shouted in the wind, and the wind has drowned out my voice.  To quote great philosophy from James Bond movies, I have felt like a kite dancing in a hurricane.

  When we turn to Jesus, however, we turn to one whose voice has power over the wind, over the waves.  Nowhere in Scripture does it promise us that we'll never be in a boat that feels like it's sinking in the midst of a storm.  The disciples, who have the physical manifestation of God in the boat with them, are still terrified that they're going to drown in the middle of the lake.  So yes, it's ok to be scared and yes, it's ok to be afraid and yes, it's ok to ask God to intervene in your life.

  Jesus answers.  

  Jesus answers on God's timetable, not ours.  Jesus doesn't always answer when the winds pick up before the waves start to bash us.  Jesus sometimes waits until the waves are pouring into the boat, and then he speaks to the wind and the waves, and they obey.  When Jesus speaks to the storm, the storm listens, and the storm hears, and the storm obeys, and the disciples are saved.  

  You will be saved.  No matter how threatening the storm.  No matter how high the waves.  No matter how many times you wonder if Jesus is asleep and all is lost.   

  You will be saved.  The boat will not sink.  2020 will not claim us all.  

  Even in the storm, there is hope.

Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34 

The Message 

  Who gets the credit for the growth of a seed?  Is it the farmer?  The farmer does some work, but once the seed is in the ground, germination is beyond the farmer's control.  The farmer can water the seed, but ultimately control rests in God's hands.

  Notice how Jesus starts where people are -- they are a people used to a farmer's life, so they understand how Jesus speaks to them.  If Jesus were to arrive in Columbus today, he likely wouldn't talk about seeds and planting, but I'm guessing he'd talk about GPS and internet connectivity.  He'd help us see how working from home and ordering everything online is a sign of God's work in the world.  God's Kingdom would be compared to our modern world.  

  Truth is timeless.  The Word is timeless.  Much has changed, but God's Word remains as applicable today as it was then.  

Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21-25 

The Message 

  Playing Go Fish with a three year old is a lot of fun.  Most people are trying to win, hopeful that the other person doesn't ask for a card they have.  Charlotte, however, is thrilled beyond compare when you ask her for a card that she has.  She declares "Yes, I do" when you ask if she has a card, then hands it over with a gleeful smile.  I almost feel like I'm disappointing her when she doesn't have what I ask for.  Her fundamental orientation is to give.

  I have a much harder time giving.  Whenever I am approached to give, there's a small voice inside me that worries that if I give something up, there might not be enough left over for me.  Or even if I think there is now, what happens if the situation changes and then suddenly I need what I freely gave not too long ago.  My hands clutch tightly around what I have, afraid of the unknown, afraid of not having enough.

  The Gospel path to contentment is trying to fundamentally alter our fear of scarcity.  Jesus is demonstrating that with God, there is more than we can ever ask for or imagine, and so we don't have to fear running out.  In the miraculous feedings in the Gospels, there are baskets of leftovers as demonstrations of God's position on abundance.  There is enough.  There is more than enough.  There are riches and wealth in God that exceed our need, and so we can let go of the fear that we might run out, because the resources we cling to aren't always the resources we truly need -- the grace and love of God that ultimately define us will not be extinguished or exhausted, and in giving we understand what it is like to live dependent on God.  When asked, we can give thanks that we have anything to give, knowing that we have it only because God has given resources to us. 

Mark 4:13-20

Mark 4:13-20 

The Message 

  Jesus used a lot of agrarian parables.  He talked about sowing and harvesting.  It fits because of the world he was in, but there's another reason as well.

  Farming can't be rushed.  When you plant a seed, you can't work harder and make the corn appear in June.  You can't rush the growth of a pumpkin.  Wheat won't sprout faster because you spend all night staring at it.  To farm is to be radically dependent on many elements outside of your control.  It takes a tremendous amount of trust to put a seed in a hole in the ground, cover it with dirt, and trust your economic future to something happening in the ground that you cannot control.

  To farm is to place trust in the weather and the seed, and to patiently and faithfully work while the natural world works on its own schedule.

  In the same way, to be a Christian is to faithfully commit yourself to a lifetime of following Christ.  Much of the toil of being a Christian isn't headline grabbing news -- it's the slow and steady growth that isn't measured in days or weeks but in years and decades.  It's trusting Christ day in and day out,  even though much of life may feel beyond our control.  Following Christ is an act of trusting God and doing our small part.

  The farmer went out to seed, and we receive with grateful heart what God offers.  Each of us has a different lot in life.  Each of us has different joys, different hardships.  You and I could compare notes, and we have heartbreaks and sorrows, as well as moments of abundant joy.  We see Christ at work in different ways, in different places, and thanks be to God for the diversity in the world.

  May we trust in Christ, in the slow work of discipleship, and gather around the table and talk about how God is at work from our place in the soil.

Mark 4:10-12

Mark 4:10-20 

The Message 

  We understand the world through stories -- the stories we read every day, the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world, the stories we tell our children to help them learn how to be in the world.  Stories guide us, they teach us, they shape us.  

  So it makes sense that Jesus would come and tell stories, teaching people about God.  Jesus was trying to teach them, is trying to teach us, about a God that exists outside of time and space.  God doesn't experience reality the same way that we do.  So God entered into our story so that we could learn about the author of our story.  Jesus used stories to point to God, to highlight certain characteristics of God -- none of the stories capture perfectly every aspect of God.  Such a feat would be impossible.  

  But Jesus was a storyteller, telling us about the author of every story, living in the midst of the greatest story ever told.  We are leaning into that, trying to find our place in it, desperate to understand what the next chapter is, listening for the storyteller to whisper the words into our hearts so that we might know what is on the other side of this page.

Mark 4:1-9

Mark 4:1-9 

The Message 

  When you see someone talking with food stuck in their teeth, what's the first thing you do?  

  When you notice someone with a zipper down, what do you instinctually do?

  We naturally worry about ourselves first.  When I'm driving on the freeway and see a police car with blue lights flashing behind me, I tense up, even when I'm driving the speed limit (Life really changes when your kids can read the speedometer from the backseat and start asking why you're driving faster than the speed limit).  Why?  Because I'm worried about myself.  I exhale when the car races past, suddenly completely unconcerned about wherever they are going, as long as it doesn't involve me.  

  Every single time I read this story, I get caught up thinking about how I'm the seed that is getting strangled by the weeds.  Every single time, I worry that I'm not growing like I'm supposed to, that I've got my eyes fixed on the wrong things and my roots in the wrong place.  Every time, I experience this anxiety.  

  While it's a good thing for me to think about my roots and my growth, it's far more important to marvel at the grace of the sower, who is extravagantly generous with the seed.  I often am so concerned with myself that I take my eyes off God.  I am not caught up in awe and wonder because I'm thinking about myself.

  This is why it's so important to learn to pray the Psalms -- they teach us to spend time marveling at God and God's majesty.  God is the sower who throws love and mercy with reckless abandon, even to people who steadfastly reject God.  This is God who paints beauty in every nook of the world, even those bent on destroying beauty.  This is God who puts life at the bottom of the ocean near vents where people didn't see it for millions of years.  This is God who casts stars across the sky because God is abundance.

  Fix your eyes on God, and when we realize that it is God, and God alone, who can calm our anxious and restless hearts, the troubles of the world fade somewhat into the background as we see how the strength of God picks us up when we are weak, offers us healing when we are broken, forgives us in our sin, and carries us into eternity by the light of love.

Mark 3:28-35

Mark 3:28-35 

The Message 

  What's your definition of family?  

  Family is on all of our minds this holiday season.  We're all trying to figure out how to safely spend time with family, if that's possible this year.  Do you quarantine beforehand?  What if you have to travel?  How can we be sure that we're safe?  How can we be sure we're keeping one another safe?  Is it even possible to know what's truly safe this year?  Some will make the hard choice not to see family this year.  

  Jesus was radically inclusive when it came to family.  He indicates that there's nothing that's done or said that can't be forgiven -- he's willing to include all, even offering forgiveness to the ones who were crucifying him.  All of those who showed up to hear him teach -- they were included in his definition of family.  Jesus welcomed all, inviting them into a family that was defined by God's grace and mercy, nothing else.

  May we give thanks to God for the way God welcomes us into God's family, and may we extend that same grace to others -- to welcome them into our family, to extend hospitality and love to those in our lives that may not be related to us but are still invited to gather with us as family to celebrate the joys in life and to strengthen one another when we encounter challenges and low spots in life.

Sermon for November 1, 2020 from Acts 2

Mark 3:20-27

Mark 3:20-27 

The Message 

  This election has been very interesting to watch.  I was 19 in 2000 and perhaps the electoral college wasn't the first thing on my mind, but I seem to recall the issues around that election were specific as to what votes were counted in Florida and which were not.  This year, the air is filled with suspicions and accusations of dark machinations, of plots behind the curtain to steal an election, of bad actors frauduantly pushing one candidate ahead through various means.  I've heard and seen these ideas from both sides -- there's a deep lack of trust and confusion as to where the truth lies.  

  The older I get, the more intrigued I am by Pilate's question to Jesus:  What is truth?  When I was younger I don't think I paid much attention to it, but as I grow and become more aware of the competing narratives and the ways our hearts are pushed and pulled in various directions and the struggles to stay focused on what matters, I think about that question more and more.  What is truth?  How do I pursue what is true when I am so pressed down by what is urgent?  How do I find truth when it can seem so challenging, and some days the last thing I am looking for is another challenge?

  My thoughts drift to Revelation, where in chapter 19 Jesus comes riding in a white horse, and he is faithful and true.  My hope, our hope, is that Christ will come and fully defeat Satan.  The lies will be swallowed up, destroyed, and all that is left will be Truth.  The house  of Satan, which has raged against humanity since Adam and Eve attempted to claim a seat of authority that wasn't theirs to take, will be vanquished by Truth.  Our eyes will see only Truth, and our hearts will be deceived no more.

  The Pharisees were so enmeshed in a tangled web of deceit and power that they couldn't perceive what was true.  Many others who had become aware of sin's empty promises were able to recognize Truth, shining brilliantly against the darkness around them, pursued him, seeing Truth.  

  It's my prayer that we, too, recognize the Truth, cling to the Truth, pursue the Truth.  And our great hope, Jesus Christ, will one day destroy everything that isn't true.  Only love will remain.

Mark 3:13-19

Mark 3:13-19 

The Message 

  I've been thinking a lot about Sabbath this morning.  We all need Sabbath rest, and it's different than zoning out on the couch to Netflix, although I'm a big proponent of that as well.  Here in Mark 3 the disciples climbed a mountain with Jesus and were intentionally alone with him, setting aside time to let the teaching and presence of Jesus fill them, surround them, and encourage them for the work they were about to do.  

  We're often exhausted.  There's much to do, and being idle can sometimes feel like a guilty pleasure.  But idleness is important if we're to continue working, because resting with purpose can allow ourselves to be rejuvenated and refreshed by the presence of God, and the time we set aside to catch a vision of God's grace and beauty renews our enthusiasm to love and serve the world around us.

  

Mark 3:7-12

Mark 3:7-12

The Message 

  I wonder what it was like to be alive back then.  

  It's easy for us now to look back and assume that we would've been one of the faithful streaming to Jesus, leaving everything behind to listen to him teach, to watch him heal.  Even the evil spirits knew who he was.  The crowds poured to him... until they didn't.  

  At certain points, everyone turned and left him, often for challenging teachings.  The Pharisees saw the same things as everyone else and hated him.  The masses watched him perform miracles and yet shouted for his crucifixion.

  We look back and wonder how this could have happened, how this miraculous teacher who came with grace could have been opposed by so many and worshiped by so few. 

  That reality certainly does put an end to the idea that Jesus was nothing more than a nice teacher.  If that's all he was, then he surely wouldn't have roused such opposition.  

  Jesus came with Truth, and that is challenging for us all.  Martin Luther called the human heart a factory of idols, and we come up with countless things to worship other than God.  I'll confess that I worship comfort, health, and a good reputation, among other things.  If I had lived then and ran to see Jesus, how would I have reacted when he challenged me to give those false idols up?  It's hard to do that, even when the Truth, when something far greater, is being held out and offered as a free gift.  Our hands are often so full that it's hard to let go of anything to take on something new.  I wonder if this isn't why Jesus was so successful at converting tax collectors and others who were forgotten by society -- their hands weren't so full that they were prevented from grasping what Jesus offered.  

  The crowds rushed to Jesus, and we rush to him, too.  I pray that we hear his challenges, but that through it all, we hear the grace, too.  May we know that there is healing, true healing, on the other side of those challenges, and that the one who teaches wants the best for us, wants eternity for us, and will pay any price, even his own life, to be in full relationship with us.

Mark 3:1-6

Mark 3:1-6 

The Message 

  I feel sorry for the Pharisees.  They'd been reduced to watching every move of Jesus, hoping they could ensnare him in some wrong move or word, using this as a catalyst to have him thrown from the community.  It's not a great way to live -- doing nothing but watching your enemy in a chance you can catch them in the wrong and evict them from your life.

  Instead, think of how Jesus lives.  He meets freely with enemies and casual acquaintances.  He doesn't show up with an attitude to condemn, but rather is usually inviting the stranger into a new relationship, defined by grace.  The future is possibility, not eviction.  

  When you go into the world, do you do so with hope in your heart?  When you encounter others, are you looking for common ground, for a place where you might encourage one another?  Or are you watching the actions of the other, waiting to ensnare them in their words, looking for an opportunity to prove that they are wrong and you are right?  

  It's way more fun to be right than wrong.  I get that.  But to live one's life with the sole focus on finding fault in others is surely exhausting, and it tears down community.  Let us hold each other accountable, and always seek the Truth, but may we do so with grace in our words and our hearts, always looking for a way to build bridges between communities, humbly extending a hand and inviting others to the table to break bread and be transformed by what God does between us.

Mark 2:23-28

Mark 2:23-28 

The Message

  The Pharisees loved rules.  They loved having countless rules, using each one to remind people how broken they were.  They used these rules to keep themselves in power, creating separation between themselves and others. 

  Jesus comes along and reminds us what those rules are about.  The rules that exist are there to orient us towards God.  If the rules are separating us from God, then the rules aren't working properly.  If the rules aren't animating our hearts to love God, if the rules aren't helping preventing us from making mistakes that distance us from God, then we need to look at the rules.

  What we know is that Jesus fulfilled the ritual laws, but left the moral law in place.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love God above all else, but leaves many of the details up to us.  I think he raises the standard rather than lowering the bar.

  So when you step back and look at your life, at the structures that are there to orient your heart and life toward God, what is helping?  What needs more work?  How can the Spirit lead you closer to God?  How is God calling you to put things in place to draw you closer to God?

Mark 2:18-22

Mark 2:18-22 

The Message

  I don't envy the Puritans, and not just because they didn't have indoor plumbing.  Certain religious orders have been so afraid of pleasure and the temptations it might bring that they shun them all.  I understand the basic idea -- when you shun all temptation, it's hard to make a certain kinds of mistakes, although I imagine the temptation to self-righteousness is on the other side of that line.  But if you shun all pleasure, there's the reality that you miss much of the richness the world has to offer -- and God designed many things to be good and to be enjoyed.  We're called to feast at times, just as we're called to fast at other times.  We're called to celebrate with laughter and joy, just as there are other times to mourn and weep.  

  So where's the line between enjoying the good things in the world and being self-indulgent?  When we stop recognizing the good things in the world as pointing to God and to God's ultimate glory, this is when we start erring.  The sweetness of an apple and the beauty of a sunset are meant to point us to God, to lead us to worship, to teach us that God is good and can be trusted and intends good things for us.  

  I don't always get this right.  Jesus feasted with his friends and with strangers, and he fasted in the wilderness.  All of this was undergirded by prayer.  His life had a constant dependence on God, and that led him into closer relationships with others and a closer relationship with God.  I pray for the wisdom to know how to balance, how to choose, how to understand my life as something to be lived for the glory of  God, to enjoy the good things in creation while avoiding those temptations that might lead me away from God.  

  The faithful life is a daily renewal of God's mercies and a daily reminder that our faith depends on God's grace, not our efforts.  

Mark 2:13-17

Mark 2:13-17 

The Message 

  In the eyes of many, the church has become very political over the past 20 years.  Many in society see the church as a political body, working to secure its power in the world.  People used to look at the Catholic church in this way in the Middle Ages, when the church owned so much land and was intertwined with emperors, kings, and queens of the day.  

  It's important for the church to remember its role.  The church is certainly called to be involved politically, but political power is never the end.  The church is, as Augustine described it, a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.  It is a collection of people who have come to realize that the ultimate solution for the sin and brokenness in the world lies not within ourselves, but in Christ, who then empowers us to go into the world carrying the Gospel, which is a light to dark times.  The church should go out in such a way as to invite others in.  The church should be interwoven into the community, often in small ways.  Supporting the sick and caring for the homeless and lifting up the broken in prayer.  It's slow work, investments that compound over time as the church supports the entire community.  

  It is my fervent hope and prayer that the church will continue to be faithful to Christ's calling to tend to the sick and the lost and the poor and the rich and the proud and the broken and everyone else -- and that the church will do so in a gracious and winsome way, clinging to the Truth of the Gospel and patiently and humbly depending on the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us forward.

Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1-12 

The Message 

  Jesus had three years of public ministry.  I don't think he wasted a lot of time -- when the crowds were gathered around him he taught them the Word, and it was clearly compelling, because people streamed around him to hear it -- so many that new ones had to come in through the ceiling!  

  If you knew you had three years, how would you live it?  What would you do?  Would you pursue Truth relentlessly, desperate to discover what is True and what isn't?  Would you seek pleasure, seek relationship, seek wealth?  We'd likely all make different choices.  

  I saw a notice that someone I volunteered with in Chattanooga passed away suddenly.  Life happens fast.  As we are reminded all too often, we don't always get to pursue our plans.  

  Thinking about this election, there is so much anger directed at other people.  Everything seems to be comprised of people yelling at each other anymore.  

  I don't have a problem with people being upset about situations.  I think it's good to care enough about things to get upset about them.  There are things going on that should upset you, and that should motivate you to work to change them.  That's how things are supposed to work.

  But to yell and scream at other people?  It's unlikely to change anyone's mind, and is that really the best way to build community, to build consensus?  Does it help?  I don't think so.

  I keep a sign above my desk at work that says 'Blame the Problem, not the person'.  I hope that it will remind me that when I get upset, the best thing to do is to work towards a solution, not to attack the person who seems to be responsible for the problem.  

  You have limited time on this earth.  Invest it in the things you care about.  Seek to be committed and gracious and filled with Truth.  Don't waste your time shouting at other people -- rather invest your time in acts of mercy, in the pursuit of justice, and let your life be a demonstration of how an eternal Kingdom has taken root inside your heart and will not let go for all of eternity.  

  You are living your life, here and now, on a much larger plane of existence.  Death is a defeated enemy.  But it can still be a mentor, teaching us to value our time and our relationships, and reminding us not to waste the precious gifts we have.

  

Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8 

The Message 

  I have so much admiration for John.  Here he is, preaching in the desert, and the crowds are streaming out to hear him.  Rather than get caught up in believing his own press, however, he continues to point to Christ.  It never becomes about John -- it remains about Christ.  

  It's easy to think now about what we would do with ten million dollars if we won the lottery.  It's easy to make those commitments now.  But when the check hits your hand, it's suddenly a lot harder to fulfill those promises -- it's easier to cling tightly once it's yours.

  It's so important to practices disciplines now.  When we do the small things, they become habits that are ingrained in our personalities.  They become part of who we are.  And they allow us to shape our ways of living so that as we grow in responsibility, we continue to stay true to those habits. 

  Don't wait, putting things off until later.  Practice small habits of faithfulness and discipline now, that you may continue to grow into faithfulness, growing into the life God has prepared for you.

Sermon for November 1, 2020 from Exodus 36

Isaiah 40:27-31

Isaiah 40:27-31 

English Standard Version 

  27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

*************

  I wish we could all find a way to know this to be true, in the depths of our hearts, each and every day, every hour of our lives -- if we trust in ourselves and rely upon ourselves for strength, we can sprint for a while, but even in the prime of our lives, we will grow weary with fatigue from the race.  It will exhaust us.  When I was in my prime, I did several Olympic triathlons, and despite being in the best shape of my life, after I'd been moving for 3 hours, I was exhausted.  There was nothing left.  

  If, however, we place our trust in God, we'll discover that our joy in God is an unending well.  We shall run the race that is set before us, and we will not grow weary, even though the shadows of our days will lengthen and our bodies will grow frail and our minds won't be as sharp as they once were.  The faithfulness of God, who is faithful even when we are not, will renew us, call us forward, deeper into discipleship, until we are at a point where we can confidently step through the threshold of death and discover there is even more wealth beyond the grave.  We will discover that there is not sleep for us, but rest.  

  So may we pour ourselves into our relationship with God, discovering that his mercies are new every morning, that there is strength for the day, there is sustenance when we are hungry, there is peace when we are anxious.  

  I remember reading this standing beside a grave in California when my uncle passed away.  I'll always associate this verse with him.  His strength has been renewed in ways I cannot wrap my feeble mind around.  As he so beautifully wrote

Love is more excellent than wine

There are many flowers that await me over the ridge

Isaiah 40:21-23

Isaiah 40:21-23 

English Standard Version 

  I don't think about insects very often, except when they're invading the house.  I'll sometimes step on a bug and then wonder how strange it must be for bugs -- they're just walking along, doing their thing, and then a foot 100x larger than them comes out of nowhere and just smashes them.  It'd be like walking along the sidewalk with no evil intent and then a house fell on you.  It's such a different scale, we don't give insects much thought...

  And yet, in terms of power, we're probably closer to insects than we are to God.  God exists outside of the universe and has the power to create worlds with only God's words.  God exists outside of time and space.  We are on a different scale completely.  

  And yet, God graciously enters into creation in Jesus Christ so that we might know God.  Jesus becomes fully human -- God wasn't just pretending to be human, but was fully human and experienced human emotions and relationships.  God became one of us so that we could relate to God.  

  When we look at Jesus, may we remember the immense power of God, because that's what makes the person of Jesus so incredible!  Despite a huge difference in power, God came to earth out of sheer love so that we might know the full depths of God's love, and so that we might be restored to right relationship with God.  

  You are immensely loved, and God became like you, so that you might be forgiven, and because of this grace, you inherit the fullness of the honor that is rightfully due to God.

Isaiah 40:9-11

Isaiah 40:9-11 

English Standard Version 

  When you see movies about the end times, it's often portrayed with the idea that only the strong survive.  The weak will be preyed upon, while the rugged individualist will find a way through.  

  What we see in the Bible is a wonderful picture of true strength.  God calls the prophet Isaiah to announce that they need not fear, for when God comes, God comes with a greater strength than the world has ever known.  God's arm rules, and yet this strength isn't simply to power over -- it is used to bend down and pick up the lamb, to gently care for those who are with child.  Strength doesn't only preserve the self -- it preserves the weak and vulnerable.  This is the picture that Scripture paints for us of God -- it's the biography of Israel, really.  Perhaps the continual existence of Israel, from the time of Abraham to today, is proof enough that there must be a God to care for this often small tribe in an area that has been fought over and conquered countless times in the last 4 millennia!  How many other tribes have maintained their identity in such a way for such a long period of time?

  But we truly see this on the cross -- Jesus Christ, the strongest person to ever live, voluntarily lays down his life so that humans, weak under the power of sin, might be lifted up and reconciled with God.  We were hopeless, and Christ gave us hope.  We were dead, and Christ gave us life.

  The Gospel is a true picture of strength.  May we celebrate a God who loves us enough to be vulnerable for us.

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  Halloween always makes me think of this verse -- because a bunch of living sacrifices walking around the world would be somewhat frightening!!  

  On Halloween, some costumes are so good that you're not sure who or what is underneath them.  Sometimes you think you may know, but you have to check, and other times you are certain that you have no idea.  

  The world is like that.  Some things are wrapped up in packaging, and you don't know quite what the core content is.  There is lots of marketing out there that wraps messages in wholesome packaging, but on the inside, it's maybe not that great for you.  It's like making Lucky Charms cereal with whole grains.  Now, I grew up eating Lucky Charms, and they're amazing... but adding whole grains doesn't make them healthy.  

  So test the world to see what is the will of God.  Pay attention, and ask big questions.  Ask questions of church leaders, of business leaders, of world leaders -- question what is presented, and what is true and good can stand up to questions.  People have been asking questions of Christianity for 2,000 years, and it's still here, still going strong.  Our faith should be informed, not afraid of skepticism, because we believe it to be true.  Where there are gaps, let us admit it and work to fill in the gaps with sound thinking.  God will lead us where we need to be, as long as we are patient and willing to be led.

Philemon 1:4-7

Philemon 4-7 

English Standard Version 

  Sharing is a big thing in modern society.  We share all sorts of things -- recipes and pictures and recommendations.  Do you share what God is doing in your life?  Do you share the love and faith you have in your life?

  Paul is often (not always!) very encouraging in his letters.  He's often noting the stories of the love and faith in the lives of the church that he hears about.  He's clearly encouraged by what he hears, and he in turn encourages those to whom he is writing.

  So when we share good news about our faith and love, who knows who you might encourage?  Perhaps you sharing your story will encourage another, who will in turn offer encouragement to someone else, and only God knows where that ripple might lead...

Sermon for October 25, 2020

John 14:1-7

John 14:1-7 

English Standard Version 

 God is a difficult concept for the human mind to grasp.  How do we understand someone that isn't limited by time?  A being that exists outside of the universe is trying to relate to you -- how can that happen?  It's challenging, but there are promises made that a place of eternal light awaits us -- how do we reach it?  The witness of Scripture teaches us that God keeps God's promises, but it's hard to see the way forward to place that is beyond our vision.

  And so God writes Jesus Christ into the story -- the author enters into creation, so that we might see, so that we might know, the way to our true home.  There is only one way, and it is grace and truth and light.  May we entrust ourselves into the care of the one who not only shows us the way, but is the way.

Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4 

English Standard Version 

 The verse that often gets lost in all of this is the first verse of the chapter -- they were all together in one place.  We get so caught up in Pentecost that we forget how it got started.  Well, I suppose we'd say that it started back in Genesis 1:2, when the Spirit moved across the waters, just as the Spirit moved here.  But the disciples were all together.

  Now, we don't control God, and there's no magic formula to make the Holy Spirit show up, but good things happen when we gather together.  We're made for this -- we're wired to be in community.  It matters -- church isn't the same without it.  COVID is reminding us just how much this matters.

  So may we cling a little more tightly to our communities on the other side of this, and may we be ever mindful of those who, for one reason or another, cannot be in community in the same ways.  There are people with compromised immune systems that have been living in fear of viruses for decades.  There are people who can't leave the house for medical reasons or psychological reasons -- may we think carefully about how to include them in community, about how to take community to them, and may we all be changed by this experience, that we may gather together and see what God has in store for us.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

2 Timothy 3:10-17

English Standard Version 

  TV preachers often make faith sound like a glorious triumph, and in the end, I most certainly agree with them -- the Kingdom of God will be exactly that, a glorious triumph over the powers of sin and death.  When I read some of the passages in Revelation that detail Jesus riding on a white horse like a conquering hero, coming to save and deliver us in a final victory, rescuing us from the powers that enslave us, I get really excited about the triumph of the Gospel!

  In the meantime, however there are some small details... 

  I doubt that anyone has preached at a revival that all who desire to live a Godly life will be persecuted... Many Christian leaders hide their persecutions and suffering, afraid that portraying their struggles honestly will scare away people who are curious about the faith.  

  Personally, I'm of the opinion that the more honest we can be with our failings, the more attractive the faith becomes.  We're all struggling in different ways, with COVID and with life in general.  Some of the things we struggled with pre-COVID probably don't seem as important now, but some of them have likely been amplified by COVID.  Every Christian on earth likely has a list of things they're dealing with, personally and physically and relationally and spiritually.  But God still triumphs, even in the midst of our struggles, even in the darkest valleys -- the light will still shine.  

  And so we turn to Scripture, all of it profitable for teaching us about ourselves, about God, and about what our relationships should look like.  It's not easy to read some of it... but it all weaves together, uniting to tell a story about a God desperately in love with God's creation and willing to do any and everything possible to redeem us.

Proverbs 24:3-7

Proverbs 24:3-7 

English Standard Version 

  Does reading a cookbook make you a chef?

  I once watched a YouTube video on how to change an alternator on a Hyundai Sonata.  At the end of the video, I had the facts of how to change an alternator.  Wisdom was taking it to a mechanic so they would change it!  

  I've read books on prayer.  Does that mean I know how to pray?

  I love this short section on wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.  It's not enough just to know something, and even when you understand it, there are levels beyond that.  To follow God is a lifetime's worth of discipleship -- it doesn't come easily, and you won't figure it out just by reading someone else's description of it.  You have to do it, and in the doing of it, in the living of faith, you discover the path along the way.  Having an abundance of counselors is prudent -- we surround ourselves with a community of faith -- it is my prayer that people return to the churches once this pandemic is over, that we may continue to strengthen one another as a community.  

  Don't be disappointed if you haven't completed and furnished the house while you are young in the faith.  It is a long journey, filled with stepping stones and traveling companions, and even when you've been on the road for decades, there are many more steps still to go.

Numbers 22:27-31

Numbers 22:27-31 

English Standard Version 

  One of the great Old Testament stories here.  The entire chapter will give you context, but Balaam is on his way to curse the Israelites when an angel of the Lord blocks the path, but only the donkey can see the angel.  Balaam starts beating the donkey, who will not go forward, and so the donkey starts talking back to Balaam, asking if he hadn't been a trustworthy donkey.  Suddenly, God allows Balaam to see the angel, and Balaam realizes that the donkey wasn't resisting Balaam but rather saving his life from the angel of the Lord.

  It's a great story, but also instructive for us.  There are so many things we can't see that are going on.  God is at work in the world around us, but we don't always see the fullness of it.  We may think things are going against us or falling apart, but God is holding them together, although that can sometimes require an incredible amount of trust.  It can be tempting to lash out in frustration when things look as though they are going against us, but God has not given up on you.  All is not lost.  Our plans may have to change, but God is still working things together for good.

Sermon for October 18, 2020 -- Luke 15 (Prodigal Son)

Psalm 137:1-4

Psalm 137:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  I was thinking about the exile the other day.  The Jewish people were in their homeland and then they weren't, exiled from the place they called home, trying to discover how they were to worship God in this strange and foreign land.  

  Dislocation occurs when the order is disrupted.  When I was 10, the orderly way in which my forearm bone worked was disrupted by a fall from a bicycle.  We suffer countless dislocations as we go through life -- sometimes physical, often relational.  Sometimes, our lives are disrupted when we lose jobs.  Other times, it's when we have to relocate and learn a new place.  Lately, we've all been dislocated by the new way we are all discovering how to live.  Fear and uncertainty loom large.  

  The Israelites in exile probably thought they would never know how to worship properly again.  But they found a way to move forward, and eventually made it home.

  In the same way, we'll find a way to continue to worship God in this present dislocation, and as God will do with all things, this will be set right, in God's time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

English Standard Version 

  This is much better known in song format, but is a helpful reminder -- much of our lives on this earth are beyond our control, as much as we may dislike that, and there is sin and brokenness that dictate many things.  It is appropriate at times to mourn the state of the world and our lives, just as it is often appropriate to celebrate when all is right with the world -- there are times when all we can do is give thanks and let our mouths pour forth praise.   

   It seems as though the world is in a time to mourn right now, but we can't get stuck here -- we have to look for the things to celebrate, the signs that indicate there will be times to laugh.  Life is full of wondrous as well as tragic moments, and they remind us of the blessings of God as well as the sinfulness of the world, and all these things lift our eyes and hearts to look forward to the coming fulfillment of God's Kingdom.

Hebrews 11:1-3

Hebrews 11:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  We all wish we could see clearly what we believe in, but faith doesn't work that way.  There is a required element of trust, and with it comes doubt.

  And doubt is ok.

  One of the (many) things I love about Christianity is that it welcomes doubt with open arms.  Christianity has been poked and prodded for 2,000 years, and it has proved robust enough to withstand examination.  Whatever questions you have for Christianity, you should ask them.  The answer may not be easy to find, but it's there, somewhere.  God can take your questions.  We don't have to be afraid of them -- there's a good chance that someone else has had that same question.  

  So ask.  Doubt.  Seek.  You will find.  There is grace for everyone who doubts, and answers for all who seek.  We won't find all the answers this side of heaven, but I believe that one day, we will see clearly what is now seen through a glass darkly.

Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 139:23-24 

English Standard Version 

  This is the ultimate trust -- do we trust God to know us completely and then, understanding that God knows our flaws, do we believe that God will lead us into the way of life?  Or do we fear that God will punish us?  

  These are competing understandings of God.  Different churches will give you different perspectives.  You can support both from different verses in Scripture.  Personally, I believe that the entire witness of Scripture speaks to a God who is intent on saving people from sin and will go to great lengths to do so.  I do believe that some people, intent on resisting God, ultimately receive the eternity they desire -- to be without God.  However, I believe this grieves God, who wants to lead people to life, to the way everlasting.  God creates us and knows us, our very thoughts, and loves us enough to die on the cross for us.  

  Thanks be to God for grace and for love!