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.

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  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!

Psalm 139:17-22

Psalm 139:17-22 

English Standard Version 

  God exists outside of time and space, creating everything that exists through the power of God's creative Word.  And yet still, even when we get lost in the vastness of God, God is still with us -- again, this is the intimacy of God that is simply astounding.  

  The Psalmist loves God with such passion that he takes offense at the enemies of God -- those who are taking God's name in vain are hateful to him.  This is one way in which the Psalmist demonstrates his love for God.  

  For us, it's important to look at the world through a lens of understanding what is good and what opposes God.  For many situations, how do we think about bringing grace into those places?  How can we allow the light of God's love to shine in us and through us so that the world may see the goodness of God through our words and actions? 

  It's a hard path to walk, to be agents of grace, but important that we witness to intimacy and love that we can find only in God.

Sermon for Luke 15 -- October 11, 2020

Psalm 139:13-16

Psalm 139:13-16 

English Standard Version 

  I love this section -- the idea of God knitting our inward parts together is so intimate.  I have three children, and I've never ceased to marvel at the miracle of how life develops in the womb.  Everything is so small!  We watch the ultrasound of the chambers of the heart, little valves opening and closing, and it's miraculous that such tiny parts work so wonderfully together.  Children are no less miraculous when they're born, but there's something about the way the fetus grows and the scale of it that simply astounds me.  A child is the size of a grain of rice at one point -- just think about how small the kidneys must be when they develop!  It's incredible.  And God is involved in it.

  I think there's two things to dwell on.  The first is how intimately God is involved in our lives.  God isn't sitting at a distance, waiting to judge us, or watching to see if we do right or wrong.  God is there with us at the beginning -- and if God is this invested in us when we're just starting out, how much more is God with us now?  I'm certainly far more attached to my children now.  

  The second thing is that it's worth noting how science and God work together.  God is involved in these processes.  Christianity gets panned as being anti-science, but I don't think that's true at all.  We believe that God has been involved in everything that has happened since before creation, so if the science shows us that things happened one way, I'm willing to look at that and think about how God was involved in that process.  Some of the most advanced scientific minds on earth are Christian, and the more they learn about the underlying principles of the world, the more amazed they are at God's sovereignty and wisdom.  

Psalm 139:7-12

Psalm 139:7-12 

English Standard Version 

  Jonah discovered the truth of this section -- there is no where we can run from God.  God found Jonah when Jonah was fleeing on a ship to Tarshish.  God found Moses when Moses had fled Egypt to tend sheep in the wilderness.  God found the Prodigal Son when he had fled, lost everything, and envied the sheep.  In these instances, God didn't seek to punish, but rather to save.  

  Such is the grace of God.  God pursues us to save, to restore, to redeem.  God's light goes everywhere, and the darkest of nights cannot hold back the light of grace.  No matter how deep your depression and despair might be, there is light there, there is grace there.  If you feel as though you have no hope, no outlet, you can trust that God is with you, and the intent is not to punish, but to restore to community.  When the disciples fled after Jesus' arrest, there was redemption for them, and there is redemption for us as well.

Psalm 139:1-6

Psalm 139:1-6 

English Standard Version 

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart 

To the choirmaster. 

A Psalm of David. 

  I know my house pretty well -- I can navigate it in the dark, and generally can tell when something's not working quite right.  I know the yard, too -- where most of the exposed tree roots are that I keep tripping over, where the holes are.  

  In time, we get to know the people around us, as well as ourselves.  We can feel in our bodies when we're getting nervous or stressed.  It shows up in stiffness in our necks or perhaps a muscle tic.  

  It's impossible to overstate how well God knows you.  God knows your strengths and weaknesses.  God is omniscient -- God knows how we react, how we respond to temptation, what we crave and what we hope for.  God knows our darkest moments and our greatest joys, and like a mother who has given birth to a child, God loves you with an intensity that we cannot fully grasp.  Like a hurricane swirling around the eye, like a bear protecting its cubs, God loves you with power and grace.  You may think that your weaknesses prevent God from fully loving you, but it's foolish to believe such things, because God has known those weaknesses since before you were born, and God loves you just the same, sending God's own Son to die so that you might not face the full power of death.

  You are surrounded with love, my friends, from the being that knows you better than anyone will ever know you.  You are fully known, and fully loved.

Colossians 4:7-18

Colossians 4:7-18

English Standard Version 

 What's great about the conclusion to many of Paul's letters is the sense of community that comes across.  Paul isn't writing to some abstract community where he's vaguely heard of the town (this makes me think of musicians and comedians that sometimes get the name of the town wrong because they've been on the road for months straight and can barely remember what town they're in!).  Paul is writing to a community he cares about, a community he's invested in.  I think we're missing some of that in modern Christianity -- we don't invest heavily in our faith communities.  It's easy to be a consumer of a large community where you avoid getting involved in the lives of others.  But Paul shows us how to care for one another, how to remember the needs of one another, how to suffer when others are suffering and rejoice when others are rejoicing.

  So may we be a church community that is tied together, that is invested in one another, that cares and suffers and rejoices together, constantly lifting one another up in prayer and supporting one another as we strive for faithfulness!

Colossians 4:1-6

Colossians 4:1-6 

English Standard Version 

  There's a long list of things that I don't do often enough, but one of them is to pray for the evangelists in the world.  When we think of evangelists, we often think of the apostles after Jesus had ascended to heaven, and evangelism has taken a backseat in mainstream American churches.  There's a litany of reasons, and I don't want to get into them now... but we don't focus much on church growth.  However, around the world, the Word of God continues to be active and go out.  May we join together in prayer to support and encourage those who are proclaiming the word to the non-believers.  We support the Outreach Foundation, which is partnering with churches around the world who are focused on making the name of Jesus Christ known.  There are countless ways to be involved, but let's start with prayer -- that the doors to hearts may be opened for the Word of God, that all may come to know Christ as Lord and King!

Sermon for October 4, 2020 from Luke15

 Today's sermon is from Luke 15.

Colossians 3:18-25

Colossians 3:18-25 

English Standard Version 

  Welcome to the section of the Bible that has been taken out of context any number of times!  Any of these verses, lifted and read apart from Paul's writings as a whole, might be used in a way that doesn't really fit the overarching message Paul was communicating throughout the New Testament.  We have to be really careful in how we read the Bible -- if we read it looking for verses only to support what we want, we might find what we're looking for.  If we read it as a whole book, as one collective witness, it'll often challenge us and force us to think and to grow.  If reading the Bible doesn't challenge you, keep reading.  As someone once said, if you find that God agrees with everything you think, there might be a problem somewhere!

  Here's what I believe that the witness of Scripture speaks to - -that wives and husbands are to love each other with servant love, each seeking to serve the other and in so doing, reflect the selfless love of Christ to one another and the world.  Children and parents are to love and serve one another, as parents hold children accountable and seek to encourage them to grow in faithfulness.  I believe the entirety of Paul's writings destroy the concept of slavery, for mutual servanthood and radical equality cannot exist with the concept of slavery.  In every relationship and every task, we are serving God -- may we do so with great respect and recognize the responsibility we carry into the world.

Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17 

English Standard Version

  Jesus came into a world filled with authoritarian leaders who sought to dominate the common individuals.  There was great division between rich and poor.  People wanted a military leader to come and deliver them from their oppressors.  

  What they received, however, was different than their expectations.  Jesus came to serve.  He spent time with the outcasts of society.  Jesus never shrank back from confronting the Pharisees, but he largely spent his time with people who needed to hear an alternative way of living.

  Friends, this passage from Colossians is beautiful and inspiring.  We all want to reach for compassion and kindness, to find a way to let meekness and patience rule in our hearts.  We want to forgive first, to put on love and celebrate with gratitude the way we are being knit together.  We long for the word of Christ to dwell in us richly.

  I'll speak for myself and wonder if that is enough in the modern world.  It feels small, given the volume and adversity in the surrounding world.  Are meekness and patience the right answers?

  One reminder is that Jesus' Kingdom is a much longer view than the current worldly one.  Jesus is aiming for eternity, and directing our hearts there, too.  That's what allows Jesus to ascend Golgotha and die on a cross, meekly and patiently approaching death, because Jesus knows the ferocity of love will prevail over the binding of death.  Jesus goes as a lamb to the cross, because Jesus knows that the triumphant victory is inevitable, even if it travels a path the world doesn't fully understand.

  May we endeavor to grasp the reality of God's Kingdom.  May the Word dwell in us richly, and in doing so, may it transform our hearts to align with God's, that we may be encouraged to serve one another and to go out into the world with the confidence that comes from knowing that God's Kingdom cannot be defeated and will not be stopped.  There are times it may look like the world is winning.  But Easter Sunday is on the other side of Good Friday, and the God who redeems and resurrects is still at work in our hearts and the world.  The crucifixions and disappointments in the world begin to lose their ultimate powers of despair when we fixate on Easter and the fulfillment of God's promises of life.  When we cling with confidence to the truth of resurrection and the eternal hope that comes from God alone, we begin to see how only God can give us the peace our hearts are longing for.  Only God's Kingdom lasts forever, and that is our true home.