Isaiah 53:10-12

Isaiah 53:10-12 

English Standard Version 

  When you can pray for your enemies, you have achieved a certain level of peace, a certain level of security.  At this point, you are so secure in having been claimed by God, so secure in your eternal future, that your enemies have ceased to become threats -- nothing can threaten you when the Almighty God of the universe has claimed you as God's own -- and your enemies are people of deep concern.  Christ was more concerned about the fate of his enemies than he was his own fate, because he knew where his ultimate fate was, even if his temporary fate was something terrible.  That takes faith, to look through something terrible and see something glorious, something worthy, on the other side.  That's how all Christians have the ability to look at death.  There is life yet beyond it, and in faith we grasp it, and Christ enables our hands and hearts to reach forward and take hold of what has been promised to us.

Isaiah 53:7-9

Isaiah 53:7-9 

English Standard Version 

  If I'm wrongfully accused of something, I will shout in my own defense to anyone who will listen.  I'd want my name to be cleared, my reputation restored to its rightful condition.  I would do everything imaginable to clear my name.

  Here we have Jesus, wrongfully accused, and yet he goes silently.  Such is the depth of his love, that Christ isn't seeking to clear his own name, because he knows that any attempt to clear his own name might endanger his mission, which is to save us.  

  Would you allow yourself to be convicted to save someone else?  

  Christ did it willingly, even to save those who hated him, because with love, there is always a chance, always a way, that love will break through.  Christ paid the price that he paid to give us life in the midst of death, and there was no other way, so he went silently, like a sheep before its shearers.

  And Isaiah wrote about all of this centuries before Christ lived.  Isn't that amazing?  It reads as though it was penned afterwards, and yet it was in advance that this was all written, because Christ has always been the plan to deliver God's people.  God has been at work throughout human history to redeem us, and we are saved, we are freed, as those who are blessed by God's great plan.

Isaiah 53:4-6

Isaiah 53:4-6 

English Standard Version

  When I went to Honduras, I was a little surprised when someone picked up my suitcase after they scanned it (no, I'm not sure why they scanned my suitcase before I could leave the airport) and carried to the curb.  Immediately upon setting it down, he immediately turned and demanded payment, despite never asking me whether I wanted this service or not, and it wasn't so much a question as it was a demand.  He had carried my burden, whether I asked him to or not, and he expected compensation.  

  Typically, when people carry burdens for us, we thank them, whether it is at an airport or some other setting.  When friends help you move, the typically accepted payment is beer and pizza, I believe.

  Jesus carried our griefs and sorrows, going so far as to be pierced for our transgressions -- a literal spear went through his very literal side, and yet in return, we fled.  When I feel bad about my own efforts of discipleship, I remember the disciples -- they spent 3 years walking and talking with Jesus, and when Jesus was arrested, they, too, fled for their own lives, leaving Jesus behind, and these were some of the first people Jesus visited upon his resurrection, expressing his love for them.  There is more grace than you can fathom, and if there is grace enough for the disciples, there is grace enough for us.

  Jesus carries our sorrows and rather than demanding payment from us, Jesus makes the payment for us, taking our place as a debtor, and leaving us a reward beyond comprehension.

  What a gift!!!

Isaiah 53:1-3

Isaiah 53:1-3

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever been to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that didn't look like it was going to amount to much, but then you had an incredible meal that made you completely reconsider your initial assessment?  Maybe the menus were faded and you had to wait a long time for your food, and maybe you were almost ready to leave when the food came and you were amazed at what was hidden beneath the surface.  Maybe the cook was so focused on the food that they weren't too concerned about the outside appearance.

  God could have created Jesus as a person so externally beautiful that he would have been distracting to look at.  We know that God's glory is so overwhelming that no one can look upon God and live -- even Moses had to be hidden in a cleft of a rock when God's glory passed by.  But that's not where Christ's beauty was -- the true beauty of Christ was in who he was, in how he loved, in the grace he poured out.  He was rejected, for the world was looking for another kind of beauty, and we completely missed the beauty of Christ.

  How gracious is God that we have the chance to look upon the beauty of Christ despite our initial rejection.  Despite humanity's rejection, Christ died for us anyway.  Despite despising God in human form, God rose from the dead and invited us into God's eternal kingdom, showing us God's eternal beauty, and we know the sinfulness of humanity will be broken and our eyes will be able to capture the true beauty of God forever.

Isaiah 52:7-10

Isaiah 52:7-10

English Standard Version 

  What brings you incomparable joy?  It might be the sight of your grandchildren, or perhaps the opportunity to read your favorite book uninterrupted.  Maybe it's a hike in a beautiful forest or the perfect cup of coffee.  Whatever it is that brings you joy, imagine that feeling multiplied by 1000x, and that gives us a glimpse of the joy we anticipate in the Kingdom of Heaven.  This isn't meant to denigrate the joy we experience here on earth -- rather it should serve as a reminder that what God has in store is amazing and beyond comprehension.  We experience joy on this earth in a way that should be to us a reminder of the joy that awaits us.  We experience joy the way we do because we are hard-wired for it -- we're made for joy, and while sin drags us away from it, God is reminding us throughout our lives of the joy that awaits.

  So find some joy today, and give thanks for a God who creates you to experience joy, and then look forward in hope to a time when you will experience immense, eternal joy in the presence of God.

May 23 Pentecost Sermon

Isaiah 49:13-18

Isaiah 49:13-18 

English Standard Version

  The answer to the question "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" is no.  (If we're being completely honest, children follow their mother around so closely, more closely than a shadow, that she likely couldn't forget them even if she tried.  Not that she would.  Wouldn't it be great if we tried to follow God as closely as a child follows its mother?)  It would be impossible for a mother to forget her child.

  And yet as closely as that mother pays attention to that child, God pays even more attention to you.  You are engraved on the palms of God's hands -- there is no way that you will be forgotten.  

  So may you rest easy, comforted by the grace of God, by the rock-solid presence of God, by the peace of God.  

  God is with you, now and forever.

Isaiah 49:8-12

Isaiah 49:8-12 

English Standard Version 

  If you've got an ice cream sandwich, you better eat it fast, or else you're going to have melted ice cream running down your hand as you try and fish the last corner of the sandwich out of the wrapper.  

  On the other hand, if you're going to live for a zillion years, what's the rush if you don't get everything you want tomorrow?

  In the 21st century, we want same-day delivery and need to be CEO by the time we're 30 and our first five posts on whatever social media websites need to go viral or we've failed.  We need instant gratification, and we need it yesterday.  There was an article the other day that talked about the length of a shot on children's shows, and how the average length is something like 12 seconds before it jumps to another shot, far, far shorter than it used to be, because children don't have attention spans like they used to.  Our phones have certainly trained our attention spans to be shorter, and we're always looking for the next shot of instant gratification.  

  In the Christian world, instant gratification isn't promised.  Remember, the closest followers of Jesus were largely killed for their beliefs.  But they believed so strongly in the future vision of the Kingdom of God that this wasn't a setback -- it was the next step on their road to glory.

  So what is the vision your eyes are focused on?  If short term goals are all you're thinking about, I beg you to re-orient your vision and think about the fact that God is shaping you as an eternal being that will dwell forever with God.  Be patient, and trust in the formative power of the Holy Spirit to shape you, over time, into the person God has called you to be.

Isaiah 48:17-19

Isaiah 48:17-19 

English Standard Version 

  If you buy a car and fill the engine with cotton candy instead of oil, bad things will likely happen.  The designers intended for the car to be operated a certain way, and the farther away you get from that, the worse the results will be.

  Thinking along the same lines, God leads us in the way we should go.  We're given instructions for how we are to live, and how we are to treat one another.  The closer we adhere to these instructions, the more we will thrive.  The farther we drift from these instructions, the more we will struggle in our own lives and our interactions with others.  

Job 38:1-7

Job 38:1-7 

English Standard Version 

  Like you, I have lots of questions for God.  Some of them are simple (what's the real purpose of mosquitoes?), while others are more complex (why allow the ongoing suffering of people, especially children?).  Job had questions for God.  His life had been turned upside-down, and he spends chapters and chapters in dialogue with his friends, trying to understand why these terrible things have happened.

  In the end of the book, God shows up in dramatic fashion.  "Where were you?" God asks, reminding Job that it is God who has lain the foundations of the earth and kept the sea penned up in its place.  Before the majesty and grandeur of God, what can be said?  It certainly puts our suffering in perspective as we remember that God is greater than we can imagine and can see things that we cannot -- we can trust God even when we don't understand the full reason for things, because God sees farther than we can -- God's vision stretches far beyond what our minds can grasp.

  So don't apologize for your questions, but don't let them stand in the way of your worship.  You can have both, for God is both mystery and intimate, near to us and yet dwelling in the heights of heaven.

Lamentations 3:22-26

Lamentations 3:22-26 

English Standard Version 

  This morning, you likely awake with a long list of things to do, anxieties to worry about, hopes you'll pursue, family members who need support, friends you haven't seen in ages, responsibilities at work that are pressing in...

  But first, the mercies of the Lord are new today.  God is faithful still, from age to age, and is renewing God's mercies today.  We are alive today because God is faithful still, and stop for a moment and give thanks for that.  No matter what else is going on today, we can rest in the faithfulness of God, and that is worth celebrating!

Sermon on Jonah 4 (5/16/2021)

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  Whenever I read this verse, I think of the pastor who said that the trouble with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.  

  These verses are our calling -- not be sacrifices not by our own strength, but by the mercies of God.  This is the only way we are ever holy and acceptable to God.  It is a gift, freely given, and it will change us.  The chance is often slow, and it takes a lifetime -- and yet is is as certain as the spring rains.  As we are transformed, we become better attuned to listen to the world and understand what is of God and what is not.

  But it all starts with a sacrifice -- the one that Christ made for you, and the one we make every morning.  Are we willing to die to the self, that Christ may live in us?  

Hebrews 6:13-20

Hebrews 6:13-20 

English Standard Version

  We're lucky not to be impacted by the gas shortages here, but I remember a few times in my life where I was in that spot.  It's easy to take for granted that there's always gas at the gas station, until there isn't... and then you wonder what you'll do.  I remember one long drive from Atlanta to Chattanooga, the car near empty, stopping at every exit in hopes of finding gas, and the feeling of relief when I finally discovered a station with a pump turned on.  What was once reliable was no longer so...

  We take for granted many things we can rely upon in life.  Sometimes it is a job or a car.  Other times it is a person.  We simply assume they'll always be there, and then one day, they're not.  Everything in this life fades away over time.  Entropy says things fall apart over time, trending towards chaos, meaning nothing can be relied upon forever.

  And then we find God, who can be relied upon forever, whose word is always true, whose love is always faithful, whose promises are certain day after day after day.  Friends, do not take this for granted -- may we rejoice today and tomorrow and forevermore that God's Word is faithful and true, that though everything else may fall away, God is forever reliable and will never disappoint.

Psalm 131

Psalm 131

English Standard Version 

  I love this Psalm -- one of my favorites.  It's so short, so easily memorized, and it's an absolute picture of what our relationship with God can be.  There is SO much going on in the world around us, and then there's twice as much going on in our minds as we try and take it all in -- it's so very hard to contemplate the speed at which the world moves, and even if we're not trying to keep up, it's exhausting simply trying to find a way not to fall too far behind.

  And in the midst of the chaos, God whispers to the depths of your soul that you are loved, accepted, and covered in grace, and that all will be well, not because of you, but because of God and who God is and what God has done.  God is enough, and in God, all of our needs are met, and one of our greatest needs is to learn how to rest in God, to simply be.  This is a big part of what we lost when we stopped honoring the Sabbath -- the Sabbath teaches us that the world doesn't depend on us, that it's okay to stop and rest because God is in control, not us.  When we stopped resting, we lost track of the peace of God, of the ability to lean into God, like a weaned child with its mother.  

  I'll never stop finding it beautiful, the way our children lean into their mother and rest in her.

  May we find that same peace with God.

Psalm 47

Psalm 47 

English Standard Version 

  Remember those old Miller Light commercials where people debated the merits of 'Tastes Great' and 'Less Filling'?  I know I'm dating myself here, but it was groups of people debating different attributes of the same thing.  

  When we worship God, we balance the power and the intimacy, and when we stray too far in one direction, we can find a Psalm to bring us back to the middle.  Some remind of us God's power, such as this Psalm, where we think of God as the King of all the earth, reigning over all the nations.  It's important to remember this, because this reminds us how God has power over every living thing, and how God carved the earth from nothing and filled it with God's creation -- God is all-powerful, and we should tremble before the throne.

  There are other Psalms that remind us of the intimacy of God, how God comes to us in the dark nights and calms the soul, how we are like a weaned child with its mother when we come before God.  This aspect of God is important, because it reminds us of how infinite the love of God that is poured into each of us.  God treasures you, and it is an all-powerful God that treasures you, and so what a mighty power has chosen to be for you!

Micah 7:18-20

Micah 7:18-20 

English Standard Version 

  Any time I've been on a boat on a large body of water, it always amazing me to think about how much water is beneath the boat.  On a sailboat on the Pacific, it's hard to imagine how much is beneath the boat -- water and animals and way, way down, there's an ocean floor.  

  Scripture uses this depth to help us understand the love of God.  Our sins are cast into the depths of the sea, and the waves erase any memory of them.  All too often, we take on the role of deep-sea fishermen, going back to the depths and bringing up our own sins, remembering those things we have done.  When God casts them into the depths, they're meant to be forgotten, lost to the depths, never to be seen or mentioned again.  We are washed clean, like the beach after high tide.

  So forget your past sins.  Don't let the devil remind you of what was -- focus on what you are in Christ.   Listen to the affirmation of the God who delights in steadfast love, and move forward in hope.  

Sermon on Jonah 3 (May 9, 2021)

Micah 7:8-10

Micah 7:8-10 

English Standard Version 

  I probably think about death too often.  I don't know that I've had any more deaths around me than others, but there have been too many unexpected deaths, catching people too young, reminding me of the fragility of life.  Like so many others, I have spent too much time mourning, thinking of what might have been, in somber funeral homes where words seem to fall short and tears often fill the gap.  Standing in a cemetery on a summer day, feeling a chill that comes from the inside, leaves one with a lot of questions.

  When I read words like these in Micah 7, I think of death, that enemy that seeks to rejoice over us, to grasp us in icy fingers and drag us to the dark depths.  Micah tells us that when we fall, we will rise, that when we find ourselves in darkness, the Lord will bring light.  Micah does not hide the reality of sin, but notes that the Lord will execute judgment, and in this there is hope, there is vindication.  Earlier, we might have feared judgment, but knowing the Gospel teaches us that Christ takes our judgment upon himself, therefore enabling us to dwell in the light rather than darkness, granting us victory over death, that old foe.  Death will be trampled down like the mire of the streets, hands reaching but failing to grasp, for we are held by a stronger champion, and God shall not let us go. 

 I believe it was George Herbert who noted that death used to be an executioner, but the Gospel has made death into a gardener, planting souls only to see them spring up to new life.

Micah 6:6-8

Micah 6:6-8

English Standard Version 

  How do you earn God's love and favor?  

  There are any number of ideas.  In Micah's time, the right sacrifice might have been one idea, in the hopes that the Lord might smell the aroma wafting to the heavens and be pleased with the one who thought to give it.  Or perhaps the Lord might exact a higher toll, thinking that a better price would secure more favor from God.

  No, that's not the way to God's heart.  God's heart is reached because God opens that heart to us.  And because God does so freely, out of grace, we are freed to live not out of obligation but out of gratitude, choosing to love and serve one another because we have been graciously accepted by God.  You are defined by what God has done.  You have been accepted regardless of what you have done.  Therefore, treat one another with kindness, seeking justice, turning to God in humility and gratitude.  

  What else is there?

Micah 5:1-5

Micah 5:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  And they shall dwell secure, the prophet writes.  

  Secure.  

  That sounds wonderful.

  Throughout you'll life, I imagine you'll battle insecurity.  Some people fight against food insecurity.  Others fight against monetary insecurity or housing insecurity.  There's job insecurity, where you jump from job to job or live in anxiety of losing your current job.  There's mental insecurity, where you maybe feel like you're not good enough or don't have the resources to overcome what you need to overcome.  There's relationship insecurity.  

  I could go on.

  In God, you will dwell secure.  Every need will be met.  The strength of the Lord will be great to the ends of the earth, meaning that all opposing forces will have been banished from existence. 

  Security.

  And God will be your peace.

Micah 4:6-7

Micah 4:6-7 

English Standard Version 

  Imagine you're a kid, and you're picking kickball teams.  You pick the strongest and fastest first, right?  You want to win, so you figure out who the best athletes are, and those are the ones being picked first.  The weakest kids get picked last, because they have the least chance of helping the team win.  

  When God is picking the remnant, those who will be built into a strong nation, who does he pick?  The Lord gathers up the lame.  God collects those who have been driven away.  The Lord will reign over a kingdom comprised of the weak.

  From the world's perspective, this doesn't make any sense, but God doesn't work the same way the world does.  We fully realize the strength of God when we accept our own weaknesses.  We can't earn our way back to God through whatever strength we have, but when we look to God's strength, we realize that it doesn't matter how strong or weak we may be.  The strongest champion in the world is on the same level as the weakest beggar in the world -- this is the beauty of the Gospel.  None can brag about themselves or their own achievements or their brilliance or cunning or wisdom -- the Gospel is the great leveller, and we'd be wise to remember that we aren't any better than anyone else on this planet when it comes to earning God's love.  We're all weak, but God is building a kingdom rooted in God's strength.

  May this knowledge help us be more compassionate and gracious towards those who are weak in the  eyes of the world.  May we see the treasures in one another.  Look in the eyes of one another, from the powerful to the individual begging for money by the offramp on the freeway, and see the humanity in every eye, and remember that God's Kingdom will gather the weak.

Micah 4:4-5

Micah 4:4-5

English Standard Version

  I once visited a refugee resettlement organization near Atlanta.  The families there had to be convinced that there weren't any lions in the nearby forest, because they were accustomed to fearing lions in the woods.  That's one thing Atlanta doesn't have.

  Every person on this globe has a set of things they fear.  Some live in fear of their lives every day.  Some fear for their future, while others fear for their ability to provide for themselves or their family.  There are lots of fears we can set aside in America, but there are unique fears to living here as well, and the percentage of people on anti-anxiety medication is a testament to people living in fear.  

  One of the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God is that fear will be banished.  You'll be able to sit under your own tree and live in peace, true peace, lasting peace.  No one will make you afraid.  

  Imagine what that would be like for you.  What fears would disappear?  What could you set down?  How would you relax?  

  God wants to give that to you.  God's desire is for us to start living into that now.   The promises of God aren't meant simply for a brighter future -- they're intended to comfort us and give us the peace and joy of living into those promises in the present.  So close your eyes and rest under that fig tree for a moment.  Rest into God's peace.