Titus 1:1-4

Titus 1:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  Is this how you start your emails?  It's not how I start my emails.  I don't introduce myself by such a phrase... but maybe I should start.

  Paul is squarely rooting himself in the single most important thing of his life -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.  Before Paul even really begins his letter, he's rooting every word of it in the greatest truth we've ever known -- that this message is important because the Gospel is the single most important thing.  

  It's so hard to keep the main thing as the main thing.  We all get distracted.  I get caught up in other things -- I start to think that a meeting on a Wednesday afternoon is the most vital thing, and I need a reminder of the eternal time scale, to step back and keep perspective.  

  So may we each keep a focus on the Gospel, on the central Truth of each of our lives.  By starting and ending each day with a few minutes with God, we help ourselves order our lives around what truly matters.

Sermon for May 29, 2022 (Genesis 32)

Revelation 19:11-16

Revelation 19:11-16 

English Standard Version 

  Like many of you, I keep reading the news, and it's hard.  It's mostly sad, but sometimes, I get angry, then depressed, then despondent, and then I cycle back to angry.  It's easy to settle somewhere between heartbroken and angry, wondering what's become of this world.  I have my own ideas about moves that might lessen the chances of things like this happening again, but I realize that we can't stop 100% of violent incidents.  Mostly, it seems like we're stuck in a cycle where violence keeps claiming innocent lives, and we all hate it.  

  When I get despondent, this is one of the verses I turn to.  I think of the world as a battlefield that's been decimated by all the acts of violence that have claimed so many lives, and when I feel like I'm going to give up, I imagine Jesus riding to victory, with a robe dipped in blood, the armies of heaven following him on a white horse, and a sharp sword coming out of his mouth.  He is the one who will set things right, who will bring life where there is death, lifting up in resurrection those who have been innocently struck down and casting sin and death into the final death which they deserve.  I will follow Jesus as he rides to victory on his white horse, and it gives me encouragement to think of him riding to victory, especially when it feels like hope is barely holding on by a thread.

  May this image give you hope, too, especially on this Memorial Day weekend, when we remember and honor those who have given their lives for the sake of others.

Isaiah 5:1-2

Isaiah 5:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  All around our city, there are buildings going up.  Some are hotels, some industrial, some residential, some related to the University.  Everywhere you look, there's a crane, and I think they're generally exciting signs.  Cranes point to development, to new creations.  There is generally always something lost in development, but a crane is a sign of ongoing investment in a community.

  One of the things I love about Scripture is how God is constantly creating.  God is planting a garden in the beginning.  Here, God is talking about building a vineyard.  God gathers a people, God creates a community, God builds a church, God establishes a Kingdom.  God is a creative God, building for the future.  God is at work, building up, establishing.

  Sin tears down, destroys, levels.  Sin seeks to destroy what God is building and the people God is building with.

  Let us mourn where sin tears down, and let us join with God in God's creative building projects as God builds towards the future.  May we look forward in hope to what God is doing around us.

Isaiah 4:2-6

Isaiah 4:2-6 

English Standard Version 

  Like so many people, I'm horrified at the news.  I don't have any words that make sense of it, but Isaiah reminds me that things will one day be set right.  The cloud by day and fire by night represent the presence of the Lord, just as they did during the Exodus journey to the Promised Land.  When innocent people, especially children, are shot, it reminds me and all of us that things are not the way they should be.  We walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death, and even though God is with us, we're still in the valley, walking through, sometimes slowly, sometimes wondering how long this valley shall last.  We need to be washed, to be cleansed, from the sin that covers all of humanity.  We cannot do this on our own -- we need a Savior from outside of us to wash us, to cleanse us, to close the chapter on sin with finality and open the new chapter, the final chapter, the one that stretches into eternity and is comprised of peace.

  Come, Lord, Jesus, we pray.  Our Savior will come, riding on a white horse, and until then, we'll gather together and mourn what is lost, mourn what is broken, and look forward in hope to the day when lives will no longer be cut short, when families will no longer weep, and when we as a society will no longer be broken by the sin that cuts so deep.

  Come, Lord Jesus. 

Isaiah 3:13-15

Isaiah 3:13-15 

English Standard Version 

  The Bible is remarkably consistent in the emphasis on God's care for the poor, and the commands for us to care for the poor.

  So the question to each of us is, simply, what are we doing for the poor?  Do our lives reflect God's care for the poor?  If not, why not?  And what are we going to do to join in God's care for, love, and support of the poor?

Isaiah 2:1-4

Isaiah 2:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  Do you remember those magic eye posters?  If you stared at them from the right distance in the right way, then there was an image that would reveal itself.  I could never figure them out, even though I tried.  I wasn't able to see what was right in front of me.

  That happens in life sometimes, right?  We aren't able to see things as they are, even though they're in front of us.  Maybe we don't appreciate a relationship or a person, or we miss an opportunity because we were looking in the wrong place or in the wrong way.  We miss things.

  Isaiah is talking about a vision for the future, and in time, the mountain of the Lord will be lifted up above the hills.  In that time, it will be clear what the best way for us to live together is -- we'll recognize the superior way of peace, and we'll halt striving in violence between nations.  The Lord will transform our weapons of war into tools that serve the flourishing of humanity.  In time, it will become apparent to all -- the challenge is for us to develop the vision to see the world this way in the here and now, and to live with our hearts oriented towards this future.  The world doesn't see it fully yet, but we as the church are called to live into this reality, pointing forward, telling others about the coming Kingdom and the reign of peace that awaits.

Sermon for May 22, 2022 (Genesis 28)

Exodus 20:1-3

Exodus 20:1-3

English Standard Version 

  A little late today.  Guess that's what happens on Friday sometimes!

  I heard something the other day that caught my ear.  We're all coming out of Egypt, aren't we?  Think about it -- Egypt is a place of slavery and death.  It's where Pharaoh exercises true dominion, even believing that he has power over life and death when he orders Israelite children to be thrown into the Nile, but Pharaoh's not really in charge, as he'll eventually find out.  But for a time, it sure seems like Pharaoh is in charge.  

  It's not so different for us, right?  

  Here we are, in 21st century America, and it sure can seem like the forces of darkness are in charge, right?  You don't have to look very hard to see a world without much hope, between famine in Yemen and Afghanistan and war in Ukraine and Cameroon and violence in Buffalo and Orange County.  

  But we know that evil's day is limited, and just as God heard the cries of the people in Egypt, God hears our cries, too, and God will act with finality one day, just as God acted in Egypt.

  It's interesting that the people, once they had left Egypt behind, would complain to Moses about how they wanted to go back to Egypt, where it was at least certain that they'd eat.  In the wilderness, on the way to the Promised Land surrounded by desolation, they were afraid of scarcity, even though they had the promises of God in front of them.

  In the same way, we often can be uncertain when thinking of the promises of God.  We look backwards, just as Lot's wife did, just as the Egyptians did, and wonder if the certainty offered is better than the uncertainty and challenge of discipleship that is in front of us.  Should we go back?

  Jesus maybe had the same temptation as he ascended the cross.  We know he prayed in the Garden for another path to open up.  When he realized the depth of the despair he was in front of, it was a dark moment.  But Jesus went forward -- he didn't go around the hard parts, but he went through, and because of that, we can face what's before us, knowing that Jesus has taken the worst so that we don't have to, because we could never endure what he endured.  

  So let us not turn back to what is behind, but instead press on, leaving Egypt behind for what lies ahead.

Colossians 1:15-20

Colossians 1:15-20 

English Standard Version 

  Verses 15-19 are quite possibly some of the most incredible and beautiful language ever written, and reading them for the first time, you'd think (rightly) that they described the most powerful person that has ever lived, and someone that would reign in power over every single person on the planet.

  Imagine how strong the love of God must be to take up a cross and willingly suffer death and humiliation on a cross, stripped naked and suffering so that humanity might be reconciled.

  That's amazing love.

  We can't even comprehend how much and how richly and how deeply we are loved by God.

  But I hope and pray that today, in some small way, you get a glimpse of God's love for you, even if it's only the tiniest fraction, for that alone is enough to sustain us into eternity.

Psalm 3

Psalm 3 

English Standard Version 

  When we're in distress, we cry out.  When I'm in pain, I complain a lot.  When I'm stressed out, it exhausts me.  This is the human response to life's difficulties -- we focus on the difficulties.  I remember once how my dad had come back from a defensive driving course and they said that one of the most important things to do when the car is skidding is don't focus on the obstacle a car is sliding towards, because you'll involuntarily steer to where the car is heading -- you focus on something past the obstacle, and steer towards that.

  This is the approach the Psalmist takes, which in this case is David, fleeing from his son Absalom.  Undoubtedly, David learned this in defensive driving course.

  Notice that the Psalm is anticipatory -- God hasn't yet delivered David, and yet David prays with a certainty, with a confidence, that comes across as though the deliverance has already come.  It's a fascinating way to pray, anticipating the deliverance that we trust will come, even if it hasn't been made manifest by God yet.  When we trust this fully in the promises of God, it's as though the promised deliverance has already come.

  Imagine how this can change the way we deal with obstacles in life.  Think about facing disappointment with the confidence that God has already delivered you from it, even though it may seem as though danger is looming.  It could fundamentally change the way we deal with hardship.  This is the confidence that allowed the apostles to go to martyrs' deaths -- because they believed that God had already delivered them.  The Kingdom has come, friends, even if it has not yet come in fullness.

3 John 1:5-12

3 John 5-12 

English Standard Version 

  Our beliefs frame our actions -- we do what we believe is the right thing to do, and then when we reflect on our actions, it reinforces what we believe or it forces us to change our beliefs.  

  In the same way, this passage is framed by the same idea -- doing good in all circumstances.  In the beginning of the passage, the recipients of the letter are doing good to strangers, which is a hard, hard thing to do.  It's easy to do good to those you know -- it's like helping family.  There's been interesting articles I've read talking about how this is one of the challenges the US faces -- because the country is so large and so diverse, it can be challenging for people in one part of the country to help people in another part.  We readily help our neighbors, but those on the other side of the country are more challenging to encourage people to help.  There are plenty of valid criticisms of the Christian missionary movement, but when it is at its best, its traveling to distant places and helping locals build hospitals and schools.  Christianity at its purest is helping people, even strangers, by doing good, because this is exactly what Christ does for us -- even though we were enemies of God, God reached out to us in love and offered forgiveness to us.

  And so the question before us today is:  Who will we help today?  What good will we do?

3 John 1:1-4

3 John 1-4 

English Standard Version 

  There's something wonderfully precious about some of these New Testament letters -- the Christians in the churches spread across the known world genuinely cared for one another and found joy in another Christian drawing close to the Lord.  It makes me think about my sources of joy -- do I find true and lasting joy when a brother or sister in Christ draws near to the Lord?  That joy sustained the Christians in the early church, especially when so many hardships and so much oppression was present.  They continued to see God doing amazing things, and they celebrated that.  

  May we celebrate the same, searching for the Good News at work in the world, looking for signs of Holy Spirit movement in each other, and finding our greatest joy in the work God is doing among us.

Sermon for May 15, 2022 -- John 21

2 John 1:4-11

2 John 4-11 

English Standard Version 

  So much of the Bible is reminding us to pay attention.  I know I've mentioned before the road sign in Alaska reminding you to choose your rut wisely, for you'll be in it for the next 50 miles.  It's so easy to go through life on autopilot, and John is asking the readers, John is asking us, to stay alert, to pay attention, so that we might cling to God and not slip easily, unconsciously, into sin.  It's so easy to stop paying attention and go along with the crowd, so John calls us to wake up, to pay attention each moment of every day, to look for where God is at work and to join in that work, so that we might be alert and alive in the world around us!

1 John 5:18-21

1 John 5:18-21 

English Standard Version 

  John's closing words are touching - he's trying to summarize our faith, closing with a reminder of the big picture -- that while the world seems destined for chaos, the opposite is true, because of what God has done for us in Christ.  These are words we need to hear today, to remind us that war and famine and inequality and hatred are not the world's destiny, but rather a temporary situation, one that will be remedied in time by God.

  As Christians, though, we don't idly wait -- we live a life striving to avoid sin, trying to avoid idols, even though the heart, as Augustine reminds us, is a factory of idols.  We sin, but our sin does not condemn us, because Christ is greater than our sin!  God reminds us what is true, and so we turn to Scripture, every day, to be reminded of what is true -- that we are loved by God, and will be forevermore.

1 John 5:13-17

1 John 5:13-17 

English Standard Version 

  What's your purpose?  Are we encouraging one another?  I think it's so important that we hold up heaven for one another.  Let us remind one another of what we're pointed towards, of what is in front of us, of the beauty and the joy and the love and the grace that awaits us.  That should have a firm grip on all of our hearts, that it helps us get through every hardship, every valley -- we remember what is before us as Christians, because heaven reminds us that nothing ends at death, but rather passes through it into life.  As John says, our sin does not have to end in death, because Christ has defeated sin, so that its power is faded.

  I was listening to an illustration of a father explaining death to his daughter.  As they were driving, they drove next to a truck, and the shadow of the truck fell over their car.  The father turned and asked the daughter whether she'd like to get hit by the truck or the shadow.  We all choose the shadow, and the reality is that Christ was hit by the truck so that we'd only be hit by the shadow.

1 John 5:6-12

1 John 5:6-12 

English Standard Version 

  The Trinity is endlessly complex -- sometimes, I'll try and wrap my mind around the idea of God in three persons, united yet separate, and it just makes my brain hurt.  It's not the first conclusion anyone jumps to -- but it's where the text leads us.  The early church didn't start with the Trinity and work backwards -- they started with the text and worked forwards, and eventually, the Trinity was the only conclusion that could explain where Scripture was pointing.  The Trinity allows us explain the ongoing and eternal relationship between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

  It's the best way to understand anything -- we start with the text, and then work our way forward.  So often, we want to start with our lives, but then we end up reading things into the text because we want them to be there.  It's easy to do so, but Scripture's goal is to give us a source of Truth through which we see the world and our lives, and we can cope with the challenging things in there because we know the story ends in hope and that God is for us!  So when we come to hard things, remember that it's rooted in God, which means that it's rooted in eternal love, greater than anything you or I can imagine.  

1 John 5:1-5

1 John 5:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  There's one question we all have to wrestle with -- do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? If we don't believe, then all the strands that hold Christianity together collapse and we're left with nothing.  The teaching of Christ wouldn't mean anything if we didn't also believe that his claim to rise from the grave is also true.  

  If so, then all the fears and anxieties and pressures fade in comparison.  Our faith in Christ joins us with Christ in his death and resurrection, so that we overcome the world along with Christ -- we share in his glorious victory over sin and death.  If we believe that Christ rose from the dead, then we should follow anything and everything he teaches, clinging to every word he says, studying his life from every angle to glean anything and everything.  If we believe that Christ rose from the dead, then we have the fullest hope we could ever dream to desire, and there is no burden so great as to turn us from following.

  

1 John 4:19-21

1 John 4:19-21

English Standard Version 

  To love God is to first be loved by God.  We cannot initiate in our loving relationship with God -- God knew us in our mother's wombs, knitting us together and forming our inward parts, all in love.  Before we were, God's love was.  It's like loving the idea of a good meal before you even think about the restaurant you're going to go to and have looked at the menu -- you love the meal already, before it's even been prepared for you.

  But to love God means that you've grasped the fullness of God's love for you, which means you grasp the fullness of the Gospel, wherein we learn that God loved us when we were unworthy, when our sin made us enemies of God.  When that gets into the depths of our souls, then we can't help but love God in response -- because we see how beloved we are despite being incredibly unworthy.  And if we grasp that we're loved eternally despite being unworthy, then can we deny love to another because they are unworthy?

  Paul writes that he is the chief of all sinners, for when the Gospel fully pierces us, we realize that there aren't degrees us separation from God -- we're all lost, ourselves chiefly, but we stand on equal footing with our brothers and sisters.  And so how can we look down on someone with whom we are on equal footing?

  So then there is nothing else but to love, freely and without restraint, for that is how we are loved by God, and so to grasp this fully transforms us into the kind of people who love each other, always and forever, no matter what.

1 John 4:18

1 John 4:18 

English Standard Version 

  Spiders.

  Someone is probably afraid of them.  I used to be more afraid of them, but some years ago I learned that the number of people who die from spider bites in the US is 6 every year.  Out of 300,000,000 people, that's a pretty small chance that you're going to die from a spider bite.  A little knowledge made me less afraid of spiders.

  Sin and death would threaten to destroy us, but God's love is stronger than these, and God's love is shown in fullness on the cross, when God suffered death so that we might not be subject to these powers anymore.  The knowledge of God's love helps us not to be afraid of such things, and so we can look forward in hope, not fear.  As someone once said, when we understand the depth and strength of God's love, we realize that the only thing death can do is make us better.  It's wild to say that, but it's true, and the more we realize that, the less we are afraid.

1 John 4:13-17

1 John 4:13-17 

English Standard Version 

  Did you ever have a class in school where 100% of the final grade depending on the last exam?  I had a few in high school and college like that, and it was stressful.  You wondered if you were really prepared for it and if the final would reflect everything you'd learned over the semester.  

  It's easy to approach judgment day like that, looking forward in fear to the final exam.  What Scripture points to, however, is that we don't have to look forward in fear, but rather can approach it with confidence.  God's love is perfected in us and abides in us, and this gives us confidence to look forward with hope to the final judgment, because we see and understand that God is love and that God pours that love out on us.  

  So if you have confidence when thinking about eternity, how does that shape how you're going to live today?  Knowing that we have no reason to fear, is there anything you'll do today that fear was holding you back from doing?