John 11:38-39

John 11:38-39 

King James Version 

  Sometimes, the King James Version captures poetic images that are moving and beautiful and help us grasp the depth and breadth of God.  

  Sometimes, I read the King James and it says something like, "He stinketh".  It's amazing, right?

  This is what death does.  It decays.  It tears apart.  It destroys.

  Jesus heals.  He binds up.  He sews together.  He makes the sad things come untrue.  He unites.

  May our lives reflect our faith, as we seek to join Jesus in his mission to bind up what might otherwise come apart.

John 11:28-37

John 11:28-37 

English Standard Version 

  I was listening to a sermon on this the other day, and it was talking about the line Jesus wept.  The preacher said that wept isn't necessarily the best translation -- it's more akin to the stamping of a bull in rage.  Jesus was moved with anger at what death had done, and he was enraged out of his love. He saw what death did to those he loved, and he saw what it did to the community, and he was moved to action.

  On a bigger picture, this is what God does for us.  God sees the way sin is destroying our community, and God is moved to action -- God enters into creation in the person of Jesus Christ, and dies for our sin so that death might no longer determine our fate, so that sin might no longer separate us from God's presence.  Such is God's love for us.

  The question for us, then, is what makes us angry in the world?  Maybe it's the way poverty leaves children hungry.  Maybe it's the way war displaces innocent civilians.  Maybe it's the way emotional stress chews people up.  Maybe it's the loneliness of children.  Maybe it's the way people are victimized by emotional and physical violence in relationships.  It could be any number of things.  But when we pay attention to the hurt in the world around us, it should make us angry, and it should move us to intervene, to use our resources to communicate our love for the world and the people in it.  

  What are you paying attention to, and what makes you angry?  That's your mission.

John 11:17-27

John 11:17-27

English Standard Version 

  Christianity doesn't ask us to believe in an abstract concept.  Christianity asks us to put our faith in a person, in a specific individual who lived in a specific time and place, who walked the dusty streets of Galilee and had specific conversations with specific people.  He was real, and is attested to in the documents of history, and we put our faith in him.  He's also willing to show us the way, to show us that he's willing to do anything that he asks of us.  He doesn't command from afar -- he invites to follow and then he sends, only when we've walked in his shoes.  

  In some ways this is harder, because we see the impossibly high standard that Jesus sets, which is why it is so important that we hear the words of grace and forgiveness that he speaks.  Here in John, Jesus has showed up after Lazarus has died, and no one understands, but Jesus looks for the best in people -- he's not quick to condemn, but rather listens to them with compassion.

  I don't know what eternity is like, or what the halls of heaven look like.  It's hard to wrap my head around some of these things.  But I can picture Jesus the first century man, the one who ascended the cross and then burst forth from a tomb, the one who taught and healed and listened and prayed and wept and laughed.  I can relate to that, and as I grow in faith, I can build upon this man and place my trust in him, and from there, I can launch into the more challenging concepts, but I can start with Jesus, the man, and build that relationship, day by precious day.

John 11:5-16

John 11:5-16 

English Standard Version 

  How we do know Thomas? We all know him as Doubting Thomas, because he had the nerve to wonder if a man could really rise from the dead.  I still think he got a raw deal and should be known as 'Thomas, we should go and die with him,' because he's the one willing to follow Jesus even though everyone in Judea is ready to kill Jesus.  Many people get known by their worst moments, even though they have many great moments.  Here's your reminder that even the disciples had some rough moments, but that didn't separate them from fellowship with Jesus Christ.

  There's an old saying that God is never late, always on time, but it's curious to me that when Jesus heard Lazarus was ill, he then stayed two more days.  Remember, this, too -- Lazarus was dying, but God knew exactly what was happening.  God's decision not to intervene wasn't done because God didn't notice, but it was an intentional decision made with a long-term view in mind.  Lazarus died, and was later raised, for the glory of God.  May all of our lives serve the same purpose, to bring glory to God, even in the lowest moments, when we wonder where and how God is at work.

John 11:1-4

John 11:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  If you're Mary or Martha and you see Lazarus start to get sick, you're not worried, right?  Lazarus has clearly started to get worse, because they get concerned enough to send for Jesus, but they know that Jesus loves Lazarus, and nothing bad will happen to people Jesus loves, right?  

  We who know the end of the story can say that this turned out well.  But that's only because we know the end of the story.  For Mary and for Martha, as well as for Lazarus, there's fear and uncertainty.  There's curiosity about where this is going.  There are questions about why Jesus doesn't act.

  Jesus, however, is purely confidant.  Jesus isn't worried.  He sees the long-term and knows that it ends in glory.

  May we have the confidence to trust that Jesus is looking out for us, too, and to believe that he loves us even when we're sick and uncertain.

John 10:7-18

John 10:7-18 

English Standard Version 

  Do you know those beverage coolers at public events, the cylinders with the lid that hinges open?  Imagine reaching into one of those packed with ice, and you're trying to find just the right can, and as you fish around in the cooler, your fingers start to tingle with the cold, and as you continue to fish around in there, eventually your hand gets colder, and then it moves up the arm, and the longer you leave your hand in there, trying to grasp what you're searching for, the more the sensation travels farther up your arm?

  That's what I think of when I read this passage.  (I know, it's probably a terrible metaphor, but it's my metaphor, so work with me!)  The enormity of the truth of who Jesus is lays deep inside passages like these, and the more I think about them, the more I read them, the more I reflect upon them, the more of me is absolutely in awe of the love God has for us.  It starts as a small sensation when you read about the shepherd laying down his life for the sheep, and the more time that I spend with it, the more it grows and captures my heart as I realize that Jesus didn't have to die -- he could have remained in heaven for all of eternity, but instead he chose to come to earth, he chose to live in poverty, he chose to take our sins upon us and suffer and die for us, all because he loves us like a shepherd loves the sheep.  Jesus alone had the authority to lay down his life, and he utilized that so that the sheep would be saved.  

  And as a sheep, I still rebel against God... knowing this, I don't constantly turn to God in worship.  It's hard to believe, but it's because when I turn from this truth, I get so distracted by the cares of the world that the other shiny things seem more important.  It's crazy...

  But for a moment, the more I stare at this, the more I think on this, it's simply an amazing sensation that overwhelms the soul... what love transforms us!

John 10:1-6

John 10:1-6 

English Standard Version 

  If you're looking for a quick read, I'd highly recommend Margaret Feinberg's Scouting the Divine, which tells of her time with vintners, farmers, beekeepers, and shepherds as she learns about how to translate ancient teachings into our modern world.  I live in a city where the only encounter with sheep I have is when I'm in the meat department at the grocery store debating if I want to make lamp chops.  Not a very pastoral image of a caring and nurturing relationship, is it?  I've yet to see the poster "Everything I Need to Know about God I Learned in the Frozen Food Section".  

  It's work to be a shepherd, but it's a relationship that's formed.  Sheep aren't just nameless and faceless creatures the shepherd tolerates.  To be a good shepherd, you have to love the sheep.  You have to know the sheep.  You have to protect the sheep, even if it means putting yourself between danger and the sheep.  Being a shepherd isn't a quick path to fame and riches, and some days you're just trying to keep the sheep alive, so it takes a dedicated person to be a shepherd.  Over time, the sheep learn to trust the shepherd and to follow where the shepherd goes.  The shepherd leads them, which means the shepherd goes first, and the sheep follow.

  Jesus is trying to teach us a lot.  He's trying to help us see that he'll go first, that he'll take the risk first, that we can trust him, that he cares for us.  It's a lot to grasp, for the disciples and for us, but ultimately, it's about realizing that we're in danger but have an advocate who not only cares for us but also endangers himself so that we might live.  In the modern world, it's easy to lull ourselves into such a comfortable place that we forget how dangerous the world is.  Maybe it's because it'd be overwhelming to truly realize all the peril that surrounds us, but it's healthy to have some awareness of how fragile life is.  What a gift it is to know that someone is caring for us, and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that our fragile lives are in the strongest hands possible, and that even if the worst on earth should happen, we are saved forever because of the work of the shepherd!

John 9:35-41

John 9:35-41 

English Standard Version 

  How easily do you admit that you're wrong?

  It's hard for some of us.  To admit that you're wrong requires humility, and it means you have to admit that you don't know everything.  It's especially hard if it requires changing a belief that you've had for years, maybe something you've built a career upon.  It's not something to do lightly.

  The Pharisees couldn't do it.  It's a tragic tale -- the evidence was right in front of them, but they couldn't admit that they were wrong.  They'd made up their minds as to what a Messiah would look like, and despite the Son of God standing before them, they knew they had to be right.

  May we have open minds and open hearts about what God's work in the world may look like.  God works often in unexpected places and through unexpected people.  May we be humble in heart and pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts to follow God wherever God might lead, even if it means we have to admit that we're wrong about things.  It's not easy, but it's the path that leads to life.

John 9:24-34

John 9:24-34 

English Standard Version 

  I present to you, the most honest man in the Bible!  The Bible is full of skilled orators and dedicated disciples, men and women who are champions of the faith.  They speak eloquently and passionately on what it means to follow God, and are worthy examples to follow.  Throughout the Gospels, we often have Jesus giving detailed discourses on his relationship with God, and the disciples often miss the point.  Here, though, we have one man who knows what has happened to him, and from that, he deduces that Jesus must be from God.  Does he know every detail?  No, but he knows enough.  We don't even get his name, but he's one of the few characters in the Gospels who seems to recognize Jesus for who he is.  

  What's the response this man gets?  Complete rejection.  All he's done is be healed and talk about his experience, and for that, he's cast out by the leaders, because he doesn't give the right answers to the questions of the Pharisees.  

  So what's the lesson for us?

  First of all, I wouldn't pay too much attention to what the world may say you're worth.  Here's a man who correctly identifies Jesus Christ as a man of God, but because others have an agenda, they cast him out.  Others may do the same to you -- you don't fit the mold of what they're looking for, so they'll cast you out.  If you base your self-worth on the opinions of people in the world, you'll end up exhausted and discarded.

  Second, don't be afraid to go against the grain.  There are plenty of people willing to leap to conclusions about God that are easy.  Christianity is cast aside by many for superficial reasons.  They don't do serious intellectual work to think about suffering or other topics.  May we be a people who think deeply about the pressing problems of the day, and if the logical conclusion is unpopular, may we follow it with integrity regardless.

John 9:18-23

John 9:18-23 

English Standard Version 

  I love how long this story goes on for -- the Jews are desperate to find a loophole, looking for any reason not to believe that this was a miraculous healing.  Everywhere they turn, however, they are stymied -- they keep running into the truth.

  This is not dissimilar to Christianity.  People have been trying to poke holes in Christianity for 2,000 years.  Every possible proposal to explain the resurrection has been thrown out there, many of them multiple times, and Christianity absorbs them all.  We can welcome tough questions and inspections, because each question reveals to us the robustness of the faith.  I don't have answers to every objection, but there are people out there who help shape my understanding and can help me respond to objections in time.  Let the questions come, for in delving in to respond to them, we deepen our own knowledge of the faith and grow in our spiritual walk.

Sermon for Sept 18, 2022: If hell is real, do people go there?

John 9:13-17

John 9:13-17 

English Standard Version 

  How calm can you be in the middle of a storm?  

  In so many ways, we often find ourselves in the midst of a storm.  Life, work, family, etc.  It can all feel a bit chaotic, and the winds buffet us while waves threaten to swamp the boat.  Reminds me of how I used to be excited to receive mail when I was a kid.  Now, I'm simply amazed when I get mail and it's not some organization demanding or asking for money!

  This formerly blind man was in the midst of a debate about who Jesus was, but he wouldn't be caught up in it.  He knew what had happened, and the storm went on around him, but he'd been healed, he'd been transformed, and so the storm went on around him, but it didn't rock his world.

  May we all be so confident, so calm, so centered.  Jesus has claimed us and the storms cannot move us, no matter how looming those clouds may be!  May we rest in our Savior, in that all-powerful love, and breathe.

John 9:8-12

John 9:8-12 

English Standard Version 

  I once heard someone describe this man as the most honest man in the Bible.  He doesn't say anything that he doesn't know -- he tells the simple story of what happened to him, and that's it.  I love when people are trying to figure out who he is, and they seem to be debating who he is, while he's in the background telling them who he is.  Some of them listen, but others are so certain that they know the story that they don't seem interested in what he has to say about his own experience.  It's like 21st century social media, only it's lived out 2000 years earlier in real life -- a bunch of people shouting at each other, with many of them ignoring the reality directly in front of them.

  If we can have any role in the story, I want to play the role where I tell the simple truth of how Jesus changed my life.  Others will hear what they will -- we have to trust the power of the Holy Spirit is active in the hearts and ears and lives of others.  We can only tell our story, and how it fits in with the larger story.  May we tell our story, and do it well, telling it simply at times, and trusting God with the rest.

John 9:1-7

John 9:1-7 

English Standard Version 

  Something to think about with this verse.  Jesus could have healed the man with a word, right?  He does that in other places in Scripture.  Why doesn't he do that here?  Instead, he spits on the ground, makes some mud, and smears it all over this man's eyes, then sends him to wash in a pool.  If you're the blind guy, you're not upset, because you're being healed, but later on, when reflecting on this, there was probably a moment where he wondered why Jesus couldn't have just said something and healed him, rather than make him walk around with spit-mud all over his eyes.

  What's interesting, though, is that the man couldn't have made it to the pool on his own, right?  He was still blind at this point.  So he needed someone else to help him.  Maybe what Jesus is doing here is teaching the church to be the church, so that we help one another out, no matter how messy we might be, no matter how much mud is covering our lives, maybe even publicly.  Jesus is showing us that we're a community of faith that needs one another, especially in the hardest times of our lives.  

John 8:31-38

John 8:31-38

English Standard Version 

  It's so easy to look back on previous generations and recognize the things they were completely wrong about.  With the benefit of hindsight, it's so easy to judge them -- they simply didn't know what they didn't know.  I always wonder -- what will be the things that people look back on us in 100 years and laugh at how foolish we were?  We're at the pinnacle of knowledge right now, but it's hard to admit that there are things we simply don't know that will be common knowledge in 100 years.  There was a time before the wheel, right?  Remember, there was a time when doctors never washed their hands and people thought the best thing to do when someone was sick was to bleed them.  We take all these things for granted... but at one point, that was future knowledge and would've seemed crazy to do otherwise.  We don't know what we don't know.

  Jesus is trying to help people lift their eyes from what they know and see true freedom.  He's showing it to them, using words and miracles, but it's so very hard for us to see anything different than what we currently know.  It was hard for the Jews, too.  They probably couldn't see a lot of their sin -- they were blind to it.  

  So what sins are we blind to?  What would Jesus point to in our lives regarding things we need to stop doing, and what things would he tell us to start doing?  It takes time to truly reflect, to listen.  It's not easy... but when we pray, when we still ourselves, then we can start to wonder what the Father has to say to us, that we might learn, and that learning, we might be transformed, drawn closer to God and given a glimpse of the true freedom that we find in Christ.

John 8:21-30

John 8:21-30 

English Standard Version 

  In so many ways, it's conflicting to look back at the public ministry of Jesus Christ.

  From our vantage point, we wish we could've been there to have seen the miracles and to hear him teach.  We think we would've all immediately believed, because it would have been so obvious, right?  And we know that many did -- John tells us here that many believed.

  And yet so many struggled, and we understand why, right?  Jesus was challenging to listen to at time.  He's talking here about going away, and people hear him literally, but they don't understand.  I don't know that I would have at the time.

  We all think it would've been easier to understand and believe in a different time, but it's never easy.  We all have to pray for Holy Spirit wisdom to open our eyes and the eyes of our hearts, that we might see and believe, that we might hear and be convicted.  God reaches out to each of us, and if we're wise, we listen with humility and take the next step, whatever that may be.

  May we hear and see the Spirit reaching out in faith.  May we believe and be transformed!

Is Hell Real? The sermon from September 11, 2022

John 8:12-20

John 8:12-20 

English Standard Version 

  Warren Buffet says that it's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming without any swimming trunks.  

  In the same way, if you're walking around in the daylight, how do you know if your flashlight works?

  When things are going well, you start to think you don't need any light.  You assume that things are fine, and that you'll find a way to endure if things ever get tough.

  But when things do get tough, when you wander through the dark nights of life, then you discover whether your faith is strong enough, robust enough, to endure the big challenges in life.  

  So when Jesus says that he is the light of the world, do you have the wisdom to build your faith now, to study Scripture and build a deep faith, wrestling with the hard parts of faith now?  In doing so, we learn about how Christianity has something to say in the midst of suffering.  Will you spend time now with those who are suffering, that you might serve them and also learn about the reality of what it looks like to have faith during suffering?  It's easy in most of life to avoid others who are suffering, but in doing so, we are fooling ourselves, forgetting that one day, we'll be suffering, and we'll want community then, so let us be wise and pay it forward, serving as we'd like to be served, letting the Holy Spirit show us how our faith is light in good times and bad times.

John 8:1-11

John 8:1-11 

English Standard Version 

  I can't help but think about the people in Syria and Central Africa Republic and Ukraine that are chased from their homes by violence.  They're people, caught in something bigger than themselves, and so easily overlooked when we see war on television.  We forget about the individual stories of people trying to live their lives when everything is uprooted.  What about them?

  Here, this woman is caught in adultery.  It's a terrible thing, but it's made worse when she becomes a pawn, something used in the games of others as they try and ensnare Jesus in some clever trap that will prove to others how smart they are to discredit Jesus.  Her life and situation doesn't matter to them.

  May we be the kind of people who always notice the individuals caught up in something huge.  Jesus notices here.  He cares.  May we care.  May we pay attention and be careful never to use people as a means to an end, and may we look out for those caught in something larger, and may we find ways to care for them.

John 6:66-71

John 6:66-71 

English Standard Version 

  If you go to a steakhouse, you're not supposed to order chicken.  It's like going to a formal wear shop and complaining that they don't sell cargo shorts.  Do you ever walk into a Tiffany jewelry shop and ask to see the 'Buy One, Get One' section?  In some places in life, there's only one thing that's really available, and to look for anything else, you'll be disappointed.

  I absolutely love this passage, because it's an admission by the disciples that only Jesus can truly provide the words of eternal life.  No one else can offer these, but it also means that the disciples realize that these words are so rich and have such value, that you stay even through the hard parts, because you've come to Jesus for eternal life.  It's the thing that's offered, and even if it comes with things that are challenging and that you don't quite get, you stay, because you're there for eternal life.

  This passage reminds me that it's worth staying through the hard parts.  Even when it's hard, I've come to Jesus for eternal life.  It's what he offers, and it's worth enduring through my misunderstands and challenges, because Christ offers what I can't get anywhere else.  He is the Holy One of God.  Where else could we go?

John 6:60-65

John 6:60-65 

English Standard Version 

  I know I've said it a million times, but the Bible is so relatable, right?  Can you picture yourself standing in a field, surrounded by people desiring to follow Jesus, trying to track with everything he's saying, and then getting to the point where you look at one another and say, 'this is tough.'  

  I can relate to that.  Someone once said that it's not the parts of the Bible they don't understand that concern them, it's the parts of the Bible they do understand that worry them.  I often get to the end of a passage and look around with concern... either for lack of understanding or a worry that I do understand it but simply won't be able to fulfill it!  

  Therefore, what is my hope?  What is your hope?  How are we going to figure this out?

  Have I got great news for us!!

  The flesh is of no help at all (thanks for pointing that out, Jesus!).  It's the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit alone, that gives life.  

  Thanks be to God that it's not on us to figure it all out.  We strive for holiness, but it's the Spirit that animates us, that leads us into life.  

September 4, 2022 Sermon on Mark 8

John 6:52-59

John 6:52-59

English Standard Version 

  Between friends, we can all admit that, at face value, this is a peculiar passage.  People were asking questions, and Jesus is doubling down, telling them about eating flesh and drinking blood.  We can all admit that if a good friend told you this, you'd look at them askance.

  But Jesus isn't literally speaking about this -- it's a way of telling us that we need to take his teachings into our lives, into our bodies.  The teaching of Jesus Christ should become a part of us the same way a good meal does.  It stays with us, it transforms us.  Just as if we choose to eat a terrible diet, that will change our bodies and our lives, the same way, if we choose to take in the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, then that will transform our bodies and our lives.  How we treat ourselves and one another will be changed.  

  And when Jesus talks about drinking the blood, he's pointing to the atoning sacrifice that he will be for us.  His blood will save our lives, and when we immerse ourselves in Jesus Christ, we'll live forever with him.  Thanks be to God!

John 6:41-51

John 6:41-51 

English Standard Version 

  It's interesting how much grumbling goes on in the Bible.  People feel like they should have something different than they do.  Imagine if you're hungry and show up at a restaurant with no money and then get upset when you get chicken instead of steak.  When I worked in Chattanooga, people would occasionally come into my office and tell me how much they wanted food, and then I'd take them to where we had some extra food, and they always looked so disappointed -- they'd really just wanted money.  

  When we're beggars, who are we to argue over what kind of bread we receive?  But the people listening to Jesus are grumbling because they expected the Messiah to look differently, and because of their expectations, they don't examine him as he is.  

  It's so hard to set aside our preconceived notions of what something should be -- but that's exactly how Scripture calls us to be.  Set everything aside, and examine the facts as they are.  Test for yourself if faith can be true.  Is Jesus truly the Living Bread?  Do his actions and words prove to be reliable?  If so, then he must be the Messiah, however unpredictable it might be.  And if we follow him, then we will live forever, however unexpected that might be.  

  We all must decide for ourselves.  Are you willing to set aside preconceived notions of what life should look like, of what success looks like, of what is yours and what belongs to God?  Lay it all out and let the Holy Spirit blow fresh winds across your life, that you might be led in the ways of faithfulness, drawn closer to God, and renewed by the power of God.