MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/04/27

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Reading:
John 20:19-31

Text:
John 20:27-28 “Then he said to Thomas “Put your finger here see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Message:

And now, two days later, these stories from the woman who went to visit the tomb, that the tomb was empty, and Jesus was raised from the dead. Just imagine the swirl of emotions those disciples must have been feeling when Jesus came and stood among them that evening! They felt joy, of course. But also sadness over what Jesus went through. And confusion over what his resurrection meant. And fear; we know that they were very afraid. And, I strongly suspect, they felt guilt, too, over deserting Jesus, in his hour of need. And in response to all of that joy and sadness and confusion and fear and guilt, Jesus simply said:

Peace be with you

What Jesus did on that first Easter evening was to show those frightened disciples the same grace and mercy and forgiveness and love that he always showed. He came and stood among them and simply said, “Peace be with you.” And then, to ease their doubts, he showed them his hands and his side. No wonder the disciples rejoiced to see him! Not only was Jesus alive and among them, he had also forgiven them for all that they had done – and not done – over these last dramatic days.

A week after this story takes place, the first Sunday after Easter, we find those disciples back in the upper room; the door locked again. Has anything changed? Jesus shows up again, and this time he’s upset, right? This time, he’s going to give them a pep-talk, and tell them to get out there and do what he asked, right?

Well, no. The first thing he says when he shows up this time is – surprise, surprise – “Peace be with you.” Then, he turns to Thomas. Now, Thomas was not there a week ago, when Jesus first appeared to the other disciples. We are not sure why, but I’ve always wondered if Thomas was the only one brave enough to leave that upper room to go and get some food for everyone. But, at any rate, when the others told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, Thomas famously said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

So, what does Jesus do when he appears to Thomas? Again, Jesus shows patience and forgiveness and mercy. He said to Thomas, “Put your fingers here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

What patience Jesus had – not only with Thomas, but with all the disciples! What patience he has with you and me.

The same thing can happen today. Jesus Christ would like to touch your life. He would like to give you a new purpose and passion. With His touch He transformed a discouraged, defeated, doubting disciple into a new man. Do you need to regain your passion? Do you feel stuck in your spiritual life? Maybe you have been through something that has caused you to stop growing in your spiritual life. You are discouraged. We can now see what happened to Thomas.

When Thomas touched Jesus he was transformed. He was changed from a pessimist to an optimist. He was changed from a discouraged disciple to a passionate disciple. I pray that every one of us will receive that touch today. Do you know the end of Thomas’ story? Do you know where he died? He died in India. He was the apostle to the people of India. He brought the gospel of Christ to India. He died a martyr after he was run through with five spears by five soldiers. That doesn’t sound much like a doubter, does it? It sounds like someone who grew and changed, someone for whom the resurrection of Christ was real, someone for whom the empty tomb made a difference. It just took a little time, as it does for most, maybe all of us.

We know Doubting Thomas but let’s not forget Confessing Thomas. He’s in today’s gospel as well. “My Lord and my God!” With those words Thomas has recognized and named a new relationship, a new worldview, a new way of being. Somewhere between Doubting Thomas and Confessing Thomas is the story of resurrection in Thomas’ life. All that stuff about Doubting Thomas, the fact of his disbelief, is just Thomas’ starting place, nothing more and nothing less. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s a starting place. And we all have starting places.

What are the things that cause us to lose our spiritual passion?

Unbelief and discouragement

What are the issues that cause us to lose heart and to become discouraged in our walk with God? What is your starting place? What are the facts of your life today? The starting place for the story of our resurrection is whatever is. Whatever your life is today, whatever your circumstances are, that’s the starting point for your story of resurrection. So, if you’re dealing with deep loneliness, sorrow, and loss, that’s your starting point. That’s the room which Christ enters. If you are locked in a house of fear, confusion, or darkness, that’s your starting point and the place in which Jesus stands. If illness, old age, disability, or uncertainty are facts of your life, that’s your starting point and the place in which Jesus shows up. If you feel lost, betrayed, disappointed, overwhelmed, that’s your starting point and the house Jesus enters.

We also lose our spiritual passion when we get distracted by our busy schedules, excuses.

What are the consequences of losing our passion?

(a) We go Awol we drop out. Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared to His disciples. People drop out of church and stop going to worship, opportunities and church responsibilities.

(b) As we lose our spiritual passion we live defeated lives. Thomas had lost his joy and was filled with doubt. He was pessimistic. When we lose our passion we might be defeated by any number of negative emotions. Several years ago at a passion play an incident took place during Jesus carrying the cross. A man in the audience was heckling the character playing Jesus, throwing out jeers, taunts and dares. Finally the character could no longer tolerate the heckler, he dropped the cross and went over and punched out the man. The director was aghast and after the play pulled the actor aside and told him in no uncertain terms was he ever to do that again. But the next night the same heckler was back and again the same thing, Jesus this time had to be restrained. The director called the actor in and gave him an ultimatum of either quitting or keeping his composure. The young actor assured the director he would keep himself under control. The third night, the heckler was present again and taunted even stronger than the two previous nights. The man playing Jesus rose to his full stature, gritted his teeth and told the heckler, “I’ll see you right after the resurrection.”

Our passion is restored by

Being honest about our conditions is how we begin to restore our passion. Jesus helped Thomas come to terms with his condition. He caused him to look in the mirror and He caused him to see himself in a true light. Then Thomas opened to change. He was willing to put his finger into Jesus’ wounds. Thomas was open to change and to being taught. Jesus was the change agent, Jesus was the teacher. Thomas was open. Passion is often fueled by new adventures in your spiritual life. It could be fasting. It could be a conference. It could be an extended time in prayer. Such events can and will move you out of your comfort zone. How willing are you to change and trust Jesus when He calls us to reignite the passion in us to be with other believers, to be active in service and want to know God and be filled with enthusiasm.

Touched by Jesus

Notice what happened when Thomas touched Jesus. He spontaneously shouted “My Lord and My God.” (Verse 28). That short simple phrase revealed volumes about Thomas. It also revealed volumes about Jesus.. Suffice it to say that Thomas was ecstatic. He was transformed by the touch of the master.

Here is a beautiful bit by Myra Brooks Welch (Contributed to Sermon Central by Elliot Ross)

The touch of the Master’s hand.
It was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while,
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile
What am I bid for this old violin?
Who will start the bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar, who’ll make it two?
Two dollars, and who will make it three?
“Three dollars, once; three dollars twice,
Going for three,” But no;
From the back of the room a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow.
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up all the strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As sweet as the angels sing.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low
Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who will make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone,” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them said,
“We do not quite understand,
What changed its worth?” Came the reply,
“The touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine;
A game, and he shuffles along.
He’s going once, and he’s going twice,
He’s going and almost gone,
But the master comes, and the thoughtless crowd
Never quite understands
The worth of a soul, and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

Conclusion

Again and again, in the midst of our doubts and fears, and in the midst of our sin and failings, our crucified and risen Lord and Savior comes to us and says: “Peace be with you.” Again and again, he comes to us and says, “Do not doubt, but believe.” Again and again, Jesus forgives us, breathes new life into us, and offers us the gift of new life in Christ, and the promise of the Holy Spirit.

And again and again, our risen Lord reminds us of our mission; to go and share the peace and the joy and the hope of this new life, with our world that struggles to find peace, joy or hope. Again and again, the risen Jesus comes to us. To give us peace, to give us new life, to forgive our sin, and to gently remind us not to doubt but to believe. And again and again, he invites us to go. To go in peace, to serve our risen Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/04/20

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Reading:
John 20:1-18

Text:
John 20:14 “At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”

Message:

Life without the Resurrection is flat because life without Christ can be heavy and flat. Just like biscuits without baking powder are flat and heavy. We tend to think of the Easter message as a message for the end of life. But, frankly, I think we need the Easter message right now, cause as many of us know, death can come long before the end of life. How many people do we know who are walking this earth physically alive but dead of spirit? Maybe you are one of them. How easily life can beat us down.

It is easy to celebrate the resurrection of the body on this glorious Easter Sunday. But what about the resurrection of the spirit? What about tomorrow morning, when the alarm clock goes off at 6 am and our spirits sink – where is the resurrection then?

• Where is the resurrection when we work night and day in a thankless job and yet find ourselves deeper in debt?

• Where is the resurrection when after working forty years we realize we’re about to lose our home?

• Where is the resurrection when we wake up one morning and realize nothing matters to us anymore?

• Where is the resurrection when at the end of life our family and friends are all gone and we are left alone to negotiate in a world that does not honor its old ones?

Where is the resurrection then?

It’s not just resurrection after death we’re talking about, it is resurrection during life. Like biscuits without baking powder, life without the resurrection can be heavy and flat. But, today, I say we bring that missing ingredient back.

We read in John’s gospel today that Mary goes to the tomb while it is still dark. It was dark inside of Mary as well. Now Jesus was crucified, dead in a tomb. Her heart was heavy and in her soul it was still dark. Sadness, disappointment, and emptiness had been her companions since Friday. It had been a good three-year run, but now it is over. Let’s face it. We all have our days when we stand with our dreams in shambles around our feet. Our children go astray. We get the pink slip from our employer, or worse still, the test comes back from the lab as positive. This happens to good people as well as to those who haven’t been so good. “Why me, Lord?’ I go to church with regularity. I’m even involved in my church. My life was going so well and now this darkness.

However, a close examination of the text reveals something helpful. When it was yet dark, God was at work on her behalf. He was making a way where there was no way. Have no doubt about it, when things get tough, and they will, it does not mean that God has abandoned you. When the darkness comes upon you, God is still working on your behalf. She didn’t leave Jesus or deny him. She remained faithful to him while waiting for the light. A colleague, Rev. Trevor Hudson always said to me, each Sunday as you look out over the congregation, every one there is sitting in a pool of tears. No one is immune.

She finds the stone rolled away and Jesus’ body gone. Weeping, she looks inside the tomb and sees two angels. “Woman, why are you weeping?” they ask. “They have taken away my Lord,” Mary said, “and I do not know where they have laid him.” Just then, she turned around and Jesus was standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.

“Woman, why are you crying?” “Sir”, Mary said, “if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

“Mary,” Jesus said.

And the second he says her name. Mary realizes that this stranger standing before her was the risen Christ. “Rabbouni” she says to Jesus.

Mary recognized the Living Christ. She recognized that life force in her midst. And it’s exactly the same for us. We have the risen Christ right in front of us. We have a life force in our midst. And that’s the missing ingredient we must reclaim.

It is always so beautiful in Namaqualand. We see each year how barren the fields look but then the rain comes and all of a sudden there are beautiful colors as far as the eye can see. What a beautiful symbol of renewal of life from no life. Rain was the “baking powder.” Like those little dormant seeds, there is still life in us all. We just need to find that missing ingredient to bring it back. And that ingredient is Jesus.

So let us this Easter open our lives to that missing ingredient in our barren and empty lives and let Jesus into our lives. What are the things that are preventing Christ from coming into our lives things like anger, negativity, fear, doubt, things that shut us down, weigh us down, the things that life renewing of Jesus working in our hearts. As the song writer says: “I know my Redeemer lives because He lives in my heart.” As Ann Lamott said: “God can’t clean the house of you with you in it.”

Another great truth in life is this: Deep down, the human spirit yearns for joy, yearns to soar. We all long for a spirit of joy and lightness but more than often our lives become flat, heavy and bleak. For everyone out there who feels that their dreams have been destroyed, their hopes dashed, their spirits crushed, here is the good news of Easter morning: The risen Christ can take our flat, heavy hearts and put back that key ingredient:

• So that our spirits are not stuck on the ground,

• So that our spirits are not dictated by human pain or loss or disappointment,

• So that our spirits are not mired in a tomb.

Easter brings each of us a second chance. A chance to see the life force in our midst. A chance to recognize the risen Christ right in front of us. A chance to start again.

Mary. Still weeping, she saw the grave clothes and realized that the powers of heaven had been at work. She sees two angels; they were presumably sitting where Jesus’ body had been. She is not frightened and they inform her of the good news. While she was speaking, Christ suddenly appeared behind her. She sees the object of her concern, but does not recognize him. Jesus comes to her with great love and gentleness.

We need to realize that in our most difficult situations God is working on our behalf even if we do not know it at the time. He is working to bring light and to dispel our dark situations. The good news is not only that Jesus was raised from the tomb, but the character of God is revealed in Jesus. He is light and He is also love. In her darkness she is ministered to, and her life goes in a different direction when Jesus calls her to go and tell the brethren. Note that His first command as the resurrected Christ is to tell a woman to go preach to his disciples. She becomes an apostle to the disciples.

God is piercing her darkness and ours. He not only ministers to her with comforting angels, he calls her into usefulness. Go and tell the apostles. The dispelling of our darkness demands that we tell others in order to complete the cure. As believers, we have difficulty acknowledging that the same power that rolled away the stone that covered the mouth of the cave where Jesus was buried can roll away the stones that have plagued our lives. The power of the resurrection will dispel our darkness and enable us to live resurrection, empowered lives.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/04/13

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Reading:
Luke 19:28-40

Text:
Luke 19:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Message:

Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we as Christians call Palm Sunday and for all time thereafter that last week of His life on earth would be known to his followers across the world as Holy Week. Today we as Christians once again celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. It was a difficult week for Jesus. It began so triumphantly in our text with people spreading their garments on the road to make a royal carpet for his entry. Other passages in scripture tell us that cut branches were laid out before him. Our text from Luke records a multitude of his disciples joyfully shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!” Other scriptures proclaim crowds of people shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

By Thursday of that week crowds of people began to cry out against Jesus and after the last Supper one of His followers betrayed him with a kiss! By Friday of that week, the crowds seem to have completely turned against Him. And cried out crucify Him, Crucify Him and Crucify Him. And Saturday He lay in the grave all seemed quiet, ominously quiet. There are times when silence seems appropriate.

Sunday morning Jesus rises from the dead. A difficult week had an incredible conclusion. Holy Week is confusing. His disciples had borrowed a donkey for his ride into the city. That alone told the people that he was a man of peace and that he was not in the mold of the Roman generals who always rode into town on a warhorse. He was a servant. As he rides into the city of Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, the people crowd the streets to hail him Messiah: “The One who comes in the name of the Lord!” They placed palm branches in his path, and they give every indication that they know he fulfills the picture of the Messiah found in Zechariah 9:9. But they melt away as they see that during the week he is not going to fit into their popular image of the Messiah; and by his teaching and action, he calls them to make difficult decisions about himself and about their own lives.

We wonder what could have possibly happened in that week that caused people to turn against Jesus so rapidly. This event begins Holy Week. This week is eventful and revealing. In it we can see how the tide of popular opinion turns against him as the week progresses. On Monday he cleanses the temple of the money changers. This violent scene provokes the Jewish leaders to intensify the effort to get rid of him. On Tuesday he engages in discourse with the Jewish leaders and curses the fig tree for being barren, a clear message to Israel. Wednesday, he was anointed in Bethany much to the discomfort of Judas. And Thursday, which we call Maundy Thursday, he was preparing for Passover. It was also the evening of the betrayal, arrest in Gethsemane and the beginning of the trials. The crowds call for his crucifixion. Friday was the day of the crucifixion. Saturday was in the tomb and Sunday the day of the resurrection, the day of victory.

The same crowds that cried “Hosanna” on the first day of the week cried “Crucify him!” at the end of the week. Why? Could it have been because they wanted an instant kingdom, and he offered them an eternal kingdom? Or could it have been because the crowds wanted entertainment, not enrichment? Or simply, when during the week, they saw the demands of his kingdom and they were not willing to change their lives, much less their lifestyle for Him?

It is very simple. Jesus resisted any attempt to make his message or ministry a handmaiden to the culture, to the government, or any other religious group. As this became clear, the crowds began to melt away. They were not much different than we are. A religious commitment that will not support my political view or my economic opinion is not for me. Any faith that claims first place in my life is not acceptable; after all, my faith should support me, my world view, and demand nothing of me.

We live in a day of instant everything, from instant cake mixes to information and entertainment. We no longer can wait for anything. We are like the lady who prayed, “Lord, give me patience – and I want it now!” We no longer have the patience to let character develop, or to postpone gratification. A God who does not give us what we want now is of no use to us. Jesus would not adjust his message to the popular ideas of the Messiah that prevailed in his day. He called his disciples to a life-time commitment and not to a short-term ministry. He would not adjust his message to their whims or gain following by stroking their prejudices.

However, we like the crowds on that Jerusalem street, are no different.

• God calls us to repentance. We want to make a deal.

• God says his kingdom is forever, and we say it is as long as I need it or can use it.

• God says all things are mine. We say try and get them from me.

• God stretches us. He does not stroke us.

I do not think God is particularly concerned with our happiness, but I do think God is very concerned with our holiness. He is concerned with our commitment and not our pleasure.

Christian faith can only be understood when it is a life-time commitment. This serious commitment leads us through the moments of temptation when we are tempted to be less than we are made to be. It takes us through the valley of doubt when we see the futility of the uncommitted life and ask, “Is this all there is?” Holy Week invites us to look deeper at our commitment. They may have felt that their potential hero had let them down. They may have been so caught up with the things of this world that they could not see that Jesus was talking of a higher realm as much more important. They may have realized that they had misunderstood Jesus and his mission. He did not seem to be as interested in the politics of the day as he was in the holiness of God’s people.

And when you combine this with Zechariah’s prophecy that Jerusalem’s true king would come into the city riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) it’s clear that Jesus is making a statement with this mode of transportation: he was openly claiming to be the King of Jerusalem, the rightful successor of David, who would bring peace to Israel.

Finally Jesus was acting the way the people wanted him to … and that’s why that crowd grew so big so quickly – they thought that he was getting ready to reestablish David’s throne in Jerusalem. They were expecting Jesus to be the king they wanted; a king who would throw the Romans out of the Holy Land and restore prosperity and power to Israel. That’s the version of Jesus the world can – and does – gladly accept. No more of this bloody Jesus and his cross. No more of this Jesus who builds his kingdom through foolish things like words and water, bread and wine.

The Jesus the world wants .. that’s the Jesus I want too. And I suspect the same is true of you. I don’t really want bloody Good Friday Jesus. I want glorious Palm Sunday Jesus. I don’t want a king who is rejected by the world, and says that the world will reject me too if I follow him. I don’t want a Jesus who picks up his cross and then tells me that if I’m going to follow him I must pick up my own cross, too. I want a Jesus who stops at Luke 19:40. I want a superhero Jesus that I can brag about at parties – not a bloody, beaten, loser Jesus who says that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

Are we not at times like the people that first Palm Sunday the crowd is here shouting praise to King Jesus in His time of glory, but where will this crowd be on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday when King Jesus bleeds and dies? The truth is that if we want Jesus to be a King who comes to make this life and this world better, then we don’t want the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible. And this is more than just a mistake, this is sin, this is idolatry. It’s time to repent.

It’s easy to make mistakes about Jesus on Palm Sunday because the appearances can be deceiving. He appears to march in as David’s legitimate heir who has come to be the earthly King the people want. But if you look past the palm branches and adoring crowds, you can see the real reason Jesus came. And finally, not the Palm Sunday crowds but the Good Friday stones proclaim the King we need. We don’t need a Jesus who hangs out in a palace, we need a Jesus who hangs on a cross. A Jesus who is popular in the world wouldn’t want anything to do with you or me. We don’t have the power, the money, the looks, the talent, the charisma the world values and praises. A Jesus like that would be out of touch and out of reach.

We need a Jesus who meets us where we are; who knows what it is to grieve and weep; who knows what it means to be weak and helpless; who is despised and hated by the same world we are. When we are suffering, we find comfort in a King who suffers too. When we are burdened by sin and haunted by demons, we run to a King who knows sin’s weight and the devil’s fury. More than we need a King who is popular with this world’s elite, we need a King who isn’t ashamed to associate with sinners; because that’s what we are. The Jesus the world wants comes and demands to be served. He expects people to give him the shirt off their backs. He expects them to sacrifice everything for him. This Jesus fits the paradigm of power and glory in this world. But this is not the Jesus I need. I don’t need a Jesus who demands the shirt off my back; I need a Jesus who offers his back to take the beating I deserve from God and covers my shameful nakedness with the robe of his righteousness. I don’t need a Jesus who will take over the world but a Jesus who willingly loses the world to save me. I need the Jesus of Philippians 2 who lets go of heaven to grab hold of me. Let the rest of the world have health and wealth Jesus; I need the Jesus who gave up his health and wealth to defeat sin, death and the devil and win eternal life for me.

Now as Christians we are now called to spend our lives proclaiming to the world the salvation that Jesus brought and to live holy lives of mission, ministry, and service in his name. We are to live into the love, mercy, and grace that Christ, our Lord, brought to us from the forgiving heart of God.

The Holy Week we need to make sure that we understand Jesus Christ and what He can mean to our hurting world. If we are praising the name of Jesus at the beginning of this week, let us be sure that we are praising him for the right reasons. Following Jesus let us love everyone in the name of Christ even as we love ourselves. Let us care for those who do not have enough. Let us reach out to the least, the last, and the lost. Let us seek peace with justice for all people. Let us give ourselves to the ministry of reconciliation that God, who reconciled us through Christ, has entrusted to us so that the whole world, forgiven of their trespasses, may be reconciled to God through Christ. Let us never cease to follow Christ’s example by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, visiting the prisoner, and loving our enemies.

Christian faith can only be understood when it is a life-time commitment. This serious commitment leads us through the moments of temptation when we are tempted to be less than we are made to be. It takes us through the valley of doubt when we see the futility of the uncommitted life and ask, “Is this all there is?’ Holy Week invites us to look deeper at our commitment. The apostle Paul calls us to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. The triumphal entry invites us to re-examine our understanding of the mission of Jesus and our commitment to him. As we see the crowds melt away as the week becomes more difficult and the challenges to commitment become more intense, we must ask ourselves, “Have we the Lord of our lives?”

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/04/06

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Reading:
Philippians 3:4 – 14

Text:
Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”

Message:

In our reading today Paul tells a very vital part of our faith journey. Paul, the apostle, tells us what he thought were the advantages of his former life in Judaism. So, imagine a spiritual bank book with two columns, gains and losses. Paul focuses first on the profits – the things that he thought would give him confidence at the final judgment; he felt that his spiritual ledger was all finely balanced. In terms of his relationship with God, it turns out Paul had nothing on the “losses” side at all. Paul thought he was in the clear every way he looked at it. Paul had placed his confidence in the flesh. “If anyone else thinks they have reason to trust in the flesh, I’ve got more,” says Paul (Phil. 3:4)

Paul’s confidence had two points. First, there was the confidence that came from his birth. “Circumcised? On the eighth day. Race? Israelite. Tribe? Benjamin. Descent? Hebrew through and through” (Phil 3:5). Since he was part of God’s people, he thought that was an automatic gain. Second, there was confidence that stemmed from his performance. These are things he had personally achieved instead of inheriting. “Observance of the law? I was a Pharisee. Zealous? I persecuted the church! Official status under the law? Blameless” (Phil. 3:5-6).

Paul would have been guaranteed a clear entrance to heaven if salvation were by works. And at one time, Paul considered all that to his profit. He thought he had all the advantages that would have helped him gain an eternal reward. But something changed. Paul realized his books were out of balance. Many items appeared to give him a surplus, but they needed to be placed on the other side of the page instead. They are part of the loss column rather than the gain column.

Ever since that blinding experience on the road to Damascus, Paul’s eyes of faith were opened, and he now realized that his spiritual ledger radically changed. All those things he thought won him God’s favour were actually to his disadvantage. They stood in the way of his having a right relationship with the Lord and kept the gates of heaven shut tight for him. They did not give him any righteousness but only led him away from the true righteousness in Christ. They were now all at his ‘loss”. Those old ideas needed to be abandoned as totally useless and worthless.

Everything he used to put his confidence in – his birth and his performance – Paul now considered it nothing more than garbage that smells up the house and needs to be hauled out and thrown away. They were not a surplus. On the contrary, they also stood to cost him everything; they were a loss. They had left him spiritually bankrupt.

Practicing for the Argus or a marathon – takes commitment, hard work and discipline. This is also true about our life of faith – Paul knew this very well and here in the letter to the Philippians he writes about an athlete to demonstrate that Christ’s life is not just a quick profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then sitting back and waiting until He comes again. As Fred Craddock writes, the image is quite the opposite:

“Paul portrays himself in the least relaxed, most demanding posture he knows: as a runner in a race. His language is vivid, tense, repetitious: pressing, stretching, pushing, straining. In those words the lungs burn, the temples pound, the muscles ache, the heart pumps, the perspiration rolls.”

For Paul faith is an active response marked by a sense of movement toward something more. And Paul is quick to point out what is left behind. The word loss appears three times. Here he reflects in this letter about his many accomplishments as a successful student of the Torah who was zealous about fulfilling his religious obligations. He notes that he was one who “had it all” religiously speaking he took part in the appropriate rituals and adhered to the letter of the law.

Paul lists for us what were the things he had in the past that he gave up. But why did he consider all these things a loss. In Acts 9 we read about his Damascus experience where Jesus confronted him and he discovered that there is a much greater goal than just checking off all the boxes on the activities card at church. His focus has shifted, and now he is zeroed in more directly on an engaged relationship with Jesus Christ. For Paul, this is a critical distinction, and a straightforward reminder that our lives of faith are not as much about us as they are about Jesus. That is what he identifies as the gain.

Paul now had a clear goal to his life as a believer. In our text from Philippians, he confesses the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, the goal of life being to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings and finally to receive the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. The goal of the Christian life is to know and love Christ now and have fellowship with Christ forever. The prize of life with Christ is even worth a great deal of loss.

Jesus changes everything. Christ’s resurrection and claim on us as His own reorients us to a new way of being in the world that is forward-facing, not looking back to our own past achievements. The image of the runner here again is helpful. In running, it is usually less helpful to spend much time thinking about the road that is behind you. Instead, the focus needs to be on what lies ahead. In his book Thomas from A. It says that we who follow the Lord are called to limit him in his kindness and love and care for others, in his devotion to the Father in prayer and also by suffering for his name. We are called to count as refuse, rubbish, what the world outside counts as good things for the sake of the better part which is knowing Christ and receiving the prize of eternal life in his name. When we follow Jesus we are not only asked to give up harmful and destructive things but may be asked to give up what is good and honorable and precious.

Paul never despised that he was educated by Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers of that time, that he was born Jewish and kept the scriptures he grew up with; he was honoured and respected by his people. We need not be ashamed of our talents and abilities. They are gifts given to us by God. We can thank God if we have grown up in good, loving families, if we have friends and the respect of colleagues, if we have received an education or training that is useful. The Bible includes all these things as our daily bread that we can and should pray for and give thanks for. But not even the best things should come between us and following the Lord. If they do, they should be regarded as a loss.

There is also something in this text which speaks to each of us about the past and about the future. The image is of a race. We are running a race in life with the goal being the prize of eternal life in Christ. In a sense we are already beneficiaries of that goal – Christ is with us now in our race. As Paul put it, “I have not already reached the goal but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. As we keep our eyes on what is ahead as I do with the Argus Cycle race, I keep the Green Point stadium in my sight. This is where we finish the race with the crowds cheering you across the line, this keeps me going. As you cycle on you cannot look back and it is dangerous because you do not pay attention to what is coming. Paul calls them the people of his day and challenges them to see things from a different perspective and to take on a new way of thinking in their relationship to their lives of faith.

Maybe we need that reorientation, too. It is very easy in our lives of faith to get caught up in what has been done in the past and only note what we have experienced or have done before. This can be good, of course, as we recall those foundational and pivotal moments to our relationship with God. But it can also leave us with a belief system that is in the past, rather than one that engages us now in the present. Paul, I think, would have us work to let go of the things in our past that distract or encumber us so that we can pay attention to the here and now. Then, we can look ahead and press on to the future that lies before us. In order to get there, he might suggest that we focus on the one who is responsible for it all – Jesus, who is indeed ahead of us. Consider the chorus to the old hymn as our refrain:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory grace.”

These words were written in 1922 by Helen Lemmel, and the verses speak of those struggling with weary hearts and to places where evil seems to envelop all light and hope with darkness. In the face of heartbreak and tragedy, these words are a powerful testimony to the transforming power of Jesus Christ; of the good news of the resurrection that said evil and sin in this world would never be the final answer. This is the hope of our faith, and it needs to be spoken over and over again – as natural disasters strike and we face hardships, violence and crime. As people of faith we need to cling to the hope that Jesus can and will change these realities.

In our text from Paul he also presses us to do more. Remember, he doesn’t instruct the Philippians to rest in this good news. He calls them to action. Thoughts and prayers are important in times of struggle, and good and right, but they themselves cannot be the end. We must press on towards a more full participation in the life-giving transformative work that God has done and is doing in the world through Jesus Christ. This means being a witness of compassion and love and care for the broken and wounded. This means looking around our own communities and asking if we are showing Christ to each other every day in ways that foster peace and usher in the kingdom of God. This means spending time in prayer and reflection on what our own “heavenly calls” might be, whether around these circumstances or others where we are passionate. Our work as disciples isn’t finished just because we are here confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. In fact, that profession is just the beginning of the race and journey Paul talks about. And, it’s like the clichéd phrase reminds us, it isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. The life of faith is about action and continued discernment. This is what “pressing on” toward Jesus is all about, and our text for today urges us to examine our own lives and consider how well or not the decisions we are making are leading us in closer relationship with Christ.

Don’t just stay at a comfortable, easy pace with faith. Step up to the challenge of Paul’s race and stretch yourself a bit. You might just find that in doing so your own faith will be strengthened, and that you’re able to do more than you thought possible before.

We are on the road together. We must always work to a bigger goal: the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. So that we might be transformed by our relationship we have with Jesus Christ. There is also something in this text which speaks to each of us about the past and about the future. The image is of a race. We are running a race in life with the goal being the prize of eternal life in Christ. In a sense we are already beneficiaries of that goal – Christ is with us now in our race. As Paul put it, “I have not already reached the goal but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

When we receive Christ into our lives, when we were born again and committed our lives to Jesus we have not reached the final goal which is eternal life, the resurrection from the dead. As long as we are living we are in the race. But we press on – and we do not look back but forward. I remember my father telling me as a little boy that he was in an ice skating race. He was about to win that race but he decided to look back and see how his competition was faring. When he did that, he broke his stride and ended up losing. It is pointless to dwell on past mistakes and shortcomings. What we have done in the past cannot be undone or what we have said, unsaid. We cannot live the past over and It is not helpful to be so focused on what has been that we do not focus on the present moment and what is to come.

Anne LeMotte once said “Forgiveness is giving up hope of changing the past”. We cannot change the past but we can forgive others and ourselves for the past and move forward. It is what St. Paul means when he talks of straining forward to what lies ahead, because we know what lies ahead – victory with Christ. We can grow through trials and temptations, grow in our dependence upon God and become more like Jesus Christ. Paul certainly suffered for his faith in Christ. He talked of a “thorn in the flesh” and we don’t know what the thorn was but he prayed and prayed and it was never taken away. Even Paul had his concern that he would somehow fall away from faith – notice how he put it, “sharing in Christ’s suffering by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. “There is no idea of eternal security here but instead constant training for righteousness. We can never become complacent in our life’s race. It is only those who endure to the end who will be saved. Until the end of the race, there is always the possibility that temptation will lure us away from the goal which is knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and winning the great prize of eternal life. Paul shows us what our goal is today but as Paul says he did not reach it in his lifetime but he simply is on the way pressing on to this goal because Christ Jesus has made him His own. The goal won’t be reached until the last day. We have a goal for our race. It is to receive a prize that will make whatever we suffer and lose so much refuse compared to the glory that is ours in Christ. We press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, of eternal life in his name.

Conclusion

I encourage you to take this passage to heart, and spend time in reflection and prayer with how you are running the race. Center yourself on Jesus and the call God is making to you, and press on to that goal of being the best disciple you can be with your time, your skills and abilities, and your financial resources. In striving towards this goal, the Psalmist’s words will ring true, and we will also be those who “tell of the glory of God.” The end has not been reached by us, but we are on the way. We serve; we give; we pray; we sin, and confess; we fall down and get up. We come to church to be fed and encouraged on the way. Yes, we are on the way. And one day, we hope to be able to say, from the depths of our heart, that compared to knowing Jesus, all else is but loss. In the meantime, we press on to the goal, knowing that our Lord and Savior has already reached the goal on our behalf. We press on, as best we can, grateful to follow the one who promises to show us the way. We are not there yet, not what we ought to be. But thanks be to God, we are on the way.

Please note that there is no message for Sunday, 2025/03/30 as Rev Ronnie Cawood is preaching at Huis Stilbaai.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/03/23

Please note that there are no longer any YouTube messages available

Reading:
Isaiah 55:1-5

Text:
Isaiah 55;1 “Come, all you who are thirsty come to the waters; and you have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

Message:

“Come all of you all you who are thirsty” This wonderful invitation comes to us today from the prophet Isaiah. It is an invitation to come and enjoy the best things that God has to offer us, at no cost. It is a lovely reminder that the best things in life are free, and that the very best thing of all is our relationship with God. Come, Isaiah reminds us, and enjoy this gift. Why look elsewhere? It is in God that the hunger in our souls is fed; nowhere else. And what God offers us is completely free. Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch, and it comes from God. As Isaiah tells us, this lunch is free, and is to be delighted in. It is a meal like no other. And there is no catch. But this can be hard to get our minds around.

This message can be summarized in one word; it’s an invitation from God – it’s the word “come”. Imagine you are in a shopping mall one Saturday morning and quite unexpectedly a shop door opens and the manager rings a bell to get your attention and shouts out, “Everybody is invited to come and shop – everything is free: there’s nothing to pay. It was this kind of announcement that Isaiah made in Babylon some 2 500 years ago. Hear the words of God spoken through the prophet. “Come, all you who are thirsty, and you, who have no money, come buy and eat!” (55:1). “Come, all you who are thirsty. The people were strangers in a strange land, separated from their homeland by hundreds of miles of inhospitable wilderness. They felt alienated from their God who they believed had turned his back on them. The glory of Jerusalem and its temple were but a faded memory that only brought them pain to think about it. These unfulfilled longings brought them to the edge of despair. It was into this bleak spiritual wilderness that God’s messenger came with a word from the Lord.

The gracious invitation

Most people like to receive an invitation to a special function, perhaps to a wedding or a celebration dinner. But that sort of invitation is highly restrictive. Wedding invitations are given to relatives and close friends. But the invitation that Isaiah offers is a universal invitation. Isaiah’s words are those which would have been used in the marketplace. You can imagine the street traders calling out to the passers-by to try their produce – “Come…” It’s like in a carnival with the town crier ringing his bell and calling the crowd’s attention. How typical this is of our gracious God. He doesn’t wait for people to go in search of Him – he takes the initiative and comes in search of them. His love is such that he wants to be found by them, he longs to pardon them and share good things with them. Jesus said that He “came into the world to seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). It’s as if God stands in the market place and implores the people to come to him to find what they really need.

How typical this is of our gracious God. He doesn’t wait for people to go in search of him – he takes the initiative and comes in search of them. His love is such that he wants to be found by them, he longs to pardon them and share good things with them. Jesus said that He “came into the world to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10). It’s as if God stands in the market place and implores the people to come to him to find what they really need. God is a very inviting God. Who are the invited. Two kinds of people. In verse 1 we see the thirsty and broken are invited. The first kind of person that God invites to come to him is thirsty people who can’t pay for what they need. Two things: thirst, and can’t pay. You have come this morning with thirst in your heart. Your heart feels like the brown grass in my backyard. It hasn’t rained for a long time. A lot of old hopes have dried up. Dreams have waited and almost died. Dead-end streets again and again. Empty. Unfulfilled. Dissatisfied. Knowing there has to be something more to life. But now everything that looks good is out of reach. No strength. No motivation. But at least a longing. A thirst. This is the one the Lord is looking for. Come, everyone who thirsts and has no money – no resources, no bargaining position, no track record, no power, no prestige, no pull. God is inviting you this morning to enjoy the banquet to salvation.

In verse 2 God invites someone with money, who has the strength to work. The first person is spiritually bankrupt and knows they’re thirsty and broke. But this 2nd person in verse 2 is not there yet. He has money and is spending it and has strength and is working. But what’s the result? Frustration. He’s not like the other guy – burnt out, at the end of his rope. He is still spending and still working, dreaming, chasing, searching, experimenting – different job, different city, different car, different house, different wife, new computer, new boat, new books, new bike, new grill, new season tickets, new diet, new looks – there’s still a lot of looking around left in this person. But still no pot at the end of the rainbow. No fountain of youth. And every triumph peters out. The applause fades. The boat is boring. The style passes. Everything new gets old, and the options get fewer and fewer. When you are honest, you know there is a canyon of need and longing on the inside, no matter how self-sufficient you look on the outside. And God knows even better than you. He has you in mind when he says, Why do you spend your money for bread which is no-bread, and labor for dreams that do not satisfy?

So both these groups of people are invited by our Lord, the thirsty who are broke and cannot pay and the thirsty who think they can pay and work their way to satisfaction. I feel we have to admit to being in one of these groups if we are honest with ourselves. There is only one qualification that is made to the invitation that we must recognize our need. The invitation is to “all” – none are excluded who do not exclude themselves.

What are we offered in the invitation?

Here is indeed the good news of the abundant provision of generosity that only God could provide. There are three basic substances that God offers in verse 1 to all who will come to Him. They are water, wine and milk. These three beverages meet the deep needs everyone of us has. This all comes to “buy yet without money and without price.” Here we must recognize our absolute spiritual poverty in God’s sight. We must abandon any claims to self-righteousness. We must put away all ideas of having a part in our own salvation. We must be willing to rely on God’s undeserved love and forgiveness, made possible by the sacrifice by his Son, Jesus, on the Cross. The “Salvation Market” is the only market where the seller pays, not the buyer! These goods are the cheapest sold and the dearest bought that ever were. All the wealth in the world couldn’t purchase one item in God’s marketplace, for the Son of Man bought them at great price, and now they are all free. No money can buy them because what he offers is without price because it is priceless. God’s generous provision is not only abundant; it’s a free provision. In fact, it can’t be bought, it can’t even be earned – it comes as a free gift.

He offers Water – Water is one of the most important substances to us humans. Our bodies are comprised of 60 – 70% water and it takes a lot of it to keep us alive. The average human can live three days without water. We have to have water to live. Water in the Bible is often a picture of the new birth. When Jesus talked with Nicodemus in John 3:5, Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” It is a picture of the Gospel message; the very message that must be received by faith in order for a person to be saved.

Water corresponds to the need for refreshment. When you are most thirsty and most desperate, most dehydrated, it’s water that you want, and nothing else. “He leads me beside still waters. He restores (refreshes) my soul” (Psalm 23;2 – 3). God invites you this morning to receive refreshment, restoration, reviving, a new beginning. The woman at the well Jesus said if you drink the water of the well you will thirst again but if you drink the water that Jesus gives us we will never thirst again. Jesus promises complete contentment to everyone who will drink of the water that He offers. Unlike physical water, which one must drink again and again, the spiritual water that Jesus offers will forever satisfy the soul who will take just one drink of it. Jesus makes this offer throughout the Bible, John 7:37; Rev. 22:17. His offer of soul-satisfying water still stands today.

He offers wine – in biblical times, wine was just as important as water. Most of the water was not fit to drink, so wine was added to the water. The wine killed the bacteria and made the water drinkable. In the Bible, wine is often used as a picture of joy. Psalm 104:15. It was used at times of feasting and happy celebrations. Wine is also a picture of the Holy Spirit, Who enters a child of God at the moment of salvation and allows the redeemed one to experience “Joy unspeakable and full of glory”, 1 Peter 1:8. God doesn’t just save us; He also fills us with His joy. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives us peace and comfort as we travel toward glory. John 14:16-18. On the Day of Pentecost, the Jews thought that the Spirit-filled disciples were drunk with new wine. Acts 2;13. Peter told the crowd that these men were not drunk with wine; they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus took six empty stone pots at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, commanded them to be filled with water and transformed that water into wine. That is just what He does with His children. He takes our old stony hearts, fills them with the saving, satisfying water of His Gospel and transforms us by His power. He places His spirit within us and then He pours us out to His glory in the world. Wine corresponds to the need for exhilaration. God made us for exhilaration, for shouting and singing and dancing and playing and skipping and running, jumping and laughing.

He offers Milk – Milk is essential for healthy growth. Milk is the first substance newborn babies receive for their nourishment. Milk is the provision of the mother for the hungry baby. Milk contains all the essential nutrients needed to transform a baby into a healthy child. Milk in the Bible is a picture of the Word of God. Not only does God give us the water of life that saves us and the Spirit of God that gives us joy; He also gives us the Word of God that helps us grow up strong in the things of God. We know the way of salvation, righteousness and faith because we have been drinking deeply of the good milk of the Word of God.

God places every offer He has on the table as a free gift. He offers salvation and contentment to all who will come to Him free of any charge. Since God’s gifts are free, anyone can receive them. God doesn’t require money, righteousness, good works or any other resource. He wouldn’t accept those things even if they were offered to Him. The only currency God requires is the currency of faith! He will open the storehouse of His blessings to all those who will exercise simple faith in His offer and come to Him. That is an offer anyone can afford! How can God make such a free offer to people like us? He can do that because His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary, died on the cross and paid the whole price of redemption. The water is good and it’s plentiful. The milk is good and it’s plentiful. The wine is good and it’s plentiful. The Bible loves to talk about the riches of God’s glory and the fullness of joy at his right hand. He gives what is best and it never runs out. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

How do we gain these benefits

Then in verse 3, God tells us what the reality is behind all this imagery. “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love of David.” In verse 1, he said, “Come to the waters .. Come, buy wine and milk.” In verse 3, he explains, “Come to me.” God is our living water. God is our nourishing milk. God is our exhilarating wine. “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”. (Psalm 73:25-26; 42:1-2; 63:1-3)

But we can be even more specific. He goes on to say in verse 3 that when we come to him, he makes a covenant with us. What kind of covenant? The same kind of covenant that he made with King David in 2 Samuel 7 – a covenant of “steadfast, sure love.” This means that, when you come to God, he binds himself by an unbreakable oath to pursue you with goodness and mercy all your days right into eternity – with ever-refreshing water, and ever-strengthening milk, and ever-exhilarating wine, forever and ever! When a person receives God’s free offer and drinks the “water of life”; when that person believes the Gospel of grace, that person is saved. We throw the word “saved” around a lot in church and it is a special word to every redeemed child of God. The word “saved” means “to rescue from all harm and danger.” That word is special to my heart!

When God makes His offer to a lost soul and that person accepts Jesus as their Savior, they enter into a salvation relationship with God. At that moment, they are delivered from the condemnation of sin. They are saved from the awful wrath of God. They pass from spiritual death into spiritual life. They become a brand new creature. They are set free and they receive salvation. Thank God for salvation!

When God saves a soul. He gives that soul new life. He also gives that soul a far better life. John 10:10 He causes the saved soul to rest in what it has in Jesus. The saved one is no longer seeking satisfaction in the world. We are no longer seeking satisfaction in the world. It is no longer looking for happiness and peace in pleasure, sex, drink and drugs. The redeemed soul finds everything it needs in Jesus to enjoy true peace and satisfaction.

The redeemed soul finds everything it needs in Jesus to enjoy true peace and satisfaction. In Jesus we find peace, joy, rest, acceptance, blessing, love and salvation. God’s promise is that He will “make an everlasting covenant with you.” A covenant is an agreement God makes with His people. Some covenants are conditional. God promises He will bless His people if they will walk to a certain standard, etc. This covenant only has one requirement. When a person accepts God’s free offer and they drink the ‘water of life”, God makes an unconditional, everlasting covenant with them. When we receive Jesus as our Savior we must never hear that He will take our salvation away from us. So to have all this we need to firstly recognize our spiritual need, our spiritual thirst. We recognize that the life we are living is empty and we become unsatisfied. We realize there is something missing. God came into the world to save sinners not to those who think they are righteous. God cannot and will not save a person who does not see their need. He will, however, save all of those who see their need and who will come to Him.

This desire and this thirst for God are not natural experiences. They are the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. When the Spirit of God begins to deal with a human heart. He will convict that person of their sin and of their need. He creates within them the thirst for more and the desire to come to and come to God.

Secondly we need to hear. Four times in these verses God tells Israel they need to hear His message. If they hear Him calling they can come to Him and get what they need for their soul’s salvation. If there is a thirst in your soul for a different life: if you are dissatisfied with the way you are living and with your prospects for eternity. It is the Lord speaking to you. If you will hear His voice, and come to Him, He will save you and give you eternal life. All it takes is a positive response to His call and salvation becomes a reality.

We need to listen carefully to what God is saying in verses 2-3. So take heed to how you are leaning into God’s Word. God is pleading with us today. Do not let the advertisements of the world draw you away from the invitation of our God. Then let us rest on God’s bidding in four steps.
Come
Buy
Eat
Enjoy

And this is what the Bible means by faith. In verse 1 God says, “Come to the waters” but in verse 3 He says “Come to me.” God Himself is the water and the milk and the wine.

What about you? Do you have true contentment today? Have you heard God’s call to your heart to come to Him for salvation? Has He given you contentment in your soul? If so, then you are truly blessed among all people! You should thank Him and praise Him today! If you are not satisfied, and you hear His voice speaking to you, you need to come to Him and call on Him for salvation. Is He calling? Do you need the contentment that He offers? Wouldn’t you like to be able to enjoy true soul satisfaction? You can, if you will come to Jesus Christ today.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/03/16

Please note that there are no longer any YouTube messages available

Reading:
Luke 13:31-35

Text:
Luke 13:34: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you were not willing.”

Message:

Have you ever had your love rejected? How deep is the pain of rejected love. It hurts when someone rejects your love whether you are 13, 21, 40 or 75 years old. You can see the pain in someone’s face who after 20 years of marriage finds their partner is falling for someone else much younger than them. Or a son waiting for his dad that promised he was coming to kick ball with him and stands waiting at the window and the dad never turns up and there is a tear in the boy’s eye and asks his mother why he does not want to be with me. The awful pain of rejected love.

And you can see this pain, perhaps clearest in the face of a loving God whose creation has turned away. He created mankind, sought their affection, purchased their redemption, but in return they have constantly rejected Him. They jeer Him; mock His holy name, some claiming He doesn’t even exist. Oh, the pain of rejected love.

And the greater the love, the greater the pain of the rejection. The Bible says that greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God demonstrates His love this way, while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. The love that God has for His creation is unfathomable, and greater than any love we could imagine. So, with such great love as this, imagine the pain within the heart of God when His people refuse Him.

And we get into that pain when we read, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

We see in today’s reading Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. The opposition against him was growing stronger and more vocal. The common people loved Him and heard Him gladly, but the religious crowd hated Him because He exposed their hypocrisy. You can see in these words the broken heart of Jesus. We see also here how the people did not listen to God. There is a story told of a 6 year old boy Bobby did not listen when his mother called him, he pretended not to hear her and kept on doing what he was doing. Then the boy’s uncle wanted to take him to the circus. His uncle called and called but the boy did not listen and missed out on the circus. The boy’s dad also wanted to take the boy to a big football game, again he did not listen and lost out on a football game. The boy had a difficult time believing that people wanted to do something nice for him. This is a sad story about a boy that would not believe in the love everyone wanted to give him. But there is a much sadder story.

It is about the people of Israel who wouldn’t believe in the love that God had for them, and the sad story about the people today who won’t believe in the love that God has for them. In our gospel lesson, Jesus laments over the failure of the people of Israel to heed the call of God in their lives, Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!!”

God created man because He has so much love to give. He wanted someone to love, someone to share and fellowship with, so God created mankind in His own image or that very purpose .. to share His love and be loved in return. And even when man would run away from God, God would pursue and call them to come to Him. The loving Shepherd would leave the 99 to pursue that one lost sheep. Why? Because the sheep is loved by the Shepherd.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they didn’t search out God, God searched for them. Jacob didn’t go into the desert looking for a wrestling match with God, but God pursued Jacob, wrestled all night with Him and changed his name to Israel. And when Israel’s descendants would wander away, God would pursue them. Prophet after prophet was sent. And each had the same message, “turn your hearts back to God because He loves you and wants you to be with Him.” But with each prophet came the rejection. And the rejection wasn’t just of the messenger, but of the One who sent the messenger. And the more God spoke, the more man turned a deaf ear. The more God showed His love, the more that love was rejected. And this love prompted God to do the unthinkable. When they wouldn’t listen to the prophets, perhaps they would listen to God Himself.

It was this love which wrapped itself in human flesh and descended the birth canal of Mary. It was this love which walked the hard trails of Galilee and spoke to the hard hearts of the religious. It was this love which left Heaven to come into our world, and it was this love that was ultimately rejected. John 1:10-11 says “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

Oh the pain in God’s heart! O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” And that unwillingness continues today. You see, just as God called on Israel to respond to His love, He calls on each and every one of us to take up our cross and follow Him. He wants us to respond to His love by simply loving Him back.

God came to the people of Israel through the prophets with the Gospel of love. The prophets came, they told the people of the love that God had, they told them to turn from their evil ways, to obey God, to gather under his love, but they would not. God tried over and over again, but the people turned a deaf ear to him. So, then God decided if the people wouldn’t listen to me, if they won’t listen to my messengers, then I will come directly to earth and speak to them myself. But we know the outcome of that initiative by God. Some people listened, but many more did not, in fact they became so upset by the presence of God in their lives, they killed him. They could not understand such love, they could not accept such willingness on the part of God to love them, that they fought against it to the point that they killed God.

Each time God called to his people, they could not believe that God didn’t want something from them, but that God only wanted to give them something ?- his blessings, his love. If we feel sad for the Jewish people of Jesus’ day who did not heed the call of God, how much sadder are we today for those people who know the whole story, but do not heed the call of God. Today, people have an advantage over the people on Jesus?’ day. Then they didn’t know the outcome of the story, they lived the story with Jesus, but today, we know the outcome. It has been written down for us, it has been witnessed through the generations by people who were there, but still people do not believe or trust in God’s love for their lives.

There is a beautiful illustration that says Jesus is like a grieving mother who grieves over her rebellious child?. ?Just so Jesus grieves over Jerusalem as a brokenhearted mother laments over her stubborn child. Jesus’ heart-felt care mingled with grief echoes God’s care for his people. As an eagle stir up its nest, and hover over its young, as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its opinions, the Lord alone guides him.” (Deut 32:10-12). We see Jesus not only grieving over Jerusalem but He also longs to gather them under His wings and care for them so that they may be safe and secure under His wings.

We see here the great love that Jesus has for us. Firstly, it’s a fearless love that will not give up what he came to do for us despite the danger of Herod. Secondly, it is a protective love He came to cover us with His wings that we will be safe and secure, the only safe place is under God’s love. Thirdly He is a rejected love, the pain Jesus must have felt. We find ourselves in a dry barren place as we reject Jesus’ love.

How do we respond

Jesus has come that we might have life and life in all its fullness that was what He came for. But Jerusalem failed to open the doors for Jesus, they were blind and deaf to the promise. How we are like Jerusalem sometimes we are blind and deaf to the promise of the new life. It happens when life is on auto-pilot and we are just going through the motions. It happens when we hold grudges and resentments, withhold forgiveness, or refuse to accept forgiveness from another. It’s in our suspicions, cynicism, and rejection of others. It’s in all the things we declare an ultimate and in the ultimatums we issue. It’s what’s going on when we circle the wagons, draw lines in the sand, deny hospitality and refuse to welcome another. It happens when fear overwhelms us and power, security, and control become our primary values. It’s what lies behind our illusions of self-sufficiency, our refusal to listen to another, and our belief that there is only one way, our way. It happens when structures, rules, and law become ends rather than means. It’s what happens when we cling to and become defined by past guilts, hurts, or losses

When this happens we settle for mere life rather than more life. We stagnate. Everything atrophies. We are no longer growing and maturing. Despair replaces hope and nightmares replace dreams. We can no longer see or hear the promise of new life. We close the door to our future, and where there is no hope for the future there is no life. We declare an ending and our house is left to us.

One of the ways we can respond is to reject God. But I would have to say that most people don’t come out and outright reject God, most instead respond to His love with indifference. And many of you are indifferent to God. You’re apathetic toward your relationship with God. You say you love God, but then you act as if He is not there. He’s toward your relationship with God. You say you love God, but then you act as if He is not there. He’ ?s simply not that important to you. And the truth be told, if your rights as a Christian were taken away from you today, you wouldn’t miss them very much … you would get along just fine. Your faith is simply not important to your life, you’re indifferent and indifference to the love of God is just as bad as an outright rejection.

But amazingly enough, in spite of all of our rejection and indifference, God still loves us. Even though Jerusalem had turned away from God, Jesus still said, “O how I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” Even in our rebellion, God desires to hold His children.

Another way we can respond to God’s love for us is that we can love Him back. And when we accept that love, we find that our lives are made complete, and though we have rebelled against God, by His grace and the shed blood of Jesus Christ we find pardon and peace. And it’s that love that motivates our love. God loves us, when we were faithful He remained faithful. His love never fails, never gives up and always is reaching out to us. He calls all of us in Jesus to be saved. When we reject His call we reject ourselves. Not that God rejects us but we rejected God. God is patient with our mistakes. He is long suffering with our stumbles. He doesn’t get angry at our questions. He doesn’t turn away when we struggle. But when we repeatedly reject his message, when we are insensitive to his pleadings, when he changes history itself to get our attention and we still don’t listen, he simply honors our request.

Conclusion

God is calling us to leave our life that is lived for self, that is tossed to and fro by the demands of our culture, by the demands of the mass media, by the demands of “everyone else is doing it,” syndrome. God is calling us to heed his word, his word that frees us from self, that frees ?u?s from our culture, that frees us from our following our neighbors, he frees us from that so that we might follow him, we might live in his love, we might accept his forgiveness, his mercy, his acceptance of me as a whole person because of the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf on the cross of Calvary.

God calls us to let Him help us steer our carriage of life. He calls us, He asks if He can come aboard and if He can be our partner as we journey the road of life. Jesus invites you to run under His wings of safety and warmth. In what ways are our eyes and ears closed today? What needs to happen to change to be let go, for them to begin opening? This is a chance for life, more life, a new life.

Will you heed his call? Will you let him jump abroad? Will you and God together drive your carriage down the highway of life?

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/03/09

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Reading:
Luke 4:1-13

Text:
Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert. Where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them he was hungry.”

Message:

Lent rolls around every year but for most Christians, it is less like a birthday and more like a flu vaccination. We know that Lent is necessary, that it is good for us in much the same way cauliflower might be. Many of us do not understand it fully. We often engage in its practice without even asking why we are doing what we are doing. We do it because we have always done it. We cut out chocolate, lay off the red meat, maybe we stop drinking carbonated beverages for forty days, all to declare ourselves better prepared for the resurrection. To an outsider, it looks more like a diet. But if we don’t have a good explanation for our Lenten behavior, if we don’t seem to fully understand the focus of the season, it’s not completely our fault. It is Jesus’ own sojourn in the wilderness that inspires this odd season, and Jesus doesn’t seem keen on offering any explanation for what he’s doing.

Each year on the first Sunday of Lent we see Jesus wandering off into the wilderness again. Jesus has just come from the Jordan River where He was baptized and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and God speaks from on high this is my Son with whom I am well pleased. And now Jesus goes immediately into the wilderness. But unlike all the other folk who went into the wilderness to listen to God like Moses and Elijah Jesus did not come to listen to God. He had already heard God loud and clear at His Baptism. Jesus comes to hear from the divine enemy number one. This is not the kind of spiritual retreat your church would sponsor. It is a Spirit inflicted dark night of the soul. It is “Spirit-inflicted” because the gospels all agree that this spiritual detour wasn’t His idea at all – Jesus is led into the middle of nowhere by none other than the Holy Spirit. Saint Mark is, as is his custom, a little more blunt about it, saying that the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. He is shoved by the Spirit.

The very same Spirit that descended at Jesus’ baptism like a cooing game bird calls Jesus out into a place where human life cannot survive. The good news, I suppose, is that Lent did not come naturally to Jesus, either. It took the Spirit to get him there; and if you listen to Mark, Jesus may never have gone on his own.

So why? Why does the Spirit drive him into the desert, if not for a deeper connection with God? Because the newly crowned Messiah has a date with the devil. He has come out here, the gospels tell us, to face temptation. We need to see where the test took place in the wilderness because I have an idea that everyone of us has already been there.

Wildernesses come in so many shapes and sizes that the only way you can really tell you are in one is to look around for what you normally count on to save your life and come up empty. No food. No earthly power. No special protection – just a Bible-quoting devil and a whole bunch of sand. Needless to say, this is not a situation many of us seek. Most of us, in fact, spend a lot of time and money trying to stay out of it; but I don’t know anyone who succeeds at that entirely or forever. Sooner or later, every one of us will get to take our own wilderness exam, our own trip to the desert to discover who we really are and what our lives are really about.

I guess that could sound like bad news, but I don’t think it is. I think it is good news – because even if no one ever wants to go there, and even if those of us who end up there want out again as soon as possible, the wilderness is still one of the most reality-based, spirit-filled, life-changing places a person can be. Take Jesus for instance.
• How did he end up there? The Spirit led him.
• What was he full of? He was full of The Holy Spirit.
• What else did he live on? Nothing.
• How long was he there? Weeks and weeks.
• How did he feel at the end? He was famished.

What did that long, famishing stretch in the wilderness do to him? It freed him – from all devilish attempts to distract him from his true purpose, from hungry craving for things with no power to give him life, from any illusion he might have had that God would make his choices for him. After forty days in the wilderness, Jesus had not only learned to manage his appetites; he had also learned to trust the Spirit that had led him there to lead him out again, with the kind of clarity and grit he could not have found anywhere else. That anyone who wants to follow Jesus all the way to the cross needs the kind of clarity and grit that is found only in the wilderness.

Lent is about the greening of the human soul – pruned with repentance, fertilized with fasting, spiritized with self-appraisal, mulched with prayer. Lent is not about punishing ourselves and not about giving up on things. But if you have spent a lot of time and/or money trying to acquire whatever it takes to grow your soul without seeing any new buds, then maybe a little spell in the wilderness is worth a try – a few weeks of choosing to live on less, not more – of practicing subtraction instead addition – not because your regular life is bad but because you want to make sure it is your real life – the one you long to be living – which can be hard to do when you’re living on fast food and busyness. Remember when red lights gave you a minute just to sit and think? Not any more – not with your cell phone right there in your lap begging you to reach out and touch someone.

The problem for most of us is that we cannot go straight from setting down the cell phone to hearing the still, small voice of God in the wilderness. We all have our own wilderness experience because only you know what devils have your number, and what kinds of bribes they use to get you to pick them up. All I know for sure is that a voluntary trip to the desert this Lent is a great way to practice getting free of those devils for life – not only because it is where you lose your appetite for things that cannot save you, but also because it is where you learn to trust the Spirit that led you there to lead you out again, ready to worship the Lord your God and serve no other all the days of your life.

Temptations are real. They get his attention.

That’s why Jesus tells His disciples to always pray “Lead us not into temptation”. What this dialog proves among other things is that the devil is biblically literate. He knows exactly where to find the Bible verses he needs to put Jesus to the test, but Jesus knows more than what the Bible says. Jesus knows how to do what the Bible says, which is how he passes his wilderness exam.

Every time the devil offered him more – more bread, more power, more protection – Jesus turned him down. No to the bread, Jesus says, no to the kingdoms, no to the angelic bodyguards. He is full up, he says, on worshipping God and serving only him. So by the end of the story, the devil still has all his bribes in his bag and Jesus is free to go.

One of Jesus’ most powerful messages leaves us with that no one is exempt from the power of the tempter, not even the best of us. We are all vulnerable to temptation though what tempts us may change.

The devil’s taunts are gussied up in the noblest of intentions – these are truly temptations worthy of the Son of God. They prey on his goodness, and they tell us something about Jesus’ own heart.

The devil does not come with a fork and is dressed in red, he does not announce himself and temptation does not wear a name tag. For Jesus and for all of us, the voice of evil sounds an awful lot like the voice of good.

• “take care of yourself.”
• “Save the world.”
• “Prove your faith.”

None of those things sound particularly self-destructive on the surface; in fact, it sounds like a good basis. And this is what temptation looks like for Jesus. It might be easy for us to discount the necessity of Jesus’s call and temptation because we believe that Jesus was made to do the ministry he did; but without the call and temptation, Jesus’ human journey would have been incomplete. Jesus, fully human, had to wrestle with the same fear and insecurity that we all wrestle with, and his trust in God can be our inspiration.

When we talk about temptation it is usually describing the irresistible urge to do something that we already know will destroy us. The stuff we know is wrong but we are drawn to do all the same. We are all aware of these obvious forms of self-destructive temptations but we this Lent must be aware of the more potent tools of the tempter. The temptations that do not look like temptation until we see them in the rearview mirror.

The temptations that are the most dangerous are the ones that sound most like good, the ones that sound the most like God. Jesus has every good attribute in spades – he has character, integrity, faith, a moral compass that is unmatched – and yet he is tempted. The antidote, then, to temptation is not strength. It’s not moral fortitude or depth of character. When we imagine ourselves religious enough, mature enough, moral enough to be exempt from temptation, it is just a matter of time before we give into it. They will be played out on the road paved with good intentions. When we are led by our own wisdom, when we are led by our own desire to see the good done, when we are tempted to take shortcuts to get there, we will always find ourselves vulnerable; and the greater our moral character, the more tailor-made we will find temptation.

How do we overcome temptation?

By being obedient to God in all places and all times. Jesus’ escape from the tempter is not a matter of weighing pros and cons and making the best decision; it is a willful choice to submit to God.

Firstly we see that Jesus is hungry, He is tempted to turn stones into bread after all He is God. But Jesus responded ‘man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Secondly the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world. If Jesus worships him he would give Jesus the Kingdom. Again Jesus says the Word says worship your God and serve Him only.

Thirdly the devil says throw yourself off the temple, God will catch you. Again Jesus says God says do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Half-dead from hunger, and seemingly alone, this man looks nothing like a king and this is certainly unlike any coronation ceremony. But make no mistake; He is the real thing. The promises made to him at his baptism are refined in the desert.

And maybe it must happen now so that he is more ready for it later. These will certainly not be the last temptations. This is a dress rehearsal, a preview of what awaits Jesus deeper into his ministry. We see Peter tempting Jesus to find an easier way to save the world and when dying on the cross the people say why don’t you come down from the cross if you are the Son of God.

Once again He is obedient to His Father and it is His obedience that delivers Him. The one who teaches with authority will live under the authority of the One who sent him. Which brings me back to our time in the wilderness, this mysterious season of self-denial and other things that don’t come naturally. Lent isn’t strength-training for the soul. It’s not about exercising our spiritual muscles. It is about obedience. Reliance. Dependence. It’s about the awareness that every good door that opens is not necessarily the will of God. It’s about learning to be led – or if necessary, driven – out to the desolate place within ourselves where our hungers and our dreams and our fears all take turns trying to shut out the voice of God.

In just a few weeks, we will follow Jesus to a garden where, for a moment, his own desires will conflict with the path he’s been called to take. “If you can take this cup from me, please take it away”, Jesus will pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. But his prayer is not finished. “Yet not what I want, but what you want.” Obedience. Blind, radical obedience.

Lent is a place of hope. If we can learn to recognize the voice of the tempter here in these 40 days of self-denial, perhaps we will be wise enough to know Him when He speaks with our own voice. There are some places God intends to take us that we will never reach if left to our own devices. We would never go there following our own compass. But somewhere in the desert, alone but not alone, Jesus chooses obedience. May God grant us the grace to do the same – to choose who we will be and whose we will be. In the wilderness of this holy season, and wherever the road takes us on the other side.

God only knows what this Lenten journey will bring for each of us, but God makes each one of us a promise: God promises to sit with us, to walk with us, to even carry us when life seems too hard and we don’t think we can go on. God promises never to leave us. It is true. The temptations of life are all around us. We will walk through the wilderness, and when we do, remember the truth that we are not alone – we are not alone to face the troubles and fears and heartbreaks and temptations of our world on our own. We are not alone now, nor will we ever be. God’s love. God’s presence, and God’s faith in us is real. The journey is just beginning, and I, for one, am thankful that we never walk alone.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/03/02

Please note that there are no longer any YouTube messages available

Reading:
Luke 6:39-49

Text:
Luke 6:46-48 “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid a foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could shake it because it was well built.”

Message:

We’re all familiar with the story of the Three Little Pigs. Do you remember how it goes? One little pig built his house with straw, another built his house with sticks, and the third made his house with bricks. All seemed to be going fine and well in their new dwellings until the big bad wolf came one day. Then he huffed, and he puffed, and that showed the actual quality of each home. Jesus tells a very similar story in our Gospel lesson. It’s a story about two men who build two houses. One house is built on rock with deep foundations. The other man built his house on the ground without any foundation. Both homes look good on the outside. Both buildings would be perfectly serviceable in the dry season. But when a flood comes, only one survives. The other collapses and is utterly ruined. Two people, two different houses. Which house is yours?

Winchester Cathedral was built in 1093. It is a magnificent gothic cathedral and is a sight to behold. In 1905 some signs of structural weakness appeared as large cracks began to appear. When research was done about why this is happening it was realized that this great cathedral had been constructed on a bog. The original builders had laid tree trunks flat on the soft watery soil, and on that had reared their building. The miracle was that the building had stood as long as it had.

In 1906, W.G. Walker in a deep sea diving suit began working in water thick and brown digging down through eight feet of peat. He picked the peat out in sections and replaced it with concrete. It took him five and a half years to restore the cathedral’s rotting foundation. It is far easier (in the long-run), less expensive, and smarter to build on a solid foundation. That is true for buildings on rock, wood and stone; it is true for the buildings of our lives.

Because a house looks solid and secure doesn’t mean it is! The foundation is everything!

The houses are our earthly lives, and here Jesus gives two responses on how we would respond to the sermon He just shared about loving our enemies and judging others. Both houses appear to be equally serviceable most of the time and they look identical, they are beautifully painted and their gardens are well kept. So it is with our lives – they often look the same. The two people attend the same church, sing the same songs, send their kids to the same schools. It doesn’t seem to matter what’s under the superstructure most of the time. But when the floods of life crash upon them, one house will last, while the other will fall upon itself in fatal collapse.

The two men built homes, one built his house on the sand. It was probably faster, easier, less-expensive and looked just like all the homes of his friends. The other man took time to find solid rock to use as a foundation for his home. It took this man more time, more effort, and more money, and when he was finished his home didn’t look any different from all the other houses (in fact, because of the added expense his home may have seemed lesser than the others). People may have ridiculed the second man for wasting time and money. However, when a fierce storm came into their cul-de-sac the house built on the sand washed away. The house built on the rock may have been a little nicked up but it withstood the storm and remained standing.

Jesus said the person who built on the rock is like the person who not only hears the words of Jesus, but they also obey them. In Matthew 7 Jesus amplified on this idea. He said,

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Listen carefully to what Jesus is saying. He says on the last day there will be people who call him Lord; there will be people who testified in His name; there will even be people who drove out demons and performed miracles; to whom the Lord will say, “I never knew you.” They said the right words and they did amazing work. We would spotlight these people. They would sell a million books and would and would probably have their own TV program. However, Jesus says He does not know them. They did not really belong to Him. The reason is that their faith was only a veneer; it was superficial.

This has been a common sin: profession without practice. God said to Ezekiel? (chap 33)

31 ?My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.”

Jesus said that the difference between confession and commitment is life impacting because those who practice what Jesus taught are building their lives on a firm foundation of stone but those who do not practice what Jesus taught are building their lives on a faulty foundation of sand. Those who hear and heed what Jesus said will have lies that can withstand the storms and pressures of this life and the judgment to come, as Jesus makes very clear in verse 48. But those who are not truly obeying Jesus’ words a blueprint for their entire life, those who are not totally surrendered to him will experience disaster. As Jesus said in verse 49 “the moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete!”

What are you building your life upon? Is your marriage built upon the words of Jesus? Are you raising your children according to His words? Who or what determines the decisions you make in every area of your life? Do you follow your own way of thinking? Do you listen to the opinions of others? Are your decisions based on your own personal desires? Or is your life guided and totally committed to obeying the words of Jesus? Only by hearing and heeding Jesus’ words will your life stand! How important is this message of total commitment as the essential aspect of discipleship? Well in effect by using this parable Jesus said your life depends upon it

A declaration of faith and commitment to trust Christ are not the same thing. We measure effectiveness and sincerity by whether people sing enthusiastically, shed a tear, or profess they have been deeply touched or are learning a lot. Jesus warns us that these are not accurate tests of a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. The real test of faith is found in how a person lives his/her life. The point is this: it is easy to profess faith in Christ. Doing what he says is faith in Christ. It makes sense if you think about it. We truly trust Him when we live in a trusting way. When we are willing to subject our own will to His directives … we show that we truly believe.

When a coach instructs a player on how to perform some skill, the player can nod and tell the coach that they understand. They may even be able to repeat what the coach has said. However, the coach will know the athlete actually does understand when he sees the player doing what He told him to do in a game. Jesus says those who obey are the people who continue to stand in the midst of a storm. The storm comes in many forms: a sudden death, a devastating diagnosis, an economic catastrophe, the loss of a job, legal problems, false (or even true) accusations, family tensions, mental struggles and even times of spiritual dryness when God seems far away. In these times those with a superficial faith will crumble. The house of the true believer may lose some shingles and have a little storm damage … but their house will keep standing.

We must ?not only build for sunny skies and easy times. Firm foundations are the most important part of a building.

Conclusion

Consider the cost of building a firm foundation. Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it.” The price of a firm foundation is high. It is deep and we need strong materials. You can build a sand castle easily and quickly but it won’t withstand the normal tide swing much less a hurricane. The price of a firm foundation is costly, time consuming and hard work. It is also priceless on a stormy night.

We need to start building our foundation giving our life to Jesus to be born again. By accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and by giving yourself to Him is the foundational step in Christianity. Jesus died for us. That is the first block of a firm foundation we need Jesus for our Cornerstone. Now we must build on this foundation and the master plan for us is God’s word. It is wisdom and strength to us. We must build with precious materials not wood, hay or stubble. Jesus says in our text it is the one who hears me and does what I say who is building on solid rock!

Lots of people know what the Bible says and have studied it. But it would be much better for them to live it each day what the Bible says. When you do your life will be blessed.

Build the foundation first by asking Jesus Christ to save you and receive you as His own. Be obedient by learning God’s Word and obeying what you learn. This is building a firm foundation. It all centers around one word Jesus used in our text: Why do you call me Lord, and don’t do what I say? It is a good question. The word is Kurios. It means supreme authority. Here is the end of the matter. The storms of life are not the major consideration. They only test and reveal to us the worth of our foundation. When Jesus is truly Lord, supreme authority, the foundation will be strong enough for any storm.

How is your foundation? Is it solid, firm? Or is it renovation time?

Those who keep coming, hearing, and doing Jesus’ words are those who have a well-built life. To do the words of Jesus means to amend our ways and doings, have confidence in the promise of forgiveness, and live as Jesus told us, and all these come from God’s means of grace. And then, dear friends, when the storms of trouble hit your home, when Satan huffs and he puffs, you’ll stand firm. Then, when death or Judgment Day comes like a flood, you’ll be just fine because you’ll be firmly planted on the sure foundation – the Rock of Christ.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/02/23

Please note that there are no longer any YouTube messages available

Reading:
Luke 6:27-38

Text:
Luke 6:27-28 “But I tell you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Message:

As we read the scriptures we see first of all God is love. God and love are synonymous. God loves us, and will always love us, because God is love. We are commanded to love the Lord our God, not to earn God’s love, but to return God’s love. We love because God first loved us. God’s love has been poured into our hearts. That is why we can love God. And that is how we can love one another, just as we are commanded to do.

We don’t always do that very well, of course. We sin. But God’s love remains. And in fact, God so loved the world, and God so loves us, that he gave his only son, Jesus, who loved us, who died for us, and who taught us how to love.

We are taught to love others as Jesus loved us. And in fact, we are taught that our love for one another is what will show the world that we are followers of Jesus. Our love for one another will cover all sorts of sins. Whatever else our shortcomings, if we love one another, we know that we are on the right track. Because the greatest of all of God’s gifts, and God’s commands, is love. God is love. God loves us. So love God. Love our neighbor. Love one another. And yes: love even our enemies.

Love your enemies

The reading from the gospel asks a lot from us. Jesus is asking a lot from those who follow Him. These teachings just seem so difficult, and, frankly, so misused over the years, that it’s tempting to ignore them. Or, perhaps, just boil them all down to the Golden Rule, which appears in the middle of all these teachings. It’s tempting just to focus on that wonderful rule, to treat others as we want to be treated. Can’t we just stick to that one? Or maybe just stick with the greatest commandment, to love God and to love our neighbor? Why do we have to love our enemy?

And yet, Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms to do just that. And we can’t just cut and paste the things that Jesus said that we like, or that we find easy to do. We also have to tackle the harder things, too. We have to wrestle with what it means to love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us, and bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us.

Jesus does not waste time or mince words. He goes right to the heart of the matter in our Gospel lesson: “Love your enemies.” That’s right. Love them. Those who oppose you and want you out of their way. Love them. Pray for your persecutors. Don’t be like the world that loves the friend and hates the enemy. That includes those who hate, curse, strike, and steal from you. It actually includes everyone. No exceptions. Love your enemies. Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and go ahead and do it. Think of what you’d really like someone to do for you, and do it for them. Think of the people to whom you are tempted to be nasty and lavish generosity on them instead. Go beyond the divisions and love those on the other side.

A wonderful example of this is Corrie ten Boom who at the end of her book, “The Hiding Place” tells of her struggle with forgiving a guard from the death camp where she was imprisoned. “It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former SS man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing centre at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message Fraulein,” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

We cannot achieve this level of love and forgiveness ourselves, but only when the love and grace flown to us from God. Our job is to ask God for His help. John W. Stott writes, “…we Christians are specifically called to love our enemies (in which loving there is no self-interest) and this is impossible without the supernatural grace of God flowing through us…” The way to love our enemies is not through reliance on ourselves, but on the power of God working through us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Only through this can we strive to be the spiritual beings that God calls us to be.

We also see how Joseph forgave his brothers for all they did to him. Now the tables have turned and Joseph commands great authority in Egypt and literally has the power of life and death over them – they are completely at his mercy. Picture if you can the overpowering sense of helplessness and fear that must have been washing over them. And what does Joseph do? Is this not the time to punish his brothers, to gain retribution for the wrong they dealt him? Instead, Joseph says to them, “do not be distressed or angry with yourselves… for God has sent me before you..” and so totally absolves them of their guilt and wrongdoing. “So it was not you who sent me here, but God…” acting through you. Even more astounding to us, he tells them to go back and bring their entire extended family back to dwell in Egypt under his protection and care. What a fine example of God’s grace. God even uses the evil that we poor sinners do to forward God’s work. What was it that allowed Joseph to forgive such a great wrong? It was the awareness of God’s grace that allowed him to forgive his brothers.

The question that keeps coming up is how then do we live as Joseph forgave? We are told in the Gospel today to love our enemies and to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who abuse us. Also, to be merciful just as our Father is merciful. Focus on that phrase – to be merciful just as our Father is merciful, to forgive just like God forgives. Wow. If we thought the standard that Joseph set was hard, how can we ever dream to forgive as God himself forgives us?

When you truly believe that you can love even your enemies. You can pray for those who mistreat you. You can turn the other cheek. And you can forgive. And you can do all of this because of this deep inner conviction that God is in charge of his world, no matter how bad things look. It is a simple but life-changing belief.

And this kind of forgiveness is only possible when we truly believe that God is in charge of this world. When we don’t really believe that, we try to take matters into our own hands. And we lose the ability to love and to forgive and to bless and pray for those we might consider our enemies. It all starts, as does so much of our Christian faith, with the belief that God is in charge of his world, no matter what is happening in this world. When you believe that, you can love your enemies. You can turn the other cheek. You can pray for those who abuse you. you can do all of this because of this deep inner conviction that God is in charge of his world, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. It is a simple but life-changing belief.

Forgiveness is a process, it’s not that simple and not quick. When you think about it, Jesus lived by his own teaching in an incredible way. And he did that because He himself believed that his Heavenly Father was in charge of his world, no matter what was happening in his life. And so, he chose to love his enemies, even when they mocked him and spat upon him. He was determined to do good to those who hated him, even when they cried out for his crucifixion. He opted to bless them when they cursed him, and he prayed for them when they abused him. even when hanging from the cross, He forgave those who put Him there: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing Filled with the faith and conviction that God was in charge of his word, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, Jesus lived fearlessly loved courageously, and forgave endlessly. And aren’t we thankful for that? We are certainly thankful that Jesus did what he taught us to do.

How do we put this command to love your enemies into action?

Jesus’ answer is “Do good” That means we must end the cycle of violence and retribution.

1. Prov 24:17-18 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

2. Romans 12:18-21 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap-burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good

Jesus also tells us to give even the shirt off our back. This command is practiced when we share what we have with those who ask something of us. Even if he takes what belongs to us without asking, Jesus wants us to share it with him and not demand that he give it back. This requires us to trust and depend on the promise of God to provide for us and care for us. Jesus tells us to bless those who curse us and pray for those who mistreat us. People may speak words that wish evil on us or say things to torment us. However, Jesus commands us to wish them well and especially that God might bless them. But also offer prayer for them where we ask God to help our enemies bodily and open their hearts in faith to their Savior. Among other things, this means that we stop gossiping. We stop complaining to others about things we disagree with. This means we stop making divisions in this church between “us” and “them”. If you disagree with them and it bugs you, go talk to them about it! Work it out. If you don’t like someone, go out of your way to show kindness and love to them. It also means that we need to have the humility to admit we might not always be right. It means learning to see things from their perspective. We do this because God first loved us while we were sinners He laid down His life for us, He blesses us daily even when we sin against Him. He forgives those who put Him on the cross. So it is His love that flows through, not our own love which is limited at best.

The answer to division is to love, do good, and be merciful and generous. We show mercy and love to everyone, even our enemies because that is how God has been with us. God is compassionate and kind to everyone. While we were God’s enemies, Christ died for us. We deserve wrath and vengeance, and we get instead unending love and mercy. What more excellent reason is there for us to show love and help heal the divisions in our daily lives?

Jesus didn’t come to judge us, or to condemn the world, but to save this world, and to love us. And in the same way, Jesus sends us out into the world not to condemn it or to judge it, but to bless it and to love it. And to do all this trusting in the one who is truly in charge, even when the evidence might suggest otherwise. God’s dream for us starts with God’s love for us. And God’s dream for us becomes real because of God’s Son, who loved us enough to die for us. The world will know we are followers of Jesus by our love for one another. But the world will become convinced of this love when we love even our enemies, just as Jesus taught us to do. Let us love God, and love ourselves, and love one another. But let us also love those who will not love us back, until all the world knows the love that we are blessed to have in Jesus. To the glory of God.

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/02/16

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Reading:
Jeremiah 17:5-10

Text:
Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in Him.”

Message:

In our Old Testament reading for today, Jeremiah tells us that when we trust in the Lord, we are blessed. When we turn away from the Lord, we are cursed. That’s the sermon in a nutshell. Here in Jeremiah 17:5-10 two different types of people are considered, they are in stark contrast, they have few similarities, apart from the fact that they both trust in something. We all have to put our trust in something. We all have to put our trust, our final reliance, in someone or something. It might be God or it might be another person.

Someone once said that man could do anything he sets his mind to and for the most part this is true. Man has certainly made great strides in the field of technology. But, our sinful nature tends to forget who gives us the ability to do such wonderful things. Man has always seemed to forget where his abilities came from. Instead of thanking and trusting in God for everything we have, and technology is really only a small part of it, we become self-centered and give all the credit to ourselves. Our trust and confidence becomes misplaced and our sinful nature takes pride in our meager abilities. Well, Jeremiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, records for us a section of Scripture that can help us return to reality. He forces us to ask the question, Where is your trust and confidence placed? In the flesh which brings death, Or in the Lord, which brings you life.

We need to look at what is the difference between belief in God and trust in God. So there is a very big difference between believing in God and trusting in God. And the difference between them can change our life. We can believe in God, but act as though we don’t. We can go about life believing in God without actually spending any time with God, in worship or prayer, and without doing what God wants, loving and serving others in the way that Jesus taught. It’s actually pretty easy to believe in God without it making any difference in our life. Because we can believe in God without actually trusting God.

There is the lovely story of Charles Blondin who crossed the Niagara Falls on a 367 meter tight rope – he first asked how many people would believe he could do it and the crowd said yes, they believed and he did it. A few days later he asked whether they believed he could do it blind folded and push a wheelbarrow again. The crowd said they believed he could do it and he did it. Two weeks later he asked who believes he could walk across with someone on his back and again the people said yes we believe. Then Blondin looked at someone standing in front of the crowd “You sir, climb on!” But the crowd fell silent. This shows that there is a huge difference between believing and trusting the kind of trust in which there is a deep hope and reliance, the thing we expect to hold firm when everything else fails. For many people that trust is in themselves. But the choices in who to trust can be reduced to just two. Is it a human being, or is it God? That is the stark choice, and Jeremiah describes these two choices to us and explains the consequences of each. Let’s have a look at what the Bible has to say here. And that is certainly true in our lives of faith. It is not that hard to believe in God. But to trust in God – now that can be more of a challenge. Especially when we face challenges in our lives. And that is what this reading from Jeremiah is trying to teach us.

I Trust in Man

Jeremiah begins by telling us that those who trust in mere mortals are cursed. When we make mere flesh our strength, Jeremiah says, we are like a shrub in the desert. I suspect that most of us would say that we trust in the Lord, rather than in mere mortals. But how true is it? Are we like the crowd cheering on Charles Blondin? Gladly shouting “We believe!” until we actually have to stake our life on it? Do we trust in the ?Lord above all things? Or is there something else that is getting in the way of our completely trusting in God?

The fashion today is to look towards the self as being the only source of trust. Self-help groups and manuals abound and there is a basic distrust of others, particularly of people in authority or leadership of any kind. The reading here talks of the arm of flesh, just flesh, no bone, no support to it. People might not mean to fail, but they often do not have the power to not to. We are all overwhelmed at times by forces and circumstances over which we have no strength.

The person who trusts in man is here likened to a desert plant, a piece of desert s?crub. These plants are small and spindly. They are dry, they have no fruit. All their effort must be put into getting the tiny bit of moisture that they are able to reach. They live on salty, barren, uninhabited land, where, even if they did grow in beauty, nobody would see them or enjoy them. They were made for a hard existence on the margins. There is nobody to tend them, few insects to pollinate them, or birds and animals to carry their seeds. They rely for survival solely on their own resources, and have become adapted to just relying on themselves.

If we trust in man, rather than God. We put all our energy into survival, so we cannot spare any to give fruit. We cannot have those qualities in our lives that bless others. We become dry, with nothing to give. Our interactions with other people do not leave them blessed or strengthened or encouraged. We do not display the beauty and the holiness of Christ in our lives. What is more, when God moves close in times of blessing, we cannot benefit from it, we cannot enjoy it, we cannot receive the blessings that God wants to give us, because we have so adapted ourselves to living on our own resources that we cannot receive from him. We can sit here while others are being moved by God, experiencing his blessing, worshipping him for his holiness, and spend our time thinking about what we are going to do next, or what has happened in the week just gone and the blessing of God does not touch or move us in the slightest.

Whenever we turn our hearts away from God, we are in fact writing a living will, telling God that we do not want to be connected to his life support system. We would rather go it alone and rely on what our abilities can do. But in the end all we will have managed to do is to commit spiritual suicide. We will have removed ourselves from the source of life. Without God and His word, which is the well of living water, we also will become like the dry lifeless bush living in a parched wasteland. So, where is your trust and confidence placed? Is it in the sinful flesh, which can bring only death, or is it in the Lord, who brings you life.

So what do you trust in ?- money, material goods, power, prestige, family and honor? We need to hear the words of the Psalm writer that say “search me O God and see if there be any wickedness in me.” So we need to let God search our hearts and see what we really trust in. While we live on earth our trust and confidence is often misplaced, often disappointed. We trust our physical strength, yet illness can make us weak. We work and save our money and then a recession comes to threaten our security. We trust friends with secrets only to find their hearts are false and that they use their tongues against us. Our ideals lie shattered, our goals unattained, our ambitions unfulfilled. In the end, we find that self-reliance is able to produce nothing but depression and despair. Jeremiah reminds us to place our trust and confidence in God, who alone is trustworthy.

So it is a good idea to search and examine our hearts every now and again to be sure that our hearts are trusting in the Lord above all else.

II Trust in God

The other possibility that is given is to put our trust in God. In contrast to fallible humans, God is the unfailing one, the one who has never been known to fail or to let anyone down. He is the one who keeps all his promises and always delivers what He has said He will.

Jeremiah goes on in this passage to explain why it is so important to trust in the Lord above all else, and why it is a blessing to do so. Because when we do, he says, nothing can shake us. When we trust in the Lord, we are like trees planted by water, sending out their roots by the stream. We do not fear when the heat comes. And when it does, our leaves stay green. Even in the year of the drought, Jeremiah says, we are not anxious, and we do not cease to bear fruit. Jeremiah tells us how trusting in God is the exact opposite of a barren wasteland. Jesus invites our trust too. Our Savior tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1). One of the most important words for the Christian is “trust”. The Christian that places his trust in God above all things will be like a tree planted by a stream. In times of drought, the tree’s roots will drink in the life giving water. Its leaves will always be green.

We all experience droughts in our lives from time to time, they are unavoidable. We all have dry spells in life. We all face difficult times. We don’t know in advance what they will be or when they will take place. But one thing is for sure. If we are going through life trusting in something other than God, we will be in trouble when the tough times hit. On the other hand, if we are going through life trusting in God above all else, then there is no drought, no challenge in life, that will completely wipe us out.

The results for trusting God.

If we trust in God then when the droughts come?, our leaves stay green because we are like a tree planted by ?the waters. We also find this great image in psalm 1 a tree planted by streams of water. So a person who puts their trust in God is likened to a strong fruitful tree. Such a person is like a tree by the water. God provides an endless source of blessing and strength, flowing all the time, no matter what happens in life. Just as the tree can develop roots to reach along the banks to take full advantage of all the water, so a person could develop spiritual roots to reach out and receive all the blessings that God is wishing to give to them. At times when God comes close they know it and are able to be close to him, to spend time with him and enjoy him. They do not rely on themselves for survival and blessing, but on the one who gives them their water, their nourishment, their blessings.

But this flourishing tree is not just growing for its own benefit. It grows tall and strong, and is leavy, so that people can shelter from the fierce heat of the sun under it. Fruit grows, a valuable source of food, vitamins and nourishment. When we grow like this tree people who are suffering from the difficulties of this life can come to us and find relief. They can be nourished from being with us and strengthened and blessed, brought close to the one true God who is the source of all joy.

III How do we grow in our trust in God?

How do we make sure we are like a tree planted by the stream? God has given us things that we can deepen our trust in God. We do it so that we can deepen our trust in God. We do it through reading God’s Word, through prayer and worship like we are doing now. So worship on the Lord’s day, daily prayers and devotions are important. These practices deepen our trust in the Lord.

Another practice also that deepens our trust in the Lord is fellowship with other Christians. We need each other. Our faith and trust deepens and strengthens when we spend time with our fellow Christians. This is why Jesus spent a good part of his time on earth gathering people together, forming community, and laying the foundation for the church. Jesus knew the simple truth: We are not strong enough on our own. We need each other.

Therefore the choice is clear. Trust in man who will fail you, you will weather and dry and be of no use to anyone?, or trust in God and be well watered, giving shade to others. As God’s people, may we place our ultimate trust in the Lord and act on that trust. In so doing we shall be like the healthy tree feeding on Christ, the Water of Life, through His Word and Sacraments – which shall keep us healthy and help us to produce fruit in abundance to share with a world hungering and thirsting for food and drink which lasts forever. For we are a blessed people and our blessings shall only grow the more abundant and richer when we lovingly share them with others.

Blessed, indeed, are those who trust in the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green. In the year of the drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. May we all be so blessed, now and forevermore. Amen

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/01/12

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Reading:
Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Text:
Luke 3:22 “And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son whom I love, with you I am well pleased.”

Message:

Jesus grew up in that small town of Nazareth, probably being apprenticed as a carpenter, like Joseph. But with those closest to him knowing that there was something different about him, that God had a unique path for Jesus to walk. And now, finally, in his thirtieth year, Jesus has begun taking that path. He has journeyed to the River Jordan to be baptized by his relative John.

John has been preparing the way, telling the crowds that came to be baptized that another was coming more powerful than he. And that he, John, was not even worthy to untie the thong of this one’s sandals. And then, Jesus was there, ready to begin his public ministry. Ready to be baptized by John. What a powerful moment this was, for Jesus, for John, and for all who were present. But what does it all mean, that Jesus was baptized? And what does it mean that we are baptized? Today is a good day to think about this, and to remind ourselves of what all these baptisms mean for us all.

What did Jesus’ baptism mean for Him? We believe that Jesus is fully divine and fully human and the meaning of His baptism is connected to both of these beliefs. First Jesus is fully divine – the Son of God, perfect and without sin, He did not need to be baptized. Instead He chose to be baptized. He chose to become one with us fully and completely. Taking on our sin, the sin of the world. In His baptism Jesus as the Son of God was baptized to truly become one of us, to share our pain, our suffering, and even our death. So that the Son of God could say to us, “My fellow humans,” and even, “My fellow sinners.”

Jesus’ baptism is important because it shows us how far He will go to identify with us. But His baptism is also important for another reason, and that has to do with Jesus being fully human. As a human being, the task that lay before Jesus was a terribly difficult one. He was going to be opposed by many, and eventually be killed. None of it would be easy. Which is why His baptism provided such an important and necessary foundation. Before Jesus began His public ministry, He was baptized. And as He was, He heard a voice from heaven say to Him: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased.” And then, and only then, Jesus began his public work on this earth. First, by overcoming the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. And, then, by proclaiming the kingdom of God in word and deed, by calling disciples to follow Him, and, finally, by dying on a cross for the sins of the world.

Jesus began all of His work only after He received this special message from heaven: ‘You are my Son. With whom I am well pleased.” This message gave Him the courage to do all that he was called to do. This was the foundation on which He built His ministry that God sent Him into the world. There would be no storm in His life that would crack that foundation. Nothing the devil could throw at Him, or anyone else, that could undermine this. It was a rock foundation that gave Him the courage and strength to do whatever was needed, whatever His heavenly Father desired. Because He was God’s beloved Son.

Jesus was and is fully human and fully divine. As the Son of God, Jesus was baptized to become one with us. As the Son of Mary, He was baptized to be reminded that He is one with God, that He is God’s beloved Son.

What has this to do with our baptism?

What has Jesus’ baptism have to do with us? It has everything to do with us. When we were baptized into Christ, His baptism became ours. Because Jesus became one with us in His baptism, we become one with Him through ours. It’s a remarkable truth that can, and should, change the course of our lives. That we are united with Jesus in baptism. We are one with Him. And because of that, we are now God’s beloved children, with whom God is well pleased.

And just as this message gave Jesus the courage to do His work, no matter the cost, so it can do for us. These words can give us the courage to live our lives for Jesus, and, if necessary, to give our lives for Him. This message, that we are God’s beloved, can provide us a rock foundation that no storm in this life can crack. What challenge, after all, is too great to face when we truly believe that we are God’s beloved? The problem, of course, is that we don’t always believe it. We all doubt God’s love for us at times. Because of something we have done, perhaps. Or because of something that has happened in our life. We doubt or forget this basic truth of our lives. It happens to us all.

We need therefore to constantly remind ourselves of our baptism that we are God’s beloved sons and daughters when we are faced with challenges of life. We are to remind ourselves each morning that we are baptized that we are God’s beloved no matter what.

Here is a lovely story. On the way home after worship, the brother of the baby who had been baptized cried from the back seat all the way home. Three times his dad asked him what he was crying about. Finally, he answered, “The preacher said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys.” We who are baptized struggle just like everybody else to be decent human beings. We are no more or less tempted than anybody else to be less than God created us to be, but Jesus our Lord showed us how to beat the demons back, and God gave us the spiritual power to choose a higher and better way. From our baptism onward, we live inside the promise that we will have a strength that comes from another world enabling us to will and to work for God’s good pleasure.

By following Jesus’ example of answering the call to be baptized, by responding ourselves to our call to be baptized, by responding ourselves to our call to be baptized, we are welcomed to the family. We become brothers and sisters in Christ, and heirs to the kingdom because God has claimed us through baptism to be his children, too. And we can hear the same response, “You are my children, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

In following Jesus’ example in baptism, we have repented. But our journey is not over, rather it is just beginning. Just as with Jesus, our baptism is the start of our ministry. After this welcoming to the family, our lives are to become a response to God’s saving grace in baptism. Our response is that we must follow Jesus’ other example of becoming prayerful, spirit-filled children of God. We must dedicate ourselves to a life of following God’s will and trying to remain centered in God’s grace. We know it won’t be easy. There will be trials. There will be tough times. But remember, we’re part of the family now. God’s family. And family helps family.

We are God’s beloved. No matter what. But this does not mean that we can now live however we want, with no regard for God’s commands or teachings. Far from it. The truth is that the more we remember that we are God’s beloved, the more we want to live by it. It is only when we question that love, or forget it, that we are tempted to live in ways that are not pleasing to God.

Believing that we are God’s beloved gives us the courage and the desire to face down our temptations and selfish desires, and to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Believing that we are God’s beloved comforts us when we are facing trials in life; but it also challenges us to live out this love. And believing that we are God’s beloved does one more very important thing: It helps us to see everyone around us as God’s beloved, too.

And that really is all that God wants to say to us today: We are God’s beloved. Because of Jesus. This should comfort us. And inspire us. To share this message with the world, just as Jesus taught us to do. The voice that Jesus heard from heaven is now spoken through those who follow him. and there are many in our world who may not hear this beloved word, unless they hear it from us. So let us be faithful in sharing this message, with all of God’s beloved world. To the glory of God. Amen

MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY, 2025/01/05

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Reading:
Ephesians 1:3-14

Text:
Ephesians 1;3 “Peace be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Message:

On this first Sunday of 2025 I would like to talk to you about New year’s blessings rather than New year’s resolutions. I am inspired by our reading from Ephesians. In verse 3 Paul reflects on the wonderful blessings we have received from Jesus. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”.

Today’s passage begins right after Paul’s initial greeting, and is a wonderful blessing for all that God has done for us. It is a blessing that starts in verse 3, and doesn’t conclude until verse 14. It is almost as if Paul can never say enough when he is praising God.

In this simple statement, we are reminded of something very important: That we begin this year as people who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. That’s a good way to start the year, don’t you think? By reminding ourselves that we are already blessed, in Jesus Christ, with every spiritual blessing. Everything important, you might say, has already been given to us. Everything eternal, everything undying, everything that we can truly count on, come what may, we have already been given. We have already been blessed in Jesus Christ with every spiritual blessing.

We might face all sorts of worldly challenges right now. This has been a difficult year for us all. But we are still blessed. Because we know that God loves us, and blesses us in Jesus with every spiritual blessing. We begin the year by remembering this simple, wonderful fact: That in Jesus, we are truly blessed. Often, when you think about it, New Year’s Resolutions focus on something negative in our life. We are unorganized. We need to lose weight. We want to quit a bad habit. Taking Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as a guide, we are encouraged to begin the year by focusing on the positive. And this year especially, that seems like a good idea. So, Paul invites us to begin the year by remembering the blessings that we have already received in Christ. For we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Now, you might ask: What does it mean to be blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing? In the words that follow this statement, Paul will identify ways that we are blessed in Christ.

What is the first thing that Paul thanks God for? He thanks God for choosing us. Blessed be God because “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.” Isn’t that amazing? Even before the world was formed, God knew you. God had already planned to create you, and decided to have this amazing relationship with you. You and I have been chosen to be part of God’s family. It is an amazing, freeing, truth, when we really embrace it. God chose us, in Christ. We can be confident of that. And even when our plans for this life don’t work out, we can fall back on this knowledge – That God has chosen us, and no choice of ours takes this away.

Before we make resolutions, before improving ourselves, God has already chosen us. We don’t have to earn this. It is given freely in Christ. That is a wonderful blessing, isn’t it? We note in the Old Testament God chose Israel that through them all nations would be blessed. The Israelites were chosen people and they were chosen for a purpose. They were chosen to be a light to the nations and to bless all the nations of the world.

Paul is simply telling us that we are the new Israel; we have been chosen to bless the world. The church, the disciples that Jesus has called, have been chosen to be a light to the nations. We have been chosen to do God’s work on this earth – to care for the poor and the sick, to feed the hungry, to bring hope to the hopeless, to strive for justice and peace, and to do all of this in the name of Jesus. That is what we have been chosen for.

We have been chosen in Christ, as Paul puts it, to be holy and blameless before God in love. There’s only one problem with that, and you’ve probably already figured it out. Who among us believes that they are holy and blameless? I’m not holy and blameless, and I’m guessing you’re not, either. As Paul reminds us elsewhere, none of us are. The nation of Israel wasn’t. The church certainly isn’t. And none of us as individuals are, either.

Paul continues: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us …” Now we come to the coming of Christ, the eternal Son of God taking on our flesh at a certain point in history. This is the man Jesus of Nazareth going to the cross for our sake, the innocent for the guilty. Jesus is the innocent one, who shed his blood on the cross for us sinners, so that we would have forgiveness and everything that goes with it. This is the atonement, the Son of God dying for all the sinners of the world, taking the punishment we deserve upon himself. This is the greatest act in the history of the world, the pivot point of history, along with the resurrection of Christ that followed, which validated the great victory Christ won on the cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central act of God on which everything depends.

What is the result for you? Redemption, forgiveness, grace. Paul pulls out all the stops here, bringing out this incredibly rich vocabulary of our salvation. “In Him we have redemption through His blood.” “?R?edemption” means “release by means of payment.” You have been redeemed, released from the burden of your sin, the curse of death, and bondage to the devil. How? By the holy precious blood of Christ, that payment He paid which you could never pay. “The forgiveness of our trespasses.” All the ways you have transgressed against God’s commandments, gone where you should not have gone, whether in thought, word, or deed, the wrong things you have done, the right things you have failed to do – that whole dirty, stinking mess has been washed away by the blood of Christ, removed from you and sent far away, never to return. That is forgiveness. “According to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.” Grace. That means it’s all a free gift, you don’t do anything to deserve it – you can’t – God just is rich and gracious toward us, that’s how he rolls. Think of grace like this; G-R-A-C-E, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Secondly Paul tells us in verse 5 that we are not only chosen in Christ – we have a destiny: For adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ. That is our destiny. And it is God’s wonderful gift to us. And again, it is not something we earn or work toward. It is given to us simply because God chooses to give it to us. And knowing our destiny can free us to live without fear, even now, in the midst of all the uncertainty in our world.

Thirdly, we are blessed in verse 9. God “has made known to us the mystery of His will.” We often take this one for granted, I suppose. But think about it: We don’t have to guess at what God wants from us. God has told us. We have God’s Word, the Bible, to guide us. God is very clear about how we are expected to live. Maybe not in all the details. But, big-picture-wise, God could not be more clear. And that’s a good thing. We don’t have to guess how to please a stern, distant God. We have a close and loving God who has made known to us the mystery of God’s will. And that, too, is a blessing.

Fourthly, we are also blessed in Christ, verse 11″In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance.” Not just chosen, destined for adoption, forgiven, and told the mystery of God’s will; we are also promised an inheritance. And it is no less than eternal life with our Lord and our God. There is no greater inheritance possible. And we have already been promised it. In fact, we have already obtained It in Christ. So before we even make any resolutions to better ourselves, we are reminded that we begin this year chosen by God, with our destiny secure in Christ, and with an awesome inheritance promised to us.

The Holy Spirit bears witness in our heart that we have an inheritance waiting for us. We haven’t taken possession of it yet – that will happen when Christ returns – but we know even now that we have this inheritance guaranteed. And there is your future. There is your hope. It is an eternal future, to live forever with Christ and all his saints. It is an open-ended, glorious future – life, eternal life, filled to overflowing with blessings and joy. That is what you have to look forward to. It’s a sure thing. And this hope will carry you through all the difficulties and hardships of this life. And there are many financial worries, health problems, and broken relationships. But to know how God has acted in the past, how he is with you in the present, and what he has in store for you in the future – God will help you to endure those hardships and even to have joy.

Conclusion

In a very uncertain world, we find these to be comforting promises. Because they don’t depend on the uncertainties of our world, or of our lives. They depend on God, and so they are certainties. They are done simply for the good pleasure of God’s will. A gift given to us which we did not earn. Freely given, in love. So how can we thank God for this gift? Again, Paul provides an answer for us, in this same passage from Ephesians. Paul tells us in verse 12 that we who have set our hope on “Christ can now live for the praise of his glory.” The best way to respond to these freely-given gifts is by living for the praise of God’s glory. We can resolve to spend this year glorifying God.

No matter whoever we are, we are God’s. God has chosen us. What a powerful truth to rest in and build our lives on that we are God’s. No matter who we are. For we have been chosen in Christ for a reason and for a purpose. To bear Christ’s light to the world and live for the praise of God’s glory. Blessed be the God who has blessed us in Christ and chosen us to be a blessing to our world.

Paul challenge?s us ?to bring glory to God, to live for the praise of God’s glory. We believe in and worship an awesome God, who is worthy of our praise and our love, who is more than worthy of anything, and everything that we can do to bring God praise. So let’s bring God praise this year, at every turn. Because there is no better way to respond to the blessings that God has given to us in Jesus Christ. What hopeful words are the words here of Paul. Who tells us that we begin this year – as we begin every year – in Christ; Chosen, destined, forgiven, with an inheritance promised to each and every one of us. And all so that we might live for the praise of God’s glory.

May each of us be blessed as we strive to live this new year for the praise of God’s glory. And may we never forget that we begin this year, as we begin every year, with the blessing of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.