Understanding the Old Testament: Abraham

Jesus was and is God’s greatest miracle.  All of history turns around the Jesus event, which is why we spend so much time learning about Him.  However, the miracle of Jesus can be better understood if we explore some of what God was up to in the 2000 years before Jesus was born.   The drama of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, is glorious.   The Old Testament is not one book, but a library of 39 books or writings, containing legends, myths, history, sacred laws and rituals, songs and poetry, and much much more. Originally, most of these Books were orally transmitted from generation to generation, until the invention of human writing.   So, these scriptures were copied and handed down until the 3rd century before Christ, when two things happened:

1.    The 39 books were collected together to form the Hebrew Scriptures. The religious and political leadership chose the books which they determine be the Word of God.  No more would be added.

2.    After speaking to leaders and prophets for hundreds of years, God was silent for 400 years up until the birth of Christ.  There is no record of God directly speaking to his people.

Many of us have some familiarity with stories from the Bible----like that of Adam & Eve, Moses, & King David.  But since the Old Testament is a library, it can be hard to swallow.  I know people who decided to read the Old Testament beginning with the first book, the book of Genesis.  Most people who do that, often get lost in some of the liturgical and law books of Leviticus, and then stop because they become discouraged.

Within the 39 books of the Old Testament, there is a wonderful and heart breaking Love story, which is so beautiful.  It is this drama which inspired Jesus, and which can inspire us.  It’s a drama about God and humanity; of a God, inviting people into a relationship with Him; of people being both attracted and repelled by God.  This is a drama where God becomes broken hearted, because His beloved people reject Him; and a story of God pursuing His beloved children.  We will explore some of this drama; and I think you will find that God has been a consistent lover.  You may not agree and/or understand some of his actions.  But that we can discuss too.

So, there are two foundational truths which underlie these scriptures:

1.    There is one true God. Many pagan religions worshipped multiple Gods. These “gods” were either totally fabricated by people, or were evil spirits masquerading as gods.  Thus when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses, God declared: ” I am the Lord your God. You shall not have no other gods but me. You shall not make for idols fir yourselves; you shall not bow down before them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20: 2,4,5)

2.    So, there is one god. Secondly,   please repeat after me:

“God acts in history to save His people.”  This was best said in the Book of Job, where we hear, “After all, God is famous for great and unexpected acts; there’s no end to his surprises.  (Job 5:9)

Now we come to one great divide here, where we need to be open to something much of western culture world calls foolishness.  And that is this:  Is our physical world all there is, or is there a spiritual world which can influence and act in our physical world? 

·       If your mind is closed to the possibility of a supernatural influences and intervention in our world, then the Bible is simply a bunch of primitive writings by ignorant people, reflecting on their own experience.

·       If you believe that there is a spiritual realm, which influences and acts in our spiritual world, then the bible will have meaning for you.  So, do you believe in miracles?”   Can anyone guess what percentage of Americans believe in miracles?   PAUSE      National Public Radio reports that 80% of Americans believe in miracles.

·       The Gallup polling organization says that 9 out of ten Americans believe in God.  According to Gallup, quote, “This number is reduced among younger Americans, easterners, and intellectual liberals.”   J   Now, in addition to this, 72% of Americans do believe that God acts in history.  Isn’t that something?  More people believe that what one might imagine. So, believers are not in the minority at all.  But you would not know it from our pop culture.

God’s first great act in history was the creation of time. There was a point when there was the beginning of chronological time, and there will come a point in time in the future when chronological time will end.   Time is the playing field for God’s activity.

Next,  God continued by creating the natural order, as described in our Prayer Book:” the universe, planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.”  The Psalms describe it this way.  Pls repea.t after me   In his hand are the depths of the earth,// and the mountain peaks belong to him. // The sea is his, for he made it,// and his hands formed the dry land.

Once earth was made, then God came to his crowning achievement: He created humanity. PAUSE Perhaps no one other than William Shakespere could have described God’s feelings about humanity: quote 'What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel!  Unquote. 

So, what was God’s purpose in creating humanity?  One line from our Eucharistic prayer sums this up by saying,” Holy and gracious father, in your infinite love, you made us from yourself.” (Prayer Book, p. 362)  So, what was the purpose in creating humanity?   To love us.

Why would God almighty need to love humanity?  Couldn’t God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit just go throughout eternity loving themselves?

Well, the bible tells us that “Love is not love unless is shared.”  Love is reciprocal-it is mutual, and if you don’t give it away, it will eventually grow stale and die.  So, God wanted children to love, because He is a God of Love.

Although God loved humanity from the beginning, God began to form his earthly family about 4000 years ago.  He started with a young couple named Abraham and Sarah.  Prior to Abraham being called by God, he and his wife were living with Abraham’s father in a city in modern day Iraq, God spoke to Abraham and said, “Go from your country and kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you, and I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Through you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.”   So, Abraham did as God asked, and God led him to what would later be called the Promised Land, because this land was promised to Abraham and his descendants forever.  That land, as most of you know, is modern day Israel.

Abraham and Sarah were good, faithful, hardworking people.  For many years, Abraham and Sarah were childless, which deeply distressed them both.  One night as Abraham was praying about this, God promised that they would have a child.  Then God took Abraham to look at the stars in the sky, and God said to him, “Look to the heavens, and count the stars. So shall your descendants be.”  And the Bible goes on to say that Abraham believed the Lord’s promise, and god credited him with righteousness.”

Now the term “righteousness” is not just about moral conduct.   Rather righteousness is about having an intimate relationship with God, with no walls, no distance, no impediments.   This, my friends, was radical.  You see, going back then, God was understood to be pure—of such a purity that no sinful man or woman, which was everybody, could ever come close to God because all people are sinners.

Do you realize how fortunate we are? Up until the time of Abraham, and then in many years following, humanity was totally alienated from God by virtue of being infected with original sin.  Back at the beginning of time, the first people, called Adam and Eve, had turned away from God, thereby releasing this spiritual disease of sin into the world.

Consequently, for eons and eons, God and humanity were enemies, so to speak.  But here Abraham, called the pioneer of our faith, believed God’s promise, and He was made a friend of God. This promise, or covenant, was without conditions---it was not based on human behavior; it was just based on God’s unconditional love for all people.

This is why Abraham is the spiritual forefather of all who believe.  God started with him, and now the descendants of Abraham are as numerous as the stars in the heavens.   And this was the foundation upon which Jesus Christ came to reconcile all of humanity, by his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin. Now, all of us can have a right relationship, crossing the barrier between God and humanity.

 I believe that God has known each of us since before the beginning of time; and God looked forward to this time when we could truly be one family under the Headship of Jesus.    For whatever reason, it has taken 4000 years to get us this place.   So now, here, today,  at Christ Church Quaker Farms, through God’s Word & Sacrament, heaven comes to earth…comes to us, as we seek to live as members of God’s awesome family. 

The Rev. John Donnelly            7  26  15

Light must shine. Fire must burn. Love must act.

We Americans identify ourselves as the “United States”; and indeed, our states are united.  But as a people, we are so divided about so many things.

·       It is easy to see such divisions in politics, were Republicans and Democrats rarely agree on things.

·       And then there  all these factions & special interest groups with grievances demanding their rights---black rights, Latino rights, women’s rights, gay rights,  right to work,  gun owners’ rights, immigrant rights,  first amendment rights, and the rights of business to undertake commerce without undue government interference.

·       We are divided by family backgrounds, religions, economics, and by the different regional cultures in our land.

·       Just ask any teenager about the differences among the student population at school.

·       And sometimes these divisions are carried in to the home.

Not infrequently, these divisions can become destructive. Name calling, slander, rage, & condemnation can irrupt when our opinions become more important that civility & mutual respect.  I do ot know about you, but there are times when  I  personally get caught up in destructive divisions,  saying  things that I later regret.  Words can cause wounds.

Now, frequently  divisions can produce  winners and losers; and insiders and outsiders.  The insiders are the people who are on my side; the outsiders are on the opposing side. And those who try not to choose a side are left out, because the other 2 sides become suspicious of the outcasts.

And of course, when this gets played out among nations, the divisions can result in conflict and conflict can lead to war.

Jesus was a man who attracted conflict, because he refused to affiliate with any group. He wasn’t pro Sadducees, a religious sect, nor pro Pharisees or Zealots, two other sects.  And he certainly was not pro-Roman. He wasn’t pro any human divisions, because He was pro unconditional, universal Love as expressed by the Gospel.       And because He did not side with any of the various special interest groups,  all his opponents became enemies, who hated him.  But, as we hear in today’s Gospel,  the little people were, pro Jesus—the outcasts, the sick, the homeless, the sinners, and the lost;  and those who longed for a right relationship with God.  

You see, Jesus came to earth because all of God’s children were all divided into different conflicting nations, different languages, different races, different social classes, and different religions.  The root of all these destructive divisions was then, and is now, SIN. Sin—where we are out for ourselves and our side, striving to get what we want by pushing aside God and those different from us.   So Jesus, died on the cross & rose from the dead, breaking the strangle hold that sin had on the people. Now  sin is still around & still dangerous—but Jesus provided an escape route for all who choose to prayerfully invite Him into their hearts as your personal Lord and Savior.

Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, all people were infected and condemned by sin.   But by asking Jesus into your heart, you automatically receive the antidote for sin, which is His amazing grace. Now, you and I will continue to sin and tube hurt by the sin of others; but that is just temporary because you have become part of God’s family. 

St. Paul talks about God’s family in today’s first reading.  God’s family is unlike any other family, or group, or association.  In God’s people, all are welcome, irrespective of your ideology and/or your past sins. You see, what united God’s family across the earth is the saving love of Jesus Christ, which is so much more powerful than any human divisions.

So Paul says, “Now because of Christ shedding his blood, you who were once outsiders are now included in everything. “ Please repeat after me, “You are no longer strangers and outsiders, but members of the family of God.”

So, if you have not sked Jesus into your heart, we want to encourage you to do so. I will have more to say about that, later.  

What are the benefits of you accepting Jesus into your heart and being a member of His family?

·       You can discover God’s unique purpose for your life.

·       You can receive healing, forgiveness & comfort because Jesus’ mission to help us here and now.

·       You can receive hope, because no matter how bad life treats you, you have the hope of eternal life.

·       You can build new friendships with positive faithful people. This is especially true in our annual Small Group ministry, which we will soon announce.

·       And you can share in the important work of expanding God’s family to those who do not yet believe.

You see, Jesus cries for the people who do not know of His love.   You see, most people not attending church may have heard that Jesus loves them, but they really don’t experience in their hearts.  If you are one of those people, and you would like to change that, then I have some news for you that I will share at announcement time.it grows; and as it grows, there comes a point where we wish to share what we have received

So, once we have received the love of Christ into our heart,  it grows; and  it grows through the word, sacrament, and fellowship of God’s family.   Then, there comes a point where we wish to share what we have received, just as Jesus has commanded us to do:

Those outside God’s family do not know what they are missing, so  God’s Word, as we hear in our readings, challenges us to love them.  Here are ways that YOU can share God’s love with those outside God’s family:

1.    You can ask them about their church background, and talk about yours.

2.    You can do good deeds.

3.    You can empathetically listen to someone in need,

4.    You can invite someone  to come to church.

5.    You can invite them to come to a small group, which will begin again in September.

6.    You can join our new Mission & Outreach Commission, which is being head up by Amy Sarris.

7.    You can offer to pray when someone tells you of and illness or other problem.

Now, what is the benefit for you to reach out in love like this?   It is simple.  God’s love is free—but if you do not share it, then over time it will diminish.  How many former Christians have burnt out simply because they neglected to share that love which had been given to them?

This past week, I understood a silent retreat at an Episcopal monastery.  It was wonderful, but I was so impressed by their motto:

Please repeat after me:

Light must shine.   Fire must burn.    Love must act.

We are so fortunate.  Our God is really opening the door for us all too really shine the light of Christ’s love through this church and into the world.  And you know that when you share God’s love, He gives you more back in return. 

·       You will see more blessings.

·         You will feel like you have made a difference.

·        You will create new friendships. 

·       You will find clearer guidance in times of need.

·        You will feel greater communion with God.

·        You will feel connected to God’s purpose in the world.

·       You will feel more confident in your walk with God.

So, Jesus Christ is God’s answer to all the destructive divisions and anguish of the world. And together, with us, we can overcome all estrangement & enmity—because His love conquered death and the grave.

The Rev. John Donnelly    7 19 15

The New Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Inaugural Sermon--The Most Rev. Michael Curry

GO! We are the Jesus Movement
The 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church
The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry
Friday, July 3, 2015

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Before I say anything, I must again say thank you to you, Almighty God, for the privilege and the possibility of serving as Presiding Bishop-Elect. I love this Church, I love our Lord, and God is not finished with us yet.

To our Presiding Bishop, who has been an incredible leader—

We go back 15 years. We were ordained bishops in the same year, and this is a woman of God. She has led the people of God with courage, passion—

Now her passion is a little different than mine. I told the bishops, I want to get a little bit of cool from her.

She has been an incredible God-sent and God-inspired leader.

And I so look forward to working together with President Jennings. We’ve known each other off and on over the years and—

I’m older than she is, I’ll say it that way.

I’m probably not.

I really do look forward to working together with her. Leadership is not easy, and she has exercised it here at this convention with grace and clarity. I look forward to working with you, my sister.

And then lastly—I know they didn’t move the service up to 8:30 so I had more time to preach—but I must offer a word of disclaimer before getting into the sermon. I didn’t know what the text was going to be for today; I had no idea that it would be the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” And when I saw what the text was, all I could do was say, “There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place.”

Matthew ends his Gospel telling the story and compiling the teachings of Jesus with Jesus sending his disciples out into the world with these words: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have taught you.” And remember, I am with you in the first century and in the 21st. “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

I am more and more convinced that God came among us in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth to show us the way to be reconciled with the God who deeply and passionately loves each and every one of us, to be reconciled and right with that God and to be reconciled and right with each other as the children of that one God who created us all. He came to show us how to get right and how to get reconciled. He came to show us therefore how to become more than simply the human race – that’s not good enough – came to show us how to be more than a collection of individualized self-interests, came to show us how to become more than a human race.

He came to show us how to become the human family of God. And in that, my friends, is our hope and our salvation, now and unto the day of eternity.
Or to say it another way.

Max Lucado who’s a Christian writer says “God loves you just the way you are, but he [doesn’t intend] to leave you that way.”

Jesus came to change the world and to change us from the nightmare that life can often be to the dream that God has intended from before the earth and world was ever made.

Julia Ward Howe said it this way, during America’s Civil War, an apocalyptic moment in the history of this nation if ever there was one:

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea.
With a glory in his bosom
That transfigured you and me.
As he died to make [folk] holy
Let us live to set them free
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory hallelujah
God’s truth is marching on.

Now I’ve got one word for you. If you don’t remember anything else I say this morning, it’s the first word in the Great Commission: GO!

Don’t do it yet, but go!

And the reason I lift up that word “go” is because we are the Jesus Movement.

Go!

Let me tell you, I began to realize something—I stumbled into it a few months ago— while I was getting ready for Advent and I was reading the Gospel Advent messages for the three-year cycle.

I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.

I noticed that all four of the Gospels preface the ministry of Jesus not only by invoking John the Baptist, but they preface the ministry of Jesus by quoting Isaiah chapter 40: “Prepare the way of the Lord, / make straight [ ] a highway for our God”

And if you look back, go back to Isaiah 40, Isaiah says:

Prepare the way of the Lord,
…
For every valley shall be exalted,
Every mountain and hill made low,
The crooked straight and the rough places a plain,
And in this the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together.

The Bible’s trying to tell us something about Jesus. This brother didn’t come into the world to leave it the way he found it. He came to change it until valleys are lifted up and mountains are brought down, until the world is righted the way god dreamed it. The landscape of our reality and lives is changing.

The story behind Isaiah 40—and I won’t get into all the details—is that the people of God found themselves free one day and in slavery the next. This time it was not a slavery of Pharaoh’s Egypt; this time it was the slavery of exile in Babylon.

For indeed in the year 586 BCE, the armies of Babylon began a prodigious March of conquest throughout the Middle East. Eventually they came to Palestine. They razed the countryside, moved toward and fought their way to Jerusalem, breached the walls of the Holy City, entered the city and burned much of it, and killed people. They entered the Sacred Temple that Solomon had built and desecrated it. And then they took many of the leading citizens and they carted them off to Babylon where they made virtual slaves of them.

It was a nightmare.

In Babylon they sang, as old slaves used to sing, “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long, long way from home.”

In Babylon one of their poets wrote:

By the waters of Babylon,
we sat down and wept,
When we remembered thee, O Zion.

When we remembered what it was like to be home.

How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a strange land?

And then it happened, almost as swiftly as they had been enslaved by the nightmare of the world, they were set free by the treaty of God.

See the Babylonians who had conquered were conquered themselves. Have you ever played that game King of the Mountain? Somebody’s gonna knock you off.

Or as that great philosopher Frank Sinatra said, “You can be riding high in April and shot down in May.”

And so an emperor named Cyrus came to the throne in Persia. He conquered the Babylonians and as a kind of “in your face” to the Babylonians, everyone the Babylonians had enslaved, Cyrus set free. He issued an edict of religious toleration. We thought pluralism and multiculturalism was new. Cyrus did that a long time ago.

He issued an edict of religious toleration, the Jewish people were set free, they went home, and as they were on their way going home, one of their poets said: Prepare the way of the Lord, for everybody shall be exalted, every mountain made low, the crooked straight.

And we’re going home!

The nightmare has ended, and God has changed the landscape of reality, His dream has broken out!

My friends, all four Gospels preface the story of Jesus by pointing us back to that story in Isaiah. Jesus came to show us the way, to change the landscape of reality, from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends and we, my friends, are part of the Jesus movement.

So go!

Now if you still don’t believe me, go see the movie.

Now I’m not commending the movie I’m about to mention because I actually haven’t seen the movie itself, but it’s the movie Son of God. It came out about a year ago if I remember correctly, and it kind of got eclipsed because Noah with Russell Crowe came out at the same time.

Everybody knows that would certainly have told the story accurately.

Anyway, the movie Son of God—again I’m not commending it because I haven’t seen it.

But the trailer is really good.

And in the trailer there’s this one scene, where Hollywood conflated several biblical versions, of the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter.

And Peter is fishing in the Sea of Galilee and Jesus comes along. Peter’s not catching any fish—and you can see he’s frustrated—and Jesus comes along and says something like, “What’re you doing, brother?”

Sometimes when you read the Bible, you gotta read between the lines and imagine what the expressions were like.

When Jesus says, “Well, what are you doing?,” Simon Peter says, “I’m obviously fishing.” And then Jesus says, “Well why don’t you put your net on the other side of the boat?” And you know Peter’s been there all day, and you can assume he probably did know something about Jesus, and knew the brother was a carpenter, not a fisherman.

And therefore, he was probably thinking, you don’t know a thing about this, but what I’ve been doing all day isn’t working—
Which is a parable for the church today, but I’ll leave that alone.

Jesus said if it’s not working for you, put the net on the other side and go where the fish are, don’t wait for them to come to you—

That’s another message for the church.

So anyway, Peter takes the net and casts it on the other side of the boat and then the next scene—now this is in the trailer, I haven’t seen the movie—the next scene is under the water and the camera is looking up.

Now this is clearly Hollywood, and you can see Jesus’ image kind of refracted through the water. You can tell it’s Jesus because he has a beard.

And then he takes his finger, and he touches the water, and the water starts to quiver and shake like the old song, “Wade in the Water.”

“God’s gonna trouble the water.”

That’s Hollywood. That wasn’t in the Bible, but neither was Cecil B. DeMille, and I actually like his version of The Ten Commandments.

So anyway, the water is quivering. And then the next scene goes up on top, and you see Peter, and probably Andrew and John, they’re hauling all of the fish. They’ve got so many, the net is breaking.

Notice they listened to Jesus, and caught more fish than they did when they were doing it on their own.

That’s another lesson, but we’ll talk about that later.

Anyway they’re trying to pull up all these fish, and then Jesus comes along and says, “Peter, now come and follow me.”

Now again, imagine what was going through Peter’s mind: I’m finally catching some fish, and you want me to follow you?

And Jesus says, “Come on and follow me,” and Peter says “Where are we going ?!”

Jesus says, “To Change the world.”

God came among us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to change the world, to change it from the nightmare it often can be into the dream that God intends. He came to change the world, and we have been baptized into the Triune God and summoned to be disciples and followers of this Jesus and to participate in God’s work, God’s mission of changing and transforming this world. We are the Jesus Movement now.

And his way can change the world. The Diocese of Ohio has popularized a way of capturing Jesus’ summary of the law: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two hang all the law and the prophets.

It’s all about that love.

Duke Ellington said, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

It’s all about that love!

The Diocese of Ohio says it this way:  “Love God, love your neighbor and change the world.”

With this I’ll sit down.

I will.

In May of 1961, now-Congressman John Lewis, one of the Freedom Riders, was a young man. He together with other young men and women, black and white, were Freedom Riders who dared to trust the recent Supreme Court decision with regard to interstate transportation, seeking to end and eradicate Jim Crow in our land. They were on a Greyhound bus, 13 of them, headed from Washington through Virginia and North Carolina, through South Carolina and heading onto New Orleans, Louisiana. When they stopped in Rock Hill, South Carolina, just to fill up the tank, go to the bathroom, get something to eat, they were met there by hooded night riders. They were met there by those who would burn a cross for hatred instead of the reason behind the cross: love.

And they were beaten, many of them nearly beaten to death.

John Lewis was beaten not only there but also on that Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. He bears on his body the marks of Jesus, and so do so many others.

Now fast forward, 48 years later. John Lewis is a Congressman from Georgia. One of his aides tells him there’s a man named Edwin Wilson, who wants to meet him.

Mr. Wilson came in, he met John Lewis, and he said “I’m one of the men who beat you and the other Freedom Riders in Rock Hill in 1961, and I’ve come to apologize and to ask you to forgive me.” Lewis forgave him. He said in the book where he told the story, “I accepted the apology of this man, who physically and verbally assaulted, but this is the testimony of the power of love, the power that can overcome hatred.”

This is what Jesus taught us to do.

God came among us in the person of Jesus to reconcile us with each other and in so doing to change the world. We’ve got a day of crisis before us in this country.

We’ve got a day of crisis before us in this global community.

We have enormous challenges before us as Church and followers of Jesus.

But as St. Paul said in Romans, “With God before us, who can be against us?”

Or as Bishop Barbara Harris said—

How do you like that, Paul and Barbara Harris?

As Bishop Barbara Harris said, “The God who is behind us is greater than any problem that is ahead of us.”

We are part of the Jesus Movement, and that movement cannot be stopped because we follow a Lord who defeated death and follow a Lord who lives.

We are part of the Jesus Movement, and he has summoned us to make disciples and followers of all nations and transform this world by the power of the Good News, the gospel of Jesus.

And look at us: We’re incredible!

Have you seen all the babies crawling around this convention? They’re all over the place!

Some of us are babies!

Some of us are children. The children are right here. You can’t see them—

Hey, guys! Hey!—They’re waving—How are you?

Some of us are children!

Some of us are young people. They’ve been here.

Some of us are young adults, and they’ve been here, and they’re gonna change the world!

Some of us have got AARP cards.

I do!

And some of us—help me, Jesus—some of us are Republicans. And some of us are Democrats.

But if you’ve been baptized into the Triune God, you are a disciple of Jesus, and we are all in the Jesus Movement.

What God has brought together, let no one tear asunder.

Some of us are labelled traditionalists—Help me, Jesus!

Ready? And some of us are labelled progressive.

I don’t care whether your label is traditionalist or progressive, if you’ve been baptized into the Triune God, you’re in the Jesus Movement.

See, we are all different. Some of us are black and some of us are white, some of us are brown.

But I like that old song that said:

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow black and white,
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus love the little children of the world.

I don’t care who you are, how the Lord has made you, what the world has to say about you, if you’ve been baptized into Jesus you’re in the Jesus Movement and your God’s.

Therein may be the Gospel message of hope for the world. There’s plenty of good room.

Plenty good room.

Plenty good room for all God’s children.

For in the beauty of the lilies—Christ was the one who taught us this.

With a glory in his bosom
That transfigured you and me.
As he died to make [folk] holy
Let us live to set them free
While God is marching on.

Glory.

Glory, hallelujah.

God’s truth is marching on.

Now go.

Independence Day Weekend is a time to savor a wonderful gift that God has given our nation: and that is the gift of liberty.   Please join me in savoring these words from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men (and women) are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   Our forefathers and foremothers understood something precious, that most Americans seem to have forgotten, and that is that freedom is a gift from God.

It seems to me that most Americans take our liberty for granted.  After all, most Americans have lived the entire lives in the blessings of liberty; but many may not appreciating the blood and sacrifices made by those in the fields of battle, to protect our freedom against those who have sought to take it away.  Perhaps those American citizens, who have recently immigrated to the United States, best appreciate the gift of freedom, because they, in many cases, have lived in lands where tyranny, not liberty, has reigned.

Throughout the Bible, we can see a God who is the champion of liberty. 

·       In today’s reading, we hear how Joseph was freed from prison in Egypt; how God delivered his people from slavery to bring them to a land where they could be free.  Throughout Biblical history, God intervened many times to free his people from oppression.

·       And is today’s Gospel, Jesus claimed God’s mission as His own when He said,”

·       I have come to proclaim the releases of captives, and to let the oppressed go free.”

Now God never intended our freedom to be an excuse for people to abuse that gift.  But time and time throughout history, people have used their freedom to turn away from God, to do whatever they want, as if they have no restraint…to violate God’s laws and to invent their own.  And if you know anything about history, you know that this leads to disaster.

Once God’s people had built their land and nation in the lands of modern day Palestine and Israel, they eventually turned against God, violating all his commandments: greed, stealing, idolatry, sexual promiscuity, envy, the enslavement of others, failing to present generous offerings to God, rape, and much more.  You see, as God’s people turned away from God, God removed his protection from His people.  Subsequently, God’s own people were defeated, enslaved, and sent into exile.  You see, God’s people had forgotten something that most Americans have forgotten or don’t understand, and that is this:

God is the author of liberty, but with that liberty comes the responsibility to follow God’s plan to maintain those liberties.

Let us now look at God’s plan. Please turn to today’s first reading from psalm 105.

Let us read the last 3 verses, with the congregation taking the lines in bold face caps:

³⁷ God saved his people from slavery,

HIS CHOSEN ONES WITH SHOUTS OF JOY.

⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing;

HE GAVE THEM THE PROMISED LAND   
⁴⁵ that they might obey His Word  AND OBSERVE HIS LAWS.

So, this is the key to freedom:  God gives the gift of freedom so that people can obey his word and observe his laws.

Now non-believers see God’s word and his laws as outdated, irrelevant, and even oppressive.  But actually, living God’s laws results in continuing freedom and expanding freedom.  God invented freedom, and the Bible is his instruction manual for maintaining it.

Now, I am not talking about the state establishment of Christianity, or ramming religion down anyone’s throat. Commitment to Jesus is meant to be a free choice.  Voluntarily embracing Jesus, who died to free us from the tyranny of sin is the basic foundation. As long as most of the people of our nation conscientiously sought to love God and to obey his commands, God prospered our land.  Indeed, this is His promise.  God’s word in Joshua 1:8 says, please repeat after me, “Keep  this Book of My Word and Law/// always on your lips; ///meditate on it day and night,/// so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. ///Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Most of us probably believe that God has blessed our nation in times past. Many of us continue to enjoy the God’s blessings of freedom now.  Our question is, will that continue as we move into the future?

Does our nation value the 10 commandments, given to bring harmony to the social order?  Or do we think that endless government regulations and bureaucrats can bring peace and prosperity to our land?

Are we still one nation under God, or are we putting human desire, greed, bitterness, factionalism, & licentiousness above God & His Word.

Why is it that so many people have decided to design their own spirituality, discarding the unpopular parts of scripture, which are the sure foundation of life in this world, and the next?

You know, one of the most liberating principles in the Bible is the principle of God’s endless mercy. 

Jesus was a friend of sinners while on earth, just as he is now.  His Word calls the people of our land to seek him, to follow him, and to learn from Him.

·       Perhaps he is giving us one more chance.

·       Perhaps he is call9ing us to be bolder in sharing His love by word and deed, that more people would be introduced to Him.

·       Perhaps this hour has come to galvanize the faithful, to proclaim God’s Word in a nation which seems deaf to his message.

·       Perhaps he is not even looking for a majority, but a strong minority whose voices can rise above the popular insanity of turning away from God.

·       Perhaps Jesus is calling us to humble ourselves, to pray more fervently, acknowledging that we, like everyone else, are sinners, too.

I think that we need a national revival, overcoming the momentary toxic politics that poisons our land; going back to the vision of our faithful founders, whose sentiments are expressed in our concluding hymn today.  Please repeat after me:  America! America!/// God mend thy every flaw; and confirm thy soul with self-control, //thy liberty and law.  //Amen.

The Rev. John A. Donnelly

Sermon on "Service" by Robert K. Knapp, Pastoral Intern

Sermon on Service for 6-14-15

We all have a deep, human need for service to and from our fellow man, as well as our service to God.  What would life be like if no one ever stopped to help others who were in trouble or in an emergency?  What if there was no one at the local grocery store to help you clean up the mess you made when you dropped a gallon of milk and it burst all over the floor?  What if there was no policeman there to help you after you got robbed or your house was broken into?  What if no one ever stopped to help you after your car broke down and your cell phone was dead?  What if no one ever offered you even 50 cents when you came up short at the cash register?  People do such selfless acts of service and kindness every day for their fellow man, but seldom do we hear about it in the news. 
Selfless acts of service and kindness tend to be over-looked in today’s fast-paced world in favor of stories about people of wealth, style, pizzazz or edginess.  The popular worldly culture tends to take selfless acts of service and kindness for granted.  Don’t we all sometimes even take for granted those people who serve our important nurturing and edifying needs - at school, at work, at church and even at home?  It is human nature to slip in and out of these feelings of indifference and feelings of caring little about the wonderful people who come into daily lives.  So how do we fight off these feelings of apathy and indifference that tend to swallow up so many people in the world?  Jesus’ life and sacrifice is the ultimate example of passing love forward.  Here is another example of passing it forward in today’s world.
A man was driving his car, when he saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road. He saw that she needed help, so he stopped his Pontiac near her Mercedes and got out.
He smiled while he was approaching her, but still she was worried as nobody had stopped for over an hour. Moreover, he did not look safe as his appearance was poor and shabby. He could see how frightened she was, so he tried to calm her down: “I‘m here to help you, don‘t worry’ he said.  My name is Bryan Anderson“.
The tire was flat, so he had to crawl under the car. While changing the tire, he got dirty and his hands were hurting.
When the job was done, she asked how much she owed him for his help. Bryan smiled and said: “If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help give that person the needed assistance. And think of me“.
That same evening the lady stopped by a small café - the place looked kind of dingy. Then she saw a waitress, nearly eight months pregnant, wiping her wet hair with a towel. The waitress had a sweet friendly smile, although she had spent the whole day on her feet.
The lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so kind and giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan Anderson.  The lady finished her meal and paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress went to get change and when she came back, the lady was gone.  She left a note on the napkin: “You don‘t owe me anything. Somebody once helped me, just like I‘m now helping you. If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you“.  The waitress found four more one hundred dollar bills under the napkin.
That night the waitress came home early.  She was thinking about the lady and the money she left.  She was wondering how the lady could know how much she and her husband needed it, especially now when the baby would arrive soon.  She knew that her husband worried about that, so she was glad to tell him the good news.  She then kissed him and whispered “Now everything will be all right - I love you Bryan Anderson“.  (Pause)  So, was this series of events just a coincidence or more of a God-incidence?
In 1^st Peter 4: 10 it says: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”  In Galatians 5: 13-14 it says: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  So how is God’s message different from the world’s message?  (Pause)  The world teaches you to take care of yourself, but God’s message is to take care of your neighbor as yourself.  After all, are we not all God’s creation?  Doesn’t God want all of us to succeed and prosper and win eternal life?
The answer is - of course God wants us all to succeed and prosper and have eternal life, but we cannot do this if we do not come to know God’s will.  Joshua 1:8 says: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; but meditate on it day and night, so that you may be very careful to do everything that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  *So in order to be truly successful we must come to know that God is always at work around us, pursuing a loving relationship with us, and inviting us to do His work – such as helping old ladies stuck on the side of the road - or cutting the grass of a neighbor who has Alzheimer’s Disease - or talking to someone you know who is lost about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God speaks to us by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, through prayer, through the church, and through circumstances – to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.  So when circumstances call for us to serve our fellow man or to serve God, let us not be found lacking but answer the invitation.
*God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to some sort of crisis of belief that requires faith and action.  You must then make major changes or adjustments in your life in order to join God in what He is doing.  It is all about His will not your will.  You then come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.  James 1:22 says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  Let us therefore do what God says and serve our fellow man - and let God serve our fellow man through us.  Amen.
*Footnotes: from “Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King.
1^st Reading is from Philippians 2:1-11: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
2^nd Reading is from Matthew 25:35-40: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

The Gospel of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ according to Mark; Mark 10:45-52: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.