The Big Story from Intervarsity Press

ALL SAINTS DAY & THE BIG STORY

Over the past 6 weeks, it has been my joy to research, compose and proclaim God’s Word on “The Incomparable Jesus.”   During these sermons we have heard

·       How Jesus has reached out to us with His compassion, His calls for mercy & justice, His sacrifice, and through the New Covenant.

We now conclude this sermon series by reflecting upon the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of all the saints.

·       All Saints Day celebrates the big “S” saints, including Jesus’ parents, John the Baptist, & Matthew, Mark & Luke & John, and the like.

·       But even more importantly, we also commemorate the little “s” saints, of whom I have a picture to show you.  Little “s” saints look like-----

·       Little “s” saints, according to the Bible, are believers just like you and me, who have chosen to make a life transforming commitment to Jesus Christ, accepting him as our Leader & Savior.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus discusses the need for a spiritual rebirth, or a spiritual change or transformation, which is necessary to enter God’s kingdom.  Christianity is all about commitment, change, and transformation. We make the commitment. God changes and transforms us.

Today, I want to show you how this works by reviewing a booklet called, “The Big Story”. This booklet is a brand - new fresh, presentation of the Good News of Jesus. For some of us, we will read this and it will be eye opening, if we take it to heart. Others of you may initially look down your nose at this, because you feel like you know this already. But actually you have not mastered this material until you can share it with others.  People in your world need to hear this; and maybe this morning, God is calling you to share this with someone who is clueless?  God’s Word says, ”Always be prepared to give an account for the hope that is within you.”

Before we open the booklet, let us begin by reflecting the real world in which we live...  When you turn on the news, or read it, most of the time you rarely hear good news. It is mostly bad.

·       Open warfare and genocide in the Middle East.

·       The # of homicides surging in urban areas.

·       Hit  & run  drivers

·       Sexual abuse by pubic officials, including teachers & clergy.

·       Political corruption at all levels of government.

·       Nuclear threats from terrorists & rogue nations

And our reaction? I believe that most of us ACHE FOR A BETTER WORLD.

Pls open your booklet to the page where it reads # 1 Designed for Good.  I am not going to read this booklet word for word; rather, I am just going to take you quickly through it; and you can read more of it on your own.

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To read this part of the sermon, pls go to http://evangelism.intervarsity.org/how/gospel-outline/big-story-gospel-presentation

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A.         Would you like to become a saint, a follower of Jesus, and to engage in His mission of help heal our world with the support of His community, the church, and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?  You can do that.  Pls turn to the prayer on the back cover.

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B.          This a one prayer response that Jesus invites us to pray, which if taken seriously, it will change our lives forever…but it will change it for the good!!!

·       We know that, because there are many in this room who have been changed by praying a prayer similar to this.

·       There are other people who prayed this prayer, but never thought about it again; and for them, this prayer means virtually nothing now.

·       And then there are those of us who are interested in this.  You folks may join us, right now as we pray this prayer; or take this  home

·       So if you would like to join me as I pray this prayer, please feel free to do so.

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C.           Now, what happens?  Well, you need to this life change within you.  Open you bulletins to page 10, you will see some steps you can take to nurture your personal faith in Christ.  Then as you continue your spiritual growth, God will reveal to you your exciting role in helping to heal the world!  Amen. Alleluia!

Now that we have affirmed our faith in Christ, let us turn to the Prayers of the People, found on page 389 of your Red prayer Book.

Jesus' sufferings and ours

Today we continue to look at the “Incomparable Jesus,” incomparable because no one else has died to take away our sins that we might be reconciled to God.  Indeed, we can see the extent of his love for us, by looking at His acute suffering on our behalf. PAUSE After the events in today’s Gospel, Jesus endured acute abuse and suffering for the next 18 hours until He died.

Of course, much of Jesus’ suffering was the intense physical destruction of his very human body. Following today’s Gospel, Jesus was arrested, beaten up by Temple police.  On Thursday and Friday he was tortured and whipped by both the temple Police & the Roman army. Take out the whip. One doctor, with an interest in this topic writes, quote

The  flagrum is a short whip with small balls of lead tied near the ends of each thong, "is brought down with full force, AGAIN AND AGAIN, across Jesus's shoulders, back, and legs. At first, the whip cut through the skin only."  
The succeeding blows, however, "cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues producing oozing of blood from the veins of the skin. Then
the whip tears into the deep skeletal muscles to produce ribbons of bleeding flesh.    Put down whip. Take out crown At the mocking of Jesus, a crown of thorns was driven into his scalp, causing more bleeding, the scalp being among the most veined parts of the human body. Unquote Crown goes down

Furthermore, Jesus endured even more,emotional and spiritual suffering. Betrayal by one you love is a crushing blow for anyone. PAUSE If you , like me, have experienced such betrayal, then you know the resulting heart break; and you can closely identify with Jesus’ experience of betrayal.   It eats you up from the inside out.  Add to that stress abandonment, and anguish of God not providing a way out, Jesus, the God/man was overwhelmed from the inside out.

Next, Jesus carried his heavy cross from the city to Skull Hill.   So exhausted and battered, He fell down 3 times.  Take out nail  Once they reached Skull Hill, He was nailed to the cross with HUGE SPIKES  through His hands and feet. His whole body weight was carried upon his hands, causing searing pain throughout His body.  Being hung that way, pressure came upon his chest, which would eventually suffocate him. To get some relief, He probably tried to stand up straight; but that caused even greater pain in his feet and legs. After six hours of this, He loses consciousness and dies. PAUSE put down nail

Rejected and cursed by the same people who had hailed him as King just 4 days before, had to have broken His human heart.  He had received the word from God that He would rise again on the 3^rd day; but in his heart of hearts, He may well have felt like he had failed his family, disciples, and even God.

But  the worst of the spiritual/emotional pain came from His voluntarily taking,/// ///within  Himself,??? the sin of the whole world. PAUSE The Bible says that He, who had no sin, was made into sin. PAUSE So we have this God-man, who opposes sin with every fiber of His being, being supernaturally poisoned   with all the evil of the world….. including all the rage, the hate, the brokenness, the helplessness wrought by disgusting sin. PAUSE The full weight of that, alone, must have driven him close to insanity. PAUSE

Fortunately, none of us  have not gone through suffering like Jesus on the cross.  However, the experience of His suffering  is supernaturally linked to our suffering.  He suffered, in part,  because He knew that one day, you would suffer; you would grieve; you would endure the pain of sickness, either in your own body, or in the body of a loved one.   Jesus understood that like Him, many of us would come to that point of darkness where you feel like a failure…feel like you let down someone you love.  Jesus understood, that you, too, May, at one time or another, may experience rejection, fear, betrayal, loss, and abandonment. He wants you to understand that He empathizes with you like no one else can. The term Empathy  is literally 'feeling into' - the ability to project one's personality into another person and more fully understand that person.  So please remember, PAUSE JESUS HAS WALKED IN YOUR SHOES.  PAUSE

The Bible also says that Jesus sympathizes with us.Sympathy is literally 'feeling with' - compassion for or commiseration with another person.

Both empathy & sympathy can  help to support the one suffering, even if we cannot change the situation.  God’s empathy & sympathy open the doors for God to comfort you.  Comfort comes from the Latin word “cum forte” that means “with strength.”  God’s comfort results in strengthening us.

Next, Jesus wants us to know that human suffering has meaning, because as we suffer, we also share in the sufferings of Christ for the world.  This is what Paul meant when he writes that our sufferings positively contribute to the redemptive work of Christ, through the Church.  

·       Suffering makes us turn to the Lord in prayer.

·       Our suffering can enable us to have more compassion for others.

And suffering can help us grow.  This is what Paul is saying in this morning’s first reading. Would you open your bulletin to page 3, Looking at the first reading. Let us read in unison beginning at verse # 3.  Saying, ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

So, there will be an end toallsuffering. PAUSE Now, I do not mean to underplay the horror of suffering. But Jesus wants us to know He shares in our sufferings, and we will share in His Hope...which does not disappoint.    J J    PAUSE

Bud had had been successful in both his home and in his work; but suddenly and shockingly he was stricken with terminal cancer.  I cannot the exact details, but somehow one treatment resulted in his blindness. Bud had never been much of a church goer; but He was lonely and decided that I could come to visit him every week or two. On each of those occasions, Bud heard the good news of Jesus’ love and received communion.  He had never seriously read the Bible,  but he had his wife play audio tapes of the Gospels.  The day finally came when Bud invited Jesus into his heart. PAUSE For the remainder of Bud’s life, he felt a sense of God’s presence and comfort as never before. J J J J  Once a new grandchild was born, he wanted to share his faith with his family.  So, Bud arranged for the baby’s baptism to occur in his bedroom, so that he could attend.  His children asked him about His deepening faith, and he told them. A week later, Bud died in his sleep.

The Bible tells us that God would never inflict suffering upon his children; but when it occurs, God goes to work.  The Bible says, and please repeat after me, “God can bring// good out of every bad thing.” God brought good out of the cross, by raising Jesus to new life; And if you pray and  look closely, you will see Him bless and comfort you in the midst of your pain.

---The Rev. John Donnelly

The New Covenant

I have a message from Jesus for you.  He wants you to know that He appreciates your responding to His invitation to come here this morning. He understands how busy some of you are. He understands that you could have stayed in bed, or done some other activity.

But you came here to join in the Lord’s Supper—the Eucharist----Holy Communion.

·       Some of you have  just recently responded to & accepted Jesus’ invitation to His banquet.

·       Others of you, on the other hand, have accepted His invitation week after week, & year after year.

·       And still others of us may not worship weekly, but value attending this banquet, none the less. PAUSE

We all see one another receiving communion—but have you ever wondered what other people are feeling and thinking as they receive  the bread and drink the wine, of what Jesus calls the New Covenant?  My guess is that if we dared to speak to one another that our appreciation of communion would deepen.

 This morning,  instead of my talking all the time, we are going to offer the opportunity  for you to express your appreciation for Holy Communion, by not just receiving but by giving back to Jesus.

We will give back to Jesus by doing one thing that brings Him the most joy:  By standing up and telling Him, and telling all of us gathered here, “Why is communion important to you?”  You know, communion is shared experience, but if we talk about it, then we enter into greater communion with one another.  So, here is the question that I would like to invite you to consider answering.  Pls turn to page 5 in your bulletin—Looking under the section labeled “sermon,” you will see the question in print,” WHY IS RECEIVING COMMUNION IMPORTANT TO ME?”

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PAUSE What does communion mean to me?  It means unconditional acceptance.  God knows what I know---that there are times when I canbe hypocritical, judgmental, narcissistic, and untruthful.  Much of the time I am more concerned about my image than I am concerned about my soul.  So, when I receive Holy Communion, I know that he just accepts you and me—as we are—and not as we pretend to be.

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Communion is truly a sacred mystery:  Through the outward and visible signs of the consecrated bread and wine, we receive God’s grace. What is grace?  Please open your red prayer books to page 858. First question at the top of the page?

Q.	What is grace?
A.	Grace is God's favor toward us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.

Now, God’s Word states that we receive such grace through Holy Communion---and sometimes we feel or  experience it immediately, PAUSE

Or maybe it just grows within us over the course of time.  But His grace comes to us all.  And Jesus  wants you to accept that truth. And one way God has chosen to demonstrate this is through a legal contract, or covenant, which He wishes to make with us.

Over the summer, our sermons focused upon the Old Covenant that God made with the Hebrew people.  But on the night before He died, Jesus made reference to “The New Covenant,” when he said, please repeat after me, “This is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for you.

The New Covenant, instituted by Jesus on that night, is the foundation of the new relationship that Jesus is offering between God and humanity. Let’s examine this further. Please open your red prayer books to page 850.  As before, I will ask some questions and you, please, read the responses:

Q. What is the New Covenant? A. The New Covenant is the new relationship with God given by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to the apostles; and, through them, to all who believe in him. Q What did the Messiah promise in the New Covenant? A Christ promised to bring us into the kingdom of God and give life in all its fullness. Q What response did Christ require? A Christ commanded us to believe in him and to keep his commandments. So, we now return to our Peace machine, which assists us in understanding covenant.  God gives us His Law to obey---which is to love Him with our whole heart, should and mind, and then the New commandment—to love one another as Jesus has loved us. If we do not obey God’s commands—then we are off on our own.   But if we do---then we can live in peace and harmony with God and have peace with Him. Now here is the catch and the promise:  We may not have peace in our worlds----we may be experiencing chaos, tragedy,  of trouble.  But if we have peace with God, then we have the sure foundation, which can enable us to withstand the chaos, the pain, trouble….and the  Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ,  will lead us to find peace in our lives.  That is why Jesus shed His blood for you and me….as His guarantee.  Now, let us stand and reaffirm our faith, using the words of the baptismal covenant, page 304 in your Prayer Book. --The Rev. John Donnelly

Jesus' call for mercy and Justice

Jesus was born into an oppressive tyrannical state.   The Roman Empire was brutal, ruthless, and without mercy. They would not stand for any civil unrest. They taxed everyone to death, throwing out thousands into the streets to beg, and then to die.   Even before the birth of Jesus, the Romans crucified thousands of Jews who contested their authority.

However, Jesus’ very life –His very existence, threatened the great Roman Empire—as well as the tyrannical temple authorities.

From the beginning of his life, He was controversial. After He was born and the 3 Kings visited the vassal King Herod to inquire of the whereabouts of this new born King of the Jews? The Bible says that Herod and all Jerusalem were terrified!!!!  Why?  Because this new King—this Messiah, posed a threat to the existing order.  Herod and the temple authorities had worked out a system where they collaborated with the Roman occupation, whereby the ruling class profited handsomely.   A new King—a new Messiah, threatened all of that.  So, in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Jesus, Herod ordered that all male child, ages 3 & under, be slaughtered in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas.  But, Jesus escaped to Egypt, and his family did not return until God slayed Herod by infesting his brain with worms. 

During the years before Jesus public ministry, His enemies forgot about Him.  At age 30, Jesus preached his first sermon in his home town synagogue. He called for justice for the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the lame and the oppressed; and He insinuated that he was the Messiah who would bring this about. Well, the whole congregation was so outraged that they threw him out of the synagogue and threw Him out of town. 

The fascinating & unusual aspect of Jesus’ fight against tyranny was that He would never have considered any sort of violence.  Rather, He chose the route of civil and religious disobedience.  Although forbidden by the temple leadership, He preached God’s word, and thousands and thousands grew to follow Him. 

Jesus was not calling for a government program, but rather for a change of heart for all who follow Him.  So He boldly proclaimed, “As you feed the hungry, invite them into your homes, have mercy on the needy, so you have done it unto me.”

Today’s video begins the climax of Jesus’ revolutionary activity. No longer did He sush the crowds when they called Him the Messiah.  The .demonstration of thousands of people marching with Him to the Temple terrified the authorities, especially the Temple leadership.

Jesus condemned the Temple leadership as thugs, crooks, and collaborators with the enemy.  Indeed, as long as they could control their people, they could maintain their positions and squeeze the people for temple taxes.

You see, it was all a show. People were duped into paying ridiculous prices to secure temple money, and they were robbed again when they purchased their lamb or doves for their annual sacrifice, which was supposed to atone for their sins.  However, Jesus knew that this was simply a scheme to profit from the innocent.  As we heard in this morning’s reading form the prophet Amos, God does not care about these sacrifices. What is the sacrifice that God requires?   Please repeat after me, ‘LET JUSTICE ROLL ON LIKE A RIVER, RIGHTOEUNESS AS A NEVER FALILING STREAM.”

All Jesus did was to talk and to engage in civil disobedience by refusing the Temple leadership’s demand for Jesus not to preach.  So, they decided to silence Him through crucixion.  But much to their surprise, Jesus rose from the dead and empowered a movement for mercy and justice that is still going on two thousand years later through the Church.

To this day, Jesus followers have the power to challenge an empire. Some of us have heard of nonviolent, civil disobedience at various times in history.  One of the great untold stories of modern times was how churches in East Germany in 1990 organized huge nonviolent protests, which grew to involve millions of freedom hungry citizens. And that was all voluntary—people risking harm and imprisonment for the cause of liberty.  The communist authorities folded. When that Iron curtain wall fell, and the oppressed people from the tyrannical communist state were released, there was joy on earth and in heaven.

So, Jesus whole earthly life was a bold cry for mercy and justice. His emphasis was not upon political activism, but upon good works by regular Christians, like you and me.  Thus, He proclaimed,” Let you light so shine before people, that they would see you good works and give glory to your father in heaven.” 

As His followers, we, like wise are called to go and do likewise.  What does God require of you?  Let us read that together from the front bulletin cover: WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF YOU?  DO JUSTICE, LOVE MERCY, AND WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD.”  So, we cannot walk humbly with our god unless we seek to discern how we all can do justice and love mercy.”

As a church, we participate in Jesus’ mission of mercy and justice.

·       A portion of your offerings go to the national church, which supports feeding & justice programs in this nation, and beyond.

·       Of course, once a month this church hosts a shelter dinner for the homeless.

However, we believe that the Lord may be calling more of us to take a bold step on behalf of the poor and the needy.

·       Next year, we will be instituting a more organized way to solicit nonperishable food for the needy.  Once a month, we will have a special Sunday when you will be encouraged to bring such a donation.

They will be collected in a wagon, which the Sunday school will present at the offering time.

·       One small group is considering the possibility of hosting a blood drive.

·       Another is considering feeding the homeless.

·       Still is investigating outreach to abused women.

I think that Jesus is seeking for us to change our hearts.  We wants us to move from the fearful, self-centered attitude of saying, “OH, the needs of the poor are so great, and I do not have the time or money to help.”  Instead, He wants us to feel compassion and empathy for the needy, which will motivate discover how we might work with others to help shine the light of Christ’s love through our church and into the world.

----------The Rev. John Donnelly, Oct. 10, 2015

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM????

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?   Sermon based on the video depiction of Jesus from the SON OF God movie, based upon Luke 9:18-22

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WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?   Jesus asked his disciples, and Jesus asks us.  “Who do you say that I am?’

In today’s video, after Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes, Jesus was all smiles until they began calling Him the Messiah.   The He looked disturbed and troubled, and He ran away.   Yet later in the video when Peter proclaims that JESUS is the Messiah, Jesus is happy. Whaaaaat gives here? 

It all has to do with expectations.  The crowd wanted  and expected a Messiah who would  feed them with food,  who would lead for a political revolution  & war against their Roman oppressors, who ran a tyrannical empire with tactics similar to that of the Nazi Germany is the 1930s & 40s.   But Jesus ran away from the crowd,  because He was not the type of Messiah that they expected.  This misconception would follow him up until the day that the same people, feeling misled by Him, would  call for his crucifixion on the day He was tortured and murdered.

Who is Jesus?  Was he a fake, as the Temple hierarchy believed?   A nuisance, as the  Romans believed?  A holy man?  A simple Rabbi?  Or maybe even a traitor against his own country? And people?

Even in our own day and time, this question persists.         WHO IS THIS JESUS?

1.    Most people rejoice that he was born at Christmas—but their belief in Him has no depth beyond the holidays.

2.    Some people believe Him to be only a man , who was a great moral teacher; but they omit the fact that Jesus taught that He was the Son of God.  So, they believe what they want to believe, and dismiss the foundation of his teaching.

3.    Muslims are comfortable defining Jesus as a prophet, who preceded Mohammad.  Yet, Mohammad’s obsession with jihad totally contradicts the teaching of Jesus, who called for Peace on earth, good will to all people.”

4.    Jews will not even consider Jesus to be a prophet.  Instead, Jesus was a heretic who perverted God’s law & word.

5.    Some near eastern religions consider Jesus to be an expression of their own religion.  In Buddhism, the Buddha performed miracles and died and rose from the dead.  Since Buddhism predates Christianity, they believe that Christianity copied Buddhist mythology.

6.    Still others consider Jesus to be a mere man, who was extraordinarily blessed by God; and that stories of His birth, His miracles, and His resurrection, are just fantasy legends from long ago. Therefore, since Jesus was just a man, He did not rise from the dead.

7.    Still others revile Jesus as the uncaring God, who stands back and lets bad things happen to good people.  Through their pain and grief, they blame  redesign Jesus to fit their own world view; and in so doing, Jesus becomes a convenient scape goat for tragedy and misery.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?  In the video, Jesus fed the hungry people with bread and fish, to satiate their physical hunger.  But that was not his primary mission from God. Jesus’ chief mission was to satiate our spiritual and emotional hunger as the Son of God, who claimed, “I am the bread of life.”   So, what does that mean?

·       Ask Frank and Alice.  At age 12, their beautiful daughter was diagnosed with anorexia.  She had lost so much weight, that she had to be hospitalized for 12 weeks. Alice & Frank took their tragedy to their church, and asked everyone to pray for her healing.  It took years and years, but slowly and surely their daughter was healed as she grew in age and stuck to her treatment. Today she is happily married and the mother of 2. Who do Frank and Alice say that Jesus is?  He is the Son of God.

·       This past week in Oregon, various students and others boldly stood up and claimed that they were Christians, even though it meant that would be executed by an anti-Christian terrorist.  Why would they do that?  Because they know that Jesus is the Son of God.

·       George was a member of this parish.  As he navigated his middle school and high school years, he faced questions about his personal identity; his personal self -worth; and the emptiness of life.  Through our Youth Group, George made some solid Christian friends with peers and the advisors, who prayed for him and who encouraged him in the ways of God.  Before George graduated, he told me how he believed that it was God working through Jesus who had given him hope for the future.

·       Susan was a woman who came to church to enroll her son in  our Sunday school.  She was invited to attend a small group, where she studied the bible for the first time; and she learned the wonderful truth about Jesus Christ, who has a plan for all of our lives. As Susan committed her life in faith, she proclaimed that Jesus, the Son of God, had led her to find peace and contentment, like she had not experience previously.

What do all these people have in common?  They grew too comprehend and to worship Jesus as the Son of God, the King of the Universe, because in one way or another, they were fed with the spiritual bread of life, Jesus, the Son of God.

   I remember recognizing that spiritual hunger in my heart, when I was in my late teens.  I tried to fill it with all sort of emotional junk food, including a new age

“ah-ooom” religion, séances, booze, drugs, adolescent rebellion,  & wild living.  But nothing could satisfy my spiritual hunger.  The key to understanding who Jesus is, cannot be found by drifting away from the church, nor can it be found by filling up our lives with too many activities and keeping busy all the time; nor worrying about our finances; nor by withdrawing into our own safe shell, where we feel comfortable and protected.  You see, millions of people do not know who Jesus is, because they cannot admit that their lives are and will continue to be incomplete without him

And beware of you who understand that Jesus is Lord, because He once came into your heart, and then you let that relationship slide and become inactive.

Recently, there was a study done that identified how some strong church people , who were once very active, are drifting away from the church, and becoming inactive. Now if these people had gone to worship elsewhere, that is understandable.  That happens sometimes. But too often, a withdrawal from church is symbolic of a decaying relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

So, those who really know Jesus to be the Son of God are those who recognize that either God has helped us in the past or present; and will help us in the future; and in the age to come when we all leave this planet.

Last week in our video, Jesus spoke to Peter, telling Him that they were going to change the world. Ever since then, He has been changing the world—slowly, patiently, methodically, with mercy and love. May we all come to share in the mission of the messiah, who is the Son of God.  Amen.

--The Rev. John Donnelly,   October 4, 2015