Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

Matthew 22:34-40

Matthew 28:16-20

1 Corinthians 12: 1-31

February 15 2009

“A Great Commitment To Fellowship”

Part 5 of The Purpose Driven Church series

Read Scripture

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great

Commission makes for a great Church.

That’s what Rick Warren – in his book The Purpose Driven Church – gives as a purpose statement for a great church.

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great Church.

This year holds an exciting promise for us as churches in New Harmony Presbytery begin taking part in The Acts 16:5 Initiative – a program where consultants from the Vital Churches Institute will be working with local churches – and helping them look at some specific things they can be doing to be reaching out into the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that Hopewell will be led to take part in this. But — as we wait for that opportunity — we are taking the time to look at what God may be calling us to do as a Church by studying Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church on Wednesday nights and my preaching on topics from the book on Sundays.

Remember — as a Church, we can’t do everything.

No one Church can do everything.

But – every Church can do some things.

There are things we can do.

There are things we should do.

In fact — there are things we must do if we are going to be the Church God would have us to be.

So — what are the things we can do – should do – indeed must do – to be the Church God intends for us to be – and to do God’s work and will in the community and in the world?

What are the things that should be our focus – our purpose – that we should use to define ourselves — and that others should use to define us?

What is our purpose as a Church?

Rick Warren writes that

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great Church.

A great commitment to loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and loving others as ourselves – that’s what we find in Matthew 23 with the Great Commandment –

And a great commitment to going and making disciples for Christ – that’s what we find in Matthew 28 with the Great Commission –

Makes for a great church!

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great Church.

I really like that statement. I believe that it encompasses the things that are most important for us to be doing as a Church – and keeps our focus on God – on others – and on making disciples.

But – we can’t just have nifty little sayings such as this one and expect to truly be the Church God wants us to be. It takes much more than just words to do God’s work in the community and the world – it takes commitment – and it takes action.

If we are going to say that loving God with all our hearts, souls, and minds — loving others as ourselves – - and going into the community and the world to make disciples for Christ – is our purpose as a Church – then we have to be focused on these things – and focused on how we can do these things and put actions behind these words. We have to be focused – and committed – to truly being people and a Church that loves God – loves others – and makes disciples.

In his book Warren ties 5 elements of church life – 5 things we do as a church – to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. These elements are:

Worship – which we looked at 3 weeks ago and saw that a great commitment to the first part of the Great Commandment – loving God with all our hearts, souls, and minds – leads us to having a heart of worship —

Ministry – which we looked at 2 weeks ago and saw that a great commitment to the second part of the Great Commandment – loving others as we love ourselves – leads us to reaching out to others with God’s love –

Evangelism – which we looked at last week and saw that a great commitment to the first part of the Great Commission – going and making disciples – leads us to tell others about Christ —

Fellowship — which Warren ties to the second part of the Great Commission – Baptizing – and

Discipleship – which Warren ties to the third part of the Great Commission – teaching them to obey all I have commanded you.

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great Church.

Today we are going to look at the second element of what we do as a Church that Warren ties to the Great Commission – that being fellowship.

Go and make disciples of all nations – Jesus says – baptizing them – and teaching them.

That’s the Great Commission.

Once we tell others about Christ – once we get involved in the work of evangelism – is that all we need to do?

No – we need to baptize them – or make them members of the fellowship we have – the body of Christ.

Jesus says to “baptize them”.

That means bringing them to a decision about Christ – a decision for Christ to be their Lord and Savior – or in the case of infants it means the parents and the Church are committing themselves to teaching the child about Christ until they can make their own commitment. We even say in the Service of Infant Baptism that we are doing this “in the sure and certain hope of the day when they child will make their profession of faith in Jesus Christ”.

Baptism is a way of professing faith in Christ.

Baptism is also a way of committing ourselves to being a part of the body of Christ – the Church.

I believe that it is that aspect of baptism – being an active part of the body of Christ – the Church – that Warren is emphasizing when he ties that aspect of Fellowship with “baptizing them”.

Baptism is becoming a part of the body of Christ – the Church – and a part of the fellowship we have as the Church.

If we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

Now – first of all – we have to understand what is meant by Fellowship.

By Fellowship I mean the feeling of belonging to the Church –

the feeling of taking an active part of the Church –

the feeling being an important part of the Church –

the feeling that you have an important role to play and contribution to make in the Church –

the feeling that everyone involved in the Church is important –

the feeling that everyone involved in the Church has an important role to play and contribution to make to the Church–

the feeling that no one is unimportant in the Church.

Yea – we have “Fellowship Suppers” and activities and even a Fellowship Committee – but eating and going places is not the purpose. We can eat on our own – we can go places on our own but the purpose of the fellowship times we have as a Church is to help us get to know each other – share times fun times together – build up a feeling of love and support for each other – so that we each will see how important we are to each other in the Church – and everyone will see how important they are. The more time we spend together sharing our lives, the greater our feelings of love for each other will become – and the greater our commitment to each other – the Church – and using what God has blessed us with for the work of the Church – will become.

Too many times we overlook the fact that we are needed and have God – given gifts to offer for the good of the Church and feel we are not important – so we don’t get involved and we don’t offer what God has given us to offer to the Church.

Sadly, too many times we also overlook that fact that everyone is important in the Church – and don’t try to get others involved in the life and work of the Church.

The thing is – everyone is important – God has given everyone something they can use that will enrich the life of the Church – and when we do not get involved – or make sure everyone is involved – the work and life of the Church suffers.

Friends — if we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

We have to realize that we are important – have been blessed by God with gifts to give for the work of the Church – and that everyone else is important – and have gifts to give for the work of the Church.

Here’s an easy way to remember this important truth:

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Imagine with me some Carpenter’s tools holding a conference:

The Hammer presides, but several suggest he leave the shop because he is too noisy. The Hammer replies, “If I have to leave this shop, the Screw must go also. You have to turn him around again and again to get him to accomplish anything.” The Screw speaks up: “If I have to leave, the Plane must leave, too. All his work is on the surface. His efforts have no depth.” To this, the Plane responds, “The Rule will also have to withdraw if I have to leave, for he is always measuring folks as though he were the only one who is right.” The Rule then complains about The Sandpaper: “He ought to leave, too, because he’s so rough and always rubbing people the wrong way”. And so goes the discord. In the midst of all this discussion, in walks the Carpenter. Putting on his apron, he goes to the bench and goes to work. He uses Brothers Hammer, Screw, Plane, Rule, Sandpaper, and all the other tools. After the day’s work, when he is finished and has left, the Saw arises and remarks, “I observe that all of us are workers together with in the hands of the Carpenter.”

Friends — if we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Everybody is important because we are all part of the body of Christ.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Our bodies have many members. Our physical bodies are the most wonderful creation on the planet. One of the many wonderful things about our bodies is that they have many significant members. Our mouths, our eyes, our teeth, our toenails, our knees, and our hair (no matter how much or little we have) are all members of one body. We don’t have more than one body (although I know most of us wish we had another one!). We only have one body that is made up of many, many members.
And the body of Christ has many members, also.

We are all members of Christ’s body — we are all members of Christ’s church here at Hopewell. Just as our physical bodies have many members that form just one body, all of us who make up Hopewell Presbyterian Church are all members of Christ’s body – the church in this place and time.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

We can easily see why the many members of our bodies are one – but what about the Church – the body of Christ?

What makes us here at Hopewell Presbyterian one body – the body of Christ – even though we are all different?

In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says that we are one because we are baptized by one Spirit. The Holy Sprit has made us one body. We are all members of the body of Christ – everyone is included – and no one is excluded. The Holy Sprit has united us in the body of Christ just like all of the parts of our bodies have been united to form one body. Everyone is important because we are all part of the body of Christ!

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

In fact, everybody is important because we are different. Look at the illustration Paul gives:

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (1 Corinthians 12:14-20)

There is diversification in the body of Christ – just as there is in our bodies – but e ach part is needed – just as each part of our bodies are needed.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

We all have different abilities — according to what God has blessed us with – and we each can serve in different ways — based on the abilities God has given us – but we are all important. We are all different — but we are all members of the same body – the body of Christ – the Church here at Hopewell. The members of our physical bodies are all as different as toenails and eyelashes, but they are all members of the same body! Toenails and eyelashes look different and they have different abilities, but they are all members of the same body! So it is in the body of Christ! We are different, but we are all members of the same body. In spite of the fact that each member is unique, we are all still members of the same body, important and needed. The reason everybody is important because we need each other. Just as Paul illustrates that the parts of our physical bodies — though different – are needed – every member of the body of Christ – the Church – is needed – and important.

You may not feel that you are important, but you are. You may not feel that you are needed – but you are. You may feel that no one will notice if you are not here, but you are mistaken! You may think that no one will notice whether you are here are not. You may think that there’s nothing for you to do and therefore you are not needed. But I am here to correct that notion. Everyone is important because we need each other! When you are not here, it is discouraging to those who are here. We need each other – we need you!

There may be some that we do not treat as important – or get involved in the life and fellowship of the Church. If we do that, we are hurting the Church – missing what they can offer and give us – and we are actually hurting ourselves.

Friends — if we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Everybody is important because we are all part of the body of Christ.

We are all important because we need each other. If one member suffers, we all suffer. When one member of our physical body suffers, the whole body suffers. If you question that, notice how your body reacts the next time stub your little toe. You might think your little toe is not important, but when it suffers the whole body suffers! And — when someone in the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer with them.
You can easily see it each Sunday during our prayer requests — when folks are suffering, we all suffer – and want to pray for them. When one of us suffers (even when they think they are no more important than a little toe), we all suffer with them. And likewise when one member rejoices, we all rejoice. In our physical bodies, when the virus that was in our stomach is gone – or the cold that was in our sinuses — the rest of the body rejoices with it! We should get excited at the victories and celebrations in other peoples’ lives —because everyone is important!

Everyone is important because we need each other! Everybody is important because we all have an important purpose. Listen to what Paul; writes:

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

If one member of our physical bodies ignores it’s purpose, the whole body suffers. If the nose quits smelling, the body will suffer. If the tongue decides to quit tasting, the body will suffer. If the foot decides to quit walking, the body will suffer. Paul is saying that not everyone in the Church has all of the gifts – but – just as each member of our body has an important gift – each member of the Church does also. Not everyone does everything. – but everyone can do something! Everybody has different gifts, but we all work together for the common good just like toenails, eyelashes, hands, and feet. Everybody is important because we all have an important purpose.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Every member is important because they have an important God-given talent that is needed in the body of Christ! If we will use our gifts used together we will build up the body of Christ; we will grow spiritually and numerically when we use our gifts together as part of the team! If we use our gifts we will unify the body f Christ — we will be unified when we use our gifts as part of the team! But — I hope that you see that none of these things will happen if each of us are not using our God-given talents – and encouraging others to do so. If you or I choose not to use our God-given abilities, — and encourage everyone else to do so — the church will suffer.

We can’t think that since we don’t have the same abilities as everyone else, we won’t get involved. We can’t let others think that either. But God knew that the body only needed all kinds of gifts – and has given different members different gifts – so that His work can be done. Every member – every gift they can give – every contribution they can make — is important! Every member has a God-given ability and therefore a God-given purpose! God doesn’t expect you or me or anyone else to do everything — God expects us to do what He has gifted us to do! And when we all use our gifts together we become a church! When we all do our part, we become the greatest organization on the planet – the Church of Jesus Christ – doing God’s work in this community and the world.

So – if we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Nobody is a “nobody” in Christ’s body.

Everybody is important because we are all part of the body of Christ.

So – here is the question you need to consider:

Are you fulfilling your purpose for which God brought you to Hopewell?

Are you fulfilling your purpose for which God brought you to Hopewell?

God has given you a specific ability that Hopewell needs. If you choose not to use that ability, the Church will suffer.

Are you fulfilling your purpose for which God brought you to Hopewell?

Here’s another question:

Are you encouraging others to fulfill their purpose for which God brought them to Hopewell?

God has given all of us specific abilities that Hopewell needs. If we choose not to encourage others to use their abilities, the Church will suffer

We all need to simply allow God to use us by using the abilities that he has given us and encourage those around us to do the things that God has gifted them to do. In that way every member is fulfilling the purpose to which God called and gifted them to do.

Are you fulfilling the purpose for which God has brought you to Hopewell?

Are you encouraging others to fulfill the purpose for which God has brought them to Hopewell?

If you’re not, you need to commit yourself to that today.

If we here at Hopewell are going to be the Church God wants us to be – we are going to have to have a great commitment to the fellowship that we have as a Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church.

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great Church.

Next week we’ll look at another aspect of this – but for today remember that a great commitment to fellowship — to using the gifts God gives you to encourage and build up others and do God’s work – makes for a great Christian – and a great Church.

A great commitment to fellowship makes for a great Church. Amen. .

Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:32-37

Isaiah 64:1-9

I Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:32-37

“What Are We Waiting For?”

Advent 1

November 30, 2008

Read Scripture

The poet Ann Weems hits the message of our lessons for today — and the meaning of the season of Advent — square on the head in her poem The Coming of God. She writes:

Our God is one who comes to us in a burning bush

in an angels song

in a newborn child.

Our God is one who can not be found

locked away in the church,

not even in the sanctuary.

Our God will be where our God will be,

with no constraints,

no predictability.

Our God lives where our God lives,

and destruction has no power

and not even death can stop

the living.

Our God will be born where our God will be born,

but there is no place to look for the one who will come to us.

When God is ready

God will come

even to a God-forsaken place

like a stable in Bethlehem.

Watch …

for you no not when God comes.

Watch, that you may be found

Whenever – wherever — God comes.

Ann Weems Kneeling in Bethlehem p.13

You know — Advent is a strange season.

It is a season of waiting — nothing but waiting – waiting for something to happen.

Well — what are we waiting for?

In our personal lives we prepare for the Christmas holiday – and wait for Christmas — during the month of December.

In the Church we call the month of December Advent.

As a Church we wait in Advent — we prepare for — the coming of Christ — the coming of God — into our lives. We prepare for God to come to us — touching us and changing us with God’s mysteriously powerful love — a love so great God breaks into our lives in surprising ways — like a baby in a manger who becomes an adult on a cross — and invites us into deeper and more meaningful relationships with Him and others.

But –

What are we waiting for?

We know that Christ has come — the baby has been born — the angels have sung — the shepherds and Wise Men have gathered — and yes — the man has even died on the cross and rose from the dead — returned to heaven — and promised to come to earth again.

So –

What are we waiting for?

Maybe we are waiting for God to come to us in a new way — and really make a difference in our lives.

Maybe that’s why Advent is so important — it forces us to pause – to pause as individuals in our rush towards Christmas and all its frantic pace – to pause as a Church before we rush to the manger and reflect on what God has actually done for us through the Christ child — and even reflect as individuals and as a Church on what the God we meet at the manger is doing for us even now — and how — even now — our lives and our world have been changed because the baby has been born — Christ has come — and continues to come — and will indeed come again — and make a difference in our lives and our world.

So –

What are we waiting for?

Waiting is a predominant theme in the 3 Scripture lessons we heard a few minutes ago.

Isaiah cries to God the pain and anguish of captives desperately waiting for God to do something — to

“Tear open the heavens and come down”

as He had done in years past — and free the people in exile in Babylon.

He and the people of Israel were waiting.

Desperately waiting.

What are we waiting for?

Paul writes in I Corinthians to a congregation getting impatient as they await Christ’s second coming.

Waiting.

Impatiently waiting.

What are we waiting for?

Mak has Jesus telling the disciples that He will return at an unknown time — but unitl that time they are like slaves entrusted with work to do until the return of their master.

Slaves — doing their masters work until their master returns.

Waiting.

Busily — expetantly — waiting.

What are we waiting for?

Do we know?

In all three lessons for this day the people knew what they were waiting for.

Isaiah could speak so boldly to God because he knew what God had done in the past. He was only waiting and praying for God to do it again.

What are we waiting for?

The Christians in Corinth knew they were waiting for the return of Christ in all His glory to come and change the world into God’s glorious kingdom.

What are we waiting for?

The disciples knew what Jesus expected them to do until He returned — all they had to do was do their jobs while waiting for their master to return.

But –

What are we waiting for?

Do we know?

What are we waiting for?

Maybe we are waiting for God to come into our lives and change our world in a powerfully new way. Maybe we are waiting for a new experience of God that will shake us up – shake up the world – awaken us from our complacency – and excite us for God’s work.

Well – if that’s the case —

What are we waiting for?

Hasn’t Christ already come?

Hasn’t God already come into our world — completely changed our world through Christ?

Hasn’t God already changed our lives?

Haven’t we already had our lives shaken up by God?

Haven’t we already been awakened from our complacency — and excited about doing God’s work?

What are we waiting for?

Friends — the truth is — we no longer have to wait.

Christ is born.

Christ has come.

Our lives have been changed.

Our world has been changed.

God has come.

All we have to do is realize it.

All you have to do is let it make a difference in how you live.

Sure — realizing that God has come — and letting God change your life — is a tall order — but God can fill it .

God can change you — God can make difference — regardless of what kind of change or difference has to be made.

Let God do it!

Like the disciples — we have the work of our master to do until He returns. Our work is realizing that God has come to us — and proclaiming the coming of God into our world every day in concrete and specific words and actions.

Yes.

Christ has come.

The baby has been born in Bethlehem.

Our lives — and our world — have been — and can continue to be – changed.

Every day — as we let God change our lives — God comes to us again and again.

Our job is realizing that and proclaiming that.

So –

What are we waiting for?

Indeed — Advent is a time for us to pause before we rush into Christmas — before we let the world get us so hurried — before we as a Church rush to see the baby in the manger – it’s a time for us to pause and remember what God has done for us through Christ — how God has come into our lives — changed us — continues to change us — and calls us to proclaim Him in all we say and do.

It has happened.

God has come.

It is up to you to respond – and to let Christ’s coming make a difference in your life.

What are we waiting for?

Indeed — as Weems writes:

When God is ready

God will come

even to a God-forsaken place

like a stable in Bethlehem.

Watch …

for you no not when God comes.

Watch, that you may be found

whenever

wherever

God comes.

What are we waiting for?

Amen.

Acts 2:42-47, I Corinthians 12

 

 

1 Corinthians 12

Acts 2:42-47

“Let’s Be A Church That Works Together”

September 23, 2007

Part 3 of “Let’s Be The Church God Wants Us To Be” series

For the month of September we’re looking how we can be the very best Church we can be – or how we can be the Church God wants us to be.

            Two weeks ago we began by noting that we can’t just gather our ideas about what we need to be doing as a Church – or our ideas about what we can do to make Hopewell the very best Church it can be – without first looking to God and seeking what God’s ideas are about what we need to be doing here at Hopewell – and what God thinks we need to be doing to make Hopewell the very best Church it can be.

The point is that we all want to make Hopewell the best Church it can be – and we may have many ideas and plans for how to make it that way. That’s a good thing — I count it as a blessing that Hopewell is a Church where the members care about the Church and want to make it the best it can be. But – we need to also take a look at what God may be calling us to be doing – and what God may feel we need to be doing to be the very best Church we can be. It’s great to have ideas and get input from each other about how we can make Hopewell the very best Church it can be. We certainly need to share ideas and plans for actions we can take – as well as participate in the things we are doing. But – first of all – we don’t need to look at our ideas about what we need to be doing as a Church – but we need to – first of all – look at what God feels we need to be doing to be the very best Church we can be.

The questions we need to consider are not:

What do you think we need to be doing as a Church?

Or

            What are some things you think we need to do to be the best Church we can be?

            But – they are:

What does God want us to be doing as a Church?

            What are the things God wants us to do so we can be the Church God wants us to be?

What does God want us to be doing as a Church?

            What are the things God wants us to do so we can be the Church God wants us to be?

            These are the questions we started considering two weeks ago and will continue to consider for the next two weeks.

            How can we be the Church God wants us to be?

            How can we be the Church God wants us to be?

            We’re looking at how the book of Acts describes the early church to find answers to that question. The book of Acts says that there were certain things the members of the early church committed themselves to – things like:

1. telling others the Good News of Jesus Christ

2. worshipping and exalting God

3. working together for God’s glory

4. growing in Christ

5. serving God and others

and it says God blessed them and “added to their number” because they were seeking and following His will for their church.

We’re looking at these things that the members of the early church committed themselves to so we cam get a vision for how we can take steps to commit ourselves to these things, and do our part towards making Hopewell the Church God wants Hopewell to be.

Let’s Be The Church God Wants Us To Be.

That’s the theme for our month of September.

Two weeks ago we looked at the passage from Acts 2 and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:26-30 – and saw how a Church with a great commitment to the Great Commission is a great Church. We saw how we need to commit ourselves to being a Church that tells Good News!

Last week we added a second step to the process as we look at Acts 2: 42-47 and Ephesians 5:1-20 – and discovered that we need t be a Church that exalts God.

Today we’re going to add a third step as we look at Acts 2:42-47 and 1 Corinthians 12 – and see how we need to be a Church that works together.

Listen to God’s Word. (Read passages)

Let’s Be The Church God Wants Us To Be!

Let’s be a Church that tells the Good News!

Let’s be a Church that exalts God!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

You may remember that we noted last week that — when you look at the description of the early church that Acts 2:42-47 gives us — you get the sense that this was not a church that people joined just because it would look good on their resume or because they thought it would help them make influential friends or help their standing in the community. No – this was a group of individuals whose lives had been changed by God, and who were committed to living a life that showed others the difference God had made in their lives. This was a group of people who wanted to exalt and glorify God – and reflect the glory of God in their worship and in the way they lived their lives. You could tell from the way they worshipped:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42)

and the way they lived as they:

gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. (Acts 2:45-47)

They wanted to exalt and glorify God – they wanted to live lives that showed God’s glory to the world – and committed themselves to working together to show God to the world through their worship and their actions. And – God blessed them and added to their numbers daily.

They were the Church God wanted them to be – telling the Good News of God, exalting God, and working together for the glory of God.

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

If we are going to the Church God wants us to be, we are going to have to commit ourselves to being a Church that tells the Good News that God has come into the world – sins can be forgiven – and lives can be changed – we are going to have to commit ourselves to living lives that exalt and glorify God – and we are going to have to commit ourselves to working together for the glory of God.

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

One of my favorite things to do on Sunday as a kid was to read the Sunday comics (or the funnies as we called them). Of all the comics I read, the one that I never missed was Peanuts. In one of those cartoons, Lucy came into the room and demanded that Linus change the channel on the TV.

“What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asked Linus.
“These five fingers,” replied Lucy.

“Individually they’re nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”
“Which channel do you want?” asked Linus.
Turning away, he looked at his fingers and said, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”

While I don’t condone Lucy’s methods, however effective they might have been, she does give us a powerful illustration of what might happen if we here at Hopewell Presbyterian were to work together.

Remember what she said: “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”

It is when we come together – it is when we work together — that we become an effective instrument to be used in the world for the glory of God – and that is a wonderful thing to behold!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
Let’s be a Church that works together!

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the Church to the human body. Through this analogy, he communicates the important truth of our need to accept our differences as individual members of the Body of Christ and to recognize these differences as vital to the proper functioning of the whole. Our differences are not to be accentuated, resulting in division. Rather, they are for the purpose of meeting the various needs that exist within the Church—both locally and globally. There are many parts because there are many needs. And without the various parts, some needs would be neglected.

I’m going to help you understand Paul’s teaching in this section by summarizing all that he says in just 3 words—so if you fail to hear anything else that is said, don’t miss these three words. The point that Paul is trying to make can be summed up in this motto:

You are needed!

Let me repeat it so there’s no mistaking it:

You are needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
Let’s be a Church that works together!

If we are going to be a Church that works together, we are going to have to be a church that says to each other:

You are needed!

We are going to have to be a Church where everyone realizes that

You are needed!

We are going to have to be a Church where everyone says to everyone else:

You are needed!

Here in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul gives us three principles to drive home the point that each person is needed – and that we all need each other.

First – Each Member Is Indispensable

The first principle that Paul wants us to understand about our need for one another is that each member is indispensable. While each member of the Body of Christ is not the same, each of us is essential to the whole. Paul uses the analogy of the human body, which is made up of many different parts, to show us how the variety of parts – eyes, hands, ears, nose — is essential to the whole-ness of the body. Each part must be present in order for the body to be complete. If the human body was made up of only one part, then it would cease to be a body—by definition, a body is made up of many parts.
If it were possible for a body to be made up on only one part, then it would be an extremely limited body—it would miss out on all the functionality and potential of all the other parts. We are given eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, and noses to smell. The various parts of our human bodies contribute to the whole in unique and significant ways that no other part can do.
Each part of the body is indispensable.

Each part of the body is needed.

So it is with the Body of Christ.

God has made us all different and unique.

He gives each of us particular gifts that no one else has in the same way we do. We are each special and we are each necessary. We each need to do what we can do – we all need to do the things God has created and gifted to do – for us to function in the way God intends for us top function as a Church.

Each part of the body is indispensable.

Each part of the body is needed.

Each one of us in the Church is indispensable.

Each one of us in the Church is needed.

You are needed!

You are needed!

I read about a very wise mother who – when her child came home from school one day crying because they had been given only a small part in the children’s program while their friend got the leading role — took off her watch and put it in her child’s hand.

“What do you see?” the mother asked.

“A gold case, a face, and two hands” the child replied.

Then — opening the back of the watch – the mother repeated the question. The child told her that there were many tiny wheels.

“This watch would be useless,” the mother said, “without every part—even the ones you can hardly see.”

Each one of us in the Church is indispensable.

Each one of us in the Church is needed.

You are needed!

You are needed!

Not all of us will play the leading roles in the Church. Some of us have to be the supporting actors and actresses. But we all have a purpose and a place in the Church. Each of us is important and essential. In order for the Church to function properly, it must have a variety of parts that work together as a whole. Remember: You are needed!

Each one of us in the Church is indispensable.

Each one of us in the Church is needed.

You are needed!

You are needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

Each member is indispensable.

There’s a second point Paul makes –

Each Member Is Interdependent

The second principle in the passage from 1 Corinthians 12 is that each member is interdependent. That means that every part of the Body of Christ relies on the proper functioning of every other part.

Without the parts of our bodies cooperating with each other, it not only would be hard to dance the Hokey Pokey – as the Young Disciples found out earlier – but many (if not all) of the vital tasks our bodies perform would be impossible.

        Take, for example, the simple act of speaking, like I’m doing right now. If any of the parts of my body that are necessary for speech were to decide that they didn’t want to participate in this act, it would be impossible for me to talk at this very…moment. Speech is possible only when my brain, nerves, tongue, jaws, lips, larynx, lungs, diaphragm, heart, veins, arteries, capillaries and parts unknown to me all work together for that specific purpose. What appears on the surface to be the work of only one part of the body is actually a very complex and precise cooperative act of many members of the body.

            The same is true of the Church.

            Each member of the Body of Christ is interdependent. Even the most menial task in the Church requires a coordinated effort between the various members. It has been noted that the best pictures of the church are group pictures. The more mature we become in Christ, the more we realize that we need each other.

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

You are needed!

You are needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

In a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to the townspeople. At last he decided to build them a church. No one saw the complete plans for the church until it was finished. When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty and completeness. Then someone asked, “But where are the lamps? How will they be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls. Then he gave each family a lamp that they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. “Each time you are here the area where you are seated will be lighted,” the nobleman said. “Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s house will be dark”

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

You are needed!

You are needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

When a child flies a kite, we might ask: “Who is flying the kite?”

            “I am,” the wind might boast!
“I am,” the paper might reply!
“I am,” the tail might exclaim!
“I am,” the string might insist!
“I am,” the child might boast!
But in reality, they are ALL flying the kite!

If the wind had lulled, if the paper had torn, if the tail had gotten caught in the tree, if the string had broken, or the child had fallen, then the kite would have come down! Each had a part to play!

In the Church, we are all needed – we all have a part to play.

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

You are needed!

You are needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

              Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

You are needed!

You are needed!

            God has placed you here in a strategic role! You are an important part of the success and effectiveness of Hopewell Preabyterian Church! Everyone else is depending on you to be here and to carry out your particular function. And when you fail to be here and/or carry out your function in the Church, the whole Church suffers.

So use your gifts to the glory of God and leave the results to him.

Remember: You are needed!

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

            Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

You are needed!

You are needed!

Each member of the Church is indispensable!

Each member of the Church is interdependent!

            The third point Paul makes is that each member of the Church is interconnected.

Anything that affects one member of the Body of Christ is felt by all of the members. You know — most of us don’t give a lot of thought to our toes, especially our little pinkie toes (except, perhaps, when we’re playing with our children and it comes to that part in the game where it’s time to say, “And this little piggy went, ‘Wee, wee, wee,’ all the way home”). Pinkie toes—they’re just things we don’t normally spend hours reflecting upon. But suppose you’re at home, running around barefoot, and you carelessly happen to bump that pinkie toe into the leg of a chair. Let me assure you, it will become immediately evident that your pinkie toe does, in fact, exist. Every part of your body will join in its pain. The leg and foot that is not injured will begin to jump up and down. Your back will bend over in order to enable your arm and hand to extend a soothing massage. All the members necessary for speech will join in and offer groans that words cannot express. No part of your body will go untouched by the injury to your pinkie toe. All will be affected.

If you don’t believe me, try it some time.

        That’s exactly how it’s supposed to work in the Body of Christ. That’s what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 12:26:

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

            We are all related. There are ties between each of us that make us inseparable. When something happens to one member the Church, whether it is good or bad, all of us are to respond accordingly. In practical terms, this means that I cannot be blind to what is happening in your life and you cannot be blind to what is happening in mine. If each of us is going to remain a vital part of the Church, then we must do our part in seeing that we are in touch with all of the other members of this body – in touch with each other. We have to know if they are hurting, and join them in their suffering. We have to know if they are rejoicing, and join them in their happiness.

Each member of the Church is indispensable!

Each member of the Church is interdependent!

Each member is interconnected.

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

            Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

You are needed!

You are needed!

            One thing we have to avoid in the Church is what I call spiritual leprosy. A simple description of leprosy is that it is a disease that causes a gradual loss of feeling. What happens to those infected by the bacteria that causes leprosy is that they become numb to the conditions surrounding them. They can’t sense what is happening around them. One who has leprosy could cut themselves and never experience the sensation of pain. As a result, the wound receives no attention, and infection sets in. If not treated in time, the infection could progress to gangrene and eventually destroy the whole body.
                This is what happens when a Church has what I call “Spiritual Leprosy”. The members become unable to sense what is occurring in the lives of the other members of the body. One member may get injured. If that injury is not attended to, it will become progressively worse until that person is finally ruined. We must beware that we do not become infected with this fatal disease. We are interconnected to one another. We must share in the experiences of one another.

            Get to know each other. Don’t just spend all of your time with certain people in the Church –make yourself know others.

            Take the first step — don’t wait until they come to you. And keep your eyes focused outward to the needs of others. Join others in their grief and joy. Remember: you are needed!

Each member of the Church is indispensable!

Each member of the Church is interdependent!

Each member is interconnected.

You are needed!

Each person in the Church is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

Each person in the Church is needed!

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

            Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

You are needed!

You are needed!

            If we are going to be the Church God wants us to be, we’re going to have to take our cue from the early Church – and the way it is described in Acts 2.

We are going to have to be a Church that tells the good news that Jesus Christ has come into the world and that sins can be forgiven and lives can be changed.

We are going to have to be a Church that glorifies God!’

We are going to have to be a Church that works together!

We are going to have to be a Church where each member is indispensable!

We are going to have to be a Church where each member is interdependent!

We are going to have to be a Church where each member is interconnected!

We are going to have to be a Church where each member is needed!

We are going to have to be a Church that communicates to each member:
You are needed!

We are going to have to be a Church where each person is important – and has an important part to play as we do the work of God in the world.

We are going to have to be a Church that celebrates that each person is needed.

OK — you’ve heard me say it enough times – and now it’s your turn. Everyone stand up — turn to the person next to you – and say to them:

“You are needed!”

Let’s be the Church God wants us to be!

            Let’s be a Church that works together!
            Let’s be a Church that works together!

Amen

 

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15:11-20, John 11:1-45

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

John 11:1-45

Easter Means You Can Believe In New Life

May 20, 2007

Part 5 of 2007 series “Easter Means …”

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

           For part of the Easter Season the sign in front of the Church read:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

That’s the message of Easter.

New life.

The amazing message of Easter is a message that life can be filled with hope – you can be forgiven – you can have a life of joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there can never again be any joy to your life — and a new life is only a dream.

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

That’s the message of Easter.

           But – you know — sometimes it’s hard to believe that the message of Easter – the new life – the hope – the joy – the forgiveness – that Easter promises us – can be true.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe in the hope – the forgiveness – the joy – the new life Easter offers us.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — our lives can be changed and made new.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the message of Easter – the message of hope – the message of forgiveness – the message of joy — especially when these things are least expected.

There may be times in your life when it’s hard for you to believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there is no chance for joy — and a new life is only a dream.

Life can have a way of hitting you hard sometimes.

Circumstances beyond your control can seemingly take away any hope for a new life of joy – hope – and forgiveness.

But – here’s the truth –

In the midst of your pain – in the midst of your feeling that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in the midst of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

Or – I think that it would be better to say:

In spite of your pain –

in spite of your feelings that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you –

in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Yea – the sign out front was right – even in your most painful and joyless times — because of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – we can say to each other – we can say to the world – and I can say to you:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

I’m glad that Easter is a Season – not just a day!

We have needed to take some time to look at the wonderful news that Christ has risen – and the implications of joy – forgiveness – and new life the resurrection can have for our lives.

We’ve spent most of the last few weeks looking at the way the resurrection changed the lives of the first believers in Christ – and how it can change our lives, also. We’re going to conclude that today.

The amazing — life changing — fact of Easter is that:

God can make your life new.

God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

The Apostle Paul knew what the resurrection meant – and the hope – joy – forgiveness – and new life he had because Christ had risen from the dead – and Paul spent the rest of his life declaring the amazing truth that Christ had risen and hope – joy – and forgiveness was possible — because Christ has risen.

2 women – Mary and Martha – along with their bother Lazarus – also knew about the new life they had because of what Christ had done in their lives – especially when it seemed that there was no hope for new life and meaning for their lives.

Listen to God’s word – first in 1 Corinthians 15:11-20 – then in John 11:1-45.

Read Scripture

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

You know — the raising of Lazarus shows that Jesus does miraculous things to bring new possibilities and new life into situations where it might seem that new possibilities and new life are downright impossible.

The raising of Lazarus shows that God is doing something new – even when seems impossible.

That’s the message of the raising of Lazarus – as well as the message of Easter.

New life.

Life can be filled with hope – you can be forgiven – you can have a life of joy — especially when it is least expected.

You can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there can never again be any joy to your life — and a new life is only a dream.

The message of Easter – the message of the raising of Lazarus – is that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives – especially when it seems that there is no chance for anything new or marvelous to ever again occur.

Have you ever felt that new life – new possibilities – were impossible for you?

How do you think Mary and Martha must have felt!

Hope is stifled when something terrible occurs in their family.

They probably don’t see how their lives will ever be any different – or that there will ever again be any hope of change in their lives.

They probably don’t see that there will ever be anything else to hope for.

They probably don’t see that anything new can ever occur that will change their situation.

They probably find it very difficult to believe in new life.

Their brother Lazarus had died, leaving behind Martha and Mary.

The loss is not only a personal grief — an emotional burden — but it also pushes the sisters out to the margins of society as women without men.

Their village doesn’t know what to do with them.

They are on their way to becoming surplus people.

So the problem for Mary and Martha is not only the death of Lazarus — it feels also like death for Martha and Mary.

They see no future worth considering.

They probably find it hard to consider that fact that God can do something new and marvelous in their lives. They probably find it hard to believe that there can ever again be anything new and marvelous in their lives.

Yea – they probably felt that new life – new possibilities – were impossible for them.

Now — they may believe in a final resurrection — but eternity and “some day” may seem beyond any horizon visible to them.

What they see as their future is nothing more than a series of weary days through which they had to plod.

No chance for new life.

No chance for anything to hope for.

They probably feet that even God – even Jesus – could not do anything new or marvelous in their lives any more.

They might have felt that all hope was lost.

And when you to all this the disappointment that their friend Jesus, the one they thought could save Lazarus, doesn’t get there until Lazarus has been dead for four long days and buried in a tomb with a big stone blocking the entrance – well, that pretty much sealed any hope for new life or for God doing anything marvelous and new in their lives ever again.

They probably feel that all their hopes and dreams for their lives are sealed up in that tomb with their brother Lazarus.

How do you think it sounds when Jesus arrives, and Martha greets him with these words:

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

It sounds like she and her sister Mary don’t see how their lives will ever be any different – or changed.

It sounds like they don’t see that there will ever be anything else again to hope for.

It sounds like they don’t see that anything new can ever occur that will change their situation.

It sounds like they find it very difficult to believe that Jesus can give them a new life.

It sounds like all hope has been taken away.

Jewish tradition held that the spirit would linger for 3 days – but after 4 – there was not hope left!

Give it up!

Stop hoping!

Noting new will happen!

 Even when Jesus comes – Martha has little hope.

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

As Lazarus lay sick before he died she may have thought that Jesus would show up and save the day. She may have thought that He would come and make everything better. She may have thought that Jesus would come and heal her brother.

But that isn’t what happened.

Jesus didn’t make it to Bethany in time.

Life was not going in the way Martha had hoped.

Her brother wasn’t supposed to die.

After all he was Jesus’ good friend.

How could Jesus allow something like this happen to a friend?

Not only was her life shattered by the death of her brother, but her expectations of Jesus were shattered because Jesus did not do what Martha thought he would do.

Can you understand – at least somewhat – what Mary and Martha must have been feeling?

Have you ever felt that new life – new possibilities – were impossible for you?

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when I have wondered:

“God, why have you allowed this to happen to me.

I thought you were my friend and that you cared about me. “

Sometimes it certainly feels as though God has let us down.

But – the message of Easter is — in the midst of your pain – in the midst of your feeling that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in the midst of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

Or – I think that it would be better to say:

In spite of your pain –

in spite of your feelings that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you –

in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Easter means that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives – especially when it seems that there is no chance for anything new or marvelous to ever again occur.

When Martha says to Jesus:

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus responds:

“Your brother will rise again.”

You see — Jesus did not see Lazarus’ death as God’s plan for life derailed — rather Jesus knew God had a better plan all along. Jesus knew that there was hope.

Unfortunately Martha misunderstood what Jesus was saying. She thought Jesus was saying one of those comforting words you say to people at a funeral like, “we can rejoice because they are with the Lord now.” What Jesus meant was, “you brother will rise today.” We know Martha misunderstood Jesus because she replied:

“I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Martha believed Lazarus would rise again at the day of resurrection but she had no clue that Jesus meant she would see the glory of God that very day.

You see – the message of Easter is this: in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Easter means that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives – especially when it seems that there is no chance for anything new or marvelous to ever again occur.

The raising of Lazarus means that this new life Jesus spoke about is possible – not just in heaven – not just some day. It was possible that day! Martha and Mary saw it happen! They rejoiced when Lazarus came out of the grave – and they finally understood that – in spite of their pain and their feeling they will never again experience anything new in their lives – new life was possible through Jesus.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

That certainly means that there is life eternal in heaven for us when we die – but friends – it also means that – because of the resurrection of Christ – we have new life here and now.

We don’t have to wait until “some day” to experience the new life God can give us.

We don’t have to wait for heaven to experience this new life.

The day for new life is now!

The place for new life is here!

Now is the time that God is offering you new life — new hope –and new meaning for your life.

This is the place where God is offering you new life — new hope – and new meaning for your life.

The message of Easter is: in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Easter means that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life– especially when it seems that there is no chance for anything new or marvelous to ever again occur.

The message of Easter is:

It doesn’t matter how hopeless things in your life may appear

It doesn’t matter if you feel God has let you down

It doesn’t matter if there is something in your life that makes you cry out – like Martha –

Lord – if you had done something, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now

It doesn’t matter what your past has been like –

What matters is that God is up to doing something new and different and marvelous in your life –

What matters is that new life – new hope – new possibilities for your life — . are possible – not just in the future – not “someday” – not just when you die and go to heaven — but here – and now!

 Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Yea – if Mary and Martha and Lazarus were standing in front of the Church today they would probably be inviting people to:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

It’s interesting that when Lazarus walked out of the grave, Jesus said:

“Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

“Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Other translations say –

“Unbind him, and let him go.”

This got me to thinking –

What binds us?

What do we need to be unbound from so you can truly believe in – and live — the new life Jesus offers?

Let me ask you –

What binds you – what do you need to be unbound from so you can truly believe in – and live — the new life Jesus offers?

What do you need to be unbound from for you to be able to believe in – and live – a new life?

Do you need to be unbound from sin?

Is sin binding you – and keeping you from experiencing the new life Jesus is offering you?

We all have sins that we commit every day – but they do not have to bind us or keep us from experiencing the new life Jesus gives us.

Sin does not have to keep you from believing in – and living – the new life God gives you.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

How about some habit or addiction you have you can’t seem to break away from?

Do you have some habit or addiction that is binding you – and keeping you from experiencing the new life Jesus is offering you?

You can come to God with your habits and addictions – receive His forgiveness and strength – and start experiencing the new life God gives you.

Habits and addictions do not have to keep you from believing in – and living – the new life God gives you. God is stronger than any habit or addiction you may have. God can give you new life.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Do you need to be unbound from despair?

Has something happened in your life that makes you feel that God has abandoned you?

Feelings of despair do not have to keep you from believing in – and living – the new life God gives you. You can come to God with your feelings and despair – and God will show you that He is with you. Even in your despair – God can give you new life.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Do you need to be unbound from anger?

Is there something you are angry at God about – or angry at someone else about – or angry at yourself about?

Anger does not have to keep you from believing in – and living – the new life God gives you. You can come to God with your anger – receive His peace – and find ways to patch relationships. Even in your anger – God can give you new life.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Here’s the good news — nothing has to bind you and keep us from experiencing the new life God offers you – here and now.

Sin does not have the power to bind you and keep you from the new life God gives you –

Habits and addictions don’t have to bind you and keep you from the new life God gives you –

Feelings of despair or anger don’t have to bind you and keep you from the new life God gives you –

Nothing has to bind you and keep you from experiencing the new life God offers you – here and now.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

I once heard a story about a man who bought a blue blazer from a department store. The more he wore it the more he knew he didn’t like it. It wasn’t the right color and it attracted lint like it was a magnet. After wearing it for six months he put it in the closet and didn’t wear it any more.

About a year later he got to thinking about the store’s famous unconditional-return policy. He thought there was no way they would ever take the blazer back after 18 months, especially after he had worn it. But, he decided he had nothing to lose.

He pulled the blazer out, threw a lot of lint on it to make it look bad, and took it to the store. He walked in, and walked up to the first salesman he saw and gave his little prepared speech. He said,

“I am about to put your famous unconditional-return policy to its ultimate test. I bought this blazer here. I’ve worn it lots. I’ve had it for a year and a half. I don’t like it. It’s the wrong color, and it attracts lint like it’s going out of style. So I want to return this blazer trading it for a blazer that I like.”

The salesman just looked at him and shook his head. He said, “For heavens sake, what took you so long? Let’s go find you a blazer.”

Ten minutes later he walked out with another blazer that was marked seventy-five dollars more than what he paid for the one that he brought in. It was perfect. It didn’t cost him a penny.

In a small way, the department store is a lot like God. They are willing to back up their promises and Easter is about God keeping His promises.

God will take your old life – even as sinful, as desperate, as angry, as hopeless – as you may be – and give you a new one.

Easter means God is up to doing something new and marvelous in your life – especially when you feel there is no way anything new or different can ever be done for you again.

Easter means you can believe in new life

Right here.

Right now.

God is up to doing something new and different in your life.

God is giving you new life.

You can believe it.

You can live it.

Right here.

Right now.

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Easter means you can believe in new life!

Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Luke 24:12-25

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Luke 24:13-35

Easter Means You Can Focus On Christ

May 6, 2007

Part 4 of 2007 series “Easter Means …”

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

The sign in front of the Church reads:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

That’s the message of Easter.

New life.

The amazing message of Easter is a message that life can be filled with hope – you can be forgiven – you can have a life of joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there can never again be any joy to your life — and a new life is only a dream.

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

That’s the message of Easter.

But – you know — sometimes it’s hard to believe that the message of Easter – the new life – the hope – the joy – the forgiveness – that Easter promises us – can be true.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the in the hope – the forgiveness – the joy – the new life Easter offers us.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — our lives can be changed and made new.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the message of Easter – the message of hope – the message of forgiveness – the message of joy — especially when these things are least expected.

There may be times in your life when it’s hard for you to believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there is no chance for joy — and a new life is only a dream.

Life can have a way of hitting you hard sometimes.

Circumstances beyond your control can seemingly take away any hope for a new life of joy – hope – and forgiveness.

But – here’s the truth –

In the midst of your pain – in the midst of your feeling that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in the midst of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

Or – I think that it would be better to say:

In spite of your pain –

in spite of your feelings that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you –

in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Yea – the sign out front is right – even in your most painful and joyless times — because of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – we can say to each other – we can say to the world – and I can say to you:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

I’m glad that Easter is a Season – not just a day!

We need to take some time to look at the wonderful news that Christ has risen – and the implications of joy – forgiveness – and new life the resurrection can have for our lives.

We’ve been spending the last few weeks looking at the way the resurrection changed the lives of the first believers in Christ – and how it can change our lives, also. We’re going to continue that today.

The amazing — life changing — fact of Easter is that:

God can make your new.

God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

The Apostle Paul knew what the resurrection meant – and the hope – joy – forgiveness – and new life he had because Christ had risen from the dead – and Paul spent the rest of his life declaring the amazing truth that Christ had risen and hope – joy – and forgiveness was possible — because Christ has risen.

So did a man by the name of Cleopas who – along with an unnamed friend – experienced the hope – joy – forgiveness – and new life they had because Christ had risen from the dead – and that experience set their hearts on fire for Christ.

Listen to God’s word – first in 1 Corinthians 15:11-20 – then in Luke 24:13-35: Read Scripture

The sign in front of the Church for the Easter season proclaims:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there is no more joy in your life — and a new life is only a dream.

Easter means that – in spite of the painful times in your life — in spite of the times you may feel that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in spite of the times you may feel that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is – Christ is risen – and God is doing something new in your life – even when you least expect it!

Easter means that you can have a new focus for your life.

Easter means that you don’t have to focus on the things in your life that hurt you – the things of life that can hit you hard and that seem to take all the joy and excitement and reason for living out of you – the things in your life that seem to take away all hope for anything new ever happening in your life again. You don’t have to focus on these things – but – in spite of these things – and I the midst of these things — you can focus on Christ.

Easter means you can focus on Christ.

Easter means you can focus on Christ.

Don’t you think that Cleopas and his friend must have felt that the crucifixion of Christ had taken away all hope for joy and excitement from them – and even taken away all reason for living – as they walked to the town of Emmaus? They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah – the Son of God – the one who would redeem Israel and lead them to salvation. They had pinned all hope and meaning for their lives on Him.

They had seen Him heal the sick – they had heard Him teach God’s ways – they had at least heard that He had raised Lazarus from the dead — even if they had not seen it.

But all that had changed.

Jesus had been crucified.

Jesus had died.

And their hope and joy and reason for living had died with Him.

As they walked along that evening to the town of Emmaus and talked about the terrible events that had occurred in Jerusalem that week – their despair and sadness must have been apparent.

Even as the resurrected Christ came to them – talked to them – and shared the truths about what scripture said with them – they did not realize that it was Jesus. All they could focus on was that their faith in Christ now seemed futile. It had no meaning for them any more. The events that had taken place in Jerusalem that week were so painful for them that they could not even entertain the thought that anything good or new or different could occur.

But then something happened.

They experienced the risen Christ.

Christ broke the bread at the table – and they realized that He was with them.

They realized that Christ had risen!

They realized that Christ had been with them as they had walked along and talked about the tragic events that had shaken their lives.

They realized that – in spite of the tragic events that had hit them so hard that week in Jerusalem – Jesus had risen!

They realized that they didn’t have to focus on the tragic events of their lives – but they could focus on Jesus – they could focus on the fact that – in spite of the painful times in their lives — in spite of the times they felt that joy –hope – and forgiveness would never again be realities for them – in spite of the times they may have felt that they would never again experience anything new in their lives –

the truth was – Christ had risen – and God was doing something new in their lives – even when they least expected it!

They realized that they no longer had to focus on the painful times of their lives – the times that seemed to take away all hope for joy and new life from them – but they could now focus on Christ – and the new life – new hope – new joy – and new opportunities for living Christ offered them – in spite of everything else that might happen in their lives.

They realized that Easter meant that they could focus on Christ.

They realized that the message of Easter was they could be forgiven – they could have hope – they could have joy — and they could have new life – especially when it seemed that forgiveness was impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life only a dream.

I’m sure that – if Cleopas and his friend were standing out on the road today in front of the Church – they would be proclaiming – along with the sign out front –

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

Cleopas and his friend learned that Easter meant that – instead of focusing on the hard and painful times of their lives – they could focus on Christ.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

But — there are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the in the hope – the forgiveness – the joy – the new life Easter offers us.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to focus on Christ – and the hope – joy – and new life He gives us.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to focus on Christ – and the fact that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to focus on Christ and believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — our lives can be changed and made new.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to focus on Christ and believe the message of Easter – the message of hope – the message of forgiveness – the message of joy — especially when these things are least expected.

There may be times in your life when it’s hard for you to focus on Christ and believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – you can have joy — and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – there is no chance for joy — and a new life is only a dream.

There are so many times that life can have a way of hitting you hard.

Like Cleopas and his friend, you may have circumstances in your life that are beyond your control and that can seemingly take away any hope for a new life of joy – hope – and forgiveness from you.

But – here’s the truth –

In spite of your pain – in spite of your feelings that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life the truth is that Jesus has risen – God is doing something new in your life – and you can focus on Christ instead of the pain and sorrow that seems to take your attention away from Christ.

The truth is that

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Several weeks ago the world was shocked as over 33 students were killed at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA.

How could such a senseless tragedy have occurred? people asked.

The lives of many people were shattered by the pain and confusion of the murders – and the more they focused on the pain and confusion they more they felt hopeless and confused.

At the Memorial Service that was held several days after the murders, the poet Nikki Giovanni led those assembled in a chant of hope and determination that seemed to change the focus of the event for the campus – and for the world. They would not let themselves focus on hopelessness – but – as the chant went:

“We will prevail, we will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are Virginia Tech.”

Great words of hope and inspiration.

But – even greater – is the fact that this chant seemed to change the focus for the students, and faculty at Virginia Tech – what has been called “the Virginia Tech family”. They were not going to focus on the fact that the tragedy occurred – but they were going to focus on rebuilding and hope.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

As long as Cleopas and his friend focused on the things that had happened in Jerusalem – the death of Christ and the feeling of hopelessness it gave them – they could not see that Christ was with them as they walked along. But – when they began to focus on Christ – things changed – and they realized the hope and the joy that Christ gave them – in spite of the events in Jerusalem or any other event in their lives.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

You know – if you live your life focusing on the things that happen to you and that hurt you – you will never find the joy and new life God wants you to have. But – if you focus on Christ – you will discover that – in spite of the things that hurt you and the hard, painful times of your life – God is with you.

You need have the right focus in your life if you want to really discover the life God wants you to live – with all it’s joy, all it’s hope, and all it’s newness.

Without the right focus, you can be like the story I once heard about the best horse jockey in the world. He had been hired to ride one owner’s horse to victory over the horse of his greatest rival. One race day, the horses of both owners were heading toward the finish line neck in neck, when suddenly, a third horse went down in front of them causing all of the horses to fall. Well, the best jockey in the world quickly regained his composure, remounted, and rode on to victory. Returning to the paddock, the best jockey in the world thought he had done a good job – but he found the owner who had hired him full of anger.

“What’s the matter?” the jockey asked, “I won, didn’t I?”
“Yes you won, but you still don’t know, do you?” the owner fumed.

“Know what?” the jockey asked.
“That you won the race riding on my rival’s horse – not mine!”

In all the confusion of the fall, the jockey had lost his focus – mounted the rival’s horse – and won the race.

If you don’t have the right focus in your life, it can be like riding the wrong horse to victory.

You might “win” – but you’ll still “lose”!

If you let yourself focus on the events of your life – especially the ones that are painful and that hurt you – the ones that can make you doubt God’s presence in your life or God’s love for you – the ones that can make you feel that there is no hope for any semblance of joy or any semblance for new life – you will never be able to experience the new life God offers you.

But – if you will let yourself focus on Christ, you’ll discover that – in spite of the painful, tragic, and hurtful times of your life, God is with you – offering a new sense of joy, a new sense of excitement, and a new sense of hope.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Is there something in your life you are focusing on that keeps you from focusing on Christ?

Is there something in your life you are focusing on that keeps you from focusing on the joy – the love – the new life – that the risen Christ offers you?

Maybe you have had a serious tragedy in your life – and you just can’t seem to get past it.

Maybe there is something going on in your life right now – an illness or a setback or something going on at work or in your family.

Is there something in your life you are focusing on that keeps you from focusing on the joy – the love – the new life – that the risen Christ offers you?

If you will let God, God will help you change your focus. God will help you take your focus off of the painful things and put your focus on to Christ.

The Holy Spirit can help you turn your focus away from the painful events of your life on to God’s promises for new life and new hope. Ask the Lord to help you be filled with the power of the risen Christ so you can consistently refocus your thoughts away from the negatives and on to God’s positive work in your life.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

The inspiring words Nikki Giovanni lead those assembled after the Virigina Tech tragedy :

“We will prevail, we will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are Virginia Tech.”

took their focus off of the pain and put it on hope.

The message of Easter – that in spite of the painful times in your life — in spite of the times you may feel that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in spite of the times you may feel that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth that Christ is risen – and God is doing something new in your life – even when you least expect it –

can take your focus off of the pain and hopelessness you may feel and put it on Christ.

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

Easter Means You Can Focus on Christ

To paraphrase Nikki Giovanni,

We will prevail

We will prevail

Christ has risen!

We are Christians!

We are Christians!

Yea – that’s the secret to new life!

We will prevail

We will prevail

Christ has risen!

We are Christians!

We are Christians!

Easter indeed means you can focus on Christ.

Easter means you can focus on Christ.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20, John 21:1-19

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

John 21:1-19

Easter Means You Are Forgiven

April 22, 2007

Part 3 of 2007 Easter series on Easter Means …

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Have you noticed the sign in front of the Church?

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

it proclaims.

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

That’s the message of Easter.

New life.

The amazing message of Easter is a message that life can be filled with hope – you can be forgiven – you can have a life of joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

But – sometimes it’s hard to believe that the message of Easter – the new life – the hope – the joy – the forgiveness – that Easter promises us – can be true.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the in the hope – the forgiveness – the joy – the new life Easter offers us.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that – because of the event of Easter — our lives — our world — can be changed — they can be made new.

There are times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe the message of Easter – the message of hope – the message of forgiveness – the message of joy — especially when these things are least expected.

There may be times in our lives when it’s hard for us to believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Life can hit you hard sometimes.

Circumstances beyond your control can seemingly take away any hope for a new life of joy – hope – and forgiveness.

Sometimes you might do things that hurt yourself – or someone else – or you and someone else — so badly that afterwards you might wonder if God can ever forgive you – or if you can ever forgive yourself – or if other people can ever forgive you.

But – here’s the truth –

In the midst of your pain – in the midst of your feeling that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you – in the midst of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

 

Or – I think that it would be better to say:

In spite of your pain –

in spite of your feelings that joy –hope – and forgiveness will never again be realities for you –

in spite of the feeling that you will never again experience anything new in your life –

the truth is:

The Lord has risen!

Alleluia! He has risen indeed!

Ester means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Yea – the sign out front is right – even in your most painful, joyless, and guilty times — because of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – we can say to each other – we can say to the world – and I can say to you:

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

I’m glad that Easter is a Season – not just a day!

We need to take some time to look at the wonderful news that Christ has risen – and the implications of joy – forgiveness – and new life the resurrection can have for our lives.

We’re going to be spending the next few weeks continuing to look at the way the resurrection changed the lives of the first believers in Christ – and how it can change our lives, also.

The amazing — life changing — fact of Easter is that:

God can make your new.

God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

The Apostle Paul knew what the resurrection meant – and the hope – joy – forgiveness – and new life he had because Christ had risen from the dead.

So did Peter.

Listen to God’s word – first in 1 Corinthians 15:11-20 – then in John 20:19-31.

READ SCRIPTURE

Come In And Discover The Secret To New Life

 

Come in.

Discover.

New life.

Ester means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Easter means you are forgiven.

I am sure that Peter felt like he needed to be forgiven – that he needed a new sense of hope – that he needed a new life.

I am also sure he probably felt that he could not be forgiven – that there would never again be any hope for his life – and that there would never again be any chance of a new life for him.

You see — he had followed Jesus for 3 years – listening to Jesus, watching Jesus, and learning from Jesus. He had given his life to following Jesus — and at times he had been extremely committed to following Jesus. He had even made a dramatic confession of Jesus being the Son of God.

But — all that was in the past.

Everything had changed.

Jesus had been arrested — and Peter was scared.

He did not feel that he could risk being identified with Jesus.

At the house of the High Priest, three different people tried to identify him as a follower of Jesus — and each time he vehemently denied it.

If you saw the movie “The Passion” you may have something of an idea of how it may have been for Peter at Caiphas’ house. Mel Gibson did a superb job – at least at this point of his movie – showing a scared Peter in a mob of people – being pushed and shoved – not knowing what to say or where to turn – and finally just yelling : “NO!” 3 times when asked if he were a follower of Christ.

But — as soon as he did this – he panicked.

How could he have done such a thing?

Where was his commitment when Jesus needed him the most?

The next day Jesus was crucified — and Peter must have felt that he was an utter failure.

He must have felt that everything he had lived for — everything that he had given his life for – was gone — and he may have felt that it was somehow his fault.

He might have felt that all his claims of love now seemed to be nothing – for new he had denied Jesus.

And then the story began to spread that Jesus had risen.

Peter had seen the empty tomb for himself – - and had even seen Jesus — but he still may have felt ashamed – alone — and confused.

He may have not been too sure of what to do — so maybe that’s why he returned to Galilee to the life of a fisherman.

Then — early one morning — Jesus appeared.

Peter must have panicked. .

He probably had no idea what to say or do.

He probably wanted to apologize — but may not have known how. He may have been mad — ashamed – and embarrassed for having denied Jesus – all at the same time – and he may have felt he just could not face Jesus now.

The tension probably rose within Peter as Jesus spoke.

“Do you love me?”

Jesus asked.

“Lord — you know I love you!”

Peter replied.

“Do you love me?”

Jesus again asked.

“Lord — you know I love you!”

Peter again replied.

“Do you love me?”

Jesus asked a third time.

“Lord — you know everything — you know that I love you!”

Peter replied.

Jesus then looked at him — and in that look I believe Peter knew that all had been forgiven.

I believe Peter realized that his three denials had been replaced by three affirmations of love.

I believe that Peter realized that Jesus loved him enough to forgive him and restore him to the work Jesus had for him to do.

Peter quickly became an outspoken leader in the early church.

Peter began to boldly proclaim that Jesus — whom he had once denied — was Savior and Lord.

For the rest of his life he boldly proclaimed that Jesus was Lord!

What changed Peter?

Peter’s life was completely changed by an experience with the risen Christ.

The risen Christ changed Peter’s life.

Peter experienced what it meant to be forgiven and changed by the love of God.

Peter experienced the meaning of Easter.

Peter experienced he could be forgiven – he could have hope – and he could have new life – especially when it seemed that forgiveness was impossible – life was hopeless – and a new life was only a dream.

Peter experienced the amazing, life changing fact that:

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>

Easter means you are forgiven

Easter means you are forgiven

If Peter were standing outside this Church today he would be inviting people to come in and discover the secret to new life.

Come in.

Discover.

New Life.

 

That’s the message of Easter.

New life.

The amazing message of Easter is a message that your life can be filled with hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

That’s what Easter means.

But – you know — sometimes it’s hard to believe that the message of Easter – the new life – the hope – the joy – the forgiveness – that Easter promises you – can be true.

There are times when it’s hard to believe in the hope – the forgiveness – the joy – the new life Easter offers us.

There are times when it’s hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your lives.

There are when it’s hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ.

There are times when it’s hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — your life can be changed and made new.

There are times when it’s hard to believe the amazing message of Easter – which is – in part: you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means that there is nothing you can do to be proclaimed “unforgivable” by God.

I am sure Peter felt “unforgivable” – that there was no way Jesus would forgive him — but the risen Christ said to him:

“I forgive you.”

That’s what the risen Christ says to us, also.

“I forgive you.”

Not “I condemn you” –

“I don’t want to have anything to do with you” –

“you’ve turned away from Me too many times for Me to have anything to do with you”

But – “I forgive you.”

Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

Do you find it hard to believe in the forgiveness you have because of the resurrection of Christ?

Do you find it hard to believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life?

Do you find it hard to believe that God is forgiving you – that God is changing you – because of the resurrection of Christ?

Do you find it hard to believe that — because of the resurrection of Christ your life can be changed — they can be made new?

Do you find it hard to believe the message of Easter – that there can be forgiveness — hope — and joy in your life — especially when you least expect it?

Do you find it hard to believe that – because of the resurrection of Christ — you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life?

If so, what makes it hard for you?

Is it because of fears – doubts – regrets – or feelings of guilt or failure?

Are these the things that hold you back from believing?

If so, you’re not alone.

You may feel that no one else has ever had the doubts you have – no one else has ever done the things you’ve done – or no one else has ever failed the way you have.

If you feel that way – I want to listen to what I’m about to say –

We all have things that keep us from believing the good news – and living it out every day of our lives.

We all have our doubts – our regrets – and our feelings of guilt and failure.

But – we all also have the risen Christ – who wants to forgive us – who wants to give us new life.

In spite of all your doubts, all your fears, all your feelings of guilt – the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive you – and give you new life.

Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

What makes it hard for you to believe that you are forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life?

Is it guilt over things you have done that you just feel that no one – especially God – can forgive you for?

Is it regret over things you’ve done or things you haven’t done?

Is it a habit you have that you know is wrong and destructive but you just can’t seem to shake?

Friends – the glorious truth is that in spite of all your doubts, all your fears, all your feelings of guilt – the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive you – and give you new life.

 

Friends – Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

That’s what Easter meant for Peter.

That’s what Easter can mean for you.

In spite of all your doubts, all your fears, all your feelings of guilt – the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive you.

Peter felt so guilty after denying Christ that he wanted to run – and he did run all the way back to Galilee and tried to hide in his former life of being a fisherman. But the love of God and the forgiveness of the risen Christ finally caught up with him.
Maybe you feel that running from Jesus is your only option.

Maybe you feel so guilty – and are so sure God would never forgive you – that you are running from God.

That’s not an uncommon feeling.

We all have times we feel like running from God instead of accepting His forgiveness and love – accepting the fact that the glorious truth is that in spite of all our doubts, all our fears, all our feelings of guilt – the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive us – and give you new life.

All you have to do to experience this amazing love of God and the forgiveness the risen Christ offer us is stop running – and start accepting the amazing, life changing, forgiving love of God.

That’s what Peter did.

That’s what you can do, too.

I remember a cartoon from a few years ago. The cartoon was “Dennis the Menace”. Dennis was kneeling by his bed — his hands folded – looking towards heaven. He had on his pajamas, his cowboy hat, his cowboy boots, and his pistol is strapped to his side.

The caption reads: “I’m here to turn myself in.”

No more running.

No more hiding.

I’m here to turn myself in.

That’s what you can do also.

You can say to God:

Ok God –

No more running.

No more hiding.

I’m here to turn myself in.

And – the marvelous news of Easter is that God will forgive you.

The glorious truth of Easter is that — in spite of all your doubts, all your fears, all your feelings of guilt – the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive you – and give you new life.

I read a story about the life changing, forgiving, love of Christ that gives new life and forgiveness to people who would never expect to experience new life and never expect to experience forgiveness.

It’s a story of a prostitute named Maggie.

The director of the Rescue Mission who wrote the story related that the first time she saw Maggie she was selling herself on the street like hundreds of other runaway teenagers. A small-town, rural, and suburban kids, lost in the big city, doing what she had to do to survive.

One night Maggie hung around the Rescue Mission for almost an hour. She seemed to need to talk, so the director sat beside her on the curb and listened. Maggie related how she missed her brothers and sisters. Nobody knew where she was, and that was the way she was going to keep it. “I miss them – but I can take care of myself just fine,” she said. The director told Maggie about Christ – and how Christ loved her – forgive her – and could give her a new life. Maggie just laughed and said: “Jesus doesn’t want to have anything to do with the likes of me!” and walked away.

The next time the director says she saw Maggie was on a cold Saturday night. She caught a glimpse of her as she started to cross the street in front of the Mission. She called out to Maggie, but she was too far away to hear. Then the director heard a screech of brakes and screams. She ran to see what had happened. Maggie’s body was lying in the middle of the street. She didn’t move. She was barely breathing. The director says she squeezed her hand. “Don’t talk,” she said, “I’ll stay with you.” She then mouthed a prayer and held her until the paramedics arrived.

She visited Maggie every day in the intensive care ward at the hospital. She was unconscious for almost a week. When she did come to, it was a long time before she was able to talk. It was after she was released from intensive care and moved to one of the rehab floors that she and the director had their first real conversation since that night before the accident. Maggie thanked her for staying with her. The director then began to explain to Maggie about the love of Christ – and how Christ forgave her for all her sins.

This time, Maggie believed.

She prayed for God to forgive her – and began living a new life.

After she was released from the Hospital, Maggie began working for the Rescue Mission. She began telling her old friends and whoever else would listen that God loved them – Christ forgave them – and they could have a new life. It was as if she would stand in front of the Mission and invite all who came by to come in and discover the secret to new life.

Come in.

Discover.

New Life.

Friends – that’s the message of Easter.

New life.

The amazing message of Easter is a message that you can be forgiven for whatever you need to be forgiven for — your life can be filled with hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

That’s what Easter means.

Because of Easter you don’t have to run from God.

Because of Easter you don’t have to feel that God can never forgive you – because God does forgive you.

Because of Easter you can stop running and “turn yourself in to God”.

In spite of all your doubts, all your fears, all your feelings of guilt – Easter means that the resurrected Christ stands ready to forgive you – and give you new life.

Yea – Easter means you are forgiven.

Easter means you are forgiven.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20, John 20:19-31

1 Corinthians 15:11-21

John 20:19-31

Easter Means You Can Believe

April 15, 2007

Part 2 of Hopewell 2007 Easter Season series on “Easter Means …”

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

A week has passed since our joyous celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A week has passed since we celebrated the resurrection with our Christian brothers and sisters at our joint Sunrise Service, celebrated the young people joining the Church, celebrated the Sacrament of Communion, and rejoiced in the fact that over 100 people worshiped with us in the beauty of this Sanctuary in all it’s Easter beauty.

Today things look more “like normal”, don’t they?

There are still some reminders of Easter – but things do look more like normal. There are not quite as many people here today as there were last week. We sill have some of the lilies out – but have had to pick some of the dead blooms off of them so they would look good today.

A week has passed since our joyous celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you –

What kind of week has it been for you?

Has it been a week filled with glorious hope — filled with the glorious power of God and the new life we have because of the resurrection of Christ?

Has it been a week filled with the excitement that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life?

Has it been a week filled with the excitement that God is changing you — and the world — by the resurrection of Christ?

Has it been a week filled with the excitement that because of the resurrection of Christ your life – the world — can be changed — they can be made new?

Has it been a week filled with the excitement of the message of Easter – that there can be hope and joy in your life — especially when you least expect it?

Has it been a week filled with the knowledge that – because of the resurrection of Christ — you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life?

Has it been a joyous Easter – filled week?

Or —

Has it been a week that has been pretty much “business as usual” — some joy but mainly the mundane — work and whatever else usually occupies your time?

Did you leave the joy and excitement and promise of Easter here at the Church last Sunday?

Has the promise of the new life – the new joy – the forgiveness – the hope you can have because of the resurrection of Christ changed your life – and given you a joyous message to proclaim to the world —

Or —

Has the reality of the world and the reality of your life seemed to sap the energy and enthusiasm and “good news” and hope for a new life right out of you?

Or —

is it that your life — the patterns you have let yourself get into — are just so hard to change that you’ve given up even hoping that Christ can make a difference in your life — even before you try to attempt to let Him make a difference?

Indeed — as we come together today – this Sunday after Easter – you may find yourself wondering —

“So what if Christ has risen?”

“What does it mean to me?”

“What difference does it make in my life?”

“Where’s the new life Christ offers?”

I don’s see that anything has changed.”

“What new life – new hope is there?”

Indeed — it may be hard to believe in the new life and hope Christ gives us.

It may be hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in our lives.

It may be hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

It may be hard to believe that – because of the event of Easter — our lives — our world — can be changed — they can be made new.

It may be hard to believe the message of Easter – the message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

It may be hard to believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

That’s why I’m glad that Easter is a Season – not just a day! We need to take some time to look at the wonderful news that Christ has risen – and the implications of joy – forgiveness – and new life the resurrection can have for our lives.

We’re going to be spending the next few weeks looking at the way the resurrection changed the lives of the first believers in Christ – and how it can change our lives, also.

The amazing — life changing — fact of Easter is that:

God can make your new.

God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

God is changing you — by the resurrection of Christ.

By the resurrection of Christ your life can be changed.

The amazing message of Easter is a message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

The Apostle Paul knew the life changing power of the resurrection of Christ.

So did Thomas.

Do you know the life changing power of the risen Christ?

As unbelievable as it may sound, you can believe the amazing message of Easter – and your life can be changed.

Listen to God’s word – first in 1 Corinthians 15:11-20 – then in John 20:19-31.

Read Scripture

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Cristus was a resident of the great Greek city of Corinth in the first century BC.

Like some others in Corinth, Cristus had devoted his life to the teachings of a certain Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Apostle Paul and others had come to Corinth and had proclaimed as the Messiah – the Son of God – the Savior of the world.

Paul had preached persuasively in Corinth and in so many other cities that in Jesus God had come into the world – taught His ways – had been crucified – and then had risen from the dead. Paul had made the point that – because God had come into the world through Jesus and been crucified for our sins – we have salvation – and because Jesus rose again from the dead – we have new life.

Cristus and many others rejoiced in the message of salvation and new life Paul preached in the name of Jesus – they lived in new ways because God had forgiven them of their sins – and looked forward to Jesus’ promised return.

But – not everyone in Corinth believed Paul’s message.

Some scoffed at the idea of God coming into the world in human form – dieing for our sins – rising again – and promising to return.

“Sounds like more ancient Greek myths” some said.

“Surely you don’t believe such a tale” others scoffed.

And others said “It’s crazy to believe such things!”

“What do you mean the world – and my life – can be changed?

That’s just silly!”

Cristus and other Christians began to wonder about all that Paul had taught them.

Were they believing in something that was not true?

Was their faith futile?

For example — Paul had told them that Christ had risen from the dead – and that those who believed in Christ would rise from the dead also.

But Cristus knew many believers who had died – but there was no evidence that they had risen.

Indeed – was their faith futile?

Was it just a myth?

Was it silly to believe that God was doing something new and wonderful in the world – and that lives were being changed – that there was hope – new life – new opportunities for life – because of the resurrection of Christ?

They sent word to Paul with these questions – and awaited his response.

Finally they got their response from Paul.

Paul agreed that if what he had told the Christians in Corinth and in so many other places were not true, they had a futile faith and he was a liar.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

But – Paul assures them that this is not the case.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

Paul knew the truth.

Paul knew that – if Jesus had not risen from the dead – then the faith he had and the message that he was preaching was false.

But Paul also knew that the truth was that Christ had risen – and the faith he had and preached was reality.

Paul knew what Easter really meant.

Paul knew that God was up to doing something that was new and marvelous in the event of Easter.

Paul knew that God was changing people — and the world — by the resurrection of Christ.

Paul knew that — by the resurrection of Christ – peoples lives – in fact the world — was being changed – being made new.

Paul knew that the message of Easter was a message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Paul knew that:

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Paul had experienced this new life and hope for himself.

He also knew some people who had experienced this new life and hope in their own life.

People like the Apostle Thomas.

People who thought that their lives were ruined and there was not anything else to hope for.

People who had given their lives to following Jesus – but had their hopes and dreams crushed on a Friday afternoon as Jesus died on the cross.

People who found it very hard to believe that their lives could be changed and that there could be anything in life to hope for.

People who found it very hard to believe in the power of the risen Christ.

People who found it very hard to believe the amazing — life changing — fact of Easter was that:

God could make their lives new.

God was up to doing something that was new and marvelous in their lives.

You know – I can understand what Thomas was feeling on that week after Easter.

People scoff at “Doubting Thomas” – but you know what – I can understand what Thomas felt. I can understand his doubts.

Can’t you?

The disciples may have been full of excitement when they told Thomas that they had seen the Lord — but – for him – nothing had changed.

He couldn’t see any difference in his life.

He was still scared.

He was still afraid the Jews would arrest him because he followed Jesus.

He still felt the shame for abandoning Jesus when Jesus needed him.

He just couldn’t understand what the others disciples were talking about.

“Things look just the same to me” he may have said.

“I don’t see any difference.”

“What new life are y’all talking about?”

What new life indeed.

But — what happened to Thomas?

He finally had his life changed, didn’t he?

He finally had his opportunity to see and experience the risen Christ — and believed.

He finally found a way to let the resurrected Lord change His life.

He finally found a way to believe that – because of the resurrection of Christ – God was up to doing something that was new and marvelous in the world and in his life.

He finally found a way to believe that God was changing him — and the world — by the resurrection of Christ.

He finally found a way to believe that – by the resurrection of Christ – his life was being changed – being made new.

He finally found a way to believe in the message of Easter – that message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

And not only did he find a way to believe in what God was doing in his life because of the resurrection of Christ – he began to let the risen Christ change give them new life and new hope.

He began believing in — and experiencing — the new life that was offered to him because of the resurrection of Christ.

For Thomas, Easter finally meant that he could believe.

That’s what Easter can mean for you, too.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means that you can believe the amazing fact that God is making your life new.

Easter means that you can believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

Easter means that you can believe that God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ.

Easter means that you can believe that — by the resurrection of Christ – your life can be changed — it can be made new.

Easter means that you can believe that you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Do you find that hard to do?

Do you find yourself like Thomas?

Do you find it hard to believe in the glorious hope and the new life you have because of the resurrection of Christ?

Do you find it hard to believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life?

Do you find it hard to believe that God is changing you — and the world — by the resurrection of Christ?

Do you find it hard to believe that — because of the resurrection of Christ your life – the world — can be changed — they can be made new?

Do you find it hard to believe the message of Easter – that there can be hope and joy in your life — especially when you least expect it?

Do you find it hard to believe that – because of the resurrection of Christ — you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life?

If so, what makes it hard for you?

Is it because of fears – doubts – regrets – or feelings of guilt or failure?

Are these the things that hold you back from believing?

If so, you’re not alone.

You may feel that no one else has ever had the doubts you have – no one else has ever done the things you’ve done – or no one else has ever failed the way you have.

If you feel that way – I want to listen to what I’m about to say –

We all have things that keep us from believing the good news – and living it out every day of our lives.

We all have our doubts – our regrets – and our feelings of guilt and failure.

What makes it hard for you to believe that you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life?

Is it guilt?

Is it regret over things you’ve done or things you haven’t done?

Is it a habit you just can’t seem to shake?

Or

Is it worry over your job – or your family – or your marriage – or our health?

Friends – Easter means you can believe!

Easter means that you can believe the amazing fact that God is making your life new.

Easter means that you can believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

Easter means that you can believe that God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ.

Easter means that you can believe that — by the resurrection of Christ – your life can be changed — it can be made new.

Easter means that you can believe that you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

There are indeed times when nothing in the world or in our lives seem changed — but everything seems stuck in the same old rut — no matter how bad that rut may be.

There are times we may wonder if things will ever change for us — or if the new life God promises us through the resurrection of Christ will ever come.

It indeed is hard for us sometimes to believe in the promises of Easter.

But — what happened to Thomas?

He finally had his life changed.

He finally had his opportunity to see and experience the risen Christ — and believed.

He finally found a way to let the resurrected Lord change his life.

He finally put his fears – his doubts – his regrets – his feelings of failure – aside – and began to let Christ change the things in his life that he could not change on his own – and began experience the new life the resurrection of Christ made possible for him.

He finally found a way to believe.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

Even though there may be times when the new life God offers us through the resurrection of Christ may be hard for you believe in — the event of Easter shows you that you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream .

You can believe the amazing fact that God is making your life new.

You can believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

You can believe that God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ.

You can believe that — by the resurrection of Christ – your life can be changed — it can be made new.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

The thing is that the message of Easter — the message that you can indeed believe in and experience the new life the resurrected Christ offers us — does not gloss over reality. It does not overlook our world and its struggles — or your individual life and individual struggle.

Instead — the message of the risen Christ at Easter is:

“Yes — your life may not be what you want it to be –

Your life may not be at this point what God wants for you —

Nevertheless

Nevertheless

The Lord has risen!

The situations and circumstances of your life — regardless of how bad or painful or hard they may be — can be changed.

Your faith can be strengthened.

There can indeed be a new beginning — for you — for me — for all of us — because of the risen Christ.

There indeed can be new life.

We can believe — and experience — new life because of the resurrection of Christ.”

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

You can have new life as you experience the risen Christ.

You can have new life as you allow the risen Christ to change you.

You can have new life as we come to believe that God gives us new life through the risen Christ.

Yes — your life — and all of its situations and circumstances can be changed

You can believe — and let Christ give you new life.

That’s what Easter means.

Paul believed it.

He expressed it when he wrote that

if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

But –

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

Thomas believed it.

He expressed it when he proclaimed to the risen Christ:

My Lord and my God!

You can believe it.

You can believe the amazing fact that God is making your life new.

You can believe that God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous in your life.

You can believe that God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ.

You can believe that — by the resurrection of Christ – your life can be changed — it can be made new.

Easter means you can believe.

Easter means you can believe.

If you came here this morning wondering if new life is indeed possible – if your life and your situation can truly be changed — I invite you to leave today celebrating a truth.

I invite you to re-experience the risen Christ — and let your life be changed.

No — the risen Christ does not promise to make your life easy or painless — but He does promise to be with you when your life is hard and painful.

He promises to help you defeat habits that may undefeatable.

He promises to give you strength to live your life — and to make your life new.

He promises to make it possible for you to believe in — and experience — new life — a different life — now and forever.

You can believe it.

Easter means you can believe.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20, John 20:1-18

1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

John 20:1-18

Easter Means …

April 8, 2007

Easter (Communion, Youth joining Church)

Part 1 of Hopewell 2007 Easter Season series on The Meaning of Easter

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Today is the most joyously celebrative day in the Christian year.

You can tell it in the beauty of the sanctuary.

You can tell it in the beauty of the music.

You can tell it in the joy we have as we celebrate 8 young people joining the Church.

You can tell it in the beauty of the service we celebrate the Sacrament of Communion.

You could tell it in the joyous fellowship we shared with fellow Christians as we gathered with fellow Christians this morning to celebrate the resurrection at our community Easter Sunrise Service this morning.

All these elements work together to make this day the high point of the Christian year for us.

But what really makes it the high point of the Christian year is the fact that this is our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus – and the new life He gives us — new hope for new life in heaven as well as new hope for new life here and now.

What really makes this day special is the fact that

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Our lessons for this Easter day witness to the amazing fact that God is making our lives – and our world — new.

God is up to doing something that is new and marvelous.

God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

By the resurrection of Christ our lives — our world — can be changed — they can be made new.

The message of Easter is a message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

We’re going to be looking at these aspects of Easter for the next few weeks – looking at Paul’s proclamation of the hope and reality of Easter in 1 Corinthians 15:1-20 – and at some of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus – as we see how the resurrection gave forgiveness – hope – and new life to the original disciples – and can give forgiveness – hope – and new life to us, also.

Listen to God’s word as we gather on this joyous Easter day from 1 Corinthians 15:1-20 and John 20:1-18:

Read Scripture

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Cristus was a resident of the great Greek city of Corinth in the first century BC.

Like some others in Corinth, Cristus had devoted his life to the teachings of a certain Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Apostle Paul and others had come to Corinth and had proclaimed as the Messiah – the Son of God – the Savior of the world.

Paul had preached persuasively in Corinth and in so many other cities that in Jesus God had come into the world – taught His ways – had been crucified – and then had risen from the dead. Paul had made the point that – because God had come into the world through Jesus and been crucified for our sins – we have salvation – and because Jesus rose again from the dead – we have new life.

Cristus and many others rejoiced in the message of salvation and new life Paul preached in the name of Jesus – they lived in new ways because God had forgiven them of their sins – and looked forward to Jesus’ promised return.

But – not everyone in Corinth believed Paul’s message.

Some scoffed at the idea of God coming into the world in human form – dieing for our sins – rising again – and promising to return.

“Sounds like more ancient Greek myths” some said.

“Surely you don’t believe such a tale” others scoffed.

And others said “It’s crazy to believe such things!”

Cristus and other Christians began to wonder about all that Paul had taught them.

Were they believing in something that was not true?

Was their faith futile?

For example — Paul had told them that Christ had risen from the dead – and that those who believed in Christ would rise from the dead also.

But Cristus knew many believers who had died – but there was no evidence that they had risen.

Indeed – was their faith futile?

Was it just a myth?

They sent word to Paul with these questions – and awaited his response.

Finally they got their response from Paul.

Paul agreed that if what he had told the Christians in Corinth and in so many other places were not true, they had a futile faith and he was a liar.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

But – Paul assures them that this is not the case.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

Paul knew the truth.

Paul knew that – if Jesus had not risen from the dead – then the faith he had and the message that he was preaching was false.

But Paul also knew that the truth was that Christ had risen – and the faith he had and preached was reality.

Paul knew what Easter really meant.

Paul knew that God was up to doing something that is new and marvelous in the event of Easter.

Paul knew that God was changing people — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

Paul knew that — by the resurrection of Christ – peoples lives – in fact the world — was being changed – being made new.

Paul knew that the message of Easter was a message of hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Paul knew that:

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Paul had experienced this new life and hope for himself.

He also knew some people who had experienced this new life and hope in their own life.

People like Mary Magdalene.

People like the Apostle Peter and John.

People like the Apostle Thomas.

People who thought that their lives were ruined and there was not anything else to hope for.

People who had given their lives to following Jesus – but had their hopes and dreams crushed on a Friday afternoon as Jesus died on the cross.

Mary knew this feeling of despair and hopelessness as she went to the tomb of Jesus early on that morning of the first day of the week.

Jesus — whom she had followed and in whom she had placed all her hopes and dreams — was dead — and it must have seemed that all her hopes and dreams of a better way of living — a new life — had died with Him. All her hopes and dreams must have seemed to have been buried with Jesus. She must have felt alone — and like there was no way that she could get new hope for her life.

But then — she encountered the risen Christ.

There was new hope.

There was new joy.

There was hope for new – a different way to live.

Just when she least expected it — God gave her new life — and new hope.

There was hope for a different life — life that was much more meaningful and joyous than she had ever dared imagine before.

As Mary ran back to the disciples with the news that she had seen the Lord she may have been confused — maybe incredulous — maybe even scared — but she also must have felt hope.

Hope that Christ was with her.

Hope that things could truly be different.

Hope that her life could truly be changed.

Can you imagine what hope and excitement must have been in her voice as she announced to the disciples:

“I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!”

There was real hope.

There was real joy.

There was a real sense that her life could be different – because she had seen the Lord!

It would no longer matter to her what others said.

They could scoff and laugh at her and her faith if they wanted.

She knew now what was true.

She knew what she had experienced.

She knew that she had seen the Lord.

She knew that – as Paul put it years later:

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

Easter is full of meaning for us.

Easter means that God is up to doing something in our lives and in the world that is new and marvelous.

Easter means that God is changing us — and our world — by the resurrection of Christ.

Easter means that by the resurrection of Christ our lives — our world — can be changed — they can be made new.

Easter means that hope and joy — especially when it is least expected.

Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream.

Mary learned what Easter means.

Paul learned what Easter means.

So did Peter and Thomas.

We’re going to look at Peter’s and Thomas’ stories in more detail in the next few weeks – but today I want to ask you a question.

What does Easter mean for you?

Does Easter have real meaning for you?

Do you think that Easter means that new life if possible for you?

Do you believe that Easter means that God is up to doing something in your life that is new and marvelous?

Do you believe that Easter means that God is changing you by the resurrection of Christ?

Do you believe that Easter means that – by the resurrection of Christ — your life — can be changed – that it can be made new?

Do you believe that Easter means that hope and joy — especially when it is least expected?

Do you believe that Easter means you can be forgiven – you can have hope – and you can have new life – especially when it seems that forgiveness is impossible – life is hopeless – and a new life is only a dream?

If so, celebrate it!

If not, believe it!

Paul was right – if the event of Easter has not happened –

our preaching is useless and so is your faith

If there is not real life changing power of the risen Christ that is at work – that can give us new life – forgiveness – and hope – especially when we least expect it – then we might as well close the doors to the Church – make this a museum with a beautiful cemetery – and I might as well look for another job – because my preaching and your faith would be useless.

But – here’s the good news – Paul was also right when he wrote:

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

The Lord has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Easter means that our lives can be made new by our God who makes all things new — even when — or maybe it‘s better to say especially when — we least expect it.

Have you ever been sailing?

If so — even though you may not realize it — you may have encountered one way to illustrate the hope of Easter — the new life and new hope God gives us — even when we least expect it.

Paul Willis, pastor of The Cathedral Of His Glory in Greensboro, NC tells a story of sailing with his grandfather off the coast of North Carolina when he was a young boy. One day as they were sailing the wind stopped — the sea became a dead calm — and their sailboat began floating aimlessly in the water. Try as they might, they couldn’t get the ship to head in the direction of home — and it was getting dark. Young Paul panicked — and did not know what to do. He knew they couldn’t swim to shore — they were much too far out.

What were they going to do?

His grandfather knew that all they could do was wait — and — being an experienced sailor and fisherman — he knew the wind would begin blowing again.

Darkness fell — and still no wind.

Young Paul knew they were doomed.

Grandfather knew that the wind would come back in time.

Finally — late into the night — grandfather woke Paul and told him to trim the sails. Paul did not understand why — the wind was still not blowing — but off in the distance he heard a faint sound. The sound became stronger and stronger until finally he could feel the wind. With the sails trimmed, the boat made its way home.

Willis likens the unexpected — to him — wind to the new life God offers us.

Just when you think things are at their worst — there is the wind — the Spirit — of God — giving you new life — new hope — for your life.

It happened that way for Mary and the disciples.

It happens that way for us.

Indeed, that is what Easter means.

That is the meaning of Easter.

Feel it.

See it.

Believe it.

Experience it.

Live it. Amen

1 Corinthians 12, John 13:1-20, 31-35

1 Corinthians 12

John 13:1-20, 31-35

Live Together

(Part 3 of 2007 Hopewell Lent 6 part series on Purpose Driven Life)

March 11, 2007

Is there a purpose to life?

Does life have purpose and meaning?

If so – what is it?

What is the purpose of life?

Why are we here?

More specifically – what is the purpose of my life?

Why am I here?

Is there something that can give meaning to my life?

Am I here for a purpose?

Did God have a purpose in putting me here?

Questions of purpose and meaning have haunted people since the beginning of time.

As Christians, we can say

“Yes –life has a purpose –

Yes –life has meaning.”

We can say:

“Yes – my life has a purpose –

Yes – my life has meaning.”

“Yes – God has put me here for a purpose.”

Lent – the 6 weeks before Holy Week and Easter — has historically been a time Christians have devoted themselves to reflection upon Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross – and our response to Christ and His claim upon our lives. We are using Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life – studying the book itself on Wednesday nights and looking at themes from the book on Sundays – to help us look at what God’s purpose for us might be —

what God might have us to have as a purpose in our lives –

and how we can live in God’s purpose for our lives.

So – what is the purpose for our lives?

Two weeks ago we looked at how we can not find true purpose for our lives in

money

possessions

power

fame

or anything else people might use to find purpose or meaning for their lives when they focus on themselves.

We will never find meaning and purpose for our lives by looking for it within ourselves – what we want – what we might think is good or meaningful.

Only when we look to God for meaning and purpose for life – only when we look to God for His meaning and His purpose for our lives – can we discover the true meaning and true purpose for our lives.

Rick Warren — in his book The Purpose Driven Life – outlines 5 purposes for life that God has created us for:

1. Pleasing God

2. Loving others who believe in God

3. Becoming like Christ

4. Serving others with the gifts God has given us

5. Telling others about God

Last week we looked at the first of these — pleasing God – - and saw how we were created to live lives that are pleasing to God – living lives that are pleasing to God has to be a purpose for our lives.

One of the purposes for our lives is to live to please God.

Today I want us to look at the second of these purposes – loving others who believe in God. More specifically – I want us to focus on the family of believers we know as the Church – and the love God calls us to have for each other.

We’re going to look at 2 passages – the first one Paul’s beautiful illustration of what it means to be “the body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 12 – and the second being the beautiful illustration Jesus gave of what it means to be “family” in John 13. As we look at these 2 passages, I believe we will discover that one of our purposes in life needs to be to live together.

Read Passages

As Christians, I believe we are created for relationships with God and with each other. Now — this “each other” of course includes our families and those we come into contact with every day – but I believe it means – in a particular way – the Church. And I don’t mean here Church with a little c – the church universal – or all Christians – although the relationships we have with other Christians and other Churches is indeed important – but what I want to focus on today is the Church with a capitol C – the members of a particular Church – the members of this particular Church – in this case the members of Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

You see – I believe that we were created for relationships with God and each other – and one important aspect of this is relationships we have within the Church — within this Church. God has called us into a special relationship with each other – a special relationship that makes us a family – a Church family – the Hopewell Presbyterian Church family.

The first purpose God created you for is to live a life pleasing to God.

The second purpose God created you for is to live together with other Christians in a Church family.

Live together.

Live together.

Part of living out God’s purposes for your life is living together with other Christians in a Church family.

Live together.

Live together.

God created you to love Him and others. God created you to live in a special relationship with Him and with those He has called you to join together with to be His Church – this Church – Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

Jesus commanded this love.

As He sat with His disciples at the Last Supper — just after Judas had left to betray Him — Jesus said to His disciples —

“A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

The Church is to be the expression of God’s love in the world.

This Church is to be the expression of God’s love in the world.

Hopewell Presbyterian Church is to be the expression of God’s love in the world.

Yes – one of your purposes in life is to love God and the Church. One of the purposes God has for your life is for you to learn how to

Live together.

Live together.

Jesus did not just talk about love and how He wanted His followers to treat each other in the Church. John 13 gives a beautiful picture of what it means to love each other – and how we as the Church should live together. Jesus illustrates the love He would have for us to have for each other – and the kind of life He would have us have together in the Church – by taking a towel and washing the disciples feet.

I believe this act of washing the disciples’ feet gives us a great truth about how Jesus would have us live together as a Church. Jesus’ taking the towel and washing the disciple’s feet actually dramatizes the whole of Jesus’ life on earth. Washing his disciples’ feet is no isolated event. What He did that night in the upper room vividly portrays the whole journey He made from the Father into the world and back to the Father. In the Upper Room that night, the eternal Son of God, the king of all creation, stripped off his garments and got on his knees to wash the dirt from the feet of men who should have been serving him.

One thing Jesus would have you do as you live together with others as the Church – one thing Jesus would have you do as you live together as Hopewell Presbyterian Church — is to serve. Part of what being the community God calls us to be as the Church means is:

Live together.

Live together.

You know — when you think of the Son of God on His knees before His followers it can humble you. If Jesus served in this humble way, then you can serve others in the Church in humility also.

Live together.

Live together.

If I were to ask you what the purpose of our Church should be — what would you say?

To preach repentance and salvation?

To grow in membership?

To show outward signs of a dynamic ministry?

To be a “popular” church — attracting lots of attention and never doing anything that may in the least bit offend others?

H. Richard Niebuhr was a Theologian who — like most Theologians – and — for that matter — most people — had a lot to say about what he believed to be the purpose of the church. I believe that one of the more important things Niebuhr wrote was:

“The purpose of the church and its ministry

is to work for the increase among humankind

of the love of God and neighbor.”

The purpose of the church is to work for the increase of a love of God and neighbor.

Love of God and neighbor.

“I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also should love one another.”

Jesus says.

Sitting with his disciples for what will be his last supper with them before He dies on the cross — Jesus has a message for His disciples.

Love

As I have loved you.

Love.

What is our purpose as individual Christians – and as a Church?

Love

By this everyone will know you are my disciples.

Love.

One of the purposes of our lives as Christians .

Love

Love for God.

Love for others.

Love for members of the Church – this Church.

One of your purposes in life is to love God and the Church.

This living in love is what it means to live together as the Church God would have us be. Serving each other – humbly working together – living together as the Church in humble service and love – working together for God’s glory in the world – is part of what it means to be the Christians God calls us to be. It is to be one of the purposes for our lives. It is to be one of the purposes for your life.

Live together.

Live together.

One of the purposes of your life is to be to live to please God.

Another purpose is to be to live together.

But — it is not easy to have living together in love and humbly working together as a purpose for our lives or our Church.

Love is not easy.

It can lead to your giving of yourself.

It can lead to sacrifice.

Look at where it lead Christ — to death on a cross.

But – death on the cross is the greatest act of love – and is not defeat – but victory.

For Jesus – the victory was in loving –

even giving of Himself —

even dying on the cross —

even rising again.

“I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also should love one another.”

“The purpose of the church and its ministry

is to work for the increase among humankind

of the love of God and neighbor.”

To work for the increase of the love of God and neighbor.

One of our purposes in life is to love God and the Church. It is to learn how to live together.

One of your purposes in life is to love God and the Church. It is to learn how to live together.

Live together.

Live together.

Living together in love is to be your goal.

But — how can you — as an individual Christians – as an individual church member — achieve this purpose in your life?

Only by being truly loving people.

Only by being a truly loving member.

Only by building a truly loving Church.

In our lesson from 1 Corinthians Paul gives some very specific advice and a beautiful illustration of what it means to be a Church – “the body of Christ”

In families we all have our jobs and responsibilities.

The same holds true for the Church.

To fulfill our purpose as God’s people –

To fulfill our purpose as a Church –

we all have to do our job – and fulfill our responsibility

To fulfill your purpose as am individual Christian and an individual member of this Church – you have to do your job. You have to fulfill your responsibility.

When we do our part – humbly serving God and others – we begin learning how to live together.

When you do your part – humbly serving God and others – you begin learning how to live together.

We all have particular gifts and particular things God has given us abilities to do.

We all have to use the particular gifts God gives us –

our particular abilities –

to fulfill our purpose as a Church as individual Christians.

You have particular gifts and particular things God has given you abilities to do.

You have to use the particular gifts God gives you –

your particular abilities –

to fulfill your purpose as a Church member and as an individual Christian.

Live together.

Serve each other – serve others.

Use your particular gifts to accomplish God’s will in the Church.

That’s what it means to have living together as a purpose for your life.

Live together.

Live together.

A minister wrote of an experience he had while flying over the Grand Canyon with a friend.

“Do you see that bright spot on the ground that follows the plane in its flight?”

The friend asked.

Looking down, the minister noticed that it did appear that a bright spot was following the plane.

“Pilots call that the planes doxa — it’s glory.”

The friend advised.

“It’s really a reflection caused by the sun as it bounces off the plane.”

The minister thought about how our purpose as individual Christians and as a Church — is to reflect the love of God to the world.

Our purpose is to act on the love that Christ has for us and for the world.

Your purpose is to act on the love that Christ has for you and for the world.

Using your gifts is your individual reflection of the love of God – and your fulfillment of your purpose to love other Christians – particularly in the Church. When you use your gifts you show your love in the specific way God has called you to do.

Each of us have different gifts and abilities – just as Paul points out that each part of the body has a different function.

But we need each part of our bodies – and miss it if we lose a part.

In the same way we need each member of the Church doing their part – and we miss them if they do not.

We need you doing their part – and we miss you if you do not.

Live together.

Live together.

Whatever your role is – play it.

Whatever your part is – do it.

Whatever your gift is – give it.

Whatever your ability is – use it.

In that way you are fulfilling your purpose of loving God and the Church.

In doing this you are on your way to discovering and fulfilling your God given purpose in life.

One of the purposes God has for your life is for you to live a life pleasing to God.

A second purpose God has for your life is for you to learn to live together in the Church.

Live to please God.

Live together.

Live out these purposes God has for your life. Amen.

Pentecost 2005:.Acts 2:1-21

ACTS 2:1-21
1 CORINTHIANS 12:3(B)-12
JOHN 20:19-23
“GET SMARTER!”
PENTECOST COMMUNION
MAY 15 2005

Today is Pentecost – the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples – the day we consider “the birth of Church”
Pentecost is one of most exciting days of Church – but a day that – in many churches – is not celebrated as it once was.
I’m afraid that the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost is something we want to admire and look at – but keep at a safe distance – like a lion or tiger whose strength and beauty we may admire – as long as we know it’s a safe distance from us. We are not too comfortable if it gets up close and personal.
Is that the way we want to deal with Pentecost?
Is that the way we want to deal with the coming of the Spirit?
Is that the way we want to deal with the renewing and life-giving work of the Spirit?
I’m afraid so.
At least that’s what our action show.
Today is Pentecost.
One of the three most important days in the church year – along with Christmas and Easter.
Easter and Christmas draw large crowds to church.
But Pentecost?
Apparently not – huh?
Why do we not celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit in the same way we celebrate the coming of Christ – or the resurrection of Christ?
I’m not sure – - but I’m afraid it has something to do with the fact that we are scared. We are comfortable with looking back at the Bible and saying -
“Yes – how wonderful the coming to the Spirit was ” – -
but – we want to keep it at a safe distance.
If we talked too much about the coming of the Spirit – we just might get some of it ourselves – and who knows what that might bring!
Of course, the advertising industry has not found a cute gimmick for Pentecost.
Christmas has a jolly fat man to put on cards – and Easter a cute bunny – but Pentecost?
The idea of a card with flames of fire just doesn’t seem to interest folks too much.
A friend of mine tells about going shopping the Friday before Pentecost – and not any indication that there were only 2 shopping days left until Pentecost. The closest thing came when he went to the nursery department at his local Lowe’s and saw that there were Pentas on sale.
(For those of who, like me, have no idea what a Penta is – I went home and looked it up and found out that it is a bushy, round evergreen shrub with bright green leaves and clusters of star – shaped, tubular flowers.)
Anyway – he asked the sales clerk:
“Excuse me – but how much does a Penta Cost?”
And that was the only mention of the day on that Friday – just 2 days before!
Regardless of our lack of excitement about it – or the lack of emphasis we may place on it – Pentecost is truly – one of most important days of Church.
Today is also the day we are honoring our graduates.
So — what can I say –
What memorable comment can I make –
What can I say that will make a difference to the Church on this Pentecost – and to our graduates?
Well – I have 2 words to say –
Sure – I’ll use up a lot more words explaining them – but 2 words of that I feel are of importance today

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

What?
Our graduates may be thinking –
“I just finished High School –
I just finished College –
I’m smart enough!”
“Get Smarter” is not even correct English
No – but it is a catchy phrase – one I hope you’ll remember

What?

Yes – you have spent a lot of time learning – but I hope you never stop learning. Try to learn something every day. Continue your education
every day.

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

OK – but today is also the day of Pentecost – that important but mostly overlooked day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.
What does that mean for us – here and now?
Are we just celebrating something that happened years ago – or can it really mean something here and now?
And if so – what?
What can Pentecost mean for the Church – and for us as individual followers of Christ?
I believe that Pentecost can be a wake – up call
I believe it can be a call to

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

It can be a call to always look for the new directions God and the Holy Spirit may be leading us.
New ways to do things
New ways to reach folks with God and Christ
It can mean not being satisfied with the way things are or the status quo – but always looking for the new directions God may be leading us – and the new things God may be calling us to do
In other words – it’s a call for us to

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

Many times the church is too predictable.

Have you ever gone over to Greensboro when they have the Battle of Guilford Court House reenactment? It’s a lot of fun – and interesting to go through the camps and see how the soldiers lived. It’s also fund to watch the battle take place.
But – everyone knows the ones dressed as British solders will win.
Everyone also knows that even though the British won that battle the lost the war.
It’s fun – but it’s also predictable – everybody knows what is going to happen.
I’m afraid the church can easily slip into patterns that are just as predicable as battle reenactments. The church can easily become a place that is fun – maybe even exciting – but where everyone knows what will happen in the end and the ending is scripted before anything is even begun.
Great for a battle reenactment – not so great for a church that is supposed to be serving a God who is alive – active – and calls us to be alive and active in our faith and always look for new ways to show Him to the world.
I heard a story that illustrates this point well.
A man attended a Church for the first time – and liked what he heard in the scriptures that were read and the prayers that were prayed. But after a few weeks he began to become disappointed. He finally went to the minister and asked:
“When do you do those things”?
“What things” the minister asked –
“You know” – the man replied – “the things you read about in the Bible – the sick healed – the loaves and fish multiplied …”
“Oh” the minister replied –
“We don’t really do those things here.
We believe in them and pray for them – but we don’t do them”!
The church can easily become a place where we believe in God’s actions and pray for them – but don’t do them!
Friends – we need to

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

We can’t just believe in power of Holy Spirit – we have to live it!
We can’t just pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit – we have to act on it!

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

We can’t just “remember good old days” of dynamic Church growth and the Apostles who preached and witnessed boldly and 3,000 were saved we have to do it!

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

I have always said the best definition of insanity is

DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER
BUT EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS EACH TIME

Maybe it’s time for us to do things differently
Maybe it’s time for us to

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

So many things seem to be “smarter” these days – from watches that automatically set themselves by the National Atomic Time Institute to small cards you can swipe at a gas pump and get gas to “intelligent” building controls that can control the buildings energy, security, and communications needs – going as far as automatically turning off lights when a room is empty.
What makes these things “smarter”?
Usually it’s a “chip” – something put inside the gadget – or whatever – that transforms it and gives it the ability to do something it could not do before.
What can be – in us – to make us “more intelligent” – smarter – able to do new things – as a Church?
Just buy books on Church growth or doing a demographic study of the neighborhood?
These are good – but first – we need something new and different inside us – like a “gadget” needs a “chip” inside it.
We need the Holy Spirit inside us.
Only by the Holy Spirit can we

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

The Holy Spirit is the “chip” – so to speak – that can be inside us and lead us to better ways to be God’s people.

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

Pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon each of us.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to show us new ways to be God’s people in the world.
Don’t be scared of what might happen if the Spirit should lead us – but follow it’s lead –
That is how we – young people graduating from High School and college – and adults – are going to

GET SMARTER —-
GET SMARTER

AMEN