In the Wildnerness: Sermon Luke 4:1-13

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

Here is a little story for those of you giving up sweets for Lent. A man was trying to lose weight and swore off sweets to aid in this goal. One day not too long after his decision he came into work with two dozen doughnuts. His co-workers asked him why he got donuts if he's trying to diet, and he answered, "Well, as I came to the corner where the donut shop was, I told God that if He wanted me to buy some donuts to have a parking spot open right in front of the donut shop. And on the eighth time around the block, there it was! ¨

As most of you know that one of the traditions in the season of Lent is to give up or fast from something that you love. It might be chocolate, coffee, or Mexican food. The meaning of this is not simply to be miserable, but to put away distractions that come between you and God. Lent lasts for 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, this excludes Sundays however, each Sunday in Lent is looked at as a “little Easter”.

In our story today Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness. This number is significant because it references the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness searching for the Promised Land of Canaan both of these also are represented in the 40 days of Lent. So Jesus has gone many days without food in the hot, desert Sun and is very weak and hungry at least physically and waiting patiently in the wings just for the right time to pounce is our old nemesis Satan. Satan has been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time and now it has arrived. Just like a lion preys upon the weakest member of the herd, so Satan attacks when we are the weakest. Jesus’ temptation is very interesting theologically. If we really understand these temptations as literally taking place then we have a glimpse into Jesus’ humanity or humanness. Jesus could not be tempted if Jesus was not in some way human. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus could prepare himself for his coming ministry. He was preparing himself for God’s plan. So at Jesus’ weakest physical point and with the voices of doubt and distress perhaps creeping up on him, Satan strikes.

The first temptation we can call rocks into bread. Jesus was hungry he hadn’t eaten in 40 days, talk about a crash diet. His body was weak; his stomach turned and cramped longing for something to fill it. Jesus was walking around talking with his Father, asking for strength to make it through and then *POOF* up pops the ol’ Devil. “Hey Jesus, What’s happening? Man, you look awful. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” Then the Devil makes his move, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” The key word in this sentence is “If”. This changes the temptation from one of hunger to one of identity. We can assume that Satan knew full well who Jesus was that is why Satan was giving him personal service as it were. Satan was trying to wedge just a little bit of doubt in Jesus’ mind. “If you are who you claim to be then why can’t you satisfy your hunger? I mean if you can, why don’t you, it’s just you and me here Jesus’ I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Any one of us might have though seriously about that, especially if Satan waived a double bacon cheeseburger or a chimichanga in our face. But here again Satan is not targeting Jesus’ stomach but his mind. He is saying don’t depend on God for what you need, go out and get it yourself. You’ve got the power, so you claim, use it.

Jesus does not even blink. His reply is swift, firm, and Scriptural. “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” He is quoting Deut. 8:3, the version in Matthew continues the quote with “…but by the word of God.” What is Jesus saying in this response? It is not Jesus saying “I’m not hungry”…he was hungry. Jesus was instead placing his full trust in God. Jesus is saying “I might be physically hungry, but spiritually my cup runneth over, I am filled to the brim with God’s love and God’s grace and I place my entire trust in that.” He asserts his identity as the Son of God, but also asserts that he is under God’s plan and although he might not understand why or how this is working for the greater good of God’s plan.

I don’t think any of us has ever been that hungry. However, we face the same temptation as Jesus did. We are always tempted to try to make our own way in the world, to depend on ourselves to survive. We say to ourselves, I’m going to leave God for Sunday mornings; I’ve got business to attend to. I’m not going to worry about what is right and just, I’ve got to worry about the bottom line. We are tempted with this every day. Our response must be like the one Jesus gave. I do not live by double cheeseburgers alone, but by the word of God, I live by trusting in God.

Let’s look at temptation 2, call this one “kingdoms of the world”. Satan had tried to tempt Jesus’ stomach and Jesus’ self-identity, both failed. So Satan changes strategy, he attacks Jesus’ will and strength to follow God’s plan. Satan takes Jesus up high, perhaps on a mountain top, perhaps in the sky on a cloud and shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, all the thrones of power. Satan tells Jesus, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.” All the nations all the world could be Jesus’, he could literally rule the world. If he wanted peace on earth he could do it, he could cease all wars and conflicts an usher in a time of peace and tranquility all power would be his to do it. He could kick the Romans to the curb and the Jewish people would be free again. But…all Jesus would have to do is worship Satan. “Give a little love my way Jesus” Satan might say. Satan’s temptation is offering Jesus the easy way out. If we look in the Book of Revelation we see that Jesus will rule the earth in his return, but between that glory and Jesus’ current position stands one thing, the Cross. If Jesus was going to do it God’s way it had to be done through Calvary, if he wanted to rule the world in God’s plan, usher in peace God’s way, it meant the sacrifice of the Cross. Satan was offering Jesus a way out, a way apart from the Passion.

What is Jesus’ response? Once again it is swift, firm, and Scriptural this time from Deut. 6:13 “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” In this Jesus says, “I know what God wants of me, I know what I have to do, and although I might not understand why right now, I will follow and trust in the plan of God.” Satan offered ambition, but God desires trust and obedience. Jesus knew that sometimes the easy way, although perhaps promising on the surface, is usually not the best way.

Trusting in God is hard. When the bills stack up and the bank account is empty, it’s hard to trust in God. When the doctor comes in and says its cancer, it’s hard to trust in God. When our loved one lies dying in a hospital bed or lies in a coffin, it’s hard to trust God. We think why God why, we feel that there must be some other way some easier way than this. We have to trust in God’s plan even though we don’t know the outcome that is called faith. Faith is the evidence of things unseen the promise of things hoped for. We have to remember that and realize that the hard times only last a little while but God’s rewards are eternal.

These first two temptations were aimed at Jesus’ ability to trust in God and trust in God’s plan. Now Satan takes a different route and a different plan. Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem and says if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Once again Satan challenges Jesus’ identity and title by saying “If” you are the Son of God, then does something that might seem unexpected he quotes the Bible, specifically Psalm 91:11-12. He is challenging Jesus using the very shield that Jesus had been using quoting Scripture. This is something that is very interesting to remember, Satan knows the Bible probably better than you do and can quote Scripture all day. Satan is asking Jesus not to switch his trust from God to Satan, but to put Jesus’ trust to the test. In other words, Satan is telling Jesus, “If you are who you say you are, then prove it, not just to me but to yourself. Come on, prove that God won’t let anything to happen to you.” There are some televangelists that play this trick. They say send me $1,000 to prove that you have faith that God will make good on your giving. They might say send me your life savings and God will double it through me. Take a leap off that bridge and trust God, if you don’t your faith is weak. But what is Jesus’ response to this accusation of weak faith.

Jesus response is again swift, firm, and Scriptural. He says “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” This is from Deut. 6:16. Don’t put God to the test. In other words, don’t purposely place yourself in a dangerous or foolish situation just to see if God will answer your prayer. God is not Santa Claus or a magic genie, God does not grant wishes but works within God’s own plan. Remember a few weeks ago I talked about the lead singer for the rock band U2 and how he said that he had asked a priest about why God wasn’t blessing his music even though he had prayed about it. They man said stop asking for God to bless what you want, but get into what God wants because that is already blessed. That is what Jesus did and that is what we have to do. We have to place our full trust in God. Trust is a vital part of any relationship and so we have to have trust in our relationship with God. However we cannot abuse that trust, but putting God to the test. That’s not being faithful. We have to rely on the promise that God will help us when the times get tough and although we do not understand why, God does not forsake us.

Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. Sometimes we wander aimlessly in wilderness in our own lives. At our weakest point, the ol’ Devil will try to trick us and tempt us, if we are not on our guard we might fail. How do we face these challenges? One way is to set aside all our distractions like we talked about for Lent. The best way before we even get started, we have to be like Jesus was, it is in the first sentence of this story, Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit” and so we have to be full in the Holy Spirit. We place our hope and trust in God’s strength through the Holy Spirit and with that we can make it through any wilderness. As a pastor friend of mine says…Let Go our ourselves and Let God work in our lives. Let Go and Let God.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ash Wednesday Homily: Psalm 51:1-17

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and told her that I was planning to have an Ash Wednesday service at my church. She said “I didn’t know Methodists did that kind of thing.” Well we do do that kind of thing. Although Ash Wednesday and Lent are not celebrated by some Protestant denominations, I guess we Methodists are just Catholic enough to participate.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent which is a time of reflection and repentance. It is a time to put away all distractions and focus on God. With this in mind Lent has traditionally been a time of fasting, for Catholics and some Protestants this means giving up meat at least on Fridays. For most of us it means giving up that one thing that we love or that we have become addicted to. For me this year I decided to give up carbonated beverages and drink more water (something I need to do anyway), Angie has committed to give up Taco Bell, we’ll see how long that goes. The meaning behind this is to give up something that distracts and so you can focus more clearly upon God.

Ash Wednesday begins this season and this process and it is a day of repentance and mourning for our sins. Ashes have been used for centuries in the Jewish and Christian traditions as a sign of mourning. You hear many times in the Bible of people putting ashes on their heads and wearing sackcloth which are signs of mourning. Ashes are also a sign of mortality, ashes to ashes and dust to dust reminds us that our time is limited and from once we came so shall we return. So the use of ashes are important here both as a sign of repentance and mourning and as a sign of mortality.

We also read certain passages from Scripture, the Psalm we read Psalm 51 is known as a penitential Psalm, one written by David as a penance for sin. This particular Psalm was written as penance for the sin David committed with Bathsheba, we all remember that story. David became smitten with Bathsheba had his way with her and even had her husband killed so that she could solely his. David had become distracted, not with soda pop or Taco Bell, but a woman bathing on a rooftop, but however it happened, David got away from God and God’s plan. Nathan had to come and tell David of his sins. He had become so distracted from God that he didn’t even realized what he had done was wrong. Sometimes we need someone to hold us accountable for our actions. David realized the horrible thing he did and knew that he had to ask forgiveness. David realized that his sin would not just cause him to be punished by God, but to be separated from God. Look at verse 11 “Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.” David knew the true cost of sin, not that God will somehow smite us with a lightning bolt, but that as we sin we push ourselves further away from God. That is the true punishment for sin being taken away from the presence, the love, the grace, the light of God. David had to do something, but what.

David implores God to purge away his sin. He asks God to purge away sin with a hyssop branch. The hyssop branch was traditionally dipped in water and used in cleansing ceremonies. David knows that if God does this, his sins will be blotted out, he will be whiter than snow. Does this sound familiar to us? Our faith is built on the notion that Christy died for our sins, that his blood shed on Calvary’s cross cleanses our souls, whiter than snow. Notice David’s language, he does not say “I may be cleansed, I may be whiter than snow” instead the language is “shall” I shall be cleansed. We have that same promise, we shall be forgiven through Christ, and we do have grace through the old, rugged cross. This is our promise, our hope, our faith.

How do we attain it? In the days of old forgiveness from God was thought to be done through sacrifice. The people would bring lambs, goats, pigeons or doves if they were poor to be sacrificed in order to receive forgiveness. God was pleased by the scent of the burnt offering. David knew that this was only part of the deal. He says that God will not accept a sacrifice without a broken and contrite heart. That is a heart that is repentant, remorseful, and sorrowful for sin committed. We must come to the altar, come to the cross knowing that we do not deserve forgiveness, but punishment. We have been given every advantage and have thrown it away. However, this is not where the story ends.

We have forgiveness; we have grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have love and we have strength in the midst of our weakness. We must be able to receive it with a heart of change. Reception is not the end, look at verse 13 “Then I will teach transgressors your ways” We must have action, we must have a heart that is willing to walk out that door and change its ways, to preach the good news to the poor, to act for God’s justice, to be willing to show others the way of God. That is true repentance and that is how we gain true forgiveness.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Making the Vision Real: Sermon Luke 9:28-36

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

I had seen so many things during my time with Jesus. I had spent every day for three years with him and during that time I really experience the power of God and how that power could change people, radically change people. Speaking about change I remember that night when I saw a great change in Jesus and also in myself. It was cold that evening and I was very tired. All I wanted to do was to find a comfortable patch of grass or maybe even a bed in someone’s home and crash. It had been a long day in what had been long months in a long year. My life had changed so dramatically and I had seen so many things that I had begun to be a little overwhelmed. I had seen so many miracles, people healed, the blind received sight, demons had been cast out, and more than 5,000 people had been fed from only five loaves and two fish. We walked for what seemed like forever, I had never been that far from home before, but it seemed that as long as I was with Jesus I was home. As long as Jesus was leading I would follow wherever he went.

I had found a patch of soft grass underneath a tree and I have cover myself as best I could and snuggled in and tried to sleep. I had just begun to doze off when Jesus came over to me, “Come with me, let’s go to the mountain to pray.” My first thought was “Come on Jesus, it’s late, I’m tired; can’t we wait until the morning.” But I knew better than to say anything so I gathered myself up and I followed James, Peter, and Jesus up the mountain. We found a nice little place and sat down, I was so tired that I could not stop myself from yawning, but I knew that I had better stay awake. I didn’t want to disappoint Jesus, but my exhaustion had just about gotten the better of me. But then all of a sudden there was the immense bright light, I had never seen such a thing before, it was as if the night had become day. I jumped up and looked and there was Jesus, but he had changed. His clothes had become a dazzling, bright white, and his faced beamed like the Sun, I had never seen anything like this before. Then along side Jesus I saw two other men standing there, but it wasn’t Peter or James. I strained my eyes against the glare and I thought at first that it might be angels, but I felt deep within myself that it must be Elijah and Moses who had come to be with Jesus. I remember the story of Moses on the mountain seeing the partial glory of God and his faced had changed and glowed because of his experience. I was stunned, speechless. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus, but I could not make out the conversation.

Then Peter spoke up and said “Master it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter knew who it was too! Then all of a sudden a great cloud began to descend upon us. Now at this point I began to get a little scared, but that feeling didn’t last too long and that’s when I heard the voice, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Then as soon as soon as it had started it was over. Peter, James, and I were standing there with Jesus, the light, the cloud, and Moses and Elijah were gone. Jesus walked over to us and told us not to tell anyone what we had seen. Then I knew that I was part of something very special.

This is an important story in the gospels. It is so important that there is a special Sunday in the Christian calendar to commemorate this story. Today is Transfiguration Sunday and it is that day that we remember the story and learn about what it meant for the disciples then and what it means for us now. There were only a chosen three disciples who witnessed this event. These were the ones that Jesus confided in most deeply. This experience was a glimpse into what was to be. This was a preview of Jesus’ glory and the glory of God through Jesus. It was a preview of the Resurrection. Through the Resurrection the Law and the Prophets would be fulfilled, Jesus had said this and this is one reason why Moses and Elijah were present, it was symbolic of this completion.

This was not the only reason that Elijah and Moses were present. Luke’s gospel says that Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus. There can been a couple of explanations for this. One that Jesus was told of the final plans that God had for him, namely the torture and crucifixion that he would have to endure. Perhaps Moses and Elijah were there to comfort and strengthen Jesus before these trials and this was also to show Jesus the reward for his obedience to God’s plan. Or it could have been that God wanted to demonstrate to the chosen disciples the reality of the situation, Jesus really was how he said he was and the he would bring God’s glory to all people. Perhaps all of these explanations fit and all were present there, but whatever the reason all who witnessed this event remained the same afterwards.

What was Peter’s reaction? This was his first instinct, he wanted to say something profound, but in the end he wanted to be as helpful as he could. He wanted to be the servant, to prepare tents for Jesus and his guests. Peter recognized the significance of this moment and wanted to linger. He wanted to stay in the midst of God’s glory with Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. Who wouldn’t want to stay? In that moment everything was perfect, there were no worries or cares. But like I said it was only a glimpse of what was to come.

Jesus knew this all to well. For as soon as it started it was over. Jesus was back to his old self, at least physically, the light had faded and Moses and Elijah were gone. As much as they wanted to linger, there was work left to do. There were more people who need to feel the touch of God. There were more people who needed to be made whole, there was work left to do. And there was a sacrifice left to be made. Jesus knew what he had to do; to get God’s glory he had to make the sacrifice. To stand on the mountaintop for all times, he first had to go through the valley. He had to make the sacrifice for all of God’s people so all could see God’s glory. Jesus knew that there was work left to do.

That brings us to another question. What does this story say to us today, in our own context? First, I want to take a brief trip down memory lane with you all. This church has history. It is well over 100 years old, (Rehoboth was the first Methodist church to be built in Giles County) (Liberty is among the oldest churches of any denomination in Giles County). Just think about the hundreds of people who have come to Christ in this church. Most of you all grew up in this church, this has been your church since childhood, you have seen many things change, and you have seen a shift from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Methodist Church to the United Methodist Church. This church as stood firm through many crises, Civil War, two World Wars, a Great Depression, a many other events. This place is chalked full of history, and has stood as a pillar of the community for well over 100 years.

However, times, as they always do, change. We have seen a decline in membership, not just in this church, but in the United Methodist denomination as a whole. People have moved or left for one reason for another, kids have grown older and moved off. Times are difficult and this can lead us to be without hope, to accept the death of our church and to let the past be the past. This is not what Jesus wants, this is not what the community needs, and this is not what should happen.

Let’s have a Transfiguration moment right now. I can’t provide any special effects, but let’s look at what can happen. Imagine if you will, close your eyes if you want. A community of believers in this building, but not just limited to a building, but active all over the area. Imagine an active, vibrant church were worship of God is alive and filled with the Spirit. Imagine any new members, new families, and new people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and cultures. We’ll need to new programs with all these new people, new youth programs, adult and senior programs. Most of all can you imagine a church that is once again a pillar within the community, a place that people can come and worship openly and freely, a place were those who are hurting or in trouble can turn to. This is our glimpse of what could be.

However, we cannot linger on this vision. Visions are good, they give us hope and strength, like it did for Jesus and the disciples, but it is not real. Peter couldn’t build a tent for them because it wasn’t real, it was just a glimpse. Jesus knew they could not linger on a vision, but much work had to be done for the vision to become reality. There was much sacrifice left to do. The same is true for us.

We have work left to do if we want the vision we just had to become reality. It can happen and if we work together it will happen. Remember my challenge to you, to double your membership in two-four years. Invite your friends; invite your co-workers, your neighbors, and your family who don’t have church homes. I don’t want people to move from one church to another, but instead to focus on the unchurched around us.

You are going to see some changes in the next few months. I want to create new projects, joint projects between Liberty and Rehoboth. I want to think about new ideas and new ways to become a part of the community again. I want us to hold one another accountable and help each other to grow. I want us to invest some of our finances into these new ideas, these new seeds. In all that we do let us be focused on the main goal to, as Bishop Wills, says “keep the main thing, the main thing” and that is to make disciples for Christ, not just numbers, but disciples. I am wanted to start to train moving and I hope you can get on board with me. Stop thinking it can’t be done and have faith that with God’s help it will be done. Today is our Transfiguration Sunday and let us work hard together to make the vision a reality.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Now and Then: Sermon Luke 6:17-38

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

A man was walking down the street one particular day and became alarmed at the screams of a woman. The man ran to see what the matter was; the woman was frantically trying to help her two year old son. “He has swallowed a quarter and is choking” she screamed. The man picked the boy up, held him by the ankle and gave one good slap in the appropriate spot and the coin came right out on the concrete like he had done it a million times. The grateful woman hugged her son tightly then looked up and thanked the man. “Are you a doctor, mister?” “No” the man said, “I work for the IRS.” That time of year is slowly coming upon us; you can always tell because of the increased ads for H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, and other tax preparation places.

No matter where we go or how much we try to avoid it, we cannot escape the topic of money. You cannot even escape it in the Bible; in fact the Bible mentions money or financial topics over 2,000 times far more than any other topic. We cannot avoid it in today’s reading. Our reading from Luke is his version of the great sermon that Jesus preached, in Matthew and Mark it is called the “Sermon on the Mount” but in Luke it is referred to as the “Sermon on the Plain”, but despite the change of the name the topics are very similar. Jesus is beginning his public ministry outside of Nazareth, he as already preached at the synagogue there where he said that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to preach the good news to the poor. Jesus has just gathered his Disciples and is preparing to make his journey across the land to preach the good news of God’s kingdom to the poor, to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

But this sermon is more than just a sermon. Although there were hundreds maybe even thousands of people there, Jesus addresses his Disciples directly when he speaks. It is almost as if he is giving them a pep talk, or giving them a game plan before the big game. He is giving them direction before the mission. He begins by making a statement on poverty and so we might assume that this was among the most important topics that Jesus would focus on.

Jesus begins his sermon with a series of blessings and woes; these are Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. Jesus offers them up in a series of twos, first Jesus speaks about the poor they have little now, but they will be rewarded later, and then Jesus warns those who have much now, they will have nothing later. The poor will be filled, while the rich will be emptied. This is not just a statement on the present condition of the poor and the rich, those who suffer and those who make them suffer, but it is a prophesy of what will occur in due time, God’s judgment, and which will be that the roles will be reverse. The poor will have much and the rich will have nothing. Luke makes it very clear about who Jesus is talking about, not the “poor in spirit”, but those who are in actual, physical poverty.

Now most of us in this room, in fact most people who will hear a sermon on these verses this morning are not poor. We all have nice clothes, nice cars, and nice homes; at the very least we all have roofs over our heads. In the eyes of Jesus we are rich; we have shelter and full bellies. Most of us understand that, we know that we are not poor and so we react with a little apprehension at these verses. We might feel a little worried about our stance in God’s judgment, if we are rich now will we be made empty then. We might feel a little guilt or a lot of guilt in the reading of these verses and as we do with so many things that bother us so, we ignore them. But that is not what Jesus wants us to do, we can’t preach about the easy stuff without also preaching about the hard stuff. So let’s look at what Jesus is saying here.

First, I don’t think Jesus means for us to sell all that we have give it to the poor and take a vow of poverty, although some have taken it to that extreme. I think Jesus uses that kind of extreme language and extreme example to shock us back into reality. Jesus is giving us a jolt and forces us to look inside into our own situations. Sometimes we get so busy with out own lives and our own problems that we forget about our neighbors and our fellow humans, I do. We forget about the problems of this world and only focus on our own problems and we even sometimes say “I am the only person in the world with trouble, Oh God why me?” Jesus is trying to knock us out of that mindset. He is saying, God will take care of the poor and if you want to serve God then you serve the poor. Jesus wants us to revaluate our priorities.

That is hard to do, because the priorities, the values of Jesus are not the priorities and values of our American society. Our society is one of consumerism, its all about the stuff. Have you ever given thought to the amount of advertising you are exposed to in one day? There is TV, radio, magazines, billboards, t-shirts, neon signs, newspapers, the Internet, the list goes on and on and these advertisings serve only one purpose to make us spend. We got to have stuff; Ipods, computers, clothes, shoes, trucks, cars, tractors, soap, appliances, and power tools. We are taught to have our priorities on our stuff and on our money to buy more stuff. I am the world’s worst when it comes to that, I see something and I got to have it and it usually ends up collecting dust in the closet. We have the mentality that what is ours is ours and not someone else’s and when we see that homeless person on the street our initial reaction is “get a job.” Jesus calls us to revaluate and to change our mindset on poverty. We have to look deep and see the truth of our world. The truth is that most Americans are only a paycheck or two away from homelessness. The truth is that most people who work don’t make a wage high enough to survive. The truth is that those people who have kids spend the majority of their paycheck on child care. The truth is that a lot of Tennesseans and Americans cannot afford to have health care and some have to choose between food and medicine. The truth is that these blessing that we all have comes with a responsibility, a responsibility to help the poor.

Our mindset had always been to consider helping the poor as charity, something that we do every now and then, especially at Christmas time. Jesus is saying that helping the poor is not about charity instead it is about justice. It is not charity issue it is a justice issue. Why is it a justice issue? Because as one person suffers we all suffer, we are not collection of independent individuals, we are a community and we are dependent on one another. If one person losses their job, if affects the community. If one plant closes it affects the community, but it is not limited to Giles County. 3 billion people, half the world’s population, live on less that 2 dollars a day. 30,000 children die each day not of disease or war, but of hunger, that’s one every three seconds. 1 billion people, one in every 6 people living on this planet do not have easy access to clean drinking water.

You might ask how does this affect me in Tennessee, it is a shame that this is happening, but most of it is in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and other places far away from here. Think of it this way, most of the suicide bombers are recruited from the poorest areas with the promise that their families will be take care of. The insurgents in Iraq are recruited from the poorest areas, why, because they have nothing left to loose. Do you now see how poverty all over the world affects us here in Tennessee? Can we see know that this is not about charity but about justice? This is not meant to depress you, but to inform you. Remember God is on the side of the poor, we cannot argue that fact it is right there in the Bible. So in the end, when we are judged for the works we have done on this earth don’t you want to be one the side of God? It’s not about charity it is about God’s justice for all people.

So what do we do? How do we begin to fix this problem? Let’s look further in our reading; Jesus says to give to those who ask without any expectation of refund or repayment. I am not preaching to you because you are not a giving church, you are a generous church and I want us to continue on that trend. Giving of our time, money, and resources is very important, it is stewardship. There is more that we can do. Jesus doesn’t just say to throw money at the problem, but to become in relationship with the poor, to understand how they ended up where they are. We must hold our elective officials accountable to Christian ideals at every level. If we are to solve the problem of poverty we have to change the systems that cause it. We must educate ourselves on the problems of the world and how certain businesses exploit and oppress people. We also offer our prayers for these people, we remember these people. That is how we revaluate and reassess our values and our priorities.

The story is told of a farmer who once went to hear John Wesley. He preached that day about money. His first point was, "Get all you can." "Fine," whispered the farmer to his neighbor. Wesley’s second point was, "Save all you can." "Better still," the farmer said. Then came the third and last point of Wesley’s sermon which was, "Give all you can." "Oh, dear!" groaned the man, "now he has gone and spoiled it all!" But that is what Wesley taught, make all you can, save all you can, so that you can give all you can for as a long as you can. That is that mindset we need to have. Jesus, in these verses, is giving his game plan to the disciples and those plans remain the same today. We must take hold of our responsibility to the poor. We have to work together as the body of Christ to make sure God’s justice and God’s will is done in the world today.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

That what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

And that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Super Sunday: Sermon Isaiah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-20

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

There was once a young man who stayed out a little too late one Saturday night and did not want to get out of bed in order to go to church that Sunday morning. His mother came in and told him, “its time to get up” she was greeted with the usual moans and groans and the obligatory “5 more minutes!!” a few minutes later she came back into the room and said “If you don’t get up right now your are going to be late” at this point, being a little irritated at his mother he shot out of bed and told her “Give me three good reasons why I should get up.” She responded “OK, one I am your mother and I want you to go, two it is Sunday and God wants you to go, and three you are the pastor.” I think the most disturbing part of that joke is that the young pastor still lived a home with his mother. The underlying issue in this joke is commitment. This is our topic for today, commitment.

Now in case you don’t know today is Super Bowl Sunday, that one day of the year when most men cheer and most women groan, c’mon ladies it’s just one day of the year. Today’s match-up is between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears and regardless of who you might be pulling for the Bears or the Colts; you have to admit that this men are committed to their profession. The Super Bowl is the pinnacle game in the NFL season and some would argue that it is the pinnacle game in all of professional sport and a team cannot make it to the Super Bowl without commitment from the players, the coaching staff, and the rest of the organization. These players don’t just show up on Sunday play for a couple of hours and then go home. There are hours of practice many times in the hot, humid Sun, there are hours of watching film on the opposing team, there are hours of preparation for each game, especially a game as big as the Super Bowl. This is a sport that demands dedication and commitment.

How committed are we to the Gospel, to the Kingdom of God? We all have shown some commitment this morning by getting up, getting dressed, and coming to Church. However, is this where our commitment ends? Being a Christian is not limited to one hour on Sunday, but it is a 24/7 job. Our job description is simple, “to make disciples of the whole world”, but that is a lot harder that it sounds. We have talked about being equipped for the Kingdom, being united as a Body, and our reason, our focus is to love God and to love neighbor. But the actual work, the actual job that we do is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and to make Disciples of Christ, this is our work. So the question before us this morning is; do we take every opportunity given to us to proclaim the Gospel? Are we out their moving and acting within the Body of Christ? I think we all, including myself, do some great things, we make great strides for the Kingdom within our communities, but we all, myself included, could do a lot more. There are so many problems in the world, there are so many people suffering and it is our charge to do something about it. It is our job to proclaim the good news to the poor and oppressed. But we don’t always do that, we always have an excuse. I think I have used them all personally. So let’s look at some of the excuses people give and the Bible’s answer to those excuses.

The first excuse people give is that I am not worthy to proclaim the Gospel. I would be too embarrassed to tell people about Christ, because these people know me. They know what kind of person I used to be and they know I still make a lot of mistakes. I have burned too many bridges and I have way too many skeletons in my closet. I had that problem myself. I have told many people I used to hang out with in high school that I was answering a call to ministry, that I was going to be a pastor and most of them look at like “You’re going to be a what?!!?” followed with a round of laughter. You mean to tell me that you, Brad Smith, the guy who used to drink and smoke and hang out of car windows and act a crazy person is going to be a preacher. Those words can sometimes be discouraging. Isaiah had the same problem, he had a vision that he was in the throne room of God and he was looking at the beauty and grandeur when he had a horrible thought. He thought, “Oh no, I am a sinful man, a man with unclean lips and I live with a land of people with unclean lips, what do I do, God is going to zap me because I am unworthy.” In other words, God I have done too many bad things, I don’t deserve to be in your presence, if you knew half the things I have done you would destroy me. But what does God do, God does not destroy Isaiah, instead God sends an angel and touches his lips with a hot coal, purifying it. This is a symbolic gesture, I am not going to stand here with a hot coal and burn your lips. The meaning behind this is that is was the Power of God that made him clean and it is that same power that enables us to proclaim the gospel. It is the power of the Spirit and the power within the message itself.

Let’s turn back to Paul for a second. Paul was once known as Saul, we all know that, and Saul was one of the chief persecutors of the Church, he approved stonings and he was present at the stoning of Stephen. He was a bad guy in the eyes of a lot of people, he was known throughout the lands as a guy, if you were a Christian, you didn’t want to mess with. Then he had that experience on the Damascus Road and everything changed. He became known as Paul and became the greatest evangelist in the early days of the Church. But I can imagine that those first few months were pretty intense. He would try to talk to a fellow Christian and they would run, he would proclaim the gospel and people would think he had flipped his lid, how can this person who has persecuted the message of the Gospel now stand there and now proclaim it? Paul answer is that it is not he that speaks but it is the power of God, the grace of God that speaks through him. He says that I myself am not worthy to proclaim the Gospel, but it is the power of the Gospel, which is the Grace of God.

Paul says ^“But by the grace of God I am what I am”. I am what I am, in other words Paul is saying I can’t hide my past. I cannot escape the mistakes I have made, but God’s power has worked within me and I am changed. I cannot change who I was, but through the Grace of God I have overcome it and risen above it. No matter what you have done in the past, God will empower you to proclaim it. In fact our past, no matter how checked or shady it might be, it only demonstrates God’s power and the power of the Gospel. If we can rise above our past then anyone can be changed by God. Remember God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. We are not worthy to proclaim the Gospel, but through the power of God and the power of the Gospel we are, just as Isaiah and Paul, made worthy.

Another excuse is what if someone makes fun of me or rejects me? I have always heard the saying that your do not bring up the subjects of religion or politics in polite conversation and a sure fire way to rile someone up is by bringing up religion. Many Americans think of their faith as private, something that is theirs alone and cannot or should not be shared with anyone. I could not disagree more with this statement. I feel that our faith is always personal, deeply personal, but it can never be private. We have to share our faith; we have to open to community. But with that openness and willingness to talk comes a risk. When you put yourself out there then you open yourself up to ridicule and rejection, its part of the job unfortunately. Paul talks about being a “a spectacle or a fool for Christ” earlier in his letter to the Corinthians, now this doesn’t mean to dress up like a chicken and stand on a soapbox on the courthouse square squawking for Jesus. What this does mean is that you run the risk of being called a fool remember Paul said his letter to the Romans that the story of the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing and to some people it is utter nonsense, but for us it is the power of God. You are going to run into those people, who will say that you are wasting your time and effort preaching this nonsense. If this happens just remember that you have not failed God and God has not failed you, but there are some people who refuse to accept it and that is their problem. But the fear of rejection or ridicule is not an excuse not to proclaim the Gospel. This is not an option it is a requirement, it is a mandate from Christ and Christ will give you the strength to do it.

Briefly, the final excuse is I wouldn’t know what to say. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I would tell you that you begin with your actions. People should notice something different about you. Your kindnesses, patience, your openness, remember the list from last week, and then someone might ask you, why have you changed or why don’t you get more angry or vengeful. They might ask you why you care so much for the poor or for the homeless or for the people in Africa and other places. That is your opening. That is your chance. You tell them that God in Christ has changed your life. You tell them about a God who came down to heaven and was crucified for all of humanity. Then you tell them about how that Savior was raised on the third day and how that gives us hope for the future that this world is not the end, but only a beginning. They might ask you some questions and you might not know the answers to them, its ok, be honest say “I am not sure about that but let’s explore it together”, say “I’ll ask my pastor about that and get back to you.” Remember that God is always with us, the Power of the Spirit will not abandon us even in the midst of the shadow of the Valley of Death. We have to be committed to take the step and God will be will us.

Commitment is sometimes a hard thing to undertake. Remember the story about breakfast of bacon and eggs, how the chicken played a part, but the pig was committed. We have to strengthen our commitment to God, using our gifts, united as one, with love was our purpose and the proclamation of the Gospel and the making of disciples as our duty. We do not have go alone, God will be with us and that is bigger that any excuse we can think of.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.