Category Archives: Sermons
The Lord Leads Us! Where? 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
The Lord Leads Us!
Where?
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ enable you to consciously walk with God, following where He leads!
Intro: He who wanders is lost
So, anyone recognize this proverb? Can you tell me if It is from proverbs, Ecclesiastes, or maybe a New Testament quote?
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
It’s actually from JRR Tolkien’s , Lord of the Rings, and though some geeks might think that classic is scripture, it is not.
I’ve heard people rely on this proverb to justify their own wandering, their own experiment with life, to find their own way.
To get lost deeper and deeper in the wilderness.
Yeah – all those who wander are lost – and they need someone to guide them out of the darkness and into the light of God’s glory!
Why would He pray this?
Paul stars chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians with something we would probably expect – a plea for prayer for the mission of Christ. He asked, “Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.”
That’s the reason we pray for our missionaries, and for our work as missionaries to Cerritos, and Artesia, to the folks at Fire Safety and USC and Brea Olinda High School, and to doctor’s offices all over Southern California.
But Paul’s request turns strangely personal, “2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.”
It is almost like he feels like he is in one of Tolkein’s stories, in the Mirkwood or one of the other nasty, haunted parts of the story.
You ever feel that way, like the evil and wicked ones on earth oppress you and haunt you? Where the brokenness of all life, the trauma, and when we are so overwhelmed we need to know we aren’t alone. When we don’t know if God is hearing our prayers, (which He is!) and we ask others to share our burden.
When we talk about the blessing of confessing our sins, most of us know and depend on God forgiving our sins, but we forget that He cleanses us of all unrighteousness.
If we forget that, it is easy to fall into despair and doubt, it easy to forget who is watching out for us, and who would guide us
It is easy to forget, that is why the writer of Hebrews tells us,
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT2)
We have to remember that who is with us, is greater than the world….
That is why Paul talks q12r45about Christ leading us…
Look where He leads us!
3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
I love how the NLT phrases this! In the Greek it is simpler with some translations saying just direct your hearts to the love of God- but the preposition isn’t to, as if that is the target, it is into.
Brings to mind the old idea of you can lead a donkey to water but you can’t make him drink, or you drop the donkey right into the river!
God doesn’t want us to look at His love, to study it like a scientist, He wants us to be enveloped by it, to understand, as Paul prays for us,
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT2)
Same consistent thought in Paul – experience the love of God!
Dwell into it, dive into it, be consumed by it, revel in it.
Share it with others.
Treasure it like nothing else you know in life, for God’s love is worth all it and more.
And deeply drawn into the love of God, you will know a peace that goes beyond the dark, dim, sin dominated world, even if we can’t understand how that happens!
Stand Firm! Geta grip! A Sermon on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8,13-17
Stand Firm!
Geta grip!
2 Thessalonians 2:1-8,13-17
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ sustain you’re your grip on your salvation as you stand firm in the hope of the Resurrection to eternal life!
The key verse
Most of the time I preach, I try to come up with some illustration to help understand what scripture is teaching us. Educational theory tells us we are a visual people, which is why those who have tried to teach morals use storytelling, fables, parables, to help people see the point.
Today, I couldn’t come up with one.
That’s okay, as the point today is pretty simple…
“15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
That seems simple enough… stand firm – hold on to the hope we have taught you.
The hope found in the experience of salvation.
The hope found in the work of the Holy Spirit who makes us holy, and lead us to believe in the truth.
Stand firm there, and get a grip on this…
But there are challenges.
The challenge – false teaching leading to lawlessness
One of the challenges that I don’t talk about enough is false teaching – especially about End Times. Paul is warning the church about such people who would use the End times to motivate us through fear. Listen to Paul, “2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say.”
It doesn’t matter how sincere these men and women who preach are, it doesn’t matter how they have studied and dissected the numbers and days that create their message. If they focus more on developing fear and horror at the thought of the end, they missed the hope we have…
So ignore them.
Despite the temptation to follow their logic and examine it thoroughly. Despite the attempts to make you come to repentance fearing the Day or Judgement, or the Tribulation, or anything else that puts the “fear of God” and the fear of judgment or condemnation in you, and then asks you to take some action to assure your survival.
But all that does is convince you that God’s grace is sufficient, and puts the burden of survival on you… and reinforces a stereotype that our sin is great than God’s ability to deliver.
The call to share in the glory of Christ.
When Paul writes to a young pastor named Titus, he addressed this idea of the believer fearing God because of their sin. He wrote, 3 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. 4 But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:3-5 (NLT2)
That is the same message as he tells these believers from Thessalonika. Instead of worrying about the End Times, focus in on what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life, as we started with, “a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. 14 He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That last line is what we should be focused on, what we pin our expectations on, this idea that we can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we think of end times, this is what our focus needs to be! Not on the trauma, for life itself can be just as traumatic as anything the doomsayers and fearmongers put forth.
We need to remember the promise of our baptism—that we receive the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and everlasting life.
This is a constant theme in scripture,
27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
Colossians 1:27 (NLT2)
23 but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT2)
And how many of the parables, from the wheat and the tares to the sheep and the goats talk about us entering everlasting life…
Us, those who were born into sin, and have struggled with sin, the kind of people this place was built for…
Not that we would fear Judgment Day, but that we would expect it and rejoice as we see it coming.
For it will come, and we will be at home with our Lord! AMEN!
Celebrating Our Re-formation! Week 3: Grace Revealed
Celebrating Our Re-formation
Week 3: Grace Revealed
Psalm 121
† In Jesus †
may the grace and peace of God our Father reveal to you the presence of Jesus in your life, as He watches over you!
Stirred, not Shaken
It is my prayer that this message and the grace it describes leaves your faith in God the opposite of a James Bond martini – that it is stirred, and not shaken!
That is, after all, the nature of being re-formed, of this reformation where we look to the scriptures for the promises we have faith that Christ Jesus guarantees, the promises we call God’s grace.
For that grace is our only hope – the intercession of Jesus into our broken lives, lives which needed to be recreated, an re-formed, re-formed lives that reflect Jesus’ love into a broken world.
This is what Luther was all about—how do we see ourselves in Christ?
Do we recognize our need to be re-formed?
Do we recognize the work of Jesus, that draws us to the cross, where we are crucified with Him, so that can rise with Him
That’s grace…
The grace that re-forms sinners into saints.
Why do we need such a Reminder
Last week I preached on a passage that was mostly law – showing mankind’s absolute need for God to intervene in the lives of men, or we stand condemned by our own thoughts and actions.
This week is almost exactly opposite! A passage that primarily is focused on the impact of grace, and God has intervened and is actively involved in the lives of His people.
But why do we need such a reminder, you think that such a treasured thing as grace would never be forgotten, that it could never be forgotten.
But we do – we are more shaken than Mr. Bond’s favorite beverage.
We need to know we have help coming, we need to know we aren’t alone, we need to know we aren’t stuck, forever broken.
So powerful is the sin, the sins that had its grips on us, the sin that has its grips on so many in this world – that we need to continually hear the good news, that Christ has died for us, ,that Christ has risen and we are raised with Him, and that Christ will come again!
In light of the power and reach of sin we need to know God reigns, that grace overwhelms.
For sin would shake our faith, our ability to depend on Jesus.
And we don’t need our faith shaken, but stirred as we are re-formed
The SMR God
Hear theses verses again, for they are the purest example of grace,
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps
5 The LORD himself watches over you.
7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
Five times this word, shows up – that God watches over you – that God guards your back, that God is there in your life!
The word means more than just observe – it means to guard, to treasure what in entrusted to you. It pictures the military of the time, protecting the family of the King.
It’s the kind of guard that Elisha knew that he asked God to reveal to his assistant, described
15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. 16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:15-17 (NLT2)
We don’t just have guardian angels, we have a guardian God, who brings His entire army to guard and protect us from sin, Satan, and the threat of death.
Back in the day, there was a show, “Touched by an Angel.” A Beautiful young Scottish angel, her friend Andrew- the angel who escorting dying people to heaven, and their “trainer”. Think two deacon angels and a pastor angel. The last episode had them questioning a disaster, and the worst thing – or so they thought- was that Andrew and his fellow death angels weren’t there to minister to the dying, and the grieving.
Until this other person, the new guy, revealed himself to be Jesus, and told them, “The angels weren’t involved because this job was too big for them – only he could handle it.”
Well, that was a television show, but it had a wonderful truth imbedded into it. We are to valuable for just an angel, or even ten thousand thousands to watch over. To heal, to help. And the promise is that have Jesus to do that… and always will.
He is our help, our refuge, our hope and healing, and He watches over us. AMEN!
Life: God’s Version of “Take Your Child to Work’ Day” Week 9 – But Dad, You Promised! Psalm 91:9-14
Life: God’s Version of “Take Your Child to Work’ Day”
Week 9 – He Cares for Us! But Dad, You Promised!
Psalm 91:9-14
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May the grace, mercy, peace and comfort of God be yours, as you endure life in this broken world!
- Intro: Scratch out that title
This morning I need you to do something.
I need you to take a pen, or one of those little stubby pencils. Got it?
Now open your bulletin to the title page. Come on – this is important!
Now scratch out that crazy title – that He cares for us!
No, not just a line – scribble over it, I don’t want to see those words! Think like a 5 year old, throwing a tantrum.
Now, write in, “But Dad, You Promised!!!!”
Ever have one of those days when you were doing something with your dad and mom, and there was a promise to do something after? Then when the task was done, for whatever reason we find unacceptable, they couldn’t fulfil their promise?
“But Dad, You Promised!”
- Is Frustration a Sign of Weak Faith?
That’s my reaction this week to the reading from Psalm 91, as a mixture of emotions, none of them positive—pour out when I read, “If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.”
On Monday, I thought about talking about how much God cares for us for the promises in this passage are quite clear!
By Wednesday, and the day of 10 critical prayer requests, all involving illness and physical afflictions (which is part of the idea of plague—not just anything that is an illness – but anything that stresses you physically and emotionally. I began wondering if the angels fell asleep or went on vacation this week, for the passage promises, “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” I mean, if we can’t blame God, maybe the angels got held up in a spiritual battle,
what part of this promise God forgot, and by Friday, I was beginning to question whether we haven’t made the Lord our refuge, we haven’t made him our shelter, all bets and promises are off.
So did God forget, were the angels lazy or delayed, or have we somehow spiritually failed?
And does my even asking that question raise a question of whether I trust God?
Where does doubt turn to sin?
And where does doubt turn to unbelief?
With promises like this, my heart cries out, seriously cries out at times, “But Fathr, You promised!”
And I struggle with the need that we have to cry that, and the fact we do…
So what is the answer? How do we explain suffering, illness and trauma, knowing the promises of God. How can I trust those promises, when it appears they aren’t kept?
I will protect him…
I will ask this again,
- How can we trust those promises, when it appears they aren’t kept?
We can’t just dismiss this seeming contradiction – we have to honestly deal with out doubts, and we can.
Of course, my private devotions didn’t help this week! From reading of the God ordained suffering in Ezekiel to this famous passage from James, “2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 (NLT2)
I use other books as well, and whether from Luther or others, everything seemed about suffering and struggling, and how we are blessed. The one based on St. Francis was pretty blunt as well, “Even though he was completely worn out by his prolonged and serious illness, he threw himself on the ground, bruising his weakened bones in the hard fall. Kissing the ground, he said: “I thank you, Lord God, for all these sufferings of mine; and I ask you, my Lord, if it pleases you, to increase them a hundredfold. Because it will be most acceptable to me, that you do not spare me, afflicting me with suffering, since the fulfillment of your will is an overflowing consolation for me.”[1]
So on one hand, we have promises that God will protect us wherever we go – and in another we have the promise and evidence that Christians do have many challenges to deal with—but here is the caveat—what is the result of all of these challenges?
What does Francis see, or James, or King David—who wrote this Psalm but whose life…had its challenges, or Paul with his thorn in the flesh?
How come they can, in on moment cry out “Father God, you promised,” and then a moment later sing his praises, or find comfort in their struggles? It is as if they believe that other promise, that God uses all things for good for those who love Him and are called into His purpose.
That’s how they get there, and how we get there, as we stop seeing the challenges as challenges, but the opportunity to see God at work, doing the miraculous to bless us and others through the suffering.
So seek your refuge in Jesus, find your home, your shelter in the presence of God. There you will find yourself held onto through the storm, even as you hold onto God. There you will find you know His name, because He has given it you as you were made His child.
The greatest example of this can be seen when Satan confronts Jesus with this passage. Jump off from these heights – angels won’t let you land hard! And while Jesus doesn’t due that, can anyone really say that evil didn’t try to conquer Him?
It did not conquer Him, although He was afflicted more than any other. He endured the cross, despite the pain and the shame the book of Hebrews tells us. But how can a sacrifice that results in your salvation be evil? Not only you – but everyone who trusts and depends on God.
There is our faith! That is why the sacraments are so powerful, as we again realize that God has brought us into His presence, as we come to the altar, as we receive His precious Body and Blood – as we realize as Francis said, that it is okay, because we are more convinced of His will, and desire it more than our comfort in this life.
This is a time of healing, this is the time where we can pour out the doubt, the questions, the pain and stress. This is the time we look at the baptismal font and the altar and take a deep breath – and remember the love of God, and that He calls us by His name-the name by which our salvation and the promise that these challenges will result in good is made…
And then, instead of crying out, “but God, you promised” we cry out, “yes God, you promised, You are my refuge, You are my Home, You are my rescuer, and my Hope! ” as we sing His praises…
AMEN
[1] Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 274). New City Press.
“Life: God’s Version of Take Your Child to Work’ Day” Week 6: More Than… Philemon 1-21
Life: God’s Version of
Take Your Child to Work’ Day
Week 6: More Than…
Philemon 1-21
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace!
Intro: Whose view?
The book of Philemon is the shortest that Paul wrote, yet it is contains one of the greatest challenges, along with an incredible miracle and one of the best examples of what it means to be a servant-leader who shepherds the people of God.
I have heard sermons about it focusing on the change in Onesimus, I have heard sermons about the challenges for Philemon – as his community would frown upon the precedent he was asked to set. I’ve even heard a sermon to pastors about how to imitate the “tactics” that Paul used to manipulate Philemon into doing what Paul wanted to do…
Today, the goal is to see the work of God, that He calls all three to be involved in, as he takes two of His kids to work together…
For some days, you will have the role of Onesimous, and other days, you will have the role of Philemon, and there will be a time where you have to take on the role of Paul….
But God’s work work this day is the same project for all three… to realize that each is…
“more than”
As in “16 He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me.
The task is simple, rebuilding the relationship that was shatttered.
- The PROBLEM – this is a horrible, worthless sinner
There is no doubt the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus was strained. It was more than that, as Philemon being an escaped slave, He had a price on his head, what we would call in old West, dead or alive.
He ran away, he was a slave, he would have been considered major property theft, not to mention Paul’s own mention that Onesimous was a pretty lousy slave. “11 Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past,” Paul says, yet the Greek is far more caustic
That’s not to say Philemon wasn’t a horrible worthless sinner. He was a slave owner who was brutal enough for a slave to run away, risking death to find some sort of freedom, the kind of guy that Paul wrote Ephesians to address. “8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. 9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites. Ephesians 6:8-9 (NLT2)
So these guys weren’t quite ready to go to work together with the Father.
I hate to say it, but we all have relationships like this – some of which we are the one who seems to be the bigger sinner – the slave who runs away, And some, we are the sinner who slowly wears down someone else, leaving them no seeming option but to sin.
Or maybe our sin would have been to take sides, like Paul did at first, only to set aside the personal benefit to choose to encourage reconciliation of these two men. HE would encourage Philippians, “2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. “ Philippians 4:2-3 (NLT2)
We have these relationships, just as they did in the day of the Apostles. They seem shattered, the sins committed hanging around like a stench, affecting life.
- The solution
And yet, there is hope…there is the realization we started with, as each person sees, that . “He is more than a slave (/owner/shepherd,) for he is a beloved brother,
Paul writes,
“4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. 7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.
He goes on to say,
“8 That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you.”
Paul is pretty blunt- pointing out the incredible change that occurred in Philemon’s life, as he began to have faith, as he began to trust in Jesus, as he depended on the Holy Spirit.
Look at what God did with you… now listen, God did that with someone else… and I want you to hear me out..
He probably had the same conversation with Onesimos, “look I know I am sending you back to where you have a price on your head, but the God who makes you holy and previous to me – God is at work in Philemon’s life as well!
This is what is so amazing – these relationships that seem irreconcilable, at the right time where reconciled, but that reconciliation happened only when we realize we are all loved by God, that Jesus died to forgive our sins to bring us to the Father,
And there we are found together, baptized, cleansed, gathered, one, in Christ Jesus.
That’s why, between confessing and being forgiven and then coming up to the altar to share in the body and blood of Christ, we declare to each other – “the peace of God is with you!” and “and also with you” – a chance to recognize, as Philemon and Onesimos would, what unites us.
Being at peace in Christ Jesus.
For Alleluia! He Died, and we died with Him.
Alleluia! He is has risen!
And therefore WE, with Paul, and Philemon and Onesimos – are risen indeed.
Amen!
Life: God’s Version of ‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day Week 4: Make Room for ‘Em All! A sermon on Psalm 50:1-15
Life: God’s Version of
‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day
Week 4: Make Room for ‘Em All!
Psalm 50:1-15
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ assure you of your place in His kingdom, even us others join our “going to work” with our Heavenly Father!
Siblings Joining us at Work!
As we’ve been using the parable of God taking you, His child to work with you, we come to this amazing passage from Psalm 50, A glorious passage that describes all of humanity gathered around God the Father, revealed in all His glory, as we see and feel and know and are united by His glorious love!
I think back to the first time I went to work with my dad, he was remodeling an apartment owned by one of my uncles. I think all I did that day was hold my dad’s hammer – but I was excited to go, having heard from brother all the great things he got to do. (My father was smart enough to not have me ever do those things!) And we were guaranteed to go to Howard Johnson’s on the way home and wreck our dinner by having and ice cream sundae, or a root beer float or a malt frappe.
I later understood my brother’s attitude, when my dad started bringing my sister, and leaving either Steve or I at home. There was a certain… jealousy, a certain territorialism, a certain attitude caused by having to share my dad’s attention. Heck the attitude still exists… a little.. notice who ended up with the hammer?
In fact, the attitude of my brother and I can be seen in the people of God in today’s Psalm—as people worshipped God, as they worked with Him, but they didn’t get what this was all about…just going through the motions.
It’s not our motions- but why?
As I looked at the judgment of God on His people, I was shocked to see them praised at first. God declares,
“O Israel: I am God, your God! 8 I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer.”
When it comes to Israel in the Old Testament, this is about the highest praise they received. They were always messing up worship and the sacrificial system—offering the wrong thing, or offering it to an idol instead of to God, doing for the first time the actions that God described to Moses and Abraham in Leviticus.
In other words, they done good!.
But they didn’t.
Like my brother and I, they went through the motions, but their heart wasn’t in it. It doesn’t take much imagination to see what the problem was,
“But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. 10 For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.”
It seems to me that they got the impression that they were doing all this work for God – that he couldn’t have a good life unless they did that part.
That would be like me thinking my role, holding my dad’s hammer, was essential to his work.
Imagine thinking that God would go hungry if Israel didn’t sacrifice the right animal and grill it the right way! Yep, God couldn’t run the universe without me!
As God shakes His head, and has to chastise His people once again.
It’s as naïve as me carrying the hammer and thinking that work as hard as my dad, and I absolutely necessary,,,,
No wonder Steve and I were irritated when we realized my sister could carry the hammer!
Be Thankful – and Let Me Be Your God!
Instead of making worship and the Christian life all about our work, all about all we “sacrifice” for God, look at what the Psalm focuses upon.
“14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. 15 Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
Three things we can do, and all of it is focused on Jesus.
First -be thankful. Realize that God wants to spend time with us, He wants to share in the great joy of seeing “all humanity” gather and realize His love that shines because it is glorious. Our lives are ones where we are aware of what God has done in saving us, and in what He is doing in our lives each day.
It’s like my brother and I, admiring the work my dad accomplished. We are there, and we see Him at work, as He crafts new lives from those once damaged by sin.
Second, we do what He asks us, to love, to forgive, to even sacrifice as God works through us, to summon all humanity. Basically, our vow is to hold the hammer, to keep God company, to learn from Him, as we learn on the job what it means to love…
And lastly, we bring God glory when we call on Him, as we get ourselves in trouble. That could be like me dropping my hammer, and shattering a floor tile, or my brother using the saw and not cutting the 2 by 4 straight. Or in our case, whatever commandment we broke—from having a false idol, to murdering and being unfaithful to our spouse or stealing or gossiping.
It is in those times, as God comforts and consoles us, as He fixes up the mess we’ve made our lives, as we cry out “Lord—have mercy!
It is then we see our Father smile, for at least this moment, we recognize our need to be there with Him, for Him to still minister to us, for Him to still forgive us, for the cross to have meaning, as our sin is forgiven because of another hammer, the one that nailed Jesus to the cross, that we might die with Him, and be raised to life with Him. As we are joined by people from all humanity…as we live with Him.
AMEN!
Life: God’s Version of ‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day: Week 3: The Family Business, a sermon on Hebrews 11:32-12:3
Life: God’s Version of
‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day
Week 3: The Family Business
Hebrews 11:32-12:3
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ strength your trust in them, as it did all of His family throughout history!
Dad, I Can’t…
As we continue our journey of life in Christ, as we conitnue to compare it to God taking us to work like dad’s took their kids to work we come to an interesting passage in Hebrews,
One that desribes those our Father in heaven worked with before, those He raised up before, those He gave His Spirit too, empowering them and guiding them in the work He was doing.
It doesn’t help us that some have named chapter 11 as the Hall of Faith, as if these older and brothers of ours were superheroes, and we were the little brothers and sisters who looked up to them, wanting to be like them, and thinking that would be miraculous.
I mean, look around, not many of us have the physique of Samson, or the holiness of Samuel or the myriad of abilities and talents of King David. Those guys are heroes, holy, talented, able to withstand the most challenging of times—I mean hear what they did..
33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword.
And how they could embrace suffering,
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
I mean if we had to suffer like that, I would hope we would be like this..
But, too often I’II look at these hero’s and look at what God asks us.. and I tell him, “I can’t do that…” I feel the same way I did when my dad asked me to carry a couple of 12 foot long 2×4’s from the van to the house. I tried to pick up from one side. Not knowing how to pick them up in the middle and blance them om my shoulder.
We need to hear this line out of the middle of the passage, “Their weakness was turned to strength.”
Weights that impede us from running with endurance
If you try to carry a 2×4 or a board from one end, you will never be able to do it – the weight of the wood will bear to heavily on you. You won’t be able to carry/drag the weight very far. It will wipe you out.
The same thing goes for spiritual weights, they wreck our endurance…. Hear agin from Hebrews, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Notice that sin isn’t the only weight, but it is “especially” important to toss away. Other you could ad our anxieties, fears, doubts, but really, all those go back to the idea of sin. It’s going to hurt to when I say this at first, but hear it out..
Most of our issues do get back to sin…even if it is simply the sin of not letting God be our God. That’s the one I am guilty of the most, as I try to play God, trying to lift the board by one end and wearying myself out too quickly, too completely.
Scripture is clear – strip off that weight!
Don’t let it trip you up!
Look to Jesus.
Here is the key to carrying our burdens,
“2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
Please hear that correct – he initiates and perfects our fatih.
Not our faithfulness – he initiates and perfects our faith, our trust in His – in the work He did at the Father’s command.
If we look at Jesus – we realize He picked up our burdens.
He carries them to the cross, they were dealt with there, and now, raised to life with Him, He carries us
If we are concentrating on what we can or cannot do, we lose sight of what Jesus has done. We are along for the journey, we travel by looking and trusting in what He did.
Again – Jesus initiates and completes our trust in Him, not our faithfulness.
It’s the entire reason He came, and here is what is amazing –
It was for joy set before him that He did it! For the joy of carrying us home, he carried our sin.
It was for the joy set before Him that endured the betrayals, from Adam and Eve, through Cain, and all those people mentioned in the chapter. They had faith in God, not in their faithfulness.
They found His strength in the midst of their own weakness, and learned to depend on God – who is their strength. Who is our strength, when we are at our weakest point.
And so we get to the bottom line,
“3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
there is a secret to living in Christ, to working alongside of the Father in seeing people made perfect and mature in Christ—it is found in thinking about what Jesus has done for us, does with us.
And as He is perfecting our faith, as He has for every member of our faith family. He will sustain us, and carry us, and those whom follow…
Amen!
Life: God’s version of Take Your ChIld to Work Day” – Set Up to Succeed – A sermon on Luke 12:22-34
Life: God’s version of Take Your Child to Work Day”
Set Up to Succeed
Luke 12:22-34
May the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ remove from you all anxieties and fears, as you go with Him about His work, every day!
-Was there stress going to work with Dad?
As we look at the idea of God taking his children to his work, to learn His craft, to work side by side with him. As I look back on those days, I realized something was missing from working with my dad. Something that has been part of every workplace I have ever have been at.
That lovely thing called stress….
Or maybe call it anxiety, or we simply worry about work.
I don’t remember that kind of stuff, as I worked alongside my dad, there was just the work. At least for the children that accompanied their dads—what their dads are going through is a different matter.
For us, being away from our normal world of school, the chance to be with our dad, and share in His work made for a day to be savored and enjoyed.
Just like we should savor and enjoy going to work with our Heavenly Father sd we daily go to work with Him.
What Stresses us out? Why?
When I was running bookstores, we have two kinds of audits, our annual audit by our company’s internal auditors, and several times a year, our regional managers did, called “zero defect” audits. Even though 2 of the 3 RM’s I worked with were really nice, sweet people, the specter of their audits haunts me even to this day.
The auditors from Chicago could be bluffed, could be distracted, they didn’t know us well enough to know where to look. They just knew they couldn’t go homne without finding something… so we would leave one little error…aand then thery would smile and go “gotcha” and then we would take them to lunch in Malibu. Anna and Peter though, knew us and our staff, and knew our weak points. And as they wanted us to succeed, that is where they focused their attention
Look at the gospel, here are the points where Jesus knew we were weak:
Fhe first area is large – “everyday life” and includes the really big things – where we will live and what we eat, or whether we will have good looking clothes, whether we we live to 100, or merely 61. We aren’t going to add time to our life just by worrying.
But we do it!
I do it all the time, and this week was harder than most. Between my surgery and needing more students, and the stresses of watching people in pain all around me, it was really easy for me to lose track of working with God!
Mark Jennins used to ask my why we need to, as pastors, live in the middle of our sermon. That is me this week. How do you balance all of this? How do we adress all the what ifs and what if it doesn’t…. And we consumed by our fears, urworries, our anxieties and doubts. TO the point where we are not thinking clearly.
And Jesus says
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—
We know this, we believe it, so why are we unable ot stop the stuff that chase us in the night? Does that mean we are failures, does that mean we don’t believe God? Or that we get His promises wrong…
Then Jesus goes on, and says, “25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
And I feel nearly condemned, like the apostles did when Jesus confronts them with, “You have so little faith!”
Been there, done that, and to be honest – it is exhausting – physically, emotionally, spiritually….and if not careful, it can paralyze us, dividing us from those we love and care about…forgetting God put them there… to pray and support us in times like this!
Why can’t life be like when our dad or mom took us to work, and we just did the work they delegated, and enjoyed their company? Why can’t I just enjoy seeing what God is doing, and just relax – counting on His promises/
- Where does faith come in?
When Anna and Peter gave their seemingly brutal debriefing on the zero defect audit, there was something different than the games played with the auditors from Chicago. Those guys didn’t care, it was their job to point out what was wrong. Anna and Peter however, had more invested in us – their success was judged by how we improved – their bonuses tied in part to it. For them to succeed, for them to hit their goals, we had to improve!
They had to invest in us.
Jesus would have us look at how the Father invests in their world. The beauty He creates, the care He takes of birds and wildflowers. All these little things, that he barely cares about, that He created four our enjoyment,
If he takes such care of these things, how will God take care of that which He cares the most for – the people He calls His children.
Jesus says don’t worry, and often I hear that part and get fixated on that…and let it be addded to the weight of the day…
But Hear it in context.
Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
Hear that….the Father knows what we need!
As we work with Him, we can concentrate on the tasks at hand, knowing He is there to make it work, to cause us to grow, to help us succeed. He would rid us of every little thing that would hinder us, that would cause us worry.
After all, Christ didn’t die on the cross to provide for ravens and daffodils. He died on the cross for us, to forgive our sins, to bring us to the Father, and we get to go to work with Him!
We still do the work, but with a freedom that God is in control, that He is the one who promises that all will work for good for those of us who love Him.
That freedom is what allows us to set a different se of priorities, focusing on things of heaven, realizing our treasure is there, with Him. AMEN!
What Are You Doing Here? A sermon on 1 Kings 19:9b-21 from COncordia
God, who am I?
What Are You Doing Here?
1 Kings 19:9b-21
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus help you know why you are where you are!
As the people of God, we’ve been given a huge task. It’s called the great commission – the responsibility to help people becoming those who follow, who walk with Jesus. Part of that Commission is that we get to teach people to treasure what God has commanded, how they are to live their lives with him!
In teaching them to treasure this life God has given us, there is an important distinction that is made… that has to be understood.
Do we place greater emphasis on doing what is right, or on why we do what we do?
I mean we’ve all done the right things for the wrong reasons, right?
And have we done the wrong things for the right reasons?
Which is better?
Which do you think you get more blame for, take more heat for?
But what if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, and everybody thinks what you did was wrong – that just by doing what you did, you sinned, without any consideration for why you did it.
You see, most people judge Elijah’s actions in the Old Testament reading as wrong…. and in doing so, we miss the work of God in Elijah’s life, a work that we desperately need in ours.
Was Elijah a Coward.
When I read this passage when I was younger, and when I heard pastors preach on it, the usual observation about Elijah was he was weak, that he should have stayed and battled Jezebel and her armies.
After all, he had, well God had through him, toasted up 450 priests of Ba’al and defeated! He was on a winning streak of winning streaks, able to mock his opponents without mercy. Hey – your idols not answering your prayers? Maybe your god Ba’al is sleeping, or maybe he’s on vacation, or maybe he’s in the restroom?
And after the victory, instead of having a parade, instead of celebrating freeing God people, he runs away and hides… in cave! And then he whines, oh does he whine, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Remember a moment ago, when I talked about doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
I think Elijah did exactly what he needed to be doing. I think he needed to hide in that cave and rest.
But the way that He answered God’s question, shows where he sinned.
It wasn’t in the running and hiding and resting – we all need to do that.
But hear what God asked him….
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Not why are you here… not what caused you to be here. But what are you doing, here?
And this is where Elijah sin is revealed…
He didn’t know why he was there…..
You see, he couldn’t tie what he knew intellectually and instinctively, to the reality of his situation.
He ran to escape, not to find a refuge, not to find sanctuary, not to find a fortress where he couuld be safe, and heal.
“I’m here because they are evil, I am here because they didn’t listen when I told them “the Lord is with you!” in fact…
Wait Elijah, not what caused you to be here…. What are you doing here?
Through the windstorm, through earthquake, through the fire…and Elijah still didn’t know…
Right action – wrong reason – no reason, and that is where he sinned…
That is where we sin.
The sin isn’t that we shouldn’t run away… the sin is that we don’t know what we are to do when it is time to run. We run an hid and whine just like Elijah did, forgetting we dwell in the presence of an alimighty, all-powerful, all-wise, God who loves us. And had promised to make everything work together for our good.
What Was He Supposed to be doing there?
So what was Elijah supposed to being there?
We heard in in Luther’s most famous hymn, out of the 1000s he wrote, the one we all know – the one that starts,
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing!
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing!
Elijah was provided for, all along the journey. Birds brought him food, he found places to rest. He didn’t realize it, but he was never alone on the journey, he ever was talking to God, when God told him to go outside, to find God.
Typical guy, oblivious to everything going on around him!
God never failed him, no matter how bad the flood, no matter how overwhelming the flood of what ails and torments us, we find our refuge in the love and care of God.
This is the nature of the cross, and the resurrection.
I saw that at the convention, when Jim couldn’t help himself—and spoke up “and therefore” when one of the speakers said “Alleluia! He is Risen!” I saw it again, as I told one of Elizabeth’s teachers about how we got to be part of Edith’s being claimed as one of Jesus’ family in baptism – and he brought it up in his presentation this day – an example of what it meant, not to be educated as a Lutheran, but to live and share your hope in Jesus.
What are you doing here?
Spending time with my heavenly Father, with Jesus Christ, my brother, being comforted and healed by the Holy Spirit.
The great thing—that even as Elijah forgot this, God was at work doing it!
We might forget—but He doesn’t.
When it’s time, when Elijah remembers who he is—the one God loves—it is time to get back to the mission – to train up another generation of believers, of leaders, of those who worship and are thankful to God—willing to sacrifice their lives, as we have been, when we don’t need to run away and let God be God…
And then it is time to get back to work, sharing the love of God with people who are so broken, they don’t even realize how broken they are. Who have been turned inside out and ravaged by sin. Not only do we bring them news of God’s love, but we prepare the next generation to do so…
For we know why we are here, we know why we run to the Father…and fall on His grace… AMEN!
The Harvest is about the Harvest: A sermon on Acts 16:9-15
The Harvest is about the Harvest
Acts 16:9-15
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Chirst strengthen and guide your work in His harvest!
I wonder if I would have the same reaction as Paul did to the vision of the man pleading for him to come help.
I mean Peter had a vision last week and went to a Gentiles house, Paul has a vision this week and leaves the country he’s in, both 100% sure that they are, to quote the blues brothers, on a Mission from God.
And both see the results of that mission , as Cornelius and his household, and Lydia and her household are baptized and are born again!
So how do we know where we will be sent to work in the harvest…or maybe, we already have been!
But how do we know with such certainty that we are on a mission? How do we know when we’ve reached the field that is ready to be harvested?
Do we need to have a vision? How would we recognize it if we did?
How do we know, to use Luke’s words from Acts, “that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.” ?
- The Law -Neglecting so Great a Salvation
I started the sermon wondering if I would have the same reaction to a vision as Paul did.
To be blunt, that is the wrong question to ask!
Peter and Paul’s visions were there to redefine their mission—not just start one. They were working in this field, sharing the gospel and God said, time to move fields—He didn’t change the mission, God just changed the location they were working in…
So we all work in the field where we are planted, LA and Orange County. We look for the people who are calling out for help, as the man in the vision from Macedonia did!
Who is calling out for help in your life? A family member? A co-worker? A long lost friend? Someone with major health issues, or family issues, or whose work place is toxic. Someone you thought had it all together, only to find out their lives were like a house of cards, and the base was starting to slip. Where are the broken people around you, even the ones you see crushed by the consequences of their sin!
Perhaps especially those…
We can’t neglect their great salvation, any more than our own.
- How do we reach them?
If you look in the north-west corner of my office, the top two shelves have books about Envanelish, about church planting, and how to grow a church. Some where written in the 70’s and some in the 90’s, and some recently. All of them seem to “guarantee” people coming to know Jesus, if you only follow what worked for them.
We’ve used a couple of those books here in the last 17 years. Joining Jesus was one, There have been others. There have been Bible Studies and still are, and we’ve tried various outreach programs, but they all have one thing in common. We go, as Jesus went, we become part of people’s lives, as Jesus did…
And that is what Paul did. This is how he reached them.
- He heard their cry – he had gone to wear they were, and listen to their cry, even if it was only heard from observing their body language (or looking at their FB page to see if they went thrift shopping this week!)
- Next be ready to pray for them – offer it, and pray with them aloud if possible. (This means you needed to listen, to know how to pray!) Give them the hope you have, knowing the Lord’s presence, and knowing His mercy and love
- If the Holy Spirit opens their heart, have some kleenex ready… there may be a flood of tears – good, joyful tears..
Remember – other Christians need to be reminded of God’s presence and grace often.
SO that all may know God’s peace, which is there for them, the peace that like God’s love, goes beyond all understanding, but in which we are guarded by Jesus!
Amen!
