Welcome to this week's edition of Cultural Preaching. I am honored to share this resource with you. Know that I am praying for all who receive this email with gratitude for your service and faith.
This week, the "Preaching" section includes an Independence Day sermon on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. In "Pastoral" we'll discuss my recent chat with pastors. In "Personal," we'll look for ways to stay "fresh" in our ministries.
In addition, I tweet on current news occasionally throughout the day. I invite you to follow me @JimDenison.
Preaching
The July 4 weekend presents unique challenges and opportunities for preachers. It can be hard to find a new theme when you've preached on this topic over several years. It can also be challenging to affirm America while not attaching Christianity to a particular nation.
My sermon for this Sunday continues a series in the Book of Acts, focusing this week on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. I connect Philip's faithfulness to that of our country's founders and suggest that we can best serve America today by serving Jesus. I hope the message will be helpful to you.
Pastoring
Last week I was the guest on the Pastor's Resource Call sponsored by Cornerstone Pastor's Network. If you were not able to join our conversation about how the culture is impacting pastoring and the church, I invite you to listen. We had a great conversation.
Personal
This Sunday's preaching assignment points up the challenge to stay "fresh" in our ministries. It can be hard to preach each year on perennial subjects such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas, Easter, and so on. The longer we serve one congregation, the more difficult it can be to share new material during the rest of the year as well.
I was hiking in the woods over the weekend and noted a tree growing out of the bank of the lake. It couldn't have been closer to the water without falling in. The words of Psalm 1 came to mind: the person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night "is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers" (v. 3).
Jeremiah 17 offers a similar promise: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit" (vv. 7–8).
Of course, trees have no choice where they are planted. But you and I do.
Deciding how to grow intellectually is one of the most significant—and overlooked—elements of stewardship. We are called to love God with all our minds (Mark 12:30), to grow in "wisdom" (Luke 2:52), and to "reason together" with our Lord (Isaiah 1:18). Paul's example is both motivating and humbling: at the very end of his life he still wanted his books and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13).
What is your plan for growing your mind in the word and wisdom of God? Are you systematically and regularly reading outside your comfort zone? Are you planning trips this summer that will stretch you spiritually and intellectually? Do you have relationships with people who challenge you?
Let's close with this observation from Frederick W. Robertson: "It is not the number of books you read, nor the variety of sermons you hear, nor the amount of religious conversation in which you mix, but it is the frequency and earnestness with which you meditate on these things till the truth in them becomes your own and part of your being, that ensures your growth."
It is a great honor to share this ministry with you. May the Lord empower and encourage you as you serve him today.
We encourage you to share this email with another preaching pastor.
If
you turn on the television, listen to the radio or even only hear the
highlights of the days news, it sounds like our world is spiraling down and out
of control. From events in the Middle
East, Asia and most recently in London and even our own Capital of Washington,
DC, sadly life is no longer valued and people dying. Sometimes as a result of evil in our world,
at other times just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong
time. The reality remains, we the church
of Jesus Christ live ‘in the world’.
We
as the church have a choice, either we can become like an ostrich and stick our
head in the sand. It seems the safe bet,
no harm if we don’t encounter that which is evil. No harm if we choose not to look and do what
is right if we ‘don’t see it’. Yet, when
and if we do this, we then forget the truth that John the evangelist reminds us
about from our epistle this morning.
In
1st John 3:16, like the Gospel of John 3:16, we are reminded of the
truth that sets us free. John wrote, “Christ
laid down His life for our brothers and sisters and each and every one of us!” Jesus Christ was willing to faithfully stand
firm against the evil of the devil and ‘lay down His life’ and die in order to offer
us eternal life. Jesus Christ knowing
not only the future, knew that the only way we would have eternal life would
require His life. And it required Jesus
Christ taking on the sins of the entire world and redeeming us and offering us
the greatest gift of grace the world would ever see or be offered, eternal life.
What
was the price? To us and all of mankind,
the cost is free because Jesus Christ has paid for our ticket to eternity. All we have to do is believe, that Jesus “Christ
laid down His life for our brothers and sisters and each and every one of us!” When we believe this and lay claim to Jesus
Christ offer of grace and mercy out of His great love for us, when we take our
final breath, we will receive the gift of eternal life. We will receive Jesus Christ offer of
salvation out of His great love for all of mankind, including each and every
one of us.
Jesus
Christ offer of grace didn’t come out of obligation, but out of love for His
Father in heaven. Jesus listened to the
voice of His Father and willingly Jesus “Christ laid down His life for our brothers
and sisters and each and every one of us!” How might we receive this? It is simple, believe in Jesus Christ and His
offer of grace on the Cross of Calvary, and feel His loving embrace as His follower.
This
coming week we as Emmanuel offer to our community again the opportunity for the
Gospel message of Jesus Christ to be shared and proclaimed again with Sky
Ranch. It is a long history and
connection we have with Sky Ranch and their coming here is one way we not only
impact our community, but inspire our church to embrace and be embraced by the
love of God and His offer of grace and mercy for all of mankind. How can we support this? Simply by praying for God’s will to be done,
helping us to get the word out and ultimately by loving everyone who walks
through the doors of our church.
When
we love unconditionally and without attitude or looking down on people no
matter how we feel, God redeems not only the relationship with Him and the
people we encounter even here in the church, but by His power inspires our love
for each other through His perfect example.
We then are not ‘hiding our head in the sand’, but taking a firm stand
with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and insuring a simple fact. That the message of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ can change us and faithfully saying with John, Jesus “Christ
laid down His life for our brothers and sisters and each and every one of us!” AMEN.
Welcome to this week's edition of Cultural Preaching. I am honored to share this resource with you. Know that I am praying for all who receive this email with gratitude for your service and faith.
This week, the "Preaching" section includes a sermon on the powerful witness of suffering faith. In "Pastoral," we'll look at five reasons for optimism in a pessimistic day. In "Personal," we'll consider Michelangelo's David as a metaphor for our souls.
In addition, I tweet on current news occasionally throughout the day. I invite you to follow me @JimDenison.
Preaching
An elderly professor once advised me, "Son, be kind to everyone, because everyone's having a hard time." When Christians face suffering, we often wonder why our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful Father would allow our pain. But we can know that our Lord redeems all he allows.
One way God redeems our suffering is by using our faith in hard times as a powerful witness to others. This week's message, Redeeming Your Crisis for God's Kingdom, develops this theme by focusing on Stephen and his effect on Saul of Tarsus. I hope it is helpful to you.
Pastoring
William Ralph Inge claimed, "No Christian can be a pessimist, for Christianity is a system of radical optimism." Despite the challenges Christians face in America and around the world, God's Kingdom is continuing to advance.
In Half-full or Hopeful? I offer five reasons for optimism in a pessimistic day. If you choose to address the subject of suffering faith (see this week's sermon), these facts and principles may be of help to you.
Personal
I enjoy walking in our neighborhood early each morning. There is a small creek in our area that runs alongside a century-old church building. A bench overlooking the creek is one of my favorite places to sit and think.
Earlier this week I was sitting on that bench. The old (likely apocryphal) story of Michelangelo's strategy in carving the statue of David came to mind. When asked how he was able to use such flawed marble to make such a masterpiece, the great artist explained, "I saw him in the stone, then chipped away everything that did not look like him."
I have seen Michelangelo's statue at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence and can attest to his stunning achievement. As I stood before it some years ago, the thought occurred to me: God wants to do with me what Michelangelo did with David. He seeks to conform me to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29). To do this, he must chip away everything in me that doesn't look like Jesus.
Here's where the analogy breaks down: unlike the marble used by David, I must choose to cooperate with the Artist in his creation. I can decide that I want the world to see me more than it sees Jesus in me. I can seek to impress people with myself when I preach, teach, and write.
Or I can say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
The great theologian J. I. Packer was right: it is impossible to convince you at one and the same time that I am a great preacher and that Jesus is a great Savior. Choose wisely.
It is a great honor to share this ministry with you. May the Lord empower and encourage you as you serve him today.
We encourage you to share this email with another preaching pastor.
Recently
in Minnesota, a clergy friend of mine was presented with the most divine and
honorable privilege and challenge. On
December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, numerous ships were
damaged or destroyed and many lives were lost.
For those who have visited Pearl Harbor’s National Park monument it is a
clear reminder of the scope of loss and how some individuals’ remains were not
recovered and how some individuals upon their passing wish to return to be with
their shipmates as a final resting place.
Now
decades later, a young man killed that day whose remains were found, but never
identified, finally with today’s technology was identified. He was from Minnesota and his name was Glaydon
Iverson. He was killed on that faithful
day aboard the USS Oklahoma. And only
last month was finally able to be returned to his family. After years of uncertainty for the family he
was finally able to be laid to rest back home at Emmons Lutheran church in
Minnesota. He was honored and given the
burial in his hometown with full military honors that his family desired
surrounded by his community and especially his church.
Some
would ask, why does God allow things like Pearl Harbor to occur? Others would immediately ‘get angry’ and
‘blame God’ for everything that is happening in life. Whether the tragic loss of life during war, the
weather that causes roofs, windows and siding to be replaced, like last fall
here in Goodland, hail storms that mow crops to the ground or moisture that
comes at the wrong time and causes not just Plan B, but even Plan C.
Easily,
we could blame God for everything, because He is the one Who created the
World. Yet, what we at times forget is
that we who live today cannot ‘buy and sell’ God like a possession or commodity,
nor can we gain His favor nor get what we want all the time. We like the VBS theme for the pre-school a
few years ago, need to Fully Rely On God.
How
can we do this? It takes our exercising
our muscles of faith given in Holy Baptism and listening to and leaning fully
on the words from John the evangelist this morning. John wrote this eternal truth we need to
remember and hold onto dearly and clearly, “God
is love, we who abide in love, abide in Him (1 John 4:16)”. When we understand
“God
is love”, we can clearly understand that God as love has our best
interest in mind in all situations even though it may not seem that way at the
time.
Daily
we encounter situations where it seems the world is against us, we are lost and
we are easily angered at our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and even at
God. But God’s love not only can sustain
us, but enable us to understand, when the world seems to be crashing down
around us, God is still there, loving us, walking with us and holding us
clearly and dearly in the palm of His Holy hands.
Abram,
from our Old Testament lesson this morning, shows and demonstrates clearly this
faith and the exercising of this faith in God and God’s love for him. What occurred in Abram’s exercising his faith? God when Abram exhibited and put his faith in
God, God “reckoned it to him as righteousness”. So if we like Abram believe in God with our
whole heart, we to not only will be embraced by God’s love, but “we
who abide in love, abide in Him”.
And with our ‘abiding in love’ and ‘abiding in Him’ God will not only
embrace us, but when it is our time to enter the church triumphant, we will be
welcomed into eternity and fully embraced by the love of God that we find in
what His Son, Jesus Christ willingly did on the Cross of Calvary for each and
every one of us.
Today
on this Father’s Day, there is for us a final example and demonstration of love
for one’s fellow man from that faithful day in December when so many lost their
lives. The Chaplain on the USS Oklahoma Father
Aloysius H. Schmitt was also tragically killed, but during the recovery after,
they found him and his chalice and Latin Prayer book.
Father
Schmitt unlike most individuals was alive and tried to escape. Father Schmitt demonstrated the love of God
for us by his willingness to when he could not escape from the ship, he out of
his love for his fellow man helped at a bare minimum 12 men to get to safety with
his blessing before succumbing to the watery grave. It is clear his faith in the love of God and
His Savior, Jesus Christ sustained him and is a beneficial and clear example for
each and every one us of faith active in love.
For the page in his prayer book from that faithful morning was a final
word through him to us today from Psalm 8:1.
David wrote, “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name
in all the earth.” Hence why
today on this Father’s Day, when we celebrate Father’s who willingly sacrifice
themselves for their families, we
clearly declare, not only that God’s name is majestic, but with a firm faith
that “God is love, [and] we who abide in love, abide in Him.” AMEN.
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight O Lord, our rock and our
redeemer!! AMEN!!
Let us pray! Heavenly Father, we gather here at Emmanuel knowing
that today what we hold in our minds eye, are not just memories, but clear
pictures of Marilyn’s earthly life which now is completed with her entrance
into eternity. As we mourn her passing,
may Your Word, paint a vibrant picture for us reminding us of Who and what
inspired her creativeness and enable us to be comforted with the salve of the
Gospel. For it is clear that the love You
showered upon her and she shared with those whom she knew and loved, found its
ultimate demonstration for her by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the Cross
of Calvary. May the picture and
fulfillment of His love surround us today and enable us to be comforted with
the true knowledge that Marilyn was baptized into Jesus Christ life, death and
resurrection and now rests in her Lord and Savior’s arms, welcomed into her
eternal heavenly home, by her beloved Stan as they dance to the music of heaven
surrounded by God’s love. AMEN.
All of us have heard the saying
that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.
When I was discerning the Call to Emmanuel Lutheran almost 7 years ago I
received in the packet about the church about 60 pictures. It included some of the most recent candid
pictures of the members of Emmanuel. As
I looked through the stack, one particular picture struck me. Not only was it a picture of a couple sitting
in the last pew at the back of the church, like all good Lutheran’s do, but the
picture was of an older couple, the husband was big, bald and built like a
linebacker and the wife was petite, prim and proper and had stunning silver
hair just like my mother. As I turned
the picture over, I learned their names, but did not realize then the impact
they would have upon my life, my family and ministry while here in Goodland.
The picture was of none other than
Stan and Marilyn. My first personal impression
when I met both of them was of a loving couple that would do anything for
anyone. Their love not only for each
other, but their four kids, Cindy, Sharon, Monte and Marla and their grandkids
and great-grandkids knew no bounds and the pride they felt when talking about
each and every one of them. If there was
an event occurring across the state or across the country, they were there,
come ‘heck or high water’, their attitude was clear, “Get it done” and ‘be
there or be square’. And this
willingness to travel even since I came to Goodland, showed their love, commitment
and desire to put family first even if it meant a long drive.
Clearly their personal drive was
demonstrated by Stan’s always working, whether at the Elk’s, implement
dealership or farming, yet behind every man is a great woman who is truly the
glue, but behind the scenes. Marilyn was
the glue and demonstrated her commitment to her family in many ways. In the home by being the homemaker who could
bake, cook, clean and ran her house with military precision and meticulous
detail, even down to having a special puma stone that travelled when necessary. Or on Saturday night while Stan was working
down at the Elk’s, Marilyn with her girls would watch Green Acres, My Three
Sons and of course The Lawrence Welk Show and dance around with them after
their hair was made ready for church on Sunday.
Marilyn was even willing to like a
mother hen, nurture not only her own brood of son and daughters, but even the
neighborhood children, feeding them if they were hungry, making delicacies like
sugar cookies with individual names for special occasions and even by her willingness
to be the ‘Blue Bird’ and Campfire Girl leader.
For some being a leader would have been a daunting task, but Marilyn embraced
it with her Texas tenacity and can do attitude and enjoyed these times and made
the events and the programs special, from handmade and hand sewn items expressing
her creativeness given to her by God and her willingness to make the parties
fun, from the party favors, the food, games and even with the skits that were
the envy of all the other groups.
Everybody wanted Marilyn as their leader, because she was fun, from
playing cards, to laughing to planning and executing the best ‘themed parties’.
Recently one of the young ladies
she impacted brought back her campfire vest and shared with Marilyn and her
family the lasting impact Marilyn had upon herself as well as many other young
ladies. Once her daughters had ‘flown
the nest’ and successfully become independent like her son had become in his
own right, even in the face of adversity, Marilyn continued to impact others in
the community in the courts and even the girls at the Tech College and especially
with her longtime love and dance partner Stan.
And this is the woman I first met when I arrived in Goodland who had
many creative friends right here in church who at the time were her kindred and
creative spirits that walked with her on the journey of life.
Marilyn sadly though in April
2011, in my first year here, sadly suffered the most traumatic event when she
and Stan were vacationing in Texas. Marilyn
fell and it was uncertain what the future would hold. As a Pastor, I was helpless, because I
couldn’t travel to minister to them as I wanted, but when they arrived back
here in town, and Marilyn was in the hospital, not only had their world
changed, but the next six years brought many mountain top experiences like
their 60th anniversary and sadly even some unexpected twists and
turns, but the bright tenacious, prim and proper image of Marilyn shined
through.
Yet through all of it, there has
been a thread that has been the cornerstone in Marilyn’s life, from New
Braunfels, Texas to a chance date to a young strapping Airman in San Antonio, and
ultimately moving here to Goodland, KS 64 years ago. And this thread the relationship Marilyn had
with God, epitomized in none other than the greatest Psalm that David wrote and
that we heard only a few minutes ago.
The 23rd Psalm perfectly encapsulates the journey of her
lifetime, but especially the last few years.
Stan, Marilyn and all of the family walked through the “valley
of the shadow of death”, but God’s promise that “the Lord is my shepherd”
was daily fulfilled giving unto Stan and Marilyn the opportunity to live and
love one another and their family and continue to demonstrate their love not
only for each other, their kids, grandkids and even great grandkids as the
couple that continued to be fiercely independent and the clear desire to live
life on their terms being independent and creatively staying in their own home.
But, things had changed. The image of Marilyn who was creative, meticulous
and imaginative like the image reflected in the mirror recently was not easily
seen because of the fog, like on the mirror from a hot shower. Marilyn the woman we knew and loved was still
there, but as a result of her fall and other factors, was not as clearly seen nor
experienced the same every day. But
through these times, God’s Word still rang true, God as David wrote, insured
that He would “prepare a table before” Marilyn, God “anointest [my] Marilyn’s head
with oil” and God insured that Marilyn’s “cup runneth over”. For this is what Marilyn learned growing up
in Texas, shared with her family every time they would take the long night time
ride in the cool of the night before air conditioning. And when they would arrive at “The Hill” as
you can see on the front of your bulletin, Marilyn’s Mom would be standing underneath
the arch at the gate with open arms, ready to welcome, love and embrace in true
Texas fashion and style her Kansas family.
This picture is exactly what God
wants us to firmly and faithfully hold onto and remember this morning. You see, last week, we experienced the
Marilyn we all knew and loved so much.
God gave us one last gift of grace, mercy and especially His love when Marilyn
woke up and was laughing, sharing stories and enjoying her grand and
great-grandkids. One last time, our
Yellow Rose of Texas shined through. But
on Saturday evening, Marilyn entered the gates of heaven and was welcomed with
open arms by her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
God clearly welcomed Marilyn and now has given her an eternal rest from
the labors of not only her hands, but this world. David completes his picture for us and we can
take great comfort in this truth, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Today we gather here as the family
of God celebrating the truth that this woman who loved sweet deserts at every
meal, who had a strong sense of right and wrong and a lover of games and a
loving mother to everyone. Our “Yellow
Rose of Texas”, Marilyn, now rests from the labors of her hands, not because of
her work, but because of the grace and love of Jesus Christ for her
demonstrated on the Cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ and which she was baptized
into. For clearly today, the path that
has led us to this place has not been without tragedy, turmoil or tumult. But God has fulfilled His promise and now
fulfills in our sight and with our celebration the entrance of Marilyn into eternity. She is not alone, she was welcomed by her
parents, Alvin and Katie, embraced by her grandson Jarett, but is now reunited
with her Saturday night dance partner Stan, ready to cut the rug, in a place better
than the Crystal Chandelier.
May this image given to us by
David, and fulfilled by God, not only dance in our mind, but firmly cement the
truth that God, Marilyn’s Good Shepherd, now holds her dearly and today, no
longer encumbered by the inability to dance can with her beloved Stan, Jarett
and all of the rest look down upon us.
And may this image be the reminder, not of loss, but of love found in
what her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ fulfilled on the Cross of Calvary that
finds its fulfillment as she now dances in heaven not only to the music of
Lawrence Welk, but the angels singing the praise of her Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. For now and for all eternity she
will be surrounded by the choir of angels and embraced by Jarett, reunited
with Stan and gathered together for the greatest feast and party put on by her
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Now may the peace of God which
surpasses all human understanding comfort us today as we celebrate Marilyn’s entrance
into the party that knows no end with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! AMEN.
Humankind
has been looking to the skies and viewing the heavenly bodies of the sun, moon
and stars since man was created. From
solar eclipses like the one that will come on August 21, 2017, to the biblical
account of the sun standing still in the sky for Joshua. Only in the last 200 years has our
understanding of the micro and macro universe grown and allowed us to
understand that the universe that surrounds us is greater than what we can see
with the naked eye. Even today scientists
continue delving into the mysteries of the micro and macro universe, here on
earth, in the Space Station and even via telescopes whether ground based or
even in the heavens like the Hubble or other probes that visit planets inside
and now outside our known universe. What
we tend to forget is not only is our universe unfathomable, but also a clear biblical
truth revealed to us about God and our understanding Him.
In
1st John 4, John the ‘elder’ and evangelist wrote, “If
anyone says, “I love God.” And hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does
not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”. Truly even John with foresight given by God understood
the challenges of our technological world that we face not only of being able
to believe in something we cannot see, but also how we can love one another, and
trust not only each another, but even of God.
Yet for us today, we still struggle with the simple age old question of
the existence of God and having a tangible truth and proof of His existence.
There
is the story told of a philosophy teacher who while teaching his students questions
God’s existence. Ultimately it fell to a
Marine to not only stand and defend the teacher’s right to question if God
existed, but also for the Marine to respond that God is to busy and God sent
him to prove that God existed.
Yet, Paul from our reading this
morning, not only answers our age old dilemma of God’s existence, but tells us
exactly what we Christians are to do in both the worst and best of times. Paul says, “God’s ways are unfathomable, but
to Him be the Glory forever. AMEN!” Paul the father of most of the New Testament
gives us what should be our response and points us in a direction that humanity
is at times not comfortable to go or even believe. Simply God is infinite and even beyond our
understanding.
We as humans are created finite in
our existence. We are born on a certain
date and we will die on a certain date.
God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier is different from us. God will never die, but God the Father willingly
out of His love for us as we heard in the Gospel this morning that we all know
and can probably quote, sent His Son to take on our humanity in order that we
will no longer be limited by our finite. For God demonstrating His love for us by
sending His Son, Jesus Christ and is graciously giving us the infinite when we
in faith believe in the unfathomable vastness of God and the gift of eternal
life given to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
With our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection, we no
longer are limited by our earthly vessels, but we are set free. As Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear would say, we are
set free “To infinity and beyond” and we will not be limited in our death when
we enter the veil of heaven. And this is
the gift we receive from God through His Son, Jesus Christ out of God’s great
love for us.
And today on this Trinity Sunday, we
celebrate this gift of grace, mercy and love, as we do every year with our use
of the Athanasian Creed. As the third
Creed of Christendom, we not only Confess and connect together in our
Confession, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but we truly claim and acclaim that “God’s
ways are unfathomable, but [continue to declare] to Him be the Glory
forever. AMEN!” Though we only use this Creed once a year,
our remembering it as one of our Confessions of Faith, our use of it today is the
exclamation point that this Creed makes.
With our Confessing our Faith in God, we make it very clear that God
clearly receives from us not only our adoration, but we give “to Him”
“the
Glory forever”! This is why we
seek to give God Glory in how we live our lives, how we love one another and
even how we are called by God’s Word to ‘put the best construction’ on all
things in our daily lives no matter what people may do, even those who claim they
are Christian, but clearly don’t show their love for their brothers or sisters
in Christ.
For in our as Christians loving God
and one another we show our adoration of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, but also clearly express our belief that God has our best interests in
mind no matter our own personal circumstances or the headlines in our world. We clearly not only invoke today, but lay
claim to the blessings of God of eternal life from Father, Son and Holy Spirit in
the Athanasian Creed. And today with our
confession we firmly, faithfully and fully confess and believe the
following. That “God’s ways are unfathomable, but [we
can lovingly give] to Him [our adoration as His baptized children so we can
firmly believe and give to Him] the Glory forever. AMEN!”
June
4, 2017
“They were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4)” Audio
Today
we gather like the disciples did after Jesus had been crucified, like they did
after His Resurrection that we celebrate with Easter, but today, only 10 days
ago the Church celebrated Jesus Ascension into heaven. Notice the Christ Candle, no longer resides
on the floor representing Jesus Christ birth.
It no longer resides beside the font where we bring our children to
receive the Grace, Mercy and Love of God in the Rite of Holy Baptism. Now the Christ Candle is at from our
perspective the ‘Right Hand’ of God.
The
journey has been clear, well documented, well remembered, Jesus destination is
now fulfilled, His destination and job is complete and Jesus Christ is secure
in Heaven, but Jesus promise for the disciples in the year of His crucifixion
and resurrection, is incomplete. The
next step for the disciples is recorded, not in the Gospel, but in Acts, the
book that relays to us the development of the New Testament Church.
What
happens to the disciples? Simply, “They were filled with the Holy Spirit”. The promise Jesus made to them long before
that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to them. This Spirit, the Spirit of Truth would
inhabit them, infuse into their very heart and souls and involve them in the
mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is the same Gospel we know and hear about when we gather here for
worship. It is the Gospel the disciples
had witnessed of the salvation offered to them, by Jesus Christ on the Cross of
Calvary.
Today
we celebrate the Festival of Pentecost. Pentecost
is the Celebration of the Giving of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the
Holy Spirit, not only to the disciples to inspire them to action, but it is the
same Holy Spirit given unto each and every one of us in our Holy Baptism. When “They
were filled with the Holy Spirit” the disciples lives were forever changed,
not only had they left everything to follow Jesus Christ, they now understood
with the gift of the Holy Spirit given unto each of them, they would be willing
to die in order that the message of the Gospel of Salvation would be given to
all of mankind through them and ultimately to each and every one of us gathered
here this morning.
Since
“They were filled with the Holy Spirit”
the disciples understood their role as followers of Jesus now changed from
one’s who received directly from Jesus Christ, to now not only active participants,
but devoted leaders in the New Testament Church. And their following would come at a cost. The cost would not be simply of time, travel
or training. The training was over, the
Gift of the Holy Spirit given unto them on the first Pentecost would change
their desire from staying their comfort zone to travelling to distant lands and
the gift of the Holy Spirit would change their perspective of time. Ultimately the gift “They were filled with [of] the Holy Spirit” would and did cost them
their lives.
You
see we remember on Pentecost what the cost is not only by reading the lessons,
but especially with the color of the paraments that adorn the pulpit, lectern,
the altar and even the stole I wear. The
red paraments signify the willingness of followers of Jesus Christ to die in
order for the message of salvation to be proclaimed. The best current example we have is the
willingness of Christians to die at the hands of ISIS as martyrs for the Gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Those
who lose their lives and die a martyrs death truly it could be said, “They
were filled with the Holy Spirit”!
Their willingness to die in order to spread the message of the Gospel,
not only connect their baptism with their lives, but are intimately connected
to and channel clearly how the disciples and “They were filled with the Holy
Spirit”!
What
can we take away from this? We hopefully
will not have the same opportunity like the disciples or Paul or even the
martyrs of today in Egypt or any of the Islamic states to have to choose death
rather than disown our faith. What we
can do though is pray for Christians throughout our world, those persecuted in
distant lands, but also locally even in our own country and community. For this can be our prayer that God not only
would ‘come again’, but that until that time, we can ask to be just like the
disciples and for the same gift they were given, since “They were filled with the Holy
Spirit”! AMEN.
