Bible Pickers: The Centurion's Faith, 5/03/15

Sermon 5-3-15 bible pickers the centurions faith

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 8:5-13 NIV

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Bible pickers, the series

American pickers the show.

Great stories from  Matthew…… one snuck in from John.

Today, the faith of the centurion.

Miracles and  Faith

Miracles – do you believe in miracles?

God can do anything

Abraham issac and Jacob are in the kingdom.

A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible. He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God. "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God is great!" he yelled without worrying whether anyone heard him or not.
Shortly after, along came a man who had recently completed some studies at a local university. Feeling himself very enlightened in the ways of truth and very eager to show this enlightenment, he asked the boy about the source of his joy.
"Hey" asked the boy in return with a bright laugh, "Don't you have any idea what God is able to do? I just read that God opened up the waves of the Red Sea and led the whole nation of Israel right through the middle."
The enlightened man laughed lightly, sat down next to the boy and began to try to open his eyes to the "realities" of the miracles of the Bible. "That can all be very easily explained. Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10-inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across."
The boy was stumped. His eyes wandered from the man back to the Bible laying open in his lap. The man, content that he had enlightened a poor, naive young person to the finer points of scientific insight, turned to go. Scarcely had he taken two steps when the boy began to rejoice and praise louder than before. The man turned to ask the reason for this resumed jubilation.
"Wow!" exclaimed the boy happily, "God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!"

Not everyone got healed.

The pool of siloam…. When the angel troubles the waters

Jesus didn’t clear the pool deck

That is why I am skeptical of travelling preachers churches that advertize healing

We are not in control of it

What do I have to thank and praise god for

Andre crouch – how can I say thanks for the things you have done for me

I have an audience with jesus

Awakenings……..you bet when he got sick I asked why

Were you not popular?

Were you picked last

Do you have low self esteem

I have an audience with jesus

God can do anything

Miracles happen

We do not control them

Stories of great miracles. Bob spence

Faith- lets talk about faith

I have an audience with jesus

The press of the crowd, the woman with the issue of blood

If I can just touch the hem of his garment……..

Jesus heart is warm toward this man.

He sees thru the soldier garb…….. he sees the man……

The soldier doesn’t see himself as a soldier……..he is a man. A man in need.

I do not deserve to have you come underneath my roof

Honor and respect for god

World of the Pharisees was about rules, not about faith

There was a time in my life when I respected my knowledge of god, but I did not respect god

For as controversial as it would be for Jesus to exclaim that He has never seen this amazing faith in Israel, it's unusual for the centurion to talk to Jesus so respectfully.

The romans were in charge and many mistreated the jews but

In Luke, we learn that the centurion had given $$$ to build the local synagogue

Actually cares about Israel … has a faith in God of Abraham & Jacob

Not only that…

Having someone who is important to you get real sick levels the playing field.

Everyone … no matter what

·        Religion

·        Race

·        Economic class

·        Preferred political party

·        Favorite baseball team

Everyone gets desperate and wants God to intervene when you’re in a situation like that

The centurion

The  first shall be last and the last shall be first

Those who think they are in better not get cocky or then will be out

NEED TO strike a balance between a cocky swagger about knowing God and a weak faith that isn't sure about anything

Some Christians are cocky.

Here is a story about some cocky guys

A couple of hunters chartered a plane to fly them into forest
territory. Two weeks later the pilot came to take them back.
He took a look at the animals they had shot and said, " This
plane won't take more than one wild buffalo. You'll have to
leave the other behind."

"But last year the pilot let us take two in a plane this size,"
the hunters protested.

The pilot was doubtful, but finally he said, "Well, if you did
it last year I guess we can do it again."

So the plane took off with the three men and two buffaloes.
But it couldn't gain height and crashed into a neighboring
hill. The men climbed out and looked around. One hunter
said to the other, "Where do you think we are?" The other
inspected the surroundings and said, "I think we're about two
miles to the left of where we crashed last year."

Here is another story about faith……….

An elephant had a flea in his ear.

The elephant broke loose from the herd and charged across a wooden bridge. The worn-out bridge shivered and groaned, barely able to support the weight. When they reached the other side, the flea puffed out its chest and declared, “Boy, did we shake that bridge.”

Is this a story of arrogance?  Maybe.  I tell it at funerals because it reminds me that whether we know it or not, we are being carried by something much greater than we are.

We can have faith in God

The centurion is a roman and he is in.  the kingdom is upside down

Finally - You can be filled with faith

When you go to the hospital

You can pray for what you want

Trust pray for what you want but trust in god no matter what.

Lets approach him with confidence

Lets be  thankful for what God has done

We have much to celebrate

Brian ferry – dance with life…….

All the way home you know the guy is doing a dance.

We have much to be thankful for

The Little Blue Engine - Hebrew 11:1-6 August-28-94

The Little Blue Engine Hebrew 11:1-6 August 28, 2009

Positive thinking not enough

Fred Price and the meat market

Presumption/pinnacle of the temple

It’s not me saying I can do this…It says I know God can do this…I know God

It is a knowing beyond knowing…I don’t know how I know…I can’t explain it

Not to replace positive thinking with negative thinking

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Positive thinking is fine, but it is not the same as faith

What faith is…

Seeing the unseen, knowing in a way that cannot be explained

Faith is a lasting testimony of a life well lived

What faith does…

Faith reminds us that The Christian life/life in the spirit is not about consuming resources

For yourself it’s about waking with God

Faith reminds us that knowing God is not about being happy, or having everything go your way.

Faith reminds us that God is for you, a partner for meaning, for spiritually

Faith is necessary…with out it we cannot please God

Believing that God exists

Believing that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him not because I am a minister

I can not promise that you will be healthy, wealthy, or wise,

Faith is not about things, its not about getting things, its not about having things your way,

But since faith is about God,

Can promise you God,

God is still at work in his world, in his people and in his church

He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So seek the Lord and you will find Him.

Amen

Reach Out...Sharing Your Faith 1Peter3:16

Sermon 7-19-09 reach out= sharing your faith 1 peter 3: 8-16 uuuuu

⁸Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. ⁹Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. ¹¹He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. ¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."^[a]

¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear^[b]; do not be frightened."^{[c] 15}But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Sermon series, reaching out….last week help the needy

This week…witness, share your faith

Next week is how we can help other churches

Today is new member Sunday

We have added witness to the list of commitments of membership

What does that mean

The Christian faith is not your private possession. We are called to reach out and win others.

This is a major theme in the new testament

Mt 4 I will make you fishers of men

Mt 9 we are to be workers in his field

Mt 28: go and make disciples of all nations

2 cor 5:20 we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

So how do we do this? I am asked this question a lot…………

I have a group of friends that are not Christian. We go out once a month and each month I am bantered with questions about how I can believe in god. I have trouble with a response. One person told me that it is ok to be a Christian and I should keep believing as I do.

Faith sharing is the movement of my belief, my faith, from my heart to yours. How does that happen.

Not just by words. But by words and deeds

By how we drive…….no fish on cars in Chicago

By the smile on my face, the way I conduct my daily life.

I am not saying that you cannot have parties at your house. Be normal, relevant and authentic.

My neighbors know more about my faith by what I do and how I treat them than by what I say to them

Ps 19 says- The heavens declare the glory of god – there is no place where their voice is not heard.

Ps 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. ^[a]

⁴ Their voice ^[b] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

You are witnessing every day, by what you do and by what you don’t do.

Acts of kindness, acts of kindness missed

So lets look at this scripture today…. One of the most important passages about sharing your faith, and it is so ignored by so many well meaning Christians.

¹⁵But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

We all no examples -how this is done wrong……I am some of those

Mark flamer

Mark Stanton

In SF handing out tracts

Over power new people

Scare people

Radicalize your relationship with them

St. louis- pujols card, million dollar bill, street preacer, taxi cab witness.

When we push too hard, we only hurt people.

These bad examples do not absolve you from the responsibility to speak to others about your faith.

You have to build a relationship with them.

You have to earn the right to have soul talk with them

Examples of what not to do

Don’t try to close the sale

Don’t use pat answers-When someone dies

Don’t use mass marketing tacticts

Leaving out tracts-Cold calling

People are won to jesus by people that they trust.

Americans by and large don’t need someone to tell them about Jesus, what they need is someone that will talk to them about Jesus without scaring them to death.

There are Good examples- some people do it right

Todd rhinehart and eric weymuller

Probably done right by who ever got you to this place

Maybe you are good at this………maybe not

When was the last time you mentioned your faith, your church?

Lets face it, we have not done as much of this as we could have…..we were just living out lives and we forgot about reaching out to others.

What can we do to improve in this area?

1. Be always ready. Don’t be afraid. Relax, you are talking about good stuff.

2. Do it when they are comfortable. Wait for the moment that they will give you permission. Always be looking for a time to reach into their life with God’s love

3. Tell your stories. Let them see how the faith has played a role in your life tell them about your church. Tell them that the people are relevant. Tell them that we deal in grace not guilt.

4. Be the kind of person that people will want to talk to, like when Nicodemus went to see Jesus in john 3.

Be Fair, Be kind

In todays world, my husband and I struggle with the Christian way to handle our renters. They have the same circumstances that how owners have that are currently in foreclosure. The difference is they cant make rent payments, that causes the actual owners to struggle with mtg payments. That causes stress for us. Its hard no to become angry with renters.

5. Learn to celebrate life. Get out of the should and ought. See the good and learn to dance. People around you will want to know what is going on in your life.

Are you glad to be a Christian? Has knowing Jesus made a difference in your life? Then Change your daily outlook Pray everyday, god give me someone to touch for you today.

Lets pray……lord just give me one person to reach for you today. To share your love with. To offer the words of life when the moment is right.

July 26

Ask members to go to white ave. jeppsons church 1 Sunday a month

Kingdom thinking vs local church thinking

We are not in competition

Tell them everything that you can

If someone leaves our church, we are sad, but if they go somewhere else, they are doing gods work there. They got something from us and they moved on. It is going to happen. Lets celelbrate that they are doing the good work there instead of complaining that they are gone from us.

Thankful Even When... Philippians 4:11-13 11-17-02

Sermon 11-17-02 thankful even when…. Phil 4:11-13

Pony story

Paul to phillipians…..dirty, hungry, scared, hiding, fed to lions
I have learned in all things to be content

Paul had the life, wealth, prestige, power
Paul gave up the life….poor, rejected,

We can be thankful even when things aren’t going well because

1. it can always be worse
I had no shoes, he had no feet
Man who’s daughter died

2. we learn and grow in times of trial….James 1:2
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Rob Blair

3. because this is still good
thanksgiving Sunday in Mozambique

4. because in times of trial I rely on him more 2 Corinthians 12:10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Jeff Madden

Finally we can be thankful because we have Christ
I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me
Gina Kennedy

German pastor…now thank we all our God

Prayer
So not focus on circumstances, focus on God
Find your strength not in things, but in him
Then we will be content because we have found the Christ who strengthens us



I cried because I had no shoes Until I saw a man who had no feet.
I don't recall when I first heard the phrase. It seems that I've known it forever. Whenever I thought that my life was horrible, I would remember it and realize that many were much worse off than I. It helped to put my problems in perspective.
When Nicki died, I thought again of the old phrase. This time, though, I felt that I was "the man who had no feet." There was no one worse off than I.
I was able to count the ways that my loss was the worst. Eighteen, I was convinced, was the worst possible age for a child to be when they died. A sudden death was much worse than a long-term illness because I didn't get a chance to say goodbye.
I even thought it was worse to lose a daughter than a son because a daughter would be more like her mother and therefore more likely to be a friend in addition to being a child.
With the passage of more than five years, however, I have gained a little bit of perspective again. There are some worse off than I am. Since meeting some of you personally and others who I just know a little about, I can see how each loss has its own unique pain.
The loss of a little one means the loss of the joy of childhood and the dreams. The loss of an older child means losing the person you have come to know over years.
A sudden loss means there's no chance to finish things and to say goodbye. A long-term illness makes it necessary to think of finishing things and saying goodbye.
As for losing a son or a daughter, I realize now that the thought is a ridiculous one. The relationship may be different, but is no less loving and real.
I feel now that others who have lost children are closer to "having no feet" than I am. I hear your stories or see things on the news and I am grateful that I didn't have to go through those things.
But the ones who I feel are the worst off are the ones who never had anyone to love and to be loved by. They may have feet, but they have no hearts.

Choose This Day Hebrew 9:27 6-2-02

Sermon 6-2-02 choose this day Heb 9:27

2 things sure in life…..death & taxes
Part one of this scripture……
Dying part is very sure
Faith teaches us that this life is our chance
When it is over, we stand before God
You don’t have to be perfect…..majestic steak house

Choices we make are very important
Easy to get lost in the stuff of life
Too many choices about me……
Even the way we interpret the Christian faith

Elijah and the prophets of Baal
If Baal is god follow him, if the Lord is god follow him

We have all followed our other Gods
It is a constant struggle
We get pulled in
The answer cannot be that easy, that simple

It is
Part 2 of the scripture
Message of Gospel is simple
Essentials of faith

Where are you?
Hurting? Questioning? Cocky?
No way out??

Nothing broken beyond repair

John Wesley taught that communion was salvific…..
Throw yourself upon the mercy of a loving God







The fields were parched and brown from lack of rain, and the crops lay wilting from thirst. People were anxious and irritable as they searched the sky for any sign of relief. Days turned into arid weeks. No rain came. The ministers of the local churches called for an hour of prayer on the town square the following Saturday. They requested that everyone bring an object of faith for inspiration.

At high noon on the appointed Saturday the townspeople turned out en masse, filling the square with anxious faces and hopeful hearts. The ministers were touched to see the variety of objects clutched in prayerful hands - holy books, crosses, rosaries.

When the hour ended, as if on magical command, a soft rain began to fall. Cheers swept the crowd as they held their treasured objects high in gratitude and praise.

From the middle of the crowd one faith symbol seemed to overshadow all the others. A small 9-year-old child had brought an umbrella

Kitchen Habits 2 Peter 1:3-11 4-14-02

Sermon 4-14-02 2 Peter 1:3-11

Last week you learned about my kitchen habits
Several e mails about “please don’t invite me to lunch”
I can cook, complicated things
Pancakes, waffles, cereal, pop tarts
Cookies….didn’t have all the ingredients right

Ingredients to life
You find them in scouting, Sunday school, church, home

2 Peter
those who do
those who don’t

the ingredients for life
faith-is presupposed –
heb 11:6 Without faith it is impossible….
goodness-honor integrity, character
knowledge-willingness to learn
cant follow the will of God if you do not know it
self control-know when to keep mouth shut
perseverance-you will still have problems-James 1:2
count it all joy my br & sisters when you fall into temptation
godliness-being spiritually engaged
brotherly kindness-golden rule
love-god is love

the ingredients matter
being prayerfully, spiritually engaged in life
scouting, s school, church
world of suicide bombers

jenny, take off your shoes
its holy ground
ingredients for life is an arena of holy ground
life is holy ground

russ….holy ground

After 9-11 Psalm 9-16-01

Sermon Psalm 91 9-16-01

America was founded by those who sought to worship the god of love

We learned some things this week
1. Some people hate America
Because of our freedom, love, and strength. In some cases because our faith is different than theirs

2. Faith in Christ is more impt than athletic events

3. Americans will pull together
Wal-Mart, pledge of allegiance Wednesday night [people stopped shopping to say the pledge]
We already feel a greater bonding to one another
We already feel and understand the need to put Christ first

4. We learned that it was time to grow up
Pollyanna world is gone
Our children are resilient, we will lead them
Our children will rise from this because we will rise from our lethargy as parents and we will teach character, perseverance, sacrifice and resolve
A 12 year old shared the following with me
I have taken advantage of many things in my life and we have all taken advantage of this country. Today was the worst thing that ever happened in my life that I could actually understand. It makes me mad because so many people died. I almost wanted to run away and pray for all the people. When I went to the prayer service for them [earlier tonight] I cried so hard and it felt like my heart was being ripped out. This is exactly how I felt the first time I really understood what Jesus did for us. I cried my eyes out. I wish that this had never happened, but since it did I wish that we could find out who did this and find out why. When I first found out about it at school I didn’t understand until Mr. Spaulding explained it. When everyone heard about it they started crying. In school it put a big bruise on my heart. When I got on the bus everyone was crying and praying.
I hope who ever did this knows how much it has hurt my family, my friends, my country and me, but we will not give up. United we stand, divided we fall. America is one nation. God will help us. You must believe.


Transition
Part of Growing up is taking responsibility for human evil
1. This is not the 2nd coming; columbine wasnt Pearl Harbor was not
The issue of the second coming is irrelevant. No one should come to Christ because of fear. The day and time of the second coming is irrelevant to Christians because if you are ready, it doesn’t matter when it happens.
2. Falwell/Robertson America did something wrong, God is judging us
They say we forgot God.
Did you forget God? I did not. This is not an act of God it is an act of evil men
Did we do something wrong??? No….well, I can think of one thing
We chose to be great
We chose to be a place where freedom rings, where all people are welcome, where love casts out fear. This greatness is hated by others and opened the door even to those who would harm us. But we can never leave our dream of greatness and settle for mediocrity.

God's relationship with America is this….time to recommit
I always wished that people would show more respect for their faith and for the Lord. I am sorry that it may have took this to bring it to pass.
With that in mind at the Service this Saturday
I will focus on accepting Christ, renewing your commitment to him and following him in baptism. If you are interested in this, please be present this Saturday night.

Transition
Friends, as you know, there is going to be a response
I hope that it is not massive/But I am sure it will be comprehensive
Missiles, smart, bombs, troops on the ground, bank accounts frozen, borders closed, no fly zones, naval blockades, oil cut off
I have a question…how can a Christian mix
Turn the other cheek with the response that is surely coming

1. In a civilized world we do not let murderers go free
Jesus threw out the moneychangers
We do not let charles Manson out of prision because we are forgiving
We are no less Christian if we stand for what is right
But, we would certainly be less Christian if we allowed them to take over

2. Remember that this is not about personal vengeance,
That would make us just like them
We must not allow recriminations against people who may look like the enemy
As a community of faith, wcc will not tolerate it

3. This is not and cannot be about national vengeance
But about keeping the world a place where freedom rings, where God is glorified
We did not fight Japan, Germany or Vietnam because we wanted to hurt Japanese, Germans or Vietnamese. We did not do it to get even. We did it because we perceived that there was an evil in the world that we had to push out

4. If we don’t stop this, there will be more
Unchecked evil has a way of growing. Would you stand for someone walking down the isle of the church with a gun? Would you allow them to do what ever they wanted in the name of turn the other cheek?
I don’t want to have to be afraid when I go to Pizza hut
Our children/grandchildren yet unborn deserve the right to live w/o fear

Afghans have said…it will be a holy war. Friends, It already is
Not just an attack on America, but upon civilization itself, on the Christian faith
These extremists would end our society as we know it. End our freedoms and close our churches. We cannot give the world over to those who hate.

Possible medal of freedom for the Passengers on fl 93 in Pennsylvania
1st in line of many to stand against this evil

In the coming days, at a day and time of our choosing, men and women from this nation will join with those from around the world in launching a comprehensive effort to insure that the values of our culture will be passed on to coming generations, and will be available for all mankind. We must, and we will unite. We can no longer be consumed by the petty differences of the past. We are fighting for our right to exist in this world as a free and Christian people. To give the world over to those who hate would not be glorifying to God, so in the days ahead may God bless our resolve, that we may declare with one voice that we will not let our values go quietly into the night.

Commitment- I am asking the woods chapel church to be there
Give blood, ration gas if needed, sign up to go if needed, teach Sunday school, help members and friends in the reserves, comfort those who mourn. I am placing you on alert. This community needs us to be the church as never before.

Conclusion
Some of this hurts, it sounds nasty, hard. It is nasty.
This is not a time for panic or anger, but for reason and calm
Remember, If we have god we have everything
We will continue to lift up the God who cares
We will continue to lift up the name of Jesus
Pray that those who hate will learn to love, that they will find Christ
Pray that God will comfort those who mourn
Pray that he will guide our president
Pray that we can live as responsible stewards of this world
Let us bond together in the love of Christ
Let us find guidance; let us find shelter in the shadow of his wings