Opening the Door to Hope: Easter Sunday, Matthew 28:1-10, 4/20/14

Sermon Easter Sunday 4-20-14 Mt 28:1-10

 

28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” ⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 

Easter Sunday….what should we talk about?

The resurrection of Jesus

It is talked about so much, do we even recognize the significance?

 

Legend of the Touchstone

According to that ancient legend of the touchstone, if you could find the touchstone on the coast of the Black Sea and hold it in your hand, everything you touched would turn to gold. You could recognize the touchstone by its warmth. The other stones would feel cold, but when you picked up the touchstone, it would turn warm in your hand.

Once a man sold everything he had and went to the coast of the Black Sea in search of the touchstone. He began immediately to walk along the shoreline picking up one stone after another in his diligent and intentional search for the touchstone. However, after several days had passed, he suddenly realized that he was picking up the same stones again and again. So he devised a plan... pick up a stone; if it's cold, throw it into the sea. This he did for weeks and weeks.

Then one morning he went out to continue his search for the touchstone. He picked up a stone; it was cold... he threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone - cold! He threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone... it turned warm in his hand, and before he realized what he was doing... he threw it into the sea!

this can so easily happen to us. We can come upon a miraculous moment like Easter... we can feel it turn warm in our hands... but then (so dulled by the routine) before we realize what we are doing... we throw it away. Absentmindedly, mechanically, nonchalantly... we toss it aside and miss the miracle of Easter.

 

Easter should never be approached, mechanically or routinely.

Easter is a miracle.

 

Easter is about power

Power to live this life in a way that matters and

Power over death

 

All of us have power in this life

I’m not the boss, I have no power.

You have power over many things.

How you spend your free time, how you spend your money, how you speak to people, how you drive, who you love, who you forgive, who you don’t. 

We all have power.

 

Jesus message is verified by his resurrection

And it provides us with a chance to live a life of meaning

Had he not risen, everyone could say, oh, he was a nice guy

By rising from the grave, Jesus declares what message will be told

History belongs to the victors..  To the victor goes the spoils.

Those who win the war, write the story

The message of selfishness&hate has been beaten by the message of love

Humans often use their power to hurt others

When we hurt others, we only hurt ourselves

When we hurt others, we never quite get it right

I am stuck on the irony of The white supremacist who visited the Jewish community center and killed 2 Methodists

          Reat underwood and his grandpa William corporon

Rhets mother, mindy corporon…..refused to let hate have the last word

Normally a quiet person, she decided to meet the press.  To tell her story

The story of hate cannot be the dominant story

There is a story of love, of faith

 

Jesus’ Power is expressed in love

Every time we express love we are walking in the path of Jesus

1 jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. KJV

 

The story of some friends in mark 2 who would not have someone be left out

Ken woodruff and his group went to great lengths to reach a distant friend

It is a picture of love

God sends Jesus to the ends o f the earth to find us and restore us

It is a message of love

He uses his power to love

 

Jesus comes out and meets the women. In John 20 he meets Mary

He doesn’t say, now that I am raised, I am large and in charge

Now that I am powerful I am going to act like the Pharisees………….

Did you ever know someone who got the promotion and it changed them?

Jesus does not use his power to hurt people

He sets the culture…..

He loves them

To Mary he says……… Mary

His candor is the same after the resurrection as it was before.

No pretense – just love

God is love

And so the movement of love is victorious

It is not a movement of who is good and who is bad

It is not a movement of who is right and left or right and wrong

It is a movement of love

 

And so followers of Jesus can step out on to the stage of life w the most powerful weapon ever created………the love of god

with love as his only weapon,  Gandhi liberated India from the British empire

with love as a Guide mother Teresa overcame personal depression and gave her life to the least of these

by the power of love, martin luther king jr changed the face of America

by the power of  love Jesus saved the world

Finish this sentence for yourself………

By the power of love, I _______ [did what?]

Friend you have power to create culture.  To create an atmosphere in your family

 

Finally, Easter means power over death

The grave is not the last chapter of the story for we humans

There is hope

on may 23^rd 1939, a navy submarine the uss squalis had a mechanical problem and sank to the  bottom - 243 feet.. It seemed that all was lost. There was no electricity and the oxygen was quickly running out. In one last attempt to rescue the sailors from the steel coffin, the U.S. Navy sent a ship equipped with Navy divers to the spot on the surface, directly above the wounded submarine. in command was  Lieutenant Commander Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, using the new McCann Rescue Chamber. When the sailors trapped in the sub heard the diving bell land,. In the darkness they tapped in Morse code, "Is there any hope?"

The diver on the outside, recognizing the message, signaled by tapping on the exterior of the sub, "Yes, there is hope."
The kids in the south Korean ferry

 

Some of you walked in the door today hoping to find hope.

Some of u have lost a loved one in the past and you miss them on holidays

Some of you have lost a loved one recently

Some of you have been diagnosed with something dreadful

This is not the last chapter of the story

There is a resurrection. 

 

its easter- conclusion? Yes its easter

we all dress up and everything looks good on the outside

shoes, dresses.  food.  family. 

Is that all there is?

 

For some it is enough.  Life is joyful and carefree. If so, im happy for you

But many need more because there are real concerns in this world.

 

Flight 370 is still missing

Russia - Ukraine

We humans still deal with fear, worry, financial concerns and illness

 

Easter is a story of power- of victorious power

What ever is going on in this world, God is bigger

he is the ruler over nations

 

what is going on in your life

God is big enough to handle it --he reigns

 you can cast your cares on him/ you can trust him

you can rely on him

we will still suffer in this life /but we are not alone

 

whatever is going on in your life, this is a great day because we all wake up to hope.

the brokenness of this life is not the final story
He is risen. 

In this life and in the next,

We have hope

Simeon, Luke 2:22-32, 12/29/13

Sermon     12-29-13    Luke 2:22-32               Simeon

²² When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[b]), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^{[c]  25} Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

It is hard for us to be satisfied.

All the giving and we can still feel empty

Jonny carson gave his son a $100 tank

He played in the box

Well, its over. It’s the day after  Christmas is over.

 

Decorations that went up so early are now removed

Extra things marked down -

Replaced with valentine’s day

Regarding the after Christmas feeling, John Walton a presbyterian minister wrote, “Nothing is as over as Christmas when it’s over. The empty boxes, the pretty paper on the floor, the stray tinsel from the tree, the empty cartons of eggnog stuffed into the trash bag. Life has come back to normal, whatever that is, and it means that the diversion of the past few weeks, the frenzy and fuss, the lights and glitter are packed away once again like the star at the top of the tree; taken down and carefully wrapped, padded and protected in its box. And what is left? Conflicts around the globe, homeless people sleeping in the streets, hungry people begging for food, worries about health, kids that concern us, jobs that wear us down. We’re back to where we left off before the holidays

Nothing is quite so over as Christmas when it is over.

 

Lou holtz

A number of years ago, when Lou Holtz was at the University of Arkansas, he was taking his team to play a bowl game in Tempe, Arizona. The game was to be played on Christmas day. He was asked how he felt about playing a game on Christmas, rather than being with his family. The coach answered candidly: "I would rather be in Tempe. After all, once you have been to church on Christmas eve, had Christmas eve dinner, and opened the presents, Christmas is the most boring day of the year."

 

We are just a few days past Christmas

We are just a few days past Christmas

But there is an inevitable let down

So much packed into 4 weeks of advent

We could talk about keeping Christmas going, but who could handle it

 

We don’t want the clogged streets around the mall all year.

And who could maintain the pace of eating?

In fact, many of us are already planning our diets to begin January 2.

 

Actually, we need a little respite from all the busyness, don’t we?

 

Mary and Joseph weren’t allowed to reside permanently in Bethlehem and neither can we.

It’s back to the real world…

And learning to find satisfaction in this world

Simeon…waited a lifetime for god to act
1. ritual circumcision
2. dedication of newborn, sac two doves
3. purification of mothers after giving birth
4. appearance of the savior of the world

Simeon waited…..applied himself….Celebrated…was ready to go

 

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

Amazing!  He is so happy that he is ready to die.

He has experienced the most important thing in life. 

He has seen god’s salvation

we waited for christmas, it came, it went,
life goes on for us
--quiet descends.  We get bored.  it stinks

was it always this difficult to find satisfaction in life?

some years ago tom brokaw was on the radio

He was expressing frustration with the current generation as he extolled the virtues of the greatest generation.

 

young people these days actually got it easy. Their grandparents had endured truly devastating events like The Great Depression and WWII.  The current crop of young adults, he concluded, doesn't even have a clue about real hardship. 

 

A young man called in…surely the Depression and WWII certainly created terrible hardships for the people who faced them that he, nonetheless, believed his generation faced an even greater hardship. The caller said, "The loss of hope." He said that his experience indicated that many of today's young adults had simply stopped believing that things were going to get better. They didn't expect to live as well as their parents had lived. They weren't expecting a brighter future. They have simply given up hope. 

 

He said, The Great Depression, as terrible as it was, in many cases brought families together as they worked side by side in the hope of saving their families. Most of his friends, he said, grew up in families in complete disarray and have given up the hope of ever having a real family experience of their own. 

 

He said, WWII was a terrible event that obviously cost thousands of Americas' young men their lives. Then he said, and even though they knew the risks they still enlisted voluntarily by the millions because they saw it as a cause worth dying for. Most of those in his generation, he said, can't imagine anything worth dying for. The Great Depression and WWII created terrible hardships. But I submit to you that the greatest hardship of all is living without hope."

It’s an interesting discussion

It’s a many sided dilemma

 

So the opportunities are different.

What happened to spain after the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588

All of central and south America speak Spanish

500 million people.

Opportunities different yes.

Did they close up shop?

 

The British empire

The empire on which the sun never sets

20% of worlds population over 50 countries

What happened to them after two world wars?

Did they close up shop?

 

I want to ask a question
Do we hope in circumstances or in god??????

 

Are we happy only when the stock market is up

Only when we win the war

Only when we are getting presents

Only when we get the next best thing

 

Is it possible that we even get all of those things and still want more?

We drive a car but want another

We won the last war but insist on winning them all

[Maybe we should have fewer wars]

The market is up, but we used to be happy with 14,000 now we would be depressed by that.

 

Simeon waited his entire life to experience god

It is all he ever wanted

We can have that any time

 

I suggest o you that the joy in life is found not in the outcome of events or possessions, but in the promise of god

 

Difficulty will befall us all.  Life happens.

We have to decide what we will do with every single day

We want everything, but how much are we willing to invest of our hearts to achieve satisfaction in life

The Jesus Store

One day a woman went shopping at the mall. She was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Jesus because he looked just like the paintings she'd seen in museums and in devotional books. Finally she got up her nerve and asked, "Excuse me, but are you Jesus?" "I am." "Do you work here?" "In a way; I own the store." "Oh, what do you sell here?" "Just about everything," Jesus replied. "Feel free to walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is you want, and then come back and I'll see what I can do for you."

 

Well, she did just that. She walked up and down the aisles, writing furiously. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty.  There was peace in families, harmony, no dissension, no more drugs. There careful use of resources. By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list. Jesus looked over the list, then smiled at her and said, "No problem." And then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, and finally stood up, and laid out the packets on the counter.

 

"What are these?" the woman asked. "Seed packets," Jesus answered. "This is a catalog store." "You mean I don't get the finished product?" "No, this is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. You go home and plant the seeds. You water them and nurture them and help them to grow, and someday someone else reaps the benefits."

Christmas may be over but life is still good.

Stop waiting for some magical event to be happy

you are probably not going to win the lottery
Your ship is not going to come in.
frankly, Its all already here if you know Jesus…..

you have the seeds of satisfaction within you

within your relationship with God

 

if we lost it all today

and what does that mean.  What is all of it?

if we lost electricity, eating out, new clothes, the stock market, even sporting events

we still have it all if he have him

 

knowing  Jesus is the single most valuable thing in this world

people who live with nothing, live in peace because they have him

people who are sick and dying – die in peace because they have him

 

When I was a kid I wasted December waiting for Christmas

A friend of mine told his staff on the 23^rd, don’t waste the 23^rd, getting ready for the 24^th

The 23^rd is a great day too.

Every day is a blessing.

life goes by fast

no better offer is going to come along
Christmas day may be behind us but the celebration is just beginning

The savior is here
let’s find joy in him

 

 

Hope Lamentations3:1-26 6-21-09

Sermon 6-21-09 hope Lamentations 3:1-26

The sermon series: the greatest of these. Faith, hope. Love

The historical setting of the passage- what is this? Whose idea of a good one?
The Babylonian exile
5 chapters. Only words of hope
desperate time

what do we know of this desperation?
ww2 – rationing. Everyone served, everyone worked. The country was mobilized. No new tires. No new cars.

world trade center- brought us some despair, humility, politicians that stood side by side for the good of the country.

Desperation of our personal lives….. lost jobs, divorce, 401k, national debt
this is not good- parents are supposed to sacrifice their comfort for the future of their children. We however, in my life time, have sacrificed the future of our children for our comfort.

I fear that my parents left me a better America than we are leaving our children

hope defined
it is framed by hardship. No hardship, no understanding of hope
one way to speak of hope is that it is the light at the end of the tunnel-
no tunnel, no hope

Henri Nouwen, --Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Hoping is knowing that there is love; it is trust in tomorrow; it is falling asleep and waking again when the sun rises. In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see that he understands you. --

One way to look at hope is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Another, more realistic, possibly more spiritual way to look at hope is
hope is not a release from hardship, but hope walks alongside hardship

it is not always the light at the end of the tunnel
more often, it is picking up a flashlight while you are in the tunnel

Sometimes there is no return to normal
ABC News- The new normal
Sometimes there is no fix
Lamentations…….no happy jesus party moment

If we hope circumstances will chge, then we’re hoping in circumstances But when we hope in God, there is a joy that lifts us past the circumstances
Romans 8:24-26 for in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
And so the scripture can be fulfilled:
When I am weak, then he is strong

These are times When strength comes alongside
Hope walks alongside despair
Hope does not erase the painful circumstances- but hope is the presence of God with us

The scriptures refer to such hope:
A good hope. 2 thess 2:16 a Lively hope. 1 peter 1:3 a Blessed hope. Titus 2:13 Rejoicing in hope. Rom 5:2 Abounding in hope. Ro 15:13 The full assurance of hope Heb 6:11 that god is with us

Do we live like we hope in God?
A story is told of a rabbi in a European village, who one day summoned the townspeople to the village square. He said he had an important announcement. The people gathered, but not without much grumbling at the inconvenience. The merchant resented having to leave his business. The wife complained because she had so many errands to run. But, out of respect, they went unwillingly to the town square. When all were present, the rabbi said, "I wish to announce there is a God in the world." That was all he said. But the people understood. They knew they had been acting as if God did not exist.

God is with us. That is the good news. That is hope enough. If that is not enough for you, I suggest to you that your God is too small.
The writer of lamentations says this: the lord is my portion. I will wait for him
According to Dante, [divine comedy] written over the gates of hell are these words: ABANDON HOPE, All YOU WHO ENTER.
What is hell. God is not in hell. Not true.
Maybe God is not acknowledged in hell.
And with that we understand that this life can be a living hell.

St. Augustine believed that hope was the best of the three virtues.
You see, Faith only tells us that God is,
Love only tells us that God is good.
But hope tells us that God is with us.

in the early 1600’s there was a Lutheran pastor named Martin Rinkart. He lived in Germany during the siege of the Thirty Years War. He lived in a walled city which was surrounded by the enemy. 800 homes were burned, and the people within the walls suffered from the plague, from starvation, and it got to the point where the pastors within that town, were burying 12 people a day. Pretty soon the pastors themselves started to die and Martin Rinckart was the only pastor left. Some days he was conducting 50 funerals a day, Fifty funerals a day. In 1647 He buried over 5,000 people, including his own wife. One day during this terrible time, he sat down, wrote these words to a familiar hymn:

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

It is 1941 and England is being destroyed by the German airforce. France has fallen, America is neutral and Prime minister Winston Churchill does not know if England will survive. Then on December 7th, pearl harbor. America enters the war. –he wrote in his journal, Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful

We may not know the outcome, but we know that the greatest power in the universe walks with us hand in hand. God has come along side us in our weakness. And tonight, because of him, we sleep the sleep of the saved.
Let us pray.

Who Is Jesus - Part 4 John20:19-21 9-28-08

Who Is Jesus, Part 4 - Jesus Gives the Holy Spirit John20:19-21 09-28-08

Fear
The disciples were afraid
We have been afraid - Scott had a tumor in his abdomen
I feel like I am an empty shell
We may be afraid now

Hope
Wouldn't it be nice if someone could walk into the room and make it all ok
We are hoping in all the wrong things
Wouldn't it be nice if someone could walk into the room and make it all ok
Jesus appears, he brings peace

Peace be with you. He says it twice
Sometimes, you have to keep telling yourself the truth

Receive the Holy Spirit
If I leave the comforter will come

John14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom that Father will send in my name, will teach and will remind your of everything I have said to you.

The gift of a leader is the sense of trusting that they bring.....
Everything is ok

Result of peace is the possibility of real change
Things change
We hate it when change is forced
There comes a time when the time is right for change
Forest Gump running....and he stops
Welcomed changed becomes real change

When the time is right i can leave my comfort zone for the sake of Christ

Spiritually = a growth process --- And it always involves movement....
Because when we are listening, we are open, and when we are open,
we respond, we change

We are sent, we can go
Holy spirit gives us a Willingness to enter the desert
Going out among them
Wilderness--Neutral zone
Great moments come when we get out of the room, and leave our comfort zome
The disciples went to every corner of the of the ten known world.

Holy Spirit gives us a Willingness to enter the valleys - life isn't always happy and beautiful
Transitioning change --- Mountain tip to the valley
Recovering from difficulty

Depression, before I was enlightened, I was depressed. Now since enlightenment, I only experience depression

Lo I am with you always

You cannot rely on your emotion
Marriage and divorce...I was worried every time we would have a fight

our emotions cannot be trusted....

We stand on a solid rock

John Wesley on his death bed...Gos is with us

How can everything be ok?
What if the economy really tanks
We will open a soup kitchen at the church...life will go on
We will learn to trust in God in ways that maybe we haven't yet
In dark times people must decide if they will choose to cower in fear or to light the candle of hope

Today
People are nervous, people are afraid, people are waiting
If that is you, then today, Jesus walks in the door and speaks peace

If you are ok, we have an opportunity-
When people are afraid, they give up on their idols...
I missed it after 9-11
Now is a time for us to remember that we are the voice of the father
Peace, peace be unto you
You can be His voice....people are waiting
Peace. Peace. Peace. We are not alone. God is with us. Everything is ok.

Post Easter One John 20:19-21 4-15-07

Sermon 4-15-07 Post easter One – Confirmation John 20:19-21

This will preach. This is an amazing moment
But not because of the disciples
Jesus was dead. The disciples were hiding in a room in fear
Now he is risen and they are still hiding in fear

He appears to them. Gives them hope and confidence. Receive the Holy spirit

How do yo know when you are touchted by the holy spirit?
Holy spirit is speaking to us when he moves us off of dead center

Sometimes it takes more than knowing you should change
· I am a bad marriage counselor
· You did what? Stop doing that…………..

Sometimes you have to open yourself to that touch from above…….
Sometimes it takes the Holy Spirit to speak to us to help us truly change

Pontoon boat discussion 2 years ago
Men, there is something that maybe you should be doing
I am asking you in the name of Jesus Christ to step up and be leaders
What should we do….I don’t know, but ask the questions

He sends them out…where did they go?
They went out to give their lives for the sake of the gospel---

We are an Easter people. We are changed

Easter is not simply to become nice, kinder consumers of this world,
But we are called to leave our world of comfort and touch a dying world for Jesus

Nothing wrong with living an average life if that is your potential

To be average is acceptable if that is your potential that god gave you
To be below average is acceptable if that is the extent of your abilities

But how sad it is to be can’t think of anything more sad than to be filled with possibility and opportunity and live an average, mediocre life

To have within you the seeds of greatness and shrink back from them to become one of the crowd

Sometimes people do this
They see inside themselves possibility and they are frightened
Because it is hard to excel

Hard to excel, to follow dreams
Hard to believe in who you are
And in who god has made you

Sometimes people don’t want to stick out…they shrink back, hide in the stuff
Engage in strange behavior because they are hiding from what God has called them to do or be

Track coach……….Brinkman, you are dogging it

Dear Christian
You don’t have the right to hold yourself back from fulfilling your potential
If God has blessed you, then you have a responsibility to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to????

We are an Easter people. We are changed

Not simply to become nice, kinder consumers of this world,
But we are called to leave our world of comfort and touch a dying world for Jesus
Any takers………..What would that look like?

Be a nicer, kinder person

Take sack lunches to Westport
Make food for the needy
Fold clothes in grace place

30-day missions
Long-term life missions
You’ve been a giver, become a goer

Somewhere for you, there is a Call into the ministry
More time for work of Christ, less time for my interests

Believe and dream great things for God and take responsibility for them

Talking to friend
Telling me how
How god was scratching, itching at that place where heart is begin to soften
[Where is that place for you?]
Certain situation, didn’t want to participate----Certain group he did not want to help
God was asking nagging chasing

He couldn’t say no
Gripped by god, seized upon
He began to open his heart and life
To reach these people
He didn’t care about for his own sake, in his own mind

Living outside of himself
To help someone one in need

Friends-You can live an extraordinary Christian life

Some of you will live and die and never have money, ever
Never be famous, ever

But every single one of us can live an extraordinary x life
Can chose to live in ways that common avg people,
people who are satisfied with mediocrity
Will say, O my gosh
Look at that person, look at what they are doing

Hear, Listen to the Holy Spirit
Not for what is easy for you
Not for what makes you feel good but
For what is hard for u---For What breaks you
For What makes you dependent on him

Someday I hope you can look in mirror---who is this person
I am doing what does not come naturally to me
This is not who I normally would be

But God compels me
I have to do this thing
I have to be about this thing

So we can give ourselves away in extraordinary fashion-------Amazing

Conclusion-------Jesus told his disciples----“Receive the holy spirit”
This is amazing…………
As the father has sent me, so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit

Lost and Found Luke 15:1-10 1-28-07

Sermon 1-28-07 Luke 15:1-10 Lost and found

Often when we think of those who are lost, we think of those who do not know Christ.

We have all been lost or lost something
Conchola grandmother who forgot where she parked her car

There is usually one way to get somewhere. One best way. 50 highway to Sedalia. 70 - 13 to Sedalia. I-35, I-29, 71 highway, Wornall Road, not going to get there.
More ways to get lost then there are to help you arrive safely

Back roads, side roads, = sidetracked

Imagine planning a trip to the moon…..cant be off much in your directions or you are lost in space

Christians can develop a spiritual pride that will sidetrack us
The demoniac possessed with evil spirits….
Any worse off than we are
I am legion, we are many
The roads back into lost ness are legion

We may have said the right words, and prayed the right prayers,
Those do not let us off the hook.
It is very easy to be sidetracked, even lost in life as a chrisitan

To enjoy the world without acknowledging the creator is to be sidetracked.
To take for granted the gift of health is to be sidetracked
To assume that we deserve a life of comfort is to be sidetracked
To be unappreciative of life itself is to be sidetracked
It is to demand for ourselves what we are not promised in life if to be lost

When we fall into a life of comfort
And depend on anything instead of Jesus Christ- we find our way back into lost ness




You can be lost in money, or fame or collecting stuff. [you know if you are]

You lost in worry -needing someone’s approval
So broken that we spend our lives worried sick instead of living

lost in your kids lives-so busy that you cant come to church
they are leaving you, sooner than you think
no marriage left

lost in religious stuff
I know how it is.......be careful!!!!!!
russ clines resolutions
God is bigger than our ideas of him

it all boils down to being Lost in self
we are not in control, but we want to be
Jenny who do you think you are the boss of the world
no but I'd like to be

Maybe its because you were abused as a child
Maybe its because you have low self esteem
Maybe we never learned how to manage life

I think most people can smell the smoke when they are lost. They cant always see the fire, but they know that there is something wrong.
If you are here today and maybe it is time for a change, I invite you to leave that thing that is keeping you separated from God.

If you are a Christian and you are lost or sidetracked in some part of life that is holding you back
We must be willing to see our own dysfunction.
We must be willing to look into our own pain

A bee is stuck in a car…..keeps running into the back window…..
He just cant or wont see that there are other ways

Comic this week – the old pastors says “I have grown tired of expecting you to make leaps of faith, but it would be nice to see a little hop now and then.

Is your Christian some thing that changes and challenges you, or is it a place where you go to Hide
Is you Christian life more like a cave or a tunnel
. A cave is an underground area where one goes in and comes out at the same place, the A tunnel, on the other hand, is where one goes in and comes out in a different place.our faith should lead us in the direction of the light -- knowing that the light at the end of every tunnel is the light of Christ.

Transition
forest gump, after Jenny left him
running and running, for no particular reason
sometimes you have to put your past behind you.
Forest ran for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, 16 hrs
he just quits..............
I’m tired. I want to go home
Are you tired of running? Stop. Go home. Jesus is waiting

Conclusion
We have a little dog. Sometimes he gets out of the yard. Everyone helps.
When he is lost there is great worry. When we find him, there is great joy.

In this parable, Jesus is telling every one that common people are worth saving.
Telling the Pharisees I am going after these people
And he is telling them that there is much joy in heaven when a lost person comes home.

good news, where ever you are, Jesus is still looking for you

Sometimes to find our way, we have to admit that there are parts of our life that need to be different.
Jesus searching. Jesus is waiting.

Let us pray.

Hope for Value Pearl of Great Price 1-9-05

Sermon 1-9-05 hope for value…..pearl of great price

How do you find the best value
what things –unconditional, unadulterated are you excited about…..
Missions, childrens ministries
What is the most val thing you have done in the last month
Ride mc with son

How do you understand value when 150k people die in 1 hour

What do you hold valuable
Parents, children, friendship, security, peace, acceptance, love

Why is the kingdom valuable……
Is it worth selling all for……………..Why

Value…it costs me less than it should value vs bargain

If value is determined by price, then the kingdom is costly
Gods continued watching over: daily bread, daily breath
The incarnation
The sacrificial death of Jesus
Our commitment, not a guilt laden line of oppression, but a service of joy

If value is determined by scarity, rarity, preciousness
Treasure is hidden
Not found in macho lifestyle
Not found is stock church business
Religions are common….dime a dozen -to worship ancestors
Gods who act like people
Gods that you can fear
Rare, unique, the hope diamond
God is love, god is about love, Jesus dies in our place, we are forgiven, we are free to live, to enjoy, to celebrate to share the good news

Valuable because it works
Ever spend money on something that doesn’t work
Come buy wine and milk with out money
Had a 73 chevy pickup….two tone, rust on blue
It worked
Kingdom isn’t about being flashy, perfect, broken people inhabit the kingdom
But those who wish to find hope, find it in jesus

Value…it stands the test of time
I have found that only knowing Jesus remains the same

Are you trusting him?
Maybe you rmember a time when you were closer to him than today
Maybe you have never know the value of loving him
The value of a thing is increased as we find ourselves without it

There is a song, human relationship, but describes the desperate senseEVERYTHING I OWN*Nsync, Nsync{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+}{+} You sheltered me from harm You kept me warm, you kept me warmAnd you gave my life to me You set me free, you set me freeThe finest years I ever knew Were all the years I had with you And I would give everything I own I'd give up my life, my heart, my homeI would give everything I own Just to have you back again You taught me how to love What it's of, what it's ofYou never said too much But still you showed the wayAnd I knew from watching youNobody else could ever know The part of me that can't let go And I would give everything I own I'd give up my life, my heart, and my homeI would give everything I own Just to have you back again

When you consider the trouble that life brings,
It makes sense to look for something with real value

If you are looking for meaning, there is no greater value than knowing Jesus
Follow Paul as he said I count it all loss to know Christ

Those who have this hope have already made a difference for they infect those around them, they change the spiritual chemistry of their community

I leave you with a question today…….What do you value
How does it affect your life…Those around you
And I leave you with a statement….you can change what you choose to value. You can choose to let other things go, and put your trust in Jesus.
He is worth selling everything for.
Let us pray