Name Above All Names

 

Jesus
Name Above All Names
Beautiful Savior
Glorious Lord

 

from the father-son duo Aaron~Jeffrey

 

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign

Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song

In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire

In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary

In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain

In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

The prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God
The great I AM

He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
And when time is no more
He is, HE IS!

What more can I say beyond what these incredible singers have offered to us this morning?
Jesus is what the story is all about. Jesus is the central focus of the whole flow of time and history. Without Jesus there is nothing to put our faith into that matters. Following up our message last week on faith and moving into the subject of the name of Jesus today directs us into a very specific direction. Jesus is the only way for salvation. Jesus is the only way to make it into eternal life, spending all eternity with God. I contemplated trying to use all the name we could ascribe to Jesus in the course of today's message, but there just was no way to bring that about. We used to kid back in school about young preachers, like we were, trying to cover the whole bible from Genesis to Revelation in one message. There is just so much to share and so much to say and we want everyone to hear all of it at once and not miss a thing. 

There are a few names or notions about Jesus that we should focus on especially if we are thinking about faith as a current topic of thought. How do you put your faith and trust in Jesus? What areas of life do you find yourself connecting with Jesus? Does your health bring you to your knees and crying out for help? Is it the state of our country and nation and world that makes you want to draw close to him? Is it your family? Do your kids and relatives help you to understand that God is a parent to us and we are his children? There is so much ground to cover here and only a short amount of time to think about it. So, what could we center ourselves on before we head back into our world? What could we take with us that would support us on our journey?

A few phrases and words from Aaron~Jeffrey's song could be helpful as we think about who God is through the person of Jesus Christ to us.

The Breath of Life - Do we get up each morning thinking about how God has created this day for us to enjoy? We have life and breath in our bodies because God deems it so. We have today to be His children and part of his family. He has given us other people to enjoy and interact with so we don't have to be alone. There might be time where we wish we were alone after dealing with the people in our world. There might be moments when we need to get away and be alone, with God, and fill our hearts and lungs and body with new breath and fresh spirit. God is here to refresh us and breath new life into us. 

The Lamb and The Priest - When we refer to God as our ALL in ALL, do we truly get that he has taken all of this on his shoulders? We need a way to make up for our sin/sins. We need something to atone for the atrocity. Sin should not be in our lives and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. Jesus takes the sin of the world on his shoulders, on our behalf, and does that for us. In the same instance, we need a priest who can intercede for us. many of us understand the need for and the role that a priest and pastor plays in our religious experience. Jesus takes that role on at the same time he is also being the sacrifice for our sin. And, there is more he does on our behalf and for our well-being. 

Our Great Physician - It's maybe the most poignant phrase to our current world situation and quite the most referred to in our everyday life. We read over and over again how people came to Jesus in need of healing. The lame, their legs and arms not working properly. The blind, unable to see the world around them. The leper, with skin conditions that the world has deemed unclean, making them enable to have human contact with others. But, the healing doesn't stop on just a surface level with what we can see or hear. We need healing in our souls from the harm that sin has done to us. We need the two edged sword from the world to cut us free from bondage we experience. There is a healing in that as well. And, if the healing we seek in this world cannot be found, there is an ultimate healing when we go to meet him. We leave this tragic existence behind and find peace in Glory with Him. Our Lord knows our bodies inside and out. He knows what we need. 

If we spend a few moments in John chapter 3, we see many other words we could use to describe who Jesus is. Do we really understand the awkwardness of someone like Israel's teacher coming to this unknown man and calling him "Rabbi"? But, Nicodemus believed. He was putting his trust and faith in Jesus in that moment. Yes, he comes at night when no one else would see and hear. But, he comes. Later, his faith would be front and center when he is the one who comes for the body of Jesus to bury him, placing the Savior in the tomb. Do you have faith? Do you know where to put it and how to use it? Do you know who to give that faith to as you journey through this life? 

The Beginning and the End. The Alpha and the Omega.
The One who above all and in all. Drawing us closer to God, making a way for us to approach.

Jesus. Name Above All Names. 

Never Enough

 

Mike & Tiffany Porter

Today, I will be hanging around the Hopewell church after the service with their congregation for a Valentines brunch meal. Mike Porter from the Thornville congregation will be filling in for me at their pulpit. I challenged Mike to carry on with our theme of United Methodist beliefs and step into the subject of Faith. I will be sharing on the same subject at Hopewell. (Feel free to compare notes afterwards.) Faith about a broad of a subject in Christendom as you can find. There are so many ways to present this essential element of our lives as we follow Christ. It should be interesting to hear what Mike has to say. I'm already wondering if we will wind up saying similar things in our messages or if we will wander in totally different directions. Someone from the Thornville congregation should have their phone camera handy to broadcast some LIVE Feed out on Facebook.

 

Faith is a wide and deep matter to step into.  Where do we even begin to start talking about such a subject as this? If we approach this as a biblical event, then we actually have to go deep into the book - yes, the entirety of the Bible itself, before we come to a good line that could serve as a definition on the subject. 

John Wesley would have put it like this, "Saving faith is a sure trust and confidence which a man has in God, that by the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and he is reconciled to the favour of God." If salvation is the center of our dealings with faith and we are trying to apply the verse from Hebrews in that direction, then we might see our saving and redemption as something unattainable. Faith would put the matter into the hands of the Almighty and show us that it is possible. The Apostle Paul would put it directly into that arena and out of the hands of man. 

Ray Higdon will take the subject of Grace as he fills in for me on the last Sunday of the month. I think Ray will do a great job of explaining what Grace is from his point of view with all that he has experienced in his life and family. Grace and Faith are, most certainly, gifts of God. Grace has to do with God drawing us to himself. Faith has to do with us reaching out. Many have felt the need to stop and ask God for faith in the midst of a difficult time. You may feel that you do not have faith. I would plead the case that if you just asked God for faith, then you know what it is and your most assuredly have it. it is impossible to reach out to God unless you believe he is there. Faith opens the locked door and allows us to make the plea. 

Bubba Watson is a golf pro and two time Masters champion. In the February-March edition of Guideposts, he shares what faith means to him and how he keeps his focus on what truly matters. We are going to see this short video in church this morning as Bubba shares what his parents taught him.

Reading through Hebrews 11, we are dropped into a history lesson. We are shown these giants of life and lore with what they have gone through. If you are a sports person, there are a plethora of people we can look to that will inspire and shock our senses with their abilities. Faith can seem like such a mountain to climb. They misguided idea is that only certain people get to make the trek to true faith. That would be a misread of Hebrews 11. What we need to see here is that all of these people mentioned here are just common, everyday folks. The reason they get a mention is because they chose to trust God and put faith before their issues. Whether your hero is Bubba Watson or Michael Jordan or Jesus Christ, what have they put in front of us that inspires us to go forth with faith? A deeper look at the word might help us with that answer.

There are some immediate trigger words that should jump off the page at us when thinking about the definition of faith. How exactly do you define it for yourself? Many of have been taught that its a sin to question God. We should take everything we hear on faith and trust that it is right. However, if we are listening to the last line of the definition, then we see words about having strong convictions. We don't arrive at a place with that resolution unless we take the time to ask questions and seek answers. I especially like the line that speaks to having good intentions. "acted on good faith" What about having faith when everything looks lost and hopeless? "firm belief for something in which there is no proof" The Apostle Paul would say "No one has ever seen God". How do we hang on to a faith in something for which we have never seen before? Have you seen God before? How do you know he is there? Faith is that one essential quality we all need. At the beginning. At the end of it all. Hold on to what is true. Hold on to your faith. And, don't let go.

Enough For All

 

This morning we are going to partake in communion with a bit of a twist.

I mentioned two weeks ago, when we were covering the bread as part of this sacrament, that I had been a part of a bread sharing service back in my Nazarene days. We are going to do something similar. I had said that we really didn't do anything with the juice that day. We simply broke big chunks off the loaf that was up front and went and found someone to share that chunk. I'm going to encourage you to do that today. There is also juice here on the table in the Chalice for those who would like to dip their bread through Intinction. There is also a tray with some individual cups here for those who find it easier to share in communion that way. There are some serving gloves here if you think that you should put something on your hands before you touch the bread. The bread is already cut up into some large chunks so that you don't have to do the work of pulling it apart. 😊

One of my colleagues, Richard Purvis, through means of the Emmaus Walk program, would encourage people to take a BIG chunk. "Get a big ol' chunk of God's Grace!" It's always important to have plenty of bread when you do Communion at an Emmaus retreat. And, if you take as much bread as Richard would suggest, you have to turn around and get that next loaf after 10 or so people come through. There is plenty of bread here today! If you are watching at home and you have no bread, feel free to pause the video, drive down to Kroger and get yourself some bread. The service will be here when you get back.Or, be like Paul, that guy from our group when we studied the United Methodists sacrament book, who only had dried up carrots and apple juice. Let us focus on why we are here today and not on how exactly we are doing this and what exactly we have been told we are to use. Worship from your heart. Worship in the freedom of the Spirit. Worship like Jesus is sitting there with you. If you think of Jesus as a friend, that should not be hard to do. Lets take a look at the scripture for today.

 

I noted last week that the Gospel writers seem to have different accounts of the Last Supper meal. However, this one is very different. I find it strange that John is the only one who seems to recall the moment. Matthew would have been right there at the table with him. His Gospel seems to focus more on Old Testament Law & Prophecy. So, the historical perspective of the Passover and the connection to the Israelite's history seems appropriate for the style of his writing. Luke is said to have drawn much of his knowledge from Peter and others who would have been descendants of the the times and people surrounding the events of Jesus' life. Still no one brought this moment up. John is said to be "the disciple whom Jesus loved". One of the inner three. Sitting right next to Jesus at the meal. Sometimes its where we are in the moment that causes us to remember what we saw and heard. 

Do you remember your first communion? Do you recall where you were? What church you were in? How old you were when the elements were offered? For me it was nothing spectacular. I was 14. It was back in that Disciples of Christ church in my hometown. After years of watching those trays go past my eyeballs, having to pass them on to the next person, I could finally partake in that crusty wafer and a little cup of juice. I had mentioned a couple weeks back that we would cover the subject of the Open Table here in the United Methodist Church. I grew up with a closed table mentality toward sharing the bread and juice with others. Our cluster group of UM pastors and lay speakers covered this matter in depth through Gayle C. Felton's book in the fall of 2021. Felton would state that since we have this "open table" that it means "there are few, if any, requirements that a person must meet in order to receive" communion when worshiping with a group of United Methodist people. There are literally numerous occasions in the Gospels where we would see Jesus eating a meal and sharing in fellowship with people that society would have deemed them unworthy of such access to God. Felton would also say that it seemed Jesus went out of his way to find and reach out to such people. We have grown up in a world that like to nicely segregate everyone into their own personal area. Many of us have grown up with such walls dividing us into a certain arena where we are told we fit in and belong. This matter of communion has long been used in church surrounding as a way to tell people whether they can actually be with Christina people or not. Joseph Serwach in his blog "The Catholic Way Home" would share just how detrimental that outlook has been for people who question church rule and authority down through the centuries. Communion has been a means of controlling people. If we want access to God, we have to go through those in charge of such treasure. And, if we don't meet their requirements, then we get left out. There is good and bad to this way of dealing with the public. We want unity - around what we believe, around our body of believers, focusing on what matters about God and not simply believing whatever we want. We also want everyone to find their way to God. The old adage that "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" could fit in here with a slight adaptation. In some cases it's not that the horse doesn't want to drink, but that he isn't allowed to do so unless the horse is doing exactly what the church says he or she can do. It's a dicey bit of ecclesiastical drama.  And, it's necessary. We need to bring people to a right relationship with God on God's terms and not our own. It's God's door we are rapping our fist on. It is God who knocks on the door of our own hearts. We need to keep proper perspective on who we are dealing with as we seek to come closer. That is why so many of our church denominations would have that closed table; in order to ensure that a person is understanding that they need to accept Christ as their Savior before they simply pop some bread and juice in their mouth is essential to our Christian faith. 

Where do you find yourself today? Do you know Jesus as Savior and Lord? Do you understand what we are doing as we approach the table? If you do, then come. It's a strange Sunday today as we seek to partake in the Lord's Supper in front of a TV or computer screen. Maybe you have bread. Maybe you just have some dried up carrots. Maybe you have juice. Maybe you have wine. Maybe you have nothing. Come. Draw close. Seek the One who wants to know you. Find solace in the One who can heal all wounds and sure up any broken heart. God wants everyone to come. There is enough for all here at this table. 

"Having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."