What Would You Give?

 

We are taking a closer look at the subject of Salvation as we approach this 4th Sunday in Lent. 

Today, we tie in with the subject of Sacrifice as part of what our Salvation in Jesus means to our faith.

We touched on a bit of the sacrificial system of atoning for ones sins as we covered Israel's history last week while we were "Learning From The Past". We want to think deeper about what it is that we can give up during this season of Lent. If you ask any good Christina person on the street what they gave up for Lent this year, you might get a variety of responses. "Ha Ha, no i didn't give up anything." to "What in the world are you talking about?" Some folks have never heard of such ridiculous behavior before and would scoff at the idea. 

Some might ask if Christians should observe Lent; especially those in a Protestant tradition. The means and practice of Lent truly come from our Catholic background. This time of the year is a special means of trying to draw closer to the Lord through means of sacrificing something that is near and dear to us; something we could go without. Some from the Protestant tradition would see the ritual as a means of control put upon the people by the hierarchy in the Church, and maybe that is true. However, the scriptural presentation of Jesus calling the disciples and asking them to drop what was in their hands and follow Him is a powerful display of what is means to follow in the footsteps of our Savior. This Christian faith is about following Christ and allowing God to make us into people who resemble the same dedication that His Son put into following the Father. So, maybe, we should take this Lenten tradition a bit more serious as we think about what this season culminates in - the death of Jesus on the cross. The ultimate sacrifice as a sign of Love being shared with all of mankind. 

What would you give up is asked to do so in order to be closer to God?

If you had a chance to lay something down that would take a weight off your shoulders and lessen the burden of this life, what would it be? I'm going throw three ideas at you this morning. They are not three suggestions of things you give up. They are three simple ideas to think about as you continue this thought in your prayer and devotional life. Whatever you give up is between you and the Lord. 

The first bit of inspiration comes from Matthew 6. I am not suggesting that you fast. I am saying that if you choose to give something up, this bit of scripture might be a good way to approach it. In our world today, with talk shows allowing people to put their face and emotions on display, it is more common place than ever to flaunt and throw our discontent around. Giving up something is never easy and I truly believe our Lord understands the human way more than we know. Change is never easy and for many the subject of giving something up and sacrificing is a huge difference from what we were raised to believe about life. American life can be a big blessing to unfold. Yet, there are those who go without on a daily basis. Without food, or home or family to help and sustain them. it can be a tremendous way to carry on in this world. What could we learn from the life of Jesus about leaving all we knew behind and venturing forward, just clinging to faith and trust in the Father? It is a powerful image that deserve more of our attention.

Much if the Psalms is either King David or another writer sharing their heart over what is going on in their world on a personal level. It truly is a person sharing their full self with God over whatever is going on in front of them at the moment. Whatever we choose let go of and follow God on should be done with a "broken and contrite heart". In fact, the Psalmist here says that is exactly the sacrifice he is making. His own heart. He puts it all in the Lord's hands and say "Here I am". And, God does not despise that offering. That is exactly the offering God is looking for. He wants us. All of us. All of you. Everything that makes up YOU, God wants it in his hands. There are many situations in life where we hang on to issues, people, hardships, control and we keep it in our own hands instead letting God take it all away. How heavy does the load need to become before we find out we cannot carry it by ourselves, or even at all? "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest." God doesn't want us to be burdened with the cares of this life. He wants us to walk in the joy and grace of Jesus. There is no better way to carry on in this world. 

Do you want to be a follower of Jesus? There is no doubt that many people believe in Jesus. They believe he exists. They believe in the name of Jesus. The believe the bible and what it presents. They believe the history and authenticity of the scriptures. Do you believe to give up what you have in front of you and follow Jesus with all your heart? John Wesley covered our salvation through a series of steps moments. Wesley would preach a sermon on sacrifice. He would bring a message on repentance. Wesley would talk in another about seeking forgiveness. All seperate items and ideas that needed to be addressed and presented. In all, he covered more than 30 topics in a series of messages all having to do with our salvation. This subject of sacrifice is simply a part of our salvation. Some might look on it as a journey. A journey into a deeper commitment and fulfillment of what it means to become like Jesus. 

What will you give up for Lent? 

God loves you so much that he gave his One and Only Son so that you might know what life is like with God, forever.

Learning From The Past

 

fns360.com - FNS Traning Center

The past is an area that sometimes lacks the proper way to define it.
Our pasts can make us or break us. Our choices have a way of sticking around and affecting the outcome of the future. We are looking at our salvation right now as part of our United Methodist beliefs and we find ourselves in Romans 10 as the Apostle Paul uses Israel's history as part of the his explanation of what Salvation in Jesus means to their faith. It is a natural part of reading the scriptures to try and find some sort of correlation to our own lives as we seek to make sense of what we are reading. What does it mean to us? How does it apply to us? Lets begin by looking at Romans 10.

 Concerning the past, Jesus would say, "Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is unfit for the kingdom of heaven." There is the matter of context to take into account. Sometimes things get lost in translation. Our English language is so definite sometimes and yet so vague at other points. Jesus wants his hearers to leave behind their old lives and follow the Lord. To go back and get wrapped up in ones old sins while trying to forge ahead toward the Kingdom is going to leave the person with a back and forth looking neck that would be comparable to spiritual whiplash. We do need to keep our focus on what is ahead. Then, there is the need to study and learn for the past in order to know what we are dealing with in the future. You've probably heard the old adage, "History has a tendency to repeat itself." We can develop a fear of the past because we are so intent on the idea that we will just repeat all our old mistakes. We need not be afraid. Jesus has us in his hands. There is much he wants to teach us and that includes how to overcome our mishaps and errors. That requires taking a look back at what we have done in order to learn how to do it right the next time. The Apostle Paul isn't afraid to site and quote Israel's history in order to help them understand where they are now in the person of Jesus Christ. 

History. The past. It's where we are today as we think about what salvation in Jesus means for us.

The word, past, is multi faceted. You should be able to click on any of the pictures in my blog page today and take a look at the meanings behind how the word is used in our English language. What I found more intriguing as I prepared for this message is how the word was used and not so much how it is defined. It's used an adjective, primarily. Meaning its a description word for the most part. Our past sins are things people might remember about us. A preposition is a word we use when we want to modify a noun and change it's outlook or meaning. "We drove past the house." Meaning, we were planning to go to that house but instead we changed what we were going to do. Noun should be self explanatory. It's possessive. It's my past. It's your past. We own it. And, lastly, it's used as an adverb. An adverb is a connector word. These kinds of words bring two things together. We want to take where we have been and connect it to where we are now.

 

  The past gives us history if we have been in one place long enough. Just this morning as I picked up the church mail for our PO Box in Glenford ( a weekly, Sunday morning ritual for me as I come out the Hopewell church early) there was a letter with the return address for Don Wineman. How long has Don been living in this area? Long enough that all he had to do was write the word "OFFERING" on his envelope and get it stuck into our PO Box. There was no address for the church on the envelope. There was no stamp either. But, there it was in the box today as it got right where it needed to be. He might have walked in and asked them to place it in the PO Box for him.And, they did it for him. I know I tried to get that done once when we lived over in Baltimore. I was told I needed to purchase a stamp. "You mean to tell me that this envelope has to go all the way to Columbus to be processed and then sent back out here, with a stamp on it, just so you can walk it over there and put it in this lady's PO Box?" Yep. I'm not Don Wineman. I'm not well known. I can't make that request. I had no past or history with the post office clerk. She wasn't going to help me with that thing.

 

learningfromthepast.net
 

Our past can come into play when it comes to our salvation, as it is described here in Romans 10 by the Apostle Paul. What do we know about the Israelites? Paul makes it clear that they were very in tune with what the law was all about. They sought into it to find the means to be righteous - i.e. be in a right standing or right relationship with God. So much so, that they missed the coming of the Messiah that they knew was going to come and bring them salvation. For us, in modern America, the past may have taught us that being here in this sanctuary is the right thing to do. We are supposed to get up and go to church. That's what we have been taught to do. Where is the connection Jesus? It is a name we have heard over and over. But, do we know Him? Have we given our hearts and lives to Him? Paul is encouraging his audience to not just listen to the past and follow the law, but to actually call upon his name. "Whoever calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved." 

Have you called upon Him? Do you know Him?
Do you know what forgiveness means? Have you confessed your sins and surrendered your past?

It is something to consider as we travel through Lent. 

What will you give up for Lent?
Lets start with giving our hearts to Jesus.

Done Deal

 

Salvation is the deal. 

As we head toward Easter it will be what we are focusing on as we cover our United Methodist beliefs. This should an especially important topic to us as we think about confirmation in this time of the year. Our confirmation class is on its 4th week today. We are following a study by a Nazarene pastor and theologian, Charles "Chic" Shaver, who put together a series of Basic Bible Studies (now known as "The Journey"). Our confirmation group are asked to fill in the blanks with this study as they answer questions while looking up scripture references that correlate to the numbered format. 

One of the scripture we have touched on comes from Hebrews 10. In the midst of our Lenten season and here in the middle of our confirmation time, we are looking at the matter of our salvation as a done deal. It has been covered, taken care of, forever, in the hands of Jesus Christ. Lets look at what the writer of Hebrews has to say on the subject. 

Maybe we can work with that "fill in the blank" format as we look at the scriptures this morning. If you are following along at home, then it should be easy to see where your answers come from and should go. I'll make it as simple as possible. We are going to have a nice three-point message today. 

Sacrifices

For the entirety of the Old Testament, minus some moments when the Israelites did not have their Temple to worship in, the need for a sacrifice was all important to their religious experience. Every year, a lamb was to be brought to the Temple and offered to the priest who cut it open and give it to the altar and the fire. The smoke of that sacrifice would go up, as symbol of our prayers going up to God. The blood from the lamb would be sprinkled over the altar, a sign of the blood covering and marking us. What the writer of Hebrews notes for us is that law was simply a shadow of what was to come. We need to see the illustration in the moment of sacrifice and put the necessary correlation into the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was to be the sacrifice for our sins. Refereed to as "The Lamb of God", our Savior took our sins on his shoulders just as the blood from the lamb was supposed to cover a families sins for the coming year. Jesus takes our sins and covered them in such a way that the old system is no longer necessary. There is no need to keep repeating that old system over and over again. It means nothing now. It was simply a sign of what was to come. And, now it has. And, Salvation is open to everyone. 

In verses 2 and 10 from Hebrews chap 10, it has a particular three word phrases that need to stick with us. It is the "meat and potatoes" of this passage. 

² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed _________________, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ __________________.

What Christ does for us is done for all time. It need not be repeated annually. It is over and done. The Lamb was sacrificed for our sins and the matter is closed. 

Priest

 Because of what Jesus has done for us, power and control has been established and founded in His name for all time. When a sacrifice was brought to the Temple it was given to the priest. This is one of the moments where we see Jesus being our All in All. He takes on many roles in our lives and sometimes he wears different hats. I could bring to the surface an illustration of multi-tasking. Anybody here actually good at doing multiple things at the same time. We aren't supposed to text and drive, but some people do it amazingly well. Some folks can't handle chewing gum and walking at the same time. It's even harder to carry on a conversation and watch your favorite television program. We are finite beings and we cannot fathom the ability to handle more than one thing at time. Maybe two or three things can be rolling around in our noggins. How does God do all that he does for us? In the matter of our salvation, he is the sacrifice and he is the priest - at the same time. Lets look closer at verses 11 thru 13. 

¹¹ Day after day every ______ stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this ______ had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the _____________, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

Covenant

It is important to bring to light what we are doing with God. We are in a relationship with him. We are in a covenant with him. That's a word we aren't very familiar with in our lexicon. We've heard references to marriage vows. We are used to thinking about friendships and close personal relationships with others. What exactly does a covenant mean for us in this religious context?

 

The noun really is what you expect with some legal jargon in just the right places. "a usual formal, solemn agreement." Sometimes written, Sometimes simply verbal between parties. A handshake might ensue. Prayers might be given. 

The verb side does give us some interesting things to think about.
It's one of those words that can go both transitive and intransitive at the same time. Makes me think about how God can be all things to us. If two or parties are involved in this covenant matter, then we can "pledge" to be there for each other. We can lean on each other and find the help we need in the moment we need it. It always go the other way. When we "enter into" it might feel like we are being handed a contract. The contract states that we have certain criteria that we are to uphold. There might be specific things that we have to do in order the covenant to be in effect. If anything get broken or does not get done by us, then we owe something in return. When was the last time you stayed at a hotel? There is usually a contract of some kind hanging on the door inside your room stating what you will charged if anything get broken. If you don't leave the premises by check out time, then you will get billed for another day for the time you spent there. 

The nice thing about our contract is that Jesus paid it all.

¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has ___________________ those who are being made holy.

The subject here should translate to the matter of us following Christ and not doing anything that would run the bill up higher. Not only is Christ putting our sins behind us, he wants us to have a complete change of heart as to how we approach life.  We need to walk with him and be amazed at what has done for us and continues to do for us. The hymn writer, Charles Wesley, put it in his own words.

"And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"

Be Amazed. Walk with Jesus and know what he has done for you. 

Dynamic Duo

 

as we continue with

Grace & Faith

In February, We got some help from our lay speakers, Ray Higdon and Mike Porter as we covered the topics of Faith and Grace. Today, I want to look at them together and see the inter-connectedness of these major tenets of the faith. We find ourselves looking at Ephesians chapter 2 in a very well known passage where the Apostle Paul speaks to our salvation and bring these two word into the center.

 

Paul says it twice in the course of this passage. "it is by grace you have been saved" I'm not sure I fully grasped the intensity with which those words are meant to be delivered with, and so, I wanted to understand what grace really is for us. It's one thing to see the definition of a word. It's something else to see it with our own eyes.  

There's a woman who frequents the pantry at Hopewell. She and her sister are a couple of characters who make the trek out to the church every month with either the help of a transit bus or with someone else's vehicle. It has been described that if the chance were given to them that they would clean out the pantry in one haul. Someone has to walk with them (which is standard procedure for anyone visiting the pantry) and keep an eye on what they are putting in their cart to make sure they don't clean us out of house and home. Sometimes both sisters come and many times just one of them does the shopping for both of the sister's families. I recall last year when i first began to be integrated into the system at the pantry that I was given the task of working with them as they sat on the bus waiting for their order to be filled. We had the task last year of doing the shopping for all of the pantry visitors. No one was allowed to come inside during the stretch of the pandemic. So, our helpers would go out to the waiting cars and trucks that had lined up with clip boards and papers to walk people through what was waiting downstairs and then we would bring the list inside and go through to get them their items. After bagging it all up, we would bring it out to their vehicle and send them on their way. I got the sisters who just happened to be on a Perry County transit bus that day and it was my first time walking anybody through the 4 pages of items that listed all the food in the pantry. I didn't understand what exactly we were supposed to offer them and I think the sisters knew that. With every section we went through in the paper work, they gladly accepted everything that was offered to them. I marked up the papers thoroughly and brought them down stairs to them team that was waiting to do their shopping for them. A few minutes later, our director spoke up and said I had done the list wrong and I needed to go back out and rework the papers with the sisters. We only offer a few items out of each section and not everything on every line of the paperwork. So, I had go back out and explain that to two grinning sisters in their 60's from rural Perry County that they couldn't have all these items. Grace goes both ways in this instance. From the ones taking advantage of the system and the one who didn't understand how to offer it properly.

God offers his hands and hearts to us even though we don't necessarily get what the proper procedure is for approaching him. And, in matters where it seems like our carnal nature wants to take it all fro granted, God still offers his love to us. We don't deserve it. We can earn it. He just does. The sisters have never been turned down or told to go away. The door is always open for them to return next month. And, there is always plenty of food to share with them. God wants us to draw close to him. His arms are always open for us to receive. What we need to learn is dependence on Him. In drawing close to God we learn that the ways we have been handling things can stop dominating our lives. We are used to taking matters into our own hands in order to get what we want the way we want it. God wants something different. His Grace is the way into a life that is drastically unlike what we know. His ways are not our ways. His Grace is not what we are used to. Maybe it's why change takes so long in our world and when it finally does come to a place where what we need can actually be, we fight it and squabble and holler about it instead of simply letting God lead the way. It's never easy to let God be God. Yet, his arms are still open to us; drawing us closer to where he is at the heart of love. 

Now what about faith?

This morning at church was an eventful day, but the thing that grabbed my attention was a competition that had ensued between some of our Sunday School kids. (My son was included in this.) The story of Moses lifting his arms up in the air in the battle with the Amalekites from Exodus 17. As long as Moses kept his arms up, the Israelites were prevailing. But, if his arms came down the Amalekites were winning. The challenege at church today became one of who could keep their arms up above their heads longer.

And, the battle kept up the entire service.

Even after the service, we began refreshment time downstairs in the fellowship hall. The kids still had their arms above their heads. In Moses' story, it took the combined efforts of his brother Aaron and another man named Hur to hold up Moses' arms when they got tired. They also provided a place for Moses to sit down. There is so much grace and faith in the passage that it boggles the mind. Take a moment to read it and see just what we are talking about. Chapter 17 begins with a bunch of grumbling by the Israelites about having water to drink and whether the Lord is actually taking care of them at all. God still does take care of them and go before them into battle. He rescues them, provides for them, and makes a way even though the probably don't deserve any of it. God drawing close to us even though we do not appreciate or understand what He is doing is much of what Grace is all about. Faith is what we need to draw close to God and many time we lack the required need. Still, God is there. And, if that is what is needed for salvation, then how do we make that happens.

We do not. God does. 

And, that's why Grace and faith are so important.
Draw close to God and he will draw close to you.
Have Faith in God, and you will begin to see exactly what it's about.

Ash Wednesday 2020

 

 

It's time for Lent to begin and the question I usually pose to all my congregants is, "What will you give up for Lent?"

It is a tradition long seeded in Christendom. As a Lutheran scholar has noted, Lent is "...a time we set aside each year to remember the love of God that is poured out through Christ Jesus on the cross in His death; and His defeat of death, sin and Satan in Christ's death and resurrection that brings Eternal Life to you." There are many way we could approach Ash Wednesday. If we are speaking about being over-comers of sin, we could certainly speak to the Armor of God and create a M.O.S.H. pit. (March On Satan's Head) I think the intention of Lent, however, is one of remorse and introspection. It is not a time of getting ourselves pumped up for a battle. God will take care of the battle for us. He has already with the death and resurrection of his Son. Lent has with it some connotations of repentance and sorrow. This should be our first means of approach as we draw near to God. Our religious experience is not one where we try to put the emotional side on a mountain top so we feel good about ourselves. The scriptures make it plain to us that if we are to come close to the Almighty we should do so with "sackcloth and ashes". There needs to be some way of stating for our hearts that we know that we do not measure up to the way God intends for humans to be. Maybe we should approach with an "I'm sorry". Maybe we come near with nothing to say at all. We simply come. "Be still and know..." 

God draws close to us as well. God does not come with grand gestures or loud announcements. He simply comes. With our Lenten season comes a time of fasting and praying that many of us seem to misunderstand. Isaiah 58 is one place where God makes an impassioned plea for his people to have a correct mindset on what it is he wanting. It's not about giving up things that have no consequence or meaning in the big picture of life. It is about going with out so that other might have a chance to feel love and acceptance. If we are giving up some kind of food, might we take the time to go see that someone else has food for their family during this time? We seek creature comforts that would make our lives easier yet leave weights and yokes on others that would hold them down and make life harder for them. How could we give shelter to those who need to get in out of the storm of life? This time is not for petty things like giving up chocolate and soda pop. It is for setting our own wants and cares aside and giving ourselves to the life that God intends for us to live. A life that meets the needs of other people and forgets about our selfish wants and desires. 

Jesus went without for 40 days. NO food. NO water. NO bread. We often seek for ways that we can follow in the footsteps of our Savior and be like him. That is why these 40 days are important to our journey. Often, Christians will use this time between Ash Wednesday and Easter as a way to re-focus ourselves. Revival meetings are meant to be just that. A way to bring to life something that was dying inside of us. What can you do during this next 6 weeks that would bring you closer to God? If fasting is the way you intend to spend this season, remember the suggestion of John Wesley who would say, "do not get so caught up in the means of fasting that you forget why you were fasting in the first place." Jesus did so in order to put his flesh in line with what the Father wanted of Him spiritually. For many, and I would cast an eye into the arena of our Catholic friends; to suggest that this becomes another means of control. But, so many in our Protestant world have no idea why they are fasting either. Even if the direction from a congregant is to give up something like chocolate or listening to music on the way to work, to often they truly can't give you a good reason as to why they are doing this. We lose sight of where we are headed before we even take off on the journey because we don't understand where we are headed in the first place. 

About 10 years ago, out of the United Kingdom, came a group calling itself Stewardship. There emphasis was to help people into the means of giving what they have in philanthropic ways to meet the needs of others. What they developed has come to be known as the 40acts Challenge. Throughout the UK and into the world, this interesting group has found ways to contribute and help others who might need some financial means or food or any kind of assistance. I spent this afternoon working it up and came tonight with a 40 day challenge of our own here in this area. Take it as seriously as you want. Edit it in any for or fashion that you want. My hope is that we can look beyond ourselves into our world make it a better place to be. 

With the disposition of Ashes, we are reminded that we are only here on the earth for a short while. Let us give our hearts to Jesus and make the best of the world we have around us.