***************************** ***************************** It is approximately 1,500 miles from Cincinnati, OH to Nova Scotia. To give you an idea of how far it is, itâs a little bit less than the drive from where Iâm standing to Phoenix, Arizona. Itâs a fair piece. So if you had a week and two children that didnât get along that well, you probably wouldnât imagine that driving from here to Phoenix and back is a great idea. My parents, however, really wanted to see Nova Scotia, I guess, because one family vacation found us driving from Cincinnati to Nova Scotia and back. What I learned on that trip is that spending an entire vacation in a car is not a great way to spend an entire vacation. There were some pleasant parts to that vacation, but mostly it consisted of the general idea that it was time to get back in the car. We had a destination, and we werenât close to it, so it was time to get back in the car. My family spent a lot of time facing the fact that it was time to get back in the car. Growing up in Cincinnati while your family was on the west coast meant that going to see Grandma entailed 3 days in the car. Each way. If youâre curious, Kansas does actually take forever to drive through. Iâve done scientific measurements that confirm this. Many mornings consisted of one focusâhow quickly can we get back in the car. What I discovered is that such a model makes for lousy vacations. If all you remember is how many hours you spent in the car, thatâs not so relaxing. If all you can think about is that you donât want to get in the car for another week, thatâs not relaxing. Just as a vacation in constant motion doesnât allow for true rest, a life in constant motion never develops spiritual rest. We donât practice Sabbath because we are too busy moving. The impending pressure of what must be done presses in on us to the extent that we are unable to relax, unable to let God take over and lead us into the meadow. We are the sheep, and the shepherd commands us to restâhave you ever considered how important it is that obeying the Sabbath is a commandment? Itâs not just a suggestionâitâs a command. 10% of the commandments are dedicated to helping you rest. When we live in constant motion, the danger is that everything becomes transient. We donât slow down enough to develop deep roots. We donât build relationships when weâre moving at warp speed, because weâre too busy thinking about what comes next to listen to the person next to us. Weâre so wrapped up in what weâre doing that we become unavailable to the people around us. When we are in constant motion, we miss out on the life God has in store for us. Constant travel and motion is a bad thing. When we think about Paulâs life, we think about all the places he went, but he usually spent months, if not years, in a city, investing in the life of the church there, teaching and preaching and leading the people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. He loved the people, and they loved him, and this was made possible by the deep commitment he made to the people. If he only stayed for a few days, preached a few nice sermons and then moved on, I donât know that Paul would have impacted the people in the same way. But what was Paulâs impact? Paul came, in the first verse of chapter 20, to encourage the disciples. The church needed encouragementâthere was much chaos in the world around them, and they were all discovering what it meant to live as Christians in a world that wasnât particularly friendly to Christians. Many of their relationships were affected by their new faith, so they needed to hear Paul encouraging them to bind themselves together around the Lord Jesus Christ. Beyond that, Paul talked. A lot. Weâre told here in Acts 20 of a young man who came to hear Paul, doubtless eager to hear what the famed man had to say. Of course, that probably wore off after a few hours, and soon the man fell asleep, apparently in a somewhat precarious position, as he soon tumbled a few stories to his death. It is here that Paul performs a miracle, giving life back to the man he just bored to death, and then goes right on talking. What a guy! From there, Paul goes on to meet the elders of the church of Ephesus. Paul had spent three years in Ephesus, building deep roots and deep relationships with the church there, and it is here that we see the depth of that love. Paul warns the people of the danger that will surely come, and he reminds them that his sole purpose is to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul had a solitary focus, and he invested much time and energy in helping the people see Christ as the son of God. Finally, Paul charges them with a missionâto care for the weak, and to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Friends, today is the last sermon I will give at New Hope. For 6.5 years I have done my best to labor faithfully, to point to Jesus Christ at work in our midst. I have given roughly 300 sermons, but more than that, I have had the blessing of developing deep relationships. You all have opened your hearts to me, and I am eternally grateful for that gift. I am thankful to have been here long enough to let my roots sink into this place, not to jump straight back into the car and head off to the next place. Chattanooga, New Hope, has been home to me. In that time, I have encouraged you. I have encouraged you to know that Jesus Christ is Lord of all of life, and that nothing in this world shall separate you from his love. The love of Christ knows no bounds, and as we deal with the world around us, it takes a lot of work to figure out just how God is calling us to live. Itâs not easy, but itâs critical that we encourage one another to stay faithful, to recognize that we are not alone, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is constantly with us as we seek to be faithful to our calling. Also, I have talked a lot. I am grateful that we do not have a balcony here, so that we donât have to worry about anyone falling asleep and falling to their peril. I love that Luke includes this story in ActsâPaul must have hoped everyone would forget about the time a guy died because he fell asleep listening to Paul. It gives all pastors courage, for we know that no sermon we give will put anyoneâs life in danger if it gets too boring. Friends, I do not know exactly what lies ahead for me. I know that I am being called to get back in the car and travel somewhere else, down the road of ministry. I believe I am being called into a life of ministry and service, and that I will continue to use my gifts to encourage and preach and teach, but I donât know exactly what thatâs going to look like. As I leave, I will share Paulâs charge, for I canât think of a better way to go. As disciples, we are called to care for the weak, and to remember that our blessings are not meant for usâthey are meant to be shared, to be given freely to those in need. Every blessing you have, from the very life within you to the money in the bank to the voice and talents you have, is given with a single, solitary purposeâto bring glory to God. When you share those gifts, I believe we multiply how much glory is given to God, because then others join with us in praising God. May we have hearts open and available to look for the weak around us, and to admit our own weaknesses, and may we go out into the community and seek those who are broken, those who are struggling, and may we seek to share our gifts with them, that they may come to recognize Christ as work in and through us. May we not shine for our own glory, but may the light of Christ burn brightly to beat back the darkness and invite all to come into the light of Christâs love that is seen fully on the cross, and may we glorify and serve God, and God alone. Let us pray
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********************* I donât know if many of you have ever spent much time riding a city bus, but if you have, thereâs one very, very important piece of information posted on a bus, without which you probably wouldnât board it. Itâs the one word posted on the front that tells you where the bus is going. Now, this may not be your particular destination, but if your destination is on the way, the bus will drop you. If you get on a bus with the wrong destination, youâre in big trouble. If you just get on any old bus, who knows where you might end up? Could be exciting, right? We like certainty in this life. We like to know where the bus, airplane or car is headed. We like to be very clear about where we are going. You donât just get on any old bus. You donât go to the airport and board any old plane. You donât take any random exit off the freeway just to see where it might lead. We have tickets and GPS and maps for a reasonâwe like to know where we are going. So we come to church and worship a God who isnât always exactly clear on just where we are going. Now, weâre all very clear about the final destination. There is no doubt about that. God promises that those who acknowledge Christ as Lord and King will dwell with him forever. Period. But on the way, well, itâs a little less than clear. Iâd like to read a selection of passages from Scripture: ************************ Genesis 12:1-4 12 Now the Lord said to Abram, âGo from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.â 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Matthew 28:16-20 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, âAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.â ******************************* Now, here are just a few examples of calls from God. Sometimes, God can be quite specific, as in the case of Moses or Jonah. Sometimes, however, God is pretty vague. Abraham didnât get an end destination. He didnât get much information at allâonly a call to go forth to an unnamed land and a promise to make of him a great nation. At the age of 75, this was no easy journey, but the Lord said go, so Abraham went. In the same manner, the disciples arenât given a lot in the detail department. They are charged with making disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe everything Jesus has commanded over the past 3 years, but the specifics are a bit fuzzy. How exactly theyâre going to accomplish this is left in the margins. But theyâre still called to go. As Christians, this word âGoâ is an important one, but one I think we have minimized over the years. Go is a challenge, one that should perk up our ears and fix our vision forward on the next step in our lives. Go is an indication that we should not stay, that we are being called to a new location. Go is a word from God that should be heeded. For centuries, the Presbyterian church has heeded this call. Weâve sent missionaries around the world to establish churches and schools and hospitals. The legacy of our work is often incalculable, and millions have come to know Christ as Lord and Savior through the dedicated work of missionaries. They continue to go forth today, often setting forth into unknown lands and situations in the hopes of proclaiming the Gospel with faithfulness. We as a church continue to go. The question for us today, is whether we go as individuals or not. For the last 6 weeks, weâve talked about Rich Warrenâs Purpose-Driven Life. Through that experience, I hope youâve taken the chance to explore what it means for you to live with purpose for God. Today, Iâm hoping to wrap up the entire book, and thereâs no better word to do so than âGo.â God sends Abraham. God sends the disciples. God sends you. As people, we are programmed to seek comfort and stability. We like that. I think it is part of our DNA, and when we were living in a cave hoping that the next meal might wander into a nearby trap, comfort and stability seemed like a great thing. They still do, only we get overly drawn into a life of comfort. In short, we stop growing. We stop going. We let others do the work, and we stop looking for the places into which God has called us next. Each and every person today is continually being called forward, called to grow in faith, called to explore new relationships and engage in new challenges. Weâre called to take bold steps so that the work of the church may advance, so that Godâs Kingdom may expand, so that others may come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. How are you contributing to that growth? Are you willing to go forward in your personal life of faith, to go forward in mission and evangelism, to go forward in selfless love of others? Are you willing to go? Or do we reach a place where itâs easier to stay? Itâs always going to be easier to stay, but think of Abraham at the age of 75, leaving everything behind to wander into a new life. Think of the disciples, standing on the mountain, watching their Lord and Savior ascend to the heavens, left with a command to go and evangelize the world but no idea of exactly how to do so. The key to all of this is in Christâs final words. âRemember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.â If we have to figure this out on our own, weâre lost, abandoned, and may as well never even try. How could we possible do this by human strength? We may as well stay. But we can go, and do so with conviction and courage, because we have the promise of Christ to be with us. Heâll never abandon or forsake us, and heâll never be more than a moment away. You are in his hands, and he will lead you forward, and will protect you on the way. We go because He goes with us, and his power and Holy Spirit lead us. The disciples would have fallen down laughing had they had to figure this out on the way, but instead they could go back and join in prayer, trusting that God would reveal the next step for them. We are the same. If we have to figure it out, itâs a massive task, far beyond what our tiny minds can imagine. But if Christ is with us, we donât have to figure it out. Itâs like a corn maze, which are so popular around here. We donât have to see the whole maze. We only have to go forward with prayer and humility, trusting in the leadership of Christ with each and every decision, continuing to move forward rather than hovering back in fear, and we trust that each and every decision will lead us closer to the faithful life, closer to the life to which we are called. We simply continue to go, and trust that we will end up where God wants us to be. Let us pray *********************** ********************** When we moved into our house, we inherited a phone number with a history. All phone numbers have histories, but ours has proved particularly interesting. For starters, itâs very close to the phone number for the local Papa Johnâs. I finally looked up the Papa Johnâs number so I wouldnât feel like I was disappointing people when I answered the phone. Secondly, it used to belong to a man named Joe. Now, when we first moved in, Verizon called for Joe quite a bit, and no matter how many times I told them I wasnât Joe, they kept calling. After a year or so, they finally gave up. Recently, a medical billing agency started calling again for Joe. They seem pretty determinedâI doubt theyâll give up easily. I have a hunch that even though they have the wrong phone number, theyâll eventually find Joe. You know the old sayingâif you feel like no one notices you, just miss a few bill payments. Now, if we believe that debt collectors are this determined about finding us, how much more should we believe that Jesus Christ will seek us out? If Verizon and various medical billing companies are going to call and call and call and call and eventually use their limited powers to find Joe, I think God will do even more to seek out his beloved creations, even if they have run far from him. So when we talk about evangelism, we need to begin with the understanding that God is actively seeking us out. No matter what we have done, no matter where we have run, no matter how far we may think we are from God, God will seek us out. God never gives up on us, never writes us off as a lost cause. God pursues, to the ends of the earth and beyond. So let us be careful about this idea of taking Jesus to people, of bringing Jesus to another person. When we stop and think about it, we need to recognize that it is not we who bring Jesus to anyone. We help them see that Jesus is already there, pursuing them, wildly and passionately in love with them. Thatâs how our story today begins. Jesus has come to Samaria, and heâs plopped down by a well at noon, the hottest part of the day. Now, anyone who is anyone would come get their water in the morning, when it was cool outside. If you have a choice, youâd rather labor outside when the weather is cool than when it is hot. You wouldnât plan your chores for the heat of the day. We can safely assume that this particular Samaritan woman isnât getting water at noon because she likes being outside when itâs hot out. Sheâs an outcast, an outsider, a woman with a history who avoids the crowds and the awkward looks they likely give her. For a while they may have actively shunned her, but now sheâs probably settled into a routine, a way of life that simply avoids the disapproving glances of others. Sheâs living with a man outside of wedlock, and sheâs isolated from the community. To this woman, Jesus arrives. He doesnât make her seek him out, though, because she might not even go looking if he did that. Instead, he places himself into the middle of her life and her routines, making himself impossible to miss. Then, he reveals deep and abiding truths about himself to her. Now, this woman didnât show up looking for spiritual truth. She simply came looking for water. So when Jesus starts talking about living water, it takes her a while to come around to his side of the story. But she eventually does, and she recognizes that she has had an authentic interaction with the Messiah. This changes her. So when we talk about evangelism, we start with ourselves. How can you talk about something youâre not experiencing? How can you encourage others to have a relationship with Christ when youâre not building yours? How can you invite someone into a house that youâre not living in? If you want to do evangelism, you need to start with yourself, and you need to ensure that youâre building space in your own life for encounters with the Messiah. Is there room in your own life for Christ, or are you so busy gathering water and doing chores that you miss his presence in your own life? If so, you need to correct that before you rush out and point out his presence to others. The second half of evangelism is when we interact with others. Now, everyone in this room has a picture in their mind of what evangelism is. Often, itâs a picture of evangelism done poorly, or a picture of what we donât want to do. We all know about this. But do we have a positive view of it? Because itâs critical in the lifeblood of the church. If the church is going to grow, it requires people who believe the Gospel to tell others about the Gospel. Itâs that simple. Think, for a moment, about your favorite restaurant. Now, how many of you would call a place your favorite restaurant because someone else told you it was great? Okânow how many of you have a favorite restaurant because you went there and the food changed your life? We get this idea about evangelism that the interaction we have with others has to convert them, that we have to have the right words to say and we have to do the right things or else they wonât come to faith. But youâre not trying to give them your relationship. Youâre trying to tell them about the Messiah in the hopes that they will have their own relationship with them. Youâre not bringing them to faith. Youâre trying to help them open their eyes to what God is already doing in their lives. You donât have to get Jesus thereâheâs already there, I promise. Listen to the story of this woman, this outcast woman who is probably shunned by many. Sheâs not a trained evangelist, and she doesnât have a long history of bringing people to faith. What she does have, however, is an authentic story of an interaction with Jesus Christ. What does she do? She leaves Jesus in verse 28, goes to the people in the town and invites them to go see Jesus, a man who told her all that she ever did. Her proclamation is a questionâCan this be the Christ? She isnât even certain, but sheâs experienced enough to invite her to go and see for themselves. And they are curious, and we learn later that her story was enough for many people to believe. What is even more effective, though, is that many more believe because they have heard for themselves. Her simply story and her big question led others to interact with Christ, and they came to believe for themselves. They recognized Christ, who was already in their village, and heard for themselves. It was nothing dramatic she didâshe simply invited them into their own relationship. Friends, God sends us out into the world to share the Gospel message. Our life is to be used building our own relationship with Christ and then inviting others to have their own relationships. So may we make room for what God is already doing, and may we trust God to be at work in the lives of those around us. God has done and will do all the heavy liftingâwhat he needs is people willing to open their lives up to be an invitation to others to come and see for themselves, to come to the well and find the living water, Jesus Christ. Let us pray James 2:14-26 ************************* ************************* How many of you have ever had your fuel light on the dashboard come on? Itâs happened to all of us at some point, right? Sometimes, I like to let mine come on just to be sure itâs working, so that Iâll know itâs there for me when I really need it. So what do you do when the light comes on? You get gas, right? Nobody looks at it and disregards it, figuring that itâs not important. If you want to keep driving, you get gas. I once had the misfortune of being on a road trip with a guy who basically ignored the light. I was sitting in the backseat and saw the light come on, and it didnât seem to make much of a difference. We kept driving and driving⦠I didnât want to say anything, since it was hard to miss. Pretty soon, the car ran out of gas. No big surprise to me, but the first thing he said was, âIt usually stays on much longer.â I thought about pointing out that it had been on for the previous 60 miles, but that felt like rubbing salt in the wound. Next thing we knew, we were riding along in a semi. When the light comes on, we get gas. In other words, we believe what the light is telling us, and it affects our actions. This little marvel of engineering has the power to shape the way we behave. Youâd be considered a fool if you ignored the light, or if you believed the light but didnât actually do anything about it. No one would ride in the car with you, at least. What Iâm saying is that your belief in your fuel light shapes your actions. Other beliefs shape actions, too. If you believe the lady in front of you in the grocery store checkout line has a coupon binder, youâre going to find another checkout line. If you believe the expiration date on your gallon of milk, youâre going to throw it away rather than take a chance. If you believe that your call really is important to that company, youâre going to hold on the line. If all of these beliefs shape our actions, and they do, then shouldnât our belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the universe shape how we live and interact? Shouldnât our faith in Christ shape the way we live? If we truly believe that Christ died on the cross out of love for us, atoning for our sins, and then rose from the dead to demonstrate his Lordship, then shouldnât that belief shape the rest of our lives? If the fuel light in our car has the power to affect us, how much more should our faith in Christ shape our lives? This past week, we read about a life of ministry. I think weâve allowed the word to evolve over time to where it doesnât quite mean what it could or should. When we use the word ministry in the 21st century, itâs easy to let it simply refer to the minister. The minister does ministry. Period. The problem is that this doesnât accurately capture the essence of the call of the Body of Christ. The minister isnât called to go out and do ministry on his or her own. The church is called to active ministry, which means that each and every person in the church is also called to a life of active ministry. Wondering how youâll have time for a life of ministry in light of everything else you have on your plate? Ministry isnât setting aside time in the midst of your busy schedule to go save the world. Ministry is allowing your faith in Jesus Christ to shape the way that you live and move and have your being. Ministry is letting your belief change the way you live. Ministry is about letting faith guide you on more than just Sunday morning. See, whatâs so tempting is to come to church on Sunday morning and believe your heart out, then leave this place and let the busy-ness of life overwhelm you. Once that happens, itâs pretty easy to get so distracted that you forget about letting faith shape and guide you. Youâre probably just trying to make it through the day, through the week, and so you donât really spend time reflecting on faith until youâre in the car on the way back to church the next Sunday morning. Itâs an easy pattern to fall into, and one I suspect many Americans live out each and every week. Perhaps they even assume the minister is taking care of the ministering during the week. But the church isnât supposed to work like that. The church is called to be a very flat organization, one with Christ at the head and everyone else hard at work, busy proclaiming the Kingdom of God in Word and deed. Weâre call called to be ministers, busy with the stuff of ministering in the midst of our working and parenting and socializing. Weâre called to share this life with one another, and we minister to one another as we go along. We minister, we serve, we show the love of Jesus Christ. Today is a holiday in the church. Today is the day of Pentecost, a day where we celebrate the Holy Spirit going forth into the world. The church grew rapidly that first Pentecost, adding thousands of believers, and each one had a role to play. Each and every one of them was baptized into a new life in Christ that day, but there was still much for them to do. Pentecost wasnât the end of something, but it was the beginning. Their belief in Christ was now beginning to shape the rest of their lives. If all they had done was be baptized and then be done with it, the church would have looked very, very different. In our reading from James, this is the distinction being discussed. It doesnât make any sense if someone claims to have faith and yet doesnât allow that faith to shape the rest of their lives. Thatâs not real faithâitâs a fantasy, or an insurance policy, but itâs not faith thatâs alive. The Holy Spirit doesnât call us to affirm Christ as Lord and then go about our business as though that belief doesnât matter. Weâre called to affirm Christ as Lord and then let that belief change the way we interact with one another. Think of a phrase that is often usedââtake careâ. We say this to one another upon parting, but what does it really mean to take care? Are we taking care of one another? Are we truly caring for the world, for the least of these and for one another? Do we care the way Jesus did, the caring that valued interruptions and was willing to go to any expense to demonstrate the love of God? Do we care like that? Or do we let the words pass our lips without ever making it to our hearts? Friends, you leave this sanctuary today and go out into the world. You do so as ministers, as baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ. If you truly believe that Christ died for sin and calls us to live in reflection of Godâs gracious love, may that belief shape the way you live, the way you speak the way you work. May it shape all you to, for the glory of God. Let us pray Ephesians 4:1-16 Revised Standard Version (RSV) 4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christâs gift. 8 Therefore it is said, âWhen he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.â 9 (In saying, âHe ascended,â what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love. ************************* ************************* A wedding is an amazing thing. Most of them are planned for months, if not years, in advance. Coordinated outfits are ordered, flowers are fretted over, and enormous quantities of food are ordered. Everyone is excited, a few people get nervous, but almost everyone is optimistic on a wedding day. No obstacle looms too large when it comes to the wedding day. But then, once the wedding day is over, the marriage begins. Somewhere, around 3 to 4 weeks into a marriage, a realization slowly dawns on both peopleâthe other person isnât leaving. Theyâre here to stay. And their stuff is everywhere. And they have all these annoying habits which werenât disclosed beforehand. And I canât believe he eats that. Before the wedding, it all seems so easy. But once the wedding ends and the marriage begins, we realize that itâs not so easy, and it takes a lot of work to figure it out. The same is true of parenting. When the kid is still inside the womb, you think about what kind of parent youâll be, about how supportive and patient and loving youâll be. You plan out the developmental stages of your child and imagine them getting a scholarship to Harvard because of your great parenting. You watch other parents struggle with unruly toddlers and you promise that wonât be you. You see a parent dragging a screaming child across a parking lot and you assume they are inferior parents. Then, the first night you bring the baby home from the hospital and you realize there is no nurse to take the baby to the nursery and youâre on your own, the rubber meets the road. You toss all your plans out the window and realize that there is much hard work to be done, there is no manual, and you feel completely alone and isolated, held captive by an 8 pound bundle of energy that breaks your will after a week. Soon, you are the bleary-eyed parent dragging the screaming child through the parking lot wondering what happened to all those plans. It all seemed so simple⦠Friends, life often seems easy from a distance. When weâre a long way off, things can seem easy. When things remain in the future, we can imagine how weâll deal perfectly with a situation and how everything will turn out fine. But life doesnât remain at a distance. It doesnât dwell in the land of the hypothetical. Life shows up on the front porch, barges in through the door after barely knocking, sits down on your couch and starts cleaning out your fridge, and youâve got to figure out what to do with it. You donât get to live life from a distance. The same is true of the religious life. Let me suggest thisâitâs easy to listen to a sermon. Itâs easy to attend Sunday School. Itâs easy to come to worship, to sit in a pew and to observe. Itâs easy to live the religious life from an emotional distance. Whatâs hard, though, is wrestling with faith, the way Jacob wrestled with the angel in the midst of the desert. Whatâs hard is trying to figure out what this means, to be a people of faith, to be a resurrection people in the midst of lifeâs biggest questions. Itâs easy to listen to a sermonâitâs a lot harder to figure out what faith means when youâre struggling at work or when a marriage is scuffling or when tragedy strikes us. Itâs easy to listen to a sermonâitâs hard to live out your faith. This, friends, is when fellowship comes into play. Because we need each other. We need one another to help us figure out how we live out our faith. We need other people to help us figure out what this means for us, here and now, today. It doesnât help if our faith remains something proclaimed in church on Sunday that doesnât make any sense for Tuesdayâwe need people to come alongside us and help us interpret our faith for our everyday life. Fellowship is more than just saying hello on Sunday morning. Itâs more than just knowing each otherâs names, and Iâd suggest itâs more than just hoping for the best for one another. I think fellowship is messy. What I mean is thisâtrue fellowship is a relationship in which the other person wanders into the mess of your life and is willing to help you sort it out, deal with it piece by piece, and to walk with you through the deepest valleys and highest mountains of your life. True fellowship is noticing when you donât feel quite right on Sunday morning and calling you on Monday afternoon to see how you are. True fellowship notices when you are absent or just not yourself and being willing to engage, rather than just forgetting about you and going on with your life. True fellowship requires work, and it requires sacrifice, and often we end up going farther with another person than we ever involved, because once we get involved with each otherâs lives we realize how critical it is that we share this burden of sorting out the stuff of life through the lens of faith. This is not something to do on our own. So weâre called to share our lives with one another. Weâre called to share the joys, to let them lift up the entire community. Weâre called to share our sorrows, to let the community gather around us to mourn together. Weâre called to share our big questions, the things weâre wrestling with, so that we as a community can interpret what it means to live faithfully in light of what youâre dealing with. If you hear a great sermon, go home and donât think about it again for the rest of the week as you go about your business, what good is that? If, however, you hear a great sermon and then discuss with a trusted friend how God is calling you to live as an employee, parent, friend and spouse, then youâre diving into the deep waters of a faithful life, rather than just dipping a toe into the curiosities of religion. A faithful life takes work, and it takes a community willing to embrace one another, no matter the sacrifice. And being a faithful community takes work and sacrifice. So much of the New Testament is dedicated to helping communities live peacefully together. We like to imagine them as idyllic communities, but the reality is that when you get a bunch of people together, we donât always live well together. Sometimes, we disagree. And yet, isolating ourselves is not the answer. This is why Paul is calling us, here in the words of Ephesians 4, to bear with one another in love, to be humble, gentle and patient with one another as we strive for unity and peace. We are all in this together, but we have some rough edges on our personality, and weâre likely to injure one another as we bounce around in life. The temptation is to withdraw, to save our skin from the wounds of others, to withdraw lest we be injured by the brokenness of another. But that is not the answer. Thatâs not how we live in community. Thatâs not the way itâs done, because when we isolate ourselves, weâll struggle with the big questions of faith, and weâll do so alone, and itâs always easier to give up when weâre alone. Also, the community needs you. It needs your voice. There are people in this room that desperately need you to reach out to them, to help them along, and some day they will return the favor. If we withdraw out of fear of damage, then weâll miss out on that opportunity to serve one another. Is it worth risking the hurt? Jesus shows us that. He spent 3 years with Judas as one of his closest friends, despite knowing all the time that Judas would betray him. The other 11 disciples werenât a whole lot betterâthey all ended up abandoning or denying him, sometimes both. But Jesus nurtured the community as a group, knowing they would need each other. And when Jesus ascended to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, to ensure that we would never be alone. We walk this life of faith together, for Christ has called us into a unity of faith, that we might encourage, support and love one another as we try and figure out what it means to be a resurrection people in a world surrounded by death. May we remind one another of the new life in Christ Jesus. Let us pray Romans 12:1-8 English Standard Version (ESV) 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. ******************* ******************* When Rachel and I got married, roughly 8 years ago, the pastor did not conclude with the encouragement to, if we wanted to build a long, lasting and strong relationship, check in with each other once a week. That probably wouldnât be a good recipe for a strong relationship. So why would we think itâs ok to do the same with God? Today, weâre celebrating a major step in the lives of 4 members of this congregation. Theyâve put the work into 8 weeks of confirmation class, theyâve been examined by the session, and theyâre ready to make a public profession of their faith. We, the church, are here to encourage them, to mentor them, to shepherd them, and to celebrate what God is doing in their lives. Think, for a moment, about what you would like to see in their lives. How would you like to see their faith lived out? Is your hope for these kids that they somehow manage to squeeze in 60 minutes of worship once a week? Do you hope that theyâll find their way to a church 52 times a year for the rest of their lives, figuring that will be enough to sustain a lasting relationship with God and give them the guidance they need to live a life of faith? Or do you want more for them? I think we all want more for them. Weâd like to encourage them to go out into the world and let their faith be a bedrock for everything they do. Weâd like to see them take their faith into their homes and their schools, to let the work of Jesus Christ transform everything they think and do. Weâd like to see Christ guide them in their relationships and in their studies, in their schoolwork and in their play. We hope they will have lives rooted in prayer and in study. We hope that they remember that everything they do can be done for the Lord. Thatâs our hope for these children. If weâre willing to challenge and encourage these children into that kind of life, are we willing to examine our own lives and see if weâre living up to that kind of standard? Because when we talk about worship, thatâs the kind of life weâre talking about. Itâs easy to think worship happens once a week. We call it worship, so it certainly makes sense that this is the first thing that we think of when we think of worship. But worship is meant to be so much more than one hour on Sunday morning. Worship is intended to be more than a momentâitâs intended to be a way of life. See, our worship service isnât intended to be a substitute for what you do in the rest of the weekâitâs intended to set a pattern. And what is that pattern? First, we gather ourselves, hearing Scripture call us to worship. Then, after we give thanks in prayer, we are called to confess our sins. Then, having confessed our sin, we listen to the Word of God read and proclaimed. We hear about the promises of God and learn about how God is calling us to live. Then, having heard what God has to say, we respond in grateful prayer, in song and by offering our gifts. Then, and only then, do we go out into in the world to live in a similar pattern! Worship doesnât end here. The week ends here, and it begins anew. We tie up the strings on the old week, and we have our vision guided out into the new week. We die and are born anew, and this Sunday morning pattern should lead us out into a week that awaits. And in this week, weâre called to listen for Godâs voice, to repent of our sin, to read Scripture, and then respond by giving our lives. Itâs a pattern to be lived, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, year by year. This is how we are to live. And itâs all worship. All of life can be a continual conversation with God, because every moment is an opportunity to be drawn closer to God by the power of the Holy Spirit, if weâre willing to be led by God, rather than pulled farther away by the distractions of the world. Friends, every moment of your life is a pregnant opportunity to worship God. If you are willing to choose to be aware of Godâs presence, life can be worship. If youâre willing to seek him in every moment, life can be worship. If youâre willing to fight through the temptation to choose the easier path, the way of less resistance, life can be worship. This is a hard thing, and we all fail. We get distracted. We get busy. We forget, and then we find that itâs Tuesday and we havenât thought of God since the benediction on Sunday. It happens. This is why itâs so important to have routines, to have habits, to set time aside intentionally that is offered to the Lord, because it brings us back to him. It guides our hearts and minds back to the Lord, and we allow our attention to be recaptured by the Holy Spirit. God is constantly with you. He will never leave nor forsake you. The question before us is this: What will you do today to make yourself more aware of Godâs presence and his desire to be in constant relationship with you? Let us pray **************************** What is a phone designed to do? Now, that seems like a fairly simple question, and had you asked it 15 years ago, the answer would have been exactly what you would have expected. But, as of last June, Pew Research reported that 61% of Americans now owned smartphones. And, when you look at a smartphone, does talking on it seem like the primary purpose? Yet, we should remind ourselves what we call it—a phone. But anyone who believes that the primary usage of it is talking isn’t paying a whole lot of attention. Maybe they’re busy texting. Americans are constantly on their phones, even while driving, and not many are using these devices to talk. Verizon’s newest plans include unlimited minutes, because there’s no profit to be made in charging people on how much they talk. I’ve seen reports that 25% of smartphone usage is actual talking on the phone. Basically, we have little computers that can make a phone call if we really need them to. What is fairly safe to say is that available options have changed the way we use our phones. We no longer have to use them just for talking, and so we choose to use them in many different ways. Some of these are very good—for example, a simple text message can now donate money to countless causes, and distant relatives can see loved ones through technology. Some are maybe not so good. Just ask Anthony Weiner or other individuals who have sent inappropriate pictures to the watching world. The basic fact is that phones are no longer used just as phones. Now, the question that sits before us today is one of purpose. Simply put, what is our purpose? As Rick Warren asks, what are we here for? Why have we been made, and how are we to live in light of that? What do we need to know in order to fulfill our purpose? First of all, consider this Genesis truth—you were made in the image of God. That’s language we use quite a bit, and often, when we use it, we’re encouraging one another to treat each and every person as the unique and well-loved child of God that they are. It’s easy to forget that someone is made in the image of God, especially as they’re weaving down the freeway with a sandwich in one hand and a phone in the other, or when they’re espousing hateful views in downtown Chattanooga. Regardless of how much someone may aggravate us or how deeply we may oppose them, the fact of the matter is that we are to treat them with love and respect. It also, I believe, tells us something about our purpose, because we know quite a bit about God, and what we know about God can teach us how someone made in his image should live. First of all, God is relational. This is the basis of the Trinity—God is, and has been, and forever will be, involved in a deep relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is an ongoing and constant relationship. We have not been made to live in isolation—we don’t work at our best that way. So we’re made for relationship. Secondly, that relationship is rooted in love. We know that God is love, and that everything God does is loving. We don’t always understand that, but we trust in God’s love. Therefore we, too, are called to root ourselves in love and to let our relationships be defined by love. Finally, we are called to be selfless. This is difficult for us, since we’re besieged by constant encouragements to place ourselves first, but God showed us the way in Jesus Christ, a man who consistently dealt patiently and kindly with others, even when they were intruding on him or demanding more from him. God shows us the depth of his love by sending Christ to die on a cross for us, to assumed with selflessness the punishment of others and to give freely the reward of glory that he alone deserved. God pours himself out in selflessness. So if we are to live in the image of God, we need to let these three big notions frame our purpose—we’re to relate to one another, to be loving and to be selfless. Now, how do we seek that out? What exactly does that look like in modern life? Here’s where I want to stop andreadthe 139thPsalm. To read this Psalm is to be introduced to a God who loves each and every one of us as the unique creations that we are. To read this Psalm is to be astounded by the way God loves us. To read this Psalm is to be amazed at how God cares for us all. We know that God is love in a big way, and we know that Christ died for all, and yet we don’t always remember to believe that God loves each and every one of us as though there were only one to love, as Augustine says. God has made you as an individual, and he has given you unique and individual gifts and talents. So my goal today isn’t to prescribe your individual purpose today, because each and every one of you has a different purpose, because God has made you separately, crafted you with a unique combination of talents and abilities and relationships, and God expects something different from each of us. Often, we pressure ourselves because of what and who we are not. We believe that we are inferior in the church because we don’t do big or grand mission projects, because we haven’t adopted 27 orphans or because we haven’t given every dime away. We wonder if we’re living up to God’s standards, or if we’re dumbing down God’s call to fit into our life. We wonder if we’re living in to our purpose. I’d like to counter that argument. The Kingdom of God is richer and better for those who adopt and for those who travel to do evangelism. We are better for this, but there is no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God. There is one level, and that is made up of sinners who have been saved by the grace of God, and we’re all trying to figure out how to live in light of that. Some recognize that their gifts lead them to travel or to give up what they have, while others recognize that raising their children in Godly homes or doing their work with integrity and supporting the work of others is their gift and ability. These are vital roles in God’s kingdom, just as important as any others. Do not for a moment believe that your discipleship is inferior to someone else’s because they have more stamps in their passport. Use what you have to glorify God. This takes us to the Westminster Catechism, where the first question is to ask what our purpose is. The answer is simple: To glorify and enjoy God forever. This is our purpose. This is what we were made for. We can do this in many and varied ways, and the different ways we do this brings glory in its diversity to the Kingdom of God. But to do otherwise, to seek with selfishness our own glory or to turn our backs deliberately on the Kingdom of God, is to reject God’s call. It’s drifting away from our purpose. To live with no spiritual community, believing that a community cannot enrich your life and help you grow, is to drift from our purpose. To fail to love others and love God above all else is to drift away, to use your life less and less for the purpose God made it. How you love selflessly, who you love selflessly, and the spiritual community you form will be different for each of us, but it is critically important that we recognize the call of God upon us and use our time well to bring glory to God and to love one another here on earth. Let us pray Acts 19 ********************** ********************** I was 16 when I tore my ACL for the first time. I was playing a high school soccer game when someone hit the side of my knee with their knee and made my knee bend in a way that the good Lord did not design my knee to bend. As a result, I was soon writhing on the ground using words that they would have preferred we not use in the small Catholic high school I attended. The intensity of the pain was at a level I had never before experienced. That, however, was nothing compared to the pain I would experience the day after the surgery. See, for the month before the surgery, everything had settled in. It was comfortable. I could even walk on it. Just when everything had calmed down, a doctor cut it open with the knife. That evening, when I slept longer than the duration of the pain medications, I woke up feeling like someone had screwed a new ligament into my bones. Which, curiously enough, is exactly what had happened. I have never had pain like that, and when I had knee surgery twice more, I was sure to wake up in the middle of the night to take pain medication. It doesnât really make sense, does it? Why does it hurt more when we try and fix things? My knee should have realized that the doctor was setting things up for the best, right? My body should have been happy that I would once again have lateral stability. Instead, my body reacted like someone was trying to cut off my leg. Itâs not only surgery that causes this reaction. Think about what happens when youâre standing in a dark room and someone flips on a very bright light. Youâre blinded, right? You canât see a thing, and it can be so bright that you have to shield your eyes from the very light thatâs helping you see. At first, the things sent to help can actually hurt us. I could go on and on listing examples of how the things that are here to help actually end up hurting us at first. The point is that change is difficult, even change for the good. What happens is a system has hardenedâit knows its limits and has routines in place. After an injury, a body adapts to a new way of being. In the dark, your pupils dilate and seek out as much light as possible. To change this system, there is enormous resistance that must be overcome. To alter the direction, it takes great effort, and there is no guarantee that what is currently there will not resist. So when we view the response of the city of Ephesus to Paulâs arrival and his time spent preaching the Gospel, we shouldnât be so surprised at some of the reactions he received. First of all, notice the time Paul spends in Ephesus. So often, when we think of the Biblical narratives, we picture instant conversion, moments in which the light switch flips on and the Gospel is suddenly made real in someoneâs life, and then we imagine that they never struggle again. When we look at our own lives and donât see something similar, we feel inferior. Here, Paul spends three months preaching in Ephesus. During those three months, he does his best to make the Kingdom of God real. He was introducing the people to the way God works in the world, and the people, we understand, began to change. But just as the people were changing, resistance was forming. Evil rumors began to spread, because Paul was challenging the status quo. To follow the Gospel with our whole hearts implies that there are certain societal practices that weâll have to give up, and when enough people start to do that, those with interest in keeping things the way they are begin to get upset. So what does Paul do? Give up? Noâhe spends the next two years preaching the Gospel in Ephesus. He invests two years in spreading the message. Itâs not necessarily one big dramatic movementâitâs showing up, day after day, and trusting God to work through his efforts. What we see is amazing change that goes on in the city. Pieces of clothing that touch Paul are able to heal the sick. Witches and warlocks willingly burn books full of incantations. Lives are changed. The city begins to change. See, when the church is at work in the world, it affects more than just ourselves. If our faith is kept bottled up within us, within these walls of the church, then weâre missing the point. Faith in the New Testament always leads the church out into the world, and the two often end up in conflict because the world doesnât care much for the change. The same is true in Ephesus. The silversmiths, the ones who make models of Artemis to sell, see the change taking place, and theyâre worried about losing their economic place in the city. Theyâre worried that if the folks in the city stop worshiping Artemis, they wonât keep buying silver models, and then theyâll start losing money. So they riot. Paul narrowly avoids getting caught up in this, but the important thing to note is that when change threatens the economic model in the city, people get angry. This isnât a theological battleâitâs an economic one. But the church canât be afraid to make waves. The church canât keep itself squirreled away where it is safe just to avoid conflict. The word leads us out into the world, and we cannot be afraid of conflictâthe world will resist the change, but that doesnât mean we are wrong. Itâs easy to stay inside, where itâs safe, to practice spirituality that avoids the conflict. The world will resist the change the church seeks. Systems donât like to change, and when you threaten peopleâs income, youâre treading on dangerous ground. But think about thisâhow does a light bulb work? Light bulbs, at least the old fashioned ones that are supposedly going to be illegal at some point, have a filament, and when the current passes through it, the resistance causes the wire to glow, giving off light. In the same way, the Word of God can only spread when it goes out into the world. If we keep it bottled up inside the church, it never meets the world, will never engage with the resistance, will never spread light to the world. If we try and keep it bottled up to keep ourselves safe, we miss the point. But if we follow the Word into the world, weâll meet resistanceâbut in that resistance, Christâs light will shine even brighter. After all, it was on the cross, the moment of the worldâs greatest resistance to the Gospel, where Godâs love was most magnified, and it paved the way for Godâs greatest victory. So may we go and engage with the world, trusting that our witness will help the light shine. Let us pray Click Here: Acts 17:16-34 ***************** ****************** Letâs dive into something controversial, shall we? Letâs talk about desserts. Now, some of you are equal opportunity dessert lovers. If it has sugar in it, youâre interested, and dinner is often the meal to be endured before you get to the good stuff. You donât have to be pickyâas long as itâs dessert, youâre happy. Now, others of you have favorites. Iâm a favorite kind of guy. Ice cream and cookies is as good as it gets, and Iâm often not too interested in the other options. Others of you, well, you might prefer cake. Or maybe pie. But we have our favorites. Now, letâs just say I made it my personal mission to convert everyone in the church to choosing ice cream and cookies for dessert. The worst way to do so would be to stand up and tell you that youâre a terrible person for liking cake, and that choosing cake will rot your brain and lead you into perilous moral choices. What if I belittled you for choosing pie? Would that work? Or, would it convince you if I ignored anything you said or anything about you and simply shouted over you? What if I ignored your lactose intolerance and simply told you that ice cream was right for you anywayâwould you find that appealing? Now, if I really wanted to win you over to ice cream and cookies, what would be the best way to do so? Iâm guessing it would be to learn what you like, to get to know you, and then maybe invite you over to my house to try some homemade ice cream and cookies. Maybe youâd convert right then. Maybe youâd be curious enough to come back and try it again later. Maybe youâd lead unconvinced. Any way it ended, youâd have had a positive experience with someone whom you believed deeply cared about you and getting to know you and your interests. So this is the ideal way Iâd convert you to a lifelong love of ice cream and cookies. Itâs much more reasonable and, probably, appealing than any alternative. So when we come to talking about something much, much more important that dessert, how are we going to approach others about our faith? When we find Paul in Athens in Acts 17, heâs in a city filled with idols. Itâs a place foreign to Christianity, and note how he approaches the people in the city. We know that his spirit was provoked within him, but rather than rant and rave and hope that his anger converted the Athenians, he instead spends days in the synagogue engaged in conversation with the Jews. Heâs in the marketplace every day talking with the philosophers. He spent time getting to know the people and the city, and only then does he begin to address the Athenians. When he does speak, he speaks to the people, rather than over them. He starts with something they can all relate toâtheir hunger for God. See, the Athenians were a religious people, a people who were eager to worship. They simply had the target of their worship wrong. They knew they were supposed to be worshipping, and so Paul started with that, because it was something they had in common. From there, he redirected their efforts, their worship, pointing out to them the error of their ways. They had this statue of the unknown god, where they basically admitted that they werenât sure what they worshipped, they just intrinsically knew they were supposed to be worshipping. Paul points out that statue and tells them that this doesnât have to remain a mysteryâthat God has pulled back the curtain so that the truth might be revealed. And that truth is not some esoteric point to be debatedâitâs a person, Jesus of Nazareth. So Paul points to Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. He starts with the darkness, where the Athenians are, and he brings them into the light. He is compassionate, yet firm. He does not waver from the centrality of Jesus Christ, but he also does not bludgeon them for getting it wrong. They are welcome to repent, invited to repentâbut they have to do so around the person of Jesus Christ. Now, at this point some of them depart. Resurrection from the dead is too much for them. Some of them convert, and many others want to hear more. Theyâre intrigued. Theyâre curious. They have questions, and before they convert their lives to follow Christ, they want answers. Friends, the great news for us is that Christianity doesnât have to be afraid of questions. We donât have to hide behind secrets and mysteriesâwe believe that Christianity is robust and rigorous enough to withstand examination. For 2,000 years, the opponents of the church have been trying to tear it down. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, for not even the gates of hell itself are strong enough to prevail against Christianity. So what do we learn from this? First of all, we were made to seek God. Paul says this in verse 27. He notes that God didnât need to create us, that God wasnât missing something without us, but that God wanted to create us and knows that we are at our best when we are seeking God with our whole hearts. God wants the best for us, and our sin interferes with this life, so God longs for us to seek him. In verse 27, Paul spells out the purpose of life, and our greatest hope. We are all made to seek God, and those who choose not to pursue God substitute something else. We all choose to worship something. Secondly, when we speak to others about God, we need to relate to them. We need to know them, to care enough to understand where they are coming from. Paul spent days speaking with Jews and with philosophers. Paul learned their poetry, which he quotes here. Paul cared enough to get to know the people he would preach to. We, too, are called to know our neighbors, to love them enough to know them, so that when we speak to them of faith, we can talk to them in language theyâll understand. Itâs no use talking over peopleâpeople want to know you care. Finally, Christianity can stand up to examination. We can stand tough questions. Paul spent days debating philosophers, people who questioned everything. He didnât give up or throw in the towel, but had deep conversations. Many who are curious about Christianity have a lot of questions. Itâs ok. Itâs also ok to not know all the answers. Just because you and I donât know the answers doesnât mean there are no good answersâit just means we need to learn more. Iâm not afraid of science or medicineâthey can throw whatever they want at the faith, and I am comfortable knowing what I believe. We donât have to be scared. Friends, all of this points to Christ, crucified and resurrected. Paul held this in the center, and it needs to be the center of our life, too. Without it, we drift off course. If we let Christianity become a set of rules or some method to happiness, we wander from the centrality of what God is doing in Jesus Christ. God is defeating the power of sin and death in Christ. Each and every one of us was lost, without cause for hope, until Christ intervened and saved us from our sins by the power of his death on the cross. We cannot lose this at the middle, for without it we are no different than anyone else. May we base our lives around this central truth, and may we never deviate. Let us pray ************************* Know what the two most dangerous words in America are? “Watch this.” The three most dangerous words, of course, are: “Hold my beer.” If you hear either of these two phrases, back away. We all know how what will follow will end, and if anyone is filming it, of which there is an increasing likelihood nowadays, it will probably end up with millions of pageviews on YouTube. There are all sorts of situations in which something inside of us knows how it is going to end. I have the distinct memory of being at a Reds game with Rachel in which the Reds' worst pitcher had been brought in to face the opposing teams' best hitter with the bases loaded. I remember turning to Rachel and telling her to be ready for exactly how far that ball is going to fly. To this day, I don't know if I've ever seen a baseball hit farther. I'm not sure that ball has landed yet. The same is true of every romantic comedy ever made. Within the first five minutes, or perhaps before it has even started, most men can tell the basic plot. Most women can, too, it's just that such knowledge doesn't prevent them from watching them. We know how certain situations end. Some things are simply predictable. They end in a certain way, every time. Death is that way, too. When someone dies, we know how it ends. As in, that is the end. The story of death isn't one that suddenly changes halfway through. When someone dies, we don't hang around the mortuary in the hopes of getting a burger with them later. We don't pop by the cemetary in hopes they don't have any plans that day. Death is a permanent condition. At least, that's what the disciples thought. That's what the whole world thought when Jesus died. But when Jesus died, everything changed. When Jesus died, our expectations shifted. When Jesus died, he came back alive. The women went to the tomb that morning, and while they expected to find Jesus in the tomb, they instead found an angel rolling away the stone, and the angel was inviting them in to “Come, see the place where they laid him.” The women were invited in to view the new reality, to be amazed at what Christ had done, to witness the evidence that death was no more. The reality they expected to find had been shattered by this new reality, the one where life is the answer to the questions death raises. After they were invited to come and See, they were sent to go and tell. The new reality into which they had stepped needed to be shared, and they were invited to step into this new way of life, where the good news of Christ's resurrection is meant to be shared with the world around them. Come and see, the angel says. Go and tell, the angel says. And through it all, do not be afraid. The angel tells them not to fear, and the resurrected Jesus tells them the same thing. They have nothing to fear. This new reality is not laced with sin and death and fear and worry like the old one. Now that they have seen the new way of life, where the shackles of death no longer have power, they have nothing left to fear, for the Christ who conquers shall walk with them and give them the strength to overcome any obstacle that confronts them. They have no need to fear, for God is faithful and true. Note what the angel says—He has been raised, just as he said! What Jesus says is true—and if he can be trusted as to his own resurrection, he can be trusted with ours as well. Come and see that God is stronger than death. Go and tell that you are invited into this new reality. And in all things, be not afraid! |