Jesus

GOD IS GREAT!

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

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How does one not shout, “GOD IS GREAT!”, when one contemplates God’s salvation? I suppose the person who looks at salvation as a theological concept or myth to be studied. But if God’s salvation is your salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, then, “GOD IS GREAT!”, just flows out of your mouth. If it doesn’t, then maybe you don’t realize what this salvation really means.

You are a sinner condemned to hell.
You can not save yourself no matter how hard you try.
God’s wrath is something you can not escape.
You are worthy of judgement.
You have no logical defense against God.

That right there is damning. Even for this sinner, when I contemplate my rightful place before God I shudder and shake. But enter Jesus…

JESUS was born unto you.
JESUS was unjustly judged, convicted and condemned.
JESUS was sinless.
JESUS was punished, beaten and tortured.
JESUS was mocked, spit upon and sentenced to death.
JESUS crucified.
JESUS suffered greatly.
JESUS died,

for you.

But…

…JESUS rose from the dead,

for you.

Now, think about all of that. That is salvation for you. That is life for you. And if that does not bring out a shout of,”GOD IS GREAT!”, then you have no idea the gravity of your terminal disease (sin). If you are not entering worship with joy then you really don’t know this awesome God of ours. If you are not seeking God on a daily basis then you are lost; seeking for the wrong things/people.

Stop and reflect on your terminal disease.
Stop and reflect on the awesome love of God.
Stop and give thanks to Jesus.
Stop and worship.
Stop and praise God.

Stop and shout, “GOD IS GREAT!”, for the whole world to hear.

Awesome God, when I stop and reflect on my sinfulness I am in awe of the salvation Jesus won for me. I shudder to think what I am worthy of but leap for joy what you have decreed for me through faith in Jesus. Oh God, you are indeed GREAT! All praise and worship and honor and glory be to You, through Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Panting and Longing (Psalm 42:1-2)

/ The Pastor

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Oh God, this world makes me weary and tired;
physically
emotionally
mentally
spiritually
And when I feel like I am just scraping by I long for something to quench that which is lacking in me.

I long to be satisfied.
I long to be quenched.
I long for You.

But why only then? Why not when I feel full and satisfied and charged? Why not then, oh God, why not then? I loathe the fact that my sinful self leads me to complacency when I feel full.

But then there are times when I am lacking that,
I seek other waters
I seek other streams
I seek other wells
and they fail to do what they promise.

Oh how foolish I am.

But You, oh God, do not fail in what You promise. You are a faithful God. You are a faithful God to give to Your children as they need. When we are lacking, you provide.

May my heart pant for you as a deer pants for flowing streams.
May my heart thirst for You.
May my soul wait for You.
May I live for You.

Oh God, this world makes me weary and tired; through my faith in Jesus Christ, when shall I come and appear before You? When shall I lie down in those green pastures and walk beside those still waters? When shall my soul be restored? When shall my cup runth over and over and over and over…

When shall I dwell in Your house forever and ever.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for You.

Father God,
sustain this holy longing in me for You;
sustain my thirst for You alone;
sustain my faith and trust in You. Amen.

[pant, pant, pant…]

The Pastor -|—

Pay attention (Hebrews 2:1)

/ The Pastor

My little girl just turned two recently and I have discovered something:

I need to keep a closer eye on her, especially when we are outside.

One Mayah’s favorite things to do outside is to look for birdies and bunnies and then go chase them, and chase them she will. The other day we were outside and she spotted a couple robins in the grass. Mayah got all excited as she announced what she saw,

“Daddy! Birdies!”

and then off she went. And before I knew it she was across the yard and almost around the corner of the church building. My calls for her to return went unanswered so I took off to retrieve her.

[She sure can cover a lot of ground quickly]

Upon returning Mayah to the yard closer to me she soon spotted more birdies and off she went again. I indeed must pay close attention to her and…

…WE must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [Hebrews 2:1]

What we have heard is the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of our sins. What we have heard is the Word of God as proclaimed in holy scripture. What we have heard is God’s commands. And we must pay close attention to this lest we drift away, and drift away we will. Because when you think about it, there are many “birdies” and “bunnies” in this world that will draw your attention away from the safe haven that is God.

The defense?

Pay attention to God’s Word.
Pay attention to what you have learned.
Pay attention to what God has promised you in scripture.
Pay attention to the fact that Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion.
Pay attention to the bad influences around you and then hold them at bay.
Pay attention to your relationship with Jesus.
Pay attention to what your children are learning.
Pay attention to what your pastor is preaching/teaching.
Pay attention lest you drift away.

And paying attention is “hard work”, but not really; especially when the paying attention involves someone you love. I love my children and my wife, so I will pay attention to them. I will pay attention to the birdies in my yard that will draw Mayah away from me. I will pay attention, as my children get older, to the friends around them. I will pay attention to what they are learning.

And…

I love God so I will pay attention to my relationship with Jesus. There will be times when I drift away but it is the “paying attention” to what I have heard that will bring me back; confessing my sins and receiving amazing grace. It’s when we forget to pay attention that we find ourselves in trouble;

hopeless
lost and
alone.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [Hebrews 2:1]

Stay close to God through Jesus Christ, and you will never find yourself adrift.

Loving Father, tune my eyes that they may see you and sharpen my attention that it may focus on Your Word. May I not stray, but when I do, return, quickly, my attention to Your promises. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Call on Jesus

/ The Pastor

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Amen!
Praise be to God!
Alleluia!

But this verse is not hocus pocus.
It’s not a magical incantation.
The name of Jesus is not some name to be used to get what you want.

This verse is an act of worship; an act of submission. Notice that it does not say, “calling on the name of Jesus” but rather “Lord”. It is definitely referring to Jesus but instead uses the title that describes Jesus’ relationship to you.

To call on a lord is to recognize their authority over you. You aren’t going to call on a lord if you don’t think they can save you. But in this case, calling on THE Lord, Jesus, is something one does because they already know Jesus can and has saved them through faith. A person is not going to do this willy nilly because they want to save their butts from the eternal flames, but one does this out of love for the one who forgives sin through amazing grace.

But also, one doesn’t not submit to a lord if they still want freedom over their own life. You don’t submit to a lord if you’re too proud to admit you need help. You don’t submit to a lord if you want your cake and eat it too. But the fact of the matter is we need help and with Jesus you get something better than the proverbial cake. With Jesus you get THE Lord of lords who takes great joy in saving your life.

Amen!
Praise be to God!
ALLELUIA!

So go on, call on Jesus, submit to him and praise his Holy name.

Father God, you’re an awesome God. Thank you for sending Jesus to be Lord of my life to save me from myself. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Belonging to Christ (Mark 9:41)

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” [Mark 9:41]

The text for preaching on Sunday is Mark 9:38-41. And as I pray about and ponder this text I am caught by the phrase, “belong to Christ”.

And as I reflect on this phrase a few thoughts come to mind:
~ There is a big difference between Christ belonging to you and belonging to Christ.

~ Saying, “I’m a Christian” is not the same as belonging to Christ, often that simply reflects that Christ belongs to you.

~ If Christ belongs to you then you are in control of the relationship.

~If you belong to Christ, He is in control of the relationship, and you’re glad about that.

~ Belonging to Christ implies commitment and love.

~ Christ belonging to you implies manipulation.

~ If Christ belongs to you then you are less apt to share that which belongs to you.

~ If you belong to Christ you are more apt to shout this from the mountains tops and worship him.

Just a few thoughts as I prepare for the sermon on Sunday. What do you think? Does anything here resonant with you? What does it mean to you to say, “I belong to Christ”?

Here’s what it means to me:
Jesus is Lord of my life. He has saved me through his death and resurrection and therefore I owe him everything; especially including my very life. On my own I am weak and vulnerable but under Christ’s Lordship I am safe in his loving arms. But that’s not why I gather under his wings like chicks with a hen. I am drawn to Christ because of his awesome love for me; a love that I know will never fail despite the fact that I am a miserable sinner. And so therefore, I worship Christ and praise his name. I belong to Christ and gladly submit to him.

Now you’re turn…

Holy Father, thank you for coming to us in Jesus Christ. My life is yours. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—

The Thief is Coming

/ The Pastor

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Are you ready?
Are you waiting?
Are you looking for the Lord?
Are you longing for the Lord?
Are you being complacent?
Are you clinging to worldly peace?

My friends, the Lord is coming. He has risen and now is planning his return. The only thing not certain (to us) is when, but I fear that many people either don’t know this or are taking this for granted. But if we truly fear this then what are we doing about it? It’s one thing to proclaim the Easter message and but are you talking about getting ready for the Lord, and not getting caught eating and drinking and making merry.

So the question shouldn’t be, “Are you ready?” but rather, “What are you doing to get others ready?”

Our politicians are so focused on providing peace and security for people that many get drawn into these messages of worldly hope. And as people get drawn in, then Christ gets left in the rear view mirror, barely an after thought. But this is dangerous stuff, for the Lord will return like a thief in the nigh and catch many off guard.

Don’t be one of them.
And don’t let your neighbor be one of them.

We can’t afford to be complacent and say, “I’ll take them tomorrow”, for tomorrow may never come.

Living Easter hope, as I mentioned in my post from yesterday, is not about getting better in this life, but preparing ourselves for the next Life through holiness, though obedience to God and following Jesus to the cross. And living Easter hope is being hold and courageous in your faith, because really, what do you have to lose.

Fear not those who can destroy the body but the one who can throw the body and soul into hell.

So let’s get ready for the “thief” as he steals away our souls for eternal worship of God our Father.

And don’t forget about your neighbor.

Holy God, may I never forget about why Jesus died and the place in your mansion that he went to prepare. May I be found ready when Jesus returns. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Living Easter (Romans 5:6-11)

/ The Pastor

[From the Easter prayer breakfast at the White House]
“We live our faith when we nurture the hope and possibilities that have always defined us as a country,” Biden said. “We live Easter — and to live Easter is to live with the constant notion that we can always do better.”

NO, NO, NO!!!

That is not living Easter; not even close.

This is living Easter:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. [Romans 5:6-11]

The hope of Easter is not about the notion of us doing better (don’t get me though, we should want to do better all the time), but rather living with the joy that we have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus. Jesus did better and therefore we should rejoice and celebrate that. And because Jesus did better I strive to be more like him; striving to be more Holy. But the fact of the matter is I know I will fall short. I will takes steps forward but then take steps back. Living Easter is about God and the promise of the empty tomb.

Living our faith?

“We live our faith when we nurture the hope and possibilities that have always defined us as a country,”

What a vague statement. Living our faith is following Jesus and obeying him. If that is what Biden means then great but I have my doubts whether that is what he is getting at. Call it what it is. Living our faith, Easter faith, is living in joy that despite this messed up and fallen world (which will pass away), though faith in the crucified and risen Jesus, we will not pass away. Living our faith is about glorifying God.

That is Easter faith
That is Easter hope
That is Easter joy

If it is about you getting better in this life then you will be sorely disappointed. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and on his perfect obedience that lead him to the cross because we are not better.

Praise be to God that we can have this TRUE Easter faith and hope.

Holy God, thank You that Jesus came to save an imperfect and disobedient people. Help us become more like Your son that we may glorify You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Holy Friday ~ Good Friday

/ The Pastor

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It’s Good Friday, a day that has always been very power for me as I contemplate why Jesus did what he did for me. Last night was Maundy Thursday when we traditionally strip the altar at the end of the service. That always get me, too, not just seeing the naked altar and chancel area but being the one who is doing the stripping. It almost feels like I am the one involved in mocking Jesus. And in way, that’s what we do when we sin; we mock God and nail Jesus to the cross.

And so tonight we are going to get involved in contemplating our sinfulness by placing these nails (pictured below) at the foot of the cross (pictured above):

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Throughout the worship service (as we hold these nails) we are going to be hearing about the various ways we “nail Jesus to the cross” through our sin. Then there will be a time of prayer and confession where people are going to be invited to come up, when they’re ready, and place these at the base of the cross. Following worship and as people leave, they will be invited to take another nail but this one they keep. People will be invited to place this nail in their pocket as a reminder of their sinfulness but also of where these nails belong and what they point to:

You are a sinner
Jesus was nailed to a cross
Jesus suffered and died
FOR YOU
Jesus was buried

And then…

…well, the rest of the story (THE Good News) will be coming on the 3rd day 🙂

Praise be to God!

Merciful God, we are sinners worthy of condemnation but Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Wow! Now, there is hope. Wow! Thank you, oh God, thank you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—

Hosanna!

/ The Pastor

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Mighty God, as Jesus rode victorious into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday; ride victorious into our hearts today through the hearing of Your Word.

Create in us humble hearts to receive Jesus as King.
Create in us humble hearts to confess our sins and receive forgiveness.
Create in us humble hearts to submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

And through shouts of ,”Hosanna!”, may we see our salvation through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. What a glorious day, oh God. So receive our worship and send Your Spirit. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May this Palm Sunday be a blessing to you as you shout “Hosanna!” to King of kings and the Lord of lords. And then as you enter Holy Week, may the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday lead you to a deeper understanding of the love and compassion and mercy of our King.

All praise to God the Father through Jesus Christ our King.

The Pastor -|—

No Separation (Romans 8:38-39)

/ The Pastor

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39 ESV]

There is nothing more horrifying than that thought of being separated from the love of God. And that separation would be the definition of hell. Even among the flames; in the midst of pain and suffering, if God’s love were still there, there would still be hope of rescue and healing and restoration; even if not in this life. Without God’s love, though, there is:

No hope
No rescue
No healing
No restoration and…
No God

THAT is hell and THAT is something that no one would ever want a taste of for even a second. So when people say things like, “That was just hell going through that” or “I’ve been through hell and back” or other such sayings; people have no idea nor do they want an idea. I think we too often minimize hell and therefore we don’t take it seriously enough. Hell is separation from God. The Good News, though, is that through faith in Jesus, you have never, ever been separated from God and never will be.

death
life
angels
rulers
things present
things to come
powers
height
depth
anything else in all creation

None of these things will or can separate you from God’s love. You may think your suffering feels like hell, but it is not. Your suffering here is for but a moment and believe me, you are not alone. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are not alone; you are not in hell; you are not separated from God. Granted, I don’t know what your suffering is like. I don’t know how you may be feeling. I don’t know exactly how I would respond in your position. But the one thing I do know is that in Christ Jesus…

GOD LOVES ME

and God loves YOU.

Cling to this wonderful promise in Jesus Christ and rejoice that hell is not your place but rather God’s love is your reality and hope.

God of life and salvation, we praise You that Your love over comes the powers of this world and therefore gives hope through Jesus. May those who suffer know Your love and may they know they are not alone. Give them hope. Give them strength. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—