BRAVEHEARTS Micah 2:1-5;3:1-4
Posted on July 4, 2009
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“This government is drunk with power.” (Ben Stein) Power seems to do strange things to people. You might say it can bring out the best and the worst in people. There is an old saying, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is a huge falacy. If it were true than an all powerful God is corrupt. What we need to realize is that power does not corrupt but all it does is reveal what was already there. Those who abuse power were already abusive. The only reason you may not have previously seen it is because they were not in a position to abuse it.
In Micah’s day the powerful were dreaming of way to exploit others. They then implemented their appetite for destruction. One has to wonder where we ourselves are going as a nation. We have come a long way from the founding fathers. Our republic has become an oligarthy (watch video: thegovernment ).
As the body of Christ we need an alternative voice to the corrupt spirit that permeates America. That voice is Christ. It is his leadership we must follow and emulate as his people (read Philippians 2:3-11). There are of course vices to leadership. Selfish ambition and conceit being some that the Apostle Paul higlights. Leadership is not about you. Leadership is supposed to be about others. Jesus used his position to set people free. He did not lead from the top down but from the bottom up. Death by crucifixion is hardly top down leadership. He was sacraficial in every way. This is of course the Church’s great strength. The power of the cross salvifically but also the power of the cross ethically. As a way of life and leadership. The scene in Braveheart is a great example. William Wallace, a commoner has just won the battle of Sterling and is being honored by the Scottish barons. They then disentigrate into a fight about who has the right to the throne. They are conceited and self-ambitious. Wallace in disgust walks out seeing leadership as a tool to serve and liberate others not advance oneself (video clip: watch?v=uwF7rCpv40o&feature=related not sure how long this link will last, you can skip the battle scene and get right to the hall at 3:00).
You may not think so but we all have some power/influence. It falls upon us to be bravehearts. Who use our power to be a blessing in other poeple’s lives. It is in your power to empower others and in some cases deliver them. Even if you don’t abuse your power it may be that you are failing to use it to make a difference in other’s lives. How often have you sensed an opportunity to make a difference and yet done nothing? Here at FCC we seek to lead thru inspirational, relational, moral authority. As believers we all have the same DNA, the Holy Spirit. Our positions may vary. But it is not one’s position that should define us. But the God who lives within us. The God who has set us free to be bravehearts. Use your power to set others free. WHB
TERMINAL Micah 1:1-9
Posted on June 27, 2009
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“The possibility of sudden change is at the center of the idea of the tipping point” (Malcolm Gladwell). Thus the idea for my new sermon series entitled Tipping Point. The roots of the series lie in the book of Micah. A period of Israel’s history when events set in motion rapid change. Israel would never be the same. For that matter these are changes that larely endure to this day. You might say Israel was at the verge of going over a waterfall. They were on the edge of catastrophe. A catastrophe which would play itself out and be chronicled by the prophet Jeremiah. Micah tells us what will happen. Jeremiah watches it happen and witnesses the end game of Israel’s return to exile. Micah is story about the judgment of God seeded with the hope of redemption.
Micah’s first observation about Israel is that “her wound is incurable” (1:9). It would seem there is no going back. God had had enough. It’s like being told your cancer is terminal. All thats left is the waiting.
Our task in this series is to explore the why’s. That is, why had things gone wrong. I call them the big ticket items. A few of them are abuse of power, warped spirituality, stolen prosperity. These are conditions not at all unlike our own today in North America. And it is not just our nation that is sick. But it is the church. While the church in most parts of the world is thriving. Here in the West it is terminally ill. I’m not going to bore you with statistics but to use a popular term, we are losing market share. Consider this, in the first 15 years of Christianity (Pentecost) the believing population likely topped out around 40,000. By 300 AD it was 20 million. The church in Western Europe barely exists (by that I mean real followers of Jesus, not steeples) and we are hard on their heels of slipping into insignificance.
The world is about to change. I can feel it in the air. I can feel it in the earth. Our psyche is like a frozen river. On the surface all seems calm, even desolate. But underneath there is a violent current that when unleashed will cause a violent upheaval of the world as we know it. It’s happened before. The Renaissance. The Reformation. With these the world changed and has never been the same. We are in for a new shift and it is likely to be dramatic, even cataclysmic. The volcanos of politics, philosophy, religion and science are all rumbling and are ready to erupt.
Our only recourse as the people of God is to remain true to God’s mission of which we are supposed to participate in. Not only to be “called out” ones but to also be “sent” ones. To be salt, light, blessing, ambassadors of the risen Lord who is Jesus. In Micah God reveals his great expectations of us in the face of immense crisis. Micah 6:8 holds the key, “what does the Lord requre of you but to do justice, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God? These are our solution. It is the answer to the question, “What do we do?”
As we explore what has gone wrong with our culture and our church we can only look to God’s answer. There is an action, do justice. There is a passion, love mercy. There is a perspective, walk humbly with God. As we navigate the dark waters of crisis and turmoil that are propelling us toward an unavoidable Niagra Falls these three answers will be continually examined to help us navigate the rapids and survive the falls.
You can beat cancer. But it will not be easy. It calls for several responses on our part. First is your status as a follower of Jesus. Are you full-time or part-time? Weekend warriors will not survive Niagra. You can’t go to church you have to be the church wherever you are. Wherever you are there the church must be. Secondly, you need to cultivate community. In times of great upheaval we tend to fragment and circle the wagons. Self preservation becomes a priority. If you want to beat cancer then you will prioritize communing with body of Christ and offering it to others. You will be looking to take in strays out of the midst of the storm. Finally, you need to be organic.
Look at this vine growing outside my office. Right through or in blacktop. Now that’s organic. Demostrating the ability to grow anywhere. Youcan’t pick and choose where you practice your spirituality. You simply are spiritual and Christilike or you are not. This vine is wild. The church has become tame. We’ve become line one big farm. Where it’s more about science than it is about the good earth. Today the church is more about methods and programs when it should be about the Holy Spirit, behavior and faithfulness to Jesus. You can beat cancer. But you will have to forsake all and follow Jesus. WHBGENERATIONS Exodus 20:1-6
Posted on June 20, 2009
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Father’s Day got me thinking. Thinking about my own life and the life my father passed onto me. Got me thinking on the life I am passing to my children. As much as ever before America’s children need fathers. Dad’s who are emotionally, spiritually and physically present. Men who will make a lasting investment into the lives of Ameica’s youth.
I suppose it does not seem like a Father’s Day text. A snippet of the 10 commandments. Out of Egypt, idolatry, fathers, generational sin and a call to obedience. Well I guess it just may be an appropriate text for Father’s Day. What is easily missed about this text is that God wants to bless you. I guess we get so hung up on the do’s and dont’s of it. We miss the penetrating presence of the grace of God. God leads you out of Egypt (and we’ve all got our Egypt’s) the place of oppression and slavery. Idols in turn bring with them thier own form of oppression and bondage. Today we call them addictions. Or in the 21st century I think an appropriate way to describe idolatry is fantasy. We are urgent to escape reality. Thus the power of TV, music, entertainment, pornography, lottery. In the old days idols helped people cope with life (idols of fertility, rain, crops, war, you name it they had it). Today’s idols help escape the reality of life.
In the midst of it all is God crying out to us. Wanting to bless you because he is passionate about you. Yes the text says “jealous.” A strange word. Usually a word with negative connontations in our minds. But in the Bible God is often described as jealous for us. A term attempting to describe God’s emotion toward us. A deep yearning to get back to us. To be with us. The way it once was and was always intended to be. God said, “Let us make man in our image.” God is zealous to be a part of us. Zealous enough to display his grace in the passion of the cross.
Yet sin gets in the way. God wants to bless you for generations to come. But so often “iniquity” has its way with us. It is no surprise to find that sin can be multi-generational. That is, it has a way of being passed from father to son. It runs in the family. In fact it can become so dominating that we become toxic. God visits the iniquity of those who hate him. Notice the two competing emotions. God is jealous (passionate) for us. While we can come to hate (scorn) God. It is the great tension of the universe. God loving someone who hates him.
Our only recourse is obedience. God’s loyalty and his love will not fail you. He has the best intentions for you. He wants to bless you and your family for generations to come. Give him his due. Obey his commandments. Live in the mercy of the cross of Christ. Embrace the forgiveness of sins and live under his Lordship. Be a follower of Christ. Leave a worthy legacy for your children to follow after.
To all dad’s. Look for those teachable moments in the lives of your children. Own our stuff before them and take responsibility for your wrongs. They need to see what repentance looks like. Have great expectations of your kids. Not in athletics or education. But in godliness, mercy, justice and forgiveness. Expect them to behave as a child of Christ. Oh, and by the way. Be unashamedly male. We live in a gender-nuetral culture. Stand out in the culture as one who loves his wife and expects his sons to treat young women like sisters (aka St. Paul). The next generation is counting on you. So let’s not blow it. God wants to bless you for generations to come, so be obedient. WHB
WHEN PIGS FLY Mark 5:1-20
Posted on May 23, 2009
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I have yet to hear this text preached well. Not that I am likely to do much better (though I will give it my best shot). On the surface it seems to be a straight forward text. But if you take the time to explore the nuances of the conversation between Jesus and the Demon(s) and consider the worldview of the local population the text shows greater depth.
This is a story about a supernatural confrontation between Jesus the Son of God and a legion (a lot) of demons. Mark is demonstrating the fact that Jesus is Lord. Including it would seem over the demonic realm. In fact the demons attempt a reverse curse on Jesus before he can curse (cast out) them. They in essence appeal to a higher power, that is God (the Father). Notice they know who Jesus is (see v.7). He is Son of the Most High God. But even they realize Jesus in some way answers to God the Father so they in effect try to go over his head. But the Father and the Son’s will are one. The Lordship of God is one.
The context for Mark asserting the Lordship of Jesus is three fold. The most obvious context is the supernatural, which we have already considered to some extent. The second, is the supersticious and uninformed. The local population is familiar with demon possession and is highly supersticious but they lack information about who Jesus is. In all likelihood they saw Jesus as a magician, someone who could likely communicate with the dead. He was a modern day John Edwards (one of our modern day charlatans). To them Jesus was powerful, mysterious, and potentially dangerous. The third contextual aspect is that of economics. Two thousand pigs is a lot of pigs. I did some market research and found more than I could ever read, some rather comical and some downright scientific (here is a sample website http://terrabytefarm.com/wp/2009/04/22/the-cost-of-things-pigs). By modern day standards those pigs could have been upwards of 2 million in market worth. No wonder they wanted Jesus to leave. He was killing the economy.
So what’s the point. Well, only Jesus can set you free to thrive in the culture you came from. Ironically there are a lot of parelells between the culture of Decapolis and ours. We are open to spirituality (though not necessarily the Lordship of Jesus as the one true God). We live in a capitalist culture (though increasingly socialistic) which is and will continue to be consumer oriented. The similiarities are striking.
Yet, while Jesus will rescue this man from the demons. He will not rescue him from the culture. He leaves him to thrive in it as a representative of Christ. In classic 12 step programs (like AA) one of the steps is to change your environment. Christianiaty often advocates the same (which is not a bad idea). But Jesus understands reality. You can’t ostracize yourself from everything and everybody. He delivers us to thrive in the culture we came from and represent him as the one true God. When you come to Christ you can’t just quit your job, switch schools or find a new spouse and children. You live in the culture you came from. That’s the beautiful thing about this text. The people were in awe of how Christ had changd this man’s life. May those we interact with be in awe of how God has changed our lives as well. WHB
THE DEVIL INSIDE Mark 7:1-23
Posted on May 16, 2009
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This is a well told tale in the Christian community. As the Clinton administration put it, “it’s the economy stupid.” I suppose Jesus might have said, “it’s the heart, stupid.” Ok, so Jesus might not have said ‘stupid”. But he does sound a bit flabbergasted when he says, “Are you without understanding also?” Or to contemporize Jesus, “You still don’t get it?”
We are our own worst enemy. It is what comes out of our heart that defiles us. We know this, at least we say we do, think we do. But do we really believe it? How much does this truth change the way we come to Christ? Submit to him? Cry out to him to change our hearts? In the words of the psalmist, “create within me a clean heart O God.”
The way I see it. The Church has two great obstacles in light of this text. The first is itself. We are our own worst enemy. It’s not Obama or for that matter Bush. It’s not politics, education, liberalism, conservatism, socialism, capitalism or any other ism for that matter (including religious isms). It’s just us. What we do to what God gives. We just can’t leave it alone can we? We actually believe that we can make it better. We somehow know better than God does. The Pharisees thought they knew better and in turn forsook the commandments of God for the traditions of men. Are we to be so arrogant to suggest that we are not susceptible to do the same? Have we not done the same? We can get so engrossed in fighting our causes and protecting our turf with rules and regulations that we lose sight of our mission to produce authentic followers of Christ?
In the story there are three groups Jesus addresses. The Pharisees, the crowd and the disciples. In that order Jesus addresses them and at the end of the story it is the disciples who are still struggling with the idea. You are your own worst enemy. It is from your heart that “all these evil things come” (23). We’re still struggling. Hard truths are not easy to take to heart.
I suggested there were two great obstacles so I suppose I have to suggest another. I believe it is the illusion. Or perhaps you might say the delusion. We have deluded ourselves into believing that we’re “ok”. All across the spectrum of Christianity we can point fingers at each other and say I’m not like that/them (fundy, liberal, social, emergent, baptist, catholic, reformed, dispensational, militant….). Go back and read Jesus in Mark 7. Now consider this. See how the Pharisees in laying aside the commands of God were able to elevate their own rules/agenda and take control of people. Such is the way of mankind. We love to control people and things, even ourselves. Keep in mind I am not condemning self-control or authority (as referenced in the Scriptures). But control is an outworking of the defiled heart. Governments, churches, businesses, you name it. They like control. Individuals love to be in control. So many relationships and marriages are haunted by this evil. Even something as complex as eating disorders are in large part about control. Lets face it. In a world where we feel like we are always being manipulated by somebody it’s not uncommon to maintain control over one segment of your life and feel justified in doing so.
So, how about it? Chances are if you are reading this you already know that the “heart is deceitful and desparately wicked” (Jeremiah). But do you believe it? About yourself? Are you your own worst enemy? Can you count the ways? Or have you already lost track? God forbid we keep score.
This is one of those stories that ends as a cliffhanger. You start out cheering Jesus on. The rebel putting religious freaks in their place for trying to control everyone. You subconsciously gloss over the fact that Jesus loves the Law/rules of God. You kind of forget that he is the Word of God. And then he stabs you in the heart and you bleed out the infectious puss of sin. Your own defilement. We are our own worst enemy.
This is the place where you read Psalm 51 and make the plea for a clean heart and a transformed life. It is the place of humility where we surrender ourselves and trust the sweet blood of Jesus for redemption and submit to his Lordship. It’s a better view if you’re on your knees. That’s where I am. See you on Sunday. WHB
HE TOUCHED ME Matthew 8:1-17
Posted on May 9, 2009
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“Jesus, if you will, you can make me clean” (the leper 8:2). Jesus was willing. The healing scenes in Matthew 8 begins a pattern used by Matthew to describe the “presence of God.” Keep in mind Matthew records the angelic event with Joseph. Where he learned he was to name the Christ-child Immanuel or God with us. Matthew is demonstrating how God is with us and who He is with. The healing scenes come in trilogy’s (threesome’s). Which are followed by short digressions concerning discipleship. The larger message of Matthew is that Jesus is the Messiah and he is to be followed. That is we must be his disciples. Such a commitment is not without cost though as Jesus seeks to communicate in each of the digressions.
Our attention is directed more narrowly to the healing events and what Matthew is seeking to communicate. Keep in mind there is what Jesus does and says (historical) and what and how Matthew records the words/acts of Jesus (textual). There are three scenes with the middle being the longest (healing of the mercenaries servant). The two outer scenes are chiasmus constructions where Matthew emphasizes that Jesus was willing to “touch” unclean people. That is Jesus reaches out to the untouchable, marginalized and despised. The middle scene varies in the sense that Jesus heals from afar. But the extent of his reach is even greater as he is willing to minister to an enemy (an oppressor not the oppressed).
This is a beautiful text which heralds the contagious nature of Jesus’ wholeness (holiness). It is infectious and available to any who are willing to receive it. This is an important lesson for the religious community. Notice that at the center of the trilogy comes a prophetic word from Christ. He insists that the sons of the kingdom (Jews) will be cast out and that many will come from all directions to sit with the patriarchs at the heavenly table. This is a word of judgment and hope. Judgment for the religious who presume to follow Christ but can not come close to the faith of the oppressor (mercenary) and mercy to the outcast and untouchable (contextually and theologically speaking the gentile).
Strong words for those who presume to be “in”. If we are in then it is incumbent upon us to be like Christ and reach out to those who live on the borderlands of existance. The untouchable. For we are only “in” because He has touched us. Just how infected are you with the holiness of Jesus? WHB
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATION Lk. 11:1-13
Posted on May 2, 2009
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“Prayer begings with the movement in which a man wishes and seeks to win a new clarity about the fact that God is the one who rules” (karl Barth). The Lord’s prayer has been a model of prayer for the Church for centuries. Though I fear it has in many ways it has fell by the wayside in the world of shallow evangelicalism. It reminds us what the old Desert Father said about “prayer being more than words.” Prayer is the place of deep struggle where we wrestle with ourselves and with God over who is really in control of our lives. Who is really Lord of all eternity and the creator and sutainer of heaven and hell. Barth was right. Prayer is the place where we seek a fresh clarity about the fact that God is the one who rules.
The Lukan text is often forgotten in regards to the Lord’s prayer. Matthew’s gospel seems to take precedence in this conversation. Yet, Lukes’ placement of the prayer is very important to understanding what Luke is seeking to accomplish/assert about Christ. Looking back to Luke 9 we see Jesus sending out the 12 and the seventy. They are commissioned and given power to do great deeds. Subsequently Jesus begins to assert the apex of his mission will be the cross and the disciples happen upon a demon they can not deal with. Ironically Jesus informs them that these kind only come out by fasting and prayer. Keep in mind Jesus is answering a desire of the disciples. “Teach us to pray” (1). What follows is the Lord’s prayer and two parables on prayer. Subsequently Jesus is then accused of being in league with Satan by his antagonists. The context helps explain Luke’s usage of the text. Jesus authorizing and empowering his followers and then being villified and slandered as being in league with Satan helps highlight that Luke is using prayer (a definite kind of prayer) as a defining characteristic of discipleship. Real followers of Christ have fierce conversations with God about who is in control.
Take into account what Jesus is advocating through the prayer.
1. Let God be God in your life
2. Let yourself be exposed to what God wants in your life
3. Let God treat you the way you treat others
4. Let God be the leader in your life
This is a conversation that does not end. We are to persistently labor over who is Lord of our life (5-8). It’s prayer that costs us something. When it is over you should be exhausted. As Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord in Genesis so we also must have our own knock down drag out fights with God. Just read the prayers of the prophets in the Bible. They are anything but boring. This is not prayer that “gives things” to God (a popular notion usually phrased “give it to God”). These are prayers of surrender. Where we decrease and Christ increases in our life.
Unfortunately we gloss over Jesus’ conclusion in this passage. It is two-fold. One, is an assessment of us. He flatly says. “we are evil” (13). Such is his theology. This sounds worse than being sinners. At least as sinners we can just say we are less than perfect. But ‘evil’. It has a judgmental ring to it. Why does God have to be so honest. Secondly is what the Father gives. That is the Holy Spirit. Our philosophy of prayer is that we pray for God to change circumstances and situations. While God’s intent with prayer is the change us (at least in this passage). Those who have fierce conversations with God get more of God in their life.
There it is. Did you catch it? More of God in your life. Is that really what you want? Or do you just want God to deal with particulars in your life. He is a troubleshooter, a fixer of your life. But you remain the architect. You do the drawing and approve the plans. Sorry, God doesn’t work that way. Barth was right. “Prayer begins with the movement in which a man wishes and seeks to win a new clarity about the fact that God is the one who rules.” WHB
BELLY BUTTON EVANGELISM Colossians 4:5-6
Posted on April 25, 2009
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The Church in the West is due for a wake up call. Assuming it is only asleep and not already dead. St. Paul’s instruction on how the community of Christ should conduct itself toward outsiders shadows his own request for prayer in his evangelistic pursuits. His own experiences and mission help settle current discussions about the Church’s focus. For Paul it was communicating the gospel and producing disciples. A calling which landed him in prison.
Fast forward to today. As the Church in the West struggles with its mission and identity we continue to slip into twilight. The twilight of our existance (and perhaps usefulness to God). I need not remind you that we are in a post-christian era. We ar the villified minority. There is hostility toward biblical theology. There is hostility toward biblical ethics. We have been reduced to a sound byte which is at best skewed and often blatantly erroneous. Still we have much to blame on ourselves. Our lust for power in politics has blurred God’s image of his people (in the West at least).
This particular text can propel you in one of two directions according to how you read it. You could read it as a treatise on cultural redemption. Paul’s reference to redeeming time and speech seasoned with salt lend to this persuasive philosophy. Yet, it is the wrong direction (reading of the text) to go. Paul was not in prison for trying to redeem the culture. His interest was in people who shape culture. He of all people understood that people had to be transformed by a bloody Savior through the unction of the Holy Spirit. That’s why he was in prison. For proclaiming the mystery of Christ. His intention was to reach people not change politics and policies.
As followers of Christ we are innies in an outie generation. Paul’s admonition is that we live wisely in the hope that we gain opportunity to communicate Christ. Paul is in no way altering the message of the gospel. Though he is advocating multiple methods of communication. The four spiritual flaws (sorry, laws) are not always going to cut it. For too long the Church has depended upon a coulpe of methods of evangelism that may preserve the message but has little concern for the hearer of the word. This text is calling us to live communal/conversational lives. Live in such a way that buys time with people. That mean earning their respect and the opportunity to be heard. Paul’s reference to gracious speech (salty) only amplifies his intent. It’s not just what we say about God, Jesus and the cross but how we say it. Salt of course is a spice. It adds flavor to food. Have flavorful conversation with outsiders about Christ who is Lord of all creation and the firstborn of the resurrection. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room. But we do neee to be articulate and timely. Oh yeah, it doesn’t hurt if you actually practice what you preach. Your audience may disagree with you, even hate you but it is hard for them to deny you and the subtle existance of a subversive Savior. WHB
THE TWILIGHT ZONE 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
Posted on April 11, 2009
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He is risen. Such is the exclamation point of our faith. It is the resurrection which makes Christianity distinct. Sure there are other religions that pay homage to resurrected beings. But for Christianity our entire faith hangs upon the theology of the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ being its core from which biblical resurrection theology is asserted. To put it simply the Bible teaches that the whole human race will be resurrected one day. One’s resurrection experience will be in eternal rest and reconciliation with God in a new heaven and new earth. Or your resurrection experience will be in eternal isolation from God in the lake of fire (see Revelation 20). Tragically contemporary Christianity does a horrible job of representing our eternal heritage which is resurrection. Frankly, resurreciton dominates the eternal state in the Bible. While the Christian community has settled for quaint or vague statements about eternal life and heaven. All true of course, just not the whole story (or even the best part). How ironic that God would become man (and God at the same time). Then die. Then come back, the resurrected Godman. He could have come back as anything. And yet he chose to come back as one of us. The very people who put him on the tree. The most unheralded attribute of God is humility.
In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul takes up the subject of our own resurrection. Which rests upon the resurrection of Christ. If Jesus has not risen from the grave then this text is irrelevant and a lie. In this text God guarantees us several things. The first is an eternal building (resurrection body). Jesus’ resurrection is of course the prototype. This body (tent, building) is in storage in heaven. It’s like ice cream which we keep in the freezer. But you don’t eat ice cream in the freezer. You get it out, unpack it and eat it. We don’t usually think of heaven as a storehouse but this text (v. 1) is asserting that there is a lot more to the eternal experience than just “heaven”. Secondly, God guarantees you a better life. That is the resurrection experience will in every way eclipse what we know and experience now. As things are now our tents leak and come with a lot of excess baggage (v. 2-3). Our hope is that these leaky tents will be “swallowed up in life”. The past will be gone, lost in our eternal resurrection with Christ. And third, God guarantees you the presence of the Holy Spirit. So we have gone full circle. We are back to this life. The here and the now. Reality as we know it. The resurrection is the twilight zone. An alternative reality we have yet to enter in. But it is there always just beyond the realm of our perception. Fortunately for us Christ presses into our existence. He invades our reality and he offers us a better life. He becomes our hope, our life our new tomorrow. When we walk in his footsteps we walk into our own resurrection. It’s waiting for you “in the twilight zone.”
If your best days are in front of you make it your aim to please God. Ultimately that is where Paul takes us. Great theology always invokes a response from us. In this case it is to please God (v. 9-10). So be of good courage and make it your aim to please God. Live for his glory. Do not lose heart. There are better days ahead for you. Happy Easter. He is risen. WHB
PALM SUNDAY – BINGHAMTON TRAGEDY
Posted on April 4, 2009
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It isn’t just another Sunday. In light of Friday’s tragedy we will be addressing this loss directly. It is simply too close and too large for us to ignore. Pastor Justin was scheduled to preach out of 1 John. We are pushing that back. I will be speaking out of Revelation 1:4-8 and Pastor Justin will be making a gospel appeal. I realize Palm Sunday is an important day in the Christian calendar. The day Jesus made his triumplant entry into Jerusalem. The week before his arrest and crucifixion. It must have been a roller coaster week for Jesus and the apostles. It went from cheers to jeers. The disciples had some sense of this. Jesus had been teling them that he was going to Jerusalem to be “lifted up.” The apostles had resigned themselves to go to Jerusalem as martyrs. Jesus was going to Jerusalem as the Savior.
With a similar sense of hopelessness we watched events unfold in the last 24hours. I suspect the apostles had that same feeling in the pit of their stomach. Peter tried to steel himself and the others against it by insisting he would never deny Christ. They were just words on the wind. Fortunately Christ is strong enough to carry all of us. Our God is able for on the third day he rose from the grave. Death could not conquer him. Sin had no claim upon him. It is he who takes the sting out of death for us. It is he alone who liberates us from our sin and makes us righteous in himself. It is he alone who is coming again. For now Christ must be our peace. He is our hope as we await the evidence of things unseen. When at his appearing our faith will become sight. To God be the glory. May his kingdom come quickly. Amen. WHB