Sermon Text for March 26, 2023 - "Our Inheritance"

 “Our Inheritance”

March 26, 2023

 

            Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

            There’s a reason I chose the last couple hymns we’ve sung this morning: over the past twenty years that I’ve been involved in ministry, they’ve commonly been chosen as songs either to be sung or played at funerals. One of the reasons I’ll admit I’ve always looked forward to officiating funerals is that they are opportunities to proclaim, with absolute certainty, the promise of the resurrection. We gather to remember and celebrate a life, but more importantly, we remember, and praise God, for the eternal life the person now enjoys. We can retell and hear the true Gospel, which is God’s mighty love shown to us by Jesus’ victory over death by His own death and resurrection. And funerals, even though they are rightly times of mourning and sadness, can also be times of encouragement – reminders that in this life, we are not alone. God is still with us, and is bringing us through all of our problems and troubles to our ultimate destiny – our home with Him. Funerals are occasions for us to be reminded of God’s greatest victory – the power of the resurrection. And, while we are still in this life, faithfully following where God leads. Which is what we hear about in both today’s First Reading and Gospel, God raising the dead, demonstrating His victory over death, and showing what we are headed for.

In today’s reading from Ezekiel, the prophet sees a vision of a valley of dry bones. These are the people of Israel, whose homeland has been destroyed, and who have been sent into exile, Seemingly, their life is hopeless, and they have no direction except to live where they are and die. Sometimes we may feel the same way, especially when we’re struggling with an illness or other crisis: that all we are destined for is to suffer in this life, and die. But by bringing the bones back together, and restoring His people, God reminds them that they still have a purpose: to be His people, and once more live in the land He promised them. He is restoring them for what they are meant for. Then, in today’s Gospel reading, in one of the most beloved miracle stories, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. But before He does so, He weeps because He is sad at the death of His friend. While He was here on earth, Jesus experienced everything we experience, including sadness – which also means He understands and has compassion for us, He suffers with us, whenever we are sad. Especially when we are mourning the loss of a family member or friend, Jesus understands, and is there to comfort us. But then He gives Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, a bold promise: that not only will Lazarus rise again on the appointed day for all the dead to be raised, but He will be raised right now – because Jesus is the God who has power over life and death. He also says that He is the resurrection and the life, and that everyone who believes in Him will never die, but will live forever. There is also no other way to be saved, and to have the promise of this eternal life, than through faith in Jesus. It is only by believing Jesus that we can be sure that we will live in Heaven. 

            One thing to point from the Ezekiel story is that the way God brings the bones together and gives them new flesh and life is by the power of wind. Unfortunately, as we experienced yesterday, a mighty powerful wind can cause a lot of damage, like it did to several trees around here, the power system, and, of course, our roof. But in the Bible, whenever a great windstorm happens, it is something God causes to happen to create movement. When God wants to propel things forward, He causes a mighty wind to happen. When the world was first created, God sent a mighty wind over the waters to separate them to cause dry land to appear. When God helped His people escape from pursuing Egyptians, He sent wind to part the Red Sea. And, most of all, when He sent the Holy Spirit on the believers at Pentecost, He did so in a mighty rushing wind. So whenever wind appears, the power of the Holy Spirit is active, to send things in the direction God wants them to go.

            And, brothers and sisters, never doubt that the power of the Holy Spirit is still alive and active today. The same Holy Spirit which helped to create the world by the power of wind, which knit all the bones back together to give life to people again, which raised Lazarus from the dead, and which raised Jesus from the dead, is still alive and powerful today. The power of the Spirit still has the power to move things forward. Which is where God wants us to keep going – forward. To leave the past and all its hurts, disappointments, regrets, and everything else which tore us apart, behind. To, as Paul says in today’s Second Reading from Romans, leave the life we used to live, and move forward into the future where we have hope, joy, contentment, and peace, because we know God is in control, and He has us in hand. Just as He did for His people in Ezekiel’s time, God has great plans for us: He wants to give us new life again, and restore everything we’ve lost – and now it’s time for us to say yes to what He’s going to do. It’s time for us for us to say, yes Lord, we invite you, we welcome you, we want you to do what you’ve promised, and make us who we are meant to be again. Yes, we need you to move us into the great future you’ve already laid out for us. You’ve promised us an inheritance – of your power to make us strong and bold again. Now, by the power of your Name, we claim that inheritance again. We cry, Abba, Father! Come among us and make us your family, your Church, again. Renew us, and give us new energy, new enthusiasm, new hope, new creativity, new imagination, new perspectives, and new friends for us to meet and reach. Revive us, and put us where we need to be again.

There is no doubt we are in need of a revival today. The pandemic not only hurt church attendance, but it caused people to move away from church and to other priorities. But now we need God to move us back to Him, and back to His church, again. Notice that when God raised His people and Lazarus back to life, He did so not just to give them life again – He gave them a new life, with a renewed purpose, to be His followers and believe in Him again. We need a movement, and we need a true forward movement to bring people out of the troubled times we’re all living in. We don’t just need people to be interested in Christianity as a religion again – we need people who are solidly committed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to living as children of God, and who are eager to demonstrate the inheritance, and the reality, of God’s power and eternal life. We need people who are committed to making God the first priority, and who are willing, and not afraid, to stand up as a mighty army, and tell what God has done.

            And, such a revival starts with us. It begins with us, first of all, recognizing that we are children of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are destined for something greater than just to live and die – God has created us for a reason. Yes, we’ve been broken, our lives have been torn apart. And, like the dry bones, we may feel like we’re permanently stuck, with no prospects, no promise, and no hope. But God is faithful, and nothing will keep Him from doing what He’s planned for us all along – no obstacle or situation will prevent Him from accomplishing what He wants for us. Now it’s time to hear the command of Jesus to come out of where we are, and where we’ve been, and be alive for Him again! It’s time for us to come out of the tombs which have held us down, and held us back, for far too long – doubt, despair, frustration, hatred, anger. We’ve let ourselves be hopeless and frustrated for too long – now it’s time to shake those off. We’ve been wrapped up in them for a long time, but now, just as the bandages were unwrapped from Lazarus, it’s time for us to be unwrapped from everything which has been suffocating us. We haven’t been able to breathe, and we haven’t been able to move, because we’ve been so wrapped up in thinking the worst that we haven’t been able to imagine what God can do, and see what He’s already doing. We’ve lived in fear because the world has changed so quickly in the last few years. But now, it’s time for us no longer to be slaves of fear, but remember that we are children of God. Even though we too may want to say, “Our hope is gone; we are cut off,” nothing could be farther from the truth. God is still alive, and alive in power in our hearts, homes, communities, churches, and nation today. He is restoring what was lost – especially our confidence, morale, and ability to trust Him. He is also restoring He is restoring faith – our faith, courage, and boldness to believe and follow Him. And He is making us into a vast army – an army of people equipped to go into the world, without any hesitation or hindrance, to bring people to believe in Him and receive eternal life, seek out the lost, help all in need, rescue the captive, befriend the lonely, bring hope to hopeless, love to the unloved, forgiveness to the sinner, acceptance to those feeling unaccepted. So it’s also time for us to reclaim our true purpose, and be that army, not going out to destroy, but to build up, heal, and encourage on God’s behalf. We are also called to proclaim believing in Jesus as being the only way to be saved, and to bring everyone, here and all over the world, to saving faith in Him.

            Today Jesus asks us, and challenges us, “Do you believe this?” Is everything we’ve been hearing just another sermon you’ve been so accustomed to hearing every week, or do you really hear Jesus speaking to you today? If you do believe it, then I invite you to pray along with me: Jesus, today we come before you in need of all kinds of things. We need healing, comfort, and assurance. But most of all, we need to be free, and we need you to free us. We are long overdue for freedom, because we’ve been afraid for so long, and it’s held us captive, and held us back. We confess our holding ourselves back, and not trusting you. So Jesus, today we ask you, we invite you, to come into our hearts again. Heal our broken hearts, and give us hearts which love you, each other, and all people again. Help us to stand up, and not be hesitant or afraid any longer, because you are leading us, and we trust that where you lead us is good. So move us, Jesus – move us to where you want us, and move us to the great future you have planned for us. Help us to put you first, and make us a mighty army committed to following you, and bringing people to faith in you. By the power of your Name, the holy Name of Jesus, help us to claim what you promise us, because in your Name we pray, Amen.

            Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

03/26/2023 Full Worship Service - Fifth Sunday in Lent

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for March 26, 2023 - Fifth Sunday in Lent

 

Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Join us on Sunday, April 9th, as we celebrate Jesus' glorious and victorious resurrection at Easter! Worship with Holy Communion will be at 10:00 A.M. We practice Open Communion; all baptized Christians are welcome to the Lord's Table, and we invite any and every family member, visitor, and guest! All are welcome!

Maundy Thursday, April 6, 2023

On Thursday, April 6th, we will remember Jesus' final supper with His disciples as we celebrate Maundy Thursday. Carry-In Dinner will be at 6:30 P.M., with Holy Communion following at 7:15 P.M. We practice Open Communion; all baptized Christians are welcome to the Lord's Table. We look forward to seeing you then!

Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023

 Join us on Sunday, April 2nd, at 10:00 A.M. as we celebrate Palm Sunday! We will have the Procession with Palms and the Dramatic Reading of the Passion Story. See you then!

Sermon Text for March 19, 2023 - "Setting Your Mind on the Things of the Spirit"

 “Setting Your Mind on the Things of the Spirit”

March 19, 2023

 

            Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

            Anyone here ever played the game King of the Hill? Not long ago, at the school bus stop, I got to see some kids playing it on top of a snow hill which had formed near the curb. It was actually really fun to watch. 

And, for those of you who remember, the rules are actually really simple: one person stands at the top of the hill, and proclaims him, or her, self to be King or Queen of the Hill. Then, everyone else tries to run up the hill and push the person already on top of the hill off. The one person who succeeds both in pushing the person already at the top off, as well as fending everyone else trying to get to the top off as well, gets to proclaim him or herself the winner. And, if you think about it, life has basically become one giant game of King of the Hill. We’re always in competition with each other, trying to outdo everyone else. We compete for the top grade average in our class. We try to be the top player on our teams, as we try to, along with our whole team, outplay the other team. We try to get the raise or promotion ahead of everyone else at work, and get noticed above everyone else. We try to assert ourselves as the most important people in our communities or neighborhoods in certain ways. We try to make ourselves superior by looking down and judging others because of their appearance, lifestyle, or background. In other words, we’re always trying to find excuses to push other people down, or push other people around, to satisfy some sort of need to feel better than, or superior to, everyone else. 

And, whether or not we realize it, or even intend to, a lot of the time we’re looking down on other people. We may get a passing glance at someone, and try to figure out the kind of person they are based on their appearance or dress. And, when we do so, we may try to feel good about ourselves by thinking that we’re not like them because of who we think they are. You will also probably notice I’ve been using the phrase “try to” a lot – because a lot of the time, we’re attempting to find ways to look down on, judge, and feel superior to others – and even though we may feel like we succeed, we actually don’t. In fact, we end up seeing things for how they really are.

Also, since I can imagine many of you are wondering where exactly I’m going with all this, I want to emphasis that none of this is meant to point fingers or blame at anyone, or especially anyone in particular. I include myself in all of this, because I have struggled, and still continue to struggle, with forming opinions about people just based on appearance or other factors. I have also been just as guilty of trying to put myself at the top, above everyone else, or trying to feel superior to everyone else. I have also had several life experiences, including just in the last few years, which have shown me the consequences of my trying to put myself in a position of superiority.

And one of the things I’ve learned, especially after years of having to come to terms with what has happened, is that the reason we have a tendency to almost automatically want to put ourselves in a position of superiority over others is because our perspective on ourselves, and on life in general, is skewed. More about that in a few minutes, but for the moment, just keep in mind that, whether we’re actually aware we’re doing so or not, we’re looking for ways to make ourselves superior to everyone else. Even trying to make ourselves look better than everyone else in the eyes of God.

            In today’s Gospel reading, that’s what the mother of James and John (whose father is Zebedee) is doing. She thinks her sons are superior to the other disciples, and so she wants to have them look better than everyone else in the eyes of God – in this case, Jesus. And who can blame her? After all, she’s their mom, so of course she’d think that her sons are better than anyone else. So she tries to have them put in a position above the others by asking Jesus to have them sit on two thrones: one at His right, and one at His left, in positions of prestige, power, and importance. But what she doesn’t realize is the true nature of who Jesus is and what His mission really is. He has even just flat out told what His purpose for being on earth ultimately is: He will be betrayed to those who believe themselves to be superior over others, namely the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death, and turn Him over to others who believe themselves to be superior, the governing authorities, to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. His cross will be His true throne, because on it He will show Himself to be the true God and King. He will also be put to death as a common criminal, with two criminals crucified at His right and left – the places which, Jesus says, are already reserved for them. So He does not seek power and prestige for Himself, but instead, He has come to die. 

But the reason He has to die is to serve all people by dying as a sacrifice for all sins; and freeing all people from the power and control of sin. He furthermore, as Paul says in today’s Second Reading from Romans, died to free us from the condemnation of sin. Because the law could not save us or free us from sin, Jesus had to do it Himself, fulfilling all the requirements of the law. Then to rise again, to show that, in that way He is the greatest and above everything else: by defeating what nothing else could defeat, death, He showed Himself to be the ultimate victor. And it is for this reason, because of His humiliation, death, and resurrection, that He, and He alone, is the King and supreme over all. Jesus’ Kingdom also cannot be identified with any particular political system, party, or ideology, because it is beyond and above earthly rule and politics. Nor can Jesus’ Kingdom be identified with any one particular country, because Jesus rules over the entire world.

            And why is all this important? Because of what we hear about in today’s Second Reading: the sinful nature versus the spiritual nature. Unfortunately, we do still struggle with our sinful nature. The world itself is not the problem – God has created the world to be good. The issue is that the sinful human nature still runs rampant at times. What is sin exactly? Well, the original sin in the Garden of Eden, which we heard about just a few weeks ago, was trying to be like God. Basically, trying to play King of the Hill with God, and push Him out of our lives, living without Him. This also means we try, at times, to put ourselves in the place of God. Which means trying to see other people, or see ourselves, as how we think God sees us, or them. But when we do so, we are actually letting our minds be hostile to God, because we are trying to put ourselves in the place of God. It is therefore time for us to claim what Jesus died for in the first place: to free us from the power and control of sin. As Paul says in verse 9, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in you.” So it is time to let the Spirit of God live in us again, and let Him take control of our thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. Paul then goes on in verse 10, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Even though our physical existence is someday destined to end, and even though we continue to struggle with sin while in this life, we have the promise that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to overcome all those things which are opposed to God. And, we also have the promise of eternal life after death, which has been won for us by Jesus Himself by His own resurrection. So the good news, the Gospel, here is that, in Jesus, we have been forgiven of our sins, especially those where we have tried to put ourselves in the place of God. We have this forgiveness because Jesus has died and risen again as our substitute: today’s First Reading from Hosea is actually a prophecy about Jesus. He allowed Himself to be torn to pieces, but He was healed; He was injured, but His wounds were bound up; and He was raised again after two days of being dead. He was then restored to full life on the third day, so that we all would be able to live in His presence. He promises forgiveness to all who seek Him and ask to be restored. So it is time for us all to ask Him for forgiveness, and the ability to see life as He sees it.

There are two dimensions to life: the vertical and the horizontal. Unfortunately, our vertical view has been focused on looking down on others, or looking up to figures we feel are important. But notice that, in this particular picture, the vertical and horizontal lines form a cross – and this is on purpose. Our only real vertical relationship is with Jesus; our vertical view ought to be looking instead up to Jesus Christ alone. And once we look to Jesus, we see ourselves for who we are, and others for who they are – we are all people loved and valued by God. This is what is meant by horizontal relationships: to have a truly spiritual view means to be looking vertically to Jesus, and then horizontally to others. Seeing horizontally means seeing everyone else as being equal to us, and valuing each other’s uniqueness, struggles, experiences, and We also have to remember that when we were baptized, we were united with Jesus, and so we were united to His purpose. This means that, just as He came to serve, we share in His serving. As the saying goes: “Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up.” We are to be in the position – literally and figuratively – of being able to help people up, by encouraging, building them up, and helping them in every kind of need. No longer playing King of the Hill, and pushing people down, or out of the way, but instead being of help and service to everyone. So as we are changed by God each day, we are learning more and more to see ourselves and others not just as “us” and “them,” but those whom God wishes to serve – us and others. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many, and everyone. In fact, it's helpful for us to remember that, even though there may be those we may be tempted to look down on, Jesus died for such people as well. And let us always remember that, just as Jesus died for us and all people, we are to live for all people as well. As we look up to Jesus, let us look at everyone next to us, and around us. And let us ask for a mind controlled by the Spirit, so we may live in life and peace, and especially live a peaceful life with each other as equals.

            Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.