Sermons

Form Without Power

Form Without Power
Church - Part 1
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Acts 1:2-5; Matthew 12:43-46

“When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the place vacant, cleaned up, and decorated. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and make their home there. That person is worse off at the end than at the beginning. This is the way it will be also for this evil generation.”

Matthew 12:43-45

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

In this vow we declare our belief that God not only saves us from the consequences of sin, but from the power of sin itself.  Like the person in the scripture above, we are often quick to cast out the unclean things from among us, but we do not fully allow God’s Spirit to take up residence in its place.  We do not accept the freedom and power God gives us to overcome sin and darkness.

John Wesley once wrote,

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast to both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.

It’s easy to develop a like-minded club or group of people who like each other and want to live good lives and keep themselves separated from the world around them.  It’s easy to have worship services and read the bible together in Sunday School and share fellowship meals.  It’s even easy to do a few community service projects… We are very good at “playing church”. 

But without the fire of the Holy Spirit and the power He gives us to live out the discipline and commitment of our Baptismal Covenant, we are not The Church.

If we have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and by fire, God has consumed all evil and wickedness within us.  If we allow the His fire to burn within us, no evil can return and we will experience freedom from sin, guilt, and shame. 

Will we vow again, to live the Holy Life to which we were called, out of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus, the Christ?  Let us pray:

Lord, I come, and I confess,

there are things in me, that are not of you

and I lay down my mess. 

I replace it with your love,

I replace it with your peace. 

I surrender all that is holding me back

from all you have for me.


Cheryl Vought, “Replace It”

 


When the Rooster Crows

When the Rooster Crows
I Have Seen - Part 3
Sunday, May 1, 2022
John 21:4-19

He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

John 21:17

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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We had seen Jesus several times since that unbelievable morning when we found the tomb empty.  There was no question for any of us now that he was alive, but life still wasn’t quite the same. 

The roosters still crow every morning, reminding me of all I’ve done wrong.  They remind me of how unworthy I am.  I thought I was a sinful man when I first met him, but now I knew that I was even more of a sinner than I had once realized.  I wonder if he still would have wanted me to join him if he knew how much I would fail him.  Would he have still called me a friend if he knew that when he needed me the most, I would turn my back and claim not to know him?   

I was the chief of sinners, but Jesus forgave me.  Jesus loved me.  And I wanted so badly to love him no matter what the circumstances.  Every morning I hear the roosters crow and I hear those people in the courtyard saying “Aren’t you one of Jesus’ disciples?”

“Yes, yes I am a follower of Christ,” I answer myself.  “Not a very good one at times.  And I certainly don’t deserve to be.  But I still love him and he told me to fish for people and to feed his sheep.  And no matter how many times I fail, that’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing…”

“…I know now that Jesus will forgive me when I fail, but I don’t want him to have too.  I can’t stand the thought of disappointing him again.  I wonder sometimes, if he still feels the nails every time I fail.  Does he hear the crowd cry “Crucify” again.  If I’m causing him pain, then I really need to change, because I just can’t bear the thought of hurting him.” [1]

When the rooster crows reminding me of all I’ve done, I know I’m forgiven, but I also know that Jesus has trusted me with so much more.  “The world will fasten a belt around you and take you where you don’t want to go,” he told me… but then he said, “Follow me.”

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[1] lyrics from “Can You Still Feel the Nails”, Ray Boltz

 



Devoted Thomas

Devoted Thomas

“Doubting Thomas”… That’s what they call me. But you never hear anybody talk about doubting James or doubting Philip or Matthew or Bartholomew? It was just as hard for them to believe. And what about you… did you believe the first time you heard that somebody had come back to life after three days in the grave? Do you believe now? Would anybody know you believe it? Call me what you want, but I say, who wouldn’t doubt that…

Linger a Little Longer

Linger a Little Longer

How quick we are to rush out of church on Easter to shout out the good news to all the world that Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed! …

Well, after we get our Easter family photos…

and a good Easter lunch, of course…

and maybe a nap…

and dying eggs with the kids or grandkids…

and...

Well… maybe tomorrow. It’s getting late and tomorrow is Monday. Back to the grind.

How quick we are to rush out of the church on Easter to get back to our plain old ordinary lives for another year.

We’re in good company. All of the disciples came out on Easter morning just like us. They took a quick look into the empty tomb and before you know it, they’re heading home, back to their normal lives…

Deliver Us

Deliver Us
Our Father - Part 5
Sunday, April 3, 2022
1 Corinthians 10:12-13; James 1:13-15; Matthew 6:13

And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:13 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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If there is any line in the Our Father that demonstrates how easily we gloss over the meaning of what we pray each week, it is this final line Jesus taught us:  “Lord, lead us not into temptation…”

It doesn’t take much thought for this statement to give us pause.  Why would God lead us into temptation to begin with?  If God really did lead us to temptation, why would we pray against it?

Things get even more complicated when we read James 1:13-14 —

No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.  But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it.

So if God is not the source of our temptation, why would Jesus teach us to pray this way?

Perhaps it would be helpful simply to add a comma, or a pause.  For example, “Lead us, - not into temptation, - but deliver us from evil.”

In this way, we are asking God to lead us - period.  What’s more, we acknowledge that God is leading us in a very different way than we so often lead ourselves.  We are good at putting ourselves in situations where we are tempted to sin.  Asking God to lead us in a different direction, not into temptation but away from evil, is an act of surrender and humility. 

Perhaps we might take a lesson from Peter.  Instead of declaring in pride that we will not sin, we will not deny Christ, and we will not falter in our faith, we might take Jesus’ lead and acknowledge that we are not strong enough on our own.  Given to our own devices, we will indeed deny Christ.  As Jesus himself reminds us, our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). 

God never promises that we will not be tempted, but rather when we are tempted, God will always provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).  The key to this final line of the prayer, and indeed the entire prayer Jesus taught us, is humility and complete reliance on God. 

We pray these things because we cannot do them on our own.  We pray for deliverance from evil precisely because evil is so prevalent in our world and it will always find us, if we don’t find it first.  We must be vigilant and alert.  We must stay awake to recognize temptation for what it is.   We must watch and pray as Jesus prayed… Lord, not our will, but yours be done.  Amen.

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An Invitation to a Lenten Breath Prayer Practice -

As we sit with the “Our Father” Prayer Jesus taught us, I invite you to take one line each week and use it as a breath prayer throughout your day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty or by gratitude, by pain or by joy, take a moment to breath a line of this sacred prayer. You may want to set a silent alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to pause and pray at least 3 times each day. Regardless of when you do it, be sure to let the prayer truly fill the depths of your soul. Repeat it, sit with it, meditate on it, until it becomes part of you. Allow the Spirit to transform your heart and mind as you pray.

Week 5: Breath Prayer Exercise

  • Breathe in: “Lead us not to temptation…”

  • Breathe out: “…but deliver us from evil.”

Amen.





As We Forgive

As We Forgive

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

For some, this is the kind of prayer that comes out in a desperate situation. We seek God’s mercy to get us out of a bad place, to heal us or a loved one from a terrible disease, or to forgive us from some deep dark sin that keeps us riddled with guilt, shame, or regret.

In the flow of ordinary life, however, our need for mercy rarely comes bubbles to the surface. After all, we are good people. We’re not out committing immoral acts in need of constant forgiveness. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to condemn others we deem “sinners” because their so-called immoral behaviors or beliefs are unthinkable to us, even if we don’t know them or if they have not done any harm.

The problem is that the more we focus on everybody else’s “sin”, the less we are able to experience God’s mercy for ourselves and in turn, the less we are able to extend God’s mercy to others…

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread

For nearly 15 million (10%) Americans and 2.37 billion people globally (30%) who face food insecurity in some form, the prayer for daily bread is truly a desperate cry for their very survival.

Most of us, however, probably think very little about it. When we ask where our next meal is coming from, it is often a question of which restaurant we will go to or who will deliver rather than a question of whether or not there will be any food available for us at all.

Perhaps from our places of relative comfort, this prayer for daily bread should trigger something more…

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come

On earth as it is in heaven…

Of all the things that sound too good to be true, surely this ranks among the top. It seems so far fetched that most Christians have all but given up on the idea. In practice we have traded in this line of the prayer Jesus taught us for another prayer, a simple and almost magical formula for Jesus to forgive our sins so that after we die we might get into some distant heavenly city somewhere over the rainbow or beyond the Crystal Sea.

Such thinking might seem innocent enough, but historically the influence of such teaching has led to an utter disregard for the physical realities of an earth and of bodies which we assume are passing away. Violence and destruction against creation and humanity is much easier when we assume that one day we will “fly away” into glory and nothing on earth will matter anyway.

The theme of God’s Kingdom coming on earth is not only central to the prayer Jesus taught us, but also to the whole of Jesus’ teachings and the New Testament. One could argue that Jesus must have missed something, as we continue to wait over 2,000 years later for a Kingdom that feels more distant now than ever. We are not alone in our impatience and anxiety. The apostles certainly believed Christ would return to earth in their lifetimes, as have countless faithful Saints in every generation since, and still it seems that God waits. As Peter reminds us, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, but remains patient toward us, giving everyone time to change their hearts and lives (2 Peter 3:9).

So what do we as anxious and impatient people do in the waiting?…

Our Father

Our Father

…Jesus invites us to pray not to some distant God, but to God, Our Father. Sometimes though, God Our Father feels a lot more like the father in Erma’s story. We know God loves us, but when it comes to our everyday lives, we’re not always sure what Our Father actually does.

To make matters worse, not everyone’s experience with their earthly fathers are positive. Some are outright painful or even abusive. For better or worse, our image of father will always fall short of who God is. Nevertheless, Jesus invites us into a shared relationship with “Our Father.” Instead of creating God in the image of earthly fathers, he essentially says, “My father is your father too. My father in heaven, who loves me, sent me to tell you that he loves you too. You are my brothers and sisters and my beloved father is Our Father.”

Perhaps Pope Francis puts it best when he says, “When we address God as ‘Our Father’, we are invited to remember that, regardless of whether our human fathers loved us deeply or abandoned us entirely, or whether our fathers died or were simply absentee, we are not orphans.” Jesus’ Father is your father... my father… OUR FATHER…

The First Creed

The First Creed

… some of the Jews in Galatia and elsewhere, called Judaizers, believed that in order for Gentiles to become “Christ followers”, they must first be circumcised and become Jews. Paul does not share their view. Following Christ is clearly not about some kind of religious conversion.

Despite our long and violent history of separation from our Jewish brothers and sisters, as Pope Francis says, “Inside every Christian is a Jew.” …

… By understanding Jesus’ Jewish roots and teachings, especially around the themes of neighbor love and the Kingdom of Heaven as we have done these past several weeks, we are actually seeking a better understanding of our own faith.

In the end, many of the distinctions between Christians, Jews and Muslims (the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions), may not even be as extreme or antagonistic as some of the battles within each religion themselves. We all have a lot more in common than we care to admit.

So why does it matter?…

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