Peace, mercy and grace be with you this evening/morning.
As you may already know, Pastor Jane had a family emergency to attend to this week. The loss of her Aunt Hilda in Pennsylvania required her to alter her schedule so she could travel and prepare to lead the funeral service held on Friday. As a truly dedicated servant of our Lord this week, she hurriedly planned and coordinated the arrangements so that she could return to us in time to lead worship and preside over communion. As we gather tonight/today let us be united with her and support her through this difficult time. With the events of the week unfolding Pastor Jane asked if I would be interested in preparing and delivering the sermon for this weekend. And with that, I am honored and blessed to be with you tonight/today.
In preparing me to prepare a sermon, Pastor Jane said to remember that it is by Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection that we are able to gather in worship. And that through His sacrifice and His subsequent victory over death that we are, who we are. All we have and all that we will have, all of who we are in body, mind and spirit and all that we are to become, has and will be given to us through Christ Jesus.
In the Gospel text for this week, Jesus makes this clear for us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
As faithful people of God, we know that Christ has risen and that He provides us with the certainty of eternal life with Him.
We also, should remind ourselves, to not wait upon that time, but to seek Him now and every day. In this Gospel we are offered an opportunity to examine our relationship with the Risen Lord.
Jesus offers a direct challenge to all of us in this passage, to open our eyes and see Him, to open our ears and listen to Him, to open our hearts and feel His love and to open our minds and believe in Him.
A challenge for us to assess our relationship with Christ risen and to assess God’s will for us in our community. As He says to Phillip, “Have I been with you all this time, Phillip, and you still do not know me? Can you picture the bewildered look on Philips face at that point? I can’t help to think that as the moments passed and Phillip looked deeper into the eyes of Jesus he began to see with his eyes and feel in his heart, that he was in the company of God.
Today, would we know Jesus if we were to encounter Him? By that matter have we already seen but not recognize Him? Take a moment and look around in this chapel/sanctuary, do you see Him? Do you feel His presence? I want for you to allow me to walk down a path with you over the next few moments, close your eyes right now.
Take a few deep breaths and relax. Now I would like for you to picture the names and faces of those in this congregation who are currently in need of God’s presence in their life.
Those who are grieving a loss, those who are suffering from illness, those who are experiencing financial difficulty and those who feel the pain of loneliness.
Allow yourself to see as many as you can, and let the faces run through your mind one after the other, pausing to recognize their particular need. Can you see them? As you see each person can you feel them touching your heart?
Now, keeping your eyes closed a little longer think of the people and the ministries that serve those who are in need, here at Bethlehem. Focus on those who make gifts of themselves to help touch the lives of those in need.
As you may already know, Pastor Jane had a family emergency to attend to this week. The loss of her Aunt Hilda in Pennsylvania required her to alter her schedule so she could travel and prepare to lead the funeral service held on Friday. As a truly dedicated servant of our Lord this week, she hurriedly planned and coordinated the arrangements so that she could return to us in time to lead worship and preside over communion. As we gather tonight/today let us be united with her and support her through this difficult time. With the events of the week unfolding Pastor Jane asked if I would be interested in preparing and delivering the sermon for this weekend. And with that, I am honored and blessed to be with you tonight/today.
In preparing me to prepare a sermon, Pastor Jane said to remember that it is by Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection that we are able to gather in worship. And that through His sacrifice and His subsequent victory over death that we are, who we are. All we have and all that we will have, all of who we are in body, mind and spirit and all that we are to become, has and will be given to us through Christ Jesus.
In the Gospel text for this week, Jesus makes this clear for us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
As faithful people of God, we know that Christ has risen and that He provides us with the certainty of eternal life with Him.
We also, should remind ourselves, to not wait upon that time, but to seek Him now and every day. In this Gospel we are offered an opportunity to examine our relationship with the Risen Lord.
Jesus offers a direct challenge to all of us in this passage, to open our eyes and see Him, to open our ears and listen to Him, to open our hearts and feel His love and to open our minds and believe in Him.
A challenge for us to assess our relationship with Christ risen and to assess God’s will for us in our community. As He says to Phillip, “Have I been with you all this time, Phillip, and you still do not know me? Can you picture the bewildered look on Philips face at that point? I can’t help to think that as the moments passed and Phillip looked deeper into the eyes of Jesus he began to see with his eyes and feel in his heart, that he was in the company of God.
Today, would we know Jesus if we were to encounter Him? By that matter have we already seen but not recognize Him? Take a moment and look around in this chapel/sanctuary, do you see Him? Do you feel His presence? I want for you to allow me to walk down a path with you over the next few moments, close your eyes right now.
Take a few deep breaths and relax. Now I would like for you to picture the names and faces of those in this congregation who are currently in need of God’s presence in their life.
Those who are grieving a loss, those who are suffering from illness, those who are experiencing financial difficulty and those who feel the pain of loneliness.
Allow yourself to see as many as you can, and let the faces run through your mind one after the other, pausing to recognize their particular need. Can you see them? As you see each person can you feel them touching your heart?
Now, keeping your eyes closed a little longer think of the people and the ministries that serve those who are in need, here at Bethlehem. Focus on those who make gifts of themselves to help touch the lives of those in need.
Picture the names and the faces of those who make and deliver meals to those who cannot prepare meals for themselves, picture the people who continually pray and the care they offer by lifting these people up to the Father in prayer for healing and help.
Think about the individuals who find time in their busy schedules to make visits in homes, care facilities and hospitals.
Picture those who serve as Stephen Ministers offering their time to meet and care for those who need Christian love and support.
Think about and picture those who provide support at the drop of a hat to any one of us who is in need.
Can you see them? Now, please open your eyes, and I invite you to look around again. Do you see some of the same faces that we just mentioned?
Do see people among you who care deeply for the people of this community?
And now, do you see Jesus in this room?
Can you feel His presence with us?
I pray that you can, because, He is in this room and He has made His presence known to us through the gift of this gathering.
Our challenge in this Gospel doesn’t stop there however; Jesus gives us instruction for our lives. In verse 12 He states “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and in fact will do greater works than these…”
Can this be true? Greater works than Jesus? How is it possible? Yet, it is possible, because Jesus makes it possible.
He says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Jesus makes it possible by entering into us and giving us the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Father to do His will. At some time in our life, we all have been asked this question, If you were given three wishes and the opportunity to have them granted, what would your wishes be? And I suspect some of the answers that we have all given or have heard from others would sound like these; I would end world hunger, or I would pay off all my debts, or I would find a cure for cancer. Right, we have all been there, haven’t we? But in order for those wishes to be granted, we would first need to respond and act on that opportunity.
If we were given that chance, would we act? My guess is that we all would. I don’t know how you would use your wishes or why you selected those choices that you made but I am certain that you in fact would use those wishes.
In a similar way Jesus is offering us an opportunity, to use the gift of His sacrifice and His love so that we will do great things for His church and for His people. All that is needed, is for us to trust in our faith and believe that He is the Son of Man and one with the Father. He tells us directly that “If in my name you ask for anything, I will do it.”Like with the granting of wishes are we willing to act on the challenge that is presented to us by Jesus?
Are we confident in our faith and seek the Lord to be present in our lives so that we can do his will?
If we know and believe that Jesus is one with the Father and that through Him and by our belief and faith in Him, we can do great things, then we should actively seek Him in all that we do.
In order for that to happen, we need to work to recognize and work to remove those things that hinder and block us from entering into a deeper relationship with Him.
We should look expectantly to find Him present with us each and every day that we live.
We should look for Him in all that is around us and when we find Him, take time to enjoy the grace of His love, the mercy of His forgiveness, the power of His presence and to seek His guidance and His desire for how we are to conduct our lives in His world.
If we seek we will find, if we ask we will be answered, if we act we will solve and if we love we will be loved.
Jesus tells us that we will be granted the power and given the strength when we follow Him and serve. Are we prepared to do God’s will and to serve Him? I want to show a brief video that I am certain is an answer to prayer (run video)
The meek shall inherit the earth. And how is that possible? Because God will reach down and choose an unexpected servant and give them dominion over their environment and circumstances. Just like He did with J-Mac, on that day.
There is no doubt in my mind that what took place that day was an answer to prayer.
There is no doubt in mind that God was present in the gymnasium.
There is no doubt that this was just a small sample of His power and maybe most importantly a gift, the gift of His presence for all who witnessed this event.
And for those who were seeking Jesus that day, they found Him.
Christ is alive in each of us. We are challenged to allow Him to fill us with His glory and to faithfully abide in His love and to gracefully share that love with all we meet.
We are challenged to let the beauty of His face shine through us by our actions and by our Faith.
And now let the grace and understanding that comes from Christ Jesus shine upon and give you peace.
Amen.
Think about the individuals who find time in their busy schedules to make visits in homes, care facilities and hospitals.
Picture those who serve as Stephen Ministers offering their time to meet and care for those who need Christian love and support.
Think about and picture those who provide support at the drop of a hat to any one of us who is in need.
Can you see them? Now, please open your eyes, and I invite you to look around again. Do you see some of the same faces that we just mentioned?
Do see people among you who care deeply for the people of this community?
And now, do you see Jesus in this room?
Can you feel His presence with us?
I pray that you can, because, He is in this room and He has made His presence known to us through the gift of this gathering.
Our challenge in this Gospel doesn’t stop there however; Jesus gives us instruction for our lives. In verse 12 He states “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and in fact will do greater works than these…”
Can this be true? Greater works than Jesus? How is it possible? Yet, it is possible, because Jesus makes it possible.
He says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Jesus makes it possible by entering into us and giving us the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Father to do His will. At some time in our life, we all have been asked this question, If you were given three wishes and the opportunity to have them granted, what would your wishes be? And I suspect some of the answers that we have all given or have heard from others would sound like these; I would end world hunger, or I would pay off all my debts, or I would find a cure for cancer. Right, we have all been there, haven’t we? But in order for those wishes to be granted, we would first need to respond and act on that opportunity.
If we were given that chance, would we act? My guess is that we all would. I don’t know how you would use your wishes or why you selected those choices that you made but I am certain that you in fact would use those wishes.
In a similar way Jesus is offering us an opportunity, to use the gift of His sacrifice and His love so that we will do great things for His church and for His people. All that is needed, is for us to trust in our faith and believe that He is the Son of Man and one with the Father. He tells us directly that “If in my name you ask for anything, I will do it.”Like with the granting of wishes are we willing to act on the challenge that is presented to us by Jesus?
Are we confident in our faith and seek the Lord to be present in our lives so that we can do his will?
If we know and believe that Jesus is one with the Father and that through Him and by our belief and faith in Him, we can do great things, then we should actively seek Him in all that we do.
In order for that to happen, we need to work to recognize and work to remove those things that hinder and block us from entering into a deeper relationship with Him.
We should look expectantly to find Him present with us each and every day that we live.
We should look for Him in all that is around us and when we find Him, take time to enjoy the grace of His love, the mercy of His forgiveness, the power of His presence and to seek His guidance and His desire for how we are to conduct our lives in His world.
If we seek we will find, if we ask we will be answered, if we act we will solve and if we love we will be loved.
Jesus tells us that we will be granted the power and given the strength when we follow Him and serve. Are we prepared to do God’s will and to serve Him? I want to show a brief video that I am certain is an answer to prayer (run video)
The meek shall inherit the earth. And how is that possible? Because God will reach down and choose an unexpected servant and give them dominion over their environment and circumstances. Just like He did with J-Mac, on that day.
There is no doubt in my mind that what took place that day was an answer to prayer.
There is no doubt in mind that God was present in the gymnasium.
There is no doubt that this was just a small sample of His power and maybe most importantly a gift, the gift of His presence for all who witnessed this event.
And for those who were seeking Jesus that day, they found Him.
Christ is alive in each of us. We are challenged to allow Him to fill us with His glory and to faithfully abide in His love and to gracefully share that love with all we meet.
We are challenged to let the beauty of His face shine through us by our actions and by our Faith.
And now let the grace and understanding that comes from Christ Jesus shine upon and give you peace.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment