Character Counts: Caring

(This was my final sermon of 2008 and is the start of a monthly series that I will do during our Communion Sundays. Our school system, as I indicate in my remarks, has begun a program called ‘Character Counts’ that is designed to address the character issues of our students. I will be addressing one of the 6 ‘pillars’ each month for 2009.)

I begin this morning with a question that I would like to have you respond to, okay? Take a moment to think and then I will call on you. Here is the question (Slide 1), ‘What is the most caring thing someone has ever done for you?’

(Kids, what about you? Teens, what about you?)

This past fall the East Noble School Corporation adopted a program for use in the schools and community called, ‘Character Counts.’ In October, a member of the corporation staff briefed the pastors on the program and we have given it our support. You can learn more about it at charactercounts.org but here is the core of the program, the six pillars of character:

(Slide 2)

When it comes to Trustworthiness think “true blue.”

When it comes to Respect think The Golden Rule

When it comes to Responsibility think being responsible for a garden or finances; or as in being solid and reliable like an oak.

When it comes to Fairness think of dividing an orange into equal sections to share fairly with friends.

When it comes to Caring think of a heart.

When it comes to Citizenship think regal purple as representing the state.

Each of these is mentioned, directly and indirectly, in the Bible and they are important qualities that call for some attention and thought. So, during our communion meditations this year, I will be featuring one of these six since our kids will be present with us during communion and seek to illustrate how Jesus demonstrated each character trait.

Now the one given attention this month has been caring which is appropriate for this time of year. Caring is defined by Character Counts as (Slide 3):

• Being kind

• Be compassionate and show you care

• Express gratitude

• Forgive others

• Help people in need

For our time this morning, we are going to examine ‘being kind’ ‘being compassionate and showing you care,’ and ‘expressing gratitude,’

What does the Bible have to say about each of these things? Well, in Ephesians 4:32 we read (Slide 4) “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Notice that it begins with the word ‘instead.’ This is a word used to contrast statements and refers back to a prior statement, which in this case is verse 31 that says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.”

Kind talk and kind responses are considered the norm for us as followers of Christ. This does not mean that we cannot express our views and opinions or we simply become a doormat. It means that our speech and attitudes toward others must include a kind and gentle tone. I don’t know too many people who respond well to yelling do you?

And there are those moments when we are being verbally attacked and want to respond in kind. It becomes very hard to not respond with verbal put-downs or get defensive.

Many books are written on how to win an argument. But is winning always the point? Relationships and friendships have ended because one person always had to be right no matter what.

(Slide 5) In Proverbs 15:1 we read, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.” One of the best ways that Jesus illustrated caring is found in Mark 14:3-9:

“Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had leprosy. During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume. She broke the seal and poured the perfume over his head. ⁴ Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why was this expensive perfume wasted?” they asked. ⁵“She could have sold it for a small fortune and given the money to the poor!” And they scolded her harshly.

⁶ But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why berate her for doing such a good thing to me? ⁷You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But I will not be here with you much longer. ⁸She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. ⁹I assure you, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be talked about in her memory.”

(As we read this story again, we prove Jesus’ point about her kind act being remembered.)

Kindness is shown in two ways in this story. First it is shown by the woman in her sacrificial act. And kindness is, at times, sacrificial for in doing something kind it often costs us time, money, and maybe even a few friends who refuse to be kind.

Second, Jesus shows kindness to the woman by affirming both her and her act. He refuses to join the chorus denouncing her act as one of wasteful extravagance.

As we move to the next point about kindness, I simply want to remind us that kindness is very important right now. It is a needed commodity during our economic crunch when it is easier to let our anxiety and fears drive us to sharp and cutting comments. Just remember at this point, Jesus is about to be betrayed (read a little farther down in Mark 14).

The second way we demonstrate caring is through compassion by showing we care.

I think that we do that well here. We graciously gave to another pastor in time of need a few weeks ago and then again in our support of a sister congregation who has lost their facility to fire. However, compassion is a year round thing not just a Christmas time expectation.

Last Sunday, we learned from Luke 4 what some call ‘Jesus’ mission statement.’ Let’s hear it again from the perspective of compassion. (Slide 6)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,

¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

Compassion is laced throughout this statement and while Jesus at times called His opponents on their duplicity, compassion and love is what drew the crowds, desperate in their situations, to Him.

Compassion, like being kind, also costs us. It costs us to show compassion. One of my favorite stories about the costs of compassion is a story about the businessman running for a train many years ago.

In his haste to catch the train, he inadvertently knocked over a cart of apples a young boy was selling. As he started to pick up his stride, he stopped a looked back at the chaos and then turned around to help.

Probably missing his train (and he was travelling with some business partners) he help the boy with his cart and even gave him some money for damages. As he turned to leave the boy looked into the man’s face and said, ‘Mister, are you Jesus?’

I simply remind us on this point that compassion was a major theme of Jesus’ ministry. But in His compassion, He also called those who followed Him to repentance. He does the same for us.

Finally, caring is demonstrated by being grateful.

(Slide 7) In John 17 we read these words: ‘I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they were always yours, and you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, ⁸for I have passed on to them the words you gave me; and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.’

This is Jesus speaking. I think that implied in these words is gratitude to God the Father for the honor of working with and teaching the disciples.

It is easy to be grateful this time of year because of the presents that we have received. Jesus was expressing gratitude to God the Father on the eve of His execution. I don’t think that I would be too grateful if I was in Jesus’ place, would you?

I like what Aesop once said about gratitude, ‘Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.’

The Bible has many statements about being thankful and grateful.

Gratitude is very important these days. I think that gratitude is one way that we overcome cynicism and despair. Jesus demonstrates that in His comments as recorded in John 17.

So, in expressing His gratitude to the Father, Jesus also demonstrates His care for the disciples even though what was about to happen would cause havoc in their lives for a time.

As we prepare for communion, I want to ask another question but for your reflection and not public answer.

(Slide 8) Who have you recently expressed caring to?

Sources: Aesop quote is from ‘Quotationary.’ Edited by Frank Roy Leonard.

Where Does Jesus Belong?

This morning I begin with two stories and a video clip in an effort to answer a question that I have been seriously thinking about this Christmas season, (Slide 1) ‘Where does Jesus belong to these people?’

Typical of last minute Christmas shoppers, a mother was running furiously from store to store. Suddenly she became aware that the pudgy little hand of her three year old son was no longer clutched in hers.

In a panic she retraced her steps and found him standing with his little nose pressed flatly against a frosty window. He was gazing at a manger scene.

Hearing his mother’s near hysterical call, he turned and shouted with innocent glee: “look mommy! it’s Jesus – baby Jesus in the hay”. With obvious indifference to his joy and wonder, she impatiently jerked him away saying, “we don’t have time for that!” Where does Jesus belong to her?

Then there was another woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before.

Her arms were full of bulky packages when the Elevator door opened. It was full. The occupants of the Elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!”

A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.” Where did Jesus belong to her?

Then there is this group of children being interviewed about Christmas. (Slide 2) (Edited Video clip from YouTube.com entitled, “Who Is Jesus The Children Speak_” )

Where does Jesus belong in their opinion?

Those are smart (and, I think, well taught) kids as well. They have learned that not everyone believes or understands that Christmas has something to do with Jesus.

“Where does Jesus belong?” (Slide 3) What is His place in the scheme of things on this earth?

And I think that it is important to ask and answer this question not just because of the on-going debate between saying ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ or the quote unquote legality of the manger on governmental property. I think that it is important to answer this question because it is a very spiritual question. It is a very spiritual question because our answer to it determines what we think about Jesus and His place in our lives now and in the future; a question that deals with what we base our lives upon.

We find this important question being asked indirectly and answered rather directly at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke 4 that serves as our main text for this morning. We begin with verse 16:

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷ The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place where it says:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,

¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

²⁰He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. ²¹Then he said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!”

²²All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³Then he said, “Probably you will quote me that proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Why don’t you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?’ ²⁴ But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

²⁵“Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah’s time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land. ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a widow of Zarephath—a foreigner in the land of Sidon. ²⁷Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help.”

²⁸ When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. ²⁹Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, ³⁰but he slipped away through the crowd and left them.

I remember the first sermon I preached 29 years ago this month. It was in front of my home congregation. I felt led to preach and the pastor graciously gave me the opportunity to preach.

I was nervous but confident (not in a cocky way) that God would help me. My text was Colossians 3:1-17 and I spoke about the will of God and what did it mean to follow God’s will as outlined by Paul in that passage. I don’t remember the congregation’s response, but I don’t recall any problem with them after the sermon.

But Jesus had problems because He challenged His hometown congregation’s assumptions about who He really was. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’” they asked?

I think that Jesus was being patronized to a certain degree at by the crowd. Have you ever been patronized? I have. It is frustrating and insulting.

“All who were there spoke will of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips.” Ah, such a nice boy. What a nice thing to say.”

They did not get what Jesus said when He read that now well-known passage out of Isaiah that would define His ministry. They had heard those words before but they thought it spoke of someone else, the Messiah.

And this was not the Messiah, ‘This was Joseph’s son.’ ‘We have watched him grow up!’

I wonder what kind of expression Jesus wore on His face that day. Please remember He is coming out of his 40 days in the wilderness. (We don’t how much time had passed since He left the wilderness and as we read in verses 14 and 15, He was speaking in other places before He came back to Nazareth.) So He was probably a very focused person after that experience.

I wonder if He had a quiet but confident edge to His appearance. I wonder if His love for these people did not shine on His face as He read and then commented on what He had just read.

Then as the situation unfolded, I wondered if His face changed from love and peace to dismay and bewilderment then to anger and incredulity.

Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah at this moment and through these very familiar words. He got blank looks or kind comments.

It was not what He was looking for. He was looking for faith in Him. He was seeking willing hearts to serve Him and help Him accomplish His mission here on earth; a mission of liberation from bondage and sin.

So, He gives history lesson that gets Him in very, very, very hot water. It is a history lesson about not being favored by God at critical moments. It is a history lesson about God choosing to care for ‘others’ who were considered unacceptable or outsiders.

And the crowd went crazy!

We do not know the particulars about what happened then but we can imagine the scene based on similar situations we have seen on TV. Jesus is grabbed and perhaps dragged out of his chair.

There may have been some who tried to wrestle him away from the angry mobs and get him safely away. (Maybe His family.)

Or maybe He became a tug of war object between a group both of whom wanted the pleasure of throwing Him over the cliff. THESE PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO KILL HIM!!! This enraged mobbed contained faces of the people who knew Him from childhood; who were His neighbors; His playmates. But now they were His enemies and trying to end his life.

They were angry because Jesus was telling them He was the Messiah. They could not handle that assertion and so they tried to kill Him. Yet He miraculously escaped without retaliating and, as far as we know, Jesus never returned to Nazareth.

What has this to do with my question ‘Where does Jesus belong?’ (Slide 4)

Two things are of note:

1. Jesus tells the audience where He belongs.

2. Jesus shows his audience where He belongs.

He tells the audience where He belongs in His reading of what is Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2.

Listen to where Jesus tells his listeners He belongs:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. ²He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. ³ To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

Where does Jesus belong? (Slide 5) He belongs with:

The Poor

Brokenhearted

Captives

Prisoners

Mourners

Who are these people? There are two answers to that question, both correct.

Answer 1: Those people. The ones out there in our community.

Answer 2: Us… you and me.

(Slide 6a) We have been poor at times, not just financially but in other ways, too. Pastor Brian LaCroix writes of ‘the poor in pocket’ and goes on to remind us that in the model of and for prayer that He gave the twelve, Jesus said to pray for ‘our daily bread.’

I would also remind us as we think about Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the gospels that He consistently demonstrated His care for those in need and that a key part of our ministry in His name is the continuation of such care. In fact, Jesus brings the issue of caring for those in need front and center during the week leading up to His death and resurrection as we read in Matthew 25:31-36:

But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

(Slide 6b) Then there is the ‘poor in spirit.’ To be poor in spirit is not to be equated with being self-demeaning. It means we are aware of our spiritual brokenness and need for God. It means that we admit are need for help that only God can give.

I think of the tax collector in Luke 18 as an illustration of what it means to be poor in spirit. “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. ¹¹ The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, ¹²I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”

But there is more to Jesus’ mission than just the poor. (Slide 7) There is also His mission to the brokenhearted.

(Slide 7a) We have been brokenhearted because of our sinful choices and attitudes. They have broken us – our relationship with the Lord and with others.

(Slide 7b) We have been brokenhearted to the point of despair. Fear, shame, guilt have created a despair within us that overwhelms us.

Several times as we read the gospel accounts, the physical suffering that Jesus encountered had the component of despair as well. There were parents such as Jarius a synagogue leader who came to Jesus as we read in Mark 5:21-23 desperate for help.

When Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. ²² A leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, ²³pleading with him to heal his little daughter. “She is about to die,” he said in desperation. “Please come and place your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”

He goes with Jarius and on His way a woman who had suffered a painful affliction sought Jesus out with the belief that a mere touch of His garment could heal her and she was healed as well as Jarius’s daughter.

The brokenheartedness for many people are children who have walked away from the faith and have gone their own way; grandchildren that have turn to drugs and alcohol; marriages that once were full of love now destroyed by unfaithfulness or indifference.

We are held captive to habits that have nearly destroyed us and the ones we love. Addiction to drugs, work, pornography, gambling, and many other things strips a person of their life and dignity and causes great pain and suffering – financially, emotionally,

We are imprisoned, literally, and figuratively because of sin and disobedience to God. Choices have been made that have cost those we love their freedom as they have served time for their choices and mistakes. Or we have been mentally or emotionally imprisoned by our choices or the damaging choices of others.

We have been mourners who grieved sudden and gradual loss. A spouse who gets cancer and we feel so powerless as they waste away. The scourge of Alzheimer’s Disease that changes a relationship from a wonderful dialogue across the years to a painful one way conversation that drains us of patience and strength as we see someone who matters to us become someone who ceases to be in many ways.

(Slide 8) Then Jesus shows His audience where He belongs by walking out of and away from the hate and violence directed at Him and go to those who will receive Him and His message. He leaves those He had grown up with and around and goes to those who will receive Him.

Jesus belongs elsewhere. He must leave. He has to leave. He cannot stay where He is.

And so Jesus ‘goes.’ He goes to the poor and the brokenhearted. He goes to those imprisoned in their lives and minds and bodies.

He goes and goes and goes – right to the cross and tomb. Then He goes home to the Father after His resurrection.

And He tells us to ‘Go’ and help people come to Him and follow Him.

So this is where Jesus belongs. This is where He comes to us – in our heartache and pain. He is good at showing up there and helping us walk through it to the other side of, as Isaiah says, beauty not ashes; joy not mourning; praise not despair.

This child in the manger does not stay there. He grows up. He goes out into the world and sets the prisoner free! He goes out into the world and He heals the brokenhearted! He goes out into the world and He frees those imprisoned by sin and injustice that comes from sin and disobedience.

And then, after He accomplishes His mission, He turns it over to us to keep it going.

But we too, have to deal with our poverty, our bondage, our captivity. We must also allow the baby in the manager to reach down and in to our minds, hearts, souls, and bodies and liberate us through the forgiveness of our sins and the cleansing of our unrighteousness.

How is it with you and God this morning? Are you in bondage to resentment? Are you poor because of some choices that have caused you to be impoverished?

Are you being broken because of a relationship or marriage that went bad or is going bad? Are you one of the walking wounded whose inner pain is worse than physical pain?

This morning, the baby in the manger, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, says, come to me and let me help you. Let me liberate you. Let me change you. Let me forgive you. Let me help you be free!

The altar is open for prayer if you so desire this morning. Be obedient to God. Amen.

Sources: sermoncentral.com for illustrations and LaCroix sermon; youtube.com for video clip. Bible used is NLT (New Life Translation.)

Service of the Nativity

(This past Sunday the service was The Service of the Nativity. For those from a Liturgical background you would probably find it done on Christmas Eve evening. It contained the lighting of all the Advent Candles except the Christ Candle. I had my sons hand out the various nativity characters to the congregation and then would prompt them to come up when asked ‘Will someone bring _______ to the manger?’  A humorous moment occurred when Joseph was ‘lost.’ We did find him after the service in a shepherds place but that was okay. One of the men could not resist a joke while we looked for Joseph, ‘He changed his mind and took off!’ The material I used for the service (which was more of a running commentary than a sermon) can be found at the website: http://www.crivoice.org/nativity.html. I have place the material I used from them in quotes to give credit to whom credit is due. It turned out to be a very meaningful service as one member put it, “It help us to slow and down and really reflect.”)

Welcome and Announcements

Carol Medley

Angels From the Realm Of Glory

Angels We Have Heard on High

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

Meet and Greet

Joy To the World, The Lord is Come

Offering

Doxology

Service of the Nativity

Greetings and Introduction

Welcome to our Service of the Nativity. For some of us, this is a service that we are familiar with when it is traditionally held on Christmas Eve evening. It similar to our Candles and Carols service with the scripture readings and lighting of the Advent candles but with some additional elements such as communion and much more singing. I wanted to do this service a year ago but we substituted it with our annual Christmas program that had been cancelled a week earlier due to the weather.

As we begin this service and as we prepare for communion, I would have us focus on this question, ‘Where does Jesus belong?’ A question that is very appropriate for this season and important for everyday of our lives.

One of the reasons I have incorporated this service into our Advent calendar is to focus for a time on the manger scene. We hang the greens each year; we are told again each season that the candy cane has a very important meaning beyond being a mere sweet treat; we decorate the tree; we hear the Christmas story in a new way from our children; but I think that we need to come to the manger this morning because this is where we truly start the Christmas story.

As I prepared for this service, I realized that the word ‘journey’ is a part of the Nativity experience because with the possible exception of the shepherds, those who are a part of that holy night have left their homes and journeyed to Bethlehem.

Think with me for a moment about this. Though Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem, he traveled with Mary from Nazareth only because he was required to. We do not know where Mary was from, perhaps Nazareth but there is no indication that she was from Bethlehem.

Maybe the shepherds were from the area but their profession is one of wandering to wherever the food is for their flocks. The wise men, who came later, journeyed from a long distance to find the new King. Then there was Jesus who came from heaven to earth.

All were on a journey as we are. Let us begin that journey again this morning to the manger with readings from the Bible and the lighting of our advent candles.

Tausha and Kara _____ are our scripture readers for this morning and will our candle lighters please be ready to come forward when the scripture passage for your candle is completed.

Reading of Psalm 46

Lighting of the First Advent Candle

Reading of Isaiah 35

Lighting of the Second Advent Candle

Reading of Philippians 5:5-11

Lighting of the Third Advent Candle

Reading of Luke 1:67-79

Lighting of the Fourth Advent Candle

Let us sing together ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!’

Congregational Song: Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Mary’s Story

As we continue our journey let us first hear Mary’s story.

“It had all began some time ago when Mary and Joseph were making wedding plans. They dreamed of their future together. The love that united them seemed indestructible. Then, unexpectedly, Mary was encountered by a heavenly visitor” as we read in Luke 1.

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and pondered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His Kingdom there will be no end.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have not known a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be the Son of God. . . . For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Will someone bring Mary to the manger?

Joseph’s story

Now we cannot forget Joseph, who was about to receive the shock of his life when he learns that his finance, who has been faithful to him and he to her, is pregnant! Joseph’s journey is about to take a turn in a new and challenging direction as we read in Matthew 1.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” . . . Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. (Matthew 1:18-25)

Will someone bring Joseph to the manger?

Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem

In Luke 2 we read, ‘And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to their own towns to be registered. And Joseph also went, out of the city of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. He went to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was expecting a child.’

“It was a crowded city that night, Bethlehem, the city of David. People from all over had returned to the city of their fathers. Here they would register and a census would be taken. Joseph and Mary sought for a place to stay. An inn. A room somewhere, anywhere. A safe place from the chilly night air. But there was no place, no room in the inn. At the city’s edge was a stable, a place where animals could be protected and fed. There, in a stable, Mary and Joseph found warmth and protection. They would stay here until a new day brought light.”

The Birth of Jesus – Luke 2:1-5

In Luke’s gospel we read, ‘So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in bands of cloth, and laid Him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The birth of a child is an exciting, scary, and joyful time. Many different emotions and thoughts come into our minds when a new birth, either directly experienced or observed or heard about, occurs.

Our journey takes on a new dimension and a new direction. Life, new life, has occurred and life itself is forever changes.

The journey, an unexpected and perhaps unwelcomed one, by Joseph and Mary is forever changed when Jesus is born.

As we continue to linger at the manger, we are going to sing some familiar carols. We begin with the first verse of Away in A Manger.

As we sing, will some one bring Jesus to the manger?’

Congregational Song: Away In A Manager, Verse 1

God’s creation was a part of that Holy Night. The place of birth was not a comfortable and warm birthing room. It was in the midst of where animals were housed. There was nothing sterile about it! But, it was a marvelous place, full of life and activity.

Can’t you hear the conversation later in Jesus’ life when He was asked, ‘Where you born in Bethlehem?’ Yes. Was it at Bethlehem General? No, in a stall with the animals watching!

As we sing verse 2 will someone bring the animals to the manger?

Congregational Song: Away In A Manager, Verse 2

The Shepherds’ Story

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you; You will find a Child wrapped in bands of cloth, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the heavenly host praising God and saying; “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among all people!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the Child, who was lying in a manger.

Has anyone here ever had shepherds and angels at their birthday party? (I thought so.) That would be different wouldn’t? We come as we are to a birthday party, right? So did the shepherds and the angels! They came as they were that Holy Night! That is how the Lord wants us to come to Him, as we are.

As we sing our next song will someone bring the shepherds and the angels to the manger?

Congregational Song: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. (3 verses)

Earlier I asked us, ‘Where does Jesus belong?’ Our initial thought in the context of this morning would be, what? ‘In the manger?’ But is that the final answer? Is that the only answer? No, it is not.

Solo ‘Sweet Little Jesus Boy’

The Magi’s Story

I recently had a friend ask me, ‘How many wise men came to the manger?’ I blurted out ‘three’ then caught myself. ‘Wait, we really don’t know how many.’ In Matthew’s account (the only account of their visit) the number who visited is not mentioned. We may get three because of the carol that we will sing in a moment or from the fact that three gifts given to Jesus are mentioned by name – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

These are mysterious people who are on a journey to find a new born king, the King of the Jews. There were on a search for truth. We too, are on a search for truth. But is truth found in power? Is truth found in wealth? Or is truth found somewhere else or in someone else?

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to pay him homage.”

When King Herod heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; For from you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and determined from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and pay him homage also.”

When they had heard the king, they departed; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had entered the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and fell down and paid him homage. Then opening their treasure chests, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

As we sing will someone bring the wise men to the manger?

Congregational Song: We Three Kings

We Gather at the Manger

I like what Monte Neighbors and Dennis Bratcher say as we look at the manger, ‘Heaven looked down on that Holy Night as a manger became an altar and a stable became a cathedral.’

This morning as we have communion, we are going to come forward and dip the bread in the cup. As you do so, take a moment to pause and look the manger and give thanks to God for the Christ Child who came to die for our sins and give us new life.

Communion

Congregational Song: O Holy Night

Thanksgiving… We Cannot Live Without It!

This morning, I want us to begin with reading Psalm 136 responsively by having you read the phrase ‘His faithful love endures for ever,’ where it appears.

Please stand, as you are able, as we read Psalm 136 responsively.

(Slide 1)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

² Give thanks to the God of gods.

His faithful love endures forever.

³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 2)

⁴ Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.

His faithful love endures forever.

⁵ Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.

His faithful love endures forever.

⁶ Give thanks to him who placed the earth on the water.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 3)

⁷ Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—

His faithful love endures forever.

⁸ the sun to rule the day,

His faithful love endures forever.

⁹ and the moon and stars to rule the night.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 4)

¹⁰ Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.

His faithful love endures forever.

¹¹ He brought Israel out of Egypt.

His faithful love endures forever.

¹² He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 5)

¹³ Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.

His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁴ He led Israel safely through,

His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁵ but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the sea.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 6)

¹⁶ Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.

His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁷ Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.

His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁸ He killed powerful kings—

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 7)

¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites,

His faithful love endures forever.

²⁰ and Og king of Bashan.

His faithful love endures forever.

²¹ God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—

His faithful love endures forever.

²² a special possession to his servant Israel.

His faithful love endures forever.

(Slide 8)

²³ He remembered our utter weakness.

His faithful love endures forever.

²⁴ He saved us from our enemies.

His faithful love endures forever.

²⁵ He gives food to every living thing.

His faithful love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His faithful love endures forever.

(You may be seated.)

In this Psalm, the people at worship are reminded of three things (Slide 9): God’s faithful and enduring love through His acts of deliverance, His provision for their needs, and His character that includes grace and mercy.

Ponder that list for a moment… Look at it… read a couple of times, slowly…read it again… Does it hold true for us? Does it hold true for you? You bet it does!

These are challenging times to be thankful. Some of us here are out of work. Some of us are frustrated with our work. Some of us are concerned about the direction of our country. Some of us are concerned about our families. Some of us are just plain tired.

The practice gratitude and thanksgiving is helpful to us today. The late Irving Berlin wrote:

(Slide 10)

Got no check books, got no banks.

Still I’d like to express my thanks-

I got the sun in the mornin’

And the moon at night.

(Irving Berlin, “I Got the Sun in the Mornin’” 1946)

Now Mr. Berlin has a point here. However, we have something more that the sun and the moon! We have the Lord! We have a God who knows what we need and He takes good care of us. We know, believe, and trust in the One who made the sun and the moon, the morning and the night.

(Slide 11) Please take out a pencil or pen and your bulletin. Now, write down three concerns that you currently have. They can be occupational, personal, financial, or something else.

(Slide 11a) Now, for each situation, write down how God might be present in those concerns right now.

It may not be easy to see how God might be present, so the question becomes, (Slide 12) ‘Do I believe that God will be present in these concerns and that His good will is accomplished?’ (Not will be but already ‘is’?)

This is faith at work, this is, as we read in Hebrews 11:1, ‘the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.’

In a recent column, Gordon MacDonald shared the story of a message sent by the leader of the French Army in World War One, General Foch. The message, sent to his superiors, said, ‘Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack.’

Some of us, and perhaps all of us, may feel this way these days. We have been hit by the economic chaos and we are concerned about our jobs (or lack of them). From another direction, health concerns have caught us of guard. Then we are hit head on with the possible change of our entire school year.

What do we do? Let’s paraphrase ‘le bon general’ (the good General) ‘Hard pressed on my right by job concerns. My center is yielding to health issues. Impossible to maneuver away from the uncertainty. Situation excellent. I believe and I trust God to take care of me I attack!’

This morning, one of us comes to share a story of thanksgiving out of a trying and disconcerting situation much like General Foch’s situation. (Slide 13)

(______ shares.)

I have been hearing these past weeks from a couple of different directions concerns about long faces in the church. The basic message coming out of that concern is ‘Why the long faces? Can we not still be joyful in spite of current situations?’

Is not God still for us? Is not God still our savior and redeemer? Is not God’s desire still the salvation of the world? Is not God still in control!

I think that this Thanksgiving is going to be a great Thanksgiving because I think that we have the opportunity to be really thankful for what is truly important in a more honest way. I know that these are difficult times, challenging times, but God is still God and He has not and will not forget His people! DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS MORNING?

We may not be thankful for our circumstances today. However, cannot we be thankful for the God who is with us in our circumstances? We may find it hard to be grateful with bills staring at us in the face. But, cannot we be grateful for the God who has the provisions necessary to pay our bills?

God is with us in our circumstances and our faith must be in the Lord and not our circumstances. Circumstances change. Life has its ebbs and flows. God never changes. Do you believe that this morning? I DO!

How then can we not be grateful and joyful today? I am not taking about that put on the joy ‘face;’ I am talking about putting on the deep heart of joy. Joy that comes from having a deep and steady trust and confidence in Jesus Christ.

What does the song say we often sing? ‘Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He has given Jesus Christ His son.

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He has given Jesus Christ His son.

And now let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us.

And now let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks.’

Let us come to altar to pray this morning our prayers of both thanksgiving and confession. Amen.

Sources: Berlin, page 332, “Quotationary,” edited by Leonard Roy Frank

MacDonald quote:

http://lists.christianitytoday.com/t/13048425/762929/160079/0/

Don’t Worry… Simplify!!!

(Delivered yesterday, November 16, 2008. This will be my last full length sermon until my Christmas sermon on December 21st. We do a variety of services during Advent that allows me to re-group and prepare for my New Year’s series).

(The Fourth and Final Sermon of the Fall 2008 Series, ‘Overload: Saying ‘No’ So That You Can Say ‘Yes.’)

In the past month, we have taken time each Sunday to think about the issue and reality of overload on our lives. (Slide 1) We spent time with 1 Peter 5:7, ‘Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.’ How to deal with worry was our main topic of discussion.

Then we looked at Matthew 16 and processed the parable of the sower in light of contentment and discontentment and its relation to overload. On Communion Sunday, we walked through Mark 14 and Jesus’ moments in the Garden of Gethsemane and we were encouraged to remember these three important points from the pen of A. Philip Parham:

(Slide 2)

God believes in me; therefore, my situation is never hopeless.

God walks with me; therefore, I am never alone.

God is on my side; therefore, I cannot lose.

(Slide 3) Finally, we examined Ecclesiastes 3 last week and took time to think about our season of life and the challenge of overload as we did some comparison with a busy mom named Patty and examined King Solomon’s life and choices.

(Slide 4) Today, we conclude this series on two fronts:

1. A look at the need to simplify.

2. Why addressing overload is a very important issue.

Our text for this morning is Matthew 6:25-34 and you can follow along in your Bibles or with the words projected on the screen. Let us hear the word of God this morning:

(Slide 5) So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?  Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.

(Slide 6) Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.

“And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!

(Slide 7) So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

(I simply remind us this morning that good Bible Study includes (and perhaps even begins with) context.)

The context or background setting of this passage is what has come to be called ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’

Now there is a parallel section of this passage in Luke 6:17-26. It is much shorter in length whereas Matthew includes a larger amount of material in this segment as it actually begins with chapter 5 and goes through chapter 7.

One might consider it a complete sermon but it could also be a composite of a group of sermons or messages from Jesus to the disciples given over the course of a couple of days. However, we note that the placement of these remarks in both Luke and Matthew indicated that Jesus gave them at the beginning of His time with them.

I think that the reason Jesus did this is that He was beginning to contrast the long held way to God of law keeping and ritual with the new way (new covenant that Jesus would speak of) that He was about to proclaim. He also, I think, was preparing the twelve for the challenges they would face while with Him and for the rest of their lives.

Jesus gives the twelve and us, a good lesson here, about preparation for serving God and He demonstrates good leadership as He orients the twelve to what is necessary to follow Him.

Jesus is not talking about rules and rituals here. He focuses on character and the internal aspects of following God. He is setting forth God the Father’s expectations as to how one is to see truly and live out the Kingdom of God.

Chapter 6 begins with a word of caution about developing pride from one’s performance of good deeds. This is part of the contrast between what He expects of the twelve and the example set by the religious leaders who ‘strut their stuff.’

Then He teaches them about prayer and again cautions them about their attitude toward and ways of prayer as He tells them not to pray ‘like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.’ It is in this context that Jesus gives what we call the Lord’s prayer.

Then He moves onto the practice of fasting. We have heard about fasting before and again Jesus is contrasting what others do (don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting) with what He says to do, (when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.)

Then comes some comments about a ‘biggie,’ money. But Jesus broadens the scope of the subject to more than just how much money one has to how much does money (or treasure or wealth) control you.

As He does this, He makes a very important statement in the midst of His comments, “Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!”

What Jesus means here is that what catches your eye influences your values, priorities, and your beliefs. If the pursuit of money (or worry) clouds our vision, then there is a problem.

Finally, we come our main text in which worry is finally mentioned. I say finally mention because it is a theme which runs through this entire chapter as follows: (Slide 8)

There is worry about one’s reputation. Now at a certain level, we need to be concerned with our reputation because it concerns our character and how our character is judged. If we claim faith in Christ, then our character must reflect that claim.

But this is not what Jesus is thinking about here. In the segment about service, prayer, and fasting, Jesus is pointing out that He expects the disciples to serve, pray, and fast in such a manner that points people to God and not to themselves.

This is in contrast to what the religious leaders and teachers are doing because they are worried about their reputation. They are insecure in their identity and they are worried they are being liked and admired because they need that admiration to function and valid themselves.

There is worry about having enough.

This is implied in the segments about money and worry and having legitimate needs met. Jesus addresses fear of going without in these words.

To step back for a moment and think about our context for a moment is to realize that Jesus is giving the disciples directions on how to follow Him. It is to also acknowledge that in all of the contrasts that Jesus uses in Matthew 5 through 7, the call to follow Him, is a call to live differently and live without worry and to overcome, not just resist, but overcome the internal conditions that leads to overload. Worry is at the core of these internal conditions.

For many people worry has become a chronic condition. They cannot stop worrying! They worry about anything and everything.

Never have I read in the Bible that worry is something that we are to do. I read the opposite that we are turn over our worries and cares to God and let Him deal with them.

To do so is to not stop being responsible for our lives and choices. Rather it is to stop being controlled and held hostage by worry.

How do we then deal with worry? (Slide 9) Jesus gives us the answer in verse 33, ‘he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.’

This is simplicity. This is the corrective to worry. Simplicity is necessary if we are to create margin in our lives and not let overload overwhelm us and affect our walk the Lord.

(Now I need to pull over for a minute before I continue. The longer I live and the more I work with people and the more I deal with my own aches and pains (the relational and spiritual kind); the more I realize that for some people a layer of worry develops that has to be pealed off over a period of time because worry has become a defense reaction to significant and even traumatic events in one’s life.

I believe, and I have seen, how God works to take this layer off. But to get to the place where there is a new and sustained inner peace, it requires some very intentional work (even counseling) to get to the place where the chronic nature of one’s worry is properly addressed. But make no mistake, God wants us to live without worry!)

Do we live simple lives today? Some of us here do. I can see it in your faces and hear it in your voices.

But there are many who do not live life simply. We hear and see it in them as well. In their faces and voices tinged with weariness, fear, disappointment, even anger. We see it in their choices and the rush of their lives from one thing to another.

(Slide 10) The simplicity in Jesus’ statement is located in the directive to ‘live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.’ This means that what God wants to happen becomes our focus and our point of living. Everything else we cast aside. This does not mean we become irresponsible parents or workers. But it means that our purpose for these things has a more focus and God-centered perspective to them.

No longer do we worry about our possessions and how much we have or don’t have. No longer do we preoccupy ourselves with being ‘in’ or ‘out.’

Simplicity brings clarity to our lives and hearts. Worry begins to drop away because we stop worrying about things that cause us worry and focus on accomplishing God’s purposes in us. (Think: loving God and neighbor and helping others become disciples.)

Simplicity narrows our focus from many things to a primary group of things such as faith, family, and service. Other things do not matter any more.

From the First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Alabama’s website was this helpful outline about simplicity (Slide 11):

· Possessions are a gift from God (dependency)

· Possessions are to be cared for by God (trust)

· Possessions are to be available to others (selflessness)

(Slide 12) There is also this quote from Richard Foster, “Simplicity frees us from the tyranny of the self, the tyranny of things, and the tyranny of people.”

This brings to why addressing overload is important. Overload is important for two reasons (Slide 13):

We are living too fast and leaving God out in some vital ways in our lives. As a result, our faith suffers and doubt, fear, worry, anger, conflict, and a whole host of things gain the upper hand in our lives. Our family life suffers. Our financial life suffers. Our spiritual life suffers. Our work life suffers.

We are going too fast in too many directions and we are miserable, when we are honest about it.

(Slide 13a) Our mission and ministry as a church is adversely affected.

We need balance in our lives. We can be as overloaded with church involvement as we can anything else. We can easily lose sight of why we are here if we have too many things going on, and become burned out over time. But, as we look to the future, we need to be giving as much careful and active attention to our ministry as to our new building. God has a place of ministry here for us and we cannot let overload get in the way of that ministry.

As we conclude this morning, we do so with a video clip that was a part of the introductory sermon of this series. It is called ‘The Value of An Hour.’

As we watch it again, I would have you reflect on how you spend each hour of your day and ask God for the desire, strength, and patience to begin making the changes to simplify your life and finding the margin necessary to live.

(Slide 14) ‘The Value of An Hour’ from sermonspice.com

Let us spend some time in silent prayer seeking God’s direction for our lives. Amen.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pagan

http://www.fbchsv.org/biblestudy/disciplines/Simplicity.html

What Season Is It?

This morning we begin with the reading of our main text and following the reading of it, we will watch a video clip. As you watch the clip, answer this question, (Slide 1) ‘What season of life is it for this mom and this family?

(Slide 2)

There is a time for everything,

a season for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.

(Slide 3)

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to lose.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

(Slide 4)

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

(Slide 5)

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do.

(Slide 6)

God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can.

(Slide 7)

‘Bluefish TV Drained_from_Busy_Schedules’

(Slide 8) So, what season of life is it for this mom and her family?

We are at different points in the season of our life. Overload looks different to us that it does to Patty the mom. Some of us have ‘been there and done that.’ Others of us cannot relate, never have and never will, to the busyness of Patty.

Some of us have little overload to be honest. Others of us have a lightly loaded plate of overload. Still others of us have a full plate and perhaps a few of us have an overflowing plate of overload.

As we begin the third sermon in our fall series, ‘Overload: Saying ‘No’ So We Can Say ‘Yes,’ I want us to consider what season of life we are in this morning because each season of life has the ever present issue of overload in it. There are types of overload, such as financial and relational, common to every season of life but there is also overload germane to a particular season. Some seasons are busier than other seasons. But, all seasons of life present challenges to margin and spiritual health.

Those of us who are able to relate to Patty the mom know that overload of our schedules, and our families’ schedules, is something to work on in this particular season of life. For others of us who have gone through this season, perhaps the aging of our parents or other family members or the beginning of retirement, creates conditions for certain kinds of overload that we must deal with that is different from other seasons.

We face overload throughout life and sometimes, (and some of us are probably in this situation) we experience overload on several different levels because our lives are touching the lives of others who are at different seasons as well! Maybe we often feel overwhelmed rather than overloaded but lack of margin, that space between sanity and overload, is always present.

What does scripture have to say to us about all of this? Let’s look at our main text this morning out of the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes is a very deep and fascinating book. Some Bible scholars suggest that Solomon wrote it after a period of walking away from God. Others suggest that Ezra, who helped Israel rebuild the temple after the return from Babylonia, wrote it. We really are not clear, as to whom the author is but we are clear that his view of life is rather negative and even depressed.

It seems that in spite of all of the things he has done, none of it has been satisfying and it all comes down to simply honoring or fearing God and enjoying life on a day to day level. Now this might appeal to us today given all of the trinkets, gadgets, events, and opportunities we have available to us that can cause overload. But, if we have had moments when we have been overloaded with things and events and excitement, then perhaps the author’s simple challenge to honor God and be happy with what we have been given, is boring.

In the opening two chapters, the key word is ‘meaningless.’ It frequently appears as the descriptive word to the author’s views and perspective on life. Everything is meaningless a chasing after the wind.

Then we come to chapter 3 which I think is both a summary of and a response to the previous two chapters. It is a summary, from a wide-angle perspective, about the rhythms of life. It is a response to the meaningless of life because this list of contrasts, gives color and meaning to life.

Let’s look at them

(Slide 9) There is a time for…

• Born Die

• Plant Harvest

• Kill Heal

• Tear Down Rebuild

• Cry Laugh

• Grieve Dance

• Scatter Gather

(Slide 10)

• Embrace Turn Away

• Search Lose

• Keep Throw Away

• Tear Mend

• Quiet Speak up

• Love Hate

• War Peace

What do you notice about these things? (Slide 11) For one they are a normal part of life. They happen to all of us in one way or another. We have planted things and we have harvested things and not just crops and flowers but attitudes and habits. We cry and we laugh. We grieve and we laugh. Life consists of those things.

(Slide 11a) They are beginnings and endings. Birth and death is a beginning and an ending. So is war and peace, love and hate. We experience different kinds of war in our lives – military, political, economic, church, work, family, love, all sorts of conflict. We also experience peace – between nations, political parties, management and labor, family members and ourselves. They are endings and beginnings.

In one of the Bible commentaries I consulted the author said that these verses ‘may supply a basis for patient courage… or they many involve us in a web of fatalism.’ (I would chose the former over the latter.) These verses; this book, causes us to have, as we study it, all sorts of questions about God and life that are beyond the scope of this message today.

So what has all of this to do with overload and margin? (That is a good question! I like those of you who say, ‘cut to the chase Jim and just give us the facts!’ Just be patient! I’m getting there!)

Let’s consider for a few minutes the main candidate for the authorship of this book, King Solomon and how his life, as we have recorded in certain portions of the Old Testament, could have reflected his thoughts and feelings in this book, and… most important the kinds of overload he faced in life.

Here are a few facts about King Solomon. (Slide 12)

• I Kings (contains his story)

• One of King David’s son

• Became David’s successor upon his death

• Built the Temple

• Asked God for wisdom

• God gave him wisdom and wealth

• Heavily taxed the people and became wealthier

• Married many wives

• Turned away from his basic beliefs and values as time went on

When we get to 1 Kings 7 we read in the opening verse, ‘Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.’

Then a few chapters back in chapter 4 we read, (starting at verse 22) ‘The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal, ²³ten oxen from the fattening pens, twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl.

²⁴Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace throughout the entire land. ²⁵Throughout the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan to Beersheba, each family had its own home and garden.

²⁶Solomon had four thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand horses.^’

Then in chapter 11, starting at verse 1 we read, ‘Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. ² The Lord had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. ³ He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And sure enough, they led his heart away from the Lord. ⁴ In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the Lord his God, as his father, David, had done. ⁵ Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech,^ the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶Thus, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. ⁷On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.

⁹ The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. ¹¹ So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my laws, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. ¹²But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. ¹³And even so, I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”

Four thousand horse stalls, a living complex that took longer to build than the Temple, twelve thousand horses, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (or mistresses)… talk about overload! And where did it get him? It got him in trouble with God and resulted in the eventual loss of the Kingdom. (Israel would split into two kingdoms later on and then be swallowed up by larger kingdoms including the Babylonians.)

Solomon’s overload affected his faith and lifestyle as we have just read. He was not living, as God wanted him to live.

What if, then, Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes on the heels of God’s word to him about the results of his unfaithfulness. He was no longer a young man. Perhaps 30 or so years had passed and now Solomon was aging (for that day) and with God’s heavy pronouncement, all of the power and wealth began to mean nothing. To continue to read 1 Kings 11 is to find a family breaking apart and enemies beginning to circle for the kill.

Can we not understand then the gloominess of ‘everything is meaningless’ and ‘there is nothing new under the sun?’ Overload was costing Solomon his soul. The joy and the peace that he had once experienced was being replaced by gloom and meaninglessness. What does overload cost us?

How then do we deal with overload across the seasons of life?

Here are some suggestions adapted from the thoughts of Dr. Richard Swenson.

(Slide 13)

Learn to ask the question at each new season of life, ‘How much is enough?’

There are seasons in life when we need to do more and be more involved and there are seasons when we need and must do less. We need to approach each new season of life (and many start and end with family changes: marriage, birth, school, graduation, marriage, birth, school, graduation, death) with a willingness to discern that perhaps it is a season to let some commitments go and not pick up any new ones for a time.

(Slide 13a) Remember that ‘success in God’s eyes is measured by love.’ Some of us here have experienced the death of a spouse and if you had a chance to share with us who are still married, I think that you would probably say to us, ‘be thankful for your spouse and value the time you have with them. Make it count.’ Love, not accumulation of things, is a more important goal throughout life.

(Slide 13b) Redefine happiness.

Happiness is a by-product of obedience to God’s way and purpose. Happiness, in and of itself, cannot be directly achieved.

(Slide 13c) Be a creator rather than a consumer. In other words, contribute, don’t just take. Serve and not just be served. The command to go and make disciples is a command to contribute to the lives of others as followers of Christ. Yes, do take in from time to time (we all need to be served from time to time) but also get out and serve.

In each season of life, the Lord allows us to live has both opportunities and challenges. There are beginnings, endings… and middles. Each of us are at all three places in our season of life.

As you have listened this morning, what is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Are you needing to tear down or mend? Are you needing to grieve or dance?

Next week is the conclusion of our series and I am going to be address the need for margin in our lives and what we need to say ‘Yes’ to so that we have space to live and grow and be as the Lord would have us live, grow, and be.

Let us spend some moments in quiet reflection before the Lord as we conclude.

Sources: The Interpreters’ Bible; The Overload Syndrome by Richard A Swenson, M.D. © 1998 by NavPress.

Jesus on Overload

(Communion meditation for November 2, 2008)

(Slide 1) We are at the halfway point in our fall series, ‘Overload: How To Say ‘No’ So That We Can Say ‘Yes.’

And this morning, as we prepare for Communion I want to read Mark 14:32-42. You may wish to follow along in your Bible or on the screen.

(Slide 2)

And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” ³³He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. ³⁴He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”

(Slide 3)

³⁵ He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. ³⁶ “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”

³⁷Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. “Simon!” he said to Peter. “Are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake and watch with me even one hour?

(Slide 4)

³⁸ Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.” ³⁹Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings. ⁴⁰Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.

(Slide 5)

⁴¹When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Still sleeping? Still resting? Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Up, let’s be going. See, my betrayer is here!”

In one of my favorite meditation books that I regularly read, it said one day last week, ‘When we are burdened and down, when we feel alone and weak, we can anchor our hopes on the following three truths:

(Slide 6)

· God believes in me; therefore, my situation is never hopeless.

· God walks with me; therefore, I am never alone.

· God is on my side; therefore, I cannot lose.

As we continue to explore the issue of overload in our lives, it is good for us to focus on these three truths and that Jesus illustrates them in our main text for this morning. And I would suggest that Jesus faced overload in these moments on a scale and magnitude that we can scarcely imagine. But because He did, we too can have the strength and willingness to face our overload – financial, emotional, occupational, relational, and spiritual – as well.

In John’s account of this segment of Jesus’ life and ministry, we have a very detailed and clear picture of what was said in the moments prior to this overloading situation. It is recorded in John chapters 13 through 17.

Now chapter 13 contains the account of what we call the Last Supper, Judas final act of betrayal, Peter’s confident assertion that he will die with Jesus, and Jesus’ equally confident (and true) assertion that he (Peter) would deny Him. Chapter 14 begins this wonderfully personal and powerful talk (for lack of a better word) with a very important statement, (Slide 7) “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.”

This profound statement is evidence that in the overload that we deal on a daily and even hourly basis, to quote Rev. Dr. Parham again, ‘God believes in me; therefore, my situation is never hopeless.’

In this opening verse, Jesus is setting the stage for what is about to happen. Jesus, as stated in John 13:21, says to the twelve that ‘one of you will betray me.’ This sends them into shock and fear. ‘Is it I?’ ‘Is it me, Lord?’

Now the disciples are on overload. Jesus has been telling them over the years they have been together that He would be betrayed and now He says that one of them will do it!

And now, sensing their fear and uncertainty and perhaps just plain exhaustion, Jesus says, ‘You trust God NOW trust in me!’ ‘Trust you with what?’ we can almost hear the disciples say.

To be very brief, I think that Jesus says to them in chapter 14, ‘trust in me with your love as a sign of obedience to me.’ In chapter 15 he says, ‘Trust in me with your very lives when you are hated and despised for being my followers.’ In chapter 16 he notes, ‘trust in me with your faith as you go through the grief and sorrow of the next few hours because I have overcome the world!’

In our overload; our stress we learn from Jesus at this point and to effectively deal with our overload we need to make decisions the disciples would have to make. The decisions to trust Him with our love, with our very life, and with our faith so that He will help us deal with our overload and find the margin in Him and in the life He has for us.

Jesus believed in the disciples and if He did not, why would He have asked them to trust in Him? Why would He have said, ‘Follow Me?’

Jesus believes in us! Do you believe that this morning? Why wouldn’t He believe in you and me? Granted we are not perfect and we do not perfectly follow Jesus either. But He believes in us because God the Father created us and loves us and Jesus died and rose again from death for us! Therefore, as tough as our circumstances are some times; as hopeless as our situations seem; as overloaded as we get, God has not given up on us! (Amen? Amen!)

Now as the story unfolds in our main text, Jesus has the disciples follow Him out into what is an olive garden as indicated in Mark 14:32. Now they have been following Him for 3 years since He said, simply, to them, ‘Follow me.’

But now they are following Him to a time and a place that will tax (even tempt) Jesus’ will to follow through on His mission for our salvation. As we note in our text it became more and more stressful for Jesus and Jesus did something that we must do as well when the overload hits us, pray. But like the disciples, we struggle with prayer at times because we are tired and worn out. But, let us remember that even in our own dark garden moments, ‘we are never alone, God walks with us!’

Here we also see, I believe, Jesus at His most humanness (if we can use such a word). He is really struggling; He is on overload. He is now seeking for the disciples to watch and pray with Him, not the other way around.

And in the prayer, the agonizing and urgent prayer, we read in our text, Jesus expresses both concern, even alarm and fear, when He asks for the cup of suffering and death to be taken away, if it was the Father’s will. But Jesus also, expresses the second of Rev. Dr. Parham’s points (Slide 8) in His willingness to obey the Father when He prays, ‘Yet I want Your will, not mine.’

In this overloading situation, Jesus was confident that God the Father was still walking with Him and therefore, He (Jesus) was not alone. (Later on, Jesus would agonizingly cry, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’)

Some of us are perhaps in an overloaded situation right now. We are stressed out, overwhelmed, and perhaps simply at a stand still.

We are not sure which direction to turn. We are not sure how and if we can get out of the situation. Jesus helps us here – ‘Your will, not mine.’

Sometimes we have to walk through the situation we are in as the only way to deal with the overload and then learn not to get in that same situation ever again. Other times, as we seek God’s direction and help and we truly, truly pray, ‘Your will, not mine,’ an opening takes place for us to get out and reduce our overload. But in either case, just as Jesus prayed, so we must also pray, ‘I want Your will, Your plans, Your purposes, to occur, not mine.”

Finally, as we look at the third and final truth from Parham, (Slide 9) we see it illustrated in the rest of the story. Though Jesus dies, three days later, He was resurrected!

He did not lose (although many people that He had lost because He did die!) God was on His side!

The same holds true for us, God is on our side. When we are at our wits end, when there is too much month at the end of the money; when we are double booked on our calendars; when all the stuff we have goes on the fritz at the worst possible moment; when our faith in God is sorely tested; God is still on our side.

St. Paul says it best in Romans 8: ‘If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³²Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?

³³Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? ³⁶ (Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^) ³⁷No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. ³⁹Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

(Slide 10) Got overload? We all do. But we have a God who is for us, a God who is with us, and a God who believes in us! Let us turn to Him again and again and again and again for His help and power to live confidently in His power and strength.

(Slide 11) As we prepare for communion let’s begin with some moments of silent prayer to God. Amen.

Source: A. Philip Parham, Letting God: Christian Meditations for Recovery, October 27^th reading. Harper and Row. © 1987

Left Out or Left Behind?

(Since I have only so much storage space, I will endeavor to link clips in my posts. PJ)

This morning, take your bulletin or another piece of paper, and a pen or pencil and take a couple of moments to respond to these four questions.

(Slide 1)

What is contentment?

Are you a content person?

What would make you content?

What is your source of contentment?

Now, as we watch this clip of interviews about contentment, compare your answers with those interviewed. (Slide 2) sermonspice.com video clip ‘sv_contentment’

http://www.sermonspice.com/videos/4812/contentment

How much alike are your answers with those interviewed? How different are your answers with those interviewed?

These four questions form the outline of today’s remarks because I think that how we answer them determines the effect that overload has on us. This effect is due to the pressure that discontentment brings to our hearts and souls and creates the conditions by which overload is an attempt to deal with overload.

This is the second sermon of our fall series, ‘Overload: Saying ‘No’ So We Can Say ‘Yes.’

Contentment is very much a key and implied aspect of our main text for this morning, the parable of the sower that Jesus tells and we read in Matthew 13 beginning at verse 1 through verse 9 and then verses 18 through 23:

Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, ² where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat, where he sat and taught as the people listened on the shore. ³He told many stories such as this one:

“A farmer went out to plant some seed. ⁴As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. ⁵Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly, ⁶but they soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades. ⁸ But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. ⁹ Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!”

Now on to verse 18: “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain: ¹⁹The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts. ²⁰The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. ²¹But like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word. ²² The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced. ²³ The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.”

Now, not only is the issue of contentment in this well-known parable but also the need for margin, implied in the receptivity of the good soil, illustrated here. In fact, there is a link between contentment and good soil because the good soil, the hearts ‘of those who truly accept God’s message’ is receptive to that message because those who choose to become content make contentment in God’s provisions and care a priority.

Let’s take some time to examine the questions in light of this text.

(Slide 3) What is contentment to you?

I heard from those interviewed on the video clip the following definitions of contentment: ‘satisfied,’ ‘inner peace,’ ‘happy with who you are,’ ‘alright,’ and ‘being okay with what is going on.’

Now looking at our main text, the opposite of all of this is described in the lives of those who are like hard ground, the rocky soil, and the thorny ground. The worries and the cares and the frustrations are there, in part, because there is a discontentedness within them that keeps them from learning to be content with what God has for them. The discontentedness crowds out the margin necessary for growth.

What does contentment look like? I think for many of us it is a deep satisfaction with ourselves and our situation. But, what happens when our situations and our circumstances change? Are we still contented?

For many of us at this moment in history, there is a great deal of discontentment. We see and hear and feel it politically. We have experienced it financially.

Our hearts grow hard, rocky, and thorny because discontentment with our social status, our financial state, and our own personal needs and wants grow beyond what they need to be. So the cares about having the right things and having enough to have the right things causes us all sorts discomfort. So we fill our homes and our hearts with stuff. The result? Overload.

Question: How do we begin to become contented in and with God’s way?

Now let’s look at the second question, (Slide 4) Are you a contented person? Let me suggest the following working definition for this morning of contentment.

(Slide 4a): Contentment is a choice of being grateful for all that one has because it comes from and is left in the hands of God from whom all things come.

If we are to be content then we must turn not just ourselves but everything we have over to God and let Him do with it as He wishes. Easier said that done, right?

‘God, I know what is best for my child. I know that you care for him but I’ll make the choices for him that I think best.’ ‘Uh, God I know that I am ready for that promotion, I’ve worked hard and I have been loyal to the company.’ ‘Jesus, don’t you worry about my relationship to so and so, I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much.’ Then we get miserable and even heartbroken at times when things do not turn out as planned.

Contentment is an attitudinal choice that we have to make over and over and over and over and over again. It is an inside out choice. We make it in here, in our heart, soul, and mind, and it comes out in our actions and choices. But it begins with an inner choice to be grateful and hold things (and people) lightly because they are all (as we are) in God’s hands.

Paul makes this point very clear in 1 Timothy 6:6 and following when he says, ‘Yet true religion with contentment is great wealth. ⁷After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die. ⁸ So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. ⁹But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.’

Question: How do we begin to become contented in and with God’s way?

If we are discontented then our next question might stir the pot and reveal to us areas and issues that we need to address as we seek to create margin in our lives. (Slide 5) What would make you content?

Let’s do a very unscientific poll…

With a raise of a hand, please respond, as you feel comfortable in doing:

How many would be more content if they had more money?

How many would be more content if they had less stuff?

How many would be more content if they had a lighter schedule?

How many would be more content if you had a better relationship with someone important to you?

How many would be more content if you had a different job?

How many would be more content if Jim would stop asking these questions?

One of the most substantial reasons that we are discontent is that we have, in my humble opinion, been trained to be discontent. But at what price?

(Slide 6) (video clip from Christianity Today. Com ‘CCN2_hidef’)

That was Dr Richard Swenson, a medical doctor and author of the book ‘The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits.’ What did he say about clutter? We use only 20% of what we own and maintain 100% of what we own. Do you agree with his statement?

This is where discontentment comes in. The clutter is all of the things that we think we need because we are told that life is better with ________. So, we are afraid of being left out or left behind by everybody else and we go out and buy whatever the newest and latest gadget is because it will make life so much better and keep us from feeling left out or left behind!’

How often do we walk through our homes and think ‘where did all of this stuff come from?’ How much stuff could we live without?

Question: How do we begin to become contented in and with God’s way? (Are you noticing a pattern here?)

Now for question number four. (Slide 7) What is your source of contentment?

Let’s return to our main text. Notice what Jesus says in verse 22, ‘The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.’

Jesus makes it very clear that, because we are so wrapped up in the cares of this life and all that is a part of it, God is unable to make a difference in us because we are so full of cares. So faith cannot take root deep within us as it needs to. What happens? We walk away from it because we never give it a chance to develop!

There is only one source of contentment and that is in God and His plans and purposes. We can enjoy many things. In fact, we need to enjoy many things. But many of those things that bring us pleasure, cannot bring us contentment. Pleasure is one thing, a short-term experience; contentment is a deep and more profound thing, a long-term experience.

Listen to what Richard Swenson says, ‘Many people have mistaken notions of what contentment is. It isn’t denying one’s feelings about unhappiness, but instead is a freedom from being controlled by those feelings. It isn’t pretending things are right when they are not, but instead is the peace that comes from knowing, God is bigger than any problem and that He works them all out for our good.’

He goes on to say that contentment isn’t ‘the complacency that defeats any attempt to make things better, but instead is the willingness to work tirelessly for improvement, clinging to God rather than results. It isn’t a feeling of well-being contingent on keeping circumstances under control, but instead is a joy that exists in spite of circumstances and looks to the God who never varies. It isn’t the comfortable feeling we get when all our needs and desires are met, but instead is the security in knowing, as A.W. Tozer reminds us, that “the man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.’

(Slide 8) To answer this question, ‘How do we become contented in and with God’s way?’ is to answer as follows: ‘We begin to become contented when we make the decision to do so.’

We have a choice about whether or not we are going to be contented or not. We also then must keep choosing contentment by asking God to help us become contented. Contentment reduces the thorns and thistles; the worries and the cares that come onto the soil of our soul.

Let me repeat this morning what Paul in 1 Timothy 6:6, ‘True religion with contentment is great wealth.’

How do we obtain this great wealth? (Slide 9) I think that the first thing we do, is to deal with our very real fear of being left behind and left out of what is ‘in’ and what is not ‘in.’ If we are honest with ourselves this is what drives much of our spending and even our scheduling. It is an issue about our identity and our source of contentment.

Who are you? Who are we?

If we really believe that we are followers of Jesus then our contentment and our identity must be rooted in Christ and nothing else. But that is hard to do because if we choose to base our identity in Christ, it means that we are, at times, going to be left out and left behind and not be ‘in.’ Are we willing to pay the price for such contentment so that we live in the Lord’s power and way?

Here are a couple of other ways we obtain this great wealth that comes from true faith and contentment.

(Slide 8a) We simplify. I have question, ‘What if we decided to collectively sell the 80% of our clutter we have in our homes what would happen?’

Maybe, and it may be somewhat far out, if we sold our 80% and used it to pay off some of our debts, we might have a better economic picture in the years ahead. Simplicity is an ancient spiritual practice that we need to practice again.

(Slide 8b) Determine how much is enough. How much do I really need to live? Correctly answering that question is one that can help us move toward contentment.

(Slide 8c) Free yourself from the opinions of others.

Dr. Swenson writes, ‘Perhaps the biggest burden we carry is our inordinate concern about the opinion of others. If we could free ourselves from that weighty expectation, we would find ourselves on freedom’s road.’

This brings us back to our main text for this morning. Now I am not sure how each of the soils got the way they did, but I do believe this.

That just as a proper farming includes the tilling and feeding of the soil, so also does the freedom from overload come as we allow the Holy Spirit to till our souls and nurture them with the Fruits of the Spirit so that margin, what Dr Swenson calls ‘ that space between our load and our limits’ is made possible.

What is the Spirit saying to you this morning about all of this? As we conclude this morning, let us again spend sometime in silent prayer and meditation. Amen.

Sources: New Living Translation and Overload: Learning To Live Within Your Limits by Richard A. Swenson, MD. (Nav Press)

Admitting to Overload

(This was preached yesterday, Sunday, October 20th. I have uploaded text, audio, and visual for this sermon so that you can following along. The links for the audio and visual elements appear at the end of the text. PJ)

Have you ever had a day like this? (Slide 1) Video Clip from youtube.com entitled ‘elastic stress.’

How many of you have had stress this week? How many of you experienced stress as the result of a major issue or conflict?

How many of you experienced stress this week due to a series of issues that seem to pile on top of one another? How many of you experienced stress this week due to a minor inconvenience?

How do you deal with stress? Does it depend on the level and type of stress? Or is stress just plain stress no matter its cause or source or its level of intensity?

Well, as I did my research for this morning, I found a new stress buster that I think we need to rent (if we can find one) for our church picnic next year.

(Slide 2) Video Clip from youtube.com entitled ‘two men zorbing…’

Did you hear the two GROWN men inside that clear ball? It is called Zorbing… Z-O-R-B-I-N-G. It is very popular in Europe. I think that what we need to do is set up a track at the top of the hill over looking the west beach at Bixler Lake and then take turns going down the hill and into the lake.

(Slide 3) Stress and overload go together don’t they? What would you say to that stressed out office worker or this couple to help them deal with their stress?

Today is the first sermon in a series that I am calling, ‘How to Deal with Overload: Saying ‘No’ So We Can Say ‘Yes.’ And the first thing that we must do to properly deal with overload is to admit to the existence of overload.

(Slide 4) Our main text for this morning comes from 1 Peter 5:7 which says, Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. Notice that the verse does not say give only a few of our worries and cares to God. What does it say? Give all your worries and cares to God..

God does care about what happens to us. He is not a distant God who simply creates us and then stands aside and allows things to happen. He is a God who wants to help us with our worries and our cares.

(Slide 5) But just how do we let God help us with our worries and cares?

I think that the first thing we have to do is to admit that we are overloaded and that because we are we have worries and cares that God needs to take off of our hands. And I think that the kind of admission that we need to have is in the line of AA’s first Step. ‘We admitted that we were overloaded that our lives had become unmanageable.’

Now frankly this is hard for us to do. We do not want to admit that something has got us licked. This is America after all and we don’t need anybody’s help, right? Wrong.

If we are going to learn to say ‘no’ to the things in life we need to say ‘no’ to so that we can say ‘yes’ to the things we need to say ‘yes’ to – God and family are two things that come to mind – then we have to at some point admit that we are overloaded – financially, time wise, emotionally, occupationally – and ask God for help. But how?

By learning to give and continuously give our worries and our cares to God. (Slide 6) This means that we start developing the habit of surrendering our worries and cares to God as often as we need to. That may be, for a time, daily, hourly, or each second.

Let’s talk about habits for a moment. What is a habit? (Slide 7) A habit is, according to the Webster’s 2 Riverside Dictionary:

• A repetitive behavior

• Usual practice or manner

• An addiction

• A distinctive dress or costume

Now when it comes to habits, I think that we focus on the first and third definitions. Habits are therefore bad things not good things.

However, in developing the habit of surrendering our worries and cares to God, we need to think of the habit of doing so in line with the second definition, ‘usual practice or manner.’ This is the positive aspect of developing habits.

Our health is based, in part, on the habit of things like teeth brushing, a balanced diet, and adequate rest. When we don’t practice these habits we have bad breath and tooth decay, our weight gives us problems, and we get cranky! If we are going to deal with overload then, we have to develop the proactive life building and life giving habits of surrendering our worries and cares to God as often as we need to.

Now, if you have had to deal with a bad habit in your life or in the life of a friend or family member, one of things that has to happen for change to take place is a new set of habits have to take the place of the bad ones. What kinds of habits do we need to start putting in place to surrender our worries and cares to God and effectively deal with overload in our lives?

Here are a few: (Slide 8)

· Confess your self-sufficiency. I believe that another name for self-sufficiency is pride. We cannot let pride get in the way of overcoming the overload that we face. I am not speaking of the need for privacy and dignity that we all need to have. I am speaking of attitude that says, ‘I need nothing and no one.’ The Bible says otherwise. In the New International Version of the Bible Romans 14:7 says, ‘For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.’ Overload comes when we do not make the decision to ask for help and solely rely on ourselves. We need to develop the habit of confessing to God (and at least one other person) our self-sufficiency in dealing with our overloads.

· Share your worries and cares with a trusted person. Again the Bible speaks to this in places such as Galatians 6:2 which says, Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Sometimes our worries and cares begin to been seen in a better perspective when we share with trusted people. The New Testament, directly and indirectly, talks of this important habit of supporting, caring, and encouraging one another as part of Christ command to love one another. This is a vital and important habit to have anyway.

· Pray regularly. Continuous prayer is meant here and the Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6: ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.’ A continuous regimen of prayer to God for help and to thank Him for who He is, helps us start to focus. This is prayer, which goes on and on and on and on and on. It is hard work but it is essential because as one continues to seek the Lord, you can look back from time-to-time and see how He has worked things out.

Each of these habits, along with reading the Bible and pondering verses and passages that deal with stress and burdens and God’s power help in this area, will help us develop the habit of surrendering our worries and cares to God.

Another practice that will help us admit to and start dealing with overload is the practice of slowing down. (Slide 9)

(Slide 10) In James 1:19 we read, ‘Dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.’

Now, I want to ask this morning, ‘When we are overloaded, are we quick to listen?’ When we have a schedule that has us and or our families overbooked, do we find it easy to listen to the needs and concerns of others?

When we are overloaded, are we slow to speak? When we have commitments to keep, do we find it easy to speak clearly and kindly to others?

When we are overloaded, are we slow to get angry? When we have to make a decision and we have too many choices or too much information and too little time to make the decision, do we exercise patience with others or are we susceptible to blowing up?

Dr. Richard Swenson writes, ‘When I look deeper at the life of Christ, I notice that there is no indication He worked twenty-four hour ministry days. He went to sleep each night without having healed every disease in Israel-and He apparently slept well.’

‘Neither did He minister to everybody who needed it, ‘he continues. ‘Neither did He visit or teach everybody who needed it. There were many needs that He simply chose not to meet.’

The demands on our time and our abilities made by our places of work, our families, our friends, even the church, often wear us, and our patience, out. We are therefore anything but ‘quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.’

How then do we slow down so that we are honoring God by our patient listening and speaking to others? How do we begin to create margin, that space between peace and chaos?

Here are a few suggestions:

· Re-examine and reset your priorities. Some of us here have gone or are going through what some have called ‘the empty nest syndrome.’ It can be a challenging time in life from what I have observed. The kids who one minute were running around the house as 2 and 3 year olds, became interesting teenagers who kept you praying hard and loving well (or maybe the other way around), and then were suddenly young adults who moved out and have moved on with their lives. They come back to visit but they will never come back home like it used to be. Somewhere I read that this is a challenging time for parents because their number one agenda, raising their kids, has been checked off the list. What do you do now? From my perspective (and that is what it is my perspective) this is a time for re-examining and re-setting one’s priorities. Again we read in the New International Version these words from Philippians 2:12 and 13, ‘continue to workout your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act accordingly to his good purpose.’ I believe that working out (not working for) our salvation includes the re-examining and re-setting of our priorities throughout our lives so that we follow the Lord and being strengthened by Him as we do so.

· Set good boundaries. What are boundaries? Think fences. We have a lot of those around here. Fences serve as barriers to keep things out and other things in. Those of who have lived on a farm understand the importance of fences. Boundaries are those things that we have (or should have) in place that help us stay responsible for ourselves and likewise help us become responsible people. We need good boundaries to stay spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically health (and safe.) Do you remember this slide from last week? (Slide 11) These are areas where we need good boundaries to stay sane! Let me suggest, in the context of our main text this morning that we need to have the following boundaries in place to help us reduce overload and create margin in our lives.

· (Slide 12) We need to set boundaries on our commitments. Toward the end of his life, Joshua, said to the people of Israel, (as recorded in Joshua 24:15:) “But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua was first and foremost talking about his commitment to God but it we can also look at it as a boundary setting moment. Joshua resets his (and his family’s) commitment to the Lord. ‘As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.’ It would be nice, wouldn’t it, if we could really simplify our lives and not have what seems a thousand commitments to fulfill, right? But, what season of life are we in? If we are in a season where we have to work because we cannot yet retire, and if we are in a season where we have children in either elementary or secondary education, and if we are in a season where we have aging parents who require our care and attention, then our commitments are many. But, the question becomes, do we have too many commitments within some of those areas? Do we need, to use an agricultural image, to let some ground lie fallow for a season and not plant more commitments? This boundary also has financial implications as well.

· (Slide 12a) We need to set boundaries with our heart. We read in Proverbs 4:23, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.’ In Matthew 6:21 Jesus says, Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. Your treasure is what you value – possessions, and relationships – and what you give your time and attention to. Overload comes when we have hearts crammed full with so many things and the important things, such as faith and health and sanity, are squeezed to the margins or even left out. What is in our hearts, is expressed in our schedules, our buying choices, and our time commitments. How well do we honor God in this manner? Perhaps what we need is a heart transplant, a radical change of heart away from over commitment and overload toward simplicity and ultimately toward God.

What is your heart saying to you this morning? What is the Lord saying to you this morning?

As we conclude this morning, I invite you to take some pencil and paper and write a note to God about your commitments and heart. Say what is on your heart and ask Him to help you make the changes you need so that you can honor Him with your life. Amen.

101908sermonaudio

101908slides

Audio Check

Good morning! I am posting an audio clip to determine if it works. I will be then putting some of my sermons on audio for those that are so inclined to listen. The text posts (some with my Power Points) will continue. Have a great day!

PJ

audio-test-101808