The Baby Unrecognized

Scripture Passage – Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12

Description – Final 2009 Sermon/Communion Meditation.

(Slide 1) This morning, we move from the manger backwards to the prophet Isaiah, and ironically, forward to the cross and the tomb.

Our text for this morning is longer than normal for two specific purposes. One is to have us focus on the baby in the manger unrecognized as the suffering servant. This is the true purpose for which Jesus Christ came.

The second is to read and hear the scriptures at a slower pace than we are used to hearing them read and heard. I have recently started with the daily segment of the Psalms that I read a practice of reading them aloud and slower than I have done. It is hard to do because I am a fast reader and it is easy to zip through reading the Bible and not really chew on it.

In your bulletin, this morning is a blank half sheet of paper. It is for you to use as I read the text. As you read along or simply close your eyes and listen (something that I encourage you to do this morning) use your inner eyes to picture Christ and His suffering; use your inner ear to listen to the sounds of what He experiences; and use your inner smell to grasp the pain and death He faces. Write down what stands out to you as you read, listen, and experience the scriptures this morning.

Let us first pause for some moments of silence and prayer:

Read Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 in your favorite translation very slowly and reflectively.

(Silence for a few moments.)

(Slide 2) Let us prepare for communion with a time of personal confession and preparation. Amen

Gifting God

Scripture Passage – Matthew 2:1-12

Description – Christmas 2009 Message

One of my favorite holiday experiences this year actually took place before Thanksgiving. It was the first of what I hope will be many East Noble Middle School Fall Plays.

The play was called, “O, Little Town of Christmas” by Pat Cook. A series of one act plays; it was both a humorous, and important, look at Christmas.

One of the acts featured three young men (one of whom you know) who were experiencing that universal feeling of anxiety before going on stage as the Wise Men for the annual Christmas pageant.

The one who was to present the gift of myrrh could not even pronounce the word and needed help learning how to say it. Another one, called Casper, had trouble remembering that he was a wise man and not the friendly ghost.

He also had to remember that he was presenting the gift of frankincense and not the gift of Frankenstein! The third one kept the other two from falling apart by reminding them that it was the “blessed babe” they were giving gifts to and not, “the dude.”

A week ago yesterday, the family and I were doing some Christmas shopping on the eastside of Indianapolis      the day after ______’s family birthday party, and one of the stores we stopped at was a Family Christian Store. As I walked through the store, I spotted a nativity activity set for kids with this catching title:

(Slide 1) “What Does God Want For Christmas?”

Ever stop to consider this question, “What does God want for Christmas?” Made me stop and think about the title of this morning’s message: (Slide 1a) “How Do We ‘Gift’ God? How do we give the Lord the right kind of gifts every day of our lives?

Please turn to Matthew 2:1-12 and let’s hear a familiar story once again.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.”

Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them.

“In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

‘O Bethlehem of Judah,

you are not just a lowly village in Judah,

for a ruler will come from you

who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. (NLT)

(Slide 2) Our main text is verse 11, “They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (NLT)

I believe this text indicates several gifts that God seeks from us not just during the Advent and Christmas season but also throughout the year.

(Slide 3) The first gift is the gift of the “bended knee” which is the gift of worship.

(Slide 4) The second gift is the gift of the “opened treasure chest” which is the gift of an open heart and life.

(Slide 5) The third gift is the gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” which are the gifts of our time, resources, and abilities.

A few days from now, if not already, we will be opening our gifts as well as giving ones others will open. If it is clothes, then perhaps a gift receipt will be in the box so that if it is too small, too big, too green, too loud, too soft, or just not cool enough, we can return it for something else.

(I will confess to you at this point, that several years ago, I exchanged a shirt that I did not want for a cordless drill that now needs a new battery pack.)

Gift giving is the plan of action this time of year. Some give gifts that are practical, some give gifts that are lavish, and some give a mixture of gifts that run the gamut between practical and lavish.

A survey conducted by the American Research Group last month indicated that people would be spending less this Christmas season on gifts than last year.

Those surveyed indicated that they would be spending $417 on Christmas gifts this year down from $431 last year. Interestingly, the total spent ten years ago was $939 and in 2004, it was $1,004! So spending is now over fifty percent less than just five years ago!

(Source: http://americanresearchgroup.com/)

Gift giving can be costly and some, like I have just indicated, give lavish gifts without regard to cost; but I think many of us have moved away from the lavish side to the more practical side not only because of our economic situation but our belief about what Christmas truly means. However, I suggest this morning that God’s gift to us was very costly and that in gifting God, there is a price to be paid as well.

With this in mind, let us take a few moments and reflect on the gifts given by the Wise Men.

(Slide 6) The gift of the bended knee- Worship.

Let’s begin this segment with a review of what I believe are four important views of worship from the pen of Rick Warren.

(Slide 7) Worship…

… is giving God pleasure

… is far more than music

… is not for your benefit

… is not a part of your life; it is your life

Rick Warren

The Purpose Driven Life

When the Wise Men fell to the ground, it was an act of worship! They came to adore the Christ child. I do not think they truly understood who Jesus was at that point but they worshipped Him. To worship means to reverence, love, and adore something or someone.

Warren’s four points remind us of this broad and deep aspect to worship that has so often become narrowly focused on what kind of music we are going to hear on Sunday morning and something we “go to” once a week.

Worship is an attitude that must be a part of our lives 24/7.

Worship is a costly gift. To bend our knee and bow before the Lord of Heaven and Earth means that we are not number one, God is!

When we gift God with our bended knee, when we worship Him, in spirit and in truth from the depths of our souls, our hearts become open to Him. It allows us then to gift God with (Slide 8) the gift of the open treasure chest – the open heart.

In Luke 12:34 Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” I also like how The Message states this verse, “The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”

Sometimes we use the expression, “So and so had their heart set on such and such.” This time of year, we find out around the Christmas tree whether the gifts given are what the hearts were set on, or not.

I admit this morning that sometimes my heart is not set on the Lord; it is set on other things. It is set on what I want, my desire for comfort, my hope for pleasure, and instead of me setting my heart on God and seeking His will, I instead seek to have God be set on my heart, my will.

The Wise Men put me to shame because their heart is set with such passion and desire to find the King of the Jews, that they travel many miles from their homes to open their riches in worship to Him. And, I sometimes have trouble taking a few steps toward God in worship with my riches.

Jesus also said, “It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.” (Luke 6:45 the Message.)

These men had generous hearts and their deeds were generous because they opened up their finest treasures and gave good gifts to a small Jewish baby whose family was not wealthy. They gave with full hearts and with hearts full of excitement because they found the baby, the King they were looking for!

There is a pattern here that I think that we are aware of today. When someone grabs our hearts (just ask any young man you know who might have a diamond ring in his pocket this time of year) we change.

We start paying attention to that significant other and look for clues on how to please and how to get closer. The heart is captured! (She stole my heart! He has stolen my heart!)

Out of that we give, we open our hearts and out comes the best we have to give. Sometimes it is reckless giving and those of us who are observing the giving think, “What has gotten into him? What on earth is she doing?”

We know what is going on! The heart is full of love and gratitude (and… passion) and we bring out the best.

What did the father of the lost or prodigal son say? “Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him.” He was glad to have his son, his lost son, home! There was no hatred or spite in his heart, there was love and there was joy! And there was a party!

So, on the bended knee, in worship of the baby King, and out of a joyful and open heart, the wise men then gifted God in the flesh, baby Jesus, (Slide 9) with the significant gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” that I liken to the gifts of our time, resources, and abilities.

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said,” Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.

He often talked about you, and your love for art.

The young man held out his package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.

“Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.

The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?” There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”

Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real

bids!”

But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll

take the son?” Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room.

It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

“We have $10, who will bid $20?” “Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”

“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son.  They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!” A man sitting on the second row shouted. “Now let’s get on with the collection!”

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”

“What about the paintings?”

“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!”

What I take from this story as it relates to gifting God, is that the father put up for auction the only thing of true value to him. Not everything else that he owned mattered to him though it had cost him thousands if not millions of dollars. It was his son, memorialized in that portrait, that mattered to him.

The gifts of the Wise Men; the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh; were costly gifts for them to give. The question of how much were they worth came up in my research and writing and I found at answers.com one suggestion as to the monetary value of the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh.

“Gold was probably worth the same or more [than it is] now, but the frankincense and myrrh probably reached its peak price during the time Jesus was around. Frankincense would have cost $500 per pound and myrrh would have cost $4,000 per pound.” (Source: http://www.answers.com)

This is one view and I could not substantiate it elsewhere. Nevertheless, it makes a valid point – that they were very costly gifts.

Part of me wants to believe that they gave these gifts often. They had the means to do so. But another part of me believes that it was only on special occasions, such as the birth of a king that they reached back behind the good stuff and got the best stuff out to give.

We often do the same, don’t we? Moreover, I have a strong hunch that some of us here this morning will either give something of greater value to someone than what is expected or we will get something of greater value than what we expect or both.

But money is only one measure of the value of what we give. And sometimes, perhaps more often than not, it is not the best measure of what we give.

I suggest this morning that the most valuable gifts that we give are not the ones given this time of year (though I certainly appreciate them and you do too!)

The most valuable gifts we give are our time, resources, and abilities. They are our “gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

To ‘gift’ the Lord with these three important gifts, is one of the ways that we honor Him as our creator and, when we give Him the most important and priceless gift of all, then we honor Him as our Savior and Lord.

(Slide 10) For the most important gift of all… is our self.

This is why Christ came to earth… He wanted to make it possible for us to come to Him.

His plan was to come to make possible once and for all the forgiveness of our sins.

Christmas is a costly holiday but Easter is more costly. The manger is empty but so are the cross and the tomb!

This morning, I invite each of us to give or re-give ourselves to God this morning. Tell the truth to the Lord this morning, confess your sins to Him today and either commit (or re-commit)your self to him and ‘gift’ Him well this Christmas season with the bended knee of worship, the open treasure of an open heart, and the giving of the priceless gifts of time, resources, and abilities. Most important though is to give yourself to Him.

Merry Christmas! And Amen!

Why Do We Baptize?

Scripture Passage – Matthew 3:13-16

Description – Remarks for baptism service on Sunday, November 22, 2009

(Slide 1) The story is told of a man who worked for Ford Motor Company back in the days when Henry Ford was living who stole things, over a period, from the company. One day, he was converted profoundly and deeply to Christ. And because of his conversion, he knew that he needed to make things right with Ford.

What he had stolen added into the thousands of dollars and could cost him his job and perhaps his freedom. Yet, he went ahead and did the right thing. He confessed to his supervisor what he had done and pledged to make restitution for his actions.

His supervisor was not sure how to handle the situation. Eventually, Ford, on a trip in Europe, received word on the situation and was asked how to handle the situation.

He wrote back, “Dam up the Detroit River and baptize them all!”

I can think of nothing better to do on this Thanksgiving Sunday that to baptize those who will publically confess their faith in Christ and publically pledge their commitment to obediently follow Him the rest of their lives.

For a text this morning, we go to Matthew 3:13-16:

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John didn’t want to baptize him. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

But Jesus said, “It must be done, because we must do everything that is right.” So then John baptized him.

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.”

Matthew’s account (and Mark and Luke write of this baptismal moment as well in their gospel accounts) places this scene just prior to the 40 Days and Nights of Jesus’ wilderness experience and temptation. It is the beginning of His public ministry.

It also struck me as I prepared, that baptisms were taking place back then. Why? And then it occurred that maybe I have always thought that Baptism was always a Christian thing. But, here we have John the Baptist, of Jewish decent, preaching, “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near” then baptizing those who repented!

F.G. Smith, a Church of God pastor and scholar, wrote, “To the Jewish mind baptism appealed very strongly as a purifying ordinance.” He goes on to say that the ceremonial nature of baptism appealed to the ancient Jews but when John begins his ministry he speaks of a new baptism. “I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am—so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” And it created some ‘discussion’ between John’s followers and the Jewish leaders as we read in John 3.

So, baptism was a common practice back in that day. Jesus however, would infuse it with new meaning and it would become a key practice of the Christian mission (go and make disciples baptizing them) and the Christian faith (“Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”)

To be honest, within the Christian church, over the centuries, the meaning and place of baptism has been interpreted differently and has caused division, argument, and worse.

But, we are not here to argue and debate this morning.      We are here to celebrate a vital and important step of faith for three persons this morning. We are here to hear their public profession of faith in Christ and their intention to follow Jesus obediently the rest of their lives.

Baptism, as we teach and believe in the Church of God, is about a public testimony of the inward act of personal salvation and repentance of one’s sin. Or, as Smith puts it, “it is the outward sign of an inward act of grace.” God’s grace.

We baptize then, those who have confessed and repented of their sins; accepted God’s forgiveness through Christ; and are willing to make the very public statement that they have done so and will also obediently follow Jesus the rest of their lives.

So this morning, let us give thanks to God for these three persons, a woman and two young teenage girls for God’s work of grace and salvation in their lives and let us renew our commitment to Christ as well during this time. Amen.

Peter in the Boat: A Postscript

Scripture Passage –John 21:1-19

Description – Final thoughts about Peter, Jesus, and the Call of God

(Slide 1) This morning we begin with our text for today, John 21 verses one through nineteen. Let us hear the word of the Lord this morning:

Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Friends, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of fish!” So they did, and they couldn’t draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.

“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. And no one dared ask him if he really was the Lord because they were sure of it. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

Once more he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Here we have Jesus and Peter with a lake (the Sea of Galilee) and a boat together again. It is a scene that we are now very familiar with these past two months having spent time in Matthew 14.

But it is different this time.

This time it is quiet on the lake. Some of the disciples are fishing, and have been, all night long.

There is no raging water. There is no terror or fear. There is no storm.

Jesus is present in this story, too.

But, He is not walking on the water this time. He is on shore, with feet planted firmly on terra firma. He is also the cook in our story and, perhaps to the frustration of the fishing professionals, a critic of their fishing patterns.

But there is water, a boat, Peter, and Jesus… together again in the same story.

Another thing about this story is that it takes place after Christ’s resurrection, as John makes clear in our text. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Much has changed since that dark and fearful night on the lake perhaps two or so years earlier. Jesus had been arrested, judged, crucified, and rose from the dead as He said that He would be.

Peter is different, too. Perhaps wiser (perhaps). Perhaps quieter. Perhaps less sure of many things than he once was.

Since that ‘out of the boat’ water walking night, Peter had failed in his commitment to Jesus. A fear driven denial, not once, not, twice, but three times, had come from his lips as Jesus said it would.

He wept and probably fled, into the night… and, as we have read this morning, eventually returned to what he knew best – fishing.

But, Jesus is not done with Peter. He still has a plan and a purpose for Peter… and some unfinished business.

Once Jesus is recognized by John and the recognition dawns on Peter, Peter puts his clothes on and gets out of the boat. But this time, there is no walking on the water. Peter swims to shore.

The smell of cooking fish hits Peter’s nostrils, because Jesus is frying up some fish for breakfast.

(Where did He get that fish? How did he get that fish? “We have been slaving out here all night long to get some fish and there He sits on the shore cooking some… How dare He…”)

It was not enough fish and so Jesus asks for more fish to be brought from what could be labeled a ‘miracle’ catch. So Peter goes back into the water and hauls the very full net to shore.

I wonder what Peter did while he waited on the others to come to shore before Jesus asked for more fish. Did he look at Jesus or stand a ways off trying to decide what to say, what to do? Did he jump into the water and swim to shore because he wanted to be with Jesus? Or did compulsively respond to John’s observation?

There is some tension in this story. There is unfinished business.

But,… breakfast first, please… Of bread and fish… (Remind you of another time when loaves of bread and fish were on the menu?)

Finally, Jesus broaches the subject…

“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs..”.

“Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,”

Once more he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Over the years, much has been made of the words translated love in this passage. Using different Greek words have been interpreted to indicate a progressive deepening of the commitment Jesus is seeking as He focuses on a deeper and more sacrificial love with a change of terms.

Others have talked about the progression from feeding lambs to caring for sheep to feeding sheep as another important progression. A progression that says Jesus is calling Peter to a new level of commitment and leadership in the Kingdom.

Then, the emphasis of the three questions has also been highlighted as a parallel to the three emphatic denials that Peter had made not long ago.

But, the whole context of our story is very important. Peter had gone back to fishing. He seemed to be done as a Jesus follower. That chapter in life was over… and this after Christ’s resurrection.

Jesus had other plans for Peter… and He still loved him.

He had to bring Peter to the place where he would be in touch with buried grief, and love, before any more progress is made in his life and faith. It would take three rounds of questioning to get there.

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time.

Grief indicates sorrow, unhappiness, pain, and misery. Peter cannot move forward until he finally grieves not just his actions but also again feels the love for Jesus and others still present, and buried, within himself.

Once Jesus gets down to the bottom of Peter’s heart, He again says to Peter something that He said once before, “Follow me.”

This is a familiar setting for Peter and some of the others. For it was along this same lake shore, perhaps in the very same spot, three years earlier, that Jesus jumped in a boat and had Peter row Him away from shore so that He could teach a growing crowd of people.

Here is Luke’ account of what happened next as we read in chapter 5 and starting with verse 4:

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.” And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”

Jesus now brings Peter back to a place where something can happen. And I think that Peter’s memory was jarred with this large catch and these very familiar words.

(Slide 2) So what does this mean for us? How do we get to the place where we follow Jesus in spite of our failings and flaws?

It requires us to do the following:

(Slide 3) We recognize Jesus for who Jesus is – the pure and perfect Son of God; our savior and redeemer.

He died on the cross for our sins. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

This is a very important recognition and statement of faith.

Many people recognize Jesus as a great man and person. (And He was and still is.) Many believed in the passionate revolutionary nature of what He proclaimed. (Revolutionary, He was in His statements and actions.)

But, unless we choose to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, perfect and without sin and who died on the cross for our sins and then rose again, we will have a flawed view of Christ and hence a flawed view of what it means to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus is to follow the Son of God who calls us to a journey of faith, hope, love, and commitment that will take us, as it would Peter, where we often do not want to go.

And there is more…

(Slide 4)We must also let God dig down into our hearts and souls and bring up that which has dammed up within us the love for God and others.

As I think about my own life and journey, I recall that when I have allowed God, through the Holy Spirit, to dig within me, there has been spiritual progress that has included uprooting grief, anger, jealousy, and a host of other things that has dammed up love for God and others within me. Only when God has brought these things up, and I have faced them honestly, have I begun to live again. Just as Peter could not return to the place the Lord desired for him to be until Jesus did His digging and prodding, so too with us we cannot move forward until we allow God, when it is necessary, to do the same for us.

In Jesus’ command to Peter again to ‘follow me,’ Jesus is calling Peter back to the life of following that we are called to as well. However, as Peter (and the others) would be told in a short time, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5, NLT)… we too, are reminded the Holy Spirit is vital in our journey.

(Slide 5) So, we ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to follow Him.

We need the Holy Spirit to help us make the choices and do the things that in our own strength we cannot do. Like walking on the water or facing our inner pain and failures that holds us up and hold us back.

As we conclude this morning, I want us to remember this:

In our life journey with God, there are moments when we are to get out of the boat because our faith and trust in the Lord needs to grow. But, there are also moments when we need to get back in the boat because we need to rest and be renewed.

In both situations, we must listen to and for the Lord’s direction.

What are you needing to do this day? Get out or get in? Listen to and for the Lord. Then respond in faith and love.

Let us continue to walk by faith and not by sight. Amen.

 

Get Your Feet Wet!

Scripture Passage – Matthew 14:29

Description – The Sixth and Final Sermon of the fall 2009 series ‘Get Your Feet Wet!’

(Slide 1) A trapeze artist once supposedly boasted that he could take a person seated in a wheelbarrow across a tightrope many hundreds of feet up between two tall buildings. “Who thinks I can do it?” he asked a crowd who had gathered to watch.

One man raised his hand and said, “I think that you can do it!”

“Good!” the high wire man said in reply. (Slide 1a)“Get in!”

We have spent six of the past eight weeks examining Matthew 14:22-33 that is the story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter getting out of the boat to meet Him.

(Slide 2) There are two points that I want to make about this story and I made mention of one last week.

(Slide 2a) It is that we need to focus in the right direction, the direction of Jesus, when we are in the midst of the storms of life. Looking elsewhere will cause us to sink. We have to look to Jesus and fix our gaze and hearts on Him.

(Slide 2b) The second is that we have to be willing to get out of the boat in order to live the life that God wants us to live. These ‘getting out’ moments are not necessarily everyday occurrences (certainly, walking on the water was not one for Peter) but they are critical moments, necessary for our faith to grow and our lives to have a quality of purpose and character to them and in them that God has always intended.

So then, the purpose for these kinds of moments is to help us live through and overcome, in Jesus’ name and power, those moments of fear and uncertainty, and break through to a higher level of faith and confidence in the Lord and through the Lord.

We have examined this passage from a variety of angles. (You probably won’t read it the same way again.) (Slide 3) Our main text for this morning is only verse 29, “All right, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.” (NLT)

I want us to notice something in the story that perhaps we have never noticed or maybe have noticed and thought no one else would believe us if we said something.

Jesus did not immediately call on anyone to get out of the boat… until Peter asked Jesus to do so. The first thing Jesus did was to quiet their fears by letting them know that it was Him. We read in verse 27, “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”

Then Peter says in verse 28, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”

Only then, does Jesus say, “All right, come.”

I am not sure if Jesus was going to have any of them get out of the boat. May be He was, may be He wasn’t… we don’t know.

But, as was mentioned in one of the first sermons in this series, at some point, probably just after Jesus identified Himself, Peter focused on Jesus (not the storm). Then, at some point, he had this powerful moment when from deep within himself, Peter heard himself utter, Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you. He then found himself doing what seemed to be the impossible. He walked on the water.

What fascinates me is that Jesus seems to play more of the responder in this situation than initiator. However, it also appears that Jesus set the situation up to see how the twelve would respond and what kind of faith they currently had.

He told them to get in the boat and cross to the other side of the lake after feeding the five thousand. He saw, according to Mark’s account in chapter 6 of his gospel that Jesus saw that they were in trouble but waited until 3 AM to come to them. How long did He wait and why did He wait so long?

(Have you ever wondered if the disciples questioned when and where Jesus would meet them after they parted company? He is not going in the boat. How is he going to catch up with them? Makes you kind of wonder, doesn’t it?)

What comes to my thinking at this point is Peter’s response. “Tell me to come to you!” It is an act of great faith! It is act of worship! Peter is making a statement about Jesus and what he believes about Jesus.

But, what was going on within Peter to make him say such a thing?

What would make Peter want to get his feet wet? Why risk your life?

(Slide 4) John Ortberg asks this question, “Where is God calling you to walk on the water?” (Source: John Ortberg, If You Want to Walk on the Water, You have Got to Get Out of the Boat. Page 84. © 2001 by Zondervan, Inc.)

How many here are uncomfortable with Ortberg’s question? Why?

FEAR!

As we conclude this series, our focus will be on what Ortberg calls four indicators that might be signs that perhaps God is calling you to get out of the boat. Why? To get out of your comfort zone for a while, or to take a step of greater faith in the Lord, in your life. As we examine each one, I am going to suggest how they might have played out in Peter’s mind in our text.

(Slide 5) The first indicator is one that we are very familiar with the past two months – Fear.

Our series text leaves no doubt that fear was a part of situation. When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. This is the easiest indicator for Peter to get out of the boat, he was afraid of going down with it!

Think with me for a moment on this: Peter was a fisherman who fished this lake as his business. He knew, I really believe, just how turbulent and sudden this lake’s surface could change. Maybe he also knew of friends, family, and even competitors who drown while out fishing by getting caught in such a storm! Maybe he had been in this situation before. (Remember this was fishing with large and heavy nets not a fishing pole) So he could have had this very real fear of sinking with the ship because he could be tangled up in the nets at his feet.

Fear is a strong motivator sometimes, right? And sometimes when we experience fear, the Lord meets us, as He did here, and wants to help us face our fears because the path we need to take is through them and not away from and not around them.

Last week we spoke of the fear of failure. I would also suggest that when it comes to getting out of the boat and fear that we also fear rejection and even ridicule.

As I hear and observe the lives of some teenagers I know, I remember the fear of rejection and ridicule that came with that time in life. Sometimes when you said what you really felt or thought, you were met with stinging and unforgettable mockery and ridicule and instant rejection.

What fear are you experiencing that might be a sign that God wants you to get out of the boat and take a step of great faith to overcome that fear that is blocking your path?

Maybe it is the fear of failing. “I really would like to lead a small group but I can’t.” “I think that God is calling me to teach this class but I am afraid I would mess up.” “I think that God has called me to the ministry but I am afraid that I cannot afford it.” “I am afraid that God is calling me to stick with my current job though it is getting stressful and I want to quit.”

But there are other indicators besides fear that might be a sign that Jesus is calling us to get out of the boat.

(Slide 5a) Frustration is one.

I have shared this story before, but it illustrates a point about frustration as a motivation, so I will be brief. It involved being charged for a car repair on a car I owned that was still under warranty.

I went home and wrote a letter to the owner of the dealership and it was successfully resolved. It was my frustration that drove me to write the letter and it was an out of the boat experience because normally I would have not done anything at all!

Maybe you are frustrated about a situation and you are not sure you can take much more. This is where prayerfully considering how (and if) to get out of the boat is vital. (“Water walking” is not an impulsive act but a measured act of faith.)

I did not immediately confront the person at the service desk with my issue. I knew that I could have immediately escalated the situation with my impatience. So I waited after I had cooled down a bit.  Then I took a breath and wrote the letter and a successful resolution took place.

Now I am not sure if Peter was frustrated in this situation. Maybe he was!

Maybe he looked around (we don’t know how much time passed in this situation) but in those moments of spiritual awareness thought, “Why are we all sitting here? If that’s Jesus out there, I am going to tell Him to tell me to come to Him! I am tired of sitting here and letting fear have its way.”

Is there an area of frustration you have that might be God’s way of getting your out of your boat? Be careful in assessing that frustration.

We can let our own agendas get in the way of God’s agenda. Pray about it. Seek good counsel on it. Then, if it is God’s push, get out of the boat.

(Slide 5b) Then there is compassion. Many people experience a compassion that comes out of a frustration that ‘something is not right’ and it leads them to compassionate acts.

Many far-reaching and effective acts of caring in our history have come out of a person’s compassion being the indicator for a ‘getting out of the boat’ experience.

Now in this day of high drug prices it seems that frustration with disease would be the last thing on a doctor’s or scientist’s mind in the research lab. But I would wager to suggest that research, born out of frustration with disease, is behind most of the major drug discoveries and development. In reading about people like Jonas Salk, who discovered the cure for polio, I think we get the sense of a sometimes-quiet frustration working under the surface to beat a disease.

Now I am not sure how Peter would have shown compassion while out in the boat when it could have been every disciple for him self! Maybe though, in the moments of his spiritual awareness, Peter saw the look on the faces around him and was moved to compassion to get out of the boat and go to Jesus who could (and would) do something.

What moves you to compassion? What breaks your heart? Who breaks your heart?

(Slide 5c) Finally, there is prayer.

Now how might prayer be God’s way of getting us out of the boat?

Look at your own experience in prayer, for a moment.

How many times has your prayer life caused you to say, ‘With out God in this situation, I cannot go from ‘a to b?’

It is often during boat rocking, storm surging, wave crashing, moments that we get on our knees, bury ourselves in our Heavenly Father’s lap, and find the strength and the will to get up and get out of the boat and walk toward the Lord.

Do you ever pay attention to your prayer life? By this, I don’t mean, the amount of time you pray, or the length of your prayer list, or what time of day you pray. I mean do you pay attention to the impressions that you experience within you as you pray?

Do you ever sense, as you pray, a change within you that creates frustration that needs to be resolved, a fear that needs to be addressed, or a compassion that is taking shape? That might be God’s signal for you to get out of your boat and start walking in the direction that He wants you to go.

(Slide 6) So what then does all of this mean for us this day and this week?

I did this series because I felt back then (and still do) that fear, directly from Satan’s lair, has been wrecking havoc on Christians in this nation and around the world and that we have given in to it and find ourselves on the defense. Since when is that okay?

I acknowledge this fear and I certainly understand it. I have done battle with it as well.

However, I also acknowledge this as well: That God is our source of power and life. Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world!

Perspective is important in the passages we have spent time with these two months. And, like Ortberg’s questions in regard to our perspective, we need to develop a God-centered perspective as Ortberg points out.

“Courage!” he says. ‘I AM! Don’t be afraid!” I believe that. It is part of my creed. I have committed my life to teaching others about it. Yet all too often my life does not reflect it. All too often I shrink back when I should confront; I worry when I could pray; I cling when I could generously share; I stay in the boat when I could walk on the water.”

(Slide 7) “So how can I change my perspective? How can I come to believe in the sufficiency of Christ for my life the way I now believe in gratitude? How can I live in a way that reflects the fact that I follow a God who is sooo big?”

(Source: John Ortberg, If You Want to Walk on the Water, You have Got to Get Out of the Boat. Page 194. © 2001 by Zondervan, Inc.)

Where does some change need to take place in your life so that you will respond, by faith, to Jesus’ call to get out of your boat, your place of comfort, and go to Him and follow Him?

Prayerfully discern that area. Choose, everyday, to place your life and will in God’s hands. Share with one or two faithful others what you are thinking and praying about. Then, with confidence in the Lord, act.

Let us allow God to develop our faith into a faith of confident assurance that will enable us to stand tall in the storm, through the fear, so that when He says, ‘come!’ We will get out of the boat and starting walking toward Him… Amen.

Progress Not Perfection

Scripture Passage – Matthew 14:30-31

Description – The fifth in a six-part series ‘Get Your Feet Wet.’

This morning we begin with this quote from Max Lucado.

(Slide 1) Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can. (Source: Max Lucado via twitter.com/MaxLucado, October 12, 2009)

(I think that he has been reading John Ortberg’s book!)

Look at that statement again and let’s read it together. (Congregation reads along.)

Let’s do that again…

I agree with Lucado. We cannot evade the storms of life and fear that come our way, sometimes very unexpectedly. But we can, choose to direct our focus in the midst of them and that is one of the choices that I hope has come through in this series, “Getting Your Feet Wet,” of which this is the fifth of six sermons in this fall series.

We have been examining Matthew 14:22-33, which is Matthew’s account of the disciples encountering Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee during a storm and Peter’s request, (really a command) of Jesus to tell him to come and walk to Him (that is, Jesus) on the water. Our focus this morning is verses 30 and 31:

(Slide 2)

“But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (NLT)

Now, the title of this message is “Progress Not Perfection.” And you might be asking, “Jim, why did you title a message, “Progress Not Perfection,” that deals with a scripture passage in which failure is very evident? How can failure be progress?” I am very glad you asked that question! Hang with me for a few minutes.

(Slide 3) Someone has written, “The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.” The phrase “will never take you” is a statement of the process of journeying. It implies progress on a journey not a full completion of a journey at any given point.

We are on a journey from life to death; from childhood to adulthood; from young to old. But, at a deeper level, we are moving from life to either eternal life or eternal death.

We are also on a journey of faith, from new birth to spiritual maturity; from disbelief to belief; from uncertainty to hope.

Or

We can be on a journey that is regressive as well as progressive… from hope to despair; from lightness to darkness; from faith to disbelief… the choice is ours as to our direction for we never lose that ability to switch directions! (Or switch what we are focused on during the storm)

This tumultuous time in the disciples’ life is a time in which they are experiencing an apparently backward movement. I say apparently, because with a storm and a rocking boat that is taking water, they view the situation as a perilous one. Nothing is going right, right now.

They have witnessed a tremendous miracle in the feeding of the five thousand but they seem, according to Mark’s comments in his gospel account of this situation, to have dismissed it entirely or it has not sunk in yet that Jesus is more than a mesmerizing Rabbi.

But they will…

This episode of their life is just that… an episode. The Encarta Dictionary defines an episode in this way, “an event that is a part of but distinct from a greater whole and that often has specific significance.” These moments of fear are just moments, significant to be sure, but just moments that will form part of their historic memory and vital message of the Christian Gospel in the decades, and for us, centuries ahead.

In other words, this is not going to be the end of the road for the twelve, especially Peter. They are going to survive these moments of fear and uncertainty for it is part of their spiritual journey. Now sometime before they are thrown in to this anxious situation, Jesus makes clear to them something that I think they found hard to swallow and, so do we as well.

(Slide 4) We go to Matthew 5:43 to hear what ‘it’ is:

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Perfect? Me… to be perfect? You… to be perfect? You have to be kidding!

One of the most interesting things, I recently read about Facebook, one the biggest sites on the Internet, is that when people sign up to become a part of Facebook, they freeze when they get to the box that asks them for their religious views. The article, which appeared in the August 30, 2009 issue of the The Washington Post, contained an interview with 27-year-old Eric Heim that revealed the following about one person’s journey of faith.

“For Heim, who joined Facebook last year, the box posed a question with no easy answer.

With space limited to 100 characters, there was simply no room for Heim to go into his childhood experiences with faith — growing up with an agnostic father, an evangelical mother and a fundamentalist grandmother. There was no space to describe the terror he felt after learning of heaven and hell. Or how the hell part weighed especially heavily after he was caught breaking into a neighbor’s home at age 7.

He couldn’t convey the profound faith and forgiveness he found in junior high after hearing the tear-filled sermons of a charismatic Baptist minister. Or the eventual dulling of that faith in college by alcohol. And he couldn’t fully explain the slow reformation of that faith, now that he has abandoned the hollowness of his old party life.”

“How the heck do you fit all of that into a box?”

(Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/29/AR2009082902400_pf.html)

And Jesus calls us to be perfect?

(By the way, I wrote in my box, “an imperfect Christian.”)

Here is a young man who has struggled with faith and fear through much of his life (and Jesus spoke of such people in his day as well.)

(Keep hanging with me, I’m getting there!)

But, cannot we also look back and see the progress that we have made in our own faith journey through what now we see were ‘getting out of the boat’ moments (among other things) when everything went topsy-turvy?

What would you say to Eric Heim? That ignoring the fearful moments, the moments when he had to know that he was going against what he had once believed, is the way to spiritual growth and maturity?

Would we tell Peter the same thing?

Here is my point (finally Pastor!)

(Slide 5) That, while Jesus calls us to be “perfect,” spiritual growth is best measured by progress, not performance, and that while “perfection” is achieved through both peace and success and obedience it is also achieved through fear and failure. (Now here me out!)

Peter grew through this failure of faith on the water. Jesus’ statements to him, are often read, I think, with a voice of scolding. I think they were not heard by the other eleven and were said with a hint of sadness and disappointment in Jesus’ voice. But it was not the end of the line for Peter, Jesus did not leave Him there to drown. He heard his cry for help and rescued him from certain death to live another day.

I know that some of us here can identify with a near death experience and that Jesus rescued us from it! We saw the waves, death, staring us in the face, we were not sure if we would live or die, but God rescued us (perhaps more than once) because He still had other plans for us.

In dealing with our fears we have to, at some point, address what I think is the biggest fear for us in the United States of America – the fear of failure. I believe that it is this fear that holds us back more than any other fear.

A decade ago, I remember hearing a youth minister, Mark DeVries who had developed a family based youth ministry program, tell of this fear at work. After he had persuaded his church to adopt this new ministry model a member of the leadership and, from what I can remember, a youth parent, said to him, “Mark, this cannot fail! This is the church you know!”  I cannot fully remember what he said in return but it acknowledged that failure was a distinct possibility and that they needed to acknowledge the fact!

Think about this with me for a moment.

(Slide 6) Those who take bold chances don’t think failure is the opposite of success. They believe complacency is. (Source: Rabbi Shai Specht via twitter.com/RabbiShaiSpecht October 13, 2009)

Peter did, to re-quote Max Lucado, chose ‘where to stare’ during the storm. He took a ‘bold chance,’ to re-quote the rabbi, and not let complacency keep him from getting out of the boat and start walking toward Jesus.

Yes, he did fail, his focused changed, the waves loomed large and he started to sink, he failed. But Jesus did not leave him drowning (literally) in his failure.

He rescued him!

(Slide 7) So what does this mean for us today?  How can we begin to embrace the process of progress and reject the demanding performance of perfection when we fail, as we will, in moments of faith during the storms of life?

How can we learn from those painful moments of failure, often deeply debilitating, when the Lord carries us sopping wet back into the boat (a place of safety and rehab) that we will need?

(Slide 7a)

1. Choose to learn from failure. It is not an easy thing to do. To face our own failure, not so-and-so’s failure, my failure requires a strength of character and will that, I truly think, only comes as we surrender our will to God’s and choose to learn.

Let me read a portion of something that some here will probably recognize right away.

(Read several of the opening paragraphs from chapter 5 of the Big Book of AA, How It Works.)

Ask anyone who has taken on the work to ‘work’ the 12 steps how hard it is. It is not easy as I have heard and seen over the years.

This is one way of learning from failure, and because I think it is truly rooted in the Christian faith, it has helped millions of men and women overcome their addiction to many things.

But to overcome; to learn from our failures, requires us to make the choice to learn.

(Slide 7b)

2. Cultivate hope. One of the reasons for this series is to help hope grow in our hearts. As followers of Christ, expressing hope not naïve optimism, is critical these days, through our anxieties and fears loom large.

Over in 1 Corinthians 13:13, we read, “There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” Yes, love is the greatest. But, hope stands next to love and without hope, love is weakened.

There is the last half of 1^st Peter 3:15 which says, “And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” I wonder if Peter thought about that water walking experience many years later when he wrote those words.

Hope believes that there are greater things ahead in the midst of the storms and fear. And if our hope, as Peter writes is Christian hope, that is hope rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, then it is a hope based not on stormy circumstances but in the One who comes to us in the midst of those stormy circumstances.

But hope is not a passive thing, it requires action on our part including this one…

(Slide 7c)

3. Get back up. The prodigal son began to turn his life around and face his failures when he finally saw how good the pigs had it! He stopped literally living in the mud and dirt, got back up and started for home.

He did not stay where he was. He took the first step on the road back to his father and the life that he had abandoned.

He could have stayed where he was and felt sorry for himself. He could have focused on what his father did or did not do to/for him. He could have complained about unfair his older brother was.

But he did not. He came to his senses and he got up and realized where hope was! He remembered the safety of his father’s home. And he went home! “… And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

This is progress not perfection!

What is the Spirit saying to you this morning? Where are you drowning in failure right now? Where has progressed, essential to your life and faith, stop?

Call out to the Lord and let Him help you get up and to a place of safety. There will be more moments in which you are challenged to get out of the boat. But for now, you need to be rescued. God is will to do that, at this very moment.

Let us obey the Spirit this morning in this matter. Amen.

‘Is That Your Final Answer?’

Description – The fourth in a six-part series ‘Get Your Feet Wet.’

(Slide 1) You can probably tell by my sermon title how I am going to start this sermon this morning, right?

Here we go!

(Select one person to be the contestant they will answer 5 questions. They can ask the congregation for help, two times.)

(Slide 2)

Question number 1: A writing tool that you can erase with when you make a mistake or correction: a. Pen b. Pencil c. Desk Jet Ink Cartridge d. Quill Pen (correct answer is ‘b’ pencil)

(Slide 3)

Question number 2: The disciple who got out of the boat when Jesus said, ‘Come on was’: a. John b. Mark c. Luke d. Peter (correct answer is ‘d’ Peter)

(Slide 4)

Question number 3: November 11, 1918 is the day when this occurred: a. Pastor Jim was born b. World War 1 officially ended c. The Spanish American war began d. The New York Yankees won their first World Series (correct answer is ‘b’ World War 1 officially ended)

(Slide 5)

Question number 4: This early American leader is famous for his kite and key experiment: a. Benjamin Franklin b. Franklin D Roosevelt c. John Hancock d. Jerry Springer (correct answer is ‘a’ Benjamin Franklin)

(Slide 6)

Question number 5: The state that is to the west of Indiana, the south of Wisconsin, the northwest of Kentucky and the northeast of Missouri is: a. Iowa b. Tennessee c. Illinois d. Michigan (correct answer is ‘c’ Illinois)

Thank you for playing!

We are half-way through our fall series, ‘Get Your Feet Wet’ and we continue this morning with our study of Matthew 14:22-33: “Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home. Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”

“All right, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.” (NLT)

The main point of this sermon series is to face and deal with, with God’s help, our fears that hold us back from taking the next steps with the Lord.

(Slide 7) For this morning, I call our attention to verses 28 and 29: Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”

“All right, come,” Jesus said.

(Slide 8) So far, we have learned that:

• Jesus calls us to get out of the boat, that is our place of security and comfort, in order to grow in our faith
• Fear is a big wall that we must over come, by faith and trust in Christ
• That God, if we wait and intently look for Him, comes to us in the midst of our life storms; our life fears

Today, let us think about this:

(Slide 8a) Saying yes to God is risky business. But, saying yes to God is also not a misguided calculation that creates unnecessary anxiety but a confident trust in God’s ability to help us get out of our own boats and onto the water and move forward.

John Ortberg tells the story of going to a dude ranch in Arizona at the instance of his wife who felt the vacation was not complete without “the exhilaration of a truly challenging horseback ride.” (His exact words.)

The first time he went out at the ranch, he did so with no trouble and thought that he had tamed the art of riding a horse. However, the next day he and five of the trail hands took a herd of horses on a three-mile trip out to pasture.

As he went to the stable to get his horse, he thought about the name of his horse. Would it be ‘Stout’ or ‘King’ or ‘Knight?’ No, oh no. The name of his horse was ‘Reverse.’ It was called ‘Reverse’ because he had the habit of going in reverse when you pulled on his reins.

The trip out to the pasture was uneventful. The trip back to ranch and stable was not. One of the hands decided to start a race back to the stable.

Here, in Ortberg’s own words is the rest of the story: “His [one of the five ranch hands] horse took off at full gallop and the other four immediately started racing to catch up with him. Reverse started to make his move. Instinctively, I pulled on the reins as hard as I could. Reverse rose up on his hind legs and took a few steps backward-just as Silver used to do under the Lone Ranger-and then took off like a bat out of… a cannon.

For the better part of a mile, Reverse ran a dead heat (the word dead sticks in my mind). We were not sauntering or trotting-this was an all out sprinting as in a scene from a movie… Reverse and I passed four of them. I say “Reverse and I, “ but the truth is, he was doing most of the work. I was waiting to die… Exodus 15:1 came to mind, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

(Source: John Ortberg, If You Want to Walk On Water, You Have Got To Get Out of the Boat. © 2001, Zondervan)

Ortberg goes on to say that he begins to realize that he is probably going to survive this high-speed romp through the Arizona desert and he then begins to enjoy the ride and safely finishes the race back to the ranch.

For a couple of years back in the 90’s (remember the 90’s?) this time of year featured a trip to a state park between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan (the name escapes me) and horseback riding. I remember the first time I went riding, it was in Michigan though Susan and I had lived in central Kentucky (a major area in this country for all things horse) for two years during seminary.

I remember that I was given a stick to hold in my hand in a way that the horse could turn its head and see that I meant business while on the trail. I don’t remember the horse’s name (it was not Reverse) but I kept that stick where it would be seen and we got along fine.

Ortberg goes on to reflect on his wild and exhilarating ride, and makes this observation: ‘My only choice had been to say yes or no to the ride. I had to decide whether I had enough faith to ride the horse. When I mounted that horse, I did not have a clue as was to what was going to happen to me… Once I took a single step, once I got into the saddle, a whole world of experience was set in motion. Everything else was up to the horse. I could not control it. But I could have missed it.’

John Ortberg’s decision to mount the horse and ride was ‘his final answer.’

Likewise, Peter had a decision to make once Jesus said to him, ‘All right, come.’

In both cases fear was either going to be listened to and obeyed or stared down and trampled on.

Therefore, when it comes to making a ‘getting out of the boat’ decision, our final answer is our choice of believing, trusting, and then acting on that belief and trust, or not.

Moments come when we have to decide whether God is to be trusted or not and act accordingly. For Peter, it was after Jesus said ‘All right, come.’

Faith requires trust and action. Faith requires us to have moments when our feet are going to get wet.

Speaking of getting your feet wet, let’s go for a moment to Joshua 3:14-17 where the Israelites cross the Jordan River and into the Promised Land:

When the people set out to cross the Jordan, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. Now it was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water began piling up at a town upstream called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the city of Jericho. Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by them. They waited there until everyone had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. (NLT)

The oldest members of this group had waited for this moment for over 40 years! They were about to take possession of some new property promised to them for a long, long time…

But, wait, the river is overflowing! How are the kids going to get across? How are we going to stay together as a family as we get over there? My sandals are going to get wet! Will we find the rest of our group once we get over there? I can’t swim very well, I might… drown!

Fear, worry, and anxiety pops up at the slight bump in the road, doesn’t it?

The fear of the unknown is sometimes like a big huge wave ready to sweep us under and we are just not sure that we are going to ride it out. We often want ‘dry ground,’ that ‘rock bottom’ assurance, before we take the first step in the direction that God wants us to go that this is going to work out perfectly.

That is not what happened here. Someone’s feet got wet first before God acted!

Now it was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water began piling up at a town upstream… And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the city of Jericho. …the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by them. They waited there until everyone had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

We don’t like to get wet, do we? It is inconvenient and it is a nuisance.

But to possess what God has for us to possess, we have to get out of the boat and get our feet wet sometimes because it is the only way to move forward with the Lord.

Faith requires action. It is not a passive thing. The Israelites had to believe that God would help them possess the Promised Land by taking the first step and as they believed and they trusted that God would help them get across the dry ground appeared.

There comes a point (many points) when we have to make a final decision; a final answer – go or no go.

There comes a point (many points) when we have to make a final decision; a final answer – believe or disbelieve.

It was that way with the Israelites and it was that way with Peter!

So, Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

There was success for the Israelites! They made it safely across!

But, not for Peter…

“But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

We will have more to say about this segment next week but I present it here to acknowledge that sometimes, legitimate steps of faith don’t always go right, and it is not necessarily the end of the world. (Though it may seem that way!)

(Slide 9) So what does this mean for us today where we are at in our lives and our history?

Where are you feeling the pinch and pressure of ‘your final answer’ at work? At school? At home? With finances? With a relationship? With a calling that God has been making for you to do something new and different?

I suggest that our final answer will cause us to:

… either get out of what Ortberg calls our ‘spiritual comfort zone’ and experience the exhilaration of an often wild ride with Christ that moves us forward

or

… we will stay in it (our boat) and not experience the power and the wonder of walking on the water with the Lord that will move us forward.

The final answer is our choice.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about this today? Are you having to give a ‘final answer’ to God in some area of your life and you want to give the right answer that will allow you to move forward with Him?

Or, are you still clinging tightly to the side of the boat or hanging on for dear life to the reigns of a horse called ‘Uncertainty’ and you are simply afraid to let go and let God have His way?

Let God have His way today. Get out of the boat! Enjoy the ride! Tell God your final answer is: Yes, Lord I will!

AMEN!

How Do You See Jesus?

Scripture Passage – Isaiah 53:1-6

Description – Communion Meditation for October 4, 2009

(Slide 1) How do you see Jesus? If you could paint a picture of Him, what would He look like?

(Slide 1a) What color eyes would you give Him?

(Slide 1b) What color hair would you give Him?

(Slide 1c) How tall would you make Him?

This past week I attended a series of lectures at Anderson University in which the presenter, Dr Rodney Sadler, Jr from Union Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina showed this picture. (Slide 2) Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/1282186.html

It is a composite done by a retired English medical artist, Richard Neave. Neave and his team measured the skulls of Galilean remains from the time of Christ, and with a sophisticated computer program, developed this composite model of what a first century Galilean may have looked like.

The article, which was the cover story in the December 2002 Popular Mechanics concluded with this statement, “From an analysis of skeletal remains, archeologists had firmly established that the average build of a Semite male at the time of Jesus was 5 ft. 1 in., with an average weight of about 110 pounds. Since Jesus worked outdoors as a carpenter until he was about 30 years old, it is reasonable to assume he was more muscular and physically fit than westernized portraits suggest. His face was probably weather-beaten, which would have made him appear older, as well.”

(Slide 3) One of the pictures that we have often seen, and perhaps have in our homes is this one, from the work of Warner Sallman whose collection is housed at Anderson University. Take a moment and look at the differences between the two.

(Source:http://www.warnersallman.com/collection/)

One of the points made in the lectures was that we often ‘see’ Christ through the lens of our own cultural background but that Jesus, when He came to earth, lived in a human body within in a particular time, place and a particular culture. And the lecturer went on to say that there is a disconnect with it that can cause us to misplace, if you will, Jesus in a way that our faith can become distorted.

I share these pictures this morning, not to upset anyone whatsoever, but to stir our hearts this morning as we consider that while living in a particular human culture; and taking on the characteristics of a particular human race in human history, Jesus is more than a picture of one culture, He is the redeemer and savior of all humanity; of all cultures.

Our text for this morning is in keeping with the emphasis of the meditation title. (Slide 4)

Our text for this morning is Isaiah 53:1-6: (Slide 5) Who has believed our message? To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground.

(Slide 6) There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care.

(Slide 7) Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins!

(Slide 8) But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.

Jesus would never be on the cover of People or GQ or in an ad for Ralph Lauren. He was too plain; too mundane to look at.

But was, and is, our savior. He was bruised for our iniquities!

As we prepare for communion in a few moments, I would have us think about (in silence) the following questions:

(Slide 9) How might I be re-making Jesus in ‘my’ own image?

• What about Jesus do I have trouble accepting?

• How might my image of Jesus need to change so that I better worship and obey the true and living Christ?

(Moments of silence)

In the day and age that Jesus lived on this earth, people had many different opinions of Him. Some thought Him to be Moses, others Elijah, and others the Devil. But Jesus was none of them!

Jesus Christ was, and is, the Son of God! He is our savior and our redeemer! By His sacrifice on the cross for us, we have the forgiveness of our sins available to us, but only through Him and no one else.

Let us give thanks to God this day for our salvation. Let us confess our sins and accept His salvation of us. Let us begin to see Jesus with new eyes as He must be seen. Let us stop making Him in our image and see Him for who He really is… Amen.

“I Will Be With You…”

Scripture Passage – Matthew 14:23, 24, and 27

Description – The third in a six-part series ‘Get Your Feet Wet.’

In your bulletin this morning, is an insert with our series text from Matthew 14. Please take that out.

What I want you to do this morning is to read this passage as I read Mark and John’s accounts of this event. As I do so, write down what you notice is different and similar to Matthew’s account.

First Mark’s account found in chapter 6:45-52:

“Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and head out across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

During the night, the disciples were in their boat out in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He started to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were astonished at what they saw. They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe.” (NLT)

Now over to John’s account in John 6:16-21 and again follow along with your insert:

That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination! (NLT)

Now what is different between these three passages? (Allow for several responses.) Thank you! There are several but what I paid the most attention to were these two:

1. Only Matthew’s account includes Peter’s story.
2. Jesus sees them in trouble from a distance.

Now what is the same between these three passages? (Allow for several responses.) Thank you!

(Slide 1) This is what I noticed: ‘I am here! Don’t be afraid.’

There are differing amounts of details but one common theme to story (Slide 1a) – the assurance of Jesus that He is present.

The reasons for the differences in the three accounts are many: the understandable difference due to the perspective of each of the writers who were there when it happened is probably the biggest. One other reason has to do with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to each writer as they wrote.

But the constant in each account is the presence and assurance of Jesus in their midst.

Many times, we tend to get tangled up in our perspectives when talking about a shared event. For example, an auto accident. Three different people can see the same accident but often notice different things that together (we hope) give a complete picture of what happened.

As we continue our series, ‘Get Your Feet Wet!’ our focus is on the Assurant presence of Jesus in the midst of the storm and fear.

Our focus for this morning are these verses from Matthew’s account: (Slide 2)

Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves… But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:23-24, 27 (NLT)

(Slide 3) Two things to remember this morning: 1. Although He often seems absent God is never far away. 2. Jesus is with us in the fears and anxieties of life but sometimes it takes time to see Him there.

Now a couple of questions come to mind that I believe need to be asked and answered this morning.

First, (Slide 4) how do we see Jesus and how do we remind one another and ourselves that God is not far away? We do so through developing a clear ‘inner’ vision through some very important ways that I will share in a moment.

Second, (Slide 5) how do we ‘see’ Jesus in the fears and anxieties of life? By learning to wait on/for Him that comes through trust.

Let us now address the first question:

Developing the ability to see Jesus requires a clear ‘inner’ vision developed as follows:

(Slide 6) An active and sustained prayer life. How do we do that? We make the choice to, over and over and over again; day in and day out.

The Bible makes clear in a passage we visited last week, 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.’

Worry was mentioned last week and Paul makes clear that it needs to be rejected and replaced by a prayerful hope and expectancy that God will provide.

Now I think that one of the issues in praying is, “What do you do after praying?” You pray and then what?

Let us also think about this: “What do you do before you pray?”

Well, as we think about praying and prayer in the context of our series, we bring our fears to God and leave them there. Then because of our prayers, we pick up the reassurance of God and hang on to it and not our fears. By doing so, we begin to see Jesus more clearly in moments of tumult and fear. One other thing: prayer should be the first thing we do when we encounter storms and waves, not the last.

(Slide 6a) Daily Bible reading - I have talked a great deal about this over the past few weeks but in the context of seeing the Lord clearly in times of anxiety and fear I call our attention to Psalm 119:9: “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.” (And I suggest that we focus on the purity issue, the clarity issue, and not the age issue!)

(Slide 6b) Honest worship – Giving God His place and focusing on Him – personal and corporate – honest and regular worship helps us to focus then see the Lord clearly. Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, but to you goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

In developing our clear vision to see the Lord in the midst of our fears and anxiety, worship is to Him and not us nor our circumstances, but to Him and Him alone!

(Slide 7) Accountable relationships – How many of us here have one other safe person that we can fully tell the truth to when we need to do it? Each of us have issues and habits that cause us trouble and we need to have someone, preferably a fellow believer who is mature enough to hear us out and help us be accountable for our actions and habits, that will hear the truth and then help us live the truth. This includes those moments when fear strikes.

James concludes his book with these words. (Slide 8) ‘My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.’ James 5:19-20 (NLT)

When we face down our fears, having one or two people to share with about what is going on and to help us get through, can help us see Jesus more clearly because good friends can help us with our blind spots, especially in a storm!

Then there is (Slide 9) Regular confession or what I call “truth telling.”

Why this? Because sometimes the storms in life come because we have sinned; we have been disobedient Christians; we have done, thought, and/or said what the Bible says is sin. Confession is good for the soul and for our sight!

Notice again, what Mark wrote at the conclusion of his account of Jesus’ water walk, “They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe.” This might seem harsh after what they had gone through on the lake but Mark states this not to be harsh but to be truthful. There was a point to what they were going through.

A few verses earlier in James 5 we read, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT)

Who have you been telling the truth to about your life?

A final way to have a clear inner vision is through (Slide 9a) un-qualified obedience.

To follow Jesus is just plain hard sometimes. A few chapters after the walking on water episode Jesus tells the plain truth about the reality of following Him. In John 6, Jesus said some very pointed things about Himself that caused some of His followers to desert Him (verse 66). He then turns to the twelve and asks them if they are going to leave Him as well. Peter, of course, replies for them when he says, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

One of them men that served as a role model for me in my early adult life was Dr. David McKenna, fourth president of Asbury Seminary. Dr. McKenna is a man of deep faith and wrote many wonderful books about leadership and service.

One of the stories that I remember from his chapel remarks had to do with this final means of developing a clear vision. He graduated from Asbury in the early 1950’s and was preparing for a ministry in college and university administration.

One day, he said, the sense that God was calling Him to go to the mission field became quite evident. He went on to say that he began to wrestle with this apparently new calling that created a inner storm that he could not quiet until he finally said, okay Lord, if you want me to go to the mission field, I will go.

A few days passed after this resolution and he said he then had a sense that God said to him, no, I have called you to the university to serve. Out of that experience he deduced that he had to give the Lord unqualified obedience that might lead to an unexpected change of direction.

(Slide 10) As we review these vision clearing/focusing practices are we listening for/to the voice of the Holy Spirit to point out where we need to be more intentional in gaining a clear vision for the Lord in the midst of both the calm and the storms of life?

As we intentionally practice these habits they lead us to the answer of our second question of this morning: (Slide 11) How do we ‘see’ Jesus in the fears and anxieties of life?

In James 1 and verses 2 through 8 we read, “Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.” (NLT)

There was definitely doubt in the disciples’ mind out on that lake, in that boat, in the midst of a scary storm over which they had no control.

Our tumult is more often than not internal and comes through our lives, which by most measures, is rather ‘land locked.’ A relationship goes bust, our health takes a sudden turn we did not expect, or our jobs go ‘poof!’

But churn and agonize we do. How do we then see Jesus in the fear and anxieties of our lives? (Slide 11a) By waiting on and trusting in the Lord.

The practices I have just listed are the foundation upon which trust, the kind spoken of in the passage I just read, keeps us steady in the midst of the storm and its fears and anxieties. Primarily this trust comes through waiting on the Lord to act; through faith. The disciples had to wait on the Lord who knew what was going on just as He knows what is going on with us.

(Slide 11b) So what do we do now?

On the back of the insert, you have held in your hands this morning, turn it over and get out a pen or pencil. Write down these categories (Slide 12) along the left side of the page. (Pause)

• An active and sustained prayer life
• Daily Bible reading
• Honest worship
• Accountable relationships
• Regular Confession
• Unqualified Obedience

Which one of these do you readily realize you need to work on starting right now? Underline it.

Now to the right of this choice write 1. 2. and 3. with some space between them.

What are three things that you can do to start (today) making some new progress with this practice? Maybe it is to identify a time of day to give to this practice, a location to select so that you can do what you have chosen, or maybe to let somebody know what you are doing (especially if you choose accountable relationships!) Write those in the 1, 2, and 3. (Pause)

Now, you have a simple starting plan to help you further develop your faith and trust in the Lord. Begin it… now!

Finally, I leave us with these words from Mark as a statement that God knows where we are and what is going on, even though He seems absent. Take these words to heart this morning and believe!

He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the water. He started to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”

Amen!

Holy Bible: Mosaic Announcement

Earlier today I recieved my copy of Tyndale House Publishers new The Holy Bible: Mosaic. I am looking forward to reviewing it and posting a review of it here and on Amazon.com by the end of the week. Speaking of Amazon, you can read more about Mosaic here: http://bit.ly/8xF3P

I am also honored to be a part of Tyndale’s Mosaic Blog Tour and will be having one the contributors posting a guest post on November 6th.

Finally, I will be giving away a certificate to one of you for a free Mosaic to be redeemed at anybook store. Stay tuned for details.

Thanks Tyndale House Publishers!