Sermon Video: The anguished prayer of Jesus before his Passion - Luke 22:39-46

In the hours before his Passion began, with less than a day before his agonizing death on the Cross, Jesus spent intentional time alone in prayer.  That he made this choice is a powerful example to us, as is what he prayed for: deliverance.  It wasn't going to come, it couldn't, for only Jesus could complete the plan of Redemption as the God/Man, but Jesus asked anyway.  Why?  Not because he was anything less than fully God, he asked because he was also fully human.  The wondrous mystery of the Incarnation here reminds us that Jesus felt the anxiety of the road ahead, as any person would, and yet his divinity ensured that this moment would also include an iron commitment to what was needed to save humanity.

Sermon Video: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" - Mark 9:14-29

 Is faith all or nothing?  Is there room for hesitancy, fear, or doubt?  Faith isn't like a light switch, all on or all off, but a continuim, it can grow and it can be weakened.  As Jesus helps a father whose son health need is too difficult for his own disciples to overcome, he also confronts the issue of wavering faith.  Jesus does not condemn the man who admits that his faith is weak, he helps him.  As Christians, and as a Church, we need to do likewise: admit our own weaknesses and help those in need.

Sermon Video: "Don't be afraid, just believe." - Mark 5:21-43

 On the way to heal Jairus' sick daughter, Jesus is interrupted by a desperate woman who has suffered from a painful malady for twelve years. This woman only touches Jesus cloak, but is still healed. Stopping, Jesus seeks out the woman, and when she falls trembling at his feet, he does not scold her for her impudence, but says to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Meanwhile, Jairus' daughter has died, prompting Jesus' bold words, "Don't be afraid, just believe." How can this be? Faith is not meant to be irrational or absurd, so how can Jesus say such a thing? Simple. In the last 24 hours Jesus has demonstrated lordship over Nature (calming the storm) and the spiritual realm (driving out the Legion of demons), now he will demonstrate his lordship over Death as well. God is the giver of Life, all life, God can bring life back to the dead as well. Jesus then proves that faith placed in God's promises (Word) are well placed, as he precedes to bring the young girl back to life.

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Sermon Video: Jesus calms the storm - Mark 4:35-41

 In an episode that reveals his true power to his disciples, Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee with a word. Lessons for us? Whether the storms we in life be literal or metaphorical, God is in control. The will of God is not altered by tragedy, the love of God is not lessened by dangers, and God will finish what he has begun in us (our transformation into Christ-likeness). God has not made the storms disappear for his people, and while he may intervene to spare some, the true power of God is in overcoming the 'storms'. Get in the boat with Jesus, let him worry about the storm.

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Sermon Video: Building up God's people, including the doubters - Jude 17-23

Given the need that the Church has to be on its guard against false teachers and divisive people, what ought we to do about those who have doubts?  Doubt (and with it: fear, anxiety, etc.) is NOT a cause for excluding people from the fellowship of God's people.  Rather than judge those who doubt, Jude tells us to show them mercy.  In addition, those who are in danger of judgment should be "snatched from the fire", and even those who are in mired in darkness likewise should receive mercy from the people of God.  The reasons and the cure for doubt/anxiety/fear are a larger topic, the attitude of reaching out a helping hand to others is a simple principle to build upon.  {Also, this topic is yet another reason why 'church' is not a solo operation, why we need to be a part of God's people, both giving and receiving help in times of need}.

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Sermon Video: What, me worry? - Luke 12:22-34

In this passage, Jesus offers some of the most practical, yet difficult, advice you will ever hear when he says, "do not worry about your life".  Worrying is exceedingly detrimental to our health and well-being, and we'd all love to worry less, but the problem is that we don't know how to make this happen; worry, anxiety, and fear seem to strong for us.
Jesus offers multiple reasons why his followers ought not to worry, even about the necessities of life like food and clothing, beginning with the reason that "life is more than food, and the body more than clothes."  Even if the bulk of our time and resources are devoted to the act of living, that is not the purpose of life.  We were created to be more than just alive.  In addition, Jesus offers the example of the ravens, who without effort are provided for by God, and the lilies who make for themselves a flower more beautiful than human hands could make.  Both of these forms of life are the result of our Creator's joy in the creative process, and neither are beneath his notice.  If God cares for such as these, surely he cares for you whom he values far more as a human being created in his likeness.
The reasons from Jesus for us to not worry continue with his assertion that worrying doesn't accomplish anything positive, but is itself evidence of faith that is lacking.  If we trusted God more, we would worry about our lives far less.  In the end, the perspective of knowing that God is in control, we certainly are not, and that God's care and concern for us extends from the basics of life all the way up to our hopes and dreams, is the key to keep worry at bay.  We already trust God with our souls, having chosen to live by faith, we just need to keep going and trust God with a far smaller thing, our tomorrow.

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Sermon Video: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - Luke 10:38-42

Life can be busy, it can be hectic, stressful, and frustrating.  Work needs to be done, things need to be taken care of, we have responsibility.  All this is true, and the Word of God doesn’t attempt to gloss over such concerns, but it does offer hope.  In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is confronted by a frustrated hostess Martha whose efforts to prepare for Jesus’ needs and those of his disciples, has been hampered, in her mind at least, by her sister Mary’s lack of contribution to the work.  Martha interrupts Jesus to complain about this unfair situation and request, with much emotion, that he order Mary to help out.  What was Mary doing this whole time, why wasn’t she helping?  Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, soaking up the wisdom of his teaching, and acting as if she too, even though she is a woman, is going to be his disciple.

                This passage can be viewed as a sibling rivalry, the struggles of an older sibling to deal with responsibility and the younger of shirking it.  Or it can be looked at as a clash of personality types, with Martha’s “A” personality being frazzled by Mary’s laid-back attitude.  We’ve all experienced such turmoil, in our family, at our work, or in our church.  When people work together on projects it always seems that some are left holding the bag and doing all the work while other skate by.   

                How will Jesus respond?  Will he scold Mary for not helping out?  Keep in mind that the previous passage was the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a message about helping out someone in need, and Mary isn’t helping out.  Are the situations parallel?  They are not, and therein lies the key to Jesus response.  In the parable, it was a question of life or death, right and wrong were clearly in the choice, to help was righteous, to fail to help was a sin of omission.  Here in this situation, Martha and Mary are not dealing with a right vs. wrong decision, but rather a good vs. better comparison.  Is it better to work hard to provide for the needs of others, as Martha is doing, or is it better to satisfy the spiritual hunger of learning from Jesus?

                Much of the commentary on this passage attempts to point out that Martha’s preparation were overly indulgent, that she had put too into it, and thus the lesson for her from Jesus is one of simplicity.  While there may be some truth to that line of thinking, it isn’t necessary that we criticize Martha in order to understand why Jesus takes Mary’s side by declaring that she chose something “better”.  Martha’s didn’t do anything wrong, per se, she just didn’t make the best choice possible.  There will always be more work to do, but Mary recognized that learning from Jesus was a unique spiritual opportunity not to be missed.  That was the better choice for Mary, it would have been the best choice for Martha as well.

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Sermon Video

What are we all in such a hurry for?

On our way back to Pennsylvania from Michigan yesterday, after visiting both sides of our family for Christmas, Nicole and I passed 50 cars and 3 semis that had crashed or slid off of the road into the ditch.  The roads we certainly slippery, and some of the people may have ended up wrecked through no fault of their own, but there we plenty of people still trying to go 70 m.p.h. regardless of the road conditions.  That sort of casual refusal to acknowledge the laws of physics makes me wonder where they were heading in such a hurry.  The trip normally takes us 6 hours, but it took 9 1/2 this time.  I could have shaved an hour, maybe more off of the time by putting my car and our lives at greater risk, but why?
This may on the surface just seem like an observation about driving in snow and ice, but I think it touches something deeper about the modern world.  The world that we live in exists in a perpetual state of hurrying.  Tomorrow isn't quick enough, we need it done today; later today isn't soon enough, we need it now.  We have next day delivery, fast food, instant communications, and yet the anxiety that exists with all this speed about things taking too long only seems to get worse.
What is the end purpose of all of our striving?  For what lofty goal have we given up the joys of a quiet afternoon spent outdoors among God's wondrous creation alone or with our loved ones? 
As it always does, the Word of God offers us wisdom when we have gone astray, as Jesus told his disciples, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' of 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."
(Matthew 6:27, 31-34)
Amazingly, the phone hasn't rang while I was typing these thoughts, but one e-mail has popped into my inbox, I've got a lot of work left to do today; no time left to waste on trying to think too much. 
Slow down, where are you hurrying off to anyway?  Seek God first, enjoy your family, live life as God intended for you with both purpose and joy.

Sermon Video, "Do not be anxious" Philippians 4:1-7

Life is scary, there are a lot of things worth being worried about in life,  becoming a Christian doesn't make them go away.  The Christian does have one advantage when dealing with anxiety that makes all the difference, we can give it away.  God isn't asking you to pretend that you don't feel anxious, and he isn't asking you to pretend that life's troubles aren't hard.  What God is offering to you is the chance to let your anxiety go by placing your trust in him.  The vehicle through which we, as Christians, can let go of anxiety is prayer.  In prayer we're not telling God things he doesn't already know, and we're not simply asking God for things that we want.  Instead, prayer is a conversation between two people who have a relationship; between God and his creation, between our Savior and his disciples.  In prayer, we share with God our burdens and in doing so we recognize God's authority, we count upon God's loving kindness, and we trust in God's promises.
Will all my troubles go away if I pray?  No.  Will I never be troubled by anxiety if I pray?  No.
What will prayer do for me?  Prayer will help you, and any follower of Jesus Christ, to see that God's ultimate purpose for your life, making you like his son Jesus, can never be derailed by life.  If times are good, God is working on making me like Christ, if times are bad, God is working on making me like Christ.  In prayer we enter into that process by imitating the many times that Jesus, God's own son, prayed to his Father.
There isnt' any reason to hang on to anxiety, you don't need it; God is in control, he will finish the work that he has begun in you in Christ Jesus.

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Sermon Video

A Lesson from my dog...

One of our dogs hasn't been feeling very well of late.  Not eating, stomach problems, lethargic, that sort of thing.  The problem is that we can't ask her what is wrong.  Was it something she ate, is she in pain, is she sad that she misplace her favorite bone?  Who knows.
The thought occured to me that many people act the same way.  They go through struggles, difficulties, and troubles without ever letting those who care about them know it.  Why do people hid their pain?  Usually it is some mixture of shame, fear, pride, or stubborness.  What will people say if they know what I've done?  What will people think if they know what I'm afraid of?  How will people look at me when they know how much I've let them down?  I don't care how much it hurts, I'm going to fix this myself.
Maybe you've had some of those thoughts, maybe you're saying something like that right now.  There are two very good reasons why you should let other people help you through tough times in your life.  The first is that we're not meant to fight those battles alone.  God created us to be social, to lean on each other, to offer mutal support.  We're designed this way.  When we try to do everything on our own, we make things much more difficult and miss out on the love that our friends, family, and church would offer if only we would let them.  The second reason why we should ask for help is because we deny those same friends, family members, and church members the chance to be Christ-like when we don't go to them for help.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we have an obligation to support and help those in need.  The only way that we will grow as Christians is by serving others.  If we all try to solve everything on our own, none of us will grow to be the mature Christians that God wants us to be.
The next time you face something difficult in life, rather than digging a moat around yourself so that nobody can get in, try instead to build a bridge so that someone can show you how much they love you.  As God's Word reminds us, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (I Peter 5:7)  Go to God, go to his people; we are his hands, his feet, here to serve each other, here to carries the burdens of those in need.