Sermon Video: "hope does not put us to shame" - Romans 5:3-5

Suffering is an oft misunderstood topic.  Many religions and philosophies, including people within Christianity, get it wrong.  Suffering isn't necessary, for evil will ultimately be vanquished, and it can be opposed and lessened, nor does God cause it in the hopes of bending it to his will.  Suffering is, however, a reality in this present life, but so is hope.  Hope is not only possible but guaranteed if we trust in God, live righteously no matter what, and persevere by faith.

Sermon Video: God will preserve his people, increasing his glory - Jude 24-25

Having just instructed the Church to show mercy to those who doubt, Jude now encourages all believers by assuring us that God is capable of keeping us from stumbling (whether through our own failures or any outside attack), and thus present us before his throne, WITHOUT FAULT! This is the culmination of the Christian hope: To stand in the presence of God, not only free from accusation, but clothed in the righteousness of Christ. This promise that God will finish what he has begun in each of us offers to us great comfort when things are difficult, and motivation to be self-sacrificial toward the mission of the Kingdom of God. Lastly, Jude ends by speaking of the timeless nature of God's glory, majesty, power, and authority, all of which existed before God became the Creator, and all of which will only increase and more and more people are brought into the family of God by faith in Him.

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Sermon Video: Real Love - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Christians are supposed to be known for their love, love for each other, and love for even their enemies.  This, of itself, is beyond our capacity, but when viewed through the Apostle Paul's explanation in 1 Corinthians as to what constitutes real, genuine love, it would seem to make a difficult situation hopeless.  Thankfully, God has given his Spirit to his people, has empowered them to live like Jesus here in this world, because he has called us to embrace all 14 of the aspects of love that Paul highlighted (and perhaps others as well, it is not an exhaustive list, although it certainly is comprehensive).  What must our love be?  Patient and kind.  What must it be free of? Envy, boasting, pride, any willingness to dishonor others, selfishness, anger, and record keeping of the wrongs of others.  Give up yet?  In addition, love must rejoice in truth while rejecting the lure of utilizing evil (even thinking, 'that good may result', a false lie).  Love must always protect, trust, hope, and persevere. 
This is not a question of focus, willpower, or determination.  We cannot accomplish this on our own, not even close.  Once again, we must depend upon the transforming power of the Spirit of God, must embrace our role in the community of believers (for help, guidance, and support; mutually so), and must move forward, toward Christ-likeness, in faith because we all need real love.

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Sermon Video: The Anchor holds, in spite of the storm - Acts 27

During the journey to Rome, where he will face a legal trial despite his innocence, the Apostle Paul faces a more immediate threat: a terrific storm.  After enduring the storm for nearly two weeks, all those on board lost hope, including Luke, Aristarchus, and Paul.  Paul and his companions had not lost their faith, they still remained firmly convinced in the love and power of God, it was simply a question of whether or not God would choose to intervene in their current situation.  In other words, they did not despair regarding their souls, but saw no sign that their mortal bodies would survive the storm.  To lose hope, in this life, is NOT a failure of faith, for we have not been promised a life free of trial or tribulation, and everyone has a breaking point, nobody is impervious to being worn down by pressure (whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual).  We must, as Christians, be honest with each other regarding the troubles we're experiencing, we must admit when we are battered and worn, and be wiling to receive help, and we must be willing to give that help in turn.

When all hope was lost, an angel spoke to Paul and reassured him that the lives of all those aboard would be spared.  At that point, when God had spoken, Paul's outlook changed, hopelessness was replaced with confidence, because Paul knew God already, he had experienced the power of God in his own life, and had seen that the Word of God could be completely trusted.  Notice: God did spare all 276 aboard the ship, as he had promised, but the ship was still destroyed, the people aboard still had to swim to shore amidst the crashing waves.  That which God has promised, he will do.

The sermon title was obviously inspired by the Lawrence Chewning song, "The Anchor Holds" made famous by Ray Boltz.  Credit where credit is due.

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Sermon Video: Jesus Fortifies himself with prayer - Matthew 28:36-46

With his own final trial less than twenty-four hours away, Jesus purposefully leads his disciples from the room where they had just finished celebrating the Passover, outside of Jerusalem to a garden where he intends to spend time in fervent prayer.  Before the humiliation, physical pain, and spiritual turmoil began, Jesus chose to spend time with both his friends and his Heavenly Father.  Prayer would fortify Jesus each step of the way from the Gethsemane to Calvary, a path he would walk alone, but one he prepared himself for with those he loved.

We all pray when in a crisis, and we should, but what we ought to be doing as well is praying before we're faced with trouble.  We will, as Christians, face things in our lives that will test us to our limits, our faith will be put to the test, the question for us is: What will we do to strengthen that faith beforehand?  For Jesus, the answer was clear: Prayer with the Father.  Even though Jesus came into the world for the very day that was beginning, the prospect of bearing the world's sin upon his should must have been excruciating, not to mention the torture of a crucifixion itself.  It was necessary, then, for Jesus to use prayer to strengthen his resolve to conform to his Father's will.  If Jesus himself considered prayer to be a necessity, should not we as well?

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Finish the Race - Acts 20:13-24

Of all of Paul's metaphors to describe what it is like to be a Christian, running a race is of course my favorite.  In his farewell address to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Paul speaks of his efforts as a missionary in Asia minor and Greece, recounting how he conducted himself with integrity, and carrying out his God-given mission of sharing the truth of the Gospel proclamation of the need of all mankind of repentance and faith.  Paul contends that he has finished his "race", and offers up to us the encouragement that we can likewise fulfill our role in the kingdom of God and finish our own race.

Throughout the message are sprinkled references to my running of the Oil Creek Trails 100's 50k race in October of 2015, a difficult 31 mile race that became brutal for me due to dehydration.

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Sermon Video: Hezekiah's Revival, Part 4 (of 4) - 2 Chronicles 32

The final chapter in the Chronicles' recounting of the reign of Hezekiah takes place after the reform and revival movement he helped bring about has finished its work.  The timing suggests two conclusions: #1 God thwarted the evil purposes of Sennacherib until his people had finished their repentance and had renewed their relationship with him.  #2 Doing the right thing didn't make Hezekiah and the people immune to tribulation, instead, it enabled them to stand firm when tribulation came (In keeping with the lesson of Job).
How did Hezekiah and the people respond to this challenge to the very existence of their nation?  They first took all the preparations that were in their power to accomplish, then they declared their trust that God would do what only God can do, and lastly when Sennacherib mocked the power of God, they responded with prayer to the Almighty.
How did God respond?  He delivered his people, in fulfillment of his Word and by way of demonstrating his love and compassion for them.  In the end, Hezekiah and the people of Judah persevered, maintaining their allegiance to God in a time of peril.  Overall, Hezekiah demonstrates what can be accomplished by a devout person of God through hard work, prayer, and faith.

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A lesson learned from the victories and defeats of running

I'm sure I lost some potential readers already when they saw the title and realized this is about running, perhaps I gained a few to even them out who wouldn't have read this otherwise.  For those who don't know me personally, I was a competitive runner in high school, making it to the state finals my senior year with a best time of 16:54 (5k), and a somewhat competitive runner in college at Cornerstone University, where I was never quit able to make my goal of 28:30 (8k) in order to be an Academic All-American.  Having worn my knees down to a nub, running became an occasional thing for me after college until we moved here to Franklin, PA.  For fifteen years after college I had played basketball each week with the same group of guys, my primary exercise during that period.  When we moved here, I looked for a competitive and enjoyable basketball game to join, to no avail.  So I took up bike riding, knowing that it would be easier on my knees and knowing that we have excellent trails here along the river.  Unfortunately, my back was not a fan of this plan, it made a hard workout on a bike enough of a pain that it was no longer enjoyable.  Which brought back running.  About four years ago I received custom orthodics (would have saved me a ton of pain in HS and college) which alleviated much of my knee pain which I had for years endured as "normal".  Why not take up serious running again?
That first year I lost 20 pounds, almost down to my old college weight, the goal I'm inching closer to.  I also ran in the Applefest 5k, proving to myself that my old sub-20 times were going to be well out of reach without some serious hard work.  The second year of running saw my 5k time fall to 20:11, good enough for 1st place in my age division, which was (gulp) now 40-45.  I also tried something I had never attempted before, a 50k (that's 31 miles).  And not just any 50k, the OC100 held at Oil Creek State Park along the Gerrard Hiking Trail.  This "trail" is a rock and root strewn obstacle course with about a dozen significant hills along its huge loop amount to many, many feet of elevation gain during the race.  I had trained for the race, to an extent, and went out at a blistering 9:30 pace for the first 12 miles, good enough for 9th at that point (remember the hills, road race comparison times are not valid here).  And then the dehydration hit me, hard, I finished the race barely able to walk at 6 hours, 40 minutes, a brutally slow pace to finish the race, with about two dozen people passing me.  It was frustrating, a hard lesson learned about hydration.
Which brings me to the lesson I learned these past couple of weeks.  Beginning this past January I decided to run more than ever before, using my new Garmin watch to gauge my progress.  I ran while the snow was still on the ground, excited about trying the 50k again this year.  And then I didn't get in.  The available spots fill up very rapidly, dozens of people missing out on a spot.  So I decided to try to find my speed again and focus on my 5k goal this year.  I trained harder, and more consistently than even in my college days, confident that my sub 20 goal would be easily reached.  June brought a calf injury, slowing my progress.
When the Applefest 5k rolled around I had a plan, at the turn (1/2 point) I was at 10:05, only five seconds off my pace, well within striking distance.  But it didn't happen, my legs just didn't have more speed in them that day; I finished 2nd in my age group this time, a disappointing 21:07; slower, than last year, despite at least three times as much training and hard work.  I tried again at another race this the next weekend, only to turn in a 21:11.  It was frustrating to say the least.
I had set a goal, one that felt realistic, worked extremely diligently toward it, only to come up short.
What then is the lesson?  It could easily be that a 41 year old is not as fast as he was when he was 18, but we all new that already.  What I learned from running came during two of my training runs out at Oil Creek on those rugged trails.  I had missed out on the 50k this year, a real bummer, but still ran out there some because of the beauty of running through those rugged wooded hills.
The course I was running is an out and back from the bottom of the hill (a serious hill) at Petroleum Center to the campsite at Cow Run and back.  My previous best on that course, last year, had been about 1:39.  Last month I decided to see how fast I could do it, and went much harder than before, finishing at 1:29:40 (an 8:54 pace).  I was certainly happy with this significant improvement, but following my dual disappointments at the 5k distance, I gave it another shot two days ago, this time 1:26:03 (and 8:24 pace).  It was an amazing feeling, watching my old personal record fall by 10 minutes, and then taking another nearly 4 minutes off of that.  Next year, maybe I'll be able to get it down to 1:20.
What did I learn, something akin to that quote about the best laid plans of mice and men.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could be "fast" again, at least for 40+, no such luck.  But that didn't mean I couldn't achieve a goal, I just needed to search for another one, one without the crowds or awards of an official 5k, just me, the woods, and my Garmin.  Don't give up, even if your goal remains inches out of your reach; search for another.  Find something else you can achieve, keep trying.  God has given me some ability as a runner, I intend to continue to find ways to put it to productive use.

Sermon Video: The Patience of the Prophets, the Perseverance of Job - James 5:10-11

Suffering and difficulties of every sort are inevitable in this world.  We will all go through them, and those who live by faith will also potentially face persecution because of it.  What then is the response that God requires of his people?  To explain our obligation in the face of suffering, James illustrates the two character qualities we need to develop and employ, patience and perseverance, through the actions of the prophets and Job.  The prophets were given their occupation by God, to be his messengers and speak his words to his people, but were not generally rewarded for being honored by God in this way.  Instead, the prophets were mistreated including imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom.  And yet they employed patience to continue, for decades, to fulfill their obligation to God's people, preaching his message no matter the cost.  This then is our example.  We too must have patience, responding to persecution by continuing in the fruit of the Spirit, not responding to hate with hate, but with love.
Some will endure greater difficulties than others, few will be able to stand alongside Job.  Job lost everything: wealth, family, and health, but steadfastly refused to blame God for his loss.  He persevered, despite the insistence of his friends that his troubles were his own fault, and maintained his character through the worst of times.  And so must we, whatever comes our way we must persevere, holding fast to our faith and maintaining our commitment to righteous living in every circumstance.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Pride in Humble Circumstances - James 1:9-12

Continuing his discussion on perseverance, James brings the factors of wealth and poverty into the discussion by saying that the poor believer ought to take pride in his "high position" and the rich believer ought to take pride in his "low position".  What makes poverty "high" and wealth "low"?  We know that Jesus warned repeatedly about the dangers of wealth as a hindrance to entrance into the kingdom of God, so that can account for riches being called low, but what elevates poverty?  The simple truth of the fallen nature of humanity is that we turn toward God more readily when we feel a greater dependence upon him for our survival.  The more material things one has, the less likely he/she is to recognize the need for God in his/her life.  There are exceptions, of course, but generally this principle holds true.  The Church has always had far more poor people in it than rich people (of course the world contains far more poor people than rich, but they also believe at a higher rate than the rich do).  If dependence upon God for daily needs leads to acceptance of the Gospel's call for repentance, it is certainly something worth taking pride in.
Those Christians who happen to be rich, while a minority they do exist, can take pride in knowing that their wealth had absolutely nothing to do with their salvation.  They can to God by grace, just like the poorest among us, and they need God just as much.
In the end, rich or poor, high or low, we all need to persevere in our faith.  Whatever the circumstances we must endure, however hard the test, by faith we must stand firm in our commitment to God.  When we do stand, when our faith passes the test, we know that one day we will receive a reward from God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: The Wisdom of Perseverance - James 1:1-8

The letter of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus by that name, contains a variety of advice/commands regarding practical morality for the disciples of Jesus.  It was written to Jewish Christians in the first century, but remains easily applicable to the Church today because of its focus on how Christians should live.  The first moral lesson from James involves perseverance.  He starts the ball rolling by telling us that we should consider our various trials and tribulations in life to be "pure joy", a tough pill to swallow until you read his rationale, because of their ability to help us cultivate the character quality of perseverance.  Once we have been tested by life, either by the wickedness down to us by other people, or simply by difficult life circumstances, we will realize that our faith is capable, thanks be to God, of withstanding such things.  We can stand in the midst of the storm and hold on to our faith as we continue to work toward reaching maturity as disciples.  Along with the need to develop perseverance, James reminds us that God is willing to give wisdom to those who ask it of him as long as they don't doubt.  Biblical wisdom is the ability to know the righteous path and the willingness to choose it, something we will certainly have need of in our quest to persevere despite the difficulties of life.  It isn't doubt in ourselves that James warns will derail us, nor doubt in the seemingly insurmountable obstacles we may face, but doubt in the goodness, holiness, or love of God.  As long as we maintain our trust that God is good, that his way is holy, and that his love for us is forever, we will be able to receive from God the wisdom that we need to continue to live righteously in this world, no matter what circumstances we face, even when they are "trials of many kinds."

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Sermon Video: Always pray and don't give up - Luke 18:1-8

In this passage, Jesus utilizes a parable about a widow seeking justice from a corrupt judge to illustrate the value of persistence and the need for ongoing prayer by comparing her difficult journey to finding justice to our close relationship with him who is our Judge, our Heavenly Father.  The widow struggled to find justice and only found it by wearing the corrupt judge down, but our Father is eager to send mercy and justice to his people, his "chosen ones", which transforms our prayers from acts of badgering to acts of obedience.  God is not pestered by our persistence in prayer, he is pleased by it.  When we pray, we take yet another small step of faith, certainly not a leap, for we know of God's goodness and mercy and every reason to expect that he will answer.
So we must continue to pray, and we must remain faithful.  That requirement does not belittle the pain and suffering of those who must wait for an answer to prayer, nor those for whom the answer from God turns our to be "no".

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What of those who stumble and fall?

I have known too many Christians in who, as Paul called it, “shipwrecked” their faith.  Mostly men, but a few women, who destroyed their witness and tarnished their good deeds through a huge error later on in life, usually the sin of lust.  Coming to terms with this isn’t easy.  These are people that took a wonderful gift, God’s amazing grace through Jesus, and seemingly squandered it by making everything they did or said in the past seem like a waste.  Those of you who know me are probably thinking of some of the same individuals, if you don’t know me, you are likely to know some people yourself that fit this description.  Instead of asking questions about theology, and getting into a Calvinist vs. Arminian debate, let me instead share the words of the Biblical commentator from the 18^th century, Matthew Henry.

                The occasion for Matthew Henry’s quote is his commentary on 2 Chronicles 16, the end of King Asa’s life.  Asa had been a tremendous man of God, full of piety, zeal, and faith, but he stumbled badly at the end, committing sin when his trust in God faltered, and refusing to repent when God sent a prophet to correct him.  The text doesn’t tell us that Asa reconciled with God before he died, when last it speaks of him he is still refusing to seek God’s face.  What do we say of such a man, do we applaud his earlier victories won through faith, or do we focus upon the disappointing ending of an otherwise exemplary life?  As someone who conducts funerals, this question is certainly practical for me, but it also speaks to the pain that my heart feels for brothers and sisters in Christ who have drifted away, or sometimes sprinted away, from their faith.

                Henry’s charitable, and also I think in keeping with God’s abundant grace, view of such lives was this, “The eminent piety and usefulness of good men ought to be remembered to their praise, though they have had their blemishes.  Let their faults be buried in their graves, while their services are remembered over their graves.”  We won’t have an answer to our wondering about people who end poorly, but focusing upon that which was good in their life and letting God deal with that which was bad, seems like the right way to go to me.

Sermon Video: How do we react to trouble? - Acts 16:16-40

How Christians react to trouble matters a great deal.  It matters because we all will endure hardship at some point, whether through our own poor choices, the malice of others, or accidents for which no one is to blame.  Trouble will come to people of faith as it comes to everyone else.  Being a believer in Jesus Christ does not exempt any of us from physical, financial, or emotional turmoil; anybody who preaches otherwise is ignoring the clear teaching of Scripture on this subject.  How we respond to it also matters because the Lost are watching.  Those who don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus are watching to see if what we have is as valuable as we claim.  If our reaction to trouble is no better than their reaction would be, would difference is our faith making?  This isn’t about holding grief or sorrow in and pretending they don’t exist, that’s not the solution at all, but rather about having perspective and persevering through the difficult times because of the hope that we have in God.

            On the second missionary journey, Paul and Silas faced trouble in the form of any angry mob whose racists charge against them as troublemakers resulted in a severe (and illegal for they were both Roman citizens) flogging and jail term.  The pain and humiliation of that beating was very real, as was the clear injustice of the violation of their rights.  How did Paul and Silas respond?  With prayer and singing that very night in the jail cell.  I can understand the prayer; we all lean on prayer more when times are tough, but the singing?  How can you sing when your back is a bloody mess, at the hands of those who hate people like you, while you were trying to do the work of God?  Such a response can only be an act of grace, from God, to his people through the power of the Holy Spirit.

            As Paul and Silas prayed and sang, the rest of the prisoners were listening.  When an earthquake opened the doors of the prison, they didn’t run; they had heard something worth sticking around for.  When the jailer saw the doors he was going to kill himself out of shame, but the reaction of Paul and Silas to suffering had kept the inmates at the jail and thus saved the jailer’s life.  When he fell trembling before them his question was clear, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  Why did he ask such a question?  Because Paul and Silas had demonstrated by their reaction to trouble that they knew the answer.  That very evening this man and his whole family became believers and were baptized.  How we respond to trouble matters.

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Sermon Video 

Paradise is Lost and it isn't coming back on its own

My wife and I spent the afternoon hiking in Oil Creek State Park, enjoying God's wondrous creation and spending some quality time alone.  It was just the sort of thing I need to recharge my batteries and begin another week of ministry.  As we drove home from the park I switched on ESPN radio only to hear the President talking about some bombing.  Moments later the news of the Boston Marathon bombing confirmed once again that evil has no bounds, nor does it understand pity or mercy.  Once again Mankind's inhumanity was on display, the peaceful woods and babbling streams were forgotten, replaced by an act of terror.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this senseless violence and to their families.
As my wife and I talked about today's act of terrorism, I commented that this sort of thing is never going to go away.  Even if 99.99% of the world is convinced that such acts are cowardly and evil it only takes the 0.01% to kill.  There's no going back to the days we thought of as innocent.  But were they really; was the Cold War more civil than the chaos we see on display now, has humanity ever set aside war to choose peace?
Last night I was watching the Vikings on The History Channel.  For the people of Medieval England, the terror lay across the sea, with the unknown barbarian peoples.  No villager, ignorant of what lay more than a day's walk from where he grew up could feel confident that a marauding horde was not on its way.  In a sense, terror lay outside of the known, it was the unknown that caused fear.
In our world today there are no longer any barbarian peoples, the edges of the maps have all been filled in.  We can no longer blame the inhumanity on display each day on "them".  Terrorism isn't simply international, it is also domestic.  The words of William Golding continue to ring true from The Lord of the Flies, "the beast is us".
And so I begin another week of striving to mend what others have broken, a week of helping the weak and powerless, a week of bringing hope through forgiveness.  If I did not have confidence that Christ would one day rectify this world's evils, that a final judgment will indeed come, how could I continue trying to do my small part against the "reckless hate" (to steal a line from Theoden in Two Towers) that no longer hides beyond the edges of the map?  But we do have hope, we do have faith, this world is not all there is, God will bring judgment upon those who do such evil, in this world or the next.

The progression of our faith - II Peter 1:5-7

In our Bible study today we talked about the list that Peter wrote when he was talking about our efforts to "participate in the divine nature" through God's power and our knowledge of his Son, and ultimately to "escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (vs. 4)  That sounds great, but how are we to make any progress from the fallen state which God saved us from through Christ to the elevated state that God has promised we will one day attain through his power?  Where do we begin such a journey?
There are several lists of virtues in the New Testament whose order would not seem to be overly significant.  The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians, for example, are not listed in any ascending or descending order.  Here, however, in II Peter, the list is set up from the beginning of our journey, faith, to its eventual conclusion, love.  The journey must begin with faith.  We cannot approach God any other way because of our sinful rebellion against his holiness. 
Once someone becomes a believers in Jesus Christ, a Christian, where do they begin in the process of becoming Christ-like?  The first step is goodness; begin by doing that which is kind, generous, merciful, etc. and let your new found faith put down roots.  The next step is knowledge.  One needs to learn WHEN to do this or that, HOW to do it, and WHY.  Our motives become significant as well as our wisdom as we learn the difference between absolute truth and the freedom that we have in Christ to judge in debatable matters.  The attainment of knowledge leads to the realization that self-control is necessary as well.  Once we learn the depth of what it takes to act in goodness, we need to learn to control ourselves so that our progress is forward (and not 3 steps forward, 2 steps back) and doesn't self-destruct in fits of anger, jealousy, pride, anxiety, or fear.  Self-control is one of the hardest things to learn for any Christian, a difficult step to move beyond.  How can we possibly continue to have self-control when life throws curve balls at us?  Now we need perseverance.  We need the ability to do the right thing, in wisdom and self-control even when the circumstances of life are working against us.
When we have come this far, we can begin to glimpse the mind and heart of God, we can begin to understand what godliness is all about.  Why would God send his Son to die for our sins, why would God create us in the first place?  Understanding God's motives helps us to live in imitation of our savior.  It is only now, when we have made so much progress in fixing our own flaws (through the Holy Spirit's power and God's patience with us) that we can understand why we should care about other people.  Brotherly love costs us something.  It is easy to love those who love you back, but we are called to a higher standard.  We must show kindness to strangers, to those who can do nothing to repay us, and we must show kindness to our families, to those with whom we have a history.  And now, at the end of the list comes the word that our world places at the beginning: love.  We don't know what love really is in our culture.  We use love when we mean lust, we use love when we mean "a mutually beneficial arrangement", and we use love when we intend to toss it away when it now longer serves our purpose.  The Christian knows love because Christ died for our sins while we were still in rebellion against God.  The love at the top of Peter's list is a self-sacrificial love that puts others first at great cost to itself.  That this love is far removed when the kind people talk about every day is no surprise to any who observe the shallow and self-centered "love" that fails time and time again to stand in the face of adversity. 
How does the Christian advance in his or her faith and reach toward being like Christ?  By adding to faith with goodness, then knowledge, and then self-control, and perseverance, and godliness, then brotherly kindness, and finally love.