Sermon Video: God made you alive with Christ - Colossians 2:9-15

In his ongoing effort to express the supremacy and all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, Paul compares what circumcision was unable to accomplish, the removal of the "whole self ruled by the flesh", with what baptism in Christ can accomplish, namely the destruction of that nature enthralled to sin when those who believe in Christ are "buried with him" and "raised with him" by God's power through faith.  In addition, Paul reiterates that before Christ, "you were dead in your sins" but have since been "made alive with Christ."  This dramatic reversal, the hinge of history, is illustrated by Paul with a courtroom metaphor wherein Jesus takes the legal charges of our debt to God because of our sins, from our powerless hands, and nails it to the cross, allowing God to then cancel out our debt as having been paid in full. 

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Sermon Video: The Gospel of Reconciliation - Colossians 1:21-23

What is the status of humanity in the sight of God?  This is a question of the first importance, and one often answered with wishful thinking not based in reality.  Humanity is alienated from God, not simply by our actions, but the very mind of each human being has been darkened by our evil behavior.  Thankfully, God was not content to let this be the final answer, he reconciled to himself, through the death of Jesus Christ, those who believe, making them holy in his sight and free from accusation.  This is the essence of the Gospel message, hope through faith, a message to be proclaimed freely to all.

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Sermon Video: Take up your cross and follow him - Luke 9:23-27

What is the cost of becoming a Christian?  We are all happy to share the benefits that flow from following Jesus Christ, but as Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23-27 make clear to us, there is a significant commitment on our part that God requires in return.  After telling his disciples that suffering and death were in his near future, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  The call to discipleship from Jesus begins with a legitimate question: Knowing what road Jesus is about to walk down, will you choose to follow him?  For the disciples, this was shocking news that would be very difficult to process, for us, we have the benefit of looking back on how this time of trail in the end produced the victory of Easter. 

            The dark road that Jesus travel to provide redemption for humanity does end in victory, that assurance offers us great comfort, but the call from Jesus to imitate his self-denial to the extent of volunteering to carry our own metaphorical cross still reminds us that the path to Christ-likeness is never going to be easy.  The self-denial that Jesus is asking us to embrace is in service to the kingdom of God, which is why the ascetics who practiced the denial of the normal pleasures of living and isolation were on the wrong path.  If we truly wish to follow in Jesus’ footsteps then we too must serve the needs of the poor and weak by showing them God’s love and mercy.

            As further evidence that this is the road that we must travel if we wish to follow him, Jesus continues by explaining that only those who are willing to let themselves be replaced by God as the center of their life are capable of truly having life.  Those who grasp and clutch at life for themselves will inevitably lose what they strive after.  We can see this principle at work in the world around us every time we see the reward of love returned when freely given and at the same time the bankruptcy of selfishness as the false siren’s call of wealth, fame, and power fails time and time again to satisfy.

            Will you follow Jesus?  The question is asked of us all, only you can decide if you are willing to make such a commitment.

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Sermon Video: "Worthy is the Lamb" - Revelation 5:1-14

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus that we remember each year on Palm Sunday was a spontaneous event of enthusiasm by the people of Jerusalem for a political solution to the ongoing problem of foreign domination by the Romans that they hoped Jesus was about to bring to an end.  Their shouts for a king in David’s line were indeed accurate, Jesus was worthy to sit on that throne, but he had other intentions from the beginning.  That unexpected role reversal, from claiming a throne to suffering as a servant, is mirrored in the vision that John sees of the End Times that he recorded in Revelation.

            In chapter five of Revelation, John sees God holding a scroll that cannot be opened by any created being.  That scroll signifies the beginning of the end of history, the final judgment on creation and the culmination of the redemptive plan of God.  Who has the right to decide that such a time is at hand?  Who could be holy enough, righteous enough, to open such a scroll?  At that point the Lion of the tribe of Judah steps forth, he is worthy.  But then something remarkable happens.  In the very next verse, it is not the Lion, the mighty king, who takes the scroll from the hand of the Father, but the Lamb who was slain.

            Jesus had the right as King of kings and Lord of lords to open the scroll, the Son of God and the Son of Man has every right to do so, but he once again approaches this responsibility with the same humility and obedience that led Jesus to Calvary less than a week after the shouts of “Hosanna”.

            The Cross and the Empty Tomb are the great reversal of all of history.  There humility defeated pride, love triumphed over hatred, and a sinless and spotless life triumphed by giving itself up over death.  In our world, power, wealth, and fame are revered, sought and fought over, but not so in the kingdom of God.  The Lamb at the center of the praise and worship in John’s vision is honored because he put others before himself.  He is lifted up and glorified by ever increasing numbers until all of creation joins in the song because he was willing to kneel before the will of the Father.  Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

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