Sermon Video, Hannah's Triumph - I Samuel 1:11-20

In part 2 of this 3 part series on Hannah, Hannah makes a vow to the LORD to give her hoped-for child to the LORD in lifelong service if only he will remember his servant and bless her.  In the midst of her praying, the priest Eli scolds Hannah because he mistakes her for a drunkard.  In his embarrassment, Eli in turn blesses Hannah and tells her to "go in peace".  Not long after Hannah becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, whom she names Samuel, because God remembers her.  The story of Hannah faith and persistence combined with God's mercy toward a faithful servant is one we all can learn from.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

When God's "No" is a lot smarter than your "yes"

I'm working on part 2 of the Hannah 3 part sermon series that started last week and I just asked the question, "Could God have answered Hannah's prayer even if the answer was 'no'?"  The question came to me in the writing process, so I went with it, and came up with a clear yes to my own question.  God often times answers our prayers by not answering them.  That may seem like a paradox, but it isn't.  The truth is that we often times have very little perspective about our own lives; we can't see the future, we don't know the consequences of our decisions.  As such, how could a loving God who does know these things, give us what we pray for when the result would make things worse? 
That may not make your heartache our worry go away as you continue to pray about something that seems like a no-brainer, but perhaps it will comfort you a little to know that God does indeed hear your prayer, even if the answer is "no" or "not now".
This principle has proven itself numerous times in my life.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait during several rough years of hoping for the help-mate that I wanted in life; it wasn't until several years later that I met my Nicole.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait, again for several years, as I hoped for a ministry opportunity.  He first answered that prayer with the people of Palo, and then, in good time, moved us here to Franklin.  In both cases, I would have wanted to move faster, God wanted me to be useful when I got where I was going.  If I had gotten my way in either case, where would I be now?  I don't know, but I'm here now, doing the will of God and continuing to rely upon the power of prayer.
So why did God answer Hannah's prayer?  For the same reason that he closed her womb in the first place: to bring glory to him name and to bless his people.  You see, Hannah's son, who by her own desperate vow, would spend his life in service to the LORD, would go on to become one of the nation's most important prophets/judges.  How did Samuel end up as a hero of the faith?  God told his mother "not yet".
The next time you feel like giving up on your prayers, like God isn't listening or just doesn't care, consider this: God knows the end from the beginning, he loves the whole world, and he is answering your prayer even if the answer isn't what you want to hear.

Sermon Video, "Hannah's Sorrow" I Samuel 1:1-10

In part 1 of this 3 part series on Hannah, we learn of the pain that Hannah had to endure because the LORD had closed her womb.  Elkanah, her husband, marries and 2nd wife in order to continue his line, and while he continues to love Hannah, her lack of children is a source of cultural shame.  After years of humiliation at the hands of Elkanah's 2nd wife, Peninnah, Hannah stands before the Lord at the Tabernacle in Shiloh and weeps "in bitterness of soul".  Hannah was honest with God, approached him in her misery, and prayed.  All those who have pain, anger, sorrow, bitterness, or regret can follow Hannah's example and seek the Lord honestly in prayer.  The content of the prayer is less important than the willingness to pray.  Those in need can also find shelter and comfort among God's people who are likewise on a journey from repentance to salvation, who have submitted to God's will, and who have lain their burdens down at the foot of the cross.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Getting shot at from both sides...

I thought of something today; the kind of thing you probably should keep to yourself unless you want to get people mad at you...As you may know, that's not really my worry in life, God has placed a burden of truth telling on my heart; so here goes...

I know there is a lot of angst and soul searching going on over this week's election.  There are plenty of God-fearing Americans who are worried about the future of their country...

Let me offer this historical analogy: It took Abraham Lincoln (a politician) to finish off the drive to end slavery, {the parallel in England is William Wilberforce, a generation earlier} but it took Harriet Beecher Stowe to galvanize the people into seeing slavery as a moral evil.  For decades, Abolitionists worked to win hearts and minds when there were no political prospects, and in the end, they fought by teaching people that the Bible speaks of all mankind as made in God's image, not a select group of humanity.  A finale to the drama was in the political arena (as the upcoming Lincoln movie demonstrates), but the work was done in churches long before.

America is a democracy (a representative republic for the technical minded people out there).  We have the government that the people want.  If you aren't happy with the government the people have, you need to change the people, not the politicians.  They reflect society; they reflect the morality of this nation, they do not create it.  America isn't ready for Lincoln, if he came now we'd boo him off the stage.  We will not have another Lincoln until we have another Stowe; we won't change the immorality of American society until we make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known to the lost among us.  The world will be what it is.  We cannot expect Christian morality from those who do not know Christ.  If you want to change the politics, change the people; show them the love of Christ through your actions, not your words. 

This is the dangerous thought: If those on the right are afraid for those on the left because of the alliance between sexual immorality (abortion, homosexuality, etc.) and the Democratic Party, shouldn't those on the left be afraid for those on the right because of the alliance between money (greed and avarice) and the Republican Party?  The Bible speaks an awful lot about sexual immorality and condemns it in no uncertain terms; the only thing that seems to tick God off more is the abuse of money.  What makes one side feel like they have God's ear more than the other, when both sides have made an unholy alliance in the name of politics?

What is the solution?  We must solve the moral issues that plague our society ourselves.  We, as a Church, must witness to a lost world, and we must cleanse our own house of the immorality that has infested those who claim the name of Jesus Christ.  The politicians will not save us no matter what party they belong to; Jesus Christ already has.

Commence firing!  I'm ready for the arrows from both sides.

Is this place sacred? John 2:12-17

During our Wednesday night Bible study this week we were continuing through the Gospel of John and came to the passage where Jesus chases the merchants out of the temple courts with a homemade whip.  Aside from how cool that must have been, to see Jesus acting so counter to our conception of him as meek and mild (something we get more from religious art than from the Gospels), it led us to discuss our own sense of sacred places.
Do we have sacred places today?  Should our church sanctuary be treated like the Temple?
It is an interesting discussion to have because most people who enter into a place of worship get the feeling that it isn't just another room.  In some branches of Christianity there is an expectation of silence prior to services, maybe even lowered lighting to enhance the solemn mood.  In other Christian churches you'll enter into the sanctuary and be greeted with a cacophony of noise; from pre-worship music to boisterous laughter from the conversations going on all around you.  I've been a part of both, and I can tell you, it only takes a moment to realize which type you've walked into.  Are both styles treating the space with proper reverence?  What should we be doing/saying/thinking as we prepare to worship?
The simple answer is preparing your heart and mind to praise God, learn from the Scriptures, join in corporate prayer, and partake of the rituals which unite our faith (whether you call them a Sacrament or not).  I can see the value of both approaches.  To focus on God, silence helps.  To remember that you're a part of a family that God has created, the warmth of conversation among friends help too.  There isn't one right or wrong on this, the point is that God's people gather together in worship.  Whether they do it in an old store front or a magnificent Cathedral doesn't really matter.  Whether to do it to silence and candlelight or the beating of drums and the hum of old friends catching up doesn't really matter.
In the end, Jesus has replaced the need for animal sacrifices with his own; he has replaced the need for one central place of worship with the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers, and he has elevated each humble place where we gather to worship into a sacred assembly.