Sheep

John 10:22-27 NIV

²²Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem.

It was winter, ²³and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade.

²⁴The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

²⁵Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe.

The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, ²⁶but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

The relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is something special.

Sheep really do come to learn their shepherd's voice, and they'll only follow him.

Jesus implies (or pretty plainly states) in this passage that those who questioned him for miracles and knowledge couldn't perceive what he'd already done because they weren't of his fold.

Their hearts weren't ready to receive what God was doing, right in their midst.

God's plan just outstripped their spiritual imaginations.

What about us?

What could we be missing right now because we believe we know what God will or won't do?

The plain truth is...we don't know. We need to be sheep and learn to listen if we'd like to know more.

At least that appears to be the implication.

Grace, Peace, and Baaaaah,

Adam

Lamb

Revelation 7:13-17 (NIV)

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"

¹⁴I answered, "Sir, you know."

And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵Therefore,
"they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

¹⁶Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.

¹⁷For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

The Book of Revelation often seems to frighten or fascinate 21st century Americans.

Makes sense to me. It's both frightening and fascinating at times.

But on the whole, I think there's another attribute that's too often overlooked.

I think it's meant to be comforting.

In this vision from Revelation 7, John witnesses those who have suffered for their faith, in the "great tribulation."

When John received Revelation, he was himself suffering in exile on the island of Patmos.

There is good news.

Revelation is not to be feared, unless we've just got too much to lose in this life.

The wonderful news for those who suffer for their faith, or who experience pain and struggle (and that's all of us at one time or another, right?), is that God will ultimately, and always, care for them.

Revelation 7:17 is nothing short of a beautiful fulfillment of the 23rd Psalm we read yesterday:

"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Valley

Psalm 23 (KJV)

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 is the Gettysburg Address of scripture.

Well, actually I guess we should say that the Gettysburg Address was the Psalm 23 of political speeches.

So short, and so sweet, and so to the point. And, what a point it makes.

God is always with us.

He is our shepherd, tending us, protecting us, providing pastures in which we can be sustained.

This psalm has comforted millions and millions of people for thousands of years.

This is true, even though it doesn't say, "yea, he taketh me around the valley of the shadow of death, so that I do not set foot within it."

It says we go through. Through. Not around.

The Bible is such a wonderful reminder that God goes with us through it all, not around it.

Holly and I got to see that valley in person a couple of years ago.

We stood at a high outcropping of limestone above the Negev desert, outside of Jericho. Looking toward Jerusalem, we saw the scene, and the tiny path through that wilderness below. Today's picture is one that we took in that place.

There's so much more to say, but the Psalm says it all. Whatever you face today, you do not face it alone.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

Get Up

Lectionary readings for this week:

Acts 9:36-43

Psalm 23

Revelation 7:9-17

John 10:22-30

Acts 9:36-43 (NIV)

³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.

³⁷About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

³⁸Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"

³⁹Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

⁴⁰Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up."

She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

⁴¹He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.

⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

⁴³Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

When I read this story, I'm immediately transported in my mind to a terrible, difficult, pastoral moment.

Years ago, I found myself at the side of a mother and father who had just learned that their son had been killed.

"Can't you bring him back?" she asked, in her grief-stricken delirium. "They did that in the Bible. You pray, and he comes back..."

My heart was broken.

I don't know why Peter could have that prayer answered, and I can't.

But I do know that I don't need to have the power of life and death in my own hands, either.

I don't know why Tabitha...why Joppa...why that place and time.

But I do know this from the story: the news of her restoration quickly spread throughout that city.

Can you imagine? I think news like that would really travel.

Tabitha was a good woman who loved the poor. The fledgling church was small and vulnerable. Her death hurt them deeply...perhaps without her leadership in that critical moment, they would have been pushed almost to extinction. God used her life to bring many, many others into the faith and to establish the church in that place.

News of resurrection still travels today.

I don't mean "just" physical resurrection...I mean the spiritual kind that we think is not nearly as exciting.

It is.

I have seen the power that happens when a believer stands in worship and shares their story of moving from spiritual death to life.

I have seen how God can build the body of believers through the undeniable proof of a changed life.

We definitely don't have all the answers.

But I can tell you that those grieving parents I stood with years ago went on to build their faith, to be loved by the church, and to become witnesses of God's powerful love that endures, even in the face of brokenness and death.

That's the power of resurrection.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

The Easter video we used in worship at SOTH, which does a great job of connecting Jesus' resurrection to the spiritual rebirth that God invites us to experience.

THEO-logy, April 13, 2010

I sat down after my lunch to read one of my great-grandpa's sermons and blog about it. His sermons are usually type written on a single 8.5x11 sheet of paper that is folded in half so that he has four equal spaces to write. Today, I read exactly three-quarters of the front page of a sermon and had to put it down and jump online to share it. Im not going to add any of my own thoughts to this one. This message is so raw and thought provoking that I dont want to get in its way! Read it...more than once if you have or want to...and spend some time reflecting on the following words. Ask yourself how they apply to the church you attend today. Ask yourself how these words apply to you as an individual. Then ask yourself how you can be the catalyst for change in both.

(All emphasis is Theo's.)

E.M. Bounds said "Short, powerful, public prayers are the outcome of long secret intercession." Someone may ask "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" The answer: "Where He has always been - on the throne!" But where are the Elijah's of God?

Elijah was a man of prayer; a man of like passions as we are, but are we men of like prayer and passions as He?

Did you know that one praying person stands as a majority with God?

Today it seems God is bypassing men - Why? Not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient; our abilities are our handicaps, our talents are our stumbling blocks.

The church began with men in the upper room agonizing. Today it is meeting in the supper room organizing. It began in revival and today it carries on in ritual.

Good

It's Good Friday. This day is all about remembering and experiencing the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. That's exactly what we'll do, in a very powerful way, tonight in our worship at SOTH: 7PM in the Sanctuary.

But, today's reading looks ahead to Sunday. Remember that the crucifixion and the resurrection absolutely hang together. The first has no significant without the second. The second is not possible without the first.

That's enough from me...today, the scripture just needs to speak. And, I'll add a little more this Sunday. Come make worship with your SOTH family the essential part of Easter morning this year, we'll see you there!

John 20:1-18 (NIV)

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.

As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."

¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).