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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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!
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).
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
How exciting is the "first fruit?"
Well, that kind of depends whether you enjoy "growing your own."
For many of us today, "first fruit" means that something new showed up in the produce department at our grocery store. Everything is available year round, so we have lost track of the seasons, and we have no idea what kinds of fruits or vegetables are actually in season in our local community at any given time.
But...if you watch a seed unfurl into a tiny plant. If you see that plant turn sunshine, soil and rain into mature growth. If you look for the first yellow bloom on your tomatoes plants. If you see that tiny, green, embryonic eggplant or zucchini, or squash...and then watch it ripen on the vine into maturity...
Well, that's something to be celebrated.
The first homegrown tomato of summer. It deserves pause and celebration. It should be eaten with a degree of reverent appreciation.
The first fruit of all that is to come. It is a reminder of life, of God's goodness, and of a very important promise.
There is a plan for us. That plan is eternal life. It is resurrection.
Jesus is the first ripe fruit to be produced on that vine of God's goodness.
And Easter declares that much more is to come.
Grace & Peace,
Adam
Another of our Easter worship songs coming up this Sunday at SOTH: this will be a new one for our congregation but our youth love this one and it's been a great song for them. Give it a listen and come ready to sing this Sunday! Plus, I love the kid drawings that were put together to animate this one.
God tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn't hand me over to Death.
Swing wide the city gates—the righteous gates! I'll walk right through and thank God!
Have you ever found yourself in a tight situation that you didn't think you could escape?
Many of us have never been in physical danger, at least not that we knew about.
But I can think of some pretty hair-raising experiences that I've had on the Atlanta freeway system. And I certainly can remember some really dumb things that I've done, miraculously escaping without getting what I probably deserved.
Maybe, if we try, we can remember what it feels like to really be "rescued." To be saved. To have a higher power come to our aid and make all the difference.
I know. We can seemingly point to situation after situation where nobody saved the day.
But the very fact that you're reading this, and that I'm writing it, speaks to a greater truth.
God has saved us. God is saving us. We are rescued, once and for all, and that is enough.
Faith in the resurrection story of Jesus means that we are miraculously and completely saved from the power of Death.
Yes, we will still experience an end of this physical life. But death will not hold us.
One day we will rise and walk through those gates to give thanks to God.
And we can choose to walk through the gate of this day, right now, and be thankful for whatever comes.
"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Resurrection makes all the difference.
Without it, Peter doesn't really have a sermon. Without it, what he has is the sad story of a very good man who died tragically.
Without resurrection, Jesus is a well-intended fool who got himself killed for nothing.
But it's a lot to swallow, isn't it?
We want to believe, but logic just tells us it can't be so. People who die, just stay dead.
But what if we don't? What if Peter saw exactly what he says he saw?
Yes, you'll have to decide to believe that by faith. And that makes all the difference, too.
Peter says it plainly, "I ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead." You can read John 21 to see exactly what he's talking about.
He doesn't plan to miss any opportunities to feed the sheep.
Resurrection changes everything, and it's what we're going to think about this week.
Life. God really, really seems to like the idea.
Grace & Peace,
Adam
PS: This week, I'll be posting one of the songs that we're going to sing in worship this Easter Sunday. Watch and get excited about our worship this week!
28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' "
32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
34They replied, "The Lord needs it."
35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
This first part of the Palm Sunday story has always seemed so strange to me.
Why include these details?
I don't mean that he rode in on a donkey...we know that was part of prophecy and fulfills what had been said about the messiah.
Why the specific instructions?
Why the story of where they should go and what they should say? Why the questions from the colt's owners (well, that makes sense actually), and the phrase, "The Lord needs it?"
I've wondered before...if we need anything that we don't have for a ministry...how would it work to go into a store, take what we need, walk out and answer anyone who questions us with, "The Lord needs it."
I think we'd get some free room and board at the Douglas County jail.
So, what could we learn and apply from this strange little story?
Maybe we just learn to "Go" when sent.
Maybe there's a huge value in simple obedience. If Jesus had given me those odd instructions, I feel sure that I'd have said, "yeah...but..."
Today, let's really try to sense and receive God's instructions. Then simply act.
Don't steal a donkey. But if you are deeply urged to act in a way that is loving and full of grace, there's every chance that sense is from God. Let's just go, and do it, and see what God provides.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He, "made himself nothing."
He, "humbled himself."
He, "became obedient."
He, "took the very nature of a servant (slave)."
Our, "attitude should be the same" as his.
What stops me from living Philippians 2?
The list is long. But really, it's pretty short. It's me.
For Jesus, humility, obedience and enslavement resulted in glory.
For us, learning to be like him would hold treasures in this life, and in the life to come.
Dear God, may it truly come to pass for each of us.
Teach us to be empty. Teach us to serve. Teach us to be like him.
Im actually breaking TA's sermon into two pieces this week, the first of which (this one for those of you keeping up at home) I am titling "The AIO Offering." AIO is an acronym of sorts truncating and combining the words "all in one." Usually AIO is tacked onto the name or type of printer and most often refers to printers that scan, copy, and print. TA found another use for the anachronism, though, and he didnt even know it!
In this sermon he spends a considerable amount of time talking about dedication; moving from the dedication of the Temple to our dedications to Christ, Himself. During his explication of the dedication of the Temple upon its rebuilding in Ezra chapter 3 and the sacrifices presented to God in Ezra 6, he breaks down the three types of offerings and their significance:
The Burnt Offering-Offerings given to God in complete consecration.
The Peace Offering - Offerings showing hearts given over to God in gratitude and humility.
The Sin Offering - Offerings recognizing God as the forgiver of sins.
TA goes on to say that the keynote of Christian joy is the sacrifice at Cavalry that united all together in worship.
As Good Friday draws near, let us reflect on the three-fold, AIO offering of Christ on the cross. He gave of Himself in complete consecration, humility, and as atonement for our sins.
He was the perfect offering. His death put an end to the need to sacrifice animals periodically for repentance and cleansing. His death was sufficient, and yet infinitely more than sufficient, to redeem us all, for He did not just wipe away our sins for a time; He conquered death and forgave them once and for all.
Try to wrap your head around that as Good Friday approaches: That one man's dedication to God rescued for eternity generations of nations of men that have passed and have yet to come.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Over the years, Holly and I have developed an affinity for things that have been rejected and "used up."
We've never owned a dog that didn't come from the humane society, or that had been handed from owner to owner.
We've never (and probably never will) owned a new car. If my car were a child, it would be getting ready to go to prom. It runs great and I'm glad to have it.
The lion's share of our clothing (both us and the kids) has come from consignment, second-hand or thrift shops.
Our house has mostly been furnished with parts and pieces picked up here and there second-hand, or at a steep discount.
It's not just that this makes sense economically (which it does.) It's not just that we live in a place of such abundance that our society's cast offs are better than what many people could ever have (which they are).
I think it could be something deeper. It's fun to be surrounded by things that have a story. It's a great thing to see what some spit and polish can do to an item that had been cast upon the junk heap.
We've found the old saying true, that "they don't make 'em like they used to," and an old thing made well is often better than new that's made to throw away.
I tell you this because the culture that surrounds us doesn't really believe in reclamation projects.
As a culture, we tend to like our stuff new and shiny. We like first-run, high quality, status-giving items.
Problem: that's just not who Jesus is.
As Christians, Psalm 118 is a prophecy of the Messiah was was to come. We know this passage as a description of Jesus, a stone who was rejected by the builders.
Let's be clear: the Messiah of Psalm 118 is rejected. Rejected.
But, God has other plans.
That rejected stone would become the "capstone," or cornerstone. He would be the foundation upon which all things are built.
What could that mean for us?
Have you ever felt rejected? Have you ever felt like a re-tread, thrift store project that nobody would want?
Jesus is the Messiah who says, "the last shall be first."
When it comes to our souls, a little reclamation work is a very excellent thing. God is never ready to junk us.
March 28th is Palm Sunday. As we approach this Sunday's worship, we'll read the lectionary texts that relate to the Passion of the Christ, as well as the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
M: Isaiah 50:4-9 T: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 W: Philippians 2:5-11 Th: Luke 19:28-36 F: Luke 19:37-40
Isaiah 50:4-9 (NIV)
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.
Isaiah 50 gave the people of God one of their best pictures of what the Messiah would really look like.
He would be, "the suffering servant."
He would be beaten, mocked, spat upon...but not disgraced.
How is that possible? It doesn't make sense to us human beings that someone could suffer at the shaming hands of others but not "be disgraced."
Isn't it automatically disgraceful if someone pulls out your beard and spits in your face?
What if they nail you to a cross and leave you to die?
And yet, this is the disgrace-proof Jesus. He is God among us, Emmanuel.
We've come a long way in a short time. The Christmas decorations are in their boxes, but it wasn't long ago at all that we lit the Christ candle and sang "Silent Night."
Now, God among us is about to be rejected by the humanity he came to save.
But he is not abandoned.
The great good news is that through him, neither are we. Never.
Christians throughout the centuries have learned this lesson. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed our country by leading with non-violence.
Abused, but not disgraced. That is real strength, and it's what's on offer to everyone who will pick up their own cross and follow this suffering servant.
It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion's exiles.
We laughed, we sang, we couldn't believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations— "God was wonderful to them!"
God was wonderful to us; we are one happy people.
And now, God, do it again— bring rains to our drought-stricken lives, so those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.
The psalms are absolutely wonderful for the huge range of emotion that they display. The psalms show the whole spectrum of feelings that we human beings experience.
There's a lot of weeping and sadness. In fact, "sadness" isn't strong enough to describe some of the emotions at work in the psalms.
At times in there are feelings that approach something more like total desolation and darkness.
The "Babylonian Exile" was one of those deep-dark moments for God's people.
Because of their disobedience, they lost the land that God had given them. The temple was destroyed, the people were scattered, and the dream was quickly dying.
Psalm 126 is the story of their return. It's the story of laughter. What a great and beautiful laughter it is!
Joyous, spontaneous, uncontrollable laughter. That is one of God's great gifts to us.
It's the promise of this psalm for those who have gone away with heavy hearts.
One day, truly, you will "come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."
By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently.
The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends."
Their grumbling triggered this story...
...Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.'
"So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country.
There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had...
...He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death.
I'm going back to my father.
I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.'
He got right up and went home to his father.
When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.
The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'
But the father wasn't listening.
He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it.
We're going to feast!
We're going to have a wonderful time!
My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!'
And they began to have a wonderful time.
Homecoming is a wonderful thing.
I don't know what that word means for you, but for me, it's laden with power and feeling.
"Homecoming" is a tradition in many churches, especially the small, rural, Southern variety.
Once a year, in the churches of my youth, a "homcoming" celebration was held. The idea was that folks who had moved away from their families and the small towns would come back to worship together on a Sunday morning.
Special music, special preaching, a special offering (of course, I mean what congregation's going to miss that chance with a full house, right?), and most importantly...the special lunch.
Homecoming involves food. All across the south, if you can find a good homecoming at a small church in June or July, you will experience masters of a dying art.
Down home, grandma-style cooking.
Homegrown blackeyed peas (the vegetable, not the hip-hop group), homegrown tomatoes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried okra, yeast rolls, cornbread, corn on the cob (homegrown), and if you don't like your corn that way, there will also be creamed corn, cut off the cob and cooked slow with tons of butter, salt and sugar.
Folks, that's what homecoming's all about.
Food. And what the food says. It says, "celebration," and "this will always be your home."
We're going to feast!
We're going to have a wonderful time!
Well...all except Older Brother. But, we'll deal with him on Sunday.
See you there. And know that God is ready to run down the road and meet you, anytime. A homecoming feast awaits.
Grace & Peace,
Adam
Today...just a song about celebration. If you don't know about Robert Randolph and the Family Band, I'm sorry. You need to. Read this, and it'll help you out. He's a "sacred steel" player from the "House of God Church," and he's made the cross into blues/rock, and he's just about as good as it gets.
This song is "Homecoming," and it says, "Mama gonna fix me a plate, everybody gonna get 'em a taste. Come on and celebrate, I can't hardly wait."
If you can't groove to this folks, there's not much I can do for you.
(In these posts, I will bold whatever I pull directly from my great grandpa's sermons to avoid having to utilize a million quotation marks. Also: Theo was known as TA to many of his friends and family, so I will use that moniker from time to time, as well.)
My great grandpa Theo starts this sermon off with the question asked by the disciples in John 6:28:
"What must we do that we might work the works of God?"
The solution to the world's suffering will be found in the person who can find the answer to the question here in John's Gospel.
For TA, the person who discovers the answer to this question will become a Special Breed of person; a breed that the world desperately needs. He delivered this sermon on April 8, 1973, and in it he posits a rather disturbing prophecy of sorts:
If the population explosion continues, Christianity will become by the year 2000 almost an insignificant force; unrecognizable...We cannot allow ourselves to be swallowed up.
When I read that prediction, I got chills. Here's why:
Its now a decade past TA's predicted time frame; ample enough time to review it for accuracy. According to the CIA website's statistics (follow the link then click on "PEOPLE :: WORLD" and scroll down to see the source material), Christianity is the largest religion in the world making up a full third of the world's population - a number surpassing 2 billion strong. But numbers are not what TA posits will change the world. No, he says it will take a super natural power which only comes by total commitment.
In his notes, he shared with his congregation the two prayers he prayed most:
1) "Oh, God, empty me of every doubt." I want to be so empty of doubt that I might be filled with the fullness of God; that when I stand before people and minister here and any other place I might be a channel of blessing. Doubt is an awful thing. I had just as soon be a bed-ridden patient unable to wait upon myself than to be filled with doubt.
What a powerful metaphor! If we allow doubt to consume us, then we are bed-ridden; unable to help. Doubt hinders, it doesnt help. Doubt in what? Doubt in the ability of our Father to move and change in ways that we cannot even fathom. Doubt that faith even as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. Why limit the limitless?
2) "Oh, God, empty me of self. Let TA Williams die." If this would happen, then we could become just a channel through which the divine power of the living God would flow unhindered.
Too often we place ourselves before our increasingly needy neighbors. We allow our wants to outstrip, outweigh, and out-prioritize the world's needs.
Theo believed these two obstacles, doubt and self, to be the difference between a person of the world and a person of the Special Breed the world needs. We may be 2 billion+ strong in number, but how many of us praise God with our mouths but doubt Him with our minds? How often do we allow our personal comfort to supercede the physical comfort of others? The world doesnt need Christian claims, it needs Christian action, and for TA (and I whole-heartedly agree with him), those actions become possible when and only when we cast doubt aside and sacrifice self. Only then, when we lose our identities, will God be able to work through us unhindered.
This marks the beginning of a new series I will be posting when I can here on the SOTH Blog. It will be comprised of posts that will meld my thoughts with those of my great grandfather, Theodore Arthur Williams. My great grandpa Theo began preaching at Assembly of God churches in 1948. He served at churches in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi before his retirement in 1975. He also used to build churches from the ground up and was a talented pianist and guitarist. Recently, my grandmother (his daughter) gave me a box overflowing with Theo's sermons. You can tell at a glance of their age for several reasons:
They are typewritten.
The pages are discolored around the edges and the ink has faded some.
Many of them bear the date of that sermon's preaching in the top corners.
I am honored to possess these teachings of my great grandfather's. Years worth of his study of the Scriptures, personal stories, convictions, and revelations. I love that he mis-spelled words, typed the Scriptures in red, and often wrote additional notes by hand on his sermon guides. I didnt get the chance to know him well because he joined the Lord before I was old enough to recall much of my time spent with him. I have memories of him sitting in his chair in the living room of the house he shared with my great grandmother - me at his feet surrounded by lots of other family members at Christmas time...
With these sermons of his in my hands, I am coming to know great grandpa intimately for the first time. I am sitting in the pews of his churches as I read. Or even at his feet in the living room of his home.
As I read these writings of his, I am becoming aware of two things:
1) He knew the Lord intimately and loved talking about Him! The sermons are rife with the kind of insight indicative of my great grandpa's thirst for the knowledge of his God and desire to share that with his congregants.
2) His insights are still very applicable today.
So with these posts I want to honor my great grandpa's memory and passion by passing on his love for God as well as his calls for true discipleship. He may have retired, but his ministry has not come to an end. With each post, I will pull directly from his sermons from the 50s, 60s, and 70s - interjecting my own thoughts and sharing the relevance of his expositions from then to our world now.
Join me in the pews of my great grandpa Theo with every post.
My great grandfather is going to deliver his first sermon to a congregation in 35 years starting tomorrow.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
How should we "regard" one another?
Take a cruise through the political/talk networks and see how they answer that question, whether the commentator belongs to the far right or the far left.
Jesus said that even pagans love their friends.
How do we regard the people with whom we need "reconciliation," or those that we believe need it in their own lives?
How do we work with one another in the presence of sin that eats up our own lives and the lives of those around us?
How do we love without being judgmental, while also calling one another into higher, better ways of life?
Paul says it has to start with Jesus. It starts when we allow him into our own hearts and find ourselves "reconciled," or made right, with God.
The old creation dies away. The new creation rises. Sounds a whole lot like Easter.
From there, when that truly happens within us, and we allow the work of the Holy Spirit to draw us closer to God, day by day (yes, with frequent setbacks), we begin to learn how to really love one another.
Easy? No. Worth it? Absolutely.
Here's a video for the day that I think shows a picture of what church ought to look like. I know, that's a big stretch, right?
Let me put it differently...here's what "acceptance and reconciliation" looks like for "the world" when they've experienced rejection in a lot of other places.
What if the church reached out, loved and accepted the caricature people in this bar? Maybe the self-abusive drinking, and the brawling and the destructive stuff would stop. Maybe people could experience the real love of God in Christ.
Grace & Peace --
Adam
Song for the day --- what if "I love this bar" could become "I love this church?" A place for everybody ---- where love, not judgment, transforms their lives, in a way that a bar can never do. Good sense of humor Toby Keith. And church folks, what would happen at your place of worship if one of these characters walked in on Sunday morning.
If you'd hear the needle-scratching-a-record sound followed by crickets and an uncomfortable shuffling of feet, we might need to ask ourselves about why our church is really there.
John 10:22-27 NIV
