Jesus has entered Jerusalem riding on a colt of a donkey, he is hailed as the coming savior, the King. We see in Mark 11:7-11 that Jesus was hailed as the King: Mar 11:7-11 ESV “And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”

That is a wonderful picture Jesus is lauded by the people and seen as the rightful King of Israel. Now he has surveyed his temple, and then goes out to Bethany to enjoy the evening with his disciples and his friends, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. In many congregations across the country we would hear a sermon based on Palm Sunday, we would celebrate along with the people in Jerusalem, then leave Church to return on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. Wait, you mean Jesus died? He is resurrected? You see the problem, we don’t want to deal with the coming week, because it is not what we expect from our God. We don’t want to think about Jesus moving through the next week to the time of his arrest and crucifixion, that is just not the picture we want to bring with us to Easter Sunday. Better to just enjoy the palms and the accolades and then come next week and celebrate that He is Risen!

However, if we avoid those days, then we also lose out on what happened and why it happened. Now in some denominations, they do celebrate the Last Supper, and then Good Friday and that is good, those who attend those services will have a sense of what is so important in all of this. For those of us who do not celebrate those services, we too need to know just what transpired that week, because it is important for us to understand what a mess our faith is based in. After all, Peter, the chief apostle will deny Jesus not once but three times, all the disciples will run away and abandon Him except for John. Jesus is even betrayed by one of the 12, one of the closest of the followers. So why? Why do they abandon Jesus, why do they cower in fear, hiding from the authorities? Why is Jesus set to die a criminals death. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals and non-Romans.

First, let us understand that this entire week is called Holy, each day is called Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, etc., but Friday is called Good Friday – Why? Well we will get to that but it is an anomaly in the midst of what is truly a hard week for all the players in this drama.

On Monday, Jesus is back at the Temple in Jerusalem, on both Monday and Tuesday he teaches the crowds at a place called Solomons Porch and the Priests get more and more upset as they perceive that his teaching is about them and their practices, He tells the story of the wicked tenants at the vineyard, they beat the messengers of the owner and finally kill his son. The priests see in that the stories of the prophets and that some of them were beaten because of their message, others were killed.

By Wednesday, the priests were trying to figure out how they could arrest him and bring him before the Sanhedrin, the High Council of the Religious leaders. They want to kill him, but they know the people will rise up against them if they try to do that, so they look for a way to get him in a place where they can arrest him and bring him to the High Priest to start the process. Meanwhile, Jesus is at the House of Simon the Tanner in Bethany enjoying dinner when a woman comes and anoints him with a perfume called Nard, normally used to anoint the dead so the odor of death will be hidden. A very powerful spiced perfume. There are those who feel this is a waste, because it could have been sold and the money used to help the poor. Jesus advises them all that: Mar 14:6-11 ESV ‘But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. (7) For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. (8) She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. (9) And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (10) Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. (11) And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.’

Then we see that Judas, decides to betray Jesus to the priests for money. The next day: Mar 14:13-16 ESV “ And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him,

(14) and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’

(15) And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” (16) And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”

That evening Jesus and his followers all come to the upper room which is prepared for them and recline at table for the celebration of the Seder/Passover Meal. As they were eating we see that John was at his right hand, Judas his left. Jesus is of course the leader of the Seder drama and he says in the midst of the meal:

Mar 14:18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.” Mar 14:19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?” Mar 14:20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. Mar 14:21 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.” None of the disciples notice that it is Judas who dips with him. At this point in the Seder there is a change in the story. This Passover or Seder meal is the same one that the Jews have celebrated since leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land. In it they tell the story of the Exodus so that all Jewish children will know and remember the story and retell that story to their children

Jesus has changed it so that it becomes a new story, notice what it becomes as Jesus continues to speak: Mar 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”Mar 14:23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mar 14:24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.Mar 14:25Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

After they finish the meal, they go out to the Mount of Olives for a time of prayer and meditation. Judas has left the group, they thought he was going to help some of the poor of Jerusalem.

When they arrive at the Olive grove, he takes Peter, James and John with him.

Mar 14:32-34 NKJV Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

(33) And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. (34) Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.” The scene in the Garden is one of extreme anguish as He prays. He asks that he not have to suffer the death that he knows is coming, and then says he will do as must be done, not my will but yours be done.

Now comes Judas, and the kiss to identify who they are to arrest, the temple guards are with him and they arrest him and bring him to Caiaphas. The time of suffering and trial begins: Mar 14:53 NKJV And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. They question him and they bring out witnesses against him, but their stories do not match and so they cannot condemn him. Finally: Mar 14:61-63 NKJV But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

(62) Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”(63) Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

Of course he is now condemned, but they cannot kill him, so they bring him to Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor to be tried and condemned as a criminal against Rome. All those wonderful folks who had proclaimed him king just a short 5 days ago, now cry out for his crucifixion. There is much more to the story, chapter 15 in Mark tells the abbreviated version, but I do want you to understand that we, you and I have made a commitment to God that we will walk as Jesus walked, we will stand for the Kingdom, no matter what others may say or do against us. Jesus committed himself even to death, death as a common criminal. Many millions have died through the centuries for that same faith. That is the type of commitment it takes brethren, that is the type of commitment our Lord showed on that Good Friday. Let me say to you that this is what your Lord did for you:

What is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain–the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.
Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over–the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level–the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues–the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. Finally he can allow his body to die. All this the Bible records with the simple words, “And they crucified Him.” (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this? Adapted from C. Truman Davis, M.D. in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,Vol. 8

Good Friday indeed, yet what else can we say, but, that without Good Friday, there would be no Easter Sunday, no resurrection, no completion of God’s covenant promise, and you and I would not be saved. So it is Good Friday, leading to Holy Saturday, and finally to Easter (Resurrection Sunday). The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You and I were guilty of rebellion against God because we were sinners, but because of the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, we have eternal life, in the presence of almighty God, strictly by the grace of our God through Jesus Christ.

Andrew Murray has said: “Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ.” let us not forget that our God suffered terribly for us. When or if it becomes necessary to make a sacrifice for the truth of the gospel, remember how you came by your salvation and step out for Christ.

Rom 6:12-23 NKJV ” Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  (13)  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  (14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.  (15)  What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  (16)  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?  (17)  But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.  (18)  And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.  (19)  I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.  (20)  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  (21)  What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.  (22)  But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.  (23)  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul today challenges those who claim the name of Christ, to Holy Living. He says that we must make Holy Choices as we go through our daily living. He says that you don’t want to allow sin to have dominion over your mortal bodies, do not sin just because you are no longer under law but under grace.

Through baptism we have been freed from sin and are now servants of righteousness. Paul also says that following God yields eternal benefits, at the end of our journey is total sanctification and eternal life with God and our fellow believers. Paul ends by telling us that sin pays a wage, that wage is eternal death eternity in the darkness away from the light of God, better known as Hell, but that salvation comes to us as a free gift, through Jesus Christ.

Paul here talks of slavery, slavery to sin which means we obey sin as our master and live sinful lives. We have given our minds and hearts to sin. Yet here is the truth of life, it is that we have been freed from slavery to sin, we no longer live enthralled by sin. Know that Jesus by his death and resurrection has defeated death and has freed us from sin which leads to death, instead we are now free to live Holy lives. Of course we still live in our mortal bodies which are subject to temptation and therefore we cling to the cross and to the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for our sins. In baptism we died to sin in likeness to the death of Christ, and were raised from death to new life.

Living that life is a choice we must make daily. There is a story told of a man who says to God, “Lord, I have not sinned today, I have not done anything that would bring shame to your name, I thank you that this is the case, but now Lord, I pray you will be with me this day, as I leave my bed to begin to live in the world today, help me to remain without sin.”

That is a story, but it illustrates the need for us to realize just who we are and of course that we are mortal, subject to sin because there is much sinfulness around us. So, we need to start our day in conversation with our God, acknowledging His sovereignty over us, and that we are in need of His guidance as we move through our day. Secondly, as Christian people we are to offer ourselves to God as available to be instruments to His will for our lives.

I know that some folks who call themselves Christians also say that they are allowed to do what they want, the scriptures say that they are no longer under the law, but, are under grace. If they sin they can go to God and ask forgiveness for that sin that they enjoyed doing and because of grace they will be forgiven. The problem with that is we are not under the law, but the law is still there to identify that which is sin for us.

What we have here is that we are free from sin, but, by the same token we are to become willing servants of righteousness. In order to embrace that liberty that is ours by faith in Christ, we must also surrender ourselves to the righteousness of God, we cannot neglect the surrender part so that we can continue to sin. If we do then we are in essence saying to God that we appreciate the freedom of liberty, but, we don’t want to be tied to righteousness either, we want to be our own god. That is the consignment of ourselves to an eternity in Hell. An eternity in the outer darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. In other words, an eternity divorced from God and his righteousness.

One truth that we seem to forget at times, the devil has no ammunition except what we give him. In other words, the temptations that are thrown at us are just that, they have no power over us unless we allow it.

Paul tells the Roman church, “No longer present yourselves.” In other words don’t allow your personality to be tainted by sin, don’t succumb to lust in your flesh and don’t allow your mind to become corrupted by your position or power. We have seen Governors, and Representatives brought low by their inability to perform their duties properly because of what they had become when they began to lust after others. It almost brought down a presidency, and that is a difficult thing to contemplate, but lust is powerful.

In place of giving yourselves to sin, Paul says we are to present ourselves to God. Present ourselves as willing instruments to live holy lives so that those we once were sinners with, will see that we have indeed changed we no longer live life as we once did, we are free from that life. We are now people who have a new way of living and a new way of dealing with life. Lust and anger and pride are no longer a part of our lives, we instead practice a different way humility is our cloak, grace our conversation and love for neighbor our walk. God is our sovereign we no longer walk in the shadow of false gods, nor are we walking with the emotions and distractions of the false gods of the world. We walk instead as citizens of heaven, we walk in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, and the free gift of eternal life through His sacrifice for us at Calvary.

Paul speaks of slavery, in our day and age that word has connotations that we don’t very much want to have to think about, yet, it is true that whatever way we decide to follow, that way is our master. We were enslaved to sin and now we are slaves to righteousness. We were at one time willing followers of sin, and are now willing followers of life. In essence, we have changed masters. One thing is for sure, there is no middle ground. We follow the Sovereign of the Universe. He is our Lord, and our Savior.

Paul then speaks of the advantage that is ours, first though he speaks about sin and what advantage we receive from sin. For many who get deep into sin they reap only shame and guilt, for even those of us who only venture into a little sin, there is still that guilty feeling. That worry that someone will find out and expose our sinfulness. We see it happen on a larger scale of course with politicians, and teachers who are caught in sexual sins, but also those who steal from their employers, just a few years ago it happened in our County, for just a few thousand dollars. Sin does not pay a very good wage. That is what Paul says in verse 23. For the wages of sin are death, that death is eternal, but it is not sleeping it is living in HELL, .

Paul does not let up in this message, he continues to hammer away. Even the thought that many of us have, “I wonder if that is really fun?” “I wonder if I can just buy one lottery ticket?” He assaults these thoughts and behaviors. He worries us and shakes us up You are Christians he says. Sin no longer has control over your lives, sin no longer reigns supreme as it once did. You say you follow Christ, yet you continue in sin. Stop excusing lapses in living holy lives by saying it’s OK we are under grace. You say you are Christians, if you truly are, then you belong to Christ, so act like it!

The wages of sin may be death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Sovereign, our Lord. Let people see your love of God in all that you do, for then they will say, “wow, you sure have changed.”

We hear “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.” In Genesis 1:3 we read: “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God said and the creation was. That is how the Bible shows us God, it is the way in which God reveals Himself to us, and it is the way in which we see that God keeps His word.

So many of us, want some kind of proof of God’s being, of God caring, yet that evidence is all around us and we don’t see it. There are schools of thought that want us to believe that God created the world and everything in it and then left it to its own devices, but scripture tells us that God acted throughout history. When God first created the world, He also created a man and a woman, in His own image they were created. We read this in the first chapter of Genesis, where God says: “Let us make man in our image…..male and female created He them.” He then goes on to put them in the garden to till it and to care for it. However there is more to it than that, God also was the one who came and walked with them in the garden in the cool of the evening. God did not create man and woman to be robots but to be God’s own companions. Why would God create a companion and then go off to someplace else and abandon His companion?

Later, when they sinned and God banished them from the garden, He was still around. When Cain killed his brother, God was there to judge the actions, and to mitigate the punishment. When man became so depraved that God grew weary of him and his activity, He also acted to save a remnant through Noah and his family. Is that a God who has forgotten about His creation? Again we find God calling Abram to come out of Ur and go to a land he was not familiar with, then walking with Abraham and talking with him in a personal way. We find that God came and ate a meal with Abraham and even that Abraham had a conversation where he was able to speak to God as you and I would to one another. Remember the conversation? “God would you destroy the city if there were 50 righteous people, or 40 or 10?” God spoke to Abraham as to a friend, as to a companion, as to one He loved. God came and wrestled with Jacob and called him Israel, that is one of those great stories in the Old Testament, God comes down to wrestle with His people, to talk with them and to help them to understand.

The Bible is full of these wonderful stories, stories that help us to understand God and that help us to see how the people of God have changed their own understanding of God through the centuries, reading today in Jeremiah 31:7-14 we find a wonderful example of God’s working with His people. In verses 10-14 we read:

Jeremiah 31:10 through Jeremiah 31:14 (NLT)

10″Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The LORD, who scattered his people, will gather them together and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. 11 For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them. 12 They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the many gifts the LORD has given them—the good crops of wheat, wine, and oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone. 13 The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. 14 I will supply the priests with an abundance of offerings. I will satisfy my people with my bounty. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

God did just that, He brought His people back from their captivity to again inhabit the land. Yet God’s people just as quickly forget that they are God’s people and sink, over and over again into apostasy. Not only the Jews of ancient times but you and I today. We forget that God is sovereign, that God is present, we don’t really want God to be present, except when it comes time to collect on the promises. Yes we want the goodies but we don’t want the responsibility of being a people set apart for a good work. We like to accept the gift of God, the life of His Son as our redeemer, but, since Jesus has already done the work we want to just rest on that, and go on and do as we please with no repercussions. It didn’t work for the people of Israel, it will not work for you and I.

The truth is that we look back at what God has done in the past for His people, Israel, and we think we are better than they are, that because Jesus died on the cross, all persons will be saved, all will be OK. We expect God to have infinite mercy without Justice, but that has never been so, and will not be so today either. God requires of those who would follow Him to do Justice as well as Mercy. For He is a Just God as well as a merciful one.

Just as God looked for the people of Israel to be changed into new persons, just as He looked for them to be holy, and to do justice to one another and to those who lived in the land, so to does He expect us to be holy and righteous. We read in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus that God has adopted us into His family in Christ, that we have a purpose and that purpose is to praise God and to be His people. All of the gospel centers around our being God’s people, set apart for good works, and for holy living.

God tells us that we are His, because of the redemptive acts of Jesus Christ, and that we are to be a holy people, set apart, not to be a people of the society around us, but rather we are to influence that society so that it will be changed as well. We who have received the Spirit of God and have been transformed into the image of Christ, are also the recipients of eternal life in the presence of God, through that same Jesus Christ. We have received the gifts of the Spirit as we are told by Paul, and those gifts help us to live in a way that sets us apart and helps us to bring the gospel to those around us.

In remembering that past, and in looking forward to that future where we will be in the presence of our savior always, we will today renew our covenant with God and with one another, simply because we need to remind ourselves and each other who it is we are. We have taken on a name, we have taken on a task, and we have said that we will be the people of God. After we renew that covenant we will also partake of the communion meal, and have a time of fellowship together with one another, a time for us to renew ourselves and to remind each other that we are family, we have been adopted into the family of God and as such are brothers and sisters together in this journey toward the promised land.

Let us come together today, as we renew our covenant with one another and with God, and as we participate in the Eucharist understanding that we are moving toward a bright and beautiful future, because God has acted, is acting and will continue to act in the lives of His people. We are striving for perfection, perfection in love that we might perfectly reflect the love of Christ in our lives and for those around us. Let your light shine beloved that the world around you may come to know that Jesus Christ is alive and well right here where you are.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Luk 2:9-14 ESV And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Here is all of theology (talk about God) all wrapped up in one very short but very important piece of information, the shepherds are told that a savior has been born, the savior is Christ the anointed one of God, and finally that he is the Lord, God incarnate.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like to see this angel, the glory of the Lord shining forth, it says they were filled with fear, I can understand that part. Just think though, the angel tells them not to fear, and then delivers the message that the Messiah has been born, not that he is coming on a war-horse with the army of God behind him, but rather, he is lying in a manger, wrapped in cloth, a baby in a manger. Then the multitude of the heavenly host, the angelic choir singing the song we know as “Gloria in Excelcis Deo”, Glory to God.

When the angels are done delivering the good news, the shepherds head to Bethlehem to see this wonder for themselves. They have been given the identity of the Savior, and where they can find him and how they will recognize him. So they go to see this wonder that has been told to them. Notice in the story that the shepherds, upon finding the Savior/Baby just as they had been told, proceed to tell those who are there, we are not told who that is of course, we don’t need to know but those who are there receive the good news that the angels had delivered first to the shepherds.

Luk 2:17-19 ESV And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (18) And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. (19) But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Mary did you know? That is a song that has been sung by many gospel singers over the past few years, my favorite though is Mark Lowery, one of the writers of the song. Mary knew, because she had been told who this baby was by Gabriel a messenger of God nine months before the birth, she knew because her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist also told her. So she takes the message of the shepherds to heart, to meditate upon them as she all the other messages she has received. I am sure that the others in the room, except of course Joseph, were very surprised as what the shepherds revealed to them in the telling of the tale of angels, and a great heavenly chorus.

Now of course comes the best part of the story, at least for me it is the best part. You see, those normal, everyday working class folks did what so many of our “Church” people don’t do, they told the story abroad:

Luk 2:20 ESV And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. You have to wonder what other folks thought about these strange shepherds, praising and giving glory to God, what a wonder that must have been. What a beautiful story this is that Luke has written for all of us to hear and to pass on to others. This is not the story of Jolly old St. Nick, the story of reindeer flying, no it is the story of God, coming in the form of a defenseless baby. Not born to royalty, but to two ordinary people, Mary the Theotokos, (Mother of God) and Joseph his step-father, the man who God chose to bring him up in the knowledge of  life as a carpenter. Simple everyday people, folks who deal with life as it comes knowing that there are good times and there are hard times, but also knowing love. Love between themselves as husband and wife, and the Love of God in their lives as well.

So this is the story of Christmas, celebrated all over the world as a time of gift giving and receiving, a time when retailers, hope to make the profits they need to go into the new year coming up. NO this is the true story of Christmas, when God gave the gift of himself to all mankind, that all who will believe shall know eternal life in His presence, shall know the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in their lives always, guiding and helping them to be the men and women that God has for them to be. Sacrificial love, that is God’s gift to you and me, and it should be our gift to all we meet, especially our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Take time to do as the shepherds did, give God the glory, thank Him for all he is doing and has done in your life. If you don’t know Him, that take the message of the shepherds and come to meet Him, not as that Baby, but as the risen Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The human face of God almighty, Jesus the Christ of God, who will be coming back again some day.

May your Christmas (Christ Mass), be truly blessed. Amen.

Personally, I love this story because it is clear and to the point. Luke tells the story as a historian, he gives us the date, the place and the circumstances. He makes it clear that this is an earthly event, that came straight to us from heaven.

We begin with the decree of Caesar Augustus that the whole empire is to be enrolled for a tax. Everyone is instructed to go to their ancestral home for the enrollment. Joseph and Mary go of course to Bethlehem since they were of the house and the lineage of David. Bethlehem was the home of David. Jesus is to be the fulfillment of prophecy. Luke weaves the story between old and new together so it becomes one fabric. We can see that the Bible tells one story, the story of the salvation of God.

They arrive at Bethlehem and are told there is no place for them at any of the inns, but this one innkeeper does have a barn he will let them stay in. So Jesus is born in a barn. Then the word goes out to all the religious leaders of the day that the Savior is born.

Ha! Not likely, the word goes out to the shepherds, they are the ones who receive the Christmas Message. What a message that angel delivered: “behold, I bring you good news of a great joy … for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Isn’t that a nice touch? God invites the shepherds to the birth. The shepherds were not only poor and powerless, they were despised by the religious leaders and orthodox. Their occupation took them into the wilderness where they were not able to observe ceremonial religious laws on a regular basis.

Of course the other side of that coin was that the temple leaders needed the shepherds. They had to follow the law which required them to sacrifice unblemished lambs on a daily basis. Those who looked after the sacrificial lambs were the first to know, and the first to see the TRUE LAMB OF GOD, who takes away the sin of the world.

The news of the birth comes not to the palace, not to the temple, no it comes to the fields, to the poor shepherds. The shepherds act on the news immediately. They went, “with haste” to the manger. Jesus was born to be savior of the world and the first one to see the savior were the poor and lowly, the first to hear the Christmas Message were the shepherds.

I have to say that if it was to the religious leaders of the day, and they are anything like the religious leaders of today.

Well there would not have been any haste. They would have formed a study committee and would perhaps have gone to see the child after they had had a couple or three meetings, then would have reported back to the church at the next meeting. Not the shepherds, they heard the word and they went to see. Not because they didn’t believe the angel, but because they wanted to see for themselves this wonder.

They received the Christmas Message, that the savior was born to save mankind from our sins. Friends, you have, I’m sure received some invitations this year, to various functions, but I would say to you that none is more important, or equal to the one sent by God at Christmas. In Jesus Christ, each of you has received a personal invitation from God, and He is waiting for you to RSVP. There is evil in the world, but we can rise above that evil. There is much in the world that is ugly and indecent, but it is possible to live a holy life. Yes death is still with us, grief and sorrow, but death no longer has power over us. New life begins in Jesus Christ.

Since that night so long ago in Bethlehem of Judea, people of faith have been able to dream and live with new hope. It’s what makes the good times good and the bad times bearable. Fred Craddock tells about a trip to his home state of Tennessee. He was in a restaurant in the Smoky Mountains. It was one of those informal places where the owner was the waiter, cashier and the greeter. He moved from table to table, visiting with the diners.

He introduced himself to Dr. Craddock and wanted to know who he was and what he did. Craddock confessed that he was a preacher. The cafe owner pulled up an empty chair and sat down, and began to tell his whole life’s story.

The man said that he was born in a little town in Tennessee, not far from where they were. He was born to a mother who wasn’t married. It was the kind of town where everybody knows everybody else, what they’ve done, all the gossip and scandals. They had a name for someone who was born to an unmarried mother, and the boy got used to hearing that name before he even knew what it meant. It followed him to school. On the playground he would hear it from other children. When he went downtown, all looked at him as if he were somehow different from others. His mother wanted him to go to Sunday School, but even the church people seemed to look at him as if they were afraid he might be a bad influence on their own children.

One day a new preacher came to town. The boy went to church. When the service was over he tried to hurry out. The preacher stopped him at the door. He said, “Who are you, son, whose boy are you ?” He felt that he would like to crawl into a hole somewhere. The new minister had obviously already heard about him. But before he could answer, the preacher said with a warm smile on his face, “Wait a minute! I know who you are.” He leaned down and looked closely into the boy’s face and said, “I can see a family resemblance. You are a child of God.” Then he put his hands on the boy’s shoulders and straightened up and said, “Boy you’ve got quite and inheritance. Go out and claim it.”

The scripture says, “A Savior is born to you this day.” Everyone in this room can hear the same message, for He was born to save you from your sins. When we take communion we say in our prayers; “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. That proves God’s love for us, in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” This birth, will end about 35 years later in a death, and that death is for you too. We every one of us is saved because this savior was born, lived and died for us. All that has to happen is for us to come to Him and repent of our sins and believe that He is Lord.

You are forgiven, you are loved, that is the Christmas Message for you and me today. Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

“I was looking at a survey this week that talked about teens and who they looked up to. The answer was #1 Parents, #2 Friends the church comes in about 5^th at just 4% of young people trusting the church to help them with the things of life, relationships, love, and other aspects of life as well. Today’s kids grew up looking at the church as a place of scandal, seeing pastors and priests getting caught up in pretty terrible things, not only them but politicians, and sports figures. They also scored really low on the survey.

Today, we read about the Mother of God, the Theotokos or God-bearer. We read about a young woman, a teen of her day, engaged to a carpenter. She like so many women was probably planning her wedding, who would be her bridesmaids and those kinds of things, when God intervened in her life.

Mary is a woman of faith, she has found favor with God, that is what the Angel tells her.”Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “ (ESV Luke 1:28-30). When we look at the history of Israel, there are many who have received favor from God, not because they were rich and famous, but because they had faith, they believed that what God said would be true and they lived their lives accordingly.

Of course you can point to some of them and show how they really messed up and sinned really well, we have only to look at King David to see his sinfulness, yet we also see that he came before God and confessed his sin and was forgiven. You and I are no better than King David, we too have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, yet He has also forgiven us our sins. It is the faith of these folks that shines forth and guides you and I today in our faith.

Mary, mother of God, a woman who had her whole life ahead of her, thinking of spending it with her husband to be in Nazareth. Knowing that they would never be rich in material things, but also knowing that God would provide for the needs of her family. Mary I am sure was a woman of God, one who lived life in accordance with God’s word for her life. That is why the Angel Gabriel could say that she had found favor with God.

We who profess the name of Christ, should realize that it makes no difference to God how old you are, or young you are, what makes the difference is whether or not you have faith. Of course we in the church talk a lot about faith, but I wonder if we really understand what it is we are talking about. We point to people like Mary and say that she had faith, or Abraham and say that he had faith. I just wonder if we really explain what we mean when we talk about this thing called faith.

So, what is Faith?

Let us start with this – Faith is a belief that what God says will be, will actually be, that what God promises, will actually be delivered. That is pretty much what faith is. At the end of the story of Gabriel and Mary we hear Mary say: “38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”” (ESV Luke 1:38). That is faith speaking, Mary believes that what has been foretold will happen. Mary believed that the impossible, was possible with God. She was a virgin, yet she would have a child, not because she would get married and have relations with her husband, but because God would cause it be so. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that faith still existed today? We live in a world in which people do not have faith in God, they do not believe in miracles, even when they see them happen.

That kind of faith is gone from much of the world today, In Europe Churches no longer have congregations, they have become museums, or places for tourists to visit and marvel at. In Nuremberg Germany, there is a cathedral in the Old City, that is still standing and from the outside looks beautiful, walk through the doors and you realize that there is no roof over the sanctuary. The cathedral was bombed during WW II and is a stark reminder of the horror of war. Even the Church in the New Town though is mostly deserted on Sunday Mornings. There are a few faithful who will attend Mass, but only a few. In England, the Methodist Church pastors usually have 6 or 8 churches that they are responsible for, because they don’t have enough congregation in any one church to afford a Pastor.

This is rapidly happening in many places in this country. The mainline churches are losing membership, and closing their doors in many parts of the Country. The Presbyterian church here in a town near where I live, has no Pastor, in Brackettville the Episcopal and Lutheran churches share a priest. Neither church has enough congregants to afford a priest of their own so they share. Faith in God has been disappearing in many parts of the world, simply because people no longer believe that God is present, that God hears prayer, that God acts through His people.

Faith as we see in the person of Mary is Active. Faith requires that we live out our belief. If I believe that God is acting in my life, then I should live my life as a person who is a follower of Christ. Knowing that my actions help bring to fruition that which God has purposed. Mary said that since she believed, she wanted it to be as the Angel had promised. Mary was willing to live out that which God purposed for her life, no matter the consequences.

Think about what it meant for Mary to willingly give herself in service to God. She was trusting that Joseph, her soon to be husband would believe her story of a visitation by an Angel of the Lord. That she was pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit, and that she was to be the Mother of God. She was actually trusting that Joseph would not seek a divorce, that the people of the village would not stone her to death and that she would be able to bring up the Son of God in the ways of God. Worse yet, she would be divorced and have to raise her child as an illegitimate child which would have made him ostracized by the community. All sorts of bad things could have come of Mary being willing to follow God’s leading in her life.

Mary also had to endure the gossip of the townspeople, because she was pregnant before her marriage. Imagine the gossip mill in the sleepy little town of Nazareth. I know what it is like in many small towns across our country. I used to make beer BBQ sauce and we had some beer in our refrigerator. We allowed the folks in the church I was pastor of to store some of the refreshments for VBS in that refrigerator. Word was all over town within hours, of the Pastor being a drunk, because I had beer in my refrigerator. None of them complained when they ate that BBQ though. Yes Mary was in a tough place, yet she had to do what she did, because she had faith in her God and His word.

If I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived his life in Nazareth, then spoke the truth in his teaching, that he healed the sick, raised the dead and that he himself was crucified, and then raised from the dead on the third day. If I believe that the promise of eternal life is true because of the grace of God and the actions of Jesus. Then go out and live like the rest of the world cussin, drinking, chasing after power and money, is that faith? NO!

Faith is living what I know to be true, faith is suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous scorn, faith means that I am willing to follow God, no matter what!

Mary was willing to do what it took to carry Jesus to birth, to raise him as who he was, and to suffer if need be the ridicule of others, knowing that she was God’s woman.

Faith is not just an intellectual exercise it also requires that we act out our faith. Our lives cannot be the same once we believe, they must change to meet the new priorities that God has for us to accomplish. If I tell someone how God has blessed me and changed me, and they see that my life is different from what it had been, then I am a better person and a better witness for Christ. Our faith should be evidenced by our thinking, our compassion, and our works.

No matter what happens in our lives, if we have faith that God is in the midst of all of this, then our lives will truly be lives blessed by God and we will be able to be a blessing to all others we meet on our journey.”

Jesus was a radical, he preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was near, he also preached against the evil of the religious leaders of his day. He we find him talking about the scribes, they were the ones who were responsible for writing documents, for copying the scrolls and they were also the ones who were teachers. Notice that the preaching here has to do with how they comported themselves in everyday life. How they appeared to be highly religious and yet would steal from those who were less fortunate than themselves, he spoke of how they wanted to be seen in the best seats at synagogue but would foreclose on widows and steal their property supposedly to give the money to God but really wanted it for their own use. I think we have to remember that power tends to corrupt those who wield it.

It seems to me that the right thing to do with those who hold offices is to move them back to having to live among those they had passed law, or taxes on. That might just make them realize just how unfair their laws and taxes really are. When I look at the history of the Church, and the history of our nation, I see that the longer one holds an office, the more the temptation is to garner as much as you can for yourself at the expense of others. I disagree with the idea that the leaders of the Church have lifetime appointments to their positions. If you are a pastor, then if you attain a higher rank, it should be term limited and you should return to that duty that God had called you to again.

Jesus came to serve, not to be served, he washed the disciples feet, he served them as he also served the people that they met each day. Healing and teaching the common folks, from farmers, to prostitutes, to tax collectors. He was called a wine bibber because he went to parties and because he was willing to eat and drink with anyone who invited him. From Pharisees, to Tax Collectors, each of them needed to know the good news of the scriptures. He was a radical and today, I wonder how many churches would welcome this preacher, and how many common folk would love to have him around. How would you feel about a preacher who came to your pulpit and told you that you were a whitewashed tomb?

That is the reason that so many of the ruling class hated Jesus, he told it like it is, no pulled punches, no little white lies, he told the truth as God saw it, not as man wanted it to be. That’s why he said to beware of the Scribes. Hear what Jesus says just before the passage we are in today.

Mark 12:35-37 “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL.” ‘ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘LORD’;’ how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.

The regular folks heard what Jesus said and were glad to hear it. The scribes were not as happy to hear him speak, because he called them out in front of the people. His very next line is: Beware of the Scribes. What an indictment of their way of living.

The reality of scripture is that God has always spoken of the right way to live in the world, he has always chastised the way of life of so many of His people. We opened our worship this morning with this verse in Psalm 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” We humans tend to go at things without thinking about what it might be when we don’t go to the Lord our God first. Remember that King David wanted to built the temple for God, and he was stopped, it was not what God had for him to do. By the same token we also know that our God came in the person of Jesus, the human face of God, and died so that we might be reconciled to God. I know that y’all know John 3:16 but do you know the verses that follow it?

Joh 3:17-18 NKJV “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (18) “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

When we do come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, there comes a change in each of those who truly believe, it is exemplified by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Church at Colossae. Hear these words: Col 3:12-13 NKJV “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

At the end of todays reading in Mark we read of the widow who put two coins into the coffers of the Temple for the use of God. Jesus commends her for her excessive generosity, because she gave all that she had to God. That is what Jesus, Paul, David and all the writers of the scriptures are talking about. When we say that the greatest commandment is:

“HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. That is what Jesus said to the lawyer who came to him to ask what is the greatest commandment. So David says, if the Lord is not a part of whatever you want to do, then it will not last. Jesus talks of love and of the hypocrisy of those who only pretend to love God and neighbor, and Paul speaks to the Churches of the 1^st Century of how they are to live together in community, as a family unit, and as an extended family. If you go to another city you should be able to find a member of the family there who will invite you to church, to lunch and to fellowship. One who will pray with you and work with you to care for your needs and to help you to do whatever it is you are called by God to do in that place.

Jesus wanted the scribes to change their ways, as well as the Pharisees and the Levitical priesthood. They wanted him dead and gone so they could again be the power they thought themselves to be. In a short while, it would happen as they wanted it to, not because they wanted it, but because it was the last thing on God’s to do list. God, in the person of Jesus, had to die to set us free, what a radical thought that is, and to seal the deal, he would also rise again 3 days later.

If you want to follow this Radical preacher named Jesus, then you too will find yourself in hot water as well. He expects us to live in Love of God and Love of Neighbor. Agape Love, not the love that the world recognizes, but rather the love that comes from God. A love that sent early Christians out of Rome to the hills surrounding the city to rescue any children that had been left there to be eaten by wild animals. That was the abortion of that day, the Christians rescued those children. Christians also fed the poor, clothed the naked, and prayed for the sick, and some even performed healing. Some wonder why the Church seems to be so powerless today, it is because we are afraid to be the radical people that the early Christians were, people who gave their lives in the arena and in the torture chambers of Rome.

In later times came the Christians who were and are today, suffering in prisons around the world, tortured to give up their faith, killed when they won’t. They still work to bring their neighbors to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, hoping that they might be saved from hell. What do we do in this country? Are we the radical believers, or do we hide, Christians in hiding, so many of us are just that. It pains me to acknowledge this truth, it pains me to acknowledge that so many of us are like those Scribes that Jesus warned against.

Christians divorce rate goes along with society, our work ethic is just the same as our neighbor, just enough to get by. Our witness is in many cases non-existent because we don’t want to be ridiculed or laughed at, or worse accused of being radical. Too bad, our nation was founded on Radical Biblical principles, yet today, we cower in the corner afraid that someone will call us radical. What is so radical about the good news? Is it that when we become Christ followers we are expected to live differently than our neighbors? Is it that we are afraid that someone might think we actually believe that Jesus walked on water, healed people of sickness, and died for us?

We should be telling folks what it means to walk with Jesus through this life, to have our hearts broken by that which breaks the heart of God. To reach out to the disenfranchised, the sick, the hungry to try to bring Christ into their lives that they too might know the glory of God.

The congregation had once been a vital ministry. It had grown to be the largest congregation in that part of the state. But over the years they had shrunk to the point where people were beginning to be concerned about the church’s survival. Finally, their bishop sent a representative to talk with them about their future. Unless they made some real changes in how they viewed the church, their future was bleak.

A team of leaders was selected and a new pastor arrived on the scene. This new leadership team went to a retreat in Baltimore to begin training. The time was intensive with heavy attention paid to the leaders’ spiritual journeys and God’s vision for their lives and the life of the congregation. The event facilitators used art, journaling, videos, small groups — everything that they could to get the participants outside of their shells and to explore God’s call to them.

After a night of planning the leaders were to come back to present their vision for the congregation. Sandra, one of the leaders, had tears in her eyes. “I guess I never really knew that God had so much for me to do,” she said. “I always thought that I was to serve the church. This is the first time I ever really understood that I am the church. God uses people like us to make his kingdom happen. I just never knew….”

It is the place of the people of God to be the church. To be witness to what God has done in our lives. Some are called to the classic priest or pastor role, but the entire church is called to tell others about Jesus Christ and how He has affected our lives. We are not called to save people, we are called to introduce them to the Savior, He will take care of the rest. That is why the scriptures talk about the gifts of the Spirit, it is through these gifts that we are empowered to be the church, to be the witness God has called us to be.

Our witness may just be a listening ear, sometimes, folks just need to know that someone cares enough to listen to their pain. Perhaps it might be in helping someone find services they need, perhaps by visiting someone in the hospital or nursing home, having a word of prayer with that person. Teaching young children about Christ and His love for them is another form of witness. There are truly many ways to bring an awareness of God into the lives of those around us.

The story is told of a young woman who was being prayed for: “A student at a Catholic college was hospitalized after a car wreck. A group of nuns from the college visited her. They said they had been praying for her. A priest had mentioned her at morning mass, and at afternoon chapel, and the sisters said they prayed for her all the time. She said to the nuns, “Thank you very much, but will it count? You see, I’m not Catholic.”

The oldest nun touched her hand and said, “Don’t you worry, dear. We just say the prayers. Then God can do whatever he wants with you.””

We are not called to do more than use the gifts we have received from the Spirit of God to introduce others to God.

We are also called to live to a high moral standard. Jesus died sinless, we too are to die to sin and to live moral lives. It pains me greatly to hear about priests and pastors who have affairs, or who have abused children. I do hope and pray that this will be taken care of responsibly by the Roman Catholic Church, but also with an eye toward redemption. Those who have sinned in this way must never be put into positions where they can again be tempted to abuse children, but God’s Son died for these sins too.

Having said that, let me also say that there is a tremendous amount of temptation out there, we are all tempted to sin, and the real problem is, sin is fun, at least as the world looks at it. Whether it is the trip to Las Vegas, the lottery tickets, or a fling with someone not your spouse. These can all be sins. There is nothing wrong with Las Vegas, there is when you go to gamble, there is nothing wrong with Lottery Tickets, unless you think that they are your way to easy street. We always manage to get ourselves tangled up in scandals of one type of another, but we also seem to manage hiding the stuff we do, or excusing it because it isn’t a big sin. So the church is tangled up with all this pedophilia, and rightly so, but there is not outcry about the sin of theft, of multiple divorces of pastors. There is no scandal about the use of pornography among Christian men either, yet, this is a huge problem in our society.

All aspects of our lives should be morally correct, lust, theft, idolatry, false witness, all of these things must be done away with, they are not acceptable in a  Christian home, nor are they acceptable in the church. We also must be ready to work toward reconciliation with one another, we pray to God, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” I don’t believe we mean it though, we need to work toward reconciliation. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom, nor is it a family, if we are bickering and fighting, backbiting, rumor mongering and gossiping.

E. Carver McGriff tells this story: “A friend of mine, a woman I have known for many years, attended a fine Methodist church through her growing up years and through the early years of her marriage. The preacher was a gifted speaker, and my friend always looked forward to worship on Sunday. One day word leaked out that the preacher had been involved in an affair. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that he was leaving his wife and was moving to another state along with his secretary. My friend has never, so far as I know, attended a church again. She was so totally disillusioned she never recovered. That may not speak well for her, but it shows what a priest, ordained or not, can do to others when he or she betrays the standards of the faith.”

She was not willing to forgive and to move on, and the pastor, through his sinfulness, ended up hurting the kingdom by chasing away one of the family. Sin, even if we want to say it is a “victimless” sin, is never done in a vacuum, there is no such thing as a “victimless” crime or sin. When you begin to follow the way of sin, you hurt yourself and those around you.

We are called not to tear down, but rather to build up the family, the church of God. There are those who have on occasion said to me, “D.  James Kenedy preached on those same verses and did so much better than you.” There was one person who was always trying to get me to watch this or that television preacher, because they had such wonderful styles, or wonderful ideas. I’m sure that is so, but they have their ways and they do what works for them, in their setting, what works for them doesn’t work here where I am. Someone once said, “If you can’t have Robert Schuller as your pastor, try to be happy with old what’s his name.” Probably good advice, even though many in our churches today, church hop to find the Robert Schuller’s that they can be happy with.

The church, believe it or not, has all the detractors it needs. There are plenty of folks out there ready at the drop of a hat to tear at the church, to try to destroy what it is, and the one it stands for. There are plenty of fault finders out there, plenty of critics. We are not called to tear down, we are called to build up. There is much too much tearing down one another, too much unwillingness to look at the good and bring them to the fore so that the church may follow those things that are good. Like the secular world around us, if it is sensational, we want to hear about it, the juicier the better. If a Church is doing something good, we don’t want to hear about that, but we will go out of our way to hear the latest gossip, and spread it on to the next person no matter who it may hurt. That is not building up the church, that is helping to tear it down.

There are also those who think they are good Christians, when they rip into a fellow Christian for not reading the proper translation, or for not looking the way they look when they come to church. I wish we could all be  the same, all look alike, all dress alike. The truth is we are not the same, we don’t have the same levels of income, nor do we read the same version of scripture. My personal favorite is the New King James version. I also enjoy reading the New Living Translation. If I want to check what something says, I don’t go to the King James Authorized Version, I go to the original languages and do a word study. I have found though that my NKJV is quite good in most instances.

Brethren, we need to be careful of what we say to others. Sometimes what we say, gives the impression that Christianity is not a good thing, that it is restrictive and hateful. The truth is, we are not gatekeepers, you see, God already knows who is written in the Lamb’s book of life, it is not your choice who is or is not in the book. If you feel the urge to correct someone in their Bible version, please don’t, as long as it is not the Book of Mormon, the Watchtower, or Islam, they are probably reading the same thing you are, it just sounds different. I would suggest that the old saw, “You catch more bees with honey.” Works much better than caustic remarks will ever work.

The church needs those who will be positive, good-spirited and faithful members. Those who will be there when there is church, who attend Bible Study, Prayer Meeting, Sunday School, and Worship services. The church needs those who are ready and willing to build her up, by their prayers, presence, gifts and service.

Covenant – a word from the scriptures that we don’t really understand very well. God and man have made covenants throughout history, we will look today at that covenant making and what it means for us.

The Post-Flood Noahic Covenant

This covenant is seen in Genesis 9:9-17. It is a covenant with Noah. It is also with all mankind – being universal. It is totally of grace. There is no idea of a bilateral agreement. God is the Covenant-Maker and He does it in grace. ‘Behold I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you.’ The covenant is understood in the light of the judgment of the Flood which has just taken place. Man will fear rain unless such a covenant is made. It is not that man will not be worthy of similar judgment, but that God promises not to execute such judgment. The rhythm of the seasons will not be impaired. Man now will live by grace even though he may well deserve judgments of a similar kind.

The Abrahamic Covenant

This covenant may only fully be understood by seeing that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are really ‘pre-Abrahamic history’, that is the story of creation, the fall of man, the Flood, and the post-Flood events are all intended to lead up to the importance of God’s covenant with Abraham. It is also noteworthy that Abraham comes out of a civilization which history tells us was corrupt. God’s promises to Abraham as recorded first in Genesis 12 concern not only Abraham but all the nations of the earth. ‘I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Abraham is promised a numerous progeny but being aged and having no children he actually asks God for something to believe (15:2f). God then seals this promise – which Abraham has believed – by ‘cutting the covenant’ (15:9-21). The covenant is of grace. Again it is not bilateral. It is not dependent upon obedience although God certainly requires the response of obedience (cf. Gen. 26:4-5). Obedience should always spring from grace, but of course never

merits it.

When the promises of the covenant are examined we see they are many, that they stretch through time, and include a number of blessings, some of which are to be universal. The whole of the land of Canaan is promised to Abraham, although his descendants are not to possess it until the Amorites’ evil ripens to the precise point of judgement. Abraham’s children are to be numberless as against his and Sarah’s seeming impotence. Genesis 17:7 shows that the covenant is to be in perpetuity. Everything is initiated by God and so is correct and authentic. Moreover it is all based on the promise of God.

Covenant and promise are bound together. Without covenant there is no sealed promise. Without promise the covenant is pointless and baseless. A study of Paul’s notions on promise in Galatians chapter three is very enlightening. Hebrews 6:13-20 shows that God is as good as His Word, that is His promise is of the very essence of Himself and therefore unchangeable, and can be fully trusted.

The Abrahamic covenant is associated with blessing. The blessing is of grace. It is universal, in that all the nations will be blessed, but certain blessings are particularised to the blood children of Abraham, i.e. the possession of Canaan, and the number of progeny who hold Abraham as their natural (fore-) father. The blessings, nevertheless, are more than these, especially according to the New Testament. The blessing which Abraham received was that he had children, he was to inherit the earth, and he was justified. As we shall see the blessing which the true children of Abraham will receive through his (single) Seed, i.e. Christ, will be justification by grace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Cal. 3: 13-14). This Abrahamic covenant was sealed, eventually, by circumcision, and this included Ishmael.

The faith of Abraham was sealed by circumcision but the necessary sign of being in the covenant was circumcision, and especially at infancy. At this point we will not discuss the essential elements of grace, promise, obedience and fulfilment but simply note the fact and nature of this covenant.

There are of course a number of other covenants between man and God, such as the Mosiac, and later Davidic. These covenants are subordinated to the Abrahamic though. Moses receives the Abrahamic covenant anew and leads the people to that land which was promised. The Davidic was a subset, in that the line of David was the one that would hold the throne in perpetuity, and all of this came to fruition in the person of Christ.

All God’s covenants are made in grace. This was so with the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and New Covenants. It does not always appear so at first sight. The Noahic covenant is made unconditionally. God promises, even in spite of man’s sin, not to destroy the earth by another flood. There is no demand made for obedience.

Yet disobedience is not set at a premium. The inference may well be that sin will again appear. Yet the thrust of God’s goodness in providence is self-evidently a motivating power for obedience. In the Abrahamic covenant explicit demands for obedience are not made, yet God rewards Abraham with justification for his faith (Gen. 15:6, cf. Rom. 4:3). He rewards Abraham for his obedience in offering Isaac (Gen. 22:16-18) ‘because you obeyed my voice’. At the same time the promises to multiply his descendants had already been made. God says to Isaac (in later years), ‘I will fulfill the oath which I swore to your forefather Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars in the heaven … and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws’ (Gen. 26:4-5). It is interesting to note that no laws as such were explicitly given to Abraham apart from the command to go into a land which he did not know. Yet law and the laws of God were known to Abraham. Faith without obedience would be a misnomer.

God is a God of covenant, a God who acts out of His own love for His creation, and out of justice tempered with mercy/grace in all of His activities with His people. Perhaps we need to realize the power of covenant ourselves and begin to live as members of the Covenant that has been made with all those who have been justified by faith. As we pray the Covenant prayer today, and as we partake of the bread and wine, let us become closer in covenant with our God. Amen.