The First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, July 21, 2024) Rev. Dwayne M. Doyle, Guest Preacher The Good Shepherd Jeremiah 23:1-6; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 From “The True Story of the Final Hour- The Heroic Rescue of the Pendleton Crew, 1952”: “On Feb. 18, 1952, four men risked their lives in a howling nor’easter off Cape Cod to save 32 mariners on the shipwrecked tanker Pendelton. They brought all but one to safety in a wooden motorboat designed to hold no more than 16 people. They were four Coast Guardsman at the Chatham Lifeboat Station who volunteered to try to make what seemed to be an impossible rescue. They faced freezing temperatures and 60-foot waves in the hopes of reaching the Pendelton, an oil tanker that had snapped in two during the fierce storm. All received the God Lifesaving Medal, the Coast Guard’s highest honor, for “extreme and heroic daring.” The Coast Guard called it the greatest rescue by a small boat in its history. The four men were called heroes. They shrugged it off and said they were just doing their job. No SOS from the Pendleton At 5 a.m. on Feb. 18, 1952 the Pendleton was headed south in blinding snow and violent seas 10 miles off the coast of Chatham, Mass. Suddenly crewmen heard explosive cracking noises. The vessel lurched heavily and then broke in two. Pendleton Sinking The Pendelton’s bow section lost power and drifted south with the captain and seven crewmen aboard. The power remained on the stern section, and the chief engineer took charge and assigned duties to the 32 crewmen. They didn’t manage to issue an SOS At midmorning the Chatham Lifeboat Station got word that another tanker, the Fort Mercer, had also snapped in half. Cutters, an airplane and a lifesaving motorboat raced to rescue the vessel 20 miles off the coast. Hours later, radar at the Coast Guard station showed the two broken pieces of the Pendleton. Coxswain Bernard Webber was told to pick his crew and rescue the shipwrecked sailors. Three men volunteered for the suicidal mission: coast Guardsmen Ervin Maske, Andrew Fitzgerald and Richard P. Livesey. Rock of Ages They launched the 36-foot boat named the CG-36500 into mountainous waves, blinding snow and zero visibility. To ward off fear, they sang Rock of Ages and Harbor Lights as they approached Chatham’s treacherous sand bar. The Pendelton wreck lay just on the other side of the bar. As they crossed the bar, a wave smashed into the CG-36500 and threw it high into the air. The boat landed on its side and righted quickly before another wave struck it. The breaker shattered the windshield, flattened Coxswain Webber and sent shards of glass into his face. It also destroyed the compass, their only navigational aid. Capt. W. Russell Webster described what happened next in the Naval Institute Proceedings. “Creeping the boat forward, the searchlight soon revealed a pitch-black mass of twisted metal, which heaved high in the air upon the massive waves and then settled back down in a “frothing mass of foam.” Each movement of the giant hulk produced a cacophony of eerie groans as the broken ship twisted and strained in the 60-foot seas. No lights were apparent as coxswain Webber maneuvered the small boat aft along the port side of the Pendelton’s stern section. Rounding stern, CG-36500’s search light illuminated the word PENDLETON and moments later, the larger vessel’s own deck lights became apparent. And, then a small figure above began frantically waving his arms! He soon disappeared. Coxswain Webber then saw a mass of people begin to line Pendelton’s starboard stern area, many shouting muffled instruction, which were unintelligible over the wind and crashing seas. Without notice, a Jacob’s ladder was tossed over the side.” (From the U.S. Department of Homeland Security United State Coat Guard Auxiliary Sunday July 21, 2024. USCG AUX AUXWeb Division 13) As the humble crew rescued the crew of the sinking Pendelton Oil Tanker, so our Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed his place of safety in heaven to come and rescue the human race. The Lord is my Shepherd Psalm 23:1 A Shepherd - A keeper or herder of sheep. 2. A pastor, leader, or guide. It was customary for shepherds to lead their flocks instead of driving them, as is done in the West. Even today, shepherds in the hills of Udea can be heard calling in a strange language to their sheep, which hasten to follow. The relationship of shepherd to sheep was so close that the shepherd of a small flock could distinguish among his sheep, and any sheep could recognize its master’s voice. The shepherd’s lot was not an easy one. He was almost always outdoors, with only a camel-hair cloak and a simple head veil to protect him from the wind and the rain and from the burning heat of the midday sun. Generally, a shepherd ate only what he could carry with him- bread, cheese, olives, figs, dates, and raisins. The sheep had to be led to forage and water, and if a sheep fell into a rocky crevice, the shepherd had to climb down to it or pull it to safety with his curved staff. If the sheep was hurt in the fall, the shepherd stretched the animal over his shoulders, carried it to a safe place, and tended its injuries. At night the sheep had to be protected from thieves and from wild animals. The hills around Bethlehem were full of predators, including bears, leopards, jackals, and occasionally hyenas. The shepherd, usually armed with a slingshot and a rod (a wooden club embedded with flint or nails), was the sheep’s sole protection against sudden and violent death. In fighting off wild animals or thieves, a shepherd might lose his own life. To help them protect the animals under their care, shepherds often built a sheepfold. This was an enclosure of high, mortarless stone walls topped with thorn branches to keep out wild animals. The fold had no gate; so the shepherd acted as a human gate by lying across the open entryway. When shepherds shared a sheepfold, they could take turns sleeping. Jesus and His Times Reader’s Digest Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.: Pleasantville, New York, Montreal 1987, pp.24-25 In the book of Jeremiah, God had warned the people of Israel that they were going to be taken over by Babylon. King Jehoiachin would be abandoned by God. Jeremiah speaks to the leadership of Israel, “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people - the shepherds of my sheep - for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:1 New Living Translation. Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out my judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. Jeremiah 23:2 But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. Jeremiah 23:3 Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the LORD, have spoken! Jeremiah 23:4 For the time is coming says the LORD, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. (righteous branch). He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. Jeremiah 23:5 And this will be his name: ‘The LORD is Our Righteousness.” (Yahweh Tsidqenu) In that day Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. Jeremiah 23:6 This brings us to our point in Mark 6:30. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:1-3NLT The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. Mark 6:30-31 New Living Translation So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd and he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Mark 6:34 NLT Sheep without a shepherd may refer to: “individuals or nations who had forgotten God (Numbers 27:17; I Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5,8; Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34).” All the Trades and Occupations of the Bible A Fascinating Study of Ancient Arts and Crafts by Herbert Lockyer, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1969, p. 201d. Jesus was the Good Shepherd that was prophesized about in Jeremiah. He was promised to come by the covenant that God made with Abraham (Through your seed I will bless the world). He was talked about in the Garden of Eden when Eve was told that the servant (Satan) would bite your heel and you would strike his head. Jesus was the promised Messiah that would take away the sins of the world. How should knowing and understanding that Jesus is our Good Shepherd affect us on a daily basis? Whenever I’m afraid I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 - We can trust him. Jesus feeds the 5,000. Nothing is impossible with Jesus. Jesus wants to sometimes test us so that we can trust him to do the impossible so that we can grow in our faith in him. [Example of the Ropes Course and taking greater risks because of my trust in those belaying me. My instructor was like Jesus, or a coach.] When we can trust Jesus, we can do amazing things. God isn’t looking for great people to do great things for God. God is looking for ordinary people who are willing to trust God to do Great things. (This was told to me when I got ordained) “Immediately after this, (the feeding of the 5,000 and their families with only five loaves and two fish with twelve baskets of bread and fish left over), Mark 6:35-44 “Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” Mark 6:37. But Jesus said, “You feed them.” With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people.” “How much bread do you have he asked? Go and find out.” They came back and responded, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterwards, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. “A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed. Mark 6: The disciples should have learned that when Jesus is involved, anything is possible. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows. With blessings. Psalm 23:4-5NLT Jesus walked on the water on the Sea of Galilee in the early morning hours while the disciples were struggling to get a boat under control. Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them (Greek about the fourth watch of the night), walking on the water. He intended to go past them., but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” (Or The ‘I AM ’is here; Greek reads I am. See Exodus 3:14). Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. Mark 6:41-52 What did the disciples learn? That Jesus can walk on water and can control the elements of nature. That they have nothing to fear when Jesus is around. That when Jesus insists that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, everything is going to be alright. Jesus was willing to allow his disciples to go it on their own, but when he saw they needed help, he interceded for them. He will not leave us to fight our fears alone. He is always there right beside us. We can trust him to see us through. If Jesus asks us to do something, he will give us the ability to do it. This is true shepherding or discipleship. Has Jesus asked you to do anything for him? Are you trusting him to help you complete the task? Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:4 NLT After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once. And they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went - in villages, cities or the countryside - they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. Mark 6:53-56 NLT People need someone to trust in. Someone to have hope in, something to have hope in. We all need a shepherd. We all need Jesus and we all should do our best to point people to Jesus. [My last experience on the plane flying home from Denver, CO talking to Adam.] Are you, or have you been experiencing the presence of God in your lives in such a way that you can share that joy with others who are in need of that same experience? We can’t give what we haven’t experienced ourselves. We can only give to others what we have first received ourselves. We need to spend time with Jesus every day so that we are full of his Word. We need to be in prayer to Jesus every day so that we can take all of our cares, worries to him. We can also help others to learn how to take their cares, worries and concerns unto Jesus. [Ralph walking by Haddon Lake with his dog Molly]. Conclusion The Good Shepherd has come in the person of Jesus Christ. We need to follow his guidance, turn over our life to him and go where he leads us. After all, he is the Good Shepherd, and he will never lead us astray. We can put our trust in Him! Amen
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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ July 7 2024) Sermon Title – Declarations of Dependence Text – Psalm 48 Rev Scott Morschauser First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ June 30 2024) Sermon Title – Keeping The Faith Text – Mark 5:21-43 Rev Dwayne Doyle There are different extremes of faith or lack of faith. When my wife and I were on a mission trip to Belarus in 1998, we were visiting a hospital. Our guests took us around to many hospitals and children’s homes to give gifts to patients and put on a Christmas show. In this one particular hospital there were, as in any hospital, many sick people lying in bed. I went over to one patient and offered to pray for him. Suddenly one of the people who were with us said, “why pray, that won’t do anything.” I found out later that she was an atheist from Latvia. I was with folks who had lived through communism in the former Soviet Union. While in Russia in 1994, I met believers who had survived years in prison, others were faithful atheists committed to the state, and others were Orthodox Christians. I thought it was a usual practice request to pray for someone. I disregarded the lack of belief in a God that didn’t exist and prayed with the man in the hospital anyway. But my experience shows that faith in God isn’t accepted by everyone. Today, we have two stories in our New Testament Lesson. One is about a father who just wanted to see his daughter live. The other is about a woman who suffered from a hemorrhage. One was motivated out of the love he had for his daughter to ask Jesus to help heal her. The other had tried every possible means to bring healing to her bleeding, but after 12 years of trying she thought Jesus was her last hope. Where do you go when you are desperate for help? Most of us go to God. When Jesus was asked by Jairus, the leader of the local synagogue, to come help his daughter, you can see his desperation. He ‘pleaded fervently’, he fell at Jesus’ feet. He said, “My little daughter is dying . . . Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” Jesus’ reaction wasn’t to get upset with Jairus. The scripture says, “Jesus went with him, and all the people followed crowding around him.” Mark 5:23b (Story about my daughter Sarah getting hurt and how it affected me as a father. I cried out to God to help her. I can in some way relate to Jairus in his concern for his daughter). At other times in scripture Jesus said, “ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.” “You have not because you ask not.” “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all of these things shall be added unto you.” “If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain ‘be removed into the sea’ and it will be moved.” Jesus was often disappointed in the disciples’ lack of faith when they couldn’t heal people, doubted that they could survive a storm at sea with Jesus in their boat. Putting our faith in Jesus is the first step to believing that he is alive and real. Acting on our faith as we follow Him is like developing our faith muscle. The more we exercise it, the stronger it will get. How is your faith muscle? Meanwhile, getting back to today’s scripture, “As Jesus was going to help heal Jairus’ daughter, a woman saw Jesus in the crowd. She thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Mark 5:28. Probably to her surprise, when she touched his robe, the scripture records, “Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.” Mark 5:29. Before we try to analyze what took place in this story, let’s first of all recognize the beautiful thing that happened. A woman who was suffering from an ailment for twelve years, was finally freed from her suffering. That is great news! And the amazing thing is that Jesus didn’t even know who had touched Him. The scripture records, “Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” And Jesus’ reaction again to someone seeking to be healed from Him was not to get upset. In fact, when the woman realized that Jesus was seeking her out, the scripture records, “Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of Him [Jesus], and told Him what she had done.” Mark 5:33 Your suffering is over. Jesus’ reaction was one of compassion and encouragement to the woman. He said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Mark 5:34. There is no shame in asking for help. On several occasions, when someone asked Jesus for something, He answered in a way that did not seem at first encouraging. The Syrophoenician woman who sought healing for her daughter, Jesus’ mother Mary asking Jesus to help when the wine ran out at the wedding. And what about people who earnestly ask God for a healing and never get one? We’ll come to this in a minute. Just to let you know . . . I am not for pain. I believe we should do what we can to relieve the pain from which we are suffering. Jesus does not condemn us for coming to Him with our concerns. He came for this very purpose, to heal the sick, free those who are prisoners, raise the dead, preach the gospel to the poor. He came for all of our needs. Getting back to our story, Jesus has now dealt with the woman’s hemorrhaging problem and is back to helping Jairus’ dying 12-year-old daughter. But at that time . . . the troubling news comes to Jairus, “When he [Jesus] was speaking to her [the woman healed of her bleeding], messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” Mark 5:35 Jesus’ reaction to Jairus, and I would dare to say, to us, was “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Mark 5:36 “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” I am going to say it again, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Has anyone been trying to discourage you lately? Jesus was not easily discouraged as we shall now see. As Jesus, Jairus, Jesus’ disciples, and the crowd approached Jairus’ home, there was much commotion. Jesus said to those at his house, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead: she’s only asleep.” Mark 5:39. The crowd replied by laughing at Jesus. “But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and His three disciples (James, John and Peter) into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand he said to her, “Talitha koum.” Which means. “Little girl, get up!” And the girl who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around!” Note that the word ‘immediately’ is used extensively throughout the gospel of Mark. The reaction of everyone in the room was that they were “overwhelmed and totally amazed.” Mark 5:44 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened and then He told them to give her something to eat.” Mark 5:43 Jesus was doing the ministry that His heavenly Father had told Him to do while here on earth. It was the one time in history that God came to the earth from heaven as one of us. We could touch and feel Jesus. He talked to us. He cried with us. He had compassion on us. He healed our infirmities. He didn’t judge us. We should feel comfortable bringing every one of our concerns to Him today. He is not going to be upset with us for asking. He only wants to help. Why don’t we bring our concerns to Jesus? Why don’t we intercede to God for others who are suffering? I am not saying that we shouldn’t go to the doctor, or to counseling, or take mediation, but what is stopping us from going to Jesus first to ask for his help? I know, of course, that many of us do take our burdens to the Lord. But I think it is just human nature to first worry and then try to fix things on our own before going to God. What about those with long-term illnesses? Is there ever a point where we just accept our plight in life, or the plight of another person’s life? (Example of the man from Mt. Holly who had a huge tumor growing in his stomach. When I asked to pray for him, he just asked me to pray that the Lord would take him home to be with the Lord. Also, another man from my church in Washington State desperately wanted to be with the Lord, but he felt that his family wanted him to stay around for their sake. He had had open heart surgery and wanted no more rescue attempts made on his life. These are difficult situations I had to discern how to pray for in my congregations as a pastor.) I remember hearing about Joni Eareckson Toda sharing how, that when she found out she would be a quadriplegic, i.e., paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life, wanted to at one point to end her life. Because of her situation, she asked someone to help her to take her own life. She didn’t want to go on if she could never be a whole person. This was true of another young man, Nick Vujicic, who was born without the arms or legs of a normal person. He too contemplated killing himself. When we get that desperate and think it is time to end it all because we believe we will never be healed or whole again, that is a point in time when we need to give our condition to the Lord and ask Him to do with us whatever he wants to do. He created us, he allows things to happen to us. He knows what we can take and cannot take. “God will not tempt us beyond that which we can handle but with every temptation will give a means of escape.” (my paraphrase) But for all of us, we need to give our lives to the Lord and trust that He will help us to get through whatever it is we are feeling or experiencing from our situation. More things to learn from Joni Eareckson Toda and Nick Vujicic about coping, accepting, and living with life impairments. Nick Vujicic. An Australian man born without arms or legs, has shared his story in a ‘60 Minutes’ Australia’ episode titled ‘Man with no arms no legs tackles daily obstacles”. In his testimony, Vujicic discusses his rare condition, tetra-amelia syndrome, and the challenges he faced growing up. Nick wanted to take his own life at age 10 because he thought he had no purpose in life, he would always be dependent on his family, he would never marry. He didn’t go through with it because he thought it would cause his family more grief than good. He went on to live and was bullied in school. Today he is married with four biological children and speaks all over the world. He is a Christian. For Joni, God permits her to continue to be a quadriplegic in order to keep her dependent on Him. Every morning, she has to ask God for the strength to get through the day. Some people rush through their morning, do a quick quiet time and then go the rest of the day without any acknowledgement of God in their lives. Also, Joni feels as though she wouldn’t have met as many people as she would have met with disabilities who are even worse off than she is. They remind her that because they have great need, God’s presence in their lives is bigger. Joni believes that many Christians are not really living lives for Christ. She sees her condition as helping her to bear her cross as Jesus had to bear His cross. Some day she will have her reward in heaven. Both characters have spouses to support them. We need friends, family, and the church to see us though our difficult circumstances. The point of these stories is that at times, God allows people to have ailments. For Joni and Nick’s testimony it seems clear that they see God’s hand in their lives, disability or not. “For God works all things together for the good for those that are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 He (God) promises to be with us through it. We must trust Him. The real things in life--Sometimes, life is exceedingly difficult, and we want to throw in the towel. We want it all to be over. In those cases, you need to turn to Jesus to ask Him for help, to give your very life to Him. Ask Him to take charge of your life and help you. But when you have done that and you are still feeling as though you want to die, you need help. You need Christian brothers and sisters. You need your Christian family praying for you reaching out to you. And if you are still feeling depressed or suicidal, you may need to talk to a counselor and take medication to help you through your depression and thoughts of suicide. There is no shame in this as a Christian, asking for help. Jesus can work through counseling and the use of medication. He created those things. There is no shame in asking for help. In fact, you are actually very wise to ask for help. The point is, don’t try to do it on your own. And it is never right to take one’s own life. (My experience in seminary when my roommate signed me up for counseling when I was extremely sad after my girlfriend broke up with me. I went to the counselor and his advice was very helpful for me. I was, however, a little shocked that my roommate had made an appointment for me without first asking for my permission). The Apostle Paul was a perfect example of someone who asked God several times that some ailments of him be taken away. But God’s response was definite, “My strength is perfected in weakness.’ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people, then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-3NLT In the meantime, do what you can to encourage one another. Jesus is coming. Keep the Faith! First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ June 23, 2024) Sermon Title – Who Is This, Anyway Text – Mark 4:35-41 Rev William Gaskill Who Is This Anyway? II Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41 Okay, I’m going to preach to myself and you are invited to eavesdrop. Did you ever find yourself in the midst of such a storm that you knew you were in over your head, a storm over which you had no control, a storm strong and unsettling, a storm that threatened to overturn life as you knew it? I’ve been there more than once in my life. Is there a way to find shelter in the time of storm as the old hymn has it? Is there any hope of finding peace in the midst of trials and the chaos they cause? It’s a long and complicated story of which I will spare you the details, but in one week, my daughter, a single mother of five, will be officially homeless. She and four of her children are moving in with us at the end of this week. Good-bye peace and quiet; good-bye leisurely mornings over coffee and scripture reading with my wife; good-bye spacious home with several rooms within which to find solitude; good-bye peaceful meals, prepared in an un-crowded kitchen where all the pots and pans have been well washed and ready for use. And a whole lot more, but need I go on? We saw this movie once already, seven years ago. As Yogi Berra said once, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Lord have mercy! Through this and many other storms Jean and I have walked and I must say, this time around I feel a curious sense of peace. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to please the Lord. Oh, I’ve prayed my Gethsemane prayers: “Lord, if it be possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless…”. I’ve done a little whining: “God, I’m no longer a young man; I don’t know if I’m up to it!” “Peace. Be still!” I’d read the story of Jesus and the disciples out in the boat on the Sea of Galilee many times before I actually went there and saw it for myself. When I saw it I thought, “Huh? How could anyone feel their life was in jeopardy on this quiet little lake?” The Sea of Galilee is only 7 miles across (on a clear day you can see the opposite shore) and 13 miles long. It could easily fit into the Delaware or Chesapeake Bay many times. It was after that trip to Israel that church members Tom and Shirley took us out on their boat in the Northeast River, which is a tributary of the Chesapeake. Suddenly, a violent thunderstorm arose and then I understood how someone out on the water could get really scared. And the water wasn’t even deep! And I’ve learned since that due to the topography around the Sea of Galilee there is a great wind funnel that can cause such violent waves that even today in parking lots on the west shore there are signs warning motorists that even their cars are liable to be swamped should a sudden storm arise. The Jewish people had an uneasy relationship with all sea waters. Scholars have noted the parallels between this story and the story of Jonah. You remember old fish food; Jonah was sent to warn the wicked city of Nineveh to repent or else. Jonah had two problems. One, he hated Nineveh and wanted bad things to happen to them. The last thing he wanted to do was warn them. So he went AWOL on God’s call, but God used a stormy sea and a great fish to halt him in mid-flight. Sometimes it takes dramatic measures to elicit our obedience to God. Jonah knew enough about God to know that God isn’t willing that even one should perish, as the Apostle Peter put it hundreds of years later, and that the odds were that the people of Nineveh would repent and God would show them mercy instead of judgment, which, of course, is exactly what happened. It sent Jonah off in an angry sulk. And of course there are other sea stories, like the one from the Exodus, the story of Israel being blocked by the Red Sea in their frantic escape from the pursuing Egyptians. There, God opened the way through by splitting the sea apart. The sea that confronted them caused them to fear that their hoped for salvation was about to evaporate under the wrath of the Egyptian warriors. Then God came to the rescue. God is Lord of all the mighty waters on earth, both physical and spiritual. Or you could go back all the way to Genesis and see God’s creative authority over the waters of chaos setting boundaries and limits over them. But unbelief can leave our confidence in tatters. Oceans are beyond our control but not beyond God’s. Sometimes though, we wonder if the boundaries will hold up. There is much more in the Old Testament that shows us that Israel did not view seas as happy little swimming holes painted by Bob Ross. We find malicious and threatening sea monsters from the Book of Daniel all the way through the Book of Revelation. Add to that the ancients’ belief that the whole creation, both sea and land, was infested with hostile demonic forces that were prowling around like roaring lions looking for someone to devour. So, the actual weather conditions and resulting rough seas were augmented by the disciples’ prevailing world view. Result? Terror! Wake up Jesus! Save us; we are perishing! How can you sleep at a time like this? Don’t you care? Ah, the storms of life and our questions. Storms seem to always generate questions. And like the disciples, when the storm breaks, often our first reaction is fear. We are in over our heads. We want to be in control but we are not. Forces much bigger and stronger than us are threatening our lives. As our fears intensify, we may come to think that we have a sleeping Savior. Oh, we believe he is always nearby, but we suspect that as conditions worsen he is possibly not paying attention. We’ve read Psalm 121 that assures us that our God never slumbers nor sleeps, but if he’s awake, why doesn’t God do something? Can’t God see we are in real trouble? The disciples shake Jesus and cry, “Wake up!” We’ve also read the end of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you and lo, I am with you always to the close of the age.” In the next moment he ascended up and out of their sight. How can we know he is with us when we can’t see him? How can we put these things together in a coherent whole? Is our Savior really present in the storms of our lives or are we engaged in wishful thinking? Where are you when I need you Lord? Are people of faith what the world thinks we are, gullible fools? Jesus, wake up! Jesus’ eyes pop open but he seems almost serene, so the next question is, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Why aren’t you as afraid as we are? Don’t you see we are going to drown? They’d already seen Jesus perform remarkable and mighty signs, but that was then and this is now! Why don’t you do something? Sure you can heal people, you can exercise powerful authority over the demons that torment individuals, but how about the malevolence of this violent wind and this stormy sea? If you are not personally acquainted with this question, you simply have not been in a strong enough storm yet. Sooner or later most of us get our own stormy boat ride. When storms rage on and nothing seems to get better, the most natural question is, “Don’t you care?” That question’s first cousin is the oft heard question, “How could a good God allow this to happen?” Or, “If God is good, why doesn’t God come to help us?” These questions transport us to difficult theological problems. The first thing to say is that the presence and power of evil in the world is impossible to explain. We can experience its onslaught, we long to understand the how and why of it all, but it is beyond our powers of reason. That’s why Paul wrote, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) We soon realize that the battle doesn’t belong to us but to the Lord. Without God’s help we are lost. There are not just atmospheric dangers, not just physical dangers we can understand by study and by applying our scientific methods to the trials of life. There is a spiritual dimension to our struggles that we can only meet and overcome by faith and trust in God. Come what may we must trust, because just as evil is inscrutable, so is the grace of God. Oh the riches, the depth, and the kindness of God’s grace! God’s goodness is far beyond our capacity to limit or define! Sometimes in the evil day, the goodness of God seems to be eclipsed by difficult circumstances, but we believe in spite of it all, or not. If we look at the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we see Jesus doing all sorts of remarkable signs and wonders. But each gospel has a turning point where Jesus sets his face to go up to Jerusalem, there to die on a Roman cross. The juxtaposition of his gracious and compassionate work, his signs and wonders which put the power of God on display for all to see with his gruesome end is not accidental. Each of the four gospels has been steering us to an encounter with crucified love, with the life of God’s Son laid down for us and our salvation. His love is on full display in his suffering, not just in his miraculous deeds of healing and deliverance. Jesus is hanging there by choice to fulfill his mission. There humanity hurls insults that are the fruit of their unanswerable questions. If you are the Son of God, come down from there. It is because he is the Son of God that he doesn’t come down. As the old choir song goes, “He could have called ten thousand angels, to destroy the world and set him free. He could have called ten thousand angels, but he died alone for you and me.” He is hanging there for love, even love for those who hate him. “He saved others, he cannot save himself,” they jeered. If he saved himself, none of us would be saved; we would be eternally lost. On Golgotha and in every generation since, human hubris has demanded answers that we could not handle if we wanted to. Read God’s answer to Job if you want an illustration. Our natural limitations preclude our ability to fathom the wonders of creation and redemption. It’s humbling to face up to that fact. And our natural man or woman likes the taste of humility about as much as a dose of castor oil. Once, an old farmer friend gave my wife a dose of castor oil for her stomach problems. If you are at all young, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Castor oil was an old-fashioned remedy even then and it tastes nasty. From the face she made I thought she might die on the spot! But the remedy worked. Sometimes God’s remedies are also hard to swallow. Confronted by the disciples’ somewhat accusatory questions, Jesus turned the tables with a question of his own: “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he rebuked the wind and the waves: “Peace! Be still!” And suddenly there was a dead calm. The disciples’ fear of the elements turned to reverent fear of the one in the boat with them: “Who is this that even wind and sea obey him?” Now that’s the right question: who is this? It’s the question that each of us must ask and answer; do we believe Jesus is the Son of God or not? And do we realize that Jesus is not only Lord of each person’s heart, but he is Lord of the whole created order? As John said at the beginning of his Gospel, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” The old time commentator William Barclay put forth a little outline of the places we can find peace, listing three areas where we all spend some time. He said first that we can find peace in sorrow. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and his promise that we will be raised with him to newness of life places a boundary around our grief. The comforting presence of the Holy Spirit enters our sorrows and begins to give us consolation and a peace that passes understanding. God’s comfort far exceeds our capacity to fathom it rationally. It makes no sense, but there it is. Second, we can find God’s peace when we are faced with life’s problems. We must learn in prayer to recognize the still small voice of our Good Shepherd and learn to trust the guidance we receive. Third, we must learn to find peace that replaces anxiety. Anxiety is the fear of an imagined but undefined situation which may not even come about. We create dreadful scenarios and then fret over how to avoid them. Paul wrote in Philippians that we are to have no anxiety about anything. You can have anxiety or you can choose not to have it. You can choose to trust in Jesus in all circumstances. So, in one week, my daughter and four grandchildren are moving in. So here are the choices I am making and the ones I will try to stick to, though I might stumble a time or ten. I am going to thank God every day that I am able to shelter the people I love so much. I am going to focus upon love that I can give and that I most assuredly will receive. I am going to praise God that while they are with me I have a golden opportunity to model what it is like to be a Christian. I am going to give my time and attention. I will seek new ways to nurture the intimate moments that my wife and I have enjoyed throughout our days. Some things are going to need re-configuration. And so on and so on. None of this is going to be easy, but all of it will be worth it! You get the point, I’m sure. Life is about choices, not just about what to do but how to feel and what to believe; but enough about me. How about you? What storm are you facing? Whatever it is, never forget who is in the boat with you and what he is able to do to guide you, protect you, and bless you. May you know the nearness of Jesus Christ no matter what. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ June 16, 2024) Sermon Title – Praying The Ultimate Text – Matthew 8:23-27 Rev Scott Morschauser First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ June 9, 2024) Sermon Title – The Universal Christ Text – Mark 3:20-35 Rev Joel Buckwalter First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ June 2, 2024) Sermon Title – Setting Priorities Text – Mark 2:23-3:6 Rev Beth Thomas The lectionary is turning to the Gospel of Mark again and even though we are only in the second chapter today, Jesus has already done some things that the Pharisees see as threating. They are already distrustful, suspicious of him. They are making it one of their priorities to watch him closely. So, they notice that at some point on the Sabbath as Jesus and the disciples are walking through a grainfield, the disciples are plucking off the heads of grain and eating them. We suppose that the disciples were hungry and did not have to follow a gluten free diet. The Pharisees, you remember, were a Jewish sect distinguished by its strict observance of Jewish law, who had a sort of sense of superiority and holiness about themselves. They were men who had been raised in the Jewish faith and spent their lifetimes studying and following its long-held traditions. They were experts on the law and eager to enforce it. But there wasn’t anything in Jewish law that prepared them for Jesus. Here in Mark’s first chapter this unknown and seemingly un-educated carpenter has shown up and called an unclean spirit out of a man right in the synagogue. He’s healed Simon’s mother-in-law and as soon as people heard about that they brought him all kinds of people who were sick or demon-possessed. He cleansed a leper and told him not to talk about his healing but the leper couldn’t keep quiet. And let’s not forget about that man who couldn’t walk. When his friends brought him to Jesus the crowd was so big they couldn’t get near him so they removed a portion of the roof of the house Jesus was in and lowered the man down before him. He forgave the man’s sins and healed him. What is going on?? Now, he’s breaking Sabbath law! The idea of Sabbath has a long history. It is mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis, when God rested on the seventh day, after finishing the work of creation. God blessed the Sabbath and set it apart. In Exodus 16 that seventh day—the Sabbath--was singled out as a day of resting from the harvesting of manna. In chapter 20 of Exodus the Sabbath becomes the topic of the Fourth Commandment. Keeping the Sabbath holy required the Israelites to abstain from the work they normally engaged in on the other six days, In Exodus 31 things get really serious when God tells Moses “You yourself are to speak to the Israelites: “You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people… whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore, the Israelites shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” After this idea became Jewish law, Jewish scholars and leaders shifted their thinking about the Sabbath. Instead of it just being a cessation of normal activities they begin to contemplate the ways in which the Israelite should worship God on the Sabbath. You can imagine the debates: “The law says that the Sabbath Day is to be kept holy and no work done on that day. “So, what should be classified as work?” All kinds of things made the list: carrying a burden for example counted as work. But then the scholars asked, what is a burden? According to William Barclay in his study of this story in Matthew, the definition they came up with was “food equal in weight to a dried fig, enough wine for mixing in a goblet, milk enough for one swallow, honey enough to put upon a wound, oil enough to anoint a small member, water enough to moisten an eye-salve, paper enough to write a notice upon, ink enough to write two letters of the alphabet, reed enough to make a pen”—and so on endlessly. According to the Rev. Robert Deffenbaugh, the law makers spent endless hours arguing about the laws of the Torah: whether a man could or could not lift a lamp from one place to another on the Sabbath, whether a tailor committed a sin if he went out with a needle in his robe, whether a woman might wear a brooch, or a man might lift his child on the Sabbath Day. To the law makers, these things were the essence of a religion of legalism, what we might call nit-picking rules and regulations. Another bit of background to keep in mind as we look at Jesus and the Disciples walking through the grain field is that in Deuteronomy 23:25 we read, “When you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor's grain.” So technically, Jesus and the disciples could pluck grain as they walked through a field. It was and may still be a practice of hungry travelers in Palestine where fields are not fenced and there are narrow paths through the crops. But the Pharisees objected to the actions of Jesus and the disciples because they interpreted their plucking and eating as reaping—working—on the Sabbath. Which brings us to the central question of the Sabbath—is it God’s gift to his hard-working people or is it the work of the Jewish leaders to make even the Sabbath difficult because of all its accompanying rules? Was the Sabbath created to serve humankind or is it about making humankind serve God through the following of so many laws? Jesus asks the Pharisees if they remember the story of David, who, fleeing from Saul, stopped at the temple at Nob near Jerusalem and asked the priests for bread. The only bread they had was the ceremonial bread, set out for Jehovah. This holy bread, baked on the Sabbath, consisted of 12 loaves and could only be eaten by the priests, after it had been on exhibit for a specified period of time. This is the bread the priests gave to David to eat and that David shared with his companions. In other words the priests used what they had to meet a very human need even if it meant breaking Sabbath law. Jesus may also have been alluding to how busy priests were on the Sabbath. There was bread to bake, sacrificial lambs to kill, lamps to be lit, incense to be burned…so the prohibition against work on the Sabbath was not universal. Maybe work on the Sabbath for the glory of God was okay and God certainly calls us all to feed the hungry. Maybe the prohibition should have been limited to work for worldly gain? Jesus may also be saying that sometimes certain demands of the law are rightly set aside in favor of pursuing greater values or meeting greater needs, especially when those greater needs promote a person’s well-being and facilitate the arrival of blessings. When Jesus says the purpose of the Sabbath has always been to serve humankind (as opposed to making humankind serve some stern religious principle), he is referring to the reason behind Deuteronomy 5:12-15, in which God institutes the Sabbath so a people who once toiled in slavery can forever enjoy at least one day of rest each week. So maybe the proper function of the Sabbath is to promote life and extol God as a liberator. In the larger context maybe Jesus is pointing out that for the Pharisees religion had simply become a matter of following and enforcing the rules. Maybe Jesus is saying that by doing that religion turns a blind eye to mercy and kindness and compassion. Weren’t the priests being compassionate by offering the bread to David? Shouldn’t the Pharisees have recognized that the plucking of a few heads of grain was not the same as harvesting a field? Then with the Pharisees already angry, Jesus incited them further by saying that the Son of Man (meaning himself) is the lord of the Sabbath. For the Pharisees this was blasphemy for only God is lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is there to remind them that the Sabbath is for the pleasure of humankind, not another reason to look down their noses at folks. He is “grieved at their hardness of heart.” Our second scene, where Jesus heals a man with a withered hand is another example of choosing compassion and life-giving activity over a strict adherence to the rules on the Sabbath. When it comes to healing on the Sabbath the Pharisees are once again dead set against such activity. Jesus on the other hand is all for it—as God is for any activity accomplished in God’s name that sustains or enhances life. The scene in the synagogue intensifies the conflict over Jesus’ authority, his values, and the urgency of his claims. For the Pharisees who lie in wait, watching, the issue is not whether Jesus has the power to heal the man’s hand, it is whether doing so on the Sabbath demonstrates a willful disregard for the law of God -- a law that was originally believed to give good order to life and to provide conditions for encountering God’s blessings and holiness. Jesus’ response to the Pharisees -- “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” -- indicates that he disagrees with their premise. By orchestrating the man’s healing, he does not disparage or break the law in any way (for nothing Jesus does here can be considered “work” that the Sabbath prohibits). Rather, Mark casts Jesus as honoring the original purpose of the Sabbath commandment. It is as if Jesus is saying that if the chief objective of the law is to save and preserve life, what better day is there than the Sabbath to heal? Isn’t the Sabbath, a day meant to promote God’s commitment to humanity’s well-being, the perfect time to restore a withered hand? With the restoration of his hand, the man in the synagogue may be able to find work that will allow him to provide for a family and improve the quality of life for all. It was more than just fixing something that was wrong, it was a restoration to whole-ness. At this point we aren’t very far into the gospel of Mark but even now the Pharisees and Herodians want to destroy Jesus. To destroy the life of the one who brings life. It is the beginning of Mark’s theme that an institution can become an end in itself, stifling legitimate concerns of those outside that may seem to threaten stability. It illustrates how frequently insidious forces we scarcely notice can transform the best-educated, best-intentioned among us into insensitive leaders, desperately out of touch with what’s real.” Such insensitivity and brokenness move Jesus to grief in the synagogue when he considers the stony, Pharaoh-like hearts that regards anything as more valuable than removing suffering and disadvantage. But Mark also has good news to announce. This story of the in-breaking reign of God will also tell of compassion and transformation. Jesus, like the God who instituted the Sabbath, is committed to preserving life. His ministry will expose the destruction that comes with fear, governmental pretense, and religious hypocrisy, wherever they reside, and finally, he will deliver us from them. These stories of Jesus bringing life and truth on the Sabbath are instructive to us today. How is the Sabbath life-giving for us? How are we paying attention to the life-giving spirit of God in our own lives, and how can we support others in doing the same? When we find the spirit of discouragement hovering within us, how do we return to following Jesus? Sometimes we can reflect on those times and places of life-giving energy. Sometimes others have to hold the Christ light for us when we cannot see the way and sometimes others must share their bread with us, so we may sleep through the night. In turn, we must do the same for others, as Jesus did. I think too, this is a cautionary tale so relevant to today’s political climate and the climate in the church. We all know people who can recite one or two verses from the Bible to back up their ideas of who should and shouldn’t be in the church. And sometimes these same people are the ones who, professing God’s love and life-giving agenda, extend those beliefs to include who should and should not be allowed in the country, who should and should not be stopped on the street and searched by police. Then, on the other hand, we have people who can site Bible verses to prove just the opposite and almost seem to believe with the Beatles that all you need is love. What would you have said about Jesus and the disciples in the wheatfield? Would you have looked at them and noticed their hunger? Could you forgive them for eating heads of grain on the Sabbath? Or would you have been shocked that they broke Sabbath law? If you see hungry people on the street today does your heart go out to them or do you judge them as lazy beggars looking for a handout? If you had known the man with the withered hand all your life and noticed Jesus had healed him would you have rejoiced for him or would you have been angered that Jesus healed him on the Sabbath? Would it give you joy that this man could at last lead a normal life? Would you have recommended him for a job or would you scoff and say, “Well, it doesn’t count because it happened on the Sabbath and look at all the other people Jesus didn’t heal that day?” What does the condition of your heart lead your mouth to say? What does the condition of your heart lead you to do to give life to others? What are your priorities? Lots to think about in the coming week! First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 26, 2024) Sermon Title – Be Where You Are Text – 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 Elder Sheila Palmer First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood 21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 19, 2024) Sermon Title – The Freedom to Choose Text – Romans6:12-14 Rev. Cliff Jones We are all addicted to something. I’m not sure where I first heard that or when, but it’s stuck with me: we are all addicted to something. Do you think that’s true? I went on-line to see what I could find out. I came across an article from the Huffington Post that said, “We’re all addicted to something: it’s just a question of owning up to your own particular poison.” [“Is everyone addicted to something?” - BJ Gallagher (2011)] According to author Anne Wilson Schaef, it’s “virtually impossible to grow up in the United States without developing some form of addiction.” Interesting…. And, in an on-line article in February of this year, Forbes Magazine says: “In one way or another, each person has at least one addiction….” What would our addiction be? Well, there’s drugs and alcohol, of course. That’s what we think of when we think of addictions. But, there’s also gambling - a cousin of mine gambled away his kids' college fund; ya, that’s an addiction - also pornography, smoking. But, say I don’t have any of those compulsions, am I free from addictions? Well, but wait; there are other addictions, too. Can you name some? How about coffee? I mean, I know people that get headaches if they don’t have coffee first thing in the morning. There’s texting and scrolling through your phone dozens of times a day, playing computer and iPad games over and over. Aren’t these addictions? Then, there’s chocolate (now I’m hitting close to home, aren’t I?) How about Netflix or Hulu binge-watching? There’s also running and exercising, compulsive buying, shop-lifting, taking risks to get adrenaline highs, worrying… worrying, the drive to succeed, perfectionism, day-dreaming, escapism, our need to look as good as we can, and certain what we may call ‘hobbies’. There are a lot of addictions going around. Maybe we should pause and ask, what is an addiction? Here’s a definition by Dr. Carter Stout (goop on-line), that I think comes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): Addictions are a “range of conditions characterized by the compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences.” We want to do something and keep doing it, even though we know it will bring results we don’t like. I don’t know… sound like me, and you? But, before we answer, we should ask what the Bible says about addictions. For us Christians, seeing what Scripture says is vital to every issue. It may surprise you, but the Bible actually talks about addictions. Yep, it does. Just listen to the Apostle Paul. You remember the apostle Paul, the sold-out, go-for-broke, willing to die for Jesus, putting everything on the line for Jesus’ apostle? One of the great, great followers of Jesus of all time? Yes, that apostle. He says, and I quote, Romans 7:15 - “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Wow, did you hear that? This man of God admitting that he does what he knows he should not do. That sounds like an addiction, doesn’t it? And, if Paul can’t escape an addiction, what hope do we have? He goes on to say: “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but Sin which dwells within me.” What does he mean by ‘sin’? We think we know, but there is another meaning. Take a look with me at Romans 6:5-11: 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For he who has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 9 For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. There are at least 3 things this passage tells us: One - We are all addicted to Sin that enslaves us. Did you hear the word, ‘enslaved’ in verse 6? “That we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” Sin’ as used here, is a force inside us that enslaves us to its will. We are not talking about individual acts that we call sin. For instance, we lie; that’s a sin. We take a parking space that really another driver should have. That’s a sin. We say something hurtful and uncaring. That’s a sin. And, that’s one Biblical understanding of sin, the specific, individuals acts we do that goes against what God wants. All these various sins are just symptoms, symptoms to a deeper force within us, what Paul here calls ‘Sin’, Sin with a capital S, a force inside us that directs what we do, what we say, and how we think. It is a fundamental urge within us of self-interest. Think of an infant, let’s say a girl. She cries, because she wants or needs something. She doesn’t care what time of the day or night it is, or how inconvenient it is for the parents. No, she demands what she wants. Skip forward a couple of years. Now, let’s take the case of a 2 1/2 year old boy. Now, he can begin to verbalize wants and needs. He says, “I want milk.” It doesn’t make any different what time of day or night it is, or how inconvenient it is for the parents. He expects milk now! As time progresses, you and I were trained to be more polite, and even to learn patience, but one way or another, what we want is most important to us. And, as adults, even though some of us are more quiet in expressing our desires, or louder, or more passive or assertive, no matte our personality, or how we try to cover it, underneath it all, self-interest rules. We are directed towards self. And, because it controls us, it is an addiction. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin,” (John 8:34)- Sin with a Capital S. Think of it as a compass. A compasses always moves towards, it is directed to the magnetic north. We have a compass inside us. It directs us, not to North, but to self. It directs us to go after what we want. It squeezes us to move towards what we think will give us happiness. It forces us to act always, always for Self. We may act kindly, generously, lovingly, but underneath it all, we are driven by the magnetic compass inside us to fulfill self. Our compass pulls us, not to N for north, but to S for self. We are directed towards self. This is the first fundamental truth that hits us from this passage in Romans: we are all addicted to Sin the enslaves us. The second thing, Two - Jesus died to Sin. When Jesus died on the cross, his whole body died. His heart stopped pumping, his lungs stopped expanding and contracting with air, his muscle mass began to decay. Everything inside him died, and that included the force of sin inside, the internal magnetic compass that always points towards Self. Just like us, Jesus was infected with the force of Sin. The difference between us and him is that Jesus never gave in to Sin. (Hebrews 4:15) And, when Jesus died, He died to Sin. The force of Sin inside him died as well. It was destroyed. So, when Jesus rose again, the magnetic compass of Sin was no longer inside him. He broke the power of Sin inside him. Look at verse 10: v. 10 - “The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” Jesus rose victorious over death, over evil, and over Sin. He gained the victory over Sin! When Jesus died, he died to Sin. When He rose, he broke the power of Sin that enslaves us. Three - And here is the marvelous truth. Jesus’ victory becomes our victory. When we become a follower of Jesus, his victory is applied to us and gives us the victory as well. Look at v. 6, 7: v. 6, 7 - “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.” Like a thick, braided rope that tethers a boat to the dock, you and I are tethered to Jesus. His death becomes our death. His triumph over the force of Sin becomes our triumph, and for the first time in our life, we are free, free from the magnetic Self that compels to live for ourselves. We are free. v. 8 - “But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” That’s why Paul, in the agony of the struggle between Sinful self and God cries out, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” But, then he goes on to say, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus has freed him and us from the enslavement of the force of Sin. How do we respond to this? Let me tell you a story, a story about a man, 42 years old. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder and has spent 23 years in prison. Life has passed him by, as each day, he wakes up to a loud voice shouting over the P.A, system, washes his face in a bare, silver metal sink attached to the wall in his 10 x 10 cell. With a loud buzz, his cell door unlocks electronically, and he files out to eat an institutional breakfast with hundreds of other prisoners. He spends hours working at a menial job, maybe mopping the floor, or working in the laundry. He breaks for an institutional lunch, and later, an institutional dinner. His evenings, just drift, maybe he watches TV, or just sitting in his cell, with nothing but a bed and a toilet, maybe one desk, and a cellmate. Each day, pretty much the same, drifting, locked up in his room, 22 years. One afternoon, he has a visitor; not a new visitor, but this time, the visitor has the biggest smile he has ever seen. It’s his lawyer from the Innocence Project. His appeal has been granted and his sentence commuted. He is free to leave. The prisoner is in a daze. Free to leave? After 22 years? He falls to his knees. Free. As the lawyer helps him get up, he hugs his lawyer, hugs him tight, and keeps saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in me, thank you for taking my case, thank you for spending months on my appeal even thought I couldn’t pay you.” And, out into the sunlight of freedom he walks, so, so grateful. Jesus is the focus of our gratitude. Jesus triumphs over the tyranny of Sin. You and I no longer need to live for ourselves, but for Jesus. It’s his will, his desires for us that now motivate us. Instead of our lives shrinking in on ourselves, our lives expand outward towards others. Now, we can answer the question, “Why am I still here?” His concerns become our concerns, his directions become our directions, what He wants becomes more important than what we want., even as we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth…” by me and you. We experience what Paul says, (Colossians 3:20): “You have come to fullness of life in (Christ).” Praise be to God! Praise to Jesus for his death and resurrection that frees us to live differently. Charles Wesley captures this immense gratitude in his hymn: Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee. Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, should die for me! But, when I say this, I think about a man named Max. Max was a prisoner in a State Correctional Prison. I knew him for 10 years during the time when I would go in almost weekly to lead a Bible study. The end of my 10 years coincided with Max’s soon release from prison. And, the word began to spread, ‘Max doesn’t want to leave.’ What? An inmate pulled me aside. He said, “After so many years, Max would rather trade the comfort of the predictable for freedom.” How about you? Do you want to live a predictable life, where you try to control what you really can’t? Or, are you ready for true freedom, that comes with responsibility. The freedom to live, not for yourself, but for Jesus? Jesus has set us free from the prison of our own selves. Every day, we choose whether to stay imprisoned in our own little cell with the door wide open, or we walk out, into the freedom Christ has called us to follow his whispers into our brain and his nudges. How do we leave our Sin imprisonment? Well, if you worshipped last month with me, you’ll remember what I said , Pray “Lead me, guide me, Jesus. The Holy Spirit, which we celebrate today, is the Spirit of Jesus. As we practice throughout the day silently saying, “Lead me, guide me, Jesus”, we ask the Spirit to direct us to what He would have us do. And, then, we obey, obey, obey. And, as we obey, the Spirit enables us to do more than what we can do ourselves. You and I are free now, thanks be to God; so free, free to follow Jesus. Lead me, guide me, Jesus. Then, obey, obey, obey. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 12, 2024) Sermon Title – The Value of a Woman Text – Proverbs 31 10-31 Elder Russell Long When I was growing up, we watched family sitcoms like “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Leave it to Beaver,” or “Father Knows Best.” When my kids were growing up it was “The Brady Bunch” and “The Cosbys.” Gender roles were pretty clear, and parents were pretty much in charge of the home. Now a host of family sitcoms turns the family on its head with shows like “The Simpsons, modern Family, Family Guy, etc. it seems like the world has gone crazy. It is a confusing and difficult time for the family. I can’t tell you how glad I am that my children are grown and out on their own. I would not want to be a kid again for anything. I did not have to deal with 1/10 of what kids today encounter. Neither would I want to be a parent today with all the pressures and cultural baggage that families are facing. I tremendously respect and appreciate those of you who are living out the Christian life in your homes on a daily basis. I especially would not want to face the pressure of being a woman in today’s world. The supermodels starve themselves in order to get into their clothes. The movie stars with their own professional makeup artists make you feel like you have no value unless your looks are perfect. The professional business women make you feel like a nobody if you decide to work at home. Those who balance career and home, and volunteer for everything make you feel like giving up. And there are always those who remind you of where you fall short. But the Bible is full of words of encouragement which show how God values women. The world may put you down, but God lifts you up. The world may expect the impossible, but God comes to you with grace and a heart that accepts you for who you are. You are important to God in many ways. I want to talk specifically about three of those ways today. A woman has a special place in the heart of God and his plan for the world. I want to talk about 3 things concerning women. 1-The first thing that I want to emphasize today is that: A woman’s place is in the home. Now don’t go crazy on me here, it’s not what you think, because actually, a man’s place is in the home as well — each of our places is in the home. The home is where we are nurtured, loved and encouraged. That doesn’t mean that a woman’s only place is in the home, but, as with men, it should be her best place. Women are so much better at this nurturing thing than we men are. Home should be where men and women find their meaning, because this is the place of our most important and abiding relationships. God is all about relationships. Having a relationship with God is what it means to be a Christian. Having a relationship with other people is what it means to be fully human. It is in the home where we learn to live with other people in important ways. We learn to forgive other people when they are wrong. We learn to extend grace when they are difficult. We learn not to set unrealistic expectations on others. We learn that love is more than a feeling; it is a deep and abiding commitment that overcomes feelings. It is the Agape love spoken of in the bible. It is an act of the will. A woman’s place is in the home, because she is to be the recipient of these divine gifts expressed through human agents — namely her family. She is shown appreciation. She is told of her value to her husband, children and the home. Home is where the ministry is. We minister to each other. We minister to our children, even though they are grown we try to encourage them in the Christian faith by word and example. Those who believe that only what happens outside the home is important have missed God’s greatest calling as we, both men and women, minister to the people in our homes. We bind their emotional wounds. We lift their spirits. We allow people to be themselves. We show kindness when they have been beaten up by the world. We give smiles and hugs. We listen and try to understand. A woman’s place is many places, but her place is most importantly in the home. 2-The second point I would like to emphasize is: A woman’s place is in the world. Proverbs 31 describes and praises a woman who is truly a worldly woman. She has her own business and takes her place in the marketplace. She is dealing in real estate. She is helping those in need and providing for the needs of her family through her trading. The Bible ends this section describing her activity by saying, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” (Proverbs 31:30-31). You would have to have lived in the time which this was written to appreciate how radical this elevated view of womanhood is. The surrounding cultures did not give women a place of dignity and honor, as the Hebrews did. The whole point of the story of Adam and Eve is that man by himself was inadequate in this world. He needed someone — not just someone to do his work and meet his needs, but a full partner without whom life would not be nearly so rich. 3-Well, the third thing it is important for us to recognize is that: A woman’s place is in the church. We all know that the church could not exist without the women who do so much of the work of the church. And they do this in spite of the fact that they have often been kept out of the positions of leadership. In many churches women are not permitted to preach. Some denominations do not even allow them to hold leadership positions of any kind. Some of this has come about because of Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:12). But we must remember that Paul was starting churches in the middle of pagan cultures which looked on women as little more than property. A woman was the property of a man and could be discarded at will in these godless societies. For a woman to be in a place of authority or preach would have hurt any chance for the church to reach out effectively in that culture. But while these guidelines were culturally appropriate, women gained an increasing role in the life of the church as Christianity influenced the culture. But remember that it was women who faithfully stayed by Jesus in his darkest hour after all the men had fled. They were the last ones at the cross and the first ones at the tomb. They were the first to tell the world about Christ’s resurrection. It was a woman named Anna who first preached to the world about the infant Jesus being the Messiah. A large group of women were in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit fell on the believers. It was a woman named Lydia who was the first gentile convert during Paul’s missionary journey to the European continent. Women made up an important part of the leadership of the early church including the church’s prophets, teachers and ministers. In the Old Testament Hebrew culture, Miriam served alongside her brother Moses in leading Israel. Deborah became a judge, or Prime Minister, of the nation. And the woman Huldah was a prophet. In the New Testament era, Phillip had four daughters who were prophets — they spoke the Word of God. Priscilla was a co-laborer with her husband as they preached and taught in the early church. The church met in the homes identified by the names of women, indicating she was the leader or preacher of that church. In Romans 16:1 it is interesting that Phoebe is described as a “deaconess” or “servant” in many translations. The word in the original Greek is diakonos. When that word is used in context with a man it is most always translated “minister.” There is no reason to believe she was not exactly what the Word of God says she was — a minister in the same sense as men were ministers. I was struck again this year as I read through the book of Acts and realized again what an important place women had in the ministry of the church. As the disciples gathered in the Upper Room to pray, it says, “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:14). The people of Jerusalem had gathered around because the followers of Jesus, both men and women, come out from that prayer meeting speaking in the native tongues of the foreigners in Jerusalem, preaching the message of Christ on that first Pentecost. Some thought they were drunk, because they couldn’t understand what they were saying, but Peter explained that they were full of the Holy Spirit. Listen again as he quotes the Old Testament in that sermon: “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy’” (Acts 2:16-18). Paul said “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29). In the kingdom of God there is no distinction between male and female, black or white, poor or rich, educated or unschooled, beautiful or ordinary — we are all the children of God. It is our relationship with him that gives our life its value, and that alone. We all have a role to play and a life to live out. Sometimes the roles God calls us to are directed by our gender and sometimes they are not. One thing is for sure, whatever way in which we choose to serve, it has eternal value in the eyes of God. So whether you are a woman who is teaching the eschatological values of the kingdom to the occupants of your home, teaching your child life lessons like how to tie their shoes, or doing it in the church or in the world, the hand of God is on your life. As the Scripture says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Thank God for the women of this world and especially this church who faithfully do his will. |
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