​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 24, 2021)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
 “Four Prayer Requests!” #2
Exodus 29:44-46; Ephesians 3:14-21
 
This morning we continue our four-week sermon series looking at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21.  It’s one of the greatest prayers of the Bible.  When we examine this prayer, we get to know that Paul prayed for four basic things.  So there are four prayer requests in there.  (1) Paul prayed for inner strength to believers through God’s Spirit.  (2) He prayed for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith.  (3) He prayed that we would be rooted and grounded in love.   (4) Finally, he prayed for our hearts to grasp the greatness of Christ’s love.
Prayer is so central to Christ’s followers.  In fact, it was central to Jesus Himself.  The words “prayer” and “pray” are used at least twenty-five times in connection with Jesus.  His praying is mentioned by each of the four gospel writers.  Jesus was a man of prayer.  He prayed before facing the big things in His life, such as the cross, as well as the simplest and commonest events of everyday life such as before eating a meal.  One could say that every step of Christ’s life seems to have been accompanied by prayer.
Paul’s prayer in Ephesians chapter 3 is a reminder that a powerful prayer life is needed today as much as it was needed two thousand years ago in Ephesus.  No wonder that as Paul penned his letter to the Ephesians, he paused at least a couple times to pray for them.  It was tough to be a Christian in the Greco-Roman world as it’s tough for us today.  It’s only by God’s grace and a vibrant prayer life that we can stand our ground and follow in the ways of Christ.  That’s way Paul began his prayer to the Ephesians by asking God to strengthen them with power through His Spirit in their inner being.
This morning we get to look at the second prayer request.  Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 3:16-17, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  So at the heart of today’s prayer request is Christ’s dwelling in our heart.  It’s a prayer for this deep union and this unbroken communion with Christ.  Let me tell you something very important.  From the very beginning, God desires to live among His people.  In Exodus 29:45 God said, “I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God.”  John describes the incarnation of Christ by saying, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” John 1:14.
The Christian faith is nothing less than Christ dwelling in the believer’s heart.  There is no Christianity without Christ.  Christian faith is not a philosophy; it’s not a set of doctrines and beliefs; it’s a relationship with a living God who graciously accepts to dwell in our hearts.  So as we carefully examine this second prayer request, please allow me to underscore two brief observations.  The first has to do with the heart of Paul’s second prayer request and the second is an application for us today.
First: What Did Paul Pray for?What is Paul praying for here?  What does it mean that Jesus comes to dwell in our hearts through faith?  What does Paul mean by that?  Well, this request seems perplexing at first because Jesus already dwells in believers’ hearts.  We have to remember that Paul is not praying for unbelievers, but for the saints at Ephesus.  By definition, a believer is someone in whom God’s Spirit lives.  That’s what Paul says in Romans 8:9. So how can you pray that someone who is already in your heart dwell in your heart?
I think at the heart of Paul’s second request is more of Christ in our lives.  Basically, Paul was saying, “Lord, keep on dwelling in our hearts and don’t forsake us.”  I don’t think Paul was praying for the initial indwelling of Christ when we first encounter Him in salvation, instead, he was praying for advancement in our sanctification.  Paul is praying for growing up in Christ.  We never reach a point in this life where such a prayer becomes unnecessary.  John Calvin writes: “Believers have never advanced so far as not to need farther growth.”  In faith and through faith, let’s ask God to grow deeper in our relationship with Him.
Second: What Does it Mean for us Today?So, practically, what does it mean for us today that Jesus dwells in our hearts as followers of Christ?  It simply means to live like Jesus and to love like Jesus.  It means to like what Jesus likes and to hate what He hates.  Christ’s dwelling in our hearts means to value what Christ values and prioritize what He prioritizes.  It means seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus.  It creates in us a holy desire to change, to do better, to make amends, and to be humble just like Jesus.  When Christ truly dwells in our hearts, it will reflect in our decisions whether they are big or small.
 
A little girl, on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.”  The mother said, “Oh! Why is that?”  The girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are.  Is that true?”  “Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.  “He also said that God lives within us.  Is that true, too?”  Again the mother replied, “Yes, honey.  That’s true.”  “Well,” said the little girl, “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
 
Friends, yes, if God lives in us, He will definitely show through.  It all depends on who or what is in your heart.  In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Out of the abundance of the heart, our life flows.  Friends, let’s examine ourselves to see if Christ truly dwells in us.  Moreover, let’s covenant to pray for each other “so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.”  So come, Lord Jesus, and fill our hearts.  We are desperate for your presence.  Come, Lord Jesus, steel our hearts with your grace.  We are desperate for your presence.  May your Kingdom come in power, Lord.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 17, 2021)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
 “Four Prayer Requests!” #1
Jeremiah 17:5-8; Ephesians 3:14-21
 
This morning we start a 4-week sermon series that I titled, “Four Prayer Requests!”  This series of messages is based on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21.  Paul was big on prayer.  As you know, Paul wrote more than half of the New Testament Books and it’s almost impossible to find one book without some sort of a prayer.  I think the prayer he prayed in Ephesians 3:14-21 is the jewel of his prayers. 
 
Two main reasons have encouraged me to share these four messages with you.  First: generally speaking, we are not good at prayer.  Our prayer life is not great.  So as we look at the Prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3, we get to remember how central prayer is to the follower of Jesus.  Writing to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”  No wonder that Paul prayed always and in all circumstances.  In addition to that, there is another important reason.  Second: Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 should be a model of our prayers.  One of the best ways to learn how and what to pray is to study the prayers of the Bible.  As we examine this prayer, we learn a great deal about the content of biblical prayer and the intensity with which we should pray.
 
So as we look at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21, it’s so easy to get lost in the details.  At first reading, it appears to be a complex arrangement of phrases piled one on top of the other, all leading to a very powerful doxology in verses 20-21.  Yet, when we carefully examine the prayer, we will see that Paul prayed for four things in Ephesians 3:14-21.  (1) Paul prayed for inner strength to believers through the God’s Spirit.  (2) He prayed for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith.  (3) He prayed that we would be rooted and grounded in love.   (4) Finally, he prayed for our hearts to grasp the greatness of Christ’s love.  What a prayer!
 
I am excited that we will be unpacking this wonderful prayer over the next few weeks.  This morning we will cover the first part of the prayer in which Paul prays for inner strength through God’s Spirit.  In Ephesians 3:16 Paul says, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”  There is so much that we can say as we reflect on the first part of the prayer, but let me highlight a couple things for us today:
 
First: A Prayer for Strength
The first section of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is a prayer for inner power.  Paul wrote, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power.”  This is extremely relevant because we are exhausted.  We are tired.  We are drained.  It’s been extremely difficult year.  There are so many things that can sap our strength: discouraging circumstances, monotonous routine, physical weakness, personal failure, unwanted interruptions, unfinished responsibilities, and unresolved conflicts.  Any one of those things could knock us out of commission, but often two or three of them hit us at the same time.  And then we are knocked to the floor and find it hard to get up and get back in the fight.
 
This first part of Paul’s prayer is a prayer for something most of us desperately need every day—spiritual strength.  Paul says when you are on the verge of giving up, pray for strength.  Take this prayer to heart before you throw in the towel, Paul would say to us today.
 
The word that Paul uses for “power” here is the Greek “dunamis,” from which we get the English words dynamic and dynamite.  When you are made strong in the inner being by the Holy Spirit, there will be power to blast out the unbelief, and power to overcome despair, and power to rise above anger, and power to keep going when you would rather quit.  
 
Second: Power from Within
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”  Did you notice that this power is put to work in the “inner self” or the “inner being”?  It’s a power that originates from within.  This is the place where we need the most help.  Paul faced countless hardships in his life.  It amazes me how Paul never prayed for change in his circumstances, rather, he prayed for spiritual strength to endure the race the Lord set before him.  There is nothing wrong with praying for God’s intervention in our circumstances, but Paul invites us to a different and greater type of power.  It’s our inner power, our spiritual power.
 
When God strengthens our inner being with power, the spirit becomes strong even when the flesh gets week.  I like the words of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 where Paul says, “Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
 
Over the years, I have seen the outwardly deterioration of so many wonderful followers of Jesus, nevertheless they become more and more steadfast and radiant.  Their memories may be fading; their arthritis may be nearly unbearable; cancer sucks all their energy, though their outer being weakens, their inner being runs from strength to strength.
 
Friends, with awareness of our spiritual weakness and our need for Spirit-given strength, let us continue to pray for one another.  Let’s continue to pray for God’s “dunamis,”, for God’s power and energy to strengthen our inner selves, so that when our bodies break, deteriorate, fade, or spoil, the interior life will shine forth the glory of God.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 10, 2021)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
 “Don’t Forget Jesus!”
Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Luke 2:41-52
 
The story we just read from Luke’s Gospel is one of the few stories that we have about Jesus from his childhood.  In fact, from the time Jesus is an infant, until the time He is about 30, the Bible tells us very little about what His life was like.
 
In today’s story Jesus is on a trip with his parents.  He is 12 years old, and it’s the Passover, so he’s gone with them to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship.  At the end of the feast, His parents left with a large group.  Mary and Joseph got about a day away, and then they realized that they were living every parents’ nightmare: they had left their son back in Jerusalem.  Jesus was missing.
 
Please not that this has nothing to do with Mary and Joseph being irresponsible and neglecting of their parental duties.  In ancient times, people traveling used to go in caravans.  Women usually traveled separately to the men.  Children spent most of their time playing games around the caravan. 
 
Can you imagine what it was like in that moment?  “I thought you had him, Mary.”  “No, I thought you had him, Joseph!”  Mary and Joseph had to go back and check all the rest stops.  And then they rushed back to the city and for three days, three whole days, they looked around Jerusalem; the hotel, the restaurant, relatives’ homes … And then, finally, they went back to the Temple.  And there was Jesus …  sitting in the midst of the rabbis and scholars, asking questions and giving answers.
 
When Mary sees Jesus, Scripture tells us that she asked, “Child, why have you treated us like this?  Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”  But Jesus, calmly, replies “Why were you searching for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.”  As we examine this story today, I want to bring to our attention two short observations as we enter this New Year.
 
First: Do Not Leave Jesus Behind
I believe that the temptation of all time is to leave Jesus behind.  In His infinite love, God warned the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:12 saying, “Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  This warning is repeated many times throughout the Bible.  The temptation of all time is to plan and Jesus is not included in our plans.  The temptation of all time is to budget and God’s kingdom is not a line in our budgets.  The temptation of all time is to plan your week and there is no time for Jesus.
 
The real tragedy is to keep going when Jesus is missing of our lives.  It’s as if you know there is a serious problem with your house’s foundation and instead of addressing it and taking care of it, you just ignore it.  Writing to the nation of Israel, the Prophet Hosea lamented the fact that they have gotten weak without even knowing it.  In Hosea 7:9, he says: “Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it.  His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.”  The same thing is said of Samson.  Samson – a man who has always enjoyed the presence and the strength of the Lord – because of his disobedience, the Spirit of God departed him.  In Judges 16:20 we read: “Then Delilah called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.”  May we never lose sight of Jesus this year.
 
 
Second: Do Not Look for Jesus in the Wrong Places
Beware of looking for Jesus in the wrong places.  Luke tells us that Jesus was 12 years old when His parents left Him behind.  Luke also tells us in Luke 2:46, “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”  I am surprised that it took Mary and Joseph three full days to find Jesus, “after three days they found him in the temple,” Luke says.  I understand that Jerusalem gets crazy during the Passover with people coming from all over the world to celebrate the Feast of Passover, but I think they should’ve guessed where Jesus was.
 
Like the Magi in our story from last week, Joseph and Mary looked for Jesus in the wrong places.  The Magi looked for the newborn king where kings should be born, the palace of Herod.  The trap of looking for Jesus in all the wrong places is a dangerous one.  Think about how much energy and time we waste today when we look for Jesus in the wrong places.  Are we looking for God in the right places?
 
So as we enter 2021, I believe we need to wrestle with an important question; a question that will be like our compass this year.  Where do we find Jesus in the world today?  Friends, Jesus is found in the faithful proclamation of His Word.  We encounter Jesus in the pages of the Bible.  Spend as much time as you can with Jesus this year.  Read your Bible daily.  Meditate on it.  Let your spirit get fed on God’s Word.  Saturate your life with Scriptures.
 
But let me add to that another important piece as we discern where is Jesus in the world today.  Jesus is found in the life of service.  He is present when we serve others in His name.  Christ is found in feeding the hungry; in giving drink to the thirsty; in clothing the naked; in visiting and checking on the sick; in sheltering the homeless.  Christ is found in showing hospitality to a stranger; in a moment that you spare of your time to pray with someone; in an act of mercy and a gesture of love; and in helping the weak and helpless.
 
Friends, as we enter 2021, I encourage not to leave Jesus behind.  Make sure He is at the center of your life this year.  Make sure He is the captain of your ship.  Let’s make every day count this year.  A day that we do not get the chance to commune with Jesus is not worth living.  A day that we do not get to do something for the glory of God is not worth living.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 3, 2021)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
 “The Magi: The Dilemma of Another Way!”
Matthew 2:1-12
 
Liturgical Calendar marks this Wednesday, January 6, as “Epiphany Day.”  The Feast of the Epiphany falls 12 days after Christmas.  It is also known as “Theophany”, “Little Christmas” or “Three Kings Day.”  The word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek “epiphaneia” which means “manifestation, revelation, or making known.”  So the essence of Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and the manifestation of His divinity, as it occurred at His baptism in the River Jordan.
 
The story of the Magi making the journey from Persia to Israel to see the newborn King is a fascinating story and there is so much we can learn from it.  I truly believe that the truth that we can glean from the Magi’s encounter with Jesus is so inspiring to us today. 
 
So what is the story of the Magi?  Here is the shorter version.  The Magi, people from the modern-day Iran, saw a star that indicated the birth of a new king in Israel.  Wanting to honor Him with gifts, they set out on a journey following the star to find this newborn King.  Feeling that the newborn king is a threat to his throne, King Herod instructed the visitors to come back to him when they find the exact location of the baby.  Matthew tells us “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” 
 
Like us, these Magi had their own plans for their lives, but then they met Jesus and that encounter brought them face to face with another way.  Encountering Jesus required them to make a choice.  Which way they should take?  Should they obey the command of Herod or the warning of God in the dream?  Should we follow our own way, or the way presented to us by God?  It seems that this is a choice that all of us are faced with as well – both in terms of the overall direction of our lives as well as in the moment-by-moment decisions that we make every day.
 
Today we will see that the Magi’s dilemma – the dilemma of “another way” – is our dilemma too.  From the attitudes of the Magi and the events that surrounded their journey, we see how we can handle the dilemma of another way.  I think the Magi set some sort of criteria for us of what it means to follow the way of Christ.  Three lessons from the story of the Magi as we handle the dilemma of another way in this New Year.
 
First: What Do We Seek?
“The other way”, the way of Christ, shows itself in what we seek.  What was it the Magi were looking for?  What was it the Magi were seeking?  Matthew 2:2 states, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  Over time, what we truly seek becomes the object of our worship.  It becomes a “god” with a little “g”.
 
They Magi were looking for Jesus.  They wanted to worship Jesus.  I believe that is what we need to be looking for in this New Year – an experience of worship, a fresh glimpse of He who was born King of the Jews.  Psalm 27:8 reminds us, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”  I encourage you today to reconsider our ways of thinking and daily routines to ensure our top priority is to seek God’s face.  What we seek matters.
 
Second: Where Do We Look?
“The other way”, the way of Christ, determines where we look.  It becomes our compass.  We learn from the Magi that there are wrong and right places to look for Christ.  The Magi started by looking in the wrong place.  They looked where their own human reasoning said they should look.  The star indicated the birth of a new king in Israel.  The Magi went where kings should be born.  They went to the palace of Herod the Great in the capital city of Jerusalem.  We, too, are tempted to look for Christ in the wrong places.
 
The Magi looked in the right place when they looked to God. The trip to Jerusalem was not a total loss.  While they were there, they discovered where they should have looked in the first place: the Bible, the prophecies about the birth of the Messiah.  The scribes in Jerusalem said that, according to the prophet Micah, the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.  With this new information, they looked again at the star and followed it to Bethlehem until it stood over the house where the child Jesus lived.  Where we look is important.
 
Third: What Do We Give?
“The other way” manifests itself in a life of giving.  The way of Christ is the way of giving more than receiving.  In Acts 20:35 we read, “Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  The Magi came to Jesus’ house bearing gifts.  They gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The gold represents Christ’s kingship; frankincense, a sweet-smelling resin used in worship, represents his priesthood; and myrrh, an ointment used in burial, foreshadows Christ’s death and passion.
 
“The other way”, the way of Christ, is the way of giving.  Have you ever asked yourself what can you give, what can you offer, to God’s kingdom this year?  We have been given so much and God expects us to give back.  God expects us to financially support this local congregation and God’s mission locally and globally.  He expects us to use our time and talent to serve others in the name of Christ. 
 
Friends, the Magi put before us today the dilemma of another way.  There is a better way to live our lives.  At some point in our lives we’ve got to choose between the way of the world and the way of Christ, the way of Herod and the way of Jesus.  The way of Christ is characterized by three important marks: seeking Christ over and above everything else, looking for Christ in the right places, and embracing giving more than receiving.  The Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ, opens before us a whole new way of living, a whole new dimension of life.  May God give us grace today to choose the other way, the way of Christ.  Amen.