​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 29, 2023)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Jesus: Greater than the Angels!”
Psalm 103:19-22; Hebrews 1:4-14
 
We continue this morning our sermon series reflecting on the supremacy and the greatness of Christ in the letter to the Hebrews.  The book of Hebrews was written to a particular group of Christians who had converted to the Christian faith.  It seems that this group of devout Jews who have become followers of Jesus got confused about some fundamental and foundational Christian teaching.  As I pointed out last week, some of the Hebrew Christians fell into the trap of considering Christianity another sect, another group, within Judaism.
 
The author of Hebrews, therefore, took upon himself the responsibility to correct this and to help the Hebrew community to grasp the foundations of the Christian faith by emphasizing on the supremacy of Christ.  Christianity is not built on a set of beliefs, but on a person called Jesus Christ.  The author, therefore, elaborated on the supremacy of His identity; the supremacy of His mission; the supremacy of His priesthood; the supremacy of the new covenant He established; the supremacy of His promises; and the supremacy of His salvation.  All this should lead us “to hold fast to our confession” and to embrace and pursue more of Jesus.
 
The Scripture passage we are looking at this morning invites us to realize that Jesus is greater than the angels.  I am sure that some of us are asking why the comparison between Jesus and angels?  Many Christians in the first century were confused as to how they should relate to Jesus (man only or God only).  Some, especially Christians from a Jewish background, may have been tempted to see Jesus as part of the angelic creation.  After all, angels were often sent by God as messengers and did mighty deeds. That’s why the author of Hebrews firmly established the identity of Jesus as being greater than angels. 
 
The author supports this claim with direct quotations from the Old Testament about the character and position of the Messiah in relationship to angels.  In Hebrews 1:4-14, there are at least seven refrences that demonstrate the superiority of the Messiah in comparison to angels.  None of the angels were given the title “God’s Son”, but Jesus did.  The Son is worshipped, but the angels are servants of God.  Jesus is eternal, angels are not.  Jesus is fully divine, but angels are not.  Jesus is the ruling Son while angels are messengers of God.
 
Who are Angels?
Before I draw a single, yet a profound application based on Christ’s supremacy over the angels, it might be a good idea just to refresh our minds of who angels are.  Both the Hebrew and Greek words for angel mean “messenger”, messenger from God.  The word refers to an order of spiritual/supernatural (not divine) created beings who act as God’s messengers to people, and agents who carry out God’s will in the world.  Psalm 103:21 state, “Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,  you his servants who do his will.”
 
During the intertestamental period, the 400 years before Christ, a certain fascination with angels developed.  Angels are increasingly fixated upon as expressions of God’s divine power and authority.  God, of course, was all-powerful; angels didn’t replace God, but they were next in line.  The best way for the author of Hebrews to make his case is to establish the deity of Jesus.  Obviously, if the Son is divine, then the Son is superior to the angels.  So throughout Hebrews chapter 1, the author affirms in the strongest way possible the deity of Jesus.
 
So now we can understand chapter 1 and how angels fit into the overall purpose of the letter and why the author begins with angels because angels were a big deal to these folks. But what does this have to do with us?  How do we make sense and apply this?  Let me offer one important application that I think we can draw from this.  If Jesus is superior and if he is greater than the angels, hold fast to Jesus.
 
First: Hold Fast to Jesus
Hold fast to Jesus because He is greater.  He offers us more than we’ve left behind.  Not many of us today are tempted to abandon our faith in Christ to embrace Judaism, because we’ve come to Christ from a different starting place.  Yet, the danger is still the same.  Every day we are tempted to go back to our old life; to life a self-centered life rather than a Christ-centered life.
 
The point of Hebrews chapter 1 still stands: What we possess through faith in Jesus is better than anything that we’ve left behind in our old life.  In Christ, there is something better.  The very best of what you had in your old way of life cannot compare with the blessings that we have come to know through Jesus Christ.  Though we don’t get to fully experience the best that Christ offers because of our lack of faith, we believe that the best is yet to come.
 
Jesus offers lasting hope, unmerited love, endless joy, clear purpose, eternal life, true dignity, and real meaning.  The faithless life, our old life, offers us pleasure instead of purpose, distraction instead of hope, entertainment instead of joy, and ultimately, no matter whatever else it offers us, it offers us death instead of life.  Whatever we fall back to is going to be lesser than the eternal life that is offered to us in Christ.
 
Friends, I don’t know what the “angels”, the things in your old way of life, that you are tempted to return to.  I am sure we are tempted some way or another, but whatever they are, they cannot hold a candle to whatever God has promised us in Jesus Christ.  Faith is choosing to believe that whatever you have in Jesus is better than anything that you have left behind.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s hold fast to Jesus because He offers us more than what we’ve left behind. Don’t go back.  Don’t go back to something that’s lesser when Jesus offers you the greatness of God.  Hold fast to Jesus.  Jesus is worthy to be followed.  He is worthy to give our allegiance to; he is worth leaving behind our past in order to embrace all that God has for us.  In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
 
 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 22, 2023)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“The Supremacy of Christ!”
Psalm 2; Hebrews 1:1-4
 
“The Supremacy of Christ in Hebrews,” is the title of our new sermon series.  This is not a verse-by-verse study in the book of Hebrews, rather, it’s a series of messages that reflects on what Hebrews teaches about the person and work of our glorious Savior.
 
Christology, our understanding of the doctrine of Christ, matters.  As you may know, apart from Romans, Hebrews is the most doctrine-heavy book of the New Testament.  This book compellingly preaches and re-preaches Christ.  It has something to say to the brand-new believer as well as the seasoned follower of Christ.  No other book of the Bible so thoroughly and powerfully demonstrates Jesus’ supremacy as Hebrews does.
 
As you may figure out from its title, the letter to Hebrews was written to those Hebrews, those from a Jewish background, who had converted to the Christian faith.  It seems that some of them got confused about Christianity and thought it was another sect or branch of Judaism, another religious group.  Some thought it’s the Jewish faith with some additions.  The author of the letter, therefore, took the responsibility to correct that.  Basically, the author was saying to the Hebrew community, “Make no mistake.  Christianity is a brand-new thing.   Faith in Christ is not a few modifications here and there.  Christ is not another prophet, but He is superior.”
 
In order to prove his point, the author of Hebrews makes at least 6 statements throughout the letter basically saying: Jesus is better!  Jesus is more glorious!  Jesus is superior.  The author pointed out that Christ is better than angels in chapters 1 and 2; Christ is better than Moses and He offers us a better rest in chapters 3 and 4; Christ is a better High Priest in chapters 4 to 7; Christ is Mediator of a better covenant in chapters 8 and 9; Christ provides a better sacrifice and He is the author of a better salvation in chapters 10 and 11.  All this should lead us “to hold fast to our confession” and stand firm, immoveable in the Lord.
 
Each week in the next six weeks or so, I will be unpacking one aspect of Christ’s supremacy and greatness in Hebrews.  For this morning, I would like to look at the introduction of Hebrews from Hebrews chapter 1:1-4.  It seems to me that the author wanted to set up the stage and the tone for his argument of Christ’s greatness.  As a way of introduction, the author of Hebrews lists a few important reasons why we should cling to Jesus.  Let me highlight two this morning:
 
First: Jesus is the One through whom God Created the World
In Hebrews 1:1-2, we read, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.”  “Through whom he also created the worlds.”  There was a time when there was nothing except God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And the Son said: “Let it be!” And it was done!  John 1:3 says, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  God the Son, who became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, created the whole universe of time and space and every single solitary particle, molecule, atom, quark, proton, neutron, and electron. 
 
This is what Paul had in mind in Romans 11:36 when he declared, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.”  Colossians 1:16 echoes the same truth, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”  Through Christ, God created the worlds.
 
Second: Jesus Sustains the Universe by the Word of His Power
Hebrews 1:3 states, “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.”  One of the most destructive heresies the church has battled is known as Deism.  Deism emerged in the 17th century and eventually made its way to America.  Deism argued that once God created the universe and everything within it, he in essence packed up his bags and left town.  Or more accurately he left the universe.  He wound up the world like a gigantic clock and now simply lets it run by its own power.  He does not intervene to perform miracles.  He does not providentially direct the affairs of humanity.  He does not invade our world to answer our prayers.  He is distant and remote and altogether uninvolved in the affairs of our world.
 
That’s not what the Bible teaches!  The Bible teaches us that God created the world.  Christ calls all things into existence out of nothing.  In His providence, Christ sustains all things in existence.  Not only that, but He takes all that He has created and is currently preserving and directs it toward its proper end and conclusion.  He “carries along” everything to its appointed goal.  He organizes, orchestrates, sustains this universe, all things, nothing is exempt, whether great or small, everything is being upheld and carried along by the risen Christ.  And he does this by the “word of his power” or by his “powerful word”.
 
Friends, this first paragraph of Hebrews chapter 1 leaves us with a sense of awe.  It leaves us with a wonder that can only be expressed in worship. We are left to marvel at the greatness and the supremacy of our Lord.  We marvel at the Son’s authority and reign over all creation.  We marvel at the truth that Christ sustains this universe by the word of His power.  Nothing will ever happen to us that we will have to face it alone because Christ will sustain us through whatever hurdles life might throw our way.  As we explore the theme of the supremacy of Christ in Hebrews, I hope that you and I will continually ask God to reveal to us the glory and the majesty of Christ.  The best decision we will or have ever made is to cling to Christ, to call Him to be the Lord of your life.  In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, January 15, 2023)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“A Ministry of Reconciliation!”
Exodus 3:1-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
 
Much can be said about Martin Luther King, Jr.  My first real introduction to the theology and ethics of Dr. King happened over 20 years ago during my years as a grad student at New Brunswick Theological Seminary.  I almost took every single course that both New Brunswick and Princeton Seminaries offered on King’s theology and spirituality and I ended up writing my Masters dissertation on King as well.  My love and passion for King continued in the following years as I kept reflecting on his life and thought resulting in writing this book titled, “A Prophet from the South: Theology and Ethics of Martin Luther King”, that was published in October 2021.  The book introduces King to the Arabic-speaking world in general and to the Christian community in Egypt in particular.
 
What would be the message for us today as we reflect on Dr. King’s life and ministry?  Two things that I would like to underscore this morning as our nation celebrates and observes Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day tomorrow, Monday, January 16th.
 
First: The Importance of Spiritual Grounding
One of the most important – and often overlooked – moments of the Dr. King’s life was his midnight “kitchen table experience” in 1956.  King was 27 years old and in his second year as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.  He had been helping lead the city bus boycott, which brought an ongoing barrage of death threats at his house, mail and phone. Some days, there were as many as 30 to 40 calls, often in the evening, trying to force him to return back to Atlanta.
 
King would just lay down the phone and, if at night, go back to bed.  But one call, around midnight on January 27, 1956, became pivotal for him.  While his wife, Coretta, and their infant daughter slept nearby, the caller, a man, said, “N-----, we’re tired of your mess.  And if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow up your house and blow your brains out.”
 
Shaken more than usual, King, as later recounted, went to their small kitchen, made a pot of coffee, buried his face in his hands, and prayed aloud: “Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right … But I am afraid … I must confess … I’m losing my courage.”  At this moment, King, in his own words, said, “I could hear an inner voice saying to me, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for truth. Stand up for justice.  Stand up for righteousness. I will be at your side.’”
 
His fear quieted at that moment and left him, though never the threats.  A bomb blew up on the front steps of his home three evenings later.  Fortunately, despite the wreckage, no one was injured.  From the damaged porch, King called his gathered supporters out of their anger, and into nonviolence and love for their enemies.
 
Well, what we can take from King’s “kitchen table experience” is the importance of spiritual grounding to move onward in the hard, sometimes perilous struggle for justice, allowing no fear to detour our journey forward.  Spiritual grounding is essential.  Deep personal spiritual anchoring matters.  No wonder that the story of liberating the Hebrews from the hands of Pharoah played an important role and carried a special message to the African American community.  If we lack this spiritual dimension, our striving for justice will be short-lived and yanked away by distraction or fear of societal disapproval, retaliation, physical danger, financial insecurity, and so on.
 
Second: The Impact of a Dedicated Life
As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.,s Day tomorrow, we also get to remember the impact of a dedicated life.  On February 4th, 1968, just two months before his assassination, King prophetically spoke about the impact of a dedicated life.  In a sermon titled, “Drum Major Instinct”, King imagined his own funeral and urged his congregation not to dwell on his life’s achievements, but to remember him as one who tried to give his life serving others.”
 
In his sermon he said, “Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator – something we call death.  We all think about it and every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don’t think about it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself what it is that I would want said and I leave the word to you this morning.  If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy tell him not to talk too long.  Every now and then I wonder what I want him to say.”
 
King continued, “Tell him not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize – that isn’t important. Tell not to mention that I have 300 or 400 other awards – that’s not important.  Tell him not to mention where I went to school.  I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others.  I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.  I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.  I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe the naked.  I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.  And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.  Yes, if you want to, say that I was a drum major.  Say that I was a drum major for justice.  Say that I was a drum major for peace.  I was a drum major for righteousness.
And all of the other shallow things will not matter.  I won’t have any money to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that is all I want to say.  If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a well song, if I can show somebody he’s traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain.”
 
Friends, I truly believe that King’s life and ministry can be captured in the title of our sermon today.  It was a ministry of reconciliation.  King invested his life trying to both reconcile humans to their fellow humans and to their Creator, to God.  He strived to reconcile God’s reality with today’s reality.  King’s faith in a God who is active in history, a God who isn’t done with our world, was instrumental and foundational to the civil rights movement.  In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul tells us that our mission and ministry of reconciliation is not done yet.  “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation … And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  Followers of Christ, may we never grow weary carrying this ministry of reconciliation inspired by wonderful people who have gone ahead of us like Dr. King.  In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Epiphany Sunday ~ January 8, 2023)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Pursuing Jesus in a New Year!”
Matthew 2:1-12
 
Many years ago, I had the joy of leading a young Iraqi lady to Christ.  She grew up in a Muslim home in Iraq and her first real exposure to Christianity happened after she migrated to the United States.  After attending the congregation that I served back then for almost a year, she came to me with a big smile on her face asking if I would get her baptized because she wants to be a Christian.  I said, “I will be honored to do that, but first, let’s schedule a meeting with the Church Elders to examine your faith.”  On the day of the meeting, she came and one of the Elders asked her, “Tell us, what is different about the God of the Christian faith?”  I will never forget what she said.  “The God of Christianity is a pursuing God.  Though I turned my back on Him for so long, He keeps pursuing me day after day after day. I’ve never seen this in any other religion.”
 
Our God is a pursuing God.  This is a truth that we often forget.  The question that I would like to ask on this Epiphany Sunday is what is our proper response to a pursuing God?  The story of the wise men traveling all the way from the East to visit with the newborn King and worship Him has so much to say to us on this regard. 
 
What should be our response to a pursuing God?  On this second Sunday of 2023, I want us to consider this question.  In Christ, God has pitched His tent in our own backyard.  If our God is a pursuing God, we are under two obligations:
 
First: We Are to Intentionally Pursue God Back
The wise men had seen the star of the newborn King and they realized right away they needed to do something.  They needed to pursue more of this good news.  It was a long journey from their homeland to Bethlehem.  Most scholars believe they came from the modern-day Iraq or Iran which means they travelled over 800 miles.  It was a long and difficult journey, but they were willing to pursue the star.
 
A New Year is ahead of us.  Every day presents a fresh opportunity to pursue more of Jesus; to pursue a closer relationship with Him.  I think one of the dangers in our walk with the Lord is we settle for just occasional encounters with Jesus in some casual manner.  I wish we go for the maximum, not the minimum this year.  I hope we pursue more of God’s voice in our ears; more of His hope in our grief; more of His dreams in our hearts; more of His nearness in our loneliness.
 
Jeremiah 29:13 is a great Scripture that speaks of pursuing God.  “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”  The people of Israel are in exile in Babylon.  God sends them a message through the prophet Jeremiah and tells them that even at this very dark hour of their history, God is still accessible.  They can call on God and He will hear them.  They can seek God, and the promise is: they will find Him.  He never hides from us.  It’s such a beautiful assurance to know that when we seek God with all of our hearts, we will find Him.
 
Second: We Pursue Jesus Together
The story of the wise men pursuing Jesus reminds us that we pursue Jesus together.  We pursue God in community.  Community is so central to the Jesus movement.  From day one, Jesus of Nazareth built a community of followers.  This community was so diverse; educated and not well educated; rich and poor; Jews and Gentiles; religious and not very religious; young and old; Roman citizens and non-Romans.  The first community of Jesus of Nazareth was so diverse, but they all had one thing in common, they wanted to pursue more of Jesus together.
 
“Together” is an important concept in the New Testament.  It’s at the heart of our calling.  It’s God’s plan for us to run the race of faith together; to pursue Jesus together.  There is power in togetherness.  I am praying today for a new epiphany, a new revelation, a new understanding this year as we think about the importance of this fellowship of believers.
 
As the community pursues Jesus together, we all know that we are not perfect.  Rather, we are work in progress.  Sometimes our togetherness gets messy and sometimes we fail, but God doesn’t define us by our failures.  This is the truth.  We are not perfect.  That truth, however, doesn’t mean we give up, but it means to keep fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.  We can be easily defeated when we run the race alone, but this is not what Jesus wants for us.  That’s why Ecclesiastes 4:9 & 12 state, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
 
Friends, I charge you today to pursue more of Jesus this year.  Keep pursuing until your whole life is saturated with God’s presence.  We pursue God because, in Christ, we have been pursued by God.  May we do it passionately, actively, and intentionally.  Do it within the community of Christ’s followers.  Do it remembering the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:78-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Amen.