First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 24, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Acts 1:1-14 
I love knowing where I’m going and what’s coming next.  It’s the way I’m wired.  And if it were left up to me, all of life would come with step-by-step instructions that lead directly through one season into another.  I like marked roads with signpost messages along the way.
 
Unfortunately, or may be fortunately, this is not the case in real life.  In real life, much of our life is spent in the “in-between” time.  Most of our time is spent in between the start and finish; in between one life event and the next; in between the accomplishment of goals and future dreams; in between our current reality and anticipated future; in between despair and hope; in between the now and the not yet.
 
No one likes being in the “in-between” time.  Yet, as God’s people, we are called to live a life of faith and faithfulness in the “in-between” times.  As followers of Christ today, we live in between Christ’s first coming and His Second coming in glory; between the wilderness and the Promised Land.
 
This week is a strange week in church liturgical calendar.  This past Thursday, May 21st, was Ascension Day.  Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday.  These ten days, between the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost, are very interesting to say the least.  In these ten days, the disciples of Jesus lived between the ups and downs.  One could say that they were a bit disoriented. 
 
I think the most important and challenging question to ask today is how should we live in the in-between times?  How should we live the pace between those two momentous events, between Christ ascending to heaven and the Holy Spirit descending on us?  This is a space of holy waiting, explicitly commanded by Christ in His last earthly words before His ascension.
 
Waiting is difficult.  How can we wait when so many things seem to demand action or response right away?  How long must we wait when we’re promised something wonderful?  In Acts chapter 1, Christ puts the waiting before the receiving.  He tells the disciples to wait, then says that they’ll receive the Holy Spirit.  Christ could’ve been more expedient, breathing on them with a “Receive the Holy Spirit” before leaving them.  But instead… He told them to wait.
 
God brings us into the waiting for specific reasons.  He wants time to minister to us in the waiting.  He wants to prepare us.  He wants to give us safety, unity and wholeness when we wait for Him. When the fire fills our hearts, we will be ready for this new call and direction because of the formation experienced while waiting.
 
So what do we do in this waiting?  What do we do in the in-between times?  What do we do when we get caught between Ascension and Pentecost?   In Acts chapter 1, the disciples of Jesus had nothing to do but wait.  What do we do when the God we’ve pinned all our hopes and dreams upon suddenly ups and leaves?  What do we do when all we have left is a promise?  What do we do when there’s nothing left to do but wait?  Perhaps how the disciples waited will give us some direction for our own times of waiting today.  Two short observations that I noticed as I read Luke’s account of their waiting in Acts 1.
 
First: Find Space for Remembering
Acts 1:12-13 reads, “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.  When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying.”
 
This is the Upper Room where that fateful and revolutionary Passover Feast—the first communion—took place.  There are memories here, lingering glimpses of Christ’s presence, desperately needed now in His absence.
 
In one corner is the basin and towels Jesus used to wash His disciples’ feet.  In the middle of the room found the pillows and low table where Jesus sat and broke the bread, “This is my body, broken for you” and where He lifted up the cup, “This is my Blood, the New Covenant.”  Memories of food, fellowship, and God’s presence.  They remember the late night after that meal full of conversation in the vineyard.  They remember Christ speaking words of promise and comfort to them. So here they wait, remembering Him in a space that evokes His presence.  When waiting, find these places of remembrance and sanctuary in your own life.  Those memories of God’s faithfulness and His unfailing love can give us strength and hope to wait.
 
Second: Wait with Community
As you wait, find space for remembering.  But there is another great thought that we also see in Acts 1.  We read these words in Acts 1:13-14, “Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.  They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
 
Waiting can be lonely.  One of the best ways to wait is to wait with someone else; to wait with community.  Time shared is time halved.  After coming to the Upper Room, the apostles gathered with the other believers—all 120 of them. Together, with unity, they prayed.  What did they pray for?  Did they share memories of time spent with Jesus?  What was the emotion in those prayers in that room?  Waiting in prayerful community is so important.
 
Community helps us remember.  Community sustains us when we’re too tired to wait anymore.  When we’re waiting for tongues of flame, we might need someone else to look at those signs of God’s presence in and around us.  We can more easily discern through the eyes of community what God is doing in our lives.
 
Friends, with today’s celebration of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, we find ourselves get caught between the Ascension and Pentecost.  What sustains us in that time of waiting, in the in-between times?  Acts chapter one invites to, first, find a space for remembering.  This is where God’s unfailing promises are nurtured and celebrated.  Second, wait with community.  That’s why I value this Church Family.
 
These two elements are extremely important for living a life of faith in the in-between times.  Let’s rest and wait on the Lord during life’s pauses.  Knowing that whether life is in motion or seemingly stalled, God is with us, is so comforting and assuring.  God is guiding our steps at the start and the finish and everywhere in between.  God is our hope and our song, even in the in-between times and places – maybe especially there.  To Him be the glory, now and forever more.  Amen.

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 17, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Luke 24:50-53
 
 
This coming Thursday, May 21st, is the fortieth day after Easter which means it is Ascension Day.  I don’t know how liturgical you are, but the Feast of Ascension commemorates the Ascension, the lifting up, of Christ into heaven.  As you know, after Jesus rose from the dead, He spent forty days on earth before returning to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God the Father in power and glory.
 
Generally speaking, in the Reformed theology, greater emphasize has been placed on “the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” thus leaving the Ascension with lesser importance within our minds today.  Nevertheless, it is actually the Ascension that completes the plan of salvation; and therefore, for the Church, it is of equal importance.
 
The Doctrine of Ascension has always been so central to Biblical Christianity.  No wonder that the Ascension is mentioned serval times in the New Testament Books, and it is emphasized in the Apostles’ Creed as it clearly states, “He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.”
 
The Ascension had a profound impact on the disciples. Up to the moment that Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples seemed to be puzzled, trying to figure it all out.  But after the ascension, Luke tells us, they worshiped Him.  They traveled back to Jerusalem with great joy.  They maintained a regular presence in the temple—worshiping God.
 
Needless to say, the Ascension of Christ was an affirmation that the work of salvation is now complete.  Hebrews 10:11-12 remind us that there were no seats, no chairs, in the Holy or the Holy of Holiness, in the Temple, because the priests were not allowed to sit down.  They stood to perform their work because their work was never done.   Hebrews 10 states, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”  Thank God, Jesus is seated in heaven.  The work of salvation is done.
 
While we can look at the Ascension from many different angels, and draw many implications for our lives today, this morning I would like to highlight two ways the Doctrine of Ascension is important to us today.  What does the Ascension of Christ mean to us today? 
 
First: We Have a Friend in Heaven
Hebrews 4:14-16 calls Christ a great high priest who has gone into heaven.  Because Jesus walked on this earth with us, He knows what we are going through and is able to sympathize with us in our struggles.  And because Christ is now in heaven, He can help in all our troubles.  When we go to the throne of grace, we don’t have to worry about being turned away because Christ Himself is there to meet us.  He has grace to help in the time of need. 
 
We’ve got a Friend in High Places—the Highest Place in the universe.  We’ve got a man on the inside who can help us out with all our problems.  Think of it this way.  When you’re in trouble, you need two things: 1) Someone who cares about your problems, and 2) Someone who can help you out.  If your friend cares but isn’t in a position to help you, you’ll get sympathy but no concrete help.  If your friend could help you but doesn’t care about your problem, well, that’s like not having a friend at all.  What you need is someone who cares and is in a position to make things happen for you.  That’s what Jesus is—a Friend in High Places who loves to come to the aid of His people. 
 
Christ, our Friend in heaven, also prays for us.  Romans 8:34 tells us that Christ is now at the right hand of God interceding for us. 1 John 2:2 adds another encouraging truth that Christ is our attorney in heaven.  He is our advocate who speaks to the Father in our defense.  When the devil comes and makes a claim against us, Jesus speaks up on our behalf and pleads His own blood in our defense.  The Father looks at the Son, sees His pierced hands, and says, “Case dismissed.”  Let me tell you the best part of this truth: Jesus has never lost a case.  Even the best lawyers lose now and then.  But because Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father, He has never lost a case.  This is a very comforting and glorious truth!
 
Second: The Tug of HeavenBut there is another uplifting implication of Christ’s Ascension that I want to bring to your attention.  The Ascension of Christ shows us how we should spend our life—looking up.  Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 3:1-2 saying, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”  When we set our hearts and minds on things above, we confess our faith in Jesus Christ, who ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
 
The story is told of a little boy who went outside on a windy spring day to fly his new kite.  As the wind blew, the kite flew higher and higher until it finally disappeared from view in the clouds far above.  After a few minutes a bystander asked, “How do you know the kite is still attached to the string?”  “I can feel it tugging on the string,” the boy replied.  The same is true for us today.  Christ is pulling us toward heaven.  He is pulling us away from the earth toward our eternal home.  We may not see Him with our eyes, but we feel His tug in our hearts.  We know where He is and we know that where He is, we will someday be. 
 
Friends, every day Jesus tugs on our hearts, pulling us up toward heaven so that when we finally get there, we won’t feel like strangers.  One day soon the Lord will give us one final tug, one final pull, and we’ll end up in heaven forever.  Until then, let’s set our hearts and minds on things above.
 
Friends, the pace and pattern of our life today can be dizzying as the demands of our secular culture pull us in many different directions.  When we find ourselves being pulled away from God, one stabilizing resource is found in the Ascension of Christ.  Yes, the Doctrine of the Ascension is important.  It reminds us that we have a friend in heaven, an advocate who speaks in our defense.  It also invites us to set our hearts and minds on things above.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 10, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Looking Up When Feeling Down!”
Psalm 43
 
When you feel down, look up.  This short phrase captures the essence and the spirit of Psalm 43.  You and I know that challenges and difficulties are part of being human.  American Pastor and Bible scholar, Warren Wiersbe , wrote a little book many years ago entitled, Bumps Are What You Climb On: Encouragement for Difficult Days.  The title comes from a story of a young boy taking his little sister on a hike up a hill.  The little girl complains and says, “Why, this isn’t a path at all – it’s all rocky and bumpy.”  Her brother replied, “Sure, the bumps are what you climb on.”  Human existence is accompanied by the basic fact that there will be problems, there will be bumps in life.
 
Psalm 43 addresses this topic.  It’s a great Psalm.  Most Bible scholars suggest that King David is the author of this Psalm.  He wrote it when he was fleeing from the revolt of his son Absalom.  It would seem that the author of this Psalm is going through a time of stress, personal attack and inner turmoil.  His life has brought him face to face with circumstances that are out of his control and they have brought pain and confusion to his heart.
 
We have all faced times in our lives when we were embroiled in turmoil, pain and heartache.  In fact, our world is living this very disturbing reality right now.  My friends, let me tell you something very important.  Those are the times of life that define us as followers of Jesus and confirm or deny our testimony concerning our faith in and love for Jesus Christ.
 
As we look at Psalm 43, it becomes quickly evident that the Psalmist is a broken person; yet, he clings to his faith in God as a drowning person clings to a life preserver.  Yes, we can see the depth of the author’s pain, but we can also see the height of his faith in the Lord.
 
This morning, I want us to see both the depth of the Psalmist pain and the height of his faith in the Lord.  First, we will be looking at the Psalmist cry for help; and second, we will be looking at the believer’s confidence.
 
First: A Cry for Deliverance
From the outset of Psalm 43, we are introduced to a person who is in touch with the Lord of Heaven.  In verses 1 and 2, the Psalmist says, “Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me!  For you are the God in whom I take refuge.”
 
If there was ever a reason to rejoice in difficulty and tribulations, it lies in the fact that we have access to God.  And in Him, we find all the help we need to weather the storms of this life.  “Deliver me,” the Psalmist cried out.  The Psalmist feels trapped by his circumstances, he is oppressed by his enemies, and he cries out to God for deliverance.  Sometimes I feel we are trapped right now, but I am thankful that our God is the Great Liberator!
 
The Psalmist calls on God because his circumstances are beyond his control.  God alone has the power to fix that which we cannot fix.  Friends, the sooner we learn this lesson, the better off we will be.  The best thing we can do is learn to bring our needs to the Lord, stand in His strength and watch Him work it out for His purpose in our lives.
 
Second: The Believer’s Confidence
In the second half of the Psalm, verses 3-5, we see the believer’s confidence in God and that God will make a way where it seems no way.  “O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling,” the Psalmist says in verse 3.
 
As you notice here, the Psalmist desires to be led by God’s truth and light.  “O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me.”  In his troubles, in his dark hour, the Psalmist desires to hear the voice of God and to get direction from it.  Friends, it is in our darkest hour that God’s light shines around us.  It is the truth of God’s Word that will lead us in Christ’s triumphal procession.  Friends, God’s Word holds the solutions to all of life’s riddles and answers to life’s big questions.  “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light on my path,” says Psalm 119:89.
 
In verse 5, the Psalmist expresses his confidence in the Lord and shows a profound certainty.  Even though he is still in the dark valley, the Psalmist knows that he will soon come out of that valley in victory.  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”  We rest in the confidence that the valleys will soon be behind us forever.  There is help at His feet.
 
Friends, no matter how “downcast” how “disturbed”, or how “discouraged” my soul ever gets – and it does, for all of us – I know there is more to the story, and that makes all the difference.
 
Horatio G. Spafford is a name with which you are probably not familiar.  Mr. Spafford was a successful Chicago lawyer who lost most of his wealth in the Great Chicago Fire of 1873.  He sent his wife and four daughters on a trip to France, but on their way, their ship was struck by another, and sank.  Of 225 passengers, only 87 of them survived.  Mrs. Spafford was among the survivors, but the four daughters perished.  As soon as she reached land, she telegraphed to her husband: “Saved alone. Children lost. What shall I do?”
 
With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna.  As he sailed across the area were their ship went down and they drowned, he penned those now famous words:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?”  Friends, let’s move beyond despair.  Put your hope in God.  To God alone is the glory now and forever more.  Amen!

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ May 3rd, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:28-31
 
What do you do when you’re stressed out over things beyond your control?  What do you do when you feel trapped by your circumstances?  Unfortunately, our natural response is to worry.  Worry makes the situation a lot worse.  Someone said that worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it will accomplish absolutely nothing. 
 
Well, in the light of what has been going on in our world today, I am drawn this morning to bring you a word of encouragement from the Book of Deuteronomy chapter six. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
 
You may remember that in the gospel of Mark chapter 12:29-30, Jesus pointed to our Scripture passage for this morning as “the most important” commandment.  A rabbi, a teacher of the Law, once asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  In Mark 12:29-30, Jesus answered, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
 
This prayer from Deuteronomy 6 is called “The Shema” and it serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services.  “Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.”
 
Why I am preaching on the Shema prayer today?  Two reasons that have encouraged me to bring this amazing Scripture passage to your hearing today.  First: These are a couple Bible verses that are densely packed with theology and are absolutely foundational to our Christian life.  I truly believe it speaks to our fears today like no other.  Second:            Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself pointed to this Scripture passage as “The most important commandment.”
 
This morning I will consider very briefly the meaning and significance of this short Scripture passage. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Three short observations:
 
First: Hear, O Israel
“Sh’ma Yisrael …”  The Hebrew word behind the English “Listen!” or “Hear!” in Moses’ call is “Sh’ma.”   “Sh’ma”, as I said, means listen, do, and accept a certain truth.  Speaking to stubborn Israel, the Prophet Isaiah lamented the lack of obedience as he spoke those words in Isaiah 48:18, “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.”
Jesus echoed the same truth in Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.   The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”  With this invitation, “Hear, O, Israel” Moses urges the community of God to tune their senses toward a glorious, life transforming truth: “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
 
Second: The LORD our God
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God …”  Wherever you see “LORD” in all caps in your Bible, that is the Hebrew word “Yahweh” although Jews pronounce it “Adonai” to keep the LORD’s name sacred.  “Yahweh” is God’s primary name of God in the Old Testament.  This name is so significant.  Yahweh is the God who is, and who was, and who is to come.  He is unchanging God.  He is trustworthy.  He is reliable.  You can depend on Him.  You can rely on Him.  He is a very personal God.
 
The name “Yahweh” highlights another amazing truth about our God.  It reminds us of that our God is the God of the covenant and He is faithful to that covenant.  The covenant stated that “He will be our God and we are to be His people.” But we failed to keep the terms of the covenant and that’s why Christ came and established the New Covenant by the shed of His blood.  Christ’s obedience and righteousness have been credited and imparted to us.  Theologians call this “imputation of righteousness.”  So as we celebrate Communion today, let’s remember the New Covenant Christ made with God on our behalf.
 
Third: The LORD is One
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  “The Lord is one.”  This tells us that the LORD is one of a kind.  He alone is God.  He is not just a god. He is the GOD.  He is not one of many.  He is the one only true God.  He stands alone.
 
In the Ancient World this belief in one God made the people and nation of Israel unique.  Israel's neighbors, the heathen nations, believed in multiple gods.  There was a sun god, a moon god, a god of fertility, a god of war, a god of thunder, a god of the river Nile, and so on.  
 
This belief in one God gave the Israelites a sense of security that was impossible for the pagans with their multiple gods.  You see, the pagan gods were jealous of each other and acted against each other.  They rarely acted in harmony with each other.  Each god was unpredictable and impulsive.  So a pagan worshiper never had a sense of security.  Loyalty to one god might make a pagan worshiper in trouble with another god.  The Israelites, however, did not have to worry about this because they had to deal with only one God who loved them and cared for them and saved them and was bringing them to the Promised Land.
 
Friends, we believe in an awesome God.  He is a covenantal God and He is indeed one of a kind.  He will never disown us.  He will never abandon us because He is filled with compassion and abounds in love and faithfulness.  He desires that YOU know Him and I want to invite you to this journey today.  Every day you will get to know Him and the more you know Him, the more you will be prone to love Him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  Amen.