​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday, May 29, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Thy Kingdom Come!”
Luke 11:1-4
 
A few weeks ago, we set out on a journey to explore the meaning of God’s Kingdom in Scriptures and its implications on our lives today.  To sum up what I have already shared with you over the last few Sundays, let me say that God’s Kingdom was so central to the ministry and mission of Jesus.  As I pointed out last week, Jesus’ first sermon in Galilee was on God’s Kingdom as well as His last sermon in Jerusalem before His ascension.  In fact, all His life revolved around the coming of God’s Kingdom.  The miracles that Jesus performed, the acts of love He demonstrated, the grace of God Jesus showed, all this meant to bring the true meaning of God’s Kingdom closer to the daily lives of the people.
 
Seeking God’s Kingdom, therefore, should be a top priority for every follower of Jesus.  No wonder that in teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus said in Luke 11:2, “When you pray, say:  Father, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.”  Like almost everyone else on the face of this earth, we, followers of Christ, got our own burdens.  We get sick; we get depressed; we experience all the ups and downs of life, yet, we are creatures with a purpose.  We are to seek God’s Kingdom.  We are to always pray, “Your kingdom come.” 
 
It’s as humbling as it is fascinating to know that God advances His kingdom through the prayers of His people. If this is the case, praying for the advancement of God’s Kingdom should be the undying burden of God’s people.  The question that I would like to ask this morning is: What does it mean to pray for God’s Kingdom to come?  Let me offer two ways as we consider this petition for the kingdom to come.
 
First: It’s a Shout of Loyalty
This line of the Lord’s prayer is basically a shout of loyalty.  When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” we declare to the whole world that the work of God’s Kingdom matters to us.  It’s dear and near to our hearts.  We are part of it and it’s part of us.  Yes, it’s true that often times we don’t show much loyalty to the work of the Kingdom and that’s why we pray the Lord’s Prayer over and over again.
 
The Kingdom of God is still a work in process.  It’s present and it’s also future.  It’s the already and not yet.  In one sense, Jesus is already King.  In another sense, His reign and Kingship is neither acknowledged by everyone not by us all the time.  When we pray, “your kingdom come,” we pray for a more loyal and faithful life.  We pray for a closer walk with Jesus.  We pray for a life that reflects the Kingship of Christ. 
 
As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we also examine ourselves to see if we are doing anything to advance the work of the God’s kingdom.  Through our prayers, the Holy Spirit lifts our chins above our earthly horizon to see if we are promoting our own Kingdom or the Kingdom of Christ. We examine ourselves to see if we are saluting the flag of self or the flag of Christ.  Your Kingdom come is a shout of loyalty. Our nation remembers tomorrow those service men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy the many freedoms we all have today.  They were fully committed and loyal to this cause.  As we remember their example, may we too be loyal and faithful to the cause of God’s Kingdom.
 
Second: It’s a Shout of Victory
This petition is also a shout of victory stems from a deep trust in God’s power.  That shout of victory is not built on our own faithfulness, but on the power of God to build up His Church.  It’s an assurance that looks beyond our current circumstances to a God who has proven Himself to be active in history.  In Caesarea Philippi, Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Matthew 16:18.
 
God has a way of fulfilling His purposes in us and in the world.  His Kingdom is alive and it’s growing.  The challenge for us is not to sit back and enjoy the ride, but to get our feet wet.  In Caesarea Philippi, Jesus promised to build His Church on the confession of Peter’s faith, on the petra “the rock.”  Our confession before the world matters.
 
Friends, we have a job to do.  We have a job to do and we can’t do it apart from Christ.  There is a human part and a divine part in building God’s Kingdom, so we pray “your kingdom come.”  When we submit our petition to God for His Kingdom to come, we acknowledge our responsibility toward the Kingdom as well as our dependence on God’s Spirit to stir hearts and transform lives.  It’s a shout of loyalty and it’s a shout of victory.  May we pray “your kingdom come” with hearts that truly mean it and mouths willing to declare it and feet ready to take God’s kingdom wherever He might lead. 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, May 22, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“The Mysterious Kingdom!”
Mark 4:26-29
 
Last week we launched a new sermon series that looks at the topic of God’s Kingdom in the Bible.  I felt the need to address this topic with all of us for a few reasons.  First and foremost, that topic was so central to the life and mission of Jesus Christ.  It seems to me that Jesus’ first sermon in Galilee and His last sermon in Jerusalem were on God’s Kingdom. 
 
In Galilee, the gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus proclaimed the good news of God saying, “The time has come.  The kingdom of God has come near.”  Luke also tells us that Jesus’ last sermon in Jerusalem after His resurrection dealt with the same topic, i.e., God’s Kingdom.  Acts 1:3 states, “After his suffering, Jesus presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”  If the Kingdom of God was so important to our Lord, it should be the same to us. 
 
But there is a second reason for our interest in this topic and it stems from the fact that we, as Christ’s followers, are members of God’s kingdom.  The work of God’s Kingdom should be near and dear to our hearts.  No wonder that Jesus taught His disciples to always pray for God’s Kingdom. “Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it’s in heaven.”
 
Last week, I gave a simple definition of what I mean by God’s Kingdom, and I said that it simply means God’s rule over our lives.  It’s the joy of finding something of a greater value than all the riches of this earth.  It’s the excitement of finding God or being found by God.  It’s the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit. 
 
I also pointed out last week that this righteousness, peace, and joy can be found in the most unlikely of places.  The Kingdom dawns on the least of the least; the simple, the poor, the uneducated, the unworthy.  God shows up in the most desperate and hopeless situations and places in our lives.  Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’  For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” 
 
This morning we will be looking at God’s Kingdom from a new angel.  We will be looking at the mysterious nature of God’s Kingdom.  Our primary Scripture text is Mark 4:26-29. In Mark 4:26-27, Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” 
 
This parable is not found in any of the other gospels; it is unique to the gospel of Mark.  It teaches some very important truth that it still so relevant to our lives today.  Let me share two this morning:
 
First: The Kingdom that is beyond our Comprehension
Often times we wrestle with what is happening in both our own lives and what is happening in our world. “Where is God in all of this?” has been the cry of so many through the ages.  In our distress, often times we seek the power of God but to no avail.
 
In Mark 4 Jesus reminds us that our inability to see God working doesn’t mean that God is idle because He never has and He never will.  The germination of the seed is a mystery. It takes place underground where you can’t see what’s going on. The farmer doesn’t know exactly how it all happens. Farmers just believe that the seed has life in itself.  They have faith that over time the seed germinates, sprouts and grows. It’s what alive seeds do.  We don’t see farmers standing out there in their fields every day saying, “Come on seed. Let’s grow now. I know you can do it!” Friends, let’s have faith in a God who is always at work and often times in miraculous and mysterious ways.
 
Second: Growing is a Life-long Process
There is a process to spiritual growth. There are steps to our growth and we cannot skip any of them even if we wanted to.  This is what Jesus says in Mark 4:28, “First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.”  Spiritual growth is a life-long process.
 
The growth of the grain comes in stages.  Our growth to the likeness of Christ as adults is a life-long process.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  Instilling the faith in the lives of our young ones is a journey.  There is always some growth underground before it appears above ground.  Much time is required before the seed has germinated and the plant has gone through all its stages and finally the time for harvest has come.
 
Friends, throughout the ages, and especially in our time, the church is so concerned with methods of expanding and growing God’s Kingdom, which is great.  Often times, we switch methods; one method is discarded because the results are not what were expected, and others are adopted to engage people with what God is doing in our world.  I truly believe it’s not a question of methodology.  It is a question of faithfulness!  Sow the seed. Sow it faithfully!  Leave the growth to God!  
 
This takes an enormous amount of patience — much more than we usually have.  Much of the growing process is out of our hands!  We would like to have it in our hands, but God builds His kingdom and, in His way, and timing the harvest is assured!  Today we give thanks to God for a year of ministry to our young Christians.  Our Sunday School Teachers did their best to engage the hearts of the kids and their family and draw them near to God’s Kingdom and for this, we are grateful.  Many we never forget that God is always at work and growing is a journey.  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, May 15, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“The Kingdom is at Hand!”
1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Luke 17:20-21
 
It seems to me that the Kingdom of God was so central to the life and mission of Jesus Christ.  The gospel of Mark gives us a glimpse of the early beginnings of Christ’s public ministry.  This is what Mark says in Mark 1:14-15 “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near.  Repent and believe the good news!”  Jesus makes the connection here between His public ministry and the nearness of God’s Kingdom ~ the inauguration of “βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ.”  In teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus instructed us to always pray, “Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it’s in heaven.”
 
In order to show us how central the Kingdom of God was to the Resurrected Lord, Luke gives us another insightful passage in Acts 1:3, “After his suffering, Jesus presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”  Luke tells us that the solo subject of Christ’s teaching during the fort-day period after His resurrection and before His ascension was the Kingdom of God.
 
If the Kingdom of God was so important to our Lord, it should be the same to us.  So today and through the end of May, I will be preaching on this topic.  My hope, as we revisit our understanding of this foundational and transformational topic, that our passion for God’s Kingdom will be ignited. 
 
This morning, I would like to define what do we mean by God’s Kingdom and underscore one single thought about how this Kingdom is manifested.
 
What is God’s Kingdom?
So, what is God’s Kingdom?  Simply put, God’s Kingdom is God’s rule over our lives.  This kingdom has no physical territory.  Its realm is the whole world.  It gathers all the redeemed through the ages.  God’s Kingdom has a spiritual nature.  This kingdom is born in the hearts of those who had heard the good news of the gospel and believed it.  This kingdom is the already, but not yet.  Christ is King right at this moment, yet we still await the time that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
 
The difficulty comes from the fact that we, as Christians, are called to live as citizens of heaven while we are still here on earth.  We are to seek, to be loyal to, to strive for God’s Kingdom.  The community of Christ in the world is supposed to embody the values of God’s Kingdom.  We are in the world but not of the world.  The Scriptures has much to say about God’s kingdom, but I would like to underscore a single thought this morning about how it’s manifested.
 
First: God’s Kingdom is Manifested in the Most Unlikely of Places
There is a thread in Scriptures about how God’s Kingdom is manifested.  Over and over again, the Bible tells us that God’s Kingdom is manifested in the most unlikely of places.  The good news of the gospel and the inauguration of God’s Kingdom first took place in Galilee.  Galilee witnessed the beginning and the fulfilment of the Christian story.
 
Not so many people expected the good news of God’s Kingdom to come out of the small region of Galilee.  From a human perspective, it should’ve been Jerusalem that first witnessed the preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom.  Yet this kingdom manifests itself in the most unlikely of places, in Galilee.  The Kingdom dawns on the least of the least; the simple, the poor, the uneducated, the unworthy, the crushed Galileans.  God shows up in the most desperate and hopeless situations and places in our lives.
 
I wonder if some of us today are travelling some rough roads.  I wonder if some of us are navigating some uncharted waters.  I want you today to lift up your heads for the Kingdom of God is among us.  It’s during those dark and sleepless nights that the light of Christ’s Kingdom shines on us.  God’s Kingdom has come and it comes amongst us every day in mysterious and supernatural ways.  In our brokenness, God’s strength is given to us.  In our failures, God’s love and grace overwhelm us.
 
It's when we least expect it, God’s love finds us.  It’s in the most unlikely of places and the most unlikely of circumstances that the joy and peace of God’s sovereignty strengthen our feeble knees.  In response to a question from the Pharisees in regard to when the kingdom of God was coming?  Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’  For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” 
 
Friends, in an assembly and gathering such as ours this morning, the seeds of God’s Kingdom are planted and established in our hearts.  In the simplicity of our life together as a congregation, our eyes are opened, and our hearts are encouraged to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. 
 
May we never forget that God’s Kingdom is manifested in the most unlikely of places.  So regardless of where you’re in the journey of life, whether you’re at the top of the mountain or at the valley of the shadow of death, God is sovereign.  He got your back.  “Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all,” prayed King Solomon in 1 Chronicles 29:11. The time has come for us to live the fullness of God’s Kingdom and reign.  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 (Mother’s Day Sunday, May 8, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Jochebed: A Godly Mom!”
Exodus 2:1-12
 
Today is a day when we take the time to honor the one human being who unselfishly gives herself to her children and her family over and over again, without asking for anything in return.  If your life has been blessed by the touch of a godly mother, a mother-like figure, a grandmother or an auntie, then you have enjoyed one of this world’s greatest treasures and blessings. Not everyone has enjoyed this great blessing but those who have, will always remember the love of their mother. 
 
We set aside one day a year to honor mothers and mother-like figures.  As I thought about my sermon topic for this morning, the Holy Spirit led me to the story of Jochebed.  Before I draw two lessons for us from the life of Jochebed, I would like to give us the chance to get to know Jochebed a little bit.  Who was she?
 
Who was Jochebed?
In the passage we just read from Exodus chapter 12, we are introduced to a woman from the Tribe of Levi named Jochebed.  She stands out as one of the greatest mothers revealed in the pages of Scripture.  Her selfless love and sacrifice changed the course of history.  Jochebed was the mother of three famous people in the Bible.  She was the mother of Moses, the deliverer of Israel.  She was the mother of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel.  And she was the mother of Miriam, a prophetess, poet and singer in Israel.  Aaron was three years older than Moses, and Miriam was probably about ten years older than Moses.
 
Although Jochebed is not named in our passage today, she is named in two other places in Scripture, both genealogies, in Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59.  Jochebed’s name means “honor or glory of God,” and she certainly honored God with her life and with her faith.  The story of Jochebed reminds us of two great lessons that I would like to share with you on this Mother’s Day Sunday:
 
First: Our Holistic Responsibility towards our Children
No doubt that parents play a huge role in the children’s holistic development.  As human beings created in the image of God, we have body, spirit, and soul.  Our children got physical needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs.  As God entrusts the little ones to our care, He expects us to meet those needs and provide our children the best care.
Moses was born during a very difficult time.  The Israelites were slaves in Egypt at this time.  Pharaoh had told the Hebrew midwives to kill any of the Hebrew boys as they were being delivered.  When the midwives refused and let them live, Pharaoh issued a new order: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live,” Exodus 1:21.  After Moses was born, Hebrews 11:23 tells us, “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”
But when Jochebed could hide the child no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed Moses in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.  Miriam, Moses’ sister, stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.  Long story short, Moses is found by pharaoh’s daughter, and, by God’s provision, he is given to his mom again to nurse him.  Moses stayed with his mom until he was weaned.  So let’s say Moses stayed with his mom until he was at least 3 or 4 years old.
At that young age, Moses was taken to live at Pharoah’s Palace.  He lived his childhood, and youth as an Egyptian Prince.  But, how did he grow up knowing his true identity?  It seems to me that Moses’ mother laid the foundation in him.  She nursed him the faith of his parents.  She taught him about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  She taught him about the covenant God made with them as a people. Jochebed reminds us of our wholistic responsibility towards our children.  God expects us to attend for their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs.  Part of our responsibility towards our children is to tell them about the love of Jesus and to instill the faith in their hearts.  Our job wouldn’t be complete without this part.
Second: We Do Our Part and Trust God with the Rest
Often times, I get to meet people, wonderful Christians, who lament the fact that their children have nothing to do with the Christian faith.  They did what they could; took them to Sunday School; prayed with them and for them regularly; shared Bible stores with them, but after they grew up, they abandoned their faith and care less about it. 
I wonder if Jochebed wrestled with the same thing.  I am sure that she asked herself many times if her child will be worshipping the true God of Israel or will be worshipping rather one of the many gods of the Egyptians.  The Bible doesn’t say anything about the faith of Moses until the age of 40 when Moses decided to leave the Palace behind and pursue the God of Israel.  After all, the seed didn’t die.  The story of Jochebed and Moses reminds us that we do our part and leave the rest on God.
Friends, like Moses, our children today are born and raised up in extremely difficult times.  Like Moses, they are surrounded with hundred of false gods.  Godly parenthood matters.  Godly moms and grandmoms make the whole difference.  Godly parents realize that their responsibility is one of a wholistic nature.  We are to care for our children’s spirits and bodies.  We are to feed them the daily bread and not to forget about the Manna that come from heaven.  And when it’s time for them to fly solo on their own exploring what God might have for them in the world, may we always trust God’s sovereign care.  Like Jochebed, do your part and leave the rest on the Lord.  Happy Mother’s Day.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.