First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 23, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; 1 Peter 5:5-7
 
There's a story about a man who, leaving church one Sunday, complained about the music.  “I didn't like the hymns you chose today,” he said.  The Pastor simply replied, “That's OK; we weren't singing them for you.”  The Pastor may have been too blunt, but he made a good point.  In our consumer-oriented world, we sometimes think church services are just for us; but we aren’t spectators attending a show—we’re participants in the greatest and most uplifting enterprise in the universe – worshiping God.
 
Though we are blessed in doing it, our worship is not for ourselves, but for God.  We are praising God for His power, His glory, His majesty, His wisdom, His holiness, His goodness and His grace.  The late William Temple (1881-1944), archbishop of Canterbury, put it well in his often quoted definition of worship: “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.”
 
Worship has always been so central and so vital to the people of God.  I am glad that the Preacher dealt with the topic of worship in Ecclesiastes 5.  As I mentioned last week, in Ecclesiastes 5, the Preacher takes our eyes off the vanities of this life to what is enduring and lasting, to worship.  It’s a shift from the temporary to the eternal; from what is meaningless to what is purposeful.  No vanity in worship. 
 
So in chapter 5, the Preacher gives us some valuable advice as when we come to worship.  How can we make the most out of our worship experience?  How can we allow God to transform our lives as we encounter Him in worship?  God wants us to be refreshed, renewed, and energized when we come to worship Him.  In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, the Preacher offers four important ways to enhance the quality of our worship; four ways to make the most out of our worship.  Last Sunday, we covered a couple thoughts and this morning, I will underscore two more ideas.
 
First: Get Ready to Meet God
We should never forget that the destination of worship is to meet God.  When you come to worship, be ready to meet God.  “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God,” the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes 5:1.  This means we approach God with care; we are on holy ground.  We are in the presence of the Most High.  We come hungry.  We come willing.  We come expecting God to speak to us.
 
Second: Listen to God
The Preacher offers a second advice.  It has to do with listening to God.  In Ecclesiastes 5:1 he says, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools.”  Often times, the Prophets warned the people of Israel for not listening.  “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”  God wants us to listen to Him.  When we come to worship, be ready to hear God’s voice; more importantly, be ready to follow where God leads.
 
Third: Humble Yourself Before God
The Preacher says, when you come to worship, remember to approach God with humility.  Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”  The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:5-6, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”  To see God reigning in power, wisdom, and love produces only one response: humility and worship.  We bow before Him. We fall before Him.
 
“God is in heaven and you are on earth,” says the Preacher.  In actuality, this is a statement of perspective, not distance.  One of the great benefits of gaining a proper perspective of God is that we not only gain a view of the throne of God, we gain a view from the throne of God. Once we have entered into God’s presence, we look down on our world from His perspective. We find that what we thought was a mountain was a molehill.  What seemed great and mighty in the world’s eyes turns out to be small and insignificant in God’s eyes.  On the other hand, when we thought we were weak, we became strong because we were in the presence of God. Or, what we thought was foolish actually became wise from God’s vantage point.
 
Fourth: Fulfill Your Vows
A vow is a serious promise, a covenant made to God or to others.  It was a common way of making a commitment in ancient times as it is in our own culture today.  We make promises and we are expected to keep them.  In Ecclesiastes 5:4, the Preacher says, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools.  Fulfill what you vow.”  In the Middle Eastern culture, a person will die before bringing shame on himself or herself with a broken vow.
God is big on fulfilling vows.  God’s nature is righteousness and truth.  God always honors His Word.  God never breaks a promise.  Here these great words from the book of Numbers 23:19 “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?”  And because God is faithful toward His promises, He expects the same of His people. 
When we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, we made vows to the Almighty God.  We made a vow to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.  We made vows to gather together with the Body of Christ for worship, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship.  We made vows to support the mission and ministry of our local congregations through the using of our time, talents and financial giving. We made vows to be Christ’s ambassadors in the world carrying His light and love to the world.  We made a vow to take our faith seriously.  Have we kept these vows?
 
Friends, worship should be one of the most uplifting experiences.  It should be the highlight of our week.  In Ecclesiastes 5, the Preacher says, in worship we meet the Almighty God, we get to listen to His voice directly speaking to us, in humbling ourselves before God, we are lifted up gaining a new perspective from the throne of God, and eventually, we learn how to fulfill our vows, our commitments to God.  That’s way I value our time together.  Worship is a marvelous adventure into the presence of the God of the universe.  It is a wonder-filled ride into a new dimension of life. I hope and pray that we will never take this opportunity for granted, but every time we come, we come with anticipation to be transformed to the likeness of Christ.  Amen.

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 16, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; Hebrews 4:14-16
 
Today we travel on through our series in the book of Ecclesiastes, and we get to chapter 5.  I believe, as someone said to me after worship last Sunday, this series is timely for God’s people because it takes our eyes off the vanities of this life to what is enduring and lasting.  Ecclesiastes may seem to drive us to despair, but in reality, it gives birth to an unfailing hope.  It’s the hope of God’s presence, sovereignty, and faithfulness.  Ecclesiastes tears down, but it also builds up.  It helps us to figure out what we should keep and what we should throw away.  Ecclesiastes speaks about the true meaning and purpose of life and where to find it.
 
Ecclesiastes chapter 5 begins a transition from the vanity of life in the world to the everlasting value of worshipping our Almighty God.  As you may have noticed, God is mentioned 6 times in 7 verses.  It’s a shift from the temporary to the eternal; from what is meaningless to what is purposeful.  Ecclesiastes chapter 5 invites us to think about the value and importance of worship.    No vanity in worship.  In chapter 5, the Preacher gives us some valuable advice as when we come to worship.  How can we make the most out of our worship experience?  How can we allow God to transform our lives as we encounter Him in worship?   
 
Wisdom for Worship
While you and I are still living through the difficulties of a broken world, God wants us to be refreshed, renewed, and energized when we come to worship Him.  In His providence, God has set aside the Lord’s Day as a time to present ourselves to Him in corporate worship.  
 
But a true and authentic worship experience requires preparation; serious and real preparation.  When proper preparation is overlooked, great blessings are missed.  God never intended for us to show up for the worship service then we exit the same way we enter – unmoved, unchanged, unaltered – and, we’re happy to return next time.
 
The problem is most of us will be content just to be there; content with a “nice” service.  A few, however, seek more.  And those few leave wide-eyed with wonder of having experienced worship rather than merely endured worship.  King Solomon, writing three thousand years ago, gives us some helpful instructions in order to encounter the Almighty God when we come into His house.  In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, the Preacher offers four important ways to enhance the quality of our worship, but for the sake of our time, I will cover two today and two next Sunday.
 
First: Get Ready to Meet God
The destination of worship is to meet God.  When you come to worship, be ready to meet God.  The Preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:1, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.”  The phrase “guard your steps” means to proceed with reverence, to walk prudently, to tip toeing into the presence of God.  We come to the presence of God with dignity and respect.  We approach God with the same care as Moses when he encountered God in a burning bush and took off his shoes.  He was on holy ground, and he knew it.
 
Someone once said, we “do church” as many “do lunch,” casually and unprepared.  Our hearts and minds are not ready to encounter the Most High.  We don’t anticipate God’s presence or voice.  Consequently, we’re unable to experience the presence of God that will stir our souls, change our lives, and satisfy our hunger for meaning.
 
Let me encourage you to come to worship prepared to encounter God.  Pray before you come so you will be ready to pray when you get here.  Read the Word during the week so your heart will be soft when you worship with the body of Christ.  Come hungry.  Come willing.  Come expecting God to speak.  Come anticipating a memorable experience with the Creator of the universe.
 
Second: Listen to God
The Preacher offers further instructions for experiencing God in worship.  In Ecclesiastes 5:1 he says, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools.”  The second advice is to listen to God.  The Bible has so much to say about listening.  In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel said these words to King Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
 
Often times, the Prophets criticized the people of Israel for “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”  God wants us to listen to Him.  The Prophet Isaiah wrote these great words to the nation of Israel; a nation that turned its back on God and whose heart grew dull.  In Isaiah 48:17-18, God says, “This is what the Lord says — your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.  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.”
 
Sometimes we drag ourselves to the Lord’s house, we are physically present, but our minds are somewhere else.  Yes, my friends, sometimes instead of listening to what the Spirit says to us, we proof the bulletin for typos or we make the grocery list, or our to-do list for next week. And before you know it, the service is over and we got very little out of it or nothing at all because our minds were elsewhere. The Prophet Hosea says, “They sow the wind and we reap the whirlwind” Hosea 8:7.  We were not good listeners for sure.
 
Friends, I encourage you today to examine the quality of your worship.  When you show up for worship, do you get ready to meet God?  Do you get excited to encounter the Most High?  Are you listening to what the Spirit is saying?  Solomon concluded this passage by two important words: “Fear God.”  I like how the Message translation puts Ecclesiastes 5:7, “But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk.  There’s always this rock foundation: Fear God!” 
 
The Hebrew verb “יְרָֽא” “Ya-ra”, to fear God, does not mean dread or terror; it means holy awe and respect.  It’s that deep sense of living in God’s presence and beholding His awesomeness.  In other words, we are to take God seriously.  Our temptation is to take God too lightly.  It’s true that the author of Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to approach the throne of grace with boldness, but we should never forget that God is the Almighty who has no equal.  We’re to approach Him with respect and reverence.  To Him alone be the glory now and forever more.  Amen!

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 9, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 1 Peter 4:7-11
 
The Book of Ecclesiastes explores life under the sun, life without God.  In fact, it exposes the ultimate bankruptcy of trying to find meaning, purpose, happiness, security, and satisfaction apart from God.  As I pointed out before, Ecclesiastes may seem depressing and it shouldn’t be looked at this way.  It is intended to drive us to despair, and at the same time fills us with a different kind of hope.  It is intended to cause us to cry out, “Is this it?  Is this really all that there is?”  The whole book is intended to help us find freedom by realizing that life without God is meaningless, vanity.  That if you and I ever, ever hope to find true, long-lasting happiness, real meaning, it is going to have to come from above the sun.  Outside my experience.  Beyond the facilities of this world.
 
This morning we get to chapter 4 and we will be examining Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.  So what does the Qoheleth, what does the Preacher want us to see in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12?  The Preacher says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?  And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one.  A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
 
The Preacher is saying we were not made to be alone.  We don’t thrive when we are alone.  We are not as safe when we are alone.  We are not as comfortable when we are alone.  We are not as happy when we are alone.  It’s a simple yet a profound message.
 
A Call to Community
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is a call to community.  This passage of Ecclesiastes highlights the importance of companionship where isolation reigns.  In Romans 12:15, the Bible exhorts us to share our happiness and our hurt with each other, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn,” says Romans 12:15.  God gave us a desire to be with other people.  Life is too complicated for anyone to figure out alone.  Christians are to pray together, study God’s Word together, and meet together more regularly as time goes on (Acts 4:31-33; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25).
 
I am sure we have experienced in one way or another during this pandemic the importance of community.  We long for the day when all of us can freely embrace each other, lift up our voices in praise, fellowship together without being worried to get or to pass COVID.  We long for that day because this is so central to our live together as God’s children.  It makes the gospel a lived reality. 
 
Two Are Better Than One
“Two are better than one,” says the Preacher.  This is the principle that lies behind Christian fellowship.  This is the way God created us – to fellowship together.  In three examples, the Preacher illustrates the blessings of fellowship.  The three examples are taken from the risks of traveling by foot in ancient Palestine and they speak in a great way to our journey, the journey of life. The Preacher highlights 3 benefits in verses 10-12: assistance, comfort, and defense. 
First: Assistance
The first example is that of a traveler who falls into a pit or ditch.  “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help,” says the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.  For a traveler on his or her own, a fall might prove fatal, especially at night.  If a leg is broken, if ribs are cracked, if a skull is split open, the single traveler may never receive needed medical attention.  The traveler with a companion, however, has someone to pull him or her out of the ditch or pit, someone to splint the broken bones, someone to bring that traveler to safety.
 
Christians do not travel through life alone.  They have each other.  When a believer falls into the pit of sin, their brother or sister in Christ can help to pull them out.  When a believer is having problems and trials, they can lean on their brothers and sisters.  “Two are better than one.”
 
Second: Comfort
The second example might sound strange to us.  It’s of a traveler facing the cold nights of Palestine.  The Preacher is not talking about a married couple.  The Preacher says in 4:11, “Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?”  Hotels and motels were not common in those days except in the major cities and big towns.  When people traveled on foot, it was not always possible to get to the next town and the safety and warmth of an inn.  In such a situation, it was very common for a traveler to sleep under the stars or in a cave.  Palestine nights, even during the summer months, can be very cool.  Most travelers found it necessary to sleep in groups, typically one for men, one for women, and another group for children.  This way they stayed warm and comfortable.  One of the joys of Christian fellowship is the warmth and love we find in each other.  We can always find comfort in community. 
 
Third: Defense
A third illustration is taken from the burglar or wayside bandit.  “And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one.  A threefold cord is not quickly broken,” states the preacher in Ecclesiastes 4:12.  Christian believers strengthen and sustain each other.  They look to each other for support and encouragement.  They uphold and defend each other.
 
“Two are better than one,” says the Preacher. Yet, he also says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  The rope-makers of the ancient world certainly knew this: a rope made of a single or double strand of cord could be broken so easily; a rope, however, made of three strands was not so easily broken.  The Preacher reminds us here that Christian fellowship always involves three parties: you, me, and God.  This is a reminder that true Christian fellowship always has Christ at its center.  True Christian fellowship is found only where Jesus is believed in as Savior, served as Lord, and praised as God.
 
Friends, no person is an island.  No Christian is a Christian by him or herself.  We need each other.  We have a duty to help each other in Christian growth and maturity.  We must assist and encourage each other.  We are all responsible for each other.  “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” says the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:2. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling,” says the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 4:8-9.  Friends, it’s been a tough time for lots of people.  Let’s put the concept of Christian fellowship into practice.  We are better together.  We help and get helped; we bring comfort and get comforted; we protect others and get protected by them.  Make a phone call, or a text message, or shoot an e-mail to someone this week and check on them.  Amen. 

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 2, 2020)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
Ecclesiastes 3:11; Colossians 3:1-4
 
Today we continue working our way through the book of Ecclesiastes.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve received several encouraging e-mails, text messages, phone calls, as well as in person comments from church members and those who follow the live streaming, each saying that Ecclesiastes is helping them to live well amidst the storm of this pandemic.  I am grateful to God for that.  As I have said before, Ecclesiastes has so much to say to the 21st century American Christians.  Written almost three thousand years ago, Ecclesiastes is relevant today as it was back then.
 
We are in chapter three and last Sunday we had the chance to look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-8., one of the best-known passages in the entire book.  “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” says the Preacher in chapter 3:1.  Ecclesiastes 3 challenges us to consider two important things: (1) to recognize the different seasons of life and to make the most out of every season; (2) to simply acknowledge our limitations.  We said that we, humans, don’t control the seasons of life; God does.
 
I don’t want to wrap up our reflections on Ecclesiastes 3 without getting the chance to look at verse 11.  It’s an important verse.  It says, “God has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  God has set eternity in the human heart.  What a profound statement!  We are made for eternity.  This morning I would like to unfold this statement, then I will offer one suggestion that I think will help us keep eternity at the center of our lives.
 
First: What is at Stake?
What does the Preacher mean when he says that God “set eternity in the human heart”?  It simply means that every human soul has a God-given awareness that there’s “something more” than this world.  In His love, God gives a particular blessing to each person and that blessing is an awareness of eternity.
 
In other words, there is within every one of us a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill. People try to fill that space with so much stuff.  Sometimes we try to fill it with good things like relationships, work, art, music, and so many other things.  Sometimes we try to fill it with bad things like drugs or alcohol or other things that do us harm.  The truth of the matter is that you will never going to fill that vacuum with something else, because it is a God-shaped vacuum and only God can fill that empty space within you.
 
Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 AD), a remarkable 4th century North African theologian once said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” (Augustine, Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1).  He also said, “You have put salt in our mouths, O Lord, that we may thirst for you.”
 
This is the paradox of our humanity.  We are creatures of time, we have a beginning and we have an end; we get born and one day we die.  The paradox here is that death is not the end because God set eternity in our hearts.  Yes, we are prone to wander off God’s way, but no matter how messy we get, God keeps calling to come back to Him and we keep wrestling with this calling until we surrender and make a room for Him in our lives.
 
God has set eternity in the human heart.  Are you looking for something you just can’t find?  If you’re not looking for it in God, then you are looking in all the wrong places.  Only God can satisfy.  This world in its present form is passing away.  It’s temporary.  It’s transitory.  We know there must be more to this life.  Why?  Because God has put a longing for heaven within every human heart.
 
God has set eternity in the human heart, yet, we are told, “no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  In other words, in our fallen state, we sense there ought to be something more than this world but can’t discern what it is.  So we wander and wander.  But the good news is that our God is a God who has revealed Himself to us; and through that revelation, with the ultimate revelation being His coming to earth in the Person of Christ, we can understand what we need to understand regarding eternity.  In other words, God has provided the way to enjoy this life eternal, and that leads me to my second and last thought for today.
 
Second: Set Your Heart on Things Above
God has planted the seed of eternity in our hearts, He put that awareness, and it is our responsibility to nourish it.  In Colossians chapter 3 the Apostle Paul exhorts the Church in Colossae to set their hearts and minds on things above.  It’s a deliberate and intentional decision we make.  It doesn’t just happen by itself.  By default, we are drawn toward the things of this world.  This is why Colossians 3:2 says to “set” our minds on things above.  We are so distracted by the things of this world and we need a lot of effort to stay on track.   
 
 Martin Luther, the 16th century German Protestant Reformer, once challenged one of his students by saying, “I’ll get you a new horse and carriage (wagon) if you can pray the Lord’s Prayer and concentrate on every phrase without losing your train of thought.”  “No problem,” the young man said.  After he had prayed the prayer, he, however, confessed to Martin Luther, “all I could think about was the horse and carriage (wagon).”  As much as he tried to concentrate and focus on the Lord’s Prayer, his mind was drawn elsewhere.  It’s not that easy to set our hearts on things above.
 
Setting our hearts and minds on things above doesn’t mean we detach ourselves from our responsibilities and obligations in this world.  At the end of the day, we are still on earth and we have to take care of lots of business.  Rather, it means to live with eternity in mind.  It’s gaining a whole new perspective in life; to see our life as God sees it; to see what God sees vanity as vanity and what God sees enduring and trustworthy as enduring and trustworthy.
 
Friends, God has set eternity in our hearts.  There is within every one of us a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill.  And because heaven is our destination, we shouldn’t get comfortable here on earth.  Enjoy God’s good gifts while you are here, but remember – you are a citizen of heaven, and heaven is your true home.  This world in its present form is passing away.  The longings we feel in this life, that unsatisfaction, all point to God.  We are pilgrims on a journey.  This place is like a rental.  Yes you make yourself somewhat comfortable in a rental property, but you’re not going to invest everything you’ve in a place that is not yours.  Earth is not our true home, so don’t get too comfortable here.  Enjoy God’s good gifts, but invest in heaven.  You’re made for eternity.  Amen!