​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, August 14, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor ​

“When Jesus Passed though Jericho!”
Luke 18:35-43
 
As you already know, our summer sermon series has been taking us to places we encounter as we read the gospel narrative.  What we’ve been doing is simple, yet profound at the same time.  As we get to visit all those different places, we get the chance to reflect on the events took place in there and what they mean to us today.  As stated several times, my hope for all of us is to get a glimpse of the greatness and the awesomeness of our God. 
 
We have already visited Cana of Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethany, Bethesda, and the town of Nain.  Our journey this morning takes us to the town of Jericho.  Located in the Jordan valley with the Jordan River to the East, and Jerusalem to the west, Jericho was known as an oasis city.  In fact, Herod the Great built his winter palace near Jericho because of its perfect climate and freshwater springs.  Since Jericho catered to the rich and powerful during the time of Jesus, homeless outcasts often lined the roads in and out of town asking for help.
 
Luke tells us an inspiring story that happened in Jericho during Christ’s last visit to the city.  Luke tells us as Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man, named Bartimaeus in the other gospels, was sitting by the roadside begging.  Upon knowing it was Jesus of Nazareth who was passing by, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.  Lord, let me recover my sight!”  Luke tells us that, “Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
 
So as we reflect on this story today, I would like to underscore two lessons; two ways this healing story speaks to us today:
 
First: There are Opportune Spiritual Moments
There are opportune spiritual moments when Jesus passes by.  Every day was the same in Bartimaeus’ darkened world.  He would get up, grope around for a crust of bread, then take his staff and tap-tap his way from his shack out to his normal spot.  When Bartimaeus heard people passing by, he would cry out, “Alms for the blind! Alms for the blind!”  Somehow, he eked out enough to survive.  
But that day was different.  A larger than usual crowd was making its way past Bartimaeus.  When he asked what was happening, he was told, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  Bartimaeus must’ve said to himself, “I’ve heard of Jesus of Nazareth.  He is the Son of David, the Messiah!  I’ve heard about His marvelous teaching and how He has healed the sick, raised the dead, and opened the eyes of the blind!”  Maybe he can help me today. 
Bartimaeus knew that this was his window of opportunity.  Jesus was passing by.  Soon He would be gone, never to pass that way again.  Bartimaeus plunged through.  He began to shout at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Bartimaeus wouldn’t be silenced. This was his only chance, and he wasn’t going to miss it.  Just as Bartimaeus had his opportune moment to cry out to Jesus, I truly believe this is an opportune moment for the church to seek the Lord.  Jesus is passing by, and He is the only one with the power to open eyes that have been blinded by sin.  Let’s call out to Him while He is near!  “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near,” says Isaiah 55:6.
 
Second: Like Bartimaeus, We, too, Need to Cry out to Jesus
In the face of our spiritual blindness, apathy, and timidity, we need to cry out to Jesus.  When Jesus passes by, we should cry out to Him with bold, persistent faith.  Bartimaeus wasn’t shy!  He cried out for mercy and help.  “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  I am sure those near him said, “Shut up, old man!  We can’t hear what Jesus is saying!”   Yet, Bartimaeus shouted even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  The ones leading the way yelled, “Tell that beggar to be quiet!  The Master has more important things to attend to.”  But Bartimaeus wouldn’t be silenced.
 
When people told Bartimaeus to shut up, he yelled all the louder!  He kept shouting until he heard that Jesus was calling for him.  His bold, persistent faith obtained what he was after.  The Church today should learn many lessons from Bartimaeus.  Bartimaeus would tell us don’t be shy to cry out for mercy.  Don’t give up.  Isaiah 62:6-7 says, “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; all day and all night they shall never be silent.  You who remind the Lord, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth.”
 
Bartimaeus would also tell us, beware of seeking help from all the wrong places.  Where you place your help matters.  It really does.  In Psalm 121:1-2, the Psalmist says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” 
 
Friends, our visit to Jericho this morning reminds us to take advantage of God’s visitations with us; to seize those opportune spiritual moments.  In the past, God visited with His people through the prophets.  His ultimate revelation was through His Son, Jesus Christ.  God continues to visit with us today through the faithful proclamation of His Word.  As Jesus was carrying the cross down the narrow streets of ancient Jerusalem, Luke 19 tells us that Jesus wept over the people of Israel because they “missed the day of God’s visitation.”  Unlike the people of Jerusalem, Bartimaeus of Jericho was willing to do whatever it takes to bring himself to Jesus and ask Him for help.  “Lord, I want to see,” was the cry of Bartimaeus.  May it become our cry too.  In the Name of 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, August 7, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor ​

“A Miracle at the Gate of Nain!”
Luke 7:11-17
 
As you know, we’ve been looking at some of the key places that we come across as we read the gospel narrative.  We get the chance to reflect on the events took place in those places and what lessons we can draw for our lives today.  As we do so, my hope for all of us is to get a glimpse of the greatness and the awesomeness of our God.  Our journey this morning takes us to the little town of Nain.
 
The town of Nain is only referenced once in the Bible, here in Luke chapter 7.  The day after Jesus healed the centurion’s servant in Capernaum, Christ’s next stop was the town of Nain, 25 miles southwest of Capernaum.  The distance from Capernaum to Nain was a good day’s journey.  Jesus and His disciples must’ve got to Nain late in the day.
 
As Jesus and His disciples reached the city gate, a noisy funeral procession began to file out of the town.  Luke doesn’t give us a lot of information about the widow of Nain.  We do not know her name.  We don’t know whether she was poor or rich.  We don’t know if she was a Jew or a Gentile.  We know one thing: she was broken, and she needed help.  We know she was widowed, and she had a child who died.
 
I think Luke intentionally wanted to say to his audience, and to us, even this widow was unnamed, not a lot of people knew her, she was known to her God.  Christ knew the depth of her pain and hurt.  So as we reflect on raising the son of the widow of Nain from the dead, we need to ask ourselves: what does this story tell us?  Someone said, the story is ripe with nuggets about the character of God.  Two ways this story relates to us today:
 
First: It Tells us of a Compassionate God
Listen to these words from Luke 7:13-15, “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”  And he came and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother.”
 
This is not the only incident in the gospels that God has been moved to compassion for His people.  From the first page in the book of Genesis through the last words of the book of Revelation, the Bible speaks of a compassionate God.  “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him,” says the Psalmist in Psalm 103:13.  “His compassion never fail,” says the Prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22.  The Prophet Isaiah wrote these words in Isaiah 54:7-8, “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.”
 
When Jesus saw the widow of Nain following her son’s funeral coffin, He could have kept going about His business.  After all, He and His Father had put plans in place for the care of the widow according to the Law of Moses.  Jesus could have walked away and left the care of the childless widow to those in her community.  Instead, He stopped what He was doing to offer her words of life and comfort.
 
Second: It Tells us of a God whose Power Knows No Limit
The story tells us of a God whose power knows no limit.  God literally would move heaven and earth for us.  The miracle at the gate of Nain displayed God’s power over death.  This power and wisdom are all ours.  In raising the son of the widow of Nain, Jesus was willing to risk ceremonial uncleanness.  According to Mosaic Law, anyone who touched a dead body would be unclean for seven days as Numbers 19:11-13 state.
 
Being unclean meant they would not be able to enter the Temple or any of the synagogues which was a pretty big deal at the time.  Jesus would’ve been accused of violating the Law.  He would’ve jeopardized His reputation as a Rabbi.  But here was Jesus, willing to risk being ceremonially unclean for this widow of Nain.  He was not concerned that His actions could lead to Him not being allowed into the Temple. He was concerned with the widow of Nain and her need. 
 
Friends, encountering Jesus was a turning point for the widow of Nain.  What was supposed to be the saddest day of her life turned out to be the happiest day when her son came back to life.    Her life was transformed because God had become a part of her story.  God is willing to be a part of our story, are you willing to let Him?  From that moment on, the widow of Nain has come to know that there is a God who is full of compassion and whose power knows no limit, and even more importantly, that God is reliable, and He is trustworthy. 
 
We can always rely on God.  No matter how bleak things may look, we can always depend on God.  As people living in Western culture, we’re taught to be self-dependent, not to depend on anyone.  Unfortunately, this attitude also permeates our relationship with God.  We refuse to give God control of our lives thinking we can handle anything that comes our way.  That is a lie from the enemy who wants to cut you off from your greatest source of help.  God is the only being who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present. He knows what you need. Let’s cast all our cares on Him today because He cares for us.  In the Name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen! 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, July 31, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor ​

“Caesarea Philippi: Peter’s Confession and Ours!”
Matthew 16:13-20
 
Caesarea Philippi was a turning point for Christ’s disciples.  This is part number 6 in our summer sermon series.  We’ve been looking at some of the key places that we come across as we read the gospel narrative.  We get the chance to reflect on the events took place in those places and what lessons we can draw for our lives today.  as we continue working our way through this series of messages, it’s impossible to overlook Caesarea Philippi.  Caesarea Philippi was a turning point for the followers of Jesus.  In order to understand the importance of Peter’s confession and its relevancy to our times today, we need to get to know more about Caesarea Philippi.
 
Located about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, just at the southwestern base of Mount Hermon, Caesarea Philippi was named after King Herod the Great’s son, Caesar Phillip, when he came to power.  Though part of the land of Israel, Caesarea Philippi was a “Gentile” region.  Not a lot of devout Jews would’ve loved to live in Caesarea Philippi. 
 
Two gigantic temples stood in Caesarea Philippi: one to honor and worship Caesar, the great leader of the Roman Empire; the other to honor and worship Pan, the Roman god of shepherds and flocks.  Caesarea Philippi was basically considered the “Sin City” of its day, and most Jews would have completely avoided going there.  So, as you can see, this is not the place you might expect Jesus Christ, the Jewish Rabbi who was said to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God, to take His disciples and ask them to confess whom He really is.  We might think that the Jerusalem Temple or at least one of the synagogues would have been a better place.  
 
And yet, it is quite intentional that Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi to reveal His identity to them.  So as consider this watershed event in Caesarea Philippi, we get to examine our own discipleship and commitment to Jesus.  In Caesarea Philippi, we get to learn two important lessons:  
 
First: Beware of Sitting on the Fence
Sitting on the fence is easy.  You can sit on the fence every Sunday at church.  Thousands of people do it every week.  Sitting on the fence may be comfortable for many people because they don’t have to choose either side, but when we step off and jump, God will catch us and take to a new depth.  For a follower of Jesus, sitting on the fence is not an option.  In Luke 11:23 Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters.”
 
Sitting on the fence is deadly.  Halfhearted or partial commitment has never been enough.  Jesus demanded all on nothing.  Gibran Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer of the New York Pen League.  In one of his inspiring poems titled, “Half a Life”, he says, “Do not love half lovers.  Do not entertain half friends.  Do not indulge in works of the half talented.  Do not live half a life and do not die a half death ….  Do not accept half a solution.  Do not believe half-truths.  Do not dream half a dream.  Do not fantasize about half hopes.  Half a drink will not quench your thirst.  Half a meal will not satisfy your hunger.  Half the way will get you nowhere.  Half an idea will bear you no results.”  One of the great dangers we face as we follow the Lord is to live a half-life ~ neither hot nor cold, but we become lukewarm Christians.  A life worth living is worth living all the way.    
 
Second: Be Ready to Make Your Confession in Your Caesarea Philippi
It’s easy enough to confess the Lordship of Christ in a church service or with other Christians.  It’s easy to make a confession of faith when there is no danger, but what happens when the rubber hits the road?  What happens when you find yourself in Caesarea Philippi, when you are surrounded by the idols of the world?  Jesus intentionally took His disciples to Caesarea Phillip to teach them, and us, to be ready to make our own confession of faith.
 
It was here, in this city devoted to the worship of idols that Simon Peter confessed for the first time that Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God.  It was there in Caesarea Philippi, against that backdrop of paganism and false religion, that Peter saw in a humble carpenter from Nazareth the very presence of God Himself.  It’s here in 21st century American culture that God expects us to confess that Christ is indeed “The Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  Christ continues to ask each and every one of us, “Who do you say that I am?”  There comes a point in life when you can no longer sit on the fence.
 
Friends, Sometimes God calls us to places where evil and brokenness abound.  Sometimes God leads us to places of pain and despair where it seems impossible to see His work or activity.  It is in those places that we can most powerfully confess the lordship of Jesus.  He came to be the Lord of everything.  Jesus is Lord in Judea as well as Caesarea Philippi.
 
“Who do you say that I am?”  If you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, trusting and believing that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the One who came to die for your sins and bring light into your world, I encourage you to do it today.  And if you’ve already put your faith in Christ, know that He is a Savior who delights in revealing Himself even in the darkest of places, even in Caesarea Philippi.  To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!  Amen!