First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 24, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Isaiah 43:1-7; John 6:16-21 A Lutheran, a Methodist, and a Presbyterian Pastor are out in a boat fishing, well off the shoreline. The Lutheran minister says to his fellow fishermen, “I have left my cell phone in the car; I had better get it.” With that he stands up, steps out of the boat, walks on top of the water to the shore, fetches his phone, and walks back to the boat, again on top of the water. There is no reaction from the Methodist, but the Presbyterian Pastor nearly falls out of the boat. They continue to fish and soon the second Pastor, the Methodist, remembers the pills he forgot to take which he left in his coat pocket in the car. So just like the Lutheran before him, he stands up, steps out of the boat on top of the water, walks to the shoreline to his car, retrieves his pills, and returns to the boat, walking on top of the water. And just as before, the Presbyterian Pastor looks on in disbelief, while the Lutheran does not even turn his head. They fish for several more hours until finally the Presbyterian Pastor, who has been desperately thinking of a reason to go to shore, remembers he has left his lunch in the car. So confidently, not willing to be outdone by a Lutheran or a Methodist, he stands, steps out of the boat and onto the water, and quickly sinks to the bottom of the lake. The Lutheran Pastor leans over to the Methodist Pastor and asks, “Do you think we should tell him where the stepping stones are?” Let me say right from the start that John 6:16-21 is a miracle story. It is that plain and that simple. This is not a story about Jesus’ knowing where the rocks are. This is not a story where Jesus actually was swimming and the disciples, who had never seen someone swim before, thought he was walking on water. It wasn’t foggy, causing the disciples’ depth perception to be askew. This is not a post- resurrection story where Jesus was actually an apparition. It is a story about Jesus walking on water. It is a miracle, or as John would call it, “It is a sign.” The Setting of the Fifth Sign The account of Jesus walking on water is one of my favorite Bible stories. I want to tell you the story, even though it may already be familiar to you. It was just after the five thousand had been fed. Jesus sent His disciples away, aboard a ship, to the other side of the lake; the Sea of Galilee. Jesus dismissed the crowd and went up into a mountain to pray. As the disciples were sailing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to Capernaum, the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. Halfway through their struggle against the storm, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But Jesus said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus got into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. Two lessons as we consider this Fifth Sign this morning; the first has to do with navigating our rough seas, and the second with Jesus being our anchor and our sure foundation. First: Navigating Rough Seas The gospel of John 6:17 states, “By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.” Have you been there before? Have you ever been by yourself in the dark? Most of us don't like the dark. As kids sometimes we liked playing in the dark. Hide and seek. Sardines. Flashlight Tag. Sharks & Minnows. Playing games can be fun but unfortunately there's a worse kind of dark that some struggle with. Darkness of grief: Darkness of depression. Darkness of being alone. Darkness of feeling alone even when you're surrounded by others. Darkness of despair. Darkness of uncertainty. In darkness, all we want is a flicker of light that lets us know the way we need to go. The disciples found themselves in a life threating situation. They rowed in a storm for about three or four miles. They are tired, exhausted, frustrated, discouraged, and afraid. As your Pastor, I can tell that many of us right now are battling a tough storm. This could be a serious illness, or financial problems or job loss. Yes, sometimes we have to travel rough roads. Some of you right here today are rowing as hard as you can. And it is very hard work and I admire your perseverance. Second: Jesus, the Anchor of our Souls What is actually the point of this story? Was it told by John simply to add to the list of miracles performed by Jesus as a testimony to His divinity? Most likely it was, but there is more. For me, the true power of the story for the church is this: the adversity that we are working through is always more manageable when Jesus works through it with us. When we find ourselves rowing against whatever it is in our lives that is churning up the waves, having Jesus with us will make the rowing a lot easier. I am not saying this with the intention of its being just another churchy cliché. I truly believe there is a calming presence that Jesus Christ brings to us in the midst of our adversity that makes navigating that adversity much easier, regardless of the nature of the outcome. Again, there are some of you who know exactly what I am talking about. Jesus came and said, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus will do the same for you. A diagnosis of cancer is never good. You have two options. You can face the adversity alone and row against the waves all by yourself, or you can ask Jesus to help you work through the adversity and to give you the strength to do whatever you need to do to come out on the other side, whatever “the other side” means. John Wesley tells a story when he was on a ship crossing the ocean going from England to Georgia in the Colonies. Wesley had never been on a ship before. They were 7 days from land and it was the third and most violent storm. They were worried that the ship is going to be lost in a storm at sea. Wesley wrote, “The sea spilled over the ship, split the mainsail, and poured between the decks as if the great deep had already swallowed us up.” The English passengers screamed in fright; the German Moravians calmly continued singing the psalms without intermission. Wesley was impressed with their faith in the face of death. He saw the difference in the hour of trial, between those who truly knew Jesus Christ and those who didn’t. The Prophet Isaiah wrote in 43:1-3, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” I like the way John wraps up this story. John 6:21 states, “Then they were eager to let Him in the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” One moment they are in the middle of this lake, that stretches 7 miles from one side to the other, battling darkness, strong winds, and powerful waves. The next moment Jesus comes walking to them, they say get in the boat, and the next thing they know they have reached the shore. It’s amazing what Jesus can do and will do when we let Him in. Amen.
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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Consecration Sunday, November 17, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Joshua 3:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 The Scripture passage we just read from Joshua chapter 3 tells us that the Israelites were on the threshold of the Promised Land. This is the moment they have been waiting for generation after generation. God has promised them a land and their ancestors carried that promise around in their heart. They went through slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from that slavery by the mighty hand of God and then spent 40 years wandering around the wilderness, the desert. In Joshua chapter 3, they are on the edge of the land that God has promised; they can see it. It is right across the river, but that river is at flood stage. There are no bridges. There are no boats. There is no safe place to fiord this river because of that flood stage, and yet they are at the edge and God is saying to them, “This is your land. I am going to take you in.” God’s promises are about to be fulfilled. But I want you to particularly notice Joshua 3:5 because that is the theme for this Sunday. “Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” They are right on the edge of the land. They are ready to grasp the promise that they have been carrying around in their hearts for hundreds of years and then Joshua goes around to all the people; not just the leaders, all the people and says to them, “Consecrate yourselves.” It's a word to everybody. What I find interesting here is that Joshua is going around and talking to people and he is not saying “check your shields and sharpen your swords because we are going into battle.” That would be a logical thing to say at this particular place in their history, but he is not. Instead, there is this issue of consecration, “consecrate yourselves for the Lord is going to do some amazing things among you.” Consecrate yourselves, what does that mean? The Meaning of Consecration Most of us don’t use that word very often in daily conversation. What does it mean to “consecrate” yourself? The word “consecrate” here in Joshua 3:5 is the Hebrew word “kawdash” — it means to be “holy”, to be set apart; sanctified. The word it comes from, “kadosh”, is the word the angels who minister around the throne of God cry out day and night: “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh”: “Holy, holy, holy. And because God is holy, He commands His people to be holy. In Leviticus 11:44 God told the people of Israel, “Be holy, for I am holy.” He says the same thing in Peter 1:16, reinforcing that in both Old and New Testament, God’s desire is for us to be consecrated, to be set apart, to be dedicated for His service; to be His own in the world. Consecration is separation from anything that would contaminate one’s relationship with a perfect God. Friends, the Lord promised in Joshua 3:5 that when we consecrate ourselves, He will do amazing things among us. The job is not done. The world is still on Jesus’ heart and that means that God will act. God is going to act among us. We have seen Him do it before and He is going to do it again in new ways. So we need to be ready. Are we ready? As your Pastor, I always pray for this congregation to be the church that Jesus Christ died to make us, nothing less. God has a calling for us that is much too wonderful for that. And so, we need to be ready. We need to be consecrated. So, let’s think for just a few minutes about what it means to consecrate ourselves. Let me suggest three things: First: Consecrate your Time We live in a very busy culture. Everyone is busy. This is an incredibly busy culture. Think of how often we use our busyness as an excuse for things that we don’t do in our spiritual life. I am too busy to read the Scripture. I am too busy to pray. I am too busy to serve. May be God is calling you today to make some tough decisions and radical changes so that you consecrate your time. You may need to say no to some things at home, or at work, and at the same time, you may need to make a bigger room for God in your time. Make yourself available to the things that God are calling you to do and see what difference this is going to make in your life. Second: Consecrate your Money I do not get to speak much about money. I leave that to our Trustees and the wonderful people who manage our finances. But let me tell you very briefly. Consecrating our money is a sign of a consecrated life. In other words, there is no real consecration without the consecration of our bank account. This is lip consecration. The Lord never said how much you should give to the Lord, but if we follow the direction of the Old Testament, we are to tithe, i.e. give to the Lord a tenth of our income, and this is just the starting point. Consecrating our money is one way to say to the Lord that we do care about His Kingdom. The New Testament calls us to give generously and give cheerfully. We have been given much, and as Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Third: Consecrate your Gifts You are all gifted. Yes, you heard it right. Each one in God’s family got at least one gift. I am sure most of us got more than one gift. We’ve got to consecrate our gifts. God has given us those gifts to use them in our personal lives, in our work, in our families, but those gifts are also given to us by the Holy Spirit to build the Kingdom of God NOT our own kingdoms. God wants to use our gifts for things that bring specific glory to Jesus Christ in the church, in the workplace, out on the street, in another country, God wants to use your gifts. Are we learning what they are and are we making them available to God, consecrate your gifts! Friends, the equation in Joshua 3:5 is easy, yet challenging. “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” God is going to do amazing things among us. I am convinced of it, not because we are worthy, not because we are skilled, but because God is faithful to His promises. But we do have a responsibility to consecrate ourselves, to be prepared, available, ready to use when this happens, to be in the right place facing in the right direction with our eyes and hearts open, ready to respond, ready to follow. Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. Let’s get ready. Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 10, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor “Trust Jesus When Perplexed by Problems!” Psalm 23; John 6:1-15 This morning, we continue our study in the gospel of John. Basically, we are looking at the “Seven Signs” or miracles of Jesus, that John selected to include in his gospel. Today, we will be looking at the fourth sign, the feeding of the 5,000 found in John chapter 6. Aside from the resurrection of Jesus, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. Obviously, the gospel writers considered this a significant miracle. Matthew 14:21 emphasizes the miraculous aspect of this sign by saying, “The number of those who ate was about 5000 men, besides women and children.” Many Bible scholars believe the actual number fed that day could have been 12,000—15,000 people. This is one of the great miracles of the Bible. I want you to imagine with me the setting of this “Fourth Sign.” It is late. The people have been with Jesus all day. I bet they are tired and hungry. The local Burger King is closed for remodeling. The nearest Chick-fill-A is in Jerusalem, and Pizza Hut doesn’t deliver to the wilderness. The disciples make a very practical suggestion: “Send them away and let them find food.” That’s logical. The suggestion is not made from bad motives. In themselves the disciples had no resources to meet this enormous need. They had no food and no money. What else could they do? They could do nothing! The story is loaded with many great lessons. As I pondered this sign and what I should say to you this morning, my mind was drawn to a few lessons this great Scripture passage offers. First: A Stressful Situation The situation that the disciples of Jesus faced in John chapter 6 was a very challenging one to say the least. It was impossible to feed the few thousands gathered on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They are perplexed. Friends, here is the reality: sooner or later, you will come to the end of your knowledge, your wisdom, your skill, your strength, your eloquence, your creativity, and your personal charm. Life has a way of stripping away our self-sufficiency and showing us how weak we really are. As I said last week, you either in a storm, headed into a storm, or coming out of a storm. When that happens, you’ll discover what or who you really believe. We will discover what we actually believe when the moment of crisis comes. Charles Spurgeon once said, “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark – that is FAITH.” There is for sure a stressful situation, but there is also a compassionate Savior. Second: A Compassionate Savior What the Bible is saying to us here in John 6 is simple: Jesus is bigger than any problem we face. He was the answer back then. He is still the answer to every problem we face today. In a world filled with darkness and fear, Jesus Christ is the only solution for the troubles that surround. Our God is a compassionate God. He knows the pain and struggles we face. He understands. He is never too busy, or too distant to care. He knows the grief you feel today, for He felt it too. Psalms 34:18 reminds us that, “He is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to meet our overwhelming needs. In Jeremiah 32:17, the Prophet Jeremiah prayed, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Third: A Faithful Response John’s account of this miracle tells us that it was Andrew, Peter’s brother, who found the young boy with the five barley loaves and two fish and brought him to Jesus. Jesus asked the disciples to give Him what they had. The little boy whose very smart mom had packed his lunch that day, gave all he had, 5 loaves and 2 fish. It is a faithful response from both Andrew and the little boy. They offered it all up, though it seemed so inadequate. The disciples must have thought Jesus was crazy to even ask for it. How will He feed thousands of people with so little? This is a huge task with tiny resources. But they still obeyed, they still brought it all to Jesus. And this single obedient act ushered the way for Jesus to perform that amazing miracle story still talked about today. This truth remains, obedience paves the way for great things to happen. He desires our hearts to be fully yielded to Him, and great miracles can occur as a result. Fourth: A Multiplied GiftJesus blessed the little and multiplied what has been given to Him. Everyone ate. They were all “satisfied,” says John 6:12. They are full and content. That's a lot of mouths to feed on such a small offering of food. But with God, it was enough, it was more than enough. Often times you feel that your resources are not adequate to meet the need. Yet, once we place them in His hands to do what He wishes with them, and in the process, release control to Him. He in turn blesses them and places them back in our hands, multiplied, more powerful than we could have imagined. This is a faith process, a faith experience. Too often we are overwhelmed with the vastness of the need and give up. Or we belittle our resources to the point that we never release them to God, but selfishly hang on to them because that is all we know and all we have. We are inadequate, we know, but we refuse to let go. Or we insist that God perform the task by Himself, without us participating in the process even in a tiny way. Friends, let’s trust Jesus when we are perplexed by problems. Jesus, the Bread of Life, meets us and feeds us where we do not think we have enough. The Good Shepherd is ours, or to be more accurate, “we are his. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture” Psalm 100:3. You may be dealing with a stressful situation right now. Remember you got a compassionate and loving Savior. Yes, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. And in the midst of all of this, we, the disciples of Jesus today, are called to agents of hospitality; to step out in faith and deliver. In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul says, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 3rd, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Isaiah 40:27-31; John 5:1-9 I believe, by now, you agree with me that the gospel of John has a very different flavor than the other three gospels. Bible Scholars call the first three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the “Synoptic Gospels” because they have a lot of similarities. John, on the other hand, is not one of the Synoptic Gospels. It is a different gospel. It is a multi-layered gospel. It is a deep theology gospel. For example, when Matthew, Mark, or Luke say, “It is dark”, they mean you cannot see, but when John says the same thing, he means spiritual darkness in addition to the physical inability to see. Of the many miracles and healings that Jesus did, John selected only seven to include in his gospel. John called those miracles, “Signs” because they point beyond themselves. In other words, those miracles or signs are not an end in themselves. In our Fall Sermon Series, we are digging deeper into those “Signs” and examining their implications on our lives. We are up to the 3rd Sign, the remarkable healing of the paralytic at Bethesda Pool from John 5. A couple Sundays ago we looked at the setting of this “Third Sign”. It took place at a pool called Bethesda near the Sheep Gate. Bethesda means “The house of mercy.” The Pool of Bethesda was used for ritual purification purposes, where Jerusalem’s pilgrims would gather to get washed for worship. Over time, for a reason or another, the Pool was also believed to be a center for healing and John gives us the reason behind such belief. It was there that Jesus performed the third miracle John recorded in his gospel. A couple Sundays ago, I said the story of the healing of this man is a story of God’s abundant grace. Why this person got picked by Jesus from all the sick people who were there? We don’t know. Why you and me? I have no clue. It is God’s grace reaching out to us. We also said that the story raises another great point. It has to do with our hope. Our true hope is found in a person NOT a place. Our healing, our wholeness is in Christ. The invalid in our story put his faith in the so-called healing waters. Yet, this man’s life was transformed by a Person. He didn’t pay for it. He didn’t deserve it. It is a pure act of grace. This morning, I would like to add to that a couple more thoughts as we wrap up our study of this amazing story. Challenges as Part of Life Let me first of all remind you that challenges are part of life. The story of this man reminds us that we all have our challenges to face. As children we were either too short, too tall, too fat, or too skinny. Someone else was always smarter, or faster, or more popular. As adults we are either too young or too old, too inexperienced or too overqualified, too busy or too alone. Sometimes our challenges are more serious. We worry about our families, our health, and our finances. We grieve over a loss of someone close. We agonize over a rebellious child. The reality is, we all get our share of the disappointments and failures of life. Someone said, you either in a storm, headed into a storm, or coming out of a storm. And as we wrestle with life, we get accustomed to our predictable living that we become unaware there is more to which God is calling us. We get so accustomed to the familiar — day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year — that we fail to realize the difference between LIVING and simply EXISTING. Our status is quo, and thus we fail to recognize the abiding sickness which resides within our own souls. Like the sick man in our story, we could spend 38 years in our suffering before standing up, taking our mat and walk. Do You Want to Be Made Well? And here comes the compassionate Jesus and asks us the hard question: “Do you want to be made well?” We might find Jesus’ question surprising. In fact, it seems a very insensitive question. What was Jesus thinking? This poor sick man could have rightfully come back with some sarcastic response like, “Sir, I really enjoy being here completely unable to move!” But on the other hand, this man’s response makes me cringe. Instead of screaming and shouting, “YES,” he says, “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” John 5:7. There is something about the way Jesus asked the question, that made it not so foolish a question after all. The man’s answer was not as obvious as it must have seemed. Jesus wanted to know. Did the man really want to be made well or not? He had waited in this condition for 38 years and he lost all hope for healing. Perhaps he had even lost the desire to be healed, because the implications of being made well at this point would be too overwhelming to manage. The man might have been content to remain an invalid. After all, if he was cured, he would have to bear all the responsibilities of making a living for himself. Healing will bring about lots of change. Maybe it wasn’t such a dumb question after all. Being well holds more responsibilities. Being well holds more accountability. The Question Behind the Question But there is a question behind Jesus’ question. God’s healing power could not be let loose until the man assumed the responsibility of choosing life and risking the possibility of transformation! What’s true then is still true for us. The deeper question Jesus asks is, “Do you really want to be changed?” If we are content to stay as we are — no matter how miserable that may be — there can be no change, no possibility of healing for us. We must realize that miracles happen when our will cooperates with God’s power to make them possible. Let me tell you this shocking truth. Even God Himself can do little for us if we are comfortable with our place in life. What Will It Be? I believe Jesus asks us the same exact question today. Do you want to be made well? The well-being Christ offers to all of us is greater than our physical well-being. It has to do with the sickness of our souls, with our apathy, and timidity. St. Augustine said, “We are all restless until we find our rest in God.” This is what God offers to us in Christ — rest for our souls. But maybe we have something different in mind — something more material. Healing will come on God’s terms, not ours. In our story, it was not through the healing waters of Bethesda. It was through Jesus. I am sure the invalid was fearful of this new chapter in his life. Can you let go of your own fear of change and allow God to make all things new? A new life, a new way of living, that is the Good News of God in Christ. That is His invitation to you and me this morning: “Get up … walk … put one foot in front of the other … follow me.” Amen. |
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