Mercy Fellowship Sermons: Recent Episodes
Mercy Fellowship: Marysville, WA
Christopher Rich – February 18, 2024 www.mrcy.life The Story of Everything Chapter 3 - The Story of Our Fall | Genesis 3
Sunday Sermon | Jesus Calms the Storm | Matthew 8:23-27 | Sean Gasperetti | October 1, 2023
Sunday Sermon | THRIVE | Thrive in Planting | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-8, Acts 17:1-9 | Chris Rich | 9/10/2023
Sunday Sermon | Abandoning Self Reliance and Embracing Christ | Galatians 4:21-31 | Josh Pasta | Aug 6, 2023
Sunday Sermon | Psalms | Soundtrack for our Souls | Psalms 24 | Carl DeyArmin | Aug 6, 2023
Sunday Sermon | ABIDE in Eternity | Week 11 | 1 John 4:17-5:5 | Curtis Hall | July 9, 2023
Sunday Sermon | ABIDE in Witnesses | Week 11 | 1 John 5:6-12 | Chris Rich | July 2, 2023
Christopher Rich – March 26, 2023 www.mrcy.life PREEMINENCE | His Story – Our Practice WEEK IX | Go Part II – Matthew 28:16-20
Sunday Sermon | Revival's Call | 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 | Dr. Paul Dean | March 12, 2023
ADVENT | Week 2 | Peace | Isaiah 9, Ephesians 2 | Chris Rich ADVENT | Week 2 | Peace | Isaiah 9, Ephesians 2 | Chris Rich
Good Morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. While the second half of Daniel is filled with grotesque visions of the kingdoms of man warring against each other and ultimately God, we see a God who is in charge of world affairs and personally engages with His people. As you process world history or current events, how do you react and respond? What do these times reveal about your character and your hope is? Where do you go for rest or clarity when you’re unsettled? Curtis looked at Chapter 7 where Daniel had a vision from God of 4 beasts representing the four empires back in Daniel 2 Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, and Rome. The kingdoms of the world are beastly in their rebellion from God, and will seek to wear out the saints of the most High. However, God will judge, and His kingdom will be established. Daniel 7 was a fly over of the remainder of human history. Here Daniel receives a vision that is much more focused, clear and concerning.
We talk about where we are going at Mercy Fellowship and where we have been the last 18 months.
God’s people have been taken and placed in exile, some Daniel and his friends have been put in positions of leadership, but there are challenges. God is in control over the affairs of nations and in the lives of individual people. During the first 4 chapters we’ve see several snapshots of the pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar in how he’s ruled over God’s people he’s taken in Exile and how God has been displaying His overwhelming, wisdom, power and ability to humble whoever he wills for the purposes of reminding them where power authority and provision come from. We’ve seen God’s mercy, grace, and justice, as earthly kingdom rise as another falls. We begin to question do God’s ways still “work” what do we do when God seems quiet, or we don’t see him act? Today we look at one of the most famous events in the entire bible.
God’s people have been taken and placed in exile, some Daniel and his friends have been put in positions of leadership, but there are challenges. God is in control over the affairs of nations and in the lives of individual people. During the first 4 chapters we’ve see several snapshots of the pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar in how he’s ruled over God’s people he’s taken in Exile and how God has been displaying His overwhelming, wisdom, power and ability to humble whoever he wills for the purposes of reminding them where power authority and provision come from. Each of the first 3 times however, Nebuchadnezzar was enticed by what He saw God do, but his allegiance was never changed, until he was humbled and he said God did a “wondrous” thing in turning his heart from worshiping himself to praising the God of the Bible. It’s a pretty cool story of God’s patience with man’s sin leading to repentance and restoration. God is good! God is merciful, not always giving us the consequences, we deserve. God is gracious, giving us exceedingly more than we could earn or deserve. We will see today God is also just.
God’s people have been taken and placed in exile, some Daniel and his friends have been put in positions of leadership, but there are challenges. Through it all we see God is in control over the affairs of nations and in the lives of individual people. Shortly after, the pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar is given an image of a statue representing all earthly kingdoms coming to an end when a stone comes in shattering the statue and an all-consuming mountain raises in its place. God says Your Kingdom will end but mine will be eternal. Nebuchadnezzar boldly declares “Your God is God of Gods, and Lord of kings.” But his allegiance has not changed. Last week we saw God display His wisdom, this week we will see him display His power.
Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we continue our series Daniel: Life in Exile - Life for Eternity When have you been up at night not able to sleep? How do you react and respond? What do these times reveal about your character and your hope is? Where do you go for rest or clarity when you’re unsettled?
In the Upside-down Kingdom, self-care is critical to loving others Aka “Stop Being so Judgmental and Get Therapy”
Who are you when no one is watching? They say people are leaving the church in droves, but what are they sick of? Hypocrisy. People claiming they have sincere faith, but their lives do not reflect what they say they believe.. People showing off their good works…It’s like they live their faith like it is their instagram feed. But how they treat people when no one is watching. They act one way when people are watching. The people who really know what they believe are their kids. What does this person do, when no one is around? What are they really like?
My name is Jason Williams – I am the lead Pastor of Harvest Community Church in Selah, WA – just north of Yakima. In Matthew chapter 16 – Jesus has revealed as the Messiah to his disciples. It began with a question who do people say that I am? Several opinion were thrown out by the disciples and then Jesus made it very personal. He said, who do YOU say I am? This is the most important question of your lifetime. How you answer this question, determines not only how you will live but how you will spend eternity. Peter answered – You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus then revealed that he must suffer and die and Peter confronts Jesus and wants no part of this negative talk of suffering and dying. Jesus wants to talk of conquering and winning. Now it Jesus’ turn to confront Peter and he says get behind me Satan because it is clear Peter had agenda that was in opposition to Christ’s agenda and reeks of Satan.
Think about how you grew up for a minute, and as you’re thinking about how you grew up I’ll tell you a bit about me. I’ve brought it up before but growing up I didn’t like team sports, although I participated in them for a few years, but what really caught my attention was skateboarding. I loved skateboarding. It was free in the sense that it was void of being a group sport and when you start a sport though, you try to find guys you could imitate and be like and that gave you something to aim at and pursue so you could work at getting better at your craft. I remember one skateboarder in particular I really enjoyed had just become a new pro for only a couple years and bought a 2 bedroom 1 bath house in California and somewhere around 12 of his friends moved in and what they would do was skate all day and party all night and I remember seeing that as a kid and thinking ‘I know what I want to do with my life.’ I wanted to be this guy. The issue was though, I was 12 and my brain hadn’t fully formed, so as I got older I realized that was a horrible idea to aim at. There was this tension I felt though because I wanted this careless lifestyle I saw the skateboarders have but at home, there was still rules. My Mom made sure I did my chores, I ate the right food, I did my homework. There were laws at home. But I look back now as an adult, so grateful for the laws that my Mom had put in place in the home, because it lead me to succeed in life.
Upside Down Kingdom: Only the Blind See | Matthew 5:21-37 | Matt Nickel – June 19, 2022
Upside Down Kingdom: Sermon on the Mount Upside Down Blessings | Matthew 5:1-12 Matt Nickel – May 29, 2022
ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered PART XI | ROOTED and Resolved | 1 Peter 5:8-13 Christopher Rich – May 22, 2022
ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered ROOTED Leadership | 1 Peter 5:1-7 Christopher Rich – May 15, 2022
Good Morning! Happy Mother’s Day! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. This week we are going to resume our series ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal. When we are rooted in the transcendent, we are not reactive to the temporary.
So today we are talking about Loving like Jesus. I want to start with the heart of the passage. In 1 Peter 4:8 he says Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. If you get anything out of this message, it is a call from God to love one another earnestly. This is the key to understanding this passage. The Bible often talks about the importance of love: John 13:34–35 [34] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (ESV) 1 John 4:20 [20] If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (ESV) John 3:14 We know that awe have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. What Jesus says is that the essence of true Christian spirituality is to love
This week we are going to resume our series ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal. When we are rooted in the transcendent, we are not reactive to the temporary.
EASTER 2022 | LIVING HOPE | John 20:1-18 & 1 Peter 1:3-5 | Christopher Rich – April 17, 2022
This week we are continuing our series in 1 Peter called ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal. When we are rooted in the transcendent, we are not reactive to the temporary. Recap – Who are we? We are Living as Elect Exiles. ROOTED Identity, as elect exiles, loved, empowered, led by the trinity When are we in the story? Peter has also helped the people of God (who have understand where they are in the story of God (ROOTED Hope) He started with the end (destination) in mind, to inform how the engage with their present, while being encouraged by God’s past Faithfulness. How do we grow and change? Good news for eternity should be good news for today. Our conduct matters to God, but it is a result of the transformation Christ has begun in us. Call to grow, change, holiness comes AFTER the Good News of the Gospel. A grace filled heart, and a truth filled mind, can produce a transformed life. To grow in Holiness is to grow in the purity, presence, power, purposes, and passion of God found in Jesus. What is God Building us into? Individual dignity is essential for flourishing, but our significance is exponentially greater when our identity is also part of a ROOTED People. To have faith in Jesus is to be part of his people. This then plays out in how we engage in key relationships both in the world with non-believers and with other Christians. 1 Peter 2:11-12 |11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
ROOTED | Living Scattered, Not Shattered | 1 Peter PART V | ROOTED Submission | 1 Peter 2:13-25 | Christopher Rich – March 27, 2022
Our recent lives and cultural moments have been characterized by personal trials, political unrest, cultural upheaval, health concerns, relational turmoil, economic uncertainty, and varying degrees of individual and corporate trauma. This has caused us to be highly reactive, often discouraged, and at times experiencing crushing despair. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need to be rooted in something deeper and more life giving than ourselves and our circumstances. We need to be rooted in a life that flows from the life giver, we need a real living hope beyond what we see and have now. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal.
Hope you are all doing well this morning. If you don’t know me, my name is Curtis Hall. Honored to be preaching today. We are pausing in our series in 1 Peter, and focusing this morning on one of the beatitudes. The reason being, is that I was already on the schedule to preach this week, but last week I preached at another church on this beatitude, and Pastor Chris was kind enough to allow me to preach that same sermon this Sunday. Also, come this summer, we will be doing a sermon series on the Sermon On The Mount, so this will be a bit of a teaser for what is to come. I don’t know about you, but when I read the Sermon on the Mount, which is Jesus most famous teaching, there is a call that comes from that sermon for us, to buy in to a different way of living life. It calls to you and I to live differently than we do now, as God’s people; the church. A.W. Tozer who said “A frightened world needs a fearless church.” Not a church that is reckless or careless, but fearless because it believe in a good, sovereign God. If there was ever a time the world needed bold Christians who truly believe the words that Jesus said, it is now. It’s not about being more conservative or more liberal, it’s about being other-worldly. Another word you could say is, Counter-Cultural. “The world does not need cool Christians who are culturally saturated. Rather, it needs exiles with the scent of heaven on them.” - John Piper
This week we are continuing our series in 1 Peter called ROOTED: Living Scattered, Not Shattered. Our recent lives and cultural moments have been characterized by personal trials, political unrest, cultural upheaval, health concerns, relational turmoil, economic uncertainty, and varying degrees of individual and corporate trauma. This has caused us to be highly reactive, often discouraged, and at times experiencing crushing despair. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need to be rooted in something deeper and more life giving than ourselves and our circumstances. We need to be rooted in a life that flows from the life giver, we need a real living hope beyond what we see and have now. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal.
Our recent lives and cultural moments have been characterized by personal trials, political unrest, cultural upheaval, health concerns, relational turmoil, economic uncertainty, and varying degrees of individual and corporate trauma. What many in our society believed was a time of relative peace and prosperity has been uprooted as faith in our institutions, and even our neighbors, has been shattered and replaced with great fear, distrust, and division. This has caused us to be highly reactive, often discouraged, and at times experiencing crushing despair. The strength and stability of what we have been rooted in is revealed in times of great trial, suffering, or difficulty. Many of us are realizing our roots are too shallow and weak to sustain us in the storms of life. We need to be rooted in something deeper and more life giving than ourselves and our circumstances. We need to be rooted in a life that flows from the life giver, we need a real living hope beyond what we see and have now. We need good news greater than our current events. We need to be rooted in what is real, true, and eternal. When we are rooted in the transcendent, we are not reactive to the temporary.
Who am I? This is an existential question of identity we all wrestle with. It is essential to understand who we are first for us to effectively navigate what we do and how we respond to the world around us. While we grow and change during our lives, our sense of identity must remain rooted in something or someone greater than us. Who is Peter? (1:1a) - Fisherman to Fisher of Men – Peter, a working fisherman, was met by Jesus during his daily life. He was called by Jesus to leave his nets and join Christ’s mission. Brash, impulsive, foolish, and faithful, Peter imperfectly followed Jesus as a key part of His ministry. The night of Jesus’ arrest and trial Peter, in fear, famously denied Jesus three times. His failure did not define him though, as the resurrected Jesus restored Peter and continued to be the “rock” Jesus used to build His church. With both humility and authority Peter writes to give hope to the church. Who are We? (1:1b) - Elect Exiles – The people of God in the world have paradoxical identity. We are simultaneously chosen by God yet chastised by culture. We are gathered together in Christ, yet scattered in the world. We are part of a new kingdom, yet living in a foreign land. We are strangers (sojourners) in the familiar places we dwell yet destined for a forever home we have never known. While currently persecuted we are promised eternal blessing. Who is God? (1:2a) – Trinity – Our identity is not rooted in what we have done, but in what God has done for us. God alone, three-in-one, saves and sustains. We are chosen based on Father’s past plan. We are purified by Holy Spirit’s present power in us. We follow faithfully because of the Son’s work to save us on the cross and His future promise to return. What is He accomplishing? (1:2b) – Exponential Blessing – Regardless of present circumstances, we are assured God is at work giving grace to His people and making peace for His people.
Lake Gennesaret is the same as Sea of Galilee. It is 64 sq miles - 52 sq miles is lake chelan… so like 20% bigger than lake Chelan. And Peter was a fisherman and he fished for Tilapia. Also in 1984 they found a fishing boat from Jesus’s time. It was 27ft long by 7.5ft wide. Probably manned by a crew of hired men. So there is Peter, the boss of the crew, working alongside his men. Knowing he has to pay his guys even though they didn’t catch any fish. And then Jesus shows up. With a ton of people. So many people crowding around Him that He was having difficulty being able to teach. I can only imagine that Peter is frustrated, exhausted, and probably a little annoyed. So they are cleaning and fixing their nets when Jesus interrupts and asks to sit on his boat.
Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! The Preacher spent 10 chapters making the case for what life looks like under the sun, apart from God and how trying to find meaning and purpose in this life while being indifferent or opposed to God is a vain errand. Chapter 11 he began to make his final pitch; decision time. Here he is giving his final call to action. Because there is a creator God, we are going to be called to faith in Him. The urgency is going to be dialed up because the time of life is short. Life under the sun is not to be engaged with tepid insecurity, but rather dive in and BE BOLD and rejoice in the good life God has given as early in life as possible.
This week we are continuing our series of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! The Preacher has spent 10 chapters making the case for what life looks like under the sun, apart from God and how trying to find meaning and purpose in this life while being indifferent or opposed to God is a vain errand. So now he’s beginning to make his final pitch. Decision time. If he was an evangelist this would be the beginning of his altar call. The set up of the sermon leads up to his final exhortation. When a TV series is getting ready to wrap up it’s usually the second to last (penultimate) episode where most of the major action happens. Here he is giving some of his final call to action. Because there is a creator God, we are going to be called to faith in Him. The urgency is going to be dialed up because the time of life is short. Last week’s exhortation was flee from foolishness, be diligent and sensible; this week is dive in and BE BOLD!
This week we are continuing our series of Ecclesiastes called The Pursuit: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Last week we saw because of sin each of us will face death one day, but we are called to live all others. Chapter 7 was a day at the Smithsonian, but at least each one felt like a separate distinct place and theme. Chapter 10 is going to feel like a trip to chaotic a farmers market where different booths are all connected but sometimes in ways that don’t easily make sense. You’re going to expect to get a good deal on flowers and maybe an elephant ear but instead you’re talking too long to someone who is too political and you leave with homemade soap. We’re going to stroll through this chapter and try to come out the other side with some clarity and hope.
We are spending some time reminding ourselves who we are, dreaming about what we could be, and relying on God as we look to the season ahead. As we enter a new year can we all acknowledge….. We are all Runners… Hebrews 12:1-2 | Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
This morning, we are talking about Jesus making all things new, and the big idea is this, we live in a world that is broken. Due to sin and man’s rebellion against God and not submitting to Him, this world is not what God had originally created, it is a fractured world. Bearing in it both beauty from what God has created but also chaos due to sin. And what God does, in His great grace and mercy, is that He doesn’t leave us on our own to figure it out. He doesn’t tell us to get our act together, but He comes at the right time and intervenes into human history.
Today we continue our Advent (Arrival) series called A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history.
Today we begin a series during Advent (Arrival) A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history. We need Hope for the World and Hope in the World because of the brokenness of the world. The world is not as it should be leading us to fear and despair. But the world also not how it will be which gives us hope, peace, endurance and assurance. God made the world and made it good. From the beginning there has been enemies of life with God and Peace of God (and Man’s flourishing) came into the garden sowing seeds of doubt about God’s goodness and the consequence of rejecting God leading to darkness. Humanity willingly exchanged the presence of peace for a war of independence rejecting God’s rule, but also the connection to the source of life and wholeness. This is sin. Sin separates. Sin takes peace and brings conflict. Sin, evil, brokenness, unnecessary division, lack of joy and wholeness all spring from this conflict. Sin is what robbed us of Shalom and introduced conflict. God comes and engages with this conflict bring both justice, holiness, as well as mercy and grace. God give Hope to the world quickly. He makes a promise. A Savior-King (Christ) will come who will bring both victory over evil and establish a real and enduring peace. A Savior King is needed because our souls and weary world needs to be made new. Generations come and go and each are born with the Hope salvation and peace will come. Later the promise is ratified and refined to a man name Abram that blessing and life will come from him.
Most of us are coming into the Christmas season feeling tired. Tired and worn out. Tired of all the things we are carrying. I wonder if we were to take off our heavy packs and looked at all the things that are weighing us down… how many sets of rollerblades are you carrying? Maybe it’s your finances. Maybe you hate your job. Maybe it’s your kids and being a good parent. Maybe it is your health. Maybe it is living up the expectation of others, maybe you are carrying a load of guilt, maybe tension in your marriage, with your parents, or your friends. So it’s Christmas time… and you should have hope. Today I’m going to give you some reason why we should have hope, but let’s be honest, me getting up here and telling you why you should have hope is not going to lift your burden, if anything it might pile on some guilt for you. I think as Christians we carry too much guilt. We know we should have more hope, have more joy, have more peace… but what about all the rollerblades we carry???
Today we begin a series during Advent (Arrival) A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history. Words have meaning, HOPE means:
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. What’s the point? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Last week, we saw what it looks like when we put our hope in wealth alone, this week we’ll see what it looks like when we foolishly avoid engaging with adversity in life. When I was visiting Washington DC We only had one day to visit all the Smithsonian Museums. That meant we only had an hour or so in each. It wasn’t enough time to get to everything at a deep level but it did give us good idea of the layout of each one, it was profitable, and it gave me ideas of what I’d want to explore in depth later. The next few sermons are going to feel like some fast days at a bunch of different places.
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. What’s the point? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Last week, we saw how we approach God matters because He is worthy of our reverence and worship. This week we see what life looks like when we put our hope in wealth. The end of Chapter 5 and all of Chapter 6 are not written for an audience like ours. We like things to flow linearly, beginning, middle, end. Ancient Eastern cultures liked beginning, middle/end, beginning again. So if you read straight through this lengthy passage you build up to a pinnacle, only to quickly fall back down again. We’re going to fly over the topic of wealth and satisfaction at 20,000’ then we’re going to drop down and circle the city getting more detailed accounts, before finally landing at a place of joy.
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. What’s the point? What’s the point of life? What are we pursing? Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Through the first four chapters; the vanity of Life “under the sun” apart from God has been explored and then reconsidered in light of God as the giver of all life. He has been held up as the sovereign King over a world that is still broken, plagued with injustice, and isolation. We saw God’s design for our flourishing is being in community with one another. It’s a specific type of community centered on and held together by God himself. We are typically centered on ourselves at worse or others at best but here the preacher wants our attention hyper focused on our relationship with God the creator. Specifically warning us how we approach God matters because He is creator, ruler and judge of all things.
Good morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. What’s the point? What’s the point of life? What are we pursing?
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Previously we’ve seen a generation comes and goes; the sun rises and sets, wind blows in circuits. These were all signs of our finiteness and a source of pessimism for our lives under the sun because it meant this is all there is. As we transitioned from the first two chapters to chapter 3 we began to see hope, the curtains in the dark basement laboratory have been pulled back and now things can be seen clearly for what they are. The light illuminates and warms our experiences; things that seemed to be meaningless are now seen as purposeful when we see three is a God who is sovereign over all times and seasons, a God who purses what has been driven away. As bright the light coming in every basement still has it shadows. In our basement world there is still the question of what do with all the injustice we see. Where can we go to appeal for justice? If God is sovereign over time and seasons why does he allow injustice? Where is hope?
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters. That includes the time, circumstances and seasons we find ourselves it. History, current events, and the coming future all matter to God. Which helps us ask and address an every pressing question that seems to grow each week. “What the heck is going on?”
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. “Fear of God will turn a vain, empty life into a meaningful life including enjoying God’s gifts.” – Greidanus. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Chapter one asked us “What’s the point of life? What are we pursing when life seems to be unsatisfying cycles that lead to our end? What is the outcome when we attempt to understand the world comprehensively apart from God? More knowledge and more wisdom only seems to lead to greater sorrow and pain. Where can we find refuge and meaning in world like this?” The Preacher is taking us down three paths he went down pursuing meaning “under the sun” and shows us where they eventually lead. The first weeks were wisdom, and self-indulgence, this week is wisdom again and work. Two things are coming for all Death…and Monday.
This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. “Fear of God will turn a vain, empty life into a meaningful life including enjoying God’s gifts.” – Greidanus. The message of Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Chapter one asked us “What’s the point of life? What are we pursing when life seems to be unsatisfying cycles that lead to our end? What is the outcome when we attempt to understand the world comprehensively apart from God? More knowledge and more wisdom only seems to lead to greater sorrow and pain. These three weeks the preacher take us down three paths he went down pursuing meaning “under the sun” and shows us where they eventually lead. Last week was wisdom, next is work and this week is self-indulgence.
Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. We all want meaning, purpose, significance, and enjoyment in our lives. Yet, the more we try to find lasting satisfaction in either our accomplishments or the world’s pleasures the less fulfilled we become. We grow more dissatisfied as we attempt to find eternal significance in the temporary nature of life. Our problem is we’re trying to find meaning in our lives apart from the author of our lives. The message of this sermon in Ecclesiastes isn’t all of life is meaningless and nothing matters; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Ecclesiastes began (1-11) down a very pessimistic path. “What’s the point of life if it’s is just unprofitable toil, unsatisfying, unending cycles, where we die and are forgotten. Where can we find refuge and meaning in world like this?” The next three weeks the preacher is going to take us down three paths he went down pursuing meaning “under the sun” and shows us where they eventually lead. Self-indulgence, work, and this week Wisdom.
Why are we preaching through this book now? | It helps us ask real questions. How can a good God let bad things happen? Why are there aspects of life that don’t seem to resolve. Work is difficult and can even seem like a drag, government is corrupt, everything that brings temporary pleasure never satisfies and can lead to hasten destruction. We need to be realistic about our experiences in this life. It can be light and encouraging to constantly look on the bright side of life but at certain point the difficulties can no longer be ignored. Or the season turns and your life feels less like summer and winter seems to be right around the corner. We cannot be afraid of difficult questions; we reset when we know we can wrestle with our doubts and questions. It points us to the good character of the one true God. But in our wrestling be ready to actually receive an answer. Be ready to rest in what is true, right and good about God. It is relevant for those who are outside the “gathering” who are skeptical about God and meaning and for those inside who struggle with difficult questions. It points us to Jesus as THE answer to the unresolvable and true perspective of life under the sun. We hope Ecclesiastes helps grow disciples and creates new ones. Old Testament books need to be read, studied, and preached in light of the cross of Jesus, the present realties and future promises of the Gospel.
This collection of divinely inspired songs was brought together into a rich anthology to help us have a realistic and artistic voice for understanding the complex relationship between God and His People. The collection is brought together for a purpose. For a people, both individual and corporately, to be able to navigate and make sense of the God, the world, their lives and hearts in a language that speaks deeply to the soul. Additionally, they teach doctrine and the give poetic voice to what is true about God and His people. What Path are we on? What obstacles do we face? We all regularly face crossroads of conflicts, crisis, and challenging circumstances. The speed and number of changes and decision points seem to be increasing rapidly leaving us a bit disorientate which can easily lead us to disillusionment or despair. There are times to take pause on the path in order to reorient ourselves on what is true and hopefully gain the resolve to walk the path before us with clarity and confidence. Where do we look for guidance and grace on the path?
What are you afraid of? What is your biggest fear? We live in a world ready to serve us up fresh fear on the daily. This collection of divinely inspired songs was brought together into a rich anthology to help us have a realistic and artistic voice for understanding the complex relationship between God and His People. The collection is brought together for a purpose. For a people, both individual and corporately, to be able to navigate and make sense of the God, the world, their lives and hearts in a language that speaks deeply to the soul. Additionally, they teach doctrine and the give poetic voice to what is true about God and His people. Psalms are about Jesus Fleeing from that which produces great fear towards the one worth of our trust where rest and refuge can be found. We will face fear, distress, and countless situations and seasons that can and will necessarily (and at times unnecessarily) cause us anxiousness and anxiety. All of us live in a broken world with seemingly endless events and influences that should lead us not only to worry but anxiousness. Take a moment to consider the condition of the world in it’s entirety and it is a miracle that we are not all in a constant state of anxiety. We are so connected to so much of what is happening that we try to process a world worth of worry. More information hasn’t led to more peace only more pressure.
Have you ever been hurt so bad that you thought it would be impossible to forgive? • Have you ever hurt someone so bad that you thought it would be impossible to be forgiven? • Are you experiencing a friend or family member who has abandoned their faith and is living in a way that constantly bring pain? • Have you lost a friendship because of repeated sin? Have you tried to forgive only to be hurt again? • Has the collateral damage of sin built up over the years to the point to where you don’t see any possibility of change? • How can we have healthy, God-honoring relationships between broken people when wounds of sin are fresh and deep? • Friends, there is hope. • There is freedom in forgiveness, both for the FORGIVEN and the FORGIVER.
Today we continue our series Psalms: Soundtrack for our Souls. Psalms are about Jesus - What has Jesus done for us? Why do we need Jesus in the first place. We talk about Jesus as our Lord, we praise Jesus as our savior but in order to understand this concept we have to know what are we being saved from and for. We were all created for a purpose to worship God and enjoy Him. But there is a separation, a tension, a conflict we experience that needs to be addressed. Our souls sing off key songs distorted from a rich harmony with the Song God is singing. This distortion is called sin and it takes many forms active disobedience, passive rejection of God direction, apathy and anger toward God. Sin separates and leaves our souls crying out for something that satisfies. Sin can leave us callous and hopeless but with God we have hope when our heart is contrite. Disposition matters. Psalm 51 the response of a heart of one who is aware of the depth and nature of their sin AND who has humbly appealed to God to do what only God can do, forgive sin and restore us to who we are meant to be. Written by David, to understand this Psalm almost more than any other, knowing what transpired to inspire its writing is necessary for our instruction. Not so we know more about David’s sin, but to understand how sin impacts us and how we heal.
If there is one thing that stands out to me about the Psalms is how honest the writers are about their thoughts and emotions. There is a depth to the relationship that is often missing in our relationship with God. As the authors interact with God, their hearts are opened and we see what is deep inside… And it’s not just the good parts. For example David cries out to God
Good Morning Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we continue our summer series Psalms: Soundtrack for our Souls. The Psalms are a rich anthology to help us have a realistic and artistic voice for understanding the complex relationship between God and His People as we learn how to think, act, feel and relate to God. The collection is brought together for a purpose. For a people, both individual and corporately, to be able to navigate and make sense of the God, the world, their lives and hearts in a language that speaks deeply to the soul. The Psalms are not a systematic theology, and they are not a science text book about the natural world, but they teach doctrine and the give poetic voice to what is true about God, His creation and His people. Key truths of God’s character and nature include God as the Creator of everything, Redeemer of His people, one who sustains, provides, and protects in the face of trials and opposition. We sing to God as warrior, King, Father, teacher, and judge, but most importantly… Psalms are about Jesus - Jesus is clear in Luke 24 that all of the Law, prophets, psalms point to him and are about HIM. Specifically, we see God as the Creator of transcendent beauty and glory permeating everywhere. We see God as the ultimate arbiter of truth which produces transformation in the life of his people, and how His transcendence and truth should lead us to a place of self-reflection, humility, and reliance on the God of truth and transcendence who reveals Himself through the person and work of Jesus. In Psalm 19 we will see how God has chosen to disclose Himself to humanity in general and His people specifically. How do we know there is a God? How do we know about God? How do we have clarity about God’s will? How are we to respond to God? How are we transformed?
Good Morning Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we continue our summer series Psalms: Soundtrack for our Souls. The Psalms are a rich anthology to help us have a realistic and artistic voice for understanding the complex relationship between God and His People as we learn how to think, act, feel and relate to God. The collection is brought together for a purpose. For a people, both individual and corporately, to be able to navigate and make sense of the God, the world, their lives and hearts in a language that speaks deeply to the soul. The Psalms are not a systematic theology, but they teach doctrine and the give poetic voice to what is true about God and His people. Key truths of God’s character and nature include God as the Creator of everything, Redeemer of His people, one who sustains, provides, and protects in the face of trials and opposition. We sing to God as warrior, King, Father, teacher, and judge, but most importantly… Psalms are about Jesus - Jesus is clear in Luke 24 that all of the Law, prophets, psalms point to him and are about HIM. One of the big themes is his Kingship: A huge concept though out the Psalms as David, a human king writes both about his experience as a king and serving God as King. These are like national anthems rallying and unifying a people around a shared national identity as citizens of God’s people under King Jesus. Psalm 2, is one of the most quoted in the New Testament, as the plot of the kings of this earth to rebel and be independent of God is met by the plot of God our King to lead, rule and care for His people through His Son. There is a tension between the collective counsel of humanity opposed to God and the wisdom of God to unite the diverse nations, cultures, and people of the world together under one banner for their blessing and His Glory. We believe freedom and flourishing come from declaring independence from the King where true joy comes from recognizing and embracing our dependance on Him.
We exist to make Disciples of Jesus Christ who Love God and Love People. Endurance matters- Disciples are disciplined and have some longevity. The Christian life is not lived as a one-time experience or conversion but a “long obedience in the same direction”. It is not how you start a race; it’s how you finish. This means endurance. To endure is to remain or continue even in the midst of great difficulty to a greater destination. Endurance is usually a sign of significant strength. Yet paradoxically we find ourselves both weary and weak the longer we endure difficulty. We need to find both comfort in the present and courage to continue not despite our weakness, but in our weakness. Seeking strength, we look within ourselves for affirmation or beyond ourselves for inspiration when in fact we have all we need in Christ. That doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be hindrances to endurance. Our journey will be long and will include difficulty. Two things hinder endurance. First, difficult seasons of division and disunity hinder our endurance like playing in a hostile arena. We’re not innocent in all things either. We will hurt others and be hurt by others. We will need to pursue humility and at times we will be humbled. When broken, restoration will require repentance and reconciliation. This is difficult, but necessary for endurance. The second thing hindering our endurance is our own sin, failure, and frailty. We’re trying to run a race, but we’ve done things or are actively doing things which are counterproductive at best or sinful at worst. If we are going to endure it means we will have to be courageous enough to risk transformation by confronting or correcting what is hindering us even when it’s uncomfortable. The alternative is convincing ourselves we’re comfortable being hindered, having our effectiveness minimized, joy reduced, and endurance hampered. Paul writing to the Corinthians is going to be very specific about the conditions in the Corinthian church using both clear and convicting language for the purpose of seeking repentance and restoration. While specific to them, the end of this letter is applicable for any church because it hits key principals about the importance and interaction of church culture and individual sin. So we will look at three key ideas from this conclusion to help us endure. #1: What hinders our endurance. #2: How the Gospel answers it. # 3: What our posture and disposition should be to foster endurance, and finally encouragement. While weak we can have courage to endure in the mercy and grace of God.
And when we get to James and He addresses them as the “12 tribes in the Dispersion.” James is bringing up their identity as the church, being the people of God at the beginning of this letter and it’s so significant because when we face trials, we have the tendency to think, we are going through trials because God is distant. Or when we are facing trials we think not only is God distant but we must not be God’s people if we are facing hardships. And what James, the half-brother of Jesus is doing, is reminding them that even though you are facing trials, you are still God’s people. And the God that said to Joshua in the OT “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” so it is the same God who speaks to to all Christians in all places that feel discouraged when they face trials wondering if God is near. God is near and He does care and will use your trials for His redemptive purposes in your life. And it’s from this spring board of their identity that James begins to instruct them on how to live. If we miss this, we will mis-read all of James. It’s not that we count it all joy when we face trials, seek wisdom, care for the orphan and the widow so that, we can be part of God’s family, rather it is because we are a part of God’s family already that we by “counting it all joy when you face trials,” to asking God for wisdom and care for the orphan and widow. We are not working for an identity but we are working from an identity that we’ve been given by God.
Good Morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we are continuing our series ENDURE: Courage in Weakness. If you’re going to follow someone, or if you’re going to learn from someone, what type of person do you want them to be? If you get a personal trainer, you want them to be jacked right. If you have a spiritually leader you want them to be enlightened, a business coach who is a failure isn’t who we want to sign up for. This assumes we have curiosity at all. Sometimes we think we have all the answers on our own. We are too easily impressed, because we can be impressed with ourselves. This is not a path that will lead to glory or contentment. As this series draws to a close this is the penultimate sermon/text which is the key to the entire rest of the book and how we endure. Central to this letter is the paradox of how we see and relate to our own insufficiency. Paul, writing to this church has just spent the end of chapter 11 talking about all his credentials for ministry. Yes, he’s educated, a citizen, with the right lineage, right training, but what really qualifies him for leadership and why he says they should engage with his understanding of the Gospel is his suffering. He leads with his failures and frustrations as marks of faithfulness. And just so we don’t mistake his faithfulness for pride in his ability to endure, Paul talks about being lowered in a basket fleeing from Damascus as he’s pursued by an vicious enemy. That doesn’t look like victory, that doesn’t look like taking ground, that looks like defeat and retreat. So how do we grow from that? Enduring is our path to ultimate victory. To understand how we endure the Christians life we need to experience strength through weakness.
As we read this passage, immediately it feels a little difficult to follow. What we need to remember here is that this is a letter, not a theological essay. Meaning Paul is applying the teachings of Jesus to a particular situation. Part of the difficulty in understanding a letter is that it is only one side of the conversation. Have you ever heard someone talking on the phone and you only heard one side of the conversation. This requires you to piece together the rest of the conversation. This becomes even tricker when you far from the time and culture. Also, tone can be difficult to pick up and in this passage we see Paul using sarcasm. Here is what Jesus said about weakness and vulnerability Matthew 5:2-12 And qhe opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 r“Blessed are sthe poor in spirit, for utheirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are vthose who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the wmeek, for they wshall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and xthirst yfor righteousness, for they shall be s atisfied. 7 “Blessed are zthe merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are athe pure in heart, for bthey shall see God. 9 “Blessed are cthe peacemakers, for dthey shall be called esons1 of God. 10 f“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for utheirs is th e kingdom of heaven. 11 g“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely hon my account. 12 iRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for jso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What robs us of the truth and endurance? Last week we said if you want to lose your joy simply get Jesus wrong because when you get Jesus wrong you’ll get everything else wrong. This was in the context of Paul talking to the Corinthian church about their individual joy and their church culture. Ending foolish comparison, holding every thought captive, searching for your approval in yourself or others are all part of the internal struggle for joy and peace impacting our lives and shaping our church culture. These matter as we seek to make Disciples of Jesus Christ who Love God and Love People. We want individual transformation and a transformative culture in our church recognizing the two are interrelated. Additionally we, individually and corporately, do not exist in a perfect Christian bubble, nor should we. As we are called to go into the world who needs the hope and mercy of Christ, we have to be aware of the river we’re diving into or really having been swimming in. We need to understand it’s currents and destination if we are going to navigate it well. Not all news is “Good News”. We also need to look at how we engage with a world around us full of false narratives. Not all leaders prophets, or pundits are worthy of following listening to, or emulating. Wisdom and discernment are essential to effectively evaluate what we hear and who we respond to. We need help cultivating pure desire with sincere discipline. When desire and discipline meet it creates enduring devotion.
What robs you of Joy? Where and how do you find yourself running off the rails in stress, fear, unsettledness? There is a war being waged for your joy on numerous fronts. Being away of Spiritual forces, comparison with others, actual opponents, even our own thoughts at times seek our defeat. Attacks can be subtle as pride seeks to overwhelm our sense of self and how we engage with others. We are weak; we need a strength beyond our ourselves to combat crippling pride with courageous humility. Addressing how pride and humility impact joy matters as we seek to make Disciples who Love God and Love People. We want individual transformation and a transformative culture in our church recognizing the two are interrelated. We are reading the transcripts of one side of a phone conversation between a pastor and the church (not a back in forth text exchange) The point of the exchange is to help address concerns with their church culture leading them both be less effective in their mission and less enjoyment in their fellowship. As we look at these verses, I want us to see what we do that robs us of joy so we can repent and receive joy with the Lord.
If we exist to make Disciples of Jesus Christ who Love God and Love people, we have to talk about what that looks like in each aspect of life. Love is emotion and desire but is also intention and tangible action. We can tell a lot about ourselves and others with how we spend our time, talent and treasure. Specifically, what and who we value. This is intrinsic to how we understand the concept of worship or “worth-ship”. How we spend or what we give show what we see and find worth in. Every dollar we spend, give, invest, is a doctrinal statement about what we believe about God, ourselves, others, and the world around us. While there are great shifts in the culture around us and many issues we can cover and address at any given point, working through 2 Corinthians helps guide and shape what we preach and teach each week. Generosity and giving matter if we’re going to be holistic disciples. Additionally, we are shaped by the character and nature of God.
How do you respond in times of need, want, desire, and desperation? We need. We desire. We take. Because we are self-focused people, we can be driven to be more concerned with ourselves than others. This includes how we see and interact with the material world. We functionally believe the very existence of the world, society, those around you exist for you to be made much of. So hourly and daily we talk in our heads about how any situation is making us feel, how to act in ways that will lead to our own self benefit. We’ve got to watch out for #1 and that’s always us. This happens both in times of great need and times of great abundance. This is us having an orientation towards our selves at the expense of how our actions affect other people. When we are needy or greedy, we close our hands on what we have out of fear we will not have enough. When we have much, we think most about how we will because we assume all that we have, have been given, or possess is our alone rather than from God. Our desires are usually very immediate, temporary, and selfish so we too often desire immediate comfort over long term correction. Part of our challenge is we believe and act as if we will find the most enjoyment and fullness from consuming over contributing. To have our hands opened to give, share, and be generous in ways which cost us requires courage. Generosity, in all its forms is an act of faith and courage relying not on what we possess but who we behold and how we understand the blessings we have received and the responsibility we have been given. This courage is birthed from being reorientated to see what we have been given and how we give.
We are not yet perfect. Anyone want to argue otherwise? If we are Christians our eyes are open to recognize sin is real, brokenness impacts and influences us and the world in a variety of ways, yet we are called to holiness. Surely we can all just give ourselves a pass for our actions and attitudes over the past year a least because of all the societal challenges, right? But if we’re honest with ourselves we haven’t always been crushing it in the best of times let alone the worst of times (Which I don’t contend is right now) While it seems like we’re landed but waiting for our gate to deplane to get back to “normal” we cannot be whole reliant our circumstances to change for us to experience real change in our lives and our souls. Even prefect conditions can and do still lead to sin and failure. What does endurance like individually and relationally when sin is real? Affliction comes in many forms. We experience grief for many different reasons. While the actions of others can discourage us, it is often our choices which cause us the greatest pain. Where we are personally derailed by the impact of sin, repentance is needed to return us to the path of endurance. Where we are discouraged we need to find comfort and encouragement to not despair. We don’t do this alone or with our own strength. In Christ we have been made new AND we are called pursue being new for our joy and God’s glory.
Let’s talk about influence and effectiveness? We have strong internal desires and powerful external influences competing for our attention and affection. Some helpful, some harmful. We think of influence in negative terms because we believe we are this steady immovable rock neutral or right in how we see and engage the world. Yet, all of us are influenced our entire lives in countless ways positively and negatively. If we are Christians our eyes are open to recognize sin is real, brokenness impacts and influences us and the world in a variety of ways, yet we are called to holiness. What does endurance look like in a world opposed to God? Retreat- Sin is a disease we could catch and need to avoid at all costs so the best way to do that is bunker down in a holy huddle. This is attractive because it appears safe but neglects that we’ve got the disease too. It is big on calling out sins the community isn’t actively engaged with while ignoring those which remain present. Receive- Sin doesn’t exist (at least not the way God defines it) doesn’t have consequences or is in fact not something to be avoided but is something to accept, affirm, and even advocate for. This is attractive because all sin starts with a promise of greater/flourishing life/pleasure purpose, etc. and is usually popular so it appears to be acceptable. However, it ignores the reality of…… sin is real has consequences, shame, separation, and eventually death. It at times includes even a rejection or denial of objective reality itself. Sin’s promises are empty - This is not a new issue, it is one dealt with in generation after generation and it presents itself in different ways so when/where/who we grew up with, run with now, or listen to have a great impact on how we see and engage the world. None of us are neutral, while In Christ we have been made new AND we are called to holiness for the purposes of our joy and God’s glory. How can we stay actively engaged with the world without engaging in active sin? Faithful endurance requires Courageous Division.
Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Happy Resurrection Sunday! Christ has risen! This past week and this Sunday in particular is unique and set apart, looking at Jesus path to the cross where He took our defeat for us on Good Friday. We remembered Good Friday is Good because Jesus in on the cross in our place. This morning we celebrate His victorious resurrection on Easter. Jesus is the savior-king, Christ, Messiah of God’s people. He is the king crucified for His people; He is the Savior risen for His people. This isn’t only significant for Christians but we believe it is for everyone. Why do you believe what you believe? Where do you look to for Hope, Identity, and purpose? All of us believe in something. All of us come with our own bias, experiences, and perspectives each limited to what we can perceive and process, none of us are truly neutral or faithless. “Our moral values, our belief about human nature, our beliefs about whether the material universe was its own cause or was created by God
Good Morning Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. In an unsettling season where deconstruction reigns we are given a gift in the church calendar of Holy Week to resettle. This week we join with Christians around the world celebrating Palm Sunday. This is week of contemplation, remembering AND resting in what has been accomplished. We need hope, empathy, and leadership. Not distant, but hope that shows up! God knows we need hope. Hope gives us endurance today that tomorrow will be better. We can have hope today and trust God for our future because we can look back and see in Jesus, Hope Arrived. To set the scene, Jesus has been performing miracles, He’s been preaching and teaching in the region around Jericho and now He’s turning towards Jerusalem on His way to Passover. A time God’s people were gathering in a Holy City to remember the God who took them out of slavery in Egypt where death passed over them because of a symbolic sacrifice in their place. God’s people coming to their city in their promised land to celebrate God’s salvation, but it doesn’t feel quite right. Jerusalem (and Israel), at this time, isn’t independent and is not thriving. It’s under oppression from Rome. It’s a bit of a ghetto where a subculture of Judaism and temple worship is permitted but has been be a bit perverted. The people’s government is corrupt and self-serving Everyone knows the real power is in Rome. Change is desired, satisfaction in lacking, and different parties have competing views on what freedom and flourishing look like. As the city begins to fill up with visitors, Jew and gentle pilgrims, the Roman military presence is also increased bring the intensity level to a near boil. This is not paradise, this is not peace. Disorder, discrimination, and discord are reigning. This city needs a savior, and He’s coming.
Let’s talk about shame, suffering, and separation. We know shame. We know suffering. We know separation. These are part of the consequences of living in our imperfect world, but we don’t like talking about them. We would rather pretend they don’t impact us or they are only things others endure. The fact remains each have implication for how we see ourselves and others and affect how we relate to God. Shame- I know what I’ve done (or has been done to me). We realize we are not perfect. When we fail in anyway, we experience guilt (and maybe we are guilty). Others have harmed or abused us impacting our self-worth staining our psyche. We wear a scarlet letter This is shame. I am concerned it now defines me. Suffering- I know what I’ve dealt with (or am dealing with). There is pain and difficulty in the world often because of circumstances often beyond our control. Yet at times it can even be consequences of our own choices or results of our responsibilities. Craving flourishing, we face failure. I am concerned it will defeat me. Separation- I know who is distant (and maybe I even know why). People you were close with or thought were friends turn out to be foes. We try to move on, but grief needs to be processed. We carry brokenness into new relationships with bitterness from the past and fear of the future. I am concerned it disconnects me. These categories all need to be included in our concept and understanding of the impact of what the Bible calls “Sin”. Individually, Sin is missing the mark, it’s breaking God’s law, and how we are bent out of shape in this world. Corporately, it is the systems, structures, and societal norms of injustice oppression opposed to God’s rule and true human flourishing. In Creation, sin manifest itself in world hostile to enduing eternal life including disease and destruction. For most of our lives we have thought about sin in the court room context of “guilt/innocence” and that is not wrong. It is that, AND the Bible was written in and to a cultural context of “honor/shame”. When we endure shame, suffering, separation in can manifest itself dishonor. We cannot bear the dishonor of sin we’ve caused, or endured from, others. We need a salvation outside our ourselves effective to cover our shame, clean our souls, and change our relationships if we are Enduring Dishonor.
What drives you? What makes you get out of bed in the AM? Why are you here today? What are some forces, fears, or influences that you recognize drive your thoughts and behaviors? Much of what drives us is under the surface and in the culture, we are in so we are consciously aware of our key motivators. Yet there are a few categories most of our motivations are derived from all leading back to or stemming from ourselves. We live for ourselves impacting our internal motivation and our external engagement. These can manifest themselves in a few key internal/external categories I believe are helpful for our understanding and applying our text today: Self-Improvement
How long can we last? How long do you want to go? If someone said you could have 90 years guaranteed would you take it? What would you hope to accomplish and what about after? Deep in our souls we know we are made for eternity, yet our current physical bodies are anything but capable of enduring forever. But we don’t like to think about this inevitably. This past year we have a heighted awareness of human fragility as we see death totals daily rise and with it our discomfort as we respond with concern or callousness. None of us are truly comfortable death, nor should we be, but we struggle to engage with the tension we feel around life and death. We know our lives are finite yet none of us are ready to be finished. We need a clear frame work to process the truth of aging, the transition of death, the reality of the afterlife, all while remaining grounded in the time place and season we are in with purpose, perseverance, and hope. We believe today matters, but we earnestly desire something more and better tomorrow as we Endure for Eternity.
What is actually built to last? What is valuable? What we see about ourselves and experience in the world does not always seem enduring, strong, or valuable. At a certain point, as we age, we begin to see greater decay not greater glory. As we experience difficulty, we seem weaker not stronger. As we experience loss, we can lose vision of what is valuable. When we rely on that which can wear out we are left disappointed and despondent. To be prepared for eternity we need a true power worthy to endure. We need to rely on who and what is eternal if we are going to be built to last not just trough difficulty but onward to glory.
I want to start with the concept “We don’t lose heart.” Before we get into this passage deeper, I want to check in and ask, how are you doing today? Are you feeling discouraged? The last 12 months have been an incredible challenge. It’s ok, if you are feeling discouraged. That’s normal. This word “lose heart” has also been translated “faint”. To me it brought up the imagery of being so discourage you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. It’s just not worth it. We think through this pandemic… almost 1/2 million in the US alone have died. Businesses have failed, jobs have ended, bank accounts dried up, churches have closed down… or split and to add insult to injury people have gotten cancer. Politics are a mess. It’s easy to be discouraged when the world around us is crumbling… this can sometimes lead us to a deeper more profound place of losing your trust in God. Is God really good? Is he really for me? Is he really out there? Does he care?
Where are you stuck? How do you find yourself relying on things that have outlasted their usefulness? Why do we do this? We can be easily satisfied with what we have or do if we think it “works” for us. We love “new” because we assume it’s better than what was. Because we are not easily satisfied, we cannot stand “old” so we’re always looking for something we think might be better that what is now. When something new comes along that is intrinsically better in comparison we rightly want to upgrade. Yet, at times, we settle for the comfort of what we know, even if it is inferior to what is now available. We need courage to embrace the glory of what God has for us today and forsake what has become obsolete. We need our eyes and hearts opened and directed to see where courage can be found. When have courage unveiled, we are empowered with the fresh boldness and enduring freedom to embody the real positive transformation we need.
How do you smell? Few things are more able to change our experience in a room, a home, even a community like an aroma. Nearly nothing can contain an aroma from spreading beyond its original source to impact the environment around it. Our lives, actions, and attitudes contribute to the aroma of all we are involved with. So what aroma is your life putting off? None of us wants to stink, we all want to smell good. How can we enjoy the sweat smell of victory and put of the stench of defeat? Today we are going to look at how we endure when defeat seems more real than victory, when we consume ideas and put-on identities which make us weaker rather than provide us with power, and when we realize we are not ever going to be enough.
How are you isolated? Why are you isolated? In the Northwest we’re not known as the most welcoming or warm people. In this now nearly year, we have become even more isolated than we were previously. It is incredibly difficult for us to form new relationships or even maintain ones we’ve enjoyed or find life giving when basic means of connection have been removed. Add in the societal challenges, political and cultural battle where division is the norm and our engagement primarily online and we see others as profiles to debate rather than people to be in relationship with and we individually and collectively become more isolated and independent rather than reliant, connected, and interdependent. We are not meant to be alone. Isolation reduces our ability to endure and robs us of joyful connection with others. When have you experienced significant growth in your life that didn’t also included others in some way? We are made for community, yet when we are with other imperfect people there is always the opportunity to both experience harm from others and for us to actually harm others. So we think the most courageous thing to do is go it alone. I’ll just run my race alone or I’ll just hunker down with my family. When we make our circles smaller, we are limiting the ability for community to help shape us and we are limiting our ability to impact others positively. We may be more effective in the short term, but we won’t endure for the long haul. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
What do you rely on? What is it that you look at or to for stability, direction, or consistency? If we’re Christians or in the church we “know” it God, He’s faithful, but that doesn’t mean we actually respond to the world and others like God is actually reliable. Because there is what we say and “know” but then there is how we functionally believe, act and respond. Comforted with the Gospel, but then we quickly begin to seek reliability in others. There are few things in life we find truly reliable. We plan, prepare, and promise but we are rarely able to provide a guarantee of significant flourishing on our own. If we are going to have courage, we need our faith placed where endurance can be guaranteed. Relying on people will leave us disappointed. When has someone let you down? When has someone else disappointed you? How have you responded? Why did it sting so much? Why is it the people we care the most about who we rely on the most are the ones who have the greatest capacity to frustrated or upset us? Was it because you had expectations that were unrealistic, or because we didn’t really understand the whole picture? Or maybe the just legit failed. What about when we consider leadership, who we trust, who we follow. We seek reliability and we seek integrity. We want leaders in our lives, homes, churches, and communities we can rely on for a sense of stability, strength, to encourage us to continue on. We need to be grounded beyond ourselves or other imperfect people if we are going to be truly comforted in the midst of affliction, difficulty or pain. We need our reliance shifted from inward, or outward, to upward and onward!
We are Weak and Weary. Courage is needed to overcome fear and strength to supplant our weakness so we can continue in confidence to where a final victory is experienced. This journey is long, includes difficulty, but it can include joy and ultimately leads to a destination of glory. We need to endure. To endure is to remain or continue even in the midst of great difficulty to a greater destination. Endurance is usually a sign of significant strength. Yet paradoxically we find ourselves both weary and weak the longer we endure difficulty. The more affliction the longer we endure the less endurance we realize we have. When do you need comfort? Well it is not when everything is going well is it? When you’ve received a great gift, achieved an accomplishment, enjoying peace and harmony in relationships you might be moved to celebrate but you don’t necessarily “need” comfort. When we need or crave comfort is when things are difficulty. It’s bitter cold you want the comfort of a warm fire. When you’re feeling alone or isolated you want the comfort of friendship and companionship. When you are in physical pain you want the comfort of relief. When anxious you want to be comforted with peace. We NEED comfort when things are unsettled, unknown, or worse seem hopeless. It is not wrong to desire comfort because it’s acknowledging that things are not as they should be. Desire for comfort is a barometer that something isn’t right, and that’s ok. Where do you go for comfort? What do you turn to in order to find comfort when you’re suffering? How do you self-medicate? How do you use food, alcohol, entertainment when you’re experiencing pain or difficulty? Maybe you seek comfort in areas where you feel strong or competent. When afflictions come, we begin to look inward hoping we have the strength to endure. We need to find both comfort in the present and courage to continue not despite our weakness, but in our weakness. We often think of endurance in terms of individual character not collective interdependence. Seeking strength, we look within ourselves for affirmation or beyond ourselves for inspiration. Yet when our hope is in ourselves alone, or even. Simply placed in others, we will eventually find ourselves disappointed as we fail or other don’t live up to our expectations. We need our gaze shifted beyond ourselves or other imperfect people if we are going to be truly comforted in the midst of affliction, difficulty or pain. We need our reliance shifted from inward, or outward, to upward and onward!
We are Weak and Weary. The challenging journey of life taxes our endurance and reveals the shallow depth of our resiliency. We have moments in our journey that serve as key markers. When they are difficult or painful, they can be traumatic and linger. When they are positive or even considered a win, they can be transformational, transitional surges of zeal. But invariable after a time the impact of that transition, the intensity of the zeal, and the memory of the experience can begin to fade and we can fall back into old patterns or lose sight of the path ahead. Crushing fear begins to set in as we begin to doubt our ability to finish well or even enjoy the journey we are on. Courage is needed to overcome fear and strength to supplant our weakness so we can continue in confidence to where a final victory is experienced. This journey is long, includes difficulty, even opposition, but it can include joy and ultimately leads to a destination of glory. We need to endure.
We are not a satisfied people. We show this at the conclusion of one year and the beginning of the next we intuitively assess aspects of our lives and find areas we want to see change in, or achievements made. These are sometimes very specific ie: run a marathon, get out of debt, etc and relatively easy to see progress, achieve our goal, or admit defeat. Other times we set vague ethereal goals like “laugh more” be a “better” spouse, parent, friend, or employee with no real understanding of what this will look like or how we should get there. We know we’re not the best version of ourselves. We want more. We want to be different that we currently are. Therefore, each year we make resolutions grow our budget or to shrink our beltline. We again go through a cycle of great effort followed by less discipline. Why do we fail to achieve what we want? We are driven by our desires. Our deepest desires will always overcome our efforts of self- discipline. What we want will drives us to what we do. Our desires are usually very immediate, temporary, and selfish so we regularly act driven by these desires which bring us short term pleasure even at the expense of long-term joy. We seek immediate comfort over long term correction. True flourishing cannot be found without looking beyond right now, outside of ourselves, and ultimately to things that are eternal. What we need is not greater discipline but greater desires. We need our attention and affections directed towards things that can stir us to strive for contentment over surrendering to compliancy. We need to be capable of being joyfully uncomfortable in the present for the purpose of greater rewards both in the near term and for eternity.
Something we should ask ourselves this morning as we close out the year, is in what ways has this world tried to offer us peace & comfort admits all the chaos we’ve faced? Slogans such as “We are all in this together,” others such as “Do your part, mask up!” But all of these are shallow attempts at trying to give us peace. that we have seen and learned from this year as things are being stripped back and the daily noise of everyday has been bogged down, is that the world has nothing to offer us for our comfort and our peace, it’s not enough to make us whole; to make us well, to heal us. I just heard on the radio the other day that of adults that live in king county, more than 50% say that they are struggling with depression this year. I think that is a number that is largely reflective of the rest of this state and maybe even the country as well. What we don’t need is 7 steps to peace or some other process were by comfort is the end goal. No, what we need is God Himself to intervene in our lives, to change and transform us. This is the job of any preacher, to present us who God is, and how we should live differently in light of Him. So here’s where we are going in Mark’s gospel today, is a couple scenes where chaos erupts and Jesus is revealing who He is in the midst of chaos for the purpose of bringing about peace. So if we would seek God first above all else, then He will give us peace, come what may.
We have moments in life that are key markers. When they are difficult or painful, they can be traumatic and linger. When they are positive or even a win, they can be transformational, transitional, surges of zeal. But invariable after a time the impact of that transition, the intensity of the zeal and the memory of the experience can begin to fade and we can fall back to old patterns or lose sight of the path ahead. If Peace is “wholeness” then where we look for and find peace needs to actually fulfill and needs to last. Peace needs to carry and lead us to where the final victory is going to be experienced. This is the journey we are on, one where peace is both present and where peace is pursued. This journey is long, includes difficulty, even opposition, but it does lead to a destination of glory. We need a peace that perseveres. Peace - From the beginning there has been enemies of peace, of God (and Man’s flourishing) came into the garden sowing seeds of doubt about God’s goodness and the consequence of rejecting God leading to darkness. Humanity willingly exchanged the presence of peace for a war of independence rejecting God’s rule, but also the connection to the source of life and wholeness. This is sin. Sin separates. Sin takes peace and brings conflict. It takes out the right relationship between God and His People. Why is peace something so difficult? Sin, evil, brokenness, unnecessary division, lack of joy and wholeness all spring from this conflict. Sin is what robbed us of Shalom and introduced conflict. God comes and engages with this conflict bring both justice, holiness, as well as mercy and grace. He makes a promise. That a savior-king will come who will bring both victory over evil and establish a real and enduring peace. Generation waited for Peace.
Peace (Shalom/Eirene) More than absence of conflict. It is completeness, wholeness. A state in which there is more than nothing clearly wrong but everything being completely right. No imperfections but also perfect. We instinctively know the difference, even if naively we like to hope when there is no conflict there is peace. Every been in home, marriage, relationship where the “conflict” is quiet but there isn’t joy. Maybe you’ve been on the road trip from hell where you’re in the car together and you’re not saying anything. That is not peace. It’s missing the joyful complexity of a full complete relationship. This presence of conflict and lack of peace is not how things have always been or how God has intended us to be. God created everything and He created it “Good”. The gospel (good news) begins with God making man and women in His image joins them together in marriage, places them in a peaceful Garden. Gives them purpose to cultivate a flourishing world while they enjoy multiplying. God dwells with them. There is wholeness, the is not conflict. This seems like the perfect conditions for lasting peace. Yet a conflict was instigated. An Enemy of God (and Man’s flourishing) came into the garden sowing seeds of doubt about God’s goodness and the consequence of rejecting God leading to darkness. Humanity willingly exchanged the presence of peace for a war of independence rejecting God’s rule, but also the connection to the source of life and wholeness. This is sin. Sin separates. Sin takes peace and brings conflict. It takes out the right relationship between God and His People. Why is peace something so difficult? Sin, evil, brokenness, unnecessary division, lack of joy and wholeness all spring from this conflict. Sin is what robbed us of Shalom and introduced conflict. God comes and engages with this conflict bring both justice, holiness, as well as mercy and grace. He makes a promise. That a savior king will come who will bring both victory over evil and establish a real and lasting peace. After generations come and go each wondering and hoping “Is this it?” only to be disappointed and near defeat. Even God’s voice is silent for 400 years until Peace arrives in Jesus.
We have to go all the way back to Genesis, where we see that God created all things good, and He created our first parents Adam and Eve, and provided for their joy and flourishing by giving the tasks to work and keep the land and to grow in number, literally discipleship. God created everything good and they sinned. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God despite all the good that He had set up for them and provided for them, and still they thought and we think that we are better on our own without God. Ever since the fall we have been as humans in a constant pursuit of peace, trying anything and everything. From one extreme of people mutilating their flesh, to another of people using essential oils. We are in need of peace. So where do you look for peace?
I don’t feel like celebrating Christmas this year. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas. Things are supposed to be back to normal by now. Come to think of it, nothing has gone according to plan this year. I know some of you put up your Christmas tree early this year, and I get it. It’s going to take a couple extra weeks to get in the mood for Christmas this year. As Chris and I were talking about a theme for Christmas this year… I wasn’t ready for Joy to the World, but maybe just a calm Christmas… or a quiet Christmas. We settled on “Peace on Earth”. Each week we will be talking about peace. My hope and prayer for each of us (including me)… whether here or online would feel true peace. Not that we would ignore the problems, minimize our pain, or pretend all is well, but find moments of real peace. Peace that comes from knowing you are right with your maker. Where you know everything is going to be ok.
It’s not how a story starts; it’s how it finishes. Condemnation of God’s people has been plotted by Haman. There is a movement to see the Jews exterminated but there is a moment that God orchestrated to have Esther and Mordecai able to effectively engage to help bring hope and relief. So now there are competing decrees one encouraging the death, destruction of the Jews and another giving the Jews the ability to not only defend themselves but to end the threat to their people. This first decree came out with a one year dead line. There was three months of activism to bring the other decree (and end evil Haman’s rule) to Persia leaving nine months of hopeful, anxious in between where victory has been promised but full resolution has yet to be experienced. We have come to the conclusion of this story where the was a great threat, great chaos, great fear, which has been meet by a greater God who has (while unseen) been greatly involved in a dramatic reversal of political and cultural fortunes. God’s people shifted from a place of certain condemnation to potential for relief to now Justice and victory being at the doorstep!
We see bad stories all the time both in our lives and in the world. We have unhappy beginnings, the middle can be discouraging and at times distressing, but then there can be a turn where victory seems possible, hope seems probable but final resolution hasn’t happened yet. It’s not how a story starts; it’s how it finishes. Recap- The self-centered king of Persia has dismissed his bride the queen launched a massive war, taken all the eligible young women in the nation for himself (not once but twice) made Esther (a Jewish minority, orphan, exile) his new queen. Dodged an assignation attempt (thanks to the heads up from Mordechai) promoted the sinister Haman to second in command. Haman is disrespected by Mordechai leading to Haman’s genocidal plot to become the Persian Hitler complete with a set date for the “final solution” to be literally executed eliminating all Jews in Persia… and effectively ending the potential for God’s promise to send a savior TO the nations FROM the nation of Israel. This is real pain, real injustice, causing real mourning and lament. Mordechai is responds with lament. Esther struggles but processes through a journey of compliance and conformity leading to conviction and courage. She is not as safe as she thinks she is, but God is more active than we realize. Mordecai has confidence that God will deliver and raise up relief, but Esther has been placed in this role and season for a reason. She is resolved to risk her life now to help her people rather than stand by and wait for things to get worse. The Jews in Susa fast with her and for her. She fasts, plans, prepares and risks her life. She is reward with favor. The king asks what she wants (I’ll give you half the kingdom) and she throws a feast in his honor (with Haman!) and says… “I’ll tell you” tomorrow at another feast. Haman, goes from high to low when he sees Mordecai fail to honor him after the feast. He throws a pity party at home, recounts his awesomeness but says it’s worthless if Mordecai is alive. His wife and “friends” plan to hang Mordecai before lunch the next day. He agrees to the plan, and the scene is set. But then there is a sleepless night where the king is reminded that Mordecai saved him years ago and was never honored. In an ironically comic scene Haman is asked what a man should receive when he’s honored by the king and he goes big! Kings Robes, Kings Whip, Kings crown all while being treated like royalty by royalty. It ends up being all for… Mordecai and Haman has to make it so. He desires honor but ends up humiliated as he runs home to whine to his wife and advisors who being to let him know the tide has turned and his defeat is likely. The next feast Haman is exposed by Esther as an evil plotter and the King’s Justice is swift and merciless as Haman is hung from the gallows he created. The author of evil has been defeated but his plot and plan of destruction still looms over the people. There is a victory experienced, but work to be done remains. We don't have the ability to undo the wrongs done to us, that is a God- sized task. Our attempts at justice either go too far, or not far enough. Our desire for justice is from God, we should also expect God will be the one who perfectly provides it. He has the Last word!
Jesus is the central figure in History we worship Him as God & King so there is a separation of church and state but not of Jesus & Politics. We are citizens of Heaven, ambassadors of His Kingdom, with the church as an embassy on a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ who Love God and Love People. We have a role and responsibility to love our neighbors as ourselves to be involved in politics to promote flourishing, liberty and justice for all. How are you today? A lot has happened. We need Hope & Humility - History happens every day, but some events impact us more than others. The course of human events can easily propel us to the heights of elation or the depths of despair. When our political allegiances and aspirations seem to be ascending, we can assume a position of pride and satisfaction. When we suffer an apparent defeat or experience what seems like a loss our frustration can lead to fear. Regardless of circumstances, we need to remember what is true, what we are called to do now, and where our hope lies for the future.
Jesus is the central figure in History we worship Him as God & King so there is a separation of church and state but not of Jesus & Politics. We are citizens of Heaven, ambassadors of His Kingdom, with the church as an embassy on a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ who Love God and Love People. So we have a role and responsibility to love our neighbors as ourselves to be involved in politics to promote flourishing, liberty and justice for all. This means our allegiance and activisms will transcend earthly parties and politicians. God and Government have and will have a relationship as an arena God uses for His Glory. We Need Leadership
“This is the most important election of our lifetime!” “The fate of the country and our democracy is at stake! “You cannot be a Christian and vote for Donald Trump!” “I couldn’t go to a church where there are people who voted for Obama!” “Jesus was the first socialist!” “America is a ‘Christian’ Nation!” “(X)Want’s Tyranny!” I’ve heard all of these in the last several years. From traditional media to social media, sports and streaming services, social science and climate science, even down to the coffee beans and garbanzo beans we choose; even the Avengers showing up to a rally, every aspect of how we participate in the public square seems to be influenced by a political message or position. The church in America is not immune to our highly politicized culture. It seems people are either eager to coopt Jesus and the church for the advancement of their political goals or pretended that somehow religion and politics do not have an impact on one another. How are we supposed to effectively navigate politically in this environment? There is so much pressure to engage, so many landmines to avoid, and so much temptation to check out of politics all together. So rather than remaining silent in the face of contradictory and incendiary language or to shout over opponents, let us have a civil discourse around the two topics we are told we are supposed to ignore. Let’s talk Jesus & Politics.
When there is injustice happening and more pain and death on the horizon we want it exposed and dealt with. When we are the ones who are suffering we want vindication AND we want Justice served. When we have opportunities for our voices to be used to effect real change we need to respond with courage and boldness. When we realize how powerless and helpless we are then we cry out for someone to stand up for us.
When have we have succeeded and not been rewarded? How do all the “insignificant” details of our lives function to help achieve God’s purposes in our lives? Have you ever experienced a great delay only to later see that it was ultimately profitable? What about a dramatic reversal where you were certain one outcome was assured only to have the tables turn in a way you didn’t expect leading to an outcome you didn’t foresee. When have you experienced wrong or injustice and craved vindication and victory? We begin to see hope.
What is your plan? What drives “your plan”? Is it reactive or proactive? How do you deal with it facing adversity or doesn’t all come together? Is your “plan” usually about you or others? What happens when you “win” how do you feel, how long does that last? Where are you finding true and lasting satisfaction? Recap- The self-centered king of Persia has dismissed his bride the queen launched a massive war, taken all the eligible young women in the nation for himself (not once but twice) made Esther (a jewish minority, orphan, exile) his new queen. Dodged an assignation attempt (thanks to the heads up from Mordechai) promoted the sinister Haman to second in command. Haman is disrespected by Mordechai leading to Haman’s genocidal plot to become the Persian Hitler complete with a set date for the “final solution” to be literally executed eliminating all Jews in Persia… and effectively ending the potential for God’s promise to send a savior TO the nations FROM the nation of Israel. This is real pain, real injustice, causing real mourning and lament. When we are first made aware of injustice with tender hearts our reaction should be one of mourning. Mordechai is responding the truth of the situation with true lament. Esther struggles but processes through a journey of compliance and conformity leading to conviction and courage. She is not as safe as she thinks she is, but God is more active than we realize. Mordecai has confidence that God will deliver and raise up relief but Esther has been placed in this role and season for a reason. She is resolved to risk her life now to help her people rather than stand by and wait for things to get worse. The Jews in Susa fast with her and for her. Now it’s go time. In this chapter, two plans are laid out. One plan is developed for the Jews' destruction, and looks formidable. Esther's plan, the plan with the look of weakness - is developed for the salvation of God's people. Esther's plan is destined for success not because Esther is beautiful and brilliant, but rather because God's plan is unstoppable.
What have you lost this year? What has changed in a way that has caused you to move from pretty good to melancholy? What pain have you experience that has actually caused you to need to mourn. Maybe it’s personal or it’s something you’ve seen happen to others. What injustice have you seen or experienced? How do you typically react? How have you reacted to the pain, lose, and injustice around us? Has it lead you anger, activism, or paralyzed you with passivity? Passivity is not humility. Most of us want to or are inclined to live peaceful lives. But even when I say that, we are mistaking “peaceful” lives with conflict free lives. We love NW nice and so we get really uncomfortable with people expressing opinions different that the mainstream of the day. When we are faced with grave injustice, we are not to cooperate with it or capitulate to it. We are to be confronted with the truth of a situation and then be humbly conformed to God’s will which will include processing grief and may include confronting injustice so our mourning can be turn to joy.
What do you expect (or expected) your life to be like? When you grew up or even now what do you expect life to be like? What are you entitled to experience? What you expect to be shielded or protected from? We walk in entitlement. We believe we are due decadence or at the very least deference, when we succeed all our good actions should receive a reward, people should be throwing parades for us and life should be a series of continual promotions and straight-line growth in wealth, influence, responsibility, pleasure, etc. When something interrupts this progress, we find it personally offensive and how we response tells us (and others around us) a lot about ourselves and the world we believe we live in. We do good or succeed we hate delayed gratification or denied honor. When we fail or know we’ve done something wrong we firmly believe our transgressions should be overlooked. In this current climate fear, insecurity (both personal and in the state of the world) have driven us to be more and more isolated and self-focused. This has made us more susceptible to self-preservation rather than self-sacrifice, fits of paranoia fueled by various conspiracy theories or the truth of brokenness in the world. In isolation and division we see us and them entitlement high and empathy is low. Honor is sought but horror is experienced. How do you your sense of personal entitlement impact those around you? The driver of entitlement is pride, the driver of empathy is humility. Let’s find perspective in our pride in and hope for humility in Esther 2-3.
How do we faithfully navigate difficult circumstances? What does it look like to engage with the world when darkness seems to cover like a cloud all aspects of life. How do we preserve when we are powerless especially if and when the powerful in the world seem to be erratic at best and evil at worst. When we are in challenging chapters of our individual or collective stories where do we find hope? How do we process the darkness we face or even the darkness we participate in either willingly or because those with power over us have inflicted damage, pain, or even abuse. It’s darkness we dread and light we long for. We want suffering, difficulty and oppression to end AND we want joy, justice, flourishing, and glory to reign. That is a good desire. We all desire glory because we are all created to reflect glory. Yet when we search for glory in ourselves what we find will always be fleeting at best. Struck with reality, we can easily experience fear with our imperfect selves and surrounding, when we are called to faith found in a perfect God. One who knows our story and is working out all things for good for His glory and our Joy. One who is with us in our darkest chapters and is able to both change our perspective, destiny, and circumstances. As we seek to process the pain, trauma, and seeming senselessness of our lives and culture we are often (in the rearview) able to see God’s hand active in and through our path. I hope this can give us greater confidence in Him when He seems to be distant, Unseen God. Let’s find hope in Esther Chapter 2.
Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’s Mission. Today we begin a new series walking the through the book of Esther called UNSEEN GOD: Hidden Hope Found in the Book of Esther. Thank you for joining us! When do we need hope? Is it when everything is going well in our lives or in the world, where the present seems pleasant and a clear vision of a flourishing future is in sight? Is it when we are led by strong and tender leaders whose virtue, caring character, and defense of justice is plainly visible to all? It is when we have a secure sense of self and we know we are valued and respected in our context even when we bring our full selves to the table? Or...
Good Morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus’ Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’ Mission. Mercy Fellowship exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love people. Today we are continuing our summer series Parables: Small Stories, Big Ideas, Great Jesus. We are beginning to gear up for back to school, whatever that is going to look like. So how are you? I ask because if we’re honest we feeling weak, worn out, discouraged, and maybe a bit empty. When we are weak deeply desire something or someone powerful to lead and protect. When we are feeling small we want to be part of something big, when we’re joyless we want something glorious, when we are empty we want to be filled. We are drawn to power and value. That more than ok. It’s acknowledging how weak and dependent we are. We need to hear some good teaching to give us hope. More than simply a good teacher, Jesus ministry on earth had an intense focus on teaching people about the character and nature of God, His kingdom, His values, and how we are to live in response to who God is. While Jesus intended meaning with each of these stores, parables is specific, the response to them varies depending on the condition of the heart of those who hear them. For those who follow Jesus the parables lead to greater understanding, for those indifferent or opposed to Jesus they cause greater confusion. Today we have five parables showing the kingdom’s power, the kingdom’s value, and what life looks like for those who understand the kingdom. Four times we will see Jesus say the “Kingdom of Heaven is like…” each instance is used to correct to easy misconceptions about the Kingdom of Heaven. It is exponentially more powerful than it appears and more valuable than you think. So let us let Jesus be our teacher and our treasure.
What are you hoping for? What are you looking forward to or eagerly anticipating? Right now, from an earthly standpoint, there doesn’t seem to me much and what available is slow either being cancelled or being replaced with decidedly “less than alternatives.” We are getting more and more disconnected and despondent. We need to be driven by a vision of a future that is hopeful and just plain better than now. There is a sifting and an unsettling going on that is leaving us disoriented. While there is much to grieve, and might be more, not all disruption is bad. 2,000 years ago there was “law and order” a “civil society” that left many hopeless in the face of the power of Caesars, governors, and systems. Fear and frustration ran high. Enter Jesus. He preaches, teaches, heals, and feeds. Comes to Jerusalem. Jesus then made his first order of business aggressively coming into the temple cleaning out the temple of corrupt dealers and restoring it to a house of prayer and healing. Jesus returned to the temple to teach and is confronted by the Chief Priest and elders of the temple about the nature of the authority. Jesus responds with challenging them on the nature of John the Baptist’s ministry. “Make a call, is John a prophet from God or is he a crazy person?” They gave an answer with best chance of keeping authority AND did not require them to submit to or recognize Jesus (who John held as the Son of God). Jesus continues teaching the leaders and the crowd with the parable of the wicked tenants of a vineyard and the gracious king reminding them where all authority rests and where all honor is due. In a world obsessed with power it is Jesus who is charge. If you continually reject the will of the king failing to recognize the authority of the King’s Son (Jesus) the vineyard/kingdom will be given to those who love the king. Jesus is going to give clarity and hope for many.
Today, we continue in the short series on the Parables of Jesus and we will be in Luke 11 and what is commonly known as the Parable of the Persistent Neighbor. The questions of “What is a parable?” and “Why did Jesus use parables to teach” have been discussed before. Briefly though, Jesus told simple, earthly stories, stories rooted in earthly events that anyone could understand, on that level. But he told them to illustrate truths about God’s coming kingdom, a kingdom that in most part God’s chosen people had rejected. To those who had not rejected the Father and His Son, the meaning of the story was discernable as told, or later through his patient explaining. For the rest, the meaning was lost or its truth perverted. Their eyes could not see. Their ears could not hear. Their hardened hearts could not yield.
In the beginning of this chapter, Jesus enters into Jerusalem on a Donkey and is celebrated as He rides in as people line the streets and lay their cloaks they would wear down on the road and palm branches they would have cut, they laid on the road as well. And they did this as a sign of submission to Jesus being King. We celebrate this in our church calendar as Palm Sunday. The issue with this though, is that they thought that Jesus Kingship, would be to overthrow the Roman government, and when He doesn’t act like they want, they will later chant for Him to be crucified. But as the narrative goes, they are celebrating Jesus entry into Jerusalem, and an issue arises. They’re excited thinking that He will overthrow the Roman government, but instead of doing that, Jesus first move is to go to the temple, and overthrow tables of the money changers who are cheating and swindling others for their own selfish gain. And as Jesus Kingship/authority is established, it is established but not in the way that people want it to be. So let me say this. Jesus is King now and forever, and that is good news!
We are all trying to convert other people to how we see things. Masks, Race, Candidates, Economics, Policing, education, economics, the virtues of the musical Hamilton. We get incredibly frustrated when we simply explain our point of view, drop some ‘facts’ or science and data, our that they can’t see what we see. If we could just be clearer, or louder, or more persuasive maybe then they would change their mind. So we post more online, keep texting, send people books (or links) to read… and it never works. We all assume that we have the perspective that needs to be adopted. We rarely consider that we might be the one who is lost, misunderstands… or wait for it…. Might even be wrong. What if WE need to be the ones who are converted, illuminated, taught, for our own flourishing and joy and to fruitful bless others. Today we’re going to look at a familiar teaching of Jesus that seems simple but has some big ideas. Let’s go.
Well meaning Christians can miss the point easily here. Peter had been with Jesus a while and was starting to understand that Jesus was about forgiveness when he suggested that we forgive 7 times. 7 times was generous. In those days religious people said 3 times was plenty. I mean let’s think about it in our lives. Let’s say someone sins agains you... like steals something from you. According the passage above, you go to that person and say “Hey, you stole that from me.” They say, please forgive me... and you forgive. Then they steal something else from you... Peter’s question is valid. How many times do you forgive? Maybe it’s not stealing. Maybe someone lied to you. Maybe someone gossiped about you. If we all forgave people 7 times we would probably be considered the most merciful people in he world. We give up on people too quickly. 3 strikes and you are out. What Jesus is getting at is that Peter is missing the point all together. It isn’t about how many times. It isn’t about making a list. It’s about the heart. We want rules so we can follow Jesus with our mind, but not our heart. Quick caveat... if someone is stealing from you, don’t give them a key to your house. We can forgive and still have wise boundaries. Let’s say someone has an abusive husband and he occasionally gets mad and hits her or threatens her. 1. The husband needs to be confronted with their sin 2. Boundaries need to be put in place. Including separation, etc. 3. Forgiveness is still on the table.
We are in . These chapters are an extended period of teaching Jesus gives his disciples which falls into the category of Eschatology (Study of the End Times). Jesus is about to go to the cross and He wants his disciples and us to know what our lives should like and be defined by between now and when he returns. When Jesus came first is was for salvation, mercy, humility, when He returns it will be for justice, restoration, and glory. We will be accountable to King Jesus for our lives. This is true for all, those who currently have no concern for Jesus, and those who profess to know and follow him. Just before this section is the parable of the bridesmaids, invited to the wedding, desired the wedding, professed to be ready for the wedding; but there was division between those who had short-term zeal, but foolishly didn’t respond with action and those who were prepared for a long obedience. The wise entered the feast while the foolish were left out, because the Lord of the feast said “Truly, I do not know you.” The focus for disciples of Jesus is to remain vigilant during this in-between period between Jesus ascension and His return. This week the parable shifts from vigilance to diligence, as the church’s call to “keep watch” goes deeper to include “keep working.”
Because many of us may have the idea that a parable is nothing more than a story with some moral truths being portrayed, which would be wrong. We know this to be wrong, because that is not the gospel message. Jesus didn’t leave all His glory in heaven and come to earth, and live a perfect sinless life obeying the law of God, of which you and I have broken repeatedly and deserve damnation for, go to the cross in our place and on the third day rising from the grave defeating Satan, sin and death and now rules over all of creation as king of kings and lord of lords; He didn’t do all of this to make us moral, to make bad people good but rather He came to make dead people live. So we don’t believe that parables are just stories with moral truths attached to them.
What does” Fellowship” mean? Greek is Koinonia - Rich word. It refers to a participation and communion with God and His people sharing, contributing for a common purpose. A "Fellowship" is a group of people brought together for a purpose. In the New Testament God's people, the church, were defined and described as a partnership for the Gospel because of the Gospel. A fellowship is more like a team to play on than a club to join. In Acts 2 we see “fellowship” identifies the idealized state of unity and purpose that should exist within the church. Created by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone was invited to experience this community and encouraged to actively participate rather than passively consume. True Fellowship exists when it is from and for God. Fellowship runs deeper than our superficial differences. God created Fellowship binds us together with those whom we have nothing in common but Christ deeper than those with whom we have everything in common but Christ. Matt Nickel - “My prayer for our church is that we would be rich in mercy and devoted to fellowship” Today as we close this series out, we are going to simply attempt to answer the questions “who are we?” and “Why do we exist?” both individually and collectively as a church.
Mercy is strength because God is Rich in Mercy. As we consider what Mercy is, means, calls us to do and be, we need a comprehensive understanding so we can be inspired to embody mercy and be a place inviting others to experience Mercy. In the Bible, the concept of "Mercy" is not getting the just consequence we have earned as a result of our sin. It can also be as simple as extending or experiencing "kindness" think Steadfast Love. Mercy is a mega theme in scripture across generations and genres. Epistles, Gospels, Prophets and Psalms there is a constant theme of God meeting our sin with His mercy and then calling us to respond to sin in the world with Mercy. When we come to God in Christ, we do not have to fear judgment because judgement has been so roundly defeated that Mercy stands over it and declares I HAVE WON! Mercies victory is ours. We embody and embrace Mercy as conduits who receive from God and live and give mercy to others. Matt Nickel - “My prayer for our church is that we would be rich in mercy and devoted to fellowship” What does” Fellowship” mean? Fellowship
What is Mercy? What does it mean? I think we have a concept of mercy that is pretty weak. When we hear the word, we don’t think of strength, victory, order, but softness, capitulation, and even cowardice. Mercy is: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. So even a worldly definition Mercy implies that you have been empowered and that you are forgiving. As we consider what Mercy is, means, calls us to do and be, we need a comprehensive understanding so we can be inspired to embody mercy and be a place inviting others to experience Mercy. In the Bible, the concept of "Mercy" is not getting the just consequence we have earned as a result of our sin. It can also be as simple as extending or experiencing "kindness" think Steadfast Love. Let’s look at this theme across scripture:
Yet as this season has drug on the list of things we’re concerned about has grown in number and intensity. The news daily begins to look more and more like societal break down. Anger has supplanted empathy. I think we’d all be happier if our biggest concerns were murder hornets rather than the mayhem we see. We want comfort but we are instead confronted with world events or personal circumstance which are too overwhelming to process and which we are powerless to change. There is so much that has changed (positively and negatively) and there is so much that has remained the same again both positive and negative. How do we find hope and courage in broken world when God is not seen, heard, or felt? I want to bring us back to some key ideas we held on to when this season began. We need faith in what is true. 1: God is Good, Mighty, Loving, Wise, and is in control. He is not surprised by any of this, and He is not overwhelmed. He is active in world events and is engaged in your individual story. 2: We (you) are known and loved by God in Christ Jesus. He knows your circumstances, and has not forgotten His promises, so we have a hope that is imperishable, and one that cannot be taken away. 3: This is a challenging chapter, and while we do not know how long it is, we know it’s not the last chapter. The Story ends very well with Jesus return and reign making all things new with no sin, sickness, darkness, disease, or death. Our forever future is better than our present pain. With those in mind we also need to be equipped and encouraged to endure this current season. As we process how we should respond to those around us and engage let make sure we’re seeking the wisdom and direction of Jesus to ensure we’re asking the right questions with the right motives to be transformed.
What do we think we deserve? How do we think we’re entitled? Where does this sense of entitlement come from? What is to be our motivation and ambition? Is ambition always bad? When we are self-focused things like ambition and self-interests become preeminent in our lives. We begin to think more and more about ourselves and our circumstances and it never leads to greater contentment or joy. This only serves to reinforce the bars of our cell. In the Gospel we are set free from the prison of sin and ourselves. We’re freed from ourselves, for others, to be unified as citizens/family, etc. But what gets in the way of this? Because we don’t easily default to this. We do! We don’t know how to be humble. What example can we have to see how deep these concepts go? When we are freed from the prison of self, we have unity with others, we have a Hope that Humbles. Hope creates Humility for the purpose of stronger unity, greater glory and forever joy. Why don’t we do this? What hinders this unity? What keeps us from experience both greater peace and the fulfillment of pure ambition? We are to be a united community of saved sinners, who are broken and are (at different places) being Changed by Jesus’ Grace. WE believe a lie that we are the best at taking care of ourselves and that if we aren’t looking out for our interest and significance no one else, even God, will. That we will not gain by caring for others but in fact will wholly lose if we walk in humility. We need to have the orientation of our lives changed for our sake because humility leads to Glory.
Paul has told them about how his suffering has been purposeful in sharing the Gospel and how his focus has been on others, but now he’s turned his attention back to the Philippians. I know you are concerned about the challenges I’ve been facing, but I am fine. I am here to serve you. How I want to serve you is to remind you about who you are and how who are impacts what you do. This verse opens with one Greek word that has been translated into a phrase. The word is politeuo and it’s a rich word that has been translated into “Only let your manner of life be worthy” or literally it means “Only behave as citizens worthy” It’s a word/phrase they would have been familiar with and understood it’s meaning because of their unique context and understanding of the concept of citizenship. In the US we have birthright citizenship. So if your born here, you’re a citizen. Some of us value it, some of us don’t. But for the people in Philippi there was a sense that what they had was something they had earned. There was pride.
What is driving you in this season? Who do you think about most? What or who do you talk about most? Who do you worry about most? What do you hope for in the future? What goals do you have or are you look forward to? Who is the focus of those goals? What do you fear the most? Most of us at our core live for ourselves. We think about ourselves, we talk about ourselves. We think about others in relation to how they interact with us or how they make us feel. This focus on self grows in times of great difficulty, we cannot see others or beyond our difficult circumstance. It grows as we face criticism, opposition, or hostility from other people, particularly people we think should be FOR us. Walls start to close in and we find ourselves in a prison cell of self when we start to consider the finiteness of our lives. Now everything seem to be on pause and we’re are in a state that we think life will begin, have meaning, and purpose later. It’s like Hope is on pause when we need it now. How do we break free from this? If we’re not going to focus on us who will? Where does our focus need to change or shift to in order for us to have peace and wholeness when facing challenges externally and especially internally. We need a hope that frees us for life now!
We are given the church as a functioning and flourishing family. When Paul (and Timothy) write to all the “Saints, in Christ” he’s referring to all the Christians (people who love and follow Jesus) in the city. Saints In Christ
Mary has moved from wallowing in grief to beholding the Glory of Jesus. This is the moment that will define her life, she never wants this moment to end. When we’ve been met by Jesus, and believe in Him, our first inclination is to want to say where we are with Jesus. But we aren’t saved to say with Jesus but be sent by Him. We don’t stay at the tomb. Our life with Jesus is not one where we’re stuck just outside of the tomb clinging to Jesus, holding on for dear life hoping He never leaves, or worried that we’ll be without Him. No! Later we’re told by Jesus “behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” in the Holy Spirit empowered to live a new life. We don’t have to tremble in fear of losing Jesus if we don’t hold on tight enough. We walk in boldness with purpose, comforted knowing we’re held by Jesus. We don’t stay stuck at the turning point we move on and move outward. Mary is the first evangelist… Go tell ….. Don’t think Jesus is yours to keep to yourself. But to go and tell “I have seen the Lord” and “In Christ” we are God’s children.
What we are doing today in gathering is not expecting to hear something new, but be reminded of what is true. We all need constant reminders of what is true about God, this world, and us because we easily forget, get distracted, discouraged, or even deceived. We look out at the world and something within us cries out “It shouldn’t be this way!” We begin to search for answers, we seek comfort, and rest for our souls. We desire purpose and wholeness. This is where what we call, The Gospel comes in. The Gospel is the Good news of what God has done for us in Jesus. It provides answers, purpose, comfort, rest, and wholeness. To have Hope remembered it has to be a hope we’ve received. Paul is writing to a church of people who have heard the Good News, received the Good News, are standing in the Good News, and believe the Good News. Let’s remember the Hope we’ve received:
Jesus arrived in humility. God is powerful and glorious, here in Jesus we see God displaying great humility. This characterized all of Jesus earthly life, born in a manger, raise by a poor working family, in a poor region. Homeless during His ministry. In Jesus we see God coming down to us. God has to humble Himself to come to us. Not because we are so great but because we are so small. God meets us where we are at. Jesus left heaven and came to earth for us. That is humility! Hope arrived where it was needed most.
1: God is Good, Mighty, Loving, Wise, and is in control. He is not surprised by any of this, and He is not overwhelmed. He is active in world events and is engaged in your individual story. 2: We (you) are known and loved by God in Christ Jesus. He knows your circumstances, and has not forgotten His promises, so we have a hope that is imperishable, that cannot be contained or restricted. 3: This is a challenging chapter, and while we do not know how long it is, we know it’s not the last chapter. The Story ends very well with Jesus return and reign making all things new with no sin, sickness, darkness, disease, or death. Our forever future is better than our present pain. That is what I want to talk about today. I want us to see where we are going so we can have Hope now in the wilderness for glorious forever city! Before we get to the hope at the end of the story we need to understand where we are in the story.
What are we worried about? I mean the list is pretty long at this point, right? Your individual health, the fabric of society, the state of the economy. We are very fearful people, especially at the front end of this season where all we are used to relying on for routine and stability has been uprooted or restricted. I am talking to everyone. We have fears about how we are going to provide for ourselves or others. Fears of loneliness, fears of what others think of us, fears of not living up to others expectations or our own, fear of loss possessions/job/relationships, fear of the unknown. These fears and concerns are driving and dominating how we live our lives. Fear seems to be the biggest motivator over our decisions and disposition. What is your fear? Why do we fear? We fear things we cannot control or easily predict. We play around with “What if?”. We fear because we recognize the world we live in is dangerous, bad things do happen, and everything is NOT awesome all the time. We say we hope for the best and prepare for the worst, but really, we act with little hope and nearly everything we do is under the shadow of fear.
When do we need hope? Is it when everything is going well in our lives or in the world, where the present seems pleasant and a clear vision of a flourishing future is in sight? Is it when we are led by strong and tender leaders whose virtue, caring character, and defense of justice is plainly visible to all? It is when we have a secure sense of self and we know we are valued and respected in our context even when we bring our full selves to the table? Or...