Sermon: Biblical Transitions: To Whom Do You Belong? – Psalm 24
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
November 1, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
Today is All Saints Day. November 1 is the day on the church calendar when we remember the saints who have left us to be with the Lord. In the past year we said goodbye to two elders of this church Vi Vandruff and Lois Shultz. All Saints Day is also the day on the church calendar when we think about the present. Today we will say goodbye to each other as this is my final Sunday as your pastor. And All Saints Day is when we thick about the future. Next week you will celebrate the coming of a new pastor and the closer relationship you will have with the Filipino church.
Before I begin preaching this morning I would like to use this opportunity to thank some people in this church. First, I would like to thank the congregation for allowing me to be your pastor since August of 2007, right out of seminary as my first call. And I want to thank June and the group of women who meet every Wednesday for the coffee and cookies and conversation you gave me every week. And thank you to Bob and the Retreads for keeping this place so beautiful. Thank you to June and Donna and the Deacons of this church for your care for the shut-ins and the poor in our community. Thank you Laureen and Jon for the work of the Worship Committee as we continued the morning worship and launched new services at 3 and 5:30. Thank you Rosie and Vern for helping the immigrants coming to this church learn English and adapt to American culture. Thank you Cora, Cecile, David, Jon and the choir for your beautiful music at our worship services and special concerts. Thank you Ruth for our bulletins and newsletters. Thank you Judy and Dirk for meals and special events. Thank you Art for taking care of the churches finances and reports to presbytery. And thanks to all of you for welcoming Grace and me into your community.
This morning I will be completing my series of sermons on biblical transitions. And this is appropriate because my wife and I and this church are entering a transition today. The church is beginning a transition to my successor, Rev. Dr. Kyle Burch. And I am beginning a transition to a new church. Although God has not yet revealed my new church I know that God is at work and will reveal my new call shortly. And when that happens I will let you know where Grace and I wind up. But first let’s pray.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
Psalm 24:1-10 NRS Psalm 24:1
For the last month we have been looking at biblical transitions. We started with the transition of the people of God as they brought the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan into the Promised Land. God had the law which had governed their lives written down for them to observe as they settled in their new land and told them to be bold and courageous, to remember that God is always with you, and to have no fear. Then we saw how the people of God in the first century feared that they could no longer pray to God when they were no longer able to enter the temple, and the author of Hebrews assured them that Jesus Christ was their high priest and would continue to relay their prayers to God. And last week we read the letter to the exiles in Babylon from Jeremiah telling them to trust in God, live normal lives and pray for their oppressors. All of this constitutes biblical wisdom which we can use as we experience transitions in our lives.
In today’s scripture we see a joyous transition. The Ark of the Covenant representing the presence of God is being brought into Jerusalem. The people of God have transitioned from living in a loose federation of tribal states into a single nation led by King David with Jerusalem for its capital. The arrival of the Ark into Jerusalem indicated that God was the true king over this nation. And so this was a time of great celebration with singing and dancing and worship.
As the Ark started it journey to Jerusalem King David asked the people to remember that they were God’s people. And the God they worshiped was none other than the creator of the universe and their own creator. This meant that their God was the owner of the entire world and everything in it. And all the people of the kingdom of God belong not to themselves but to God.
So as we approach transitions in our lives we must remember that we too belong to God. We are not in control of our own lives. Rather we are God’s people and participants with God in the world that God has made. And the church is owned by God as well. No one here should think that they own this church. The session does not own the church. The presbytery does not own the church. The pastor certainly does not own this church. Nor does the congregation own this church. Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church is owned by God and will be used by God for God’s purposes. And each of you is owned by God and will also be used for God’s purposes. So as you experience transitions remember that you and the entire world belong to our loving God.
As the Ark neared Jerusalem King David asked the people of God if they were worthy to ascend the hill of Jerusalem to be in the presence of God. David told them that to be worthy to enter into the presence of God they must have clean hands and pure hearts. In other words all their works must be done for the glory of God, and these must be motivated by their love of God and their love for one another. This means that everything we do must be done for the glory of God out of our great love for God and our love for our neighbors in the Eagle Rock community. This is evident every Sunday as we satisfy the community’s hunger for the Word of God and the salvation of Jesus Christ as we worship together.
Our love of God requires that we worship and confess that our creator God is the only God. When we experience transitions in our lives we must never turn away from God and worship idols. We must not put our faith in money, or jobs, or government, or relationships, or education, or anything else that we might value more than God. We must always be motivated by our love of God and the command to love our neighbors. And this is why the church must continue it ministry at 5:30 because this is the only ministry of this church that reaches out to all people, regardless of income or wealth, to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. This is how this church obeys God’s command to love our neighbors.
When King David and the Ark of the Covenant arrived at Jerusalem he ordered the ancient gates of the city to be opened. He announced that the King of Glory had arrived to assume power over the nation. A voice from the city wall asked for the identity of this King of Glory. King David said that the King of Glory was none other than the Lord, God of Israel, who had led his people to victory over their enemies and blessed them with peace and prosperity as a mighty nation. The news that the Lord God of Israel had arrived in Jerusalem echoed throughout the city, and the gates were opened. The Ark of the Covenant was brought into the city and a great joyous festival erupted celebrating the presence of God with them. And this same joy and excitement is experienced by this church as it assembles in worship each Sunday. Three times each Sunday at 9:45, 3 and 5:30 we celebrate that fact that our God is here with us. This is why we worship joyfully welcoming our God right here in this sanctuary.
So the wisdom we have received from King David, which we can use whenever we face transitions, is to remember that we belong not to ourselves but to our God. We must keep ourselves holy during transitions remember that all we do is for the glory of God motivated by our love of God and our love for one another. And whenever we face transitions remember that in worship we come into the very presence of God and this gives us great joy and confidence so that we can approach transitions with boldness, confident that God is with us. So have no fear because whatever happens we always have Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest. And live your lives normally remembering to pray for those who anger you. If you follow this wisdom all transitions in you lives will go well with you and you will be richly blessed by our creator God.
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church has had a rich history and an exciting present, but what about the future. What will happen to us in the years ahead? The promise of scripture is that one day Christ will return and bring all of heaven with him to earth. There will be no more death, nor pain, nor suffering, nor mourning nor crying because this will be a time of great joy as God comes to live with us. We know this because Jesus Christ, who was present with God at creation, serves us today as our High Priest, and will one day make all things new. The table that is set before us today is offered as a foretaste of this new world. Here we encounter Jesus who wipes away our tears and brings us the joy of being in the presence of God. So let’s rejoice that God is with us and has plans for our glorious future.
Lord Jesus Christ we acknowledge your presence with us this day and ask that you lead us as our High Priest to this table and into the presence of God. We ask that you give us courage to boldly walk into our future without fear. We ask that you be with us as we lead our lives and lead us into the glorious future that was planned for us before creation. We love you O God and ask that you help us to love our neighbors here in Eagle Rock. We pray all of this in the name of our one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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