Sermon – Isaiah 43: 1-7 – Loved By God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Isaiah 43: 1-7 – Loved By God

Baptism of the Lord

January 13, 2013

Today is the Sunday when we remember the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John. This marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry. John's baptism was about repentance for the forgiveness of sin. But Jesus was sinless, the perfect Son of God, and therefore had no need to repent of his sins. Something else was going on there. We will see what God was trying to tell us, 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)

This is our seventh week together looking at some of the Old Testament prophets. Jeremiah, Malachi, Zephaniah, Micah, and Isaiah have all told us then whenever we have fallen into despair we rest in the assurance and hope that God will send a redeemer. Time and again the people of God saw their families killed, their homes and farms destroyed, their cities and temple reduced to rubble. They must have asked: Why did these bad things happen? Why does God allow bad things to happen to us?

This question is always on the lips of people who have experienced great loss. A loved one dies and we ask: Why? The doctor diagnoses our fatigue and says our liver is failing, and we ask: Why? We loose the job that has supported our family for decades and we ask: Why? Why, God, do you let bad things happen to your people?

The prophets are quite clear about this. It's not God's fault. God does not want bad things to happen to you, but they do. Sin has so warped God's creation that bad things happen all the time. And God's response when bad thing occurred is not to prevent them, but to send a redeemer to rescue us. Preventing all bad things from occurring is not part of God's character. But being with us, protecting us and redeeming us is. God does not stop the fiery furnace or the flood. But God is with us in the fire and flood and will rescue us. God did not prevent the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah and the exile of his people to Babylon. But he was with his people in exile and sent King Cyrus of Persia to redeem them. God is our insurance policy who does not prevent the car accident, but will get you a rental while your car is being fixed.

We should pause for a moment and consider the astonishing fact that the creator of world is so concerned about each one of us that he is with us and redeems us from all evil. Isn't it amazing the our creator God chooses to be with us when we experience the grief of losing a loved one? Isn't it remarkable that God wants to comfort us when we are sitting in the doctor's office getting the bad news? Isn't it incredible that God wants to strengthen us when we are dealing with something that overwhelms us? Why would the creator of the universe be concerned about you or me? The answer to this comes from the Prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 43:1-7 ^NIV Isaiah 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. ³ For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. ⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. ⁶ I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- ⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

The creator God who is so concerned about us that he will send a redeemer to drag us out of the pit does so because he loves us. Scripture teaches us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8 and 16). And if this is true then our creator God needed someone to love because love is always in relationship with another. So if God is love, then God needed someone to love. And so God created you and me to love. We were created so that God would have people to love. His Son who redeems us and his Spirit who strengthens and comforts us are all expressions of that love.

God' love is absolute. His promise is to do whatever it takes, pay any price, to redeem us from evil. God demonstrated his great love for us by sending son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus is the redeemer who paid with his life for our sins. And if God loves us so much that would send his only Son for us, what is our response? If God loves us, what should we do? The answer from scripture is that we should love one another. We should love God. And if we, the church, love one another then the world will see God in us because God is love. God demonstrated this love in giving up his own life on the cross. God was willing to sacrifice his own Son to redeem us from slavery to sin. And so our love for God must be total, without reservation. We are to love God with all of our hearts, soul and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

We see all of this in Jesus' baptism. You heard these words from Luke. “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22) We know from this that God and Jesus are bound together in love. And the chord that binds the Father and Son together in love is the Dove, the Holy Spirit. This is why baptism is so important. When we pass through the baptismal waters heaven opens and God's says “you are the one I love”.

Listen to what scripture says about God's love for us and our love for God:

Exodus 34:6 God (is) slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 7:9 He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Deuteronomy 7:12 God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.

Deuteronomy 30:16 I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands.

Psalm 42:8 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me

Psalm 48:9 ⁹ Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

Psalm 136:26 ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Luke 10:27 Love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 5:5 God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:28 In all things God works for the good of those who love him,

Romans 8:39 - 9:1 (Nothing) in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 13:11 God of love and peace will be with you.

Ephesians 2:4-5 Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ.

Ephesians 5:2 Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

All of this is a great mystery. God, the creator of the universe loves us and wants us to love him and to love one another. All this happens because we believe in a God who is love and created us as objects to love. He loves us so much that he gave his only son to pay for our sins. And when we pass though the baptismal water he calls us his beloved.

Thank you dear Lord, for loving us. Your character is love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are bound together by love. You created us as people so that you would have something to love. And so we love you in return. Help us to love you and love one another just as you have commanded us. Amen.

Sermon - Isaiah 60:1-6 - Be Radiant

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - Isaiah 60:1-6 - Be Radiant

Epiphany

January 6, 2013

Time never stops. Just as 2012 became 2013 last week so too does the church calendar keep moving. We have completed our celebration of our savior's birth. Today we celebrate Epiphany, the appearance of God on Earth. Traditionally the church has associated this day with the visit of the Magi, and the coming of Gentiles, non-ethnic Jews to belief in Jesus. In Jesus Christ, God has offered his son not just for the children of Abraham but to everyone on earth. And this is really good news. We will get to this, 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)

Towards the end of the sixth century before Christ the people of God were returning to Jerusalem after 40 years of exile in Babylon. The Babylonian empire had been crushed and Persia was the new power in town. King Cyrus of Persia told the Hebrews that they could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their city and their temple. Some of them preferred to stay in Babylon where they had built homes, farms and businesses. But many returned to their homeland to begin the rebuilding.

When they arrived in Jerusalem they found people living there. The city had been reduced to rubble by the Babylonians, and people were trying to eek out whatever life they could on top of a pile of rocks. The Babylonians had left behind in Jerusalem anyone they didn't want. So the poor, the sick, the aged, and the disabled were left to fend for themselves for forty years. The Jews coming home from exile also found aliens in their land. These people had come there as refugees from the wars of the sixth century. Some had brought their own pagan religions. Some aliens had begun worshiping God.

Many of the returning Jews wanted nothing to do with these people. They were poor, disabled and many were not even descendants of Abraham. Some had even been castrated to serve in the Imperial Government. So they were excluded from the religious and social life of the community. The returning Jews would live in gated communities and worship God by themselves. They thought that if they maintained their Sabbaths and fasted that God would bless them. But God was not happy with this and he sent a prophet to tell them what to do. And we have the writings of this prophet in the Book of Isaiah, chapters 56-66. Let's begin.

Isaiah 56:1-7 ^NIV Isaiah 56:1 This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. ² Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." ³ Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree." ⁴ For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-- ⁵ to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. ⁶ And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-- ⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

So God demanded radical inclusiveness. They must not exclude believers from other countries simply because they are not descendants of Abraham. They must not exclude believers who had served the imperial government simply because their bodies had been mutilated. All who believe in God, including the alien and the eunuch, must be admitted into the assembly if they believe in God and obey his commands. The temple that was to be built in Jerusalem would be known as a “House of Prayer for all Nations.”

The returning exiles thought they could hide behind their worship and fasting and still be able to cheat people in business and to not care for the poor. They would worship in the synagogues in Friday evenings and fast when they were told to, but when the sun rose of Sunday morning they could take away someone's home or farm on some technicality and ignore a hungry beggar on the streets. The prophet put it this way.

Isaiah 58:3-7 ³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. ⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. ⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? ⁶ "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

So inclusiveness was not the only thing God wanted. God wanted all people to receive justice and for the poor and needy, and the widows and orphans to receive what they needed. God demanded justice and righteousness for all people. But the returning exiles ignored what God wanted and fell into sin.

Isaiah 59:2-9 ² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. ³ For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. ⁴ No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. ⁵ They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. ⁶ Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. ⁷ Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. ⁸ The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace. ⁹ So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. 

We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

So what's the solution to all this? Will we live darkness forever? We will unless a redeemer comes.

Isaiah 59:20-21 ²⁰ "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. ²¹ "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.

The Glory of God will come and when we see it our sins will be forgiven and we will be free to welcome the outsider in our congregation, to act justly in all our dealings and to care for the poor. And so the prophet commands us.

^NIV Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. ² See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. ³ Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. ⁴ "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. ⁵ Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. ⁶ Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.

Five hundred years later the Glory of God had come to house in Bethlehem. Magi from a far off country saw God's Glory light the heavens. They came to Jesus bearing gold and incense and praising God. Today the Glory of God is here with us on this Epiphany Sunday. And we are not ethnic Jews, descendants of Abraham. We are aliens who have benefited from the radical inclusiveness of the church. We are called to be a people of justice, treating others as we would want to be treated. We are called to be a people who cares for the poor in our community and around the world. And like the wise men who visited Jesus we bring our gifts to advance God's mission on Earth.

Let us pray. Father in heaven let your light shine on us this day. Help us to be the people we were created to be not just in worship but every day of our lives. Forgive our sin and lead us to new life. Help us to do your will on earth as in heaven. Amen.

Sermon - Micah 5: 2-5 – Live Secure

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - Micah 5: 2-5 – Live Secure

Christmas 1

December 30, 2012

We are now in the season of Christmas. We are putting away presents, sending thank you notes, and taking down the tree. But for many of the Christians in the world the festivities are just starting. In the Christian calendar Christmas starts on December 25^th and lasts for twelve days culminating with the giving of gifts on the eve of the Feast of Epiphany on January 6. And if a popular song from the 18^th Century is any guide today, the sixth day of Christmas is the time when your true love will give to you six geese a-laying and so on. This is a glorious and joyful time. And we need to thank God for all the blessings we have received. But not everyone is having a joyful time. Not everyone is feeling blessed right now. There are real problems in the world. So we need a savior as much as ever. And since we have already heard from Jeremiah, Malachi, Zephaniah, and Isaiah we rejoice because we know a savior is coming. Let us 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)

Sometime in the last decade of the first century before Christ a group of astronomers arrived in Jerusalem. They had seen something in the heavens that indicated that a new king of the Jews had been born. They assumed that this would be a political king so they went to the king's palace for a meeting with King Herod. They knew when the messiah would be born from the stars. But they didn't know where this would take place. King Herod wanted to know where this was happening so he directed his own scholars to search the ancient records to see if this location could be determined.

The most learned men of Judah began searching the ancient scrolls. Nowhere in Jeremiah, Malachi, Zephaniah or even Isaiah was the information they sought to be found. So they went to an old scroll of one of the prophets from 800 years before, the scroll of the prophet Micah. And what they read there must have terrified them.

As they read the scroll they must have realized the Judah in the 8^th century before Christ was experiencing a disaster. The coalition which had allowed the kingdoms of Syria, Israel and Judah to prosper had fallen apart. And the Assyrians were taking full advantage of the situation. Damascus fell to the Assyrian army as did Samaria. And Jerusalem was next. The Assyrian army destroyed farms and fortified cities in the Judean country side. The only reason Jerusalem was spared destruction was that King Ahaz of Judah payed a large tribute to the King of Assyria.

The effect of all this was a disaster. With the farms destroyed there was no harvest that year. There was no food for the people to eat at the very moment that a large number of refugees were pouring in from the north. People were hungry. Starvation was right around the corner. In this desperate condition what could they do? They needed God to do something. They needed a savior.

It was at this time that God sent a message to a prophet in a most unlikely place. His name was Micah and he lived in a rural farming village in the southwest corner of the country. He brought this message from God to Jerusalem. But when he arrived in the capitol he was shocked by what he saw. Government officials were taking bribes. Priest demanded money for performing sacrifices. Even prophets would say whatever you wanted to hear for a price. Micah saw that people were foreclosing on mortgages on family farms throwing people out of their ancestral homes. Greed was their god. No one in Jerusalem was caring for the poor and the needy. No one in Jerusalem was caring for the widow, the orphan or the homeless. And so Micah realized that God could not use Jerusalem to save his people from starvation. A new leader, a savior, was needed to feed the people of Judah like a shepherd feeds his flock. But where would this savior come from?

Jerusalem was the political capitol of the nation, but Bethlehem was its bread basket. Bethlehem literally means “House of Bread”. The area around Bethlehem was a rich agricultural region that could feed the nation. So a farmer, a shepherd like David, from Bethlehem was needed to feed the hungry people of Judah. God put it this way speaking through the mouth of the prophet Micah.

² "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." ³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. ⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. ⁵ And he will be their peace.

The first century scholars in Jerusalem read all of this in the ancient scroll. They realized that the messiah, the Christ, the anointed one the magi were looking for had come to Bethlehem. God had sent a new king not to Jerusalem where David reigned, but to Bethlehem where David was a shepherd. The messiah would not be a political and military ruler. Rather he would be a shepherd who would feed his people.

This was not good new to King Herod. He conspired to destroy the messiah by killing all the boys in Bethlehem two years and younger. But God had something else in mind. He sent the magi to Bethlehem with gifts for Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. These gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh where just what the family needed to flee Judah into Egypt as refuges fleeing the wrath of Herod. God had provided this young family with the money they needed to buy food and survive in a foreign country.

And so the prophecy of Micah has been fulfilled. Our savior has come to Bethlehem. This savior is not a military and political ruler like David the King. Instead he is like David the Shepherd tending his flock, making sure they are fed. And this is good news for us because we have a savior who cares for us. He is our good shepherd. The Psalmist put it this way.

Psalm 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

But the promise of God as spoken through the prophet Micah is that our savior is not just for us. Rather he has come to save the whole world. He has come to restore the covenant with Abraham that

“all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3) And so to completely fulfill the prophecy of Micah, Christ established his church as a blessing for the world. So we are now the shepherds for a hungry world. We are to care for the poor and needy. We are to care for the widow and orphans. We are to feed the hungry of the world. But this job is too big for us. How can we do it? The only hope the world has is that God will be their shepherd working through us to bless them.

So like the wise men who visited Jesus we need to bring gifts out of the abundance that God has given us and join together with churches around the world to bless the people who need a savior. We live securely here in American. Let us use our resources to help others live as securely as we do. And when the people of the world live securely there will be peace on earth because people who have been blessed do not have to use force to get what they need. So be an instrument of peace and help others to live in security. Let us pray.

^{Lord Jesus, we come to you this day just as the magi did when you were a young child. We bring our gifts to you just as they did. Use our gifts to help others live securely. And though us bring the blessings peace upon the world. This is our Christmas prayer. Amen.}