Sermon Acts 2:1-21 “Amazed and Perplexed”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church

Sermon Acts 2:1-21  “Amazed and Perplexed”

May 31, 2020

Order of Worship for Pentecost Sunday

Video of our Zoom Worship

Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and just ten days after his ascension to heaven his followers met in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem.  The group numbered 120, roughly the same size as the congregation here at Pittsgrove church.  They had been told by Jesus to go back there and wait.  

The great crowds that had followed Jesus in his ministry were gone.  They had expected Jesus to be the messiah and lead a military revolt against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.  They had seen his miracles and listened to him teach that the Kingdom of God was near.  But all this seemingly was not to be.  

The 120 followers of Jesus were filled with fear.  If they ventured into the world they might be arrested as followers of Jesus.  They might be ridiculed by others for continuing to believe in a rabbi who had been executed by the authorities.  They didn't know what to do.  Jesus had told them to wait.  They were stuck.  

As they waited they did the best they could.  They retold the stories of Jesus' life on earth.  They did what Jesus did and searched the Old Testament for clues about what his life, death, and resurrection were all about.  They broke bread and drank wine just as Jesus had told them to do.  And, of course, they elected officers and formed committees just like any church waiting for Jesus to return.

This should all sound pretty familiar.  We are still waiting for Jesus' return.  We gather each Sunday morning to retell the stories of Jesus and search the scripture for meaning.  Once a month we break the bread and drink the wine just as Jesus told us to do.  And, of course, we elect officers and form committees. The 120 or so Presbyterians here in Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church are not very different from the 120 followers of Jesus who met in that upper room.  Just like them, we fear to bring our faith into the community around us.  Just like them, we fear that we will be ridiculed and made fun of.  So we come to church on Sundays to break bread and worship but remain silent about our faith for the rest of the week.  We are just like the 120 who gathered in that room and like them, we need to pray.

Heavenly Father, we have gathered this morning, via Zoom, to remember all that you have done for us.   We sit here and wait for Jesus’ return.   We ask that you send your Holy Spirit to empower us to be your Son’s witnesses in our community.   This we pray in Jesus’ glorious name.  Amen.

So 120 people were sitting in an upper room waiting for something to happen.  All of sudden something did happen which changed everything.  It strengthened them and empowered them just Jesus had promised.  So what happened to this group of 120 followers of Jesus?  Just before Jesus ascended to heaven he made this promise.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

So the 120 people in that upper room were waiting to receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them.  And this power would allow them to be witnesses of all that Jesus said and did.  And as they were waiting this happened.  

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

Jesus kept his promise.  He sent the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples.   They were empowered to speak in other languages so that they could witness to all Jesus said and did throughout the world.  They were empowered to talk with people about their faith.  They were empowered to bring non-believers to Christ.  But did the disciples keep their end of the bargain?  Did they witness to the people in Jerusalem and from there to the entire world?  Here is what they did.

  4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Jesus’ disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit.   They did have the ability to witness to all that Jesus said and did.   The people in Jerusalem heard them and understood what they were saying.  But the thing they feared the most happened.  The Holy Spirit came and empowered them to proclaim the gospel to everyone regardless of language or ethnicity.   And when they did people made fun of them and called them drunks. 

         Isn't this our greatest fear?  If we leave church and witness to others sharing our faith and proclaiming the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sin,  aren't we afraid that we will be ridiculed, and made fun of?  Won't modern people call us stupid for believing in miracles?  Won't some people be offended if we say that Jesus is the only path of salvation and eternal life?  Won't the atheists try to stop us from proclaiming the gospel in the public square?  According to scripture, the answer is yes.  We will be ridiculed.  We will be made fun of.  We will be called stupid.  We may even be called drunk.  

          But if we are filled with the Holy Spirit none of this will matter because the Holy Spirit strengthens us and directs us.  With the Holy Spirit, we are empowered as witnesses of the resurrection of the Christ in spite of the ridicule we will receive.  With the Holy Spirit, we will leave this worship space and go into the world as courageous ambassadors of Christ and be the leading edge of the kingdom of God.

You can see all of this through the example of Peter.  Peter was just an illiterate fisherman.   On the night of Jesus' arrest, his courage failed when his sword was taken away and three times that night he fearfully denied that he even knew Jesus.  But just 50 days later,  Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit.  His fear was gone.  The ridicule didn’t affect him at all.  The possibility of arrest didn’t concern him.  He had that strength and courage that not even he would have expected.  And he did the most unexpected thing:  he proclaimed his faith in public.

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams.

18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

        and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show portents in the heaven above

    and signs on the earth below,

        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

20 The sun shall be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood,

        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

With boldness, Peter declared that the prophecy of Joel had been fulfilled.  The Holy Spirit of God had come into the world.  And now everything was about to change.  The Holy Spirit had come to transform the world into the Kingdom of God just as Jesus had promised.  The Spirit had begun by transforming 120 followers of Jesus into leaders of a movement that would change the world.

Last night we saw how much the world needs this transformation.   Evil seized American cities.  Peaceful protests turn into violent riots and police are seen battling protestors.   No amount of force can solve these problems.  Our only hope is that the Holy Spirit will come and we will see a revival.  Perhaps that revival will start with prayers here at Pittsgrove church.  

What if the Holy Spirit did the same thing with us that it did with the disciples?   What if the Spirit filled us with the ability to witness our faith in Jesus Christ?  What if the Spirit calmed our fears so that we could proclaim our faith even in the midst of ridicule?  What if the Spirit strengthened us to begin a transformation that would change the world?  All of this is possible if we allow the Holy Spirit to come upon us.

The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts through worship and daily practices of prayer and meditation on scripture.  Do these things and your fears will melt away.  Your faith will be strengthened.  Your hearts will be filled with God's Spirit.  You will pray for healing and people will be healed.  You will proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and promise eternal life to everyone you know.  Through your proclamation, people will come to Christ and the church will be full.  You will reach out to people of other ethnic groups and who speak different languages.  Your church will be united with one mind.  You will be able to withstand the evils powers at work in the world trying to stop you.  You will be able to do all of this because the Holy Spirit of God is in you and with you.

So I urge you today to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Dedicate yourselves to regular prayer, worship, and meditation on God’s word.  The Spirit will come upon you just as it did to those 120 followers of Jesus some two thousand years ago.  Through you, the Spirit will transform the world. 

  Let's pray.  Holy Spirit, on this Pentecost Sunday we pray that you enter this church just as you entered that upper room.  Fill us with the ability to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life with boldness.  And use this proclamation to bring people to belief in our Lord Jesus Christ so that more and more people will experience your transforming power.  This we pray in the name of the one who sent you, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Sermon Acts 1:6-14 “Devoted to Prayer”

Jeffrey T. Howard

Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church

Sermon Acts 1:6-14 “Devoted to Prayer”

May 24, 2020

Order of Worship for Ascension Sunday

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Report from the Finance Committee

Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection he took his disciples to the Mount of Olives and ascended to heaven.   The number forty in the Bible usually refers to the time of preparation.  Moses prepared himself to meet God and receive the Ten Commandments with forty days of fasting.   The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness preparing to enter the Holy Land.   And Jesus prepared for his ministry with forty days in the wilderness.   So for forty days Jesus was preparing his disciples for their ministry.

What is the ministry that the disciples were prepared for?   It was to take all they witnessed into the world.  But before they could do that they had to wait in Jerusalem and receive power from the Holy Spirit.   For ten days after Jesus’ ascension they waited.   What do you think they did for 10 days while waiting for empowerment?   They prayed.   We will get to this, but first let us pray.

Eternal Father, we come to you today as your disciples.   We are waiting for the empowerment of your Spirit so that we may take our knowledge of your resurrection into the world.   While we are waiting, please receive our prayers.   In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

Acts 1:4 While staying with them, he (Jesus) ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

They devoted themselves to constant prayer.  Jesus’ remaining disciples, some women, and his own family gathered back into the upper room to wait for the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the new empowerment that Jesus promised.  They went there to wait and to pray.  

    Prayer was important to the leaders of the new church.  They regularly went to the temple every afternoon for three-o-clock prayers.  As the demands of the church demanded more and more of their time, deacons were ordained for pastoral care so that the leaders could continue devoting themselves to prayer.   And new elders were ordained with much prayer and fasting.

    Grace and I pray every day.   We use the Daily Prayer App from the PCUSA.  Each day we read to each other the scripture readings from the Daily Lectionary.   We pray for our families and our churches.   I pray for each person in the church by name using your portrait directory as a guide.   And twice a week I send out, via email, a service of Daily Prayer and the scripture from the Daily Lectionary so that you may join us in prayer from the comfort of your home. 

Since women and men first walked on the earth prayer has been a part of our lives.  Our earliest ancestors sensed a mysterious power at work in the world.  The nature of this power was dimly understood.  But when famine or disease threatened to destroy their tribes they reached out to this power in prayer pleading for salvation.  

    Today all people sense this mysterious power beyond themselves.  We reach out to it with our most intense needs and desires.  When in trouble our natural response is prayer.  Yet we live in an age when results matter.  So when we pray we expect God to answer.  And if God fails to answer or if the answer is “no” then we are profoundly disappointed. 

Many people believe that praying is a way to get God to do something for them.  Prayer somehow changes God.  But as Christians we believe that prayer changes us.  When we pray our hearts are changed.  Prayer increases our self-understanding and molds us around God’s will. For Christians prayer is never centered on getting something rather it is always centered on God.  Our goal in prayer is to have a relationship with God.  This leads us to the first reason for prayer that our hearts may be filled with a “burning desire to seek, love, and serve God.”  

Too often we put off praying because we are too busy or too tired.  But these are just excuses.  Since prayer is our way of conforming ourselves to God’s will, the failure to pray is really a form of resistance to God.   When we cannot find time to pray we should realize that this is a sign of an inner conflict with God.  The temptation to not pray must be resisted.  Then as we pray we will experience a renewal of the sense of God’s presence in our lives.

As we pray we should make all of our needs and wants, all of our thoughts and feelings, known to God.   This forces us to examine our thoughts and desires carefully.  If you do not want to bring a thought or desire to God you should reconsider the appropriateness of that thought or desire.  Our thoughts and desires may change radically in prayer.  This leads us to the second reason for prayer “that there may enter our hearts no desire and no wish at all of which we would be ashamed to make God a witness.”  

Prayer is closely tied to self-examination.  This is why the Puritans who settled in American made self-examination a daily practice of confession.  It forces us to take a new look at ourselves and consider what we are doing with our lives.  Prayer changes us even if the change is undesired and unexpected.  

When we think about our lives we often focus on the negative.  We see what is wrong with ourselves and others.  But in prayer we take a second look and notice all of the blessings that God has given us.   This causes us to respond to God with thanksgiving.  Our consciousness is freed from the negative.  We are able to be thankful for the goodness of life even in the midst of our troubles.  This leads us to the third reason for prayer, “that we be prepared to receive God’s benefits with true gratitude of heart and thanksgiving.”  

Prayers of thanksgiving are an important feature of Black churches.  Frequently people in those congregations respond with exclamations like “Thank you Jesus” and “Yes, Lord”.  Their prayers are filled with praises of God.  Gratitude fills their hearts helping them deal with oppression and discrimination that has lasted for generations.  With prayers of thanksgiving we never take God’s blessings for granted.  We recognize that God is the source of everything we have, and we recognize God’s blessings every day.

In prayer we perceive all that God is doing for us.  As we respond in gratitude our hearts change.  Then we realize how much God truly loves us, hears our cries, and desires our well-being.    We begin to see answers from God for what we thought was unanswered prayer.  We respect God’s “no” when we realize that it has been given out of love.  And we develop the patience to wait for God’s answer in God’s own time.  This leads us to the fourth reason for prayer that, “being convinced that God has answered our prayers, we should be led to meditate upon his kindness more ardently.”  

We all know that we should pray, but praying is hard to do.  Everything around us tells us that prayer is unimportant.  We ask, “How can God make a difference in a world that obeys natural laws?”  We ask these questions because we forget who God is and what he has done for us in Jesus Christ who loves us and forgives all that we have done wrong.  Even if we think that prayer may be useless it still affects who we are because in prayer we realize that we are God’s beloved.  We are reminded of God’s grace.  And we rekindle our sense of the mysterious and otherness of God.

Prayer brings us into a relationship where we can trust God, the creator of the universe.  We also understand in prayer that Christ has joined us in our weakness.  By praying in Jesus’ name we are reminded that he stoops down to lift us up to the presence of God.  This act teaches us that we are dependent on God, and frees us from the necessity of depending only on ourselves.  We set aside our busyness and our workaholic ways to do nothing, to set ourselves quietly before God’s throne.  

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, they already knew what prayer was.  They had seen numerous examples in the Torah and in the Psalms.  They already understood that God meets our daily needs, forgives us, and will initiate a new kingdom.  What Jesus taught them was that they could approach God calling him “Our Father”.  

    So what have we learned today about prayer?  First of all, prayer creates within us a “burning desire to seek, love, and serve God.”  Second, we learned “that there may enter our hearts no desire and no wish at all of which we would be ashamed to make God a witness.” Third, “that we be prepared to receive God’s benefits with true gratitude of heart and thanksgiving.”  And fourth, “being convinced that God has answered our prayers, we should be led to meditate upon his kindness more ardently.” 

        In times past American political leaders have led us in prayer during crises.   On September 14, 2001, President George W. Bush went to the National Cathedral in Washington DC and said this, “We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.”  In this time of the coronavirus our leaders have not led us to pray.   Rather they tell us to stay at home and not go to church.   Social distancing has replaced prayer as our national response to crises.    I think we have lost an important part of what it means to be an American. 

I urge you to pray every day.  Select a time for daily prayer and honor God by always keeping that appointment.   Read some scripture.  Ask God any questions that you might have.   Offer up your feelings and thoughts.   And ask God for whatever you need.   Bask in God’s presence and receive his kindness.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, bless us with a burning desire to serve you in this world.  Purge from us all thoughts that dishonor you.  We thank you for all the ways you have blessed us.  Fill our minds with thoughts of your infinite kindness.  This we pray in you Son’s name in the power of your Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon 1 Peter 3:10-22 New Life in Baptism

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon 1 Peter 3:10-22 New Life in Baptism

Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church

May 17, 2020

All Thing Bright and Beautiful, Margaret Powers

Order of Worship for May 17

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Live Recording of Today's Worship Service

Today I will be concluding my series of sermons on the topic of new life as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  We have been looking at the Book of First Peter to see how we deal with the world around us in our new lives in Christ.  These lives are often difficult because we are changed by Christ into new creations, but we can rejoice in the midst of these difficulties because of all that Christ has done for us.  As Christ transforms us into new people, we find that we are able to love one another more fully.  Our new lives are not immune to pain and suffering, but through Christ, we experience the faith, hope, and love of God.  As new people, we are formed into new faith communities called the church.  And today we will see the victory of Christ over sin, as we are initiated into the fellowship of the church through the Sacrament of Baptism. We will get to all of this, but first, will you pray with me?  

Holy Spirit, come upon us and baptize us with faith, hope, and love.  Destroy the sin that clings so deeply to us.  Transform us into the image of God as we were created.  And bless us as God’s own people.  We pray this in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

1 Peter 3:10-22   10 For "Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit;  11 let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.  12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?  14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,  15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. 

Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;  16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.  17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil.  

18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,  19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,  20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of  Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 

21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

I was born here in New Jersey.  My parents lived in Collingswood and attended the Haddonfield Presbyterian Church.  Shortly after I was born, they presented me to the church for the Sacrament of Baptism.   At that time, the Rev. Dr. Bryant Kirkland was the pastor of that church.  He baptized me.   And for my entire life, I have heard from Dad about the great sermons that Dr. Kirkland preached.  Dad told me that if I was ever in New York City on a Sunday, I should stop into Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church to hear Dr. Kirkland where he served as Senior Pastor for twenty-five years.

Several decades later, I was driving past the National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC.   Their sign out front read, “Rev. Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland, Interim Pastor”.   Could this be the same preacher?   I had to find out.  So the next Sunday I was in worship at National Presbyterian Church.   After worship, I talked briefly with Dr. Kirkland.  He was the pastor who baptized me.  And I stayed at National Presbyterian Church for the next decade, until my ordination as a pastor.

Our new lives in Christ are sealed upon us in baptism.  We participate in Christ’s death and resurrection.  As we pass under the waters of baptism we die to the sin that separates us from God.  And then we are raised to new life in Christ, who died for us and was raised from the dead.  Baptism, therefore, points us forward to a glorious future where in our new lives we can fulfill God’s purposes.

The church baptizes disciples because we were commanded to do so by Christ himself who told us to go into the world and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  

Just as Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit in his baptism so too are we.  The anointing empowers us to do what Jesus commands us to do in a life of service to others and by forming inclusive worship where people from all the nations, who have come here to our community, can gather together in the presence of God where love, justice, and mercy abound.  

In baptism, the church is bound in a covenant relationship with God, our creator.  Symbolically we participate in the waters of God’s good creation, we are saved from the waters of Noah’s flood, and we pass through the parted waters of the Red Sea with Moses.  As the water of baptism flows down over our heads we are reminded of the prophecies of old who saw a day when justice would roll down like the waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream.  In baptism, we experience a new covenant of God’s grace and goodness.  In it Jesus is offered as the living water that leads us to eternal life.

The ancient Hebrews used circumcision as a sign of inclusion in God’s family.  So too is baptism a symbol of our inclusion in God’s covenant.  The waters of baptism are a sign of the faithfulness of God, the washing away of our sin, our rebirth into new life, and adoption into God's family.  We become members of the body of Christ unifying us with believers in every time and place.  We become one church where all barriers of race, gender, status, and age are transcended.  Divisions of nationality, history, and practice are overcome.

In baptism, we are sealed with the promises of scripture.  We receive God’s grace and God’s summons to respond.  We are called to repentance, faithfulness, and discipleship.  Baptism gives the church its identity, purpose, and mission to the world.  Baptism is a sign and seal of what God has already done.  It is effective even when we are not faithful because God is always faithful.  Baptism is the start of our new lives where God’s grace begins its work.  

For this reason, we baptize both believers and their children.  Just as God saved both Noah and his family from the flood so too are the children of believers saved from eternal death by our faithful God. The baptism of infants, like circumcision before it, is a sign of the covenant that God has already made with both the parents and the child and is a mark of their inclusion in the family of God.  It is a witness to the truth that God loves us before we can even respond.

Every time we see a baptism we are reminded that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was for us because just as water washes away dirt from the body so too does Christ’s blood wash away our sins.  Though this washing away of our sins by the blood of Christ we receive forgiveness from God through grace, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit and set aside for God’s purposes as the church.

Just as we worship one God there is one baptism.  Baptism only needs to be done once because of God’s grace, faithfulness, and love never need to be renewed.  In baptism, God’s covenant is permanently sealed upon us.  Therefore there is never a need for a second baptism.  In our church, we accept all baptisms done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Christ commanded us.  

Our church, as a part of the Church universal, has a responsibility to nurture those baptized into the Christian life.  That is why the session of this church must provide for Christian education for people of all ages.   When infants are baptized the church has a special responsibility to assist the parents in raising their children in Christian life.  Both the parents of the child and the church must promise to nurture and guide the child until he is ready to profess his own faith and assume responsibility of church membership.

When someone desires the Sacrament of Baptism for themselves or their children he must first profess his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, renounce evil, rely on God’s grace, and declare a desire to participate in the worship and mission of the church. A parent must declare his intent to provide for the Christian nurture of the child.    The congregation must profess that it will support and take responsibility for the nurture of those baptized.  And the pastor must thank God for God’s faithfulness, praise God for acts of reconciliation, and ask that the Holy Spirit attend and empower the baptism making the water a sign and seal of redemption and rebirth.

We must always remember that the author of baptism is God alone, not us.  We do not create sacraments only God does.  Baptism is a symbol that God has given us.  We find the meaning of this symbol in the pages of scripture.  In the Word of God, we find the faith which unlocks the meaning of the symbol.    As the church baptizes new disciples God works through the church so that, through the proper administration of the sacrament, members of the church will find God.  

God always acts through the sacraments even if the pastor does not administer them properly.  The true baptizer is not the minister but Jesus Christ himself.  And Jesus is the rock from which the holy water of baptism flows.

So if you have already been baptized I urge you to remember your baptism.  If you can’t remember yours then I urge you to remember baptisms you have seen.  Most of all remember what God has done for you in washing away your sin and bringing you to new life in Christ.  

If you have not been baptized, I can tell you that God loves you and if you turn toward him, God will wash away your sins.  You are invited by God to respond in obedience.  Pass through the baptismal waters as a sign and seal of your new life in Jesus Christ and be nurtured in a life of discipleship to Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, help us to go into our community to proclaim the good news that you have forgiven us and welcome us home as your people.  Place in the hearts of the people we talk to a desire to come to church for this good news to be sealed upon them in baptism and to be nurtured as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Amen.  

Sermon 1 Peter 2:2-10 “Building a Living Church”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon 1 Peter 2:2-10 “Building a Living Church”
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
May 10, 2020

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Today I will be continuing my sermon series from the book of First Peter as we look at the implications of our new lives that result from the resurrection of Christ from the dead.  We have already seen that even though we may find our new lives difficult we can rejoice because of all God has given us.  We have become new people who genuinely love one another.  And even in the midst of our suffering and sorrow, we are comforted by the faith, hope, and love of God.  Today we will see how God uses us in our new lives to form a spiritual community here on Earth called the church.  We will get to all of this, but first, let’s pray.

Father in heaven, help us today to drink the spiritual milk of your Holy Word.  Build us into a spiritual temple where we can offer to you our praises and prayers.  And by your grace adopt us as your people.  We pray this in the name of Christ, the cornerstone of our faith.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:2-10  2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation--  3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.  4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and  5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  6 For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."  7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,"  8 and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

When I was young my favorite toy was a bunch of plain wooden blocks.  They came in several sizes and you could stack them in many different ways.  They came from my grandmother and I think my father may have played with them too.  They were unpainted and could be stacked together to form many different things.  I don’t know where they are now, but I still think about them because this is the way God thinks about the church.  God sacks one block upon another until his creation of the church is finished.  We are blocks and the church universal is the spiritual temple that God is building.

As Christians, we are nurtured by the Word of God.  Scripture is what gives us life and hope.  Reading and meditating on the Bible transforms us into holy people. We get a taste of Jesus and want more, much more.  Many Americans conclude that since reading the Bible brings them closer to God and since reading the Bible can be done alone there is no need for corporate worship.  They attempt to develop their own spirituality without going to church.  So we see church membership declining at the same time we see sales of Christian books and Bibles increasing.  People are trying to find God in solitary reading rather than communities of faith.

But the Apostle Peter tells us that God has a different idea.  God wants to use the people to whom he has given new life to build a spiritual temple built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  Peter is not talking about a church building of brick and cement.  Rather he sees that God is building a spiritual temple of all the believers in the world with Jesus Christ at the head, the cornerstone.  As people with new lives, we are part of this new temple because we are the building blocks that God has used to make it.  We are living stones.  Each of us is a part of God’s overall creation of the church of Jesus Christ.

In this spiritual temple, we are the priests who offer up to God sacrifices of praise, prayer, and thanksgiving.  This is what we call “worship”.  We find Jesus in the Word of God and respond with prayers of joy and praise.  Since it is impractical for all believers in the world to praise God in the same place and at the same time, we form individual churches in neighborhoods like Daretown, where we join together as living stones into the spiritual temple.  We taste Jesus in scripture and sing the praises of God in worship.

Being a part of this spiritual temple is a benefit of our new life which comes to us through our belief in Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  Christ is the foundation of the temple.  The whole weight of the building rests on him.  Those who believe in Christ are built by God upon this foundation into a spiritual temple.  The strength of the walls of the temple is determined by our faith.  Therefore it is only through our faith in Jesus Christ that we are given new lives and formed by God into a spiritual temple called the church universal.

But what about all the people who do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and thus reject Christ as their living Lord and Savior?  Are they part of this spiritual temple?  Peter says no.  Anyone who does not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ does not receive new life and will not be part of the spiritual temple erected by God.  Jesus Christ is the foundation of the temple, but he is also the stone of judgment.  Believers are living stones built upon this foundation, but the nonbelievers, who reject Christ, find this solid foundation a stumbling block.  A belief in Jesus Christ is required for new life and participation in the spiritual temple of God.

This belief, in the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ for a new life, creates problems for us in our culture.  In America today, we live in a pluralistic land where people have the freedom to worship as they choose.  We have the right to reject the message of Christ, worship in our own way, and believe whatever we choose to believe. Our culture values tolerance and peaceful coexistence.  Christians are often accused of being intolerant because of our belief that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.  But we are not being intolerant of others.  Rather we believe that Christ is the only way because of the historical fact of his resurrection from the dead.  We, therefore, know that what the Bible claims is true and that it provides us with the spiritual milk which brings us closer to God.

As attendance in the mainline church declines, there has been a move to water down our message.  Our music and sermons are often designed not to offend anyone.  We don’t want anyone to complain.  Sermons are filled with lots of stories about daily life but say little about the requirements of the gospel to believe and live a holy life.  We form seeker services that are long on entertainment and short on the requirements of following Jesus.  We don’t want to seem judgmental or intolerant so we design worship services that will please as many people as we can.  Our goal is for everyone to have a good time in church.

But after a generation or two of watering down the gospel, I believe that there is now a real thirst in America for genuine, authentic spirituality.  People hunger for nutritious spiritual food that will satisfy their desire to reach God.  People long for a word from God they can believe.  They desire to be part of a larger plan and to be used for something bigger than themselves.  They have a desire for authentic worship of their creator.  This is the great opportunity for the church today: to proclaim the really good news of new life as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to watch as God builds those with new lives into a spiritual temple filled with praise and worship.

God has chosen us, believers, to be his priests, set aside for his purposes, in this spiritual temple.  This is a high honor for us because it allows us to both worship and serve God.  We are permitted to offer to God a sacrifice of our own lives by denying ourselves and following Jesus Christ as our Lord.  We do this with prayers, thanksgiving, tithes, and service to the church.  God uses our service as holy priests to build us into the church not because of our own efforts, but because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  We are called to give glory to God.

So if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ then you are still in darkness.  You are not yet receiving the benefits of a new life in Christ.  You are not yet formed into a spiritual temple.  So I urge you to taste, just taste, a little of the spiritual nourishment that is provided to you as you read the Bible.  This will bring you to belief in Jesus Christ your Lord and will enable God to give you new life.  Then you will be formed into a spiritual temple with Christ at the foundation where you will be ordained as holy priests to offer up to God yourselves in worship and receive, by God’s grace, his glory and honor.  Make that decision today to read the Bible daily and come to church every Sunday, so you will come to believe in Jesus Christ and be built into the wonderful spiritual temple that God is creating.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we come to you as believers in your son.  We have tasted the spiritual milk that you have provided us in your Holy Word and found that it is good.  Transform us into new lives and build us into a spiritual temple where we can worship and glorify you in our prayers and praises.  We pray all of this in the glorious name of Jesus.  Amen.

Sermon 1 Peter 2:18-25 “Living the New Life”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon 1 Peter 2:18-25 “Living the New Life”
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
May 3, 2020

Prelude - Give Thanks - Margaret Powers and Nick Mercado

Order of Worship

Anthem - Just a Closer Walk - Nick Mercado, solo, Margaret Powers, piano

Watch a video of this sermon.

Today I will be preaching my third in a series of sermons on our new lives in Christ as told to us by the Apostle Peter.  Two weeks ago we saw that we can rejoice even though our new lives can make things difficult for us because of the gifts we receive from Christ.  Last week we looked at how, in this new life, Christ transforms us into people who genuinely love one another.  Today we will look at how in our new lives we are comforted in times of suffering and sorrow by the faith, hope, and love of God.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

Father in heaven, I ask for blessings to pour down upon this church.  Send your faith, hope, and love to us as we endure these times of suffering and sorrow.  Send your Spirit to comfort us. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 2:18-25  18 Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.  19 For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.  20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval.  21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.  22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."  23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.  24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.  25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your soul.

You walk past a beautiful mahogany table that you purchased when you first got married.  You remember your kids as they grew up around this table.  But you just got back from the hospital after visiting your wife.  While at the hospital your daughter told you that it is time for both of you to move to a retirement home to receive assistance in living.   You wonder what will happen to this table when you leave your home.

You answer the phone and it is your son.  His cancer has returned.  There are new symptoms and the doctors are not sure what to do.  All you can think of doing at a time like this is to sit down and pray to God who has sustained you in the past.

You are sitting in your favorite chair in the home where you have lived for over sixty years.  You are watching a blank television because someone has misplaced the remote control and you have no idea where it is.  You look around the room and everything looks unfamiliar.  You become frightened that you have been taken somewhere.  So you pick up the phone and call the only number you remember and tell the church’s answering machine that you need help because you don’t know where you are.

You eat dinner with a sense of dread.  You hope that you can keep the food down.  Sometimes you can.  But you know that usually, an hour or so after dinner, you will run to the bathroom in incredible pain.  The doctors don’t know what is going on.  Thankfully you have a church that will pray for you.

You have been homeless for years.  You and your wife have been living in a tent behind a church for a long time.  Your wife is sick and was taken to the hospital.  You need to know how she is doing.  But when you call from a payphone they will not accept collect charges.  You are desperate to know how she is doing.

Rarely does a day pass by when I do not pray for someone who is suffering.  I keep a list of prayers for the church and pray your prayers every morning. I pray for healing for those who are sick.  I pray for discernment for those facing difficult decisions.  I pray for relief for those who suffer.  Sometimes I pray and the person I pray for gets better.  But often I pray for someone and watch that person get worse.  Prayer is not magic.  There are no guarantees, only hope.  This hope comes from our faith in Jesus Christ, who does heal the sick and relieves suffering, but sometimes Jesus works in surprising ways.

The Rev. Craig Barnes tells a story about a woman with crippling arthritis.  He met her at a prayer service where she walked down the aisle to ask for prayers of healing.  Rev Barnes prayed for her.  A few months later she returned with a cane and knelt down as he prayed for healing again.  The following year she returned in a wheelchair and the pastor and elder knelt down to pray for her. When they finished praying they saw a giant smile on her face.  She said “He is merciful, Pastor.  Thank God he has healed my heart which was so crippled with anger. At long last, I am a free woman.”  The pastor learned that day an important lesson: healing is not just about the body, it is about the heart as well.  It wasn’t until this woman’s body stopped working that her heart was healed and started to work.

The Apostle Peter knew that people in his churches were suffering.  The wild enthusiasm that had accompanied the resurrection was beginning to wear off.  Now there were ordinary people leading ordinary lives that included suffering disease, and death.  And they were asking what new life means in their situations.  And this is the same question we ask.  Peter said that we are blessed whenever we suffer because we know that God is here with us.  God is the good shepherd who finds us when we are lost and binds up our wounds.  And God knows when our suffering is undeserved and we are still able to maintain our faith.   God loves you in your suffering just as he loved his own son in his suffering on the cross.  Our calling is to follow Jesus even to our own suffering on our cross.  God knows this and loves us in our suffering.

When we suffer we can rest in the comfort of God.  We know that our suffering has nothing to do with anything we have done in our lives.  Jesus already took the punishment for our sins on his own body on the cross.  So for us, suffering is not a punishment for sin.  Rather suffering is an opportunity for us to experience God in a new and exciting way.  In suffering, we develop faith by our experience of God’s love for us and develop hope in a glorious future with new life.  All of this comes to us by the grace of God.

When we experience suffering our faith grows.  By faith, I don’t mean just belief in the existence of God.  Rather I am talking about faith in a particular kind of God.  We discover that we have a God who meets us in our pain.  Even in the midst of our pain and sense of loss, we are aware of the presence of God.  God’s Spirit has come to comfort us.  This helps us to form not just an intellectual faith in a transcendent God but an emotional faith in an immanent God.  We find in our experience of God a God who loves us dearly and fills us with great hope

We find that this hope is far more than just wishful thinking.  Wishful thinking is all that those, outside of Christ, have.  But we experience that our hope is in something real and tangible.  Our hope rests in God’s faithfulness to his promises.  We begin to look at suffering not as a time of imprisonment but as a time of preparation for something new.  We start to trust God who leads us into an uncertain future.  In suffering, we have a personal experience of the reality of God and God’s steadfast faithfulness. And most of all we experience an overflowing of God’s love.

The love we experience in times of suffering comes from God.  This passes from God through faithful believers to us.  We experience God’s love through the love of the people around us.  Suffering gives other people opportunities to show compassion and grace in many different ways.  We experience God’s love through the love of our friends and family who comfort us during our times of need.  When we need God’s love the most God makes that love available to us through the incarnational love of those with new life.  And God’s incarnational love is expressed through communities of faith, churches when it is needed most.

In suffering, we experience our own pain, grief, and loss, but we also experience God’s faithfulness, hope, and love.  God too has experienced all of these emotions when his son Jesus Christ died on the cross.  Jesus experienced the pain of dying.  But he also experienced the great faithfulness, hope, and love of his Father.

In a few moments, we will be praying for each other.  This is the most important thing that we do as a church.  As we pray for each other let pray for healing.  Let us also expand our prayers to include a request that God sends faith, hope, and love.  And let us be a people of genuine mutual love as we care for those in our congregation who are in need.

Father in heaven I pray for healing for the people in this congregation and for the healing of their friends and family who are suffering.  Comfort them with your presence.  Fill them with your faithfulness, hope, and love.  Transform us into your people who can bring your love to those who are in need.  We pray this in the name of Jesus who suffered on a cross for us. Amen.