Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 2

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 2
Presbyterian Church of Easton
January 20, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.  14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

Paul begins his letter with gratitude for all the ways God has blessed his ministry.   He is thankful that God has given the Roman community the gift of faith.   And he is thankful that news of this faith in Christ, in the Roman church, has spread throughout the world.   

Rome is the capital of a vast empire and Christianity is spreading rapidly throughout that empire.  For all of this Paul is very thankful.  But Paul has been unable to visit because Jews had been expelled from Rome.   Only now with the edict lifted may Paul go there.

Then Paul describes the nature of his ministry.   It is based on his own spiritual growth which has occured because of the spiritual disciplines of preaching and  praying.  The content of his preaching is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   His prayers are for Christians around the world, and for opportunities to preach the Gospel in new places, like Rome.   Paul specifically is praying that he will be able to visit the Roman Church, a church he did not start and has yet to visit.

The reason Paul wants to visit the Roman Church is so that they may encourage each other.   When Paul visits the Roman church he will bless them with his preaching and prayers.   The church will bless Paul with stories of how their faith has grown as they serve people in their own communities.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father we pray for the Christians in this church that they will be blessed by my preaching and prayers.   Help us Lord to encourage one another in our time together.   We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.   

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 1

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Grace and Peace Episode Season 2 Episode 1

Presbyterian Church of Easton

January 23, 2022

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Book of Roman begins with the usual beginning for a 1st century letter, “A sends B greetings”.   In this case the Apostle Paul is sending a letter to a Gentile who belongs to Christ.   So in a way Paul is writing this letter to us.  

Paul begins by identifying who he is.   He was called to be an apostle.   Jesus himself called him to discipleship by appearing to him in a blinding light leading to Paul’s conversion.   Paul also claimed to be set apart, for the gospel of God.   This refers to his task.   He is to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Messiah himself who rose from the dead and as a result we receive forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life.  

The way that Paul will proclaim this gospel of God is by showing that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.  Paul identifies Jesus as being both a descendant of King David, proved by his virgin birth, and the son of God, proved by his resurrection from the dead.   He therefore refers to this Jesus as “Jesus Christ our Lord”.  This has important implications for us.  If we claim to be followers of Jesus, then we are called to be obedient to his teaching.  We are called to be saints, holy ones.  We have to do what Jesus tells us to do.   He is our Lord.   

And we have certain benefits from all this.  We receive grace, saving grace, so that our sins will not block our pathway to heaven.  We also receive apostleship and are sent out to proclaim the gospel of God to bring more people to saving faith in Jesus Christ.  Why do we do all of this.   Because God loves us and we receive grace and peace.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us with your love, grace and peace.  We are grateful that you have adopted us as your children and called us to obedience.  Amen.

Sermon Matthew 6:33 “Single-Mindedness”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Matthew 6:33 “Single-Mindedness”
January 30, 2022

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We are continuing today with our look at spiritual practices.  These are things we do which help us to grow spiritually.   We become more and more like Jesus.   So far we have looked at two very important spiritual practices, worship and Bible study.  These are things you do here at church.   And you must do all of these.   You worship God by attributing supreme worth to him.   And as you study the Bible the Holy Spirit works in you.  So worship and Bible study must be the starting point of your spiritual transformation.  Today we turn to a spiritual practice that will take you to the next level.   This is “Single-Mindedness.  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)

In the ancient world, their worst nightmare was to be on the water, alone and in the dark.   They had no radio, no radar, no GPS, no clock and sextant, nothing that would allow them to navigate on the sea.   They had to keep within sight of the shore.  If they were blown by the wind out past the horizon they were doomed.   And if it was dark they had no way of getting home.   This fear of water can clearly be seen in the second verse of the Bible.  

Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep”.   

Being alone on the sea in the dark was frightening.  And their worst fears were realized when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights and the Lord said,  

Genesis 6:7 ...“I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”   

The people had stopped following God.   They had gone their own way abandoning their own creator, all except for Noah, a righteous man who walked with God.   Noah followed God.  He obediently built a boat.   And his family was saved from the flood.  

This is an important principle.   If we single-mindedly focus on Jesus then he will save us from what we fear.    We have to focus on Jesus when we make decisions.   We have to focus on Jesus when we set priorities.  We have to focus on Jesus in everything we do.  And Jesus will save us from our fears.

The prophet Jonah had a problem with this.   He knew that God was sending him as a missionary to Nineveh, the capital city of the hated enemy, the Assyrians.   Jonah did not want this calling.   So he decided to ignore God and go the other way.   And Jonah experienced an even greater fear, the sea.  

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.  4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

So Jonah took his eyes off God.    He did not focus on God in making decisions and setting priorities.  He did not consider God in everything that he did and so he suffered the consequences.

The world we live in was created by God.   If we focus single-mindedly on God in making our decisions and setting priorities, and in everything we do, then God will bless us.   But if we turn our backs on God and go our own way then we will, like Jonah, suffer the consequences.  

So if Jonah had focused on God, what would have happened?   Would God have saved him from the violent storm?   Or would he still be tossed into the sea?   To answer this question, let’ consider this story of some men who focused on God in the midst of a storm.

Matthew 4:37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Jonah took his eyes off God and was tossed off a boat into the sea during a violent storm.   But the disciples focused on Jesus during a storm and the winds became still.  If we focus single-mindedly on Jesus in everything we do, in all our priorities and decisions the storms of our lives will be calmed and we will live in peace.

Of course, we all have many worries in our lives.   We worry about aging and health.   We worry about jobs and finances.  We worry about families and the church.   We worry about lots of things.   But if we focus single-mindedly on Jesus our worries go away.  Jesus put it this way:

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

So Jesus does not want us to worry.   He wants us to be confident and enjoy the life he has given us.  And so he points out the obvious fact that human beings are the only things in all creation who worry.    And Jesus gives us some practical advice to keep from worrying.  Here is what he said:

Matthew 6:33  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

The vaccine for worry is to single-mindedly focus on Jesus.   We make Jesus Lord of our lives.   In worship  and Bible study we find out what Jesus wants us to do.  And we do it.   And the benefit of following Jesus and doing what he wants you to do is that you will be freed from worry.  

We see a wonderful example of this in the Book of Acts

Acts 27:27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[a] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[b] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[c] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 

31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

Paul was a prisoner on a ship on his way to Rome.   The winds were against them.  The crew worried that they would sink.   But Paul was able through worship and Bible study to know the will of God.   And he sensed that God wanted them to stay on the boat.   He told them that Jesus wanted them to stay in the boat.   The crew obeyed Jesus and followed him as lord.  Then Paul led them in worship.

Acts 27:33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.

So they engaged in worship through the bread of communion.   They gave thanks to God and ate the nourishing food representing the body of Christ.   Through this, Paul knew that their worries would go away.   The next morning, with God’s help they avoided the rocks and the boat landed on a gentle sandbar.   All passengers were able to get to land safely.  God had saved them.

So if we keep our focus always on Jesus.   If we single-mindedly focus on Jesus in every decision we make, focus on Jesus in every priority we set, and focus on Jesus in everything we do, then we will have nothing to worry about.  The storms of life will pass over us.  We will find ourselves on a sandy shore.     

Jonah had lost his focus on God and was tossed into the sea.   So God sent a fish to swallow Jonah.  And in the belly of the fish, Jonah had three days to think about his relationship with God.   Jonah decided that he would, from now on, obediently follow God in making decisions, in setting priorities, and in everything he did.   And he prayed to his creator.

Jonah 2:3 You hurled me into the depths,

    into the very heart of the seas,

    and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers

    swept over me.

4 I said, ‘I have been banished

    from your sight;

yet I will look again

    toward your holy temple.’

5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]

    the deep surrounded me;

    seaweed was wrapped around my head.

6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;

    the earth beneath barred me in forever.

But you, Lord my God,

    brought my life up from the pit.

7 “When my life was ebbing away,

    I remembered you, Lord,

and my prayer rose to you,

    to your holy temple.

8 “Those who cling to worthless idols

    turn away from God’s love for them.

9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,

    will sacrifice to you.

What I have vowed I will make good.

    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

So if you are worried about anything just be single-minded, focus on Jesus in every decision you make, in every priority you set, and in everything you do.   God will save you from all your worries.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, help us to focus our minds on you continually.   Help us to single-mindedly focus on you in every decision we make, in all the priorities we set, and in everything we do.   As we follow you through the storms of life banish all our worries.   This we pray in your glorious name.   Amen.   

 

Sermon Psalm 95:1-2 “Worship”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Presbyterian Church of Easton

Sermon Psalm 95:1-2 “Worship”

January 23, 2022

 

I am continuing with our look at practices which help to grow spiritually.  Last week we looked at the spiritual practice of Bible Study.   Today we are going to talk about worship, as a spiritual practice.   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)

          We are looking at what we do to become more like Jesus.  We are looking at spiritual practices which, when built upon the foundation of what we believe, allows us to spiritually grow and become more and like Jesus.    Today we will look at the spiritual practice of worship.

This is a dollar bill.   It is a piece of paper with some green ink on it.   It has no intrinsic value.   A piece of paper with some ink on it is worthless in itself.   But we do attribute worth to it.   We give it value.   And so I can take this piece of paper with green ink to McDonald's and exchange it for a bag of small fries.   I am happy to receive the fries.   McDonald’s is happy to receive this piece of paper.  So we attribute worth to a piece of paper and it becomes something valuable for us. 

Worship is when we attribute worth to the most valuable thing in our lives.  We worship      

God by attributing supreme worth to him.  We give God all glory and all honor.  We worship.  The psalmist put it this way.

 

Psalm 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

 

          We are gathered to worship our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who is alive and is here with us.   We glorify this God through Word and Sacrament.  Then we are sent out into the world to glorify this God in our service to others.

          We are worshiping here today because the grace of God has blessed us in many ways.   God has promised to love us generation after generation.   God has blessed us with Jesus Christ who forgives our sins and promises us eternal life.  And so we have come to express our gratitude to God for these amazing blessings.

We express our gratitude for our blessings with the reading and hearing of God’s holy word and with the sacraments of baptism and communion.    We express our thanks for God equipping the church to carry on his mission for the world.  

          The earliest Christians took three ordinary elements of human life, water, bread, and wine, and attributed to them great worth.    They said that water symbolized our baptism into a new life in Jesus Christ.  They said that the bread and wine symbolized the sacrifice of Christ that brings us salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life.  

          In America today there are many ways that people worship God.    One of the most popular is the rock band church.  The rock band church has a praise band, and a sound system turned up to 95-100 decibels.   As the praise band sings of their love for Jesus many young people have intense spiritual experiences that bring them closer to God.   But there are other ways to worship.

When I lived in Washington I worked at the National Cathedral School.   I loved the evensong services in the cathedral when, as the sun set, the choirs of St. Albans and National Cathedral schools would sing music from the Renaissance.   A service of evening prayer would be read from the Book of Common Prayer.   I was overcome by the beauty of these services and they brought me closer to God.

Just before I started at my first church, Grace and I went to Korea.  I had the privilege of preaching at her church in Iksan, South Korea.   Grace was my translator.   Eight hundred people gathered on a Wednesday night.   There were no musicians, so the pastor began worship by pounding rhythmically on the pulpit as people sang old hymns a capella.   The pastor pounded faster and faster until all 800 people were praying in tongues.   When this finished I was invited forward to preach in the church where Grace began her spiritual journey.  So people worship in many different ways.    

You can worship God at any place and at any time.   All you have to do is acknowledge God’s supreme worth in your life.   You can sing in the shower or pray before meals.  I set aside the 8 am hour every day for devotions with Grace.   We read the Bible together, sing and pray.   When I come to church on Sundays, I like to be here before anyone else.   So I get here early to pray.  

In my daily prayers I pray the liturgy for the coming Sunday.  I pray while looking at your pictures in the directory.  I ask God to bless this church.  This is all worship.   I praise God for what he has done in my life and for what he is doing for this church.   

Our worship is based on a vision of heavenly worship as seen by the prophet Isaiah.

 

Isaiah 6:1 … I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 

4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

 

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

 

Sunday is a special time for worship because Sunday morning is when we worship together remembering the resurrection of Jesus Christ.   We use a Service for the Lord’s Day.   A Service for the Lord’s Day begins with scripture gently calling us to worship God.

Then we praise God in song by joining our voices with heavenly choirs as we are lifted up into the presence of God.    Since we are coming into the presence of that which we attribute supreme worth we must first humble ourselves and confess our sin. 

Suppose for a moment you are an army general and your king has ordered you into battle.  Suppose also that you lose this battle and your army scatters.   You are alone in the battlefield when the opposing king comes toward you.   What is going to happen to you?   The king will probably kill you so that you will never threaten him again.   But if you discard your weapons and remove your armor, and go face down in the dust as a sign of your complete devotion to the victorious king, then what will happen?  Probably, you will be killed.  Maybe, if the king is merciful, he will graciously spare your life and restore your honor.  

This is worship.  We humble ourselves completely because we have come into the presence of that which we value the most.   We are totally dependent on God’s mercy.  

Our God is merciful.  He graciously forgives our sins.  And so we hear wonderful words of grace and forgiveness.   When we hear these wonderful words we respond again with a song.

As forgiven children of God, we then gather around the word of God which is read and proclaimed.  And then we respond with gifts, tithes, offerings, with prayers for ourselves, our families, our church, our community, and the world, and with singing. 

We worship God with a Service for the Lord’s Day every Sunday morning.    We attribute to God supreme worth because of his value in our lives.  

You are to continue worshiping throughout the week until we return to worship together next Sunday.  I urge you to download the bulletin from the church’s website.   In the bulletin, you have the order of worship we are using today, the scripture we read.   Use these throughout the week as part of your worship for every day. 

In Sunday worship, we attribute supreme worth to our God.    We humbly confess our sins and remember the forgiveness we have received from our merciful God.  We acknowledge all the blessings we have received with gratitude.   We gather to hear the word of God read and proclaimed.  We respond with tithes and prayers.  We use water, bread, and wine to remember what God has done for us.   And we go into the world to glorify God by serving others and by bringing people to Christ.   We are a worshiping people.   Let’s pray.

Lord God thank you for this freedom to worship you.   We give you all honor and praise.   You are our Creator, our Sustainer, and our Redeemer.   You love us, forgive our sins and promise us eternal life.  And so we worship you together every Sunday and continue throughout the week.  We attribute to you supreme worth and you are the most valuable part of our lives.   Amen.

Sermon Hebrews 4:12 “Bible Study”

 Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Hebrews 4:12 “Bible Study”
January 16, 2021

I am beginning a sermon series looking at some practices we can do in order to grow spiritually.  Today we turn to Bible Study where we gather in groups to read and discuss God’s word.   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)

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The study of the word of God began with Moses.   Moses commanded the people to study scripture.

Deuteronomy 31:9 So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. 13 Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

So it was the responsibility of the priests and elders to make sure that everyone, men, women, children, and foreigners all hear the word of God on a regular basis.  They were to hear all of it, the first five books of the Old Testament, every seven years.  Moses was clear that God would be present with his people whenever the word of God was read and heard.  And the reason that the word of God must be read and heard was so the people would continue to revere and obey God generation after generation.   

This is still the responsibility of the church today.    The session of the church is responsible for seeing that the word of God is read, heard and understood not only by those in the church but by everyone here in Easton.   Everything we do as a church is to support the reading, hearing, and understanding of the word of God in this community.   Everyone here must learn to revere and obey God.   And when we hear the word of God proclaimed, God is here with us.  

Moses’ successor was Joshua.   Joshua expanded on the commands of Moses to study the Bible.   Here is what Joshua told the people.

Joshua 1:7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Moses said that the entire word of God must be read and heard every seven years.   But Joshua wants the people to meditate on it every day.   The reason for this is so that as we meditate on scripture daily, we will remember to obey God.   God promises to be with us as we read the Bible every day.   And if God is with us continually we will be strong, courageous, prosperous and successful.  So we too should read and meditate on scripture every day and receive all the blessings of God continually upon us.

One King of Judah took the responsibility of proclaiming the word of God to his nation very seriously.   King Jehoshaphat trained teachers and made copies of scripture.   He then sent these teachers and scrolls to the farthest corners of his kingdom.

1 Chronicles 17:7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials … to teach in the towns of Judah. 8 With them were certain Levites … and the priests ... 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. 

King Jehoshaphat made it possible for everyone in his kingdom to read the Bible.  But for many years God’s people stopped reading scripture.   They stopped obeying God and eventually were conquered and exiled  by the Kingdom of Babylon.   But God had mercy on them and brought his people back to their homes.   And they celebrated their restoration by reading the word of God.

Nehemiah 8:1  all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

2 So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law...

5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

 

Ezra reintroduced the practice of Bible study to the returning Hebrews.   And the Bible makes it very clear that studying the Bible is the wise thing to do.

The psalmist declared, Psalm 119:97  “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.  98  Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.

Jesus firmly believed in the power of Bible study.   He said that when we engage in the study of scripture the effect on us is like that of a seed falling on good soil.

Matthew 13:23 “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

There is no doubt at all that Bible study will benefit you.   God is present when we gather around his word and God blesses us abundantly.  What are some of the benefits of regular Bible study?   The first is that your faith will be strengthened.  

Romans 10:17 … “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”.

Faith comes from hearing the word of God.    So by attending Bible studies, you not only learn about God, you also come to greater faith in God.    You grow spiritually.  And for this growth to occur the message that is heard must be about our savior Jesus Christ.  So we attend Bible studies to increase our faith in Christ.   What else do we receive?   We receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

  So as we study the Bible the Holy Spirit is with us helping us to understand what we are reading and bringing us to faith in Jesus Christ.  Are there any other benefits of Bible study?   Yes, in Bible Study you experience deep transformation.

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 

By studying the Word of God the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Jesus Christ and we experience a transformation to a new life where we love one another.  But there are even greater benefits of Bible Study.   We are given hope.

Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Through Bible study, the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Jesus Christ, transforms us to new life, and gives us hope of eternal life.  What more could we expect?   Well, there is more.

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”...   34 … “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

So through Bible study, the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Jesus Christ, transforms us to new life, gives us hope of eternal life, and frees us from slavery to sin so we may lead lives pleasing to God.

Since the time of Moses people have experienced for themselves the benefits of Bible study.   It is the church’s responsibility to provide Bible studies for the community to attend.    By attending Bible studies your faith will grow, you will experience transformation, you will develop hope in eternal life, and your slavery to sin will end freeing you to lead lives pleasing to God.

This Wednesday morning we will begin a new Bible Study on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  We will be using the book and video, Sermon on the Mount, A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine.   We will meet in the Albaugh Room and on Zoom every Wednesday at 11AM.   Please join us.     Let’s pray.

Holy Spirit we thank you for your presence whenever the Bible is read and heard.   We thank you for the gift of understanding as we study the Bible.   We thank you for the gift of obedience as we try to obey God’s word.   Thank you for using the Bible to grow our faith, transform our lives, give us hope of eternal life, and free us from slavery to sin.   We pledge to meet you regularly in Bible study.   Amen.

Sermon - Isaiah 60:1-6 - Be Radiant

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon - Isaiah 60:1-6  -  Be Radiant
Epiphany Sunday
January 2, 2022

Watch our Worship Service

Time never stops.  Just as 2021 became 2022, 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 a generation 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, businesses and families.  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 eke 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 BC.  Some had brought their own pagan religions.  But some aliens had begun worshiping the God of Israel.  

Many of the returning Jews wanted nothing to do with these people.   They were poor, disabled and many were foreigners, not 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 last ten chapters of the Book of Isaiah.  Let's hear what this prophet has to say.

Isaiah 56:1-7

56 Thus says the Lord:

    Maintain justice, and do what is right,

for soon my salvation will come,

    and my deliverance be revealed.

2 Happy is the mortal who does this,

    the one who holds it fast,

who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,

    and refrains from doing any evil.

3 Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,

    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;

and do not let the eunuch say,

    “I am just a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord:

To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,

    who choose the things that please me

    and hold fast my covenant,

5 I will give, in my house and within my walls,

    a monument and a name

    better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

    that shall not be cut off.

6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

    and to be his servants,

all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,

    and hold fast my covenant—

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,

    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

    will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer

    for all peoples.

So God demanded radical inclusiveness.  God’s people 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 on Friday evenings and fast when they were told to, but when the sun rose on the first day of the week 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 do we fast, but you do not see?

    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,

    and oppress all your workers.

4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

    and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today

    will not make your voice heard on high.

5 Is such the fast that I choose,

    a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Is not this the fast that I choose:

    to loose the bonds of injustice,

    to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

    and to break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

    and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

    and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 

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 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers

    between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden his face from you

    so that he does not hear.

3 For your hands are defiled with blood,

    and your fingers with iniquity;

your lips have spoken lies,

    your tongue mutters wickedness.

4 No one brings suit justly,

    no one goes to law honestly;

they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,

    conceiving mischief and begetting iniquity.

5 They hatch adders’ eggs,

    and weave the spider’s web;

whoever eats their eggs dies,

    and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.

6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing;

    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their works are works of iniquity,

    and deeds of violence are in their hands.

7 Their feet run to evil,

    and they rush to shed innocent blood;

their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,

    desolation and destruction are in their highways.

8 The way of peace they do not know,

    and there is no justice in their paths.

Their roads they have made crooked;

    no one who walks in them knows peace.

9 Therefore justice is far from us,

    and righteousness does not reach us;

we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;

    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

So what's the solution to all this?  Will we live in darkness forever?  We will, if we depend on ourselves to get us out of the mess.   What we really need is a redeemer.

Isaiah 59:20-21

20 And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,

    to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.

21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.

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.

Isaiah 60

60 Arise, shine; for your light has come,

    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For darkness shall cover the earth,

    and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

    and his glory will appear over you.

3 Nations shall come to your light,

    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 Lift up your eyes and look around;

    they all gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from far away,

    and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant;

    your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,

    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

    all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

    and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

For the next 500 years the people waited for this light, the light of a savior, to come into their darken world.   And they knew that the sign of its coming would be messengers from Sheba bringing gold and incense.  And then, amazingly, it happened.

Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 

9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, Magi from a far off country saw God's Glory light the heavens.  They came to Jesus bearing gold and incense and praising God.  Our redeemer, our savior has arrived.

And with the coming of Christ the time for our repentance is at hand.   We are to welcome into our fellowship all regardless of nationality or physical condition.  We are not to exploit others or continue in strife and quarreling.  We are to speak the truth and demand justice for everyone.  We are to bring our gifts, tithes and offerings to the church to advance the Kingdom of God.  

And the Redeemer will come into our lives with great blessings and joy.   These blessings are not only for us but also for our children and grandchildren after us.  So, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

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 the church 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.