Sermon – Hebrews 5:5-10 – Jesus Our High Priest

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Hebrews 5:5-10 – Jesus Our High Priest

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Lent 5

March 25, 2012

Why did Jesus have to die such a humiliating death on a cross? This is a question we have as we approach Holy Week. It was also a question facing the early church which the evangelists had to answer. Peter told the churches that Christ had to enter into our suffering to find us and bring us to God. Paul told the church of Rome that Jesus died on the cross to justify us so that we fit together in a right relationship with God and with each other. And Paul told the Corinthian church that Jesus died a shameful death on the cross to demonstrate God's power to find us in our shame and redeem us. Today we will hear as the author of Hebrews tells Jewish Christians that Jesus died in order to serve as our High Priest. We will look at this further 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 5:5-10 ⁵ So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." ⁶ And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." ⁷ During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The Jewish Christians faced a problem. They were no longer welcomed in the Jerusalem Temple. We know that persecution had started against the Christians. Paul had been arrested went he tried to enter the Temple. And the new Gentiles in the church were unable to go into the Temple at all. The importance of entering the Temple was related to the forgiving of sin. It was thought that the Temple was the earthly home of God. And so you were expected to make a pilgrimage to the temple, at least once in your life to present a sacrifice and receive forgiveness from God.

The process of forgiveness worked this way. Since God is holy and you are not you are unable to approach God yourself. Someone who is holy needs to be the intermediary. This person, or priest, would listen to your prayers, learn about your joys and concerns, and offer your prayers to God, asking God to bless you by forgiving your sins and giving you what you need for life. This priest was expected to remain holy in order to approach God with your prayers. And this priest was expected to know you and what was happening in your life in order to take your prayers to God.

This function of a priest is similar to what I do as a preacher, but there are some major differences. Like a priest, I need to know you. I need to know your joys and concerns. I need to know what's bothering you. I need to know the questions you have for God. I take all of this and hold it in my mind and heart while I study the scripture passage assigned for a Sunday. I try to see how the Bible passage answers your questions and deals with the problems you face. Then I put together a sermon which talks about the scripture and how it intersects with your life. And I pray that whatever I say in my sermon can be used by the Holy Spirit to do something for you. So as a preacher I take your joys and concerns, bounce them off the Bible and tell you about it. The Holy Spirit then takes whatever my mouth says and transforms it into whatever your ears hear. And you are transformed. So the difference between a preacher and a priest is that I do not deliver your prayers to God. Rather I take your prayers, pass them through scripture, and send them back to you.

But if I don't take your prayers to God who does? Who is your priest who knows you, and is holy enough to approach God on your behalf? This is a problem facing us as it was a problem facing the early church who found their path to the temple and the priests barred by their faith in Jesus Christ.

We don't know who the author of the Book of Hebrews was. We do know that he was a preacher, Hebrews is most likely a sermon, and he was speaking to a group of Jewish Christians. He told them that they did have a high priest, someone holy enough to come into God's presence and someone who knew their joys and concerns, heard their prayers and understood their experiences. This priest was none other than Jesus Christ, who had lived with them, experienced what they had experienced, including suffering and death, and had ascended to be with the Father. Jesus Christ is the high priest who hears our prayers and delivers them to God.

But it was difficult for the Jewish Christians to believe this. Yes, Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one. He was from the tribe of Judah, so he was anointed as King, a descendant of David. But everyone knew that the high priest must be from the tribe of Levy and a descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother. Jesus was not from the tribe of Levy and not descended from Aaron. So Jesus could not be the high priest. And the Jewish Christians worried about who would intercede for them with God as their priest.

The author of Hebrews, like any good preacher, took this concern to scripture to see what the Word of God had to say about it. He searched the Hebrew Bible and found this.

Genesis 14:18-20 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Psalm 110:4 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

Melchizadek literally means, “king of righteousness”. He would be a king who would free the prisoners, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and deliver people from grinding poverty. We are also told that he was also the king of Salem, or Shalom, which means “peace”. So he would be a king who delivers us from war and violence. And Melchizadek was a priest of God Most High. A priest? He was not of the tribe of Levi. Levi was still three generations away. He was not a descendant of Aaron, Aaron would not be born for centuries. But Melchizadek was a priest. And in fact he was a priest not just in Abraham's time but forever.

And so too is Jesus because Jesus just like Melchizadek, is the king of righteousness and peace, and just like Melchizadek Jesus came with gifts of bread and wine. Just like Melchizadek, and unlike all the descendants of Aaron, Jesus lives forever. The unmistakable conclusion is that just like Melchizadek was a priest of the God Most High, so too Jesus is our high priest. The reason Jesus suffered on the cross was to know us, to know our suffering, to know what it is like to die. Jesus knows who we are, what we think and feel, and our joys and concerns. So like a good preacher, or a good priest, he listens to our prayers and knows what they mean. Jesus is also holy. He is sinless and so as our high priest has the ability to be in the presence of God. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God where he can whisper our prayers, our joys and our concerns, directly into the Father's ear. So Jesus takes our prayers and gives them to God as our eternal high priest.

As I have already said, I am not your priest, rather I am your preacher who takes your prayers, your joys, your concerns to scripture to see what it says and report back. But are there priest here in the church? Are there priests who experience what we experience and holy enough to talk with God on our behalf? In the protestant tradition the answer is yes. There are people who know us and what we are going through and are holy enough to bring this to God. Who are these people? They are all of us. All of us who profess our faith in Jesus Christ. By confessing our sin and repenting we are made holy so that we can pray for one another bringing each other's joys and concerns to God. This comes to us as a gift from our great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

So I urge you to talk with each other, and with your families, and with your friends and learn about their joys and concerns. Learn about what they are thinking and feeling. Be with them through times of joy and sorrow. And be their priests offering up prayers to God on their behalf. The world desperately needs priests of the Most High God to minister to our needs and intercede on our behalf with our Father in Heaven. You as the followers of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, are the priests the world needs now. Priesthood is your calling as children of God.

Lord Jesus, we have assembled today as priests of the Most High God. We are forgiven sinners made holy by your blood. We are here today to offer our prayers and prayers of others to God. We ask that you hear our prayers as you always have. Since you were with us you know what we experience, our joys and our concerns, and we ask that you explain our prayers to the Father and ask Him to intercede on our behalf. We acknowledge you as our great High Priest who lives forever as King of righteousness and peace. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 29 - Worship the Lord

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 29 - Worship the Lord

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Baptism of the Lord

January 8, 2012

Last Sunday we talked about how all of creation is called to praise the Lord. Praising God is what we were created for. And we praise God by doing what God created us to do. And so we come to church to hear scripture read and proclaimed and we attend Bible studies to find out exactly how God created us so that we may appropriately praise God as we were created to do.

Praise is something all of creation does. But today we will look at something that is reserved for believers. Only the faithful believer can worship the Lord. And that is why evangelism is so important. We invite people to come with us to church and Bible study so that they may praise their creator and come to belief that in Jesus the creator is worthy of our full worship. Today we will talk about what worship is and how we, as believers can worship God. 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)

There is no more misunderstood word in the American church than the word “worship”. There are those who think that worship is the same thing as music. Many churches have what they call “worship leaders” who are in fact musicians leading contemporary music. People in these churches enjoy the music and confuse this enjoyment with worship. As we will see worship is very different from singing praise songs.

Other churches believe that worship involves the use of rituals. People in these churches love the ancient prayers in Latin or Elizabethan English. They love the beautiful liturgies for communion. They love the old hymns. All these things are wonderful, I love them too, but they are not the same thing as worship.

Still other churches believe that worship affects us emotionally. In worship we experience a warming of the heart, or we exhibit our spiritual gifts. In these churches it is not uncommon to hear people equate speaking in tongues with worship. An inner experience of the Spirit and manifestation of gifts is important, but it is not worship.

In our tradition we believe that worship starts in praise for God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is with us in worship. And we believe that we are renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit in worship. This enables us to respond to God in worship and align ourselves with God's mission in the world.

Let's turn to Psalm 29 and it's description of heavenly worship.

A psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Suppose that you are an officer in the king's army, and you have just been defeated in battle. You king is dead and the new king can do with you whatever he pleases. He can kill you if he wants to. He can make you a slave. He has all power over you. Your only hope for survival is that the king will choose you for his service. And the king will only choose you if he is confident of your loyalty to him and has a reasonable expectation that you will obey his commands. How will you convince the king of your loyalty and promise of obedience? The only way you can do this is if you worship the king.

To worship the king you lie face down in front of him. You mouth and nose are buried in the ground he walks on. Though this act you demonstrate your total loyalty. You will serve no other king but him. And you promise your total obedience, you will fully obey all of the king's commands. If the king receives your worship your life will be spared and you will enter into service for the king. This is worship, bowing before the king and pledging your total loyalty and full obedience.

This is what the worship of God is all about. We worship God by pledging our loyalty to him. We pledge to follow no other god. God will be the sovereign of our lives. And in worship we promise that we will fully obey all of God commands.

You can see from this that worship is very different from just coming to church. People come to church for many reasons: They like singing, they find prayers comforting, maybe the sermons are interesting, and they are able to meet friends and family. Church satisfies a variety of needs and all of these are good. But coming to church to satisfy a need or out of habit is very different from worship. Coming to church is pleasant and nonthreatening. You can come to church every Sunday without having any affect on what you worship, whom you are loyal to, and whose laws you obey. But as believers we are called to do far more than just come to church. We are to worship the Lord.

In today's psalm the angels and all the heavenly beings have gathered before the throne of God for worship. They have pledged their total loyalty to God and have promised to obey all of God's decrees. God has responded to their worship by speaking with the voice that created the world. This voice was so powerful it caused a category 5 hurricane to form in the Mediterranean. This storm came ashore in the forests of Lebanon ripping giant cedars from the ground and tossing them in the air. The storm twisted massive oaks into corkscrews, and shook up the sand of the desert like it was in a blender. The picture we have is of a mighty, powerful God. This is the God we are called to worship. This is God we are to bow down before. This is the God to whom we are to pledge our total loyalty. This is the God whose laws we are to obey.

The voice of God that can trigger a massive storm, the voice that created all that is, is the same voice that came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11b) And so we know that the one we are to worship is Jesus. We are to bow at Jesus' feet, pledge our total loyalty to Jesus and promise to do everything Jesus commands us to do. This is the essence of Christian worship.

I hope you all enjoy coming to church this morning. We have all the old stuff. We are singing the familiar hymns. We are reciting familiar prayers. We hear familiar texts read and proclaimed. Your old friends and family members are here. I love coming to church. But I invite you to experience the power of the sound of God's voice which you will only hear if you are ready to bow down before God in worship. So I urge you to pledge your total loyalty to Jesus Christ. Decide that you will follow no one and nothing else in you life. And do this by promising with your whole heart to obey everything that Christ commands you to do. This is worship.

Almighty and powerful God we approach you in worship this morning. We know that one word of your voice could end our existence, and we tremble as we come before you. Bless us this day with the gift of faith in your son so that we may approach him, engaged fully in worship, pledging our total loyalty and promising our total obedience. We ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as we worship. And we offer up this prayer to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in worship. Amen.

Sermon – John 1: 6-8, 19-28 - Witnessing

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – John 1: 6-8, 19-28 - Witnessing

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Third Sunday of Advent

December 11, 2011

We have come yet another week closer to Christmas. People are in stores buying gifts. Others are getting ready to travel. Still others are preparing to receive guests in their homes. Christmas is a time when we encounter people we know but only see, call or send a card to at this time of year. Your family and friends will want to know what is happening in your life. Some of you will send cards and letters. This gives you the opportunity to witness to them of the faith you have received from God. Since you have all been blessed by God in many ways witnessing to others about all the gifts you have received should be easy. But we often find witnessing difficult because of misconceptions we have about it. So today lets look at the first chapter of John to see what the author of this fourth gospel has to say about what witnessing is and what witnessing is not. 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)

Witnessing is a spiritual discipline just like attending worship every Sunday, praying every day, studying scripture regularly, being a part of a fellowship group, and serving the needs of others in the community. As we do these things our faith grows and this faith leads to eternal life. So we do all these things in a disciplined way, building up good habits and growing in the stature of Christ.

According to the Gospel of John witnessing is the most important of the spiritual disciplines. John talks about it in the very first chapter. Witnessing is important because without witnessing no one would ever come to the faith that leads to eternal life. Each of you has been witnessed by someone. Maybe it was your parents, or a pastor or Sunday School teacher. Whoever it was they did the most important thing in the world of witnessing to you of their faith in Jesus Christ so that you too would begin growing in that faith. So it is important that you witness to others so that future generations will continue to come to a saving faith that results in eternal life.

We have to know what witnessing is before we can do it, and there is no better teacher of witnessing than John the Baptist. In testimony that John that Baptist gave to religious authorities he told them that he was a witness and cleared up some misconceptions we have about witnessing. Listen to what John has to say about what witnessing is and is not.

John 1:6-8 ⁶ There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:19-28 ¹⁹ Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." ²¹ They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." ²² Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" ²⁴ Now some Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" ²⁶ "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." ²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Recently I visited a young man in jail. He graduated from high school last year with high hopes and a bright future. But, sadly, he began hanging out in the wrong places and with the wrong people and sin almost completely obliterated the image of God he had been created with. In jail he has had time to think about what he has done and experience guilt and remorse. He needs a messiah who will remove his guilt and restore him to new life.

It would be tempting to try to be his messiah. You could try to help him get a job, or help him apply to college. You could give him advise and possibly money. All these might be good things to do. But they won't save him. They won't remove his guilt. They won't lead him to new life. The problem is that you are not the messiah, you cannot save anyone. All you can do is to witness to the light in which you live through your testimony and lead people to Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah, the savior who can forgive sin, remove guilt and restore someone to new life. So remember you are not the Messiah.

Let's continue. Recently I heard about a farmer. He has spent a lifetime in fields. He is up at dawn working every day. And you can often see him working late into the night. He has little time for family and friends, and no time for church. You might call him a workaholic. Or you might say that he worships the god of work.

We have all known people who worship other gods. I am not talking about Muslims or Jews or anyone else in an organized religion. But I am talking about the alcoholic who worships the god of vodka, the moneyaholic who worships the god of greed and stinginess or the sexaholic who worships the god of one night stands. We all know people who worship things rather than God and if they are our family or friends we are tempted to try to save them.

We wish we could be like Elijah on Mt. Carmel confronting the false gods with supernatural power proving that God is the only God. It would be tempting to try to be Elijah and lead people away from their false gods. But we are not Elijah. All we can do is to witness to others about what Jesus Christ has done for us and let Christ rescue them from their false gods. So remember that you are not Elijah.

Let's move on. The newspapers are filled with world problems. This past Friday the Washington Post had stories about the failure of a European summit to solve the debt crises, the shooting of a police officer at Virginia Tech, and Pakistan preparing to shoot down American military jets. This is a typical day in a fallen world. We need a prophet to come forward with a word from God that solves the world's problems. We wish that our faith was strong enough that we could speak with a prophetic voice the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that desperately needs it.

It is tempting to try to be a prophet of God, to hear a word from God and say it to a world that needs to hear it. But we are not prophets. All we can do is to testify to what Jesus Christ has done in our lives, and allow Jesus to be the prophetic hope that the world needs. So remember you are not a prophet.

We see from John that we are not messiahs, we are not Elijahs, we are not prophets. Only Jesus is the messiah. Only Jesus is Elijah. Only Jesus in a prophet. Only Jesus Christ can save us and the world. But what we can do is point to him, the light of the world.

And this brings us to the picture in your bulletins (and on the screen). This is the famous Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald. In it you see John the Baptist pointing to the crucified Christ. Historically speaking this picture does not reflect reality because John the Baptist was executed by Herod before the crucifixion. So the scene you are viewing cannot have happened. But this painting by Grünewald is true because it accurately reflects the relationship between John the Baptist and Christ. John is pointing at the crucified Christ. Also notice that John the Baptist is holding an open Bible. Through his testimony and the testimony of scripture John points to Christ. John is not the Christ. John is not Elijah. John is not a prophet of God, John is not the light of the world. But John witnessed to others the truth of Christ bringing them to faith which leads to eternal life. And we are called to do the same.

So this Christmas season, as you see, write letters to, and meet your friends and relatives remember to witness to them about all the blessings you have received from God this year. Tell them about the messiah who has saved you from sin and delivered you from guilt. Tell them about how Christ has freed you from false gods. Show them how Christ, the word of God is a prophetic word to a world in need. Testify to the light in your life and the light of the world. And witness to them the saving faith in Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Father in heaven we ask this day for the gift of witnessing. Help us to testify to all that you have given us. Remind us that we are not the messiah, we are not Elijah, we are not prophets, and we are not the light of the world. But remind us that we do point to the light of the world, your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Mark 1: 1-11 – Preparing for The Coming of Jesus

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Mark 1: 1-11 – Preparing for The Coming of Jesus

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2011

We are continuing today with our celebration of Advent. Through our weekly meditations on scripture, read and proclaimed, and our daily prayers we are filled with hope and anticipation for the coming of Jesus even as we prepare to remember his birth from some two thousand years ago. That's why we are singing Christmas carols. We are filled with hope, peace, joy and love and so we praise God in song and worship joining our voices with the angels celebrating the birth of our savior. Today we will prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus by experiencing some of the excitement of the first hearers of the good news. 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)

Pretend that you are a rabbi living in a small village in Galilee around 70AD. The times are bad and tensions are rising. Jewish Zealots, determined to throw off the Roman occupation and create a Jewish kingdom, have been attacking Roman military installations. The Roman army has responded with a heavy hand against the civilian population. Add to this the political instability in Rome. Nero has been dead for a year and his four successors have all been assassinated. General Vespasian, who has been leading the Roman Army in Galilee, has been named the new emperor. You have no idea how this will affect your family and your life. All of this has affected your village because the Romans suspect that some Zealots are hiding there. You and your extended family live in constant fear that the Romans will break down the door of your house and carry you away.

One day you hear that a scroll has arrived from Rome. It has been brought by someone named Mark and supposedly is based on the teachings of Simon-Peter who once live in the neighboring village of Capernaum about 40 years ago; some of the old timers in town remember him as fisherman. The title of the scroll is “The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.” You really need to hear some good news with all the bad news going around these days. So you decide to go to hear the scroll read on Sunday morning.

When you arrive Sunday morning you are surprised to see that the group is composed of both Jews and Gentiles, and women are participating equally. You have heard that this group's leader was crucified by the Romans a generation ago, but they seem to believe that he is somehow still with them. Mark is here from Rome to read his scroll and everyone is really excited. So you take a seat near the back to listen to what he has to say.

He begins by saying, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) When you hear these words you nearly fall out of your chair. This is treason. “Everyone here will be killed by the Romans,” you think. “Only Caesar is the Son of God in Roman Empire. To give anyone else this title is a capital offense.” But you stay in your seat and listen for more.

Mark continues reading the scroll with these words: “As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” (Mark 1:2-3)

You think for a moment about these texts from the Hebrew scriptures. You are reminded of the words of the Prophet Malachi.

3 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom

you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you

delight--indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

So you think that a messenger is coming to proclaim that God will return to his temple and save his people. If true, this is really good news because this is what you have been praying for for so long that God would come to earth and put an end to this war and rule the nations with justice and righteousness.

As Mark continues speaking you are reminded of the writings of the Prophet Isaiah:

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

You marvel at the brilliance of this Mark reminding people that when Israel was held in exile in Babylon, a messenger, Isaiah, came to them with the good news that they were just about to be freed and permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their city and temple. “Make a pathway straight through the wilderness back home,” he said. “Could this Mark be a Prophet like Isaiah? Could he be here to proclaim the end of the war and victory over the Romans?”

With these questions on your mind you continue listening to Mark.

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:4- 6)

When you hear this you realize that it is not Isaiah who is returning. No. It is the Prophet Elijah who is returning. The great Elijah who confronted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Elijah has returned to prepare God's people for the coming of God by calling them to repent for the forgiveness of sins. Now that's the good news you have been waiting for. God is returning to set everything right. So you listen carefully for what Mark has to say next.

7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7-8)

“Who is this?” you think, “Who is more powerful than Elijah?”. “What is this baptism of the Holy Spirit? And Mark goes on to answer your questions.

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the

Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart

and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are

my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1: 9-11)

Then you remember Rabbi Jesus. Your father had talked about the great crowds who followed him as he taught throughout Galilee. He had been executed by the Romans when he was teaching in Jerusalem. And some of his followers claim he is still alive. This is the man Mark is claiming to be superior to Caesar, the true Son of God. And Mark wants us to be prepared for his coming which could come at any time.

When Mark finishes reading the scroll he has written you realize that this Jesus is truly the Son of God and is the savior the world has been waiting for. This scroll is truly the good news that everyone needs to hear. So after the reading you ask Mark if it would be okay to copy his scroll onto papyrus sheets so that the village could continue to study it after he left. You are thrilled when Mark agrees to stay in town for a few weeks while the copy is made, and you look forward to the conversations that you will have with Mark about his travels around the Mediterranean proclaiming this goods news to other groups of Christians.

You leave the group that Sunday morning filled with hope and anticipation for the coming of God in Jesus Christ. You want to bring this good news to all the people in the community, Jews and Gentiles, Men and Women, Slave and Free. You want everyone to hear the good news and prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Lord Jesus, we wait for your coming. The world around us seems to be falling apart. Europe is plagued with a debt crisis. The streets of the Middle East are filled with violence. We are struggling with high unemployment and high debt here in America. But we wait with anticipation and hope for the peace you will bring when you return to save us. And so we joyfully praise your name. Amen.          

Sermon – Mark 13:24-27 – Waiting for The Coming of Jesus

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Mark 13:24-27 – Waiting for The Coming of Jesus

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

First Sunday of Advent

Nov. 27, 2011

God has given us a rhythm of the seasons. The nights are getting longer and days shorter as we approach the Winter solstice. But soon the days will lengthen and the leaves will return to the trees. Winter will give way to Spring and the heat of Summer, and the cool Fall days will be with us once again.

We follow this God-made rhythm in many ways. The school year starts every September with new clothes and sharpened pencils and lasts until June. The solar year begins on January 1 with a great celebration at midnight on New Years Eve. Koreans start the lunar year with a feast of rice cake soup. And Christians begin the church year with the season of Advent.

Advent is the time of the church year when we think about the coming of Jesus. In one sense Jesus has already come as a baby born in a barn in Bethlehem. But in another sense Jesus is still coming and will come again with a new heaven and a new earth. So the coming of Jesus is both “already” and “not yet”. We finds ourselves in the middle of “already” and “not yet” and so we are both remembering and waiting. This is what Advent is all about. We wait for the Jesus we remember. So lets start this time of Advent in prayer.

“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)

NRSV MARK 13:24-27 24“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Picture in your minds a young girl in the 3^rd grade standing on a street corner near her house. She is waiting for the school bus. And she is waiting with a sense of dread. Today is report card day. And she didn't hand in all her homework and didn't study real hard for the tests. She fears what the report card will say and what mother will say when she brings it home this afternoon. So she waits for the bus waiting in fear.

Now picture in your minds the same girl waiting on the same corner. But this time she is waiting on tiptoe waiting for the Christmas parade to start. She is filled with joy and anticipation as she waits filled with hope for an exciting time watching the floats, marching bands and of course Santa Claus as he comes down the street. The same girl, the same corner waiting in fear or waiting in hope.

Or consider this picture. A fisherman is sitting in his living room. He has cleaned his boat and his gear and is settled down for the winter. The pond out back is frozen over. He is waiting for the return of Spring and is bored to death. He has nothing to do. He doesn't think he can wait for Spring to get back on the pond fishing. He thinks maybe next year he will spend the winter in Florida.

Now the same fisherman: He is in his boat on the pond. And he has been waiting since dawn trying to catch the large mouth bass he knows is there. He is filled with anticipation and hope that the fish with bite the plastic worm on the hook. He doesn't even notice that he has been waiting all day. The the same fisherman waiting in boredom

We all wait for things. We wait in the doctor's office. We wait for the kids to come home. We wait for the presents at Christmas. And what,s important is not that we wait or how long we wait. What's important is how we wait. Do we wait with excitement, anticipation and hope? Or do we wait in boredom, fear and anxiety?

Jesus was concerned about how his disciples would wait. Jesus knew that he would be leaving them, and he had no idea when he would be returning. So he had to prepare his people for what could be a long wait. And he had to give them something that would allow them to wait filled with anticipation and hope.

The opportunity to do this for his disciples came while they were in Jerusalem. One of his disciples commented on the grandeur of the temple. It was truly an amazing structure. A generation before King Herod the Great had expanded it and made truly one of the world's wonders. Jesus knew that within the lifetime of that disciple the Jews would rebel against the Romans and in the war to follow that temple would be reduced to rubble. Jesus also knew that within a week he would be dead crucified on a cross. How would his disciples wait for his return given these catastrophic events? Would they lose faith and go home? Would they be filled with fear and dread? Or would they wait in hope of a glorious future and Jesus' return?

Jesus wanted to ensure that his disciples would wait filled with hope in what God was about to do. But he had to give them something that would continue to sustain them with hope while they waited. And this is what Jesus did. He took four of his most trusted disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew and crossed the Kidron Valley to Mount of Olives. There in full sight of the magnificent temple Jesus began teaching them from the Hebrew scriptures he had memorized. He quoted from the book of Isaiah and the stars falling from the sky. He talked about the book of Daniel and the exaltation of the Son of Man before the throne of God. These books had been written is times of great distress as the people of God waited for God. And these books teach us that God did act entering human history to save his people. So Jesus was teaching these disciples to use scripture to sustain hope while they waited for God to act.

And that is exactly what they did. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension to the Father all of Jesus' followers were filled with hope. And to sustain this hope throughout the period of waiting the disciples established churches where the Hebrew scriptures would continue to be taught as Jesus taught them and where the stories of Jesus could be shared with each other. By continuing to study the scripture each Sunday the new Christians were able to wait with great hope in the resurrection.

This continues today. We are still waiting for Jesus to return. And we are filled with hope throughout this wait by coming to church each Sunday and hearing scripture read and proclaimed. Through this process we remind ourselves of God's faithfulness to his people throughout the ages. Through scripture we know that no matter how bad it gets God remains with us and will act to save us.

Let me finish with one last story. Picture in you mind a breakfast table and a father reading the newspaper: Credit Crisis in Greece, Riots in Egypt, Penn State Couch Molests Young Boys. This father is gripped in fear for the future: what about America's debt, the protests in our streets, and the rising threat of inflation? He is waiting for something to happen and is filled with dread. At the same table is his young son. He can see the Christmas tree that they set up over the weekend. He has already written his letter to Santa Claus. And he waits with joy and anticipation for Christmas day and all the presents under the tree.

How are you waiting for Christ to return? Are you filled with fear and trepidation at what is happening in the world? Or are you filled with the excitement of a child waiting for Christmas morning? Jesus wants you to be filled with hope. And that is why he has given you the church with its joyful proclamation of scripture so that each Sunday you can be filled with hope and excitement as you wait for the coming of Jesus.

Lord Jesus remind us of God's faithfulness to his people in times past. Help us to see God at work through the scripture of old. And though these words of the Bible fill us with hope as we wait for you to return. This we pray, joyously, in the name of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 – Generosity Produces Thanksgiving

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 – Generosity Produces Thanksgiving

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Stewardship Sunday

Nov. 20, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! Today we give thanks to God for all the blessings we have received. And I pray that this spirit of thanksgiving will be rooted in your hearts throughout this week. Please give thanks for all of your blessings as you gather with family and friends for a feast this Thanksgiving. All of you are invited to my wife's church in Princess Anne this Thursday at 11 when we will gather for worship and a traditional Thanksgiving Feast. Her church is Crossroads International Fellowship and is located at 11747 Somerset Ave. I hope to see you there. Let 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)

I have learned a lot about farming over the last two years from the men at our Friday morning breakfast group. Each week I ask them what is happening on the area farms. Recently I have heard about combines and the harvest of corn. I now know that in order to harvest corn in the Fall you must plant it in the Spring. In fact you must plant it around the start of the baseball season so that it will pollinate before the heat of summer. And provided that there is just the right amount of rain, and the harmful nor’easters and hurricanes stay away a bountiful harvest can be expected.

According to the apostle Paul this is exactly how thanksgiving works. You must first plant the seeds of thanksgiving before you can harvest it. And this explains why some people are thankful on Thanksgiving Day while others find it very difficult to be thankful. Those who approach Thanksgiving with a spirit of thankfulness have planted seeds of thankfulness long before. And these seeds of thankfulness have been nurtured, weeded, watered and fertilized. This has allowed them to harvest thanksgiving just in time for this big celebration on Thursday. But sadly, others have failed to plant the seeds of thankfulness, or allowed them to be choked by weeds or burnt up in the sun or blown down in the wind and thus find no thankfulness to harvest at Thanksgiving.

Where do we find these seeds of thankfulness? You won't find them at Lowes or Walmart. They aren't in any seed catalog. The only place to find these seeds is in scripture. So lets turn to scripture and see if we can find out about the seeds of thankfulness that we need to plant to experience the harvest of thanksgiving.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-15 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us 12for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. Corinth is a wealthy trading center. The Apostle is writing them to raise money for the church in Jerusalem which is in trouble. Tensions are rising in Jerusalem as Christians are being persecuted. The Romans are concerned with maintaining order. The church desperately needs help so Paul is accumulating the resources he needs to help the mother church in Jerusalem.

Since Corinth is surrounded by a rich agricultural area he made his appeal to the Corinthians with an agricultural metaphor. Just as corn seeds have to be planted in the Spring for corn to be harvested in the Fall so too must the seeds of thankfulness be planted for thanksgiving to be harvested. And what are the seeds of thankfulness that must be planted. According to these Apostle the seeds which we must plant are called in Greek aploths This word has no single English equivalent. Modern translator usually translate it as “generosity”. But since it is crucial that we understand what it is that we plant in order to grow a bountiful harvest of thanksgiving lets take a closer look at what this word might mean.

Ordinarily, in our culture we do things expecting to get something in return. We work all week and expect a paycheck on Friday. We put money in the bank and expect to get it back with interest. We give to the church and expect a quality worship service and visits from the pastor. This quid pro quo is apparent even in nature. Isaac Newton observed that every action has an equal but opposite reaction. Every act of kindness comes with an expectation that it will be reciprocated.

But the Greek term aploths is the opposite of this. The seed of thankfulness consists of giving without the expectation of receiving something in return. There is no duplicity; rather we act with singleness, simplicity, sincerity, uprightness and frankness. It might be best described with the saying, “what you see is what you get.” Obviously generosity is a part of this. But aploths is much more. It is an attitude where you joyfully give away what you have expecting nothing in return.

This is the attitude that was present in the churches established by Paul. And that is why they were so successful adding new members. Their friends and neighbor saw the changes in their lives when they became Christian. People who would never give something for nothing suddenly changed when they joined the church. Christians were a people who gave without expecting any compensation. According to Paul this attitude of giving without receiving is the seed that grows into thanksgiving.

So how did Paul know this? And what caused the earliest Christians to have a gracious world view where they joyfully gave away what they had? The answers to these questions rests in the very character of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. You see God forgives. Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. This comes to us as a gift from God with no strings attached. God gives us salvation with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Aploths is a characteristic of God. And so we who receive so many blessings from God and have received the blessing of salvation without any obligation are motivated to give our blessings to others expecting nothing from them because we are created in the image of that God.

I recently saw a production of Dicken's A Christmas Carol at Salisbury Christian School. You know the story. Ebeneezer Scrooge is compulsive about never doing anything without getting something in return. He won't give to poor and needy. He won't give a borrower an extension on a loan. He won't give his assistant a day off on Christmas, because none of these things would benefit him. But God wanted Scrooge to think in a new way and sent three ghosts to talk with him. That night the Ghost of Christmas Past showed Scrooge how he had received so many gifts that required nothing from him. The Ghost of Christmas Present showed Scrooge how his stinginess adversely affected the people of his day. And the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge that loneliness and death would be the outcome of his stingyness. Scrooge learned that the only way to be thankful was if he gave without expectation of receiving anything in return.

Just imagine what would happen if suddenly all the Presbyterians in Pocomoke began doing things for others expecting nothing in return. What would people be saying about us? What would they be saying about the God we worship? We wouldn't have enough space in this church for all the people looking for what we have. Remember that each time you give without expecting something in return you are planting a seed of thankfulness. These seeds will grow, and you will harvest a great joy called thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sermon – Matthew 25:1-13 - Excuses

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Matthew 25:1-13 - Excuses

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Stewardship Sunday

Nov. 13, 2011

Today is Stewardship Sunday. This is the day each year when people stay home from church. This is the day to skip the sermon and visit your grandchildren on the western shore, or see a show in New York, or catch some rockfish on the bay. And if by mistake you come to church on Stewardship Sunday then this is your warning to turn down your hearing aids or read the NFL predictions on your smart phone. No one ever wants to hear a money pitch from the pastor, and that's why we all dread Stewardship Sunday. But stewardship is important so let's begin with prayer.

“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)

^NIV Matthew 25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.⁴ The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' ⁷ "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'⁹ "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'¹⁰ "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.¹¹ "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' ¹² "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' ¹³ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We have a simple story about ten bride maids. They are waiting for the groom to come for the great wedding feast. Their lamps are lit and they wait patiently until he arrives. But for some reason the groom is delayed and the young women fall asleep. Late that night the groom finally arrives and the women awake finding their lamps almost out of olive oil. Some of them have brought extra oil and quickly refill their lamps. Others failed to bring extra oil so they leave to get some and miss the feast. The question I have been thinking about all week is, why did these bridesmaids not bring the extra oil? Why were they not prepared? What were their excuses? Maybe it went this way.

The first bridesmaid had married just a year ago. Her husband had a good job, but he lost it when the economy soured and his company downsized. They had to borrow some money from her parents to pay the rent on their small apartment. They had also maxed out their credit cards. This couple had been economizing on everything. So when it came time for her younger sister's wedding feast she decided not to bring extra oil for her lamp. She now regrets missing her sister's wedding feast realizing that a little oil would make no difference in her finances but would have allowed her to be where she was supposed to be with her sister and her wedding.

The second bridesmaid was a vendor of purple cloth. She made a good living because purple fabric was in high demand among upper class in the city. She had saved up a solid pile of silver for her retirement and was well positioned for the weak economy. She certainly didn't waste anything and figured that she didn't really need to take that extra olive oil. But when she awoke, saw her lamp almost out she begged the others for some of theirs, but sadly they didn't have enough for her too. Had she though about it in advance she would have realized that she should have brought enough oil for everyone. But she didn't, and so she missed the feast.

The third bridesmaid knew that she was just about to inherit some prime farmland. Her husband's brother was sick, and since he had no wife or children she and her husband would inherit his land. In a few months they were sure to be wealthy. But right now the budget was tight. She had plenty of olive oil in the pantry but decided not to bring any extra. She was angry and tired when the groom was late, and fell asleep. When she awoke she saw her lamp was almost out she remembered all the oil she had left back home. So she ran home as fast as she could, but by the time she returned the door was shut and she had missed the celebration.

The fourth bridesmaid was the groom's youngest sister. She was a student in the fifth grade. She was thrilled to be a bridesmaid and got up early to prepare. Her dress was perfect and her aunt helped her with her hair. When she heard that the groom was delayed she was determined to stay awake until he got there. But she quickly fell asleep. Late that night she awoke and found that her lamp was almost out of oil. She had forgotten to bring extra oil in all the preparations. So she ran to a friend's house nearby, but the friend wasn't home. There was no place she could think of where she could get more oil. So she sat down and cried, missing the feast.

The fifth bridesmaid was the bride's best friend. The two of them were active in their church and volunteered in its homeless ministry. Every Saturday morning they would go together to the local homeless shelter and cook breakfast. The also collected an offering of coats which they delivered to the shelter. This bridesmaid really looked forward to the wedding feast. She and the bride had planned out all the details. This was going to be a great celebration. But there was only one problem. She hadn't brought any extra oil. Her lamp was going out. What could she do? No one else had any extra oil. She lived too far away to go home. In was not safe to go looking for olive oil in the dark. And all she could do was to watch as the other bridesmaids accompanied the groom into the feast while she waited outside in the cold and dark.

Five bridesmaids and five excuses! Five very disappointed young women!

But this parable is not about bridesmaids. It is about us. The groom is Jesus, and the bridesmaids are the church waiting for his return. Some of us are prepared for the wait. We have whatever is needed to keep our lamps shining until Christ returns. Others of us are not prepared and our lamps may going out before this happens. This parable is a warning to all of us to be prepared and have sufficient resources for the wait.

What we have to do to be prepared is up to each of us to decide. In your prayer life and study of scripture God will speak to you about what you need to do to be prepared. For me it is to tithe. I give 10% of my income back to the church. Last winter, I must confess, that I couldn't do it given the high cost of heating oil. This bothered me a lot. So as soon as I could I caught up on my tithe and now try to give my 10% every month. It's not easy. I would love to put that 10% into retirement or better clothes or a nicer car, but I can't because I believe that God wants me to sacrifice and 10% is the least I should do.

I am not telling you what to do. But I am telling you to be prepared because you do not want to be shut out of the feast in heaven when Jesus returns. I do know that God has said repeatedly in scripture that He wants the church workers, the poor, the needy, the widows and the orphans to be cared for and have plenty to eat. So to be ready when Christ comes again you must take care of your church and those in need in our our community. And I urge to prayerfully ask God if a tithe is the way for you to do this.

And stay away from excuses: “I have already given enough through by taxes.” “Steward is not about money; I already do enough volunteer work.” “I have already maxed out my tax deductions for the year.” Excuses are just excuses they won't keep your lamps lit. But remember that Christ gave up his life for you. What will you do as you wait for him?

Lord Jesus Christ you have taught us to to love God and love our neighbor. Help us to use our resources in the most effective way to achieve both of these goals as we await your return. This we pray remembering your sacrifice for us. Amen.