Sermon – Psalm 104 – Send Forth Your Spirit

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 104:24-35 – Send Forth Your Spirit

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

June 12, 2011

We have been looking at what it means to believe in the Jesus. This is an important task because believing in Jesus Christ leads us to eternal life. To believe in Jesus means more than believing statements about Jesus. Rather we must believe in, have faith in, Jesus trusting him with our lives. This comes about through prayer and meditation on scripture. And by meditating on the psalms we learn that the heart of Christian prayer is praising God. Today we will see that by praising God we come to understand the world we live in as God's creation. Let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 104

1Bless the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent 3you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, 4you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.

5You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. 6You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 8They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them. 9You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

10You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, 15and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. 18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

19You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.

24O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 27These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

30When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 104 is a hymn meant to be sung by people thousands of years ago. It is also a prayer of someone who had learned how to praise God. This author has looked into the vastness of the world, the blue sky, the deep seas, clouds, wind, fire and has found God. This is what happens when we begin praising God in prayer: we begin to see God all around us. We become aware of God's presence with us and God's continuing care of us. The reason for this is that by praising God we acknowledge God as the creator and the world as God's creation.

According to the psalmist, before God's creation of the world all was covered by water. The valleys were filled up and the water rose to cover the top of the mountains. Our blue planet was entirely blue. Remember that the word “flood” is often used in the Bible as a metaphor for chaos. So chaos was the state of the world before creation. The world was disordered, unbounded, not limited in any way. God's creative force was to place limits, boundaries, and order on the world. God placed limits on the sun ordering its rise and fall setting the cycle of day and night. God set the boundaries for temperature setting the cycle of seasons. God ordered the waters to live within limits setting the cycle of tides and rainfall. And so by setting limits and boundaries God ordered the world.

We all know about limits and boundaries. The Session at Beaver Dam has set a limit on how much mildew can accumulate on the outside of the church. With the church located near a swamp mildew is a big problem. So when it gets too bad a contractor is called and the mildew is removed restoring the outside of the church. Regular maintenance is required to maintain things like the church and even the created world. Rain and wind can cause rivers to overflow in floods, and giant storms with destroying winds. Droughts parch the land and the crops burn in the field. The ground can violate a boundary causing an earthquake or tsunami. But whenever a boundary is passed or a limit exceeded God's creative spirit is always there working to restore the created order. This is how we know that God is always with us because whatever happens to violate the limits God has imposed the Holy Spirit is there to restore it.

Today we are experiencing a drought on the eastern shore. This is the second year of high heat and little rain. Limits established by God for annual rainfall are not being met. It would be tempting to curse God when this happens. But as Christian we have learned to praise God for creation and so we have faith that God's spirit will come and restore the normal rainfall amounts we need. What we need to do is to pray, praising God for creation and requesting that the Spirit restore the limits of creation by sending rain to our fields.

The limits and boundaries God has established for creation makes life possible. It provides us with food to eat, fresh water to drink, and air to breath. And so it is important to praise God continually for all of these blessings.

Were it not for the ongoing work of God's spirit we would surely die. One question the psalmist asked was why do the great predators not eat humans. If the lions, tigers, and bears wanted they could feast on people fairly easily. Unless we have a knife or a firearm we a pretty defenseless. So why are the Great White sharks not lining up off the coast of Ocean City for a Fourth of July people feast? The answer, according to the psalmist, is that this would violate the order God has established in creation. The predators have been given by God the night to hunt while we are safely sleeping in our homes. And the predators sleep when we rise in the morning.

So what should be our response to all these blessings we receive from God: air to breath, water to drink, food to eat, clothes to wear, homes to live in, protection from the predators. The psalmist says that the only response is to sing praises to God. And that is why we are in worship today. All week long we have experienced God's good creation and we come here on Sunday to praise God in song and pray. We do this because the seven day cycle with a sabbath rest is one of the limits God has establish for our happiness.

Of course not everyone wants to live with limits. Some people ignore God's boundaries. They see God as a limit to their freedom. They want to be free from God and God's ordering of the world. They ignore the limits God has established. So they curse God and go about their own lives. But whenever someone ignores the limits of creation consequences result. If you drive above the speed limit you will get a ticket. If you send lewd pictures of yourself to young women on the internet you will get caught and possibly lose your job. The Bible calls those who ignore God's limits wicked. The wicked will perish because without God's creative limits all that remains that remains is chaos, the flood. So the wicked ignore the boundaries God has established to their own peril.

Lest anyone doubt the consequences of ignoring the limits God has imposed lets look at some headlines of the chaos in the world from this week's Drudge Report: “SWAT TEAM BREAKS DOWN DOOR OVER STUDENT LOANS, US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUYS 27 SHOTGUNS, RANDOM MOB ATTACKS CAUSE CONCERN IN CHICAGO, NEARLY HALF OF ALL AMERICANS FEAR ANOTHER GREAT DEPRESSION, TWO ELEPHANTs GO ON A RAMPAGE GORE A MAN TO DEATH, CITY SHUTS DOWN AN $11 MILLION FOUNTAIN BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE USING IT AS A TOILET. I could keep going with this list. In every instance God's boundaries and limits are being ignored and chaos, the flood, is returning to the earth.

Our only hope is what we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was present with God at creation and was the creative force God used to set boundaries and limit the world. Our hope is the that Holy Spirit will come and restore God's created order removing the chaos of the world, lifting us up from the flood. We have this hope because we believe in Jesus, trusting Jesus with our lives. This hope comes to us as we praise God and see God at work in the world. When we know that God is with us then we can live our lives within the limits and boundaries God has created for us, and we can have the confidence that whenever floods arise and chaos abounds our prayers will be heard and the Holy Spirit will come to restore the created order.

Today our drought continues. It is very hot. The limits God has imposed for rainfall have been violated. We need the Holy Spirit to come and restore the created order. We need the Holy Spirit to bring the rain. So we need to pray.

“O God, in Whom we live and move, and have our being, grant us rain, in due abundance, that, being sufficiently helped with temporal, we may the more confidently seek after eternal gifts. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (Novena in Honor of St. Isidore: Patron of Farmers by National Catholic Rural Life Conference, National Catholic Rural Life Conference) http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=832

“O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their bodily sustenance: Send us, we pray you, in this our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (Peter Toon – Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer 1662)

http://pbs1928.blogspot.com/2007/11/praying-for-rainin-georgia-alabama-and.html

Sermon – Psalm 93 – God is King

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 93 – God is King
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
June 5, 2011


We have been looking at what it means to believe in Jesus, not just believe statements about Jesus, but to trust Jesus with our lives.  Last week we saw the importance of prayer, especially the daily meditation on scripture, as a means of knowing Christ deeply.  And we saw that meditation on the Psalms, especially, help us to believe in Christ because they direct us to praise God in our prayers and remember how much God has richly blessed us.  Today we will be looking closer at the  Book of Psalms to see how the help us to pray and believe in Christ. 

The psalms teach us that God is king.  Today we celebrate Ascension Day, the day when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  From this position Christ is our sovereign Lord ruling over heaven and earth.  By believing in Jesus we trust that his power and might will protect us and save us from the floods that overwhelm us. Lets 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)


NRS Psalm 93:1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;  2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.  3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.  4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!  5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. 


Just before hurricane Katrina hit a family was sailing near the Florida keys.  Friends were concerned for their safety and called the Coast Guard.  Search was made, but the family could not be found.  The search was called off as the weather worsened.  The next day the searched resumed and miraculously the family was found on a mangrove island fifteen miles off shore near their overturned boat.  They were rescued and brought to safety.  A family friend commented on what happen by saying, “Sometimes there is a thing called divine intervention.”

Psalm 93 is a prayer of people who have been rescued from a flood.  This could have been a literal flood, but the Bible often used the word “flood” as a metaphor for chaos in our lives.  Chaos can be external like when a tornado rips your house apart and everything you have is destroyed in an instant.  Or it can be internal like when a spouse leaves you, a boss fires you, or a loved one dies. Chaos, the flood, overwhelms you unless, of course, you believe in Jesus trusting him to save you.  If we meditate on Psalm 93 and prayerfully consider the Kingship of God our confidence in Christ to protect us from the flood is built and strengthened.  

Most us believe that the psalms are the divinely inspired Word of God.  We also know that psalms were how ancient believers prayed.  But it is difficult for us to use psalms for our own prayers.  We read the psalms for their poetic beauty or we recite the psalms when the pastor tells us to in worship, but we rarely pray the psalms letting them guide our conversation with God.

One reason for this is that the Psalms are filled with praises for God.  But we find it difficult to give genuine praise.  Today praise is cheap.  Advertising tells us to praise everything from shampoo to motor oil.  Movies stars and professional athletes are our normal objects of praise.  When everything is praised then nothing is praised.  So it is with great difficulty that we praise God.  And if we can't praise God then the psalms become unintelligible.  By meditating on the psalms we can learn how to praise God.  We begin to experience that the psalms are the perfect prayers that unite our souls with God.  And when we are one with God we learn how to trust God completely and shower God with praise.  So how do we come to experience psalms in this way?

One way to experience union with God is by praying the psalms saying them aloud, slowly and with care.  It would be helpful to memorize a psalm and repeatedly throughout the day pray it, savoring the time you have with God.  Or pick a time of day, maybe early morning or just before bed and meditate on a psalm, praying slowly considering each phrase as a word of God for you.  Don't worry that you won't  understand the meaning of a psalm.  Don't spend time with a commentary.  Just pray the psalm, let words fall off your tongue and travel to God.  Let God respond.  

Just use a good English translation when you pray the psalms.  Peter Gomes, the former chaplain at Harvard, suggested that you use the King James version because its soaring Elizabethan vocabulary will help you experience the otherness of God. Listen to Psalm 93 again from the King James Version.  1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.  3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever. (Psalm 93 KJV)

Or you could use the translation of the psalms by Eugene Peterson in the Message for an earthly incarnate experience of a God with us. God is King, robed and ruling,  God is robed and surging with strength. And yes, the world is firm, immovable, Your throne ever firm—you're Eternal! 3-4 Sea storms are up,God, Sea storms wild and roaring, Sea storms with thunderous breakers. Stronger than wild sea storms, Mightier than sea-storm breakers, Mighty God rules from High Heaven.  5 What you say goes—it always has. "Beauty" and "Holy" mark your palace rule, God, to the very end of time. (Psalm 93 Message) 

The reason the psalms can deepen our belief in Christ is because they are both poetic and religious.  As poems they can tells us things about God that prose cannot.  As poetry, our imaginations are engaged and we go beyond a literal meaning of the words.  As religious literature, psalms are the Word of God and through them the Holy Spirit comes upon us to plant and nurture our belief.  And so meditation on the psalms leads us into not a new religious experience but a realization that our experiences live out and are directed to God.  Our joys become God's joys; our concerns become God's concerns.  When we pray the psalms we are carried to heaven to the throne of God.  There we worship God as our King.  We subject ourselves to God's authority.  We become people who obey God's commands.  Once we experience union with God we place ourselves under God discipline.   By meditating on the psalms we are finally at the point when we trust God with our whole lives and we believe in Jesus Christ, a belief that leads to eternal life.

Some of the psalms are beautiful and joyful. They are full of life.  They seem to bring God very close to us.  They open our hearts to receive God's grace. consider Psalm 121:  1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;  4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (NIV)

Other psalms are appropriate for our times of suffering.   Like people of ancient times our lives are not always smooth.  Our souls must bear conflict and injustice.  So we turn to God for help.  Listen to Psalm 12.    1Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. 2 Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. 3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue - those who say,“By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” 5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” 6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. 7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, 8 Who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race. (NIV)

Sometimes our sins are so great that we have to turn to God.  But we don't know what to say.  Psalms like 130 can help us find the words we need to speak to God.  1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

A sometime we are just joyful.  And we can express our joy to God through the psalms.  The most joyful of all the psalms are those that praise God.  As we have seen praising God is the essence of Christian prayer.  Through psalms of praise we submit to God's rule.  We are happy to serve a God who is so good.  Praising God's goodness is our greatest joy.  Listen again to the 93rd Psalm.


NRS Psalm 93:1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;  2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.  3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.  4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!  5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. 


Amen.


Adapted from Praying the Psalms by Thomas Merton

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Psalm 66:8-20 – God Listens
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
May 29, 2011

Last week we talked about the difference between believing that a statement is true and believing in someone, trusting that person with your life. When the Bible is talking about believing in Jesus Christ it wants us to believe in him, not just believe statements about him. This leads us now to a new question. How is it that we come to belief in Jesus Christ? I would argue that before you can believe in anyone you have to get to know that person well. You have to know about that person, what she has done, where he has been. But you have to know that person even more deeply than that in order to believe in him. You have to know her feelings and her values and her trustworthiness. So too do we need to get know to Jesus on a deeper level to be able to believe in him. And that is what we will be talking about today. But first, lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 66:1-20 NRS Psalm 66:1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. 3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. 4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." Selah 5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him, 7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations-- let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah 8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, 9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. 10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. 11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; 12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. 13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, 14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah 16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. 17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

Last Tuesday my wife Grace was being examined for ordination by New Castle Presbytery. The minister of the Pencader Church, Rev. Laurel Brundage, asked Grace a question. I was particularly interested in Laurel's question because she comes from a long line of missionaries to Korea. She asked Grace about the differences between the churches in Korea and the churches here in America and how that would effect her ministry. Grace responded that the Korean church emphasizes prayer while the American church emphasizes Bible study.

In South Korea churches have ample opportunities for prayer. Most churches have a prayer service every morning at 5:30 so people can pray before going to work and starting their day. Prayer groups meet often and their praying can last for hours. The sanctuary of a Korean church is usually open throughout the day so that people can come there to pray. I know a woman whose vocation is to pray for others; she prays eight hours a day. For Koreans prayer is how they get to know Jesus Christ.

Here in America our focus is on Bible study. Most churches have Christian education classes on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. Bookstores and the internet are filled with resources to help us study about our faith. Although prayer is a important part of worship, the central activity of a worship service in America is a exposition of the Word of God in a sermon.

With our emphasis on Bible study we tend to mostly think about our faith. We get to know Jesus by what he did and said. We can put his actions and sayings into historical context, and we can say something about the literary genre the biblical authors used. And we know the fine points of biblical analysis considering the original languages, theological interpretation, and biblical context. So all of us are, at one level or another, biblical scholars. This means that we know about Jesus Christ very well. But do we know Jesus well enough as a person to trust him with our lives?

In order to believe in Jesus, not just believe things about Jesus we need more prayer. Prayer is the time we set aside to come into Christ's presence, listen to his voice, and sit as his feet. We get to know Jesus through prayer.

Every morning at Pitts Creek we gather for prayer at 6am. Last year, we started this service as a Bible study. Each day someone would present the result of their research about the text assigned for that day. We were learning a lot about Jesus, but we weren't praying. So I did two things. First I started each Wednesday morning to talk about prayer in order that the group gathering each morning would know how to pray. Then I purchase some prayer books that allow us to pray each day by meditating on the word of God. Each day we open the prayerbook to the appropriate page for that day as we follow the church calendar. We begin each morning as someone reads aloud a couple of sentences from scripture. Then we begin our prayers with a responsive reading from the Book of Psalm. By the way, if you are looking for a wonderful prayerbook I suggest you start with Psalms. This book has been the prayerbook for believers for thousands of years. Then we continue praying as someone reads the assigned Bible text for that day. We are encouraged to listen for God's voice in a particular word or phrase in that passage and begin meditating on it. Often the passage is read again, slowly as we continue to pray. Then we pray for the needs of others, the church, our community, nation and world. We conclude with a prayer drawn from our Reformed theological heritage and a blessings from scripture. At 6:30 we are ready for the day to begin.

Psalm 66 has guided the church in prayer since well before the time of Christ, and we too can use it as a model for how to pray. Let's look at it a little more closely.

The first thing we learn is that God enjoys hearing prayer as a joyful noise. And this is why we should always begin praying by praising God, his awesome deeds and great power. Everyone on earth is called by God to prayers of praise for our creator. Everyone was created to worship. Just as we breathe in and out, and heart beats, so too must we worship our creator with praise.

The second thing we learn is that prayer should be a meditation on scripture because through scripture we can praise God for all that God has done for us: the great miracles that freed God's people from slavery in Egypt and protected them in the Promised land. Praising God and meditating on all that God has done for his people in history leads us to rejoice for all God has done for us. And so from our praises we offer up the joyful sounds God wants to hear.

Only after we begin with praise can we then turn to our own concerns. We bring our concerns to God because we have come to trust God though our prayers of praise and have learned of God's faithfulness to the people of the Bible. As we bring our prayers to God we realize that the problems we have are really God's ways of shaping us, forming us into the image of Christ. So even though it may seem like our lives are full of troubles, the reality is that God loves us and uses the troubles of our lives to bless us with new life in Christ.

Certainly prayers can be spoken in private. Jesus himself liked to go to a mountaintop and told us to lock our doors to pray. But when we realize how greatly God has blessed us we can no longer pray alone. So we come to church to sing and pray praises to our glorious God, and to respond with our gifts, tithes and offerings. Finally we are sent out of worship to tell others, everyone we meet all that God has done for us, and how God listens to and answers our prayers.

Lets try an experiment this morning. I am going to read to you a psalm as a prayer. I want you to close your eyes and pray with me by meditating on a word or a phrase from the psalm that is speaking to you this day. Turn that word or phase over and over in your mind while you rest in God's loving arms. Let's pray.

Psalm 121:1-8 NRS Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

Continue to pray silently meditating on word or phrase God has given you...

Psalm 135:1-5 NRS Psalm 135:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; give praise, O servants of the LORD, 2 you that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. 3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for he is gracious. 4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. 5 For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. Amen.

Sermon John 14:1-14 Believe in Me

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon John 14:1-14 Believe in Me
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
May 22, 2011

This past week the biggest story in America was the breakup of Arnold Schwarzengger and Maria Shriver. A movie actor, former Governor of California and the beautiful niece of President John Kennedy. They were probably the closest thing America has to royalty. Their family is crumbling before our eyes. We are told that Maria and their four children are devastated by the news that Shwarzengger had fathered a child with the housekeeper over a decade ago. They had believed in their father and husband. Now that trust has been broken, and without trust relationships cannot continue without God's help. This is why God warns us about adultery and why Jesus told us to not even hold lust in our hearts. Let's keep the Shwarzenggers in our prayers as they attempt to work all of this out.

Today we will look at our need to believe in Jesus with a similar high level of trust so that we may have a close relationship with God. 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)

NRS John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

The word “belief” had changed its meaning in modern English. Today “belief” means that you affirm that a particular statement is true. We say that believe that “Jesus Christ rose from the dead”. In other words we affirm that the statement “Jesus Christ rose from the dead” is true. When belief is defined in this way our faith becomes a matter of believing that certain statements about Jesus are true.

But the old meaning of the word “belief” is that we belief in someone. As children we believe in our parents. As spouses we believe in our husbands and wives. And as Christian we believe in Jesus Christ. We trust Jesus. We entrust Jesus with our whole lives. This is the foundation of our relationship with Jesus and with God. In Hebrew the word for “believe” is based on the word for foster parent or nurse; to believe in something as much as a infant believes in the mother giving it milk. To believe in someone means that you trust that that person will be there for you no matter what happens. When belief means this, then our faith consists of trusting Jesus with our lives.

This level of trust in takes years to establish, but it can be destroyed in a matter of moments. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just discovered that his adultery and lies have caused him to lose the trust his family had for him. His wife and children can no longer believe in him. It will take years of hard work for the trust to be restored, if it ever is.

You couldn't blame the disciples for feeling that Jesus had violated their trust. They had entrusted their lives to Jesus for years. They had expected the coming of the Kingdom of God, instead their leader was about to be arrested and probably executed. Already one disciple had given up on Jesus completely. Judas Iscariot no longer believed in Jesus and went to the authorities to betray him. In a few hours Peter will deny that he ever knew Jesus. On the night of his arrest belief in Jesus, trusting Jesus with your whole life, was a very difficult thing to do.

Jesus knew what was happening so he said this to his closest disciples, "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 13:33)

This statement concerned the disciples deeply and they were filled with questions. The first question came from Peter, "Lord, where are you going?" (John 13:36). Jesus didn't tell Peter where he was going. All Jesus would say is that Peter and the others would follow him later. This didn't satisfy Peter and so he asked another question, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? (John 13:37)

Jesus tried to reassure Peter by reminding him that he had taught them that they could always believe in the trustworthiness of God, and now they should believe in him. He said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; Believe also in me. (John 14:1). Jesus told Peter that he was going to be with the Father to prepare a place where they would all live, and most importantly, that he would return to take all of them to be with him to this new place. Then Jesus told them that they already knew the way to the place where he was going.

This prompted Thomas to ask a question, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5) Jesus responded to Thomas by saying that believe in him was the way. Only by believing in Jesus, trusting in Jesus with our whole lives, can we discover the way to truth and eternal life.

But the disciples were still skeptical. Jesus was just about to be arrested and executed. How could they continue to believe in Jesus, trusting him with their lives? If only God would give them some kind of sign. If only God would appear in the room and reassure them. Philip wanted to believe in Jesus, so he asked him, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." (John 14:8)

That is when Jesus expressed astonishment. They had all been together for so long. The disciples had watched all the signs he had performed, changing water into wine, multiplying loaves and fishes, healing a blind man, even raising Lazarus from the dead. Yet they still did not know who Jesus really was. They were still looking for something more. So Jesus told them to wait until he returns. And he told then that he would send the Holy Spirit to comfort them through this time of waiting. Then, on his return he would reveal to everyone exactly who he was.

But the disciples were still not convinced. Why wait for Jesus to return? Why doesn't Jesus do one last great spectacular sign, maybe overthrow the Roman Empire, and show the whole world who he really was. Judas, not the one who had left to betray him but another, asked, "Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" (John 14:22) Jesus then turned the tables on them. He was not the one to convince the world of who he was; they were. The disciples were to show the world their belief in Jesus by doing what he had already told them to do. If they continued to love him, believe in him and trust him with their whole lives then they would obey his teachings and commands and this would be the sign the world needs to know that what Jesus had said was true. If the disciples continued to believe in Jesus they would know that his returning to the father was a necessary thing. And Jesus assured them that if they continued to believe in him the father would send his Spirit to comfort them and remind them of all the things Jesus has said and done for them.

Jesus knew that on the on the night of his arrest it would be very hard for the disciples to believe in him. But he also knew that there was one last sign that would fully glorify God and would convince the disciples that what he was saying was true. So Jesus wanted to prepare his disciples for three days hence when on that first Easter morning they would see a sign and be convinced to believe in Jesus, trusting in him with their whole lives.

As we sit here in Pocomoke today we also have questions for Jesus. Jesus, when are you coming back? Jesus, what are you doing about the problems the world faces? Jesus wants us to wait for they day when he will return when he will take us to the Father to the place that has been prepared for us. The Holy Spirit is with us now to comfort us and remind us of what Jesus taught and did while we wait for his return. We are to believe in Jesus, trust him with our whole lives, and do what Jesus told us to do while we wait.

Of course waiting is difficult to do. We would prefer that God would end our waiting with a spectacular miracle that would convince the world that Jesus is truly the God. There were some people expecting that to happen yesterday. But we are still here waiting for Jesus to come and to take us to the place he has prepared for us where we will be with the Father in heaven. While we wait we have to believe in Jesus, not just believe things about Jesus, but trust Jesus with our whole lives.

I leave you today with these words of Jesus that should comfort us as we wait. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Sermon John 10:1-10 A Statement On Presbyterian Ordination Standards

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches
Sermon John 10:1-10 A Statement On Presbyterian Ordination Standards
May 15, 2011

Last week I opened an internet news service on my computer and saw this headline. It said, “Gay is now OK for Presbyterian Clergy”. ( http://www.theblaze.com/stories/gay-is-now-ok-for-presbyterian-clergy/ ) Is this true? We need to talk about what the Presbyterian Church did this past week. But first we have to 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)

John 10:1-10 10“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

In the fourth Gospel John repeatedly uses a literary device. He starts with a miracle of Jesus, then tells about a conflict over the meaning of the sign, and finishes with a teaching from Jesus. Here we have a miracle, the healing of a blind man. This is followed with a discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees on the subject of sin. The Pharisees contended that physical deformities, such as blindness, was caused by sin. A man who is blind from birth must have parents who sinned. Jesus replied to them is characteristic cryptic fashion, he told a riddle: who is both the shepherd of the sheep and the gate for the sheep? This confused the Pharisees, but opened them to received Jesus' teaching. And Jesus told them that he had come not to condemn sinners but that sinners might be forgiven and receive abundant life.

We have similar discussions today about sin and abundant life. The Presbyterian Church has been in a discussion about the way we select leaders and the reality of sin in our lives. In the Presbyterian Church the process by which we selected our leaders is called ordination. All of the deacons and elders of our church have been ordained. I have been ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. It is important for all who are ordained as leaders of the church to be followers, disciples of Jesus Christ. This means that church leaders must have life styles that reflect Christ's teachings and submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. These are the historic standards that have guided sessions and presbyteries in selecting leaders since the church started.

In the 1970s we decided that ordination standards were needed to guide presbyteries and sessions in the ordination process. It happened in this way. A candidate for the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament was being examined by Pittsburgh Presbytery. His name was Will Kenyon. Although women had been ordained as deacons, elders and pastors in our denomination for many years, Mr. Kenyon told the presbytery that for theological reasons he could not ordain women. The presbytery decided that this scruple would not disqualify Mr. Kenyon from serving as a pastor. But the national church disagreed and spoke through the General Assembly that all churches should have women elders. As a result of this decision the General Assembly began to develop specific ordination standards for all churches and presbyteries in the United States.

Meanwhile a church on Long Island faced another dilemma. A person in their congregation was clearly gifted for ministry and they wanted to ordain him as an elder, but he was a practicing homosexual. The church didn't know what to do. So they asked the General Assembly to form a committee to explore the subject. The decision of the General Assembly was that homosexual behavior was clearly sinful, but if a homosexual repented of this sin and abstained from this behavior then they could serve as leaders of the church.

This policy governed the church until 1996 when changes in American culture caused the church to want more specific standards for ordination. Over the last twenty years homosexuality had become increasingly accepted in American culture. And this caused a split in the church on the issue of ordination standards. Some wanted looser standards so that homosexual members of the church could share their gifts. Others wanted tighter standards to prevent presbyteries and sessions from ordaining homosexuals. The Presbyterian Church USA wrote the following language
into the Book of Order, its constitution.

“Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self - acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.” (G 60106b)

Since the mid-nineties the church has been in a conversation about sin and ordination. Should we honor homosexuals with gifts of ministry with ordination? Should we withhold ordination from people leading sinful lifestyles? The one thing we can all agree on is that we are now tired of the constant debate.

Last summer the General Assembly adopted new standards for ordination and changed the language in the Book of Order. These changes have been approved by a majority of presbyteries and will become effective next month. Here is what it says:

 “Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”

To understand what the church has done we have to look at both the actual meaning and the effective meaning of these words. The actual meaning of this new ordination standard is that it has actually become more stringent. Presbyteries and sessions can no longer just apply a simple rule to determine who to ordain or not ordain. Now we must look at the entire lifestyle of a candidate to see if there is evidence that this person is truly a follower of Jesus Christ. This is a much more difficult task, but it will engage the church is a broad discussion of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

But the effective meaning of this new standard is that the church has now removed the specific language prohibiting practicing homosexuals from serving in ordained ministries. And this may open the door to homosexual ordinations How all of this works out is still to be determined as presbyteries and session deal with individual candidates for ordination.

So, has the church said that it is OK for Presbyterian clergy to engage in homosexual behavior. Of course not, although some do think that this is exactly what the church has done. What we have done is to substitute an historic principle that all leaders must “joyfully submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life” for a specific rule that prevented practicing homosexuals from serving in leadership roles.

There are four principles that I think can guide the church as we move into a somewhat uncertain future. First, we need to remain faithful to our communities. This is not the time to get angry with the church and leave. This applies to both individual members and churches. We need everyone engaged in a conversation on what it means to joyfully submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is all aspects of our lives. We need together to study scripture and engage in theological discussions about what discipleship means developing our own biblical standards for leadership in our churches.

The second principle is that we should find graceful ways of finding leaders for our church. We need to speak the truth in love. Remember that the church is a hospital for sinners. Our reason for being is to help people be transformed from sinners to disciples. So we have to provide opportunities for the the Holy Spirit to transform people into disciples of Jesus Christ through nurture in God's word and by engaging in the ministries of the church. And sinners who are becoming disciples need to be nurtured for leadership positions.

The third principle is that we need to hold each other accountable. It's not enough to simply apply some arbitrary rule from the General Assembly. Rather we must be involved in each others lives so that we can nip sin in the bud before it can develop into an evil lifestyle. We can encourage each other as we all become disciples of Jesus. We can nurture each other's faith, grow in God's love, and develop leadership skills.

And the fourth principle is that we must always remember that each of us is a forgiven sinner. Be careful when calling someone else a sinner, because you are one too. If we were truly honest none of us is really qualified for ordained office. None of us is holy enough or pure enough to lead the church. But we are forgiven sinners and by the grace of God through Jesus Christ we have been given that wonderful opportunity of serving the church.

So as we move into a new era for the Presbyterian Church USA let's remember that Jesus came not to condemn sinners, but that all of us may live life abundantly. So lets use this as opportunity to grow as disciples, leave sin behind, and experience the abundant life Christ is offering us.

“You sent your Son Jesus Christ, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. We praise you that he calls his faithful servants to lead your holy people in love; to proclaim your Word and to celebrate the sacraments of the new covenant.” (Book of Common Worship p. 137) Amen.

Sermon adapted from Charles Wiley III http://www.vimeo.com/23560820

Sermon Luke 24:13-35 - Opened Their Minds

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Luke 24:13-35 - Opened Their Minds
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches
May 8, 2011

Two weeks ago we saw that the primary emotion on the Easter was fear, fear of death and of an empty tomb, fear of the unknown and of all the monsters our imaginations can gather. We saw that God does not want us to be afraid, and so God sends messengers to tell us to fear not because in the resurrection of Jesus Christ death is no longer something to fear.

But as that early first Easter morning gave way to Easter afternoon and evening the fear they had been experiencing gave way to a profound sadness at losing such a great teacher and prophet as Jesus. Today we will drop in on two companions of Jesus returning to Galilee on that Easter afternoon. They are discussing the events of the past week. Let’s listen in to what they are saying:

Luke 24:13-34 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" 19 He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." 25 Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!"

Cleopas and I were walking back home. We hoped to at least arrive at Emmaus before sunset and stay at the inn. As we slowly walked we talked about and all that had happened in the preceding week and during our time with Jesus.

We first met Jesus in Galilee. Everyone was talking about how Jesus had the power to heal. And how he had commissioned twelve of his disciples to go out and cast out demons. Two of these disciples came to our village and stayed in our house. They told us about Jesus and the next day we watched as they cured a young boy with a demonic spirit. When they left our village Cleopas and I wanted to follow them and meet this Jesus. We followed them and heard that Jesus was in Bethsaida; so went there. A large crowd had assembled and Jesus brought them to a hillside where he began to teach about the kingdom of God. A great many people were healed that day. We began to get hungry and started to worry about dinner; we were so far from home. And the whole crowd seemed to be as hungry as we. We could see that Jesus and his disciples had only about five loves of bread a couple of fish. Jesus blessed the bread and broke it and the disciples distributed it to everyone. Surprisingly there was enough for everyone and each disciple had a whole basket full of bread left over.

So Cleopas and I decided to keep following Jesus. One day we saw him alone and asked if we could be followers. He warned us that there would be hardships doing this, after all he frequently had no place to sleep at night as he traveled. One person in our group wanted to leave to bury his father, but Jesus told him that his work for the kingdom of God was more important.

Shortly after this Cleopas and I were commission in a group of seventy. He and I were to go to towns where Jesus was about to travel to prepare the people for his coming. He didn’t give us any money; rather we were to rely on the generosity of the people we would meet. Whenever a town welcomed us we told them about the kingdom of God. But if any town refused us we simply shook off the dust of our shoes and warned them that the kingdom of God had come near.

A week ago Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. As usual Cleopas and I went ahead to make sure everything was ready. Our job was to find a young donkey for Jesus to ride. We found the colt, but its owner thought we were stealing it. But we told him that the Lord needed it and we brought it to Jesus. Some people were lining the road with branches and the cloaks. And I saw Jesus crying when he saw the Jerusalem.

Last Thursday we all had a cedar supper for Passover. Peter and John took care of the arrangements. During supper Jesus told us that this would be his last supper with us until the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. We were wondering what this meant when Jesus took some bread, broke it, and said: Luke 22:19 "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Later, during the supper he did the same thing with a cup of wine and gave it to us saying: Luke 22:20 "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Then Jesus surprised all of us by saying that someone was going to betray him to the authorities.

Cleopas and I went with Jesus that evening to the Mount of Olives. Jesus told us to pray and he went off by himself. I tried to pray, but I fell asleep. Jesus woke us up and was very angry when all of sudden a crowd showed up with one of the twelve, Judas. I was with Peter ready to fight when Peter raised his sword and cut off a soldier’s ear. But Jesus told us to stand back, healed the ear, and was led away by the temple police and elders. Cleopas and I ran as fast as we could back into the city and got lost in the crowd.

The next day we saw on old friend, Simon who had just arrived from Cyrene. We told him how Jesus had been arrested the night before and rumors in the city that he would be crucified. Just then we saw a group of soldiers leading prisoners to the city gate. Jesus was carrying a cross beam. Simon ran out and carried it for him. Cleopas and I were scared to death so we hid in the city.

Three days have passed. Today is the first day of the week. Jerusalem is getting back to normal. Visitors are going back home. Farmers are returning to their fields. Merchants are opening their stores. We were walking, just before sun rise, and saw a group of women from Galilee. They told us that they were going to Jesus’ tomb to prepare the body with spices as was their custom. A few moments later we saw them running. They were out of breath, but were trying to tell us something. They said the tomb was empty and that they had seen Jesus.

So Cleopas and I decided that it was time for us to go home our village in Galilee. Jerusalem was no place for foreigners whose leader had been crucified and now his body missing. So we set out on foot and hoped to arrive in Emmaus before sunset. The fear we had felt in Jerusalem had given way to sadness. While we were walking we suddenly noticed a stranger was walking with us. He asked about the things we had been talking about. Cleopas got angry with the stranger for not knowing what had been happening in Jerusalem those last few days. When Cleopas calmed down I told the stranger about Jesus the prophet and miracle worker. We told him how Jesus had been executed by the religious leaders and Roman authorities. We told him how we had hoped the Jesus would redeem us from slavery to Rome. And we told him how three days later some women had found his tomb to be empty and heard a angel say that Jesus was still alive!

That’s when the stranger got angry with us. He told us we were foolish and ignorant of what the prophets of Israel has said. He talked about the Hebrew Scripture and how it predicted that the Messiah would suffer before entering into glory.

Eventually we arrived at the Inn of Emmaus. The stranger wanted to keep going, but Cleopas and I persuaded him to stay with us. We wanted the conversation to continue, and the three of us entered the inn. Then the stranger took the bread blessed and broke it and gave it to us. We then realized that the risen Jesus was there with us, and suddenly Jesus vanished.

Although it was dark out and the road was very dangerous we decided to return to Jerusalem immediately to tell the others we had seen and heard. We arrived very late that night in Jerusalem and found the eleven. We told them about seeing Jesus who opened our minds to the scriptures and revealed himself to us in the bread and wine. After some discussion we all decided to meet every Sunday beginning next week to ask the risen Jesus in prayer to be with us as we remember the stories of Jesus, interpret scripture in the light of the resurrection, and in the breaking of bread. Amen.

Sermon - Matthew 28: 1-10 - What Happened?

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
Sermon - Matt. 28: 1-10 - What Happened?
April 24, 2010

In ancient times priests would look to the heavens for wisdom. They wanted to know when the farmers should being planting. So the priests would watch the sun rise and the sun set each day. When they saw that the daytime and nighttime were equal they knew that the Sun had spoken and the planting should begin soon. But they had to wait for the moon to confirm this. So they waited for the first full moon after the equinox. Once the moon had spoken the people would be gathered and the priest would tell them that it was time to plant.

The ancient Hebrews knew the sun and the moon do not decide when the planting should begin. God, the creator of the sun and moon decides when this should occur and God used the sun and moon to tell us when to plant. So the Hebrews held the great feast of Passover on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

On the night before his death Jesus celebrated this passover meal with his disciples on the first full moon after the vernal equinox and the church has traditionally celebrated Jesus' resurrection from dead on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

On March 21st we experienced the arrival of Spring with the equinox as the length of day and night were the same. Last Monday, we saw a full moon. Today is Sunday, the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead. So we are at the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is time for the farmers to plant. And this must be Easter. 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)

Matthew 28:1-10 RS Matthew 28:1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

It was the first day of the week, a work day. A couple of women got up early as the sun was rising. They wanted to get to the tomb to prepare Jesus' body. So they made their way hurriedly and arrived just in time to see something that scared them to death. Fear was the emotion everyone was experiencing on that first Easter morning.

We all experience fear. Maybe you are afraid that you won't have enough money to pay for both groceries and gasoline. Maybe you are afraid that your company may downsize and you will be out of a job. Maybe you are afraid that the pain you are feeling may be sign of deeper problems. Maybe your are afraid that your loved one will leave you all alone.

Fear is a part of our lives. It is our early warning system that something, something bad is about to happen. God has given the us the gift of fear to protect us. When in danger fear causes us to either flee or freeze. Of course with any gift from God it can be twisted around by the devil. Sometimes we flee from what we are suppose to do. We flee from our responsibilities to our families. We flee from the ethical behavior we learned as children. We flee from God. Sometimes we freeze when we shouldn't. A child has an important question about life and we freeze up fearing to talk about important issues. We freeze when the boss offers us a promotion fearing losing the comfort of our existing jobs. We freeze went God is offering us new lives. Fear is always around us.

For a long time I was afraid of riding a bicycle. I fell off once when I was a kid and I was too frightened to get back on. Years later as an adult I decided to try to tackle this fear. So I bought a bicycle and started riding it. It wasn't until I fell off a few times and got back up that my fear finally dissipated.

The Israelites were afraid to enter the promised land. There was a report of giants in Canaan. They said, “28 Where are we headed? Our kindred have made our hearts melt by reporting, 'The people are stronger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw there the offspring of the Anakim!'" (Deuteronomy 1:28). The Israelites experienced great fear that froze them in the wilderness. But, God does not want us to be afraid. That's why he keeps sending messages with the angels who say, “Fear Not”. Moses told the people who feared entering the promised land,

Deuteronomy 1:29-33 29 I said to you, "Have no dread or fear of them. 30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place.

Fear is what keeps us in slavery to sin. Why else would we remain enslaved? Slavery can only be maintained in the slaves fear their masters. And if we fear the devil more than we fear God then we will remain as slaves to sin forever. But if we no longer fear the devil then we are free to leave sin behind and embrace the promised blessings of God.

On that first Easter morning fear was everywhere. The Jewish leaders in the temple feared the Roman reaction to the Kingdom of Heaven talk that had swept across Jerusalem that Passover. Pilate feared that there might be a revolution in the streets for which Rome would hold him accountable. The guards at the tomb were afraid of the earthquake that rolled away the stone. And a couple of women were afraid at what they saw inside the tomb, or more specifically what they didn't see. The tomb was empty. Jesus' body was not there. Immediately they were fill with fear. They feared the unknown. They feared the Roman reaction. There feared for their families in a possible civil war.

God was so concerned about their fears that he immediately dispatched an angel with an important message, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised.” Of course this didn't work. The women were even more afraid. Their fear caused them to flee. They ran as fast as they could to get back to the safety of the others. So God sent another messenger to comfort them. A more familiar messenger. Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid”. So it is Jesus who comes to remove our fears so that we are no longer paralyzed by fear into slavery to sin. Jesus is the messenger from God who comforts us in our fears and helps us to leave our fears behind and enter into the promised blessings of God.

Our most fundamental fear, of course, is our fear of death. We are afraid of death more than anything else. We grieve when a loved one dies because of our fear that this will be the last time we will ever see them again. We fear death because is seem that a giant The End to our lives. We fear the unknown and wait for what may or may not happen after we die.

This fear of death is what keeps us in slavery. The Israelites could not freely worship their God because the Egyptian army would kill them. The people of Jesus' day were unwilling to stand up to the Romans for the same reason. And we remain slaves sin because we fear our own deaths.

But the message God sent to those women through Jesus was that death was to be feared no longer. Death was not the end. The Egyptians or the Romans could kill you, but not end your life. And Jesus demonstrated this fact in his resurrection from the dead.

In Jesus Christ we see that death is no longer the last page of our life story. We live on in life after death. Our slave masters can threaten us with death, they can kill us on a cross, but the promised blessing of Jesus Christ is eternal life for all who believe. The apostle Paul spoke of this promise in this way, “5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:5) And Peter said, “ 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3).

So hope replaces our fear. As Christians we no longer fear death. Death has no sting. Rather, we are a people of hope who believe in the promised blessing of Easter that even though we may die and return back to the dust of the ground from which we came, we will one day be resurrected to new life, eternal life, in Jesus Christ.

So I urge you this Easter morning to fear not. Rather, be filled with hope that in Jesus Christ death is not the final chapter, but the beginning of a glorious future in a resurrected body, in a new creation, in the Kingdom of God.

“Brightness of God’s glory and exact image of God’s person, whom death could not conquer nor the tomb imprison, as you have shared our frailty in human flesh, help us to share your immortality in the Spirit. Let no shadow of the grave terrify us, and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you. Reveal yourself to us this day and all our days, as the first and the last, the Living One, our immortal Savior and Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Worship p 324)