Sermon – Acts 10: 44-48 – The Holy Spirit Came

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 10: 44-48 – The Holy Spirit Came

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 13, 2012

Since Easter Morning when we heard the proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and the promise of eternal live we have been on a journey with the first church who activities were recorded for us by Luke in the Book of Acts. And we have been hearing some unusual stories that are nothing short of amazing. Who would have expected a diverse church of different languages and cultures coming together in one mind and with one accord? Who would have expected a fearful fisherman who had already denied that he even knew Christ stand before the Sanhedrin and boldly proclaim that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Who would have expected a man lame from birth being healed and 5000 people joining the church? None of these things were expected, and they all indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit acting in and through the first believers. 

 This is the same Spirit acting in a through us transforming us and this church into what God wants us to be. Today we will hear about the most unexpected thing that happened, something that was truly unbelievable, but did happen. And we will find out exactly how the Holy Spirit works. 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)

Peter was a Jew. The first church was made up entirely of Jews. Jew was their identity. You were a Jew if you met three conditions. First, you had to be a descendant of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You lineage determined your ethnicity and only ethnic descendants of Jacob were identified as Jews. So you had to be born as a Jew. The second requirement for being a Jew was behavior. All Jews were expected to obey the Law of Moses as contained in the first five books of the Old Testament. There were hundreds of laws a Jew was expected to keep. One of the most important of the laws was that all male Jews must be circumcised as a sign and seal of their inclusion as the people of God. And the third requirement in being a Jew was belief. All Jews were expected to believe in Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

All members of the first church were Jews. And the question facing them was, “Would the church of Jesus Christ be limited to only Jews, or would non-Jews, Gentiles, be allowed in?” We know that the church of Jesus Christ was made up of people who heard the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. They were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, sealing upon them the promise of eternal life. So far they happened to be all Jews. But what if a non-Jew, a gentile heard the proclamation of the good news? What if a gentile believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God? What if a gentile wanted to be baptized in the name of the God of the patriarchs and Father of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, and receive the promise of eternal life? What would the church do if a non-Jew wanted to be a follower of Jesus Christ? These were questions were far from the mind of the first church until the Holy Spirit started doing things no one expected. Here is what happened.

At Caesarea the was a gentile named Cornelius, a Roman centurion. We are told that he was a God Fearer. This meant that he believed in God, the God of the Jews, and tried to follow God's law, except for circumcision. Because Cornelius was not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he could never be a Jew, he was a gentile. But God wanted him to hear the proclamation of the resurrection and receive the blessing of eternal life. So God sent a angel as a messenger to tell Cornelius to send some men to Joppa where they would find Peter and bring him back. Cornelius did as he was told. The Apostle Peter was in the port city of Joppa staying in the home of a tanner named Simon where he had a dream. God sent a messenger to Peter in the dream with a vision of animals that Gentiles ate and Jews did not. God told Peter to kill and eat indicating that God wanted Peter, a Jew, to accept Gentile eating practices in apparent violation of God's own law. God explained that all of these animals had been created by him and so none of them should be considered “unclean”. In the same way Gentiles were also created by God and could not be unclean simply by their ethnicity. With these two visions God had prepared both Cornelius and Peter to cross ethnic barriers they never expected to cross.

Several years ago I visited Mendenhall Mississippi and met Dolphus Weary the President of Mission Mississippi. Rev. Weary's ministry in Jackson Mississippi is to help white Christians and black Christians to develop relationship and worship together. He does it in this way. Each month there is a prayer breakfast hosted by a church in Jackson. The hosting church is then invited to attend future monthly breakfasts. In that way the groups grows. Each month the breakfast alternates between a white church and a black church. Because of this there are many months when whites will enter a black church for the first time, or blacks will enter a white church for the first time. Rev. Weary's ministry of hospitality welcomes everyone and racial barriers break down.

This is what happened in the first church. A group of Cornelius' men arrived at the house where Peter was staying. No gentile had ever been invited into this house. But because of the work of the Holy Spirit, Peter invited them in and they spent the night. The next day Peter went with them to Caesarea. Peter had never been in the house of a Gentile. But he was invited into Cornelius' house and he went it surprising a large group of Gentiles who had assembled. Peter heard Cornelius' testimony faith and the vision of the angel, and Peter realized that God wanted the church of Jesus Christ to be open to everyone not just Jews. So Peter proclaimed to Cornelius and the other Gentile the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of eternal life. And this brings us to today's scripture.

Acts 10:44-48 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

So how did the Holy Spirit bring Gentiles to faith in Jesus Christ? According to this scripture the Spirit prepared them with dreams and visions and then used the proclamation of the goods news of the resurrection and promise of eternal life to enter them through the words that were being spoken. This is what happens whenever we worship. If the preacher faithfully proclaims the Word of God in worship the Holy Spirit uses those words to bring the congregation to faith in Jesus Christ. Your faith does not depend on what I say. Rather the Holy Spirit uses what I say, transforming it into what you need to hear to produce faith.

This work of the Holy Spirit is not limited to church services on Sunday mornings. It can happen any time when faith is shared. Whenever you talk with someone about your faith and how God has blessed you, the Holy Spirit uses your words and transforms them into what the hearer needs to hear to come to faith. We can see all of this in our first reading this morning. Timothy came to faith from the words spoken by his “grandmother Lois and ... mother Eunice.” And so mothers, just like preachers, speak the word of God that through the work of the Holy Spirit brings people to faith.

I can remember my own mother teaching me how to pray and encouraging me to read scripture. She had me pray for everyone in the family every night before going to sleep. She taught me the Lord's prayer and the 23^rd Psalm. She took me to Sunday school classes every week. And through here efforts the Holy Spirit was able to bring me to faith. This is what we celebrate on Mother's Day, the gift of faith our mothers and grandmothers have passed to us.

The example of the first church directs us to share our faith with people beyond our own ethnic group. The Holy Spirit has enabled us to give our testimonies and express our faith to people who have come to the Eastern shore. There are Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic group living nearby whom we can reach out to. This is already happing. Two Korean chicken farmers attend our Friday prayer breakfasts.

Right now as I proclaim the Word of God the Holy Spirit is taking the words I speak and transforming them into what you need to hear. This is what will bring you to faith in Jesus Christ with the promise of eternal life. You then will share you faith with others allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your words into some they need to hear so that they too will be blessed with faith. This is how the Kingdom of God grows.

Father in Heaven, we thank you for the words written in scripture and the words spoken in worship and testimony. Help our words to be instruments the Holy Spirit can used to bring others to faith. This we pray in the glorious name of your son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Acts 8:26-49 – Explain It To Me

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 8:26-49 – Explain It To Me

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 6, 2012

On this fifth Sunday in the season of Easter we are still looking at the first church. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, and faithful preaching of the resurrection of the dead and the promise of eternal life this church has flourished. After God caused a lame man to be healed in a very public miracle the numbers of church members quickly grew to over five thousand. This required them to setup more structure for the church. The Apostles continued to study scripture and proclaim the good news of resurrection. A board of Deacons was formed to care for the the congregation. And as we will see today specialized ministries were formed to take the good news to the end of the earth. We will look at one the earliest foreign missionary, 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)

The idea of foreign mission work came from Jesus who said, (Acts 1:8) ...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” So far we have seen the first church obey the command to evangelize Jerusalem and the region around it, Judea. But it wasn't until official persecution started that the church was forced to flee to Samaria. There, one of the Deacons, Philip began to preach the gospel, cast out demons and heal the sick. By doing so he caused a lot of excitement in the region. Many of the Samaritans came to faith and through baptism received the promise of eternal life. Despite persecution, the church continued to grow.

But God had something else in mind for Philip. And so we have this amazing story in the eighth chapter of Acts. Here is how it begins.

Acts 8:26-27 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road-- the desert road-- that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out,

This is how foreign mission gets started. It all begins with a call from God. We engage in daily prayers and meditation on scripture and listen for God's voice. Eventually God tells us where we are to go. God spoke to me calling me to short term mission work through the voice of a man I greatly respected. His name was Don Kruse. Don had been a foreign service officer for the United States government and had served for five years in Israel and Palestine. While serving the country in this far off and dangerous place Don developed relationships with Christians and churches of the Holy Land. Whenever Christian pilgrims came from America he would encourage then to meet and develop relationships with Palestinian Christians. Sadly, few people took him up on this offer. So he decided that in retirement he would work within the Presbyterian church to encourage relationships between American Presbyterians and Arab Christians. I never dreamed that I would one day go to Israel and Palestine, see the places where Jesus went, and worship with an Arabic language church, but with Don's encouragement that is exactly what I did. I responded to God's call.

Let's keep going with Philip's encounter with someone from a far off land.

Acts 8:27 ...and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

So Philip encountered someone very unusual, an ambassador from the Queen of Ethiopia. This man was powerful and extremely rich. And we are told that he had already been in Jerusalem for worship. This is a very important point about foreign mission work. God is already there preparing the mission field before we even arrive. The Holy Spirit is already working in the hearts of non-believer around the world, and just needs us to come along with the proclamation of the resurrection from the dead and the promise of eternal life. This is what make our mission work so effective. Let's keep going with the story.

Acts 8: 28 … and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.

This is where the story gets amazing. This Ethiopian ambassador already has a Greek translation of the Old Testament and is reading it out loud trying to make sense of it. You see many people already know about Jesus. They might have heard some stories about what he did. Maybe people have heard that he was a great teacher or even a prophet. Even Muslims are taught this. And this gives us a great opportunity to tell people what Jesus is really all about. The church I visited in Palestine operated a Christian school. Because this school was better that the Muslim public schools many Muslim parents sent their kids there. It is illegal for Christians to evangelize Muslims in Muslim countries and a Muslim could be shot for converting to Christianity, but it's ok for a Christian teacher sin a Christian school to teach Muslim kids about Jesus. And this school would love to have Americans come in the Summer to teach the Palestinian kids English and share our stories of Jesus. Let's get back to Philip.

Acts 8: 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

People around the world are hungry for information about Jesus. In many places this information is blocked. In some places it is illegal to openly talk about Jesus. I have a friend who works for a mission organization in California. This organization recruits Christians in America and teaches them how to teach English as a second language. Many countries around the world want their people to learn English because it help them in business. They want Americans to come and teach English to their kids. So they welcome the English teachers from this organization. But all of their teachers are Christian and even though they are not supposed to teach Christianity it is impossible to teach English without sharing your faith and witnessing to what Jesus has done for you. This is a way to get Christian missionaries into places where they could not otherwise go. So let's listen in as the Ethiopian official and Philip have their conversation.

Act 8: 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip explained to this official that Jesus Christ did not just come our of thin air. Rather he was predicted by the ancient prophets. This proved that Jesus was who he said he was, Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God. Whenever we do foreign mission work we have to be very clear about who Jesus is. There will be those who want us to water down the good news so that it will be palatable to those of other faiths. But Christian evangelism is based on the promise of eternal life for all who belief. So to believe in Jesus as God is crucial for those who desire not to perish. And so we have to maintain the integrity of the gospel we proclaim so that the Jesus people believe in is the one who promises eternal life. Let's finish our story.

Acts 8: 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 37 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

In the space of a few hours the church in Africa was born. One conversation about Jesus with someone who was made receptive by the Holy Spirit was all it took. Church tradition tells us that this official started the first church in Ethiopia and this spread throughout the continent. Today the churches of Africa are rapidly growing. Many of them are made up of the very poorest of people in their communities. They are struggling to proclaim the good news of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life. But they do so with joy because God is with them.

I have recently met some African Christians students at UMES. They are extremely faithful and passionate about evangelism. Their strong desire is to help the American Church regain our passion for the gospel. One of them told me that if we developed a relationship with an African church by just sending them letters and praying for them they would be overjoyed.

Today there are several ways to participate in foreign mission. We can support missionaries of the PCUSA. We can send our own missionaries. David Holland, a child of our church, is preparing to go to China and will be here next week to tell us about it. We can start new churches for people who have come to the Eastern Shore from foreign countries. This church supports my wife, Grace, in her efforts to develop a multicultural church in Princess Anne. A foreign mission experience is available to you by driving fifteen minutes on a Friday evening. By be a part of the Presbyterian Church we also have opportunities to participate in mission work in foreign lands. New Castle Presbytery has a program to help churches here form relationships with churches in the Congo. Presbyterian are sinstalling water filtration systems in Central American churches. Presbyterians are providing disaster relief to tornado victims in Kentucky. So you can see that by being connected we can join with other Presbyterian to do mission work around the world. Let's pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank you for the work of Scottish missionaries who founded and grew our church. Bless us with knowledge of your will for how we can continue the mission work started by Philip. Bless us with the ability to reach out to cultures beyond are own. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.

Sermon – Acts 4:5-12 – By What Power?

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 4:5-12 – By What Power?

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Fourth Sunday of Easter

April 29, 2012

In this season of Easter we have been looking at the formation of the church as told to us by Luke in the book of Acts. God used the miracle of the healing of a man lame from birth to draw people into the church. The church had preachers who proclaimed the resurrection of the Jesus Christ from the dead. This proclamation combined with the work of the Holy Spirit brought some 5000 people to faith. They professed their faith through baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which sealed upon them the gift of eternal life. This was an exciting time, but problems were just over the horizon because the church had come to the attention of the very people who tried to stamp out the whole movement by crucifying Jesus. We will look at this today, 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)

You would expect that with the healing of a man who had been lame from birth the whole city of Jerusalem would be rejoicing. This was a clear sign that God was near. People should have been overwhelmed with joy. But while Peter was speaking to the crowd drawn to the temple gate Luke tells us that the religious leaders of the temple along with the captain of the temple police were greatly disturbed by what was going on. They had been collaborating with the Roman occupying government. This allowed them to keep their wealth and power. Their job was to maintain the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome in Jerusalem. It worked for everyone involved expect the people who were suffering under tyrannical rule. The church of Jesus Christ was a threat to the peace of the city and the power of it religious leaders. Therefore it had to be stopped. Peter and John were arrested and spent the night in jail while the leaders figured out what to do. When the sun rose here is what happened.

Acts 4:5-7 5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

The Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem had convened in an emergency session. The High Priest has brought virtually his whole family. Something big is about to happen. They know that their power rests in the Roman Legions just outside the city gates. Their authority is in the name of Caesar. So they have asked Peter and John, a couple of illiterate Galilean fishermen, for the source of their power and their authority to disrupt the peace of the city as they have done with this miracle and their preaching about resurrection. Listen to how Peter answers their question.

Acts 4:8-11 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

The source of the church's power is the Holy Spirit. The church derives its authority from Jesus Christ, who God raised from the dead. Today, some two thousand years later we still act under this authority and with this power.

Just a few weeks before the apostle Peter, fearing the power and authority of Rome denied that he knew Jesus. But now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter has repented, changing from fear to boldness. He is still subject to the power of the Roman legions, and the authority of the emperor, but now he no longer fears them because he knows of the greater power of the Holy Spirit and the ultimate authority of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have increasingly become concerned that people in America are becoming fearful of the government's power and authority. I have heard board members of Christian organizations who are primarily concerned with protecting themselves from financial liability and government enforcement action. Will the natural resource police arrest us for cutting down a tree? Will we be sued if a car carrying children to Bible study is in an accident? Will we lose are farms if something spills into a stream? Sometimes questions like these paralyze us and we are unable to advance the Kingdom of God as we are called to do a Christian leaders. Like Peter we face a government which, at times, is hostile to religion. Like Peter we fear what a powerful government can do to us. But like Peter we can experience the power of the Holy Spirit and repent, changing our allegiance from government to Jesus Christ.

Peter realized that the only thing the Roman empire could do to him was to put him to death. They could crucify him just as they had crucified Jesus. But if resurrection is true then death is no longer something to fear. And if people no longer fear death then the threat of death no longer intimidates them. The Jewish leaders thought that they could intimidate Peter and John with the threat of death. But this threat no longer worked.

What if we acted as if it didn't matter if we lived or died? What if we could no longer be intimidated with the threat of death? What could we boldly do if we no longer feared anything? What would happen if we insisted, right now, without fear, that the Kingdom of God would be established in Pocomoke, that God's law would be kept, and we would learn to love one another just as God loves us? Our community would be transformed. And this is exactly what happened to those five thousand people who joined the church in those weeks after the resurrection. They were of one mind, and shared what they had. They feared nothing and followed Jesus Christ as Lord.

Luke tells us that the religious leaders were astonished by what Peter told them. They remembered that these were the unschooled fishermen who had come to town with Jesus. But the leaders didn't know what to do. And they didn't know how to handle the lame man who had been healed. So they decided to say nothing and asked Peter and John to leave the room while they deliberated. They decided to tell Peter to stop proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and teaching that the Hebrew scripture had predicted all of this.

Peter's response was extraordinary. He told them that he had been called by God to make this proclamation. And he asked them a simple question. Should he obey God, with the power of the Holy Spirit under the authority of Jesus Christ, or should he obey them, who only have the power of a roman legions and operated under the authority of the Emperor? The question Peter posed to the religious authorities was whether we are all to follow God or something else. The religious leaders could not answer this. They knew that they had to follow Rome for their own protection. But they saw the miracle of a man who had been lame for forty years now walking. They saw the excitement that was building in the city. But, they didn't know what to do. So they made some empty threats and released the apostles.

Peter and John went back to the church and told the people what happened. They decided to gather together in prayer. Here is how they prayed.

Acts 4 24-30 ...“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:

‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’

For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

With this prayer the whole church was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and began to boldly proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead with the promise of eternal life. My prayer this day is that Beaver Dam/Pitts Creek church will be filled with boldness, that our fears would be washed away and that we would boldly march in our community claiming this part of the Eastern Shore for Christ. Let us pray for the sick with confidence that Christ can and does heal. Let us proclaim a resurrection from the dead for all who believe. Let us invite others into the faith with the promise of eternal life. And let us proclaim our total allegiance to our risen savior filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray. Father in Heaven we ask this day that you purge from us our fears of the principalities and powers that seek to intimidate us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit. Inspire us to act in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of eternal life, and establish you kingdom here in Pocomoke. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.

Sermon – Acts 3:12-19 - Repent and Turn to God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 3:12-19 - Repent and Turn to God

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Third Sunday of Easter

April 22, 2012

We have been looking at how God planted the first church. Churches get planted just like potatoes and corn and gardens. I have been planting azaleas and flowers in the gardens around the Dickinson Memorial Manse. These plants need good soil, water, sunshine, and fertilizer all of which God provides. So we should not be surprised when God uses preaching, the Holy Spirit and miracles to plant a church. We will see how this works this morning, 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)

Last week we heard how God got the first church started. He sent his Holy Spirit into the hearts of the Apostles giving them the ability to preach the good news that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead with the promise for all who believe of eternal life. The Holy Spirit then used this proclamation to work in the hearts of the people who heard it to bring them them to faith. Those who then believed were baptized into faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit which sealed upon them the promise of eternal life. This led to the formation of a church that was unified with one heart and one mind.

But how did God get people into the church so that they would hear the proclamation and be transformed by the Holy Spirit? According the Book of Acts God used a miracle to make this happen. You might think that the miracle God used was the resurrection, and that certainly was a miracle. But only a few people saw it, just some women and the disciples. Everyone else heard about the resurrected from the preaching of the Apostles. But God used a different miracle, one that everyone in Jerusalem would instantly recognize as a miracle to bring people into the church. It worked this way. One afternoon two of the apostles were going to pray at the Temple. (Prayer, by the way is essential for a church to grow.) As they entered the temple gate they noticed a beggar who had been lame from birth being placed on the ground next to the gate. This person had no other way to make a living and had to depend on the generosity of those going to prayer. He had been doing this his entire life for decades. When Peter and John saw him they wanted to help. But what could they do? They didn't have any money to give him. But there was one thing they could do. They could pray for him. They could pray that Jesus would heal him. They had seen Jesus heal many people while on Earth, but would the resurrected and ascended Jesus continue to heal? They must have asked this question, but they were filled with faith so they boldly told the man in the name of Jesus Christ to walk, and he did.

Everyone in Jerusalem knew this man. They had seen him sitting at that gate for years. Many had tried to help him. But when the word went around town that he had been healed and was walking they were amazed. We know how fast news spreads around Pocomoke when something happens. Just imagine how fast this news spread around Jerusalem. It didn't take long for the news to reach nearly everyone and a large crowd assembled at the temple gate to see for themselves whether or not the story was true. And when they arrived at the gate they saw something that had to make their jaws drop. A man, disabled from birth, unable to walk, was dancing in front of the gate. As they stared in amazement Peter said to them.

Acts 3:12-19 12 …. "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. 17 "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

The astonished people who came to the temple gate that day did not understand what was going on. So Peter, in his sermon, had to make sense of it for them so that they would come to belief. The first thing he told them was that they were mistaken about the source of the miracle they had witnessed. The people had supposed that Peter and John somehow had extraordinary healing powers. Even today we idolize people who have somehow tapped into the universe's power to heal. They are the faith healer we find at revivals or the self improvement counselors we watch on TV. We read their books and buy their DVDs. We want to learn their secrets and use them for ourselves. We search for the right words, technique, formula or product that will give us exactly what we think we need to make our lives right. But Peter says that we have got it all wrong. It was not Peter's power, Peter's knowledge, Peter's technique or formula. It was about God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, this God was the healer. God is the source of our healing and restoration.

The second mistake the people made was to assume that brokenness was to be expected, while healing was extraordinary. We see this today. There is a general belief that God either doesn't exist or at least doesn't interfere in the the normal course of things. We are genuinely surprised when a miracle like healing occurs. The crowds that day in Jerusalem were drawn to the gate because the healing was so unexpected. But Peter tells us that in a world after Easter healing and restoration are what we should expect because they are as common and sunshine and rain.

And the third mistake the crowd made that day was their reaction to this event, astonishment. Whenever we see God at work in the world, bringing a cancer to remission, restoring a broken relationship, ending wars, feeding hungry children we too are filled with wonder and joy. We are amazed. But Peter tells us that this reaction is not enough. Whenever we see God's handiwork we must go beyond astonishment all the way to repentance. You see it is not enough just to be pleasantly surprised when God blesses us in extraordinary ways. We need to repent, change directions, and follow God as citizens of God's kingdom.

So how did God get the first church started? He equipped it with the Holy Spirit and preachers who could proclaim the resurrection from the dead and the promise of eternal life. When everything was ready God performed a miracle. This attracted a large crowd who were told that God is the source of their blessings and for all who believe in the resurrection heavenly blessing are no longer extraordinary, rather they were expected given the resurrection of the one who was able to perform miracles, Jesus Christ. The crowd was called to repent, to give up their old ways not of anticipating God's blessings, and join with a community that celebrated God's blessings every day. This was really good news. And that church grew rapidly.

Peter then invited them to join with him and the other apostles as they studied the Hebrew scriptures and reinterpreted them in light of the life and ministry of Jesus. They started getting together on Sunday mornings, before work, to find in the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament, a better understanding of who Jesus was and what he did. And we are still doing it today. We still, 2000 years later, gather each Sunday morning to examine the scripture and talk about Jesus. Why do we do this? I think we are still here because we still experience God's miraculous blessings in our lives every day. We experience joy everyday and we have come to expect it. And we hunger for meaning to understand what we are experiencing. So we come to church, to hear the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead with the promise of eternal life. The Holy Spirit fills us with faith. And we leave here expecting see God at work in the world and to align ourselves with God's mission to that world.

The reality that God is blessing the world is the key to evangelism. Most of the people we meet are unable to see God at work in their world. They believe that miracles are a thing of the past. Occasionally they witness something extraordinary, but they have no way of understanding what is happening. The reaction is astonishment. They are momentarily amazed but they quickly return to their dreary lives. You have the ability to help them break free from this prison. You can help them to see God's continuing blessings and miracles. You can help them understand what is going on. You can invite them to church for Bible study, prayer and worship where they too will learn to recognize God's blessings when they occur and understand what they are all about. This is a great gift that you can give to others in this community. Let's pray.

Lord God, we thank you for blessing us so richly. We know that all of this was part of your plan as spoken to the prophets and revealed in Jesus Christ. We pledge our repentance and our promise to align ourselves with what you are doing in our community. Help us to help other recognize your blessings when they occur. Help us to explain to others what these mean. And help us to help others come to repentance where they too can recognize all you are doing for them. This way pray in the name of the one who made all of this possible, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Acts 4:32 - 37 - Of One Heart and Mind

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 4:32 - 37 - Of One Heart and Mind

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Second Sunday of Easter

April 15, 2012

Last week we celebrated Easter Sunday. We decorated the church in white and sang the familiar hymns. We wore our Sunday best and many of our families joined us in church. It was a glorious time. And it was the time for me, as your pastor, to proclaimed the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise to all who believe of eternal life. Today we will see what happens when this good news is proclaimed and the Holy Spirit begins its work. Something amazing happens. We will look at all of this, but first let's pray.

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

Acts 4:32-37 ³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. ³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts tells us that all the believers, all who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead “were one in heart and mind”. This is truly amazing. We know that this first church was very diverse. Around five thousand people had become believers. Their sins were symbolically washed away in baptism and they professed their belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But they came from many different countries, spoke different languages, possessed various amounts of wealth, and even though they were all Jews some held onto their ancient Hebrew culture while others had become, culturally, more like the Greeks. This was not a recipe for unity and accord. A diverse group will have many different opinions. And since the church was just being formed they would have had many opinions about how the church should be structured. You would expect a church like this to experience many divisions.

You can see what I am talking about in Grace's new church in Princess Anne. Crossroads International Fellowship has been meeting for over a year and have developed into a very diverse group. There are rich and poor, young and old, blacks and whites and Asians and Africans attending worship services. And these often differ on the path the church should take as it grows. Grace has worked hard maneuvering through various minefields as she has put this group together. Not everyone is happy with the decisions made and some leave. All this is to be expected with a diverse group. But Grace is continuing to proclaim the resurrection of the Jesus from the dead and the promise of eternal life, and her church continues to grow.

Luke tells us that this happened in the first church. The first church was united by the proclamation of the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. As long as this is the proclamation of the church the church will be unified. But if something else comes from the pulpit then our unity dissipates and we have conflict. Take a look at the Presbyterian Church USA. We are divided. Churches are leaving the denomination. A new denomination has been formed to receive the more conservative congregations. The problem is that we have focused for too long on controversial issues that divide us. The more we argue the more a great the chasm comes between us. It doesn't matter which side you are on, we are all at fault. We have forgotten that what unites us is the clear proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of eternal life. Were this to be our focus our divisions would be healed, and we would become of one mind and spirit.

The first church was focused like a laser beam on the truth of the resurrection and the assurance of eternal life. This united them and gave them a common mind. And it motivated them to do the next thing we will look at. Luke tells us that “they shared everything they had”. This does not mean that they sold all their possessions and depended on one another as some have thought. Rather what Luke is describing is a situation where the believers in the church were very generous in working out Jesus' command to love one another. They were generous in their giving to the church. They gave their gifts to the Apostles who were tasked with giving the proceeds to those who needed it most. This system ensured that everyone, even the poorest among them, had their basic needs met.

Recently I spoke with our church historian, Emily, who I believe is the oldest and longest serving member of our church. She remembers Pocomoke with dirt roads and Pastor Lytle riding in a horse drawn carriage from Pitts Creek to Beaver Dam each Sunday. She told me that during the Great Depression the churches of Pocomoke took on responsibility of seeing that everyone had enough to eat. Each church took turns providing a free soup lunch to anyone who was hungry. We cared for the people in our community. We were generous in working out Jesus' command to love our neighbors.

This continues today. We have groups in the church who raise funds and give them to families in need. We have given to mothers of sick children and to families whose homes have burned to the ground. We have helped people in jail get a fresh start in life. We have delivered boxes of food to needy families to help them celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are countless things we have done that I am not even aware of. Each one of us in our own way is trying to love others as much as God loves us.

So where does all of this come from, all this unity and generosity. Luke tells us that it is work of the Holy Spirit moving through the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the promise of eternal life. Wherever this gospel preached the Holy Spirit is unleashed into the hearts of those who believe the good news and unity and generosity will be the result. When this happened in the first century they had to call it something. Luke tells us they called it “church”. So a church is a place where the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, the promise of eternal life is made and the Holy Spirit encourages unity of mind and generosity.

Luke tells us the story of one young man who came to belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His name was Joseph Barnabas, which means the Son of Encouragement. Barnabas was from Cyprus. So he probably spoke, dressed and lived like a Greek. This would have made him very different from the ethnic Jews of Jerusalem and Galilee. He had probably heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost and was attracted to the good news that Peter had proclaimed that Jesus Christ had been resurrected from the dead assuring all who believe the promise of eternal life. But would he, as a Hellenistic Jew, one who was culturally Greek, be accepted into a more traditional group of Jews? He discovered that he was accepted. His dress and way of speaking didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was Barnabas' belief in Jesus Christ. And he was accepted into the church.

Barnabas was a descendant of Jacob’s son Levi. The tribe of Levi, according to the Old Testament, was not given a share in the promised land. Rather than being farmers who cared for the land, the Levites would care for the church. Even though Barnabas was from the tribe of Levi he owned a field. But he heard from God a call to be a Levite and serve the church of Jesus Christ. So he sold his field, gave it to the church and became a dedicated worker for the church. Barnabas became one of the most effective evangelist for other Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles. He was the one who recruited Paul and brought him to the apostles attention. And Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to visit the new church that had started in Antioch. From there he went to Tarsus and brought Paul back to the church. And he accompanied Paul in his first missionary journey. Barnabas, the son of encouragement, encouraged the first church to grow and form other churches. For this he will always be remembered.

For us here at Beaver Dam the same thing is possible. We can grow to the point where this sanctuary is too small. We can sponsor new churches. We can bring new people to belief. What we need to do this is to hear the proclamation of the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and be filled with the Holy Spirit. With these two things nothing can stop us. We will be united in our mission and generous in our giving and nothing can stop the growing of the church.

Lord God, we have proclaimed the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and your promise of eternal life. We believe what we have heard. Fill us now with your Holy Spirit so that we may be evangelists in your world. Unite us in this mission and give us generous hearts. Use this to grow our church and plant seeds of your kingdom. This we pray in you Son's glorious name.

Sermon – John 20: 1-18 Coming to Belief

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – John 20: 1-18 Coming to Belief

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Easter Sunday

April 8, 2012

Just as the farmers of old we look to the heaven for clues about when to plant the potatoes and corn. We wait for the sun to give us equal days and nights. Then we wait for the full moon to light the evening for planting. Both have now occurred. So we have reached the time to plant your crops. Also on this first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox we are ready to plant seeds of faith. It is Easter morning and we join with Christians around the world and of all time to boldly proclaim what we believe: Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead. Let us pray.

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

The Gospel of John is about belief. The key text in this important book come from the third chapter and the sixteenth verse “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.” The promise of Easter is that you will have eternal life. You will live forever in the presence of God. But before we receive this promise we must first do something. We must believe. But believe in what? What are we suppose to believe to receive this wonderful gift of eternal life? The content of our belief is what we celebrate on Easter. We believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. But how does someone come to this belief? What is the process of conversion from unbelief to belief. The twentieth chapter of John gives us two examples of people coming out of the darkness of unbelief into the light of faith.

You heard in the first reading of scripture read earlier these words. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark”. On that Easter morning the world was shrouded in darkness; belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ had not yet started. Then after a missing stone and a foot race the disciple that Jesus loved looked into an empty tomb. This disciple became the first person to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He came to belief because of what he saw, or in his case what he didn't see.

Sometimes we come to belief in Jesus by seeing God in the world around us. We see God in the beauty of our forests and streams and rivers and coastlines. We see God in the faces of believers as they volunteer in church, or in other non-profits. We see God in the stories shared by seniors in nursing homes. We see God in the children as they learn Bible stories. We see God as we share bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. God has blessed us with eyes with which we can see him in the world he created. The disciple Jesus loved saw an empty tomb, he remembered Jesus' teachings and he knew that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. He believed in Jesus Christ and was promised eternal life.

So I urge you this Easter to look for Jesus in the world around you. Look for Jesus when the children enjoy their chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. Look for Jesus when your family sits down for a meal. Look for Jesus in the loving eyes of those caring for children or for aging parents. Use your eyes to look for Jesus in the world and you will be blessed with belief that he was truly resurrected from the dead with the promise for you of eternal life.

But seeing with our eyes is only one of the two ways we have of coming to belief. The other is contained in the twentieth chapter of John, verses 11-18.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her,“Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her,

“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Mary Magdalene saw Jesus with her own eyes, but even though she saw she still did not believe. For some of us we need more than just seeing God at work in the world around us for us to come to belief. Sometime we just don't believe what we see. Like Mary we need something more. Mary turn away from Jesus and was not looking at him when the following happened. Jesus spoke to her. Mary Magdalene came to belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ not with her eyes but with her ears. She believed in Jesus Christ when she heard Jesus say her name, and she received the promise of eternal life.

Sometimes we come to belief when God speaks to us. I remember a Sunday morning many years ago. As I drove to church I prayed to God, expressing all my anger and dissatisfaction with my life. I gave God a piece of my mind. I arrived in church and was surrounded by the faithful, but my prayers continued when suddenly I heard a voice. It was as clear as if someone behind was speaking. But it wasn't someone behind me and no one else heard it. I'm certain that it was God's voice. I heard it and remember exactly what it said, “It's in the book.” Suddenly I had a need to find out what was in that book. I reached down and picked up a pew Bible and began to read. The next Sunday I started attending a Sunday School class for the first time since I was a kid. The next Wednesday I enrolled in a two year Bible overview called the Bethel Bible Series. One thing led to another and I became and Bethel teacher at the church and eventually went to seminary. Today I am responding to God's voice by studying God's book every day, and telling you what I find.

We can hear God's voice calling us through the scripture we read and hear proclaimed. We come to belief in Jesus Christ by allowing God's voice to speak to us through the Bible. That's why it is so important to start every day with God's word and prayer. That's why it is so important to study God's word on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons or evenings. That's why it is so important to hear God's voice through the proclamation of Gospel each Sunday morning. Through all of these things we can hear God call our names and like Mary Magdalene come to belief with the promise of eternal life.

Once Mary Magdalene heard Jesus call her name her eyes were opened and she could see him in the world. This is what happens to us. After we hear God voice in our meditations, study and worship we then begin to see God in the world around us. The Bible was written by people who had heard God's voice and saw God doing things. They wrote these things down and the church has preserved them for us. So as we are immersed in the Scripture we are better able to see God in our world. Our study of the word of God helps us to see God in the world. So our eyes and our ears work together to bring us to belief in Jesus Christ. With our ears we hear God speak to us in church through the pages of the Bible. The helps to recognize God in the world we see with our eyes. Though hearing and seeing we come to belief.

Later that night the disciples gathered back in the upper room. They heard Mary Magdalene's report of her encounter with the risen Jesus. Then they saw Jesus in the room with them. The heard with their ears and saw with their eyes and came to belief. Like these disciples we are a people who have heard God speaking to us through the scripture. We are also a people who can see God at work in the world around us. So we are a people who believe. And on this Easter Sunday we believe with the disciple that Jesus loved and with Mary Magdalene and with the other disciples that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. This belief comes with a promise. Because we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has promised us eternal life. This is what we celebrate at Easter.

And like Mary Magdalene and the disciples we just can't wait to proclaim to the world what we have heard and seen. “I have seen the Lord”, said Mary to the disciples. What will you say to the people you meet about what you have seen and heard? I urge to go and tell everyone the good news that Jesus Christ has been resurrected from dead. All who believe this receive the gift of eternal life. This may sound like something too good to be true. But it is true, we have heard and seen it. So proclaim it as the truth to everyone you meet so they will hear it too and come to belief.

The Easter story in John begins with the darkness of unbelief. But then through hearing and seeing belief comes into the world. This belief is that Jesus Christ, the light of the world, has been resurrected from the dead. He lives! Believe in your heart what others have heard and seen that Jesus conquered death. As believers you will now receive the gift of eternal life.

Lord Jesus we thank you for the gift of faith. Through you voice in scripture and through your work in the world we have heard you and seen you. So we believe in your resurrection from the dead and anticipate our own resurrections when we will live forever with you, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Help us to proclaim this good news to everyone we know. This we pray in your holy name. Amen.

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – The Lord's Supper

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – The Lord's Supper

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Palm Sunday

April 1, 2012

Today is the last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. It's Palm Sunday. This is the week each year when we look at the final days of Jesus' life. It all began with a triumphal entry into Jerusalem as palm branches lined the processional route. Later in the week Jesus will be arrested, tried and sentenced to death on a cross, a sentence that will be carried out by the Roman authorities. In between the triumphal entry and the crucifixion Jesus had one final meal with his disciples. At this meal he told them to break bread and share wine together in his memory. And he commanded them to love one another.  As we begin this most of holy of weeks, 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)

Several weeks ago we were talking about the divisions in the Corinthian church. The divisions were threatening to split the church apart. So Paul wrote a letter that will precede a visit and more letters to deal with these growing problems. One of the greatest problem concerned their practices during the Lord's Supper. So let's take a look at the religious practices of Christians in the first century.

It was the custom of the early church to meet in the early hours, on Sunday morning before work, to pray and share the stories of Jesus. Sunday was a work day until the 4^th century. Then, after work, they would again get together to give thanks to God, break bread and share wine as Jesus had commanded. In Corinth, we believe, that the first century Christians met in a house each Sunday morning and evening. This house was large enough for the entire church and therefore was large and probably owned by a wealthy individual. Large homes in that era would have an elaborately decorated dining room with a horseshoe shaped table. They would also have another large, less decorated, room called the atrium. We think that when the Corinthian church got together for dinner on Sunday evenings, the owner and his friends would use the dining room and share a feast while others in the church would be in the atrium eating the food that was left over from the dining room, or eating something they brought, or maybe eating nothing at all. Sometimes the people in the dining room would drink so much wine they would actually be drunk for the communion service. All of this created a class division in the Corinthian church. The rich had communion in a fancy room after eating a fabulous feast and getting drunk, while the poor had communion in the atrium. As you might imagine this created some bitterness and hard feelings in the church.

To deal with this problem the Apostle Paul quoted from the communion liturgy the Corinthian church used and talked about it. Here it is.

1 Corinthians 11:17 - 12:1 ¹⁷ In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. ²⁰ When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, ²¹ for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²² Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. ²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. ³² When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. ³³ So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. ³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

Paul cautioned them not to participate in the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. What could he possibly mean by “unworthy manner”? Since the church was having dinner in two rooms, one for the wealthy and one for the poor, Paul told them that if they were hungry to eat at home first before coming to church. And then when they arrive at church wait for everyone to arrive. We know from later writings in the New Testament that churches stopped the practice of have a Sunday evening meal. They continued to have fellowship dinners. These were called Agape, or Love dinners. The Lord's Supper continued each Sunday evening, but without a meal.

But Paul went beyond this in his instructions to the Corinthians. He told them that whenever they come to the Lord's Supper they must recognize the body of the Lord. This command of Paul's that we must recognize the body of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper has caused much discussion in the church. Did he mean that the bread and wine physically become the body and blood of Jesus, as some have thought? Or did he mean that we are spiritually united with Christ through the bread and wine, as others have argued? Or did he mean that we recognize the body of the Lord by remembering his life and ministry as still others claim? It would take weeks for us to sort all this out.

I think, that to understand what Paul meant by recognizing the body of the Lord, we must first know what Paul meant when he used the phrase “body of Christ”. For Paul, the body of Christ is all of us. We, Christians who gather together in churches are the body of Christ. So to recognize the body of Christ during the Lord's Supper means that we recognize each other as part of the body. It is only us by being together in communion that we can perceive the body of Christ.

The problem in the Corinthian church was the the rich people were having communion in the dining room while others were out in the atrium. They couldn't see each other. So they couldn't recognize the body of Christ. Paul wanted them in the same room, rich and poor, so that both groups would be together and all would be able to recognize this as the body of Christ.

Whenever we celebrate the Lord's Supper here at Beaver Dam we always welcome around the table all who believe. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, wise or foolish. Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ is welcome. And as we gather around this table we recognize the body of Christ in the faces of our fellow worshipers.

Communion is a public event, never private. Even when we take communion to shut-ins I always go with an elder or deacon, representing the whole congregation, so that we can recognize the body of Christ as we eat the bread and drink the juice together.

It has concerned me that Christians here in Pocomoke rarely worship together. There are very few opportunities for all the churches in Pocomoke to come together around this table. The Pocomoke Ministerial Association has not been able to organize a Thanksgiving or Good Friday service this year. Thankfully we will have a Pocomoke Prayer Breakfast in May. But I think we need to do more, much more, to worship and break bread together. And I would like for us to think about ways that we could do things with other churches. We will be joining with the Methodists next Sunday for an Easter Sunrise Service. Maybe we could do something with a Black or Hispanic church in our community. The more we do with other churches, the more we will be able to recognize the body of Christ.

We also need to recognize the body of Christ in the global church. And that is why it is so important to participate in the One Great Hour of Sharing. Through this offering we can assist farmers throughout the world to grow sufficient food to feed hungry people. Through this offering we can help poor people in the United States make a new start. Through this offering we can come to the aid of people whose farms and homes have been destroyed in floods and droughts, hurricanes and tsunamis, earthquakes and twisters. We join with other Christians in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Presbyterian Self Development of People Program, and the Presbyterian Disaster Relief Program where we and others will recognize the body of Christ in each other.  So as we gather around the communion table today, look into each others eyes. There you will recognize the body of Christ.

Lord Jesus we have assembled as your body around this table. Bless us with your spiritual presence. Renew us in the bread and wine. And help us to recognize you as we come together in communion. Amen.