Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 The Forgiveness of Sins

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 The Forgiveness of Sins

Easter 7

May 12, 2013

At the beginning of Lent I began a look at the Apostles' Creed. We have examined each phrase as we followed the church calendar through Lent and Easter. We have seen what the creed says about God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Today we will continue with what it says about the Holy Spirit. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

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

Usually, when we talk about forgiveness it is God's forgiveness of our sins. God, out of his great mercy forgives our sins. This is symbolized by our baptisms. In baptism our sins our symbolically washed away, and our old lives symbolically end as we emerge from the waters to new life. Baptism is also a seal of God's promise of forgiveness for all who believe in Jesus Christ. And so when we are baptized or when we confirm our baptisms we profess our faith in Jesus Christ. The Nicene Creed from the 4^th century puts plainly, “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” Clearly there is a strong link between baptism and God's forgiveness. Last week we saw that the church, made up of forgiven sinners, is holy because of the work of the Holy Spirit making the members of the church more and more holy. So when we are baptized we are forgiven and begin the process toward holiness.

But what about those whose sins are forgiven in baptism but continue to sin? And what about those who are forgiven and then backslide into their old lives? People can only be baptized once. So what happens to people who commit post-baptismal sins?

This was a pressing question on the minds of the church in the fourth century. For centuries the church had been a persecuted minority. Then, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and established it as the official religion of the empire. Suddenly everyone was a member of the church, some against their wills. People were required to be baptized. Many had no intention of cooperating with the Holy Spirit to become more holy. And so many members of the church continued to sin even after their baptisms. What should the church do?

There were some who argued that the church had to remain holy and those who continued to sin should not be a part of the church. There was a separatist group in North Africa called the Donatist who argued that the church should be made up of saints. They separated themselves from the church at Rome. Schisms have continued over this issue even in our own times. There are some who argue that sinners, especially practicing homosexuals, should not be ordained as elders and deacons on the Presbyterian Church. Some churches and pastors have decided to leave the PCUSA for other denominations and some churches have formed a new denomination. The issue today is the same one that has faced the church since the fourth century. How holy must the members and leaders of the church be and still be church.

It was within this context that the Apostles' Creed was changed by adding the words “the forgiveness of sins.” Notice that unlike the Nicene Creed, also of the fourth century, there is no mention of baptism. Rather, in the Apostles' Creed, the forgiveness of sins is in the context of a holy catholic church and communion of saints. In other words just as God forgives us our sins in the same way the church must forgive the sins of it members. So rather than throw out or separate from we are to forgive.

Of course forgiveness is difficult. When we do something wrong we want mercy. But if someone does something wrong to us we demand justice. Giving mercy to people who deserve judgment is difficult especially if the sin is big or repeated. Recently a young women were reconciled with there families after being held as a prisoners for ten years. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight had just escaped from prison in a Cleveland home. I could never ask or expect for them to forgive their captors. And I hope their captors will receive the maximum punishment the law allows. But not all sin is this big or goes on this long. Most of the time we have a choice to demand justice or give mercy. And the creed teaches us that we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven. We pray every Sunday, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”.

The reason we are to forgive is because relationships are important to God. God forgives us so that we can be in relationship with him. And God wants us to forgive others to repair broken relationships. I have talked to many people who no longer come to church. I ask them, why did you stop coming? Almost always the response to this is that the person did something, a sinful act, and is now too ashamed to come back to church. When a person feels shame about coming to church the problem is that he perceives the church to be unforgiving. Only though forgiveness can ever hope to restore these relationships which have been broken. I hope that someday the relationships being broken among pastors in the PCUSA will also be restored.

The Apostle Paul called this the ministry of reconciliation. Here is what he said:

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So how are we to reconcile relationships that have been broken after a misunderstanding or hurtful disagreement? How do we forgive someone. First, someone has to take the initiative, a first step. Without movement on somebody's part no reconciliation can occur. The person taking the initiative must acknowledge that the relationship is broken, recall how important and precious the relationship was, and reaffirm their love and concern for the other. If the other refuses to acknowledge this and receive your forgiveness there is nothing you can do, the broken relationship will remain unaltered. Only if both parties agree to restore the relationship will reconciliation occur. So too with our relationship with God. God, though our baptisms, has offered us forgiveness. Do we accept it? Are we willing to be reconciled with God?

The ministry of reconciliation is the ministry of the church. We are called to proclaim that the sins of all who profess that Jesus in Lord, confess their sins and amend their behavior will be forgiven. And we are to embody this ministry by forgiving one another so that relationships within the church may be reconciled.

The good news in all of this is that forgiveness is not up to us. God forgives us not because we are not deserving of judgment, but because he sees Jesus when he looks at us. Likewise, when someone hurts us and we want judgment, the Holy Spirit enables us to see the image of God in that person. And if we see the image of God then the only thing we can do is forgive. This is good news because it means that sinners have a second chance. Yes, your sins were forgiven at baptism. Yes, you should amend you life and live it in accordance with God's law. But if you backslide then God and the church offers you a second chance to confess, repent, and reconcile.

The Donatist were never able to forgive. They continued for a while, but disappeared when Islam spread across North Africa. But the churches of the Roman Empire continued to flourish because they had found ways to forgive and reconcile. And so we are a people of forgiveness.

Remember always that you are a sinner too. You were once estranged from God. But in your baptism your were forgiven by God so that the relationship you had with God was restored. So too forgive those who have sinned against you so that your relationship with that person will be restored. This is what we are called to do, a ministry of reconciliation. Every time we say the Apostles' Creed we are affirming our acceptance of God's offer of forgiveness. And so the Apostle's Creed helps us to be reconciled with God. And that is exactly what God wants.

Holy Spirit we thank you for sealing God's forgiveness upon us in our baptisms. We accept that offer of forgiveness and ask that our relationship with God be restored and reconciled. We also ask that you make us forgiving people who desire to restore relationships with those who have wronged us. Help us to be a forgiving church where people who have sinned will find mercy and reconciliation. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Sermon – Colossians 1:15-19 The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Colossians 1:15-19 The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints

Easter 6

May 5, 2013

As we continue with our study of the Apostles Creed we are looking at the work of the Holy Spirit. We have found that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the trinity. We have also found that the Holy Spirit is an experienced reality in the church, and will continue to be with us until Jesus returns. We will see in future weeks that the Holy Spirit seals upon us God's salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, and the Holy Spirit will lead us to eternal life through the resurrection of the dead. Today we will look closely at the church which was created by and is sustained by the Holy Spirit. 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)

Colossians 1:15-19 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

This past Thursday the Pocomoke churches and the Mayor of Pocomoke gathered in the Community Center for the National Day of Prayer. This was important event because it is one of the few times that all Christians in Pocomoke come together for a time of prayer. It did matter if you went to a black church or a white church. It didn't matter if your church had a band or a piano or an organ. It didn't matter if your church baptized people in a pool or sprinkled water on their heads. It didn't matter if you were main-line, evangelical or pentecostal. The only think that mattered was that you were a follower of Jesus Christ with a desire to pray to him for our community and world. And so the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, gathered into the Pocomoke Community Center and in churches and community centers all over the country for prayer.

The Apostles Creed teaches us that the church is holy, catholic and the communion of saints. Let's take a look at each of these beginning with the holiness of the church.

We have already seen the word “holy” twice in the creed, both times referring to the Holy Spirit. This was meant to say that the Holy Spirit is God, because God is holy. God is holy in the sense that he is morally perfect. God will do no wrong. God is free from sin, morally pure. And since we believe that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also God, then they too must be holy, morally perfect. But is the church holy in this sense? Is the church morally perfect? Are the members of the church totally free from sin? Of course not. We are stained by sin as much as any other group in the population. We just admit our sins and come to church for help. If we claimed to be morally perfect we would be deceiving ourselves and others would perceive us as hypocrites. So in what sense is the church holy?

In ancient times the holiest place on earth was thought to be the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple. Here God was thought to live and since God is holy the temple he lives in must also be holy. As pilgrims came to the temple they would take a series of ceremonial baths, cleansing sin from their bodies, so that when they arrived at the temple they too would be holy. In the same way the Holy Spirit resides with us in the church making the church holy. And as we come to church we become more and more holy. As we pray every day, as we study scripture, as we worship the Holy Spirit will transform us. Through this transformation our desire for sin decreases and we find ourselves more and more morally pure. Moral perfection is only achieved after a lifetime of transformation. In other words the church is holy because it is a hospital for sinners, where the Holy Spirit heals our sin stained souls and restores within us the image of God. The church is holy because the Holy Spirit is present making us increasingly holy.

Let's now turn to the second aspect of the church. The church is catholic. There is a lot of confusion about this. The word catholic may refer to all particular churches in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. These churches are called Roman Catholic churches, Catholic with a capital C. But the creed is not talking about a particular denomination. The word catholic means “universal”. And so it refers to all churches of all places and of all times. This would include all the churches in Pocomoke and all the churches around the world. This would include all the churches of the past and all the churches of the future. This would include every church that professes the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But the word “catholic” means a little more than just “universal”. It also means to be “a part of the whole”. And so we, here at Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam, are part of the universal church because we too profess that Jesus in Lord.

This idea of a catholic church, or universal church, does not mean we all have the same government or worship in the same way. We are not a homogeneous church. God has given us the privileged to worship and organize ourselves in many different ways reflecting our cultural differences.

And so we worship with organs and choirs, or folk bands, or gospel singing, or even rock and roll. And we are governed by elders, or bishops or congregations. This diversity is good because it seeks to bring as many people as possible into the church. But always remember that our similarities are far more important than our differences because we are united into a universal church which confesses that Jesus Christ is our leader.

We have seen that the church is holy, in that the Holy Spirit is present making us more and more holy. We have also seen that the church is catholic, that is universal and we are a part. Now we will look at the third aspect of the church. It is the communion of saints.

In the original Greek and Latin of the Apostles Creed the word we translate as “holy” and the word we translate as “saints” is the same word. So this phrases in the creed could be translated as either “communion of the holy ones” or the “communion of holy things” . We have already talked about us becoming holy. So we are the holy ones. But what about the holy things. We sometimes forget that when the Holy Spirit is present whatever it touches becomes holy. For example the bread and juice on the table before us are very ordinary things, but if the Holy Spirit is present they too become holy. This building would be a very nice assembly hall and community center, but if the Holy Spirit is present it becomes a sacred place. The words I speak are just words, but if the Holy Spirit is present they become the Word of God. Congregational singing is just noise, but if the Holy Spirit is present it becomes a joyful noise to the Lord.

The Holy Spirit also provides the church with Holy people. We know this because people in the church are gifted by the Holy Spirit. We have been blessed by gifts to the apostles who have passed their gifts to us in scripture. We have been blessed by gifts to the prophets who can see the world from God's perspective. We have been blessed by gifts to the teachers who can explain God's word to us in ways we can understand. We have been blessed by the gifts of miracle workers and healers that have sustained the church for 2000 years. We have been blessed by church administrators who keep all of this running. We have been blessed by people who help others. This is what it means to be a church of holy people.

So because of the presence of the Holy Spirit the church is made up of holy people and holy things, and this makes the church holy. But what about the word “communion”? What does it mean to say the the church is a “communion of holy ones” or a “communion of holy things”?

The word “communion” is an old English word that means “fellowship”. The church is a holy fellowship or a holy community. The Greek word for this is koinania. The idea is that we are a sharing community. We share our joys and concerns with each other every week in worship. We share cards, letters and flowers with the sick. Through our gifts, tithes and offerings the stronger share with the weaker. Through our Bible studies we share our understanding of who God is. Though our prayers we share our concerns for each other with God. Through our mission dollars and relationships we share God's blessing with the universal church. And so we are a sharing community of people growing into holiness in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray.

Holy Spirit we ask that you come upon us and make us church. Transform us into holy people. Bless us with gifts which we can share with others and with the church. Form us into a sharing community. Form us into a community that spans the world. This we pray in the name of the Head of the church, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Acts 2: 1-21 – I Believe in the Holy Ghost

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Acts 2: 1-21 – I Believe in the Holy Ghost

Easter 5

April 28, 2013

When Jesus taught us how to make and baptize disciples he said this, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). When the Apostle Paul wanted God's blessing to pour down on the church at Corinth he said this, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). These statement indicate the belief of the early Church that God is present to us as three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Old Roman Symbol, which eventually became our Apostles Creed, was a training tool for new initiates to the faith to learn about the triune God we believe in. So far in our study of the Apostles Creed we have looked at what it says about the Father and the Son. Today we will being our look at the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, 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 2:1-21 ^NIV Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." ¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. ²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

“I believe in the Holy Ghost.” This statement begins the third part of the Apostles Creed. By saying it we affirm that we believe, trust our lives totally, without reservation, to God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is holy, meaning it is of God. And it is God's spiritual presence with us today. The Creed uses the word “Holy Ghost”. “Ghost” was once an acceptable synonym of “spirit”, but no more. The word “ghost” conjures us images of everything from malevolent beings haunting houses to a friendly ghost names Casper. Since all of this gets in the way of our understanding of the third person of the trinity it is better to use the word “spirit”.

This is the second time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the creed. The first time it referred to the Holy Spirit's role in the conception of Jesus. When Jesus was conceived Mary ensuring that he would be fully human, and the Holy Spirit ensured that he would be fully God. From this we understand that the Holy Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit was with Jesus throughout his ministry. It was present as a dove in Jesus' baptism, and it led Jesus during his forty days in the desert. Jesus told us that after his ascension he would send the Holy Spirit to us to stand with us until his return. And so the Holy Spirit is with us here and now comforting us, strengthening us, and causing us to grow in faith and as obedient disciples. It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience God's love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit empowers us to understand the scripture we read. The Holy Spirit brings us redemption from our sins, and modifies our hearts to make us more like Christ.

After his resurrection, the disciples of Jesus obediently waited. As Jesus promised the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were clothed with power, and all selfishness and bigotry disappeared. One who had denied Christ the night of his arrest, was embolden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good new of his resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit ensured that the words Peter spoke that day were understood even by those who could not understand the language he was using. People who fled when Jesus was arrested were later empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel of salvation even in the face of official persecution.

So how would we know if the Holy Spirit is with us today? If we receive blessings from God we know these come from the Holy Spirit. If we are inspired, act unselfishly, desire to be holy, or want to do what is right then we know these desires come to us from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always with us, speaking to us, guiding us, strengthening us, and fulfilling Jesus' promise of sending a counselor who would walk with us, dwell in us, and guide us into the truth.

The Holy Spirit is also with us whenever we feel alone or overwhelmed. When we are in a hospital bed or a nursing home the Holy Spirit is there to comfort us, heal us, strengthen us, and guide us to our eternal home in Jesus Christ. When we have lost our job or a relationship has come to an end the Holy Spirit is with us, feeding us with hope in Jesus Christ. When attendance in church is dwindling and budgets getting tighter, the Holy Spirit is there to initiate renewal.

The Holy Spirit comes to free us from whatever it is the binds us and keeps us from God. Sometimes it needs to free us from church when it becomes bound by tradition and ceremony and is unable to accomplish God's mission on earth. When this happens we see a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit renewing the church. In the early 20^th century the Holy Spirit came into the church in speaking in tongues and prophecy. This led to the growth of Pentecostal denominations. Later, in the 1960s this same phenomena came into many of the main-line churches through the Charismatic Movement. And today we see the Holy Spirit at work in the rapidly growing churches of South America and Africa.

We need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our church today. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the gift of forgiveness to all who confess and repent. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will illumine our reading of the Bible. We need to pray that the hymns we sing become a joyful noise to the Lord. We need to pray that words spoken by the Apostles, Prophets and Preachers will be more than just words, that they will be the word of God. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will transform and empower us to do God's work in the world. And we do pray these things in worship every week.

And so we know that the Holy Spirit is in us transforming us into obedient disciples. The Holy Spirit uses our prayers, our Bible studies, and our worship to mold us into what the God created us to be. What happens here is far more than some Bible teaching and hymn singing. This is the church, the creation of the Holy Spirit. We are God's people, and we are the leading edge of new kingdom coming to earth called the Kingdom of God. We are living at the beginning of the end of the age when the Holy Spirit will transform all of creation and Christ will return.

We cry out, “Holy Spirit come” not because we fear that the Holy Spirit is somehow absent. We make this cry acknowledging our own need to be filled with the Holy Spirit each day. We are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit and so we need to pray every day that we will be filled with the its power so that we may act as the children of God here on earth. Let us pray.

Holy Spirit come. Come down upon us. Fill our hearts with God's love and forgiveness. Be with us in worship to illumine the scripture and transform us into God's people. Use us in your transformation of the world in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ. This we pray in the name of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit come. Amen.

Sermon – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - He Will Come Again to Judge the Quick and the Dead

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - He Will Come Again to Judge the Quick and the Dead

Easter 3

April 14, 2013

We all would like to see into the future. We want to know what will happen to ourselves and our children in the years ahead. We worry about our futures. This is why so many people go to astrologers and psychics with questions about our futures. But the Bible is very clear about this. It is not a good idea for you to know what will happen. You are to remember the past and focus on the present and your relationship with God. Do this and the future will take care of itself. But there is one exception to this rule. Scripture wants your to know that Jesus will return. With Jesus returning we are filled with hope in our futures. And it is this hope that we will be looking at today. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

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

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage each other with these words.

There is and old story you may have heard before about the second coming of Christ. It goes this way. A breathless cardinal runs into the Pope's office and says that he has good news and bad news. The Pope asks him for the good news. And the cardinal tells him that Jesus Christ has returned and is calling him on the phone right now. “This is really good news!” the Pope said, “but what could be the bad news on a glorious day like today?” The cardinal looked at the Pope and said, “Jesus is calling from Salt Lake City”

We are all a little ambivalent about Jesus' return. We are told it will be a glorious day, but it might not be what we really expect. We just might be surprised by what happens. And we will certainly be surprised when it happens. But there are some things we can do to prepare ourselves for Jesus' second coming. And so we return to the Apostles Creed.

The Apostles Creed is a statement of our trinitarian faith. It starts with our belief in God the Father and proceeds to Jesus Christ the son. Today we will finish up with what the creed says about the Jesus Christ, and when I return from vacation in two weeks we will start our examination of what it says about the Holy Spirit. We have seen that Jesus Christ has a past, his life, death and resurrection. He also has a present, sitting at the right hand of God. And today we see that he has a future, coming again as judge.

The creed states, “He Will Come Again to Judge the Quick and the Dead.” Let's start at the end of the phrase. “The quick and the dead” simply means “everything”. “Quick” is Old English word and means “living”. We still have the word “quicksand” or “living sand” that will pull you down if you are not careful. It would be better if we simply said, “the living and the dead.” And if all who are alive and all who have died are included when Jesus returns then everyone is included, you and me too. So what will happen to everyone both living and dead? The creed says that they will be judged. The implication of this is important. Everyone will be judged even those who have died. Death is not an escape from God's judgment as modern atheists hope. Death is only temporary until the day you are resurrected by God to be judged.

Judgment is closely tied to justice. By justice we mean that good will be blessed and evil will be punished. Judgment is how we correctly apply the principles of justice. We judge that someone has committed a crime and must pay the penalty. We judge that someone has won a beauty pageant and will receive a scholarship. Judgment can either lead to something good or something bad. So when everyone, everyone living and everyone who has died appears for judgment will the result be good or bad? We don't really know. Justice requires that evil be punished. Sinners, those who disobey God, certainly will be punished. Won't they? Some will be blessed and some will be cursed on judgment day. But we can't say with certainty who will be in one group and who will be in the other. We have no way of knowing how someone else will be judged. We don't even know how our own judgment will turn out. We don't know these things because we are not the judge and we are not to judge others.

Judgment will occur when Jesus returns. We know that Jesus, right now, is in heaven at the right hand of God. And we know that heaven and earth come close together through the church and it's sacraments. One day heaven and earth will come together. We have an biblical image of a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. Jesus Christ will be in control of both heaven and earth and all the kings of the earth will bow down before him. We pray for this to happen every Sunday when we say, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”

The big question we have is, “when will all this happen?”. The disciples asked Jesus this very question and he refused to tell them. There have been many Christians who have tried to figure out when Christ will return. Some see prophecy being fulfilled in today's headlines. So far, every prediction of when Christ will return has been proven wrong. For some reason Jesus does not want us to know when he will return. What we are to do is to watch and to wait. And so that is what we do. We watch for the signs and wait for Jesus to return.

The most important part of this phrase from the Apostles Creed is the beginning. There we find out who will judge us. And this is really good news. The one who will judge us is the one who died for us. The one who will judge us is the one who gave up his life to pay for our sins. The one who will judge us is the same one who sits and the right hand of God interceding our behalf. The one who will judge us also the one who comes to save us, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And so we have nothing to fear from judgment. Although one day we will be judged the one doing the judging is the very one who loves us.

Once we are judged we will then live forever in the presence of Jesus Christ. Creation will be restored by God. The effect of the sin of Adam and the sins of Adam's children will be washed away. Everything will be made new. I think that for all of us we are looking forward to this day, because this is our hope as Christians. Sadly, some people will reject this new life and new creation. They will not want to live in a world governed by Christ any more than they want to worship him today. These people will exclude themselves from Jesus' love and forgiveness. And they will get what they really want, eternal life separated from God in a place called hell. But for all who believe and follow Jesus the promise is eternal life in his presence.

So what should we do to prepare ourselves for judgment? First, we must know what God wants us to do. Ignorance of the law is no defense. We learn how God wants us to live our lives from the Bible. And that it why it is so important to meditate on scripture every day in your prayers. It is so important that you study the Bible in small groups. It is so important that you gather around the word of God with others in worship every Sunday. Do these things and you find out what God wants you to do. And do them so that when the day of judgment comes Christ will say of you, “Well done”.

So we know that one day Christ will return. At that moment sin will be defeated on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus will bring about a new Jerusalem, a restored creation, where all the kings of the earth and all the people who live or died will bow down to Jesus as Lord. We don't know when this will this occur so we watch and wait. And while we are waiting we prepare ourselves for that glorious day by developing a deep relationship with Jesus Christ and by be obedient to God's will.

Father in heaven, we thank you for sending Jesus into our world to save us from sin. We ask that you prepare us to receive him when he returns. We look forward to the day when earth is just like heaven and we can live in it forever in the presence of Jesus. This we pray in his name. Amen.

Sermon – Luke 24:50-53 - He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Luke 24:50-53 - He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Easter 2

April 7, 2013

Today we are continuing with our look at the Apostles Creed. This statement of the church's belief is an important training tool for new initiates into the faith. And from time to time we need a refresher to remember what it means. This is especially true when false teachings begin to creep into the church. At these times we need the Apostles Creed to pull us back into orthodox faith. So far we have looked at what the creed says about God the Father and Jesus the Son. Last week we talked about Jesus' resurrection. Today we will focus on his ascension. 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)

Luke 24:50-53 50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Jesus' ascension is not something we talk about often. We talk about his resurrection every year at Easter. But Jesus' ascension is something we rarely get to. One reason for this is that the Bible tells us that Jesus ascended to heaven about forty days after the resurrection. And since the resurrection was on a Sunday that would put ascension on the Thursday before Pentecost. Since it falls on a Thursday we usually skip over it as we follow the church calendar. But the Apostles Creed shows that it's importance is right next to the resurrection. So we have to take a look at it.

The New Testament is filled with references to the ascension. This comes from Jesus himself, who in the Gospel of John, tells his followers frequently that he is going away, will come back and will send the Holy Spirit to be with them while he is gone. In the Gospel of John the resurrection and ascension our treated as a single event of Jesus Christ being exalted, lifted up. The Gospel of Matthew does not speak of the ascension, but in the Great Commission, when Jesus told his disciples to “make disciple of all nations”, it was presumed that Jesus was just about to leave them. The only accounts of the ascension itself come to us from Luke, his Gospel and his Book of Acts. In the Gospel of Luke the ascension of Jesus is the end point of Jesus' ministry on earth. In Luke's sequel, the Book of Acts, the ascension marks the beginning of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So ascension marks a transition, a change from the ministry of Jesus on earth to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In the second century some false teachings began to enter the church. There was a belief, called Gnosticism, which said that spiritual was good, but physical was bad. A gifted biblical scholar named Origin brought some of this thinking into the church. Origin said that Jesus' spirit ascended to heaven while his body remained on earth to decay. The church said that this was wrong. Just as Jesus' body was resurrected from the dead so too did his resurrected body ascend to heaven. Jesus is sitting today at the right hand of God in the body that was crucified, buried and resurrected.

Origin's ideas about the ascension of Jesus were refuted by a second century theologian named Irenaus. Irenaus pointed out that men and women were originally created by God in God's image. But then this image of God in us was permanently defaced by the disobedience of Adam. Through Adam sin came into the world. So if sin came into the world through a man so too is a man necessary to remove it. The man who came to earth to remove the stain of sin and reveal the image of God was Jesus Christ. In his bodily resurrection and ascension he reversed the action of Adam and restored the image of God in us. So Jesus had to be a physical man in his ascension to achieve the result of removing the stain of sin put there by another physical man, Adam.

When Jesus ascended he went somewhere, a place called heaven. For some this is a place up there somewhere. For others it is a time in the future, after we die. Jesus had a lot to say about heaven, but we don't have the time right now to go through all of that. Let's just leave it by saying that in the ascension of Jesus heaven and earth came together. The ascension in the intersection of heaven and earth.

One day all believers will get to heaven. And when we do we will find that it is not a fearful place. Rather, when we get there we will find Jesus, in his resurrected body, in charge. He has taken possession of it. Jesus is in control of heaven. And he will be speaking into God's ear, interceding on our behalf.

In heaven Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. In ancient times, when kings went into battle they carried their shields in their left hand and swords in their right. They could easily defend themselves from any threat from the left. But they were vulnerable to attacks from the right. So the king would put his best warrior at his right hand. This warrior would protect the king from any threat from the right. This practice was continued in the king's court where he would put his most trusted advisor as his right hand. The person on the right would exert power at the will of the king. To say that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God indicates that Jesus uses God's power to achieve God's will. So we have seen that Jesus, in his physical body, has ascended into heaven where he now exercises all authority and power from the right hand of God.

So what does this mean for us? What difference could it make to us that the physical Jesus of Nazareth of 2000 years ago is still alive and sitting in heaven? Well, that has something to do with the table that has been prepared before you.

On the last night before Jesus' death he gave thanks, broke some bread and said, “this is my body.” Later he poured out some wine and said, “This is my blood.” So when we come to this table are we eating Jesus' body and drinking his blood? Is this cannibalism? For those outside of the faith it sure sounds that way. But for us in the church we know something else is going on. For centuries the church has tried to explain how Jesus is present in communion. There are some who say that the bread and wine on the table somehow change into Jesus' body and blood even if we don't perceive it that way. Others have said that Jesus is spiritually with us, or that Jesus is present with us in our memories. John Calvin gave what I think is the best explanation of what happens in communion, and he explained it using Jesus' ascension as his guide.

According to Calvin, when Jesus held the broken bread and the cup and said, “this is my body and this is my blood” he was referring not to the bread and wine but to himself, the one holding the elements. Jesus meant, literally, that when you eat this bread and drink from this cup you will see him, in his resurrected, flesh and blood, body. Now where is Jesus' flesh and blood body right now? It is in heaven sitting at the right hand of God. How can we see Jesus' body? The only way, according to Calvin, is if we too are in heaven. This table is the intersection of heaven and earth. This is not our table. It is the Lord's table. This is not our supper. This is the Lord's supper. And whenever we come around this table we ascend into heaven before Jesus who is sitting at the right hand of God and at the head of the table. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to lift you hearts to heaven when you eat and drink around this table. Thats why we say, “Lift up you hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.” All this means that whenever we come to this table and encounter our risen Lord, we are eating at the great feast in heaven with all the redeemed sinners and our Lord Jesus Christ.

So what should our response be to all this? When we ascend to heaven for a dinner party with our Lord Jesus what should we then do? Jesus told us what to do just before he ascended to heaven. Here is what he said.

Acts 1:8-9 ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." ⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Jesus wants us to be witnesses. We have been empowered as witnesses. We are to tell the people we know and people we may meet that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and now lives in heaven at the right hand of God. And we can be with him because the church, through it's sacraments, is the intersection of heaven and earth.

So Jesus ascended to heaven in a human, resurrected body to rule heaven and earth as God's right hand man. We are invited to join him at a great feast which occurs right here in the middle of worship. We will gather around this table, the Lord's table. And the Holy Spirit will lift us up into the presence of our resurrected Lord Jesus. We have arrived at the intersection of heaven and earth. Give thanks and praise. Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ we thank you and praise you for lifting us up into your presence at this table. We praise you for the promise of our own resurrection and eternal life. We wait for your coming again into this world to restore it. This we pray in your glorious name. Amen. 

Sermon – Acts 10: 34-43 - On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Acts 10: 34-43 - “On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead”

Easter Sunday

March 31, 2013

On this glorious Sunday morning, like all Sundays, we remember the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles Creed has been helping us to remember and understand this important event for nearly two thousand years. It preserves the memory and teachings of the Apostles who witnessed the resurrection. This memory is preserved by the proclamation of the church in preaching and teaching. And so we proclaim it again today. Christ has risen 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)

Luella Tatem taught English to many of you at Pocomoke High School. When you learned to write English you were taught about paragraphs. A paragraph, you might remember, usually starts with a subject sentence and end with a conclusion. In between is the body of the paragraph which amplifies the subject and leads to the conclusion. If you need a refresher on all this Luella is up at Atria in Salisbury, and she would love for you to visit.

Ancient writers also used a specific structure in their writing that is different from what we use in writing paragraphs. For them writing was a little like digging a hole. You start digging. As the hole gets bigger you stand at the bottom until it is big enough. Then, you climb out and you have a hole. This is how ancient literature is constructed, and you will see it all over the Bible. You descend into a hole, see what is there and then get back out of the hole. We see this in the Apostles Creed. First you go down: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell;” You have reached the bottom of the hole. Now it is time to go back up. “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.”

So what is written at the bottom of the hole? What is the most important phrase in the Apostles Creed? What is the one thing the Apostles wanted you to know and remember. The most important thing that we learn from the Apostles Creed, it's central theme is: “the third day he rose again from the dead.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important part of our faith. The Apostle Paul tells us that if we profess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead then we will be saved. Our salvation depends on the historical event of Jesus resurrected from the dead.

This has been hard for people to believe in modern times. Historians have looked for evidence, independent from the Bible, that would allow them to conclude that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. They have found no such evidence, Scientists have looked into whether or not a dead person could be brought back to life. They have concluded that it is not possible given our current understanding. With the academic disciplines unable to support our belief many Christians find it hard to continue to believe in Jesus' resurrection. Many theologians, over the last 150 years, have tried to make sense of this. This morning, let's look at the evidence we do have that supports our faith.

Jesus died sometime in around 30 AD. There were numerous witnesses who saw an empty tomb which had been been sealed by a rock and guarded a sentry. These witnesses also met the risen Jesus, saw with him their eyes, heard him speak with their ears, and even touched his wounds with their hands. There was no question in their minds that Jesus' body really was resurrected from the the dead.

These witnesses began to have meetings to tell others about Jesus' life and teachings and most especially about his resurrection from the dead. They held these meeting on Sunday mornings, the day of the week the empty tomb was discovered. Sunday was a work day so they had to meet before dawn in someone's home to hear what the disciples had to say. These groups began to grow and people would learn the stories of Jesus. Eventually the witnesses of the resurrection would move on to other homes and other groups and within just a couple of decades groups were meeting on Sunday mornings all around the Mediterranean Sea. Witnesses of the resurrection began writing letters to other groups to deal with specific situations in those groups and combat any false teachings that were beginning to creep in. The witnesses of the resurrection wanted to make sure that people could learn and remember exactly what they had seen and heard.

In each of these groups people had to be taught the stories of the witnesses. At first the witnesses of the resurrection taught themselves. Eventually there were other teachers. And so a creed, a statement of the church's belief, was developed to help train initiates. This was called the Old Roman Symbol. And led to our Apostles Creed.

People in these groups began to write down the stories and teachings of Jesus that these witnesses remembered. These became the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The groups began to share these gospel accounts and letters they had received with others. All this was read out loud in the early Sunday morning meetings and eventually became what we know as the New Testament.

A doctor in the church of Rome named Luke listened to what the witnesses were saying. He collected all of this and wrote it down for everyone who loves God to read. This is what Luke wrote about what one of the witnesses of the resurrection said.

Acts 10:34-43 ³⁴ Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶ You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ-- he is Lord of all. ³⁷ That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹ We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹ not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

The witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ made certain that what they saw and heard would never be forgotten. They became known at Apostles, those sent to proclaim the good news of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. And they have left us a church, the Bible, a creed, teachers and preachers who authentically preserve their memories of Jesus and his resurrection. We know that the resurrection of Jesus is an historical event because the church was established and continues to remember it.

And so this is our obligation as followers of Jesus Christ. We are to preserve the memory of his resurrection from the dead. We do this by talking to our friends and family about our faith. We do what Christians have always done, invite people to our meetings on Sunday morning where were talk about what Jesus did and said and what it all means. We continue the process of the witnesses of the resurrection to instruct new initiates into the faith using the Apostles Creed as our guide. We obey Jesus' command to make disciples and baptize them into our faith. And we continue to proclaim our saving faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ every Sunday morning.

So rejoice because death could not contain Jesus. He defeated death and our slavery to Sin so that with him we may be resurrected to new life. This is not only our remembered history; it is also our hope that one day all of us, our loved ones and all who believe will one day be resurrected from the dead to live eternally in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And how do we answer our critics? What do we say to the scientists who say resurrection cannot happen? Our response has to be that with God all thing are possible. And God has demonstrated that resurrection is a scientific fact through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And what do we say to the historians who say that it never happened? Our response must be that they are just looking in the wrong places. Tell them to come to church where in the reading, teaching and preaching of the Bible they will hear the evidence they are looking for. There is no reason for the modern mind to not believe in the resurrection. It happened and will happen again. Let us pray.

“O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Book of Common Worship, p.317)

Christ has risen from the Dead! He is risen in deed!

Meditation: 1 Peter 3:18-20 He Descended into Hell

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Meditation: 1 Peter 3:18-20 “He Descended into Hell”

Maundy Thursday

March 28, 2013

We don't know what happened inside when the stone was rolled in front of the tomb. Three days later the tomb was empty so something must have happened. The Apostles Creed says that (Jesus) “descended into hell.” This phrase was not in the original Old Roman Symbol of the first century church. We first see it in the creed in a fourth century commentary and it officially was added to the creed in the seventh century. Today it is controversial. Some churches change it and other omit it entirely. It is difficult to believe that Jesus actually went to hell.

The Apostle Peter had some thoughts on this.

1 Peter 3:18-19 ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison.

So according to Peter Jesus descended into hell for the purpose of offering salvation to those who had died before he came.

All of this is fine, but it seems that Jesus' suffering, death and burial were enough. Why did he also have to experience the tortures of hell too?

I think the best way to think about this is to believe that Jesus descent into hell was not the last awful event of his suffering, death and burial. Rather it is the beginning event of his resurrection. Jesus descended into hell in order to defeat death the devil and Sin so that he could then be raised victorious on that first Easter morning. So Jesus descending into hell it good news because Sin is defeated and no longer holds us in bondage. Amen.