Bret Hammond

Mom had a cute little nickname for all of us when we were growing up, including Dad (maybe especially Dad). She liked to call us “hard-headed Hammonds.” Apparently, the ability to stick to your convictions despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary was not a quality Mom valued as much as the rest of us. But, of course, she was likely the one who had to clean up the messes that resulted from our hard-headedness, so she had her reasons.

Maybe my reputation as a hard-headed Hammond is what impresses me so much about Thomas in the Easter story. Jesus is resurrected, but Thomas isn’t there to see him. Then, for a solid week, he hears Mary tell him about seeing Jesus in the garden. How many times did Peter and John tell him about the empty tomb (with John mentioning how he won the foot race)? Finally, Cleopas and his friend run back from Emmaus and tell him about encountering Jesus on the road. But still, hard-headed Thomas stands by his convictions for eight days. “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

That’s some Shorty Hammond-level hard-headedness right there!

But despite doubts and hard-headedness, Jesus shows up alive and shows himself to Thomas. I take comfort in knowing that the truth of the resurrection is greater than my doubts. And in Jesus’ correction to “doubting Thomas,” I hear a blessing for you and me; for all of us hard-headed ones.

In this message, we hear from Thomas himself.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Confession time: In my first year of preaching, I had no clue what Palm Sunday was. I didn't grow up in the church, and while I knew about Easter (even beyond the bunny and eggs), I had no idea there even was a Palm Sunday. I had never shouted "Hosanna!" and had never even seen a palm tree, let alone waved a branch!

It's worse than that, though. I remember doing the research, reading the Gospels backward, counting from the Sunday Jesus was resurrected, backtracking his path through Jerusalem day by day, and uncovering that one week earlier, he entered Jerusalem. I was pretty sure I was the only one who had made this discovery. I probably even started working on a paper to document my findings.

It's still available for peer review if anyone's interested.

Somehow, though, Palm Sunday has gone from complete obscurity to one of the most significant memorials in my year. Palm Sunday stops me in my path and puts me on Jesus' path, walking with him through the week to the upper room, the cross, and the empty tomb.

Indeed, the Lord's Supper on Thursday night will draw me into Christ's presence, and the darkness of Good Friday will place me at the foot of His cross, but Palm Sunday starts me on that journey. Today's "Hosannas" prepare me for next Sunday's "He Lives!"

Famously timid and fearful of death, Woody Allen was once asked, "Do you want to be immortalized by your work?" He replied, "No, I want to be immortalized by not dying." Asked again, "What do you hope people will say about you in 100 years?" His reply was, "He looks good for his age."

What would we expect people to remember of us 100 years from now? I suppose if the Internet is still up and running, a collection of my sermon files could be floating around somewhere. With God's blessings, there might be some great-grandchildren, but I doubt they'll know my name any better than I know those of my great-grandparents. Then again, maybe people will be saying, "He looks good for his age . . . or he would if it weren't for the beard."

We've spent the last two months with Micah of Moresheth, a small-town minor prophet who should have been forgotten long ago. Yet, 100 years after his death, his words brought comfort and hope to a major prophet marked for death. Jeremiah's life and message were impacted by reading Micah. His legacy of faithfulness preserved Jeremiah in difficult days. One wonders how the legacy of our faithfulness might bless those who come after us.

Today, we will hear Micah from Jeremiah's perspective and see something of our own legacy of faithfulness.

The population of the planet is over 8 billion people. Set aside issues of overpopulation and food supply for a moment and simply consider the question, how unique can you actually be when compared to 8 billion others? Even if you're a one-in-a-million kind of guy, there are 8000 other people exactly like you!

We come to the end of Micah's book, and he asks the question he seems to have been asking all along. "Who is a God like you?" (Micah 7:18). Not one-in-a-million or even one-in-eight-billion, but the wholly unique, wholly loving, wholly holy Creator of all! There are no comparisons; accept no substitutes! This is the ONE!

Today at Kansas Christian Church, we'll hear Micah's question and the answers he finds only in God. They're the answers that still point us to the one-and-only.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I lost at least an hour of sleep last night, maybe more! I just tried to make coffee without water in the coffee maker. I was taking my pills and cautiously tried to remember which ones were chewable and which ones weren't. I'm going to need clear and straightforward instructions this morning, and then I'm going to need a nap!

Thankfully, we're in Micah 6:8 today. It doesn't get more clear and more straightforward than that verse! Micah answers the question for us, "What is good, and what does the Lord require of you?" Cut through all the confusion, Micah! We've all had a rough night! Please give it to us in simple language we can understand! And then Micah delivers.

In this one straightforward verse, we find more than a picture of what it means to be faithful; we find the image of Jesus, the one who has faithfully loved us. Today, of all days, we need simple and straightforward. We need Micah 6:8.

And then we need a nap.

I know he can't defend himself, but I have to tell you, my son, Connor, is one of THOSE people. What people, you might ask? Connor is one of THOSE people who play Christmas music all year long!

Yeah, I don't know where he gets it, either.

It can be the middle of a blazing hot July, sweat dripping, the air conditioner doing its best to keep up with the humidity, and Connor will be blasting "Jingle Bells" from his iPad! While the rest of us are gorging on Halloween candy, he's listening to "Silent Night." And while we're hunting Easter eggs, Connor is decking the halls!

As for me, I'm strictly seasonal when it comes to Christmas, but today I have to break that rule. As we make our way into chapter five of Micah, we find ourselves in that little town of Bethlehem, hearing a promise customarily reserved for December 25th. But maybe, hearing this passage on the verge of spring will bring us a perspective for all seasons and a hope that holds us long after the Christmas tree has been taken down.

And who knows, Connor may make it through the whole sermon today! That'd be a Christmas miracle for sure!

Our friend told us a story from early in his ministry when a little girl asked him, "What does God look like?" How would you answer a question like that? What was she hoping to hear? "He's an old man in a white robe sitting on a cloud?" "He looks a lot like your grandpa, only not as chubby?"

So my friend wisely took her to the Bible and showed her the attributes of God listed there. He's merciful and gracious in Exodus 34:6. He's our rock and fortress in Psalm 18:3. And, of course, in 1 John 4:8, he is love. Whatever our needs, there's an attribute of God that tells us of his care for us.

Micah's people needed to know what God looked like for them. Their desires had led them astray; sin held them captive, and their leaders had failed them. So, Micah presents them with three attributes that show them who they could trust God to be.

Of course, as we look at these attributes, we cannot help but see Jesus in them. So today, we'll see what God looked like for Micah's audience and who he continues to be for us.

I had my regular check-up, and the doctor is happy with my blood pressure and cholesterol. He says I'm looking healthy, but there's just one problem. I'm not sad enough.

He's ordered sackcloth and ashes for me. Oh, and a viewing of "Old Yeller."

Ok, so it's absolutely ridiculous that a doctor would prescribe sadness, yet that's precisely what Micah prescribes for his people. His diagnosis is that they have abandoned God, and his remedy is "lament and wail" (Micah 1:8) and to shave their heads as a sign of mourning (verse 16). Micah's people need to learn how to be sad.

But we don't want to be sad! Instead, we want to declare with Nehemiah, "The joy of the Lord is our strength!" But Micah asks us, "Do your hearts break for the things that break God's heart?" So until they do, Doctor Micah calls us to lament everything we aren't.

In this message, we'll hear what breaks God's heart and Micah's call to a holy sadness.

He's just some no-name preacher from a small town you've never heard of. I'm speaking, of course, of Micah of Moresheth. Wait . . . who did you think I was talking about?!?!

Tucked in the back of your Old Testament is the little book of Micah. He's not a big name like his contemporary, Isaiah. He doesn't stand out like his neighbor in the Bible, Jonah. Micah's not flashy; he's faithful. He calls us back to the heart of God and shows him to be infinitely compassionate and filled with lovingkindness.

I feel a particular affinity for Micah, and I'm eager to share him with you. Today at Kansas Christian Church, we'll hear Micah's call to walk with God and know his heart. We'll see that, despite living in a world where corruption infected the highest authorities, Micah found a way to point his people to hope—a hope we still share.

One of the things I love about enjoying a variety of foods is connecting with the cultures behind the flavors. Korea's short growing season and cold climate made pickled and preserved vegetables a necessity (and delicious). Latin influences and an abundance of chili peppers gave us the tastes of the southwest. And bacon cheeseburgers are just one of the reasons America is awesome! If you're willing to be a little adventurous, you can tour the world with your tastebuds!

Food connects us like nothing else; it has the power to cross cultural boundaries. Friendships are made through the sharing of meals. We take casseroles to those who are hurting and bring cake to those who are celebrating! A meal shared both nourishes us and allows us to be vulnerable with each other. Is it any wonder that the most significant expression of the presence of Jesus in our lives takes place in a shared meal around a table?

This month, we've heard the call from John's Gospel to "come and see Jesus." Again and again, those words invited us to come close and know Jesus for ourselves. So today at Kansas Christian Church, we'll go to the Psalms and hear, not come and see, but "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). It's an invitation to come near to God and experience his goodness firsthand.