Requests, prayers, Intercession and Thanksgiving … For All Those In Authority

Psalm 113 & 1 Timothy 2.1-7

Our Lectionary places a very challenging Epistle reading before us today.  Paul writes to Timothy pastor of the church in Ephesus, but Paul’s words are needed in the church today as much as ever.  He writes, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone —for kings and all those in authority …” This is striking in that Caesar Nero was in power as Paul wrote.  Nero was an evil tyrant who fiercely persecuted Christians.  Yet, Christians were to pray for him; even express “thanksgiving” for him.  The call for Christians today is no different, and the exhortation is still needed.  It seems that over the last few decades, a deep, partisan divide has taken hold of our nation.  Recently, expressions of hatred for elected officials have become all too common in the media.  Sadly, there is evidence of the same in the church.  The central question this text forces us to ask ourselves is, “have I been one to offer ‘requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving’ for presidents and all those in authority,' or have I harbored anger, perhaps even hatred, toward them?”  We do well to remember who is the Real  and Eternal King: King (“Christ”) Jesus, our Lord and Savior! He rules over all (Psalm 113).  He desires all men to be saved.  He gave himself as a reason for all men.  This is what should concern us. There’s no need to be vexed by temporal kings and authorities.  Rather, offer requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving for them.  They need it!  And it will lead us to "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

"The Worst of Sinners”

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 & I Timothy 1:12-17 

 

What if God through Christ had given grace to Usama Bin Laden. How would you respond? Today is September 11, commonly referred to as nine-eleven or 911. Because of the events that took place on this day 18 years ago, Bin Laden was certainly considered by many the worst of sinners. But can the worst of sinners be given God’s grace? 

Our lectionary reading takes us to the scripture where the worst of sinners, Paul the Apostle, tells us how Christ treated him, the worst of sinners. In this message we will learn what God does for the worst of sinners and why he does it. 

It is a hopeful message for those who are fools, people who don’t know God (Jer. 4:22), to be encouraged to believe. 

We have all been fools through our ignorance and unbelief. Yet God offers us hope by not destroying us completely in his wrath, but appointing us to salvation in Jesus Christ. Christ takes the unrelenting wrath of God in all of its scorching heat, wind, and darkness, upon himself. Christ suffers the destruction of God’s wrath so that we are not destroyed. Through Christ Jesus, the forgiveness given to the worst of sinners shows every child of God the unlimited patience of Christ is with them in their battle against sin. This is the good news of the gospel, that is able to save a terrorist. 

A Sacrifice of Praise and Sacrifices that Pleases 

Jeremiah 2:4-13 & Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

This week our lectionary readings are teaching us that there is a corollary between what we know and how we live. In theology this would be orthodoxy and orthopraxy; right doctrine informs right conduct. In this sermon we will see how that through Jesus, we give to God a sacrifice of praise, which involves what we know, and the sacrifices that pleases God, which involves what we do. These two things have been neglected by the people to whom Jeremiah is speaking. The sacrifice of praise and the sacrifices that please God are things that make us thrive as believers, keeps our faith strong, and works into us the image of Christ.

 Jesus knew the Father’s will and always did what pleases him. The result of Jesus’ orthodoxy, (what he knew) and orthopraxy, (what he did with what he knew) brought him to the cross where he does us the highest good of bringing us to the Father. Now, through Jesus, when what I know about God informs what I do with and for others, the result is a cultivation of praise and generosity that brings pleasure to God.  This good news of the gospel is the fruit of lips that confess his name, the source of our praise and the reason why our justification should lead us to act justly.

A Tale of Two Mountains     

Hebrews 12.18-29 & Psalm 103.1-8

Our Lectionary reading today places two mountains before us: Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. They are the mountains of Law and Grace. Mount Sinai blazes with fire and death. Mount Zion blazes with joy and life. The writer of Hebrews is warning his readers against turning back to the old Jewish order, under the Law of Moses given at Mount Sinai. The way of the Law is always tempting because it seems to be the way to God. But the writer reminds his readers that the Law always thunders and condemns. It comes from a mountain that burns with fire; a mountain of darkness, gloom and storm; a mountain of death; a mountain that is terrifying and causes trembling and fear. But there is another mountain. It is Mount Zion. It is the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God. It is the place of joy and celebration. It is the church established by Christ through the shedding of his blood, the blood of the New Covenant, laid before us at The Table of Our Lord, which  proclaims mercy and righteousness through faith in him.

Fix Our Eyes on Jesus

Jeremiah 2:23-29 & Hebrews 11:29-12:2

 

The Christian life is not a sprint, but it is a marathon. But what does it take to get to the finish? The lectionary reading for this week takes us to a passage that speaks of running the race marked out for us. 

The passage shows us what has to take place if we are to reach the “joy" at the end. This sermon’s focus is where to fix our eyes…on Jesus. Our eyes are fixed only on him because he is the originator and the finisher of our faith. 

However, in order to fix our eyes on Jesus we have to link faith and obedience, calculate the value of joy, and realize the source of power. Every runner knows these things to be true. This knowledge also leads to a grace of knowing you aren’t running alone. And that there is one who has gone before you and his joy is to bring you through to completion; to be with him. 

But what assurance do we have that this joy will remain? That the cost of the run will be worth it? We have the certainty of a promise from God’s word, the Word that is both a fire and a hammer, cleansing and constructing along the way. A word that is not a mere abstraction, but is solidly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is none other than the Word made flesh. 

The joy that was set before him, the reason he endured the cross and despised its shame, is his people. In them he greatly delights. For this reason we fix our eyes on Jesus. He who has made us his joy has to become our joy if we are to finish the race marked out for us.

Associate Pastor Rick Barr with Grace Junior High students reporting on 2019 missions preparation camping trip and Senior High reporting on their missions week serving at Embrace family camp in Reistertown, MD

Genesis 6:3-10, 14 - What is the type of world we live in? As Christians, the world we currently live in has become corrupted by sin. No matter how hard we search, rather than righteousness and grace, we find ourselves surrounded by injustice, selfishness, and sin. How must we, as Christians, go forth as we live out our lives in this type of world? One example we can look toward is Noah. He has lived in a world such as ours, pervaded by sin and immorality and judged by the wrath of God. Noah is a figure we can look up to as the head of the family who survived the flood.In a world full of sin, by the grace of God, Noah was a righteous man, led a blameless life, and became a servant of the Lord. As we live in this world, let us all look toward Noah as an example as we try to understand God’s message for us. 

Hosea 1:2-10 & Col. 2:6-15

In a world of political and religious infidelity what is the hope for redemption?

People routinely say that politics and religion don't mix. By that they mean the number of opinions around the two subjects don’t blend together very well. However in the Bible they are mixed. As in the case of our lectionary reading of Hosea 1:1-10. 

The problem is that the nation is "guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” The vilest adultery is defined as being unfaithful to the covenant they have with the Lord. The nation is seeking its social, economic and personal wellbeing from something other than the Lord.

This sermon’s focus will be on overcoming the vilest adultery by discerning it, exposing it and remedying it by faith. 

For we see that though God’s people can be unfaithful, he is not. Though they commit offenses that are worthy of death, God pursues reconciliation with his unfaithful, adulterous “wife". He says to the nation: “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ “ This remarkable transformation is only possible if someone dies for the unfaithful. Since death is the penalty for adultery, How does God keep his promise? For the answer to that question we have to look at the Table of our Lord, for there we see the cost of God’s faithfulness to his covenant. Colossians informs us as to how we are turned into sons of the living God when Paul writes: "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…” How? By canceling the politics of it all; “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he [Christ] took it away, nailing it to the cross." Because of Christ’s work on our behalf, those who were not God's people are "called the sons of the living God.” And through him, politics and religion has come together to form a new nation whose bond of peace is set before us in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. 

OT Reading:    Psalm 82

NT Reading:     Luke 10.25-37

Message:          What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

This Sunday, the Lectionary places before us a very familiar parable; The Parable of The Good Samaritan.  This is one of most well-known parables of Jesus, so much so that a “Good Samaritan” is an idiom for someone who is sacrificially kind. However, though the parable is very well know by Christians and non-Christians alike, the main point is usually missed.  For most, the story is about helping someone in need, but that’s not the point.  The point is about how one inherits eternal life.  It’s the answer to the question put to Jesus by an expert in the law who said to Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  This message seeks to unpack the answer Jesus gives.

Text: II Kings 5:1-14 & Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In the text of our lectionary readings it is hard to resist the pull of the healings in that are in the text. Whether it is the healing of Naaman the Syrian general or the healing of those who were demon possessed. Healings, it seems would take center stage except that Jesus said, “Don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Greater than the power to heal is the joy of having our names already written in heaven. 

 

Why should we direct our joy towards the fact that our names are written in heaven? Names are about being identified. Identity is where we look for our significance. Our significance is not in healing powers or spiritual exploits, but in where your names are written. There is freedom to “do" when you know that your significance is secure. And the grace of Christ secures our significance before we "do" anything. Our names are written in heaven, therefore I can work without being named on earth. 

 

The seventy two are nameless in this story, but theirs is the message of the kingdom drawing near. The servant girl who was kidnapped and made the servant of Naaman’s wife is nameless, but her’s is the message of salvation that changed the life of the unclean Syrian general. Jesus knows their names. He was given a name by which he would save his people from their sins. And though his name was unknown to those who hung him on the cross, he was given a name by which every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In him, our names are written in heaven. 

This means that it is not what you do that is most important, but it's what’s been done for you in Jesus’ name that is most important. It is not so much what you know that is essential, but it is by whom you are known. Does Jesus know your name? If so, then rejoice for your names are written in heaven.