When Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and wept for the city, He wept for us too. That’s reflected in the cross. The cross reflects a lot of things, but it reflects the tears of Jesus too. When Jesus shows mercy, it’s with tears. When we show mercy without tears, it means nothing. It’s called virtue signaling. Love takes you to a place where tears flow down your cheeks as you look at the people you love who are lost. Tears say a lot.

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The church is no place for laughter… or it is? What is the clearest sign of Jesus presence? Laughter! Too often we miss laughter. You can counterfit any of the marks of being a Christian but you can’t counterfit real Laughter!

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Love God and Sin Boldly! Seriously! This is from Martin Luther, who was frustrated with a legalistic colleague. Luther said to him “Why don’t you go out and sin so you have something to confess.” Well, we are all sinners. We all experience radical and pervasive depravity – we just don’t admit it. By not admitting it, we give the world the idea that Christianity is about being good, but it’s not! Peter, who Jesus told “when you have returned to me, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus know that Peter would deny Him – three times! But he also knew that forgiveness was Peters. Jesus’s forgiveness is ours too.

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The Gift of Assurance. Life is full of difficulties. People don’t like us. The Christian life is more than just theology. It is being loved by Jesus. It’s remembering He is the good shepherd. It’s knowing He is looking after us and will protect us. He died for us to bring us into His fold. It’s learning to lean on Him and know that you are safe. You can rest in Him.

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The Gift of Laughter. Religion will make you weird. We all have our demons, our issues, guilt, pain. But we also have grace. The love and forgiveness of Jesus. For those of us who have experienced God’s grace, we also experience the laughter of the redeemed. Where Jesus is there is also laughter. Steve says “Laughter is the flag that flies over Joy!”

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The Gift of Tears. You know what we miss sometimes in the Christian faith? We miss the tears. We miss the pathos. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Lament, tears, is everywhere in the Bible. But, there is also the laughter. Both are gifts from God.

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The Gift of Truth. The Bible is full of teaching about triumph and tragedy. Joy and Tears, laughter and lament. Steve recounts that he has been a pastor for many, many years. During that time he has been to many, many funerals and the odd thing, all of those funerals had laughter. Why, during times of lament was there laughter? In 1 Corinthians 2:6-13, Paul says that God, through His Spirit reveals His truth to us. That we might understand what God has given to us.

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You ever feel alone? We all do. Scripture tells us that God is good and He is good all the time. But, there are sometimes we just don’t believe it (or feel it). We all feel empty and lonely and we don’t know what to do about it. Steve says when you feel like that, it’s not your fault. It’s God’s fault! When God feels gone, it is His hand in our lives.

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Cliches are abundant in the Christian faith. And a cliche can be very dangerous for the Christian. Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” is true. It is solid theological truth, but unless you see yourself as loved by God, it is only a simplistic Cliche. Jesus forgives me is true too. Biblically and theologically. But, less you have screwed up in major ways in your life and found love and forgiveness, then it’s just a cliche. God loves you! You say you don’t feel loved? Your lonely? There is a good reason for it. You are not home yet.

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Forgiven: Lent is a time of reflection and repentance. Both of which happen rarely in our society. First we will talk about he bad news of Lent. In Romans 7 the Apostle Paul confesses his sinfulness. He confesses his inability to be good. He cries out to God in frustration. So, how bad are we really?

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