Jesus is right, it starts small Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4 is a great place to start the imagination growing about God's kingdom. Jesus talked about the kingdom like seed spread by a farmer. That seems reasonable; but Jesus didn't stop there. Right away he was telling about the potential in just one mustard seed. Jesus was emphasizing the potential growth that God sees for the kingdom.

I read mark 4:26-34 to a member of the church on a visit today. As she listened she held out her fingers like she was imagining holding the small mustard seed that Jesus spoke about. I held mine up too imagining that tiny seed. These two stories are so inviting to ponder and to consider.

The kingdom of God starts small and grows way beyond what is possible for humans to do alone. Jesus stories reveal just how the kingdom grows exponentially. Jesus chose earthy images to be clues revealing God's power in creation. In those clues we can see what God is up to in the kingdom. A seed doesn't double in size once a day. It explodes in growth. Remember that Jesus started with the image of the seeds being spread by a farmer and you see just how much potential there is for us to see the Kingdom of God at work in our world and our lives.

Hope Matters on the Edge Romans 8:12-25, John 3:1-17

The church is at its very best when we live on the edge. God can use us the most when we are living, together in hope and faith, beyond the certainty of individual resources, at the edges where faith and hope in God meet providing us all the strength needed to follow God into the world.

Many worry about the church's relevance in our culture. George Barna, and other sociologists of religion, report of huge generational shifts in religious identity happening right now. Strong church connections are being replaced by a new more "Casual Christianity" in the United States.

As pastor I hear elders in the church asking out loud, "What can we do about this, 'Younger generation' to get them back." Most of the elders are stunned to learn in conversation that it's not just 1 generation but 2 and sometimes 3 generations in one family who are disconnected to the church. We will not invite a 3rd generation non-Christian back; the youngest unchurched folks live way on the edges of the church. We are called to go to them and tell them about the love of God revealed in Jesus. We aren't inviting them to come back; instead we are called to go to them and tell them about Jesus in hope that they will become first generation followers of Jesus Christ.

The church is at its very best not when we wring our hands over missing generations; instead God can use us the most when we reach out in hope to the edges where the church is most distant from people's lives. It takes hope to live on the edge. We humans expect to run our own power and stength. We look inside our ownselves to solve problems; but in the body of Christ we are carried, by the Spirit of God, in hope to the very edges where God needs us to spread His Good News.

Paul's first hand experience living on the edge in hope: Romans 8:12-25
In Romans 8 Paul wrote about hope from firsthand experience.

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25 ESV)

God's Spirit moved Paul and he gave up his whole life to be part of something new. Paul changed dramatically when God adopted him into the Body of Christ. He was was not born into the body, none of us are. We are reborn in water and the power of the Spirit. God made Paul new again as one distinct part of a new and even greater body.

As one person Paul did everything he could to destroy the church. But God had a different purpose for Paul's life. As a reborn man he didn't he rely on his own strength, instead he found new strength as the spirit grafted him into a much larger new body. He left his old life behind. He gave up everything and the Spirit gave him so much more than he ever gave up in return.

Learning from Jesus example of reaching out:
John 3 Jesus lead a man beyond his own strength and understand to see God acting in ways that were well beyond anything he expected or even conceived of happening. The story happens like this: Late one night a man called Nicodemus came searching for the Rabbi. It's interesting to read this story intentionally, without Jesus name. There's a mysterious quality to the title Rabbi. It's a title of honor; but it's not the proper name of the Son of God. Nicodemus, a teacher himself, came with a strong sense that God was up to something through this particular Rabbi; but he didn't grasp entirely what God was doing in the person of Jesus. He greeted him,

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do
these signs that you do apart from the presence of God. John 3:2

The Rabbi told Nicodemus,

Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3 NRSV)

This reply lead Nicodemus to ask a question. Nicodemus may have had an answer in mind when he asked the Rabbi the question. But God was on the move in an unexpected direction.

How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4)

The Rabbi who Nicodemus sought out responded with an unexpected reply. Nicodemus asked how and the Rabbi told him,

Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

We look for God to act in places and way where we think God can and should work. This Rabbi taught of a God who moves freely and boldly in our lives.

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9)

We will hear from Nicodemus in John's Gospel again: when he stood up for Jesus in John 7:45-52 and when he showed up again to help bury Jesus, in John 19.

There's a gray area in our culture between a life changing faith in Christ and a state of total disbelief. Nicodemus came in the night and Jesus didn't change in order to move him to faith. Instead God changed him.

Promise kept Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27; 16:4-15

On Pentecost God poured out a promise on Jesus' followers. Jesus, and prophets before him, spoke of God acting in the lives of the faithful. A part of me asks, "What is it, what is this promised outpouring from God?" The scripture says it 's the Holy Spirit, fire, the Advocate, power from on high. Jesus promised his friends a gift that would enable them to carry on his ministry through them and with them in the world.

• The prophet Joel put it this way, "...it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon allflesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dreamdreams, your young men shall see visions." Joel 2:28
• John spoke prophetically of Jesus pouring out the Spirit saying, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Matthew 3:11
• Jesus told his friends of the struggles they would face on his behalf encouraging them, "When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." Mark 13:11 NRSV
• The night of the last supper Jesus told his friends gathered in the upper room, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. John 15:26 NRSV
• After rising from the dead and just before return to heaven Jesus said, "And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49 NIV

The ministry Jesus sent his friends out into the world to complete is our mission as church today. We go out not alone, but with God present, poured out into our lives. One of the most important promises we recieve on this earth is the promise of God's presence. As a believer these words of promise give me great hope; because God goes with me.

Looking back modern believers aren't alone in that hope. For Marting Luther King jr that promise to never be alone appeared to give him hope and strength in the face of obstacles. In a sermon entitled, Unfulfilled Dreams delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on March 3, 1968, King spoke with confidence in God's presence with him. (Please note the words in paranthesis were the response from the congregation)

It will be dark sometimes, and it will be dismal and trying, and tribulations will come. But if you have faith in the God that I’m talking about this morning, it doesn’t matter. (Yes) For you can stand up amid the storms. And I say it to you out of experience this morning, yes, I’ve seen the lightning flash. (Yes, sir) I’ve heard the thunder roll. (Yes) I’ve felt sin-breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus, saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, (Yes, sir) never to leave me alone. (Thank you, Jesus) No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me. Never to leave me alone. (Glory to God)

King found reason to hope and strength to press on. May all who believe in Christ be so boldly strengthened by his power that we can go into the world just as he did with power and strength.

Ascension 2009 Luke 24:44-53

Our reading today is about Jesus' return to heaven. In his life and ministry the boundary between heaven and earth started to break down. He taught about God's kingdom not as a place but as a way of life in which justice and love matter.

Jesus didn't stay on earth very long. Just 33 years was all he needed. And for the most part what we know about Jesus happened in just the last three years of his life here on earth.

Time moves all on its own. The older I get the more I've realized just how much faster time moves on even when were aren't ready. In all of our lives there are moments, life changing events, that happen in just a blink in time. Sometimes life changes happen so fast that we humans only later on, a ways down the road, get a chance to digest them. Reading Luke 24:44-53 I'm reminded of just how fast things happened to and for Jesus and his friends and just how much time it still takes the church to understand what Jesus was doing and saying.

In 3 years time Jesus went from being a carpenter to a teacher and preacher. His ministry touched thousands but it only lasted for just a few years in space and time. The events that changed us the most, just Cross and rising, happened in 3 days of His time on earth.

Part of us says that Jesus is gone. We look at the world and we see that evil is so powerful and that justice and righteousness seem like a dream and not like a strong and overflowing waterfall. But the part of us that lives by faith and hope knows full well that Jesus is still here.

The cross and the empty tomb transformed death and life. The old order of living and dying seemed to just be the way things would always be. God was on the move, something was going to change. Just as Jesus, risen from the dead, was about to return to heaven; back to his place with the Father, he told his followers to wait for another move by God.

Jesus directed them forward, but didn't send them into a new ministry yet,

repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And
see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24 NIV)

The 11 who'd walked with Jesus alive again were surely still caught in awe as he told them to stay put in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit's arrival. They'd known grief and now they were living in joy. Jesus rose and all the old rules about death and life were put aside. God is still remaking the world the same way today

Give it away and you'll be fulfilled John 15:9-17

Looking through the lens of Jesus' Words in John 15 we see heaven's vision of a complete life. A full life is totally given away; offered completely and without reservation for the sake of others. We seek self-fulfillment and Jesus instead says that if we want to be fulfilled just give it all away for the good of others.

So how do we do it? How do we give our lives away?

1) All at once.
Jesus' words, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13) are reminders for us of what God wants for us and from us. Look around and you'll find Jesus words on memorials and tombstones. Think for a short while and you can no doubt remember soldiers, police offices, firefighters, and others who gave their lives for the sake of others. Jesus meant what he said: to give your life up for another is to love that person totally. He wasn't speaking idly. He was inviting people to give up everything. We honor those who have offered everything for us knowing that their sacrifice is not trivial, most especially in heaven's eyes.

2) Everyday
Jesus' words in John 15:9-12 have been heard at many weddings,

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Jesus invites us to love not for our own sake but for the sake of others. Self-giving love happens in marriages, family, parenthood, church life, and even more relationships. Jesus invites us to give everything away for the sake of others in order that we might experience the fulfillment of his love. We worry about comfort in this life and Jesus is inviting all of us to the fullness of joy in loving and serving him.

What prevents you from Abiding in Jesus Acts 8:26-40; John 1:1-8

Jesus says anyone who hopes for a fruitful life must must abide in him. He uses the image of a vine to explain the complete connection required in order for our lives to bear fruit. Jesus is talking about a total connection where the identity of the vine and the small part of the vine are indistinguishible.

Human natures leads us to resist God. We push for independence at every turn. Jesus says abide in him and thrive; try to live alone and you'll wither up. There's no easy way arround the law here. God's offering us life and we willfully choose to cut ourselves off from him.

Jesus knows that in order for us to survive we, just like a small part of a plant, must remain connected to the true vine. We can survive only as long as our lives are connected to life of the vine. Living connected with Jesus requires total dependence, a complete connection, to him and to his Word.

Jesus is inviting us to grow in a relationship that doesn't depended on a human schedule but on the will of the Holy Spirit. To be part of the vine is more than just our choice. Instead we grow as the Spirit leads us. The question that the Eunich ask Philip in Acts 8 has real traction:

Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Acts8:35-38

The church today needs to learn again this ancient lesson. The Holy Spirit can move faster than we can connecting people into the true vine. When we interfere with someones connection to the Jesus Christ we miss the gift that Jesus is offering us in the body of Christ.

Who is Jesus, Who are the theaves and wolves? Psalm 23 John 10:11-18

Jesus revealed God's radical love in the cross. Before he died he spoke of his death. in John 10 he said that a ture shepherd was entirely ready to face death in defense of those he was called to protect. That's how valuable you are to God. Jesus said he was ready then to face death on behalf of his sheep. Looking back towards Good Friday and Easter we see that Jesus meant it. He wasn't pontificating when he said that he was a good shepherd. He was and is ready to take on the wolves and theaves who threatened his sheep.

The gospels have given us us rich images of God at work in the person of Jesus Christ. In John's gospel Jesus' own "I am" statements helps us see who him

• I am the Messiah John 4:26


• I am the bread of life John 6:48


• I am the light of the world John 8:12


• I am the door for the sheep John 10:7


• I am the good shepherd John 10:11


• I am the Son of God John 10:36


• I am the resurrection and the life John 11:25


• I am the way, the truth, and the life John 14:6


• I am in the father and the Father is in me John 14:10


• I am the true vine John 15:1


• I am not of the world John 17:14

Jesus' simple sentences give us glimpses of God at work in his person. This weeks reading in John 10:11-18 invites us to explore Jesus work as shepherd and to explore what great lengths he's willing to go to in our defense.

In my first couple years as a pastor I remember preaching about this text. I asked out loud why sheep have reputation for being so dumb. One man in the congregation spoke up, "They can't be that dumb: they can always find their way out of a fense if there's a whole or on top of hay stack or building if they have half a chance to get there." Cordette was absolutely right. Jesus wasn't comparing us to dumb animals by calling us sheep. He was revealing both God's view of our nature and the distance that he would go to save us.

Jesus' mission, to be shepherd of our lives, runs head long into our rugged independence and our willful, and sinful, resistance to God. Sheep aren't that dumb. We humans have been given so much by God. We were made to please God. Yet we can choose to use all our gifts destructively. The shepherd who knows his sheep knows our abilities and our temptations

Jesus loves us enough to runs headlong into the worst that humans can do to other humans. Jesus has pledged to be our shepherd. He is the one with the rod and staff of the 23rd psalm. He's the one and He knows very well that he came to save a people who believe they don't need saving. Jesus knows very well that their are theaves and wolves ready to reach in and do us harm.

Jesus promised to the shepherd and he kept that promise on the cross and he will keep that promise unto the fullness of time.