reflections on "Going to a Parade" Mark 2: 1-12; Mark 11: 1-11

This sermon brought together (some might say created a collision) the Palm Sunday story and the Engage curriculum we have been using in the sermons and small groups through Lent.

I often end up after the sermon wanting to preach the text again and emphasize something different.  I made a note that next year I want to focus on Jesus' detailed attention to getting the colt for the parade and why Mark uses the term colt instead of donkey. But that will have to wait until next year.

Due to some other stuff going on, I didn't quite get this sermon finalized when I would like, which meant there was a little more adjusting as I preached going on Sunday.  I did find what I thought was a great line in the Chapel service and was able to remember it for the Sanctuary service as well.  you will find it in the section on the healing of the paralytic:  "the man comes in through the roof and walks out the front door..."  

“Going to a Parade” FPC, Troy, OH; March 29, 2015; Mark 1: 1-11; Mark 2: 1-12

Introduction: “hey, you want to go down to some sort of parade that's happening today?”

“A parade? What are you talking about?

“Haven't you heard. Down on the road leading to the Temple today, people are going to watch as Jesus comes into Jerusalem.”

“Jesus? Who is he?”

“you know about Jesus. I've mentioned him before. He's the one that you've heard stories about how he can heal people. And people from all over come to hear him teach?”

“yeah, I guess I remember something about that. But why are they giving him a parade?”

“I'm not really sure. I think it has something to do with the Passover celebration. I've only heard him once, but it was pretty amazing. You ought to at least come see him.”

“Let me check with the wife and see if she cares.”

“Bring her with you. It might be worth it for her to see him , too.”

“ok. I don't think we have anything else going on this afternoon.”

“We're head out in just a little while. So get ready”

It's Palm Sunday, and as many of you know, we are finishing up the Lenten series of sermons and small groups in which we have been reflecting on how we engage our story, God's story, and engage others in the world.

As I reflected on the Palm Sunday story, Jesus riding into Jerusalem, in the context of our engage conversations, I began to wonder how many people were lining the streets of Jerusalem because someone – maybe a cousin, or neighbor, or friend from work – had invited them there that day?

Move 1: Why ask someone to a parade?

a. If you are from around here, you undoubtedly know about parades.

     1.In fact, I bet many of you have not just been to a parade, you have been in a parade.

     2. maybe the Strawberry Festival parade here in Troy, or a the Mum Festival parade in Tipp City, or the Christmas parade in Piqua, or the West Milton 4th of July parade, or maybe you've been a parade groupie and hit several of those through the years.

     3. Early in the morning, or maybe late at night, stake out your spot along the parade's path, and then gather later with family and friends to enjoy all the different groups in the parade.

b. Why go to a parade?

     1. Fun thing to do.

     2.  Everyone else seems to be doing it.

      3.  The kids are in the parade.

      4.  There is something worth seeing – maybe the motorcycle police from Indianapolis, or your favorite high school band, or those Schreiner's on the little bike weaving in and out.

      5.  I think every town I have ever lived in had a parade of some sort at some point in the year to celebrate something:  the derrick Day parades in Corsicana, TX; Christmas parade in Mt. Sterling, KY; Sunbowl parade on Christmas day in El Paso, Tx.   And, of course, the Strawberry Festival parade in Troy, OH, which for many years we would watch from the front yard of a home on south Market St. while eating all sorts of breakfast goodies.

c.  To invite a friend to come along to one of those parades would not seem that unusual.

     1.  Something fun to do.

     2.  something interesting to see.

     3.  get to share an event together.

d. surely some who greeted Jesus that day had been invited there.

     1.  Maybe someone who had become a follower of Jesus' already had invited a friend so she could see what it was all about.

     2.  Maybe someone else had a cousin who was going through a rough time, so he invited him to come meet Jesus and find a little hope.

     3.  someone else might have heard about Jesus herself and didn't want to go meet him alone,s o she asked a neighbor..

     4.  Probably a few people were there because they were just going along with the crowd.

e. The reasons to invite someone to a parade fit with why we might we want to engage someone with our faith story.

     1.  we have something interesting to share.

     2.  The way Jesus has impacted our life means he someone worth meeting.

      3.  We want someone to join with us in what we are doing.

Move 2: This week as we think about engaging others, we are reminded that sometimes we are called to dig deeper.

a. That's what's behind the story about the friends bringing their paralyzed friend to meet Jesus.

      1.  These four people had a paralyzed friend.

    2.  They wanted what was best for him.

      3.  We do not know what their connection was to Christ, if they knew him, or had just heard about him, but they believed that Christ could heal their friend.

b. but they did not settle for just telling him, “Hey, you ought to somehow get connected with this guy Jesus. He might be able to help you.”

    1. They took on the responsibility of taking him to where Jesus was.

     2.  And when the crowds made it impossible to get near Christ, they took up on the roof to try and gain entry into the house that way.

     3.  when the normal hatch in the roof turned out to be small, they made it bigger.

     4.  Then they lowered their friend into the room.

     5.  As we might expect, it caught Jesus' attention.

c.  Notice what happens next.

     1.  According to the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, and then when challenged about healing and forgiving, Jesus tells the man to walk.

     2.  And he does.

     3. The man comes in through the roof and walks out the front door because of the faith of his friends who brought him to Jesus.

     4.  Because his friends cared enough to engage him.

      5.  because his friends believed Jesus could heal him, and acted on that belief.

d.  At this point, it seems to me that those who invite their friends to see Jesus ride into Jerusalem and the friends of the paralytic have a lot in common.

     1.  They all believe that Jesus is the one who can change people’s lives.

     2. and they act on that belief.

     3,  they share it with their friends.

     4.  They become a conduit for others to connect with Christ.

     5. That's what it means to dig deeper as we engage others.

Move 3: Back to parades.

  a. In my experience, watching parades always leads to lots of conversation.

       1.  If there are horses in the parade, surely you have had to answer a question from your kids about what those people with the shovels are doing walking after the horses.

     2.  When I lived in Corsicana, TX, they had a parade for Derrick Days (a spring festival). When I remarked about how short the parade was, the person I was with told me to just wait. So I did. And not too soon after here came the parade again. Same band. Same few floats. Got to see them twice. That lead to an interesting conversation!

  b. Imagine the conversation that might have taken place on the streets of Jerusalem.

“So why are they waving palm branches? I thought they just did that to celebrate a victory when the Roman army came marching by.”

“I'm not for sure, but maybe that's a sign that Jesus is going to win some type of victory for us.”


“He doesn't look much like a soldier.”


“Nope. I think he's got a different kind of victory in mind..”


“Why did we keep shouting 'hosanna.”


“I did it partly because everyone else was doing it. But don't forget that 'hosanna' means “save us.”


“Save us? Why shout that.”


“Because maybe Jesus is the one who is going to save us. Maybe even save the world.”


“That guy on the colt is going to save us.”


“Maybe.”


“how?”


“ I don't know exactly, but maybe you ought to get to know him better. See how he can save you.”


Amen.

"Going to a Parade" Mark 2: 1-12; Mark 11:1-11

This is the last sermon in the Engage series we have been following in sermons and small groups during Lent.  Since it is on Palm Sunday, I am not sure if I am adapting the Palm Sunday story to the Engage series or vice versa.  I have definitely paired the recommended text from Engage to finish their series with the Palm Sunday story.

The Engage text (the lowering of the paralytic through the roof) and the Palm Sunday story both have people seeking out Jesus.

I am reflecting on going to a parade and who we might invite to a parade.  When I think about going to parades, I am reminded of having breakfast on the front lawn of a Market St. home as we watched the Strawberry Festival parade.  I have vague memories of going to the Sun Bowl parade as a young child in El Paso, Texas (is that right, Mom?).  When I lived in Corsicana, TX, they had a parade for Derrick Days (a  spring festival).  When the parade quickly went by and I started to leave, someone told me to wait because there was more to come; and here came the parade around a second time. Parades are exciting (unless it is really, really hot, and then they are more hot than exiting!).

I can hear a conversation between someone headed out to the parade into Jerusalem inviting a friend to go along.  What would be the key selling point?  I suspect it would be similar to why the paralytics's friends wanted to take him to meet Jesus.  Notice how determined they were to have their crippled friend engage Jesus.

Reflections on "Witnesses" Acts 1: 1-8; acts 22: 6-21

The next to last sermon in the sermon series on engage.  The topic was how we are to be witnesses in our spheres of influence.  In our small groups this week, we are given a chart that has the four categories of people taken from the Acts 1 passage to whom we are to bear witness -- that is, those in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  The idea is to come up with people in all those spheres of influence to whom we might witness.  Sort of an interesting exercise you might want to try after you read through this sermon.

The sermon went ok.  I had a short week due to being at a conference and then having a wedding on Saturday.  The sermon seemed a bit out of balance as the last point made up most of the sermon.  The "hostile witness" section was a late addition to the sermon.  I did not when I shared the sermon that if you watch My Cousin Vinny on commercial TV, the language is cleaned up; if you watch it on a DVD, there is vulgar language being used.



“Witnesses” FPC, Troy, OH; March 22, 2015; Acts 1: 1-8; Acts 22:

Introduction: We remember that the Book of Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke as the author of Luke writes again to Theophilus to share stories of what has happened since Christ has been raised from the dead.

The Gospel of Luke finishes with the post-resurrections stories of Jesus meeting disciples on the road to Emmaus and then eating and revealing himself to them once they arrived in Emmaus.

Later gathering with other disciples and even ending some broiled fish.

Then Christ ascends to heaven.

In those stories at the end of Luke, Jesus has already called the disciples “witnesses.”

This morning we read the opening verses of Acts and again hear the call to be witnesses.

As we move toward the end of our Lenten series on how to engage God's story, our story, and others in the world, we are reminded that God has called us to be witnesses.

This morning I want to reflect on to whom do we witness; to what are we a witness; what kind of witnesses are we to be?

Move 1: We witness to those people who are in our spheres of influence.

a. As we read in Acts, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NRSV)

     1. To witness in Jerusalem is to share with friends and family; the neighborhood.

     2. To witness in Judea – the Judeans, people of our own faith tradition; in other words, people who look, think and act like us

     3. Samaria – people we do not like; we remember that the Samaritans were the distant cousins who became the enemy, the other people generations ago.

     4. Witness to the ends of the earth – all the world; Nobody gets left out. and we are not off the hook as witnesses until all have heard the good news.

b. We hearing this call to be witness knowing that in the next chapter we will read about Pentecost.

     1. Pentecost when the Spirit sweeps among the people, they are given the gift of language so that they can in the language of the people in whose country they will go.

     2.  That means that God will equip us to be witne3sses, whether we are witnessing in Jerusalem or to the ends of the earth

     3.  whether we need the gift of language or some other gift, God will provide what we need to be witnesses.

Move 2: To what are we a witness?

a. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     1.  We we look at Paul who witnesses to all sorts of people, we discover that the foundation for what he tells people is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     2.  Christ crucified, yes; but then Christ resurrected.

b. Implications of the resurrection.

     1. how it changed Paul's life.

     2. How the resurrection of Christ frees us and empowers us in our lives.

We witness to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Move 3: What kind of witness are you to be?

a. Should we be an expert witness?

     1.  Presenting facts about Jesus that we want others to believe so that their lives can be changed.

     2.  Or making the argument about resurrection?

     3.  This week as I was traveling through Indiana I stopped at a convenience store on Rt. 30. As I looked down on the counter, there was one of those tracts that told me five facts about Jesus in an attempt to compel me to believe in Jesus.

Are we to be expert witnesses?

b. what about being a hostile witness?

     1.  Comedy My Cousin Vinny, Joe Pesci plays a New York lawyer who has never tried a case and now finds himself in small-town Georgia defending his cousin a capital murder trial. Marisa Tomay plays his fiancee, with whom Vinny has a combative relationship at times.

     2.  Vinny calls his fiancee to the witness stand just after they have had an argument. It is clear from her body language that she is not happy to be there.

     3.  As he begins to ask her questions about her knowledge of automobiles the following conversation takes place: 

Vinny: Ms. Vito, you're supposed to be some kinda expert in automobiles, is that correct? Is that correct?

Judge Haller: Would you please answer the counselor's question?

Ms. Vito: No, I hate him.

Vinny: Your Honor, may I ask your permission to treat Ms Vito as a hostile witness?

Ms. Vito: You think I'm hostile now? Wait till you see me tonight.

Judge Haller: Do you two know each other?

Vinny: Yeah, she's my fiancée.

Judge Haller: Well, that would certainly explain the hostility.

     4.  God does not force us to witness; God invites us to witness.

     5.  Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies “…or you might wonder why I make this strapping, exuberant boy come with me most weeks, and if you were to ask, this is what I would say. I make him because I can. I outweigh him by nearly seventy-five pounds.”

     6.  She goes on to note the value of raising her son in a community of faith, but she also notes that in a few years he will grow bigger and she will not be able to compel him to go to church.

c. Image of a trail guide

     1. An author that I read recently shared the story of her friend Anna, who is a trail guide.

Anna, the trail guide explains: "The best trail guides are those who welcome all kinds of people onto the trail [note that when Jesus says we are to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, that is welcoming all ind of people to the trail] recognizing that the trail will never be experience the same way twice.

Each person brings their own gifts and struggles (plus the weather always adds a certain level of unpredictability).

But, the guide cannot enter blind. He needs to share some knowledge of the trail. She has to know with paths to take, the location of sinkholes or dangerous ledges, or where the river is most narrow, offering the safest place to cross [we have the story of Christ's resurrection and our own story of how that has changed our life as our knowledge to share]

The best guides truly journey with the adventurers, suffering through the same rain or snowstorms, encountering the same unexpected wildlife, and even sitting together when one adventurer becomes paralyzed by fear or struggles to forge ahead.

A great guide is not simply an encyclopedia of information nor a signpost merely pointing the right way to go, but a fellow journeyer, a friend on the trail (Journal for Preachers, Volume XXXVIII Number 2, Lent, 2015, Kimberly Wagner, "Challenge and Invitation: Preaching Lent Today," 21)

     1.  I think God calls us to be trail guide kind of witnesses.

     2.  people who join with others as we travel down our life's journeys, sharing how God has made a difference in our lives.

     3.  We do not have the same story as those to whom we witness, but we have faced the things in life that others face: the joys and celebrations; the struggles and challenges.

     4.  You cannot take the journey for someone else, but you can point out things along the way and how your faith has added to the journey.

     5. not everyone will want you on the trail with them. When we read Paul's story this morning, we see that he is going to go to some other people because one group does not want to hear anything from him.

Witness as a trail guide.

Conclusion: In the old days, when radio was the major form of communication, the sound gave clues to what was happening in the story being told on the radio. I can remember as a kid being part of a radio play.  I didn't have any lines, but I made the noises like rain or someone knocking on the door.

Some might remember the old radio program “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” The appearance of Jesus was dressed up with music, so that before he spoke you heard violins in the background. Michael Rogness, Professor of Preaching and Professor Emeritus of Homiletic, Luther Seminary; St. Paul, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching?commentary_id=2314

We do not need a special introduction to be a witness, we just need to offer our story of how our journey has been impacted and changed by the God whom we discover in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

"Witnesses" Acts 1: 1-8

Late to the blog this week, which probably is an accurate reflection of my being behind in my sermon preparation.

This week we are reflecting on how we engage those who are in our spheres of influence.  I am reminded of Ann Lamott commenting that she makes her 13 yr. old son go to church because she is still bigger than he is so she can.  I'm not sure that style of invitation is what we mean by being witnesses!

Notice that in the Acts story they are called to be "witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”  That suggests that they are witnesses first in their own homes, then in their communities, and then their country, then the world.  And if we fast forward to Pentecost when the Spirit sweeps among the people, they are given the gift of language so that they can in the language of the people in whose country they will go.  

How do you engage your family? Your neighborhood? your commnity?

Reflections on "A Story Worth Telling" Ephesians 2: 1-10

Another sermon as part of the Lenten series.  Not a particularly overwhelming sermon, although I really liked the conclusion.  Another sermon that worked better at the Sanctuary service.

“A Story Worth Telling” FPC, Troy, OH; March 15, 2015; Ephesians 2: 1-10; Isaiah 44: 24-28

Introduction: Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind: Scarlett O'Hara was always seeking fulfillment and never finding it. You may remember her character from reading the book or seeing the movie – she is always trying to get that next thing, but never seems satisfied.

Mitchell describes a recurring nightmare in which Scarlett would find herself running in a fog trying to find an unknown safe haven. When she described it to Rhett, “Oh Rhett, I just run and run and hunt, and I can't ever find what I”m running for. It's always hidden in the mist and I know if I could find it I'd be safe forever and ever and never be cold or hungry again.” Rhett asks, “Is it a person or a thing you're hunting?” “I don't know,” she replies. (I found this story reading through old sermons preached by Dr. John McCoy at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Denton, Texas. Dr. McCoy was the preacher I listened to on a weekly basis growing up in that church).

I think there is a lot of that going around in our world today. People searching, but never quite finding. People achieving or gaining lots of things, but never finding fulfillment.

During our Lenten journey this year, we have been invited to engage – God's story; our story; and others in the world.

We have talked quite a bit about our own stories, those moments in our lives when we have experienced God.

And how we can share those stories with others.

The power of the stories is not found in their “touchy-feely” moments; no, the power of the our stories is how they reveal the God who is present in our stories.

This week, we are invited to consider what the material calls the “big story.”

Move 1: Big story

     a. The big story give us the basic framework of what God has done.

          1.  Gives us content for our stories.

          2.  Using the framework of the big story helps us avoid the pitfall of debating theology or arguing over the Bible.

          3. Focusing on the big story is a way to avoid theological differences.

         4. breaks down the "big story" into four moves: designed for good; damaged by evil; restored for better; and sent to heal.

     b. Designed for good..

          1. God as creator.

          2. Not a scientific argument.

          3. Intention of God to create and be in relationship with us.

          4.  reminded that after God had created, God looked at the world and humanity and called it God.

          5. That the God who created intended for us to be good.

     c. Damaged by evil.

           1.  Acknowledges our sinfulness.

           2. How we ignore God or decide we want to be God..
 

           3.  Recognizes that not only are we sinful, but also that there is evil in the world..

            4.  Declares the vulnerability of our humanity.

     d.  Restored for better.

              1.  God sends Christ to die on the cross for our sins.

              2.  God sending the Holy Spirit to shape us into the new creations God calls us to be.

              3. again, notice the intentionality of God – God moving toward us to save us.

     e. Sent to heal.

               1.  Growing into our calling as the body of Christ.

              2.  God sending us into the world to proclaim the good news of God's saving grace.

Move 2: A couple of stories

     a. Kathy Wehrman shared with me this week a passage from Rob Bell's book What We Talk about When We Talk about God.  Bell tells this story: "One morning recently I was surfing just after sunrise, and there was only one other surfer out. In between sets he and I started talking. He told me about his work and his family, and then, after about an hour in the water together, eh told me how he'd been an alcoholic and a drug addict and an atheist and then he'd gotten clean and sober and found God in the process. As he sat there floating on the bard next to me, a hundred or so yards from shore, with not a cloud in the sky and the surface of the water like glass, he looked around and said, "and now I see God everywhere."

             1.  A story that shows how someone's life has been changed.

             2. a dramatic story, but also notice how the story encompasses most of the big story.

             3. acknowledges his sinfulness. How he is damaged by evil.

             4.  He is able to move beyond his sins. He finds God and God restores him for better by helping with get clean and lay claim to a new future.

            5. Shares with others what God has done in his life. Sent to heal by the telling of his powerful story.

b. Or consider the story of John Newton, who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace" that we will sing later in the service.

             1. Slave trader. Both experienced a horrible time serving for a slave trader, and then he becomes a slave trader.

             2.  Had a conversion experience. He was in the boat in the middle of the open seas during a a major storm. He found himself reading the Bible and laying claim to his faith in God.

              3.  Did not immediately give up slave trading, but tried to bring a humane approach to it.

              4. After a few years, he realizes that he can no longer reconcile his faith with his actions.

               5.  He gives up his work as a slave trader and ultimately becomes and Anglican priest.

               6. not only does he become an abolitionist who speaks out against slavery, but he writes hymns.

                7. “Amazing Grace,” of course, being his story of being saved and transformed by God's grace.

                  8. His epitaph reads: "John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy." (you can find this from several sources. I saw it in the notes for the Presbyterian Hymnal and then at http://www.gospelweb.net/JohnNewton/newtontombstone.htm)

                9. An epitaph that reveals not only his story, but the big story of the God who saves him him.

Two stories worth telling.

Move 3: Grace

       a. The verse from this passage from Ephesians that stands out to be is vs. 8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"

              1.  Or as Eugene Peterson translates it it in The Message: "Saving is all his [God's] idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!"

              2. Paul pointing out God's intentional desire to save us.

     b. Our story is not just about us, but about the God who comes toward us.

               1.  the God who creates out of love;

              2.  Sends Christ to save out of grace.

              3.  Calls us to new life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

             4.  The God who sends us back into the world to proclaim God's saving grace.

Conclusion: My Uncle Joe listens to records because he likes the stories that come with the record jackets and he likes the imperfect sounds instead of the perfection of a CD

He liked to sit and read the story and listen to the imperfect music.

If we make our faith stories sound perfect, they become inaccessible to anyone else.

But, when our story reveals God's big story, it becomes and invitation for others to discover the God who comes to save them. A story worth telling. Amen.

“A Story Worth Telling” Ephesians 2: 1-10; Isaiah 44: 24-28

This week's material on integrating the "big story," that is what God has done, with our story.

The material breaks down the "big story" into four moves:  designed for good; damaged by evil; restored for better; and sent to heal.

The verse from this passage from Ephesians that stands out to be is vs. 8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"  Or as Eugene Peterson translates it it in The Message:   "Saving is all his [God's] idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!" 

Rob Bell in his book what We Talk about When We Talk about God tells this story:  "One morning recently I was surfing just after sunrise, and there was only one other surfer out.  In between sets he and I started talking. He told me about his work and his family, and then, after about an hour in the water together, eh told me how he'd been an alcoholic and a drug addict and an atheist and then he'd gotten clean and sober and found God in the process. As he sat there floating on the bard next to me, a hundred or so yards from shore, with not a cloud in the sky and the surface of thew ater like glass, he looked around and said, "and now I see God everywhere."

I also am thinking about how when we engage God, we engage God who comes toward us, who decides to save us.  

We are singing "Amazing Grace" Sunday, which carries with it a powerful story of it author and why he wrote the hymn.  His epitaph reads:  "John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy." (you can find this from several sources.  I saw it in the notes for the Presbyterian Hymnal and then at http://www.gospelweb.net/JohnNewton/newtontombstone.htm)

I am thinking about using as the framework for the sermon what things we need to include in our story to make it a story worth telling.

What do you think?

Reflections on "Whose Story Is It?" Genesis 17: 1-7; Philippians 3: 1-14

Again, a sermon that blends my own thoughts and the curriculum of the Engage material that we are using for our Lenten small groups.  Interestingly, the topic I taught for confirmation yesterday morning was the "marks of Membership," in which I traced "membership" from the call of Abraham to our resent time.  I confess to just pulling out the Confirmation material on Friday and not really looking through it, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered these four marks of membership that I teach the confirmands:  God initiates the call; God calls us to community; God calls us to respond; our call marks us in a distinctive way.  As you will see, that had several parallels in the sermon.  In fact, the point in the Paul section about circumcision was added at the Sanctuary service based on what I had just taught in Confirmation.

As sometimes happens, the Sanctuary sermon was measurably better than than the Chapel service.  I never found a rhythm in the Chapel service.  The first illustration was supposed to be enlightening, but also a bit humorous, but I was not able to translate the humor in the Chapel sermon, so it set a tone that dragged down the whole sermon.

The Frederick Buechner quote was really a neat one.   I probably should have built more of the sermon around it.

“Whose Story Is It?” FPC, Troy, OH; March 8, 2015; Genesis 17: 1-7; Philippians 3: 1-14

Introduction: a woman in the church I served in KY came to see me when her son was going through confirmation.

She was one of those people who was Presbyterian by marriage. She was much more fundamental and evangelical in her faith, although when she married her first husband she ended up in a mainline church, and now with her second husband she was in a Presbyterian Church.

Very active in the church. We used to have have some great conversations. I remember one time discussing prayer with her: I was surprised she prayed for an open parking spot near the entrance to the mall during a downpour of rain (she believe that her prayer had been answered by someone leaving right as she pulled up); she was surprised that I did not pray for open parking spots near the door if it were raining!

She came to see me, very excited about her son joining the church. “It will be awesome for him to be baptized,” she told me.

I hesitated a moment and then asked, “I thought you told me that he had been baptized as a baby?”

“why would that matter?” she asked.

“We only baptize once in the Presbyterian Church.”

“But he needs to have the experience of a baptism.”

“If he were baptized as a baby, God does not need to do it again.”

“Well, what if he had not been baptized as a baby?”

“Then he would have to be baptized when he joined the church. But...” I never finished the sentence because she had turned and left.

A week or so later she came by my office again.

“you know, I was looking through his baby book, and he wasn't really baptized. He was just dedicated. “

“Really?”

“Really. That means he has to be baptized when he joins the church, right?”

“I guess.”

I baptized him a few weeks later on Confirmation Sunday.

I never asked to see the certificate of dedication.

I decided nothing good would come from challenging a mother who wants her son to be baptized when it would make an impression on him.

That's what mattered to her – not the Presbyterian theology of baptism.

Not what might of might not have happened14 years earlier to her son as a baby.

All she cared about was that joining the church would be a memorable experience;

something that would mark him;

something that would change him;

something that would show him and the world that being in relationship with Christ made a difference in his life.

I learned about the importance of marking significant changes in our lives in that moment. That is why when we present our confirmands each year they end up on their knees as I anoint them, whether they have been baptized or not, so they will feel that they are marked by their profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

This sermon is the third sermon in our Lenten reflections on how to engage God, engage our story, and engage the world around us.

I have two questions for you to ponder this morning.

1. how is your life changed by being a relationship with Christ?
   2. Why would anyone else want to engage your story if your story did not show how you were changed?

Move 1: Abraham

a. We do not know much about Abraham from before.

1. Not sure what he was doing that would make him a prime candidate for God to choose him.
2. But God did choose him and his family.
3. We might note that change involves his wife Sarai who becomes Sarah.
4. Pretty exciting to be chosen by God; to enter into covenant with God; to be promised that your ancestors would be as numerous as the stars.

b. But being chosen by God also meant change.

1. He literally changes his name – Abram until vs. 5.
2. Same thing for his wife. She goes from being Sarai to Sarah.

2. Physical change also – circumcision for Abraham and his family. A physical marking that now identifies them as connected to God.
3. Geographical change – take off and head toward a new place. There is something more out there.
   c. Change leads to new possibilities.
   1. Sarah will have a baby.
   2. sounds great, except Sarah had never been able to conceive and now she is really old.
   3. having a baby sounded so ridiculous, she burst into laughter.
   4. as Frederick Buechner describes it: “Sarah and her husband had had plenty of hard knocks in their time, and there were plenty more of them still to come, but at that moment when the angel told them they'd better start dipping into their old-age pensions for cash to build a nursery, the reason they laughed was that it suddenly dawned on them that the wildest dreams they'd ever had hadn't been half wild enough.” Frederick Buechner, http://frederickbuechner.com/content/weekly-sermon-illustration-abraham-sarah-and-laughter;  Mon, 2015-02-23 10:06 Weekly Sermon Illustration: Abraham, Sarah, and Laughter
   5. They enter into relationship with God – they are changed. The possibilities are endless. Let the adventures begin.

Move 2: Paul

a. Paul has all the credentials

1. he was a person of importance with the right pedigree.
2. As Paul tells the Philippians, he was “circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel (descendants of Abraham), of the tribe of Benjamin (that would be King David's tribe), a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee (that would be one of the leaders of the faith); as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
3. Paul had it made.
   b. but that changes when he encounters the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
   1. he gives it all up to join with Christ.
   2. We might note that for Paul the decision to follow Christ is not marked by circumcision. In fact, he will argue against the need to be circumcised or follow the dietary laws of Judaism.
   3. But his change is marked by his his commitment to participate in Christ's resurrection and in Christ's suffering.
   2. Paul had it made by the world's standards, but he gives it up for a relationship with Christ.
   4. He meets Christ and is changed.
   5.new possibilities abound – the persecutor of Christians can become a great leader of Christians.

Move 3: What about your story?

a. What difference does it make that you have a relationship with Christ?

1. Many of you do not even know life without Christ in it.

2. no dramatic change like Paul on the road to Damascus.
3. You've never known anything besides being a Christian.

3. but there must be a difference.

b. It's your story.

1. why have you chosen to be in relationship with Christ?
2. In fact, not just why have you chosen as if you only make that choice once in life, but why do you continue to choose to be in relationship with Christ.
3. Surely, there are times when your decisions are different than what they would be if you were not trying to live out your relationship with Christ.
4. Perhaps giving up what the world values like Paul did to follow Christ.
5. So why?
   c. Our answer to that question becomes the reason why others want to engage us.
   1. people want to be a part of something that offers change and new possibilities.
   2. let me ask you this question. If you were coming the lobby of an auditorium and you had to choose which speaker you wanted to hear, what would you do?
   In Auditorium 1 you could hear someone who was known for his storytelling. You knew if you went into Auditorium 1 you were hear some great stories. if you went to listen to him you would laugh and enjoy the speech.
   In Auditorium 2, you're not sure what you might hear. The speak was not known for her great stories, but she had some new insights to share; she offers the opportunity to explore new possibilities.
   Which auditorium do you choose?
   Auditorium 1 is the safe choice. Some fun stories, but not much else. You know what you're getting.
   Auditorium 2 has new possibilities; going to hear that speaker might change you forever.
   3. which one are you going to choose.
   4. When we people come to you to hear your story about your relationship with Christ, they believe you are the speaker in Auditorium 2.
   They want to know about the possibilities that come with being in relationship with Christ, the Son of the God, the one who caused Paul to give up his life as a Pharisee and follow the God of resurrection;
   they want to know about the possibilities of being in relationship with Christ, the son of the God who called Abraham to a new way of life and punctuated that call with the surprising pregnancy of his wife Sarah.
   They want to hear your story or how being in relationship with Christ has changed your life.
   Tell them.
   Amen.

"Whose Story Is It?" Philippians 3: 1-14; Genesis 17: 1-7

This sermon is the third sermon in our Lenten reflections on how to engage God, engage our story, and engage the world around us.  This week seems to make the point that if engaging God does not change your life, why would anyone else care?  To personalize it, if my life (or your life) is not impacted by God's love and our relationship with Christ, why would anyone else want to engage God and be in a relationship with Christ?

In the passage to the Philippians, Paul presents an interesting case of himself.  He notes that he has all the credentials -- he was a person of importance with the right pedigree, but he gives it all up to join with Christ in Christ's resurrection and in Christ's suffering.

Consider the Abraham story we read in the Genesis passage.  When Abraham enters into covenant with God, he embarks on a bright (pun intended) future that will sees his descendants as numerous as the stars, but it also will lead to his packing up and moving to a new place.  The adventure begins!

I am struck by two thoughts:  one, many of us can point to ways our lives have been changed and why we choose to be in relationship with Christ; but, two, the prosperity gospel that is often preached in our time (you know, if you love God everything works out perfectly for you and you get rich along the way) does not seem to be the faith that Abraham and Paul discovered.

Perhaps that sharpens our focus -- if we cannot promise wealth and prosperity to someone if they decide to engage in a  relationship with Christ, what can do we have to offer?

Reflections on "Life on the Vine" Jonah 4: 1-11; John 15: 1-8

This was the second sermon in the Lenten series that focuses on "engaging" God's story, our story, and the world around us.  the basic premise of the sermon was that God's love is the foundation of our stories, and that God's love sends us into the world to engage others.

The quote from Brennan Manning's Youtube Live at Woodcrest invited us to ask the question:  "Do you know how much God loves you?"  The quote from Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz (well worth reading) pushed us to consider what stories we might tell about how we have discovered God's love through Christ.  Both of these quote were part of the "Engage" material we are using (a curriculum provided by the Presbyterian Church, USA).  Both questions are valuable ones to ask.

The Jonah section of the sermon did not come from the curriculum, but came from my own reflections on the question, "Do you know that God loves you?"  Jonah, of all the biblical characters, perhaps understands most clearly God's love.  In fact, his sure knowledge of God's grace sends him running away from God!

“Life on the Vine” FPC, Troy, OH; March 1, 2015; John 15: 1-8; Jonah 4: 1-11

Introduction: Brennan Manning in his YouTube video Live at Woodcrest reflects on what it will be like one day to see God face to face. Brennan feels like the one question God will ask him is "Did you know how much I loved you?" (Brennan Manning, Live at Woodcrest, referenced in “Engage” curriculum [PCUSA], www.pcusa.org/evangelism, 33)

This week's part of our Lenten journey calls us to reflect on how God's love is the foundation for our story. To ask of ourselves the question: Do I know who much God loves me.

As we seek to engage, we do so knowing God's love for us.

Move 1: Do you know how much God loves you?

     a. In his book Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller tells about his friend Alan. Alan goes around the country interviewing leaders of different churches and religious organizations that seem to be doing well to figure out what they were doing.

Eventually Alan interviews Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ). As the final question of the interview, Alan asked the question: What does Jesus mean to you? He said Dr. Bright just tarted to cry. He sat there in his big chair behind his big desk and wept (p. 233 of Blue Like Jazz; as referenced in “Engage” curriculum [PCUSA], www.pcusa.org/evangelism, 33)

                 1. Miller notes that when his friend Alan told him that story, he wondered what it was to love Jesus that way.

                2. What might have been flashing through his mind as he sat there and tears rolled down his face?

                3. Maybe thoughts of resurrection? God's love that comes to us from Christ’s death on the cross and then resurrection?

3. The times he had experienced God's love through Christ's presence in his life?

4. a Critical moment in his life when he needed God's love and felt it.

5. A joyous moment when he felt God's presence.

    b. Do you know how much God loves you?

             1.  As we come to the Lord's Table today, is it one more ritual, or do you lay claim to the words we speak about God sending Christ to die for you?

              2. Are you like a child who moves into the world secure and confident because she knows that her parents love her. A love that frees her to risk and share herself with others?

              3.  Or are you more like a child that spends her life trying to prove herself and acting out because she does not know she is loved?

              4.  what stories might you tell that reveal God's love for you?

              5. Do you know how much God loves you?

Move 2: Jonah knew about God's love

     a. Jonah knows about how wonderful God's love is.

              1. We tell the Jonah story and remember Jonah running away from God, but do not forget that Jonah is running away precisely because he knows how expansive God's love is.

              2. Why? Because he knew that God was a “gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”

                3.  He knew that God was the kind of God who would forgive the Ninevites, his enemies, so Jonah runs away for the God who loves.

               4. In that example, we are both reminded of God's great love for us, but also our tendency to appreciate God's love more for us than for others!

                5.  If Jonah were in one of our small groups, imagine the story he would tell if asked to share an example of God's love in their lives.  "You are not going to believe how much God loves me and how much God loves you! He even forgave the Ninevites! "

               6.  Again the question: What stories would you tell that reveal God's love for you?

Move 3: WE are also reminded that there is more to knowing God's love; we are also called to live in God's love

a. The Gospel of John gives us the image of the vine branches to describe how we are called to live in God's love.

1. In truth, I have looked at numerous images of grape vines and read all about grafting, vine branches, vine shoots, vine roots, and I still can't quite get it figured out, or at least the distinctions Christ was making between the vine and the branches.

2. some of those images might have made more sense to the people listening to Jesus, particularly if they were part of the Jewish tradition that had grown up with the prophets like Isaiah who uses the image

of a vineyard when he refers to Judah and the house of Israel.

3. Maybe if we lived in a place where walking down the road we could see vineyards everyday it would make more sense.

b. As we explore the image, it is clear that we each have our specific roles.

            1. Jesus is very clear about this.

            2. not one of those illustrations that you pick whom you want to be.

            3. Nadia Bolz-Weber April 30, 2012 By The Hardest Question 3 Comments
I Want To Be a Sunflower For Jesus by Nadia Bolz-Weber Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8

For Sunday, May 6, 2012 Year B—Easter 5

I’m nothing if not independent. Reportedly my first sentence was “do it self!” Yes, I will do it myself, thank you. Choices See, I want choices. And I want independence. But apparently I get neither. What I wish Jesus said is: “I am whatever you want me to be. And you can be whatever you want to be: vine, pruner, branch, soil…knock yourself out.” What Jesus actually says is: “I am the vine. My Father is the vine grower. You are the branches” Dang. The casting has already been finalized. I guess that even if we don’t get to choose our role—God has determined that we are branches, Jesus is the vine and God is the vine grower; I wish that at least I could choose what kind of plant to be. http://thq.wearesparkhouse.org/yearb/easter5gospe/

             4.  God is the vine grower; God is the one who plants and cares for the vine; God is the one who prunes the vine ( The Greek verb kathairo used in vs. 2 can mean"prune" or cleanse," which ties the vineyard image in to the theological image). We are not the one in charge of the vineyard.

               5.  Jesus is the vine; the one who brings sustenance and life to the branches.


               6.  We are the branches, the ones called to bear the fruit of God's love and Christ's care for us.

    d.  to live in this way means that our lives are so intertwined with Christ's that we bear Christ’s fruit in the world.

               1.  The Gospel of John uses the word “abide” to describe this way of living.

               2.  Greek word for abide is meno.

                3.  In an agricultural sense, it means "remain on the branch."

                4.  John adds a theological insight that gives it the meaning of an "inward, enduring, personal communion" to describe Christ's relationship with God and now our relationship with Christ. (Walter Bauer, A Greek -English Lexicon of the New Testament, 503-4;New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IX: Luke, John,758). We are called to focus on abiding in Christ.

               5.  when we abide in Christ, we will bear fruit.

                6.  I may not know much about grapevine roots, branches, shoots, or vines, but I do know that the beautiful, tasty grapes are the end-product that the vine grower seeks (or at least that I seek when I purchase grapes!).

               7.  That is the end-product of knowing God's love for us and abiding in Christ – a life that shows forth God's love and shares God's love with others.

              8. In other words, when we tell our story of God's love, they propel us into the world to become examples of God's love in the stories other will tell of God's love in their lives.

Conclusion: grape image is particular powerful when we come to the our Lord's Table. Taste the juice and know God's love for you.

Abide in Christ.

Abide in love. Amen.