Sermon December 20 Fourth Sunday of Advent "Son of David"

This sermon could have more aptly been titled “The Scenic Route.” That was a theme that became evident the more I studied this passage in Matthew 1:18-25. The Old Testament text I studied in conjunction with it was 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

“Joseph, Son of David…” was what the angel called him in a dream. You see, to Joseph, this situation he was in was what it looked like. His betrothed was pregnant and it wasn’t his. It’s not what he wanted or had planned. He would stop the betrothal short of marriage in a way that would be the least embarrassing for both his and Mary’s families. So often we make Joseph’s mistake. We find ourselves in the middle of a situation that we do not like and we say, “It is what it looks like.”

Matthew’s gospel starts out not with this birth narrative but rather a 42 generation genealogy, however. Why? Because this is simply part of a larger story. It is the continuation of God’s activity of redemption from the very beginning. Matthew’s genealogy is not simply a list of names. It’s the abridged history of God’s redemption of his people. “Joseph, son of David” was not a title- it was a command. Remember where you came from. Remember history. Remember His-Story.

The truth of history and the fact of the future is this: God is moving toward his glory! There is nothing in human history or circumstance that is not being worked out toward God’s ultimate glory. His-Story has always been about His glory. It just so happens that it is the nature and character of God as He moves toward His glory to take the scenic route.

Look at David. Samuel came to Bethlehem, to Jesse’s house, to anoint one of Jesse’s sons king. Eluid stood before him first and Samuel thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed.” It is what it looks like. But God says to him, “Samuel, do not look at his outward appearance… for God does not look at the things man looks at.” God was taking the scenic route. Seven of Jesse’s sons stood before Samuel. God desired none of them to be king of his people. “Do you have any more?” Samule asks. “Uh, just one, but he is out in the field with the sheep.”

David was not even considered by his own father as worthy to be a part of this father and son gathering with Samuel. “Jesse, son of David…” was a reminder to Joseph that he was not to make the mistake Jesse and Samuel made by looking only at the surface of things. God was at work. He was moving toward his ultimate glory in Jesus and he was taking the scenic route.

Advent is a time to take assessment of our own lives and discover what scenic route God is inviting us on. Are there things we are discretely “divorcing” ourselves from because we have said, “It is what it looks like”?

God’s story ends in glory and he takes the scenic route to get there. Philippians 2 seemed like fitting encapsulation of this point. Jesus, “being in very nature God… made himself nothing… and became obedient to death.” But that was just part of the scenic route. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place…” where “…Jesus Christ is Lord, to the GLORY of God the father.”

Could His-Story end any other way? Could ours?

Pastor Scott

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Sermon December 6 Second Sunday of Advent "Let It Be"

This Second Sunday of Advent was a communion Sunday. It was a Sunday on which we lit candles of hope and peace.

In Luke 1:26-38 we read the story of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel. It was in the first two verses that something in particular caught my eye. We find out so much. We find out who the angel is and where he was sent. We find out that the person he came to see was a virgin. We discover that this virgin was engaged to a man named Joseph. We find out about Joseph’s family tree- he was a descendant of King David. And the very last word of these very detailed and informative introductory verses is “Mary.” From a worldly point of view, in a word, she was insignificant.

Yet twice the angel calls her “favored.” She was a nobody. But God had a plan for her life. Mary found out that she would play a vital role in the establishment of God’s kingdom for all of eternity by giving birth to the Son of God through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

God’s plan was as big as his kingdom and involved the redemption of all creation. And Mary found out that she had a huge role to play. She was dumbfounded, “How can this be since I am a virgin, a nobody, a person of little significance?”

God has a kingdom plan for each of us. God wants us to play a role in the redemption of all creation. We are dumbfounded. How can this be? I’m a nobody. The power of the Holy Spirit and presence of God will accomplish this. I say this so much: God calls the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. That is the story of scripture.

And ours should be the response of Mary. “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be.” I encouraged the church to take this Advent season as a time to sit in the silence (last week’s theme) and ask the question, “Lord, what is your kingdom purpose for me?”

As we came to the Lord’s Supper we looked at Jesus’ prayer in the garden. Jesus cried out, “If it is possible, take this cup from me. But not my will, but yours be done.” In this moment of earthly anguish, Jesus did not reflect the power and glory of his father, but rather the humble contrition of his earthly mother. “Let it be” Jesus said.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon November 29 First Sunday of Advent “Hope Rekindled”

Trees, lights, candles, purple cloths… must be the beginning of Advent: a season of anticipation and expectant longing at its best and break-neck consumerism at its worst. To take seriously the congregational context as we consider the scriptures to be read and proclaimed is a big part of preaching. Not everyone lives in the Advent season like the preacher does. Not everyone is filled with thoughts of incarnation and candle lighters and what worship will sound like this time of year. People live in the real world during Advent…

And that is why our passage from Luke 1:5-23 was so poignant. Zechariah and Elizabeth lived life in the real world. Sure, they came from godly folks. But they had hardship like the rest of us. They had questions and doubts. Their lives were filled with unmet hopes and unanswered prayers. They felt like many of us do much of the time… “For a God who knows and loves me, he sure has been quiet lately.”

But then, out of no where, Zachariah is encountered by Gabriel. The angel knows his name. The angel says that God has heard his prayers. All of a sudden, a life of disgrace and anonymity is one encountered by the reality of God in a fascinating way. “God knows my name. God has heard my prayers.” That is Zachariah’s epiphany. God was at work in the silence after all.

Zachariah’s son was going to pave the way for the son of David, the seed of Jesse. In Isaiah 40 at the beginning of the chapter we read about the ministry of Zachariah’s son. He will make straight the path for the Messiah. Awesome!

There is a neat little detail in this story; a curious instance. For appealing to he and his wife’s old age as a reason why Gabriel had the wrong guy, Zachariah was rendered mute. It was his duty to walk out of the temple and address the gathered people with the blessing of his wife’s ancestor, Aaron. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Not every priest got to do that. This was a once in a lifetime thing.

But he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t say anything. And it was in his silence that the people realized that Zachariah had an encounter with God. His silence was what told them, “God is at work! God had done something and said something to Zachariah. But we don’t know what it is. What is God up to now?”

Zachariah’s silence was the indicator that God was present, active, working, redeeming, renewing, and rekindling the hope of a people. How interesting that chapter 40 of Isaiah that begins with “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord…’” speaking of son of Zachariah, ends with “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles…”

God is at work in the silence. Wait on him. Hope in him.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon November 22 “Stewardship: The Irony of Giving” Part 3 of 3

Two familiar passages fueled the third sermon in this series on stewardship. This was the final look at the irony of giving that showed that stewardship is not about money. The two passages we looked at were Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 23:23, 24.

These passages are pretty plain in their meaning. Look at them:

Micah 6…
With what shall I come before the LORD

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 23…

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."

The lesson? A tithe of money without a life that pursues justice and mercy on behalf of the forsaken is not honoring to God. The tithe is a fundamental part of our lives lived faithfully before God. But tithing without a life of mercy equates to straining out a non kosher gnat while eating a plate of non kosher camel… medium rare. Seek justice. Live a life of mercy. Be faithful. Walk humbly with God. Oh, and don’t neglect your tithe either.

Pastor Scott

click on the link and then the semon for Nov. 22 to listen

Sermon November 15 “Stewardship: The Irony of Giving” Part 2

The second sermon in this series picked up where Jesus left off. Our focus passage was Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus begins this with a “Therefore…” Basically he has told this gathered crowd that they can’t worship two things. The human heart only has the capacity to worship one thing. God or mammon, you choose.

What follows Jesus’ “therefore” is a life lesson for those who in their hearts have decided on God as the focus of their worship rather than mammon. The “therefore” then means, in a very real sense, “this is what such stewardship looks like in your life.”

And what does Jesus say? Don’t worry or be anxious! Stop worrying about what C. H. Spurgeon calls “the world’s trinity of cares”: what you eat, what you drink, and what you wear; what you put in and what you put on. Worry is not conducive to a life of worship. Anxiety does not produce good stewardship.

Jesus says, “Look at the flowers. Watch the birds. Let God’s creation testify to his ability to sustain all that he has made. And don’t you know that you are more valuable than the rest of creation? Pagans, godless wanderers, mammon worshipers fill their lives with worry over the things of this world- what we put in us and what we put on us. God is sovereign. God is benevolent. And humanity is the focus of both of those things.”

Jesus goes on to say that stewardship, a life of worship, is focused on God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. A life of stewardship is consumed with the godly kingdom purposes of our creation and calling. Focus on that and all of this other stuff, this important stuff, will find its proper perspective and place in our lives.

Stewardship is not about money, it's about the Kingdom of God.

Look to the lilly and the sparrow... "You see, he is making the birds our school masters and teachers. It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should become the theologian and teacher to the wisest of men." -Martin Luther

Pastor Scott

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Sermon November 8 “Stewardship: The Irony of Giving” Part 1

We looked at two texts this week as we began a three week series on stewardship. Our New Testament text was Matthew 6:19-24. Here, Jesus speaks about money. He says two things about it primarily:
1. Your heart will be with your treasure- not the other way around.
2. You can’t love God and money at the same time. It’s impossible.
What it boils down to is idolatry. And what idolatry boils down to is worship. And that was the point of this first sermon on stewardship.

The first mistake many make when it comes to stewardship is that they make stewardship about money. In our culture that may be what it is about. But in scripture it never is. The first irony of stewardship is that it is not about money, it’s about worship. That’s why Jesus pointed beyond the treasure to the heart. God doesn’t need our money- but he desperately wants our heart.

And that is why Malachi 3:6-12 is so poignant. God tells his people through this prophet that they are robbing him. “How?” they ask. “In tithes and offerings!” God wants them brought to the temple. Why? Not because he needs the money but because he desires the worship. When their treasure comes to the temple their hearts come with it. They were robbing God of worship.

If we are not living out biblical stewardship through a life that revolves around bringing our first fruits to God (“the top dime”) then we will be deficient in our worship. And when our worship is deficient our lives will be empty. In Malachi, God challenges his people. “Test me in this” he says. “Try me! See if the floodgates of heaven aren’t opened up when you get stewardship right!”

(God’s floodgates are real. But this is not a prosperity gospel message- some kind of trumped up biblical-ese investment program in order to "get blessed" with money- because it’s not about the money; it’s about worship. If it’s not about the money in our stewardship then it won’t be about the money when the floodgates open. Money given to God for the sake of the financial return is not worship- it's worldliness.)

The challenge in this sermon was to those who may be robbing God of worship through deficient stewardship. Test God. See if he isn’t faithful to those who hearts are invested in him through the worship produced by a life of stewardship.

Pastor Scott

P.S. The children’s sermon involved a dollar broken down into a stack of dimes. “They are all God’s dimes. But he let me have them,” I suggested. It glorifies him when we give him one back. “Which dime does God want back?” I asked. “The biggest one!” a kid shouted. “The shiniest one.” another suggested. “The top one.” I told them. Stewardship is that simple. God is glorified by the top dime- pre taxes. Simple.

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Sermon November 1 "The Kingdom, The Church, and The Reformation"

What a wonderful Sunday yesterday! Reformation Sunday was celebrated in a single worship service with the welcoming of 17 new members. Providing music for our worship was our children’s choir, choir, organist, pianist, guitarist, bass player, drummer, praise team leaders, and a bag piper. All who lead us in contemporary worship songs and hymns as we celebrated not only our Reformation history but the continual work of reformation that Christ is doing in his church. Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda indeed!

My sermon text came from Matthew’s gospel, 13:31-35. Here Jesus speaks of the inbreaking kingdom of God using the image of a mustard seed planted in a field and a small amount of yeast mixed in with some dough. Jesus began his preaching ministry by proclaiming that God’s kingdom was at hand. Throngs of people gathered to discover what that meant.

And here Jesus tells them that if they are not careful they might miss it. Jesus doesn’t point to the cedars of Lebanon and say “the kingdom of God is like that!” He doesn’t point to a power wielding empire and say “the kingdom of God is like that!” He points to a seed that grows into a garden bush. He points to a lump of dough that is bigger in the morning.

The irony of the kingdom is at play in this parable. “God’s kingdom is here!” Jesus cried. God in flesh was standing right in front of them announcing “I’m here!” Where? They were looking for something a little more robust than a homeless teacher. The work of God’s kingdom swirls around us. God is present and he is at work building his kingdom right where you are right now. But we miss it. All we see are shrubs and leaven bread.

The sermon yesterday was a call to pay attention, to get involved in the day to day newness of God’s kingdom work. It rages around us looking like dirty stables and empty mangers, fishermen and folk tales, bushes and bread. We want to see God rip open the sky and prove himself to the world! All the while his kingdom work continues faithfully on while we wait around for the good stuff. Anybody up for a mustard sandwich?

Pastor Scott

P.S. I mentioned in my sermon (one of those unplanned insertions) that yeast was a bacteria. 9 year old Amelia was puzzled by this statement- knowing that yeast is actually a fungus. Oops! Thanks for the catch Amelia.

Sermon October 18- 2 Corinthians 5:14-12

This sermon was fueled by a lot of reflection on my time in Egypt. While there, I looked at this part of the Muslim world through the window of my own life and experience. It was a different world than one had ever experienced.

This sermon was a call to reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. Only in him can we have the assurance of our salvation. Righteousness is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus. That’s it.

I offered a very simple understanding of Islam- one gathered more from observation than study. And I paralleled the practice of Islam to the dutiful religiosity of cultural Christianity practiced in so much of our great nation.

This sermon in a word was an invitation. Click here to listen.
Pastor Scott

Sermon September 27 "Exceeding the World"

(Sorry this post is so late. I woke up on Sunday, September 27th with the flu. I was in bed all week trying to rest and recover for my trip to Egypt... and then I was in Egypt. Better late than never I hope).

This sermon was preached on the verses that conclude this particular section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:43-48). Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven...

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is all about holy living; living as children of God. And that is what he points out here. Why do we love enemies and pray for persecutors? So that we can act like what we are- children of God. Jesus began this section by saying that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets- not to abolish them. And what were the law and the prophets but the guidelines and resounding clarion call to holy living.

Loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors fly in the face of our natural inclinations. But part of our sanctification is about having those natural inclinations transformed by God's grace in our lives through Christ. That is why Jesus concludes this section by saying "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." What is at stake in not loving enemies and praying for persecutors is our living as children of our Father.

But how do we do that? I Corinthians 13:4-7 describes what love looks like. And it has nothing to do with how we feel and everything to do with how we choose to act. Loving enemies doesn't mean feeling fondness for people who hate us, but rather responding to them in patience, kindness, humility, trust, and hope.

If we choose not to live this way toward our enemies then we are not living as a holy people- we are not living as children of God. We are not reflecting God’s love toward us.

How happy am I that God dose not treat me by the standards I used to treat Sal Dana (my childhood nemesis and neighborhood bully)? How can we live that way? How can we muster up the ability to be patient and kind, to not give into our pride and envy, how can we protect, trust, hope, and persevere through maltreatment from the Sal Danas of this world?

We go to the cross. We reconfront God’s love for us on display. We hear Jesus cry out again and again, “father forgive them for they know not what they do.” And we realize that he is saying that about us!

I concluded the sermon by reading Romans 12:9-21 in which the apostle Paul provides the exclamation point to Jesus' teaching here.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon September 20 “The Left Cheek and the Second Mile”

This text in Matthew 5:38-42 is about as straight forward as you can get. Turn the other cheek, give more than what is being demanded of you, and volunteer the second mile. Early in the week I kept asking myself, “When does this not apply?” I kept searching for the areas in which self preservation and dignity trumped turning, giving, and walking.

As part of my study on this text I read an article that argued with Jesus’ philosophy espoused here that was the basis for Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to the Civil Right Movement. He wrote, “The Sermon on the Mount could work- if everyone would observe its precepts at once. Where MLK is in philosophical error, one suspects, is the naïveté of applying the Sermon on the Mount in a world that is as corrupt and already evil as our own...”

It was on reading that I stopped asking the question, “When does this not apply?” You see, this man pointed out Dr. King’s “philosophical error” on the basis of the fact that it cost Dr. King his life. He turned the other cheek and was assassinated. What this man failed to see was that one, the Civil Rights Movement under King’s leadership worked. And that two, the gospel never demanded anything less than our whole lives; that discipleship is patent self denial that involves losing life that we might find it.

The burden isn’t in straining to discover when this doesn’t apply but in giving away our lives in a way that makes it apply. This involves two things.

First, the left cheek and the second mile involve resting secure in our identity as children of God. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment to prove that we have value. The value that we have as human beings is intrinsic. But resting secure in who I am as God’s own adopted son trumps any dignity I can establish by demanding respect through the act of not allowing myself to be shamed by another human being. Roman’s 8:14-18 is all the security we need in order to be relieved of the burden of demanding respect.

Second, the left cheek and second mile involve trusting God to provide for us. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment because ultimately we don’t trust God to care for us. When has God proven himself untrustworthy?

A life that turns the left cheek and walks the second mile is a life that proclaims the gospel. It’s a life lived in the security of who God says we are. It’s a life lived in the resounding faith of our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days!

Pastor Scott

P.S. After I preached I fielded many questions along the lines of self defense and protecting one’s family. The second part of the greatest commandment is to love others as you love yourself. The left cheek and the second mile don’t involve ceasing to value life by allowing oneself to be brutalized.

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Sermon September 13 Let Your “Yes” be “Yes”

This Sermon was based on Matthew 5:33-37 where Jesus encourages people not to make oaths. The Pentatuchal provisions for oaths (Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2, and Deuteronomy 23:22) have a pretty clear meaning: keep your word. It is to this spirit of that letter that Jesus speaks. Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no”, “no”.

I addressed this very plain meaning of the text by looking at our first scripture reading concerning Ananias and Sapphira. The issue with them wasn’t that they didn’t give 100% of the proceeds from the sale of their property to the church in Jerusalem; it was that they said they gave 100% when in fact they had given less. They told a lie so that they wouldn’t look bad as compared to a guy like Barnabas who had given the full proceeds from a similar transaction to the apostles.

There is a clear admonition here to live in the light. Don’t hide in the shadows of falsehood or half-truths. If we live in the light of the truth then there will be no need to promise, vow, make oaths, or swear to what we are saying. That is the plain meaning of this text.

The greater focus of this sermon was to encourage us to live in our “yes” to Christ. What does it mean that we have said “yes” to him? I highlighted three things that this meant.

1. A “yes” to Jesus is a “no” to the world.
When Christ calls one to follow him it requires a patent denial of self. If any one would become Jesus’ disciple they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow.

2. A “yes” to Jesus is a “yes” to his church and a “no” to isolation.
In our post-modern culture of individualism and independence we place a premium on the experience and idea of the individual. We relish the uniqueness of our own experience and the validity it has to define a private truth. The Christian version of that sounds this way, “I believe in Jesus. I’m just not into the whole church/ organized religion thing.”

That’s hogwash. The church is the body of Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. And we cannot live in the “yes” of Christ’s call on our lives while at the same time rejecting the community through which we experience him. Jesus has called us as individuals to become a part of the whole. To be faithful in our discipleship is to be faithfully committed to the church. And yes, that means a local community of believers; a particular church. And yes, that means identifying in real ways with the church universal.

3. A “yes” to Jesus is an acknowledgement of his “yes” to you.
We must understand that our commitment to Christ is not based on how well we can hold onto him but rather the assurance of knowing that we love because he first loved us; we follow because he first called us; we know because we were fully known.

I invited those who had never said “yes” to Jesus to not wait another minute. I also invited those who were not living their “yes” to renounce the world, embrace the church, and rest easy in Christ’s “yes” to them.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon September 6 "An Adulterous World"

Sunday’s message was not an easy one. Jesus talked about adultery (Matthew 5:27-32) from the perspective of both lust and divorce; two things that are prominent in our culture.

This is a difficult topic to speak frankly about in a diverse generational context. To speak on sexuality knowing that there will people from six to ninety-six years of age was a bit daunting. I decided to frame the sermon around the narrative of David and Bathsheba. Speaking about this episode would allow people to draw their own connections to the story.

Lust was first. I spoke primarily to the gentlemen here. Our culture is saturated with lust based thinking. Lust is encouraged because it is safe. “Hey guys look but don’t touch and you’re ok. Objectify women and view them through the lens of your imagination. There is nothing wrong with a sexual mental picture.” That is the better part of the message our culture sends out about sexuality. Whether they are telling us buy a hamburger or a certain kind of deodorant, the message is clear: Lust all you want. We’ll make more.

Jesus says, “No!” Lust is the adultery of the heart. It is an egregious offense against God and humanity. It is a violation of the seventh commandment. That’s what David’s problem was. His adultery began on his rooftop long before Bathsheba was commanded to come to his bed chamber. And what we discover in David is that sexual sin is almost always a problem of geography first. He was on the rooftop when he should have been with his men in battle.

Whether our adultery is fantasized or physical it always involves a place. It begins with what John Ortberg refers to as “The Look.” We need to avoid the look! Jesus says it is better to pluck out your eye and cut off your hand then for your whole self to be thrown into hell. We need to go to great length to avoid the places of our lust. Know your rooftop and don’t go up there. Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer. Look away from the treadmill. Don’t stare at the billboard. Our culture will barrage us. We need to fight the look.

From this Jesus moves to divorce. In many Jewish circles the permissiveness of divorce was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. Jesus ties divorce to adultery in such a way to elevate the sanctity of marriage. Human sexuality goes beyond the procreative and the enjoyable (of which both were intended). It was also always intended to serve as a metaphor for our relationship with God. Divorce diminishes and destroys the metaphor. Jesus does not say that there is not valid reason for divorce. He is simply asserting that the physical and emotional components of our sexuality are not removed from the spiritual part of who we are. They are connected.

The good news for us in this world of adultery also comes from David and Bathsheba. David’s lust and abuse resulted in spiritual, physical, and emotional damage. Sexual sin, like no other, always does. But we discover in this story that a broken and repentant David is able to comfort an abused and hurting Bathsheba. And it is the product of this reconciled and redeemed relationship that God blesses to become the greatest king in Israel’s history- Jedediah, which means “beloved of God.” We know him as Solomon.

God can redeem people lost in sexual sin and he can heal the hurt that results from divorce and adultery. That is the story of the cross. That is the hope of the gospel.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon August, 30 “The Letter and the Spirit”

On Sunday we had a single worship service as I began a new sermons series in the Sermon on the Mount. For the next 5 weeks we will look at Matthew 5:17-48. In this section of Jesus’ sermon he provides a deep look beneath the letter of the Mosaic Law right into the spirit behind it. Five times in this section of the sermon Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said…” For these five weeks we will look at how Jesus shines his light on his law.

In verses 21-25 Jesus illumines the sixth commandment “You shall not commit murder.” Jesus says that way before the physical act of murder is committed the human heart has already transgressed the law of love. Anger and abusive language put one in danger of the fires of hell long before they manifest themselves in murder.

Pharisees and teachers of the law had tried to excuse themselves by relaxing the standards of the law and honoring only the letter. Jesus does not allow that kind of justification. So what is the hope? Who can stand secure when the spirit of the law demands utter holiness and purity?

Jesus began this section of his sermon by saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” It is Christ alone who honors the letter and the spirit of the Law of God. It is Jesus who alone stands innocent in a world of people who have fallen short of God’s glory. In Christ we see that the product of our anger and insults did indeed result in murder. It is in the cross that we face both our guilt and hope. He fulfilled the law and the prophets for us. It is there that he accomplished what we could not. Faith in the crucified and risen Christ alone is our hope of salvation from the fires of hell.

We closed our service with a statement of faith taken from Romans 3:21-25.
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Pastor Scott

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Sermon August, 23 “Haggai: A Day in the Life”

Haggai was sent as a prophet to the remnant of Israel who had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. He was sent with a difficult word for the people to hear. “Give careful thought to your ways,” Haggai cried out. It was a call to spiritual introspection.

In 1:1-12 we see God’s concern is that after a little more than a decade the people have blessed themselves with finely rebuilt homes but have neglected to rebuild the temple. “It’s not time yet,” they excused themselves. But God asks, “Is it a time for you to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” This hard question was not one about worship space but about priority.

The temple was they very symbol of God’s presence with the people. He pointed to the temple building as an illustration of their spiritual life. The temple was neglected because God was neglected. Yahweh had been relegated to the sidelines while the people spun and toiled for their own wellbeing. I asked of our congregation to consider our ways. In what ways have we neglected God by putting our own material concerns first?

God told the people to do three things: Go up the mountain, bring down the wood, and build my house. Hard work indeed. But they responded. They abandoned their own pursuit of “all of these things” and built his house again. Keeping God at the center of our day to day where he belongs involves the hard work of dying to self and seeking first the kingdom!

In chapter 2 (and in Ezra) we find that many were broken hearted at how this rebuilt temple compared to Solomon’s temple in all of its glory. But God encouraged them through Haggai by reassuring them that he was with them. He reminded them that the whole earth is his. He promised to shake heaven and earth to ensure that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.” And God does just that. Through the treasury of the kings of the Persian Empire and on into Herod’s rule, God did indeed prove that the silver and gold were his. That temple that the people mourned over became one of the wonders of the ancient world.

But even that temple in all of its majesty could not compare to Christ who said of himself, “One greater than the temple is here.” And Paul says of the church, “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” As the church we are the chosen means through which God would make his presence known to the world. We are the new symbol of God’s presence with his people. And that means work! Go up the mountain, bring it down, and build. God says to us, “I am with you and I will shake the very foundations of the earth until my glory is revealed through you.” That should be the operative understanding of who we are called to be as the church. Let us consider our ways!

Pastor Scott

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Sermon August 16 “Jonah: A Day in the Life”

The story of Jonah was a part of this series because too often we carry around a children’s book picture of this tragedy of a prophet.

In the children’s sermon we covered chapters 1 and 2. Jonah is called to go to Nineveh- he flees, the storm comes, he is thrown overboard, the fish comes, he prays, and he is spit out. All this was told with a plastic blue whale, a bright green bath toy boat, and a Lego man. The point? God is sovereign, he loves people, and he asks us to do things we don’t necessarily like.

Chapters 3 and 4 were the focus of the sermon. There are two main characters in this tragedy; Jonah and God. Jonah loathes the character of God, saying in frustration, “you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take my life away…” The tension in this book comes from the fact that Jonah’s character is not gracious, not compassionate, eager in anger, abounding with hatred (Nineveh as the capitol of Assyria was the epitome of everything he despised), and he wanted the annihilation of the city and all its inhabitants.

My preaching focus pointed out the fact that because God’s character and Jonah’s character were different, then God’s agenda (redemption) and Jonah’s agenda (destruction) would be opposed to one another. God illustrated this tension of character and agenda to Jonah through the lived parable of the vine (see picture above). This is an important idea for our own life of discipleship. Where our character differs from the character of Christ (it most certainly will differ in many areas) then our agendas will be different. So whose agenda drives our day to day? Are we living life asleep on a boat sailing away from God’s purposes or are we being led by God’s compassion to be agents of redemption?

I used Luke 9:51- 62 as the bridge between Jonah’s relationship with God and our walk with Christ. Here James and John want to call down fire from heaven to destroy some people (“the Jonah syndrome”) who won’t let them spend the night. Jesus rebukes them- different characters, different agendas. And in the very next periscope we see three would-be followers of Jesus whose agendas get in the way of Christ’s call on their lives.

So often we have agendas for our lives and futures that are based more on the ideals of the American Dream than on the eternal principles of the Kingdom of God. Like Jonah we like the idea of beings God's people but we want to define what that looks like. For Jonah that meant despising people God loved. For the Rich Young Ruler that meant holding on to the things of this world rather than letting them go in order to follow Jesus. What is your agenda? What is God’s agenda? Whose agenda wins out?

Thankfully the God who showed compassion toward the Ninevites and patience with Jonah is both compassionate toward and patient with us. May the truth of the gospel continue to shape our character into that of Christ’s, and with that may our agendas give way to God's call on our lives.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon August 9 "Ezekiel: A Day in the Life"

The texts read were from the well known 37th chapter of Ezekiel. The vision of the valley of dry bones (1-14) and the symbolic action of uniting two sticks (15-28) are quite distinct. (FYI, such distinction between the two makes planning a shortened sermon on a communion Sunday no small feat).

I had the intention to focus my preaching on the two sticks when I planned this series a couple of months ago. However, in my sermon notebook I couldn’t get past the valley of dry bones. It was one of those preaching itches. (I am learning to let it stick when it gets stuck and not try to fight it. So I did. I focused on the vision of this valley.)

The valley was representative of God’s people- lost, displaced, faithless, scattered. But God was not content. He sent his Word and his Spirit to bring these dry bones to life. I do not think this passage is about personal spiritual regeneration. But it does reveal the nature and character of God to move toward us even when we are unable or unwilling to move toward him. It may have been a valley of dry bones, but those bones were his people. He sent the word though they did not, indeed could not, call for the word to come. He sent his breath, his Spirit to invade their lifelessness with his life. That part of God’s character does speak to the reality of our spiritual regeneration. It’s God’s work, based on God’s character and love- not of our own works.

The most poignant part of our worship was at the communion table. Christ’s body broken. Christ’s blood shed. Christ breathing his last. We see in the meal the cost that it takes to give dry bones like you and me flesh, blood, and breath. As a part of our worship we gave people an opportunity to participate in that great exchange of death for life by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

This actually tied in beautifully with the second part of Ezekiel 37. The unity God told Ezekiel to speak about through this image of the two sticks foreshadows Christ, “My servant David will be their prince forever…” It also foreshadows us, the church, “My dwelling place shall be among them, and I will set my sanctuary among them forever more…” The symbol of the unity of God’s people in Ezekiel’s hand as these two sticks become one is accomplished in the two sticks of Calvary on which Christ was crucified.

The table prepared before us was the picture of dry bones coming to life as we celebrated together our unity through the gospel of grace.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon July 26 “Josiah: A Day in the Life”

It was in the spirit of King Josiah that Martin Luther was confronted by the powerful Word of God- when his life changed and uncommon clarity left him unable to be the man he was before. The Word of God is God’s witness of himself as well as the mirror through which we are to understand ourselves. When Josiah heard the Word that had been lost for 57 years his life changed.

Our texts this week were 2 Kings 22:1-13 (the discovery) and 2 Kings 23:1-3, 21-25 (the implementation). Josiah is confronted by the weight of the “Book of the Covenant” read to him by Shaphan. Of the scholars I read most concluded that based on the reforms Josiah made it was a section from the book of Deuteronomy that had been discovered that day in the temple (perhaps Deut. 28:15- 29:28 and surrounding). On the hearing of the Word Josiah tore his robes. Shame for how despicable the people of God were living as compared to the holiness spelled out and fear for the wrath of a holy God gripped Josiah’s heart at once. He and the people re-covenanted with God according to the words of the scroll that was found. Josiah had become a man of God through the Word of God.

There were three points of application I came to in this text founded upon this basic principle: Before we can be the people of God we must be a people of the Word of God.

First, to be a people of the Word we must hear the Word. Josiah didn’t know what faithfulness was without the Word defining it. Neither can we. For us, to hear the Word might just mean reading your Bible. Or it might mean getting involved in a Bible study with a small group. For some it might mean showing up to church more where the Word will be read. But one thing is for sure, navigating life without the Word will result in faithlessness and idolatry.

Second, to be a people of the Word we must listen to the Word. This kind of listening involves understanding that it is God’s Word and therefore has authority over us! Josiah knew that he and the people had to change the way they lived because of the Word. For us that simply means that we need to submit to the authority of the Word in our lives. The Word gets to define how we view money, people, war, poverty, sexuality, and the character of God.

Lastly, to be a people of the Word we must teach the Word. Josiah included everyone in on what God had begun to do in his life through the Word. He read it to them. He committed to it publicly and invited them to do the same. We need to share how God is shaping us through his Word. For some that might mean teaching 3rd grade Sunday school. For some that might mean talking with a co-worker about how God has been working in you on a common struggle.

At the close of our services on Sunday, those there covenanted with me that we would hear, listen, and teach the Word of God that we might be the people of God. May it be!

Pastor Scott

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Sermon July 19 “Hezekiah: A Day in the Life”

OK, so this sermon didn’t cover a single day in the life of Hezekiah, king of Judah. But this short season at the beginning of his 29 year reign never the less focused on the one thing Hezekiah thought most important- worship. From the repairing of the temple doors (2 Chronicles 29:3) to the reinstitution of the Passover celebration, worship was the one thing Hezekiah wanted the people of God to get right. This sermon pointed out four dynamics of “right worship” that I discovered in these two texts (2 Chronicles 30:1-9, 2 Chronicles 31:1-10).

First, right worship is God centered. Hezekiah’s implementation of Passover was not just a celebration of a meal or a memory. It was lived-out dramatized theology. It was reliving the story of redemption- from slavery through freedom by way of the blood of the lamb. The centrality of Christ, our paschal lamb, in Christian worship is a necessity. Each worship service should be a re-telling of the story of human redemption from slavery to sin and death to freedom and new life in Christ! But we make it less than that each time a style of music or a carpet color makes us lose focus on the story our worship tells.

Second, right worship costs us something. In 31:3-7 we see the length that the people of God went to ensure that worship happened, Hezekiah included. They tithed their lives for four months straight! When we bring a consumer mindset into our life with the body of Christ, asking what “church” can bring to us, then our worship, our experience of God will be thin.

Worship that is God centered, that we invest our lives in, produces fruit. My third and fourth observations about worship in these passages are the results of right worship. Third, right worship unifies the people of God. From Dan (the northern tip of the northern kingdom) to Beersheba (the southern tip of the southern kingdom) Hezekiah’s decree went out. These people who had been divided since Solomon’s reign were united in their worship. One indictment of the fact that Christian worship in our culture is less than right is our lack of unity. Socioeconomic, racial, and denominational segregation testifies to the fact that our worship is less than God-centered and costly.

Fourth, right worship results in holy living. When these people left this Passover worship they tore down idols that were not fitting for the people of God. When the greatness and grace of God are explored in right worship, when we encounter the holiness of The Almighty, we cannot help but be discontent with that which is not fitting to the people of God. Holiness issues in one’s personal life are the result of worship issues in their communal life.

The challenge in these passages is to do the hard work of Hezekiah by making worship central to our way of life. Abundant living begins with abundant worship.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon July 12 “Elisha: A Day in the Life”

This passage (2 Kings 4:1-7) shows us an encounter between the prophet Elisha and a woman whose husband had just died and who stood to lose her two sons to a debt collector. This woman’s despair and hopelessness was compounded by the fact that her husband was a good man; he was of the company of prophets.

Elisha was certain of two things when this woman cried out to him for help. First, he knew that he was completely incapable of doing anything that would be of benefit. This certainty of inability is summed up in his first question to her, “How can I help you?” I read that as rhetorical. Elisha couldn’t pay off her debt. Second, Elisha knew that God doesn’t need much. That prompted his next question, “What do you have in your house?” She had nothing, oh, except a small jar of anointing oil. She would soon learn what Elisha was quite sure of, that God doesn’t need much. That oil became enough to pay of her debts and to provide for her and her sons in the future.

One of my main points of focus was not in the miracle itself, but how it was that Elisha came to be used so mightily. He wanted to be used mightily. His great desire was for God to use him. He begged Elijah for a double portion of his spirit (2 Kings 2:9). And he received it- there are 14 recorded miracles of Elijah and 28 of Elisha!

So what does that mean for us as the church? Being used by God to carry out the ministry of Christ (Luke 4:18, 19) through the power of the Spirit begins with us saying, “Give us a double portion of your Spirit Lord!” We say this not because we think we have the ability in and of ourselves to carry out Christ’s mission, but because God desires to use us anyway. The incarnation is God’s proof to us that God doesn’t need much to accomplish his great work of redemption in the world.

Pastor Scott

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Sermon July 5th “Elijah: A Day in the Life”

A communion Sunday… I always like sermon preparation on a communion week. I enjoy seeing how a text relates to the table. Communion keeps me focused on the gospel I am supposed to preach each week. I enjoy the fact that it is in the meal of the Lord’s Supper that God speaks most profoundly to the hungry souls of needy people. It takes the pressure off of me a bit.

Looking at Elijah this week was challenging. This familiar passage (1 Kings 19:1-18) of Elijah running from Jezebel- from the top of the promised land (Israel) all the way through the bottom (Beersheba in Judah) and into the wilderness to Horeb or Sinai, where God met with Moses, is the passage that has us encounter the irony of the still small voice of The Almighty.

Of course the context of this week was that it was July 4th weekend. I Have been reading a biography of John Adams and the role he played in the establishment of America’s independence. This informed the way I asked questions of this text. What does where we are as a nation today and where Israel was in Elijah’s day have in common? The pervasive godlessness of Israel under the leadership of Ahab and Jezebel, and Elijah’s lament over that does strike a chord with many Christians in America today. Many faithful people in our nation lament where we are and where we are going.

Elijah ran and found a cave. Christians do the same. Elijah wanted God to make the situation right by his righteous judgment of the godless. But God wasn’t in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He whispered, telling Elijah to go back and do the things a prophet is supposed to do in the place he was called to do it. Fear tells us to retreat. Faith tells us to engage. It was through Elijah’s small acts of faithfulness that God worked out his justice and redemption. Where has God called us to small acts of faithfulness?

Pastor Scott

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June 28th Sermon “David: A Day in the Life”

This sermon was a great surprise to me. I have had more comments from people about them needing to hear this message than any other sermon I have preached since being here. But at the same time, I talked with a couple of people who found it nearly irrelevant to where they were. Such is the nature of preaching.

To say that this sermon went in a direction I never intended would be a huge understatement. Knowing that king David had to be a part of this series, I challenged myself to find an episode in David’s life that would be unfamiliar to people. I found one that was unfamiliar to me too. And I wrestled with it all week (2 Samuel 16:5-14). I looked at parallel passages in 2 Samuel 19:15-23 and in 1 Kings 2:8, 9 that made this story more intricate than I had anticipated. Those continuations of the story ruled out the straight forward interpretation I had anticipated preaching. And by Saturday I found myself wondering what in the world God was going to reveal. (I find that much of sermon preparation involves “letting it happen”-waiting until God shines the light on some particular angle that becomes the focus. By Saturday I was like, “God, shine the light already!”).

Eventually I sensed the need to deal with the bitterness that invades the human heart when we are violated or offended by the actions of another. That bitterness makes for ugly, angry, and unhappy people. Shimei and David had been hurt by each other and those wounds festered and got ugly. So what do we do when we are offended, when our hearts get cut by the words or actions of another person? We repent. We go to the cross of Christ- the Great Offense of Humanity! We confront the grace of God that is the sole source of living in grace toward others.

I felt the need to preach without notes. Therefore, the sermon was a little different at each service. And when I was done I didn’t feel like it was one of my best homiletical moments. But boy was it needed. So many people resonated with David and Shimei. Who knew? I found myself praying prayers of praise as I drove home, thanking God for speaking to the very specific needs of folks at First Pres Ocean Springs. And I thanked God for moving me out of the way some to do it.

Pastor Scott

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June 21st "Samuel: A Day In The Life"

Sunday, June 21 was Father’s day. Throughout the week I reflected on God’s grace to me by allowing me to be a dad to my kids. Undoubtedly my sermon preparation through the week was informed by the context of the day on which I would preach. When I set up my summer preaching series “A Day in the Life”, where we focused on particular days in the life of Old Testament characters, I did not know that this particular text in 1 Samuel would fall on Father’s day. I’m glad it did.

This passage (1 Samuel 7:3-14) is about the people of God setting their hearts right with God through worship together. When they came under attack God “thundered” against their attackers with a “great thunder.” God won a victory that day. Samuel recognized God’s victory and set up a monument to point to God’s help and mercy calling it “Ebenezer”, which literally means “stone of help.” This sermon was a call to recognize ebenezers in our own lives. I was hoping to encourage people to tell their stories of God’s help in the midst of their own difficult circumstances, not allowing God’s work to be reduced to human achievement. The story of my son Eben is one such story in my own life.

At the end of this sermon I brought up the stone that was rolled way from Christ’s tomb as God’s greatest ebenezer. That stone that was rolled away is a monument to Christ’s victory over sin and death. If your life lacks an ebenezer, start with that one.

Pastor Scott

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