Jeff's Blog

Lent and Holy Week Program for 2012

2012-02-15T04:54:00.000-08:00

BeaverDam and Pitts Creek

PresbyterianChurches

Lentand Holy Week 2012

SundayWorship – Wednesday Bible Study - Holy Week - Easter

SundayWorship

9:30amat Beaver Dam

11amat Pitts Creek

February26 – 1 Peter 3: 18-22

JesusSuffered for our Sins

March4 - Romans 4: 13-2

Jesus'Cross was Raised for our Justification

March11 – 1 Corinthians 1: 18-21

Jesuswas Crucified for our Salvation

March18

Celebrating the Gifts of Women

March25 – Hebrews 5: 5-10

Jesuswas Made Perfect to give us Eternal Life

HolyWeek

April1 – Philippians 2: 5-11

PalmSunday

Jesushumbled himself so we may call him Lord.

April5 – 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26

MaundyThursday 7pm

atPitts Creek

TheWrath of the Lamb:

ATenebrae service

ResurrectionSunday

April8 - Easter

6:30am– Joint Service with Bethany and Salem Methodist churches on thePocomoke river

9:30am– Beaver Dam

11am– Pitts Creek

Jesuswas Raised on the Third Day to make us Witnesses. - Acts 10: 34-43

WednesdayStudy

Livingthe Sermon on the Mount

7pmat Pitts Creek

February22

ThePrayer of Jesus

February29

Investingin God's Reign

March7

ForgoingJudgment for Forgiveness

March14

PracticingLoyalty to God

March21

Howto Tell a True Ethic

TheReverend Jeffrey T. Howard, Pastor

BeaverDam Presbyterian Church, 345 Makemie Road, Pocomoke MD

PittsCreek Presbyterian Church, 210 Market Street, Pocomoke MD

Sermon – Psalm 147 - Blessed by God

2012-02-11T04:18:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T.Howard

Sermon – Psalm 147- Blessed by God

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

February 5, 2012

Since the Feast ofEpiphany, on January 6, we have learned a lot about God. We are topraise God, the creator of the world. We are to worship God, who hasall power in heaven and on earth. We are to pray to God, who knowseach of us individually and listens to our prayers. We are to trustthat this God is present in our world even if we sometimes lack theability to see him. Today we will see what we can do to be able toperceive God's presence with us. But first let's pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm147 was written for the returning exiles coming home after theircaptivity in Babylon. When they arrived in Jerusalem they saw theruins of their once great city that they had left decades before. And so when the priests assembled them together for worship andcalled out “Praise the LORD” they had to wonder what they werepraising Godfor. Of course they knew that it was “good to sing praises to ourGod.” They remembered that praise is pleasant to do and certainlyfitting for the LORD, their God. But ithad to be difficult to praise God after all they had been through.

We experience thisas well. We come to church each week and sing praises to God. Butsometimes we wonder why we should praise him. Maybe our difficultyarises from a relationship problem. Maybe the problem is economic orhealth related. Maybe the problem effects you or a loved one. Whatever it is we sometimes experience problems and find it hard topraise God. Now think of what it must have been like for thereturning exiles seeing their homes and businesses destroyed andtheir fields choked by weeds. Praising God had to be the furthestthing from their minds.

Aftera while, the exileslearned that God was there with them as they gathered the stones theyneeded to rebuild their homesand city. They also saw God as their friends and families began return fromexile. As families were reconciled, God was seen in the mending oflong broken hearts. At night God was seen in the countless stars ofthe sky. Asthe rebuilt city took form they marveled at the great power of Godwho could take a humble people, defeatedin battle, living in exileand use them to do such marvelous things. So graduallytheypicked up their musical instruments and began singing praises to God.

That'swhat happens to us. When tragedy befalls us in any way we just keepgoing trusting that God is out there somewhere. We live our liveseach day doing the normal things we do. And eventually we realizethat God had been there all along to comfort us and guide us and giveus strength. And when we realize that God is there we too are readyto begin praising God once again in thanksgiving for all the blessingwe have received.

Asdays turned into weeks and months the people who had returned torebuild Jerusalem became concerned about food. Theirfarms had been destroyed by the Babylonians. What would they do whenthey ran out of the food they had brought with them from exile? Howwould they survive the long winter? What would they eat without aharvest? They worried about their future, and this worry made itdifficult for them to praise God.

Worrying about thefuture is possibly the biggest problem in America today, We worryabout the economy. We worry about jobs. We worry about taxes anddebt. We worry about our savings and pensions. Will we have enoughto live on when we retire? Can I afford to live in this house if myspouse dies? What will happen if I become sick and can't work. Fordecades we have looked to government to provide us with a safety net. But with the government now burdened by high debt our anxiety grows. Politicians feed this anxiety to get elected. Radio and TVcommentators feed this anxiety for ratings. And so our fears andworries about the future grow.

Theexiles worried about their immediate future untilthey saw God in the clouds above and felt the gentle rain. They sawGod in the grass growing on the hillsides. Theysaw God in the sheep,which had been left on their own, but now had plenty to eat. Theysaw God in their land flowing with milk and honey. And they realizedthat there was no need to worry about the future because God wasthere and God could be depended on. God's love is faithful. Godwill never default. God will never decline in value. You will neverlose God.

Witha God like this who broughtthe exiles home,healedtheir spirits, and fed them good food, what wasthere to fear? HavingGod with them should have been enough. Butthe people returning from exile had lots to be afraid of. Their cityhad no wall. They had no army for protection. Theywould be defenseless if anyone attacked. And so they were veryafraid.

Of course we haveour fears too. We fear crime in the streets. We fear mobs in ourcities. We fear government regulation out of control. We havethought that our police and army would protect us. But now we are not sosure. We see evil each night on the news and we are afraid for ourfamilies.

Thereturning exilesknew that God was with them. They knew that God would protect themfrom all evil. So they held their God in great awe and reverence,remembering his unfailing love. Theyrested in the assurance that their God was a God of peace who wouldprotect them and see that they had shelter, food and water. And theywere blessed with God's commandments which guided them in beingblessings for others and helped them live together in peace. Thenext winter they saw God in the snow, frost, hail and wind. And theysaw God in the streams of melting snow and the cool breeze of spring. Andthey were comforted by God's presence knowing that whatever happensGod would be with them.

Thepeople who returned to a pile of rubble saw God because they had beenimmersed in God's word while in exile. By reading the scriptures ofold they realized that theirGodwas faithful. They knew of God's promises. Theyknew that God's love was unfailing. Sowhen they arrived in Jerusalem they could see God all around, andknew how much they had been blessed. Oneof them wrote a poem and said this.

Psalm147:1-20 ^NIVPsalm147:1Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, howpleasant and fitting to praise him! ²The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. ³He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. ⁵Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has nolimit. ⁶The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. ⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on theharp. ⁸He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain andmakes grass grow on the hills. ⁹He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when theycall. ¹⁰His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight inthe legs of a man; ¹¹the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in hisunfailing love. ¹²Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, ¹³for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your peoplewithin you. ¹⁴He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest ofwheat. ¹⁵He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. ¹⁶He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. ¹⁷He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? ¹⁸He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and thewaters flow. ¹⁹He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. ²⁰He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.Praise the LORD.

Fivehundred years later the people of God in Jerusalem were againfearful. They lived under an uneasy occupation and knew that theRoman Legions were powerful enough to destroy their city just as theBabylonians had once done to their ancestors. They worried abouttheir futures. They were finding it hard to praise God. So God senta teacher to help them understand their holy scriptures and learnmore about their God. This teacher taught in synagogues, to smallgroups and to large crowds. He reawakened their faith and helpedthem to recognize God at work in their world. Though Jesus peoplebegan to see God once again in his healing and casting out demons. They began to trust God again. They began looking for God in theworld. And they began to praise him.

They realized thatin Jesus an epiphany had occurred. An epiphany is a suddenappearance of God. Though Jesus' healing and casting out demons thepeople realized that God had come. This led to a time of greatrejoicing. Hugh crowds formed just to hear him speak. Their worrieswent away. Their fears abated. They saw God at work in the world,and realized that God was with them no matter what.

One of the greatblessings that Jesus left behind for us is his Word. Through theBible we hear the stories our faithful God. We learn his commands. We learn about Jesus and what he did and said. And through this werealize that God is always with us. We learn that God is faithfuland his love will never go away. We learn that he gives us food toeat and healing for our bodies and spirits. So I urge you to hearthis Bible proclaimed each Sunday, study it as much as you can,meditate on it every day and you too will see God in the world, andrealize that he is always with you. And this will lead us topraising God.

The other greatblessing that Jesus left behind was this table. At this table weremember that God is with us today. We see God in the breaking ofthe bread and the juice. As we eat we feel God's presence in us andworking through us. We lift up our hearts to heaven to be in thepresence of God as Jesus serves this meal to us. In sacrament andWord we are with God. This is our great blessing. So rejoice andpraise God.

Lord Jesus, wethank you for bringing us around this table in the presence of God. Through this bread and juice help us to remember that God is alwayswith us. Therefore we have nothing to fear. Praise be God. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 111 – Seeing God in the World

2012-02-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T.Howard

Sermon – Psalm 111–Seeing God in the World

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

January 29, 2012

We have beenlooking at the character of God through the lens of the Book ofPsalms for the last few weeks. We have learned of our need to praiseGod the creator of the world. We have learned to worship pledgingour total loyalty and full obedience our all-powerful God. Surprisingly, we learned that this all-powerful, creator God knowsour names and we can express our feelings to him in prayer. And lastweek we learned that this God can be trusted no matter what happens. Today we will learn how to recognize this all-powerful, trustworthy,creator God who knows us in the world we live in. But first let'spray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm111:1Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in thecouncil of the upright and in the assembly. ²Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delightin them. ³Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness enduresforever. ⁴He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious andcompassionate. ⁵He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenantforever. ⁶He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the landsof other nations. ⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts aretrustworthy. ⁸They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness anduprightness. ⁹He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenantforever-- holy and awesome is his name. ¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow hisprecepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Inthe sixth century before Christ the people of God were in exile. Last Fall we studied the Book of Daniel and saw how the Babylonianstried to turn the Hebrew children into good Babylonians who worshipedthe Babylonian gods. We also saw how Daniel and his companionsresisted this effort. In Psalm 111 we have literature from thisperiod that was probably used to train Hebrew children in theirculture and religion while in exile. In this psalm each half verse,each line of the poem begins with a different letter in the Hebrewalphabet, and they are arranged alphabetically, literally from A toZ. This would have been used to teach young people how to read. The Psalm also taught them about the God of their ancestors, and gavethem wisdom to revere this God and obey his commandments. The reasonthis Psalm was written, I think, was to ensure that the young Hebrewchildren living in exile would be able to see their God in the worldaround them.

SeeingGod in the world is not something that everyone does. It is a skillthat has to be taught. We teach children how to recognize God bysharing with them the stories of how we have seen God working in theworld and the Bible stories where ancient people saw God in theirworld. These stories train children to see God in their own livesand this brings them to faith.

Sadly,not everyone learns to see God at work in the world. I've beenthinking about the writer and political commentator, ChristopherHitchens, who died last month. Hitchens was an atheist because hewas never able to see God in his world. Hitchens' world view was toonarrow to see God. It was conditioned by his own habits of body andmind, and he was never able to see beyond his own small world into amuch larger world where God is at work.

Theancient Greek philosopher, Plato, described this phenomenon in hisbook Republic. Plato makes up a story about a group of people chained to a cavewall at birth. They remain chained for their entire lives and theonly thing they see are the shadows cast by the torches of the peoplewho bring them food and water. These chained people perceive a worldthat is extremely narrow; it consists of flickering shadows on awall. For them this is the world.

Theexchange students who live with Grace and me have, as all childrendo, a narrow view of the world they live in. For them the worldconsists of home and school and drives from Pocomoke to Salisbury. Iwanted them to see a larger world so I turned off the wirelessinternet and encouraged them to use the free wireless in the libraryacross the street. I wanted them to see Pocomoke as a place wheretheir could walk the sidewalks, talk with people and use theresources we have here. Given their limited English they werereluctant to leave the house and use places like the library.

Weall need to be taught to see a larger world than our own mindsperceive on their own. And this done by sharing stories. For us weneed to share the stories of how God has been a part of our lives. This is a excellent role that grandparents can play. My grandmotherwas a very faithful woman. She prayed every day in the morning andevening and went to church every Sunday. She prayed for each of hergrand children that they would see God in their worlds. And sheshared her stories about God. When she a teenager her mother died,but her mother's and grandmother's faith sustained her as her fatherraised three children and worked in a coal mine in the next town. When her father died she moved to a mining town where her brothermanaged the company store, and she got involved with the Presbyterianchurch, the only protestant church in town. Her faith sustained herthrough this period, and a picture with the Lord's prayer and TenCommandments hung over her bed. If you would like to see mygrandmother's picture it is now hanging in the church office in theDickinson Memorial Manse. My grandmother's stories about God in herlife have stayed with me ever since. I wish everyone could beblessed with a faithful grandmother.

PittsCreek church is certainly blessed. A grandmother of the church,Linda Holland, teaches Sunday School. She shares stories of God inher life with some of her grandchildren and other children in thechurch. She also shares stories from the Bible of how ancient peoplesaw God in their worlds. Through her these children experience anexpanding world beyond their own limited experiences, a world whereGod can clearly be seen.

Thetragedy of the American church today is that generations worshipseparately. This has been going on now for three decades. Seniorsare in one church singing hymns and saying Psalms responsively. Middle aged people are singing songs that remind then of the 60s. And young people are gathered in the auditorium of Pocomoke HighSchool listing to Christian rock concerts every Sunday. I know thatdifferent generations enjoy different music and worship styles, butthe tragedy is that it is now difficult for children to hear storiesfrom seniors who have experienced God in their lives. Thesechildren will now grow up with a much narrower view of the world.

Lastweek I had a conversation with a senior member of Beaver Dam. Franklin told me a story of God at work. He was at a Presbyterymeeting with Dick Hughes and an elder from the town church. Thethree of them were talking about how to form a committee that wouldorganize activities at the country church. God gave them an idea. Why not make Beaver Dam a church with a session that would planactivities. The three agreed and proposed that to the Presbytery. God spoke through the Presbytery that day and Beaver Dam PresbyterianChurch was formed.

Andthis brings us to the gospel lesson that you heard read earlier. Youremember the story. Jesus was in a synagogue and saw a person withan evil spirit. Jesus cast out the spirit and told it to be quietwhen it tried to reveal Jesus' true identity. In our world we havedifficulty seeing evil spirits. We have been conditioned by scienceand our culture not to look for spirits. We have been trained tobelieve that natural events must have natural causes. So we don'tsee spirits at work in the world around us.

Thislimiting of our world by the exclusion of spiritual beings from ourperception is a phenomenon in North America and Europe. But in Asia,South America, and Africa, people are not so conditioned to not seespirits in the world around them. For them evil spirits are areality that must be dealt with. Their world is large enough notonly to see spirits, but also to recognize the need to have Jesusdeal with them. And their churches are packed with people prayingthat Jesus will deal with the evil spirits that plague them.

Sincewe are conditioned not to see spirits in our world we have difficultyunderstanding what is happening in these churches. I think that theproblem is ours. We have a too narrow view of our world. We don'tsee spirits. We don't see God at work. We are chained to the caveof science and a modern world view. That's why it is so importantfor us to come to church and hear the stories of the faithful peoplein the Bible and the stories of the faithful seniors in the churchwho have spent lifetimes with God in their lives. Though this ourworld expands, we see the spiritual world around us, and we see Godat work.

Lord,God Almighty, we ask that you expand our view of the world around us. Enable us to see the spiritual world. Enable us to see you so thatwe may approach you in reverence and obey your commands. This wepray in your son's name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 62 – Trusting in God

2012-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm62 – Trusting in God

Pitts Creek and Beaver DamChurches

January22, 2012

Iam continuing today with my series of sermons for the season afterEpiphany about the character of God. These sermons are drawn fromthe Book of Psalms which are prayerful meditations on God and whatGod is like. First, we saw that our God is the creator of all thatis, and so all that is should praise their creator, God. Then, wesaw that our God is all powerful, and so all who worship him shouldpledge complete loyalty and total obedience to his commands. Lastweek we saw that God knows us intimately, he knows our names, heknows our feelings and thoughts and so we can express our joy,concerns, protests, and thanksgivings knowing that God is there andhears them. Today we will see that God can always be trusted evenwhen nothing else can. Let's pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Threethousand years ago the most powerful man in the world was namedDavid. He had united the twelve tribes of Israel into one nation. None of the local kingdoms could threaten him, neither could the oncegreat nations of Egypt or Babylon. His capitol city, Jerusalem, wasgetting rich from international trade. He had just built amagnificent palace for himself and brought the Ark of the Covenantinto Jerusalem so that the worship of God could take place rightthere. But then, the most powerful man on earth discovered that therewas one thing he lacked. That one thing was trust. He had losttrust in everyone.

David'sson was named Absalom. This name is a combination of two Hebrewwords meaning “father” and “peace”. David was a man of war. He hoped that his son would be the father of kings of peace, shalom. But this was not to be. Absalom was a violent man who killed hisbrother to avenge the rape of his sister. He rebelled against hisfather, raised an army, and was marching on Jerusalem. At a time likethis who could David trust? He couldn't trust his family because hisown son had betrayed him. He couldn't trust his military officers,many of them had joined the rebels. He didn't know if he could trusthis advisers and friends. He couldn't trust anyone in a situationlike that.

Wehave all experienced times when we are not sure whom we can trust. Maybe you trusted a parent who broke that trust by abusing you. Maybe you trusted a spouse who broke that trust by divorcing you. Maybe you trusted in your retirement accounts which broke that trustby dropping in value. Maybe you trusted your mortgage bank whichbroke that trust with a foreclosure. Maybe you trusted your employerwho broke that trust by eliminating your job. Maybe you trusted yourhealth which broke that trust be getting sick. Whatever it is thatwe trust eventually that trust will be broken and we will wonder ifanyone or anything can be trusted.

WhenDavid experienced this loss of trust he wrote a psalm to express whathe was feeling. We still have it in Psalm 62.

Forthe director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

1 Truly my soul finds rest inGod;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rockand my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall,this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With theirmouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.[b]

5 Yes, my soul, find rest inGod;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and mysalvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 Mysalvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock,my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pourout your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

9 Surely the lowborn are but abreath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on abalance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolengoods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your hearton them.

11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You rewardeveryone
according to what they have done.”

Davidrealized that even though no one and nothing on earth could betrusted there was one thing, only one thing, one person who couldalways be trusted and that was God. As the army of Absalom camecloser to Jerusalem David realized that the city walls he had trustedfor protection would become his prison. So he left his fortress withhis army and trusted God, only God for his protection. God would behis rock and strength. God would be his fortress and shield. Daviddecided to depend solely on God and fled from Jerusalem into thedesert. And David told his people to put their trust in God as well. He said don't trust gold and money. Don't trust unethical businessdealings. Don't trust your family and business connections. Putyour trust only in God.

Inour first reading this morning Simon and Andrew trusted in theirboat, nets and ability to catch fish to make a living. Maybe thefish weren't biting. Maybe they hadn't caught any fish for a longtime. Maybe they lost faith in their ability to catch fish and makea living. So when they heard God's voice from the mouth of Jesusthey knew that the only thing they could really trust was God. Sothey dropped their nets and followed Jesus.

Inthe fifth century after Christ the Roman empire was crumbling. Abishop in North Africa saw that trust in an empire and in anestablished church was broken. In the year 410 Rome was attacked bythe Visigoths. No enemy had done this for 800 years, The peoplelost their trust in the imperial government and the Roman legions. They needed something they could hold onto in the midst of change. They needed something to trust. Augustine told them to trust God. He wrote this prayer: “our hearts are restless until we find ourrest in you. (Confessions opening paragraph)”

Inthe sixteenth century Martin Luther found himself excommunicated fromthe church he loved and was hunted by people who wanted him dead. The Protestant Reformation had turned violent. Facing death Lutherrealized the only thing he could trust was God. He said, “Faith isa living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God soassured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake. Thiskind of confidence in God's grace, this sort of knowledge of it,makes us joyful, high-spirited, and eager in our relations with allmankind” (Preface to Romans). Laterthat century, John Calvin said, “piety isthat reverence joined with the love of God which the knowledge of hisbenefits induces. For until men recognize that they owe everythingto God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is theauthor of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him– they will never yield him willing service” (Institutes1.1.1). Forboth Luther and Calvin faith or piety deals with our orientation toGod. What is important is not, “What do you believe?”, rather“Whom do you trust?” Faith is what allows us to put our trust inGod.

Inthe 19^thcentury America was in the grips of a Civil War. Brother wasfighting brother and it was hard to know whom to trust. In 1861 theReverend M. R. Watkinson wanted the nation to be reminded thatultimately the only person we can trust is God. So he wrote a letterto the Treasury Department in Washington asking them to add astatement recognizing "Almighty God in some form in our coins." In 1863 the motto “In God We Trust” was added to our coins. Last year the House of Representatives affirmed “In God We Trust”as the motto of the United States in a resolution which passed by a396-9 vote.

Acontemporary theologian, Jurgen Moltman, has said, “Fish need waterin which to swim, birds need air in which to fly, and we human beingsneed trust in order to develop our humanity. Trust is the basicelement in which human life exists. - Trust is always a mutualaffair, and this is true of our trust in God, because God trusts us.”(“Control Is Good – Trust is Better, Freedom and security in aFree World” Theology Today 62no. 4 January 2006, 473.) So whenever their seems to be nothing wecan trust we can always trust God because God trusts us first.

David trusted God and wasrestored as the king of Israel. Andrew and Simon trusted God andbecame fishers of men and women for Christ. Augustine trusted Godand guided the people of God as the Roman Empire fell. Luther andCalvin trusted God and led their churches through religious wars thatfollowed the protestant reformation. America trusted God and theCivil Way came to a end. So I urge you to not put you trust inmaterial things or in relationships with others, or in the power ofgovernment or money. In a fallen world these things will eventuallybetray you. Put your trust only in God. Pour out to this Godwhatever distress you experience. Rest in his arms. Count on hisprotection. Allow God to provide security and stability in yourlives. Remember that God is powerful, but he is not distant. Godtrusts you. God is faithful. God's love is steadfast. God is arock you can stand on. God is our only source of hope and peace. Youcan always trust God.

Father in heaven, we come to youthis day as our only hope. We know that the material things of thisworld and the relationships we have with others are but temporary. So they can never be fully trusted. But you are with us forever. Wecan always count on you. We trust you because you created us. Wetrust you because of your great power. We trust you because you havealways loved us and care for us. And because of this trust we buildour lives on you. You are our foundation, the rock upon which westand. We pray this in your son's name. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 139 – God Knows Who You Are

2012-01-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T.Howard

Sermon – Psalm139 – God Knows Who You Are

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

January 15, 2012

Ihave a good friend who pastors a church in Korea. I met him sixyears ago when he arrived in Los Angeles to study English. He tellsa story about his first day in America. He arrived at the BradleyInternational Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport. Hiscousin was to pick him up, but was delayed in traffic. His planelanded and he went through customs. He emerged into a vast spacefilled with people all speaking languages he didn't know. He wasbewildered, confused and frightened. How could he ever find hiscousin in this crowd?, he thought. He had no idea how to make atelephone call or find a taxi. He felt completely alone in a verystrange place. And then he remembered that someone was with him inthat crowd who knew him. God was there. God knew his name and wasgoing to care of him. Let us remember that God is always with us tooas we pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm139:1-6, 13-18 (My Translation)

To the director apsalm of David

Yahweh

You know me and yousearch me

You know when I sitdown and you know when I stand up

You know my thoughtsfrom a distance

You know my goingsand my lying down

You know my ways andhabits

Without a word on mytongue

Yahweh knowseverything

You are behind meand in front of me surrounding me

You place your handon me

Your knowledge iswonderful

But it is too highfor me to obtain

Because you made myinternal organs

And knitted metogether in my mother's womb

I praise you because

I am fearfully,distinctly and wonderfully made

And my soul knows itwell

My bones are nothidden from you

Who made me insecret

I have been wovenfrom the ground

As an embryo you sawme with your eyes

And in your book waswritten all my days

When as yet none hadbeen formed

And regarding yourprecious purposes, God

How many of them!

If I were to countthem they would out number all the grains of sand

And when I wake upyou are still with me.

For the last twoweeks weeks we have been talking about God as portrayed in the Bookof Psalms. First we saw that God was the creator of all that is, andso all of creation is to praise him. Then we saw that God is allpowerful, and so his people are to worship him with total loyalty andfull obedience. But it must be surprising to find out that thecreator of the universe, this all powerful God, knows each of us,individually, as well as our own parents did. God is with us always,and is concerned for our welfare.

But from time totime God seems to take a leave of absence. Maybe he is in Floridaon winter vacation or driving to Arizona right at the moment you needhis presence the most. You pray and no one seems to be there tolisten. You wonder if prayers are really heard at all. When thishappens we all wonder what good is having a God when he is out theresomewhere when we need him right here. And since we believe that Godexists we feel hurt and abandoned when he doesn't respond to ourprayers.

When this happensit's OK to ask God where he is. David asked, “My God, why have youforsaken me” (Psalm 22). Even Jesus experienced the absence of Godand sang David's psalm from the cross. Some fear that to questionGod in this way is to lose your faith, but this would be wrong. Questioning God is always a sign of deep faith, acknowledging Godexistence even when he seems to be so far away, but it is always hardto question someone you trust who you think has let you down.

Whenever wequestion where God is our questions come from the heart. When yourworld seems to be falling apart and God seems far away the questionsyou ask are not academic, they are intensely meaningful because theydeal with matters of life and death. When a granddaughter hascancer, or a parent goes into a nursing home, or you lose your job,or your home and God does not seem to be listening to your prayersyou question God not with a need to know something, but to expressthe intense feeling of betrayal that God is not there when you needhim.

So when we questionGod about his seeming absence we are voicing a protest. We feel thatwe have a right to have God with us at all times. And when God seemsto be missing we have the need to complain about God's inaction. Ionce heard a story about the funeral of young woman. She had justgraduated from university and was on the cusp of an extremely brightfuture. But cancer struck and she died before her potential could berealized. The pastor at her funeral began with a prayer, “Wegather today, dear friends, to protest the death of Suzanne.”Some have said that this is not the right thing to say at a funeral. But I disagree. When a 22 year dies it is an act of faith to protestwhat has happened. When people of no faith perceive that God is faraway they have no reason to complain. But we, people of faith, canlook God straight in the eye and ask him where he has been. Consider this, only a child who believes that her father will bethere when he is needed will complain if he is not. Only a personwho trusts God will protest when God seems not to be around.

And this leads usto one final thought. When God seem to be far away, when we need himthe most the only thing that will satisfy us is to experience hispresence. I know of someone who experienced the absence of God whenhe needed it the most. This man was a man of great faith. Heprotested to God asking God where he was. And this man died beforehe ever got a response. But three days later, in the morning beforemost people where awake, God got into the grave where Jesus was andmoved within his dead body, restoring life to his corpse, and Jesuswas alive.

So whenever youexperience that God is far away and seems to be absent, call to himin prayer and ask him to come. Protest his absence. Ask God why heis letting you down. And then do the hardest job of all, wait, waituntil God returns like Jesus waited, for God to give you your ownresurrection. Waiting is hard. It is much easier to act, to dosomething. But if it ever feels that God is far away and you ask himwhy he is gone, you may have to wait for him to return. And this iswhere faith comes it. Your faith that God will return is your sourceof hope. And hope is what allows you to wait for God to return.

So remember thatGod is always with you. The creator, our all powerful God, is overyou and under you and behind you and in front of you. God knows yourname, knows who you are, and is concerned with everything you feel,think, do or say. But sometimes God seems so far away. And whenthis happens ask God where he is. Protest his absence. And wait forhis coming. He promises to always love you and give you eternallife.

My faithful friendfrom Korea experienced the absence of God in that airport. He feltall alone. But because of his faith he knew he could trust God so ashe waited he was filled with hope. Eventually his cousin arrived andfound him. And my friend realized that God had never left and waswith him the whole time he wandered around that airport. Even thoughno one else knew his name, God did and that's really what matters.

Almighty God, wethank you for you presence among us. And even though we sometimesfeel that you are far away, we still trust in you and anticipate withhope your return. Amen.

Adaptedfrom "When God Goes on Leave of Absence" by Lewis Smedes http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/smedes_4005.htm

Sermon – Psalm 29 - Worship the Lord

2012-01-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 29 - Worship the Lord

Pitts Creek and Beaver DamChurches

Baptism of the Lord

January8, 2012

LastSunday we talked about how all of creation is called to praise theLord. Praising God is what we were created for. And we praise Godby doing what God created us to do. And so we come to church to hearscripture read and proclaimed and we attend Bible studies to find outexactly how God created us so that we may appropriately praise God aswe were created to do.

Praiseis something all of creation does. But today we will look atsomething that is reserved for believers. Only the faithful believercan worship the Lord. And that is why evangelism is so important. We invite people to come with us to church and Bible study so thatthey may praise their creator and come to belief that in Jesus thecreator is worthy of our full worship. Today we will talk about whatworship is and how we, as believers can worship God. But firstlet's pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Thereis no more misunderstood word in the American church than the word“worship”. There are those who think that worship is the samething as music. Many churches have what they call “worshipleaders” who are in fact musicians leading contemporary music. People in these churches enjoy the music and confuse this enjoymentwith worship. As we will see worship is very different from singingpraise songs.

Other churchesbelieve that worship involves the use of rituals. People in thesechurches love the ancient prayers in Latin or Elizabethan English. They love the beautiful liturgies for communion. They love the oldhymns. All these things are wonderful, I love them too, but they arenot the same thing as worship.

Still otherchurches believe that worship affects us emotionally. In worship weexperience a warming of the heart, or we exhibit our spiritual gifts. In these churches it is not uncommon to hear people equate speakingin tongues with worship. An inner experience of the Spirit andmanifestation of gifts is important, but it is not worship.

In our tradition webelieve that worship starts in praise for God, Father, Son and HolySpirit. We believe that God is with us in worship. And we believethat we are renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit in worship. This enables us to respond to God in worship and align ourselves withGod's mission in the world.

Let's turn to Psalm29 and it's description of heavenly worship.

Apsalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the LORD, youheavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORDin the splendor of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is overthe waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORDthunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD ispowerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voiceof the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces thecedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes thedesert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voiceof the LORD twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sits enthroned overthe flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 TheLORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his peoplewith peace.

Supposethat you are an officer in the king's army, and you have just beendefeated in battle. You king is dead and the new king can do withyou whatever he pleases. He can kill you if he wants to. He canmake you a slave. He has all power over you. Your only hope forsurvival is that the king will choose you for his service. And theking will only choose you if he is confident of your loyalty to himand has a reasonable expectation that you will obey his commands. How will you convince the king of your loyalty and promise ofobedience? The only way you can do this is if you worship the king.

Toworship the king you lie face down in front of him. You mouth andnose are buried in the ground he walks on. Though this act youdemonstrate your total loyalty. You will serve no other king buthim. And you promise your total obedience, you will fully obey allof the king's commands. If the king receives your worship your lifewill be spared and you will enter into service for the king. This isworship, bowing before the king and pledging your total loyalty andfull obedience.

Thisis what the worship of God is all about. We worship God by pledgingour loyalty to him. We pledge to follow no other god. God will bethe sovereign of our lives. And in worship we promise that we willfully obey all of God commands.

Youcan see from this that worship is very different from just coming tochurch. People come to church for many reasons: They like singing,they find prayers comforting, maybe the sermons are interesting, andthey are able to meet friends and family. Church satisfies a varietyof needs and all of these are good. But coming to church to satisfya need or out of habit is very different from worship. Coming tochurch is pleasant and nonthreatening. You can come to church everySunday without having any affect on what you worship, whom you areloyal to, and whose laws you obey. But as believers we are called todo far more than just come to church. We are to worship the Lord.

Intoday's psalm the angels and all the heavenly beings have gatheredbefore the throne of God for worship. They have pledged their totalloyalty to God and have promised to obey all of God's decrees. Godhas responded to their worship by speaking with the voice thatcreated the world. This voice was so powerful it caused a category 5hurricane to form in the Mediterranean. This storm came ashore inthe forests of Lebanon ripping giant cedars from the ground andtossing them in the air. The storm twisted massive oaks intocorkscrews, and shook up the sand of the desert like it was in ablender. The picture we have is of a mighty, powerful God. This isthe God we are called to worship. This is God we are to bow downbefore. This is the God to whom we are to pledge our total loyalty. This is the God whose laws we are to obey.

Thevoice of God that can trigger a massive storm, the voice that createdall that is, is the same voice that came from heaven and said, “Youare my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11b) And so we know that the one we are to worship is Jesus. We are tobow at Jesus' feet, pledge our total loyalty to Jesus and promise todo everything Jesus commands us to do. This is the essence ofChristian worship.

Ihope you all enjoy coming to church this morning. We have all theold stuff. We are singing the familiar hymns. We are recitingfamiliar prayers. We hear familiar texts read and proclaimed. Yourold friends and family members are here. I love coming to church. But I invite you to experience the power of the sound of God's voicewhich you will only hear if you are ready to bow down before God inworship. So I urge you to pledge your total loyalty to Jesus Christ. Decide that you will follow no one and nothing else in you life. And do this by promising with your whole heart to obey everythingthat Christ commands you to do. This is worship.

Almightyand powerful God we approach you in worship this morning. We knowthat one word of your voice could end our existence, and we trembleas we come before you. Bless us this day with the gift of faith inyour son so that we may approach him, engaged fully in worship,pledging our total loyalty and promising our total obedience. We askfor the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as we worship. Andwe offer up this prayer to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit inworship. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 148 – Praise the Lord

2012-01-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T.Howard

Sermon – Psalm148 – Praise the Lord

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

January 1, 2012

We are nowcelebrating Christmas. The long wait for a messiah is over. Theanointed one was born in Bethlehem. The savior of the world is lyingin a manger. And we are here to praise the Lord in worship. This iswhat we do every Sunday. We come to church praising God for hisbeing with us in every way possible. So this is a glorious time tothink a little about what it means to praise the Lord.

The Hebrew word forpraise is Halelu. Ashortened form of the name of God is jah. Sothe way to say “praise the Lord” in Hebrew is Hallelujah. Let's say it together,halelujah. Let'spray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm148:1-14 ^NIVPsalm148:1Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in theheights above. ²Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. ³Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. ⁴Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. ⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they werecreated. ⁶He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that willnever pass away. ⁷Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all oceandepths, ⁸lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do hisbidding, ⁹you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, ¹⁰wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, ¹¹kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers onearth, ¹²young men and maidens, old men and children. ¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted;his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. ¹⁴He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints,of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the LORD.

Accordingto the psalmist all of creation is to praise the Lord. Everything inheaven and on earth is called to praise God. We already know how theangels praise God. We heard them just last week praise God in aproclamation, “Ibring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he isChrist the Lord. (Luke 2: 10-11)” And the angel praise God insong, ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whomhis favor rests. (Luke 2:14)"

Butits not clear how the heavenly host, the mighty army of God, mightpraise the Lord. And how exactly do the sun, the moon and the starspraise the Lord? And how do the water droplets in the clouds praisethe Lord? Remember that every in heaven praises the Lord, but how dothey do it?

Thesequestion don't go away when we consider the fact the everything onearth praise the Lord too. How do chickens praise the Lord? Certainly some of you who work in chicken houses everyday know howchickens praise the Lord. So how do they do it? Or how aboutpotatoes, how do potatoes praise the Lord? Or corn? Or books inyour library? Or dairy cows? Or the blackboards in you classrooms? How do all these things on earth praise the Lord? I have never seena group of chickens organize a praise band. Nor have I seen dairycows come to church. I have never seen potatoes recite a psalmresponsively. How exactly does all creation praise the Lord?

Theanswer to this question comes from the way God created the world. Inthe first chapter of Genesis we read, “And God said, "Letthere be light," and there was light. (Genesis 1:3) So Godcreated the world by commanding it into being. All of heaven andearth were created by the decrees of God. Everything that wascreated was given both existence and function. God created eachthing with a purpose. And therefore each thing praised God byfulling the purpose God created it for.

Sothe sun praises the Lord by rising in the east each day and givingthe earth light a warmth before setting in west. The moon praisesthe Lord by reflecting the suns light and controlling the tides. The clouds praise the Lord by dropping rain on our fields. Chickenspraise the Lord by being food on our dinner tables. Dairy cowspraise the Lord in ice cream and cheese. And potatoes praise the Lordevery time someone opens a bag of potato chips.

Sopraising the Lord involves doing what we were created to do, and wedo this by following God's commands. That's why we study the Bible,to find out what we can do to praise the Lord. Coming to church andsinging songs of praise is only a portion of what we were created todo. We search the Bible for God's commands and learn from them whatGod created us to do. And we do these things not to get God to likeus, or let us in heaven. We do these things because we were createdto praise the Lord.

Butthe world stopped praising the Lord. It was caught in a cycle of sinand praises no longer reached heaven. God noticed that the praiseshad stopped. So he sent his son into the world to teach us how tobreak free from the viscous cycles of sin and live our lives in a waythat praises God. Jesus taught us that it is possible to obey God'scommands, once we are delivered from sin, and our praises would beheard once again in heaven.

ThisWednesday evening we will begin a journey of discovery. We will belooking for practical ways that we can live our lives in obedience toGod's law and offer praise to God. Our teacher will be Jesus Christwho will gather us on a mountain and teach us how to live our livesin a way that praises the Lord. Please join us on Wednesdays at 7 atPitts Creek church when we will take a special look at Jesus' Sermonon the Mount. Since the protestant reformation we have been taughtthe Jesus' teaching are ideal and cannot be completely achieved inour lifetimes. But Dr. Glen Stassen, professor of ethics at FullerSeminary disagrees, He thinks that Jesus' teachings are doable if wecorrectly understand what Jesus is saying. In his book Livingthe Sermon on the Mount, Dr.Stassen will show us how Jesus' teachings are really practical waysthat we can live our lives as we were created to live them. Sothrough this Bible study we will discover what we were created forand by doing what Christ says we will praise the Lord.

So how do we praisethe Lord? How do we do what we were created to do? We praise theLord whenever we love and care for one another. We praise the Lordwhen we live in peace with our neighbors. We praise the Lord when weact justly. So praise the Lord all the men and women of God. Praisethe Lord this pulpit that those pews. Praise the Lord the cars thatwill take us home. Praise the Lord our houses, and farms and schoolsand families. Let all the earth and all of heaven praise the Lord.

O Lord we singpsalms of adoration and praise each time we gather in your name. Send your Spirit to kindle within us new life and make us glow withthe light of Christ that shines on us this day. Be with us as welearn what we were created to do and help us to do what will praiseyou. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah! Amen.

Sermon – John 1:1-14 – Seeing God in the Coming of Jesus

2012-01-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon–John1:1-14 – Seeing God in the Coming of Jesus

PittsCreek and Beaver Dam Churches

ChristmasDay

December25,2011

Todayis a day for opening presents. Last Monday I went home and had lunchwith my parents and sister. I can remember arguing with my brotherand sister about when to open presents. I wanted to wait untilChristmas morning when I would be rested and could play with the toysall day. They couldn't wait for morning and wanted to open presentsafter church on Christmas eve. Our parents compromised and let eachof us open one presents on Christmas eve but told us to save the restfor morning after Santa Clause came. This morning we will belooking at some the the gifts we have received as a result of whathappened last night.

Lastnight we celebrated the birth of a baby in Bethlehem. We saw thereaction of his mother and some shepherds who came to visit. Weheard the voices of angels and heavenly choirs. And we saw theshepherds leave the young family to tell the world what they hadwitnessed. Something extraordinary had happened. But what was it? The answer to this question is tied to the identity of that baby inthe manger. Who is he? And why did he cause such excitement? Wewill try to answer these questions but first let's pray.

“OGod, before whom mountains melt like wax, the earth trembles, andidols are humbled, we proclaim your righteousness as we beholdyour glory. You have sought out a people and proclaimed them holy.You have sent your chosen one, Jesus, to prepare your way. We havepassed through the gates of salvation, which he opened for us, andnow gather to worship you with our praise and thanksgiving.” (WhenWe Gather 15)

John1:1-14 ^NIVJohn1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and theWord was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made thathas been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understoodit. ⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so thatthrough him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into theworld. ¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, theworld did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, hegave the right to become children of God-- ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or ahusband's will, but born of God. ¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seenhis glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father,full of grace and truth.

Whowas the baby in the manger? Accord to the Gospel of John that babywas the Word of God who was present when God first created the worldand has now been born of a woman as a human. We know his name asJesus and he is both God and man.

Webelieve this by faith, faith that leads us to eternal life. Butbelieving something and understanding something are two differentthings. Faith is a gift from God that allows us to believe the Jesusis both human and divine. Understanding is a product of our ownminds and it is very difficult to understand with our minds howsomeone can be both human and divine.

Christianshave struggled to understand Jesus' humanity and divinity since thebeginning. Some have suggested the Jesus was just a man with God'sspirit, but if Jesus was just a man how could he have been with Godat creation? This would be impossible. Others have suggest thatJesus is God and just appeared to be a man. But if this were so howdo you explain what happened in Bethlehem last night with the birthof a baby. The church has always taught that you cannot believe oneor the other; you must believe that Jesus is both fully God and fullyman.

Butunderstanding that Jesus is both God and man has created otherproblems for us because we believe in one God and with Jesus and theFather we seem to have two. Some Christians suggested that Jesus wasnot really God, just like God in many respects, but if Jesus is onlylike God he is not really God, of the same stuff. Is he?

Thesedebates raged for the first four centuries of the church. The churchconsistently taught the faith that Jesus was fully man and fully God,and that Jesus and God were one, but our understanding fell furtherbehind until the great work of a church father, Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory realized that sin touches every part of us. Nothing in usis ever free from the stain of sin. And so a savior must be fullyone of us to remove all the sin. But the only one who can forgivesin is God. And so a savior must be fully God to forgive us. Thusour savior must be both fully man and fully God. Jesus Christ, thesavior, and must be fully God, the one who saves, and fully man, ableto touch every part of us and heal all of our sins.

Sothe baby born last night was truly God with us. Jesus was fully ahuman, he dirtied his diapers and cried though the night. He grew upexperiencing all the joys and problems we experience. He diedexperiencing the pain of rejection and death. He was a man in everysense of the word. But through his death and resurrection he provedthat he was truly the Word made flesh, fully God and fully man whodwelt among us and saved us from our sins. This is what you are tobelieve to receive eternal life, and your Christmas gift from Godthis day is this gift of faith and life in his presence forever.

Savingus from our sins is a very important gift, but Jesus being both Godand man gives us an even greater benefit. In Jesus, God revealshimself to us. Through Jesus' life and teaching we have a glimpse ofwhat God is like. We have seen God for ourselves. Another greatchurch father, Athanasius of Alexandria said that Jesus “becamehuman that we might become God. He manifested himself by a body bymeans of a body in order that we might perceive the mind of theunseen Father … (and) endure shame from men that we might inheritimmortality.” And so in Jesus Christ we see God, we know what Godis like, and we can develop a relationship with God that will lastforever.

Wesee that though our faith in Jesus, the baby in that manger, webelieve that he is both fully human and fully God. Through thisbelief, which itself is a gift from God, we begin to understand thatJesus being fully man can save us from our sins, and Jesus beingfully God can reveal the Father to us. With this faith we aregranted by God the additional gift of eternal life.

Soas you open your presents this morning remember that the bestChristmas gift of all is the gift of faith the God gives you. As youunwrap this faith you will believe that Jesus is fully man and fullyGod. You will discover other gifts in the box. One is the gift ofknowing God in Jesus Christ. Another gift is the forgiveness of yousins. And, of course, there is the gift of eternal life throughthrough your faith. These are glorious gifts so rejoice, give thanksand pray.

“With “hosannas”we herald the birth of our Savior; we sing of glad tidings, O God ourRedeemer. Through a child you have come to bring peace among us; weare reborn with the hope of new life. We hear the angels proclaimingthat we need have no fear, for henceforth you shall be with us inChrist, your begotten. We give thanks for your gift of salvation andhope. We glorify and praise you for making your will known to us. Youhave opened the gates of heaven to pilgrims such as we. From Jesus wehave caught sight of your righteousness and truth. By him we havebeen taught your commandments and been called to follow in the way ofjustice and service. You havenot forsaken us when we have strayed from his paths of obedience.Through him we give thanks for your forbearance and forgiveness. Onthis day when all the earth is bathed in the dazzling light of yourpresence, we give thanks for your Holy Spirit, who continues to guideus. When we are confused, you grant us clarity. In the midst ofambiguity, we can discern the direction you would have us take. Whenperplexed, you empower us to rise above those forces that wouldsubdue us. Your gifts are immeasurable and will endure when all elsefails. You are the cause of joy that abounds, the source of ourrighteousness, and the author of hope that dispels shadows oflingering doubt. With the multitude of the heavenly host, we praiseyou, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace amongthose whom God favors.” Amen. (When We Gather 16)

Sermon – Luke 2: 1-14 - Praising God for the Coming of Jesus

2011-12-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon–Luke 2: 1-14 - PraisingGod for the Coming of Jesus

PittsCreek and Beaver Dam Churches

ChristmasEve

December24,2011

Weare at the eve of Christmas and everything is ready. Mary and Josephare in Bethlehem having come the three day journey from Nazarethprobably to register some land Joseph owns to satisfy the tax laws ofthe Roman Empire. There is no room upstairs in the inn so theanimals that usually stay downstairs have been temporarily removedfrom the ground floor so that it can be prepared for Mary and Josephto spend the night. The shepherds have gathered in the goats andsheep for the evening and have climbed the hillside to the cave wherethey will spend the quiet night. God has told the angels what to saywhen the time comes and they are getting ready memorizing their linesand songs. An ordinary evening has begun, but extraordinary thingsare just about to happen. So let's pray.

“We praise yourname, O God. You are glorified among the nations and in all creation.You cause the flowers to bloom; the honeycomb drips with sweetnessaccording to your design. You dwell in teeming cities and in thequiet of the countryside. The whole earth is your habitation. Youinvite us into your sanctuary, where we worship and bow down beforeyou. Fill us now with your Spirit, and let your presence be ourblessing. (When We Gather, 11)

Luke2:1-20 ^NIVLuke2:1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should betaken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius wasgovernor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house andline of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married tohim and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in clothsand placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in theinn.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keepingwatch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lordshone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you goodnews of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he isChrist the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothsand lying in a manger." ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with theangel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whomhis favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherdssaid to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thingthat has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who waslying in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had beentold them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in herheart.

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all thethings they had heard and seen, which were just as they had beentold.

Ilove Christmas pageants. Two weeks ago Pitts Creek had their WhiteGifts Service and the children acted out the nativity stories in Lukeand Matthew. All the children had something to say. The smallestwere dressed as shepherds and wise men and walked around thesanctuary as I read their stories. Two older children were givenroles as the angel and Mary. The angel spoke the climatic words ofthe evening, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace tomen on whom his favor rests." And Mary sat in the cardboardstable with a doll in the manager pondering and treasuring in herheart all the things that were going on around her. The children alldid a really good job acting out the nativity story.

Sincethat service I have been thinking about the two girls who played theangel and Mary. One praised the glory of God, while the othersilently meditated on what all of this meant. And it occurred to methat these are the two reactions we have toward Christmas. Some ofus want to celebrate Christmas with the angels praising God in thehighest. We love to sing “Joyto the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let everyheart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing.” While othersof us prefer to celebrate Christmas quietly holding a candle andsinging, “Silent night! holy night! All is calm all isbright. Round yon virgin mother and child Holy infant so tender andmild Sleep in heavenly peace!.”

I know of peoplewho thrive on the hustle and bustle of Christmas. They want to buildfloats, organize caroling at nursing homes, and deliver baskets foodto those in need. They love to sing, “Hark! The herald angelssing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, Godand sinners reconciled!” Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join thetriumph of the skies; With th’angelic host proclaim, “Christ isborn in Bethlehem!”

I know of otherpeople who prefer attending a quiet meditative service of worship onChristmas eve and like to sing “Away in a manger, no crib for abed, The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head. The stars in thesky looked down where He lay, The little Lord Jesus, asleep on thehay.”

No matter who youare, the praising type or the meditative type Christmas is for you. You can either hang in there quietly with Mary and her baby or youcan go out into the night proclaiming loudly that our savior is born. These are the gifts that God provides the church at Christmas. Godgives us people who love to sing, “Go, tell it on the mountain,Over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain, ThatJesus Christ is born.” And these people will leave here tonightproclaiming to everyone they meet the glorious news that our savioris born, by saying “Merry Christmas” to everyone they meet. Thechurch needs people like the shepherds who hear the good news andrepeat it over and over until everyone hears it.

God has also givenus people who sing, “ O little town of Bethlehem, how still we seethee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; The hopes andfears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” And these peoplewill care for the body of Christ by teaching Bible studies to adultsand children, visiting the sick and shut-ins, and serving coffee tothe congregation on Sunday mornings. The church needs people likeMary who quietly care for its needs.

So Christmas is atime of contrasts. We gather when it is cold and dark outside andthen light a magnificent Christmas tree bathing the sanctuary in itlight. Christmas is a time of warning to get out of Bethlehembefore Herod arrives, and it is a time of the love of a young motherplacing her new born baby in a manger. Christmas is a time ofvulnerability of that young baby in uncertain times, and it is a timeof great power of God and the heavenly hosts.

So as Christians wemay approach Christmas either in a spirit of praise glorifying Godfor what he is doing for the world, or in a spirit of prayerpreparing ourselves for what God is doing inside of us. Either waywe experience God's love for us and the great joy of being a followerof Jesus Christ. And let us all express thanks to God for the giftof his son this evening and the promises of forgiveness and eternallife.

“The heavens tellof your glory, O God. All the trees of the wood sing for joy. Forunto us a child is born, and into our midst has come a great light.You have come to deal justly with nations; with righteousness yourule your people. We hear of a Wonderful Counselor and know that yourSpirit is near. The prophet proclaims you Mighty God, while the searoars and fields exult. Your mercy is everlasting as you care for allyour creation. We herald the Prince of Peace and await the time whenhis rule is complete. You are our God and are greatly to be praised.We sing unto you, honoring your name, and tell of your salvation fromday to day. Gifts have been opened and love has been exchanged. Keepus mindful that you are the source of all abundance and worth.Families have gathered and loved ones have returned home. May wealways remember that Christ calls us to the Table with himself as thehost. The tree has been trimmed and stockings have been hung. Lettheir garlands and tributes awaken assurance of your grace. Now thatanticipation has given way to celebration, may we not lose sight ofyour continuing call to obedience and devotion. To those who stillseek a sign of your love, may we become that sign as we do justly andlove mercy. To those who lack the warmth of home and friends, may weextend hospitality and good cheer. Where the sounds of war drown outChrist’s call to peace, may we fulfill the tasks of reconciliationand love. You have established the world and sent the Prince ofPeace. We go forth as his servants in praise of your reign!” Amen.(When We Gather 12)

Sermon – Luke 1:47-55 – Rejoicing the Coming of Jesus

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon– Luke 1:47-55 – Rejoicingthe Coming of Jesus

PittsCreek and Beaver Dam Churches

FourthSunday of Advent

December18, 2011

It'salmost here. Christmas is upon us: the last minute gifts, cleaningthe house for guests, changing the oil in your car before the longtrip. Either you are almost ready for the holiday or maybe youhaven't prepared at all. For Christians, Christmas requirespreparation and that's why we have Advent, to prepare ourselves forthe coming of Jesus Christ. But sometimes there is no way toprepare. Suddenly things change and the world around us seems tohave turned upside down. Today we will be looking at how Christmaslooks to someone whose world is suddenly turned upside down. Butfirst, let's pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

A couple of weeksago I was at the Atria nursing home in Salisbury. I was conducting aworship service and administering the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. I do this on the first Sunday of every month at the request of theSession of Pitts Creek because two of our long time members now livethere. We hold the worship service in the living room of Atria andseveral other people also attend. Two weeks ago afterworship I noticed that one participant was not moving his wheelchair and wasblocking others from going back to their rooms. One woman told methat that is the way it is for him now. He often is seen in hiswheelchair unable to move waiting for someone to help. I offered topush him to his room. When we got there he tried to get out of hiswheelchair and into a recliner, but he couldn't. He asked me to pullon his belt using my arm to replace the strength he longer had in hislegs and helped him into his chair. After he got settled, we talkedfor a few moments and he told me that his disease had taken fromhim all the hopes and dreams he had for his retirement. And itoccurred to me that for this man the world had turned upside down.

The world seems toturn upside down whenever, through no fault of our own, all of ourhopes and dreams are suddenly gone. I don't have to tell you aboutthis. I supposed that all of you have experienced this from time totime. As your pastor I hear about these things.

Last week the Marvatheater put on a play about the world being upside down at Christmas. The main character, George Baily, had numerous hopes and dreams of awonderful life. He wanted to travel the world and experiencedifferent cultures. But over and over again these hopes and dreamswere dashed by things out of his control. George Bailey lived in anupside down world. The point of Its a Wonderful Life, isthat an upside down world can be put right side up at Christmas, withthe help of an angel from God.

Weall try to put our upside down worlds right side up at Christmas. Wedo this by remembering a time when the world seemed to be right sideup by getting those old Christmas tree ornaments out of the attic,baking cookies and sweet potato pies, sending cards to friends wehaven't heard from all year, and visiting family. These are allefforts on our part to put an upside down world right side up. Butwe quickly find out that this is all an illusion. As soon as thetree ornaments are back in the attic and all the cookies are eaten werealize the world is still upside down. The problem is that there isreally nothing we can do to turn an upside down world right side up,unless, as George Bailey found, God intervenes.

Andthis brings us to the story of a young Hebrew girl living in theRoman province of Galilee sometime around 4BC. This young teenager,suddenly and through no fault of her own, found herself pregnant. Her world suddenly turned upside down. Imagine for a moment theconversation she might have with her parents. “Mom and Dad, I'mpregnant, but I've never been with a man. An angel told me God didthis.” I have two teenage girls, exchange students, living in myhouse and I'm not sure how I would react if either of them saidsomething like this. How would you react? Mary probably imaginedthis conversation with her parents, and according to Luke she didn'tgo to her parents with this news, at least not right away. RatherMary first went to see Elizabeth, her trusted older cousin to talkwith her about the world turning upside down.

WhenMary arrived at Elizabeth's home she had to be amazed becauseElizabeth's world had been turn upside down too. Elizabeth, who hadprayed for a child for years and had just about given up gettingpregnant when suddenly she was expecting a child. She was overjoyed. God had turned her upside down world right side up and Elizabethrealized that this was a great blessing. The truth young Marylearned that day is that sometimes when God acts in the world itseems like the world is turned upside down. Being an unmarriedteenage pregnant girl would certain seem to be upside down. But inreality the world was already upside down and all God did was to putit right side up again. And that was precisely what God was doingwith Mary. What Mary saw as being upside down was really right sideup with a savior coming into the world.

Thismeeting with Elizabeth caused Mary to rejoice because God had blessedher richly by turning her world right side up, and she burst intosong. Mary knew that God had chosen her to carry a savior who wouldturn the world right side up again. The song she sang is now knownas the Magnificat. Listen to how different is sounds from the highlycommercialized messages we usually hear at Christmas.

LUKE1:47-55 46bMy soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spiritrejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on thelowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations willcall me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him fromgeneration to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; hehas scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He hasbrought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up thelowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the richaway empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of hismercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, toAbraham and to his descendants forever.”

When God sets theworld right side up those who are oppressed by tyrannical governmentsand living in refugee camps are freed and allowed to go home. Thosewho live under crushing poverty are made rich. Those who experiencehunger and lack of drinkable water will experienceabundance. And those who had already been richly blessed by God willremember what God said to Abraham:

Genesis 12:1-3...‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s houseto the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation,and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be ablessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who cursesyou I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall beblessed.’

I recently saw howGod is putting the world right side up by blessing the poorest amongus at the Samaritan Shelter. Last year they built a new wing forhomeless women and families. Just recently the kitchen in the oldsection was remodeled. The shelter is becoming a beautiful placebecause of all the gifts it received from people like you. At theshelter people who have no place to sleep can find a bed, people whoare hungry can find a meal, and people find fulfillment serving theneeds of others. In this place God has turned an upside down worldright side up.

So this Christmasremember that if your world is upside down you can't change it byputting some old ornaments on the tree. You can't make the worldturn right side up by baking cookies and a sweet potato pie. But youwill see God putting the world right side up if, like Mary you have asavior growing inside of you. So my prayer for you this Christmas isthat Christ will be in you, that you will experience God's love foryou with great joy as God turns your world right side up.

Lord Jesus we cometo us who live in a world that is upside down. You already know whatwe have been through and how our hopes and dreams have been dashed. Put a savior in our hearts to rekindle our hopes and dreams and helpus to be a part of the right side up world you are creating. We namethe savior who is coming to set the world right side up. It is JesusChrist, our Lord. Amen.

Sermon – John 1: 6-8, 19-28 - Witnessing

2011-12-17T04:53:00.000-08:00

Rev.Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon– John 1: 6-8, 19-28 -Witnessing

PittsCreek and Beaver Dam Churches

ThirdSunday of Advent

December11, 2011

Wehave come yet another weekcloser to Christmas. People are in storesbuying gifts. Others are getting ready to travel. Still others arepreparing to receive guests in their homes. Christmas is a time when we encounter people we know but only see,call or send a card to at this time of year. Your family and friendswill want to know what is happening in your life. Someof you will send cards and letters. This givesyou the opportunity to witness to them of the faith you have receivedfrom God. Since you have all been blessed by God in many wayswitnessing to others about all the gifts you have received should beeasy. But we often find witnessing difficult because ofmisconceptions we have about it. So today lets look at the firstchapter of John to see what the author of this fourth gospel has tosay about what witnessing is and what witnessingis not. But first let's pray.

“Grantunto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenlywisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our ownedification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Witnessingis a spiritual discipline just like attending worship every Sunday,praying every day, studying scripture regularly, being a part of afellowship group, and serving the needs of others in the community. As we do these things our faith grows and this faith leads to eternallife. So we do all these things in a disciplined way, building upgood habits and growing in the stature of Christ.

Accordingto the Gospel of John witnessing is the most important of thespiritual disciplines. John talks about it in the very firstchapter. Witnessing is important because without witnessing no onewould ever come to the faith that leads to eternal life. Each of youhas been witnessed by someone. Maybe it was your parents, or apastor or Sunday School teacher. Whoever it was they did the mostimportant thing in the world of witnessing to you of their faith inJesus Christ so that you too would begin growing in that faith. Soit is important that you witness to others so that future generationswill continue to come to a saving faith that results in eternal life.

Wehave to know what witnessing is before we can do it, and there is nobetter teacher of witnessing than John the Baptist. In testimonythat John that Baptist gave to religious authorities he told themthat he was a witness and cleared up some misconceptions we haveabout witnessing. Listen to what John has to say about whatwitnessing is and is not.

John1:6-8 ⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so thatthrough him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John1:19-28 ¹⁹Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priestsand Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not theChrist." ²¹They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" Hesaid, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" Heanswered, "No." ²²Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take backto those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" ²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voiceof one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" ²⁴Now some Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not theChrist, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" ²⁶"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among youstands one you do not know. ²⁷He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I amnot worthy to untie." ²⁸This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, whereJohn was baptizing.

RecentlyI visited a young man in jail. He graduated from high school lastyear with high hopes and a bright future. But, sadly, he beganhanging out in the wrong places and with the wrong people and sinalmost completely obliterated the image of God he had been createdwith. In jail he has had time to think about what he has done andexperience guilt and remorse. He needs a messiah who will remove hisguilt and restore him to new life.

Itwould be tempting to try to be his messiah. You could try to helphim get a job, or help him apply to college. You could give himadvise and possibly money. All these might be good things to do. But they won't save him. They won't remove his guilt. They won'tlead him to new life. The problem is that you are not the messiah,you cannot save anyone. All you can do is to witness to the light inwhich you live through your testimony and lead people to Jesus who isthe Christ, the Messiah, the savior who can forgive sin, remove guiltand restore someone to new life. So remember you are not theMessiah.

Let'scontinue. Recently I heard about a farmer. He has spent a lifetimein fields. He is up at dawn working every day. And you can often seehim working late into the night. He has little time for family andfriends, and no time for church. You might call him a workaholic. Or you might say that he worships the god of work.

Wehave all known people who worship other gods. I am not talking aboutMuslims or Jews or anyone else in an organized religion. But I amtalking about the alcoholic who worships the god of vodka, themoneyaholic who worships the god of greed and stinginess or thesexaholic who worships the god of one night stands. We all knowpeople who worship things rather than God and if they are our familyor friends we are tempted to try to save them.

Wewish we could be like Elijah on Mt. Carmel confronting the false godswith supernatural power proving that God is the only God. It wouldbe tempting to try to be Elijah and lead people away from their falsegods. But we are not Elijah. All we can do is to witness to othersabout what Jesus Christ has done for us and let Christ rescue themfrom their false gods. So remember that you are not Elijah.

Let'smove on. The newspapers are filled with world problems. This pastFriday the WashingtonPosthad stories about the failure of a European summit to solve the debtcrises, the shooting of a police officer at Virginia Tech, andPakistan preparing to shoot down American military jets. This is atypical day in a fallen world. We need a prophet to come forwardwith a word from God that solves the world's problems. We wish thatour faith was strong enough that we could speak with a propheticvoice the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that desperately needsit.

It is tempting totry to be a prophet of God, to hear a word from God and say it to aworld that needs to hear it. But we are not prophets. All we can dois to testify to what Jesus Christ has done in our lives, and allowJesus to be the prophetic hope that the world needs. So remember youare not a prophet.

We see from Johnthat we are not messiahs, we are not Elijahs, we are not prophets. Only Jesus is the messiah. Only Jesus is Elijah. Only Jesus in aprophet. Only Jesus Christ can save us and the world. But what wecan do is point to him, the light of the world.

Andthis brings us to the picture in your bulletins (and on the screen). This is the famous IsenheimAltarpiece by Matthias Grünewald. In it you see John the Baptist pointing to the crucified Christ. Historically speaking this picture does not reflect reality becauseJohn the Baptist was executed by Herod before the crucifixion. Sothe scene you are viewing cannot have happened. But this painting byGrünewaldis true because it accurately reflects the relationship between Johnthe Baptist and Christ. John is pointing at the crucified Christ. Also notice that John the Baptist is holding an open Bible. Throughhis testimony and the testimony of scripture John points to Christ. John is not the Christ. John is not Elijah. John is not a prophetof God, John is not the light of the world. But John witnessed toothers the truth of Christ bringing them to faith which leads toeternal life. And we are called to do the same.

So this Christmasseason, as you see, write letters to, and meet your friends andrelatives remember to witness to them about all the blessings youhave received from God this year. Tell them about the messiah whohas saved you from sin and delivered you from guilt. Tell them abouthow Christ has freed you from false gods. Show them how Christ, theword of God is a prophetic word to a world in need. Testify to thelight in your life and the light of the world. And witness to themthe saving faith in Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Fatherin heaven we ask this day for the gift of witnessing. Help us totestify to all that you have given us. Remind us that we are not themessiah, we are not Elijah, we are not prophets, and we are not thelight of the world. But remind us that we do point to the light ofthe world, your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Mark 1: 1-11 – Preparing for The Coming of Jesus

2011-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Mark 1: 1-11 – Preparing for The Coming of Jesus

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2011

We are continuing today with our celebration of Advent. Through our weekly meditations on scripture, read and proclaimed, and our daily prayers we are filled with hope and anticipation for the coming of Jesus even as we prepare to remember his birth from some two thousand years ago. That's why we are singing Christmas carols. We are filled with hope, peace, joy and love and so we praise God in song and worship joining our voices with the angels celebrating the birth of our savior. Today we will prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus by experiencing some of the excitement of the first hearers of the good news. But first, let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Pretend that you are a rabbi living in a small village in Galilee around 70AD. The times are bad and tensions are rising. Jewish Zealots, determined to throw off the Roman occupation and create a Jewish kingdom, have been attacking Roman military installations. The Roman army has responded with a heavy hand against the civilian population. Add to this the political instability in Rome. Nero has been dead for a year and his four successors have all been assassinated. General Vespasian, who has been leading the Roman Army in Galilee, has been named the new emperor. You have no idea how this will affect your family and your life. All of this has affected your village because the Romans suspect that some Zealots are hiding there. You and your extended family live in constant fear that the Romans will break down the door of your house and carry you away.

One day you hear that a scroll has arrived from Rome. It has been brought by someone named Mark and supposedly is based on the teachings of Simon-Peter who once live in the neighboring village of Capernaum about 40 years ago; some of the old timers in town remember him as fisherman. The title of the scroll is “The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.” You really need to hear some good news with all the bad news going around these days. So you decide to go to hear the scroll read on Sunday morning.

When you arrive Sunday morning you are surprised to see that the group is composed of both Jews and Gentiles, and women are participating equally. You have heard that this group's leader was crucified by the Romans a generation ago, but they seem to believe that he is somehow still with them. Mark is here from Rome to read his scroll and everyone is really excited. So you take a seat near the back to listen to what he has to say.

He begins by saying, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) When you hear these words you nearly fall out of your chair. This is treason. “Everyone here will be killed by the Romans,” you think. “Only Caesar is the Son of God in Roman Empire. To give anyone else this title is a capital offense.” But you stay in your seat and listen for more.

Mark continues reading the scroll with these words: “As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” (Mark 1:2-3)

You think for a moment about these texts from the Hebrew scriptures. You are reminded of the words of the Prophet Malachi.

3 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom

you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you

delight--indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

So you think that a messenger is coming to proclaim that God will return to his temple and save his people. If true, this is really good news because this is what you have been praying for for so long that God would come to earth and put an end to this war and rule the nations with justice and righteousness.

As Mark continues speaking you are reminded of the writings of the Prophet Isaiah:

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

You marvel at the brilliance of this Mark reminding people that when Israel was held in exile in Babylon, a messenger, Isaiah, came to them with the good news that they were just about to be freed and permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their city and temple. “Make a pathway straight through the wilderness back home,” he said. “Could this Mark be a Prophet like Isaiah? Could he be here to proclaim the end of the war and victory over the Romans?”

With these questions on your mind you continue listening to Mark.

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:4- 6)

When you hear this you realize that it is not Isaiah who is returning. No. It is the Prophet Elijah who is returning. The great Elijah who confronted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Elijah has returned to prepare God's people for the coming of God by calling them to repent for the forgiveness of sins. Now that's the good news you have been waiting for. God is returning to set everything right. So you listen carefully for what Mark has to say next.

7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7-8)

“Who is this?” you think, “Who is more powerful than Elijah?”. “What is this baptism of the Holy Spirit? And Mark goes on to answer your questions.

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the

Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart

and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are

my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1: 9-11)

Then you remember Rabbi Jesus. Your father had talked about the great crowds who followed him as he taught throughout Galilee. He had been executed by the Romans when he was teaching in Jerusalem. And some of his followers claim he is still alive. This is the man Mark is claiming to be superior to Caesar, the true Son of God. And Mark wants us to be prepared for his coming which could come at any time.

When Mark finishes reading the scroll he has written you realize that this Jesus is truly the Son of God and is the savior the world has been waiting for. This scroll is truly the good news that everyone needs to hear. So after the reading you ask Mark if it would be okay to copy his scroll onto papyrus sheets so that the village could continue to study it after he left. You are thrilled when Mark agrees to stay in town for a few weeks while the copy is made, and you look forward to the conversations that you will have with Mark about his travels around the Mediterranean proclaiming this goods news to other groups of Christians.

You leave the group that Sunday morning filled with hope and anticipation for the coming of God in Jesus Christ. You want to bring this good news to all the people in the community, Jews and Gentiles, Men and Women, Slave and Free. You want everyone to hear the good news and prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Lord Jesus, we wait for your coming. The world around us seems to be falling apart. Europe is plagued with a debt crisis. The streets of the Middle East are filled with violence. We are struggling with high unemployment and high debt here in America. But we wait with anticipation and hope for the peace you will bring when you return to save us. And so we joyfully praise your name. Amen.

Sermon – Mark 13:24-27 – Waiting for The Coming of Jesus

2011-12-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Mark 13:24-27 – Waiting for The Coming of Jesus

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

First Sunday of Advent

Nov. 27, 2011

God has given us a rhythm of the seasons. The nights are getting longer and days shorter as we approach the Winter solstice. But soon the days will lengthen and the leaves will return to the trees. Winter will give way to Spring and the heat of Summer, and the cool Fall days will be with us once again.

We follow this God-made rhythm in many ways. The school year starts every September with new clothes and sharpened pencils and lasts until June. The solar year begins on January 1 with a great celebration at midnight on New Years Eve. Koreans start the lunar year with a feast of rice cake soup. And Christians begin the church year with the season of Advent.

Advent is the time of the church year when we think about the coming of Jesus. In one sense Jesus has already come as a baby born in a barn in Bethlehem. But in another sense Jesus is still coming and will come again with a new heaven and a new earth. So the coming of Jesus is both “already” and “not yet”. We finds ourselves in the middle of “already” and “not yet” and so we are both remembering and waiting. This is what Advent is all about. We wait for the Jesus we remember. So lets start this time of Advent in prayer.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

NRSV MARK 13:24-27 24“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Picture in your minds a young girl in the 3^rd grade standing on a street corner near her house. She is waiting for the school bus. And she is waiting with a sense of dread. Today is report card day. And she didn't hand in all her homework and didn't study real hard for the tests. She fears what the report card will say and what mother will say when she brings it home this afternoon. So she waits for the bus waiting in fear.

Now picture in your minds the same girl waiting on the same corner. But this time she is waiting on tiptoe waiting for the Christmas parade to start. She is filled with joy and anticipation as she waits filled with hope for an exciting time watching the floats, marching bands and of course Santa Claus as he comes down the street. The same girl, the same corner waiting in fear or waiting in hope.

Or consider this picture. A fisherman is sitting in his living room. He has cleaned his boat and his gear and is settled down for the winter. The pond out back is frozen over. He is waiting for the return of Spring and is bored to death. He has nothing to do. He doesn't think he can wait for Spring to get back on the pond fishing. He thinks maybe next year he will spend the winter in Florida.

Now the same fisherman: He is in his boat on the pond. And he has been waiting since dawn trying to catch the large mouth bass he knows is there. He is filled with anticipation and hope that the fish with bite the plastic worm on the hook. He doesn't even notice that he has been waiting all day. The the same fisherman waiting in boredom

We all wait for things. We wait in the doctor's office. We wait for the kids to come home. We wait for the presents at Christmas. And what,s important is not that we wait or how long we wait. What's important is how we wait. Do we wait with excitement, anticipation and hope? Or do we wait in boredom, fear and anxiety?

Jesus was concerned about how his disciples would wait. Jesus knew that he would be leaving them, and he had no idea when he would be returning. So he had to prepare his people for what could be a long wait. And he had to give them something that would allow them to wait filled with anticipation and hope.

The opportunity to do this for his disciples came while they were in Jerusalem. One of his disciples commented on the grandeur of the temple. It was truly an amazing structure. A generation before King Herod the Great had expanded it and made truly one of the world's wonders. Jesus knew that within the lifetime of that disciple the Jews would rebel against the Romans and in the war to follow that temple would be reduced to rubble. Jesus also knew that within a week he would be dead crucified on a cross. How would his disciples wait for his return given these catastrophic events? Would they lose faith and go home? Would they be filled with fear and dread? Or would they wait in hope of a glorious future and Jesus' return?

Jesus wanted to ensure that his disciples would wait filled with hope in what God was about to do. But he had to give them something that would continue to sustain them with hope while they waited. And this is what Jesus did. He took four of his most trusted disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew and crossed the Kidron Valley to Mount of Olives. There in full sight of the magnificent temple Jesus began teaching them from the Hebrew scriptures he had memorized. He quoted from the book of Isaiah and the stars falling from the sky. He talked about the book of Daniel and the exaltation of the Son of Man before the throne of God. These books had been written is times of great distress as the people of God waited for God. And these books teach us that God did act entering human history to save his people. So Jesus was teaching these disciples to use scripture to sustain hope while they waited for God to act.

And that is exactly what they did. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension to the Father all of Jesus' followers were filled with hope. And to sustain this hope throughout the period of waiting the disciples established churches where the Hebrew scriptures would continue to be taught as Jesus taught them and where the stories of Jesus could be shared with each other. By continuing to study the scripture each Sunday the new Christians were able to wait with great hope in the resurrection.

This continues today. We are still waiting for Jesus to return. And we are filled with hope throughout this wait by coming to church each Sunday and hearing scripture read and proclaimed. Through this process we remind ourselves of God's faithfulness to his people throughout the ages. Through scripture we know that no matter how bad it gets God remains with us and will act to save us.

Let me finish with one last story. Picture in you mind a breakfast table and a father reading the newspaper: Credit Crisis in Greece, Riots in Egypt, Penn State Couch Molests Young Boys. This father is gripped in fear for the future: what about America's debt, the protests in our streets, and the rising threat of inflation? He is waiting for something to happen and is filled with dread. At the same table is his young son. He can see the Christmas tree that they set up over the weekend. He has already written his letter to Santa Claus. And he waits with joy and anticipation for Christmas day and all the presents under the tree.

How are you waiting for Christ to return? Are you filled with fear and trepidation at what is happening in the world? Or are you filled with the excitement of a child waiting for Christmas morning? Jesus wants you to be filled with hope. And that is why he has given you the church with its joyful proclamation of scripture so that each Sunday you can be filled with hope and excitement as you wait for the coming of Jesus.

Lord Jesus remind us of God's faithfulness to his people in times past. Help us to see God at work through the scripture of old. And though these words of the Bible fill us with hope as we wait for you to return. This we pray, joyously, in the name of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 – Generosity Produces Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 – Generosity Produces Thanksgiving

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Stewardship Sunday

Nov. 20, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! Today we give thanks to God for all the blessings we have received. And I pray that this spirit of thanksgiving will be rooted in your hearts throughout this week. Please give thanks for all of your blessings as you gather with family and friends for a feast this Thanksgiving. All of you are invited to my wife's church in Princess Anne this Thursday at 11 when we will gather for worship and a traditional Thanksgiving Feast. Her church is Crossroads International Fellowship and is located at 11747 Somerset Ave. I hope to see you there. Let pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

I have learned a lot about farming over the last two years from the men at our Friday morning breakfast group. Each week I ask them what is happening on the area farms. Recently I have heard about combines and the harvest of corn. I now know that in order to harvest corn in the Fall you must plant it in the Spring. In fact you must plant it around the start of the baseball season so that it will pollinate before the heat of summer. And provided that there is just the right amount of rain, and the harmful nor’easters and hurricanes stay away a bountiful harvest can be expected.

According to the apostle Paul this is exactly how thanksgiving works. You must first plant the seeds of thanksgiving before you can harvest it. And this explains why some people are thankful on Thanksgiving Day while others find it very difficult to be thankful. Those who approach Thanksgiving with a spirit of thankfulness have planted seeds of thankfulness long before. And these seeds of thankfulness have been nurtured, weeded, watered and fertilized. This has allowed them to harvest thanksgiving just in time for this big celebration on Thursday. But sadly, others have failed to plant the seeds of thankfulness, or allowed them to be choked by weeds or burnt up in the sun or blown down in the wind and thus find no thankfulness to harvest at Thanksgiving.

Where do we find these seeds of thankfulness? You won't find them at Lowes or Walmart. They aren't in any seed catalog. The only place to find these seeds is in scripture. So lets turn to scripture and see if we can find out about the seeds of thankfulness that we need to plant to experience the harvest of thanksgiving.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-15 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us 12for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. Corinth is a wealthy trading center. The Apostle is writing them to raise money for the church in Jerusalem which is in trouble. Tensions are rising in Jerusalem as Christians are being persecuted. The Romans are concerned with maintaining order. The church desperately needs help so Paul is accumulating the resources he needs to help the mother church in Jerusalem.

Since Corinth is surrounded by a rich agricultural area he made his appeal to the Corinthians with an agricultural metaphor. Just as corn seeds have to be planted in the Spring for corn to be harvested in the Fall so too must the seeds of thankfulness be planted for thanksgiving to be harvested. And what are the seeds of thankfulness that must be planted. According to these Apostle the seeds which we must plant are called in Greek aploths This word has no single English equivalent. Modern translator usually translate it as “generosity”. But since it is crucial that we understand what it is that we plant in order to grow a bountiful harvest of thanksgiving lets take a closer look at what this word might mean.

Ordinarily, in our culture we do things expecting to get something in return. We work all week and expect a paycheck on Friday. We put money in the bank and expect to get it back with interest. We give to the church and expect a quality worship service and visits from the pastor. This quid pro quo is apparent even in nature. Isaac Newton observed that every action has an equal but opposite reaction. Every act of kindness comes with an expectation that it will be reciprocated.

But the Greek term aploths is the opposite of this. The seed of thankfulness consists of giving without the expectation of receiving something in return. There is no duplicity; rather we act with singleness, simplicity, sincerity, uprightness and frankness. It might be best described with the saying, “what you see is what you get.” Obviously generosity is a part of this. But aploths is much more. It is an attitude where you joyfully give away what you have expecting nothing in return.

This is the attitude that was present in the churches established by Paul. And that is why they were so successful adding new members. Their friends and neighbor saw the changes in their lives when they became Christian. People who would never give something for nothing suddenly changed when they joined the church. Christians were a people who gave without expecting any compensation. According to Paul this attitude of giving without receiving is the seed that grows into thanksgiving.

So how did Paul know this? And what caused the earliest Christians to have a gracious world view where they joyfully gave away what they had? The answers to these questions rests in the very character of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. You see God forgives. Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. This comes to us as a gift from God with no strings attached. God gives us salvation with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Aploths is a characteristic of God. And so we who receive so many blessings from God and have received the blessing of salvation without any obligation are motivated to give our blessings to others expecting nothing from them because we are created in the image of that God.

I recently saw a production of Dicken's A Christmas Carol at Salisbury Christian School. You know the story. Ebeneezer Scrooge is compulsive about never doing anything without getting something in return. He won't give to poor and needy. He won't give a borrower an extension on a loan. He won't give his assistant a day off on Christmas, because none of these things would benefit him. But God wanted Scrooge to think in a new way and sent three ghosts to talk with him. That night the Ghost of Christmas Past showed Scrooge how he had received so many gifts that required nothing from him. The Ghost of Christmas Present showed Scrooge how his stinginess adversely affected the people of his day. And the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge that loneliness and death would be the outcome of his stingyness. Scrooge learned that the only way to be thankful was if he gave without expectation of receiving anything in return.

Just imagine what would happen if suddenly all the Presbyterians in Pocomoke began doing things for others expecting nothing in return. What would people be saying about us? What would they be saying about the God we worship? We wouldn't have enough space in this church for all the people looking for what we have. Remember that each time you give without expecting something in return you are planting a seed of thankfulness. These seeds will grow, and you will harvest a great joy called thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sermon – Matthew 25:1-13 - Excuses

2011-11-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Matthew 25:1-13 - Excuses

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Stewardship Sunday

Nov. 13, 2011

Today is Stewardship Sunday. This is the day each year when people stay home from church. This is the day to skip the sermon and visit your grandchildren on the western shore, or see a show in New York, or catch some rockfish on the bay. And if by mistake you come to church on Stewardship Sunday then this is your warning to turn down your hearing aids or read the NFL predictions on your smart phone. No one ever wants to hear a money pitch from the pastor, and that's why we all dread Stewardship Sunday. But stewardship is important so let's begin with prayer.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

^NIVMatthew 25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.⁴ The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' ⁷ "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'⁹ "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'¹⁰ "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.¹¹ "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' ¹² "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' ¹³ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We have a simple story about ten bride maids. They are waiting for the groom to come for the great wedding feast. Their lamps are lit and they wait patiently until he arrives. But for some reason the groom is delayed and the young women fall asleep. Late that night the groom finally arrives and the women awake finding their lamps almost out of olive oil. Some of them have brought extra oil and quickly refill their lamps. Others failed to bring extra oil so they leave to get some and miss the feast. The question I have been thinking about all week is, why did these bridesmaids not bring the extra oil? Why were they not prepared? What were their excuses? Maybe it went this way.

The first bridesmaid had married just a year ago. Her husband had a good job, but he lost it when the economy soured and his company downsized. They had to borrow some money from her parents to pay the rent on their small apartment. They had also maxed out their credit cards. This couple had been economizing on everything. So when it came time for her younger sister's wedding feast she decided not to bring extra oil for her lamp. She now regrets missing her sister's wedding feast realizing that a little oil would make no difference in her finances but would have allowed her to be where she was supposed to be with her sister and her wedding.

The second bridesmaid was a vendor of purple cloth. She made a good living because purple fabric was in high demand among upper class in the city. She had saved up a solid pile of silver for her retirement and was well positioned for the weak economy. She certainly didn't waste anything and figured that she didn't really need to take that extra olive oil. But when she awoke, saw her lamp almost out she begged the others for some of theirs, but sadly they didn't have enough for her too. Had she though about it in advance she would have realized that she should have brought enough oil for everyone. But she didn't, and so she missed the feast.

The third bridesmaid knew that she was just about to inherit some prime farmland. Her husband's brother was sick, and since he had no wife or children she and her husband would inherit his land. In a few months they were sure to be wealthy. But right now the budget was tight. She had plenty of olive oil in the pantry but decided not to bring any extra. She was angry and tired when the groom was late, and fell asleep. When she awoke she saw her lamp was almost out she remembered all the oil she had left back home. So she ran home as fast as she could, but by the time she returned the door was shut and she had missed the celebration.

The fourth bridesmaid was the groom's youngest sister. She was a student in the fifth grade. She was thrilled to be a bridesmaid and got up early to prepare. Her dress was perfect and her aunt helped her with her hair. When she heard that the groom was delayed she was determined to stay awake until he got there. But she quickly fell asleep. Late that night she awoke and found that her lamp was almost out of oil. She had forgotten to bring extra oil in all the preparations. So she ran to a friend's house nearby, but the friend wasn't home. There was no place she could think of where she could get more oil. So she sat down and cried, missing the feast.

The fifth bridesmaid was the bride's best friend. The two of them were active in their church and volunteered in its homeless ministry. Every Saturday morning they would go together to the local homeless shelter and cook breakfast. The also collected an offering of coats which they delivered to the shelter. This bridesmaid really looked forward to the wedding feast. She and the bride had planned out all the details. This was going to be a great celebration. But there was only one problem. She hadn't brought any extra oil. Her lamp was going out. What could she do? No one else had any extra oil. She lived too far away to go home. In was not safe to go looking for olive oil in the dark. And all she could do was to watch as the other bridesmaids accompanied the groom into the feast while she waited outside in the cold and dark.

Five bridesmaids and five excuses! Five very disappointed young women!

But this parable is not about bridesmaids. It is about us. The groom is Jesus, and the bridesmaids are the church waiting for his return. Some of us are prepared for the wait. We have whatever is needed to keep our lamps shining until Christ returns. Others of us are not prepared and our lamps may going out before this happens. This parable is a warning to all of us to be prepared and have sufficient resources for the wait.

What we have to do to be prepared is up to each of us to decide. In your prayer life and study of scripture God will speak to you about what you need to do to be prepared. For me it is to tithe. I give 10% of my income back to the church. Last winter, I must confess, that I couldn't do it given the high cost of heating oil. This bothered me a lot. So as soon as I could I caught up on my tithe and now try to give my 10% every month. It's not easy. I would love to put that 10% into retirement or better clothes or a nicer car, but I can't because I believe that God wants me to sacrifice and 10% is the least I should do.

I am not telling you what to do. But I am telling you to be prepared because you do not want to be shut out of the feast in heaven when Jesus returns. I do know that God has said repeatedly in scripture that He wants the church workers, the poor, the needy, the widows and the orphans to be cared for and have plenty to eat. So to be ready when Christ comes again you must take care of your church and those in need in our our community. And I urge to prayerfully ask God if a tithe is the way for you to do this.

And stay away from excuses: “I have already given enough through by taxes.” “Steward is not about money; I already do enough volunteer work.” “I have already maxed out my tax deductions for the year.” Excuses are just excuses they won't keep your lamps lit. But remember that Christ gave up his life for you. What will you do as you wait for him?

Lord Jesus Christ you have taught us to to love God and love our neighbor. Help us to use our resources in the most effective way to achieve both of these goals as we await your return. This we pray remembering your sacrifice for us. Amen.

Sermon – Revelation 7:9-27 - Heaven

2011-11-11T04:52:00.000-08:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Revelation 7:9-27 - Heaven

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

All Saints Sunday

Nov. 6, 2011

Today is the first Sunday of November and we are celebrating the Feast of All Saints. All Saints Day, November 1 each year, is the day we remember all the saints who have served our church in years past. Now that I live in the Dickinson Memorial Manse and have been noticing how ofter the name Dickinson appears at Pitts Creek church. There is a plaque in the back of the church asking us to remember William S. Dickinson who died in 1891 after serving as a “most devoted and beloved elder.” And I found an old offering plate, which we used on Reformation Sunday, that was given in memory of elder James T. Dickinson who died in 1866. These people and others who served this church so faithfully are in heaven. And so on this All Saints Day let's look at heaven from testimony in the Bible. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Revelation 7:9 - 8:1 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes-- who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

One Sunday morning an elder came to me with a big smile on her face. She had visited her doctor that week and finally heard some good news. You see she had been suffering from stomach cancer and years of fear and pain as she underwent treatments. But now there was no sign of cancer, and although there was no guarantee that she was cured, at least the tests came back negative and she was feeling great. This thrilled the church because this elder was beloved. She attended everything we did with energy and enthusiasm. She usually had her camera and made sure fresh pictures were always properly arranged on the church bulletin board.

But her joy was not to last. A couple of months later I visited her in the hospital. The evening before she had experienced sharp pains in her stomach after dinner. She was rushed to the hospital where the doctors determined that the cancer had returned, this time to the lining around the stomach. This time there were no treatments. So my elder went home and with the assistance of her daughter and a hospice nurse she prepared for her death.

I visited her frequently during this time. What she wanted to talk about was heaven. She was certain that she would go to heaven. She was truly a woman of great faith. But what she really wanted to know from me was, What heaven is like? What would she find when she got there? This was a difficult question for me as a new pastor. But it did start me to begin thinking about what the Bible says heaven is like.

The church has always taught that when we die immediately the spirits of the faithful go off to be in the presence of God. We remain conscious and aware of what is happening. And we are blessed to be with God with no cares or concerns or diseases to bother us. We will find bliss and true happiness when we realize how much God loves us. We will experience the true joy of having our sins forgiven. We will be spiritually united with God, but this is not where our history will end. We still have one more phase in our existence to experience. The next place we go is to heaven.

Our scripture today tells us that we will enter heaven clothed in white robes. These are clothes we died in: the hospital gown covered in vomit, the tea shirt and jeans covered in blood after the car wreck, the wet bathing suit after the drowning. But our clothes will be clean having been washed in the blood of Jesus. So in heaven we will have bodies to wear the clothes. We will have noses that smell the incense , the animals, and the blood of the lamb. We will have ears that hear the voices of the elders, the angels singing “Holy, holy holy”, the harps, the trumpets, and the prayers in every language on earth. We will feel the shaking of the earth, the palm branches in our hands, the shade of the tent shielding us from the scorching sun, and the satisfaction of having plenty to eat. We will have tongues that taste our own tears and the cool spring living water. And we will have eyes to see the glory of heaven, God sitting on a throne, his Son to his right, the 144000 children of Israel, the 24 elders, the 7 blazing lamps, the four horses and their riders, the sun turning black, the moon turning red and the stars falling from the sky. All five of our senses will be engaged as we encounter heaven. And so in heaven we will not be disembodied spirits. Rather we will have bodies, our own bodies, resurrected from the dead and now alive, in heaven with God.

In heaven we will participate in nothing less than a new creation of God. Isaiah told us “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind”. (Isaiah 65:17). The new heaven and the new earth constitute a renewal of the Cosmos. In it God's creation is complete, and when creation is at last finish God will come to earth to live. Thus heaven is not some spiritual realm far away. Heaven is right here. Our world is restored and renewed by God. Earth becomes holy and a suitable place for God to dwell.

But notice that in heaven we are not alone. We are part of a group so large no one can count. Heaven is therefore a place of fellowship with peace, harmony, love and righteousness. We return to the Garden of Eden where we live in harmonious relations with each other and our God. And in heaven we will be constantly glorified by being in the presence of God . The Spirit will bring us into perfect conformity with Christ, sin will be abolished. We will praise God continually joining people from all over the world in worship. The Spirit will mold us into one great choir that will glorify God. And in Jesus Christ God will glorify us. And thus we participate in the glory shared by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Today we are in worship. The bread and wine is on the table. We have sung Holy Holy Holy. The Apostle Paul says , “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we will see face to face.” (1 Cor. 13:12) So our worship today is just a poor reflection of what we will experience one day in heaven in our new glorified resurrected bodies where we will live with God in God's creation forever. But what we do in worship today prepares us for this future. It is here in worship that we learn how to pray, sing praises God, and live in conformity with Christ. Worship is the training ground for heaven. So we remember the saints we have known in years past, and we can rejoice because they are with God and will one day be reunited with us in heaven.

Holy God, Lord of life and death, you made us in your image and hold us in your care. We thank you for your saints, for the gifts they shared with our church, and for the love and mercy they received from you and gave to us. Especially we praise you for your love in Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the grave to free us from evil, and give us life eternal. Grant that when our time on earth is ended, we may be united with all the saints in the joys of your eternal home, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Adapted from The Book of Common Worship p.907)

Sermon – King James Bible - 1611-2011

2011-11-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 1611-2011 – King James Bible

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Reformation Sunday

October 30, 2011

Today is Reformation Sunday. This is the day each year when we celebrate our Reformed heritage rooted in the work of John Calvin and others in the 16^th century Protestant Reformation of the church. 2011 is the four hundredth anniversary of the publishing of the first authorized English language translation of the Bible, the King James Version. And so today we will celebrate the reformers who risked their lives to make an English translation possible. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The year was 1382. The government of King Richard II of England was running a deficit. They needed more revenue. So the King imposed a new tax, a flat tax. Everyone had to send in one shilling. This was a hated tax and started a peasant rebellion. The people asked their priests what the Bible had to say about all of this. But the priests didn't know. The Bibles in their churches were written in Latin which few priests could read. The Bishops told the priest and the people to pay the tax because whatever the king did was God's will.

But there was a man in England who argued intensively that the Bible should be translated into English so that anyone in his native country could read it for themselves and know what God had to say. His name was John Wycliff. Wycliff's ideas were dangerous to the king and the church hierarchy because it would break the monopoly they held in interpreting scripture. The king declared translating the Bible into English a crime, but Wycliff and others cited Divine Law and translated the Latin Bible into English.

In 1450 a German blacksmith has an idea. What if we could use movable metal type to print books? Until then printing required that each page be carved into a block of wood, a time consuming and expensive process. But Johannes Gutenberg thought that movable metal type would make printing far more economical. He developed a permanent ink made from varnish and lamp soot and found that this bonded well with paper. He also found that the paper could be pressed on the metal type covered with ink with a screw mechanism similar to what was used in the production of paper. Gutenberg had invented the printing press and began printing Bibles to pay off his debts.

The church found a use for this new invention and began printing indulgences which could be sold to gullible people as tickets to heaven. This upset a German Monk whose writings were printed and distributed all over Europe. The year was 1510 and Protestant Reformation had begun as Martin Luther began publishing his ideas for all to read. He even translated the Bible into German from its original languages, a book which became a best seller.

Luther's work had a powerful impact on a English scholar named William Tyndale.

Tyndale had studied Greek and Hebrew at Cambridge and was interested in translating the Bible from these original languages into English. Neither Oxford nor Cambridge had any interest in translating scripture into English, but Tyndale, influenced by Luther, wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible. So he went to Germany and translated the Bible from its original languages into English. In 1526 Tyndale's English Bible was printed in Germany and smuggled into England.

But the King of England and his church were not happy. Tyndale saw translation as a literary function; he wanted the translation to reflect the original meaning of the author as much as possible. So he translated the Greek word presbyteros as “elder” rather than the word “priest” as the church had taught. He also translated the Greek word ekklesia as “congregation” rather than “church”. This satisfied the protestants who saw the church as a assembly of people or congregation led by the elders. But the English church saw this as a way of undermining the authority of the institutional church and its bishops. So the church attempted to suppress Tyndale translation, but it was so popular in England that the smugglers could not be stopped.

By 1535 the English church realized that an English translation was needed that was free of the problems they saw in the Tyndale translation. Henry VIII had separated the Church of England from Rome and it needed an English Bible. So the church hired Miles Coverdale to put together a new English Bible. What Coverdale did was to put together various translations and correct them to conform to the traditional teachings of the church. With the approval of the church and the king a copy of “The Great Bible” was placed in the pulpit of every church in England.

In 1560 John Calvin was established in Geneva where he had started a school for Reformed Theology. A group of pilgrims arrived from England and an English congregation was started in a French church. John Knox arrived from Scotland as their pastor and they needed an English Bible. William Whittingham developed a new translation with prefaces before each chapter and margin notes to explain difficult passages. The new Geneva Bible was printed cheaply and in a smaller size for family use. It was an instant best seller sweeping across England. Even William Shakespeare quoted from it in his plays. And when James I came from Protestant Scotland as the new King of England many thought that the Geneva Bible would become the official Bible of the Church of England.

But James I had a passionate dislike of the Geneva Bible. He was upset with those margin notes. For example the Geneva Bible's treatment of Daniel 6. You will remember that I talked about Daniel 6 just last week. King Darius issued a decree that everyone should pray only to him for 30 days. Daniel prayed to God and was thrown into the lion's den. Daniel then said that he had been saved from the lion's mouth because he had obeyed the command of God. The Geneva Bible margin note pointed out that God had approved Daniels disobedience of the King's decree because the king did not act within the will of God. This infuriated King James who did not want the English church to have a Bible that said it was ok to disobey the king. James believed that the king was ordained by God with the divine right to rule. So he initiated a process to produce a new translation from the original languages, consistent with the traditional teachings of the church, that would be free from those annoying margin notes of the Geneva Bible. The King James authorized translation of the Bible was begun. And in 1611 the first King James Version of the Bible came off the presses of the King's printer.

The new version fell flat. People preferred the Geneva Bible. The king granted a monopoly to the printers of the King James Version and banned the Geneva Bible. But it continued to be printed in the Netherlands and smuggled copies were still preferred by the people of England. But within a generation, as the economic benefits of the publishing monopoly took hold, the King James Version eventually became the translation everyone used.

When settlers came to Jamestown in 1607 and later to banks of the Pocomoke River they came escaping religious persecution in England. They were intensely religious and brought with them their Geneva Bibles. The Geneva Bible and margin notes had allowed them to see the hand of providence guiding them to a promised land. But England controlled the importation of books into colonial America. This monopoly ensured that only the King James Version would be available to the American colonist and so the King James Version became the American Bible.

In 1769 Robert Aitken came from Scotland and established a printing shop in Philadelphia. By 1777 he was printing the King James Version of the Bible. Congress approved Aitken's freedom to print Bibles in 1782. Aitken's decision to print the King James Version ensured that it would be the preferred Bible of the new country.

The King James Version remained our preferred English translation until World War II when rival translations such as the Revised Standard Version became available. Today there are many quality modern translations. But we still love the majesty of the language of the King James Version. Listen as I conclude with the King James Version's rendering of Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1-6 ^KJVPsalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 6 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – God's Law

2011-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 6 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – God's Law

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 23, 2011

I would like to begin this morning with some thoughts about an issue our nation is talking about these days. This issue is not directly connected to our scripture text or my sermon topic, but it is something people are concerned about so I will take a few minutes to put in my few thoughts. Mitt Romney is a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormon.

Some evangelical Christians have been calling Mormonism a cult. Cults tend to think that they alone deserve God's approval. So they have little reason to engage in dialog with those with whom they disagree. They see no reason to promote scholarship in pursuit of the truth. So they see no reason to sponsor a college or graduate school to study their basic beliefs. But Mormons are known for their love of scholarship, having founded Brigham Young University with world-class professors. Many of the their leaders have graduated with PHDs from Ivy League schools, and are well read in Christian literature. This is not the type of behavior that you would expect from an anti-Christian cult.

But, are Mormons Christians? They do believe in Jesus Christ, but many aspects of their belief is very different from what we believe. So they are not Christian, but they are willing to talk with Christians about our differences. This is an important dialog for both of us and must not be destroyed by us calling them a cult. Thus we need to accept Mormons as friends and fellow followers of Jesus Christ, and we need to pray for them that they will one day accept the truth of the gospel.

Mitt Romney therefore deserves to be judged on his positions on public policy and political philosophy, but he should not be labeled as a cultist. (Based on Richard Mouw, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/09/my-take-this-evangelical-says-mormonism-isnt-a-cult/ )

And now on to the sermon.

Today we conclude our journey through the stories contained in the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. Here we have seen the narrative account of a group of faithful Judeans trying to hold onto their faith while living in exile in a faithless land called Babylon. We have seen how they tried to hold on to their religious practices by using their Hebrew names in private and not eating food sacrificed to idols. God blessed them richly by giving Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams which saved their lives. As faithful Jews they were subject to ordeals like being thrown into a hot furnace, but God was always there with them in the midst of these trials. But when an unfaithful king began misusing the holy vessels from the Jerusalem temple, God sent a warning through Daniel and eventually toppled his unfaithful kingdom. Today we will witness one final trial, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. ¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed." ¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" ²¹ Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." ²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴ At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Daniel had proven his ability as dream interpreter and administrator. His loyalty to the king and his faith in God were beyond questions. There was no longer any reason for either the king or God to test him. But the evil administrators, filled with jealousy tricked the king into issuing a edict that they knew Daniel could not obey. The king, fooled by this trick had Daniel thrown into a pit filled with hungry lions and the only escape was sealed by a stone. This ordeal was not designed to test Daniel. God already knew of Daniel's faith. Rather this was a test of God and whether or not Daniel's God was stronger than the Persian gods.

The king's edict became “the law of the Medes and Persians”. This was the supreme law of the land, could not be changed, and was enforced by the king using the power of the Persian gods. For the Jews living in exile in Babylon the Persian gods must have seemed very powerful. After all they had defeated the great Babylonian empire and controlled what seemed like the whole world. The exiled Jews were required to obey Persian law and must have been tempted to worship Persian gods. No doubt many did just that. But as we have seen Daniel held on to his faith in the creator God of his ancestors. And Daniel had to obey the law of this God.

So the test that we see in today's scripture is between “the law of the Medes and Persians” and the law of God. Which law is backed by a stronger God? We need to know which god is stronger because when laws conflict, the law of the stronger God has to be obeyed. Daniel believed that his God was stronger than the Persian gods. So he obeyed the law of God and violated “the law of the Medes and Persians”, and suffered the consequences.

How did Daniel know the law of God? We haven't heard about any Hebrew schools or the preservation of Hebrew scriptures. These things were happening at this time. Synagogues had been established and scripture was still being copied and preserved. But we haven't heard anything in Daniel about any of this. Rather he hear in the Book of Daniel that Daniel's faith and his knowledge of God's will grew through his prayer life. We are told that Daniel prayed three times every day and this brought him closer to God.

In the medieval monasteries prayers were held every three hours every day. Monks would wake up late at night to complete their prayers. The Protestant reformers said that it was not necessary to wake up every three hours at night to pray. But they pointed out that Daniel prayed three times every day. And the psalmist said that we should pray every morning and evening. So the 16^th century reformers told us to pray when we get up, before and after each meal, and just before we go to sleep at night. My mother told me to pray a blessing before each meal and night time prayers before going to bed. My guess is that your mothers said the same thing. Just as Daniel heard God's law for his life through his prayers so too do we learn God's will for our lives in our prayers. And that is why it is crucial to pray every morning, as we do here in church, pray before each meal and pray before you go to sleep at night.

Once we know through prayer what God wants us to do we may find ourselves at odds with the civil law. Thankfully this rarely happens in America. But it could. We could find ourselves in situations where the government requires us to do something that violates what God wants us to do. Or maybe some other power causes us to ignore God's law. What if a boss tells you that you must work on Sunday mornings, an assignment that causes you to miss worship? What would you do? What if soccer practice is scheduled at a time that conflicts with Sunday school for your kids? What would you do? What if a spouse tells you that it is ok to go to church, but don't pray at home? What would you do. For many people, they respect the law of the boss, the law of the coach, and the law of the spouse because these are very powerful people. But we have to remember that God is stronger than any power in heaven or on earth, and so God's law must be obeyed over any other law.

Of course there will be consequences if you do this. You may loose your job if you don't work Sunday mornings. You children may be cut from the team if they attend Sunday school instead of practice. You marriage might be hurt if you disobey your spouse and practice your religion in the house. All these things happen all the time. But we all called to follow God no matter what happens even if it leads us to a pit filled with hungry lions.

And this leads us back to Daniel. Yes he was thrown in the pit. Yes the lions were hungry. Yes Daniel should have died from his ordeal. But he didn't. He didn't die because his God was stronger than the Persian gods. And so too our God is stronger than all the powers on earth. And the King, when he saw that Daniel had spent the night with the lion and was unhurt, realized that Daniel's God, our God, was truly the King of the Universe. He confessed his belief publicly for all to hear.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! ²⁶ "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. ²⁷ He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." ²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

We leave the Book of Daniel filled with reverence for an awesome God. Our God is not some dead relic from the past. But God is alive and at work redeeming the world we live in. God saves us from sin and evil. And God's kingdom will never come to an end. Thanks be to God.

Sermon – Daniel 5 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – Keeping Holy

2011-10-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 5 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – Keeping Holy

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 9, 2011

In 1962 in Engel v. Vitale the Supreme Court of the United States removed prayer from the public schools. In 1973 in Roe v. Wade it made abortion legal everywhere in the country. Neither of these decisions can be overturned by state legislatures or the United States Congress. We have to live with Supreme Court decisions forever at least until the justices change their minds or we amend the constitution. Today the Supreme Court is looking at a case with enormous implications for the church.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on faith. If you own an ice cream store or a farm or any business and you hire someone you must not make Christian faith a criteria for the job. But the law has an important exemption for churches. When we call a pastor, an educator, a musician, an administrator we must demand strong Christian faith and the law permits this. When you called me to this church you looked at my statement of faith and had an opportunity to talk with me about my faith. You would never call a pastor to serve this church who did not have strong faith. The government has no right to tell the church who it may or may not hire. But the Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to change this and have government regulations apply to some religious hiring.

The case before the court this term is Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The facts of the case are these: Hosanna-Tabor Church operated a school in Michigan. They employed teachers at the school. There were two classes of teachers at the school, contract teachers and called teachers. A contract teacher was hired just like any teacher would be at any private school and would come under government regulation. But called teachers were very different. We believe the God calls people to various vocations and some are called as Christian teachers. Cheryl Perich experienced this call to teach. So she approached her church to confirm God's call and took some courses at a local Lutheran college. She became a called teacher and taught religion and other classes at the school. After a while Cheryl developed a sleep disorder and could not work. The school had to replace her with another teacher. After her doctor said she could return to work the school informed her that she was no longer needed and terminated her employment. She sued demanding protection of federal labor laws. The church claimed their religious exemption from those laws.

This is a difficult case for the court because we have compassion for Cheryl and want her needs met. But at the same time we must demand that employment in churches is a matter between the members of the church and God free from government control. We must do this to keep our churches holy, set aside for God's purposes. As our country becomes less and less faithful we will struggle to keep our churches holy. But this is something we must do as faithful people. And so we turn to the Book of Daniel help us keep things holy in a faithless land. But first lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 5:17-31 ¹⁷ Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

¹⁸ "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

²² "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

²⁴ Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. ²⁵ "This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN ²⁶ "This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. ²⁷ Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. ²⁸ Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

²⁹ Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

According the Babylonian history 25 years have passed between the reign of Nebuchadnezzar at end of Daniel 4 and the beginning of Daniel chapter 5. During that time Babylon had become complacent. The people felt secure, protected by a strong army and massive walls around the city. It was said that the city walls were so thick that a four horse chariot could go around the perimeter at the top. The Babylonians no longer worried about maintaining their empire or growing their economy. They just wanted to party. They were more interested in getting drunk and having sex than working, worshiping or being faithful. The conversion of Nebuchadnezzar that we saw in chapter 4 was long forgotten, and the Babylonian society descended into the decadence that we see in chapter 5.

Also according to Babylonian records Belshazzar was never the king. He was the king's son. His father was Nabonidus, a Babylonian general who led a successful coup. But Nabonidus didn't like leading an empire so he left for a 10 year sabbatical at a resort in the Arabian dessert. He left behind his wife the queen and his son who liked to drink wine and have lots of concubines around.

One day, according to scripture, this son, Belshazzar, after drinking heavily saw what looked like the shadow of a hand writing on a wall. The words the hand wrote were MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. These words refer to units of measure for money. If you asked a Babylonian merchant what something cost he might say MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN or about 62 shekels. Remember the number 62, it will be important later. Of course none of the magicians or astrologers had any idea what the inscription meant. So Belshazzar's mother suggested that they call for Daniel, an exile from Judah, who had interpreted things for King Nebuchadnezzar years before. Daniel came to interpret the inscription.

Now, to understand what Daniel does to interpret the inscription you have to know a little about the Aramaic language, Written Aramaic, like written Hebrew, contains no vowels only consonants. The reader would be expected to fill in the vowels from the context. Using different vowels would change the meaning of the words. Daniel reads these words but uses different vowels. He reads the words as verbs not nouns. Remember what he said, “ Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

While the party continued with riotous drinking Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled. We know from Persian records that they arrived in Babylon and saw the impressive fortress around the city. While the city's inhabitants partied inside, the Persians dug a trench around the walls diverting the Euphrates river. The Persian army entered Babylon from the dry riverbed and quickly subdued the drunken guards. Scripture teaches us that the Persian general who conquered Babylon without a fight that night was Darius the Mede who was 62 years old. Mene Mene Tekel Peres, 62 shekels, I told you to remember that number.

Why did God allow the Persians to conquer this once great empire of Babylon? Scripture teaches us it was because they misused holy things, things that had been set aside for God's use. The gold goblets from the Jerusalem temple were set aside for use in the worship of God. Belshazzar used them for his drunken parties honoring pagan gods. This was not something that God would tolerate. We must keep holy that which is holy.

We must always remember that the church is holy. It set aside for God's use. What we do with the church must be always according to God's will as we discern it in scripture and prayer. The government must never try to use the church for it's purposes by regulating what we do. So we must prayerfully ask God to speak to the Justices of the Supreme Court to rule in such a way as to honor God and preserve what is holy. And we must work politically to ensure that political decisions are always made by faithful people.

Almighty God, we ask that you always help us to preserve the holiness of the church. Keep what we do set aside for your purposes. Help us to discern what you are doing in the world and allow us to work alongside of you. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 4 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Renounce Your Sins by Doing What Is Right

2011-10-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 4 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Renounce Your Sins by Doing What Is Right

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 2, 2011

I am continuing with my series entitled “Faith in a Faithless Land.” We are looking at the Book of Daniel and the faith of the Judean nobility in the faithless land called Babylon. In the first chapter we were introduced to Daniel and his three companions who were determined to hold onto their faith in God even while in exile in a faithless land. In the second chapter we saw how God blessed Daniel with the gift of interpreting dreams saving him and companions from death. In the third chapter we saw how Daniel's companions refused to bow down to the King's golden statute and were thrown in a blazing furnace only to be saved by God in the midst of the fire. Today we will see how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar and finally brought this tyrant to faith.

We are also comparing this to America which seems to be becoming a faithless land. One place where the increasing unfaithlessness of America can clearly be seen is on our college campuses. I recently ran across this story from Vanderbilt University, but similar situations are occurring all over America. Recently a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt expelled an openly gay member saying that his behavior violated Christian ethics. This prompted the university to review the charters of all campus groups to see if any violated the university's non-discrimination policy. They found that four organizations on campus required their leaders to participate and lead sectarian practices. Included in this group was the Christian Legal Society who required their leaders to lead Bible studies, prayer groups and worship. The University said that this violated their non-discrimination policy and told them to change their charter so that anyone, regardless of belief and religious practice, could lead their group. The Christian Legal Society said that this was absurd because their group engaged in prayer, worship and Bible study and their leader had to lead them.

Colleges and Universities are increasingly becoming hostile to religion. I was engaged in ministry near Occidental College, formerly a Presbyterian college. As soon as the Presbyterians cut off funding the college removed the cross from the chapel and called it an interfaith center. They had no interest in working with area churches, but asked me to reach out to the local Buddhist temple to help them build an interfaith leadership group. Clearly our institutions of higher learning are becoming pluralist, believe every religion is the same, which puts them in the same category with King Nebuchadnezzar. Locally, I heard just this week that Salisbury University is closing it chapel.

As our colleges, universities and governments become less faithful, placing themselves above God, they have to be warned that this is sinful and destructive behavior. Today we will take a look at the warning given to Nebuchadnezzar and the consequences of ignoring God. But first lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 4:19-37 ¹⁹ Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you." Belteshazzar answered, "My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! ²⁰ The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, ²¹ with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air-- ²² you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. ²³ "You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.' ²⁴ "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. ²⁶ The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue." ²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" ³¹ The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." ³³ Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

Once again God communicated with Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, and Nebuchadnezzar sent for Daniel to interpret it. In the dream Nebuchadnezzar saw himself as a tree stretching high into heaven and over the entire world. This was a symbol of pride. Nebuchadnezzar saw himself bigger than God, and this is a sin.

We all want to feel good about ourselves and our friends and families. Feeling good is a blessing we receive from God. We say that we are proud of our accomplishments. We are proud when our children do well in school. We are proud when we get a promotion. Pride counteracts the feeling of low self-esteem. But as with all blessings from God, the blessing of pride can be twisted into sin. This happens when we feel so good about ourselves that we forget all about God. We begin to feel that we are greater than God, and don't need God anymore. So pride become a sin when we begin to think of ourselves as gods.

This was Nebuchadnezzar's problem. He thought he was as great as a god and the tree in his dream seemed to confirm it reaching all the way to heaven and covering all the earth. But the tree was not to last. A holy one, possibly Jesus, came from heaven and chopped it down. So much for thinking of yourself as a god. Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to being an wild animal, scrounging along the desert floor looking for food. God has a way of humbling the proud.

But Nebuchadnezzar was warned. A year before the disaster came upon him God sent a dream and Daniel to interpret it. All Nebuchadnezzar had to do was to confess his pride and repent. This meant he had do declare the God of heaven, the Most High to be the real king of Babylon. And he had to do what God told him to do, to care for the poor and needy of his empire rather than build statues and armies. But he ignored these warnings for a year before all of his power and wealth were taken away. And Nebuchadnezzar experienced what it was like to have nothing, for a long time, until he was ready to confess the sovereignty of God.

How long will people of power in America, in our government and in our colleges and universities ignore God? Is there a limit to God's patience? What will happen when God finally humbles the powerful? When will this happen? We don't know for sure, but we have been warned. And we have hope. Scripture teaches us that even King Nebuchadnezzar, that pagan tyrant who thought he was god, one day repented his pride and confessed his belief in the true God. And this is our hope, that America slide into unfaithfulness will stop, and our leaders will one day return to faith in God. Listen to what happened to Nebuchadnezzar.

Dan³⁴ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" ³⁶ At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

And there is the answer. We need leaders in Pocomoke, Virginia and Maryland, the United States and in our schools and institutions of higher learning who will lift up, praise and glorify our God who was revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Use your votes, use your influence to put people into leadership positions who understand that they serve under the leadership of God. Find leaders who will listen to God's call for justice and righteousness. Support leaders who not only have a personal relationship with Jesus, but will also express their faith publicly and lead others to faith. Use your power to make America a faithful nation once again. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 3 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Worshiping False Gods

2011-10-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 3 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Worshiping False Gods

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

September 25, 2011

This is the third in series of sermons on the topic of Faith in a Faithless land. We have been looking at the book of Daniel for examples of how we should be faithful as our land loses its faith. Is America today a faithless land? I would argue that it is not yet faithless, but it is trending that way. More and more examples of unfaithfulness can be found every day. Consider this story. http://www.pacificjustice.org/news/city-religious-roots-fines-home-bible-study

There is a city in Southern California called San Juan Capistrano. A mission was built there by the Roman Catholic Church to evangelize Native Americans in the 16^th century, a hundred years before our founding here in Pocomoke. The buildings remain and there is an annual festival celebrating the return of the swallows. I took Grace to the festival for one of our first dates. San Juan Capistrano is a very beautiful place just north of San Diego.

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm live there. They are faithful believers and like to host Bible studies in their home. Stephanie has a group of about 20 people over every Wednesday evening, and Chuck hosts a Sunday service that gets about 50. They use their large backyard for parking so their neighbors won't be inconvenienced. And there is no loud music because these groups are quiet and meditative. These Bible studies are expressions of the faithful that bother no one.

The City of San Juan Capistrano has passed a law which prohibits “religious, fraternal, or non-profit” organization in residential neighborhoods. The law imposes a $300 fine for a first offense and a $500 fine for subsequent offenses. Stephanie and Chuck have been cited, owe $300 and will be fined $500 each time they host another unauthorized Bible Study. San Juan Capistrano is not in North Korea or Iran. It is in the United States of America where our Constitution reflects our God given right to worship as we choose. Our worship must not be regulated by the state. And yet the City of San Juan Capistrano is trying to do just that. Whats in California will in a few years move east and we will find ourselves living in a faithless land where the government tries to regulate what we do.

In the Book of Daniel three young men, the best and brightest of Judah, are living in exile in Babylon. They are being groomed to serve in the growing imperial bureaucracy. They are living in a faithless land ruled by a tyrant. Yet they have held onto their faith by privately using their Hebrew names and not eating the food prepared for Babylonian gods. God has blessed them with great wisdom, demonstrated in the interpretation of dreams, and these three have become leaders in the government. King Nebuchadnezzar wants to make certain that everyone in government will follow his direction. So he has erected a great golden statue and has ordered his officials to worship it.

But those the tribe of the Chaldeans, the king's own tribe are jealous of the promotions given to the Judeans. So when they see the four young Jews not worshiping the statue they report to the King. And this leads to one of the most dramatic stories in the entire Bible. Before we get to it let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 3:16 - 4:1 ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

(Please notice that the three Judeans do not know for sure that God will save them. They probably expect to die when thrown in the fire. They know that God could save them if chose to. They trust God so much that they will sacrifice their own lives if this be God's will. What they will not do is to betray their God to obey Nebuchadnezzar's will.)

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." ²⁵ He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

So what happened? It doesn't appear that God saved these three young men from the fire. They were thrown into a fire as hot as the furnace could bear. They were wearing highly flammable clothing. The fire was so hot it killed the soldiers who threw them in the furnace. God didn't save them from the fire, he saved them in the midst of the fire.

As we live in an increasingly faithless land our faith will be tested. We will be asked to worship things other than our God. We will be told to worship money, or hard work, or youth and beauty, or the environment, or big government, or whatever else the powerful want us to worship. As faithful people we must be ready to resist these efforts and refuse to worship anything but our God revealed in Jesus Christ.

In ancient times to worship meant to bow down, lay prostrate in front of something. This demonstrated your total obedience to that thing. So you would worship the king by putting your face to the ground as you lay before him. Or you would bow down before an image made of wood or metal representing one of the pagan gods.

Today we do not bow down with our face to the ground for anything. So we might think that we are not worshiping idols. But today we worship something by making it the most important thing in our lives. Maybe money is the most important thing in your life. If so you are worshiping wealth. Maybe controlling other people is the most important thing to you. If so you are worshiping power. Maybe clothes, makeup, and hair style are the most important things you think about. If so you are worshiping beauty. Some worship alcohol and drugs, others worship books and academic degrees, still other worship athletic teams. This list could go on and on. John Calvin once said that the human mind is a “factory of idols.”

As our land moves from faith to faithlessness our post modern thinking will begin to create objects of worship. Each person will worship whatever he or she wants to worship. Worshiping God, which at one time united all of us, will be reserved for the faithful few who remain. And that faith will be tested over and over again.

We can hope and pray that God will deliver us from these trials. God is certainly able to do that. But according to the Book of Daniel we can never be certain that God will save us from the threats of an unfaithful land. The only thing that is certain is that if we remain faithful to God and worship only Him, then God will be with us in the midst of whatever happens to us. We do not have a naive trust that God will save us from death. Rather we believe that God will be with us in life and in death and will bring us to new life.

So go ahead and host Bible studies in your home. And if the government says that you have to have a permit, or tries to regulate what you say and do, do not bow down to the will of the powerful for that is idolatry. Worship only God. And if you are thrown in a firey furnace for your faith remember that God will be there with you in the midst of the fire. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 2 – Faith in a Faithless Land: God's Wisdom

2011-09-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 2 – Faith in a Faithless Land: God's Wisdom

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

September 18, 2011

I am continuing today with the second of a series of sermons entitled “Faith in a Faithless Land.” Our text for this series is the Book of Daniel. This book is set during the period after the kingdom of Judah had become a vassal state to the Empire of Babylon. The best and brightest of the Judean youth, the graduates of Harvard and Yale, the football players, the rock stars, the ones most likely to succeed were all carried off to Babylon to serve the growing needs of the expanding empire's bureaucracy. They have been entered into a three year crash course to become Babylonians by learning the language and customs of their captors. The Babylonians wanted to squeeze the Jewishness out of them by replacing their Jewish names with Babylonians names and forcing them to eat meat and drink wine that had been offered to Babylonian gods.

We saw last week that Daniel and his friends wanted to continue to believe in the God of their ancestors, Yahweh. So, privately they kept using their Jewish names and with God's help persuaded their guard to allow them to eat only vegetables. In this way they were able to remain faithful in a faithless land. Today we will see another challenge to their faith with a contest between human wisdom and God's wisdom in a faithless land. But first lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

In the second chapter of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar has assemble his royal cabinet, the secretaries of magic and sorcery, and undersecretaries of the departments of astrology and enchantments. This king had called this important meeting because he had had a bad dream. There were many threats facing the empire and the king had to watch out for all dangers both within and outside the empire. A disturbing dream could be a warning from the Babylonian gods that something bad was about to happen. The cabinet has been called together to deal with the possible threat.

The wise men that met with the king that day were the best in all the empire. They had studied the ancients scrolls and were experts on interpreting dreams. But the king had a twist. He wanted them to interpret his dream without first telling them what it was. Maybe the king had forgotten the dream. Maybe this was a test of his most trusted advisers. Either way these men, steeped in human wisdom, made a startling admission. Remember what they said in Daniel 2:10, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks!” The wisest men in the Babylonian empire admitted that there are limits on human wisdom.

Today most people believe there are no limits on human wisdom. This is a product of our scientific age. If we just have enough resources and time and use the scientific method we can figure out anything. This is the axiom that the social and physical sciences are based on. Human wisdom is ultimately capable of understanding everything, we just haven't got it all worked out yet. Our President has assembled the best minds in the county to figure out how to get more people working. They say we need more time and must spend more money. No one ever questions whether or not human wisdom itself is up to the task of restarting job growth. We just assume that human wisdom must be able to do anything. If human wisdom can get us to the moon and back then certainly it can solve all the problems we have today. But the Book of Daniel makes it very clear that there are limits to human wisdom. And with that in mind here is today's second lesson.

Daniel 2:24-49 ²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him." ²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means."

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"

²⁷ Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.

Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: ²⁹ "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. ³⁰ As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold,

its chest and arms of silver,

its belly and thighs of bronze,

³³ its legs of iron,

its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. ³⁶ "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.

³⁷ You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

³⁹ "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron-- for iron breaks and smashes everything-- and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands-- a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." ⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. ⁴⁹ Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

Daniel was able to both know the king's dream and interpret it because he was not using human wisdom. Human wisdom was not able to do this. But by using God's wisdom, which is available only to the faithful, Daniel was able to do what the wise men of Babylon could not.

Daniel told the king that he had dreamed of a giant statue. King Nebuchadnezzar was very happy to hear that he was on top, the golden head. Below the king was a body of decreasing value. King Nebuchadnezzar might want to erect this statue in Babylon to show everyone how the empire fit together with the wealthiest at the top supported by the poor at the bottom. But this would be interpreting the dream with human wisdom. Daniel had a different interpretation using God's wisdom.

Daniel said that the statue represented three kingdoms that were to follow Babylon. There has much debate concerning which kingdoms the author was talking about. But the important thing is that all earthly kingdoms are temporary. They will all, one day, come to an end because anything that this built on human reason is finite and limited. The only thing that is permanent is that which is built on God's wisdom.

In Nebuchadnezzar's dream the foundation of the statue was built on a combination of clay and iron. This represents human wisdom which is strong, but will one day crumble to pieces. Human wisdom, clay and iron, is destroyed by rock which of course represents God's wisdom.

So anything we build with human wisdom will one day fall apart, but whatever is build on the rock of God's wisdom will last forever. According to the Book of Daniel the rock in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, God's wisdom, will destroy all the kingdoms of the earth and will establish a permanent kingdom, not made by human hands, but the Kingdom of God.

So Kingdom of God is coming and will be established on the solid foundation of God's wisdom. It will replace the human kingdoms built on crumbling foundations of human reason. The Kingdom of God will be permanent. And a first century AD prophet named John told us to repent for this Kingdom of God is at hand.

Don't rely on human wisdom. The experts might be smart, well trained and highly educated. What they build will be as strong as iron, silver and gold. But the foundation of human wisdom is very weak. So it much better to rely on God's wisdom which is permanent, solid as a rock. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 1 – Faith in a Faithless Land

2011-09-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 1 – Faith in a Faithless Land

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

September 11, 2011

Ten years ago today I was driving on the Washington Beltway, Interstate 495, making my way to a sales meeting in Laurel Maryland. It was a typical day and I was doing exactly what I had done for years. I turned on the car radio and listened as Don Imus, a syndicated radio personality, described the burning of the World Trade Center in New York City after an airplane had hit it. Imus was talking with Jim Miklasszewski, the Pentagon correspondent for NBC News, when Miklasszewski said he heard an explosion and would go to see what happened. I arrived in Laurel and watched on a grainy black and white television set as one of the World Trade Towers collapsed. As I drove home I could see the smoke rising from the Pentagon. I got home and locked the doors. The world changed for America on September 11, 2001.

I felt at the time that the America I grew up in was about to change in significant ways. No longer did the great oceans protect us from attack. No longer were we safe under the protection of American military power. But I didn't know how we would all react to being attacked by terrorists. In the months that followed many churches were full. At my church you had to get there a half hour early just to get a seat. But this only lasted for a few months and then attendance began to decline. In many churches this decline has lasted ten years. I don't really know what has happened here in Pocomoke over this time. I do know that now fewer people attend Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Presbyterian Churches. So something has changed here too.

I believe that what we have been seeing in our churches since 911 is a matter of faith. Before 911 we were all living in a nominally Christian nation, most people believed in God and considered themselves Christian. After 911 most people came to church for a while. Those with the deepest faith, those who believed in Jesus, trusting him with their lives, were comforted by the assurance that God was with them in difficult times. While others with a shallower faith questioned why God would allow terrorist attacks to occur. “Why didn't God prevent the loss of all those lives?” Of course the church couldn't really answer that question and many who asked it left the church. Those who remained in church continued to trust God, but for many who left their trust in God was shaken and they stopped believing. This means that we, those in the church, now are the faithful remnant living in an unfaithful land.

Examples of this being a faithless land are numerous. The Director of the Washington, DC Office of the PCUSA finds it nearly impossible to meet with Members of Congress and has never met with the President of the United States. The Mayor of New York City has invited no clergy to pray in the 911 Anniversary Commemoration. At the National Cathedral in Washington DC an interfaith service will be held featuring “the dean of the Cathedral, the Bishop of Washington, a rabbi, Buddhist nun and incarnate lama, a Hindu priest, the president of the Islamic Society of North America and a Muslim musician”, but Baptists and Evangelicals were left off the program. (Read more: http://radio.foxnews.com/2011/09/06/evangelicals-left-off-national-cathedral-9-11-event/#ixzz1XHWJbHVF)

More and more we seem to be living in a faithless land. And need to know what the Bible says about faith in a faithless land. So I have decided that we need to spend some time in an often neglected and sometimes misused book of the Bible. We will spend the next few weeks looking at the Book of Daniel and what it says about faith in a faithless land. But before we begin this endeavor let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

^NIVDaniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. ³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. ⁶ Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see."

¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. ¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Just as the world changed for us on 911 so too did the world changed for the tiny Kingdom of Judah at the end of the 7^th century. Prior to that year they had been an independent nation, with a dynasty going all the way back to David, great prosperity from international trade, and at least a nominal belief in their God. But in 605 BC the Babylonian army under the command of the king's son, Nebuchadnezzar, defeated the Egyptian army at the battle of Carchmish. The Judeans were no match for Babylonian power and thus became a vassal state. A puppet king was placed on the throne. And Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon the best and brightest of Judean nobility. The Judean youth were to be retrained for use in the growing Babylonian bureaucracy.

This crisis had for Judah a similar effect to what 911 did to the American church. People were divided. Some questioned why God allowed this to happen. The prophets tried to answer this question but some left faith in Yahweh believing that the Babylonian god must be stronger. But some Judeans had strong faith that comforted them through the crises. And it is four of these young Judeans, with strong faith in God, that the Book of Daniel chronicles, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

The question of the book is this: Would these four good Jewish boys remain faithful to their God even after living in an unfaithful land? Would Daniel, whose name literally means “God is my judge”, Hananiah, “Yahweh has been gracious”, Mishael, “Who is what God is”, and Azariah, “Yahweh has helped” remain faithful to the God of their ancestors? The Babylonians wanted to know the answer to this question too so they came up with a test. The test was simple, give them Babylonian names and make them eat meat and drink wine that had been sacrificed to Babylonian gods and see if they become Babylonians. No faithful Jew would accept those names or eat and drink food offered to idols. So what were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah to do? Would they accept the new names and eat and drink meat and wine offered to false gods? Or would they somehow hold onto their own names and avoid defiling themselves with the meat and wine? Would they hold on to their faith in God or put their faith in the Babylonian gods?

The first thing that we see is that God was still faithful to his people even after their exile to Babylon. God was still filling his people with faith. And God had already worked on the hearts of their pagan captors to allow his people to practice their faith. This gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah the faith and the opportunity they needed to avoid eating the meat and wine offered to idols. And so they ate only vegetables and God blessed them with healthy bodies.

We can take assurance in this that after 911 God is still with us. God is with us giving us the opportunity to remain faithful. And God is still working on the hearts of those with little faith who have left or rejected the church. God allows us to live as faithful people in a faithless land by blessing us with faith, and giving us an environment where our faith can grow.

The names that these four young men were given were Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach; and Abednego, pagan names designed to erase their Jewish identity. But as the author of Daniel makes quite clear these young men never accepted their new identity. The narrator of the story continues to call them Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, good Jewish boys, who remain faithful in a faithless land.

So what does this mean for us, faithful people living in a faithless land. First we can have the confidence that God is still at work in the world around us. Our role as a faithful remnant is to align ourself with what God is already doing. To do this we must hold onto our identities at Christians. We must still pray, study the scripture and go to church regularly. And we must always be looking for what God is doing in our community and get involved with God's work. If we do these things we will remain faithful even in a faithless land.

God Almighty, we thank you for helping Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah remain faithful even after the Babylonian conquest. We ask that you help us to remain faithful even as the world around us loses its faith. We know that you are already at work redeem our land. So we ask that you use us to bring our unfaithful land back to faith in you. Amen.

Sermon – Romans 12:1-8 – Be Transformed

2011-09-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Romans 12:1-8 – Be Transformed

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

August 21, 2011

For the last few weeks we have been looking at Paul's letter to the church at Rome. Paul did not start this church, and we don't really know how it got started. What we do know is that according to the Book of Acts visitors from Rome where in Jerusalem and heard Peter speak on Pentecost. Furthermore we a told that these visitors from Rome were both Jews and converts to Judaism. These converts would be call God Fearers. They were Gentiles who believed in the Hebrew God. So both Jewish and Gentiles believers heard Peter in Jerusalem and around twenty years later Paul is writing a letter to a church of Jewish and Gentile believers. So it is very possible that the church of Rome was started by visitors from Rome in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. And if this is true the church Paul is writing to a church that has had a 20 history as a multicultural church with both ethnic Jews and roman Gentiles both worshiping Jesus Christ.

This church would have experienced the edict of Emperor Claudius in 51AD expelling the Jews from Rome. The ethnic Jews in the church had to leave. The Gentiles remained. Several years later the Jews were permitted to return to Rome and the church had to once again find a way to be multicultural. Paul's letter is his attempt to help them, and what he told them has become the model for what church is for the last 2000 years.

But before we look at what Paul says in the 12^th chapter, let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Romans 12:1-8 ^NIVRomans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will. ³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴ Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷ If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸ if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Two weeks ago Grace and I moved into the Dickinson Memorial Manse. It had been rented for the last ten years until we moved in. A lot of work was required to get the house into shape. After all the house is around 160 years old and a lot of maintenance is required to keep it in good shape. A painter was hired and spent two months preparing the walls and ceilings and putting two coats of paint on everything. It took 8 gallons of paint for the wood trim in the house. A plumber was called in to repair leaking faucets. A shower leak had caused the living room ceiling to collapse just before repairs started. A cracked toilet had to be replaced and new drains installed on the bathtubs. In addition to the painter and the plumber we also needed people to repair the drywall and install new flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms. There are 45 windows in the manse and someone had to install all those curtains. Thankfully Bill and Elaine came out to help with that job. Carpets had to be cleaned, wood floors polished, and furniture moved, and God sent a saint to Grace's church to help with all these things. Willard and Jeanette brought over some covered dishes so we wouldn't starve on our first night in the house. All of these people, and many more were needed just to get a manse ready for a pastor to live there.

The person who helped by assembling furniture was not really comfortable installing new faucets. The plumber was not really comfortable making a washing machine work. The painter was not really comfortable doing the drywall work on the living room ceiling. And I wasn't really comfortable doing all these things myself. What God did was to send people with different gifts to the house. Each of these gifts was necessary to complete the repairs on the house. Each person had a specific gift. So God sent many people with different gifts to repair an old house and transform it into a beautiful church manse for the pastor to live in and entertain guests.

This was the model the Apostle Paul used to design the church. A church is made up of people with gifts from God who use their gifts for the benefit of the church. Using our gifts to benefit the church is what Paul calls spiritual worship. Each of us makes living sacrifices by offering our gifts to the church makings our actions holy. And God takes each of our living sacrifices to transform an ordinary group of people into a church.

The model of church today has strayed from this ideal. We got too large and began to hire profession pastors, educators, and musicians to lead programs. People in the church showed up to be spiritually fed and leave, never contributing their gifts as living sacrifices to benefit the church. We stopped experiencing spiritual worship in the sharing of our gifts. So God has pruned us back so that with fewer financial resources we have had to rely on everyone's gifts rather than paid help. Everyone in the church must make a living sacrifice using the gifts God has provided to benefit the church. We can't afford a Christian educator so people in the church must use their gifts of teaching for the benefit of the church so that we can have Christian education programs for all ages. We can't hire profession musicians to lead our choirs. But people in the church with gifts of music and organization must use these gifts to lead choirs for the benefit of the church.

As each of us must make living sacrifices using our gifts for the benefit of the church so that the church is transformed into spiritual worship.

Now Paul did not know the people of the church of Rome. So he did not know what gifts they could use for the benefit of the church. But he had seen enough people in enough churches to know what gifts God usually bestow on church members, and how those gifts transform a church.

One gift the church needs is that of prophesy. Prophesy is the gift that allows us to know what God is doing in the world around us and to discern what God wants us to do. We have prophets in our church. Last Friday at the men's group we were talking about projects we could support. One person, with the gift of prophesy, pointed out that there are many people in our community who will have difficulty paying their heating bills this winter. Oil prices are so high that people just can't make ends meet. Maybe God is calling Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek churches to do something about this problem. Maybe we could find out what is available to help people with their heating bills from government and christian sources and make our church the place where people could come to find out what is available. So you see how important it is for a church to have the gift of prophesy.

But there are other gifts too. Paul talks about the gift of service. The Greek word he uses is diakonia, from which we get the word Deacon. Literally these are people who provide hospitality to others. Those with the gift of service prepare food, setup and cleanup for coffee hours. They take covered dishes to the sick and those who cannot cook for themselves. They take flowers to those in the hospital and send cards on birthdays. Every church needs people with the gift of service.

Another gift Paul talks about is teaching. Every church needs people with this gift. Our traditions must be passed on from generation to generation. So we need to provide Christian education for all ages. The church needs people with the gift of teaching Bible stories to children, and those with the gift of interpreting the Bible for adults. We have certainly been blessed with many gifted teachers in our churches. Donna and Mary are very good adult teachers and Linda and Chris are really gifted with the children.

So prophesy, serving and teaching are vitally important gifts from God needed by the church. But there are others: encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, and caring for the poor and the sick. All these gifts are needed by the church. And they are all provided by our loving God.

So if you are making a spiritual sacrifice by using your divine gift for the benefit of the church then you are experiencing spiritual worship. If you are not using your gifts then you are experiencing something else which is not spiritual worship. I urge you to consider what gifts God has given you and make a living sacrifice by using your gifts for the church and experience the reward of spiritual worship.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us with so many gifts. Help us to use our gifts for your great glory so that we may experience spiritual worship. Amen.

Sermon – Romans 11:29-32 – Pruning the Church

2011-09-08T11:05:00.001-07:00

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Romans 11:29-32 – Pruning the Church

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

August 14, 2011

Two weeks ago we heard Paul’s anguish as he talked about his disappointment in not being able to bring his own people, the children of Israel, to belief in Jesus Christ. But Paul was assured that since God is faithful the covenants God had establish with the Jews were still in force. God had not left his people. Last week we saw that the covenants that God had establish with the Jews also apply to non-Jewish Christians, us, because of our confession that Jesus is Lord. Today we will see why the majority of Jews did not accept Jesus because this was part of God’s plan. Let us pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Romans 11:1-12 ^NIVRomans 11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah-- how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? {3 1 Kings 19:10,14} ⁴ And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." {4 1 Kings 19:18} ⁵ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. ⁷ What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, ⁸ as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." {8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10} ⁹ And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever." {10 Psalm 69:22,23} ¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

For several weeks now we have been looking at the Book of Romans. This book was written by the Apostle Paul to a church he did not establish and had not yet visited. But he knew about them because he had met two of their members, Pricilla and Aquila, in Corinth where they all worked together in the leather industry. Pricilla and Aquila had come to Corinth from Rome in 51AD because of an imperial edict ordering all Jews out of Rome. Six years later the Jews were permitted to return and the Christian Jews found the church they left was now very different. Gentiles, non-Jews, were in control holding leadership positions. The church had grown significantly with Gentile believers. It had become a Gentile church. It was almost as if God had used the Emperor to prune back the church, by sending the Jewish Christians away, allowing new growth to start. Now that the Jews were returning they needed to be reintegrated into the church, regrafted onto the bush they had been pruned from. The purpose of Paul’s letter to the Romans is, in part, to deal with problems that have arisen since the return of the Jewish Christians.

As we have seen, Paul’s concern is that the majority of Jews have not accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Lord. Paul is astonished by this because the proclamation he has been making is such good news that everyone should accept it. Who wouldn’t want to hear that God loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us so that we would have eternal life? But for most of the Jews this was rejected. Paul knew there had to be a reason for this so he searched the scripture, the Old Testament, for clues about what might be happening. What he found was that time and again throughout the history of the children of Israel, God had hardened their hearts so that for a time the number of believers was diminished, but this eventually led to even greater growth in the numbers who believed. Elijah, at one time, believed that he was the only believer left, but God assured him that thousands remain and from them faith would grow.

We saw this earlier in our Old Testament reading from Genesis. This week and last we have been looking at the story of Joseph. He and his brothers were the first children of Israel. Remember how God hardened the hearts of Joseph’s bothers when they sold him as a slave in Egypt. It looked like God would punish them for this dastardly deed by killing them all with a drought. But Joseph used his time as a slave to because a government official in Egypt in charge of grain storage, and was able to save his brothers from starvation. God had hardened the brothers’ hearts to save them. So too with the Jews in the first century, God had hardened their hearts so they would not believe in Jesus, to save them.

God knew that if the first century Jews believed in Jesus they would control the churches and the Gentiles, the non-Jews, would never come to belief. So by holding back the Jews, God allowed the Gentiles to develop the church, greatly expanding the number of believers. God had pruned back the bush far enough so that it could grow back even larger than before.

Paul took this to by analogy why the Jews were not accepting Jesus as Lord. They has been pruned away from the church by God allowing Gentiles to come to faith. But remember that God remains faithful to the Jews. So just as the Jewish Christians were returning to the Roman Church once a Gentile Church had been established so too will all Jews accept Jesus as Lord once the church is fully established by Gentiles and we love God with our whole hearts, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. But this has never happened. We have never loved one another just as God loves us. We have hated the Jews, forced them to leave our communities and persecuted them. As a result of what we have done the Jews have yet to accepted Jesus as Lord. Because sin still clings to us so closely we have never accomplished Paul’s dream of building a fully inclusive church of Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, slave and free. And so God must continually prune back the church to prepare it for future growth.

Last Summer I went out to look at the shrubs in front of our house on Greenway Ave. They looked OK on the outside, but I could see a lot of dead wood on the inside. So I began to prune the bushes back getting rid of all the dead wood. When I was finished they really looked ugly, little more than misshaped sticks coming up from the ground. But this year the shrubs have grown back and they are beginning to look better. They are on the way to being even more beautiful than before. You have to prune back bushes from time to time to keep them growing to their full potential.

We see this in the church as well. Whenever we see the church in decline, with falling membership and tightening budgets we must remember that this is God at work pruning us back so that we will be ready to grow even larger and more beautiful than before. When we discern that God is pruning us back it is time to prepare ourselves for the future growth. We do this by becoming more spiritual with daily prayers, Bible study, worship and service to those in need. Through these spiritual practices we become the foundation upon which God can build a church. But don’t think that the people God prunes away from the church are forever lost. This is certainly not true. God prunes them way to prepare us. Once this happens many, if not all, will return and their relationship to the church will be even stronger than before.

So don’t be afraid of falling numbers. See it, as Paul did, as part of God’s plan to make the church even stronger than before. Prepare yourselves for the day when you will be the spiritual leaders of a growing church. When you are ready spiritually, God will send new people to our doors and bring some whom we have lost back to us again, and our churches will be stronger than even.

Lord Jesus, we pray that your spirit will come upon in worship and prayer. Prepare us as your followers to provide spiritual leadership to the church. When we are ready, we ask that you send new people to our doors and bring back the people we have lost. And we pray for our church be stronger than ever. In Jesus’ glorious name we pray. Amen.