Tabernacle

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Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

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Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

Select Resources to find the bulletin and sermon outline.

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Merry Christmas!  What a joy to worship together in one service this morning!  All throughout Advent we have looked at the different gifts given by those who were there at the first Christmas.  The wise men gave their riches, the shepherds gave their hearts, Joseph gave his honor, and Mary gave her body.  But let’s not forget the most important person in the story!  Jesus gave everything: His riches, His heart, His honor, His body, and even His life.  “Never has anyone given up so much” (John Stott).

A lot of people today would rather describe themselves as “spiritual” instead of “religious”.  Religion feels man-made and constraining to them.  Spirituality feels spirit-made and liberating.  They emphasize the spiritual and mystical, not the physical and tangible.  But when God wanted to show us His love, He didn’t just give us His Spirit, He also gave us His Son.  And His Son took on physicality and tangibility; He took on a body.  And then He did something even more wonderful—He gave us His body. “This is my body given for you…” (Luke 22:19).

Imagine the shepherds, carefully counting their sheep and the hours until dawn.  Every day and every night the same.  But then glory shines and a chain reaction takes over—they can’t help but rush off to Bethlehem and tell everyone what they’ve seen and heard.  Their extravagance of feelings and actions ought to instruct our dull hearts and our slow steps.  But ultimately, it ought to direct our hearts and steps to the One whose extravagance of feelings and actions led Him to do the unimaginable—for us.

Imagine the shepherds, carefully counting their sheep and the hours until dawn.  Every day and every night the same.  But then glory shines and a chain reaction takes over—they can’t help but rush off to Bethlehem and tell everyone what they’ve seen and heard.  Their extravagance of feelings and actions ought to instruct our dull hearts and our slow steps.  But ultimately, it ought to direct our hearts and steps to the One whose extravagance of feelings and actions led Him to do the unimaginable—for us.

We’re saving the best for last!  As we conclude our Next Step of Faith series on stewardship, we are wrapping up with joy.  God loves a cheerful, joyful, happy giver, and that is what we are celebrating today in worship.  Joy is His goal for us.  God really does want you and I to experience true joy in this world and the next!  Joy is not only our last topic in this stewardship series, it is also what we are feeling as we witness the remarkable results of our campaign.  Our debt is shrinking, our vision is sharpening, and our ministries are expanding!  There’s a lot to be joyful about—and thankful.

Jesus preached about the “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 4:17).  He proclaimed the “gospel of the kingdom” (4:23).  Is that what you think of when you think of the Gospel?  Is there a difference between the “Gospel” and the “Gospel of the Kingdom”?  Are they the same thing?  Tabernacle exists for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom in our congregation, in our community, and in the world.  I pray today’s worship service and Next Step of Faith Festival will help all of us give thanks for God’s work in and through us, and to know what part each of us plays in fulfilling His purposes for us.

Rewards in the Christian life are tricky.  We want our good works to be genuine, not false.  We want to do good because it is good, not because we are bribed.  And yet, Jesus unapologetically tells us to expect rewards in heaven for our obedience on earth.  He even tells us to give to the needy so that we might “Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33).  Did you know that your generosity is an investment in heaven with guaranteed returns?  This is no earthly bribe.  It is heavenly sanity.

The world is a complicated place. We know God made it and that there is miraculous beauty to behold at ridiculously regular intervals. But we also are aware that misery makes its rounds just as predictably. Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world, the sinful part of this world, meaning the nexus of humanity’s collective sinful nature performing under the orchestration of the Enemy. It is only possible to escape this through the mercy of God. As His mercy to us in the Gospel transforms us, we become the men and women and children God intended us to be: holy and acceptable.

Christians sometimes get stuck when it comes to Israel.  What are God’s plans for the Jewish people?  What is the relationship between Israel and the Church?  These questions aren’t just fodder for Sunday School and prophecy conferences.  They have concretely shaped our national and foreign policy! They have influenced Middle Eastern views of Americans! How do you view Israel?  More importantly, how should we view Israel (and ourselves) through the lens of the Gospel?

Ever been jealous?  Of course you have.  We all look around and imagine how much better life would be if we had what someone else has—their job, their spouse, their kids, their house, their hair!  The 10th Commandment warns us against coveting and greed.  But did you know there is a healthy form of jealousy?  Paul tells us that the Gospel is designed to make our lives so attractive and full of spiritual riches that others become jealous, drawing them closer to Jesus so that they too can have life in His name.

One of our greatest fears is rejection.  It goes so deep that we not only fear being rejected by those who are closest to us, but we worry about what complete strangers will think of us.  But how many people worry about God rejecting them?  Paul asked the Romans, “Has God rejected his people?”  Isn’t that the paramount question?  Will God reject me for my failures, my offenses, my sins?  Not if we are in Christ.

The Gospel is good news, literally.  “Gospel” means “good news”.  Back in the day, before everyone was texting and tweeting, before telephones and even telegraphs, news had to be carried from one place to another place by a person.  The classic example is the town herald, sent by the king, crying “Hear ye! Hear ye!” to all the villagers.  This is the way the Gospel is still proclaimed today.  The King of kings has given us a message of pardon and peace that must be heard by all nations, not to mention our own neighbors.

The fact that the Gospel is so simple is what makes it so offensive.  We’re hard working Americans.  We work hard for hard-earned rewards.  And then along comes Jesus who tells us the work of God is simply to believe.  Faith in Christ isn’t a license for laziness, but neither is it the icing on the cake we’ve worked so hard to bake.  Jesus calls anyone and everyone to have faith in Him and follow Him.  To those with a religious pedigree, He says your works aren’t what pays your way.  To those with a shameful record, He says your past won’t keep you out of His kingdom.  It’s quite simple: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Jesus used a lot of different images to describe His identity.  He said He was the gate, the bread of life, the good shepherd, the son of man, etc.  At one point, in order to demonstrate His role to His fellow Jews, He quoted Psalm 118:22, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  The cornerstone is laid in order to give order and form to the whole building.  Jesus was saying He is the foundation stone of the Kingdom of God.  What a tragedy that many of His hearers and many of Paul’s hearers not only refused to align their lives with Christ as their cornerstone; instead, they tripped over it, ruining their souls.

It is scary to confess that God is sovereign, that He is free to do whatever He pleases.  It is also scary to imagine a world where God isn’t sovereign, where He isn’t free to do all His holy will.  God says He controls all things: “in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17).  If He’s in control, then what control do I have?  And if I sin, why does God still blame me for something He ultimately controls?  Good questions—biblical questions, in fact.  And if we’re asking these questions, then it means we are getting to know better the God who is revealed in Romans.

God is God.  That seems self-evident, but we don’t always recognize it.  Most of the time, we see ourselves as gods.  We see ourselves as sovereign.  We see ourselves as determining our destiny.  God’s Word tells us the facts: God is God, God is sovereign, God determines our destiny.  Lots of questions come fast and furious on the heels of this truth, but so do the reassurances.  We can’t trust the promises of Romans 8 without the bedrock foundation of Romans 9.  The reason why nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is because nothing in all creation can keep Him from accomplishing His purposes.

We’re heading into some historically rough seas in Romans.  Rough seas can capsize you, or they can make you a better sailor.  Calm seas may be pleasant, but you don’t learn about the power and dynamics of the ocean that way.  Romans 9-11 have a lot of hot topics in them: predestination, missions, and the nature of Israel.  We’ll chart a course straight through these chapters, and as long as we keep our eyes set on the sure star of God’s mercy, He will bless our journey and we will know Him better for it.

“I know a guy…”  These words often introduce a turning point in a difficult situation.  Maybe someone desperately needs a job and is introduced to a friend-of-a-friend who helps him get hired.  Maybe someone is being harassed and needs protection.  Or maybe someone is sick and needs a sympathetic specialist.  If you are a Christian, it is because someone introduced you to the One who saved you.  And once you are under the salvation and protection of the Good Shepherd, nothing and no one can separate you from His love!

We’re all familiar with things like headaches, toothaches, and bellyaches—the kinds of things that make us long for relief.  But have you ever had a “soulache”?  Paul talks about how the Spirit in us groans for God to bring relief to our deepest longings.  Even creation itself groans for God to make right what our sin has corrupted.  Looking for relief outside of Jesus just adds to our pain.  But when our hope is in Him, He promises to work out all things for our good and His glory.

We’re so used to trying to earn our way. We swim in the polluted waters of relational tit-for-tat and failed expectations, feeling like we are constantly giving more than our fair share.  Where’s the love?  Earning our way just leaves us bankrupt and bitter.  Jesus came to release us from all this.  He earned our way for us by giving more than His fair share, by giving His life!  That’s how well He loved us.  You don’t—you can’t—earn that kind of love; you just receive it.  And then you show the world how much you’re loved.

Bob Dylan used to sing about how “You gotta serve somebody.”  Not a popular notion, but it’s true.  Paul went so far as to say we are slaves to whatever (or whoever) we serve.  But what is really shocking is that Paul was simply affirming what Jesus had said.  He bluntly said we all serve one master or another.  We can be free from the control of righteousness or we can be free from sin, but none of us is autonomous.  We are all either slaves to sin or slaves to God.  Every person you meet is either controlled by the sinful nature or by the Holy Spirit.  Which one controls you?

What’s the worst form of slavery?  It isn’t the kind the oppressors won’t recognize; it’s the one that even the slaves don’t see.  Imagine a slave who doesn’t know that he or she is a slave.  That person imagines their bondage is normal.  He doesn’t seek freedom because he doesn’t know he’s enslaved.  This is exactly how sin works.  It doesn’t just dominate us, but it deceives us into thinking we’re free from its dominion.  Jesus came to deliver us from the old way of life (a sort of death) by uniting us to Him in His resurrection.  If we have been delivered from the slavery of sin and death, why would we go back to that way of living?  Wouldn’t we want to live like free men and women?

Ever wished you could have a “do-over”?  Maybe you missed the game-winning shot back in high school.  Maybe you flubbed a key job interview.  Maybe you said something that you deeply regret.  Or maybe you look back on your whole life and wish you could reboot the whole thing! God knew that the whole human race needed a new beginning, which is why He sent His Son.  Paul referred to Jesus as a new Adam, the representative of a new humanity.  Where the first Adam failed, the second Adam super-succeeded.  Through faith in the new Adam, our guilt and shame are covered so that we can begin to live new lives as members of Christ’s new humanity.

Examples of great faith are all around us and throughout the Bible.  We look at role models in the church and we see saints in the Bible.  Examples are inspiring, but they often leave us feeling insecure about our own efforts in comparison.  When Paul points to Abraham and Sarah as examples of those who believed the promises of God, he’s not just saying, “Believe like Abraham and Sarah!”  Paul is calling us to something greater: “Believe in the God of Abraham and Sarah!”  Believe that He keeps His promises.  Believe that He gives life to the dead.  Believe that Jesus was delivered up and was raised up.  Believe in such a way that you trust Him with your life—and live by faith.

It is a strange thing to simultaneously long for fairness and forgiveness.  When someone hurts us, we desire justice.  But when we do the hurting, we desire forgiveness.  This dynamic often brings out the worst sort of hypocrisy in us, but that is not to say that the simultaneous longing is wrong in and of itself.  God desires both.  God gives both.  “[W]e have seen his glory…full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Being fair and forgiving seems hard for us—they seem almost contradictory.  But God demonstrates His wisdom through the cross, where the justice of God is consistently carried out and the mercy of God is graciously given out.  We get both by faith.

When the winning team in a piggyback race crosses the finish line, who gets the credit?  Unless he’s a jockey on a horse, the person being carried doesn’t have much to brag about.  If you’re a burden, you don’t boast.  It’s different for the winners of a three-legged race.  Both people get bragging rights, even if one is weaker than the other.  Which race describes your life with God?  If we understand the Gospel correctly, we come to Paul’s conclusion regarding all who are justified by faith in Jesus: “Then what becomes of our boasting?  It is excluded” (Romans 3:27).

“Justification” may sound like a churchy word, but you’d be surprised at how much it affects your life.  We actually spend a lot of time seeking to justify ourselves in the eyes of others.  We want people to think we’ve done the right thing, said the right thing, and thought the right thing.  If they question our “rightness”, we get bent out of shape (even when, deep down, we know they’re right to doubt we’re right).  We care more about what people think about than what God thinks.  What would our lives look like if the only opinion that really mattered was God’s?  And what would our lives look like if we were convinced at the core that, because of the “rightness” of Jesus, God is pleased with us and approves of us?

Today is the day that changed the world forever. 2,000 years ago a man rose from the dead, and a new way of seeing the world and the world to come emerged.  When Jesus walked out of the tomb, death was defeated.  Sin was paid for.  Amnesty was offered.  New life had begun.  But what if the resurrection was all a joke or a myth?  We would still be living the old life.  We would still be guilty.  We would still feel defeated.  If we say, “Christ is risen!”, do we mean it?  What kind of life do we live—old or new?  How much has your world changed?

When considering the identity of Jesus, C.S. Lewis once declared, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”  Typical of an English Oxford professor, Lewis was simply and calmly describing the logical options open to us.  He recognized that the one who rode into Jerusalem amid shouts of “Hosanna!” and was led out of the city amid shouts of “Crucify Him!” said and did crazy things.  Either He was crazy for presuming to be our Lord and King, or we are crazy for writing Him off.  Either He was possessed by a demon, or we are blinded by Satan’s influence.  Lewis concluded, “[B]ut let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”

Why do we tend to see the best in ourselves and the worst in others?  Why do we make excuses for our behavior but come down hard on everyone else?  Why are we simultaneously defensive and judgmental?  The answer is twofold.  First, we can’t bear to confess that we fall short and that we are sinners.  And second, we try to cover up and deflect attention from our own failings by focusing on the failings of others.  Our sinful reaction to our sin just goes to prove that our sinfulness is a lot more sinful than we want to admit!  God forbid we admit the truth and be brokenhearted over our failings.  That would be terrible!  No, we must maintain the facade at all costs.  Whatever we do, we must not confess our sins…or our need for mercy.

Jesus knew the heart of a person.  He could peer right through the veneer and see the motive.  Can you imagine being around Him, knowing that you couldn’t hide your feelings or intentions?  No wonder some people hated Him—people with agendas, people with reputations to uphold, people with masks to wear, people like us.  And yet, children felt completely at ease with Him.  “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).  But if we turn from trying to impress God and humbly rely on His mercy, we get a new heart--and our Father’s smile.

Why is it so easy to make excuses for our own bad behavior, but then turn around and make accusations against those who do the same things?  I except people to be patient with me and understanding when I’m running late, but woe to the person who makes me wait!  This is symptomatic of the sinful human heart, and it is why the judgment of God is justly directed toward us.  Simply put, we are hypocrites who expect others to live according a code that we feel free to ignore.  Thankfully, there is mercy for those who repent, for those who seek to walk in humility instead of hypocrisy.

God creates; Satan corrupts.  Every sin that has ever been committed is the result of taking something that God created to be good and then either using it for a purpose that isn’t good or failing to use it for the good it was intended.  Our guilt consists in suppressing the truth about our Creator and in our willful corruption of His Creation—even worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).  In light of our sin, God’s judgment is just, but His mercy is magnificent!  God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, exchanging the truth about God for a lie, Christ died for us (Romans 1:25; 5:8).

How would you feel if the one you loved took your thoughtful, expensive, one-of-a-kind Valentine’s gift back to the store and exchanged it for a lousy pack of cigarettes?  You might be inclined to be annoyed.  One might even say you had a right to be a bit miffed!  Your anger would have at least two catalysts.  First, the exchange cheapens your amazing gift to them.  Second, your love for the person means that it matters all the more how they respond to you.  God’s anger is like this.  First, we are guilty of trading in His glorious reality and presence for something false and foolish.  Second, He cares because He loves.  If God didn’t care about us, it wouldn’t matter what we did or didn’t do.  God’s anger, His righteous wrath, may trouble us and confuse us, but it also reminds us that we have been given something supremely valuable from Someone who is forever faithful.

In the opening verses of Romans, Paul demonstrates a passion for two things: the Church and the Gospel.  I will admit, I don’t measure up to Paul’s passion.  None of us do!  But the real comparison ought to be with Jesus, not Paul.  How does our love for the Church and the Gospel compare with Christ’s love?  Not that it’s a competition, but it is a concern.  Why don’t we love the right things?  And why don’t we love the right things with the right intensity?  We’re not right.  And that’s why we need the Gospel that we don’t love enough.  Paul says that in the Gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (1:17).  By faith, we are counted as righteous.  By faith, we are right with God, despite all that’s wrong with us.  And the more we live in view of God’s mercy, the more we will learn to love God’s Church and God’s Gospel.

What is the goal of the Gospel?  In other words, why did Jesus come?  On the macro, cosmic level, He came to make all things new and to restore His creation.  On the individual, personal level, why did He save you?  So you can flourish and feel better about yourself?  So you can go to heaven when you die?  No doubt those things come to us as benefits of the Gospel, but there’s something even more fundamental.  He came to be with us.

What’s better than a good shepherd?  How about more good shepherds?  God’s design for the sheep is that they have healthy leadership who remind the sheep of the character and mission of our Good Shepherd, Jesus.  In addition, God’s design for disciples is that we become more and more like Jesus, reminding each other of the character and mission of our Good Shepherd, Jesus.  See the overlap?

Looking forward to your best turkey ever?  Some seek the golden degree of roasted perfection, right out of the oven.  Others risk a three-alarm Thanksgiving, frying their fowl.  Last year I smoked that bird ‘til it was mighty awesome.  And let’s not leave out the tofurky crowd, who seek an alternative sort of awesomeness on their platter.  Nobody wants a ho-hum Thanksgiving.  Glory is the goal!  Ever wonder why?

Authority is something that makes us nervous, especially because we see how often those in authority misuse it.  Like it or not, we are all under authority.  Like it or not, many of us wield some sort of authority.  How can we have a healthy regard for authority, especially since it something God has instituted for our flourishing?  As you might expect, we need the Gospel to help us.

Conventional wisdom tells us, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”  Apparently, when someone gives you a horse, you are not supposed to scruple over its oral equine hygiene.  Just be grateful someone gave you a horse!  But what if you didn’t want a horse in the first place?  But then what if you find out the horse is a thoroughbred!  Some gifts don’t make sense at first, until we find out their true worth and blessing.

Part of what makes the Good Shepherd so good is that He was willing to come after His lost sheep—us.  He was thinking of us and had us on His heart.  He loved us and gave Himself for us!  Now, if we are to follow Him, that means we are to be like Him in the ways that we think about others before ourselves.  The Gospel transforms us so that our self-love moves into its humbly proper, third position behind a love for God and for our neighbor.

Psalm 23 has had some surprises along the way, especially regarding valleys and enemies.  But the “pearl of the Psalms” ends beautifully, in the house of the LORD.  What will it mean for us to be brought forever into His home?  What can we expect when we get to heaven?

What does it mean to sit at a table with Jesus and share a meal?  Better still, what does it mean to have Jesus invite you to His table to share His meal?  There was no greater sign of acceptance and friendship in ancient culture, and this is exactly what is promised to those who receive His forgiveness and come.

One of the greatest mysteries for religious people revolves around a good God allowing bad things to happen.  Christians ask the same question, “Why does our Good Shepherd lead us through the valley of the shadow of death?”  We may never understand all of the reasons, but we have something better than explanations.   We have a Good Shepherd who is with us in the valley, and who leads us through it to glory.

Ever had to restore your computer?  How about your smartphone?  When things don’t work right, they need a hard reset.  How well does your soul work?  We tend to think that our souls can do just fine with minimal maintenance, but God says they need a hard reset.  We need the Good Shepherd to “restore my soul” (Psalm 23:3).

Psalm 23 is arguably the most familiar chapter of the Bible.  You know the words, but do you really know what is says?  For instance, the first verse tells us, “I shall not want”, but life seems to never want for wanting.  What does our Good Shepherd mean when He promises we shall not want?  Let’s look to Jesus to find out.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. That is a packed pronouncement! First, notice how Jesus is a shepherd, a leader. The call to discipleship is fundamentally summed up in two words: “Follow me.” Second, He is a good shepherd. We could be stuck with a bad leader, but instead we have One who is the epitome of goodness. Third, He is ours. He calls us His sheep and we belong to Him as much as He offers Himself to us. Will you have Him? Will you trust Him? Will you follow Him?

Zechariah brings on the imagery again in chapter 12!  It a succession of pictures, God reminds us that His eye is always on His people.  He is always acting for our salvation, “so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David” (12:8).  He is always calling the strong to bow to the Source of their strength.  Those who don’t will inevitably stumble.

It really does matter who your shepherds are.  Where are they leading you?  Zechariah shows us God’s anger, His hot anger, against leaders who offer lies and empty consolation to their flock.  Instead, He points us to our true Shepherd, our Cornerstone, who makes us mighty through His salvation, who calls us to follow Him into battle, who makes sheep into steeds.

Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day—what a weird mash up!  The last time these two days coincided was in 1956.  It may seem bizarre, but it is strangely appropriate Because of the cross, the world is divided into two groups: fools and fools.  People are either fools for believing in a crucified con-man or they are fools for rejecting the resurrection.  In other words, in whose eyes do you want to be wise—God’s or man’s?  “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Today we honor the sanctity of human life.  Life is sacred because we are creations, not accidents.  Each of us was planned out and created intentionally by God, our Creator and Father.  This reality blesses us with a two-fold vision of nobility and responsibility—nobility to us when we see the image of God in the mirror, and the responsibility to see that image in the face of the other.  Can you see both?

There are no streetlights in our neighborhood, so ordinarily Longview Circle is a pretty dark drive at night.  But there is one, extended time of the year when the approach to our driveway is as bright as a runway.  Yes, Christmas!  We have the traditional white lights, our neighbors have the red and green lasers, and the folks across the street have made our street a destination for light show seekers—they are the blue light house!  I love how everyone, whether they are conscious of it or not, pays homage at Christmas to Jesus, the Light of the world!  May His light shine from our hearts, and not just from our houses.

Are you living the life you always imagined for yourself?  Seems like all the talk shows are asking this question.  Seems like all the commercials are touting the answers.  Seems like everyone is hoping the answer in under their Christmas tree!  Is this the kind of life Jesus was talking about?  How does the life you always wanted match up to the life, the abundant life, Jesus offers us?

As we begin the Advent season, it is helpful to ask, “Why did Jesus come?”  Jesus tells us Himself, several times in John’s Gospel, and we will be spending Advent studying these explanations.  For starters, Jesus tells us that He came down from heaven to raise us up.  He humbled Himself so that we might be exalted.  He was despised so we might be cherished.  Is not the One who exalts us and cherishes us worthy of our exaltation?  Do you cherish Him?

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”  This was the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.  Contrary to popular belief, the secret to spiritual progress is not perpetual goodness, but persevering in repentance.  None of us is perpetually good, but if we stop repenting, it means we have stopped believing.  Jude calls us to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21).  May we persevere in believing that God loves us, and that He sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins to prove it.

When Jesus began His ministry, he chose twelve disciples to follow Him and to train them to be His apostles.  He chose which towns to visit and which homes to stay in.  He chose which people to heal and to touch.  He had a purpose.  He had a plan.  He still does.  He still chooses who will follow Him.  He still calls His sheep by name.  Good thing, too.  Because if His choice was based on me rather than Him, I wouldn’t have made the team.  I wouldn’t have even wanted to play.

The old joke about how the answer to every question in Sunday School is always, “Jesus!”, is more true than you know.  Strangely, we forget that Jesus is at the center of Christianity.  You and I cannot properly know a thing about the Bible if we don’t see how it is connected to Christ.  We also forget that Jesus is at the center of the universe.  We cannot properly live our lives if we don’t see how everything is from Him and exists for Him.  There can only be one point at the center of a circle.  And at the center of all things is Jesus Christ alone.

Last week we looked at how unique the grace of Christianity is.  But you and I could be offered all of the blessings of heaven and still not enjoy them if we don’t know how to receive them.  God delivers us from the curse and blesses us forever through faith alone in Christ alone.  “Faith Alone” (Sola Fide), according to Martin Luther, was the truth upon which the Church stands or falls.  But don’t just take his word for it: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9).

Last week, we lamented: “How long, O Lord?”  Lament comes from a confusing place in our hearts.  God says He is our Defender and Shield, so why does He allow pain and sorrow into our lives?  After the tears have dried on our cheeks, we have a decision to make.  Will we trust Him?  Will we keep following the One who leads us along steep paths and dark valleys?

One of the hardest things about being a Christian is trying to reconcile God’s goodness and power with the reality of pain and suffering.  “How long, O Lord?”  “God, where are you?”  “Why have you forsaken me?”  These hard prayers are more common than we would like to admit because suffering is more common than we expect.  God’s answer?  Jesus.  He suffered with us and for us and prayed the same prayers we do.  God’s answer may not always be what we want, but it is what we need.

Today our Summer Psalms series brings us to a psalm of confession.  We generally don’t like confession.  It means we have to admit we were wrong.  It means we have to repent—to turn—from the sin we are confessing.  It means we have to be honest about our failure and make a real change.  But it also means we can be free from pretending.  We can rejoice that forgiveness is available.  Through repentance, God welcomes us.  Without repentance, we remain outside, choosing our pride and hardness of heart over the love and grace that are found in Jesus.

Most of us, thankfully, have never faced the kind of violence that many people in the world and throughout the ages have experienced firsthand.  Unless we are careful, we can slip into believing that the world is a nice place full of nice people and that we are among the nicest.  But the world is actually a mix of virtue and violence, and so are we.  Until we choose to see this, we will remain blind to people’s pain, to our need, and to God’s violent remedy on a cross.

Why does the Bible keep telling us to “Praise the LORD!”?  What is the point of praise?  One of the reason why we hear this refrain so often in the Psalms is because it come from a God who is truly praiseworthy.  Another reason is because it comes from a God who wants our good and who knows that, unless we are directed to praise Him, we will inevitably seek people to praise us.  Praise the LORD, who delivers us from ourselves!

The Psalms are a great place to spend time learning more about ourselves and about our God.  Our “Summer Psalms” series will explore some of the different types of Psalms so that we can see many of the ways that God invites us to come and bring our complex thoughts and feelings before Him.  Today we will be reminded that we all crave a champion, a sort of superhero, to come and solve all of our problems.  The Bible calls that person a king, and God has declared, “I have set my King on Zion.”

As Paul concluded his letter to the Romans (and as we conclude our series in Romans), he returns to the same themes he outlined at the beginning of his letter.  God’s purpose through the preaching of Jesus Christ is “to bring about the obedience of faith” from among all the nations (1:5; 16:26).  God’s purpose is to bring about your obedience of faith and my obedience of faith.  God’s purpose is make His Gospel your Gospel and my Gospel.  May He get glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!

The great thing about the Church is, as Paul demonstrates through all of his greetings in Romans 16, we are brought into a family of faith where people are for us.  The hard thing about the Church is, as Paul warns us in Romans 16, we are brought into enmity with the world, the flesh, and the devil.  God’s holy Church and the sinful world are not friends, and so we can’t be friends with both.  Our enemies are active.  Are you?

I call you that every week—“saints”.  Do you know why?  People have different ideas about what is a saint and who is a saint.  Are you really a saint?  When Paul addressed the church in Rome, he called them saints (16:15) and he wrote that they were “called to be saints” (1:1).  The Gospel declares us to be saints and it transforms us into saints.  We are called to be who we are in Christ.  And we can’t do this alone.

I like having Google Maps or Waze on when I’m travelling.  Any GPS app will do when we need directions.  But I get nervous when I don’t have the larger map in my head.  Instead of just relying on the app to tell me where to go one turn at a time, I also like having the big picture.  Paul gives us the big picture as he wraps up his doctrinal discussion in Romans.  Do you know what the big picture looks like?

Here we are, Easter morning!  This is a great day in the life of the Church, THE great day in the life of the Church.  Why?  Easter is the capstone of Christianity.  Without it, the whole structure falls apart.  “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:7).  And if Christ has been raised, then there is a King on high who reigns over all things according to His wisdom and is bringing the universe to its appointed destiny.  How does Easter affect you?

One of the things that confirms the Bible’s divine authorship is its honesty.  It cannot be classified as propaganda, spinning and twisting the facts to advance human agendas.  The Bible isn’t afraid of raw questions: “Why do the wicked prosper?”  “Why do the innocent suffer?”  It isn’t afraid to expose our presumption and confusion.  All along the way to the cross, people presumed upon Jesus and were confused when He didn’t do what they expected.  But He knew what He was doing all along.  He still does.

The Gospel is God’s welcome to us.  The Kingdom of God is not barricaded, guarded against foreigners.  God’s house is not in a gated community, designed to keep out the undesirables.  Heaven is a party, and the Host welcomes all!  Jesus welcomes us in and He calls us to spread the invitation far and wide.  When was the last time you felt the wonder of God’s welcome?  When was the last time you shared that welcome with someone else?

How is your conscience?  Is it healthy?  Is it clear?  It can be tough enough to keep a clear conscience, but did you know that God says we also need to be conscious of the conscience of our brother or sister?  As we all grow in Christ, we want our conscience to align more and more with God’s Law so that we can be free from man-made laws and can together glorify the One who made all things good.

The Apostle Paul famously declared in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!”  How should we use our freedom in Christ?  We are tempted to use it as an excuse to indulge ourselves, treating God’s gifts as if we were entitled to them.  Instead, we have been freed in order to love God and to love our neighbor.  How can we use God’s gifts as a way to bless others?

The world is not enough.  Yes, that is the title of a bad Bond movie (Pierce Brosnan as 007?), but it is also the reason why we keep coming up short in our relationships.  We quarrel and fight because we can’t get enough of what we want.  But what if we are just looking in the wrong place?  What if what we really want isn’t on earth, but in heaven?  Heaven has more than enough.