SUNDAY’S SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 37: 1 – 14 (New International Version)

                                                March 26, 2023 

                                     “The Valley of Dry Bones”

1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”                                    

 

Have you ever thought of yourself as a “Jedi for Jesus.” My hunch is … No. How about as part of Jesus’ army, or maybe you’re a spiritual warrior. Or, maybe not. In any event, I get inspired when thinking about my calling on earth to be somehow related to a big spiritual revolution that is taking place right now in the world, and even the smallest things I do for Christ have a huge impact on the success of this revolution.

And … it’s a “Jesus Revolution!” It’s most definitely not a military operation. Its “weapons” are unconditional love for all of creation and a willingness to die for the cause. That may not sound like much … but those are two powerful weapons. Does that get you a little more excited?

In our scripture this week from the Book of Ezekiel, there’s a battlefield covered with dry bones. That’s it. Just the bones. God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. When he does, the bones clatter together and are covered with sinews, muscles and skin. The dead bones have become human bodies. But still dead.

Then God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath (aka wind or spirit). When he does, the breath comes upon the bodies and the bodies are filled with life. The breath of life. And then God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the people. When he does, the graves are open and the people rise up and have life with the spirit in them.

Is this when our mission here on earth begins? Once we have the “breath of God” blown into us, are we now ready to undertake the cause for which Jesus came to earth to ignite? What would such a mission look like?

From his classic book, “Mere Christianity,” here is how C .S. Lewis described this “mission” that we have on this earth:

Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening–in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery. I know someone will ask me, ‘Do you really mean, at this time of day, to re-introduce our old friend the devil-—hoofs and horns and all?’ Well, what the time of day has to do with it I do not know. And I am not particular about the hoofs and horns. But in other respects my answer is ‘Yes, I do. I do not claim to know anything about his personal appearance. If anybody really wants to know him better I would say to that person. ‘Don’t worry. If you really want to, you will. Whether you’ll like it when you do is another question.’

So … how is your conceit, laziness or intellectual snobbery these days? More importantly, how is your relationship with Jesus these days? You see, we are in enemy-occupied territory, and God needs all the help that you can give. We are all part of a “great campaign of sabotage.” Or, are we accepting things just the way they are?

Let’s Journey to the Cross Together … Pastor Bob <><  

 

 

 

 

 

   SUNDAY’S SCRIPTURE:

      1 Samuel 16: 1 – 13 (New International Version) – March 19, 2023                                                  “Samuel Anoints David”

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

² But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹² So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Pastor Bob’s Sermon Reflections:

Let’s Journey to the Cross Together … Pastor Bob <><  

 

Excerpts from “Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman“

<>< 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

<>< 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

<>< 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Pastor Bob’s Sermon Reflections:

Some conclusions from the lessons of Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman:

1)        It seems people are always looking for the water in the well that will soothe them and make them whole. Everybody has their “wells” that they keep coming back to – never fully satisfied by well water.

2)        In the same way, people are always looking for a “physical” remedy, not spiritual satisfaction.

3)        Jesus creates a desire for spiritual satisfaction in people.

4)        When you come to Jesus, you must deal with your sin.

5)        No matter what your station in life is; no matter what your religious affiliation or commitment; no matter how rich or poor you are; no matter where you’re from or what you’ve done – Jesus can “open your eyes” to the life of the Spirit.

Let’s Journey to the Cross Together … Pastor Bob <><  

It always catches me by surprise … even though I should know by now. Whenever you reach out and delve into the place of God’s Spirit, good things are bound to follow.

But then, good things were already happening. I had just finished a really great day and a half in Lexington celebrating the true wonder of having a 2 year old grandson, and celebrating the 90^th birthday of my mother-in-law, Phyllis, Amy’s mom. Yes, the time was short. And no, it is never easy to leave … but it sure was a good feeling in my bones when I pulled out to return home to Arthur.

But the most important joy of the day hadn’t happened yet. The trip from Lexington to Arthur begins by getting on Interstate 64 West to Louisville. It is a bit of a tricky entrance ramp from Paris Pike to I-64, so I am always a little extra careful to get in the correct lane. And I did!

As soon as I made the turn for the ramp, there was he was … Dex. He was sitting on the thin concrete median that divided the entrance ramp from the exit ramp. He was leaning on a thin metal post that held a sign helping drivers navigate this ramp correctly. I could only see his back because he was facing the exit ramp, not the entrance ramp. Though it was a pleasant day, he seemed to be bundled up in a coat and blanket, and he was sitting with a “military green” large duffle bag — the same kind of bag that so many homeless veterans carry with them.

I knew immediately what to do. I pulled over as far as I could to be close to him, and I rolled down my window and explained to him that I had something for him. I reached behind my driver’s seat to grab the Blessing Bag I always carry in my car … but I grabbed air instead. The bag was somewhere back there out of my reach and my sight. In the meantime, the homeless vert is standing at my window and cars are beginning to back up on the entrance ramp.

It was at the very moment that I first looked up to see the face of this man. Only … he was more like a boy. Baby-faced. Nice head of hair. No sign of whiskers. This was no older homeless vet from Viet Nam or Korea. This was a homeless vet from Iraq. So young. So innocent. Somebody’s young son. Someone’s grandson.

Since I could not reach the Blessing Bag, and cars were all around us, I did what I normally do not do. I reached for my wallet in the console. I pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to him, telling him this is all I’ve got. He looked at me and took the cash and with a bright-eyed baby face of joy he said, “This will be really good since there is a storm coming up.” Now, the weather at this time was lovely. High blue sky. Intermittent sun and clouds. No sign of a storm, or even rain, in the forecast. But my friend knew the harsh realities of life. He was living those harsh realities. And he knew that another storm was just around the corner.

I was touched by his pleasantness and gratefulness, and his innocence. I knew I had to get that bag for him. So right there, on the entrance ramp, I put my flashers on and got out to look for that bag somewhere in the wilderness land of the back of my car. As I got out, I did what I was trained to do. “My name is Bob,” I said. “I’m Dex,” he replied. I found the bag and opened it just to be sure it was a blessing bag and not a dirty socks bag. He looked into it and his face spread out in wonder … like Christmas morning. He had never seen anything like this. And I had never seen anyone like him.

I wonder how a young vet like Dex has the floor drop completely out of his life? How does this kid end up here, that day, sitting by the highway, talking with me? I wish I had more time to get to know Dex, but the cars were coming more quickly and it was time for me to go. Dex stayed. Took his seat. And waited there all day for folks to offer some help to him.

I am glad I stopped. I am glad he was there for me. I am glad I was there for him. I’m not sure which of us was more blessed by that chance encounter … but I smiled the whole way home. And today I decided to share his story with you. Five minutes of our lives together. That is all we will ever have … me and Dex.

We’re all just seed throwers in this crazy mixed-up world of ours, where our vets struggle with suicide (an average of 20 vets a day commit suicide) and homelessness. And find themselves on the entrance ramps of our country’s highways. Throwing their seeds of desperation and depression at anyone willing to stop and help. Funny thing about those seeds they throw – they land on me, and others, as seeds of the gospel. Seeds of inspiration and hope. Seeds of love and caring for each other. And yes, seeds of Jesus.

I saw Jesus yesterday. His name was Dex. He blessed me and then sent me on my way. He stayed there. He had others to bless.

Let’s Journey to the Cross Together … Pastor Bob <><  

              SCRIPTURE FOR THIS SUNDAY: Romans 5: 12-19

                                                                                                                             (I’ll be using The Message (MSG) paraphrase.)

The Death-Dealing Sin, the Life-Giving Gift

12-14 You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So, death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

15-17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, absolute life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one-man Jesus Christ provides?

Pastor Bob’s Reflections:

It’s about time we received some spiritual direction from the Apostle Paul. He is just the right person to explain this spiritual life that Jesus calls us to.

Before he was known as Paul, he was called Saul. Saul’s first prominent role in “religion” was as a firm and rigid Jewish Pharisee with the number one goal in life became to exterminate the newly forming Jesus movement. And apparently he was good at what he did. We can read of his success in the Bible, particularly in the Book of Acts as Saul is the Pharisee overseeing the public stoning of Stephen. After the death of Stephen by stoning, Saul ramped up his desire to track down and persecute Jesus followers anywhere and anyhow. So, he was sent off to Damascus to round up more Jesus followers there.

But on his way to Damascus, Saul met Jesus. First-hand. And I encourage you to read about this in Acts – Chapter 9. This is when Saul had his own spiritual conversion. Because of his encounter with Jesus, Saul had become blind, and very confused. Now I think that’s important to point out. Jesus didn’t come to Saul and magically transform him into one of the good guys in a flash. First, Saul had to come to terms with himself.

For example, Saul never realized how blind he was. In fact, he was so hyper sure that he was right about all things related to God that there was really no need for conversation about that. Except … when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. And that moment changed everything for this religious zealot and terrorist named Saul.

Well, there’s a lot more to this great conversion story, and I encourage you to look it up and read it. And then, think about your own spiritual journey. Whose heart are you following? Saul was sure he was following God’s will as he proclaimed death to the Jesus movement. And yet, he was about as far away from God’s will as one could get.

After his encounter with Jesus, Saul went blind and was led to Damascus where he did not persecute the Jesus followers. Rather, he became a new creation … a new person … through his encounter with the real risen Christ. His name became Paul, and within days the scales that made him blind fell away and he was baptized and began his new life. Wow!

So that’s why Paul’s writings are so instructive for us today. He answers many questions about the new spiritual life that Jesus gave to him, and our text above is just one little example. In it, Paul tells us that Jesus has come to us as the “perfect Adam.” Jesus not only offers us a new path to God and freedom and salvation, but Jesus is God himself, something Adam never was.

Paul’s bottom-line: We no longer have the burden of carrying Adam’s sin on our soul. Now, today, Jesus relieves us of that burden and through his own sinless life, offers us a “Way” to become whole again with God. Friends, that’s an opportunity you do not want to miss. Just ask Saul!

Come by the Ash Wednesday Chapel today between 4pm and 6pm and get started on your own road to Damascus. Trust me. Or don’t. Trust Paul. Or don’t. Trust God. For God will never let you down, and will always embrace you as one of God’s own … and offer you too a new way of life.

Let’s Journey to the Cross Together … Starting Today … Pastor Bob <><  

 

                                SCRIPTURE FOR THIS SUNDAY: Exodus 24: 12-18                                                                                                                           

                 (I’ll   be using The New International Version (NIV) translation.)

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

¹³ Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵ When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, ¹⁶ and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. ¹⁷ To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Pastor Bob’s Reflections:

            Well, this week I had a little talk with Jesus, as they say, and He thought that my words last week during the message were very BOLD. Yep, that’s what He kept saying to me. Bold, He kept saying, like “Jesus Christ” bold!

In case you missed it, or forgot, last Sunday in the message I let you know that you’re the most important people in the world to me. And that’s all based on the calling I have to spread the truth of the “Good News” of Jesus to everyone God sends my direction. And most important of those, is the people that come every Sunday to hear the message and worship God.

“Family” is what I called us. A family of faith.

And since Jesus liked it so much, I thought I’d pursue that line of thinking a bit to see what that might mean for our next steps. You see, Jesus told me, my Father and I see things from eternity, not just what things may look like in the moment … here on earth. Jesus put the biblical spin on our conversation, and reminded me that what we are doing is biblical work. We, our congregation, are trying to discover this strange otherworldly truth that Jesus teaches us. And then, we try to figure out how that “truth” of His applies to our daily life here and now.

            Jesus told me that even if I am only His sheepdog, I’ve got to keep going … keep teaching … keep putting the Word of God in front of the flock I have been called to. “You have to get more Jesus into their lives,” Jesus said. And so, that’s what we will do together. You … the flock, and me … the sheepdog.

            And so this Sunday I will be teaching the “Good News” of Jesus from the Old Testament. Specifically, as Matthew urges us to do, we will look back to the days of Moses and come to understand why Matthew would refer to Jesus the “new Moses.” That’s really important for understanding the new thing that God is doing with Jesus in our lives.

In the scripture above, notice how Moses receives the commandments from God up on a high mountain, all alone, in a cloud. For Jesus, however, His commandments are taught to the people, personally, face-to-face. For Moses, he tells his people when he returns that God has given us these commandments. For Jesus, He teaches the people on the mountain with Him that these “commandments” are not what you think they are. They are not meant to burden … but to bless. They are not meant to condemn you … but to lift you to your God given place in the world.

Our society loves to talk about “law and order.” We are much more resistant to talk about love and mercy. Moses brought law and order to God’s people. And all people were crushed under the burden of the law. Jesus, the “New Moses,” brings love and mercy to the commandments. “You’ve heard it said …. But I say,” is Jesus’ go-to line. He is telling us that the days of Moses have passed, and the day of redemption for all God’s people is here.

This Sunday, come and see … how God changed the world in one sermon, and what that means for ALL of us under God.

See you on the Mount …  Pastor Bob <><