Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany - 02/02/14 Sermon - “Who is truly blessed?” (The things that Jesus taught us series, Part 1 of 5)

Sunday 02/02/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Who is truly blessed?”

(The things that Jesus taught us series, Part 1 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 15             

                                            

New Testament Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 5:1-12

                            

          Welcome and good morning once again! Welcome on this Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. The Epiphany, that day so long ago that the three wise men or magi saw that large “Bethlehem Star” in the sky, that led them to the manger of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.

          Jesus of course, the Messiah, the savior, the King of Kings, the one would grow up to perform countless miracles, the one would teach us many new things, and the one would die for all of us. You see, God came down from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ. God came down to die for the sins of humanity. Jesus came to give up his life for us, so that we wouldn’t have to. He died for us, so that we could live.

          The question then, that I have for us to think about this morning, is did Jesus Christ come just to die for us only? Sure this is the core of our faith, and sure it is true that accepting Jesus Christ is the way to heaven. Sure our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to fullness, to peace, and to new life, but is there more than just this “fire insurance” policy? What if we accept and believe in Jesus Christ, and then never practice our faith? What if we accept and believe in Jesus Christ, but have no involvement in the Christian Church? What if our Sunday morning church is the “Bedside Baptist Church, with Reverend Sheets?”

          With all of this in mind, in these next five Sundays I am going to be preaching a series on some of “the things that Jesus taught us.” This is to say, Jesus Christ came to die for us, but even more than this he came to teach us. Jesus came to teach us an entire new way of being. Jesus gave us a new framework and a new blueprint for how to live better. Jesus taught us to love God with all of our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls, and to love our neighbor as our self.

          Jesus showed us his love, through healing, through miracles, through bringing the dead back to life. Jesus showed us that the grave in which he was buried in could not hold the King of Kings. In fact, when I was on my trip to the Holy Land recently, when I was in Jerusalem, I went into the place where Jesus Christ’s body was laid. This tomb of course was and is empty! For he has overcome my brothers and sisters. He is risen!

          So, other than just having faith in Christ to spend eternity with him, how do we live in the here and now? Should we sit idly by waiting for heaven? I ask this because one of the biggest criticisms of the Christian Church in the modern day, is that we are so focused on heaven, that we forget those all around us. That we are so focused on heaven that we don’t see the grim realities that exist in the world today. That some are not focused on the fact that there are hungry people around us. That I have met Christians that were only focused only on getting people converted to having faith in Jesus Christ. Yet the mission statement of the United Methodist Church is to “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” How can we transform the world if we only tend to a person’s soul, but neglect the rest of them?

          In fact I remember asking a person once, “if you help someone come to faith in Jesus Christ, but they have no food and are hungry, then what do you do for that person?” This person said, “Well I pray for them of course.”

          The problem with this sort of thinking, with this sort of Christianity, is it focused solely on the kingdom of God to come, and it neglects the building of the kingdom of God in the here and the now. That when a person comes to know Jesus Christ, that if they are hungry, and if we are able to, that we need to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We do this not because we have to, but because Jesus taught us to “feed the hungry and clothe the naked.” Given this, how can we transform the world if we do not even try to meet the needs of people? This is why we reach out to the community with love and compassion.

          In all of these ways then, I am not just a person who only believes in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, but I am also a daily follower of Jesus Christ, and a person that practices his teachings. As I said, the mission of the United Methodist Church, is to “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

          This transformation can occur at a family movie night, a family game night, a church dinner, a Bible Study, a slide show of a trip, and etc. By us as a church inviting new people in, by us having a collective church vision rooted in Jesus Christ, by us opening the doors of this church to new programming and new opportunities, we begin to communicate to this community that, “We love Jesus so much, that we want to bring you into the family of faith.” We tell the community, “You are loved, you are valued, and at this church, you have a purpose and a place. At this church you are part of the family, and you are always welcome.”

As I said in the beginning of this sermon, my focus this morning is when Jesus the living Christ preached about, “Who is truly blessed?”

When looking the Old Testament Psalm from this morning, the Psalmists begins Psalm 15 by saying, “O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart.” When I hear these words, I think of this church, and how there so many people out there, and how we are working to bring them in here. That we will love them, mentor them, care for them, send them to summer camp if needed, and tell them of Lord Jesus, so that before Jesus they may walk blameless and holy. The Psalm goes on to say, “but honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath to their hurt.” We live in a fallen world my brothers and sisters. In this world of darkness, Jesus Christ is the light, and this church is a community full of people who desperately need hope, who desperately need love, who desperately need peace, and who desperately need light in the midst of darkness.

This I believe though. This is the year where we see the Lord do big things in this place. This is the year I believe that this church will work to “Make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” like never before!

The Apostle Paul in his first Epistle or letter to the church in Corinth or the Corinthians, tells us this morning that if we believe in the power of the cross of Jesus Christ we are being saved by God.  The Apostle Paul then says, “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” So many of us my brothers and sisters, in our minds are just common people, yet through Jesus Christ we become transformative people. Through Sunday worship, through programming, through events, and through community outreach, we show this community, that Jesus Christ sees them as anything buy common. That he loves them, that he has a plan for their lives, and that we welcome them to come into this body of faith, and to join us in pursuing holiness, pureness, and salvation. That for people that have felt nothing but rejection, coldness, and bitterness, that in this place they encounter the perfect love of the risen Christ. That in this place they are part of family, part of a royal priesthood, part of a city on a hill, and all are welcomed, in Jesus’ name.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say that Lord chooses the weak, that he chooses what is lowly, and that if we boast, may we only boast in the risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

In looking at our gospel reading from this morning, Jesus gives that famed “Sermon on the Mount,” that preaching of the “Beatitudes.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in the spirit,” “Blessed are those who mourn,” “Blessed are the meek,” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” “Blessed are the merciful,” “Blessed are the pure in heart,” “Blessed are the peacemakers,” “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,” and “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Jesus says that all of these people will be blessed, and that for all of them the kingdom of God will be offered to them freely.

When I look around this church, I have seen in the short time that I have been here, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of Jesus Christ create a sense of newness in here, and a new sense of renewal and revitalization. So that we may continue to grow as church, I want you to ask yourself, “Can I invite someone to this Church?” “Can I invite someone to a church program or activity?” “Can I tell someone about Jesus Christ?”

Ask yourself about that potential time in your life when you felt empty, when you felt hollow, and when you felt helpless. Remember how that person or that group of people came to you aid, and how Jesus Christ lifted you up. Ask yourself how in this the year of our Lord 2014, that this can be the year that we look back upon on and say remember when. Remember when we were worried about the future of this church. Remember when we were worried about the vitality of this church. Remember when Jesus Christ filled us and the Holy Spirit led us to rebuild this church. Let us remember this accomplished by “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

I would like to close this morning with a story called “Judge Me by the Footprints I Leave Behind.” Here is how it goes: This is “A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.” “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring with me.” “Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.” “There’s something you should know the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mined and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.” “I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.” “Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

“At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.”

“The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.”

“Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. This person is Jesus Christ.”

“Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!”

“There’s a miracle called -Friendship- that dwells in the heart. You don’t know how it happens or when it gets started. But you know the special lift it always brings and you realize that Friendship Is God’s most precious gift! Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.”

My brothers and sisters, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is how we “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” In implementing various programs, Bible Studies, and opportunities, let us see these changes in our church, not as things that will burden us, but as opportunities to bring in people in like that pain stricken soldier who desperately needs your love and the love of Jesus Christ. So this week, start inviting people to church, tell them about Jesus, invite them to our church programs and activities, let them know that in this church they are loved, they are special, and that they are home. All praise, honor, and glory to our Lord and savior Jesus the risen Christ. Amen.