Sunday 07/24/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Was Jesus God on Earth?”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 85
New Testament Scripture: Colossians 2:6-19
Gospel Lesson: Luke 11:1-13
Friends, the power of belief is
significant. The things that we believe can affect our thoughts, our behaviors,
our spending habits, our lives, etc. If we believe that everyone, we encounter is
evil and wants to hurt us, for example, how would this affect our thoughts, our
beliefs, and our behaviors? When we look around Sidney, the Tri-Town area, and
the world, what do we see? Do we see perfection? Do we see brokenness? Do we
see opportunity?
I personally see some very good
things, but also see some brokenness and some hopelessness. I meet some people
that feel like there life has no meaning, they feel like they have no
direction, no purpose. Do they believe in God? Some yes, some unsure, and some
maybe. I mean, why are we here on this earth? Why is there so much suffering
that happens? Is there a better to live than we are living now? How in our own brokenness
can we ever be made whole?
There are variety of answers to these
questions. Some have answered these questions through laws and regulations,
though spending and social programs, and various self-help-oriented means. Is
there anyway though to make ourselves spiritually whole? How can we have peace
and contentment, even if we do not feel this every day of our lives? Is there
an answer to the realities we see and face every day? Or is this universe and
this world, simply a cosmic accident with no answers and no meaning.
While we do not understand everything,
our faith in God through Jesus Christ gives us the meaning and the
understanding that we need in this life, and in the next. This morning, nine
people were baptized. It is not because we just like throwing water on people.
It is the reality that nearly two-thousand years ago one came among us with the
answers and the hope that humanity needed then and still needs now. This hope
was in the person of Jesus Christ. This hope walked among us, loved, healed, forgave,
and offers us new life.
So many people feel broken, are
suffering, but what is the answer? Perhaps that item on the television infomercial
will fix me? Maybe drugs and alcohol will fix me? How are we made whole
spiritually? How are we to make sense of this world, and our lives in it?
For me, it seems that we live in a
whole with a lot of light and a lot of darkness. Jesus came to earth, as the
light of the world. The earth needed hope, the earth needed a savior, the earth
needed life and life abundantly. This Jesus founded the Christian Church, and
nearly two-thousand years later here we are. The Christian Church is all over
the world, on every continent, in multiple languages, includes various races,
ethnicities, etc. About one-third of the world today is Christian, or about 2.6
billion people. Even though there are different Christian denominations and
different branches of Christianity, we follow Jesus Christ. In a world that desperately
needs hope, we find hope in the one named Jesus. The one who tells us to love
God and love our neighbor.
When we get baptized in the church, we
become part of the Christian Church. We when are baptized in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we become part of the community of faith.
Our souls are not saved because of baptism, as we are offered salvation through
faith in Christ alone. Historically Jewish baby boys are circumcised at eight-days
old, grafting them into the Jewish community of faith. Baptism then, is the
entry point to the Christian Community on earth. In brings us into the covenant
that Jesus makes with us, through his life, death, and resurrection. Baptism is
us dying to ourselves, rising with Christ, and the Holy Spirit moving in and
through us. Baptism is God doing something unique and special that occurs only
in baptism. The Sacrament of Baptism does not save our souls, but it cleanses
us the stain of sin, fills us with God’s grace, and brings to in the community
faith. In loving our children and people of age who have professed their faith
in Christ, we draw closer to Christ together.
It is possible that someone could get
baptized and not become a professing Christian, but still be part of the
community of faith? Yes, but the Sacrament of Baptism is vital, because if we
are of age, it is the reality of us dying to self and rising with Christ. It is
also becoming part of our two-thousand-year faith that encompasses one-third of
the world. This is why the Sacrament of Baptism is so vital. You are claimed by
God, filled with God’s grace, and you become part of the community of faith.
You are one of us in identity, and once those baptized are of age, we hope and
pray that they be one of us in their faith in Christ, as well.
Given this, and power of belief and
faith, who is this Jesus that we are drawing closer to today? Why for nearly
two-thousand years have most Christians of all stripes, gotten baptized? What
is the significance of this? How does this change our life? How does this give us
the answers that we so desperately seek?
I do not know about you, but if I am
going to believe something strongly, then there needs to be something
significant for me to believe. If I kind of believe in leprechauns and flying
monkeys, can that really change me? It certainly can pique my interest. If am
going to devote my life to Christ, and serve him as a pastor in his church
though, I would think that I must have quite a high view of this Jesus. Not a
view that Jesus was just a nice guy, or another prophet, but much more than that.
The Apostle Paul speaks to this once again,
in our reading for this morning, from Colossians 2:6-19. Picking up starting in
2:6 the Apostle Paul says once again:
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority (Col. 2:6-9, NRSV).
Jesus, is the King of Kings, and the
Lord of Lords. Not only is he our hope, but he is the hope that we can share
with each other. Some days and times in our lives may seem dark, but Jesus is
with us. The Christian Community walks together, laughs together, and cries
together. We are on a journey with Jesus to glory together. This Jesus, whom the
Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 2:9 had the fullness of deity of God in
him, on this earth. He was sinless, full of love and grace, died for our sins,
and is our hope in a world with so much brokenness.
Since as Christians we are marked as
such, through baptism, the Apostle Paul says, picking up in Colossians 6:11:
11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it (Col. 6:11-15, NRSV).
The
Sacrament of Baptism is the mark of a Christian, and our entry point into the
Christian Faith here on earth. For those old enough to profess their faith in
Christ, and for all people, the water of baptism is a special gift. It’s a gift
of the Holy Spirit that symbolizes our new identity in Christ, and grafts us
into the community of faith. For those not yet old enough to understand and
profess their faith in Christ, baptism cleanses us from the stain of sin and
brings us into the community of faith. We also make a solemn covenant to raise
these kids to know and to love Jesus.
The
Apostle Paul concludes in our reading from Colossians 2:16-19 for this morning,
saying:
16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God (2:16-19, NRSV).
Today is about Jesus, and our identity
in him. He is the head of the church, the head of our lives, the one whom we
follow, and the one in whom commanded us to be baptized. In doing this, we are
part of his church here on earth.
In looking briefly at our gospel of Luke
11:1-13 reading for this morning, Jesus gave his disciples and us the “Lord’s
Prayer” or the “Our Father”. Jesus then gives us the example of friend who
needs to borrow three loaves of bread. Jesus says picking up starting in Luke 11:5
once again:
5 And he said
to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and
say to him,‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has
arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are
with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even
though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at
least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receive, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks fore a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Be persistent in prayer, continue to pursue God, and stay connected to him. The way that we become part of the church on earth, or as the founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley said, “the church visible,” is through baptism. May we all be connected spiritually with God through Jesus Christ however, because he is the head of the church. We are here for and because of Jesus Christ. To the friends, family, and folks getting baptized this morning, know that you are loved, welcomed here, and we hope to see you again very soon! Amen.
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