Sidney UMC - UMCOR Sunday/4th Sunday in Lent - 03/22/2020 - Sermon - “The Light of the world” ("The New Life of Easter" - Series - Part 1 of 4)

Sunday 03/22/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:            “The Light of the World”

                    (“The New Life of Easter” Series: Part 1 of 4)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 23

                                           

New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-14

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 9:1-41

          Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome once again to our Sunday March 22^nd 10:15 am worship service here at the Sidney UMC. We once again have just a few people here to run this worship service. Again, we are recording this service, as to give us all the feeling that we are in church together physically.

          We are still in this season of Holy Lent, which is the season where we spend 40-days walking with Christ together. This 40-day season models Jesus’ temptation and fasting in the wilderness, and we are invited to give up, give away, share, love, sacrifice, and grow closer to Christ through this time leading to the empty tomb on Easter morning. This morning, once again is the Fourth Sunday in this season of Lent.

          So, I saw a face book post about a week ago that really put Lent 2020 into great perspective for me. Given everything that we are all going through right now, this person, who I think is a pastor, posted “I didn’t think that I would have to give up this much for Lent.” If we think about this for a minute, due to our current Coronavirus Pandemic, we have all given up so much. Our lives right now are changed, and probably living through this Coronavirus Pandemic will change us all forever. Jesus was tempted and fasted in the wilderness for 40-days and 40-nights. Given what is going on right now in our country and in the world, is sort of scandalizes us giving up chocolate or Facebook, doesn’t it?

          To be brutally honest, this is the first Lent that I have given up this much. I have always given up or given away a lot, but this Lent for Melissa and me, is truly one of great sacrifice. I have never given up this much for a season of Lent before. Maybe you have, but I haven’t. It does really bring home for me though the importance of Lent, and why we need to stay focused on Jesus Christ. Sacrificing and having less, can remind who is truly in control in our lives.

          This Sunday is also UMCOR Sunday, or United Methodist Committee on Relief Sunday. UMCOR is the relief organization for the entire United Methodist Church, and when disasters occur, UMCOR responds with help and resources. If we were all here physically this morning, we would have a giving envelope in our church bulletins. We can still give on www.UMCgiving.org/giveUMCOR however. I can imagine with this Global Coronavirus Pandemic that there will be no shortage of opportunities to give in varies ways. Friends don’t underestimate what God can use you to do right now. God is and will continue to use us to do amazing things.

          With this said, I am beginning a new sermon series this morning, called “The New Life of Easter” sermon series. The first part of this series for this morning is called, “The Light of the World.” In our gospel lesson for this morning from John 9:5, Jesus says:

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:5, NRSV).

          In a world with so much darkness, and in a world that right now is covered with the darkness of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic, Jesus is the light of the world.

          Our scripture readings this morning very rightly contrast light and dark, and struggle and hope. In our reading from this morning from Psalm 23, we have a Psalm that I read at virtually every funeral that I do. It is Psalm that reminds us that:

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4, NRSV).

          This Psalm is read at many funerals, and virtually all the ones I have officiated, because in this Psalm, the Psalmist reminds us that God is with us through anything. This Psalm reminds that God will be with us forever (Ps. 23:1-6, NRSV). Psalm 23 is a Psalm that is meant to comfort, to draw us to closer God, and to give us hope. I bet that many of us need this more today, than on previous March 22^nd’s.

          In looking at our New Testament reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter of the Ephesians for this morning, once again, we hear about how before we knew Christ, we walked in darkness. The world is full of darkness, sin, and brokenness, and the Global Coronavirus Epidemic is simply another reality that shows us this.

          In looking once again at our reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for this morning, he says once again:

“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, or everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you”                          (Eph. 5:8-14, NRSV).

          In this scripture the Apostle Paul tells the church in Ephesus, or the Ephesians, and us, that the darkness they walked in has vanished, as they are now walking with Christ. Will they still experience darkness, sin, and pain? Sure, they will. Now however, they have the light of Jesus Christ within them. Paul also tells us that the fruit or the product of the light of Christ in is:

“found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9a, NRSV).

          In times like this, during this Global Coronavirus Pandemic, will we as God’s people bear the light of Christ, or will we succumb to sin and darkness? Will we do:

“what is pleasing to the Lord” and will we “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11, NRSV)?

          I know that I will. If someone right now is hoarding things, or selling products at ridiculous prices to cheat people, I will definitely expose them. Yet, the Apostle Paul reminds us once again, in ending this reading from the Book if Ephesians that:

“but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:13-14, NRSV).

          So, during this time of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic, that there is darkness, worry, and brokenness, let us not forget what Jesus tells us once again in John 9:5:

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:5, NRSV).

          During times like this and always, the Apostle Paul tells us that everything will become in visible in the light of Christ. Now is the time to show the world the light of Christ, which is “The New Life of Easter,” that is coming on Easter morning. Now is the time to call each other, to check in, and to do what we can, even if we are quarantined at home. We can still love, care, reach out, and be there for each other, even if we are not interacting face to face.

          In our very long gospel of John lesson for this morning, not only does Jesus tell us, as my sermon title says, that he is “The Light of the World,” but we also have the story of Jesus healing a blind man. Jesus does this by spitting on some mud, rubbing this into a paste of sorts, and then applying it to this blind man’s eyes. This man was blind from birth, and Jesus disciples assumed that this blind man or his parents had sinned, to cause his blindness. In effect, the sin caused the punishment that was this man’s blindness. The scripture says though:

“Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:3-5, NRSV).

          Jesus then spits on the mud, covers the man’s eyes in this muddy paste that he has made, and tells the man to go and wash at the:

“pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see” (Jn. 9:7, NRSV).

          Quickly people see this, and see this man regain his sight, and many questioned. Some assumed that this seeing man, was a man that looked like the blind man, as he could now see. People were astonished and perplexed, so the man that was once blind, explained to all the people what Jesus had done for him.

          Some of the people then brought this healed man to the Pharisees, and the formerly blind man told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Some of the Pharisees, however, say of Jesus:

“This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet” (Jn. 9:16-17, NRSV).

          So, there is now debate over who Jesus is, as the blind man can now clearly see. Some of the Jews and Pharisees then get the formerly blind man’s parents and question them. The parents then say of their formerly blind son that he was indeed born blind. The parents then said to their questioners to ask formerly blind man himself, as he can speak for himself, as they were afraid of being ostracized by the faith community that they were part of.

          So, the Pharisees called the formerly blind man back again to question him a second time. The scripture then says of this:

“So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”  He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out” (Jn. 9:24-34, NRSV).

          The man who was formerly blind is now questioned second time, and then is shunned and driven out as the Pharisees are not satisfied with this man’s answers. So that’s nice, Jesus heals this man, he is interrogated twice, his parents once, and then he is kicked out of the synagogue and shunned to boot!

          Jesus then gets wind of this. As a result of this, the scripture ends this morning say:

“Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (Jn. 9:35-41, NRSV).

          Jesus sees the formerly blind man, and the man believes in Jesus and worships him. Jesus is then challenged again by the Pharisees telling them that there is visual eyesight and spiritual eyesight. We can be blind literally, or spiritually blind to our sin and our brokenness.

          During this time of the season of Lent, and during this time of this Global Coronavirus Pandemic may we seek and share light and the healing of Jesus Christ. May we also remember that we can be physically blind or spiritually blind. May we not be blind to each other and the need of others through this time we are going through now. Know that God is control, and that this all to shall come to pass. The church and its leaders are here for you. We’re praying for you, and you are loved. Amen.

Sidney UMC - 3rd Sunday in Lent - 03/15/2020 - Sermon - “A man who told me everything I have ever done!”

Sunday 03/15/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “A man who told me everything I had ever done!”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 95

                                           

New Testament Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 4:5-42

          Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, friends, welcome once again on this our Third Sunday in this the Holy Season of Lent. In this season of Lent, we are invited to model Jesus’ Forty-Days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. We are invited to give up, give away, sacrifice, and to draw closer to Jesus Christ. In this Holy Season, if we are giving something up, if we are giving things away, if we are making special sacrifices, tearing down sin strongholds in our lives, or whatever we decide to do to observe in this season of Lent, may it bring us closer to Christ and to each other.

          As we continue in the Season of Lent, we have a very power gospel lesson this morning. One of my favorites. This lesson is from the gospel of John and is once again, what many refer to as the story of the “Woman at the Well”.

          Before getting into this more though, as an example of the woman at the well, I want to talk to you for a minute about Mary. By Mary, I mean Jesus’ mother Mary. In the gospel of Luke 1:26-38, we have the story of the “Annunciation of Mary.” Cutting through this fancy language, this is the story when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear the Christ Child. Mary would carry, deliver, and would be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk. 1:26-38, NRSV).

          Mary doesn’t resist or reject this request from God, delivered through the Angel Gabriel. Perhaps Mary didn’t event think about the realities that would surround her decision, as she just wanted to serve God.

          As many of us know at this point, Mary was engaged or betrothed to man named Joseph, Jesus’ soon to be adoptive father. Most scholars that I have read or have heard, think the Mary was likely a teenager. Mary in fact, may have been as young as fourteen years old, and Joseph was likely much older. Since Joseph was likely financially established, he was in the position to furnish Mary with a home, and the resources for a family.

          In Nazareth, where Mary grew up and lived, the religious and Jewish cultural beliefs were very traditional. Having a child outside marriage was not something that was ok in Nazareth. Mary now found herself pregnant, unmarried, and likely a teenager.

          Now you can think back to your childhood, as to how a young girl in this situation might have been regarded or treated here in Sidney. Imagine about 2,000 years ago, and in a society that stoned people for egregious sins. We don’t know this from the gospel of Luke, but I wonder how Mary was received by her family and the community of Nazareth when she told them that she was pregnant?

          She wasn’t yet married to Joseph and he was devastated, but later would reconsider marrying Mary after having a visit from an angel in a dream. I wonder though, how Mary’s parents reacted to her story that “God did it?” I wonder how the community in Nazareth treated and regarded her after she knew that she was pregnant? Oh, and by the way, after Jesus was born, he was then brought back to Nazareth by Mary and Joseph and raised there. I wonder if people continued to gossip and treat Mary, and maybe even Joseph differently.

          Imagine being ostracized from society, from your church, because the supposed sin that you committed was incredibly higher than everyone else’s sins. We don’t know this for sure, but I can imagine that Mary’s parents, family, and all of Nazareth were not happy to hear Mary’s news of her pregnancy. They probably thought that she was lying to them, and that she had made a bad choice that did end the way she had hoped.

          Imagine if Mary was treated different from then on and imagine what that would feel like. I would like to think that after Jesus was brought home and raised in Nazareth that community would embrace them again, but there are those unspoken parts of the scripture. How was Mary treated? I can imagine not to well.

          So, I am attempting this morning to tie in how Mary, Jesus’ mother may have been treated after announcing that she pregnant and unmarried. If Mary was rejected by her parents, family, and all of Nazareth, I wonder how the woman at the well felt this morning?

          In getting into our gospel of John reading for this morning, let us first look at our readings once again from Psalm 95 and Romans 5:1-11. Once again, in Psalm 95 we hear:

“O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Ps. 95:1-2, NRSV).

          This Psalm goes on to say that God is great, that God created everything, is in control of everything, and we should listen to Him and follow Him.

          This morning, the Woman at the well was completely ostracized from her community and the people that she loved. Did she love God? What do you think?

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Romans for this morning, we hear about what is needed to be forgiven and to have eternal life with Jesus. This reading begins with one of my favorite verses of scripture, Romans 5:1, which says:

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom. 5:1, NRSV).

          So according to the Apostle Paul, all we need to be good enough, to be forgiven, is to have faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus is enough, and we are called to do good works as an extension of our faith. How we live and treat others should be because of our faith, not to save us. We might even suffer for our faith Paul tells us, but this should give us the hope of God in Jesus Christ. Through anything we have the love and the hope of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our hope (Rom. 5:1-11, NRSV).

          In looking more closely at our very lengthy gospel of John reading for this morning, we once again have the story of the woman at the well. Let’s look at this gospel lesson more closely. It says of Jesus:

“So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water”                   (Jn. 4:5-10, NRSV).

          So, Jesus sits by a well, engages a woman he has never met from another culture, who is largely rejected by her community. Jesus asks her to give him a drink. She is startled and asks Jesus why he would break the cultural norms, speak to her, and ask her for some water. Jesus then begins to explain who he is and talks about giving the woman “living water”.

          Then the gospel says:

“The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water” (Jn. 4:11-15, NRSV).

Jesus then, knowing the woman at the well’s story and history says:

^“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem” (Jn. 4:16-20, NRSV).

          If Jesus’ mother Mary was cast out by her parents, her family, and the people of Nazareth, this woman at the well was certainly cast out to. Jesus, nevertheless, goes to her, as he went to all people. Yet, Jesus still invites her to change and to turn from her sin and her wrongdoing.

          After this, the gospel lesson then says:

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you” (Jn. 4:21-26, NRSV).

          Jesus, “Friend of Sinners,” as is one of his many biblical titles, went to a woman whose community had rejected her. So rejected, that this woman went daily get water in the hot noon-time sun, when no one else was around. Jesus goes to this woman whose own community has shunned and discarded her. Jesus sees her value, and further, invites her to turn from her sin and follow him.

          Then suddenly, Jesus’ disciples show back up. The gospel then says:

“Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him” (Jn. 4:27-30, NRSV).

          This woman who was cast out, was called by Jesus, forgiven, and transformed. The gospel then says:

^“Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor”                                    (Jn. 4:31-38, NRSV).

          Jesus is saying that he has come to redeem everyone. This mean all people, and that all people are invited to repent of our sins, and to turn and to follow him.

          This gospel lesson once again ends by saying”

“Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world”                            (Jn. 4:39-42, NRSV).

          The woman at the well, was rejected, sinful, lowly, and likely was feeling broken and unworthy. Jesus, “Friend of Sinners,” goes to her, forgives her, tells her to turn from her sin, and to live for him. This broken woman is now restored and through the word of her testimony and Jesus himself, many people came to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus came for us all.

          As some of you know I have been part of year long leadership training cohort. The model of this leadership that we are learning, and that our entire Upper New York Annual Conference is embracing, is called the “L3” model. This model is to Love, Learn, and Lead.

          Jesus radically loved all people. Jesus got to know all people, even the people that society rejected. Jesus loved them, listen to them, and the led them to forgiveness, redemption, and new life in him. My training that I have undertaking the past seven months, has been to further help me and us all to better Love, Learn, and Lead.  

          Friends, how many women at the wells do we have in this community? How many people are broken, cast out, and feel unloved. Jesus went to all people. Are we willing to love those around us, to love the people that we work with, and that live nearby us with the love of Christ?

          Further, are willing to sit and listen to there stories, and learn from them. Are willing to not just love them, but to hear what they have been through.

          Lastly, are willing to lead them to Jesus Christ? I think that the Sidney UMC does the “L3” model very well. We love others, we learn from them, and we then led them to Christ. Jesus came for us all, but he didn’t want us to stay the same. Jesus came to the woman at the well, but he also invited her to repent of her sin and change. Jesus came for us all, out of love, but to change us.

          Every person that visits this church, every person we encounter that is rejected or outcast, is another person that Christ wants us to love. These people have hurts, stories, and pains. If we listen to them, if we sit with them in coffee hour, and care about them, then maybe, just maybe, God can use us to lead them to Christ.

          Jesus loved, learned, and led. As a church, may we be like Jesus, loving all, learning about them, and leading them to Christ. Jesus came for us all, even the lowly, even a rejected woman at a well. Amen.

Sidney UMC - 2nd Sunday in Lent - 03/08/2020 - Sermon - “NicoDerm vs. Nicodemus”

Sunday 03/08/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:          “NicoDerm vs. Nicodemus”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 121

                                           

New Testament Scripture: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 3:1-17

          Friends, welcome once again on this our Second Sunday in this the Season of Holy Lent. This 40-day season of giving up, of giving away, of fasting, of praying, and of growing closer to Christ and each other. In observing the season of Lent, we model Jesus’ 40-days in the wilderness of fasting and being tempted by the devil. May this season of Lent bring us closer to Christ, closer to each other, and may we become more like Christ.

          For this season of Lent, for example, I have been continually gathering unneeded things, old clothes, etc., to give away. This means that we will have some more things at the Church Rummage Sale this year April! I am observing the season of Lent in this way to be more like Christ and to draw closer to Christ. When we realize what we don’t need, and when we focus more on Christ and on more each other, our faith grows stronger.

          Now you might have noticed that I have a little bit of an odd sermon title for this morning. If you haven’t seen it in the bulletin yet, my sermon title for this morning is called “NicoDerm vs. Nicodemus.”

          For those of us that might not know, NicoDerm is a gum on the market used to help people quit smoking. Nicodemus was a Jewish Pharisee from our gospel of John reading for this morning. Nicodemus came to Jesus this morning wanting to know about Jesus and to draw closer to God. So, NicoDerm, once again, is a gum that you chew to quite smoking, and Nicodemus was a Jewish Pharisee.

          So, why would Pastor Paul compare a gum that you chew to quit smoking with a Jewish Pharisee that came to Jesus trying to understand faith and salvation more? Well, I have the answer for you!

          Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, speaking of Nicodemus had this joke, and I can’t remember where he said it exactly. He said this though:

“If you think that Nicodemus is a gum that chew to quit smoking, then you might not know your Bible” (Jeff Foxworthy).

          So once again, the great Rev. Foxworthy said:

“If you think that Nicodemus is a gum that chew to quit smoking, then you might not know your Bible” (Jeff Foxworthy).

          I decided to make this my sermon title for this morning for two reasons. Number one, because it’s funny. Number two, hopefully like me, after hearing this joke, you will never forget the Bible character Nicodemus ever again in your life!

          In our gospel lesson for this morning, Nicodemus, not NicoDerm, comes to Jesus at night (Jn. 3:1-2, NRSV). Nicodemus, once again, a Jewish Pharisee and leader, tells Jesus that many know that he is clearly from God. They know this because of the many signs and wonders that Jesus has done. Jesus responds to Nicodemus saying these things to Jesus, by telling him in John 3:3:

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (Jn. 3:3, NRSV).

          Nicodemus takes Jesus so literally here, that Nicodemus thinks that Jesus is saying that he must literally and physically be reborn, like a newborn baby is. Jesus says not being reborn like that, but instead you must be:

“be born of water and Spirit” (Jn. 3:5b, NRSV).

          Or to put it another way, you need to be baptized, accept Jesus as Lord, and be filled with God’s Spirit. So emphatic about this, Jesus says that without this, no one can enter the kingdom of God.

          Jesus tells us the flesh is the flesh and Spirt is the Spirit. Our flesh will die, but not our spirit. At this, Nicodemus is confused, and Jesus challenges us to really consider and to understand what he is saying to Nicodemus. Jesus tells Nicodemus to believe, as he and many others have seen and have heard him, and now believe.

          Jesus tells Nicodemus that he descended from heaven, and he will be ascended back into heaven. Jesus further says that anyone who believes in him will have eternal life (Jn. 3:1-15, NRSV)

          From here we have the famed two versus of scripture that end our gospel of John reading for this morning. These versus are John 3:16-17, that says once again:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Jn. 3:16-17, NRSV).

          What Jesus was telling Nicodemus, not NicoDerm, is that he, Jesus, is the key to salvation. He is the sacrifice for sin, and the hope of the world. We can’t earn it, we can’t buy it, because it’s free from Jesus. Jesus is saying that when you encounter him spiritually, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are changed forever.

          Some Christians identify as “Born Again Christians.” The reason they do, is that like in this story for this morning about Jesus and Nicodemus, these Christians would say that they have been spiritually reborn. They have encountered Christ, they have repented of their sins, they have put their trust in Jesus, and they have felt God’s love and grace. This experience has changed them, and they believe in and follow Jesus. They want others to know Christ, so that those people can know the love that they have found. Spiritual rebirth, and for free. As John says in John 3:16:

“everyone who believes in him” (Jn. 3:16b, NRSV).

          Not some, all people, are offered this free gift of God’s love, hope, peace, mercy, and salvation, through Jesus Christ. Grace and love that we don’t deserve, that we can’t earn, but is offered to us freely. Jesus is telling Nicodemus to open his heart to God, to him, and to new life.

          When our scripture readings for Sunday mornings are assembled months in advance, you have probably heard me say that the church assembles them thematically. This means that all our scripture readings for church on any given Sunday, can be connected in one or more ways.

          This morning, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born again, to believe in him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that this glory comes from heaven.

          It is very interesting to me therefore, that our reading from Psalm 121 for this morning begins by saying:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1-2, NRSV).

          We look up to God, hope in God, and draw strength from God. God is with us, for us, and knows us inside and out. This Psalm tells us to open our hearts to God, Jesus is telling Nicodemus to be reborn in God’s Spirit, and to open his heart to God’s grace.

          The Apostle Paul reaffirms what Jesus is telling Nicodemus in our gospel of John reading for this morning. Jesus is telling Nicodemus to not stay in the flesh, but to be born again. The Apostle Paul once again this morning says in Romans 4:1-5 regarding Abraham:         

“What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:1-5, NRSV).

          So, it’s about faith, rebirth, coming to Christ, and newness of life. The Apostle Paul concludes for this morning once again in Romans 4:13-17, saying”

^“For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”                              (Rom. 4:13-17, NRSV).

          This morning, Jesus was telling Nicodemus, not NicoDerm, that he needed to have faith, to be born anew, to trust in Jesus, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Nicodemus did seem to really understand this.

          Do we get it? Do we understanding needing to be born of water and spirit? Do we understand needing to be reborn? Do we understand needing to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Do we realize how much God loves us? Do we know that He is always here for us, and that he will never abandon us?

          Friends, its about faith and trust in God, and this is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus, not NicoDerm this morning. Amen.

Sidney UMC - 1st Sunday in Lent - 03/01/2020 - Sermon - “From Eden to Today”

Sunday 03/01/20 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:        “From Eden to Today”

Old Testament Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

                                           

New Testament Scripture: Romans 5:12-19

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 4:1-11

          Welcome once again on this our First Sunday in the season Lent. This 40-day season of reflection, of giving up, of giving away, of self-denial, of prayer, and of fasting, designed to draw us closer to Christ. During this 40-days season leading us to Easter, may we draw closer to Christ, and seek to live like and to imitate Christ more.

          In our gospel lesson for this morning from the gospel of Matthew, Jesus fasted for 40-days and nights and was tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Mt. 4:1-11, NRSV). Jesus was tempted with food, as he was very hungry, was tempted with fame, riches, and power, and was tempted to save his own life.

          In Luke 9:23 Jesus tells us:

“Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23, NRSV).

          It is true to say, as I said at our Ash Wednesday service, that the season of Lent, like the season of Advent, leading up to Christmas, is a creation of the Christian Church. We are not required by Holy Scripture to celebrate the season of Lent or Advent, but these seasons developed in the early worshipping tradition of the church. We also developed different colored paraments on our pulpits and altars, as we began to orient ourselves not to the secular calendar, but to the Christian calendar.

          So, it is true to say that we do not have to celebrate the season Lent, but many Christian Churches have done so for centuries, because we feel celebrating Lent helps us to grow in our faith in Christ.

          In modelling Jesus fasting for 40-days and nights in the wilderness in our gospel of Matthew reading for this morning, we are invited into a 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday. This period is actually 46-days, as Sundays generally don’t count, as this is the Lord’s Day. We are invited to sacrifice, to cut back, to be more generous, to give up, to give away, and to move closer to Christ.

          Melissa has challenged me for a handful of months now to get rid of clothes that I don’t wear much. I am one of those people that still has a pair of pants from over 10-years ago. Or I was, up until recently!

          A way that we can live and be more like Christ in this season of Lent is to give away things we don’t need. I own much less clothes than I used to, and our church Rummage Sale will be more blessed for it! Some people in this holy season give up a food, or something that they find enjoyable. If doing this though makes you miserable and angry, is that bringing you closer to Christ? No, probably not.

          One year for the season of Lent, I gave up coffee, and that lasted about a day. It was terrible day. This year though, I am committed to giving away more things. Some of us have boxes, closets, and or clothing with the tags still on it. Some of you might have shirt that you bought at AMES 30-years ago that you never wore. Observing a Lenten discipline then is how we feel God is leading us to grow in our faith and love. I have friends that have given up Facebook for Lent. They have done this, because they want to sacrifice something that they love, as Jesus sacrificed everything for them. I know some people who have given up sweets for Lent. Not because they must, but because they want to draw closer to Christ and to be more like Christ.

          The spiritual practice of fasting from food or something else isn’t designed to make us miserable. Instead it is designed to show us that God is our source of life before anything else. These spiritual disciplines draw us closer to Christ, as we are removing the barriers between us and God.

          I have colleague who is a United Methodist Pastor. This person has done full weeklong fasts. During these fasts, this pastor each nothing all day, and at night, he will eat some, or drink something nutritious. The pastor is doing this, so that he will be more focused on God.

          A member of our church told me last week, that one challenge they saw for the 40-day season of Lent, is to find things around your house or your apartment that you don’t need and maybe don’t even want. Grab one thing each day and put them in a bag or a box. At the end of the season of Lent, give those forty things away to someone who needs them.

          Every year since I became a pastor 8-years ago, I have also offered Advent and Lent studies. Since we have these seasons in the life of the church, why not get together and grow in our faith and in our relationships with each other. So, once again, the paraments, the seasons, the robes, and the tradition, was created to point us to Christ.

          With all of this said, my sermon title for this morning called, “From Eden to today,” takes us from our reading from the Book of Genesis to our gospel lesson from the gospel of Matthew, for this morning.

          In our reading from Book of Genesis once again, we have a few verses from chapter 2, and some versus from chapter 3. From chapter two, we hear that God created man, or Adam in the garden. God tells Adam that he can eat freely of every tree, except:

“the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:16, NRSV).

          Eating of this tree will cause death, God says. Many of us know that the Book of Genesis says that while Adam slept, God took one of his ribs and made a companion for him named Eve.

          A serpent, which is the devil, enters the garden, and tells Eve, that if she eats from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” that she won’t die. The serpent, the devil says, it will only open your eyes, and it will make you wise. So, Eve takes of some of this fruit. Notice it doesn’t say apple, as it could have something else, like a fig for example. Eve eats some of and offers some to Adam, and he eats. I will point out that Adam eats voluntarily, for those men who blame the fall of humanity on Eve or women. Not true men!

          So, they eat, and their eyes are opened, and Adam and Eve see each other’s nakedness. In good Garden of Eden fashion, they created loincloths for themselves out of sown together fig leaves. I guess this new reality for Adam and Eve would certainly be hard to hide from God (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-7, NRSV)!

          God then expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. We call this the fall of humanity. From that point, we will experience sin, suffering, pain, heat, cold, and struggle. We are therefore, in a fallen and a sinful world. We are not bad or terrible, we are just prone sometimes to do bad or terrible things. If you don’t believe me, just turn on the news tonight.

          God demands that we must be without sin. How can we do this though? I, Pastor Paul, despite trying my best, despite seeking Christ, cannot be fully without sin. I think I have less sin than I did 10-years ago, but I am not fully without sin. I have a problem then, as God wants people that are sinless. It is impossible for me on my own to accomplish this.

          This my friends, is why God planned before time itself to send his only son into the world to die for us. Why didn’t God send Jesus sooner? There are various debates on this. What happened to people eternally before Jesus? There are various debates on this. As I jokingly tell people, “I am in sales not management!”

          God sent his son into the world to bleed and die on a cross to cover our sins. We are incapable of being sinless, so God’s son blotted out our sins for us. All we have to do is repent and accept Christ as our savior and follow him. Otherwise, how can we perfect in the presence of God? Only though Christ can we be found sinless and righteous before a sinless and righteous God.

          So, to put this another way, Adam and Eve failed, but Jesus did not. Jesus was only person who ever walked the face of this earth free from sin. As a result, Jesus is the only one who meets the qualifications to be an all sufficient Lord and Savior, who is truly worry of our praise.

          In looking at our reading for this morning once again from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome or the Romans, Paul discusses Adam and Eve’s failure in the Garden of Eden. Once again Paul says:

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:12-19, NRSV).

          Paul says that sin came into the world, as Adam failed. Since then we have lived a broken and a suffering world. Jesus came however, to offer us new life, hope, light, love, and forgiveness.

          For me knowing that I am forgiven, loved, and restored through Jesus Christ, makes me in the season of Lent and always, want to be better. I think if we are honest, we can all say that we still have sin our lives. Salvation, heaven, is a free gift through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. On this earth though, I want to continue to become more and more like Christ, so that God might use me even more to transform Sidney and the world. What was that old US Army motto, “Be all you can be?”

          I don’t just want salvation therefore; I also want to be more like Jesus. In this season of Lent, I want further to uproot and remove, with God’s help the sin in my life. This is what this season is all about. This is how we got “from Eden to today”.

          What is amazing to me about Jesus, isn’t just that he was fully God and fully human on earth, isn’t just that he was sinless, isn’t just that he died for our sins, but that he became like us. Adam and Eve chose to be condemned, and so did Jesus. Yet Jesus wanted us to know that God loved us so much that he was willing to get into the trenches with us. Jesus was willing to experience heat, temptation, suffering, and unimaginable pain, just to tell us, that he gets it. He understands our suffering, and even suffered with us and for us.

          In our gospel lesson for this morning once again, Jesus has been baptized by his cousin John the Baptist. After this baptism, Jesus then goes into what I like to call to “basic training”. Jesus is tempted as further preparation for his three-year public ministry here on earth. What does he go through for this 40-day period of time? Probably much less than we will go through if we give up chocolate for Lent.

          Once again, our gospel of Matthew reading for this morning says:

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
    and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” (Mt. 4:1-11, NRSV).

          Where Adam failed in the Garden of Eden, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, passed every test with flying colors. Jesus fasts, goes toe to toe with the devil, and Jesus wins.  

          I invited all of us to observe Holy Lent with me, as we walk to cross of Christ together. May we give up, give, away, pray, fast, love, hope, and care, to grow closer to and to become more like Christ. This is how we to get “From Eden to Today.” Amen.