Philippians 1:1-14

One of the things that amazes me, keeps me humble, and lets me rejoice in the awesomeness of God is that the church never relies or depends on any one person or any certain group of people.  The Christian church has existed for 2000 years because of the faithfulness of all God’s people in each generation.  This church, God’s church, existed before any of us were here, it is here today because of you and it will be here tomorrow because of your faithfulness and because of the people in the future.

And, the only leader in any church that is ever consistent is that of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow in leading us in our faith. Jesus will always be here to lead us for all eternity to come.  However, what does change in the life of the church is your pastor.  God, and the cabinet, has called upon me to move and I will be leaving Moody at the first of the year.

This move came very unexpectedly for both you and me.  But, the minister in Olney is retiring at the first of the year, which necessitated some moves in the conference.  Olney is located about 90 miles northwest of Fort Worth and 45 miles south of Wichita Falls.

Whenever someone retires, or some other event necessitates a move to occur the Bishop, District Superintendents and certain lay members of the church gather together and pray and ask God to lead them in making the new appointments.  With this is the understanding that the time has come that God has called me to another place to help that church grow in the faith and that someone else is being called to walk the faith journey with you now at this time and in this place.

When I look back on these three years I see so much to celebrate.  There have been baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and so much more.  People have grown spiritually and we have grown as the Lord’s Church.

And, now, whoever comes – and that has not been announced yet – is called to come and journey with you in the future to do so much more.  Just as God is calling me to the next place God is calling someone new to be with you.

The Methodist Church believes strongly in the earliest history of the Christian church where from the time of the earliest Apostle’s we, as pastors, are called to go and be in different places and to utilize our gifts and graces in the times and places we are suppose to be there.  My three and a half years in Moody have been amazing.  I knew that my time to move would eventually come but it is always a shock for everyone to go through the transition.

Know that my heart grieves.  I love you and I love this place.  The irony in my calling is that I hate to move.  However, like Peter, James and John when Jesus called them to be the leaders in the church and preach the Gospel and when Jesus said, “Come, and follow me,” I too, like them said yes, Lord and I follow Him wherever he leads me.  Like Paul, in today’s passage in some ways I feel like I am a prisoner of Christ but I wouldn’t want it any other way because being an ordained minister is who God calls me to be and I am at peace with that.  To go and preach the Gospel, to give the sacraments and to be in service and in the order of the church is who we as ministers are called to be. When Jesus calls upon me to go I go and when I am called to stay I am happy to stay.  Like Peter, I am called to go and feed Jesus sheep and only through his leading and timing.

I will be honest in that God began a stirring in my heart this month that I recognized to be the same from when God called me to be with you.  I thought, however, that if it were true it would be for June.  As God often times does God has a plan in mind that we don’t always see or understand.

Likewise, I also believe what Paul wrote to us today when he said, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”  God is now calling someone else to be in ministry with you as you continue this good work that you so faithfully do in your church, in this community and to the world.  Your ministry will continue on because you are a faithful people to God and not to a certain minister.

I remember when I was in High School my Methodist Church had a pastor that we dearly loved.  And, that included me.  That minister could grab this teenager’s attention and make me feel like he was bringing a message from God right to me.  So, when I heard he was leaving I was devastated along with a lot of people in the church.  We knew the move was a great opportunity for him and that he was called to go but it didn’t lesson our grief.

The new pastor came in time.  I never did believe he preached as good as the other one but he touched our lives in many other ways.  Also, God sent a youth minister into my life that taught me so much about being a Christian and being a leader in the church.  Through him and his leadership I grew and matured in my faith by leaps and bounds through the lessons he taught us.  If the first minister had not left we would not have had the opportunity to be affected by the other two ministers as we were.  So, I learned the value of how different people bring different gifts into our lives.

We will have a time for grieving and we will have a time for celebrating ministry together and God will bring new and exciting opportunities, teachings, and ministry into our lives.

And, like Paul, the time will come when I am gone and every time I think of you, constantly praying for you, I will remember you with joy because of our time spent in sharing the Gospel together and doing God’s holy work.

However, our time together is not done yet.  And, we have much to do over these next three months.  So, I invite us to keep our sights on the Head of the Church Jesus Christ and let us continue to move forward in the ministry that He has called us to.

I celebrate you.  I celebrate our ministry and I celebrate God who has brought us together for these three and a half wonderful years.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Luke 2:21-40

Mary and Joseph were now past there first full week as parents of the baby Jesus.  Most importantly, as Jews, it was time for them to take Jesus and present Him at the Temple to be circumcised and named.  All of this which had been done down through the ages since the time of Moses.  All of this very normal for any Jewish family to present their son for this special service.  This was especially important since He was the first-born son and therefore holy to the Lord.  However, no one could be more holy then the baby Jesus – God’s own Son to be presented this day.

And, no one would ever have the experience that Mary and Joseph, and Simeon and Anna would have on this day.  Once again Mary and Joseph receive affirmation to who their Son is and some of His destiny as they listen to the words of Simeon and Anna.

Simeon is a man from Jerusalem who we know nothing about except for this encounter.  We find out that he is must like Joseph, in that, we are told that he is righteous and devout in his faith.  We know that the Holy Spirit rested upon him and it was revealed to him through the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he met the Messiah.  Guided by the Spirit that day Simeon had gone to the Temple and there amongst the hundreds of people it was revealed to him that the baby in the arms of Mary and Joseph was the Messiah.  He asked to hold him and then began to prophecy.  “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  Simeon’s life was now complete and he could die in peace.  Not only that he prophesied that this truly was God’s Messiah who was here to save the Gentiles and the people of Israel.  This is the Messiah for all of the world and God’s creation.  The Messiah was not just for the Israelites but also for the whole world.  Simeon then blessed His parents but also warned them that the road ahead would be difficult.

As they continued to go through the Temple another prophet by the name of Anna came up to them.  A woman who had been dedicated to God all of her life and even lived in the Temple.  She too began to prophecy, not just to Mary and Joseph, but also to all who would listen that this child was here to redeem the world.

What an amazing experience all of this must been for Mary and Joseph.  They began the day being faithful Jews to go and have prayers of purification and to circumcise their child and instead found out the wonders of what happens when we are open to the guiding of the Holy Spirit.  Each of these people – Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna – had opened their hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit and God leading them in their lives.  Mary and Joseph were now raising God’s Son.  Simeon and Anna had prayed deeply for the coming of the Messiah and now, in their faithfulness they had seen Him and they knew that God’s redemption was at hand.  Wow!  What amazing things happen when we are open to God.  And, these are not just things that happened long ago but God’s Spirit is alive and well in this world today if we are open to His presence in our lives and to His leading us.

When we are open to the guidance of God many wonderful things happen in our lives also.  Noah and his family were saved from the floods.  David defeated Goliath.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace into a seemingly hopeless situation and they trusted God to be with them and He was!  Twelve disciples heard and responded to the call of Jesus to come and follow Him.  Paul turned his life around from persecuting Christians to being one of the great leaders of the church.  Mother Theresa witnessed and was a servant to the poor and ill in Calcutta.  Billy Graham has preached to hundreds of thousands of people and so many have come to Christ.  All because people of listened to and have responded to the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.

God, through the Holy Spirit, has moved amongst both of these congregations and in this community in so many ways.  You have supported missionaries, fed the hungry in the community, helped people who have had fires, and had a great after school program for the children.  Many have come to know Christ and joined these churches and children and adults have grown in their faith.

And, now God’s Holy Spirit is moving again although there are times that God’s Spirit moves in ways that is sometimes not what we want or not in our timing.  But, God’s timing is always perfect whether we agree or not.

God is leading me to go to another place and to serve Him there.  The process is not always easy when a change unexpectedly comes and the Bishop and the cabinet are called together to pray and discern who is to go to the new place and who is called to come here.  Through the leading of the Holy Spirit God has led them to move me, and through my prayer time, I have agreed that this is what God is calling to take place.

By following the Holy Spirit change often times comes into our lives.  What we have to remember is that when God brings us to a time and a place of change it is a good thing even if we aren’t always happy about it.  Following God changed Mary and Joseph’s lives dramatically, but the change in their lives affected the world forever.

The disciples, by following Jesus, had them leaving their jobs and leaving their families but for the wonderful and often hard lifestyle of preaching and teaching with and for Christ.  Hundreds of thousands of Christians down through the century have followed Christ and suffered great persecution but they would not trade it for living a life in Christ.  It has also lead them on wonderful adventures.

All of that being said, what we also have to realize and deal with is the emotions that come with change.  We have to allow ourselves to grieve, we have to deal with the anxiousness and anxiety that sometimes comes with change, and we need to be open to where God is leading us.  Just as God has called me to go to Olney God has also called Beth and her family to be here with you.  She comes here with her gifts and graces to be in ministry at this time and at this place.  You will join in ministry together just as we have shared in ministry together for these last three and a half years.

Words cannot say enough about the time I have cherished and shared here with you.  I have been truly blessed in my time here and I pray that you have too.

We have shared many laughs together and prayed and worshiped together.  We have shared many difficult times through hospital stays and shared in the grief of the loss of loved ones.  We have shared in wonderful Sabbath retreats, Lord’s Acres and Fall Festivals.  We have had a great time playing horse shoes (thanks Nikky for being my partner – at least we made it to the second round!) and shared in many wonderful Christmas’s and Easters.  So many of you have become wonderful friends and you will all always remain in my heart and I will pray for your ministry here and know that you will have many great ways of serving God for many years to come.  Both of these churches have a great history and a great future and I have been truly blessed to be a part of them.  Thank you for being open to the guiding of God’s Holy Spirit and welcoming me to be in ministry with you.  I know that you were uncertain at first about me coming but God has truly blessed our time together.  I love you all.  And, may God’s richest blessings be upon you all of your days.  Thanks be to God for all of His blessings and the guiding of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Luke 2:1-20

This is one of the greatest stories ever told.  A story that never grows old now matter how many times we hear it.  How can it grow old?  This is the story of God’s love, God’s joy, and God’s hope for us through the Savior.  This is the start of the beautiful life story of God coming down to us in the form of a baby – so innocent, so sweet and so pure.

Mary and Joseph were like so many people who were forced to travel to Joseph’s family’s hometown in order to register for the census.  Of course, this was also all a part of God’s plan and a part of the prophecy that Jesus was to be born in the town of Bethlehem, the land and home of King David.  So they arrived and Mary came due while they were there.  Joseph tried to get them a room in the inn but there was simply no room with all of the people in from out of town.  Somehow, though, they found this stable out of the weather and away from the crowds where Mary could give birth.

I can just imagine how the new parents must have felt.  No doubt they were like all new parents rejoicing over their new child and giving thanksgiving that the delivery went ok and the baby boy was healthy.  But, just as they had these thoughts how overwhelmed they must have been to realize that they were holding God’s child in their arms.  Their savior was really here with them, lying in their arms.  And, somehow, this newborn child was going to grow into a man and would save all people for all time in a way they could not understand.  How overwhelming things must have been for them as they celebrated their newborn king – their Son.

Soon, though the story turns to shepherds who were innocently and quietly watching over their flocks of sheep.  The hill country in Bethlehem is beautiful.  The hills stand tall and are rolling and green.  You can just imagine the sheep, some bedded down and some grazing, laying across the hillside as the shepherds guarded them from the coyotes and cougars of the night.  And, then suddenly, there was that bright light as the angels descended down from heaven.  How terrifying the experience had to have been for the shepherds.  Even the angels knew it would be overwhelming and they told them immediately to be not afraid.  And, then the Good News of Jesus birth was shared with them and they could go and find him in the town of Bethlehem.  What’s amazing in some ways is that after the angels sang of God’s Good News is that the shepherds did not dwell over what had just happened to them.  They didn’t stand around asking, did that really happen?  They didn’t sit around wondering why they were the one’s getting the message of this good news instead of the Temple priests, kings and queens, or someone else.  But, instead they responded to the Good News of the Savior that they had all been praying for was now waiting for them in a stable in Bethlehem.  They went immediately, leaving there flocks, and went to find this newborn king.  How exciting and thrilling this must have been.

In fact, Scripture tells us they went with haste – they went fast – they didn’t want to lose one moment with the opportunity to see Jesus and to worship Him.  After they knelt down and worshiped Him they shared their experience of what happened to them in the field with Mary and Joseph and they cherished these things in their hearts.  No doubt, one more affirmation for Mary Joseph that the experience they were having was so real and that now, even now, in the first hours after Jesus birth God was letting the world know that Jesus had come to the earth.  This son of there’s would never truly be just their own.  Their Son had come to save the world.

There was a church in Ohio that was reacting the manger scene at Christmas time as so many churches do.  They had an African Mary, a bi-racial Joseph and a white baby doll with long blond hair in the manger. A 3-year old angel came up (long before he was supposed to), mugged for the audience as only a 3 year old can, and then went over to the manger. He reached in, picked up the baby, held it way up and said: “Whose baby IS this??” After a short walk down the aisle with Jesus, he went back up and put the baby back in the manger. Out of the mouths of babes……  This baby, the baby Jesus, belongs to all of us.  He is Emmanuel, God with us, who has come into the world to save all people of all nations and all races.  Whose baby is this?  This baby is yours – He is Christ the Savior born to you and to me.  He is your Savior.  He is a part of us and is here to stay.

What is it you want for Christmas?  I pray that it is your Savior and that tonight and each day of your life He is born anew into your heart filling you with grace, joy, love, peace, hope and forgiveness.  I pray that you know Christ as your Savior so that you can know the joy of being forgiven, of forgiving others and of knowing salvation is yours for all eternity.  Jesus is the greatest gift ever given and He is given for you.  The greatest gift God gives to you and I hope you accept this gift given with passion and love for you.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Matthew 1:18-25

Joseph.  Sometimes he seems to be the forgotten man in the whole story of Jesus’ birth.  We know so little about him, but yet in this story we learn so much about him, his character and his faith.

Joseph was betrothed to Mary.  Engagements in those days typically were at least a year to allow the groom time to prepare their new home and to allow the bride time to make linens and to get things ready for the household.  During this time an engagement was considered a time of being married even though there had not been any ceremony and they did not live together.  It was as binding as a marriage.  It was a time of preparation.

Of course, it was during this time that the angel had come to Mary and told her she was with child and that He was to be the savior of the world.  Remember how we talked about how hard it would be to explain to her family and to Joseph?  Apparently, at least with Joseph, it did not go too well.  It was too much for him to believe or more maybe more then he could bear.  He obviously struggled with his decision over what to do.  You can just imagine him thinking that all he had wanted in his life was love.  He wanted the love of a good wife and the love of a family.  And, now his bride is telling him that she is pregnant with God’s Son who is the Messiah that they had all longed for.  That is a lot to grasp.

We are told that Joseph was a righteous man and obviously a man of deep faith and convictions.  I am sure that after much prayer and talking with family and friends is when he reached the decision to quietly dismiss her in order not to disgrace her or her family.  We can tell that this must have been a struggle for Joseph because Scripture tells us, “just when he had resolved to do this…”, it had not been an easy decision.

So, the angel came to Joseph in a dream and reassured Joseph.  The angel told Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the child that she carries truly is from God and that He is to be named Jesus and that He will save the people from our sins just as the prophets had spoken.

Joseph, like anyone was afraid of what all was before him and now he had the reassurance he needed to know that everything would be ok.  So, Joseph did as he was told and took Mary to be his wife.

All Joseph wanted was love and now he was going to receive more love then he could have possibly have imagined.  The love of his wife and the love of God in the special way of a newborn baby.  He was going to receive the savior of the world into his family.  Such love is this that no one has ever seen or experienced.

Scripture tells us that Joseph was a faithful and righteous man.  He shows this and answers his call to faithfulness by recognizing that this dream and message from the angel came from God and that he needed to obedient and faithful and answers the call.  But, how much more it had to be then just being faithful and obedient.  He had to be true to himself and to Mary in how they lived their lives.  No doubt they went through many difficult times with people wondering about Mary’s pregnancy, family questioning events, and then long years away from home in a far off land.

But, for now, it is all about Emmanuel.  God with us. And Joseph almost missed it. Joseph’s initial response to the news that Mary was going to have a child was to dismiss her quietly, not wanting to expose her to public disgrace.

The child Mary carried was God’s creative power at work. So also in us and those around us God’s creative power is at work. And do we dare dismiss it quietly? Or do we, like Joseph, change our minds and open ourselves to the potential that God gives us because God is with us? Each and every day we have the opportunity to dismiss (quietly) God who is with us or to choose to open ourselves to the miracle of divine new birth.

One night Joseph is sure that his decision is correct, the next morning he knows it was wrong. The only difference being the insight that God has given him and that he trusts God in the path that he is being led to.

I cannot help but think of the many times I have quietly dismissed “God with me” or I was sure I had the right answer without listening to God.  It is easy to dismiss the “God with us” in ourselves, imagining that God cannot work in us or through us. It is easy to dismiss the “God with us” in others, blinded by our own expectations or preconceived ideas.  How many times have we longed for God to be with us but we have overlooked God trying to reach out to us, or dismissed special moments not believing it is God coming to us, or that God loves us that much to reach out to us individually.  However, God does know and reach out to each of us individually and knows us individually in special ways.  God longs to be in relationship with us.  God longs to communicate with us, to guide us and most of all to love us.  God’s love has come down to us in so many special ways throughout the centuries but now God’s love comes to us in the greatest of ways.  God reached out and into the love of Joseph and Mary’s lives to have them share their love with Jesus.  To raise Him in a home filled with love and laughter and learning.  Joseph wanted love.  Now he has received the greatest love of all.  The love of his wife, the love of God and the love of the Messiah being an intimate part of their lives.  God wants to be an intimate part of our lives also.

Emmanuel,  “God with us!”  When we accept Christ into our lives, nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love.  It is what Christmas is about.  God is with us. The great people of faith have always claimed that promise.  Just think of it:

– Moses caught between the Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea in a seemingly hopeless situation believed that God was with him and he went forward and trusted God to open a way and He did!

– Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace into a seemingly hopeless situation and they trusted God to be with them and He was!

– Little David stood before Goliath.  What chance could a small boy with a slingshot have against this giant of a warrior?  But David believed that God was with him and it made all the difference! Now, it’s interesting to note that when the writer of Matthew’s gospel wanted to capture the meaning of Christmas, the meaning of the Christ event, the meaning of Jesus in a single word, he did a very wise thing.

He reached back into the Old Testament, pulled out an old word, dusted it off, and used it to convey the message.  The word was Emmanuel.  That’s what Jesus is about “His name shall be called Emmanuel” which means, “God is with us.” The impact of that Christmas promise is incredible.  When you believe that, when you accept that, when you claim that promise it will absolutely change your life.

Because when you accept Jesus into your heart and know that God is truly with us through Him then you to will find love.  A love that goes beyond anything that you have ever experienced in this world.  What do you want for Christmas?  God is longing to give you joy, peace and love.  All of this through the precious child of Jesus.  May we go forth to celebrate Emmanuel and the birth of Jesus our Savior.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

John 6:25-35

Previous to the passage we read today Jesus had just fed the five thousand with the five loaves and the two fish and had gone off to pray.  Many of the people had hung around waiting for Jesus to appear but they finally realized He was gone.  Jesus and the disciples had actually gone back to His home in Capernaum after Jesus prayed.  They wanted to know why Jesus had come here.  After all, he had been with the Jews where they were.  It was a great time with over five thousand people and all the food you could desire to fill your stomachs.  And now, of all things, He was in a town filled with Gentiles.  Why would He want to come here?  However, Jesus did not care to answer this question because it was not important.  Instead He wanted to challenge them on the truth of what it is they were really wanting versus what it is they really needed.

So, Jesus said, you really aren’t looking for me you are only here because your stomachs were filled with food.  Instead I want you to see and know the One who is the Bread of Life and the One who gives you this bread is standing before you.  And, if you believe in Me, you will never be hungry again.  They still didn’t understand what Jesus wanted because they asked, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”  As good Jews they believed in works righteousness and that if you work hard enough and well enough then God will bless you and only then would they receive this Bread of Life.

Jesus simply said, that the work of God is to believe in the One who has been sent by God.  How unimaginable for them that it was a matter of simply believing and not just about doing!

Well, if Jesus was the One that God had sent then they wanted a sign – prove to them that He is truly the One – I guess feeding over five thousand with five loaves and two fish was not enough – and for them it wasn’t!  They went on to try and further challenge Jesus by quoting the Torah and stating that Moses was the one who gave them manna from heaven.  For the Jews there was a strong belief that if Moses gave them the manna in the days of wondering the wilderness then the Messiah who is to come was far surpass this great work.  What was Jesus going to do?  Because for them the feeding of the five thousand came from earthly bread and the manna did not.  So, show us Jesus.  For the Jew it was about looking to the past and what had happened with their ancestors and looking to the future and the promise and hope of the Messiah.  The bread of the past sustained them in the wilderness.  The bread of the future, of the Messiah, was to give them eternal life.  Surely the One to come would give them something better then just earthly bread.

First, Jesus reminded them that the manna that came was not from Moses but from God.  Jesus went on to say, “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…. I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  Jesus wanted them to see beyond the earthly bread also to the One who provided the bread and what blessings and grace that God has to give to us.  Jesus wanted them to see beyond the miracle of the feeding of the more than five thousand and instead see the One who gave the miracle and who gives the gift of life and the gift of grace.

Too often we tend to just see those things that are right in front of us and take them at face value and fail to see the full picture that is at hand.  And that is what had happened to them and we sometimes do the same thing today.

It’s kind of like the eight-year-old child that goes out to play every evening before supper.  And, her mother had told her that each time I call you need to come immediately because your Father is home and supper is on the table.  Well, several times when the Mother would call out to her she would never come immediately and instead it would take her ten minutes to get home even though she was just down the street.  Each time she got in trouble with her parents for being late.  She would try to say something to her Father but he would never hear her “excuses” and would tell her to mind her and be obedient.  Finally, when it happened again she was sent to her room without any supper for not obeying her parents.  The girl cried in her room but did as she was told.  Later that night the mother went in to speak to her about what she had done and why she was punished.  Finally, she asked her if she had anything to say.  Finally, she was allowed to tell her Mom that each time she was called to come home she was taking four-year-old Timothy home and walking him across the street so he would be safe from cars and because his mother never watched for him.  The Mother was sick to her stomach.  She had only seen one side of the story and thought her daughter was being disobedient when instead she was being compassionate and looking out for her friend.  The Mother apologized to her for not having listened to her and thanked her for being so considerate of the small child and got her some supper.  The Mother had only seen one picture of what was going on but had missed the greater picture of love and grace that was occurring through her daughter.

Too often we only see things at face value and we do not see the whole picture of what is going on.  All the people had seen and experienced were the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand.  They completely missed the message of the Messenger and who Jesus is and His grace that He was trying to teach them about.  It is not enough for us to simply come and be fed and to receive the bread.  It is not enough for us to simply come to church and say that we have met Jesus and dined at His table.  Instead, we are invited to come and know Jesus, to hear His message and we must believe in Jesus who gives us eternal life.  We need to know the message and the Messenger in Jesus Christ.  When we receive Jesus as the bread of life who sustains us we will never be hungry.  And when we believe in Jesus as the bread of life then we will not be thirsty because we will be filled with the living waters.

Jesus said, no greater love then this the One who lays down his life for His friends.  And, that is what Jesus has done for us.  He has called us brother and sister and He has called us friends.  Jesus laid down His life for us so that we can have the gift of eternal life.  No greater friend is there in this world then we have in Jesus Christ.  He is the One that will always be by your side, who will love you, and who will never leave you.  He is your friend forever.

This week we will be breaking bread around the table with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I hope as you take time to reflect on the many things you are grateful for during this Thanksgiving week that you will take time to reflect on your Christian faith and to thank God and Jesus for all the blessings you have in your life.  When we come to the true Bread of Life, Jesus, then we will never be hungry again in our souls accept to only desire to know Him more.  And, to thank Him for the fact that no matter what happens in your life – job changes, problems with kids, problems with work, health issues, or the loss of loved one – that you will remember and thank God for always being there for you and your family and that is the greatest blessing of all we have in our lives.  Thanks be to God and His Son Jesus Christ for the abundance of blessings in our lives.  Amen.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Now, how many of us when we buy something new like an entertainment center, or a bicycle, or shelving simply take one look at the instructions and then throw them away?  We think we already know how to do it so we dive into the project without giving it another thought.  That is until we can’t seem to find the right part or we have parts left over, or something just doesn’t look right.  It’s amazing how often we think we can simply figure things out on our own and or that we can get it right without anyone else’s or an expert’s help.  Most of the time it ends up getting us into a mess.

Or, maybe you were like me and you try to read the instructions (at least on occasion) and it doesn’t come out quite right at first either.  Last month I bought a new BBQ and I could just tell by looking at all the dozens of parts that I was going to have to read the instructions on this one whether I liked it or not.  So, I sorted out all the pieces and laid everything out.  I loved Step One.  Step One actually had about six steps to it and none of the parts was very well explained.  I could tell if I was going to get this done in time to cook my bratwurst on the grill that day for lunch their better be some Divine intervention.  Finally, I figured out Step One with its six steps and I moved on to step two.  That step went a little better.  Things struggled back and forth but finally after over an hour I stepped back and looked at my new grill.  It was great except for one thing.  The BBQ was at a tilt because apparently I did not understand the instructions and put the wheels on the wrong end of the BBQ!  Fortunately, I was able to solve that problem very quickly.  Finally, I had my grill and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch cooked out.

You know, in so many ways this is how we treat our Christian life and the Bible.  We tend to think that we already have all the answers, we know what it means to be a Christian, or how to live life, and so we think we can figure life out on our own and we don’t need the instruction manual known to us as the Bible.  However, just like putting a bicycle together, we usually make a mess out of it and we have to start over and return to the instruction manual to figure it out.  Fortunately for us we can always turn to the Bible and the instruction manual for how we are to live life, the Christian life, is right here before us.  Fortunately, we have God’s grace that is always before us ready to welcome us back home when we return to God.

Of course, sometimes life is like the second situation when I was putting the BBQ together.  Sometimes you read the instruction manual, the Bible, and it still takes awhile to figure out or you may not understand correctly the first time you read it and you keep studying and trying until you figure it out.

Sometimes we do read the Bible but we don’t understand it at all.  And, if that doesn’t happen to you once in awhile I would be very shocked.  Because the truth is there are some things that we just do not understand yet and that God has not yet revealed to us.  However, if we spend time in study, if we study with others through Sunday School, if you seek out your pastor’s help most of the time you can find enough of the understanding that you need and the instructions for life so that you can go through this world in a much better way then trying to figure it out on your own.

Let’s switch directions a bit to our passage today.  Sometimes I think there is nothing worse physically then an itching nose or itching ears.  There are all kinds of myths and sayings about both of these things.  But the simple truth about itching ears when it comes to the Bible is that people who have itching ears always hear only what they want to hear or if they don’t like what they hear they will go and find someone who will tell them what they want to hear.  Even in Paul’s day this fact was found to be true.  Paul talks about how people have itching ears and do not want to hear the truth.

Unfortunately, too many people in this world don’t want to listen to the Scriptures because it does not say what they want it to say and so they instead search out some myth or twist the words to justify what they are doing.  People want to live their life their own way and they don’t like it if Scripture tells us that we should stop doing something.

When I was in High School there was a new girl from school that starting coming to church with us.  She had not grown up in the church so everything was pretty new to her.  I guess she had been coming about nine months and we were working on a retreat for the summer.  We were talking about what one of our small group discussions would be which was on sinning and forgiveness.  Well, the way she looked at it she didn’t really think it mattered what we did in life or if we sinned because all we had to do is turn around and ask for forgiveness and we would receive it.  The rest of us were shocked and appalled.  It created quite a discussion with us trying to explain and ending with her disagreeing.  The adults pretty well set back and let us try to work it out because it really was a pretty good conversation.  It became obvious she was not going to back down right away and, quite frankly, we were pretty worried about her.  They tried to help us with the conversation but she was just not quite understanding yet.

Over time much discussion and Scripture study took place and, in time she began to change her views.  For her two things were going on at the same time.  One was, she did not fully understand the instruction manual, the Bible, yet.  And, second, she wanted to go out and do whatever she pleased and didn’t want that accountability so she just reasoned to herself she would receive forgiveness for simply asking for forgiveness.  She thought if there was an occasion for her to lie that seemed better then telling the truth it would not matter because God would forgive her anyway.  In time, she came to understand that you needed to live life with a purpose, to understand that we are responsible for our actions, and that to repent we have to be truly sorry for what we have done.  It is not just a matter of asking.

She continued to study; she continued to grow; and she continued to learn and that is what being a Christian is all about.  It is a lifelong process of studying and learning and growing.  1 Corinthians tells us that sometimes we see in a mirror dimly but if we continue to grow in our faith we will gain understanding and see more clearly.

What we need to be conscious of is not seeking out someone to give us the answers we want to hear just because we do not accept the truth.  It is a dangerous path to walk.  How we are to live our life, who God call us to be, and to continue to spread the work and Word of Gospel is all in Scripture.

So, if your ears itch, try a little lotion.  If your ears itch because God’s teachings step on your toes then listen because truly God has something wonderful that He wants you to know for your good and out of a great love for you.

Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday.  A celebration that there are Christian countries all around the world in different countries, who speak different languages, yet we all speak the same language of love and our belief in Jesus Christ.  What a joy to know that we celebrate this day with millions of Christians around the world and that we are united in our faith through Christ.  God is always in need of more people willing to spread the Gospel around the world because so many people still do not know of His love and grace.  So, as we celebrate today, let us remember that we are united through the Word of God, we are united through Christ and we are united through the Holy Spirit.  Thanks be to God for His unending grace.  Amen.

Jeremiah 18:1-11

As a child I use to love to watch my Grandmother paint her china with beautiful roses and violets and daisies.  She was quite the artist.  I was so influenced by her that I became involved in ceramics.  I loved to paint the green ware and watch the colors turn as you baked the pieces.  When I was in junior high our art class was going to do ceramics and I eagerly signed up!  Much to my joy and amazement we were not only going to paint ceramics but we were going to be turning clay on a wheel and making clay pots and bowls.  I was so excited.  I was also amazed out how hard it was.  You had to get the speed of the wheel just right.  You had to have the clay perfectly centered on the wheel or it would go lopsided and you had to keep adding the right amount of water so you could evenly and smoothly make your piece.  I was dismayed at how hard it was to coordinate all those things and to not slip and suddenly destroy the piece, or have an air bubble show up that deformed the piece or have it be cock-eyed no matter how hard I tried.  Over time though the others and I slowly got better and actually made some decent pieces.  But, it gave me a whole new appreciation for how hard it was to craft and make a fine piece of pottery.  And, like any good daughter or sister would do there were plenty of pottery gifts to go around that Christmas!

In our passage in Jeremiah we have heard this same imagery used of going to the potter’s house and seeing the master work the clay.  Sometimes the pieces did not come out to his liking so the potter would rework the piece until it came out looking fine.

In our passage today God was upset with the people of Israel.  Once again they had turned away from God and were headed down a path of sin and destruction.  God was fed up with their evil ways and was on the verge of destroying them.

However, this passage is all about hope also.  For God is telling us and them if they are willing to repent of their sin, if they are willing to turn from their evil ways, then instead God will simply help rework and reshape them into something very beautiful.  God will take the mess they made and instead transform it into something beautiful.

Sometimes we are so stubborn and insist on our own way and quite frankly when we are that way it usually gets us into trouble or some kind of misery.  We tend to think that we know the best way to live our lives and we want to do it “Our Way or My Way” as Frank Sinatra would say.

When my brother was 17 he was only a project away from receiving his Eagle Scout.  Well, he and the Scout Master had a disagreement about something.  My brother thought he would show him by NOT doing his project and receiving his Eagle.  My Dad talked and talked to him and so did the other scout leaders trying to tell him that he wasn’t hurting anyone but himself and would regret not getting his Eagle.  Well, he was determined to do it his way and show them all.

It only took a very few years before he realized what a huge mistake he made and that the only person who had learned a lesson – a hard lesson – from this was himself.  He has had a lifetime of regrets.  Fortunately, he let God rework his life and didn’t let the regrets destroy him and instead he was remolded.  When he had sons of his own he became involved in the troop and worked with them.  Both boys eventually received their Eagle.  Even after the boys were grown he has continued in his work and love of the Boy Scouts and two years ago he received the Silver Beaver award – one of the highest honors for adult volunteers.  He took a mistake, admitted it, and allowed it to be remolded into something wonderful for years to come.

That is what God wants to do in our lives.  All of us, like the Israelites, have our stubborn streaks of wanting our own way with our churches, our spouses, our jobs or something else and we let it get in the way and blind us to who God is calling us to be.  And, that is exactly what it does.  It blinds us.  We become so set on what we are going to do, or whom we are going to be, or how we are going to act that we cannot hear anyone else, see any other possibilities, or sadly, even receive something far greater then we could have possibly imagined.

God wants us to invite Him into our lives so that He can take what is already right here within us and simply remold us into someone far more beautiful then you already are.  The very fact that we experience this process of the rework is evidence that God is yet working with us God is not finished. We were sent to the rework and His sovereign and merciful hands scooped us up and placed us back on the upper wheel to make of us His own workmanship. He wanted to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ! Since we could not attain that standard on our own, He will start all over and do it in us.  God never gives up on us.  God is always here inviting us to return to His loving arms no matter how far we stray off the path.

Wouldn’t you rather return to God then stay in the mess and the frustration and the temptation you are in right now?  As Dr. Phil would say, how is your situation working for you right now?  Most of us have something that we are wrestling with in our lives right now.  It may be the relationship with your spouse, your boss, or a co-worker that is just eating you up inside.  It may be financial debt that is loading you down or your health, or your job that has you upset.  Invite God into your situation, invite God into your heart and ask God to remold you so that whatever is wrong can be made right.

Don’t ask God to remake someone else or your situation.  That is not for you to control.  Ask God to remold you to help you be the person that God needs you to be in that situation and to truly see it through God’s eyes and not your own eyes that are filled with frustration, or resentment or hurt or anger.  God wants to help you right now and over the week ahead so that you can see how God can transform you and in turn your situation and see the love of God and that you are not alone in whatever you are facing.  God is all about transforming us and loving us and filling us with His grace so that we can be a testimony of His love and action in our lives.  Receive His love and grace that He wants to pour into you now.

When you are ordained in the United Methodist Church it is a beautiful service.  The Bishop, Lay Leader of the conference, your District Superintendent and two people of your choice come and lay hands on you while the Bishop prayers and ordains you to a life of ministry through Word, Sacrament, Service and Order.  When everything is finished you stand and receive a chalice and paten used in Holy Communion.  An important reminder that we are called to giving the Sacraments.  When I got home and placed mine on the table I was disappointed.  You see, my chalice is lopsided.  I couldn’t believe no one had noticed it.  But the more I looked at it and the more I reflected on it I decided how appropriate that chalice is to you and to me.  You see, this chalice was turned on a potter’s wheel just like our passage talks about.  It is made by human hands.  And, human hands and minds are fallible and so this cup was fallible.  Yet, it is through our Master’s Hands that the cup is filled with the new wine, the blood of Christ that makes us forgiven and perfect and whole in Him.  At first I had thought about taking it in and exchanging it, but now I will not.  For the cup reminds me of our humanness and our sins but when we allow Jesus into our lives and to fill us up then we are made whole.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Grand Junction, Colorado. Business Directory.

Luke 14:1,7-14

In case you haven’t figured it out being a Christian is some of the hardest work you will ever do.  Everything that the world teaches us God ALMOST tells us no – but is God really?

For example, the world tells us that we need to strive to be successful.  We need to be the best that we can be and achieve ultimate success.  In actuality, there is nothing wrong with this.  God wants us to use our God-given talents in wonderful ways according to the calling in our lives.  Where things go wrong is what happens to US with success and attitude.  Too often when people become successful we tend to think too much of ourselves and believe what others are saying about us.  We think and act like we are more important then we truly are.  And, THAT, is what Jesus is trying to teach us in the first part of our lesson today.  We need to be a humble people.

At a wedding people typically want to sit as close as possible to the groom and the bride and their families.  There is nothing wrong with the desire.  However, we also have to remember our place and the place of others.  In Jewish culture it was very designed as to who was to sit where at a wedding feast.  We have that to a certain degree ourselves.  In our parable a man comes in and sees himself to be a very important person.  As a result of his self-importance he does not even follow protocol to be seated by the host but instead assumes his self-importance and sits himself down in a place of honor.  The mistake is in assuming his self-importance and assuming where he belongs at this event.  If he is wrong he will be humiliated to be asked to move to a lower seat.  Jesus instructs us that no matter who we are, no matter how good we become, or what positions we hold or what family we belong to we need to be a humble people.  We need to approach every situation with humility.  We need to remember that the first will be last and the last shall be first.

Now, this does not mean, then let me sit myself in the last seat so I can be given honor and moved up to the front before everyone’s eyes.  What God wants us to seek in our lives is humility.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to realize that all of our gifts – our thinking, our knowledge, our talents and our abilities are given to us by God.  We may have to work hard to hone our skills but God is the one who blesses us with our gifts.  If we always honor God in the things that we do we will keep our humbleness. 1 Corinthians 1:31 tells us, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  What that means is boast in the blessings that God has given you and give God the honor that you are given the ability to do the things you do.

A spiritual life in God is one that is always seeking more ways to serve and with great humbleness.  Nobody likes someone who is arrogant or boasting about themselves.  The people we admire are the one’s who work hard and do so with dignity and humility.

The same must be true not for us just as individuals but as a church.  How are we as a church using the gifts that God gives us to give in ministry to this community?  Are we using our talents in all of the ways we can or are we sitting on them.  Are we bragging about our ministries or do we find ways to honor God in our ministries?  Is it about counting numbers and keeping tallies for the things we do or is it more important about the souls and how much we are reaching out and making a difference in people’s lives?  If we boast let us boast in the name of the Lord.

Mother Teresa was once asked, “How do you measure the success of your work?” She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, “I don’t remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts.”

Let us turn to the second part of our passage.  He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  Not exactly the guest list that you and I would put together would we?  We want our friends and family members there.  But God wants us to remember that everyone is worthy of being our guests just as everyone is worthy of being a guest at the table of our Lord.  As we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re all sinners in need of salvation, beggars needing bread. We hunger and need the bread of life through Jesus so that we can live.  We must realize that as we come to the table we are “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” We are poor because we either do one of two things.  We either do not think enough of ourselves and have a bad self-esteem or we tend to think too much of ourselves and are in need of forgiveness.  We come crippled to the table.  We are crippled sometimes by our thoughts, our memories and the burdens of our sins.  We come lame from years of carrying our burdens and not allowing Jesus grace to come into our lives and give us that healing power of love.  We come to the table blind.  Blind to our own sin, blind to our self-righteousness and worst of all blind to Jesus everlasting love that is here being graciously given to us.  Yet God graciously includes us as guests at his Table.  God longs for us to come to the table to receive our healing and forgiveness.  God longs for us to have our eyes and hearts opened to all the possibilities of what life can be for you.  God longs for you to come to the table and accept the deepest gift of love ever given.

There was a minister who had a favorite slogan that he often repeated in his sermons. He said, “The church is not like a country club; it’s more like a hospital.” That’s what Jesus was saying here when he gave us the direction, “… do not invite your friends … or your rich neighbors … invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind….” You and I are not in the church to impress one another or to win power struggles; we are here to minister to one another in our weaknesses. We are here to be hospitable.  We are here to receive healing.

Remember when you were a child and you were going to go over to a friend’s house or to a birthday party of something?  One of the last things my mother always said to me as I went out the door was to “mind your matters.”  In other words I was to be polite, courteous, say please and thank you, not get in fights, be respectful, play fairly and to eat the food on the plate that was given to you.  You knew what that phrase meant.  Well, God is wanting us to mind our manners.  We are to love one another; we are to put others before ourselves; if we can lend a helping hand that we need to do it; we are to be humble and acknowledge God’s blessings in our lives and we are to welcome everyone to the table just as Jesus did.

Being a Christian is hard work.  However, the grace and the love are beyond measure and the benefits are out of this world.  So let us go forth to serve in the world and may we do so in the name of God giving God the glory in all that we do.  Amen.

Luke 14:1,7-14

In case you haven’t figured it out being a Christian is some of the hardest work you will ever do.  Everything that the world teaches us God ALMOST tells us no – but is God really?

For example, the world tells us that we need to strive to be successful.  We need to be the best that we can be and achieve ultimate success.  In actuality, there is nothing wrong with this.  God wants us to use our God-given talents in wonderful ways according to the calling in our lives.  Where things go wrong is what happens to US with success and attitude.  Too often when people become successful we tend to think too much of ourselves and believe what others are saying about us.  We think and act like we are more important then we truly are.  And, THAT, is what Jesus is trying to teach us in the first part of our lesson today.  We need to be a humble people.

At a wedding people typically want to sit as close as possible to the groom and the bride and their families.  There is nothing wrong with the desire.  However, we also have to remember our place and the place of others.  In Jewish culture it was very designed as to who was to sit where at a wedding feast.  We have that to a certain degree ourselves.  In our parable a man comes in and sees himself to be a very important person.  As a result of his self-importance he does not even follow protocol to be seated by the host but instead assumes his self-importance and sits himself down in a place of honor.  The mistake is in assuming his self-importance and assuming where he belongs at this event.  If he is wrong he will be humiliated to be asked to move to a lower seat.  Jesus instructs us that no matter who we are, no matter how good we become, or what positions we hold or what family we belong to we need to be a humble people.  We need to approach every situation with humility.  We need to remember that the first will be last and the last shall be first.

Now, this does not mean, then let me sit myself in the last seat so I can be given honor and moved up to the front before everyone’s eyes.  What God wants us to seek in our lives is humility.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to realize that all of our gifts – our thinking, our knowledge, our talents and our abilities are given to us by God.  We may have to work hard to hone our skills but God is the one who blesses us with our gifts.  If we always honor God in the things that we do we will keep our humbleness. 1 Corinthians 1:31 tells us, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  What that means is boast in the blessings that God has given you and give God the honor that you are given the ability to do the things you do.

A spiritual life in God is one that is always seeking more ways to serve and with great humbleness.  Nobody likes someone who is arrogant or boasting about themselves.  The people we admire are the one’s who work hard and do so with dignity and humility.

The same must be true not for us just as individuals but as a church.  How are we as a church using the gifts that God gives us to give in ministry to this community?  Are we using our talents in all of the ways we can or are we sitting on them.  Are we bragging about our ministries or do we find ways to honor God in our ministries?  Is it about counting numbers and keeping tallies for the things we do or is it more important about the souls and how much we are reaching out and making a difference in people’s lives?  If we boast let us boast in the name of the Lord.

Mother Teresa was once asked, “How do you measure the success of your work?” She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, “I don’t remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts.”

Let us turn to the second part of our passage.  He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  Not exactly the guest list that you and I would put together would we?  We want our friends and family members there.  But God wants us to remember that everyone is worthy of being our guests just as everyone is worthy of being a guest at the table of our Lord.  As we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re all sinners in need of salvation, beggars needing bread. We hunger and need the bread of life through Jesus so that we can live.  We must realize that as we come to the table we are “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” We are poor because we either do one of two things.  We either do not think enough of ourselves and have a bad self-esteem or we tend to think too much of ourselves and are in need of forgiveness.  We come crippled to the table.  We are crippled sometimes by our thoughts, our memories and the burdens of our sins.  We come lame from years of carrying our burdens and not allowing Jesus grace to come into our lives and give us that healing power of love.  We come to the table blind.  Blind to our own sin, blind to our self-righteousness and worst of all blind to Jesus everlasting love that is here being graciously given to us.  Yet God graciously includes us as guests at his Table.  God longs for us to come to the table to receive our healing and forgiveness.  God longs for us to have our eyes and hearts opened to all the possibilities of what life can be for you.  God longs for you to come to the table and accept the deepest gift of love ever given.

There was a minister who had a favorite slogan that he often repeated in his sermons. He said, “The church is not like a country club; it’s more like a hospital.” That’s what Jesus was saying here when he gave us the direction, “… do not invite your friends … or your rich neighbors … invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind….” You and I are not in the church to impress one another or to win power struggles; we are here to minister to one another in our weaknesses. We are here to be hospitable.  We are here to receive healing.

Remember when you were a child and you were going to go over to a friend’s house or to a birthday party of something?  One of the last things my mother always said to me as I went out the door was to “mind your matters.”  In other words I was to be polite, courteous, say please and thank you, not get in fights, be respectful, play fairly and to eat the food on the plate that was given to you.  You knew what that phrase meant.  Well, God is wanting us to mind our manners.  We are to love one another; we are to put others before ourselves; if we can lend a helping hand that we need to do it; we are to be humble and acknowledge God’s blessings in our lives and we are to welcome everyone to the table just as Jesus did.

Being a Christian is hard work.  However, the grace and the love are beyond measure and the benefits are out of this world.  So let us go forth to serve in the world and may we do so in the name of God giving God the glory in all that we do.  Amen.

Luke 12:13-21

Our passage starts out with a man coming to Jesus seeking His help because this man’s brother would not share his inheritance with him.  It was common practice in those days when there was a dispute to go to a Rabbi and ask them to help solve the dispute.  I would imagine this man thought there would be no one as fair as Jesus so go to Him for help.  Jesus made it very clear that this was not his position.  And, not only that, he had a more important lesson for them to learn.

Jesus warns us that we need to beware of any form of greed that may come to us and we must not get caught up in acquiring an abundance of possessions.  It is amazing to me today to drive around these new neighborhoods and see the size of the homes that are being built.  As close as Waco you see these “mega” homes being built for entire neighborhoods.  The sad part is that many of these people now have loans that extend them almost beyond their means.  You will also find one of two things in many of these homes.  Either a lack of furniture because they cannot afford to fill all of these new rooms in their home.  Or, so much “stuff” that no one enjoys using any of it.

One of John Wesley’s sayings was to  “Do all the good you can;

By all the means you can; In all the ways you can; In all the places you can;

At all the times you can; To all the people you can; As long as ever you can.”  When Wesley was at Oxford he made 30L a year.  He lived on 28L and gave 2L away.  When his income increased to 60L, 90L and 120L a year, he still lived on 28L and gave the balance away.  John knew he could live on 28L a year so why worry about having and living on more?  He was asked once about this and his response was, “I shall not buy any more while so many around me want bread.”  And, Wesley’s response is exactly what Jesus is looking for.

This passage, this lesson that Jesus gives us is filled with the “self.”  In the five short versus of this parable this rich man uses the words I, me, and myself a dozen times!  It is all about what is in it for him.  Listen again.

The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’  Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

Nowhere does this man acknowledge the blessings of the good crops that God has blessed him with.  Nowhere does this man ever think about his neighbor or others who may be in need and how he can help them with the abundance he has been blessed with.  This man only thinks about hoarding what he has been blessed with for himself and then being a glutton and celebrating only himself and his good fortune.

I was intrigued to read recently of a family that put up a hummingbird feeder with four feeding stations (similar to one that hangs outside our kitchen window).

Almost immediately it became popular with the hummingbirds that lived in the area. Two, three, or even four birds would feed at one time. The feeder would be refilled at least once a day. Suddenly the usage decreased to almost nothing. The feeder needed filling only about once a week.

The reason for the decreased usage soon became apparent. A male bird had taken over the feeder as his property. He was now the only hummingbird who used it. He would feed and then sit in a nearby tree, rising to attack any bird that approached his feeder.

Guard duty occupied his every waking hour. He was an effective guard. The only time another bird got to use the feeder was when the self-appointed owner was momentarily gone to chase away an intruder.

That hummingbird was teaching a valuable lesson. By choosing to assume ownership of the feeder, he forfeited his freedom. He was no longer free to come and go as he wished. He was tied to the work of guarding his feeder, his STUFF. He was possessed by his possession.

I, I, I.  One of the most dangerous words in the in our human language.  Do you realize that I is the middle letter of sin.  In other words when we sin I, or self, is the cause of that sin.  Thinking only about ourselves and not others.

This man thought only of himself and not anyone else.  What does that get him?  Well, I guess wealth and treasures here on earth and not much else because when we die it doesn’t go with us.

If we have all the treasures in the world it does nothing for us in our relationship with God – especially if we do not recognize and honor God for blessing us with those gifts.  When we die all of those treasures simply stay behind and get distributed to others.  Something that should have been done in life.  We get into this mentality of thinking that the more we have the more we need.  It usually doesn’t change for us until we are much older and we begin telling our families at birthdays and Christmas that we really don’t need anything else.  We begin to realize that we may even have more then we really need or even want to mess with on a day-to-day basis.

The treasures that God wants us to seek are the treasures of heaven.  God wants us to build up and share things in our lives like love, peace, graciousness, kindness, forgiveness, and helping others like Christ has always been here for us.  Jesus tells us that He wants us to be rich towards God.

To be rich towards God means coming to know God and then striving to be more like Christ each day in our lives.  If the farmers will pardon the expression for the moment.  Jesus is calling upon us to live a life of meaning and not of building bigger barns.  Meaning comes to us through our relationship with God, with our families and with each other.  These are the things that we take with us not our possessions.  The man in our parable today had a full barn but an empty heart.

Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. “Nothing,” the man said. “The dollars are in the way.”

Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal were dollars, he would miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in serving others, not simply in making money. That’s a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by which we reach higher goals. Service to others and service to God.  That is what it is all about.

If you want to know who understands the meaning and knows what is important in life then listen to the survivors of the bridge collapse in Minnesota.  They know that meaning comes through their faith and through the love and support of their families.  They know meaning through that stranger – through that neighbor – who risked their lives to come and rescue them simply because there was simply a human in need.  Not because there is material rewards but because of love and kindness and compassion.

May we go forth seeking ways in which we can serve God and having our riches in heaven.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.