FBC Cornelia State of the Church 2016

To all the saints in Christ Jesus known as First Baptist Church, Cornelia, Georgia.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  The words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Philippi come to my mind as I write this letter.  

“ I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from our first day until now. 6 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.”

I am honored to be your pastor and to share in the Gospel story of this church.  One of the greatest days in my life was the Sunday in May 2010 when you called me to serve you.  Over these last 6 years, I have celebrated with you the beauty of life and joys of our church together.  We have laughed often together.  At the same time, we have walked together through the pain of death and hurt. We have cried together too many times. 

Together, we love this big, messy family of Christians called First Baptist Cornelia.  Out of love, I want to spend our moments together this morning, speaking to you about the state of our church.  There are several ways we can measure the state of our church.  

• We measure First Baptist Cornelia in relation to the rapidly changing religious culture of our day.  Church researchers tell us that 8,000 to 10,000 churches in America will close their doors this year and 35% of the millennial generation (35 and below) are unaffiliated with any kind of Christian church compared to 11% of us over 70.  Compared to what is happening in culture – our very survival and our thriving children’s ministry is a sign of the dynamic work of God among us.  

• We can also measure the state of First Baptist Cornelia in relation to the Global Church.  The fact is that while we don’t see it - God’s Global church is growing faster today than it has in decades.  The Jesus movement is exploding in places like Africa, Latin America, and Asia.  Compared to this radical explosion of the Holy Spirit, our faithful obedience in the same direction looks subdued.  Yet, our partnerships in Santa Emilia, Nicaragua connect us to the energy of the Global Church. 

• Finally, we can measure the state of our church through statistics.  Statistics draw the outline of the picture God is painting of First Baptist Cornelia, but they can never provide the color.  For example, we can record the number of people who attend Sunday School each week, but we have to hear the testimonies of individuals to see the true spiritual growth in their lives.  

The greatest change in our traditional church metrics over the last 5 years has to do with church attendance.  15 years ago church attendance numbers gave us an accurate picture of the number of engaged members in a congregation.  This is no longer the case.  

Over the last five years, all churches - new, old, traditional, and contemporary - including ours – have seen the regular attendance in worship drop significantly.  This attendance drop is not due primarily to less members – instead, it has to do with the attendance patterns of our members.  15 year ago, regular worship attenders came to worship 3-4 times/month.  Today, the average engaged, active member of a church attends worship 1-2/month.  This means that in order to maintain the same worship attendance numbers as we had even 15 years ago we must double the actively attending members – just to keep the same worship attendance.  

For example, last year, First Baptist Cornelia had 398 active members and we averaged 175 in attendance on Sunday mornings.  No one is more aware of this trend than I am as I preach each Sunday.  Our staff has been aware of this trend for a couple of years and have worked to engage our membership in new ways to help us get to church.  

So, while the changing culture, global church, and statistics give us an outline of the state of First Baptist Cornelia at the end of 2016, they do not tell us the whole story of God’s movement among us.  

To get a more complete picture of the state of our church, we need to hear the stories of God’s work among us. 

1. Story of Survivors:  
When I look around the sanctuary today looking for stories of God’s work among us, I see a church filled with survivor stories.  The first decade of this century was difficult.  The building of our Family Ministry Center challenged us in ways we often want to forget.  Conflict made it difficult to trust and without trust nothing could be accomplished.  

Yet, in spite of these challenges, you did not give up on God’s future.  Your bravery at calling David Turner to be an intentional interim for four years cannot be overlooked.  Your wisdom in giving your pastor search committee freedom to follow God’s leading and do things differently should be applauded.  And your trust in God to allow a young pastor to lead you into new and uncharted waters is one of your strengths.  

God has been at work among us over the last 10 years rebuilding trust among our fellowship, growing a competent, experienced and faithful staff, and showing us there is nothing we cannot do when we depend on Jesus.  

2. Story of Visionaries
Besides stories of survival, the state of our church story also includes the story of our visionaries.  Beginning in 2012, First Baptist Cornelia began to dream about our future through our Walking by Faith Process.  For over 2.5 years, we sat together in small groups and town halls, in work teams and initiative groups casting a vision for our future.  Vision work is hard work because it invites us to look beyond our present to see a future that is yet here.  Often in those sessions, we used the year 2017 as our target future year.  

As we sit just a few weeks away from 2017, it thrills me to see that our vision for our Unified Mission Offering and Fund has arrived and is already guiding our mission life.  It thrills me to see the new focused ministry of our deacons which we only dream about, but could never imagine 2 years ago.  
First Baptist Cornelia does not wait for the future to arrive.  Instead, we pray and prepare and work for God’s vision to materialize. This story of visionaries is happening right now!  

3. Story of Workers
The state of our church also includes the story of our workers.  I tell prospective members of our church to be prepared to work in God’s Kingdom.  My mom who has been in lots of different Baptist churches throughout her life and always tells people with just a little pride about our church:  “This church works harder than any church I’ve ever been in.”  

It’s true!  From our dishwashers on Wednesday nights to our children’s ministry volunteers today – we are a strong church because of the many ways each of you serve God through First Baptist.  The part I love about this – this is not useless work.  You are working out of your strengths and abilities in places where your efforts matters. 

4. Story of Missionaries
The state of our church would not be complete without the story of our missionaries.  Not the people we support through SBC or CBF channels – but all of you.  Through your hard work, God is transforming Cornelia, Georgia and the world.  I have to hold back my pride when I tell friends about Camp Agape, Camp Mosaic, the Cornelia Soup Kitchen, the Cold Weather Shelter, and our children’s and youth ministries.  

You have heard God’s Great Commission and responded. At First Baptist Cornelia – missions is not something that we do, it is who we are.  This statement is now more reality than dream.   

5. Story of Disciples
Finally, we can’t forget the story of the disciples among us.  FBC is a community of faithful followers of Jesus who have decided to walk a long obedience in the same direction together.  A couple of weeks ago, I had a Sunday School teacher tell me excitedly about his class. The class had struggled together over a certain topic one Sunday.  As they struggled the class gave permission for each person to have their own opinions and ideas.  Rather than the teacher giving all the answers, God worked through the spiritual walks of each man and woman there.  This class is evidence to spiritual growth we see happening in our church.

Our love for one another and the world grows as our love for Jesus grows.  Simply, we are loving God and loving other more today than we have before.  

When view the whole picture:  The state of First Baptist Cornelia is strong, dynamic, and forward focused.  

Still, we have challenges ahead.  Here are our two most immediate challenges:

1. Facilities Usage
Through the vision, hard work, and sacrifices of many of us, God has blessed this congregation with a beautiful, functional and well maintained church campus.  AND … We are debt free.  

Our next task remains configuring these buildings for our ministry for the next decade.  Our facility, like our church, must be an evolving organism shifting to meet the needs of the next 5 years of ministry rather than the last 5 years.  

At the moment, several committees are meeting together to evaluate some short term solutions to meet the facility needs of children’s ministry.  Our Media Center Ministry team is working to transform our library into a multi-functional space for study and fellowship for individuals and groups.  

Soon, we will begin discussing longer term shifts in our facilities.  While all of this change creates some anxiety – let me assure us - this is a good thing.  We are not rearranging chairs on a sinking ship, we are building a ship to carry us to the future.  First Baptist Cornelia is healthy enough and forward thinking enough to be preparing for the future God has in store for us.  

2. Congregational Systems
The second challenge ahead of us will be building and strengthening our congregational systems – the things we do on a regular basis to communicate, reach out to, and care for one another.  Our new deacon focuses which were outlined in this month’s newsletter is one step in this direction.  Yet, we still have farther to go.

• We need a stronger system for active and engaged prayer as a foundation of all we do.  
• We need a stronger system for congregational inreach and outreach – letting people know they are loved.  
• We need to get better at assimilating new people into our fellowship – helping people find their place.
• We need a more defined discipleship process that invites everyone to participate.

Over the next year, we will be working on these systems as we strengthen our programs as a church to help us achieve our vision.  

The state of First Baptist Cornelia is strong, dynamic, and forward focused.  

We are working on the challenges that face us.  Yet – I think there is one more key ingredient for us to reach our full Kingdom potential:  Absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit.  

In the second chapter of Acts, a small remnant of Jesus followers waited and prayed in a cramped house in Jerusalem.  They were hopeful, yet uncertain, of what would happen next.  

When they least expected it, the power of the Holy Spirit rushed into this cramped space like a violent wind.  The spirit filled the entire house and each one of them empowering them to change the world.  When the spirit was done – they left the room empowered by the Holy Spirit preaching about Jesus in multiple languages.  The impossible occurred because they allowed themselves to be empowered for the ministry in front of them.  

This is the Good News for us today:  First Baptist Cornelia will accomplish God’s purposes because we are empowered for ministry.  

God is already doing great things among us through the work of the Holy Spirit.  How much more can God accomplish through us when completely depend on the Holy Spirit.  

I am certain God has even greater things in store for us.  So - let’s keep praying and preparing so that as God moves, we will be empowered for the new ministries set before us.

With much love and gratitude, I am your pastor – 

Eric

Thanks be to God.  Amen  

Who Do you Say I am? MESSIAH

Third Sunday of Lent

March 8, 2015

John 4

EXPECTATIONS!

      

      When couples come to me preparing for marriage – the first thing I ask them to consider are their expectations.  What do you expect from your husband? What do you expect from your wife? 

Our experiences in our homes growing up have created in us expectations for marriage.  Our experiences of watching other married couples have created expectations of what married people do.  TV Shows.  Movies.  Books.  Bridal magazines create expectations for romance, our wedding and marriage itself. 

Expectations create high conflict when our expectations do not hold water to our reality. 

   

         Historian Daniel Boorstin suggests that Americans suffer from all-too-extravagant expectations for our lives. In his much-quoted book The Image, Boorstin makes this observation of Americans:

“We expect anything and everything. We expect the contradictory and the impossible. We expect compact cars which are spacious; luxurious cars which are economical. We expect to be rich and charitable, powerful and merciful, active and reflective, kind and competitive …. We expect to eat and stay thin, to be constantly on the move and ever more neighborly, to go to a "church of our choice" and yet feel its guiding power over us, to revere God and to be God. Never have people been more the masters of their environment. Yet never has a people felt more deceived and disappointed. For never has a people expected so much more than the world could offer.”

           When we come to today’s title of Jesus – Messiah – we are confronted with expectations. Our expectations of Jesus get exposed along with the many expectations for the Messiah during Jesus time.

     

       Far too often, I am afraid – we also carry extravagant of expectations for Jesus.  We expect Jesus to be everything that we want him to be – to fit within our mold and model of who the MESSSIAH should be. 

        

    A funny story has famously be told of the young preacher telling one of his first children’s sermons.  On this Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He started out by saying, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly.

"This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)..." No hands went up. "And it is gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)..." The children were looking at each other, but still no hands raised. "And it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause)..."

Finally one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I *know* the answer must be Jesus ... but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!"

What do we expect from Jesus?

•          Do we expect Jesus to be a social conservative, a moral bastion like us fighting against the sinful ways of the world?  What happens when we find him eating meals and laughing with prostitutes, thieves, and heretics like these people matter? 

•          Do we expect him to be a liberal, open minded accepter of anyone willing to following him? What happens when we find him highly demanding, equating lust in our heart with actual adultery? 

•          Do we expect him to answer all of our questions?  What happens when he leaves us with more questions than answers?

•          Do we expect him to reflect our ideas of faith?  What happens when he demands our lives reflect his?

•          Do we expect the Christian life to be a simple proposition in which we receive Jesus into our hearts and go to heaven when we die?  What happens when Jesus invites us into a life of discipleship – of following him here on earth?

•          Do we expect the Christian life to be difficult and confusing in the face of so many other religions and challenges?  What happens when Jesus simplifies it and welcomes a young child by his side and asks us to model our lives after theirs?

If you find this tendency of the biblical Jesus blowing up our human expectations about him to be frustrating – let me invite you into the today’s scripture. 

The title Messiah carried extravagant, over the top expectations for everyone in the time and place of Jesus.  Everyone carried an opinion and a hope for this person.  

            After hearing Jesus teach and reveal intimate details of her life, the Samaritan woman here in John 4 responds by mentioning the Messiah:  “I know the Messiah is coming,” the Woman proclaims to Jesus at the well.  “He is the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 

Jesus responds to her boldly - “I AM the Messiah!” I AM – the title God uses with Moses at the burning bush.  Jesus now puts himself squarely into the expectations the entire community had for the coming Messiah. 

1.         The woman is still not sure about Jesus, though, so she hedges her bets.  She knows something is special about Jesus.  She leaves the well to tell everyone in her village in v. 24:  ““Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 

Using the actual title of Messiah had political and social ramifications.  The woman could have been thrown into prison if she had announced to everyone that Jesus was the Messiah.  Proclaiming Jesus as Messiah challenged the political and social orders – it was revolutionary. 

The English Title Messiah comes from Hebrew/Aramaic words which literally mean Anointed one.   This Hebrew word in Greek is Christ.  Contrary to  what I thought growing up - Christ is not Jesus’ last name!  It is title that has been added to his proper - Jesus of Nazareth - name.  When we call him Jesus Christ – we proclaim Jesus the Messiah. 

The concept of Messiah was born during King David’s reign.  Remember how Samuel sought David at his father’s home and anointed his head with oil.  This was kingly act. David was the Anointed One.  Savior.  Each king after David carried the same title – they were God’s anointed king/leader of his people. 

After the fall of Judah and exile into Babylon – there were no more anointed leaders or kings.  Israel lived within the occupation of other major powers.  The title Messiah evolved to be the expected person who would be the visible inbreaking of God’s power into history in the same way God had done during the exodus.  Talk about expectations!

The People of Jesus’ time had some very specific Messianic Expectations:

•          Descends from King David.  This is why the genealogies in Matthew and Luke both connect Jesus through Mary and Joseph to King David. 

•          Restores Nation of Israel – For over 400 years the nation of Israel had only enjoyed a few years of self-rule through the priest kings called the Maccabees.  The Messiah would restore the nation – physically and literally as a nation.  .  

•          Frees Jews from occupation – The Roman Empire occupied Palestine with cruel power – forcing families into poverty and creating uncertainty of life.  The Messiah would throw off the oppressors and free the people in the same way Moses brought the people out of Egypt. 

•          Establishes God’s rule in Jerusalem – Jerusalem and its temple were and remain the holiest sites in all of Judaism.  The Messiah would retake the city David that established. 

The Samaritan woman, the disciples, Peter, Nicodemus, religious leaders, and the crowds from Galilee and Jerusalem all carried these kinds of expectation for the Title of Messiah. 

Jesus destroys these expectations.  By destroying these expectations Jesus offers his original followers and those of us today a new way of understanding the Messiah.

2.         In v. 42 we begin to see a glimpse of this new life.  For 2 days Jesus stays in the Samaritan village teaching.  For 2 days he teaches about the Kingdom of God and his role as Messiah.  When he prepares the leave, the villagers no longer hesitate about Jesus.  They make this confession of faith:  “Now we believe, not just because of what you [the woman at the well] told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.” 

When Jesus destroys the expectations for the first century Messiah, his followers are forced to rethink his life, their experience, the Hebrew Scriptures and their understanding of Messiah. 

Raymond Brown, a 20th century NT scholar in An Introduction to New Testament Christology, says it like this:  “It took time after Jesus’ death for the Jewish presuppositions (expectations) about the Messiah to be modified and tailored to suit Jesus’s career, so that believers could recognize him without reservation as the Messiah in all the phases of his life.” 

The largest dissonance about the Messiah these early followers had to overcome was the death of Jesus.  There were many things they expected from the Messiah – but his death on a cross as a revolutionary was never one of them.  All the dreams and expectations for Jesus as the Messiah die with him. 

How do we make sense of an inbreaking of the presence of God who dies on a common cross?

NT. Wright, Simply Jesus:  A New Vision of Who He was, What He did, and Why it Matters says it this way:  “Jesus’s vocation to be Israel’s Messiah and this vocation to suffer and die belong intimately together.” 

Jesus takes those Messianic expectations that preceded him and launches a new kingdom on earth as well as in heaven. 

Jesus takes our expectations of a Messiah and his kingdom onto the cross and destroys them.  The disciples wanted a kingdom without a cross.  Today - Some of us who claim to be orthodox or Conservative Christians want a cross without kingdom.  This abstract atonement which escapes earth makes us heavenly minded, but no earthly good.  Others today want a divine Jesus, a kind of superhero figure, who comes to rescue them, but not to act as Israel’s Messiah, establishing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus as Messiah on the cross shockingly combines these scriptural models of the Messiah into a single vocation and title. 

When Jesus dies on the cross, he meets death in the same way that King David met Goliath on the field.  In one sweeping great act of Love, Jesus destroys death once and for by taking death upon his shoulders. 

There are many ways Christian have understood the death of Jesus on the cross.  In some ways his death is beautiful model of love for the world.  In another Jesus serves our representative on the cross.  He dies so that we do not have to.  In another, Jesus deaths is seen as punishment – receiving the great judgment of God.

Jesus as the Messiah who dies brings all of these theologies of the cross together.  We realize that when Jesus Christ – the anointed One – the Messiah dies on the cross – his followers and those who wrote his story down saw this act as the ultimate means by which his Kingdom was established.  It was the ultimate exodus so that the ultimate tyrant – death itself – could be defeated. 

Through his death we are set free to live our lives in new way.  Our expectations of what we deserve or who we are destroyed and replaced by the grace and love of Jesus who died for us.  We are free to live – not through the law – but through grace.  God is now in charge. 

           The Gospel Story is the extraordinary story of Israel’s Messiah taking upon himself the Accusers sharpest arrow and dying under its force, robbing the Accuser of any real power in our lives – all through his love.  There is no greater love than this. 

Jesus the Messiah destroys our expectations and establishes a new kingdom – not one made of our expectations and our wants – but with his. 

After Jesus spends two days with the Samaritan villagers, he transforms their expectations of the Messiah.  This transformation calls for a commitment.  They no longer depend on the words of others – they know for themselves that Jesus is more than just a Jewish Messiah or a Samaritan Messiah – Jesus is the Savior of the World! 

Jesus as the Messiah invites each of us to make the same confession and commitment.  We cannot depend on what others tell us about the Messiah.  We have to encounter Jesus for ourselves.  We cannot depend on our parent’s faith.  Or our youth ministers faith.  Or our spouses faith.  We have to look past what the world says about Jesus Christ and get to know Jesus ourselves. 

When we do – we realize that Jesus offers us the gift of new life through his death and resurrection.  Jesus the Messiah died so that you may have new life – everlasting life.  Abundant life.  He died so that you may participate in his kingdom – on earth as it is in heaven.  He died so that your sins would be forgiven. 

Some of us here have never fully commitment to Jesus our lives.  You have been holding back.  You want just the parts of Jesus that meet your expectations.  That don’t cost you too much.  That make you happy.  That fit your lifestyle.  You get afraid of Jesus as Messiah.   Of what he may ask of you!

Today – I invite you to commit your life to Jesus fully and completely.  Receive the gift of Jesus.  Release your life and receive his.  Take his hand and let him heal you, challenge you, and save you. 

Jesus is the savior of the world!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.  

Mount Nebo: Discovering a New Perspective

Mt Nebo

Sermon 2 of Mountains of the Bible Series

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Scripture:  Deuteronomy 34

Sermon

           

            In the Moab wilderness – in modern day Jordan – Moses stands on the edge of destiny.  He can smell the salt air of the Mediterranean.  The freshness of grass and tress drifts over the Great Jordan River Rift from the Promised Land.  The long journey from Egypt to Palestine has ended.  The land to which God called Abraham so many generations ago – before Joseph and slavery in Egypt – sits ready for the people of Israel. 

These former slaves have been formed in the wilderness into the People of God.  Their identity and covenant, their law and their rituals have matured them into a people ready to serve as God’s light for the nations.  

Moab Wilderness.  Modern day Jordan

            At 120 years young – Moses still possesses he same power and charisma that he displayed growing up in the courts of the pharaoh.  “His eyesight was sharp; he still walked with a spring in his step,” the scripture tells us.  Like an ancient version of Blanche Bowen who died last year at 96, I bet Moses could still be planting his own garden and mowing his own grass. 

            At the heart of Moses 120 years of unparalleled life stands his relationship with Yahweh God.  Yahweh saved Moses as a child and delivered him to the promised land of Pharaoh’s court in the same way God would save the People of Israel and deliver them to their own promised land.  God called Moses out of exile in the wilderness and declared his name for all the world – I am who I am, I was who I was, I will be who I will be – simply – YHWH – Yahweh. 

            Then, when the plagues were done and the People of Israel stood free at last at the base of Mount Sinai, God summed Moses into the Presence of God – a terrifying experience of smoke, thunder and noise to the top of Mt. Sinai.  The Scriptures say, Moses was the one prophet, to whom the Lord knew face to face.  Moses had experienced God and lived.  He confounded all things as they were in order for God to create something new in the world. 

            Now, Moses stands in the place that has only existed in his dreams – the Promised Land is so near he feels it calling him.  Yet, he knows the rest of the story will be left for someone else.  Once, years before, recorded in Deuteronomy 34, Moses begged God to allow him to complete the task before him – to lead the people into the Promised Land.  Like all great leaders, Moses didn’t want to leave a task unfinished. 

            “GOD, my Master,” Moses begged, “you let me in on the beginnings, you let me see your greatness, you let me see your might—what god in Heaven or Earth can do anything like what you’ve done! Please, let me in also on the endings, let me cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the Lebanon Mountains.”

            God would have none of it, though.  The Lord wouldn’t listen to Moses. Instead, God said, “Enough of that. Not another word from you on this. Climb to the top of Mount Nebo and look around: look west, north, south, east. Take in the land with your own eyes. Take a good look because you’re not going to cross this Jordan River.”

            Since this moment, Moses has spent his waning moments in an eloquent filibuster – he keeps talking, hoping to wait God out.  Yet, death will wait no longer.

Now - Moses withdraws from the Hebrew camp on the plains of Moab to a high place for a climactic moment alone with the God he first met eighty years earlier on another mountain.  In the ancient worldview, if you went up topographically, you were just a bit closer to God. Mountaintops represented closeness to God. 

Mount Nebo as a mountain is not much to write home about.  Today, it is located in the country of Jordan, just to the East of the Dead Sea.  Rather than a mountain like Yonah or Curahee – standing high and regal for all to see – Mt. Nebo sits more like high ridge line.  Even its elevation doesn’t sound impressive – it’s only 2,680 feet high.  Today, a modern road winds up and over it and you pass the summit without even realizing where you are.  Moses’ walk to the top of Nebo carried none of the courage and stamina needed in those days of climbing up and down Mt. Sinai. 

Looking West over Dead Sea to Israel

Yet, first impressions of Mt. Nebo will fool us.  The top of Mount Nebo offers a breathtaking panorama of the Promised Land of Palestine. Unlike any other mountain in the world, Mount Nebo offers the best view of the Promised Land in the world.  While only standing at 2,680 feet above sea level, it soars over four thousand feet above the Dead Sea – the lowest point on earth at 1,401 feet below sea level.  The northern tip of the Dead Sea washes against the mountain's southwestern foot. A spot just across a small dip to the northwest of Mt. Nebo, is usually identified as Pisgah.  This location affords the best view of the Jordan valley and the land beyond.

Ascent

            Moses ascends Mt. Nebo driven by the desire to see things differently.  The topography and promise of the land in front of this mountain has been carried in the conscious memory of Moses’ people for over 400 years.  Generation after generation from Joseph through history have told their children and grandchildren stories about this fertile place.  The land of our ancestor Abraham overflows with green mountains and trees, fresh water and produce.  This is the exact opposite of the wilderness with its dry, barren landscape.  Moses ascends Mt. Nebo to see the truth for himself – does the land live up to the promises?

         

   Moses also ascends Mt. Nebo to gain a new perspective.  Moses has driven the people of Israel relentlessly in trust Yahweh to provide.   He has pushed and prodded, begged and yelled to get them to this spot.  In the middle of the desert when everyone seems to be against you and God seems to have let you down – the vision that drives you forward gets lost.  We lose sight of the final goal.  Why are we doing what we are doing?  Why are we living like this?  Survival overcomes vision – and we live simple to get through the day. 

            Moses has been living day by day for 40 years – now, he ascends to see the vision of what started him on this odyssey.

            The desires that drive Moses to ascend Mt. Nebo – I would imagine – drives many of us to the mountain as well.  Caught in the daily crisis’ of life – the next doctor’s visit, remembering which medication to take at what time, where the kids need to be today, keeping the bills paid and the house clean – we also yearn to see life and faith differently too.

            Like Moses, we can forget the motivations and visions which started us on our life journeys.  We forget the love story that bought our spouse into our lives.  We forget the joy of holding that new born baby when temper tantrums or adolescent indifference claim all of our waking moments.  We forget the claim of Jesus on our lives when friends or co-workers invite us into compromising positions.  We forget the joy of serving Jesus when we are exhausted from long days and nights at VBS and Camp Agape.

            So – like Moses – God invites us up to the mountain as well.  God invites us up to gain a new perspective on our life and faith and ministry and job and family.  What drives you up the mountain today?

Looking Around

            When Moses gets to the top of Mt. Nebo – the whole Promised Land spreads out before him in a glorious panorama.  On a crystal blue sky day – with no smog or pollution or cataracts to hinder him – Moses sees all that God promised. 

            In the scripture passage that summarizes this moment – the writer records all that can been seen.  In a zig zag manner – he follows Moses gave from one landmark to another.  If you have a map in your Bible let me invite to turn over to it to get an idea of all Moses saw that day. 

Immediately across the valley on the Western slope of the Jordan rift valley stood the city of Jericho, one of the oldest human settlements in the world.  It is still known as a city of Palm trees.  God then showed Moses all the land from Gilead in the south to Dan – all the way in the North near today’s Lebonan border.  Dan was the first place Abraham had entered into the Promised Land. Then God showed him all of Naphtali – the Northern Galilee, Ephraim and Manasseh – the central highlands with their rolling hills and valleys; all Judah reaching to the Mediterranean Sea – including the mountains that would one day hold Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives and Bethlehem; the Negev – the southern desert wilderness and the plains which encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.

Moses came up to see the Promised Land – and it was even grander than he could ever have imagined.  It was more spectacular than any family myth had remembered.  From the perspective of Mt. Nebo – Moses regained God’s vision for the people of Israel.  The Promised Land was no long a myth or a promise – it was here in front of Moses, ready to be received. 

Mountaintop experiences help us to re-orient our lives around God’s vision for us as well.  The mountaintop is the place we can go to get perspective on what we are doing.  On the mountaintop, we can transcend ourselves to ask the important questions about ourselves and others.  It’s a place we can see the patterns of the life.

Like Moses, our mountaintop experiences allow us to get a panoramic view of our lives – we can see better what we are doing, where we are going, and what stands in our way. 

When we stand on the mountaintop, we see our family more completely.  We see the joy that lies at the foundation of the daily chores and challenges – we remember the laughter we share and the love that bonds us.

When we stand on the mountaintop – we get a glimpse of our vocation – the passion and experiences that brought us to where we are.  We rekindle the joy that started us on this journey.

When we stand on the mountaintop, we see the daily medical challenges that confront us differently.  We see God molding us into the image of his son, as we walk each new day.  We see more clearly our ultimate destination and the fear of death and dying slowly slip away. 

Mountaintops reorient our lives and force us to look up off the sidewalk and catch God’s vision for our lives. 

Like Moses, we must intentionally seek these mountaintop experiences.  They begin in prayer as we meditate on scripture.  They become intentional retreats at home or away from home.  Our mountaintop experience may be a mission trip or Camp Agape, a spiritual get away or a morning at home with the Bible.

We must be willing to allow the presence of God to meet us in these moments for this re-orientation to take place.  We can all climb a mountain of some fashion – but we have to be willing to see with the vision of God for that re-orientation to occur. 

Descent

            Finally, Moses doesn’t stay on top of Mt. Nebo.  At some point, he has seen all that he can see and it’s time to return to the valley.  If Mountaintops give us vision, the valleys give us life. 

            When the Cherokee and the old time pioneers first settled these Georgia Mountains, they didn’t build mountaintop cabins like we see today.  They settled in the lowlands, the valleys and the river bottoms were the places that produced crops and offered constant water.  Mountaintops offer vision, but we can never live there.

            Moses returned to his tribe and his people and then died.  He was full of vigor and vision till the very end. 

            I love the Oswald Chambers quote on the front of our Order of Worship. 

“The mountaintop is an exceptional type of experience; we have to live down in the valley.  After every time of exaltation we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are, where things are neither beautiful nor poetic nor spiritual nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley.  We never live for the glory of God on the mount; we see His glory there, but we do not live for his glory there; it is in the valley that we live for the glory of God.”  We descend the mountain to live for Jesus with a new vision

Conclusion

This is the Gospel for us today:  From the mountaintop, God reorients our vision for our life in the valleys. 

God has a path for you and your life.  Roadblocks and barriers block our paths.  On the mountain top, we begin to see with God’s eyes the direction and purpose of this path before us – with God’s vision these the barriers no longer seem as big, the path no longer feels as long, and joy suddenly descends into our lives again. 

What part of your life does God need to re-orient today to help you begin walking God’s path and faith purpose again?

Over the past year, I have hike Mt. Yonah through every season.  I love the Mount Yonah hike because it is a high reward hike.  From the mountaintop, the whole Georgia Blue Ridge opens up before you – like a panorama of God’s handiwork.  From the backside of Yonah I can look across the valleys and fields of white and Habersham Counties to see Chenocetah rise up on the horizon.  All of the struggles and challenges of my life live in those valleys – but from the mountaintop, they no longer look imposing or impossible.  Instead, they look small, feeble and doable.  God meets me every time I struggle up that steep road on Yonah and re-orients again with a vision for life in the valley.  He wants to do the same in your life today.  Will you let him? Thanks be the God.  Amen.  

Early Spring from Mt. Yonah

Alive in the Spirit

Preached on:  Sunday, May 25, 2014

Scripture:  I Peter 3:13-22

Proclamation

            Today is the 6^th Sunday of the Easter Season.  Easter Day with its trumpets and beautiful dresses occurred 36 days ago.  Tomorrow, we celebrate Memorial Day – a day to remember those who gave their lives for the sake of our country.  I imagine most of us are looking forward, not backwards – to the cookouts with friends and the time at the lake or the vacation at the beach or the long awaited trip across the country. 

            Since April 20^th, most of us have settled into life as we know it – bills and doctor’s visits, school performances and job presentations.  The mundane-ness of life and the worries of everyday have long crowded out that memorable day where the gloomy, rainy Saturday became a glorious blue sky Sunday surrounding the living cross at the front of the church.  The power of resurrection has faded as we look to the next holiday, the next challenge, the next opportunity that comes our way. 

            The farther we get from anything – the more the power of the moment fades in our memory. 

            Peter writes this letter to the churches and Christians in Asia Minor – in present day Turkey – towards the end of the first century.  It’s been decades since that original Resurrection morning.  The very youngest of the original disciples who have not been martyred are growing old.  Their stories of a resurrected Savior are now beginning to be codified and placed in writing which we call Gospels – Good News. 

            For many of these Christians who are receiving the letter from Peter the memories of the power of that powerful moment when Jesus entered their lives has begun to fade as well.  Day after day, week after week they face the constant pressure of physical or emotional or economic danger for their belief in Jesus.  The authority of their faith in Jesus that gave them the courage to face these daily challenges seems to have faded as well. 

            When we face the challenges of life –the more the power of our original moments fade from our memory and life. 

            The power of Mission-fuge or centrifuge or other Christian camp we had last summer fades quickly as soon as the first days of school begin.

            The power of those cute moments with our toddler when she stole our heart with an infectious laugh fades in the heat of teenage angst, attitude and disobedience.

            The power of our wedding vows and those “in love” moments of our honeymoon fade as we struggle to reconnect with a spouse who has grown distant and cold. 

            The power of that friendship birthed in school and strengthen in life fades in the shadow of betrayal and lies. 

            The power of baptism and faith which consumed our younger lives fades as we struggle to find meaning and purpose through the loss of jobs , health or family. 

            The power of doing what is right in our lives fades as we struggle with isolation and loneliness because of our decisions. 

            The power of faith in a God who heals fades as we struggle with ongoing health issues that reoccur and take over our lives. 

            When life gets difficult and hard and mundane and ordinary – our hope in the power of resurrection fades and we wonder how we will keep moving forward. 

            Into these moments – Peter writes to encourage the people of Asia Minor and Christians like you and me through the centuries. 

v. 15:  Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered[d] for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you[e] to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,

Today’s Good News:  The hope made alive in the Spirit is in you!  Resurrection and hope belong together.  As much as the memory of resurrection may fade from our memories, the kernel of hope birthed in the resurrection remains alive in us like an antibody always there to protect us. 

Implication

            Having hope alive insides us has several implications for our lives. 

1.     Hope lives beside suffering

Over and over again, Peter talks about the suffering and the challenges and heartaches and the difficult daily decisions the Christians in Asia Minor have to endure.  The Greek word for suffering is used more in this book than any other NT book.  Whether you are a slave or wife or a servant or a freedman – following Jesus in the Roman Empire required difficult decisions every day. 

      Even with the kernel of hope alive in them, suffering still existed.  Peter’s words would not be able to take the suffering away.  Even Peter, himself, would ultimately give his own life as a martyr in Rome. 

      The obvious question from anyone in this position is “why if we are living post Easter, post resurrection, do we keep suffering – especially when we what we are doing is right.  Why is it better to suffer for doing right?  Where is the justice in this? 

Peter says we receive something through suffering.  It does something in our lives.  The hurt, the pain, the stress, the hardship – gives us something back into our lives.  “Even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.”  The hope made alive by the spirit of God exists side by side with our suffering and gives us the strength to keep moving, to carry on, to find strength enough for each day.  This challenges our whole understanding of what it means to be blessed, doesn’t it?  To suffer for what is right is to be blessed.  Might make us think differently when someone says have a “blessed day.”

2.     Hope shares God’s story

When we discover the hope made alive in us – we realize that through the challenges we face in our lives we are sharing God’s story in Jesus.  The challenges of raising a teenager, the exhaustion of chasing a toddler, the fear of getting older or facing a disease, the pain of watching the personality of someone we love fade way – or even the loneliness of not being invited to a party because of a faith stand we take, or losing money on a deal because we choose to be ethical or missing out on a promotion because we choose to make more time for our family – in whatever ways we face challenges on an everyday basis – we share in the story of Jesus. 

      This is what Peter tells the recipients of his letter – when we suffer, we participate in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  V17:  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered[d] for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you[e] to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,

Jesus also suffered – like we suffer.

There is nothing on earth – no feeling, no experience, no challenge, or pain – that Jesus did not experience as well.  The power of the incarnation is that Jesus suffered both for us and with us – we are never alone.  God does not make us suffer for the joy of seeing people squirm – instead, God suffers with us.   The hope the spirit of God made alive in us connects us eternally with the Story of God. 

3.     Hope builds strong character

As we walk through the challenges of living restored through this hope made alive it us – God builds strong character within us.  Through suffering and challenges and pain and grief, the life of Jesus gets made within us and we become more like Jesus.   This hope brings out the Jesus in us. 

One of the key character traits suffering brings out in us is care and concern for the other.  Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence.

            Many of us have heard this verse before as a verse to promote evangelism – telling others about our faith in Jesus.  And this is exactly what it is.  But look more deeply at the context.  Peter is telling the Christians in Asia Minor who are suffering for their  faith in Jesus – that while they are suffering, while someone is treating them poorly, while they are doing what is right – to always be ready to share the Gospel when an opportunity arises.  Make a defense, Peter says, be ready to tell anyone who asks – why you have made the decision to live like you do - to give an accounting of the hope that is inside you.  And Peter gives guidance for how we are to share – with gentleness and reverence.  Stand firm in the Gospel with love exuding from all that we do.  We can only do this when we have the hope made alive in the spirit in us. 

            When we connect to this deep hope made alive by the spirit in us – Jesus forms us into evangelists.   When the resurrection settles deep into the morrow of our lives and we are formed to be more like Jesus through the sufferings and challenges of our lives – telling others the story of Jesus becomes simply  telling them our story – the Story of God at work in our lives, the story of God’s forming us to be more like Jesus. 

            The hope made alive by the Spirit lives in us and we cannot stop telling others about it. 

Invitation

            Evidence of this hope made alive by the spirit is found all around us when we stop and see.  We notice it because this hope makes no sense what so ever and it points us straight to God. 

            We see this hope made alive in us in op-ed’s to the paper – like the one this week by Lisa Sprayberry.  Her 19 year old son is fighting desperately for his life and she takes the time to write a thank you note to the community for the many ways the community has loved them.  She has discovered the power of hope in the face of suffering. 

            We see this hope made alive in us in the story of the Pregnant Sudanese woman who chose death over denying Jesus.  Charged with marrying a Christian man instead of a Muslim man, she was sentenced death for her faith.  This is a woman who chosen to defend the hope deep inside her for all the world to see. 

            We see this hope every day when husbands or wives bury their spouse and speak of God’s hope and purpose and joy in spite of the deep hole the loss has created in their lives. 

            We see this hope made a live by the spirit every day in Facebook posts by casual friends or acquaintances who speak of God’s hope in spite of the great challenge facing them.  We never know what people are going through – but we can see evidence of the hope made alive in them.

            And we can also see when the hope never took hold.  I’ve read several articles this week about individuals have lost their faith in Jesus because of religion – the church has been too narrow or too dogmatic or too loose – and their faith has faded away.  Their form of Christianity allowed them no room to question or figure it out or to delve into mystery.  The hope of resurrection still exists if only they can allow it to resurface – to be born again. 

            I also see hope fade away in children raised in church who showed up, but never catch on.  These children, teenagers, and now adults knew what to believe, what words to say, but they never allowed the deep hope made alive by the spirit to sink into their lives.  Now, they struggle to find meaning and purpose in the challenges and obstacles and successes of their lives.  God has not given up on them – or you – or me. 

            This is the invitation God has for each of us – receive the hope of the resurrection and allow it to shape and mold and change your life.  Come be baptized in the waters of the spirit and let Jesus plant that hope firmly in your life.

            And for those of us whose lives seem faded, who are struggling to find meaning and purpose in the challenges of our lives – Jesus invites us to reconnect, rediscover, recommit to the hope made alive in the spirit.  It is still there, beating the heart of God within us.  It doesn’t matter if it is 36 days from Easter or 3000 – God’s hope never dies and Jesus invites us to rekindle it.  When we do this – our lives and our world will never be the same.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.