Wfupc Sermon Podcast

The blessings, and gifts, of God are necessary in our lives. They are what reminds us of God’s protective rule over us, and proactive guidance for what we are accomplishing. We depend upon them for all we need, and sometimes want. But are God’s blessings, his interventions, just for what we want? Are they only gifted to those who have faith and ask for them? Or, are they for a purpose beyond just demonstrating our specialness in front of others?

In many of his parables, Jesus speaks to his disciples about the “Kingdom of God.” We might think Jesus is being symbolic or spiritual about what he describes, but it is much more literal than we care to admit. How often who we relegate God’s Kingdom, or God’s rule, to a mere suggestion in our lives? How often do we overlook how sovereign God is, and can be, in all our situations? Especially as we live in a world filled with deception and an inability to care for our most pressing needs?

We live in a world that is increasingly under tension, between various powers wishing to rule us and within ourselves. We constantly label things as “good” and “evil” based on preference and what we believe to be right. But the parables of Jesus teach us how to recognize the difference, and how to live within the tension for the sake of those needing God’s rule. The key word for Christians living today is “patience.”

People are motivated by all sorts of different things, which make it difficult to connect and correct the actions and ideas of others. The Church believes its job is to change the hearts and minds of people, and correct their actions- which is only partially correct. We must take our cue from Jesus, in how he appealed to and taught others. And the results he expected to come about through the giving of his wisdom.

Christians are very good with wanting to do all they can for God. They try so hard in doing everything they can with proclaiming the teachings of Jesus, and to resist the power of sin and evil in the world. But oftentimes ignore the command of Jesus to come and take his yoke upon us, and rest with him. What does “rest” look like in this instance, and what does this offer of Jesus do to aid us living for God in our everyday lives?

Why are Christians instructed to do good in the world as disciples? For money or success? Fame or celebrity? For power and an easy life? Or because God offers a greater purpose by which to live, and a greater confidence by which to live by? To know the kingdom of God is close at hand, and the presence of God in our world is undeniable.

The calling we get from God to deliver his Gospel to the world is an honor. But it is an honor which puts us at odds with the rest of the world, and even what we value. Being his ministers and ambassadors mean that our beliefs and values do not have a place anywhere, since our loyalty and allegiance is with a Savior not of this world. However, God does use every opportunity in life to allow us ability to speak for and represent him. Even if the circumstances and conditions are unfavorable, and even hated by us, it is the opportunity God trusts us with all the more to speak his prophetic voice.

Our society obsesses over the idea of work, and sometimes assigns value and worth to each person’s ability (or lack thereof). But Jesus speaks about what he expects his workers to accomplish, and what the Spirit enables them to accomplish. All efforts of Christ’s disciples contribute to the wider goal of harvesting for God in the world, and sometimes requires a keener eye on what is most important.

Faith is sometimes seen as a passive and non-committal response to the problems of the world. Reflecting a private belief that exists only in the heads of Christians. But faith is much more active and responsive to the world and the issues surrounding us, more than we care to admit. Faith allows us to step out in a trust, and in a stubbornness, which allows us to face the criticisms and objections of others. And to stand for what is truly important in our lives.

Trinity Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the way God has chosen to communicate with humanity. It reminds us while God is one, the multiplicity of God speaks in a range that touches all of God's characteristics, aspects, and works. It is not about a doctrine, but about life, relationship, and what we are invited to be part of.

Pentecost is our commemoration, and celebration, of the Church’s founding and establishment. The Church is given in order to be the body of Christ in this world, and continue the ministry Jesus has started. But what does that ministry look like, and how does our understanding of the Church impact how we participate in it? The Church’s celebration is also our opportunity to understand how God chooses to use it in our lives and the world at large.

It is the season of graduation, for both the students in our lives as well as for us! Jesus’ ascending into heaven might seem like an anticlimactic way for the Resurrection season to close, and it seems like Jesus is going off and leaving us on our own. But what Jesus does behind the scenes fulfills a great and comforting task for us. His place in heaven secures our place in this life, allowing us to focus on what we can do with what he had given us.

The Resurrection has become central to everything we believe in, but is not there to enforce a particular law or institution in this world. It is not even there to promote a certain religion or tradition, but to call our attention to something much greater. God is using this event to bring the world, and humanity as a whole, into a new age and way of living. And demonstrates a new manner to conduct ourselves by that we might demonstrate our love to the Savior.

The Resurrection is a challenge and a change for us, an example of what the right way of living looks like. It is not dependent on pure, intellectual knowledge, as if that is all is needed in order to live rightly. But it is based on wisdom, the collection of experiences we witness from others and have for ourselves. And that which our Savior demonstrates for us, for our benefit and for those who will look to us.

The assurance of the Resurrection is the guarantee that there is one who stands over all the powers of this world with certainty. Our world, nations, communities, and lives are full of powers seeking to control and dominate for their own benefit. But there is a power behind those powers, and one which promises to lead us to new life if we only wait for his command.

The knowledge of the Resurrection became more widespread because of the willingness of Christians to witness, to tell, about the risen Lord. Words have power, that is why Jesus is known as “The Word.” So how are we choosing to listen, and respond, to this event in our lives? And what place do our words, our story, have in making it known to others?

The aftermath of the Resurrection is normally celebrated and joyful in its tone. But when understanding the mindset and situation of the disciples, we can understand that fear was present in that moment. That is the environment that Jesus steps into with his peace, and is the only way we can understand the peace he brings. Do we have to be ashamed of the doubt and fear that come from our reactions, or is it a means by which to understand how all creation has now changed?

Why do we celebrate Easter? A silly question to ask considering many are aware of the main idea of what this day celebrates. But perhaps one we never truly gave serious thought about. The origins of the Easter celebration tell more about creation and the yearnings of the people living within it. And how Jesus Christ stands in his victory to meet us where we are in life.

True unity is dependent on equal benefit, and if all people have the same access to what is true. But the rest of the world focuses on fear and division, and making sure different people have different wisdom and understandings of life. But the people of God are not to be like that. True godly wisdom is never owned or dependent on a human source, can be verified by a common authoritative source, be freely accessed, and given to all people. All so the church is seen as a benefit to the world, and in a better position to usher the kingdom into its midst.

We are called to be a people united for a single purpose and mission, in order to correct each other and demonstrate a better life to the world-at-large. But that demonstration does not come by us forcing or manipulating others into belief, otherwise would we be any different than another worldly organization? What we can control is what we believe and allow to influence our vision for the world, which is what the way of Jesus teaches us. Only by allowing that vision to drive and unite us will the world suspect something different is happening with the church.