Sermon for May 1st, 2016 - Revision history

Iraneal at 02:19, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T02:19:27Z

Iraneal at 02:11, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T02:11:23Z

Iraneal at 02:08, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T02:08:48Z

Iraneal at 01:47, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T01:47:17Z

Iraneal at 01:27, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T01:27:56Z

Iraneal at 00:49, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T00:49:29Z

Iraneal at 00:00, 1 May 2016

2016-05-01T00:00:56Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==Acts 9:1-19== 1Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at..."

2016-04-30T22:16:02Z

Created page with "==Acts 9:1-19== 1Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at..."

New page

==Acts 9:1-19==
1Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” 11The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” 15But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

==First Church: An Instrument Whom I Have Chosen==
Today's scripture reading is about the conversion of Saul. I'm reminded of the story about the Catholic Priest, the Baptist Preacher, and the Jewish Rabbi, who were all discussing the topic of religious conversion one day over coffee. They agreed that it was far too easy to convert a person to a new religion. A real challenge would be to convert a a grizzly bear. One thing led to another and they decided to test their theory. Each one would go out into the woods, find a bear, and attempt to convert it.

Seven days later, they came together again. The Catholic Priest was a bit scratched up, but happy with his efforts. "When I found my grizzly bear, I began to read to him from the Catechism. He slapped me around a bit, but then I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and he became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.”

The Baptist preacher spoke next. He was on crutches, with a bandage around his head, but also looked happy with his efforts. "WELL my brothers, when I found MY grizzly bear, I began to preach to him from the King James Authorized version of the Bible. But that bear would have none of it; he grabbed hold of me, and we wrestled down one hill and up another until we came to a river. Seizing my opportunity, I dunked that bear, and baptized his hairy soul. He gave his heart and soul to Jesus, got a haircut, came to church in a new suit last Sunday, and even put ten dollars in the collection plate.”

They both turned the rabbi, who was in a wheelchair, with full-body cast, and connected to an IV drip. In a weak voice, the rabbi said, “Looking back on it all, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.”

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 Saul had blood on his hands and hatred in his heart.  And yet, of all those whom God could have chosen--Peter, John, James--people who knew Jesus, the great pillars of the church!  Of all these, Saul is the one God singled out, telling Ananias, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel."
-This is what we need to hear, to know, and remember: God chooses the most unlikely (and completely unworthy) people to use as instruments.
+This is what we need to hear, to know, and to remember: God chooses...and uses...the most unlikely (and completely unworthy) people as instruments.
 People with baggage.
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 In short, people just like you and me.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:11, 1 May 2016
Line 64:		Line 64:

	People with wounds and scars, with faults and failures.		People with wounds and scars, with faults and failures.
		+
		+	People who have stumbled blindly down the road of life.

	In short, people just like you and me.		In short, people just like you and me.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:08, 1 May 2016
Line 49:		Line 49:
	What we need to hear is this: If your journey of faith doesn't cost you something--even if it's not your life, it might be a sacrifice of your time, your priorities, your abilities, your pride and dignity, your reputation, your resources--if your journey doesn't cost you something, you might be getting exactly what you're paying for, and your way may not be God's way at all.		What we need to hear is this: If your journey of faith doesn't cost you something--even if it's not your life, it might be a sacrifice of your time, your priorities, your abilities, your pride and dignity, your reputation, your resources--if your journey doesn't cost you something, you might be getting exactly what you're paying for, and your way may not be God's way at all.

−	The final principle is this: God chooses the most unlikely (and completely unworthy) people to use as instruments. People like you and me.	+	The final principle is this: God chooses the most unlikely (and completely unworthy) people to use as instruments.
		+
		+	Saul wasn't one of the twelve apostles. He wasn't one of the seven deacons. He wasn't even a trustee. He wasn't there with Jesus when he healed the sick or walked on water. He never heard the sermon on the mount. He wasn't a witness to the crucifixion or the resurrection. He wasn't one of the thousands who flocked to the early church after Peter's sermon on the feast of Pentecost. In fact, when he finally did hear a sermon, the one preached by Stephen, it only made him more angry, more determined to eradicate this new threat to his beliefs.
		+
		+	Saul had blood on his hands and hatred in his heart. And yet, of all those whom God could have chosen--Peter, John, James--people who knew Jesus, the great pillars of the church! Of all these, Saul is the one God singled out, telling Ananias, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel."
		+
		+	This is what we need to hear, to know, and remember: God chooses the most unlikely (and completely unworthy) people to use as instruments.
		+
		+	People with baggage.
		+
		+	People with questionable records and reputations.
		+
		+	People with skeletons in their closets.
		+
		+	People with wounds and scars, with faults and failures.
		+
		+	In short, people just like you and me.

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 Plenty of people in our world today look at the church, and all they see is anger, persecution, and condemnation.  They see a church trying desperately to defend God, trying desperately to defend itself and its diminishing power and influence in the world.  But that approach didn't work for Paul.  Ultimately, it didn't work out so well for the Roman Empire, either.
-What we need to remember, is what Saul learned from Ananias: Love. Compasssion. Mercy.  These are the signposts, or (if you need a more contemporary metaphor) the GPS coordinates, that guide us on God's way.
+What we need to remember, is what Saul learned from Ananias: Love. Compasssion. Mercy.  These are the signposts, or (if you need a more contemporary metaphor) the GPS coordinates, that guide us on our journeys, along God's way.
-*There is a cost for following the way (for Ananias, it's taking a risk on an outsider, for Saul, it's his very life).
+What we need to hear is this:  If your journey of faith doesn't cost you something--even if it's not your life, it might be a sacrifice of your time, your priorities, your abilities, your pride and dignity, your reputation, your resources--if your journey doesn't cost you something, you might be getting exactly what you're paying for, and your way may not be God's way at all.
-*God chooses the most unlikely (and unworthy) people to use as instruments.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 All of this makes it fascinating that Saul/Paul has his vision, his transformational experience, his encouter with Jesus, "on the road" to Damascus.  I think there are some things that we, as individuals and as a church community, can learn from Paul's journey, some principles to help us on our own road.
-First, You can be on the right road, going the right direction, but for all the wrong reasons.
+The first principle is this: If you are on the right road, going the right direction, but for all the wrong reasons...you're still wrong.
-Paul is going from Jerusalem to Damascus. According to the opening words of the book of Acts, this is exactly the direction that the message of Jesus needs to spread--from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth.  Damascus is the first stop, the first large metropolis outside of Judea and Samaria on the way to the major cities of the Roman Empire.
+Saul is going from Jerusalem to Damascus. According to the opening words of the book of Acts, this is exactly the direction that the message of Jesus needs to spread--from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth.  Damascus is the first stop, the first large metropolis outside of Judea and Samaria on the way to the major cities of the Roman Empire.
-Of course, Paul is not going to Damascus in order to spread the message of Jesus, but to try to stop it.  What's more, he believed with all his heart that this was the best way to be faithful to his God and to the religion in which he was raised.
+Of course, Saul is not going to Damascus in order to spread the message of Jesus, but to try to stop it.  What's more, he believed with all his heart that this was the best way to be faithful to his God and to the religion in which he was raised.
-We need to hear this:  Sometimes when we think we are serving God the most faithfully, with the most passion and zeal...we are dead wrong. In fact, it's often when we are the most certain and sure of ourselves, that we are the most likely do be dead wrong. And that's a scary thing.  How can we know?  Not everyone is lucky enough to get a blinding light and a loud voice from heaven!
+We need to hear this:  Sometimes when we think we are serving God the most faithfully, with the most passion and zeal...we really aren't. In fact, it's often when we are the most certain and sure of ourselves, that we are the most likely to be dead wrong. And that's a scary thing.  How can we know, how can we be sure we're on the right road, going the right way, for the *right* reasons?  Not everyone is lucky enough to get a blinding light and a loud voice from heaven!
 *There is a cost for following the way (for Ananias, it's taking a risk on an outsider, for Saul, it's his very life).
 *God chooses the most unlikely (and unworthy) people to use as instruments.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 They both turned the rabbi, who was in a wheelchair, with full-body cast, and connected to an IV drip. In a weak voice, the rabbi said, “Looking back on it all, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.”
-*Odos, the Road, people of the way, metaphor for spiritual journeys
+This month we are going back to the best place to start--back to the story of the first church in the book of Acts.  And today we come at last to the character who occupies more pages of the New Testament than any other (including Jesus), the person who carries the message of Jesus beyond its regional origins and across most of the great Roman Empire of his day:  The apostle Paul--or, as he is referred to in today's scripture passage by his Hebrew name, Saul.
-*sometimes in our zeal for God, we think we're on the right road, but aren't.
 *Anger and persecution (Saul) is not God's way, but love, mercy and forgiveness (Ananias).
 *There is a cost for following the way (for Ananias, it's taking a risk on an outsider, for Saul, it's his very life).
 *God chooses the most unlikely (and unworthy) people to use as instruments.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:00, 1 May 2016
Line 12:		Line 12:

	They both turned the rabbi, who was in a wheelchair, with full-body cast, and connected to an IV drip. In a weak voice, the rabbi said, “Looking back on it all, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.”		They both turned the rabbi, who was in a wheelchair, with full-body cast, and connected to an IV drip. In a weak voice, the rabbi said, “Looking back on it all, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.”
		+
		+	*Odos, the Road, people of the way, metaphor for spiritual journeys
		+	*sometimes in our zeal for God, we think we're on the right road, but aren't.
		+	*Anger and persecution (Saul) is not God's way, but love, mercy and forgiveness (Ananias).
		+	*There is a cost for following the way (for Ananias, it's taking a risk on an outsider, for Saul, it's his very life).
		+	*God chooses the most unlikely (and unworthy) people to use as instruments.