Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
September Vision Article
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
September 2009
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:4-10)
These words from the prophet Jeremiah should be a reminder that each of us has been called by God to ministry. I believe that God has called me to preach and bring the congregation closer to God. And I believe that God has called each one of you to your own ministries. I would like to talk about a couple of ongoing ministries at our church which clearly demonstrate God's call in our lives.
The first is Vern’s ministry to the people of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church. Vern is our Elder who cares for the 5:30 service. Vern has organized an evening choir and rehearses them each week. Usually, Vern is here late Sunday nights, mopping the floors and securing the evening offering. Then he drives people home from church. Vern gets no financial reward for doing all this. Nor does he get anything for helping our Korean members learn to pronounce English correctly, and taking on the heavy jobs for the Retreads. Vern does this because he loves God and loves this church. And I am certain the God is very pleased with what Vern is doing given the growth in our evening service.
Another is the ministry of Jack Goldhammer. Many of you may not know Jack. Jack was a member here many years ago. He has a passion to help the poor and homeless in our community. He has organized them into a team that cares for the sidewalks of Eagle Rock, including around the church. You can see Jack and his crew working most days weeding, trimming, watering and cleaning up around the roads and sidewalks of our community. And they can be seen here on Wednesday mornings helping the Retreads. Jack has a heart for our community and the most disadvantaged in it. He is doing God’s work.
These are just two of the remarkable people God is using in this church. There are many more. As your pastor I am grateful for all the volunteer effort which makes this place run. And I want all of you to remember that God is calling you to ministry too.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sermon – Psalm 84 – Longing for God
Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Psalm 84 – Longing for God
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 23, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
All of us have things we long for. You have probably brought your longings with you today to church. Again and again you pray that your longings will be satisfied. But they are still there week after week. You pray for the same thing week after week, and nothing seems to happen. You longings are never satisfied. Today we will be talking about our longings, especially our longing for God. But first please pray with me.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
NRS Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
Psalm 84 is a poem about longing. It begins with the words “my soul longs”. The Hebrew word that the poet uses for longing shares its root with the word that means “silver”. So she is talking about the feeling we have when we desire money, wealth, or economic security. It is the intense desire that we have which motivates us to work hard, earn a living, and put away something for our retirement. But when taken to it extreme this feeling can overwhelm us and lead to the sin of greed. As with all gifts from God this one of longing must we held in balance and used to our benefit, and not twisted and used for our destruction.
Our earlier reading from the Song of Solomon was about a different type of longing. This is the longing for a sexual relationship. Like our longing for gold and silver our longing for sex must also be balanced. So long as we limit our longing for sex to activity within a marriage it is a great blessing for us. But the moment we twist this blessing and begin to long for sex outside of marriage then we become overwhelmed with the sin of lust and this leads to the destruction of relationships and ultimately the destruction of our lives. So longing is a gift from God which must be used within limits. If we follow these limits the promise is that we will be richly blessed by God.
There are all kinds of things that we long for. Some of us long for the day when our children will come home for a visit. Others are longing for job, or a place to live. Still others are longing for a relationship with someone to love. These longings can either motivate us to change our behavior to satisfy our cravings, or they can lead us to depression and failure to act believing that all hope is lost. For longing to be a blessing for us we have to realize that we need to change to receive those blessings. We need to get out and look for a new job. We need to get out and meet new people to start relationships. Maybe we need to pickup the phone and make a call to receive a visit from our kids. Whatever it is we have to make changes in our lives to satisfy our longings, and we must remember the limits that God has imposed for our longing to be turned in blessings.
I, like most people, have spent most of my life longing for something. I longed for my businesses to be more successful. I longed to be in a relationship and find a wife. I longed to be closer to God and to understand God’s Word more fully. I would come to worship and pray but these longings never seemed to go away. I prayed week after week but the longing just became more intense. I needed to make changes in my life to satisfy my longings.
In Psalm 84 the psalmist longs to be in the presence of God. She longs for the opportunity to go to Jerusalem for one of the festivals so she can enter into the magnificent temple that Solomon had built. She longs for the day when she can sing praises to God in worship. She longs for the day when she can pray to God and be heard. And her longings have motivated her to begin the long journey to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to where these blessings could be found.
Do we long to be in the presence of God? Do we long to sing praises to God and offer our concerns to God in prayer? If the answer is “yes” then God has graciously given us this opportunity to come to church where we can do the very thing the psalmist could only long for: we can sing praises to God and know that our prayers will be heard.
But for worship to truly be a blessing for us the psalmist tells us that we must walk uprightly. We must obey God’s commands. We must live our lives pleasing to God. Otherwise our worship is empty and bestows no blessing. If we are overwhelmed with the longing for money coming to church will not satisfy our desires. If we are preoccupied with our longing to find a sexual partner outside of marriage, then singing and praising God is hypocritical and will not satisfy our longings. If we bend to our longings for alcohol and drugs then praying will not satisfy us. So we have to willing to confess our sinful lifestyles and change our behavior in order for worship to truly satisfy us.
Because sin separates us from God, it is ultimately our source of longing. Adam and Eve first experience longing in the garden after sin entered the world. They did not realize that their longings were for God. Rather they thought that their longings were for wisdom or beauty and they twisted these longings into disobedience of God. As a result they and all of their descendants have experienced longings. And we all make the same mistake thinking that we long for money or sex or alcohol. But the reality is that we long to be in the presence of God. And walking away from our sin and coming to God in worship is our only hope of satisfying our deepest longings.
I finally realized that my longings were the result of ignoring what God wanted me to do. When I was a child, my family thought that I would be a pastor because I loved public speaking and going to church. But I was determined to be a successful businessman and have a family. I longed for these things and prayed for them continually. But it was not until I realized that my true longing was for God and I changed. I started studying the Bible more intensively. I went to seminary and became a pastor. As soon as God saw that I had left behind my old longings and longed for Him alone, God blessed me richly with a wife and a church to care for. So I am convinced that if we are plagued with our longings the only solution is to long for God and follow God wherever God might lead.
When the author of Psalm 84 arrived in Jerusalem she experienced, possibly for the first time, the joy of delighting in the presence of God. Happiness replaced her longing. She experienced the joy of singing to God and praying to God free from the longings that had plagued her for so long.
And this is the offer made available to you. Turn from your sin, your evil ways. Put behind you your longings for wealth or sex or liquor. And long for the one thing you were created to long for with your whole heart. Long to be in the presence of God. Then come to worship and experience the blessing of happiness as you sing and pray to your creator, and your longings will be satisfied.
Holy Father in heaven, we long for you. We long to be in your presence. We long to sing your praise. We long to be with you in prayer. Banish from our minds our longing for sin. And help us to find our delight only in you. This we pray in the name of the greatest gift we have received, your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sermon – Psalm 84 – Longing for God
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 23, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
All of us have things we long for. You have probably brought your longings with you today to church. Again and again you pray that your longings will be satisfied. But they are still there week after week. You pray for the same thing week after week, and nothing seems to happen. You longings are never satisfied. Today we will be talking about our longings, especially our longing for God. But first please pray with me.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
NRS Psalm 84:1
Psalm 84 is a poem about longing. It begins with the words “my soul longs”. The Hebrew word that the poet uses for longing shares its root with the word that means “silver”. So she is talking about the feeling we have when we desire money, wealth, or economic security. It is the intense desire that we have which motivates us to work hard, earn a living, and put away something for our retirement. But when taken to it extreme this feeling can overwhelm us and lead to the sin of greed. As with all gifts from God this one of longing must we held in balance and used to our benefit, and not twisted and used for our destruction.
Our earlier reading from the Song of Solomon was about a different type of longing. This is the longing for a sexual relationship. Like our longing for gold and silver our longing for sex must also be balanced. So long as we limit our longing for sex to activity within a marriage it is a great blessing for us. But the moment we twist this blessing and begin to long for sex outside of marriage then we become overwhelmed with the sin of lust and this leads to the destruction of relationships and ultimately the destruction of our lives. So longing is a gift from God which must be used within limits. If we follow these limits the promise is that we will be richly blessed by God.
There are all kinds of things that we long for. Some of us long for the day when our children will come home for a visit. Others are longing for job, or a place to live. Still others are longing for a relationship with someone to love. These longings can either motivate us to change our behavior to satisfy our cravings, or they can lead us to depression and failure to act believing that all hope is lost. For longing to be a blessing for us we have to realize that we need to change to receive those blessings. We need to get out and look for a new job. We need to get out and meet new people to start relationships. Maybe we need to pickup the phone and make a call to receive a visit from our kids. Whatever it is we have to make changes in our lives to satisfy our longings, and we must remember the limits that God has imposed for our longing to be turned in blessings.
I, like most people, have spent most of my life longing for something. I longed for my businesses to be more successful. I longed to be in a relationship and find a wife. I longed to be closer to God and to understand God’s Word more fully. I would come to worship and pray but these longings never seemed to go away. I prayed week after week but the longing just became more intense. I needed to make changes in my life to satisfy my longings.
In Psalm 84 the psalmist longs to be in the presence of God. She longs for the opportunity to go to Jerusalem for one of the festivals so she can enter into the magnificent temple that Solomon had built. She longs for the day when she can sing praises to God in worship. She longs for the day when she can pray to God and be heard. And her longings have motivated her to begin the long journey to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to where these blessings could be found.
Do we long to be in the presence of God? Do we long to sing praises to God and offer our concerns to God in prayer? If the answer is “yes” then God has graciously given us this opportunity to come to church where we can do the very thing the psalmist could only long for: we can sing praises to God and know that our prayers will be heard.
But for worship to truly be a blessing for us the psalmist tells us that we must walk uprightly. We must obey God’s commands. We must live our lives pleasing to God. Otherwise our worship is empty and bestows no blessing. If we are overwhelmed with the longing for money coming to church will not satisfy our desires. If we are preoccupied with our longing to find a sexual partner outside of marriage, then singing and praising God is hypocritical and will not satisfy our longings. If we bend to our longings for alcohol and drugs then praying will not satisfy us. So we have to willing to confess our sinful lifestyles and change our behavior in order for worship to truly satisfy us.
Because sin separates us from God, it is ultimately our source of longing. Adam and Eve first experience longing in the garden after sin entered the world. They did not realize that their longings were for God. Rather they thought that their longings were for wisdom or beauty and they twisted these longings into disobedience of God. As a result they and all of their descendants have experienced longings. And we all make the same mistake thinking that we long for money or sex or alcohol. But the reality is that we long to be in the presence of God. And walking away from our sin and coming to God in worship is our only hope of satisfying our deepest longings.
I finally realized that my longings were the result of ignoring what God wanted me to do. When I was a child, my family thought that I would be a pastor because I loved public speaking and going to church. But I was determined to be a successful businessman and have a family. I longed for these things and prayed for them continually. But it was not until I realized that my true longing was for God and I changed. I started studying the Bible more intensively. I went to seminary and became a pastor. As soon as God saw that I had left behind my old longings and longed for Him alone, God blessed me richly with a wife and a church to care for. So I am convinced that if we are plagued with our longings the only solution is to long for God and follow God wherever God might lead.
When the author of Psalm 84 arrived in Jerusalem she experienced, possibly for the first time, the joy of delighting in the presence of God. Happiness replaced her longing. She experienced the joy of singing to God and praying to God free from the longings that had plagued her for so long.
And this is the offer made available to you. Turn from your sin, your evil ways. Put behind you your longings for wealth or sex or liquor. And long for the one thing you were created to long for with your whole heart. Long to be in the presence of God. Then come to worship and experience the blessing of happiness as you sing and pray to your creator, and your longings will be satisfied.
Holy Father in heaven, we long for you. We long to be in your presence. We long to sing your praise. We long to be with you in prayer. Banish from our minds our longing for sin. And help us to find our delight only in you. This we pray in the name of the greatest gift we have received, your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sermon Psalm 34 – The Fear of the Lord
Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Psalm 34 – The Fear of the Lord
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 16, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
We all have things that we fear. Maybe we fear being high up in the mountains. Maybe we fear being enclosed in an airplane. Maybe we fear the loss of our health or the loss of a job. There are many things that we fear. We come to church to find sanctuary from our fears in the arms of a loving God. So why does the Bible tell us to fear God too? Before we look at this let’s pray.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
In March of 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the American people in his first inaugural address. He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt was talking about cowardice that was preventing the country from doing what needed to be done to get out of the Great Depression. Today we have different fears. We fear economic depression or inflation, we fear terrorists, and we fear the loss of our health. Fear sometimes can paralyze us into inaction or sometimes spur us on to action.
In the scripture that we heard earlier David was very much afraid. King Saul was after him. He was alone with no army, no equipment and no supplies. David was hungry and approached the priest of Nob for sanctuary. David needed a place where his fears of Saul could be replaced with deep reverence for God. The priest of Nob gave David the holy bread which strengthened him, removed his fears and set him right with God. David then approached the King of Gath for protection from Saul. But fearing that the King of Gath might tell Saul where David was hiding, David pretended to be mad hoping the King would ignore him. Then David sat down and wrote a psalm about his experiences with fear, Psalm 34.
NRS Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. 9 O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all. 20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Psalm 34 tells us that God knows of our fears through our prayers and will deliver us. We walk into church with all of our fears intact and we walk out filled with confidence and trust. Our fear is replaced by faith. That’s why the angels tell to not be afraid. So if through God our fears are removed why would Psalm 34 also tell us to fear God? What is “the Fear of the Lord” all about?
One clue to this is that ancient Hebrew has two different words which are both translated in English as “fear”, and these have subtle differences in meaning. Let me explain.
One Hebrew word for fear is pahhad. Pahhad literally means that all of your bones begin to shake, you tremble. Pahhad could also be translated as “dread”. We experience pahhad whenever we expect disaster to fall. Stress overwhelms us, our muscles tighten up, and we begin to shake in anticipation that something really bad is about to happen.
It is clear from scripture the God brings pahhad on Israel’s enemies and this accounts for much of their military successes. The Book of Chronicles says, “The pahhad of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:29). This fear of God was often enough to prevent war as Israel’s enemies trembled with terror at the prospect of war with their God.
Pahhad also affects individuals, and most often the wicked. It comes in the form of sudden panic as a storm from God strikes the wicked. Pahhad is a good thing if it motivates the wicked to change, and repent from their evil ways before calamity strikes. The prophets of Israel told their people that when they experience fear, pahhad, they should turn toward God in prayer with the promise that God would deliver them from those fears.
So pahhad is the fear we have of God when we sin. This fear causes our bones to shake and we tremble in dread that God will punish us. But if we turn to God pahhad is removed and we are delivered from this type of fear.
Pahhad is not the only Hebrew word translated as fear. Another is the word yarah. Yarah literally means “to flow”. The idea is that when you come into the presence of a person with great authority, or if you see an awesome sight you then respond with reverence and wonder, and bow down to authority. Yarah describes the relationship we have with God. We approach God with awe and reverence flowing out of us. It is through yarah that we know God. Yarah removes our pride and gives us a spirit of humility as we give all glory and honor to God. Yarah gives us the proper perspective in relationship with God so that we may learn wisdom from God and avoid evil. And it is through the yarah of God, the fear of God, where we find our delight in the spirit of God that comes upon us.
So pahhad means that we fear impending calamity and our bones tremble in dread. But yarah means that we fear the glory and majesty we cannot understand with awe, reverence, respect and humility flowing from us to God. Psalm 34 teaches us that God is here to remove our fear, pahhad, but we are expected to fear, yarah, the awesomeness, greatness and majesty of the Lord.
We all have fears, our fears about declining health, our fears about our jobs, our fears about our families. These fears keep us up at night. We tremble with dread. We worry about what will happen tomorrow. We can’t get to sleep, so we take sleeping pills or drink alcohol until we pass out. But when we wake up the fears are still there. They just won’t go away. And when one problem is finally over there is always another one that comes along to worry about. All of this fear causes stress which harms our health and relationship with our family and coworkers. Our bones shake, we tremble.
The only solution for this is God who will redeem you from your fears and fill you with faith, confidence and strength. But God will only help you when you first fear the only thing that you really should be afraid of, and that is God. We fear God because God is our creator, the creator of the universe, who loves us and wants the best for us. So we fear the greatness, the awesomeness of God, who has power we cannot even imagine. Reverence and honor flow from us to God.
And this is why worship is so important. We bring all of our fears with us to church. Even as we enter the sanctuary our fears are still with us. We tremble with our anxieties. We worry about everything. And we sit here hoping that God will do something about these fears. Then worship begins when we confess our fears and ask God to remove them. The God who loves us removes our fears and fills us with confidence and faith. Then we realize that we have come into contact with God, our creator. We are filled with fear and reverence. Humility flows from us. We dare to approach God in reverent fear and love. And God responds with the gift of life without fear.
David’s fear of Saul was removed when he entered the sanctuary and ate the holy bread. But while he pretended to be crazy he realized the great gift he had received in the privilege of fearing God. So he gave us the great gift of Psalm 34.
President Roosevelt was wrong in 1933 when he said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” No. The only thing we have to fear is God. We fear God because of his majesty and might and power and glory. When we fear God our humility flows out of us to honor God. And God faithfully removes our fears from us. Thanks be to God.
Lord God, remove our fears from us today. Purge them from our minds by filling us with your love. Then give us the appropriate fear of you so that we always approach you in a spirit of humility reverence. This we pray with your Son and Spirit. Amen.
Sermon Psalm 34 – The Fear of the Lord
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 16, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
We all have things that we fear. Maybe we fear being high up in the mountains. Maybe we fear being enclosed in an airplane. Maybe we fear the loss of our health or the loss of a job. There are many things that we fear. We come to church to find sanctuary from our fears in the arms of a loving God. So why does the Bible tell us to fear God too? Before we look at this let’s pray.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
In March of 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the American people in his first inaugural address. He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt was talking about cowardice that was preventing the country from doing what needed to be done to get out of the Great Depression. Today we have different fears. We fear economic depression or inflation, we fear terrorists, and we fear the loss of our health. Fear sometimes can paralyze us into inaction or sometimes spur us on to action.
In the scripture that we heard earlier David was very much afraid. King Saul was after him. He was alone with no army, no equipment and no supplies. David was hungry and approached the priest of Nob for sanctuary. David needed a place where his fears of Saul could be replaced with deep reverence for God. The priest of Nob gave David the holy bread which strengthened him, removed his fears and set him right with God. David then approached the King of Gath for protection from Saul. But fearing that the King of Gath might tell Saul where David was hiding, David pretended to be mad hoping the King would ignore him. Then David sat down and wrote a psalm about his experiences with fear, Psalm 34.
NRS Psalm 34:1
Psalm 34 tells us that God knows of our fears through our prayers and will deliver us. We walk into church with all of our fears intact and we walk out filled with confidence and trust. Our fear is replaced by faith. That’s why the angels tell to not be afraid. So if through God our fears are removed why would Psalm 34 also tell us to fear God? What is “the Fear of the Lord” all about?
One clue to this is that ancient Hebrew has two different words which are both translated in English as “fear”, and these have subtle differences in meaning. Let me explain.
One Hebrew word for fear is pahhad. Pahhad literally means that all of your bones begin to shake, you tremble. Pahhad could also be translated as “dread”. We experience pahhad whenever we expect disaster to fall. Stress overwhelms us, our muscles tighten up, and we begin to shake in anticipation that something really bad is about to happen.
It is clear from scripture the God brings pahhad on Israel’s enemies and this accounts for much of their military successes. The Book of Chronicles says, “The pahhad of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:29). This fear of God was often enough to prevent war as Israel’s enemies trembled with terror at the prospect of war with their God.
Pahhad also affects individuals, and most often the wicked. It comes in the form of sudden panic as a storm from God strikes the wicked. Pahhad is a good thing if it motivates the wicked to change, and repent from their evil ways before calamity strikes. The prophets of Israel told their people that when they experience fear, pahhad, they should turn toward God in prayer with the promise that God would deliver them from those fears.
So pahhad is the fear we have of God when we sin. This fear causes our bones to shake and we tremble in dread that God will punish us. But if we turn to God pahhad is removed and we are delivered from this type of fear.
Pahhad is not the only Hebrew word translated as fear. Another is the word yarah. Yarah literally means “to flow”. The idea is that when you come into the presence of a person with great authority, or if you see an awesome sight you then respond with reverence and wonder, and bow down to authority. Yarah describes the relationship we have with God. We approach God with awe and reverence flowing out of us. It is through yarah that we know God. Yarah removes our pride and gives us a spirit of humility as we give all glory and honor to God. Yarah gives us the proper perspective in relationship with God so that we may learn wisdom from God and avoid evil. And it is through the yarah of God, the fear of God, where we find our delight in the spirit of God that comes upon us.
So pahhad means that we fear impending calamity and our bones tremble in dread. But yarah means that we fear the glory and majesty we cannot understand with awe, reverence, respect and humility flowing from us to God. Psalm 34 teaches us that God is here to remove our fear, pahhad, but we are expected to fear, yarah, the awesomeness, greatness and majesty of the Lord.
We all have fears, our fears about declining health, our fears about our jobs, our fears about our families. These fears keep us up at night. We tremble with dread. We worry about what will happen tomorrow. We can’t get to sleep, so we take sleeping pills or drink alcohol until we pass out. But when we wake up the fears are still there. They just won’t go away. And when one problem is finally over there is always another one that comes along to worry about. All of this fear causes stress which harms our health and relationship with our family and coworkers. Our bones shake, we tremble.
The only solution for this is God who will redeem you from your fears and fill you with faith, confidence and strength. But God will only help you when you first fear the only thing that you really should be afraid of, and that is God. We fear God because God is our creator, the creator of the universe, who loves us and wants the best for us. So we fear the greatness, the awesomeness of God, who has power we cannot even imagine. Reverence and honor flow from us to God.
And this is why worship is so important. We bring all of our fears with us to church. Even as we enter the sanctuary our fears are still with us. We tremble with our anxieties. We worry about everything. And we sit here hoping that God will do something about these fears. Then worship begins when we confess our fears and ask God to remove them. The God who loves us removes our fears and fills us with confidence and faith. Then we realize that we have come into contact with God, our creator. We are filled with fear and reverence. Humility flows from us. We dare to approach God in reverent fear and love. And God responds with the gift of life without fear.
David’s fear of Saul was removed when he entered the sanctuary and ate the holy bread. But while he pretended to be crazy he realized the great gift he had received in the privilege of fearing God. So he gave us the great gift of Psalm 34.
President Roosevelt was wrong in 1933 when he said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” No. The only thing we have to fear is God. We fear God because of his majesty and might and power and glory. When we fear God our humility flows out of us to honor God. And God faithfully removes our fears from us. Thanks be to God.
Lord God, remove our fears from us today. Purge them from our minds by filling us with your love. Then give us the appropriate fear of you so that we always approach you in a spirit of humility reverence. This we pray with your Son and Spirit. Amen.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sermon Psalm 130 - Waiting
Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Psalm 130 - Waiting
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 9, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
This morning we will be talking about waiting. We all know what waiting is all about because we wait for things all the time. Sometimes we wait with expectation that something will happen. Sometime we have important responsibilities while we wait. And sometimes we just wait filled with either despair or hope. But the important thing is not whether or not we wait, but for whom are we waiting because only when we are waiting for God do we have hope. Before we look at what the Bible says about waiting lets pray.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
(A song while ascending the stairs of the temple) Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord God. Master, hear my voice. Let your ear be attentive to the sound of my pleading. I you would keep watch over sin. O Lord, Master, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord God. My soul waits, and in His word I wait. My soul waits for the Lord God in the morning: those who wait in the morning. Let Israel wait for the Lord God. For with the Lord God there is faithfulness and goodness. And many will be ransomed. And He will ransom Israel for all iniquity. (Psalm 130 – my translation)
Psalm 130 is a prayer from someone who is waiting for God. This concept of waiting is so important that the Hebrews would sing this psalm as they waited to ascend the steps of the temple to come into the presence of God during the Passover celebration. Psalm 130 has also been used by Christians during Lent and Holy Week as they wait for the glorious celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. And certainly the 130th psalm has been prayed by countless people of God throughout the centuries as they waited for God to deliver them from their distresses.
Before I came to California I rarely waited for anything. I was constantly on the go putting 40,000 miles on my car every year visiting clients and prospects and suppliers for my business. But staying busy, I found, does not prevent you from waiting. I had to wait until I was 49 to find a wife. And I made God wait nearly 50 years until I finally realized my calling to be a pastor.
Since I became a pastor waiting has, for me, taken on a new meaning. As I visit people in hospitals and nursing homes I realize that waiting is all many people have to do. People in hospitals and nursing homes deal with the endless hours of waiting by watching television and reading. They welcome visits from the pastor, family or church members because it makes an hour or so pass a little more quickly. That is why we as church should visit the shut-ins frequently to help them pass their time.
We wait in three ways, according to Psalm 130, which uses three different Hebrew words that all essentially mean “to wait”. But they have subtle differences in meaning. These are: waiting with an expectation, waiting with a responsibility, and waiting with hope. Let’s take a look at each of these.
Often when we wait we expect that after waiting something will happen. Each day I wait for Grace to come home. I fully expect that she will arrive around 6 and we will have dinner together. This expectation is usually met as she comes home at the appointed time. There are other times I wait with expectation. I wait two weeks expecting a paycheck and it comes. I wait until noon each day expecting lunch and I eat.
Sometimes we wait expecting that something bad will happen. We wait at the hospital expecting a loved one to die at any time. We wait expecting the pink slip to arrive on our desk any day telling us that our job is gone. We wait for the bills that come relentlessly each month. We wait for the final words spoken in a relationship that has gone all wrong. And when these things happen we wait expecting that God will come to redeem us from our pain. So ultimately when we wait with expectation we are actually waiting for God to act in us, for us, and through us. Our expectation, which is always realized, is that we are waiting for God to love us.
In addition to waiting with expectation sometimes we wait with responsibility. Picture the night watchman walking up and down the long corridors and watching the security monitors all night long. The night watchman is hired to wait and watch for anything that might go wrong. There are no expectations associated with this waiting. In this example waiting is the watchman’s responsibility.
Each Sunday morning I get here early so that I have some time to get ready for worship. During this time I have a responsibility to pray for the congregation that you will come into the presence of God during worship. I hide somewhere and meditate on the scripture for that morning giving God one last chance to change the message I am about to deliver. I wait each Sunday with the awesome responsibility of calling you to worship God.
I also wait for the telephone to ring knowing that, as a pastor, I have a responsibility to talk with those in need. So I wait for the call that someone is in the hospital, or that someone has died, or that someone has lost their job, or that a relationship is ending. I have no expectations of what might happen as I wait. I just wait because it is my responsibility to wait as your pastor.
You all know about your responsibilities in waiting. You wait for your children to come home, all the while keeping your love for them in your hearts. You wait for the test results from your doctor, maintaining confidence in the midst of uncertainties. You wait for your welfare and food stamps knowing that you have the responsibility to be looking for a job to support yourself.
God waits remembering that it is in his very nature to be faithful and just. God waits for us to repent and turn to him remembering that it is in his nature to forgive sin and offer us mercy. These are the responsibilities God has while waiting and we can be assured that God always fulfills these responsibilities, because God loves us.
So far we have seen two kinds of waiting: waiting with expectations and waiting with responsibilities. There is a third kind of waiting and that is when we have no expectations and no responsibilities. We just wait and there is nothing we can do. We wait for a son to come home after a drunken binge. We wait as disease ravages our bodies. We wait as unemployment empties our bank accounts. We wait to die.
When we wait with no responsibilities and no expectations our waiting may become unbearable. We fear the unknown. We imagine the worst. We fall into depression and despair. And when this happens, all we can do is to cry out to God. Jesus experienced this kind of waiting and he cried out from the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” All we have during this kind of waiting in our hope in God. We are sustain by our belief that God is faithful, that God loves us, that God is merciful and forgives us, that God has the power to end our waiting, and that God has given us his own son so that we would never have to wait alone.
Over 25 years ago now, I experienced the death of my mother. When that happened I had to wait for what was to come, wait for changes in my family, and wait for changes in my life. I waited to see what would happen on birthdays and holidays. I waited to see where we would be on Thanksgiving. I waited in grief not knowing what to expect and not knowing what to do. But I did wait in hope that God would take care of me because I was assured that God loved me very much. And since hope in God was all I had I decided to change my life. I started to attend worship every Sunday. God had waited for me for ten years while I didn’t have time for church. But when I found myself at my lowest point God filled me with hope and directed me to worship. I can see now that God was using this experience to pull me back into the faith I had left and prepare me for the challenges ahead.
You see, when we are at depths of despair, God is still faithful and is waiting with expectations for us and with responsibilities to redeem us.
As Christians we wait in hope that one day the Kingdom of God will be fully realized. We have the expectation as we wait that Jesus will come again in glory to rule in justice and righteousness. And we have the responsibility while waiting to pray, meditate on scripture and worship God.
So as you wait, remember your responsibility while waiting to read your Bible, pray and worship God every day. This will help you to set your expectations high with the hope that God will redeem you with mercy and love. While waiting always hope in the Lord for your salvation and rest in the assurance that God loves you.
Lord Jesus, we wait for your return. We don’t know when that will be, but we are confident that it will happen. As we wait help us to fulfill our responsibility to worship God in prayer and study of your Word every day. Fill us with expectations of the coming kingdom. And be with us as our savior as we wait. All of this we pray with you, your spirit, and your Father. Amen.
Sermon Psalm 130 - Waiting
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 9, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
This morning we will be talking about waiting. We all know what waiting is all about because we wait for things all the time. Sometimes we wait with expectation that something will happen. Sometime we have important responsibilities while we wait. And sometimes we just wait filled with either despair or hope. But the important thing is not whether or not we wait, but for whom are we waiting because only when we are waiting for God do we have hope. Before we look at what the Bible says about waiting lets pray.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
(A song while ascending the stairs of the temple) Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord God. Master, hear my voice. Let your ear be attentive to the sound of my pleading. I you would keep watch over sin. O Lord, Master, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord God. My soul waits, and in His word I wait. My soul waits for the Lord God in the morning: those who wait in the morning. Let Israel wait for the Lord God. For with the Lord God there is faithfulness and goodness. And many will be ransomed. And He will ransom Israel for all iniquity. (Psalm 130 – my translation)
Psalm 130 is a prayer from someone who is waiting for God. This concept of waiting is so important that the Hebrews would sing this psalm as they waited to ascend the steps of the temple to come into the presence of God during the Passover celebration. Psalm 130 has also been used by Christians during Lent and Holy Week as they wait for the glorious celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. And certainly the 130th psalm has been prayed by countless people of God throughout the centuries as they waited for God to deliver them from their distresses.
Before I came to California I rarely waited for anything. I was constantly on the go putting 40,000 miles on my car every year visiting clients and prospects and suppliers for my business. But staying busy, I found, does not prevent you from waiting. I had to wait until I was 49 to find a wife. And I made God wait nearly 50 years until I finally realized my calling to be a pastor.
Since I became a pastor waiting has, for me, taken on a new meaning. As I visit people in hospitals and nursing homes I realize that waiting is all many people have to do. People in hospitals and nursing homes deal with the endless hours of waiting by watching television and reading. They welcome visits from the pastor, family or church members because it makes an hour or so pass a little more quickly. That is why we as church should visit the shut-ins frequently to help them pass their time.
We wait in three ways, according to Psalm 130, which uses three different Hebrew words that all essentially mean “to wait”. But they have subtle differences in meaning. These are: waiting with an expectation, waiting with a responsibility, and waiting with hope. Let’s take a look at each of these.
Often when we wait we expect that after waiting something will happen. Each day I wait for Grace to come home. I fully expect that she will arrive around 6 and we will have dinner together. This expectation is usually met as she comes home at the appointed time. There are other times I wait with expectation. I wait two weeks expecting a paycheck and it comes. I wait until noon each day expecting lunch and I eat.
Sometimes we wait expecting that something bad will happen. We wait at the hospital expecting a loved one to die at any time. We wait expecting the pink slip to arrive on our desk any day telling us that our job is gone. We wait for the bills that come relentlessly each month. We wait for the final words spoken in a relationship that has gone all wrong. And when these things happen we wait expecting that God will come to redeem us from our pain. So ultimately when we wait with expectation we are actually waiting for God to act in us, for us, and through us. Our expectation, which is always realized, is that we are waiting for God to love us.
In addition to waiting with expectation sometimes we wait with responsibility. Picture the night watchman walking up and down the long corridors and watching the security monitors all night long. The night watchman is hired to wait and watch for anything that might go wrong. There are no expectations associated with this waiting. In this example waiting is the watchman’s responsibility.
Each Sunday morning I get here early so that I have some time to get ready for worship. During this time I have a responsibility to pray for the congregation that you will come into the presence of God during worship. I hide somewhere and meditate on the scripture for that morning giving God one last chance to change the message I am about to deliver. I wait each Sunday with the awesome responsibility of calling you to worship God.
I also wait for the telephone to ring knowing that, as a pastor, I have a responsibility to talk with those in need. So I wait for the call that someone is in the hospital, or that someone has died, or that someone has lost their job, or that a relationship is ending. I have no expectations of what might happen as I wait. I just wait because it is my responsibility to wait as your pastor.
You all know about your responsibilities in waiting. You wait for your children to come home, all the while keeping your love for them in your hearts. You wait for the test results from your doctor, maintaining confidence in the midst of uncertainties. You wait for your welfare and food stamps knowing that you have the responsibility to be looking for a job to support yourself.
God waits remembering that it is in his very nature to be faithful and just. God waits for us to repent and turn to him remembering that it is in his nature to forgive sin and offer us mercy. These are the responsibilities God has while waiting and we can be assured that God always fulfills these responsibilities, because God loves us.
So far we have seen two kinds of waiting: waiting with expectations and waiting with responsibilities. There is a third kind of waiting and that is when we have no expectations and no responsibilities. We just wait and there is nothing we can do. We wait for a son to come home after a drunken binge. We wait as disease ravages our bodies. We wait as unemployment empties our bank accounts. We wait to die.
When we wait with no responsibilities and no expectations our waiting may become unbearable. We fear the unknown. We imagine the worst. We fall into depression and despair. And when this happens, all we can do is to cry out to God. Jesus experienced this kind of waiting and he cried out from the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” All we have during this kind of waiting in our hope in God. We are sustain by our belief that God is faithful, that God loves us, that God is merciful and forgives us, that God has the power to end our waiting, and that God has given us his own son so that we would never have to wait alone.
Over 25 years ago now, I experienced the death of my mother. When that happened I had to wait for what was to come, wait for changes in my family, and wait for changes in my life. I waited to see what would happen on birthdays and holidays. I waited to see where we would be on Thanksgiving. I waited in grief not knowing what to expect and not knowing what to do. But I did wait in hope that God would take care of me because I was assured that God loved me very much. And since hope in God was all I had I decided to change my life. I started to attend worship every Sunday. God had waited for me for ten years while I didn’t have time for church. But when I found myself at my lowest point God filled me with hope and directed me to worship. I can see now that God was using this experience to pull me back into the faith I had left and prepare me for the challenges ahead.
You see, when we are at depths of despair, God is still faithful and is waiting with expectations for us and with responsibilities to redeem us.
As Christians we wait in hope that one day the Kingdom of God will be fully realized. We have the expectation as we wait that Jesus will come again in glory to rule in justice and righteousness. And we have the responsibility while waiting to pray, meditate on scripture and worship God.
So as you wait, remember your responsibility while waiting to read your Bible, pray and worship God every day. This will help you to set your expectations high with the hope that God will redeem you with mercy and love. While waiting always hope in the Lord for your salvation and rest in the assurance that God loves you.
Lord Jesus, we wait for your return. We don’t know when that will be, but we are confident that it will happen. As we wait help us to fulfill our responsibility to worship God in prayer and study of your Word every day. Fill us with expectations of the coming kingdom. And be with us as our savior as we wait. All of this we pray with you, your spirit, and your Father. Amen.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Sermon – John 6:24-35 – The Bread from Heaven
Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – John 6:24-35 – The Bread from Heaven
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 2, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
Before we begin I would like to thank Session and the church for giving me two weeks of study leave. I was able to attend the Academy for Missional Preaching in Malibu where I was able to break bread and share stories with other Presbyterian pastors and professors of preaching from our seminaries. But is it wonderful being back here to break bread and share stories will all of you. Let’s get started with prayer.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
A few weeks ago we celebrated the birth of our nation with fireworks and backyard barbeques. We do this every year on the Fourth of July. We gather to eat and share stories. “Remember the time Grandpa set the garage on fire with the fireworks.” “Weren’t Aunt Sally’s deviled eggs the best?” Good food and warm memories makes a festival celebration like Independence Day an important part of our culture.
The Israelites had their own Fourth of July. It was called Passover. They ate good food and told the stories of the founding of their nation. They remembered Moses and all that he did to lead them from slavery in Egypt through forty years in the wilderness and into the Promised Land. One year during the Passover festival a celebrity came to a city in the region of Galilee. He was a great teacher and had developed a reputation for healing. A large crowd gathered just to see him and maybe touch his cloak. His name was Jesus.
Jesus saw that the crowd was hungry. So he told his disciples to feed them. Of course there was no money in the budget for such an extravagant feast. By one count there were 5000 people to feed. They only had five barley loaves and a couple of fish. Jesus took them, gave thanks to God, and everyone ate and was satisfied.
The next day Jesus was found to be missing. So people got in boats and crossed the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus. When they found him this is what he said.
John 6:24-35 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
One of the great stories that the Jews told to each other at the Passover celebration was about the time after they had all left Egypt and had entered the desert. The food they had departed with was gone and they were hungry. Starvation threatened to destroy the entire community. The people were so afraid that they wanted to go back and become slaves again.
I don’t know what it is like to be hungry. There has never been a day in my life when I did not have something to eat in the refrigerator or money in my pocket to buy whatever food I wanted. I know some people, here in Eagle Rock, even people coming to this church, who have experienced hunger. They try to get by on $200 a month in general relief and some food stamps. This usually runs out by the end of the month and they would go hungry but for the generosity of the people of God.
Of course there is a different kind of hunger, spiritual hunger, which we have all experienced. This is our longing for something more out of life; something seems to be missing. We treat spiritual hunger with alcohol and drugs and prescription medicines. But nothing seems to work. This spiritual hunger is caused by sin which separates us from God, because God alone can satisfy this kind of hunger
Of course we cannot satisfy all of the hunger of the people in our community. But if all the churches work together we can help feed the people who are physically hungry. And we can work to satisfy not only their physical need for food, but their spiritual needs as well, by introducing them to Jesus.
In Moses’ day, each morning while in the wilderness, the people found bread falling from heaven. They ate this bread every day and it sustained them for forty years. Those forty years ended with a great celebration, Passover. With this Passover story in their minds the Jews who had come to see Jesus began to think that just as Moses had provided bread for their ancestors to eat, so too had Jesus come to feed them. Jesus must be a great prophet like Moses.
But Jesus, being a Bible teacher, knew that Moses did not provide the bread from heaven for the Israelites to eat. No! It was God who sent the bread from heaven. And it was God who fed those 5000 people that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus started to tell them stories. One was from the prophet Daniel, who said that a human being would come from down from heaven, sent by God to rule with all power and authority. He would govern a kingdom of justice and righteousness. He would be the called the Son of Man. Jesus reminded them of another story of when their ancestors Adam and Eve lived in the garden where there was a tree in the center of the garden, the Tree of Life. Jesus said that the bread of heaven that would come with the Son of Man would be made from the fruit of the tree of life. And all who would eat this bread of heaven would have the gift of eternal life.
The people who had followed Jesus to Capernaum wondered what they had to do to eat this bread of heaven and live eternally. They asked Jesus, what work was required by God. And Jesus told them that the work required of God is that you believe in him whom God had sent, the Son of Man, who had come from heaven to earth with the bread of life.
You see just as God had provided bread from heaven to his people in the wilderness so to does Jesus bring the bread of eternal life to us. And the promise of scripture is that if you believe in Jesus Christ then you will receive eternal life.
That’s why our evangelism program is so important. That’s why we show our hospitality with a meal every Sunday night. That’s why we pickup bread from Trader Joe’s in Glendale and give it away: to show Christian generosity. That’s why we invite people to attend this church, so that they too will believe in Jesus Christ and will receive with us the bread of heaven that leads to eternal life.
In a few moments we will gather around this table for the Lord’s Supper. The Deacons have beautifully prepared the table and will serve you as hosts. But the bread that you will eat is not from the Deacons. This bread is not from the church. It is the bread from heaven that is given to you symbolizing your faith in Jesus Christ and sealing the gift of eternal life upon you.
I leave you with one last story which you can tell over and over again. It is the story being written today. It is the story of how this church is inviting the community into it sanctuary with our hospitality and generosity. It is the story of how we are satisfying the physical hunger of those who need something to eat. It is the story of how we are satisfying the spiritual hunger of people for Jesus. It is the story of bringing people to belief in Jesus Christ, so that they may eat the bread from heaven and receive eternal life.
Father in heaven, we ask for the gift of faith, that we might believe in Jesus Christ, the one who came from heaven to nourish us with the spiritual food that leads to eternal life. Bless us as we come to this communion table to eat the bread from heaven. We ask that you fill us with the nourishing food that will sustain us eternally. In your Son’s name and in the power of the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
Sermon – John 6:24-35 – The Bread from Heaven
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
August 2, 2009
Listen to this sermon.
Before we begin I would like to thank Session and the church for giving me two weeks of study leave. I was able to attend the Academy for Missional Preaching in Malibu where I was able to break bread and share stories with other Presbyterian pastors and professors of preaching from our seminaries. But is it wonderful being back here to break bread and share stories will all of you. Let’s get started with prayer.
Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)
A few weeks ago we celebrated the birth of our nation with fireworks and backyard barbeques. We do this every year on the Fourth of July. We gather to eat and share stories. “Remember the time Grandpa set the garage on fire with the fireworks.” “Weren’t Aunt Sally’s deviled eggs the best?” Good food and warm memories makes a festival celebration like Independence Day an important part of our culture.
The Israelites had their own Fourth of July. It was called Passover. They ate good food and told the stories of the founding of their nation. They remembered Moses and all that he did to lead them from slavery in Egypt through forty years in the wilderness and into the Promised Land. One year during the Passover festival a celebrity came to a city in the region of Galilee. He was a great teacher and had developed a reputation for healing. A large crowd gathered just to see him and maybe touch his cloak. His name was Jesus.
Jesus saw that the crowd was hungry. So he told his disciples to feed them. Of course there was no money in the budget for such an extravagant feast. By one count there were 5000 people to feed. They only had five barley loaves and a couple of fish. Jesus took them, gave thanks to God, and everyone ate and was satisfied.
The next day Jesus was found to be missing. So people got in boats and crossed the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus. When they found him this is what he said.
John 6:24-35 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
One of the great stories that the Jews told to each other at the Passover celebration was about the time after they had all left Egypt and had entered the desert. The food they had departed with was gone and they were hungry. Starvation threatened to destroy the entire community. The people were so afraid that they wanted to go back and become slaves again.
I don’t know what it is like to be hungry. There has never been a day in my life when I did not have something to eat in the refrigerator or money in my pocket to buy whatever food I wanted. I know some people, here in Eagle Rock, even people coming to this church, who have experienced hunger. They try to get by on $200 a month in general relief and some food stamps. This usually runs out by the end of the month and they would go hungry but for the generosity of the people of God.
Of course there is a different kind of hunger, spiritual hunger, which we have all experienced. This is our longing for something more out of life; something seems to be missing. We treat spiritual hunger with alcohol and drugs and prescription medicines. But nothing seems to work. This spiritual hunger is caused by sin which separates us from God, because God alone can satisfy this kind of hunger
Of course we cannot satisfy all of the hunger of the people in our community. But if all the churches work together we can help feed the people who are physically hungry. And we can work to satisfy not only their physical need for food, but their spiritual needs as well, by introducing them to Jesus.
In Moses’ day, each morning while in the wilderness, the people found bread falling from heaven. They ate this bread every day and it sustained them for forty years. Those forty years ended with a great celebration, Passover. With this Passover story in their minds the Jews who had come to see Jesus began to think that just as Moses had provided bread for their ancestors to eat, so too had Jesus come to feed them. Jesus must be a great prophet like Moses.
But Jesus, being a Bible teacher, knew that Moses did not provide the bread from heaven for the Israelites to eat. No! It was God who sent the bread from heaven. And it was God who fed those 5000 people that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus started to tell them stories. One was from the prophet Daniel, who said that a human being would come from down from heaven, sent by God to rule with all power and authority. He would govern a kingdom of justice and righteousness. He would be the called the Son of Man. Jesus reminded them of another story of when their ancestors Adam and Eve lived in the garden where there was a tree in the center of the garden, the Tree of Life. Jesus said that the bread of heaven that would come with the Son of Man would be made from the fruit of the tree of life. And all who would eat this bread of heaven would have the gift of eternal life.
The people who had followed Jesus to Capernaum wondered what they had to do to eat this bread of heaven and live eternally. They asked Jesus, what work was required by God. And Jesus told them that the work required of God is that you believe in him whom God had sent, the Son of Man, who had come from heaven to earth with the bread of life.
You see just as God had provided bread from heaven to his people in the wilderness so to does Jesus bring the bread of eternal life to us. And the promise of scripture is that if you believe in Jesus Christ then you will receive eternal life.
That’s why our evangelism program is so important. That’s why we show our hospitality with a meal every Sunday night. That’s why we pickup bread from Trader Joe’s in Glendale and give it away: to show Christian generosity. That’s why we invite people to attend this church, so that they too will believe in Jesus Christ and will receive with us the bread of heaven that leads to eternal life.
In a few moments we will gather around this table for the Lord’s Supper. The Deacons have beautifully prepared the table and will serve you as hosts. But the bread that you will eat is not from the Deacons. This bread is not from the church. It is the bread from heaven that is given to you symbolizing your faith in Jesus Christ and sealing the gift of eternal life upon you.
I leave you with one last story which you can tell over and over again. It is the story being written today. It is the story of how this church is inviting the community into it sanctuary with our hospitality and generosity. It is the story of how we are satisfying the physical hunger of those who need something to eat. It is the story of how we are satisfying the spiritual hunger of people for Jesus. It is the story of bringing people to belief in Jesus Christ, so that they may eat the bread from heaven and receive eternal life.
Father in heaven, we ask for the gift of faith, that we might believe in Jesus Christ, the one who came from heaven to nourish us with the spiritual food that leads to eternal life. Bless us as we come to this communion table to eat the bread from heaven. We ask that you fill us with the nourishing food that will sustain us eternally. In your Son’s name and in the power of the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
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