How we see or perceive things can vary tremendously depending on circumstances. For example, my wife and I just returned from a camping trip. The outhouse was just a few hundred feet from where we pitched our tent. During the day it was easy to see how to walk from our camp to the outhouse. But at night, everything was different. The outhouse itself blended so well into the background that it was difficult to see it from just a few feet away. It was easy to miss the path back to our tent. What had changed? Nothing, really. The outhouse was still in the same location. Our tent hadn’t moved. The paths were still n the same place. But the lack of light, even when the moon shone full, made everything look different. Shadows hid or changed the appearance of the bushes and trees. Familiar shapes were difficult to recognize.

In the same way, the lens through which we look at things can affect our perception of reality. For example, I am very short-sighted. Without my glasses it is extremely difficult for me to see very far. I can hardly see people on the other side of the room, let alone recognize them.

Just as with physical sight, our view of God can be very flawed or distorted by circumstances or our own biases. For example, some people have the idea that God is perpetually angry and vengeful. He is merely waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us or bring misery upon us. Other people are angry at God. They look at the pain and misery in the world and ask why God doesn’t stop it. They argue that because evil exists, God either cannot be all-powerful, or He isn’t loving.

But just as the glasses I wear enable me to see much clearer, we have a lens which helps us see God as He really is. In speaking of Christ, the prophet Isaiah writes, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6 NIV)

Yes, God does become angry at sin. Yes, God does say that vengeance belongs to Him. But Isaiah helps us to see things from a different perspective. God not only hates sin, He made a way for us to escape retribution and vengeance. If we will only choose to accept it, Jesus took our penalty on Himself.

In the same way, the existence of evil does not prove that God doesn’t care or is unable to do anything about it. On the contrary, from Isaiah we see that God loves us so much that He provided a way for us to overcome evil. According to the Apostle Peter, the reason God continues to put up with the evil we see all around us is that He’s giving everyone the opportunity to repent and accept the way of salvation from sin.

However, when we watch the news or when someone mistreats us, it is very difficult to keep things in perspective. It’s easy to forget that God loves us and is doing everything in His power, short of violating our free will, to give us a way out.

That’s one reason He’s given us a weekly reminder of reality. Jesus asked us to eat bread in memory of His sacrifice on our behalf. He asked us to drink grape-juice in memory of His blood which bought us freedom from sin. The Lord’s Supper is the lens which corrects our vision and helps us to see God as He really is.

Let’s pray

(Written to go with a sermon based on Matthew 4:12-17)

Have you ever experienced total darkness? During one of our vacations, our family toured a cave. While we were in one of the galleries, the tour guide turned off the lights. No matter how you strained your eyes, you could see nothing. It seemed like the entire universe contracted to just yourself. The sense of isolation was eerie. Not to mention the real danger of injuring yourself by running into something or stepping into a hole because you couldn’t see.

Having experienced total darkness a few times, I really admire the blind who refuse to allow their inability to see to hold them back. I honestly don’t know whether I could cope with not being able to see. Glaucoma runs in my family. My mother had it. All but one of my siblings have it. I have it. In time, there is a real possibility that we will lose some or all of our sight. The thought of going blind, and having to spend my days in darkness is, quite frankly, frightening.

As bad as the thought of physical blindness is, there is another kind of blindness which is even worse. It’s being in spiritual darkness. It’s being without purpose or direction. It’s not knowing what is right or wrong. Or, even worse, knowing that you’re wrong but not knowing how to change. It’s not being able to resist the evil that is within.

It’s not that light isn’t available to us. But just like a person whose eyes no longer work, we can be blind to spiritual truth.

Where can we find light? How can we see? Jesus said, “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV)

To put it another way, the source of light is Jesus. If we want to see, we must believe in Him and surrender ourselves to Him. The Apostle Paul writes this in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verses 4 through 6, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6 NIV)

We’re privileged to live at a time in history where illumination is commonly available. We can see at all hours of the night because we have lights we turn on with a simple flick of a switch. However, the lights we find so convenient are not cost free. If we want to continue to enjoy the blessings of light, we have to pay the electric bill.

The spiritual light which Christ supplies isn’t free either. We must be willing to pay the cost of following Him if we want to continue to receive it. More than that, it cost Jesus a tremendous price to make it possible for Him to provide us light. It cost Him His life to illuminate our lives.

Jesus asked us to remember the price He paid. As He instructed, we eat a piece of unleavened bread in His memory each Sunday. We drink some juice to remind us of His blood.

However, this occasion is not just a reminder, it’s also a time for us to renew our commitment to Him. Just like we pay the electric bill to keep the lights on, with these emblems we renew our relationship to Christ.

Let’s pray.

(Prepared for a sermon on 2nd Peter 1:5-11, especially verse 10.)

When was the last time you worried about your bank going under? My guess is that you’ve never worried about it at all. Yet, if you’re familiar with our country’s history, you know that many banks have and do fail. I’ll just mention a few examples to prove the point. There was the panic of 1907 in which several banks failed. The stock market crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression during which over 9,000 banks failed. No doubt some of you remember the Savings and Loan Crisis which started during the 1980s. In it over 1,000 savings and loan institutions closed their doors. Even closer to home was the financial crisis of 2008. Before the recovery, over 200 banks failed.

In addition to these examples, there are many, many more instances of banks and other financial institutions going under. Yet, in spite of the rather dismal record, we don’t hesitate to deposit our paychecks or Social Security payments at the bank. In fact, many people never even see their checks. They have the money due them deposited electronically into their account by the payer.

Why is it that we blithely go on depositing our money into banks when there is such a record of bank failure? Why is it that the jokes which used to be quite common in our culture about people keeping their money under the mattress fall flat? My guess is that to younger generations, those jokes just seem weird if they are even comprehensible.

The reason we don’t worry about losing our money when we put it in the bank is that if the bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, our government guarantees our deposits. If the bank should fail, the government will step in and return to us the amount of our deposit, up to $250,000. Since our account has the “full faith and credit” or our government behind it, we don’t have any reason to worry about our money disappearing. Whatever we happen to think about our government, we know that it generally pays its obligations. In due time we’ll see our money again, even if our bank doesn’t survive.

Unfortunately, people’s confidence in the safety of their money isn’t always matched by confidence in the safety of their souls. A lot of people are unsure of what the future holds. Even Christians are not always confident of their eternal destiny. A question you sometimes hear is, “How can I be sure that I am saved? How can I really know?”

When we stop and think about it, it’s ironic that we have more confidence in the safety of our bank balance than we do about our salvation. The guarantee we have securing our salvation is far stronger than the guarantee securing our bank account. Our bank accounts are guaranteed by the government, but our future is guaranteed by an oath from God. Personally, I have a whole lot more confidence in God’s word than I do in the word of our government.

In speaking of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews says, “…he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” (Hebrews 7:21- 27 NIV)

Did you notice what this passage says? Jesus is our guarantee of the covenant under whose terms we are saved. By means of this covenant, Jesus not only saves, He saves completely or, as your translation may say, forever. He lives forever and therefore, is always able to intercede on our behalf.

Also notice that Jesus’ position as the priest of the new covenant is backed by God’s oath. There can be no better or stronger guarantee. If we have put our faith in Jesus and entered the covenant, our future is secure. God will never default on His promises.

Every once in a while our banks send us a statement reminding us of their terms of service. We can think of that as an analogy for what we do each Sunday when we observe the Lord’s Supper. The bread and juice remind us of our covenant with God. They remind us that the covenant is still in force. When we eat and drink we’re agreeing again to the terms of the covenant.

But the bread and juice also remind us of the guarantee we have. Our future is secured by Jesus, backed by God’s oath. If you want to think of it this way, the bread and cup are equivalent to the sticker we see at the teller’s window: ‘Member FDIC.’ Except in this case, it’s: ‘Member New Covenant.’ And the guarantee is infinitely greater and stronger than any guarantee our government can give.

Today as we eat and drink, let’s thank God not only for our salvation, but also for His unbreakable guarantee.

(Written to compliment a sermon on 1 Peter 1:17-21)

I’d like to talk to you a little bit about fear. Fear is a defense mechanism that is intended to keep us out of harmful or destructive situations. When there is danger, it is our sense of fear which prompts us to take precautions or to avoid the situation altogether. In that sense, fear is a very healthy and good thing. In fact, we call somebody who doesn’t have any fear, ‘foolhardy.’ We even have a saying about it, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” On the other hand, courage is taking action in the face of fear.

Even though fear is, I believe, something God gave us to help us avoid danger, sometimes our fears can be irrational. For example, I have a bit of the fear of heights. One time I had to go up in a lift bucket to work on high ceiling. That was one of the hardest things I ever did. Intellectually, I knew that there was no danger. I knew there was no way the lift could possibly tip over. I knew there was no way I could possibly fall out of the bucket unless I deliberately climbed over the side. Yet, in spite of knowing all that, I was terribly afraid. I had the shakes so bad that I could hardly do the work that required me to go up in the bucket.

And that is the downside of fear. Even though fear is intended to warn us and help us avoid dangerous situations, if we let it, it can also paralyze us. We call it the “Deer in the headlights” syndrome. The deer knows that the oncoming vehicle is dangerous. Yet, it’s so mesmerized by the headlights that it’s paralyzed. It stands there, immobile, until the vehicle hits it. In the same way, if we let fear control us, it can prevent us from taking the action we need to prevent being harmed.

Fear is an individual thing. Some things that scare me silly might not bother you at all. But there are other fears which are pretty universal. One of them is the fear of public speaking. I’ve read that speaking to an audience is the number one fear most people in the United States have. I believe it. Even though I’ve spoken and taught hundreds of times, I still get nervous when it’s my time to stand up front.

Perhaps the most universal fear of all is fear of the unknown. We like the illusion that we are in control of our lives. By definition we can’t control the things we know nothing about. So, we fear anything which takes us out of the familiar. For example, culture shock is a very real phenomenon. When you are first dumped off in a different culture, you have no frame of reference; everything is strange. And because you can’t recognize or relate to what you are experiencing, you don’t know how to act or respond. This induces a state of anxiety. In some cases it can become so severe that it immobilizes.

One of the greatest unknowns we face is death. Death is universal; unless the Lord returns first, all of us are going to die. But even though death is something which has been with us for thousands of years, and even though each one of us will encounter it, if we haven’t already, it’s something we know very little about. What happens to us when we die? What’s on the other side? We really don’t know. And because we don’t know, people fear death. They fear it so much that they will do almost anything to avoid it. To extend their lives a few months they will subject themselves to all kinds of horrible medical procedures and put their families into a financial bind to pay for them.

Yes, most people fear death. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One of the reasons Jesus came to earth was to break the power of death and, in the process, free us from the fear of death. In Hebrews chapter 2, verses 10 through 15 we read, “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (NIV)

I think it is significant that after Jesus rose from the dead, one of the first things He said to His disciples was, “Don’t be afraid.” Since Jesus conquered death, if we have allowed Him to become our Lord, we don’t need to fear death either. He’s been through it. He knows what’s on the other side. We can have confidence because He’s promised to be with us all the way.

Each week we gather to remember what Jesus did for us. The bread and juice which commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice remind us that Jesus loves us. In fact, Paul writes in Romans chapter 8, verses 38 and 39, “…that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)

As we partake this morning, let’s remember that since nothing can separate us from Christ’s love, we don’t have to fear the unknown. Since Jesus rose from the dead, death has no power over us.

(Prepared to go with a sermon on James 5:19-20)

A couple of weeks ago our family had a reunion in honor my father’s 93rd birthday. I think that all of were a little astonished to realize that out of the five of us children, three of us are planning to travel out of the country this October.

Though it may be a little unusual for so many of us to be on the road simultaneously, our family is no stranger to travel. In fact, there have been times when I’ve compared our family to tumbleweeds – blown all over the place by the winds of circumstances. My siblings and I seem to have inherited a touch of wanderlust.

Our family is not unique in this. We live in a very mobile society. It seems like members of this congregation are always traveling somewhere. And, I would be surprised if there is a family represented here that has lived in this area for more than three or four generations.

Travel to distant places and wandering is part of our cultural heritage. Immigration and the Western Migration have left a lasting imprint on us. Wandering is the theme of scores of our songs. For example, the song ‘Shenandoah’ contains the lyrics:

Away, I’m bound away, ‘cross the wide Missouri.

I’m sure you’ve heard the folk song, ‘500 Miles.’ It starts with the words,

If you miss the train I’m on you will know that I am gone.

Then there’s the song ‘City of New Orleans.’ One of the verses has these words:

And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers’ magic carpet made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep, rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

One of my personal favorites is ‘Wayfarin’ Stranger.’

I’m just a poor, wayfarin’ stranger
Traveling through this world of woe.
But there’s no sickness, no toil nor danger
In that bright land to which I go.

That last song evokes the image from the book of Hebrews, that as people of faith we are strangers and aliens on earth, wandering until we find our home in an enduring city.

We like to romanticize the idea of wandering; we like to see what’s around the next bend or over the next hill. But the book of Hebrews tells about another type of wandering that is not so benign. All too often we wander from the truth we’ve been taught. We stray from the path of righteousness. We drift away from God. Just like choosing the wrong road can land us in trouble while we’re traveling, wandering from God traps us in spiritual trouble. We find ourselves in a situation that we can’t get out of by our own efforts. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 1 through 3 says, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” (NIV)

Even though God is forced to let us reap the consequences of our wandering from Him, He is not content to let it remain that way. The problem is how to bring back someone who has wandered off? There isn’t a human solution to the problem. So God determined to provide the way out Himself. He said through the Prophet Ezekiel: “…this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.”” (Ezekiel 34:11-12 NIV)

And that is exactly what God did. He sent Christ to rescue us from the predicament we got ourselves into and to put us back on the right road. Isaiah writes, “…he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV)

Peter echoes the thought when he writes, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” (1 Peter 2:24-25 NIV)

Each week we gather to remember what Jesus did for us. The bread and juice that we eat remind us of the cost of our wandering. As we partake today, let’s remember the words of another old song,

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

(Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson)

In many ways, we are very blessed to live at the time we do. We have a higher standard of living and more opportunities than people at any other time of history. Among the many blessings we enjoy is the privilege of being heard. The Internet allows us ordinary people to voice our opinions to a world-wide audience. I’ve personally benefited from the new technologies because they’ve made it possible for me to write and publish books even though I don’t have the credentials a traditional publisher would require.

However, the new technologies are a double-edged sword. Though they empower people like me, they also allow everyone to vent his spleen. Because the Internet affords a certain amount of anonymity, people aren’t always held accountable for what they say. They can say outrageous and extreme things with no or little consequence. People will say things online that they would never dare say to someone face-to-face. Then, when someone takes offense at what was said, they will fire back with something which is even more incendiary. Invective takes the place of discourse and dialog.

The new technologies also amplify – whether for good or ill. One person’s opinion appears as though many others shared it. And, it is true that like-minded people can find and interface with each other as they never could before. Unfortunately, the feedback can encourage people to up their rhetoric. They become even more entrenched in their position. It becomes harder to have a discussion about differences of opinion. Disagreement is met with accusations of hate. It seems to me that this is one reason our society is becoming more and more polarized.

It becomes a vicious cycle. A person says something somebody else doesn’t like. He responds with an accusation, and the flame wars begin. Soon, the various sides can’t think of each other without saying something nasty.

We shake our heads at some of the things we hear people throw at each other. Yet, are we any better? I’m sure that most of us here have been tempted at one time or another to say some inappropriate things on social media or in blog comments. Some of us may have even done it. The truth is that if we gave reign to our natural inclinations, our behavior wouldn’t be any better than what we decry in others. It is only because we belong to Christ and are letting Him transform us that we have a higher standard.

Paul writes to Titus, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7 NIV)

It is Jesus who broke the cycle of hate. We were nothing special. We hadn’t done anything good that made us better than other people. We were just as bad as anybody else. But Christ looked beyond what we were and saw what we could be. It is His love that provided us a way out of the downward spiral of hate we were trapped in. His love gives us hope. In His love, He made us heirs of eternal life.

We are so blessed that it’s easy to forget what we were before Christ rescued us. It’s easy to fall back into the old ways of thinking and doing things. It can be tempting to respond to others with the same hate they display toward us. That’s one reason why we take the time each week to remember Christ’s love. He showed us, in a very practical way, that love triumphs over hate. The bread represents His body which He sacrificed for us. The juice represents His blood which transforms us.

These emblems not only remind us of what Jesus did for us, they also remind us that we too, have an obligation. Because Christ loved us we, too, need to love others – even when they are obnoxious – even when they are hateful. Just as Christ’s love freed us, our love might help someone else break the cycle of hate.

John writes, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:7-12 NIV)

Today as we participate in Communion, let’s not only thank Christ for His love, let’s also renew our commitment to love one another and those around us.

(Prepared for a sermon on James 1:26-27)

If asked to describe a religion, most people would probably talk about the rituals the people practice who belong to that religion. To put it another way, we define religions in terms of what the people do. However, the rituals, and ceremonies are not supposed to be ends in themselves. They are supposed to be expressions of, or a visual representation of, what the people who participate in them believe.

Human nature being what it is, though, it is very easy for someone to substitute the rituals for the beliefs the rituals represent. Many people think that the rituals themselves are what makes a person pleasing to God. Once they have appeased God by doing the ritual, they are free to go ahead and live their lives however they like. In their minds it is the ritual, rather than a heart which is seeking God that is important.

This was a problem the Israelites had during the days of the Prophet Amos. They were keeping all of the religious rituals. They celebrated the feasts specified in the Law of Moses. They brought offerings to the Temple. They sacrificed animals on the altar. And because they did all these things, they couldn’t understand why God was upset with them. The problem was that even though they were doing all these religious things, they had turned away from what God really wanted. They did not value truth. They oppressed the poor. There was no justice in the courts. They turned against the righteous. They took bribes. They were dishonest in business. In so doing they missed the whole point of rituals. As it says in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14, “…without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (NIV)

God told them, “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24 NIV)

The Israelites of Amos’ day, substituted the rituals for righteousness. Unfortunately, ist’s also easy to make the opposite mistake and discount or despise the rituals altogether. People who fall into this trap might express it this way, “I don’t need all these rituals to worship God! They are a pointless waste of time.” This was basically the attitude of the Jewish people during the Prophet Malachi’s time.

““A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ “You place defiled food on my altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty. “Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”— says the LORD Almighty. “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty. “But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty. “When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD.” (Malachi 1:6-13 NIV)

Oh, it is easy for us to roll our eyes and cluck our tongues at the foolishness of the people of Amos’ and Malachi’s time. But what about us? Is it possible for us to have the same attitude as they did? Jesus asked us to conduct a very simple memorial of Him and what He did for us. He asked us to eat some bread to commemorate the sacrifice He made for us. He asked us to drink some juice to remind us of His blood which cleanses us from sin. Have you ever caught yourself thinking that participating in this memorial is a substitute for living a holy and righteous life? On the contrary, this memorial should inspire and encourage us to live love and righteous lives.

Or perhaps you have had the attitude that this bread and juice are contemptible. “Couldn’t they at least find something that tastes better?” Perhaps you’ve caught yourself thinking, “This is so boring! Can we please get it over with so we can do something more important?”

The truth of the matter is that, while the Lord’s Table is no substitute for living a holy life, there really isn’t anything more important. The Lord’s Table is a constant reminder of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Without Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, without His resurrection, we would have no hope. There would be no point in even trying to worship God.

Today as we eat the bread and drink the cup, let’s remember that they point us to the very core and heart of our belief system. The Lord’s Table is an essential part of our religion. We cannot do without it. Let’s embrace it wholeheartedly.

(Prepared to go along with a sermon on James 1:9-11)

‘Privilege’ is a word which gets thrown around a lot these days. Sometimes I think it is used to put down the accomplishments of others or to cloak envy. The truth of the matter is, that all of us who live in this country – no matter what our background is, our economic situation or what side of the tracks we were born on – are tremendously privileged. Compared to people who lived in previous generations we are very blessed. We take for granted things which in times past even kings or the most wealthy people on earth did not have access to.

For example, take antibiotics, or even something as simple as an aspirin. The Pharaohs of Egypt couldn’t take an aspirin for their headaches. When we get sick, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic and a few days later we’re well again. Alexander the Great died from a bacterial disease. Though he was the conqueror of the world and was attended by the best physicians of the age, they couldn’t cure him.

Another thing we take for granted is instant communication. We think of something we’d like to tell someone and we can immediately text or phone him. Do you realize that one of the bloodiest battles of the war of 1812 was fought because neither side knew that the peace treaty ending the war had already been signed a couple of weeks previously? There was no way to communicate the news to the armies.

And how about entertainment? If we want to hear a song or an orchestra, all we have to do is press a few buttons. If our spouse wants to hear something different, she can press a few buttons of her own. We can both be listening simultaneously to our own private play-list. It’s like the band was playing just for us. In the past, only the rich could afford to keep musicians at their beck and call – and even so, they did not have access to the rich variety of music which is available to us.

We can deplore the state of the schools all we want. The truth is that our children have access to more knowledge and education than people at any time in history. In the past, the ability to read and write was by no means common. Now everyone has the opportunity to learn – provided they want to do so.

In the past, a very rich man might have a 100 books in his private library. A couple of hundred books gathered in one place was cause for wonder and amazement. Today, everyone has access to millions of volumes, for free!

Do you realize what a miracle it is to be able to buy out-of-season produce when you go to the grocery store? And the variety of food which is available! When I read older books – for example, the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ books – I’m amazed at how monotonous their diet was. They couldn’t just walk down the street and get something from the food-court if they wanted something different. Most likely, they didn’t even realize that there were different kinds of food.

We hear a lot about poverty. I think it is fascinating that the biggest health problem among the poor in this country is obesity. I grew up in a third-world country. In the city where my family lived there was a lot of animal transport. Women and children would go along the streets sweeping up the manure. They used some of it for fuel. Cow chips burn hot and efficiently. Some of it went into plaster to resurface their mud houses. But there was another reason to collect cow manure. I have seen women picking through it to separate out the undigested grain so they would have something to feed their children. Compared to that, all of us, no matter how poor we think we are, are very privileged. And, I’m grateful that we are.

Now suppose you wanted to help those less privileged than you and lift them out of their poverty. Where a lot of attempts to help go astray is that those doing the helping don’t really understand the people they are trying to help. As a result, their solutions don’t address the actual problems and the aid program fails to achieve its purpose.

It takes living among and sharing the life situations of the people you are trying to serve, to truly understand and come to grips with the problems. Serving another requires giving up your own privilege. This is one reason missionaries go to live among the people they want to serve.

I know from personal experience how much missionaries sacrifice in order to serve people. Yet, even though they give up a lot, often there is still an almost unbridgeable gap between them and those they are trying to help. In the eyes of the locals, the missionary is still unbelievably wealthy. He has resources the local people can only dream about. The differences not only lead to misunderstandings, they can create barriers between the missionary and the people he’s trying to help.

The greatest missionary of all is Jesus. It order to help us He sacrificed far more than most missionaries do today. He didn’t give up just part of his wealth and position, He gave it all. Paul writes to the Philippians that Jesus gave up equality with God and made Himself nothing (Philippians 2:6). It was not an easy thing to do. Jesus longed for the glory He left behind. In His prayer just before going to the cross He said, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5 NIV) Nobody forced Jesus to give up His glory, but He did it voluntarily because it was the only way for Him to understand our need and provide the solution for it. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18 NIV)

Every Sunday we come together to remember the sacrifices Jesus made for us and to thank Him for the help He gave us. We live because He gave everything He had on our behalf. The Apostle Paul writes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV) Today as we eat the bread in memory of His body which He sacrificed for us, and as we drink the cup in memory of His blood which cleanses us from sin, let’s not only thank Him for lifting us out of our spiritual poverty, let’s also think about how we can follow His example – how we can sacrifice our privilege in order to serve others.

A few days ago I had a very humbling experience. I was at a conference in the Netherlands. One of my fellow participants asked what I planned to do on our day off. I replied that I intended to visit one of the World War II battlefields which was nearby. His response took me totally by surprise. “Thank you for what you did for our freedom.” The words were all the more amazing because I hadn’t even been born, let alone taken part in the liberation of Europe. Further, the man who thanked me was from Austria. As you know, during World War II his country was on the other side. Yet, here he was, 75 years after the conflict, thanking me for what my country did to free Europe from tyranny.

Something else struck me as I wandered about the battlefield the next day. At the base of every marker or commemorative plaque I saw, people had left crosses or wreathes or flowers. I’m told that every year, on the anniversary of the battle, local school children lay flowers on the graves of the 1,700 allied servicemen who are buried in the Airborne Cemetery.

What’s particularly ironic about all this is that the battle failed to bring liberation. The allied force was defeated with huge losses. Not only did the fighting bring death and destruction to the civilian population, after the battle the civilians were forcibly evicted from the towns where it took place. During the following winter, hundreds of Dutch children starved to death.

In light of what happened, you would think that the Dutch would be bitter and resentful. Instead, they are grateful and honor those who fought. One plaque outside of the battle museum is especially touching. It reads in part:

To the People of Gelderland

…British & Polish Airborne soldiers fought here against overwhelming odds to open the way into Germany and bring the war to an early end. Instead we brought death and destruction for which you never blamed us.

This stone marks our admiration for your great courage remembering especially the women who tended our wounded…

As I walked through the battlefield and the museum exhibits I couldn’t help contrasting what happened in another battle. The battle for Arnhem failed. Instead of liberation it brought misery and suffering on the innocent. In contrast, Jesus succeeded in His fight against Satan and death. Through the cross He gave life to people who didn’t deserve it.

But the thing which struck me most was the contrast between how people view the two conflicts. Even though the Dutch suffered terribly as a result of the lost battle fought on their soil, they still remember and are grateful for the attempt to liberate them. In contrast, all too many people have forgotten, or are indifferent to the freedom from sin Christ bought for us on the cross.

Jesus asked us to remember Him. Not with flowers or a plaque. He asked us to eat some bread in memory of His body. He asked us to drink some wine in memory of His blood. As we do that this morning, let’s do it with gratitude in our hearts for the sacrifice He made on our behalf. He gave His life, so that we can have life.

The Apostle Paul writes, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV)

That’s something to remember! It’s something to be grateful for!

(Written to go with a sermon on Hebrews 11:29-40, especially verse 40.)

Diversity is all the rage these days. It seems you can’t turn on the news without hearing about another complaint that some aspect of our society doesn’t reflect the actual mix of people who live here. People agonize over whether people of a certain gender or ethnic background are under-represented. In the name of diversity publishers force authors to change the backgrounds of the characters in their books, even though it detracts from the story.

Now diversity can be a wonderful thing. Can you imagine how boring this world would be if everyone else was exactly like you? I think that God made us different for a very good reason. Often it is our differences which makes life interesting. As any parent who has more than one child can tell you, each person has his or her own personality and that adds spice to family life. I grew up in a different culture, among people who look different than I do, who speak a different language, who think differently. I can tell you that my life has been richer and, I think better, because of it.

But while diversity is wonderful, like anything else, it can lead to trouble and tragedy if emphasized too much. A group of people must also have things in common or diversity quickly leads to division. You see, differences inevitably cause friction or misunderstanding. When it does, we need something which is larger than ourselves, a common purpose or an agreed-upon goal to keep us living and working together in harmony.

This is true not only of families and society at large but, also, in the church. Here in the church we have a lot in common in spite of our differences. All of us realize, that no matter who we are, every single one of us has failed to meet God’s expectations. We’re all sinners. Every one of us knows that we are incapable of earning salvation. Every single one of us needs the sacrifice of Jesus to pay the debt we owe.

It is Jesus, and our commitment to Him, which enables us to live in harmony with each other even though we are different. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:11-14 NIV)

Unity doesn’t come naturally. It’s something we have to work at. And this is one reason we gather each week to eat bread and drink a cup in remembrance of Christ and what He did for us. We call this ritual ‘Communion.’ It reminds us of what binds us together. As we eat, we fellowship, not just with Christ, but also with each other. It reminds us that it is Christ’s sacrifice which breaks down the barriers which once divided us.

Today, as we eat and drink use the time to forgive anyone in the body against whom you have a grievance. Re-commit to love, and get along with, those who are different than you. After all, Christ loved and forgave us even though we are far different than Him!