Compassion Theater

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“Compassion Theater”
November 08, 2015
(Veterans’ Sunday)
By John Partridge

Scripture:  Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17               Hebrews 9:24-28                     Mark 12:38-44

How many of you have taken a vacation in the last ten years?

How many of you have flown on an airplane, either for vacation or for business in the last few years?

If you haven’t travelled much lately you might not have noticed, but if you went anywhere near the airport since 9-11 you will have noticed that things are very different than they used to be.

While there used to be security at the airport, since September 11th, 2001 there have been huge changes in the amount, the types, and the locations of security. You now enter security earlier, they check a lot more things, a lot more thoroughly, and they prohibit travelers from taking a lot more things with them. But for all of the expense, and all of the hassle, a lot of people have begun to refer to the entire process as “Security Theater.” The reason it has earned such a nickname is that for all the additional trouble, the process hasn’t really caught, or stopped, any more terrorists than the old system and, in fact, the people in charge of our security have been arrested for crimes many times more often than they arrest anyone else. No other country in the world made the changes we did, and their security is generally better. Worse, by some estimates, the new enhanced security is even less safe, and less effective than it was before they made us take off our shoes and took away our fingernail clippers. Security Theater is very much what the nickname implies. It’s a great show, with marvelous acting. It makes you feel like you are safer, but doesn’t really do much else.

But the same thing happens in a lot of churches. People put on a good show, but don’t really do much else. To better understand what I mean, let’s return to the story of Ruth. Here, after Ruth and Naomi have returned from Moab, to Israel, they struggle, as widows, to survive on the kindness of others but try to find stability and hope for the future. (Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17)

3:1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi, was not fake. Her actions were not an act. Because Ruth is not a native of Israel she knows that she doesn’t always understand the language, the culture, or the way people think. But she trusts Naomi with her life and when Naomi comes up with a plan, she agrees to do whatever Naomi tells her to do. Because of her trust, faith and obedience, Ruth and Boaz are married, find the stability and hope that both women were seeking, and Ruth becomes, eventually, the grandmother of King David.

That isn’t theater. That’s the real deal. Ruth’s trust and devotion are real.

But in Mark 12:38-44, Jesus warns his followers about a completely different kind of person.

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Jesus wanted his disciples to watch some of the church leaders because they were participating in “Compassion Theater.” Instead of being ‘real’ like Ruth, instead of truly having faith, trust, and obedience to the words of God, these men do all that they can to put on a good show so that they look good, despite the fact that, in reality, they are more despicable than many unbelievers. These were men who were more than willing to foreclose on poor widows and steal their houses, but still offered loud and long prayers in public places where everyone could see them.

In total contrast to these men, Jesus points out a poor widow, whose total net worth amounted to two copper coins. This was all the money that she had in the world, and she was willing to give it to God and trust him with her future. Others, rich people, came to give offerings, once again, in public, and gave large amounts of money… because they could. For them, even though the gifts were large, they weren’t costly. They were rich and could easily afford to give large gifts and never miss the money. Their giving was fake and all for show. Their giving never required them to sacrifice anything. But that poor widow was completely real, and gave an offering that represented the sacrifice of all that she had.

So where does that leave us?

What message should we take away from all of this?

Before we get to that, let’s read one more passage of scripture. In Hebrews 9:24-28, we remember the gift that Jesus gave to every one of us.

24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of the universe, came to earth to give a gift to the people that he loved. He had everything. He created the universe. The cattle on a thousand hills, and all that exists, belongs to him. And yet, the gift that he gave required sacrifice. Jesus, in order to truly give a gift of love, sacrificed himself.

And so the message we need to digest is to be careful that we do not participate in “Compassion Theater.” We should not give to the poor just because we want others to think that we care. We should not make a show of our faith in public just so people look at us and think that we’re good. Instead, our goal is to be as real as possible, to live a life of trust, faith and obedience to God instead of worrying about how good our charity or church attendance make us look.

We are impressed by the gifts that our veterans have given to us, not because they were drafted or because they volunteered, but because their gifts were costly. They spent years of their lives in service to our country, they spent time away from their families and friends, and they risked their very lives for our protection. Ruth’s gift to Naomi was real trust and devotion that risked everything. Jesus was impressed by the poor widow because her gift represented a significant sacrifice. Jesus could make all of his followers rich, but since he is the creator of everything, that wouldn’t be all that impressive. But we are astounded by Jesus’ gift to us because it represented real sacrifice, even for the King of kings.

As we give gifts to God, whether those gifts are financial or not, we need to ask ourselves if we are doing them to look good, or if we are truly doing them to honor God.

Real gifts, gifts that have meaning, are gifts that cost us something.

The End of “The End”

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“The End of ‘The End’”
November 01, 2015
(All Saints Day)
By John Partridge

Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9                 Revelation 21:1-6a                        John 11:32-44

How many of you ever went to the movies when great actors and actresses like John Wayne, Vincent Price, Greta Garbo, and Katherine Hepburn were playing in the big screen? What about the Saturday morning cartoons with Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny?

It doesn’t seem to happen as much lately, but for many years those of us who watched movies in the theater, or cartoons on Saturday morning knew when the show was over because, at the very end, there was a sign that came up on the screen that said, “The End.” It was common for the cowboy hero to ride off into the sunset at the end of the movie as the words “The End” scrolled onto the screen. It was so common, and such a part of the movie environment, that comedies often had a little fun with the words “The End” and the credits that followed.

And as odd as it may sound, that is a lot like how the story of our lives seems to go. With the exception of those folks whose lives end in terrible tragedies where death comes swiftly, many of our endings are very similar. As we near the end of our story, family and friends come to see us, to say their goodbyes, to share a few last memories, perhaps to make a final apology, and to say “I love you” one last time. This is the big scene in the story of our life and for those who are left behind, it is as if, after our passing, the book closes on our story, the last reel of our movie has played, and the words, “The End” play on the screen.

That’s life, right?

Or, as it has often been said in the movies, “It is the way of things.”

But it was not always so.

The story of Adam and Eve tell us that in the beginning, when the world was perfect and without sin, death was not a part of our creation. Death, suffering, and all of the discomfort, mourning and pain that they cause us, were not a part of God’s original creation but entered into the world because of the rebellion of human beings.

And so, for now, “It is the way of things.”

But the good news is that it will not always be so.

The prophet Isaiah knew that God would not allow death, suffering, pain, misery, discomfort, and mourning to continue forever for the people that he loved. Isaiah wrote these words (Isaiah 25:6-9):

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

If you have been here at Trinity in recent months, you will remember that we have seen this imagery of a shroud several times. The covering of the face, or the head, was a symbol of death. And so when Isaiah says that God “will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,” he is proclaiming that God intends, at the appointed time, to destroy death itself.

And at that time, God himself will wipe away all of the tears that have been caused by death and the resulting suffering of the living that are left behind.

Isaiah knew that this was true even if he didn’t know how or when it would happen because he heard the words from God’s lips and also because he understood the nature of God.

But in John 11:32-44, we learn even more and the story becomes fuller, richer, and even more wonderful.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

When Jesus arrives, Mary cries out that if Jesus had only gotten there in time, Lazarus would not have died. Mary had great faith and trust in Jesus but it seems from her words that she believed that Jesus had great power to heal, but now that death had come, healing, no matter how great, would be of no use. Others in the crowd have the same opinion saying, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Surely if Jesus was such a great healer, could he not have healed whatever sickness that had afflicted Lazarus? And we know that the answer to that is “yes.” But Jesus wanted to reveal something about himself that they did not yet understand, something bigger, and much more important.

Jesus asks for the tomb to be opened and ignores the reminders that Lazarus’ body has surely started to rot in the Mediterranean heat and surely, after four days, has begun to smell really, really bad.

Lazarus’ book had already closed. His movie had already ended. “The End” had flashed on the movie screen of his life days before.

But they do as Jesus commands.

The tomb is opened. Jesus calls to Lazarus as if he was only in the next room.

And Lazarus, still wearing his grave clothes and his death shroud, walks out of his own grave.

Mary, and her sister Martha, and all their family and friends, and the entire world discovers that Jesus not only has the power to heal, but that he has power and authority over death itself.

For Jesus, death is not the end.

And knowing this, the words of God that were brought to us through Isaiah become even more real. God has said that, at the appointed time, he would destroy, or undo, death itself. At the appointed time, God will bring an end to “The End.”

And now, even though we still do not know exactly when, we do know a little more about how, and we certainly know who, Jesus.

The last piece of our knowledge falls into place through the revelation of the Apostle John who saw this in his great vision from God (Revelation 21:1-6a):

21:1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

At the end of time, the end of the age, and the end of all things, God, the creator of all that is, proclaims that he is not just the beginning, but also the end. Death is no longer the end. Jesus is the end. Death will be no more. Mourning and crying and pain will be no more. And God himself will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Jesus, who has shown us that he has power over life and death, will bring an end to death forever. Those followers of Jesus Christ who have been lost to death will be restored to us and we will take up residence in God’s new creation.

No more will we fear death, because death itself will be dead.

That may very well be the greatest day in the history of days.

It will be the end of “The End.”

And the beginning of forever.

The Five – ‘R’s

PastorPartridge Sermon , , ,

“The 5 ‘R’s”
October 25, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: Job 42:1-6, 10-17               Hebrews 7:23-28                  Mark 10:46-52
I want you to go back in your memory and remember second grade. Can you picture it?

I will be willing to bet that education looks different now than when you were in school and the same has often been true for much of history. Education keeps changing as society, and the needs of society, change. When the pioneers were migrating west, they often lived far from other families and, out of necessity, simply educated their children at home as best they could. When enough families lived within a few miles of one another, close enough for the children to walk, or ride horseback, to a school, then the parents would do their best to pay a teacher for their children, even if some of them could only pay their way by contributing chickens, eggs, or other farm produce.

Much of the news today seems to keep coming back to the benefits or the problems in education due to a program called Common Core. Before that, everyone was up in arms about “new math.” But those of us who have been around for a while can all remember that before all the politics, education was all about the “Three ‘R’s.” The spelling is terrible, but of course the three ‘R’s are Readin’, ‘Rightin, and ‘Rithmetic.

Some things, however, do not change over time. This morning we are nearing the end of the story of Job, and there we find a model, a map of sorts, that describes the path from sin to forgiveness. That path, which we find in Job, can itself be described by four ‘R’s and then later, the writer of Hebrews will add one final ‘R’ to our list. And then there is a test. Jesus meets Bartimaeus, a blind man, and asks a hard question that all of us, regardless of education, must be prepared to answer.

We begin by returning to the story of Job. Of course, last week we heard God reprimand Job, verbally taking Job to the woodshed, for assuming that he had any right to make demands upon God. We rejoin the story this morning to hear Job’s humble reply (Job 42:1-6, 10-17):

Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
Job’s reply outlines the first four steps along the path from sin to forgiveness. First, Job says “I know that you can do all things.” Job recognizes (Recognition) that he has made a mistake. Second, Job says “ I… repent in dust and ashes” and so step two is Repentance.

Third, many of Job’s friends had stayed away from him because they believed that he had done wrong and that God was punishing him. But after Job repented, these friends realized the truth of Job’s innocence. I am calling that step “Redemption,” because it returned to Job the friendships that should have belonged to him all along.

Fourth, God poured out blessings on Job and returned to him twice as much as what had been taken from him. While God doesn’t always bless his followers with money or tangible things, or especially not to this degree, there is always a blessing that comes to us because of our repentance. This step, in which we are blessed by God, I will call “Restoration,” in which we are restored to God’s kingdom and favor.

But, all of this happens in the Old Testament and so, no matter how wonderful it is, and no matter how well it describes the path from sin to forgiveness, it remains incomplete. Because Jesus Christ came to complete the work that God began with the people of Israel, we cannot complete this transformation from sin to forgiveness without him. In Hebrews 7:23-28, we find the fifth ‘R’ and complete the path from sin to forgiveness.

23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely [the meaning of “completely” in the original Hebrew also means “forever”] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 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. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Because Jesus Christ is our high priest forever, he is able to save completely and forever. He is always there to intercede for us, to stand up for us, before God. Because Jesus is able to save us, I call this last ‘R’, Rescue. We committed high crimes and treason against God and all of our priests, and all of our pastors, were humans that were full of human weakness and imperfection. But Jesus was perfect and so he alone was able to sacrifice himself in our place so that we could find forgiveness and rescue.

But once we meet Jesus, what is it that we really want?

In Mark 10:46-52, a blind man named Bartimaeus cries out help, but before Jesus will help him, Jesus asks him an obvious, but very difficult question. Once again, this is a story we have read many times and in our familiarity, we often skip through it without realizing that there is a hard question for us as well.

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus by shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” There are two reasons that Bartimaeus would have used this title. First of all, it is genealogically correct. Jesus is a descendant of David and so, technically, is a ‘son of David.” But we don’t often see people in scripture refer to one another by their family names. We don’t see the disciples described by which of the twelve tribes that they were born into except for a few rare occasions. So why here and why now? Because not only is “Son of David” genealogically correct, it is also a title that recognizes that Jesus is from the family of kings. In calling out to Jesus as the “Son of David,” Bartimaeus calls out, not only to the man who is walking past, but also to the king that he will become.

Jesus hears, stops, and calls the man to him, but when he comes, Jesus asks a hard question.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

This is the question that, at first, seems so incredibly obvious that we just skip right over it. But this is the pivotal question in the entire story.

What do you want me to do?

Bartimaeus has already asked for Jesus’ help. He has already expressed some belief that Jesus would be the king of Israel or at least some other position of power and authority. But what is it that he really wants? It could be that, being accustomed to begging, what he wants is some kind of financial gift. Or maybe food. Or maybe some other gift that he might ask from any other human being that walked past. But Jesus wants to know, is Bartimaeus asking for something that men can give, or something that only God can give.

Jesus wants to know if Bartimaeus believes in who he really is.

And Bartimaeus asks Jesus, not for money and not for anything that humans could give him, but for the one thing that he truly needs, and the one thing that only God could give him.

“Rabbi, I want to see.”
And so, we arrive at the hard question that Jesus asks from each of us.

“Why are you here? What is it that you want?”

Jesus wants to know what you want from him. Jesus wants to know who you think he is. Do you want something that the world wants? Do you want something that you could get through hard work, or from other human beings? Are you just asking so that you can take a short-cut?

Or are you asking for something that only God can give?

When we come to Jesus, the path from sin to forgiveness may include redemption and restoration, but those things may, or may not, include financial blessings. God may choose to bless us with money and material things so that we can pass them along and be a blessing to others.

But he may not.

Jesus wants to know if you are asking for the one thing that only Jesus could pay for, and only God can give you.

Rescue.

Job was blessed, but only after he repented and surrendered to God.

Bartimaeus was healed of his blindness, and more than likely was able to get a job, provide for his family, and live a better life. But only after he recognized that Jesus could give him the one thing that only God could give.

Whatever God has in store for us, however much, or however little, will only come to us when we recognize who he really is, and ask him for the one thing that only God can give us.

Forgiveness.

Jesus is asking us, “What is it that you really want?”

Submission and Service

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“Submission and Service”
October 18, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture:  Job 38:1-7, 34-41               Hebrews 5:1-10                     Mark 10:35-45
What’s the first thing that comes into your head when I say the word, ‘submission?’

In today’s usage of the English language, the word ‘submission’ comes to us loaded with a lot of negative baggage. My best guess is that this is largely because of our battle with slavery in American history. There are likely also negative associations with military history where submission of is associated with surrender. While we often use the word ‘submit’ in a variety of perfectly innocent ways (we submit payments, we submit resumes and applications) whenever we talk about human submission, eyebrows are raised, heads turn, and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. If you think I am exaggerating, just wait until someone in church starts a conversation about wives submitting to their husbands, slaves (or employees) submitting to their masters, or discussing what it really means to submit to Caesar. Submission is one of those places where us freedom loving, fiercely independent Americans automatically resist, even if that submission makes complete sense.

Another word that we struggle with, though admittedly not with nearly the same ferocity, is the word ‘service.” Service is just too similar and too connected to that of ‘servant’ and although we don’t occasionally mind serving one another, or serving guests, we resist the idea of being labelled as servants.

But despite our reluctance and resistance to use these two words, this morning we are going to spend some time understanding them a little better. We begin in Job 38:1-7, 34-41 but you need to remember where we left off last week. Last week we heard Job boldly proclaim his desire to get in God’s face, to proclaim his innocence, and demand justice. While we know that Job was completely innocent and that even God considered him to be upright and blameless, it is at this point that Job’s boldness went too far. God comes to Job but his answers are not at all the kind that Job was expecting.

1 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

God’s response to Job’s boldness is to take him out to the woodshed and give him a whooping. And what we read isn’t even half of what God had to say. God’s answer is, “Who are you to question me?” God is so far above Job that it is as if an ant demanded to know why you mowed your lawn, or if an Army recruit demanded that the President of the United States explain why he had to wear a uniform. The difference between God and Job in intelligence, understanding, strength, power, and authority is so gigantic that Job’s only legitimate response is… submission.

When finally confronted by God, Job must admit that he is not in a position to demand anything at all. He must surrender to the will of God.

Similarly, not long after Jesus explains to the disciples that they will be rewarded for what they have given up to follow Jesus, James and John come to him asking for even more. Many of the disciples were convinced that Jesus was going to overthrow the government, throw out the Roman army, and be crowned as king over all of Israel. James and John are clearly included in this group (which was probably all of the disciples) and, completely ignoring the fact that Jesus has just told them that persecution would be a part of their reward, they are looking forward to how they will personally benefit when Jesus becomes king. (Mark 10:35-45)

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In this passage, is as statement that runs absolutely counter to everything that our culture tells us, and nearly contrary to human nature: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Our culture teaches us to pursue dominance, look out for number one, to climb the ladder of success even if we have to climb over our friends, family and coworkers to get there. Human nature and our natural competitive spirit often motivate us to see leadership and greatness as a competition that we need to win, and to win means that we have to defeat someone else.

But Jesus defines greatness in an altogether different way.

For Jesus, leadership starts with service instead of dominance or competition. Real leaders don’t “look out for number one,” they look out for the people on the bottom. Real leaders don’t climb over other people, they lift other people up. Winning doesn’t mean defeating someone else, winning means building up everyone else on your team so that the entire team can be successful.

As he often does, Jesus stands conventional wisdom on its head.

How would it look if a corporation, or any employer, spent as much time focusing on how to serve their employees as they did trying to make a profit? I’m not saying that profit isn’t important, but wouldn’t the world be a different place if employers saw their employees as masters to be served rather than resources to be exploited?

Even Jesus is not exempt from this new, radical, and transformational leadership formula. Jesus said, “…even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus himself, as the King of kings and Leader of leaders, must therefore, become the servant of everyone. And he does. But Jesus’ service to his people goes even farther than that. In Hebrews 5:1-10, Paul fleshes out this idea of Jesus’ servanthood.

5:1 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

6 And he says in another place,

You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus has been called to be more than just a servant. Paul says that Jesus has also been selected to be our high priest, which means that he is our liaison, our intermediary, between us and God. Jesus is our representative, our ambassador on behalf of humanity, in the throne room of God. His job is to be compassionate with those who make mistakes because they didn’t know any better and to gently guide those who are wandering off in the wrong direction. Jesus’ job is to serve all of those who serve God in addition to offering himself as the sacrifice for our sins. What’s more, Jesus hasn’t just been appointed as our high priest for a year or two, or even for a thousand years, but he has been appointed as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Say what?

Melchizedek. This is one of those weird names, and odd titles, that pop up in scripture that we really don’t understand without a little more background. In these cases, having a Bible with good footnotes can be invaluable to your understanding. Basically, this is a historical reference to a traditional Jewish story. Melchizedek is a priest of God who appears exactly once in the Old Testament but Jewish tradition held that since he was only heard from once, and never mentioned again, it was because he never died. From that tradition grew a literary usage that referred to him as a way of talking about things that never end. Saying that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek is a way of saying that Jesus will never die and his priesthood will never end.

So what Paul is saying is that Jesus came to earth to offer himself in our place as a sacrifice for our sins, and then became our representative, our ambassador, before God, to spend himself in the service of God’s servants, and to serve both God and humanity forever without end.

As we are called to serve others, we are reminded that once again, Jesus is our role model.

We are called to be servants so that we can serve the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Servant of servants.

Job realized that submission was his only reasonable option and his submission was the beginning of his restoration.

The prayers of Jesus were heard because of his reverent submission to God.

The lesson we must learn is this:

When we are called to God’s mission, we must submit to God and serve others.

Risk and Return

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“Risk and Return”
October 11, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: Job 23:1-9, 16-17                    Hebrews 4:12-16                         Mark 10:17-31

Have you ever taken a risk?

Almost certainly you have. Life is all about risk.

Every time we get out of bed, there is a risk that the effort of waking up will cause a heart attack or a stroke.

Every time we get in a car, there is a risk that we will be in an accident.

Every time we take a bath or a shower, there is a risk that we will slip and fall.

Every time we eat fresh produce, or other foods, from the grocery store or prepared meals from a restaurant, there is a risk that something has gone wrong somewhere along the line, and there is a risk of serious illness.

We make choices, and take risks, all day, everyday.

The choices that we make cannot eliminate risk; all that we can do is to make choices that limit our risk to a level where we feel comfortable.

Some of us feel safer staying at home, while others are perfectly comfortable skydiving or SCUBA diving.

But our ability to risk, our comfort level with risk, is also a key factor in the way that we invest and prepare for the future. Investment advisers make a living helping others to make wise choices, based in-part on how comfortable they are with risk, in how they invest and prepare for retirement and other future events.

And our understanding of risk also plays a big part in how we understand the choices that we make about what happens after our lives end. We must decide what happens when this life is over and what preparations we can or should make for what comes next.

We begin again this morning in the book of Job (Job 23:1-9, 16-17), where Job wrestles with his suffering which he perceives as being sent by God unfairly.

Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?
No, he would not press charges against me.
7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him,
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.

8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job wants to confront God and demand answers for the injustice that he feels. He knows that God is fair but God seems to be missing and Job cannot find him. Job is accustomed to talking to God and to feeling his presence but suddenly he cannot and this, combined with the terrible things that have happened to him, make Job afraid. But even in the face of injustice, even in the face of fear, even in the face of death, Job perseveres and presses on. As Job evaluates risk, even in the face of all that he has endured, Job will not give up, and he will not give up on God.

But even if we are enough like Job to hold on to God in times of trouble (and it isn’t always easy), we still worry that God’s standards are too hard. We worry that we aren’t good enough, that we don’t trust enough, or have enough faith. We worry that God’s judgement will be too harsh when our lives are finally weighed in the balance. And it isn’t just paranoia that feeds this kind of worry. There are well-known stories in scripture, stories about Jesus which can feed our fear if they are understood incompletely. One of those stories is found in Mark 10:17-31, where a man wants to follow Jesus, but finds that he cannot because Jesus’ standards are just too high.

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

This man, known as the rich, young ruler, claims that he has followed all of the commandments of God (Jesus only listed six) but when asked to give away his money he cannot. Most of us, even if were asked by Jesus himself, would hesitate to give up everything that we own, but the rich, young ruler believed that he kept all of God’s commands. He walks away not because Jesus condemns him, but because Jesus’ question reveals his sin. He loved money more than God. He coveted money and has made money into an idol. That’s at least three commandments that he couldn’t keep.

And he is not the only one who is worried about Jesus’ reply. The disciples themselves worry that this standard is so high that none of them would be good enough. But Jesus’ answer to them is one of comfort as well as mathematics. Jesus tells the disciples that God keeps accounts. God keeps track. God knows what we do and how we live our lives. God knows the risks we take and he knows what we give up to serve him. God knows what you have given up in terms of money, family, time, pride, prestige and popularity to follow him. And Jesus promises that your return on investment will be 10,000 percent. As we evaluate the risk of investing in a future that lies on the other side of the chasm of death, we recognize that there is risk, but the reward is so significant, so amazing, that even a small amount invested will result in enormous returns.

But the best wrinkle in this story of risk is shared with us by the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 4:12-16) who reassures us about the fairness of God’s judgment where he says:

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Simply put: God is not dead.

The word of God slices into us, even in the darkest corners of our soul, and reveals our sin. God’s word shines the light of judgement on our actions, thoughts and attitudes. But even though our innermost thoughts are revealed before the judgement seat of Jesus, we have no need to fear. Our high priest, Jesus, who sits in on the throne of God, was a human being just like us. He knows exactly what it means to be afraid. He knows how it feels to take risks. He understands us better than we do ourselves and it was his sacrifice that rescues us from our sins.

Even though it is frightening to know that God keeps an accounting of every moment of our lives, God’s accounting of the followers of Jesus Christ is not intended to condemn or destroy us. Instead, because Jesus knows us and understands what it is to be human, and because we have put our faith and confidence in him, we can approach the throne of God with confidence instead of fear. When we are weighed in the balance, the penalty for our sins has already been paid.

On the day that we approach the throne of judgement, instead of finding condemnation, we will instead find a place of mercy and grace.

There is no risk in trusting God.

There is no risk in following Jesus.

There is only reward.

There are only two real risks that we need to worry about.

First, there is the huge risk of failing to put our trust in Jesus.

And the second is in failing to invest in the life we have with him both now and forever.

Sinners in Heaven and Saints in Hell

PastorPartridge Sermon , ,

“Sinners in Heaven, Saints in Hell”
October 04, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: Job 1:1; 2:1-10                   Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12                       Mark 10:2-16

Has your life ever taken a wrong turn?

What I mean is, have events in your life ever unfolded much differently than you expected them to?

Life is like that but sometimes, as Christians, we struggle with it. In fact, unbelievers often struggle with the same thing without having a good scriptural understanding to fall back on. When (my wife) Patti returned from the recent Kairos prison ministry, she told me that one of the very powerful things that happened that weekend, was when the women who were volunteering, shared some of the problems that they and their families were having. Many of the women in prison simply assumed that these church ladies had it all together and that God was making their lives run smoothly.

But life isn’t like that at all.

Moreover, the Christian life isn’t like that.

Just because we follow Jesus, and have put our faith and trust in him, doesn’t mean that life always treats us with kid gloves. Too many of us have suffered from cancer, rebellion, unemployment, under-employment, abuse, disease, divorce, disaster, death and a host of other things. Just because we trust Jesus to welcome us to heaven doesn’t mean that believers do not sometimes live through little pieces of hell right here on earth.

During those times, the story of Job reminds us that even the best among us have faced suffering and hard times. (Job 1:1; 2:1-10)

1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

2:1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

Job lost his money, his home, his children, and finally even his health despite the fact that he was “blameless and upright.” He was a moral and faithful follower of God. He did nothing to deserve the things that happened to him. But they happened all the same. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes terrible, awful, horrible, indescribable things happen to good people. And sometimes those things happen for no reason (that we can discern) whatsoever. God may have a hand in it, God may allow it, God may have a plan for it, God may use it, but whether he does or does not, it may be years (if ever) before we discover why. All we know is that the followers of God, regardless of how faithful or blameless, sometimes suffer and for reasons that we do not always understand, God allows it.

What is perhaps worse, is that virtually none of us are as good as Job was. There are few of us who can even come close to calling ourselves, “upright and blameless.” In fact, in Mark 10:2-16, Jesus raises the bar so high that destroyed even the Pharisees, and these were men who dedicated their lives to following rules that were intended to lead them to perfection.

2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

These were times that were, in many ways, much like ours. They were times when divorce was common and accepted both culturally and within the church. The Pharisees were, morally speaking, among the most morally “upright” in society, and they accepted divorce as normal, natural and acceptable before God and man. They tested Jesus because different factions among the church leaders argued over what was an acceptable reason for divorce, but Jesus raises the bar higher than any of them expected. Jesus says that divorce, for any reason, is sin and what’s more, insists that remarriage is also sin. In one moment, Jesus raises the bar so high that what is normal and acceptable becomes sin and meeting the standard become almost impossible. In a single moment, Jesus exposes many of the church’s “upright” leaders as sinners. Jesus then explains to his followers that the faith of a believer has to be like the faith of a child. Genuine faith must be trusting, teachable, humble, open, and accepting of others. In fact, if we kept reading for another couple verses, Jesus states quite emphatically, that no one is good, except God alone.

No one is good.

The bar has been set too high.

The standard is too difficult for us.

None of us is good enough.

All of us are sinners.

But there is good news.

And in Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12, Paul reminds us what it is.

1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

2:5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.”

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

Paul zeros in on the core of the issue.

God’s standards are set impossibly high.

We are not perfect.

None of us are good enough.

But Jesus is the one who provides purification of sins.

Jesus is the one whom God has placed over all things.

Jesus is the one who suffered and died in our place.

And Jesus is the one who makes us holy.

We are all sinners.

But sinners like us will go to heaven if, like children, we put our trust in him.

Saints, like the Pharisees, those people who do all the right things and seem to follow all of the rules, will end up in hell if they place their trust only in themselves.

It is Jesus that makes all the difference.

Have you put your trust in him?

3 Steps to Change the World

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , ,

“3 Steps to Change the World”
September 27, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture:   Esther 7:1-10, 9:20-22             James 5:13-20                        Mark 9:38-50

It has been quite a while since I mentioned it, probably too long, but does anyone here (besides David Hartong, who knows the inner workings of our church very well) remember the mission statement of The United Methodist Church?

I knew that it wouldn’t be many. So here it is:

“The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
– Mission Statement of The United Methodist Church

So if we are United Methodists, and we are, we have signed on to team that has every intention of changing the world.

But how do we do that?

Our mission statement says that we do that by making disciples and that makes sense, but if you’ve been in the local church for even a little while, it isn’t long before you realize that making disciples isn’t always an easy thing to do.

So how do we do that?

In our scripture today, first from Esther, then Jesus, and finally James, we can see a 3-step pattern repeated that should clearly be a model for each of us, and for the local church, today. We begin at the high point of the book of Esther. The evil Haman had tricked king Xerxes into condemning to death, all of the Jews throughout the known world but neither Haman nor Xerxes realized that Xerxes own queen, Esther, was a Jew. In this confrontation, Esther exposes Haman and his evil to the king (Esther 7:1-10, 9:20-22)

7:1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen

7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

9:20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. [This holiday is known as Purim]

While most of us will never be called upon to rescue our entire nation, or an entire people, we can still learn something from the way that Esther approached her problem and so that we can apply it to the smaller problems that we face. Despite the fact that she was his wife, before Esther would even approach the king she declared a time of fasting and prayer and asked everyone that she knew, to fast and pray with her as she did so. Only then would she invite the king to dinner, and only then would she make the request that would save the life and property of every Jew in the known world.

Another key step can be found in Mark 9:38-50, as Jesus explains how his followers should live their lives.

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’

49 Everyone will be salted with fire.

50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

There is a lot there and I could probably write an entire sermon on that passage alone, but for the moment, let’s focus on Jesus’ main point that we find at the end. ” Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?”

After reading the rest of that passage and understanding that Jesus is warning his followers that they should live their lives with purity and a pursuit of perfection, then we understand that his point is the same as we often hear in James. The followers of Jesus are expected to act like Jesus. Jesus compares us to salt. If salt isn’t salty, it isn’t good for much of anything except as gravel.

If the followers of Jesus do not act like Jesus, then we really aren’t good for much of anything.

Finally, James puts all of these ideas together for us in James 5:13-20.

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

In this passage, James connects the dots for us and lays out three steps to making disciples, three steps to rescuing people who have been condemned to death (which is, after all, what we are doing when we bring people to faith in Jesus Christ), and three steps to changing the world.

First, if you are in trouble, or if you’re sick, if you have sinned, then you should pray. In this case, you are not praying for the other guy yet, you are praying for you, for your trouble, for your healing, or for your forgiveness. What James is telling us is that the first step in changing the world is to start with ourselves. Before I can change the world, I have to change me. Before you can change the world, you have to change you. Get right with God. Ask for forgiveness. Forgive those who have hurt you and, as we heard Jesus say in Mark, start acting like Christians.

As much as possible, be like Jesus.

Step two comes to us from both Esther and James and that is, simply, pray. This is where we pray for the other guy. Pray for the people that you are trying to rescue, pray for those to whom you hope to witness, pray for the people that your mission teams hope to connect with, pray for the mission and outreach of your church, pray for your neighborhood, but in all that you do, and for all of those who are in need of rescue, pray.

Finally, step three is spelled out in the simplest of terms by James, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death.” What James is saying, is that in order for the lost to be saved, in order for the dying to be rescued, someone needs to get out there and save them. Someone needs to get out there and do the rescuing. It wouldn’t do any good if the Coast Guard spent all of their time sitting in lecture halls talking about rescuing people but never actually set foot in a boat. It isn’t enough to sit in the church and pray that people would be rescued; someone needs to actually put “boots on the ground” and make the attempt. And that someone has to be those of us in the church, the followers of Jesus Christ.

So there you are. Three steps to changing the world.

First, get right with God and with others. Do the things that Jesus has taught us to do and act like Jesus teaches us to act.

Second, pray.

And third, get out there and get it done. Go out there and rescue others or at least make the attempt. Talk to people. Share Jesus with them. Tell them what Jesus has done for you and let them know that Jesus wants to get to know them, that Jesus loves them. Let them know that Jesus came so that they could be forgiven and rescued from death.

It might sound simple, but that’s all there is to it.

Because whenever you save a life…

…you change the world.

The Call of Pain

PastorPartridge Sermon , , ,

The Call of Pain
(or, A 2×4 to the Head)
Ohio Northern University Chapel Service
September 24, 2015

Ohio Northern – The Call of Pain

This week, as you continue hearing a series of messages that build your understanding of “The Call” of God, Chaplain MacDonald had invited me to share, but my experience compels me to warn you that…

The call of God is not always a welcome one.

Remember that Moses tried to talk his way out of God’s call. Gideon kept asking for signs to make really, really sure that God wanted him. Esther had to be persuaded that there was absolutely no one else that could to the job, and even though Jeremiah answered God’s call, he was horrifically abused because those in power didn’t like the message that he delivered.

The call of God is not always a welcome one because the call of God often involves pain.

Even Daniel, who we often lift up as a great hero of the faith because of his night in the lion’s den, his confrontations of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, his interpretation of dreams, and his many great prophecies, even Daniel experienced pain. Remember that Daniel was called only after he had watched his city destroyed, many of his friends and family killed, and the treasures of God’s holy temple carried away by the enemy.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. (Daniel 1:3-4, NIV)

Daniel answered the call of God, but he lived his entire life as a prisoner of a foreign invader.

Good morning. My name is John Partridge and more than few years ago, I sat where you are now, a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. From Ohio Northern I moved to Akron, Ohio and worked in Cleveland with the American Gas Association Laboratories as quality engineer and also in research and development. After ten years I moved on to Lectrotherm in North Canton where we manufactured, and remanufactured induction furnaces, control systems and other equipment for the molten metals industry. But sometime around 2002 I got called into my boss’ office. I knew something was wrong because the head of human resources was there with my boss, and that is never a good thing. Without warning, and without a single negative review or job appraisal, I was asked to clean out my office and be gone by the end of the day.

I thought that I was good at that job and, more than that, I liked that job.

Years later, I found out that I was just the first of many who would be let go (and the company eventually went bankrupt), but losing my job was devastating. By this time I was married, owned a home, and had three children so being unemployed was a big deal financially. But losing your job is a big deal emotionally as well. I had gone to school for six years to become an engineer, and I had been employed as an engineer for thirteen years. I was not quite forty years old and for more than half of my life, being an engineer was my identity. Being an engineer was who I was.

So if I was unemployed… who was I?

As college students, most of you were in kindergarten when all this happened and so you probably don’t remember how good the economy was at that time. Business was booming, the stock market had been expanding for twenty years, it was the largest period of economic expansion in the history of the United States, and it was a great time to look for a new job.

Except I couldn’t find one.

Despite the fact that I had a good degree from a good school, despite the fact that the economy was as good as it has ever been, despite the fact that I had marketable skills, solid work experience, and continuing education, I couldn’t even get in the door for an interview.

And so I prayed. I prayed a lot. I yelled at God. I was frustrated, confused and depressed. I studied the Bible. I talked to my pastor. I read books that my pastor recommended.

And I began to wonder if God had a new purpose for my life.

I had left my job at A.G.A. because I wanted to see the results of my work instead of writing reports year after year. I loved my job at Lectrotherm because we built things. Every now and then you could go out to the shop and see a tractor-trailer loaded with things that we had built as it was leaving for a customer. But after September 11, 2001, I had begun to wonder if that was enough. The machines that we were building were replacing the machines that another engineer had designed, and others had built, twenty or thirty years before. And so I wondered what purpose there was for what I was doing. If everything that I was doing would be ripped up and replaced in thirty years, in a hundred years, what difference would my life make? While I was working, these sorts of things just got pushed to the back of my mind.

But during my two years of unemployment these questions came to the surface like never before.

Eventually, I went to my pastor and asked what “this seminary thing” was all about and if it was even possible for an engineer to meet the prerequisites for getting in.

She laughed.

My pastor… laughed at me.

She said that she had known for over a year that God was calling me to ministry, but that she was afraid that if she had said anything out loud to me she might mess up whatever God was doing in my life.

What God was doing, was hitting me upside the head with a two-by-four.

My father had been a pastor. And so I had grown up in a pastor’s house. And I had sworn, for forty years, that I would never be a pastor.

But God had other ideas.

It is often said that God speaks with a “still small voice.” That idea comes from this story from the life of the prophet Elijah:

…and a great and strong wind rent the mountains… but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire
a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-13, NIV)

    Because of that story, people often believe that God speaks to us in a soft, quiet, librarian voice and I suppose that is true… sometimes.

But some of us are stubborn enough, and thick-headed enough, and just deaf enough, that we will never hear that still small voice. And in those cases, God is not afraid to get our attention with a two-by-four to the head.

This is, theologically speaking, the call of pain.

My call of pain led me to seminary and then to ordained, pastoral ministry.

Pain has a way of getting our attention. Pain has a way of focusing our attention in ways that no other form of motivation ever will. Pain can call us to ministry, but it can also call us away from unhealthy lifestyles, away from jobs, away from all sorts of sinful things, and away from the people, places, and things God chooses to call us away from. I want to be clear, pain isn’t always from God. Sometimes we experience pain simply because we have made bad choices, or just because we live in a fallen world and sometimes life just stinks. But whenever you experience pain, it is worth your time to consider whether or not God has allowed your pain for some purpose. Whenever you find your life is bringing you pain, it is worth your time to consider that God may have something to say to you.

God may speak to you in a quiet moment with a still small voice, but if you are anything like me, and you find ways to ignore him long enough, he will find a way to get your attention.

And in that case, no matter how thick-headed and stubborn you might be, you might want to spend some time listening to what God is trying to tell you.

Because, trust me on this, the sooner you listen…

…the less it hurts.

Actions, Actions, Actions

PastorPartridge Sermon , ,

“Actions, Actions, Actions”
September 20, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture:     Proverbs 31:10-31             James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a             Mark 9:30-37

Have you ever been in a situation where things just didn’t work out, in real life, as good as they looked on paper?

When I was in marching band in high school, every couple of weeks we would learn a new band show. To do that, the band director would pass out assignments to the squad leaders and we would work out how and where we needed to march for each measure that we were playing in the music for that week. But what often happened was that, at some point, squads would collide or find themselves completely out of place for the next formation, not because they had made a mistake, but precisely because they were following the directions. At those moments we used to laugh and say, “Well, it worked on paper.”

Later on in our lives, many of us have had the experience of meeting a new employee at our place of business. And at some point we discovered that although this new person had great credentials, they had gone to a good school, they got good grades, they had worked for important people or prestigious companies, but somehow, after they were hired, they just couldn’t live up to their own hype. They just couldn’t get the job done.

And the opposite is also sometimes true. Sometimes the people we least expect to excel, perform far beyond our imagination.

In the end, what is on paper, or in our imagination, is not as important as real life action and performance.

Not surprisingly, we find this to be true in scripture as well.

We begin this morning with Proverbs 31:10-31, whose description of an ideal wife is so well known that it is often referred to simply as “the Proverbs 31 woman.”

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The ideal woman described in Proverbs 31 isn’t wonderful because she is pretty, or charming, or even because she has lots of children. The woman, of whom the writer of Proverbs thinks so highly, is praised because of the things that she does. As we read that passage, it is full of action verbs. She gets, she provides, she buys, she works, she cares, she helps, she is compassionate, strong, wise, faithful and has a sense of humor. The Proverbs 31 woman is praised not because of what she looks like, or because of her ambition, or because of what she intends to do, but because of the things that she actually does. This is true of all of us.

In the end, we will not be judged by our intentions, but by our actions.

You will remember that this was a common theme from our study of the book of James. In James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8 we hear these words…

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

The truly wise people of the world show their wisdom by their actions, by their deeds, and by living the kind of life that true wisdom demonstrates. It is only through their actions that people can show that they are peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial, and sincere. We can preach it as much as we want, we can intend to do it all that we want, we can plan to do it all that we want, but in the end we are not any of those things if we do not do them.

Our actions demonstrate the contents of our heart.

Our actions demonstrate our faith.

This is also the message of Jesus in Mark 9:30-37. We often say that this passage is all about offering hospitality to children, but it is much more than that.
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

For Jesus, academically understanding the lesson isn’t all that there is. True understanding is something that is demonstrated and lived out. Real understanding results in a changed life. Real understanding results in actions that prove it.

Leaders aren’t leaders because they are more powerful than everyone else.

Real leaders don’t get things done because they bully everyone into doing what they want.

Real leadership isn’t about making everyone afraid of you.

Real leadership is about service.

Those who lead best are the best servants of the people they lead.

It’s all about action. Action, action, action.

The followers of Jesus are called to be like Jesus, and that means acting like Jesus, doing the thing that Jesus did, and living like he teaches us to live.

Jesus challenges us to live lives of purity, love, compassion, mercy, and grace and living like that can sometimes be unspeakably difficult and we often intend to do more than we deliver.

But it is our actions that count.

We are judged by what we do and not by what we intended to do.

What is on paper is not as important as action.

Imagination is not as important as action.

Theory is useless without results

Action always outweighs intention.

Telling people that God loves them, but acting like you hate them, just doesn’t work.

Reading the Bible everyday, but acting like the Pharisees are the real heroes, doesn’t work.

It just doesn’t cut it to go to church but act as if Jesus had nothing to say about love, compassion and mercy.

In the end, nothing that happens on Sunday morning matters…

… if you don’t act like Jesus when you leave.

The Heart of God’s Lover

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , , , , ,

“The Heart of God’s Lover”
August 30, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: Song of Solomon 2:8-13          1 John 3:2-4          Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Have you ever been to a wedding? Certainly, almost all of us have and of all the things that we always remember at every wedding is how beautiful the bride was. It doesn’t really matter what kind of a wedding it is either. It could be a traditional wedding, a country and western wedding, a formal wedding, an informal wedding, they are all the same in that the bride does her very best to look beautiful. I once performed a wedding in which our church secretary got a phone call from the court house, in the morning, from a couple who was there getting their wedding license. They wondered if the pastor could marry them that afternoon so that they could be done and home before the kids got home from school. It seems that they had been living together for eight or ten years and the groom was finally in a mood to get married, and so the poor woman knew she didn’t want to waste her chance. They dashed off to the courthouse, got a wedding license, came down to the church with another couple as witnesses, and got married in my office. And even then, the bride took the time to stop at home and make sure that her hair and make-up got a little extra attention.

At any wedding, it is the love that the bride and groom have for one another that makes them want to look their best for the one that they love.

It is that principle that I want you to keep in mind.

Throughout scripture, God’s redeemer and rescuer, the Messiah, is described as the bridegroom. The prophet Isaiah said that (Isaiah 62:5) “As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

In Matthew 9:15, Jesus describes himself as the bridegroom saying, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

And in John’s Revelation the bride is revealed to be all of those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life, that is, the followers of Jesus Christ, his church.

It is these sorts of lessons that bring the Old Testament into sharper focus. We always knew that the Old Testament was full of interesting stories but aside from revealing things about the basic morality of the Israelites, a bit of history, and a lot of weird stuff about the old system of worship and sacrifice, we often had a hard time understanding it. But, with the arrival of Jesus and the fulfillment of prophecy, we can go back and revisit some of those books that we thought were old and dusty, and see them in an entirely new light. We can see them differently, because we can now see them through the lens of Jesus.

For example, let’s look at the Song of Solomon. We always knew that this was a great book about love and sex, but if we think about Jesus as the bridegroom, our understanding of the story changes completely. (Song of Solomon 2:8-13)

8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”

It’s easy to picture a bridegroom peeking through the lattice at his beloved, singing with joy, but when we re-imagine that scene where it is God that is peeking at us, where God is filled with anticipation of being with us, because of his passionate love for us, then the whole thing takes on a completely different, and amazingly wonderful, flavor.

If God loves us in this deep and passionate way, then we are more than simply loved by God, we are the beloved of God or, in other words, we are God’s lover.

But if God is in love with us in this amazing way, then how are we, as the Bride of Christ, to prepare ourselves for our wedding? What does it look like for us to, spiritually, do our hair and make-up and beautify ourselves for our bridegroom?

If we look, we can find the answer directly from the lips of Jesus. In Mark chapter 7 the Pharisees take issue with the behavior of Jesus’ followers because they are not following “the rules” of the law and so are living lives that are unclean. Because of this, these church leaders attach Jesus. (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

7:1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
The issue for Jesus, you see, is, and always has been, an issue of purity.
In 1 John 3:2-4, John puts it this way:

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

The way that we beautify ourselves for our bridegroom is to purify ourselves and Jesus wanted to be sure that we understood that purity isn’t about washing our hands before we eat, or rinsing cups or kettles, or blindly following old traditions.

Purity is all about the heart.

Purity is all about what’s on the inside.

As we prepare ourselves for our beloved, and for our wedding day, our goal isn’t to get rich, or to elect the right political party, or be famous, or to do so many other things that our culture thinks are important. Instead, as James (James 1:27) taught us,

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

God loves us deeply and passionately and our goal is to prepare ourselves for the day that he will call us to live with him in his pure and perfect home. To do that, we must deal with a serious heart condition. We must purify our hearts, filling them with the word of God and other things of purity, and we must do the things that God has called us to do.

Because the heart of God’s lover…

…is our own.