Election Perspective

 The earth is the Lord's and everything in it; the world and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)

Before Him all the nations are as nothing.  They are regarded as worthless and less than nothing. (Isaiah 40:12). 

The king's heart is in the Lord's hand. (Proverbs 21:1)

For to us a child is born, to us, a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  (Isaiah 9:6,7)

I saw...one like the Son of Man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.  And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. (Daniel 7:13-14) 

And the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings...(Rev. 17:14)

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  (1 Timothy 6:15)

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth...(Revelation 1:5)

THOUGHTS: As America enters its election day, stirred up by politicians, by the media, and by the circumstances that many know we are not what we are especially not what we could be, but we are also not what we should or ought to be.  Many are afraid.  Some sociologists speak of a great election angst.  Some fear the great benefits of the nation will disappear, and others fear our progressive freedoms will be taken away.  Both sides say democracy will end if the other is elected.  

Let us take a breath.  Presidents come and go.  Even nations come and go.  Believers are not left only putting our trust in elected officials.  We can have courage.

My hopes are that assassination attempts will stop.  My hopes are that there will be no impeachment attempts at whoever is elected- such things divide and deflate the nation.  My hopes are that the government will bring peace.  The Christian prayer is that whoever is elected will be blessed so that there may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  So praying that the King of kings will guide us. 

Prayer: King of kings, Lord of lords, may you be with us today- protect us in this vulnerable place of elections.  Set over us- by a just vote of your people- a leader who will lead us so we may have peaceful and quiet lives.  Grant peace, justice, courage, hope- and even love to our nation and to our world. 

Aging Well

 This week, began a third small group Bible study about "Senior Spirituality."  It was the study of my dissertation 24 years ago.  Back then the over 55 group was the fastest growing segment of our population in America with 31 million.  Today that number has doubled to 62 million.  Our culture teaches us to fight aging- coloring our hair, hiding wrinkles and age spots, contacts or laser surgery to replace glasses, etc.  But despite our putting on the brakes, the car keeps moving forward.  Often we expect curriculum to be graded for kids (curriculum for K, 1, 2, 3, etc.) and even teens or young adults.  But we do not look at scripture the same when we were  5 as when we are 15 or 25.  But we also shouldn't just group people into "adults."  God is the same for all ages, but how we view and need God changes with our circumstances, but also with our age.  Psalm 23 was different for most in confirmation class than when we had our first child to when we had our first grandchild.  

Older adults have specific gains and losses. From a secular point of view older adults are seen as losing a lot.  In our culture of valuing making money, being productive, looking beautiful/handsome, and having energy- we only see older adults as having lost these things.  We forget that older adults have experience, often more money (though older adults have a deep disparity between those who have nothing and those who have way above average), and they have more leisure/flex time and peace than the younger adult.  Yet there are clear losses.  For Christians, each loss is like a cross to bear in which we can learn but also grow closer in dependence and love for God.  Each loss is an opportunity.  John Calvin talked about the first and hardest part of the Christian life is what is called "mortification."  Mortification is dying to our pride (like our sense of indispensability), and realizing we will have to give up everything in this life eventually.  Jesus said "If anyone follows me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me" (Lk. 9:23).  Part of denying ourselves (our living for our own comfort), is to recognize our losses can be opportunities for spiritual awakening (vivification).   When we truly can let go of our losses and adapt to them as opportunities to adapt to what God is doing in our lives, we can come alive to Him.  Below is a chart of older adult gains, losses, and spiritual opportunities.  Part of aging well, is recognizing where we are in life, adapting to that, and living the best life where we are.   

This is a prayer to age well by Teillhard de Chardin- the famous Christian French Philosopher: 
When the signs of age begin to mark my body, and still more when they touch my mind; When the illness that is to diminish me or carry me off strikes from without or is born within me; When the painful moment comes to which I suddenly awaken to the fact that I am growing ill or growing old; and Above all at the last moment when I feel I am losing hold of myself and am absolutely passive within the hands of the great unknown forces that have formed me, In all these dark moments, 0 God, Grant that I may understand that it is you—provided only my faith is strong enough— who is painfully parting the fibers of my being in order to penetrate to the very marrow of my substance and bear me away within yourself.

Early Efforts to Unite Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches

 "My prayer is that they would be one, even as we are one." John 17:17

Certainly the Protestant Reformers did not want to start their own denomination.  Most- Luther, Bucer, Calvin, wanted reforms for the church.  
Most believed the medieval church was corrupt.  There was simony (selling of offices- or appointments to religious positions for money), nepotism (giving special appointments to relatives), all kinds of sacerdotalism- so that the priest alone could absolve sins, the priest alone could read scripture (and only in Latin), the priest alone could say how many years someone would spend in purgatory (or getting out of it), and the priest alone ruled the church (no elders, deacons, boards).  
     In hindsight, we may think such efforts would be futile.  Nowadays it seems that the differences (between Roman Catholic and Protestants) are sharp.  But before the Council of Trent that condemned the Protestants (yet accepted some of their ideas about stopping corruption),  there was a real chance at reconciliation. Many thought that the oneness of the church was important until Trent (1545-63). 
      The Diet of Speyer 1526 was held by the Holy Roman Emperor as a way to make peace.  He was out of favor with the Pope, and the Turks were pressing upon Austria.  Charles V wanted to have a peace so both sides of the reform issues could fight the Muslims together.  His solution was to suspend the edict of the Diet of Worms (condemning Luther and his followers) and that each prince could declare their area's religious preference.  So, Saxony and Hesse could be Lutheran.  
     So there were several discussions or colloquies to try to bring the Roman Catholics and Protestants together.  Hagenau in June/July 1540; Worms November 1540; and Regensburg 4/1541 (and the Regensburg book of Bucer and Gropper). In the end Regensburg came up with a common article of Justification by Faith.  The reaction was that there was vast disappointment that common agreement on a union in all things in the church was not reached.  The emphasis was not on the one point of agreement. Johannes Gropper (Catholic) and Martin Bucer (Lutheran then Reformed) recognized each other as Christian and had mutual respect for each other.  There was another colloquy in Regensburg in 1546 but the catholics rejected their compromise and emphasis of justification through Christ in the sacraments. 
    There was also the Peace of Augsburg 9/25/1555 between Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and the Schmalkaldic League (German Protestant princes).  This  basically allowed rulers (and thus their regions or subjects) to choose between Roman Catholicism or Lutheranism.  Calvinism was not allowed in the Holy Roman Empire though there were certainly elements of it- Prussia was primarily Calvinistic.  One of the problems with this peace is that many who were not Lutheran or Roman Catholic still found themselves in danger of being charged, tried, and condemned with heresy (Zwinglians, Calvinists, Anabaptists).  It was only after the Thirty Years War and the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 that there was religious peace.  Religious Freedom and the sovereignty of states (including the Netherlands) was recognized.  But with all the fighting came disillusionment with state-run religion that still effects Europe today.  
     My contention is that this Thirty Years War was caused mostly by those who wanted power and physical resources (land, castles, money).  True religion goes against such things.  Jesus would rather have the cross than cause a rebellion against Rome or the Bureaucracy of the Jewish rulers.  His desire for oneness was not only not heeded, it was totally forsaken and rebelled against.  Luther said, "Love God and do what you will."  But then he did not show that love toward those who differed with him (nor did the Pope, nor did Zwingli). 
     Today, the church is again divided.  It has become so argumentative that many would rather not be affiliated with any denomination lest they be 1) Seen as contentious; 2) Have someone else encourage them to think differently in the name of unity.  We say we value truth over love.  But love is the truth.  God is love as well as light.  They are not incompatible.  When we choose only "truth" or "light" we fall into the darkness of disunity and even hatred of those who will one day be with us in heaven- who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  If the church cannot teach us to be united above our differences, then it is no better than the worst political divisiveness.  
      One of the great things that has happened were the ecumenical councils that began in missionary efforts (Edinburgh 1910).  But Vatican 2 (1962-65) began to recognize Protestants, encouraged the liturgy and the reading of the Bible in the vernacular.  In 2015 Pope Francis declared division among Christians as "the work of the father of lies" and declared the oneness and brotherhood of those who believe "whether they are Evangelicals, Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics, of Apostolic."  In 2016 Pope Francis celebrated the Reformation and even had a Vatican stamp made with Luther and Melanchthon kneeling before the cross. 
     The great sin of our day is not what we believe about justification- or celibacy.  The great sin of our day is a lack of love and unity.  

Prayer: Lord, let me be a peacemaker.  I believe what you said, "blessed be the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."  Help me to sacrifice my pride and my all to be true to you- in truth and love.  

Marburg- Protestant Beliefs in Common

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that al of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that  you be perfectly united in mind and thought."  (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Philip of Hesse called the Reformed and Lutheran Protestants together to see if there could be unity among the Protestants.  He was also hoping, if there was unity in theology to have some kind of mutual defense agreement against the medieval catholics.  There was so much agreement.  The agreement, I believe, was mainly by the Holy Spirit.  Zwingli claimed his reformation began (almost simultaneously) in Zurich as the reformation began in Wittenburg for the German-Holy Roman empire.  
     At Marburg not just 14 of 15 statements were agreed upon.  But against the medieval papal notion, bot the priest and the people were encouraged to take the bread and cup (as the disciples did in the Bible).  Hus had earlier been condemned for this idea (utraquism).  They also agreed that the Lord's Supper was important and should be given more often than the medieval practice of once or twice a year (Easter and Christmas).  The meaning of the Supper (eucharist) was the rub.  The Roman Catholics believed that when the priest blesses the bread (or cup) the elements become transformed into the physical body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation).  Luther said that the presence of Christ is physically there- in with and under the elements.  Luther said it was like when you stick a rod into a fire and cannot tell which part is fire and which part is the rod when it glows- so we cannot tell which part is bread and which part is Christ (sometimes labeled consubstantiation).  Zwingli said the supper was an ordinance- a command: "Do this in remembrance of me."   He said that the bread symbolized the body and reminded us of the body- but Christ was not sacrificed again (there is only one sacrifice necessary- Hebrews 10:12).  The point boiled down to the phrase Luther repeated "This IS my body."  Zwingli pointed out that Jesus said, "I am the door" but that didn't mean he was a door, or a gate, or a light.  Bucer (and later Melanchthon and Oecolampadius and Calvin) emphasized that it is a spiritual presence of Christ in the bread and cup.  But neither Luther nor Zwingli were in a mood to listen to a mollifying position.  Yet, there was so much agreement.  In 1988 LWF and WARC suggested all Lutheran and Reformed churches should enter into fellowship.   In 1997 the Evangelical Lutheran Church and three Reformed churches (PCUSA, RCA, UCC) joined in a "Formula of Agreement" that recognized full communion with each other.  This meant that the divisions of the past were over- and Lutheran pastors could serve in Reformed/Presbyterian pulpits and the people could share communion freely in each others' churches.  In 2017 the LWF signed the Wittenburg Witness with the WCRC (World Communion of Reformed Churches) affirming the call to continued renewal and cooperation to "fully express the communion we already have in Christ."  

 At Marburg the Reformed and Lutherans agreed (this is a summary): 

1) That there is one God described in the Nicene Creed. 
2) That Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and was without sin. 
3) That Jesus died, buried, rose again, ascended to heaven and will come again.  
4) All people are born into sin (original sin). 
5) Belief in Christ's death on the cross for our sins is the only way to salvation (not any good works)
6) Faith is a gift of the Spirit and not of works or merit. 
7) Such faith is our justification before God- in which we are made righteous and enjoy salvation and life.
8) The Holy Spirit gives faith not apart from the Word of God but with it.  
9) Baptism is a sacrament- not just a sign.  It supports our faith through which we are saved. 
10) Our faith, given by the Spirit, produces in us good works- love, prayer, endurance, et al. 
11) Confession to a pastor should not be coerced but is free and useful. Absolution comes from the Gospel. 
12) That secular authorities (rulers, courts, laws) are not forbidden but correct and proper.  Those who rule can be
 saved to salvation as anyone else (this is contrary to the Anabaptists or some papists). 
13) Christian traditions can be followed or abandoned as long as they are not contrary to the Word of God in order to keep the peace fo the church. 
14) That infant baptism is correct and the baptized children are granted God's mercy and accepted into the church. 
These are the beliefs agreed upon by both Reformed and Lutheran scholars and clerics. 
15) The Lord's Supper is a necessary part of the Christian life.  In contrast to the papists the people should receive both bread and the cup.  That we take part in the true body and spirit of Christ when we take part.  
The Reformers added this: "And although we have not been able to agree at this time, whether the true body and blood of Christ are corporally present in the bread and wine [of communion], each party should display towards the other Christian love, as far as each respective conscience allows, and both should persistently ask God the Almighty for guidance so that through his Spirit he might bring us to a proper understanding. Amen."

While many say this was a failure of unity, in some ways it- along with Augsburg spelled out what it meant to be a Protestant.  Sadly, because there was not complete agreement, the Lutherans, Swiss, and some French (Alsace and Huguenots) would not enter into a defense compact. This meant Zwingli would be killed in the battle of Kapel where Zurich was attacked by the Papists.  

August Noak- Religious Speech in Marburg 1529

Lessons on Unity from the Reformers- Martin Luther

 Having just come back from a study trip of the Continental Reformers, I hope to give my little thoughts to what we can learn from them about the church.  Specifically, in this age of divisions, what we can learn from a time (500 years ago) in which the church split into major groups.  Too many today use the Reformation as an example of splitting.  Unfortunately, the demise of the Reformation is an ongoing lack of unity and belief that we can somehow keep kicking others out, or leaving to form our own church, or just getting mad at one church and walking away without any hint that it may be sinful.  

The first 1,000 years of church history, there was one orthodox church.  Then in 1054 there were two.  Then, not withstanding the Waldensians and Hussites there were about five (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran Protestant, Reformed Protestant, and Anglican), though Lutheran and Reformed churches were often subdivided by state or ruler.  Today there are over 45,000 Christian "denominations."  There are now more non-denominational (meaning independent or unable to unite together) then denomination churches in America.  I am grateful for non-denominational churches because when denominational churches are all wrapped up in themselves and lose the vision for their own existence or propogating themselves,  many are starting non-denominational churches without restrictions.  However, what we are missing is the ability to work together for the kingdom of God, working cooperatively to make His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  

Luther- Luther did not want to start a new church.  When he nailed his 95 thesis to the castle church door in Wittenburg he wrote in Latin- the language of the scholars and priests- but not the language of the people.  He hoped for a discussion.  It was translated and printed in German and went to the population who for the most part agreed with it.  It was a sharp discussion of the idea that you can give money (an indulgence) to the church to get yourself or relatives out of purgatory and of the power of the clergy to decree their penalty or lack thereof.  There were debates with Eck and others that made it clear the bureaucracy of the church did not want to hear the criticism.  After three debates the pope sent a bull against Luther's teachings banning and encouraging the burning of them. Luther burned the bull.  Here things got testy.  Luther was excommunicated 1/3/1521. He then had no choice- if he was going to continue to worship God- to worship and lead outside of the Roman Catholic church.  When Luther and his followers were declared outlaws worthy of death at the Diet of Worms 5/26/1521  Luther was forced to retreat and reform the church himself.  

Luther wanted to keep the German Protestant church united.  He spurned the peasant rebellion as being too radical and dividing the church between royalist and peasant. He condemned the Anabaptist extremes as going too far.  He even condemned Reformed thinkers- saying that reformed folk were too rationalistic to the point of heresy.  Luther was a prophet- who was easy to criticize but he was not a builder.   He agreed with 14 of 15 points with the reformed but could not agree to disagree on the eucharist.   He criticize everyone including Bucer and Melanchthon for trying to unite the Protestant ideas.  Yet he wrote Bucer encouraging him to keep trying to bring unity.  Luther wanted others to be united with him in his beliefs.  But he had a hard time agreeing to disagree.  After Marburg, because the Lutheran and Reformed could not agree, the Romans from Lucerne attacked Zurich and Zwingli died. 
However, both Calvin and Zwingli saw Luther's important role in not only the ideas of the Reformation, but the one who could shape it.   Zwingli said after Marburg: "There are no people on earth with whom I would rather be at one than the [Lutheran] Wittenbergers."  Calvin even called him, "The Apostle of the Reformation."  Most of the early reformers in the 1500s were called "Lutherans."  Calvin, Bucer, and Karlstadt considered themselves Lutherans at first.  So there was a type of unity of thought if not in organization of the Reformation. 

At Marburg and later at Augsburg, effort were made at both definition, distinction and unity.  In the end, the groups were more united than most inside a denomination are united today.   But Luther and Zwingli specifically, could not appreciate how united they were.  They were expecting complete agreement against the medieval papist catholic church.  Luther specifically held the tension of wanting unity and wanting to stay true to orthodoxy (and tradition), to scripture, and to the mystery of faith. 

 

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to hold to my teachings with great conviction but also to seek the unity of the Spirit with fellow believers.  

The Need to Re-Form

 

"The Need to Re-Form" Ps. 85:6; 51:7; 19:7  Sermon by Ben Sloan at EPC

Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you? Ps 85:6
  [the word "revive" may be translated awaken, renew, re-form]
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy making wise the simple. 

I don’t know about you, but I have found myself drawn to watch the Olympics whether I wanted to or not as have 41.5 million- almost doubling the Tokyo Olympics’ viewership.   But the Olympics have changed over the 3,000 years of their existence.  Originally the Olympics were held each time In Olympia Greece and was a religious exercise- and it was only one event- the stade- a 192 meter race. Then combat and horse/chariot races were added.  Today there are 70 sports and 17 days of games.  Women were not allowed to compete until 1900.  Can you imagine the Olympics today without Simone Biles or Suni Lee?  No professional athletes were allowed to compete until about 50 years ago.  It is projected the Olympics would mean the hiring of 150,000 jobs and raise about $10 billion. The first athletes were required to train their soul for the event as well as their bodies- taking music and philosophy classes in preparation.  One lesson the Bile’s withdrawal in the Tokyo games should have taught us is that you can be good physically, but if you don’t have it together inside of you- you may fail.  The Olympics are a far cry from the Olympics of 3,000 years ago, but we can still learn from their original call for unity through sports and that the body also needs the mind and soul to be in the best of shape. 
If we were to reform the Olympics, it might look something like- cut down on duplicate events and silly games (for example tug of war was eliminated from the 1920 games and speed walking from this year’s Olympics).  But maybe add not an event but a requirement on stress and soul management that does not exclude religion, but sees religion for what most people on this earth see it as- important.  90% of the people in the world believe in God.  72% in America say faith is important and 51% say it is very important.  Yet we do all these herculean efforts to play down faith.  People are amazed when I say more people will be in church on Sunday than at Clemson, Carolina, or all the college football games combined in South Carolina.  If you add all the stadium capacities up- you will get about 300,000.  The latest Pew poll estimated 57% of South Carolinians and some say that has dropped 3% to 54%= 2.7 million.  Yet every night on the news we hear about football.  Faith is the most meaningful best-kept secret in the world!  We TRY hard to keep it a secret.  We don’t hear about the guy who left alcohol and drugs to stay with his wife and raise his kids because of his faith.  We rarely hear about all the charity work that goes on around us.  Where were the cameras when 17 churches dedicated the Habitat House last week?  Are we really trying to snuff faith out of our lives?  We need a reformation. 
The Soviet Union and eastern Europe tried to kill all religion out between 1917 and 1989.  In the end, the shipworkers at Gdansk Poland held prayer rallies; The Romanians held a Christmas Candlelight service that brought down Cecescue.  The people of Eastern Europe know the value of freedom of religion and treasure it.  When the polish Pope visited Poland, when Billy Graham visited the USSR and eastern Germany they had a huge impact on the fall of communism- that is played down even today.  Why are we hiding such things? 

But the church needs to change too.  Phyllis Tickle, an author famously wrote that it seems the church has a reformation every 500 years.  Abraham was 2,000 BC, Moses was the next, David’s reign was about 1,000 BC; 500 BC was about the time of the exile to Babylon that reformed the people of God.  Then Jesus was born 500 years later.  Then Rome fell 500 years later; then the east and west schism 500 years later; then the Reformation 500 years later, then here we are 500 years later again.  She pointed out that before each major change there was a decay in enthusiasm and I might add in immorality.  She was saying it is similar to a caterpillar turning into a chrysalis turning into a butterfly. But what she downplays is that each reformation does not just move forward- but also goes back to the foundation to the roots- scraping off all the old veneer and trappings that added rule on rule and it gets back to the heart of worship.  The other thing that she missed is that Reformation does not begin from the bureaucracy of the church.  It usually begins with lay people.  The east west schism was indeed a huge change in the church- but it was not a Reformation.  Most of the Great reformations began with a good deal of prayer, a desire for change and repentance among both the people and some of the clergy. 

I.  WE NEED UNITY- Unity is not I will get along with you as long as you agree with me.  Unity is that we will get along with you no matter what.  Today, we get this idea that the only thing that is hurting the church is differences about morality.  The truth is, the church has done something the Bible has continually begged it not to do- and that is divide against each other.  The nation of Israel never divided over morality or lack of spirituality ever.  It divided over tribalism the 10 tribes against the 2.  But the nation had descended into Baal fertility worship until God raised up Gideon.  Perhaps you remember that Elijah said he was the only prophet left who didn’t worship Baal.  Yet even then the nation stayed together.  Corinth was full of immorality.  Today you can go to Corinth and from anywhere in the city see the Mountain with the Temple to the goddess of Love- Aphrodite on top.  But Paul begged the Corinthians not to divide and they did not.  For the first 1,000 years of the Christian church’s existence there was only one denomination.  Then 500 years later there were about five. Today there are 45,000 Christian denominations.  We need to Re-form in the classic sense.  Not just reunite in some structure, but showing respect and love to each other- working together for the glory of Christ.  The three reformers that got it right that were not heard were Bucer, Calvin, and Melanchthon who wanted the unity of the church.  See both Bucer and Calvin were basically Lutheran before they fine tuned into reformed thinking.  Neither Luther, Bucer, or Calvin wanted to form a new denomination.  They were excommunicated by the bureaucracy of the church, and then each was declared an outlaw.  Only when the choice was to rejoin the church without changes, to die, or to form a new denomination did they form a denomination.  Today Lutherans and Presbyterians recognize each other.  Out own Emily Mooneyhan preached in a Lutheran church and a Presbyterian church before coming to Eastminster.  The Reformation we need today is a reformation of love and unity- not divisive schismatic pride.  Jesus is not divided there is one faith, one Lord, one baptism.  When we get to heaven we will see people from every tongue, every nation there. 
Jill Jackson looked at all the sadness, hatred and division in the world and tried to commit suicide but failed.  From that moment she began to feel that God left her here for a purpose.  She said she felt God’s unconditional love.  At an inter-religious retreat she and her husband introduced what is now a world-reknown song, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”   The unity of the church is not up to the clergy.  The peace and reformation in the church begins when people start staying where they are and learning to love- even when we disagree.  If the church cannot love- it will indeed die- only to be reborn in some way because God is alive and will always be at work in the hearts of people. 
Steve Sjogren wrote a book called “Conspiracy of Kindness.”  He started a church in Cincinnati Ohio in 1985 that grew to an average attendance of 6,000.  Their motto is “Small things done with great love are changing the world.”  Things like paying for a stranger’s meal or giving a thank you note to a clerk—makes the world a better place.  Now he has started new churches all over the world.
     Many people are saying “the church is dying.” They say there is a trend of death for the church.   I could say the same about me or anyone of you.  To be alive means a part of you is heading toward death in this life.  Every day the human body 500 million skin cells each day.  330 billion cells are produced each day.  So you basically get a new body every 80-100 days.  Unfortunately most of your brain, heart and eye cells stay the same.  Basically we die and are not the same person we were every three months.  We do not need to abandon hope.  This is the place where you find hope.  Some act when you come into church, “Abandon Hope all you who Enter here.”  But that is not us- that’s the other place.  We are the place where we learn to put our hope, trust, and love in the eternal. 

     The world will not tell you when the church succeeds.  It will not tell you about people getting hope, getting strength.  Part of it is that this stuff is hard to measure. But part of it is that we are more careful not to offend people who may not believe the way we do.  We would rather not offer them hope than offend them.  I find that offensive, and self-destructive.   That is like saying I don’t want to tell my toddler he needs to drink something when it is so hot because he might have a tantrum.  But the world will tell you every time when the church fails.  When a minister resigns because of some moral failure.  The world will remind you we are not in heaven yet when the church is perfected.  So will the church die because of this conspiracy of silence?  Some say yes.  We are quick to point out the rising number of teens who reject the faith- the “nones.”  But let us not forget the power of God.
   Last night the power went out in our neighborhood It would be easy to say after an hour or so, “Will our power ever come on?”  We had to wait on the power.  It came and it relieved us.  It refreshed us with air conditioning and lights and our food survived in the fridge.    
 So Ezekiel was brought to a valley of dry bones and asked, “Son, can these bones live?”  They were dry bones.  It seemed as if there was no hope for life.  The answer is God knows and He can make them live again.    But He does so when we want to repent of our failures and instead turn toward kindness and grace and the hope of Christ.  But that has happened before.  Remember Abraham who was but one.  Remember Gideon and his 300, or Elijah and his 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.  Remember Jesus and his 12.  Remember what one man, Patrick, did in Ireland; what Boniface did in Germany.  Remember the peace, hope, love’s spread does not begin with someone else- it begins with you.   Invite a friend to join you in worship.  Do your best to be a light of kindness.  Reform your heart- and if we all do it- guess what?  The church becomes a new- reformed place where there is hope. 

Secular Lessons from Europe

 We just got back from a trip to continental Europe.  There were some things there that as a Protestant Christian and as an American were shockingly different.  The parts we toured- Rhine valley northern Germany, Strasbourg France, and Switzerland were still deeply affected by Christian faith- in some ways more than America is today.  

Here is a verse for our thoughts: "This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."  (Isaiah 30:15). 

I  think when I was a child, I might say America was generally a step above Europe in many ways.  We had purer sexual mores- adultery was rare and taboo.  We still rested on Sundays (at least in the South)- and everybody rested- whether we wanted to or not (kind of like the two year old in day school who is told to lay down on their mat because it is "naptime/quiet time whether you'd like it or not."  There was very little violence any where.  While alcohol was being abused (as it is in many cultures- even back to Bible days), drugs were not a problem.  Racism was and still is a problem in the American south- as it is in parts of Europe today in different ways (evident in attitudes toward immigrants).  

One sharp contrast was what happens on Sundays.  Church attendance in Europe is pretty dismal in some. places, but there are still large pockets (in the country around Wittenburg, and parts of Zurich for example) where church attendance is still relatively high and Christian mores are practiced.  American church attendance has been in sharp decline since 911 and then sharper decline since Covid.  There has been a sharp turning away from God by young people as the older (baby boomers) have made faith clearly optional and unimportant.  Whereas 50 years ago the government clearly favored Christian mores, this has also been in decline.  
However, in Europe, hardly anyone works on Sundays. You can't go normal shopping on Sundays.  It is just a clear cultural rule.  Perhaps this is a leftover from the church being a part of the state in most of Europe (not France).  Europe clearly is less frantic and a bit more focused on doing good as a society.  So there is sharply less litter on the roads- people take responsibility to make the world clean; there is a more environmental care; people eat together outside (a la fresca) not just whoofing down a burger (though McDonalds complete with brotwurst is everywhere now).  Hundreds of thousands sit outside in cafes late at night for hours- not watching TV, not surfing the internet- or social media,  not with their headphones on or their cell phones glued to their face, but actually talking.  I would commend this.   We could learn a lesson from their ability to be with each other and to take a rest.  

Europe has been devastated and ravaged by wars in the 15th-20th centuries.  Some would blame religions on this.  But clearly it was the princes, dukes and kings that have been fighting for power- even going further back.  The problem was that you would think religion would have stopped the wars in Europe.  But the sin of medieval catholic clergy was that they wanted to be in control and even rule as dukes and princes (like a bishop in a chess game).  
The religious side of the wars was aggravated by popes both excommunicating leaders and even interdicting whole sections of Europe with crusades.  So Jan Huss of Prague was promised safe conduct and was told he could express his views.  But instead he was imprisoned shortly after arriving in Constance and the Emperor in 1415 allowed him to be burned at the stake.  Then the Pope declared five crusades against Bohemia of the Hussites- promising forgiveness and heaven for those who fought.  This brings out, even more, the Protestant idea that we should not add (nor take away) from scripture.  Where in scripture does it promise forgiveness for those who fight?  Where does it say a religious leader can call for a fight?  The Prince of Peace would be aghast.  Tyndale was strangled for translating the Bible into English.  Wycliffe was persecuted and then had his bones exhumed and desecrated.  The Waldensians were exiled into the high Alps. 
Originally the efforts were to reform the church in the Protestant Reformation- and remain in the church.   But the popes at the time thought they could do to Luther, Zwingli, Bucer and Calvin as they did with Huss.  So Luther was excommunicated and then declared an outlaw by Charles V- so he could be killed on sight as a blessing to the church;  Calvin fled for his life from his house in Paris, was robbed, and was hunted.  He had the previously seen a monk burned at the stake for  his Lutheran testimony.  Zwingli was killed at the battle of Kapel.  Strasbourg was defeated and Bucer was threatened with death and fled at night to England.  Today we see that many of the ideas of the Reformation have been adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.  The Bibles are translated into the vernacular and worship and singing is in the vernacular;  There is an easing toward justification by faith; There is an allowance by Roman Catholics to let laity (at least sometimes) receive the cup.  Vatican II even recognizing Protestants as "separated brethren."  If Christians had valued unity and love over power- both Protestant and Roman Catholic- unity could have been kept, and so many wars could have been avoided (or at least the religious wars could have been less likely).  In America there has been a recognition that freedom of religion is important- and there has been an avoidance of wars.  The American church has been devastated by leaders who will not believe the scriptures.  So many will just ask the question, "Why bother?"  The sin of the church in fighting and disbelief is devastating and frankly avoidable.  Martin Bucer was a rare example of someone valuing unity (with both catholics at first, and then trying to unite Lutherans and the Reformed).   We could learn from Bucer and follow in his footsteps for the glory of God.  In America, secularly we have freedom.  But religiously- there are still super power struggles (even though most ministers get paid a modest salary).  People fight over church property (witness the Presbyterian and United Methodist fees paid to leave).  

I guess my point is we could learn lessons from each other.  The lesson of keeping a day of rest to hold onto our mental and physical health; the lesson of valuing unity more than power (often disguised as an attempt at truth); and the lesson of holding onto scripture- not to expert opinions, or individual consumerism.  

Prayer: Lord, may we find our rest and unity and love in you.  Help us to repent of our lack of love and lack of faithfulness.

Is it okay to be blessed?

 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing."  (Genesis 12:1,2)

Thoughts:  Some have the idea that we all should be the exact same- same wealth, same name recognition, same clothes, cars.  No one, they say, should be blessed or have more than anyone else.  The problem with this is that it does not fit the reality of life.  Even when communism is tried for years (think Cuba, USSR) it seems the ruling class becomes the government- and they become the ones to tell us how to be equal.  The other problem with that is that when governments become the totalitarian say of what is right or wrong- things like the Cultural Revolution in China happen (where 60 million were killed), or the Killing Fields of Cambodia, or the Gulags of the USSR (where another 5-10 million died).  If there is no God- then there is no ultimate reality to tell you killing is wrong.  The other problem is to think that blessings only have a physical dimension.  Blessing well up inside of us thanksgiving, and help us to live for the One who blesses.  God is, we say, the ultimate reward and the ultimate rewarder.  As James says, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above" (1:17).  A gift is not just a physical answer to prayer, but also things like patience, grace, love, peace, self-control.  
The other side of this is that some claim more variety than reality allows. The truth is we really can't be anything we want to be- we are limited by who we are and what we are.  We cannot become God.  There is only One, though we can imitate Him.  
But this all leads up to the idea- is it okay to be blessed?  Some religions say no.  But others say that the blessings of this life are only temporary and cannot be grasped for long.  Christianity has always had its ascetics, hermits, and vows of poverty.  Sometimes the gold of the Vatican goes parallel to these. 
     There is a danger in blessings.  Deuteronomy 8 says when you eat and are satisfied, build fine houses, and your work prospers (flocks and herds) and your portfolio (silver and gold) increases, our heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.  So it is important to praise, thank, and worship God who is the Blessor.  We should not think because we were born on third base we hit a triple, or even be envious because we are on first and others are on third- that they are somehow evil.  It is wrong (part of our selfishness and envy) to think that just because someone has a bunch that they are by nature wrong.  There are many who are generous.  But the hoarders who are blessed but do not share the blessing and build bigger and better and more storage sheds (barns) need to rethink before the giver of every minute of life requires life of them.  
It is not wrong to ask to be blessed.  Jabez did it: "Bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.  May your hand be with me.  Keep me from evil that I may cause no harm" (1 Chron. 4:10,11).  It is okay to ask for blessings- God can say no.  In saying no, God may teach us to be content with what we have- and to curb our ambition or seeking to be God in place of God.  
Blessing and being blessed is not wrong.  In some ways, Jesus was the most blessed- more know His name today than any other.  Yet Jesus was born homeless (in a stable/cave), and said that he had no home ("foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head").  Yet Jesus was anointed with the most expensive oil.  He was welcomed into important places. But He kept little physically- but was blessed emotionally and spiritually.  Perhaps we should seek more to be blessed like Jesus.  
But when Jesus heals someone- some may wonder why He doesn't heal all.  Sometimes it was lack of faith or prayer but other times there were just limited healing.  When God blesses someone, why doesn't He bless everyone.  Does this mean He does not love?  This is indeed a mystery.  But just because it is a mystery does not mean we should not trust God.  We can learn to trust God whether we are on the cross, in the valley, or on the mountaintop.  Perhaps it is trusting God no matter what that is more important than the physical, mental, and emotional blessings we have?  

Prayer: Lord help me to trust in you with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding.  Help me to be patient and wait on you, believing in your ability to bless in this life or the next.    

The Justification of the Reformation- The Biblical Idea of Unity and Separation

 There are many who are saying right now, as we witness the silly self-destruction of the Protestant Church in America and the West, that the Reformation was only a great hurt to the church.  These same (mostly Roman Catholic or Orthodox brothers and sisters and apologists) say that the church was greatly harmed and that the Protestants should repent and come back to the "mother" church.  
      Such statements gloss over the biblical basis for unity and separation, and even the historical events that led to the Protestant Reformation.  The other side are those who split over every wrong doctrine of the church, and who do not value true unity over their own pride.  One of the historical dangers of the modern day schismatics is that they have bought into the Enlightenment idea that we can all be judges of the Church.  Just as the Anabaptist with their polygamy, communism, and anarchy took to the extreme of Lutheranism, so schismatics have become extremists.  I contend that most schismatics view themselves as consumers of the church and can pick and choose or even create their own church without any fear of judgment from God who loves His bride- the Church. 
      So let us look at three things: 1) The continued reason for the Reformation churches- until unity is made; 2) The reason to not continue to split churches;  and 3) The reason to fear and respect the judgment of God on the Church and the basis for that judgment. 

First- What were the real causes of the Reformation?  There were secondary causes of the Reformation- from a purely secular viewpoint kings wanted more power and included in that was the wealth and power of the church.  But why did the church become so wealthy to begin with?  When you play chess it is a reminder that the bishop is more powerful than the knight or even castle/rook/pawn.  This is a far cry from Jesus who had no home of his own (Mt. 8:20), no savings accounts, and whose only possession- a robe was taken from him at his crucifixion.  The church can give into greed and think it is justified in doing so by thinking the church with gold, silver, ivory, ornate paintings and statues point to God.  Really, simplicity itself is a reminder of God in the flesh- Jesus.  
    But one hidden reason for the Protestant Reformation is found in the 40-217 antipopes (people who claim to be pope- or set up by a secular authority as a pope).  The greatest example is the Western Schism (1378-1417) when there were as many as 3 popes at once- all clearly for secular, political and financial power.  This was a sign that the church had become truly corrupt.  The schism between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic church (East-west of Great schism) in 1054 opened the door for more schisms in the trinitarian church.  The theological points were from heaven's point of view trivial and not worth the disunity of the church.  But there were other more immediate reasons for the Reformation besides any of these.  But I contend Sacerdotalism as perhaps the major cause- (excessive and unwarranted dependence on the clergy).  Thus no confession should be made without going to a priest; no one should die without a priest to give last rites; the priest withholding part of the eucharist from the participants; the priest withholding the Bible from the people (lest they misinterpret it- which the priests clearly already had done).  Thus the idea of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9).  In the end, this was the primary reason.  When Luther, Zwingli and Calvin threatened this priestly hold- each was threatened with death (as Hus, Tyndale, and Wycliffe before them).   Indulgences- to buy souls out of hell by donating to the church were another way to sustain the sacerdotalism of the church.  Absenteeism- the idea that a person could pay to obtain churchly rule over a parish, or area without even visiting, or seeing, much less serving these people is another form of sacerdotal entitlement.  Nepotism- so many clerics appointed family members to clerical positions (De Medici were a prime example- Leo X set up cousin Clement VII).  The sexual immorality of the clergy was an issue then and it has risen its head again in our day.  So Pope Alexander Vi (Borja 1492-1503) had 9 children by 3 mistresses, and homosexuality was so prevalent Henry VIII established the Buggery Acts of 1533 mainly against corrupt monks and priests.  On the one hand marriage was declared a sacrament but celibacy was declared a higher calling and unbiblically demanded of the priesthood.  Thus the church was following into all these "pharisaical" rules- adding rules to scripture and then finding they were hard to keep.  Justification by works and grace- instead of by grace alone is another byproduct of sacerdotalism.  In making up penance requirements a priest had power over others.  Not only could belief of being saved by works bring boasting (Eph. 2:8,9), it could also bring the ability of church authorities to declare which works were necessary for salvation or to escape hell or purgatory. 
    Hus, Wycliffe, and Tyndale were pre-reformers killed for their beliefs.  Luther was threatened with death at Worms, Calvin escaped from his house as an exile in France.  Hunted, robbed, and penniless he went to Geneva.  Zurich was killed in a Roman Catholic attack on Zurich.  Luther, Calvin and even Zwingli did not intend at first to split from the church.  They wanted reformation until they were forced out of the church by both excommunication and the threat of death.  
2) In contrast to this, many today split over almost anything, without any justification for love or unity.  There are some who lecture on valuing love over doctrine.  I believe you should be able to hold both- until you are kicked out or threatened with death.  But taking schism into our own hands is not something the early reformers encouraged or envisioned.  Calvin writes much about the unity of the church because the fear is that the church would just divide infinitesimally.  So until 1054 there was 1 denomination; then in the Reformation there were maybe 15.  Today there are 47,000 denominations.  Today there are people who complain about denominations- then they go out and form their church then another then another- and then they have their own denomination!  There is an unwillingness to work with other churches for the glory of God- and a sad blindness that one day all those who believe will be in heaven together worshiping God.  
Jesus prayed (Jn. 17) that the believers would be one.  He told his disciples not to "lord it over" one another- but that the one great in his kingdom must learn to be the servant of all.  Paul decried divisions in the Corinthian church and said, "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism- calling us to be one.  Those who claim to live by scripture alone must also live by the fact that scripture never encourages separation.  When the prophets of Baal were so numerous Elijah didn't form his own nation- though he was the "only one left."  Gideon did not start a new nation but reformed it.  We forget the power of a remnant a bit of salt to effect the whole body.  Too many times proud leaders- also hungry for praise, likes, or power (another form of sacerdotalism) split the church to have others follow them.  I think of Gresham Machen or Carl McIntyre.  In the 1920s the Presbyterian Church in the USA split because they rejected fundamentalism and rejected a separate mission board (power/control AGAIN).  But then after the group split off- they split again one because they were pre-millenialists and the others were post-millenialists. Such doctrinal pride and disunity is silly, schismatic, anti-evangelism.  In my past church we had two splits before I got there (and another split is going on after I left).  For every person who left for a more conservative church, another 1.5 dropped out altogether over all the lack of love and strong bickering.  So, if you cause one of these little ones to stumble...
But then there is 3) Those in denominational control who have rejected scripture alone as their guide.  We should be "reformed and ever reforming according to the Word of God" but instead some just believe in "reform and ever reforming" because they simply embrace change/fad/and a we-know-better attitude.  The Reformation also was a rebellion against the "experts" who could tell them how to live and a going back to the roots- the scriptures themselves to find out how to believe and live.  The Scriptures were seen as our anchor, our eternal Word from God that pointed to  THE Eternal Word in the Christ.  Those who think they can ignore the core of the Gospel to make up their own worship and on church, do indeed drive others away.  Such callousness cannot be ignored.  So I hear many in the mainline churches today say, "Let them leave... we'll be happier- they'll be happier- the church will be more united."  That is a lie and it flies against the idea of love and unity.  
So, today I suggest three things.  1) Be faithful right where you are.  In Thyatira where there was only a remnant opposing sexual immorality the advice (red letter) from God was: "To the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets, I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come."  Hold on- He's coming.  2) Pray- Jesus prayed for unity and we should too.  3) Love- Love those who differ from you and those who agree with you.  You may be accused by both sides, but love any way.  

To Know, Glorify, and Enjoy God"

 “To Know, Glorify and Enjoy God”  6/2/24  Isa. 43:6-13; Mark 9:2b-27  Ben Sloan at Eastminster  (Creed:WSC 1 & 2)    [For video: https://vimeo.com/953197300 https://vimeo.com/953197300]

The ushers, greeters, and staff are given these name tags so that you and guests will be able to see who we are.  Often I am running in here pinning my name tag on as I go, and a fair amount of time, I have carelessly  put it on upside down.  Often someone will be helpful and tell me that I have done so, and sometimes I say sheepishly, “That’s so I can read it, and remember who I am.”  Knowing who you are and whose you are is so important. Knowing who you are, whose you are, and a third question- where you are going in life- are so important.   If you don’t know where you are going, it doesn’t matter if you are in a hurry or not; it doesn’t matter if you go left or right or in the middle;  If you don’t have an end point to head toward- a final destination- a purpose.  Plankton are tiny organisms that float in the ocean- and the first building block of the food chain.  They have no eyes or other senses- and they just literally go with the flow- moved about by the waves.  Don’t be like the plankton- just floating or hanging onto any cause that comes along.  Be like a hummingbird.  Ruby-throated hummingbirds, by contrast have very poor eyesight, but they rely on smell- and they have an uncanny ability to migrate from southern Mexico to South and North Carolina about 2,500 miles going up to 600 miles without stopping.  Why do they migrate?  Other than God wants to spread their beauty, they also follow their food sources- the blooming cycles of flowers and nectar.  Don’t float with the tide and wind of life, but go with God.  Going is not the most important thing- a goal- a direction and a reason is.  As a boy years ago I borrowed my uncle’s rowboat in the sound off of Maine.  The first time I tried I was fairly unsuccessful- going around basically in circles.  But then my uncle told me to not look at the oars or the sea, but to fix my eyes on something on land and row toward it.  That is when I discovered the joy of rowing.  So let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith. 
        So the very first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is the chief end of man?”  Or in modern English- “What is the main purpose of human beings?”  Or another way of putting it- “why are we alive?” These are similar questions to who are you, whose are you, and where are you ultimately going in life. The answer is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  In other words, Your life is not about you.  The world does not hold its breath waiting for you to make a decision.  You did not create yourself.  You did not make yourself.  You are not here by accident.  You are made for a purpose.  The scriptures have some directions for your life.  We are part of a grand design- one puzzle piece in the puzzle- designed to make it happen. 
     At first, when I studied this, I thought- surely glorifying God is not what it is about.  Surely we are made to be saved- to go to heaven.  But that is not it.  God wants all to join Him in heaven.  But we do not just exist to exist on into eternity.  The Bible says, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (Col. 3:23).  Thirty times in scripture it speaks of the glory or glorifying God.  It is an important idea.
Different books on theology start at different places.  Lutheranism and Melanchthon began his theology talking about sin.  Pentecostal and some fundamentalist theological works (eg. Duffield) often begin with the Bible.  Loyola of the catholic Jesuits begins his work with saying we should examine ourselves. Calvin, The Shorter Catechism and most Reformed theologies start with knowing God.  If you know God- you will know yourself.   People spend a lot of time these days trying to find themselves- trying to find who they are.  But, As Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless til they find their rest in thee.”  If you know God- not just know about God then you will know who you are and whose you are.  The focus on our worship is not on our feelings, what it does for us, how it inspires us- those are wonderful things that should not be downplayed.  But the focus of worship, and the focus of our lives should be on the One who made all- gives us life- sustains us in this life- and redeems us- that is God.  In fact, to focus on what God can do for us instead of focusing on God seems to be a half worship of ourselves. 
     Let the main thing be the main thing.  God is the main thing.  Jesus said apart from Him we are nothing- so let’s be something by plugging into God.  Jesus said, “Not my will but thine be done.”  He said that as an example for us- it is not what we want in the flesh that is the important thing- but what God wants.  You know there are neat yard decorations out there at Christmas and now Easter, Halloween, other times.  I’m talking about these blow up figurines.  When I walk my dog in the late afternoon I see them in the yards- my dog often barks at them.  But when I walk my dog in the morning- they are just flat, lying on the ground pretty pitiful- you can’t even tell what they are Santa or reindeer.  That is how we are without the Spirit dwelling in us- the wind filling us up- we exist but we are flat, pretty meaningless.  The Presbyterian and Reformed creeds and catechisms do not argue for or about the existence of God.  These confessions assume if you are reading them you are a person of faith.  Almost everyone was in the whole history of the world.  It is only as human pride rises and morals decline (both in the world and in the church) that we have the audacity to think we do not need to believe in God.  I truly believe that even for the staunchest atheist, sometime in their lives a spark of belief comes- though they may snuff it out.  But God is our first cause and our reason for existence as individuals, as a church, and as a world.  The church especially, does not exist well without God.  There are many who try to turn the church into simply a social club doing good in the world.  But belief in God is our motive for being and staying together, and also our motive to be generous to the poor, and belief I God is our motive to get up- leave our comfortable lives- and do something outside of ourselves for not only a greater good- but THE greatest good.  In fact, God and good are synonymous.  We think we can define good- but God is the ultimate goodness in the universe.  We are used to saying, “Goodbye.”  But before the mid 1500s in the old English language that is an abbreviation of “God be with ye.”  Similarly- Good Friday used to be called “God-Friday.”  In our culture we value God as a God of love, but we forget and are more and more blind that God is also good, righteous and holy.
       We are called to Glorify God.  “Glorify” is also a word we don’t use much anymore.  It really means to reflect- like a mirror.  2 Cor. 3:18 says, “all of us contemplate the glory of the Lord as though reflected In a mirror and we are transformed into that image.” So the moon’s light is not its own, it reflects or glorifies- even magnifies in the dark of night- the sun’s light.  Our lives are to be lived not simply for ourselves and our selfishness.  Rather our lives are to be lived to the glory of God- reflecting Him, imitating Him, pointing to Him.  In that sense, all of us are lights shining in the darkness (as the Bible says).  Ideally, when people look at us they do not see us- they see Jesus shining in us.  We are the light of the world only as we reflect THE light of the world- God Himself.  Jesus was the one who said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).  When we are good, it reflects the goodness of God- who not only loved us first but also was good first- setting the standard for goodness.  In that sense, we are all created and called by our faith in God to be missionaries for Him.  Jesus said, “And you will be my witnesses.”  So let us glorify Him- pointing to Him.  Romans 11;36 says, “For from him and through him and for him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!”  
      But the most neglected part of this Shorter Catechism answer about our main purpose or chief end is the last phrase- “Our main purpose is to glorify God AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER.”  Some have this mistaken idea that Christians cannot enjoy anything.  But to the contrary, Christians can enjoy everything in a way- and enjoy a relationship forever.  Everything we experience- even the evils and sorrows and sadness of life- will one day be redeemed.  There is a great song written by Thomas Moore that has a stunning line: “earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.“    The alternative is that without God there is no healing or hope in the face of evil.  We also have one who will be with us forever.  So Paul could sing in prison; So Joseph could trust God In the midst of injustice;  So Christian martyrs face death boldly.  Even in death believers triumph. But right now- We enjoy the love of God, the hope of God, the strength of God, the blessings of God, the peace of God, the grace of God, the answered prayers of God- not just for a moment but forever.  Every human relationship that we may enjoy will not last forever.  Everything, every gift will not last forever.  But there is One whom we can enjoy forever, and ever.   As one devotional I read this week said, we can move from merely believing in God to experiencing a friendship with Him. 
        It is one thing to say, “Oh yes, I guess there is a God up there somewhere.”  It is another to say we can trust God as our friend, and depend on Him.  John Paton was a Presbyterian missionary to the New Hebrides islands.  He was trying to translate the Bible for them in their own language, but they did not have an equivalent word for “faith.”  The right word came to him when he was going to sleep in his hammock.  He asked them what was the word for putting your full weight down.  That word for “resting” in something was the word he used for faith in God. So a little bit like our passage says, we believe- but we need help to believe more- and so we pray, “Help my unbelief.”   C.S. Lewis, the great Christian writer said he didn’t know what true faith was until after his wife died.  He said, “You never know how much you really believe anything until it becomes a matter of life and death to you.  It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong when you are just wrapping it around a box.  But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a cliff.  Only a real risk tests the reality of belief.”  So I invite you not simple to believe in God, but to glorify Him and enjoy Him.

There is a Good Shepherd Psalm 80; John 10

 Psalm 80:1-7;  John 10:11-18  “There is a Good Shepherd”  4/21/24
Preached at Eastminster Presbyterian by Rev. Dr. J. Ben Sloan

Here is a video of a sheep that I would like for you to see at the beginning of this sermon:  

There are so many images of sheep in scripture.  In our more urban society, we may easily get confused.  But I remember 2 things: they can get messy and wander off;  I can remember when we had the Live Nativity here, and before we hired the sheep, we had a farmer, Mr. McCracken, who would allow us to have his sheep at the Live Nativity.  There were two problems.  First we had to catch the sheep.  My brother, who is about 10 years older than me—and I think David Chase, went to catch these sheep one Christmas.  It had rained the night before and they came home absolutely covered in mud!   Then the other problem was that the sheep tended to escape and headed down Trenholm Road toward what is now the field.  Sheep are cute, sweet, won’t hurt a fly, but they can be messy and get in trouble.  [show slide]  I love that meme.  It reminds me that as many times as Jesus rescues me, I tend to get in trouble all over again.  The good news is the Good shepherd does not give up- to the point that he would rather die than not rescue the sheep. 
     When Jesus restored Peter after his resurrection- He went after one of his lost sheep; His question  3 times (one for each of the times he denied him) was: “Do you love me.”  Then the next admonition was to “Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”  He was asking Peter to be an under-shepherd- and a good one- motivated by love, and the need to care for the people of God.  He was asking him to be a good shepherd.  We need people who will consider the ministry.  Who are willing to give themselves fully for the glory of God.  Jesus here lists some qualities for a Good shepherd.  He listed them not just for the apostles, but for all who listen. 
He lays down his life; He knows his sheep; he cares for their being peacefully together; He gives them abundant life.
    1) THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP- He Doesn’t run away when trouble comes.  Do you know how much you are loved by the God who made you?  He loves you, knows you, and gives Himself for you.  When you stray away- He reaches down to bring you back.  The birth of God in human form that we celebrate at Christmas shows God is willing to come down for you that you might be brought up to Him.  The death of the Good Shepherd, Jesus, is not some esoteric theological concept.  Jesus said it like this, Greater love has no one than this- that He gives his life for his friends.  He said the Son of Man came not to be served- like a hireling- but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  We know all that, but can you let it sink into your bones?  The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  God is not out to get you, or manipulate you, or zap you, or consume you. 
     That doesn’t mean that the Good shepherd doesn’t want you to come into His fold, into the safety of His care, to come back to Him.  The Good Shepherd cares when you go astray.  He doesn’t shrug his shoulder and say, “Those old dumb sheep- they’ll get what’s coming to them.”  No, He comes down.  He looks for us like the Prodigal’s father.  He leaves the 99 to go after us.  He looks for us as a person looking for a lost coin or a lost pearl, and He invites us to look for Him.  The Good Shepherd says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these other things will be added to you.” 
   Eight months ago 9/2 at 1:30 AM, Joseph Pope and Charles Segar saved the lives of two 18 year old students whose car was burning in a late night wreck.  They saw the car burning, and when they looked they saw the man inside.  They busted out the window and pulled Anderson Jones from his Nissan.  Jones told him there was another in the car.  They pulled her from the car too as the car started to be engulfed in flames.  The car could have exploded.  Pope cut his arm trying to help and required stitches.  The two could not save themselves- but Pope and Segar saved them and were recognized for that by Clemson City Council, and the Boy Scouts.  Pope was an eagle scout from our own troop 10.   Jesus is our rescuer.  He came to us when we could not save ourselves at risk to himself.   When we rescue, when we help when we give of ourselves we are being Christ-like.

2) THE GOOD SHEPHERD KNOW HIS SHEEP AND HIS SHEEP KNOW HIM- he binds up their wounds, they call out to the shepherd, and the shepherd calls back to them.   I said this awhile back, but we tend to live like everyone knows us except God.  Our Snapchat, twitter, facebook, virtual friends may know us- but God doesn’t really know us.  If He did, He wouldn’t like that snidy comment I put up about someone else’s opinion.  We think our GPS service knows where we are- but somehow God does not.  We think Google can see our house from Google earth, but somehow God cannot.  If Google knows your email, your ad preferences and wants, and it is but a machine, cannot God Almighty the omniscient one?  The guillemot is an arctic bird that lays its eggs on the cliff . All the birds lay thousands in a row.  Yet studies show the mother incredibly  knows which egg is hers.  So God knows you by name and loves you.  There is a great article in the State paper about Dawn Staley texting a Clemson fan giving him comfort over his gamecock mother’s passing.  It meant so much that she took time and that of all the fans she met, she knew her and cared.  God knows you so well.  He made you.  He knows every cell, every molecule of your body.  He knows when you fall into a ditch.  He knows when you are in the green pastures feeding and lying beside the still waters.  He knows when your heart is broken.  He came down to earth to show us He understands us.  The One who is and gives eternal life understands suffering and death.  There is nowhere, not the darkest evil place, not the brightest good place;  not the stupidest place, or the most enlightened place; not the place where you feel horribly uncomfortable- even the death bed, and not the place where you think you are already in heaven.  There is no place where God does not know you and care about you.  Tim Keller said, “God know us to the bottom yet loves us to the skies.” 
3) THE GOOD SHEPHERD CARES ABOUT THE UNITY OF THE FLOCK- There are other sheep not of this pen—He is clearly talking about that there are gentiles that Jesus wants to invite into the fold.  They also will know Him, and he says, “And there shall be one flock.”  One of the saddest things in our day is that we seem to have lost in the last fifteen years, the desire to be one flock.  We divide and cast out and divide again until people say, “why do I want to go to that individualistic church.”  The number of denominations is growing.  The first 1,000 years of Christianity there was only one denomination.  The next 500 years there were about five.  Today there are roughly 45,000 different denominations in the world- including non-denominational churches who became denominations.  We have a problem.  The problem is not that our beliefs are not perfect- no one believes perfectly.  The problem is described in 1 Corinthians 13- “If I speak in the tongues of angels but have not love- I am nothing.  If I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love I am nothing.”  The church is dying today because we lack faith, hope and love. In our context, we must learn to love across denominational lines- to love those with whom we differ- or we will wither into nothing.   It is not our kingdom come- it is His.   The old joke is about a person who dies and goes to heaven.  St Peter is giving them a tour.  In one room are people kneeling.  The man says, “Who are those people?”  They are the Methodists;  Then another room there are people singing and raising their hands “Who are those people?”  They are the Pentecostals.  There were some with their heads bowed quietly- almost like they were asleep- “Who are those people?”  They are the Presbyterians.  Then there were three rooms with the doors shut.  The man says, “Who are those people?”  Peter says, “SHHHH!  Those are the indepen dents and they think they are the only ones up here.  It is time to repent of our divisiveness, and our willingness as sheep to wander off looking for greener pastures.  The Good Shepherd wants one flock. 
4) ABUNDANT LIFE-The Good Shepherd is not a thief who seeks to kill and destroy and take away your joy.  The thief is not just the devil.  There are many thiefs!  Envy steals our joy;  drugs we may think give us joy- but can also give us regret and addiction that kill and destroy- Last year in SC over 2,000 people died to drug overdoses and that is with an abundance of Narcan that keeps people from dying.  Immorality steals our joy- things like pornography- SC ranks 9^th in the nation in time spent on porn on the internet.  But porn can destroy a family.  There is a long list of wolves in sheeps clothing that people buy into.  Life can be hard and troubling- but we can be of good cheer- for the resurrected Christ has overcome the world.  The Good Shepherd is not a wolf in sheep’s clothing who wants to take the beauty of your life away.  The Good Shepherd says, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden- I will heal your wounds, get you beyond your past mistakes and hurts.”  The synonym for salvation is “eternal life.”  Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  1 John 5:12 says, “Whoever has the Son has life.”  Ephesians 2 says when we were dead in our sins, Christ came to make us alive.  The abundant life is right here.  Today is the first day of the rest of your eternal life.  Are you just existing?  Are you just coasting in life?  Is your life meaningless?  Is loneliness consuming you?  Are you trying to find yourself?  There is one who wants us to open the door to His love.  He wants us to give up our destructive ways- give up jumping back into the ditches and live in the abundant life.  Today at Eastminster we will have baptisms of confirmation students and a baby.  It is not the end of their journey- it is the beginning of their abundant life!  Hedonism is living for pleasure.  John Piper coined the phrase “Christian hedonism” which means finding pleasure in the living God- the good.  We are made to not just glorify but enjoy God- right now and on into forever.   Do not let any thief steal your joy.  Instead, seek to relish the abundant eternal life- which begins today. 

4-1-1 Do You Want Information?

                                           Wikipedia- Partial Map of the internet
 What is Your Information Source?

Scripture: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings from the honeycomb." - Psalm 19:7-10

Today is 4/11. Many of those under 35 do not know what "dial 4-1-1" means. We may know what 9-1-1 means (emergency), but from 1930-2023, you would often hear on the other end of a 4-1-1 dial: "Information." The free directory assistance service was discontinued by AT&T in 2022 for cell users and in 2023 for landline users. With Google, and certain directory search engines as well as screens on cars that pull up directories, 4-1-1 became obsolete. However, since 4-1-1 was eliminated, the most helpful directory assistance websites either require payment or make you put up with annoying advertising. So where do you go for information?

We live in a time of information overload. We have access to more information than we can use. We also have so many prejudicial sources of information that we recognize that most truths are hidden and combined with a layer of slant or agenda. We have become so used to this that some have given up on believing there is any truth (or trustworthy information) at all in the world.

When confronted face-to-face with the living Truth of God in the flesh, Pontious Pilate asked the famous (pagan) question of doubt: "What is truth?"

So where do you go for real, deep information (epistemology)?

Some say to trust the truth to the experts. Certainly, we do this to a certain extent. When a car repairman services my brakes, I trust the brake expert more than my ability to even check on what he is doing. The problem is that sometimes experts get it wrong. When the locomotive was invented, one "expert" said the human body could not endure traveling at such speed and with such noise, thinking such travel would "injure the brain." Experts can contradict each other with half-truths. Just look at the political "experts" and debates of our day.

Our confessions speak of the Bible and especially the person and words of Jesus Christ as being the measure of real Truth and information. Jesus is the incarnation of God's love. In some ways, the whole Protestant Reformation was about putting the Bible in the language of the people (vernacular) and then putting that Bible in the hands of the people – teaching them to read it. One of the reasons we have so many Bible studies is we believe that what we ought to believe and do is found in the scriptures.

In addition to the scriptures themselves, we also need the church (and one another) to help us discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to us today through the scriptures. The information we receive is not just for trivial pursuit or encyclopedic storage but for application to change us and the world to make earth more like heaven itself.

So do not be afraid to seek the most important information from the One who claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He is the One who said, "Your Word is Truth" (John 17:17). The word "Gospel" can be translated as "good news” or "good message" or "good information."

The most important information is information that will affect us both now and in eternity. Part of our calling is to not keep the really great information to ourselves but to tell others how to have the hope, joy, and love that is within us. Look for ways to pass that 4-1-1, that important information, on to others.

Prayer: Lord, your commands are true and righteous altogether. In a drowning sea of information and misinformation, help me see your Word as my lifeline to hope and truth. Give me a heart to seek you in scripture and ears to hear your Spirit speaking to my heart. Amen.