Trust

June 4, 2017

Stetson Memorial UMC

Pentecost Sunday!

Sermon Series:

 “Mending Fences-Healing the Heart…”

“Healing Trust”

Adapted from Marcia McPhee’

“On the Mend” Sermon Series

Psalm 104:24-35

Mark 10:13-16 MSG

Luke 24:44-53 MSG

Acts 2:1-13; 38-42 The Message (MSG)

“Trust.…”

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Let us pray (Prayer that God’s Word is heard through me or in-spite of me)

Please stand for the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 10, verses 13-16. Listen to the word of God from His love letter to His beloved, you and I…

(Read Scripture from the MSG Bible)

As Hope, Joy and Grace went off arm in arm, laughing and getting to know each other better. No one could have known what was going to happen next. Would their new-found friendship stand the test it was in for?

Hey guys, let’s go down by the river and see what’s going on” Joy suggested. “I don’t know about that” Hope exclaimed, “I was always told never to go there, especially at night. You never know what could be down there…or should I say who.” “/come on Hope. Where is your sense of adventure?” Joy asked. “She may be right” Grace interjected “ I have heard that strange things happen there at night.” “Well if you two stick in the muds don’t want to go, I guess I will just go myself.” Joy said as she started to walk off. “Wait up” both Hope and Grace said, “We will go with you. You should never go alone.” “Yes!”

When they got to the river there were several people standing around and it looked like they were up to no good. “I don’t know about this” Grace said “It looks like they are up to no good to me. I think we should get out of here before they see us.” “I know these guys” Hope said “there ok. They are friends of mine. Trust me.” “If you say so” Joy and Grace said, a little uneasy.

“Hi guys. What ya up to?” hope asked. “Not much Hope. Who are these people you brought with you? You know how we don’t like strangers around here.” “there cool. This is Joy and Grace” Hope told them. “Grace and Joy huh. Well they don’t look so graceful and leaping for joy to meet us “ they laughed. Joy and Grace were getting nervous and decided it was time to go. “Come on Hope. Let’s just go.” They were pulling her away from them and all of the sudden there was gun fire. “everyone get down….” Their “new found friends exclaimed. But it was too late, Grace had been hit.

“I knew that we shouldn’t have come here. I trusted you and look what happened. I will never trust anyone like you ever again.” Joy screamed. “Someone call 911.” But the only people there were Hope, Joy and Grace now on the ground bleeding.

When they finally got to the hospital they were pretty shacken up. As they sat there waiting to hear news about Grace, the head nurse came to speak to them. She wore a name tag that just said “faith” on it. “Hi girls, my name is Faith and I am the nurse in charge of your friend Grace. Can you tell me what happened?” asked Faith. “It’s al her fault, I should have never trusted someone like her.” Joy blurted out. “My fault. Why is it my fault. I didn’t know that was going to happen. I wasn’t the one who shot her and you didn’t have to go with me either” “That’s enough girls. This is not helping your friend any. I believe she will be OK. She might have to be here for a while but she is going to be ok.” Faith explained. “How do you know that?” both of the girls asked. I just know it will…this is not what God would have planned for her…”.

As Faith walked away, Hope tried to talk to her hurting friend, “I am so sorry. I would never have gone there if I know this was going to happen.” “Well you can just keep you apology. My friends were right. People like you should never be trusted.” Joy screamed at her friend. After saying that she stormed off to try and find out more information on her friend. Hope just sat there and cried… “It’s all my fault. I really am one of those people. How could I ever think I could be part of them.” Hearing this, nurse Faith came over and sat next to Hope. She didn’t say a word, just sat there with her… I wonder what was going to happen next...

Good morning. Happy Pentecost Sunday…the birthday of the church! This morning can we continue to be interactive with each other as. I really have enjoyed the way we have conversed with one another over the past few weeks… so, I need audience participation. In the story that I just shared with you, what stands out for you? Give time for answers. What stands out to me was the way that Joy reacted to Hope after her friend had been shot.…I really don’t know if Hope is ever going to earn Joy’s trust back. I think that I may have felt the same if I had been in that position.

I truly believe that we as Christ church…followers of the Way…need to have conversation of what ails us. What is hurting inside of us. What hold us back from living the life, individually and collective, that we are offered through Jesus. We need to heal what ails us in order to be the relevant Christians. We need to let go and let God as we move forward as God’s people and take back the land of our forefathers. Without healing what ails us we can’t call ourselves Christ followers because we can’t follow His example in the world. We want to be those Resurrection people so we need to rise from the grave of the world around us. We can spend the tomb with our comfortable “death cloths” …not leaving those things behind that bind us… But we need to put on the robe of righteousness that we receive in and through Christ.

Today I want us to continue to talk about some of the things that ail us…that stop us from living that life in Christ, as we mend fences and heal the heart. Now, there may be no fences that need mending but we are all broken. What in us needs mending? My hope is that we will have that conversation that will lead to healing. Not only that, but after the service each Sunday, I invite us to have further conversation… On the 11^th of June, my friend Margaret will come for you to have conversation with her of what ails your heart. Conversation is hard but it is vital if we want to be that vital congregation for Christ.

We have talked about intentions and the fact that, whether we like it or not, there are times when our intentions may be not so helpful. We talked about those times that our inhibitions keep us from being open to others. How there are many things that cause us to be closed off to the very ones that Jesus came to save…including ourselves.

Fear is one of the biggest things that keeps us from being who God would have us be. Fear of the future, fear of finances, fear of those who may come through this door…Maybe even the fear of Hope as she is walking through our door…

There is also the sickness of “pride”. Pride can cause us to do a lot of crazy things… Now being proud is not really a bad thing…we should take pride in what we do. But there are times when our pride gets in the way of being that loving community that the “Hope’s” of the world need.

I think the most vicious and viral disease in and to the body of Christ is the disease of division. As we work together…and not just give up and leave…the most important thing to remember is we need to take our division to the Way Maker, our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. He will stand in gap for us as we work our way back to unity. As we bring our hurts and ailments to the Balm of Gilead, we are healed from the inside out.

Another thing that ails us as people and as a church is Miss-Trust. How many of you have ever had an incident in their lives that they lost trust in something or someone? How did that make you feel? Give time to answer. Do you think you will ever trust that person or that thing again? Give time to answer. Trust is something I like to give people…that is until they prove me wrong. Then it is hard for me to totally trust that person…or thing…again. What or who do you trust the most…that you put your trust in? Give time to answer.

From the Scripture this morning, we hear how we are to enter into the Kingdom of God...with childlike trust. Why do you think it is so hard to have that childlike trust? Give time to answer? In the world we live in, it seems that most people live for themselves and trust no one. If they trusted then that person could do …fill in the blank… and we can’t have that happening…

Why do you think that it is so important for us, as Christ’s Church, to have trust? Give time to answer. The church began in faith and trust. Listen to the story of the first Pentecost Sunday and see if you can see why we as a church need to trust not only God…but one another.

Acts 2:1-13The Message (MSG)

A Sound Like a Strong Wind

2 ^1-4 When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

^5-11 There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;
Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,
    Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
    Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene;
Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;
Even Cretans and Arabs!

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”

¹² Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”

¹³ Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”

Acts 2:38-42The Message (MSG)

^38-39 Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

⁴⁰ He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”

^41-42 That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

Wow…what pieces of trust do you see here? Do you think without that there would have been a growth of the church? Give time to answer. But the trust thing began before this day. Luke 24:44-53 is where it began. Listen to what the scripture tells us:

Luke 24:44-53The Message (MSG)

You’re the Witnesses

⁴⁴ Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”

^45-49 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”

^50-51 He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.

^52-53 And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.

It began with the disciples trust in what Jesus told them. If they had not trusted in what Jesus had told them they never would have gone back to the city. They would not have been altogether in one place. They would not have been His witnesses all over the world. We cannot be His witnesses if we are not trusting and having divisions with one another church…

If we do not believe Jesus when He tells us to bring what is broken and He will fix it wat is the point of believing at all? If we don’t believe that God can heal anything, what is the point of believing? If we don’t believe the promises, what is the point of believing? If we don’t come with childlike faith, with each other, and believe Jesus can fix us then… Without childlike faith…childlike trust how can we enter the throne room and be healed? It all begins with trust… They say “time can heal the broken heart” but I believe it is trust in the One who created us that heals the broken heart…

Beloved children of the Most High God. Jesus is calling us out of our tombs and in to His Glorious Light and be healed of our ailments. What is ailing us…as a church…as individuals…as one body? How can we be on the mend, of fences and our hearts? I know that there are things we just don’t want to talk about…there are things that we just don’t want to hear. But we let cannot/will not fear stop us from healing what ails us, personally and collectively.

It is Pentecost Sunday, are we willing to trust and receive the Holy Spirit? Remember…it began and begins in trust. Without trust, there is no miracle or power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the church. Can we be like Faith and trust in the One who is working in and through our lives and the lives of others?

Think about the Hope’s of this world. She needs a place of trust and if we are not trusting then why would she want to come near? I ask that we prayerfully come together…as family…to heal what ails us. I passionately want us to be that church that Hope would hear about the goodness of God and feel the oneness of our church as we work through our faith journey together trusting in the One who knows us best.

Maybe…just maybe…she will come through our doors. The question is…are we willing to let her in…?

Amen.

Live Life Abandoned

May 7, 2017

Stetson Memorial UMC

Sermon Series:

 “Mending Fences-Healing the Heart…”

“Live Life Abandoned!”

Adapted from Marcia McPhee’

“On the Mend” Sermon Series

Psalm 23

Mark 7:24-37

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhibition

“Live Life Abandoned! …”

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Let us pray (Prayer that God’s Word is heard through me or in-spite of me)

Please stand for the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 7, verses 24-37. Listen to the word of God from His love letter to His beloved, you and I…

(Read Scripture from the NIV Bible)

Hope wandered through the streets. Where was she to go on this cold December day. It was below freezing but she hardly felt it at all. It didn’t seem to matter to her. She had become numb to the cold and numb to those around her. She had been through so much and she decided that there was no one that she could trust and nowhere to go. She had tried before and failed…failed miserably. She decided that she was just going to live her life alone…the alternative was not too appetizing for her.

As she entered the coffee shop, she walked by a group of people that seemed to be have some sort of study together. They looked up at her and quickly looked away. They didn’t want to make eye contact with her so they pretended to be reading their bibles. Hope went up to the counter, ordered her coffee and left. She thought that if only someone would actually look past her exterior they would finally see her for who she was…but what exactly was that?

“Thank God that woman left. She looked as if she was going come over to our table” one of the bible study participants said. “Awkward” said another. “That’s not very nice” another said, “maybe she just wanted to say Hi”. “Awe come on, you really think that is all she wanted? She looked like some druggy or something…you don’t know what those people will do…she probably would have pick pocketed our something,” said another. “Ok…we are sitting here in bible study and you are all talking like she is a leper or something. I am going to go see if I can find her while you guys figure out what W.W.J.D. really means.”

“Hey wait up” she said to Hope. Hope turned around to see who was talking but turned right back around and kept walking. “Hey you ...yah you…wait up.” Hope stopped in her tacks. “What do you want…to make fun of me or something? Why don’t you just go back to your study buddies and leave me alone.” The girls said “ I am sorry for my so called friends. Are you ok…you look like you could use a friend to talk to.” “Wait…you…a so called Christian want to talk with me? What’s the bottom line? What do you really want?” “Nothing” the girl said “ I just thought you looked like you needed a friend. My name is Joy. What’s yours”? “My name is Hope” she said. “You wanna go somewhere and catch a bite to eat?” “I don’t think I could afford that” Hope said. “My treat” said Joy. As they walked down to the dinner together Hope thought ”maybe this one is different.” Joy thought “maybe this one is different”… Neither knew how much they really needed each other…

Good morning. This morning I want us to continue to be interactive with each other as we were last week. I need audience participation. So please play along as the Spirit leads…In the story I just shared with you, what stands out for you? Give time for answers. What stands out for me is the people in the “bible study”. How closed off they were to Hope…

Beloved, we as Christ church need to have conversation of what ails us. What is hurting inside of us. What hold us back from living the life, individually and collective, that we are offered through Jesus. If we are to live life abandoned to Christ, we need to let go and let God as we move forward as God’s people and take hold of the land. If we don’t we are like the Israelites wandering in the desert…not seeing the promised land. All too often, we sound a lot like this “group” of people. If we are to live our lives as Resurrection people we need to act as if we have been resurrected. All too often we are stuck in the tomb with our comfortable “death cloths” on not wanting to come out being seen naked…leaving those things behind that binds us…and put on the robe of righteousness that we receive in and through Christ.

Over the next few weeks we will be talking about some of the things that ail us…that stop us from living that life in Christ. We will be mending fences and healing the heart with one another. And there may be no fences that need mending but we are all broken. What in us needs mending? My hope is that we will have that conversation that will lead to healing. Not only that but after the service each Sunday, I invite us to have further conversation…living room conversation with each other in the green room with a little coffee…a little snack and I hope a whole lot of conversation and mending. There will be a week that my friend Margaret will come for you to have conversation with her of what ails your heart. Conversation is hard but it is vital if we want to be that vital congregation for Christ.

Last week we talked about intentions and the fact that there are times that our intentions…our good intentions…may be not so helpful. Our attitudes, at times, can be seen as exclusive instead of being inclusive as we are called to be. We all bring something to the table and it may be that very thing that keeps us from being the people god has called us to be. There are times that our “religious laws” keep us and others away from the blessings and peace that God intends for us to have.

What do you think about inhibitions? Do you think that they can cause us to actually need healing in order to live life abandoned to God and our “co-inhabitants” in the world in which we live? Give time for people to answer…

The definition of inhibition is:

1.  the act of inhibiting :  the state of being inhibited

something that forbids, debars, or restricts

2.  an inner impediment to free activity, expression, or functioning

From the scripture I read this morning, we see two types of people…one with no inhibitions and one that was being inhibited. The woman knew who Jesus was and that being a woman in that day and time you didn’t just walk up to a man and star talking to them…let alone a Rabbi…unless it was your husband. But Jesus was different and she knew that. She had a daughter who needed healing and she was going to stop at nothing to get it. Even when Jesus told her…well pretty much to go away…she was uninhibited and was not going anywhere until this healer called Jesus healed her child. Now know that Jesus was pretty radical I think that He was actually testing her faith…how much did she really believe in Jesus…would she walk away or would she trust in His mercy as she pleaded the case for her child… And what happened for her because being uninhibited? She was able to live life abandoned to the one who brought healing. We too need to come to the throne of grace…uninhibited…recklessly abandoned to and for the One who says be healed…then we see the miracle…

Then we have the man who was deaf in the scripture this morning. This man was closed off from the world. He had no place and no stature in the culture he lived in. He was shut out and held back from living a life with meaning. We too can be like this deaf-mute man. WE shut things out and hold things in. WE don’t speak when we should. There are times we are afraid to speak because of things that have happened in the past and we are afraid to speak and become deaf to the cries around us… Why do you think we shut things out and are unable to speak…we become inhibited? Give time to answer… So, what do you think will bring healing? Give time to answer… Sometimes healing means facing difficult things…those things we find hard to talk about. What are some of the things that you think are causing Christ’s church to be like that deaf-mute man? Give time to answer. What happened when the healer of our souls “opened” him up to the possibility of life abandoned? Give time to answer… He lived abandoned tell everyone about the miracle of Jesus… We too are able to live life abandoned to Christ as we heal what ails us…talk about those closed off things as Jesus tells us to be “open”.

Beloved children of the Most High God. What is ailing us…as a church…as individuals…as one body? How can we be on the mend, of fences and our hearts? I know that there are things we just don’t want to talk about…there are things that we just don’t want to hear. But does that mean we turn a deaf ear and become mute? What would it take for you and me to be “open” to the possibilities that God is placing before us? Shutting things out and holding things in is dangerous to our personal, spiritual and church life. What if hope came through our door? Do you think that she would be open to us…or would we be open to her? I ask that we prayerfully come together…as family…to heal what ails us. Let us become that group that the Hope would be to talk about the tough things and be healed of her own deafness as our ears are opened to the cries of those around us and our mouths opened for justice and mercy. Maybe…just maybe…she will come through our doors. The question is…are we willing to let her in…?

Amen.

“Leave You Death Cloths Behind!!…”

April 16, 2017

Stetson Memorial UMC

Resurrection Sunday!

Psalm 113

John 20:1-18 NLT

Acts 10:34-48 MSG

Isaiah 25:6-9 NLT

“Leave You Death Cloths Behind!!…”

The Lord be with you, and also with you…let us pray…(Prayer of illumination….)

Please stand as you are able from the reading of the Gospel according to John, chapter 10, verses 1-8…

It was a morning like no other. Mary trembled as she made her way to the tomb of her teach and friend. “How could all of this had happened” she thought. “How could they have called for Barabbas instead of Jesus?” She continued on her way to the place she never thought she would have to go…at least not this early in Jesus’ life. All of the sudden the earth shook with a violent convulsion. It knocked her to the ground. She got up wondering what could have caused such a ruckus.

She began to think about the events of the past 3 days and how she stood with Jesus’ mother by the cross as her world was torn apart by the last breath of her teacher. “How could have the others ran away and leave Him to be alone…let alone Peter’s actions?” Then she remembered the stone in front of the tomb. “How am I going to be able to give Jesus a proper burial? I can’t move the stone away myself. But I must try. It is the least I could to for the one who saved me from the demons inside.”

As she neared the tomb she couldn’t believe what she saw. The stone had rolled been rolled away. Then she thought “Oh no…His body!” She ran to the tomb and it was as she had feared. Jesus body was missing. Everything else was there…the death cloths and the cloth that wrapped His head. But the body…it was missing… What was she to do…where on earth could they have taken Him…?

Good morning! Happy Resurrection morning! We have come to the end of our Lenten journey and now here we stand at the empty tomb. This is the foundation of our belief. Without resurrection morning, there is no faith…without resurrection morning, there is no forgiveness of sins…without resurrection morning, there is no victory over sin and death…without resurrection morning, Jesus’ life didn’t matter. This is probably my favorite day in the Christian calendar as well as Pentecost Sunday…but don’t let me get started on that…

When I think about the empty tomb I just want to shout from the mountain tops…Christ has Risen…Christ has Risen indeed! I love this day because it is the day that humanity was given the chance to come out of their tomb, remove their death cloths and come into the glorious light of our God in and through the Light of the world, our RISEN, Lord Jesus Christ

In Isaiah 25:6-9…the prophet Isaiah talks about the day that God will remove the gloom and gloom of death and bring joy and hope. The gloom of death hung over all of humanity and there was no end in sight. But God, in His infinite love, could not leave humanity in the pit it was and is in. He alone brings salvation in and through the frailty of His Son. We now are invited to the banquet with the best of everything we can think of… Death no longer has a grip upon us and we are set free in and through the empty tomb. If we choose to come out and leave behind our death clothes…

When I think about the John scripture from this morning, what stood out for me are these facts:

1.  Jesus death clothes were left in the tomb…

2.  Reminded me of Lazareth being raised…

3.  It represents victory over sin and death…

4.  People are like Mary…not know where He is…

5.  Jesus calls our name as He did Mary’s (she was blinded by the world and what she saw that was temporal)

6.  We are to go and give the message to those who are waiting…as Mary did…

In Acts Peter…the Rock…proclaims the resurrection…read Acts 10:34-48. What can we see from Peter’s reaction that is also for us today?

·        He proclaimed Christ’s ministry of healing and peacemaking (36-39)

·        Proclaimed that God raised Christ from the dead (39-40)

·        Proclaimed that they ate and drank with the Risen Christ (41)

·        Proclaimed Christ is the judge of the living and the dead but there is forgiveness in and through His name…

Resurrection Sunday is not just the end of the Lenten journey but only the beginning of the story, the beginning of the new life…the beginning of a new age. Christ went to the cross not just to save you and me but to save all of humanity and there is so many who need the hope and forgiveness of the cross I just can’t imagine Jesus wanting us to keep it for ourselves. God wants all of humanity to be saved and we are here to share the good news so that it is. That’s part of mine and your mission here…part of the purpose of why we were created…to love, to share, to be Christ for the world. But how can we bring the Good News if we are still in the tomb wearing our death shroud?

Resurrection people. It is resurrection morn and we are now given a new life. We have come from the ashes of Wednesday and have come up from those same ashes as a phoenix into the glorious light of the Son. We are being called from our tombs to a new and redeemed life. We are given the robe of righteousness for the death cloths sin had us wrapped in. The question is…will you come out?

Amen…

A Whole New World

November 13, 2016

Stetson Memorial UMC

After Trump Election

Psalm 29

Luke 21:5-19

Isaiah 65:17-25

Malachi 4:1-2

http://www.mycentraloregon.com/2016/11/12/over-200-reports-of-hateful-harassment-and-intimidation-post-election-splc-says/

https://reportuk.org/2016/11/12/hate-crimes-soar-across-the-us-after-donald-trump-elected/

“A Whole New World…”

Prayer for God’s illumination and for His word to be heard through me or in-spite of me…

Please stand, as you are able, for the reading of the Gospel Reading. I am reading from the Gospel of Luke Chapter 21, verses 5-19. Listen to the word of God…the comfort of and from God…for you and me, His people…the sheep of His keeping…

v In Wellsville, New York, a baseball dugout was vandalized with a swastika and the words “Make America White Again.”

v Nazi graffiti was also found painted on a building in South Philadelphia along with the words “Sieg Heil” and “Trump” with the T-replaced by a swastika.

v In Rochester, New York, two rainbow flags were burned.

We live in a world that has truly gotten out of control. It seems as if everything is just blowing up all at once.

v At San Diego State University, a female student wearing a hijab was robbed the day after the election by two men “who made comments about President-Elect Trump and the Muslim community,”

v At San Jose State University, a female student was attacked from behind by an assailant who grabbed her hijab, choking her and causing her to fall, police said.

There have been over 200 hate crimes since the United States elected Donald Trump as our next president on Tuesday evening.

v A woman wearing a hijab near the University of Michigan was forced to remove her headscarf Friday night after a man approached her and threatened to set her on fire, according to the university’s crime report.

v these incidents of harassment and intimidation have been most prevalent at K-12 schools, according to the SPLC findings. Middle school students in a suburb of Detroit were caught on camera chanting “build the wall” during lunchtime the day after the election. At a high school in Maple Grove, Minnesota, a bathroom stall door was found defaced with the words “White America,” “Whites only” and other racial slurs

Our future…our next generation has joined in on the depravity of humanity…We are talking about young girls and boys re hating each other. Hate is a learned behavior…who are they learning it from…? These incidents come amid massive protests against Trump and divisive rhetoric protesters say was espoused by his campaign.

The Christian community claims we are in the last days. What do you think? The Luke scripture I just read speaks of “a time such as this.” There are times when all seems lost and anarchy seems to be the temperament of the world in which we live. It is a fearful time for many and for others…who are caught up in the chaos…it is a time that they have longed for. A time that everything gets set back to how it was in the “good old days”. It is a fearful time because we know what happened last time there was such hate in the world and we don’t want to see it happen again. History truly does repeat itself…especially when we didn’t learn the first time…They are claiming that the hate crimes are worse than the time of 911…

v A pupil at Shasta High School in Redding, California, handed out ‘deportation letters’ to non-white students, just one day after Trump was announced president-elect.

v ‘Black lives don’t matter and neither does your vote’, reads the graffiti scrawled on two walls in Durham, North Carolina.

v Pupils at one high school were reportedly shouting ‘Sieg Heil’ and doing Nazi salutes, as well as calling black children ‘cotton pickers’ – among a slew of other racist attacks.

When I write sermon’s, I like to bring what is going on in the world to the forefront… How would you feel if this was slipped under the door of your home…?

v ‘Attention!!!!’ the flyer, which is written in all caps, begins. ‘All n*****s and sp*cs have one week to vacate this building!!! ‘This is now a Trump friendly building! The people of America have spoken. The time has come for good decent white people to take back our streets from thugs and illegals!

‘We know who you are and where you live. If you are not out in one week, we will put you out! Immigration will now begin doing their job! Police will have the power to reclaim our violent streets from black thugs. ‘You have been warned! Proud American voter! Trump 2016’

How much deeper are we going to sink? Didn’t even have the guts to sign with their own name…only the description of what he had done…vote

Perhaps, we as Christ followers…you know Christians…should be even more serious about the Great Commission. OK…what is the commission? Give time to answer… And what does it mean to and for you and I? Again, time to answer… The signs of the times are right there in front of us. What are you and I going to do?

‘This is now a Trump friendly building! The people of America have spoken. The time has come for good decent white people to take back our streets from thugs and illegals! ‘We know who you are and where you live. If you are not out in one week, we will put you out! Immigration will now begin doing their job! Police will have the power to reclaim our violent streets from black thugs.

Maybe if we believed in the promises of God we would be more emboldened. We know the time and we will have difficulties as we stand up for what Jesus did and would do…

12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

So, what are the promises? What is the next chapter? What do we have to look forward too? Let me read a couple of my favorite descriptions of what it will be like when the old era (human time) is ushered out and the new era has come (God time).

Isaiah 65:17-25New International Version (NIV)

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years;

the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child;

the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

    or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.

24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Everything will be made new…made how God created it to be in the beginning…it all started in a garden and it will end in a garden. God truly is the master gardener… And

Malachi 4:1-2New International Version (NIV)

Judgment and Covenant Renewal

4 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

We are going to frolic…

We should be shouting for joy from the roof tops…we are going to dance and frolic for joy and for the love we feel or our God. All this evil will be gone… But in the meantime, …we have a job to do and it is not going to be easy. But that doesn’t negate the commission. Perhaps if we would begin to get excited about the fact our God will have the last word. Perhaps if we truly believe His promises to us. Maybe, just maybe, we would be too busy doing God’s work to fear. Perhaps if we believed and rejoiced others would be attracted to our joyful life and want it for themselves. Heaven is not full yet and we need to make it our job…no our choice to fill it with our neighbors, our friends our family…heck the stranger on the street. God doesn’t want anyone to perish. How would you feel if someone perished because of your complacency…because of my complacency…because of our inactivity? The time is set…we are here, you and I, for a time such as this. We know the end of the story…we know who is going to win… Now how about sharing that with others…because on that day…we will sing as Isaiah did in chapter 12:

Isaiah 12New International Version (NIV)

Songs of Praise

12 In that day you will say:

“I will praise you, Lord.

    Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

    and you have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;

    I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense[a];

    he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water

    from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

    make known among the nations what he has done,

    and proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

    let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

    for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

AMEN