The Greatest Sermon Ever

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

                                                                       (Matt 5:1-12 KJV)

For many years serving small congregations I used not just the Gospel designated for All Saints Sunday; but, I preached the greatest sermon that is and ever was. No it was not my sermon. It was Jesus' sermon. It is the entire Sermon on the Mount.  I only had a couple people object to my doing that. Of course, some did. LOL

One youth at a correctional facility reported me for saying his mother was going to hell. I did not!  I did not use any of my own words to preach the word. I stood on a hill outside of the correctional facility with the youth sitting around me and just preached the words as they were written. 

The only other time that I heard complaints about not writing my own sermon for All Saints Sunday it was because I did not write my own sermon. Can you imagine that! Critiqued for preaching the words that Jesus preached according to  the Gospel of St. Matthew! SMH

The Holy Spirit extraordinarily opens the ears of those who are listening. The many will hear exactly what they need to hear. Some will not like what they hear and turn away. Others will find peace in the word of God. This is not because the preacher is so good. It is because the word of God is like a two-edged sword. It can strike down or it can bring healing to the wounded soul depending upon what is needed. Sometimes the striking down is necessary so that the word of God which is like a two-edged sword can bring the healing necessary. The preacher doesn't do this. He or she is just a mouthpiece so that Christ can carry on the work of salvation through us. 

Since I am retired from preaching every Sunday and will not be preaching the greatest sermon ever this coming Sunday please click on the link I'm providing and read it for yourself: Sermon on the Mount

Have a blessed week!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

P.S.  Just a reminder that I use the King James Version as there are no copywrites on it and I don't have to count words. 

Share The Story Of Jesus-Lord Of The Dance

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." (Phil 4:10 KJV)

I love to hear and tell the story of Jesus; of what he has done for us! The hearing of the good news lifts my spirit. Is that not what the good news is supposed to do but to lift our spirits and cause us to rejoice?

I often think of Sylvia, who due mostly to her age, was a shut-in. I so enjoyed visiting her because she always wanted our visit to be about Jesus. I would greet her. We would receive the Sacrament of Communion of our Lord together and then she would say with her Finnish accent: "OK. Now what we should talk about Jesus?"

I love to hear and tell the story of Jesus. Most often I hear it in worship; but, not always. As a retired Lutheran pastor, I have been church shopping and for now I am settled down at Westside Baptist Church in Bunnell. They do not presently have a pastor; but, the guest preachers have been very faithful in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Everything that occurs in a worship service should point to Jesus and remind us of what he has done. Worship is not about you or me. I start getting real uncomfortable when the preaching ends up being stories about the pastor or sports figures or other known or unknown individuals. I am very uncomfortable when individuals are lifted up during the sermon and I kind of freeze up when the sermons are filled with unrelated bad jokes. Not that telling a joke or a brief story are always bad things. They sometimes are very helpful. But, don't make the sermon about them. I want to hear about Jesus!

I also want to sing songs and hymns about Jesus. I am a horrible singer; but, I love to sing anyway. The video above was made during worship a few years ago on the third Sunday of Advent; the Sunday of Joy. It is the Gospel in song. It may be familiar to most of you. I sang it on the Sunday of Joy because not only is a joyful rendition of the story of Jesus; but, when I sing, it brings smiles to many faces, mostly because the hearers are usually to polite to laugh out loud. So listen and smile!

"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised." (1 Cor 4:10)

The Gospel should bring us joy and we should not be afraid to open our mouths and share the great news of the kingdom for you through the sacrifice of our savior, Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Peace In Rough Times

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

                                                                                       (Col 3:15-16 KJV)

Some days it can be a whole lot harder to let the peace of God rule our hearts than others. Let go and let God can be a whole lot easier said than done. When troubles attack you or the people that you love so that you can think of nothing else, what can be done?

Immerse yourself in the word of Christ: turn on a YouTube sermon or just put the scriptures playing on YouTube; play some Christian music to remind you of God's grace and love; read your Bibles; but, above all pray. You can speak to God. But, remember to be still and listen for His response.

Life is not always easy. In fact, it can be pretty tough a lot of the time. When the world threatens to push the peace of God out of your hearts, remember that He loves you and is with you always. 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Preaching and Teaching

Sing with joy about what God
in Christ Jesus has done for you.

And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,

Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

                                                   (Acts 28:30-31 KJV)

I have never been a huge fan of contemporary worship. I am not against it. I just lean more toward a liturgical style and hymns rather than praise music. That being said, yesterday I worshiped with Lakeside Covenant Fellowship Church, Baraga, MI, a small congregation that uses a contemporary style of worship and found it quite worshipful! I appreciated both the music and the sermon because the entire service focused on Jesus! Does it surprise you that I'm excited about that? Well, I am. I was fed with the Word and that always is relief because I have been in services where I want to scream out, "Please, say something about Jesus, already!" 

Much of the praise music I have heard in the past has tended to talk about what we do for God rather than what God has done for us. That was not what I heard yesterday. The praise music was all about what God has done and continues to do for us. 

The sermon was a unique and captivating blend of teaching and preaching.  I have heard a lot of preachers try to blend the two into a sermon; but, very few have managed it so that it kept my attention throughout the whole sermon.  But, Rachel's skills as an elementary school teacher (gifts of God endued by the Holy Spirit) were evident as she proclaimed the Lord Jesus Christ with heart-felt enthusiasm and love. 

I am in transition right now having recently retired from the ministry and taking full advantage of being able to worship with various congregations in the area  and to hear the preaching of the kingdom of God and the teaching of those things which concern the Lord, Jesus the Christ with all confidence and boldness. So, don't be too surprised if I show up to worship with you.

May God bless us and keep us all teaching and preaching what concerns the Kingdom of God and our Lord, Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Don't Cut The Tree Of Life Out Of Your Life

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9 KJV)

Last night I had a most disturbing dream. It was disturbing because I love the woods. I enjoy walking among the trees, lots of them. The pleasure I get from being among anything that reminds me of God's natural creation is great. In the dream, we had just purchased some very wooded property with a partner (not known to me in real life). Near the edge of this property there were two beautiful, huge fruit trees on it. I have never seen fruit trees that large. The lower branches were barely within my reach. The fruit on one of the trees was oval shaped and about a foot long. The fruit on the other tree was not quite so large. I had reached up and poked one of the foot long fruits. It was soft and juice poured out on my fingers. I tasted the juice. It didn't taste like anything. 

As I was standing there admiring the trees the co-owner came over and let me know that the fruit on that tree was poisonous. Feeling a bit stupid, I didn't tell him that I'd already tasted it and I wandered away to check out the rest of the property. It wasn't long before I heard heavy equipment and a power saw running.  I ran to make sure those two trees were still standing. It was too late. They were not. The co-owner of the property had cut them down. Where two grand trees once stood there was now only two huge stumps. I was (as I always am when Howard cuts down trees that I didn't want cut) very upset. 

I imagine the dream probably surfaced due to my sermon last night. It was about mankind being kicked out of Paradise over the two trees that God had planted in the middle of the garden. They had eaten of the tree that God had warned them not to eat of or they would die. 

We have all partaken of those things God warns us will destroy us. We are sinners. But, Christ has given us the antidote to the poison that we think we have to try. He is the remedy.  As I consider the dream this morning, I cannot help but wonder if it was a reminder to make sure that we do not cut the tree of life, who is Jesus the Christ, out of our lives. 

May God grant you the knowledge, the love, and a burning desire for the tree of life, Jesus the Christ that you might live in the garden of paradise with him for all eternity.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sin Is Sin

1 John 1:8

One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

                       (Prov 17:15 NRSV)

What is a sin is a sin. There is no getting around that. It may be fully legal in this world so do something; but, that does not justify a Christian purposefully committing a sin. We can be justified by only one means and that is by faith alone in Christ alone, who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

We are also not justified by condemning the righteous simply because they believe in Jesus and desire to follow in The Way that he would have us go. But, of course, many who believe are accused of being narrow minded and condemned because we do believe that Jesus is the only way and we will strive to follow him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that we are to: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7:13-14) 

Jesus also said: “...I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) This the Christian truly believes. This the Christian will proclaim. It is not to say that the Christian will force others to believe this. Everyone in this world has a right to believe as you choose; to do what you desire in accordance with the laws of the land. The government, at least in the United States, grants us these rights. But, the Christian does not belong to this world and answers to a Higher Power. That Higher Power, for us, calls us to follow in a path that is not self-serving; but, is lived in service to God and to others. 

Therefore; to pretend that the wicked, who in service to themselves, trample on the rights of others is not a sin is a sin in itself and must be recognized as such. We do no one any favors by ignoring sin. To condemn those who follow in The Way that Jesus calls them is also sin. 

Whether the secular world chooses to believe it or not; we can call a sin out for what it is and still love the one who sins. We after all are all sinners, justified only by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. In fact, if we truly love others, as Christ loves them and us, we will not pretend that all is well; but, point them to "the way, and the truth, and the life," who is Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Cross Is Foolisness To Those Who Are Perishing

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  (1 Cor 1:18 NRSV)

For awhile; before I went to bed each night, I would listen to different sermons on YouTube. I gave that up awhile ago. I found that way too many YouTube (as well as television) preachers neglected to preach the message of the cross. Many preachers (not all) are not seen (or heard) for what they are: wolves in sheep's clothing.

They would preach about prosperity while they get rich on your offerings. Some preach a message of fear; of hell if you don't do everything exactly right. Others preach that the Good News is all about love and if you love enough that will be counted toward your good works and you will earn your way into heaven. After all; don't all good people go to heaven? They preach about doing good works so that we can manipulate God into getting what we want out of life; again, that is usually about prosperity, sometimes fame. They neglect to preach that the Good News is the Kingdom of God purchased for you by the blood of Christ shed for you on the cross.

The message of the cross is foolishness to false prophets and to those with itching ears who listen to them. You will not hear about suffering from these wolves in sheep's clothing. You will only hear about how God wants to give us everything we want in this world. He wants to bless us with riches (gold and silver) today! But, the truth is that God has already given us the greatest gift. He has given us forgiveness through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. He has made us His children through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. We have been made us heirs of His Eternal Kingdom! We have been saved by the power of the cross of Christ. That is the Good News. It's not about money. The Good News is not about personal fame or notoriety or personal power. And, the Good News is not about what we can do for God! It is about what God has already done for us!

Thanks be to God! It is finished! It was finished on the cross. There is no good work that we can add to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us that will save us from ourselves! Jesus did it all on the cross. But, this message about the cross of Christ will continue to be foolishness to those who look only to themselves. 

Consider the cross of Christ. Through Christ alone you have been saved. There is nothing more that you can do to earn your place in the Kingdom.

One more thing to consider. If you hear a sermon and never hear the name of Jesus in that sermon then it's probably time to find another preacher to listen to really quick.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Serve The One True God

Deuteronomy 6:4

 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:15 NRSV)

There are many gods. We will all serve someone or something. Some serve money; others serve heroes of this world; some serve their own ego. But, there is only one who is the creator of heaven and earth. There is only one God that can save us from the rest of these false gods. There is only one God who can save us from ourselves. Who or what is it that we serve?

In Jesus' sermon on the mountain he said: “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matt 6:24)

It is much easier for me to understand someone telling me that they serve a god other than the Triune God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit than if they tell me that they are Christians and serve the one true God and do not. The way one lives; the way one gives; the way one worships can be very good indicators of who or what each of us serves. if while one serves in the name of Jesus; but, it is their own ego that is in the limelight then I have to wonder what or who it is that they are really serving. Who or what is going to profit by their actions? Will it be the Kingdom or the person's ego or pocketbook? I am human and so I wonder about these things.

Jesus also said in his sermon on the mountain: 

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. 

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ 

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”  (Matthew 7:20-27)

God's Peace - Pr. J

There Goes That Leviathan

Wolf Point in the Keweenaw Peninsula; 

taken years ago on a Sabbatical as I paddled about half

of the southern shore of Lake Superior.

Much calmer seas that day.

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.
There go the ships,

   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 

                                         Psalm 104:24-26 NRSV

Well there goes that Leviathan...  In over twenty-two years of preaching, I had never managed to include Leviathan in a sermon, until a couple of weeks ago. I figured it was about time since my retirement from the pulpit is coming quickly.   

The awesomeness of God's creating activities and His playing with Leviathan according to this psalm, reminds me of my first kayak trip on Lake Superior.    

It was a four day journey from Big Bay to Marquette with a group of clergy. Big Bay is only about twenty-five to thirty miles from Marquette, so it wasn't going to be a hard paddle. Except... three out of the four days we were paddling with small craft warnings.  Now, those were some waves! Leviathan was considered more than once!  We had to actually paddle quite a ways from the shoreline where the waves were more rolling than crashing so that we could ride them.  The closer to shore, the more threatening the water.  It was actually pretty awesome!  I remember Pr. Peter Vorhes riding the waves in front of me, singing hymns!  Now that was really awesome!  Especially, since he has such a fantastic voice.  "O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands hath made..."

Was I afraid?  I hate to admit it; as abnormal as it might seem to some people, I was not afraid.  The wind and rain and waves were so great that it took all of my concentration to ride the waves much like a surfer would do.  There was no time to be afraid.  At one point, there was a long narrow peninsula we had to go around.  Not far from the end of this peninsula was a small rock island.  To get around this peninsula and the island, where the wave action was pretty fierce, we would have had to paddle a very long ways out... So, we chose to go between the little rocky island and the peninsula point, where the waves were bouncing off the island and crashing into the waves as they had bounced back from the little island.  It was wild in there. We went through two by two.  It only took about five minutes to get through; a ride of a life-time.  Pr. Peter was only a couple yards away from me, but there were moments when he and his kayak disappeared from my sight completely as huge waves came up between us.  I still cannot help but smile.  When we made it through to slightly calmer seas; Pr. Peter, smiling, yelled at me through the storm, "let's do it, again!"

Playing with Leviathan...

That reminds me of another story... When my own children were young, I tried to get them to go canoeing with me on the New River in NC. I told them I was going to try to photograph some alligators.  I realized then that is not the way to try to get someone to go paddling with you. It took quite a bit of convincing to get them to go with me. Alligators and Leviathan should usually be left out of the conversation if you would like anyone to join you on  the water!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Acceptable to the Lord

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NRSV)

If you have ever heard me preach then you have most likely heard Psalm 19:14 in some translation or version. It is the verse, that we pray, before the sermon at any and almost all of the Worship services that I lead, whether it is Sunday Worship, a funeral, a wedding, or whatever the occasion.

I begin every sermon with this prayer and I end it with a prayer, as well.  You see, I need God's help.  In fact, I need God to speak through me, because I really don't know what it is that He would have me say to all of you.  I don't need to use a lot of words. A lot of words would most probably come out of my own ego and would not be helpful to too many people. But, God can touch each of us with a whole lot less words.   

Just prior to the beginning of each service; I also usually pray something to the effect of:  "Send your Holy Spirit that your people might hear your Word, your will for them, and not mine." I depend upon the Spirit of God to open the ears of each of the hearers so that everyone one might hear God's word, his will for them. His word, his will and not mine.

One of the rules I try to follow in sermon writing is to never talk politics. I cannot even begin to imagine myself endorsing a candidate from the pulpit! I have been asked about this by a few people as there are  some who seem to think that this is the preacher's job.  However, the pulpit is for preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God.  It is not for promoting a partisan view of the kingdom of this world. In regards to preaching politics, I am confident that it would definitely be my political views that would be expressed and not God's. 

Sharing the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ is not about pleasing man.  It is about pleasing God. In fact; often, people will not be pleased with the message that pleases the person sitting in the pew next to them.  Sometimes the very same sermon that will bring comfort to one hearer, will bring conviction to another.  That, my friend, is the work of the Holy Spirit.  God knows who is going to be at Worship on any given Sunday and He knows what they need to hear.  And, if they have ears to hear, they will hear just what He wants them to hear.  Thanks be to God!

It always amazes me when people tell me after the sermon that they were so moved when I talked about..... (whatever it was they heard).  I don't tell them that I didn't actually say what they heard. If that's what the Spirit wanted to say to them, if that's what they needed to hear, then so be it.  And... the glory belongs to God!

Help us LORD!  May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts and minds always be pleasing in your sight, O' Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

God's Peace - Pastor J.

Seek

"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matt 7:7-8 NRSV

This morning I would really like the Lord to produce a sermon for me. It would be nice if I didn't have to focus on writing it; but, that's not how it works. God is not going to send a sermon directly to my printer. I must do some listening, some searching, in order to know what He would have me say at worship on Sunday.

God does, indeed, gift us with good gifts without our asking. He gave us His only begotten Son without our asking; without our even realizing that we needed him. But, sometimes we must ask in order to for us to be open to hear His word and His will for us. It is not a matter of God not giving them to us freely for He surely will. However, it is a matter of whether we are willing to receive them or not. And... so we finally ask when we are finally ready to receive.

The older I get, the more I realize that in order to know and do God's will I have to actively seek to practice the presence of God so that I can hear Him. I have to actively seek Him because my human nature would shut Him out as I attempt to go it alone, without Him. This, I have found, is not a very wise idea. Of course, God is always with me; but, there are times when I shut the door on Him and I do not listen; I do not hear His word or His will. Without Him, I can do nothing good. But, with Him all things are possible.

So ask the Lord to open your ears and your heart and your mind so that you can know God's good will for all people. Then spend some time in His word and in prayerful listening so that you can know Him for there is nothing more precious than knowing the Lord. For this reason Christ died for us that we might be reconciled to God our Father through him. 

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt 6:33

God's Peace - Pr. J

That Prophet Jezebel

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. (Rev 2:19-22 NIV)

Before I go to sleep at night, I usually listen to scripture or a sermon on YouTube. Some of the sermons are good. Others are not so good. I just pick them at random and get what I get. Last night I listened to one about tolerating sexual immorality based on the letter that St. John was told to write to the church at Thyatira. On occasion someone will point out to me that we are not to judge others. I usually point out to them that we are to be discerning and when someone is sinning and in danger of losing their way, as Christians, we are to help them back on the right path and sometimes that means reminding them that what they are purposely doing is definitely a sin.

As I listened to the sermon on the letter to the church of Thyatira I was reminded that we are not to tolerate the woman Jezebel and her teachings. She will lead us on the wrong path as she teaches that what is a sin is not a sin. She encourages sexual immorality. She encourages eating of food sacrificed to idols. That is, she encourages worship and rituals to false gods. 

This letter; although, written to a particular church regarding the teaching of one particular prophet, is a reminder to us all that we are to continue in the way that the Lord has taught and not in the way of those who would preach another gospel to please the itching ears. And, no we do not get to judge the ultimate outcome for anyone. But, we are to discern, by means of scripture, what we are to teach; what we are to believe. We ought to confront sin and not tolerate it. 

May God help us to discern how to live life more fully in Christ; according to the will of Almighty God and not our own self-serving wills.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Visiting Angel

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:1-2 NIV)

Whenever I read or hear these verses I am reminded of "Michael on The Way." Michael was a visitor to a congregation that I served years ago. I had only been there a couple of months. Michael was homeless, traveling, "on the way," from North Dakota to Florida for the winter. (The northern states are really not good states to be homeless in the winter.) He stopped to worship with us, coming in after the service started with his paper bag and guitar case in hand heading straight for the front pew - definitely not Lutheran. I was a little nervous. No, not because of him. But, because my sermon repeated verse 2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Would we see the sermon lived out by the congregation that day, I wondered. Michael fidgeted a lot during the service.

During the sermon it appeared that he was leaving when he stood up. I stopped and introduced myself and asked him to stay so that we could visit after the service. When he told me his name was Michael, I got even a bit more anxious given the context of the sermon. My first thought on hearing his name was "archangel." He stayed. The congregation had proved to be very welcoming, indeed. He got lots of hugs during the sharing of the peace! He and I went out to breakfast afterwards to a place he had been asked to leave a couple of hours earlier. He had also visited another congregation in town that morning; but, only for a few minutes. He had not been welcomed there. I brought him down to the main highway after breakfast that morning so that he could continue his journey to places much warmer.

I asked the council at our next meeting to pray with me for Michael's journey. They agreed to also add him to our prayer list where he stayed for a few years. Not all of the council had been aware that Michael was really a homeless man. Since, they did not know me that well; they had thought I had set the whole thing up to go with the sermon. But, only God can mastermind events that well! It was a good lesson for me. I learned that day that the congregation I was serving truly did love and respect their neighbors, even the strangers. I also learned (again) that God is truly in charge and works things out for the good of those who love Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

He Will Lift You Up

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10 NIV

As I read the fourth chapter of James this morning, it reminded by of this Sundays' Gospel lesson, which is the Sermon on the Mount preached by Jesus.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:3-11)

It is promised that those who are brought down will be lifted up. Those who mourn will be comforted. It is the meek, not the self-empowered or self-glorified who will inherit the earth. Blessings are promised to those who are last as Jesus also promised that "many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." (Matt 19:30)

So let us not then exalt ourselves; but, trust in the Lord that we may be lifted up not for earthly glory but that we might see the glory of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J