May 8, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in
doubt…read the instructions”
Live, Now and
Forever
(What did Jesus instruct His
disciples then and now…?)
Luke
10:25-37
John
3:14-17
Mathew
19:16-22
Psalm
47
“Do You Want To
Live Forever…?”
Prayer
for God’s Word to be heard through me or in spite of me…
Today is Mothers Day…a day where we
honor those who bore us and those who are like mothers to us.. We usually want
give them something special on this day…something to say thanks for all they
have done in our lives. There are cards that we can buy to try to tell them how
much they mean…I remember that when I
went to buy a card for my mother I would read the card and if it made me
cry…then that was the card she got…
There are assorted candies and gifts that we can give to honor the one who
brought us into the world…we are God’s
gift to them and we are their gift from God…There are even things we can
buy them to make them look younger. There are face
washes…moisturizers…make-up…hair dyes…treatments that we can buy our moms to
make them look years younger…”I love you
mom but you are looking older so I thought I would buy you something to make
you look young again…”OK…I have earned all my grey hairs and wrinkles…I just as
soon keep them thank you very much… What is humanities obsession with being
young…? It seems that if we show signs of aging we just have to turn back the
clock. We want to live forever and look young while we do it. But are we, as
humanity, missing the mark on all this living forever…life eternal?
We are all on a reading journey as we
read the instructions that Jesus gave the first disciples and what He intended
all to follow to do. We are gathering the knowledge that we need to be Christ
Ambassador’s in a world in need of a Savior. Now Jesus wants us to “go and do
likewise”…to take His example, His instructions and follow them. Some of the
instructions may not be words but actions that Jesus showed His disciples. Now
I hope you all brought your bibles this morning. If not there are some in the
pews. I want us each to look up the instructions…for ourselves…instead of me
reading them to you. Who knows, maybe after we are done it is something we will
continue to do… just sayin.
So…where have we been so far? The first
instruction was on Easter Sunday to a woman called Mary Magdalene…Go, tell. Just that simple…go tell others
I am alive… Go and tell…ministry is an action. The next were stay…wait…witness (stay where they were
and to wait for the Holy Spirit, then to witness to and for Him all over the
world). Another is touch…heal. We may
touch lives by our words or actions but either way we can bring healing to
others…and to ourselves. Now the one that seems against each other…“Beware…don’t worry”. We are to beware
but not worry as we are doing so…we are to “walk in the world” with our “eyes
wide open” but go into it anyway… And then there is one of my favorites…“Don’t Argue, Agree to Disagree.” Now we
decided that we, as the body of Christ, need to come together as the “body” not
just as different parts. We need to unite together so that we can see God’s
Kingdom Come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven all heaven is in agreement so is should be
on earth…
The next thing that Jesus taught…was “Live, now and forever”…eternal life. So
what is meant by eternal life?
“Eternal
life means escaping the power of death. This life is ruled by death. Everything
that lives will die. Physically, there is no way to escape it. But death wasn't
the end of the story for Jesus -- God brought Him back to life. In the same
way, death isn't the end of the story for us. The Bible says: "For the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord” “"Eternal life" also refers to the quality of this life.
Jesus said "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly"
(John 10:10). "Abundantly," in the original language, means
"more extremely." When ordinary life is routine and boring, Jesus
gives you a new life that is Xtreme!”
Now Jesus instructions to the religious
leaders of His day was to remember that God was and shall always be the God of
the living and life with God was everlasting. I am reminded of the story of the
rich young ruler. It is found in Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16-22. Let’s read
this encounter together and see about this eternal life thing…read text…
The man had done everything that he
thought he needed for eternal life but his priorities were a little eschewed.
He had much wealth and that was more important to him…that was what he relied
on…that was his god that took care of him not the God of eternal life…we too can get a little caught up in the god
of self-preservation. We don’t live life for God because we are afraid of the
cost. God wants us to live life to its fullest and depend on Him and not live a
life of fear of tomorrow…he is more than enough…
The leaders of Jesus day really didn’t
get it…they felt that eternal life was after death but as we live for God…to
honor Him…to do as Jesus did…we begin to live that eternal life here as we
worship God with our actions and not just words… The parable of the Good
Samaritan found in Luke is a good example of that. Let’s turn to Luke 10 verses
25-37 and hear about how we can live that abundant, eternal life here on earth…read scripture…
We live life eternal here by doing what
God would have us do. Our rules and regulations won’t get us there…speak of the way the religious leaders
acted… It is only by accepting Jesus are we given eternal life and it is
only by following His example that we can live it…live the preview of it…on
this side of eternity…
One of the most “famous” scriptures
about eternal life is John 3:16… Let’s look at the scripture before and after
and see it in its context…John 3 verses 14-17…
WE shall have eternal…through Jesus and
only through Jesus…speak from the
Spirit…Who is Jesus and how we live eternal life here on earth…
Go, tell…stay, wait, witness…touch,
heal… be on guard, don’t worry…don’t argue, agree to disagree…Love, the Main
Thing…Live, Now and Forever…these instructions really are as simple as that. Eternal
life is God's own life, living in you. If you want to know what that means,
look at the kind of life Jesus lived. Piercing insight into the most troubling
and confusing problems people face. Strength to win the struggles with sin that
people usually lose. God's miracle-working power that turns impossible
situations into exciting victories. But
we as Christians sometimes forget that we can have that abundant life here…not
just in eternity. We have spent so much time on learning the instructions Jesus
gave His disciples then and all who will follow. If we ignore His instructions
and not follow them to the point of us truly being that image of Christ our
commissioning that Christ gave all of His disciples we cannot live them out in
our lives. As I have said before…there are going to be times when we forget
these instructions. One way of remembering is reading God’s Word each day…if we
spend time daily with the Author of the manual, Immanuel we will have more of a
chance of following the instructions for life.
May be if we begin to listen and follow
the commissioning that Christ gave on all of our lives…maybe…just maybe we can turn the tide of chaos in the world into
order…God’s order. Maybe someday we will be that “Body of Christ”…working
together like a well oiled machine bringing about the Kingdom. But it is a
choice…yours and mine. Do you think that if we started to live life the way God
would have us live, we would have a glimpse of eternity here on earth? I say
yes with the help of the Holy Spirit which guides us in all truth…the truth of
our God and king. As we live life as if we were in God’s presence now we would
want to bring others into His glorious life. If people saw the glory of God
upon us…maybe …just maybe we could help them see eternity. Maybe if we asked
ourselves do you want to live forever” we would not be like the rich young
ruler and walk away because we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket…the
basket of abundance of our Living God and our Risen Lord Jesus Christ...
Amen.
May 8, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Live, Now and Forever
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Luke 10:25-37
John 3:14-17
Mathew 19:16-22
Psalm 47
and sermon, “Do You Want To Live Forever…?”
text
video
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
May
8, 2016
&
May
1, 2016
Stetson
Memorial UMC
Sermon
Series:
“When
in doubt…read the instructions”
Love,
the Main Thing
(What
did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
1
Corinthians 13:1-7a
Mark
12:28-32
Psalm
67
The
Proof of Your Love by King and Country
sermon,
“Love, Is A Many Splendid Thing…”
text:
video
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
May
1, 2016
&
April
24, 2016
Stetson
Memorial UMC
Sermon
Series:
“When
in doubt…read the instructions”
Don’t
Argue, Agree To Disagree
(What
did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
1
Corinthians 1:10-18
Mark
9:33-35; Matthew 18:18-20
Romans
12:15-17; Philippians 4:1-3;
2
Timothy 2:22-25; Titus 3:8-9
Psalm
148
sermon,
“Can We Just Get Along…”
text:
video
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
April
24, 2016
&
April 17, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the
instructions”
Beware, Don’t Worry
(What did Jesus instruct
His disciples then and now…?)
Mark 13:9-11
Matthew 6:25-34
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:4-7
sermon, “Be Courageous…”
text:
video:
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
April
17, 2016
&
April 10, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the
instructions”
(What did Jesus instruct
His disciples then and now…?)
Acts 3:1-10 AMP
Mark 6:53-56 AMP
Psalm 30
sermon, “Touch… Heal…”
text:
video:
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
April
10, 2016
&
April 3, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the
instructions”
(What did Jesus instruct
His disciples then and now…?)
Acts 1:1-14 NKJ
Psalm 150:1-6
sermon,
“Stay…Wait…Witness”
text:
video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
April
3, 2016
&
March 27, 2016
Stetson
Memorial UMC
Resurrection
(Easter) Sunday
Acts
10:34-43 AMP
John
20:1-18 AMP
sermon,
“On the Third Day”
text:
video:
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Resurrection
(Easter) Sunday
March
27, 2016
All
of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000,
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2014, 2015, 2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for
usage. See all 41,220+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
