April 28,
2013
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide
Worship Theme: What God’s love does to us and for us.
Psalm 146:1-2 CEB
Acts 11:1-18 CEB
John 13:33-35 CEB
Revelation 21:1-5 The Message Bible
Revelation 21:6 The Voice Translation
“Our Problems Fading Away”
A
reading from the book of Revelation, chapter 21, verses 1-6, and I will be
reading from both the Message and the Voice translations this morning. Listen
for a word from God to you and me, the people of God. . .
Have you ever wished that
all the fighting and sorrow in the world and your life would just go away? Have
you ever wished that humanity would just get along. . . taking care of one
another. . . not thinking of its self first and the gains it can get and thinking of others first? I know
I have. To see the pain and greed around me just makes we want to cry. How can
people act the way they do to each other sometimes just makes me want to just
curl up in my bed and forget about the world. But. . . God has promised a new
way of living. . . away that all will get along. We can catch glimpses of it in
the world in which we live if we just trust and believe. . .
Just a few weeks ago we
celebrated Easter Sunday when Jesus conquered sin and death and brought about a
new age for humanity. . . An age of forgiveness and hope. . . A age that has
never been seen since the fall in the Garden of Eden. . . an age where God and
all of humanity can have that restored relationship. . .
We talked about the power
that is found in the Cross of Jesus. . . about the power in His resurrection. .
. power for you and for me. . . there is hope for humanity within the cross of
Jesus.
We even talked about how
Christianity is a worldly Religion. . . not in that it goes by the world’s way
of living but in that Christianity is a religion for the world where all are
invited to join in. . . even creation sings it’s songs to God each day. There
is power in the cross that invites all who believe to sing their song of praise.
Last week we talked about
the power of the cross that helps humanity in their times of trouble. We have a
Good Shepherd that watches over the sheep. . . who give them hope and peace. .
. even when they are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
But we still have weep
and gnashing of teeth in the world around us. When will it end? When will
humanity finally get it right? Well. . . we have hope and joy through the power
of the cross and God’s promises. We have been promised a new world for all who
believe. And that is what helps us to keep hanging on. . . hoping for tomorrow.
And this is why. . . the
Acts scripture from this morning talks about how all are invited to the mercy
seat found at the foot of the cross. Peter had a dream about what he felt was
unclean. But God told him differently. God is the one who decides what is clean
and not clean. . . what is good or not good. . . what is worth and unworthy.
People were upset because Peter had “gone
into uncircumcised people and even ate with the”. . . the horror! He ate
with those outcast people. . . those unworthy heathens! But God told peter. . .
and them. . . that only God decides what is unworthy. . . unclean and how could
Peter stand in the way of God? How can we. . . as humanity. . . as Christians
stand in the way of God? There is power
and forgiveness in the cross. We. . . humanity still have hope. Our problems begin to fade away as we see
others as God does. . .
The John scripture tells
us of a new way of living. . . a way for all who believe to live. Not just to
love one another as we love ourselves but in the way that Jesus loved the world.
. . this same Jesus who loved the world that He went to the cross to save US
from our sins. As we begin to let that commandment live and breathe within us
and then out of us. . . we will see a shift in the world around us. We will
begin to see more of the Kingdom here on Earth. . . the birthing of a New
heaven and Earth. We will see the problems of the world start of fade away. . .
even in our own time. If we only believe in the power of the cross to change
lives. Our problems begin to fade away as
we live as we are commanded. . .
And then we have the
scripture for Revelations this morning. God has promised that there will be a
new created order. . . a new heaven and Earth. There will be a time when all
will be made new. . . no more death. . . no more war. . . no more sorrow. . . no
more pain. There is the power of adoption in the cross for all who believe. God
will be and is their God and they will be and are God’s children. God promises
and God always keeps a promise. God is the beginning and the end. God is the
same as God was yesterday. . . is today. . . and will be tomorrow. Now that is
a promise that you can take to the bank. All this because of the power that was
poured down on the cross through the blood of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ from
God in heaven. Our problems begin to fade
away as we believe in God’s promises offered to all of humanity.
Beloved. . . we will have
pain and sorrow in our lives. We live in a fallen world. But that doesn’t mean
we are to just “suck it up and deal with it.” What it means, as Christians, is
that if we believe and trust there can be a change. It means that if we choose
to live not by the world’s standards but God’s standards. . . we can affect a change.
It means that if we choose to see others not using the world’s glasses but
through God’s vision. . . a vision of love and grace. . . we can affect a
change. It means that as we believe in the promises of God and do our part. . .
we can and will see “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How will
you choose to live your life. . . in fear. . . in sorrow. . . in hopelessness
or in and through the power of the cross of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord? Which
way will you choose?
Amen.
=----------------
April
28, 2013
Worship
Theme: “What God’s love does to and for us. . . !”
Revelations
21:1-7 (The Message)
Acts
11:1-18 (CEB)
John
13:33-35 (CEB)
Call
to Worship (Psalm 146:1-2 (CEB)
Unison
Prayer (Lectionary Worship Aids Series IX, Cycle C © 2012)
Prayer
of Dedication
Message
for Children
and
sermon “Our Problems Fading Away”
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
April 28, 2013
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Eastertide
All
of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights
reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage.
See all 35,900+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
No comments:
Post a Comment