"To Him be glory forever": Matthew

Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Bad news, or Good?

Last Sunday afternoon I was reading Acts, chapter 7. Most of the chapter contains the words of Stephen, a disciple of the early church, as he was on trial before a court of the Jewish rulers. In his testimony Stephen briefly highlights several key points of the history of the Hebrew people and their relationship with God. He talks about the call of God to Abraham. He tells the story of Joseph and the Hebrew people going into slavery in Egypt. He tells the story of Moses, and how God rescued His people and brought them into the Promised Land. And then he tells the story of Jesus.

One of the reasons he tells a story with so many parts is to show these people, who are the leaders of the Hebrew people, that the history they have with God moved towards, and reached its completion, in Jesus. His testimony culminates with a vision of heaven, as Stephen says,

"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

And the response of the Hebrews to this story and vision of heaven?

"But they cried with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him."

Stephen gave these Hebrew leaders a guided tour of their history as God's people and showed them how it reached its peak with the coming of Jesus. In the shorthand of the church we call this the "Good News." Judging by the response of Stephen's audience this Good News was the very last thing they wanted to hear. The account in Acts shows us that these people found it to be bad news, and the killing of the messenger as the most appropriate response.

Today it remains the call of all Christians to carry the Good News to the world. Jesus gives us this task in Matthew 28:18-20, saying,

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We live in a world that is just as opposed to hearing the Good News of Jesus as the people that Stephen preached too. We may not face the kind of direct and violent response that he did, but the hatred that exists towards God, and particularly towards the mercy that He would give to sinners through His Son, Jesus, is just as prevalent. What we call Good News is taken by the world as anything but good news.

But the response of the world does not change the fact that the news of Jesus is not simply Good News, but the Very Best News.

So seek the Lord in prayer and then seek to share His Good News, wherever He would lead you. We share this news knowing, like Stephen did, that however the world may respond to it, ultimately all authority, on heaven and earth, is in the hands of our Savior and Lord. The response the world shows you is not a personal response towards you. Their acceptance or rejection is ultimately the acceptance or rejection of Jesus.

Jesus is your living Savior and Lord, now and forever, and you can carry His Good News with confidence wherever you go.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Appearances

Yesterday was Veterans Day and we were at the Grand Canyon National Park. We live about 370 miles from the canyon and had made an overnight trip there to be able to spend a day with one of our older daughters and her children.

After breakfast I was waiting outside the lodge while our grandchildren and our youngest daughter played together. I was wearing a sweatshirt bearing the name of the ship I served on while in the US Navy, and a hat from an outfitter in the boundary waters of Minnesota and Canada. And that was when someone came up to me asking me to show him on a map how to get from the lodge to the canyon. He said that he thought I worked there.

In my head I thought, "What is it about my appearance that suggests I work at the Grand Canyon? Navy sweatshirt? Outfitter hat? Not even an employee nametag. Anything?" I kept all of that inside, glanced at the map, which I didn't quite understand myself, gestured with my hand and said, "The canyon is that way. You can’t miss it."

And that got me to thinking about appearances and how we take care to present ourselves publicly in a particular way, a way that may or may not be an accurate representation of who we really are. I had made a conscious choice to wear my Navy sweatshirt on Veterans Day, in part to obtain any benefits that might have been available to veterans at the canyon or on the way home. I did wind up having some conversations with other vets I met at the canyon, but that was all that came as a result of my clothing choice.

But of infinite more importance than how I appear on the outside is my inside appearance, or the condition of my heart. In calling out the Pharisees for their diligence in outward appearances and neglect of the state of their heart, Jesus says this in Matthew 23:25-26:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean."

Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they need to pay attention to what is going inside of them first, and then the outside will take care of itself. He may have been speaking to the Pharisees, but when I read those words I know that He is also talking to me.

Just before that section of Matthew, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied:

"And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

There is a way that I really want to present myself to the world, and that is as a servant of Jesus, my Savior and Lord. I could do that in a begrudging way, because I felt that I have to, even though I may not want to.

Or…I could first love the Lord my God, with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind. Loving God first is what will truly let my actions show His beauty and goodness to the world. And it is His appearance, not mine, that is of infinite value.

Monday, April 21, 2014

"For He has risen…"

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. It was my first Easter as a pastor and it was a wonderfully memorable one.

It began with heading over to the church to get coffee started an hour before the community sunrise service. Then we had worship on the hill behind our church, with folks gathered from the other churches in town. There were about 40 of us on the hill and people said it was the largest turnout they could remember. My only responsibility was to offer the closing prayer, a responsibility I learned of when I was invited forward to give it!

Then we all walked down the hill to the gym attached to our church, where the men got to work in the kitchen. This is a bit of tradition…the men always cook breakfast on Easter. About 50 people were present for breakfast and there were too many men in the kitchen cooking for me to be much direct help, so I helped with miscellaneous tasks…and offered the prayer before we ate.

Everyone was fed and the clean-up was finished at about the time I am usually heading over to church on a Sunday morning. This was good news, because I had been concerned ahead of time about the timing of everything that needed to get done on Easter.

Our Sunday worship service went pretty well. There were more people in church than I've ever seen since we've been here, including a number of people I never met before. I heard that the sermon was good and I wish that I had taped it, because my wife had an adverse response to lilies in church and had to leave during the service.

We baptized three girls and that was exciting, as they were the first baptisms I had done and two of the girls, sisters, were excited to be baptized. One the way out of church the parents of the sisters invited us over for lunch. One thing we have learned about meal invitations on the reservation is that there is always plenty of food! It was a nice time for us to get to know this one family a bit better.

We went home and rested a bit and then I went for a short run. After the run I made a phone call and then decided to go make a hospital visit. The hospital I went to is 90 miles away, so that was a significant activity to tack onto the day, but having a really good lunch changed our dinner plans and we weren't having Bible study on Easter, so there was some flexibility in my schedule that wouldn't be present most Sundays.

It was a good visit, and I had the opportunity to share with the family the same scripture that I preached on in the morning, Matthew28:1-10. It is Matthew's account of the resurrection of Jesus and in my preparation, and preaching a portion of verse 6 was continually calling to me. It says:

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said."

For He has risen. Matthew doesn't give us any details about Jesus' resurrection except this one. The fact that it has already happened. His report is not like the prophecy of Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones, where he gives the various of facts of the scattered bones coming together and being restored to life.

For Matthew it is simpler than that. We may want to know the "how" but all he gives us is the "what." But what a glorious "what"!

In the Resurrection we know that God's promises to His people are all true. In the Resurrection there is no reason to doubt that God's promise to hold a people as His own, and to hold them forever, will be fulfilled.

As a pastor it was my joy to remind the congregation I serve of that promise during worship (in the sermon, the baptism, the music and every other chance I had!), and it was a privilege to bring that same promise to a family gathered in a hospital room.

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said."

Sunday, April 13, 2014

"Who is this?"

Today is Palm Sunday, the day that for Christians marks the beginning of the end, in a manner of speaking. It is the day where we remember Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the unfolding of the last week of his life. The story is found in each of the Gospels. It is in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The four accounts have some points in common and also some points in which they differ.

I have read some things online about the different messages that were preached this morning around the Palm Sunday story. I chose to preach from Matthew's account, and I was drawn into the question-and-answer of verses 10 and 11 as the key point of Matthews story:

"And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”"

Who is this? This is Jesus. That answer, that name, pointed me back to Matthew 1:21, where Joseph, Jesus' father, is visited by an angel, who tells him that his fiancée will have a baby, a baby conceived not by him but through the Holy Spirit. And verse 21 says this:

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Who is this, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey?

This is Jesus…the one sent by God…to save his people…from their sins.

He continues to save today, and those He saves He holds forever.

If you don't know salvation in Christ I invite you to pick up a Bible, or follow this link, and over the course of the next few days to read Matthews account of the last week of Jesus' life.

Don't just read it though, but ask God to help you understand as you read. And my prayer is that by next Sunday, Easter morning, that God gives you the gift of salvation in the finished work of His Son, Jesus. Amen.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Facebook theology, part 2

This is the second of an irregular series, where I reflect on something seen online, usually through a post on Facebook. Yesterday I saw this:

"Jesus doesn't care how many Bible verses you have memorized. He cares how you treat other people."

Two statements, linked together. Of the first you could say that it is both true and false. And also of the second, it is both true and false.

Does Jesus care how many Bible verses I have memorized? Probably not, although I can't be certain of that. I have a number of verses marked in my Bible that I am trying to memorize, and I'll be honest and admit that I haven't been working at them with any diligence lately.

But here is the rub. If I don't take the word of God into my mind and let it dwell there, it won't take up residence in my heart. If I don't continually drink from the depth of God's word I won't be able to live any part of my life in a manner that is pleasing to him. I won't know how to care for other people in ways that please God unless I am standing on the firm foundation of God's word. That foundation is built on my continually dwelling in his word.

Which is where the second statement comes in. God may very well care how I treat other people, but it is not God's desire that I treat people merely in some sort of way that makes me feel good about myself. God wants me to treat people in ways that honor and praise him.

Like my efforts to memorize Bible verses, I fall short here too, but I have a good understanding of what my behavior towards others should look like, and I know that when I err, and I do so often, that God is gracious in granting forgiveness.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul writes these words about how Christians are to treat other people:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Another response to the Facebook post are the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-39:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

In these verses Jesus points us to God's word to nourish us, and then to take that nourishment and live it out in the world. To His eternal glory. Amen.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Brokenness

It has been one month since we arrived in our new home. By "home" I mean the whole deal: the house, the church, and the community. One thing I have learned is that all three intersect right outside our back door.

There are a number of houses to the north and west up the hill from the church, with a fair amount of foot traffic right behind our house from our neighbors as they walk between their homes and locations closer to the center of town. Early on I made it a practice to say "Hi!" to everyone passing through. I may be an introvert but it wouldn't do to have a pastor that avoided or ignored people who are right in front of him.

Once in a while people stop and talk. On some occasions the words exchanged are fairly light. Not so much on other times. I have been surprised by what I have heard in brief conversations. Relationships with our neighbors are developing. There is one young man who has come to the back door several times, looking for me to talk with him.

In the past month I have gradually come to know the members of our congregation. And in talking with the people walking through the property I have begun to know some of the neighbors. One thing I have learned is that there is a lot of brokenness in both places. Today's thoughts on brokenness were sparked when we discovered that someone kicked in a window last night at the church gym, a tangible marker of the physical, spiritual and emotional brokenness our eyes are being opened to see.

A large part of my work today has been getting prepared for worship on Sunday. That's no surprise for one who has been called to preach God's word. I spent a good portion of my day working on my sermon. This Sunday our congregation will also be sharing in the Lord's Supper, which will mark the first time I have presided over the Lord's table, so I spent some time on that too. I feel humbled to be bringing Christ's sacrament to His people.

Today I helped a church member repair the broken window in the gym. On Sunday I will be bringing Christ's people a meal that signifies the healing He has brought in the broken relationship between God and man, a brokenness that He has healed eternally. Matthew 26:26-28 says:

"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

The gym window may get broken again but the brokenness that Christ has healed stays healed forever. It is my prayer that in the various ways I give witness to the healing He has done in me, that I am used by Him to bring His healing to our neighbors in our new home.