An Invitation to Life

Text: Isaiah 55

The second half of Isaiah, chapters 40 - 66, is most effusive description of eternal life and the New Heavens and Earth in the entire Bible. It builds in crescendo until the prophecy of the New Creation in Isaiah 65. Isaiah 55 is an invitation to participate in the life promised by the Lord. It is also one of those chapters in Scripture that has a lot of familiar verses.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near." verse 6

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, or My ways your ways," says the Lord. Verse 8

So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to me void." verse 11

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace. The mountains and hills shall break forth with singing before you, and all the trees shall clap their hands." verse 12

As we read this chapter, right away we know that we are reading a prophecy of the future. "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy, and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." In this sin-stained fallen world, everything is reduced to a price. We have even invented the "dismal science," Economics that makes a special study of the relationship of money and the things that we desire.

The Lord knows that our souls are filled with cravings that we can never fill, but we chase the material desires of our hearts with our limited cash hoping for the merest taste of happiness and real joy. He also knows however difficult it is for us to believe it that he is the real answer. "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear and your so shall live."

We must come to the Lord and live in communion with Him.

The Place of Creation

Text: Genesis 9:8 - 17 and Romans 8:18 - 26

If you are a Christian who loves your animals and pets, you have faced the question about their eternal state. Do they go to heaven? Many feel instinctively that they must have a place in eternity, while others proclaim them to be soulless. Today, I want to do a survey of Scripture with that question in mind.

We begin by looking at Genesis 9, especially verses 9 and 10. In these verses the Lord is establishing a covenant with Noah and his family, AND with every living creature that just got out of the Ark. We expect covenants with people, but with creation? That seems surprising, in some ways. The rainbow is given as a sign for us and the creation. The Lord has made promises to them.

Romans 8:18 - 26 lets us see what those promises were and the hope that the creation has. We wait for Christ's return while the creation waits " for the revealing of the sons of God" (verse 19). Paul continues by telling the Romans that the Lord subjected creation to futility so that they could be delivered from "their bondage to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We read in Jonah 4:11 that the Lord remembered his creatures.

And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

In Isaiah 11:6 - 9, we have a vision of eternity that includes animals, man, and God at peace with each other. This prophecy can only be fulfilled when all things are made new in the New Creation.

Lastly, we know that the Lord breathed the breath of life into man; however, Genesis 1:30 shows how free the Lord is with the breath of life. ""And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so."

Increase the Harvest of Your Righteousness

Text: 2 Corinthians 9 and Acts 6

This week we continue our sermon series on worship by continuing our examination of the tithe. Last week we looked at the tithe in Deuteronomy 14. There we saw that there were two tithes. The first was a celebration of the Lord's blessing. The second, and harder, was the one that was given away to the needy. We are going to look at that more difficult tithe.

As we begin I want to point out to you something that I have learned about people in my visitation. People will share with me all kinds of details about their lives. I have listened to tales of canker sores in people's mouths and more than anyone really wants to know about pus and infections. People have proudly displayed the staples in their chests following heart surgery. I know all about broken relationship and troubles with children. However, I can count on one finger the number of times people have opened up about their finances, whether they have need or plenty. In fact, many people are very secretive about their finances. We have a strange relationship to our money.

In order to have a proper tithing ministry, it requires a congregation - members of the Body of Christ, to do something that is very difficult. It requires a vulnerability and openness that is scary. For the needy the frightening part is being open enough to share their need and risk being rejected and left in needy. For the one who has the danger comes in asking, "What do you need?" and coming under obligation to help.In order to have a proper tithing ministry requires a congregation - members of the Body of Christ, to do something that is very difficult. It requires a vulnerability and openness that is scary. For the needy the frightening part is being open enough to share their need and risk being rejected and left in needy. For the one who has the danger comes in asking, "What do you need?" and coming under obligation to help.

In a healthy church though both are humble enough to open up to each other. However, once this begins to happen, the church begins to be transformed. Needs are met. Thanksgiving is multiplied, and there is "an overflowing of thanksgiving to God."In a healthy church though both are humble enough to open up to each other. However, once this begins to happen, the church begins to be transformed. Needs are met. Thanksgiving is multiplied, and there is "an overflowing of thanksgiving to God."

Imagine the transformation in a congregation like ours as we build the community and unity within the Body of Christ, as we submit ourselves to the Gospel of Christ. Imagine the transformation in a congregation like ours as we build the community and unity within the Body of Christ, as we submit ourselves to the Gospel of Christ.

A Worshipful Tithe

A Worshipful Tithe

Text: Deuteronomy 14:22-29

This week we continue in our sermon series with a two part sermon on gifts. Traditionally when preaching on gifts or tithes, the goal of the sermon seems to be to shame the congregation into giving more to meet the needs of the church. I am going to try to avoid that.

In this passage from Deuteronomy we read about the tithe in Israel. If you are not familiar with the passage, it is shocking, because it seems to indicate that there are 2 tithes. One that is celebrated 2 of 3 years, and one that is celebrated every 3rd year. It also looks like that first tithe is eaten by the person who worked for it so "that you may learn the fear of the Lord."

That is not something that you hear often in the church. Bring your tithe to the church and eat and drink before the Lord so that you may learn to fear the Lord. God does not require the saint to surrender this tithe to the church. The only requirement is to remember the Levite who lives in your town. Absolutely shocking.

So what is going on here? The tithe is more that one family could eat, so it becomes a shared meal with friends and family. Last week we saw the people leave from reading the Law in Nehemiah 8 and go home to eat what looks like one of these tithe meals. Eating, drinking, and fellowship have always been central in the worship of the Lord's Chruch.

Next week we will look at the 2nd tithe because it is ultimately the one that led to the establishment of the deacons in the early church.

Amen, Amen

Summary of the Sermon - August 5, 2012

Text: Nehemiah 8:1-12

We continue in our series on worship this week. We have been gradually becoming more specific. We began by answering what it means to give glory to God and calling on the name of the Lord. Then we looked at the importance of our personal relationships and their impact on our worship. Then last week we studied a litany, Psalm 136, as a tool for worship. We have also seen that all of these ideas have their source in the mighty acts of God and what He has done for his people.

This week we are going to look at a particular worship service and see what happens, kind of the nitty-gritty of the theoretical that we have been looking at so far.

The first thing that we need to see is when this worship service happens. It is the first day of the seventh month. The month of the Passover. The Passover, like the Lord's Supper, is a remembrance of what the Lord has done, and it is designed to teach the faith of the fathers to the children. The Passover is two weeks in the future. While not explicit, it seems that the people want to make sure that they celebrate this festival as the Lord commanded. They want to renew their relationship with the Lord now that he has delivered them from captivity for a second time.

Second, this worship was initiated by the people. They told Ezra to bring the "Book of the Law of Moses." They wanted to hear everything that the Lord had commanded Israel. Too often the "professionals" take over every aspect of worship. But here as in all true revivals of true religion, it is a bottom up expansion as the people renew their faith and put aside their foolish idolatry and worldliness.

Third, it is interesting who stood to hear the Word read, "all who could hear with understanding." Men and women gathered together as one to hear the Word of the Lord read from morning until midday. As these people renew their faith, they do not rely on the memory of the stories told to them by parents or grandparents, or even their own reason. They go back to the source of revelation, the Scripture, and conform themselves to that.

Fourth, there was a group of several men who went through the congregation to help the people understand. Scripture is not always easy to understand. It often requires study and effort, and those who have already done the work are to aid the others who seek the knowledge of God.

Fifth, following the reading of the Book of the Law, the people went home to celebrate this holy day. They celebrate because they understood the words that were spoken to them. They also gave to who had nothing prepared. When the church has a proper relationship with its Lord, it naturally works out in human relationships.

Last, there are several instances during the course of the reading that the people respond physically to the reading. Before the reading the people cry, "Amen. Amen" while lifting up their hands to the Lord. They also bow their head with their faces to the ground. They weep when they heard the law read. We have souls, but we also have bodies. What impacts the one, impacts the other.

The Great Thanksgiving

Summary of the Sermon - July 29, 2012

Text: Psalm 136

In our examination of worship over the last several weeks, we have looked at what it means to give glory to God and what it means to call on the name of the Lord. Last week we fleshed out the importance our relationships with each other in our worship. We have discovered that the unifying concept behind those ideas is our response to what the Lord has already done or promised to do.

This week we are going to examine an Old Testament liturgical response of the congregation of Israel in its corporate worship of the Lord. Psalm 136 is in the form of a litany, which is a call by a worship leader and the congregation.

Leader: Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good

People: For his mercy endures forever.

In this psalm the congregation is remembering the mighty acts of God that brought them out of Egypt, the land of slavery, and into Israel, the land of promise.

The people in our congregations are desperate for a real worship experience at a Sunday service. Many leave feeling disappointed and empty. We desire the spine tingling god-experience and attempt to get it many ways. We do this sometimes through symbols of real worship, incense to represent our prayer, or beautiful stain-glass windows, or vaulted ceilings to remind us heaven. However, these will fail to substitute for a true experience of the Lord's grace and mercy.

Johnson Oatman, Jr. Got it right with his hymn, "Count Your Blessings."