March 17, 2024 – Lent 5B

“Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.” John 12:20-33

Spring is a planting season – we start the process of planting the things we will need for food, and planting things we want to enjoy like flowers and shrubs.  Jesus uses this image of planting by saying, in essence, that if a grain of wheat remains on the stalk, it will remain just a grain of wheat.  But if it falls, and dies, and is planted in the earth, it will bear much fruit.  This image foreshadows Jesus’ death, describing it as both necessary, and life giving.  For through his death, by being lifted up on the cross, he will draw all people to himself, and will continue to bring many to faith as his disciples continue to share the story.  Through sharing the story of his death and resurrection, the news will grow and faith will grow as well.

But if our faith does not compel us to respond to that gift, to plant the seed with others, then we are a grain of wheat that just remains a grain of wheat.  You see my friends, for our lives to be as fruitful as they can be, we must die to this life.  Jesus says “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate (die to this life) their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”?  What could this mean, to die to this life? The truth is parts of us are dying all the time. You probably just lost half a million or so cells just listening to this sentence. We all lose about 100,000 cells per second. But just a many cells are being reproduced at the same time. This reality, constant dying and experiencing new life is true in the spiritual and emotional life as well. Spiritually speaking, “we must die and be raised to new life every day.”  Our failure to let go and let things die is a primary spiritual disease, for new life can’t come without some death. The failure to forgive leads to death of relationship while anger and bitterness ravage the spirit like a cancer.  Holding on to regrets strangles hope before it can lift us to new life. Trying to control events and other people leads to frustration, excessive stress, and exhaustion.  Forgiveness and letting go of control are spiritual exercises in the art of dying so that new life may abound.

My friends our lives are filled with difficult life and death decisions – whether these decisions are ones we face individually, or with our families, or even our friends. None of us are promised anything in this life regarding life, property, or the pursuit of happiness – no matter what each political party tries to sell you. But Jesus promises us eternal life. And what happens in between can be heart wrenching. And, Christ is not calling us to go it alone – he continues to come to us – each time we gather (wherever two or three are gathered) as a community – and whenever we go to Jesus in prayer. 

As we gather at the altar, we will take bread, bread that was made from so many grains of wheat. We will eat that bread just like Jesus did in the Upper Room with his disciples. As we consume that bread, we take Christ into us, we receive the forgiveness of sins, and also the promise of life and salvation. But we also remember that each time we die to this life – in ministering to others and considering the needs of others before our own – in doing that we have NEW LIFE.  And when we die FROM this life, we too will have new life, for eternity.

Pastor Dave

March 18, 2024 – Grace

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:18-25

“If you fail to take seriously what the Bible says about who we are and about the nature of the world we live in, you will live with unrealistic expectations, you’ll be naive when it comes to temptation, and you’ll find yourself regularly surprised and disappointed. Let’s examine what the Bible says about us and our world in this period of time between the “already” and the “not yet”. (“New Morning Mercies”, March 18; Paul David Tripp)

Paul uses three phrases to capture the brokenness of our world: “subjected to futility” (v. 20), “bondage to decay” (v. 21), and “in the pains of childbirth” (v. 22). You and I live in a fallen world. For all of the plans we may try to make in this life, odds are things just don’t work right no matter how hard you try. There will always be some kind of frustration as we live in a world that is not just operating as we would hope.

Something is always dying: our friends, our relationships, our dreams, our flowers and gardens. And along with the death that is all around us, there comes the suffering we try so hard to avoid. Under the weight of all this brokenness, Paul says that this world is “groaning together” (v. 22).

It is G-d’s grace alone that has the power to protect you from the evil outside you and to deliver you from the evil inside you. God’s grace will always be greater than you could ever have imagined it would be.

Pastor Dave

March 15, 2024 – Where Were You?

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed?’” (Job 38:1–11)

The interaction between Job and G-d has fascinated many for thousands of years. We want to see Job as a sympathetic person but the longer he and his friends argue and debate, the more frustrated we become with his complaining. But perhaps we are taking his situation in the wrong direction. Perhaps we need to see ourselves in Job and not over and against Job. Perhaps we need to be humbled by how little we know and how few things we are able to do. Perhaps we need to embrace the utterly laughable irrationality of ever thinking that we might be smarter than G-d. Do we dare shout at G-d “Where are you G-d?”

When we remember Job, we must remember three lessons:

1. Our friends will not always be helpful, no matter the good of their intentions. G-d however will never fail us.
2. Even when we suffer, we must always give thanks to G-d.
3. G-d is always with us, even when storms rage around us. Or as Paul reminds us in Romans 5: rejoice in your sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Pastor Dave

March 16, 2024 – You Get What You Need

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God[m] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:31-34

“It really is one of the sloppiest words used in human culture. If need means “essential for life,” then the vast majority of the things we say that we need we don’t actually need. You know this if you have children or are around children. Let’s say you’re a parent and you have taken your child to the mall (which is your first mistake). As you’re walking through the mall, your child sees the sneaker store and immediately makes a left-hand turn. Now, with nose pressed against the window of the store, he says, “Mom, I neeeeeeeed those sneakers.” You look down at his feet, which are encased in perfectly good shoes, and you say: “No, I’m not getting you those sneakers. You already have perfectly good shoes.” Now, when you say this, your child does not think: “What a wise mother I have been blessed with. She has seen through my distorted sense of need, has recognized selfish desire, and has lovingly rescued me from me.” No, your child lashes out against you: “You always say ‘no’ to me. I don’t know why I have to have the one mom who hates sneakers.” Then your child refuses to relate to you for the rest of the time that you are in the mall.” (“New Morning Mercies”, March; Paul David Tripp)

The Lord knows all and discerns our needs verses our wants. There is no fooling G-d when it comes to coveting some things and seeing others as essential. And we hear just this in Matthew 6. Jesus reminds us that we have a G-d who has a clear understanding of our true needs. It is so easy in this society to get needs and wants confused, and when we don’t get something we “think” we need, we are tempted to question the love of our heavenly Father. The comfort is that, by grace, we have been made to be the children of the wisest, most loving Father that the universe has ever known. G-d is never confused. G-d knows our every need because G-d created us and all things. We can rest in the grace that has made us G-d’s children, knowing that our place in his family guarantees that we will have what we need.

Pastor Dave