Standing on Holy Ground | A Sermon on 1 Kings 8:27-30

Introduction
Today, we begin a new series about the Holy Temple.  But don’t think this is just a series of lectures about some ancient ruins of a long, lost temple.  What the Bible says about the Temple is highly relevant to your life today.  The New Testament teaches that Christians are the “Temple of God”, that each one of us is a “living stone” in God’s spiritual temple.  I want us to understand the full ramifications of what this means for how we are to live every day.  So for the next 4 weeks, we will explore the Biblical concept of Holy Ground.  And we will end on August 25^th a special rededication service for our “Holy Ground” here at Pleasant Grove Methodist Church.

Our Scripture today is 1 Kings 8:27-30.  This passage is part of King Solomon’s prayer when he dedicated the first Temple he built in Jerusalem in 957 BC.  Solomon asks an important question.

1 Kings 8:27-30
²⁷ “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! ²⁸ Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. ²⁹ May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. ³⁰ May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

Will God really live on earth?
In his prayer, King Solomon asks a wise question:  Will God really live on earth?  For thousands of years, human beings across the globe have worshiped in sacred places.  There is archaeological evidence of sacred rituals in caves as far back as 100,000 years.  The oldest evidence of a temple is Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey that dates back to approximately 9600 BC—that’s 11,000 years ago.  Obviously, people have always felt the need to worship God in special places—whether natural or manmade.

Christians believe God is omnipresent – meaning God is everywhere.  If I go to church, God is there.  But God is also with me when I go on my morning walk.  And God is with me when I lay down to sleep.  And God is with me when I go on vacation.  Psalm 139:7 – “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!”  If we believe in an almighty, all-powerful God, we also understand God can be everywhere.  So why go to the trouble to build and worship God in a temple, or a church, or even in special place we deem “Holy Ground”?

People sense a deep need to worship a Higher Power.  Christians call this higher power God.  But we also inherently seem to understand, something troubles and separates us from God.  Isaiah 52:2 reveals, “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.”  Sin separates us from God who is Holy and Sinless.  This was not always so.  Originally, God dwelled in perfect Holy Communion with humanity.

Heaven and Earth and Holy Ground
In the beginning, God made heaven where God and His angels dwell, and God created earth where animals and humans live.  Then God made the Garden of Eden where God and humanity abide together in perfect harmony.  

Unfortunately, Adam and Eve sinned and broke their relationship with God through disobedience.  Their sin separated them from God.  And all creation suffered from this “great fall” that corrupted everything.  Romans 8:20 says, “all creation was subjected to God’s curse.”

It’s not so much that God can’t be around us because we’re filled with so much disgusting sin
(as guilt and shame ridden people often think of it).  God has always loved us unconditionally and desired a relationship with us aven after we sinned.  The problem is:  we cannot abide the holy presence of God.  Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”  God’s holiness is like a beautiful light emanating from a brilliant and holy fire.  Our sin is an impurity that would burn up in the presence of God’s absolute holiness; we could not survive it.  So God’s act of separating from us is actually an act of merciful grace.  

Yet God has never stopped loving us.  And God always wants to be with us.  And God started working from the very first moment we sinned to save and reconcile with us, but it’s a very difficult and expensive to rescue us.  It’s a plan thousands years in the making and cost the death of God’s very own Son—Jesus Christ.  And so, from the very beginning, God has made special places to be in His holy presence.

Holy Ground
In Genesis, we see God is primarily working through individuals and individual families.  Therefore, worship is primarily done by individuals or their families and private altars.  In Genesis 6, God told Noah to build an Ark to save his family and a remnant of the animals from a great flood.  Afterward, Noah built the first altar mentioned in the Bible.  As God painted a rainbow across the sky, Noah worshipped God on holy ground.  

In Genesis 12, God appeared to Abraham and blessed Him at Shechem, promising to make His descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.  So Abram built an alter and worshipped God and they cut a covenant together.

In Genesis 22, we find the disturbing story where God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, the miraculous child of promise on holy Mount Moriah.  Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice up the mountain as Abraham mournfully seeks to obey God in this terrible request.  It is hard to understand, but  this story foreshadows God's plan of salvation for humanity.  Mount Moriah is the same hill as Mount Calvary.  God cries out and tells Abraham not to sacrifice his son.  God provides a ram to take Isaac's place.  2,000 years later, Jesus--the Son of God--carries the wooden cross up Mount Calvary and is crucified upon it to atone for the sins of the world.

In Genesis 28, we find Isaac's son Jacob sleeping on another piece of holy ground in a place he names Bethel, which means “House of God”, because there he dreamed he saw a ladder upon which angels where ascending and descending from heaven to earth.

In Exodus, God broadens His focus from individuals/families to a whole nation—the Israelites.  In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in a burning bush and tells him to take off his sandles because he is standing on holy ground.  God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh in Egypt and let God's people (the Israelites) go free from slavery.  

Then in Exodus 20, Moses climbs up holy Mount Sanai where God gives him the 10 Commandments and the Law for His people.  This is how God's holy people are to live.  God's people became a nation.  They were slaves, but God rescued them from Egypt.  

As the Israelites wander through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land, they dwelled in tents Since His people lived in tents, the Holy, omnipotent God who dwells in the glory of heaven humbled Himself and came down and lived in a tent alongside His people.

The Tabernacle

In Exodus 25, God gives instructions to build a Tabernacle, Israel’s first worship center.  That's how bad God wants to be with us, despite our stubborn, sinful, rebellious nature.  For 440 years, the Israelites worship the Holy and Living God, Yahweh, in the Tabernacle, an elaborate tent complex designed to mimic the Garden of Eden, the intersection of Heaven and Earth.  Here are some of the ways the Tabernacle was designed to mirror the Garden of Eden:

• The Menorah Lampstand in the Tabernacle looks like the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.
• There are pomegranates embroidered on the priestly garments to represent the fruit of the garden.
• There are cherubim guarding the Holy Place in the Tabernacle that houses the Ark of the Covenant (the footstool of God); these represent the cherubim guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden.
• The holy presence of God is with His people in the Tabernacle as He was with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The purpose of the Tabernacle was to make space for holy ground where people could once again dwell in the presence of God.  And all the elaborate rituals of the Old Testament Law where meant to make it possible for sinful humanity to come into the presence of their holy God as much as possible.  

The Israelites worshiped God in the Tabernacle for 440 years until they settled down in Israel.  And finally, after most Israelites were dwelling in houses and not tents and the king of Israel lived in a palace, God finally told King Solomon to build a Temple--a permanent structure, not a tent.  The pattern for the Temple was much the same as the Tabernacle—mimicking God's original plan to dwell with people in the Garden of Eden.

Then and Now
Despite God being beyond physical containment, He chose to make His presence known to the Israelites in the Tabernacle and then the Temple.  These worship centers served as the focal points for prayer, worship, and the experience of God's presence.  The temple was a physical reminder of God's covenant with Israel and His promise to dwell among His people.  The temple was a place to seek God's mercy and forgiveness and healing. 

Of course, God is not confined to a specific building, no matter how sacred and glorious it was.  God is still everywhere.  But the ancient temple in Jerusalem was the communal place where the ancient people of God (Israel) gathered to worship together.

Together
And that's a key word for us to take away today:  together.  God’s people are meant to worship God together.  Of course, we can and should worship God every day in our own personal ways and in our own personal spaces.  However, our worship is always incomplete if we do not join together with other believers as a community.

Conclusion
There is much to unpack as we examine the history and purpose of the Temple.  I'm going to share more over the next few weeks.  I hope you will stay tuned as we examine a number of important ideas and themes connected to the Temple.  Stay tuned!

Godly Wisdom vs Worldly Wisdom | A Sermon on James 3:13-18

Introduction
As we continue through the Epistle of James, written by the biological half-brother of Jesus Christ, we come to the place where James compares two kinds of wisdom.  One kind of wisdom represents wisdom that comes from God in Heaven.  Another kind of wisdom is worldly, unspiritual, and demonic.  Would you like to know the difference between the two types of wisdom?  Listen to James 3:13-18.

James 3:13-18 (NIV)
¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Christian Examples of Wisdom
Remember, James wrote his letter to people who were already Christians.  And in it he basically says, if you are a Christian, you will live an honorable life and do good works with humility.

Can you think of some examples of people who lived an honorable life?  Perhaps you might think of Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to serving the poor and sick, displaying humility, compassion, and selflessness, embodying the qualities of wisdom, mercy, and sincere love for others.  Or maybe you would think of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," who dedicated his career to educating and nurturing children through kindness, empathy, and understanding, promoting peace and genuine care for others in his community and beyond.  Or maybe you might think of Martin Luther King, Jr., who bravely and peacefully fought for civil rights and promoted harmony, righteousness, and compassion. 

Though all these examples are public figures who had fame and notoriety, fame and notoriety was not their goal.  They did what they did with humility and compassion, willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others.  (It is interesting to note that all 3 were all Christian leaders.) 

Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example of a man who lived an honorable life with good works and humility.  He gave up the glory of heaven, humbled himself as a servant, lived a perfect life for the sake of others, and even died for sinners who didn’t deserve His grace and forgiveness, but desperately needed it.  Jesus is the embodiment of goodness and wisdom.

An honorable life, according to James, is one marked by humility, good conduct, and wisdom that is pure, peace-loving, considerate, merciful, impartial, and sincere, resulting in peace and righteousness.  Christians are to live and honorable life and do good works with humility.  Who have you known personally who has lived an honorable life, doing good works with humility?   How did they inspired you to live like them?

Worldly Wisdom
Worldly wisdom, has an appearance of wisdom.  It has the false-promise of success, but it is a lie.  It is demonic and it leads to sin, suffering, and death.   James says that worldly wisdom is full of envy and selfish ambition (see versus 14-15).  Envy is a feeling of frustrated inferiority where you are jealous of others and what they have.  Ambition can be a positive attribute that drives people to achieve goals and succeed.  But when Ambition is coupled with envy and selfishness, it becomes sinful, focused solely on personal gain, often at the expense of others.  Perhaps you can think of some people who embody the selfish ambition of worldly wisdom. 

You might think of Bernie Madoff, the financier orchestrated one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, defrauding thousands of investors out of billions of dollars purely for personal financial gain, with no regard for the devastating impact on his victims.

Or perhaps you think of Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, whose ambition for power and dominance led to World War II and the Holocaust, resulting in immense suffering and loss of life.

James 3:16 says, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”  Sadly, we see a lot of this kind of demonic wisdom in our world leaders today.  We need to pray hard during these troubled times.  

Can’t you see what worldly wisdom leads to?  It leads to conflict and strife, dishonesty and deception, pride and arrogance, short-term gains with long-term consequences, and discontent and unhappiness.  Be very careful of anyone who is full of worldly wisdom.  You can clearly see where it leads.  The Bible tells us.  history has shown us.  Yet people are still manipulated and misled by people with worldly wisdom.  You don’t want any part of the “kingdom” they are trying to build.

Godly Wisdom
In verse 17, James tells us a better way—Godly Wisdom.  This is the wisdom that come from God above—heavenly wisdom, the wisdom Christians should seek.  “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

For wisdom to be pure means it is free from moral corruption, selfish motives, and deceit.  It is characterized by sincerity, integrity, and a focus on what is right and just.  Godly wisdom prioritizes truth, goodness, and the well-being of others, reflecting a heart and mind aligned with God's will and values.

Godly wisdom is peace-loving and promotes harmony, reconciliation, and understanding among people.  Godly wisdom fosters an environment of cooperation and mutual respect, prioritizing the well-being of relationships and the community.

Godly wisdom is considerate, mindful of others' feelings, needs, and perspectives.  It shows compassion, empathy, and respect and seeks to understand and value the experiences of others.  Godly wisdom avoids harshness and insensitivity, instead promoting kindness, patience, and gentleness in all relationships and decisions.

Godly wisdom is submissive, meaning it is willing to listen, be open to reason and yield to others when appropriate.  It has a humble/teachable spirit that values collaboration and respects authority.  Godly wisdom is not stubborn or argumentative but is flexible, cooperative, and ready to consider others' viewpoints and make adjustments for the greater good.

Godly wisdom is full of mercy.  It shows compassion and forgiveness.  It prioritizes grace, reflecting a heart that is generous and ready to help others without judgment or condemnation. 

Godly wisdom has good fruit, meaning it produces positive, tangible outcomes in a person's actions and character.  This includes acts of kindness, generosity, and righteousness that benefit others and contribute to the well-being of the whole community.

Godly wisdom is impartial—fair and just, treating all people equally without favoritism or bias. 

Godly Wisdom is sincere—genuine, honest, and free from pretense or deceit.  It does not manipulate or deceive but is transparent and trustworthy, fostering trust and credibility. 

Which Wisdom Will You Choose?
Think about these two very different kinds of wisdom: earthly wisdom that comes from Hell and leads to death or Godly wisdom that comes from Heaven and lead to eternal life.

Wisdom from above is what truly leads to a life of peace, righteousness, and genuine fulfillment.  James, the brother of Christ, challenges us to embody this wisdom in our daily lives, living with humility, purity, peace, consideration, mercy, good fruit, impartiality, and sincerity.

The ultimate example of godly wisdom is found in Jesus Christ.  He lived an honorable life, full of mercy and truth, and gave Himself up for us so that we might be reconciled to God and to one another. As we seek to follow His example, we are called to come together in unity and love, reflecting His grace in all that we do.

Discerning Truth: Living the Fruits of the Spirit

Introduction
We are nearing the end of our series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—just a few more weeks to go.  Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount our Lord’s foundational teaching in the New Testament.  It outlines the ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven.  If you want to be a Christian, you should understand these principles in Jesus' sermon.

I challenge you to go back over Jesus’ sermon, found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7.  You can find the sermons I’ve preached on it here on this blog over the last 21 or so weeks.  These could be a resource for you as you study Jesus’ core teachings.  

Today's focus is Matthew 7:15-20, discerning what’s true from false in our spiritual journey.

Matthew 7:15
¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

The Warning Against False Prophets
Jesus warned his people to watch out for false prophets.  Jesus' followers were poor.  They were oppressed.  They were hungry.  They were desperate.  They needed a savior.  This made them especially vulnerable to false prophets who would lie and tell people what they wanted to hear in order to use them for their own selfish gain.  Some real life examples we know of false prophets are:

• In 4 BC, Simon of Persia proclaimed himself as Messiah during the time of Herod's death, leading a rebellion against Roman rule; he was killed by Roman forces, and his movement was crushed.
• In 6 AD, Judas of Galilee led a violent resistance against the Roman census taxation, claiming to be the messiah who would deliver the Israel, ultimately leading his followers to a failed revolt and increased Roman repression.
• A false prophet mentioned in the Bible (in Acts 8) was Simon the Magician.  He used magic tricks to convince Samaritans he was full of God’s power for his own personal gain.  Simon’s influence was finally destroyed when the Apostle’s Peter and John brought the true power of God to Samaria and exposed Simon’s magic tricks as false.

One may ask why people would follow a false prophet.  When people feel desperate, they often will cling to anything or anyone who seems to offer hope.  But that’s when you need to be especially careful.  You must understand how vulnerable you are.  And Jesus gives some practical advise about how to discern if someone is a false prophet.

Slides – Matthew 7:16-20
¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Understanding "By Their Fruits"
Jesus says you can tell a tree (or a prophet) by their fruit.  That’s great advice.  It means look at the visible results of a person’s ministry.  But even here we have to be careful.  False prophets also often produce “signs” that may seem look like good fruit.  A magician can do tricks that seem like impossible miracles.  Charismatic leaders can often speak and act in ways that accomplish things that seem to be good.  You may think magic tricks are real or the accomplishment of a charismatic personality are show they are from God.  But that is not necessarily true.  You have to look closely at what kind of fruit they really produce.  

Hitler came to power in Germany during a time when people were desperate for hope.  Germans were in a state of deep economic despair, national humiliation, and the devastating effects of the Great Depression.  Hitler was a charismatic leader who could stir national pride.  He was going to make Germany great again!   And initially, Hitler had success.   Through hate, bigotry, and racism, Hitler rallied Germans to revitalize their country.  But they did so by evil means and, in the process, they committed the most terrible atrocities the world has ever seen.  Approximately 6 million Jews died because of the Holocaust.  Is that good fruit?  Absolutely not.  That’s rotten, poisonous fruit.

I want to warn you.  As you look to the leaders you admire—whether they be political or buisiness or spiritual leaders.  Consider the fruit they produce.  Is it good fruit or bad fruit?   And be careful becuase some will say the ends justify the means.  They may argue, "Yeah I wish they didn't do or say those bad things, but look at what they accomplish."  In other words, the good they accomplish is justified by the bad things the do to accomplish them.  

Jesus is clear about who to tell a false prophet that is a wolf in sheep's clothing who will tear you apart.  You have to look at their fruit.  And the fruit is not the results of their work but the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:22-23 names the good spiritual fruit a true prophet (and an authentic Christian) produces:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Just as we’ve seen bad false prophets (like Hitler, Jim Jones, and David Koresh), we have also seen true prophets lead movements to produce great fruit of the spirit (as defined by Galatians).  The early Methodists, guided by John Wesley's teachings, demonstrated the fruits of the Spirit in various impactful ways that reflected their deep commitment to living out their faith in practical acts of love and service. Their work led to:

• Evangelism:  passionately preaching the gospel in open fields, towns, and cities, reaching out to the marginalized and working-class people, leading to widespread spiritual revivals and the rapid growth of the Methodist movement.
• Social Reforms: Embodying the fruits of love, kindness, and goodness, they took strong stands against the societal ills of their time, including the abolition of slavery, prison reform, and the promotion of education for the poor.
• Visiting the Sick and Prisoners: Demonstrating compassion and faithfulness, early Methodists took seriously the call to visit the sick and those in prison to offer comfort, healing, and encouragement to those in need.
• Small Group Meetings: The early Methodist movement was marked by its innovative structure of small group meetings that met regularly for prayer, study, and mutual accountability. These meetings were essential for spiritual growth and community, fostering the fruits of peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control.

Christians can’t just believe in Jesus as an intellectual thing.  True Christians must live out an inward holiness that transforms our thoughts, words, and actions.  It’s not about moral superiority, but about being filled with the love of God and neighbor, a love that manifests in every aspect of your life.  Christian holiness is not static but dynamic and constantly growing and bearing fruit like a living tree.  It’s characterized by continuous self-examination, prayer, and participation in the means of grace, such as Holy Communion, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers.

Do you bear good fruit?  If a fruit inspector examined your life today, what would he find?  Would he find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? 

Now, we understand the life of a Christian is a journey.  Fruitfulness is not something that happens over night (just like a fruit tree does not bear fruit overnight).  But your life should definitely be heading in the right direction—toward fruitfulness.  God is the one who makes us grow and bear fruit.  But what are you doing to tend the garden in your heart that nurtures fruitfulness?  There are several things you can do to nurture the development of spiritual fruit God wants to grow in your life.

There is worship where you gather with other Christian believers and honor God.  Do you regularly in worship God with other Christians?

There is fellowship.  We may have many different groups we socialize with on a weekly basis at school and work.  But if you are a Christian whose heart's truest desire is to bear fruit for the Kingdom, other Christian friends should be your main social group.  Are you deeply involved with Christian fellowship?

Prayer is the heart of the Christian faith. Are you investing deeply in regular prayer throughout your day?

Bible Study is essential.  How else are you going to know how we are supposed to think and live unless we study God's Word--His official method for speaking to His people?

Are you in a small group where you talk about your prayer life and what you’ve read in your Bible and where people intentional hold you accountable and offer encouragement to live more fully for Jesus?

Are you practicing the means of grace Jesus specifically commanded His followers in practice in the Bible--Baptism and Holy Communion?

• Baptism is the initiation ceremony for Christians in the New Covenant that replaced the circumcision ceremony of the Old Covenant.  Baptism is a means for God to pour out His grace upon those being baptized and those who stand with them to help everyone know and walk with Jesus.  It is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
• Holy Communion is as a means to receive God’s grace where we have our eyes opened as we experience the presence of Christ and receive spiritual nourishment for our faith journey. Communion is a sacramental act of thanksgiving and remembrance, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ. This sacred practice fosters a deeper communion with Christ and with one another, strengthening our bonds with the church and empowering us to live out our Christian discipleship in the world.

Conclusion

As we reflect on Jesus' warning against false prophets and the importance of discerning true from false in our spiritual journeys, let us be vigilant gardeners of our souls. May we not only seek to identify the fruits in others but also nurture the growth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control within ourselves. Through worship, fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and participation in the means of grace like Baptism and Holy Communion, let us cultivate a life that bears good fruit, reflecting the light of Christ in a world often shadowed by deception. Live out the Kingdom ethics Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount, growing closer to Him and each other as we journey together in faith.

Palm Sunday - The Lord is Here to Save You

Introduction
Today is Palm Sunday.  It is the start of Holy Week, when we recall the last week of Jesus’ life on earth before the ressurection on Easter Sunday—next Sunday.  So if you’ve been reading through the book of Matthew for the Lenten challenge—we are in chapter 21.  And chapters 21-28 describe the last week of Jesus life.  So today we are in chapter 21:1-11, which describes the events Christians traditionally call Palm Sunday.  Let’s take a look.

Matthew 21:1-11
As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ² “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
⁵ “Tell the people of Jerusalem,

    ‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
    riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

⁶ The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

⁸ Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God for the Son of David!
    Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Praise God in highest heaven!”

¹⁰ The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.¹¹ And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Explain the Passage
At this point in the story, Jesus is in his 30s.  He has spent three years in public ministry. He has done amazing miracles—healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and healing the deaf.  Jesus has the power to feed thousands, calm storms, walk on water, and even raise the dead to life again.  According to John’s Gospel, just before Palm Sunday, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life after he’d already been buried in a tomb for 4 days.  Can you imagine the buzz about Jesus as he enters Jerusalem.

Jesus tells his Disciples where to find a donkey for him to ride and he has a specific one in mind.  This is the fulfillment of prophecy from the Prophet Zechariah 9:9. They are to go find a donkey and it’s colt (a young donkey that has never been ridden before) and they are to bring it to Jesus.  If anyone asks why they are taking the donkey, they’re supposed to say, “The Lord needs it.”  That’s important.  It may be hard for us to understand, but in Jesus' day everyone knew the king had the authority to commandeer anything he needed.  Jesus is the King of kings.  He has the authority to ask for anything he needs and people will give it.  If "the Lord" needs your donkey, you let him have it.  Does the Lord have authority to take whatever He needs from you today?  What would you do if the Lord said, "I need your car." Or "I need your home or business or family..."?  Christians are fond of saying "It all belongs to the Lord."  But do you recognize the sovereign authority of God to ask anything of you?  Would you be so willing to give?

But why a donkey and why a colt?  When a king comes to attack, he comes on a war horse.  When the king comes on a donkey, it’s for peace. And a colt is a young donkey that has never been ridden. Jesus is making an important statement.  He’s a king. And He’s such a special king, He needs a donkey that no one else has ever ridden, because he is not like any king people have met before.  This King is the long awaited Messiah. 

Lastly, Jesus is saying the Messiah comes to Jerusalem for peace. I don’t know if the people in Israel fully understood what Jesus was saying.  They probably understood the prophetic symbolism; Jesus was fulfilling Scripture. And they understood He was publicly declaring Himself the Messiah—the royal heir to David’s throne. They realized Jesus was coming to the capital city to claim His throne.  And crowds of people flooded the streets to cheer him.  They waved palm branches—the national sign of victory.  They welcomed Jesus as their Messiah—calling Him the Son of David and praising God.  They begged Jesus to save them.  That’s what “Hosanna” means.  It means “Save us!”  They threw down their garments on the ground—a symbol of submission (sort of like saying, “You can ride over our clothes, just don’t ride over us.”)

They understood Jesus was the Messiah, but I don't think they understood His mission.  Donkeys are for peace and many in Israel wanted the Messiah to come for war, to kick out the Romans.  However, Jesus’ mission on earth was peace and reconciliation—for all people, including the Romans.  The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus wept as he drew near to Jerusalem. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Jesus came in peace, but Jesus knew Jerusalem would reject the peace He offered.  He knew that in a few more years (65 AD), Jerusalem would rebel against Rome and the Romans would burn Jerusalem to the ground (in 70 AD) and thousands of people would die horrible deaths and the survivors would be dragged away as slaves.  No wondered Jesus wept. Jerusalem literally means “City of Peace” and it was supposed to be the "City of God", but Jesus knew they wouldn’t accept the peace He wanted to brings because they wouldn't accept Him as God.

Why Does this Matter to You?
Palm Sunday is a fun tradition in the church.  It’s an upbeat, triumphant service. Kids get to wave palm branches and we get to see their smiling faces. 

I hope hearing some of this history is helpful for you, but what does it really mean for you?  Is there in practical purpose for Palm Sunday?  I think the reason the Church celebrates Palm Sunday every year is in the hope that you will finally understand something important.  Jesus came to save you.  He didn’t come to save you from some external enemy that’s oppressing you.  Jesus came to save you from you.

You see, for the people of Jerusalem, it wasn’t the Romans that were the problem.  It was the people of Jerusalem themselves—their sin; their rejection of God.  Their refusal to let God be their sovereign King.  When Jesus comes to save you, He saves your own sin and rejection of God.  
You are the problem. 
The problem is not the Devil. It’s not cancer. 
It’s not your disability or illness that’s the problem.
The problem is not the broken bones that need to mend or the pain you feel.
The real problem is not your financial debts or that the government takes out too much in taxes.
The real problem is not gun violence or racism or political division or Republicans or Democrats.
The real problem is not that those people over there aren’t living the right way.
The problem is not the UMC or the GMC or homosexuality.
Jesus says, the problem is you. You are the problem.
It’s your heart. Can’t you see. It’s full of sin.  You reject God as he absolute Lord of your life.

I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty or to make you feel bad or to condemn you.
John 3:17 says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”  But if you can’t recognize the real problem is in you, how can the Messiah save you?

Holy Communion
Everyone loves Jesus when they think He’s come to conquer their enemies.  But what do you do when you realize you’re the enemy and He needs to conquer you?

In a few days, people in Jerusalem decided they didn’t really want Jesus to be their Messiah. 
So they arrested Him and handed Him over to the Romans to be beaten and crucified.  They traded Jesus for a criminal because they were criminals.

Jesus knew what was coming. But He also knew that darkness can never extinguish the Light of the World.  Easter resurrection was coming.  So He shared the Passover meal with His Disciples—the thanksgiving meal that celebrates God’s deliverance.  He changed the liturgy to show He is the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.  For 2,000 years, Christians have shared this meal to remember Him and to find strength in His saving presence.

We set the Communion table.  We share the Sacred Meal. 
We remember the Solemn words Jesus told His Disciples.
This is my Body given for you.
This is my blood of the New Covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in remembrance of me.

Are You Having An Identity Crisis?

Introduction
In the movie “Finding Nemo”, a clown fish named Marlin goes on a frantic search and rescue mission to save his son Nemo who was captured by a scuba diver and put in a dentist’s fish tank.  Marlin meets a blue reef fish named Dory who saw the address on the diver’s mask and knows where they took Nemo.  Unfortunately, Dory has short term memory loss.  She can’t remember her own name, let alone the address P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney.

The plot is a clever twist of a common theme in  many movies and TV shows.  It’s the
“Who Am I?” plot, in which a lead character has amnesia and can’t remember who they are. 
It’s an identity crisis.

Life is not a movie, but people do have an identity crisis in real life when they don’t know
they belong to God.  God’s Word reminds us our identity is greater than the superficial things of this world.  Our true identity is in Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-12
⁴ You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

⁵ And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. ⁶ As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
    chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
    will never be disgraced.”

⁷ Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.”

⁸ And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble,
    the rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

⁹ But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

¹⁰ “Once you had no identity as a people;
    now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
    now you have received God’s mercy.”

¹¹ Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. ¹² Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Who You Are in Christ?
“You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple…” (verse 5)  The Holy Temple in Jerusalem was the most important place on earth to Jews in New Testament times.  They believed it was where God’s Spirit dwelled on earth.  Some had even come to idolize the Temple.  But Jesus reminded people God’s Spirit is not confined to the Temple.  In fact, people who put their faith in God through Jesus are the real residence of God’s Holy Spirit.  Therefore, Christians together make up the true Holy Temple.  What an honor and privilege!

Further more, verse 5 says “You are his holy priests…”  A priest is someone who intercedes to God on behalf of people on earth.  A priest prays for people and performs religious rituals that help people find healing and wholeness and forgiveness and purification so they can reconnect and be at one with God.  In the Old Testament, only one a certain tribe from the twelve tribes of Israel could be priests.  And even within that tribe, anyone who had a blemish or a defect was disqualified.  Only perfect people could be priests.  So for example, if you were born without a finger or lost eye in accident, you couldn’t serve as a priest.  But when we put our faith in Jesus, it is different.  We are all priest of God Most High—even if we aren’t perfect—because Jesus makes us whole.

Verse 9 says, “You are a chosen people…”  In the Old Testament, only Israelites were consider the chosen people.  Everyone else was a Gentile.  And in Jesus’ day, Jews believed only Jews were God’s chosen people.  But Jesus shows us that anyone who places their faith in Christ is God’s chosen.  So we could paraphrase verse 10 to say, “Once you were nobody; now you are God’s somebody!”  In Christ, everybody is somebody special.  Sinners become saints.  Heathens become priests.  The lame are made whole.  The blind can see and deaf can hear.  Those who were damned become holy.  This is what it means to be Christian. 

Why I Am Methodist
There are many different denominations of Christian churches in our world.  I believe God uses them all to serve a special purpose.  Communities need Baptists and Presbyterians and Pentecostals and Methodists.  

Unfortunately, when a church struggles with an identity crisis, it may begin to look around at what all the churches are doing.  They may think, "Well that church is on fire and really growing.  They must be doing something right.  Maybe we should just copy what they are doing."  Sometimes individuals have them same identity crisis.  They forget who they are or for some reason aren't happy with their life.  They look around at some other people who seem to have their life all worked out.  The temptations, the easy fix, is to just try to copy someone else.

The trouble with both of these quick fix situations--for a church or and individual--is that God created us the way we are for a reason.  God made the Methodist church Methodist for a reason to fulfill a specific need in a community.  God made you as an individual for a specific reason.  If you try to copy someone else, you won't be you and something important God wanted to give the world will be lacking.  The same true in the case of a church.  If my church just tries to copy some other church, we won't be who God wants us to be.

I am a Methodist minister, but I was not always a Methodist.  I grew up going to Baptist churches.  My grandparents and parents were Baptists and so I was a Baptist.  I started attending a Methodist church when I was 18.  My girlfriend (now my wife) and I started attending Wesley United Methodist Church in Macon, GA with her friend Laurie Stewart.

Now, I was skeptical when I started with the Methodist church.  The Baptist churches I attended as a kid taught me to be wary of churches that were overly ceremonial and ritualistic.  These, they warned, were superstitious innovation that were not necessary or biblical.  So I was concerned when the first thing I saw happen in the Methodist worship service was acolytes lighting candles on the altar table.  I eventually learned that this wasn't some magic ritual, it was a symbol to remind us that Christ, the Light of the World, is with us when we worship in church and that His light goes back out into the world as we leave (symbolized by the acolytes carrying the flame from the candles out at the end of the service).  Churchgoers follow the light out back into the world.  This is a tradition that teaches us about our faith and our purpose as followers of Christ.

I learned that the Methodist church is a church that values tradition.  We have many.  We believe we can learn from the traditions of Christians who've gone before us and wrestled with the Bible and with the Christian faith.  These tradition help us be better Christians today and help preserve the hard lessons of those who've gone before us.  But Methodist are not only a church that values traditions.

We also value reason.  Jesus told us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).  So Methodist use the brains God have us to understand Him and how we should live.  Our intellect helps us to mature in the faith Jesus gave us.  And our intelligence keeps our traditions from becoming superstitions.  We understand that Jesus is not literally in the candlelight on our altars.  The candles are symbols for our minds to interpret.  And sometimes our reason also concludes that some tradition have outlived their usefulness and we can change them.  At other times, reason leads us to know a tradition is wrong and needs to be changed.  Methodist value tradition and reason.

Methodist also value experience.  Our relationship with God is not merely intellectual.  It is an personal experience that includes feelings and emptions and an actual relationship with God.  our relationship must be more than intellectual--just as a relationship with another person must be more than intellectual in order to be real.  So we experience God as a relationship and we learn about God and our faith through personal and communal experiences.

Methodist value tradition, reason, and experience.  However, Scripture is the foundation of all our beliefs and practices.  We understand that our experiences and feelings are limited and very subjective. We may have feelings of great love for someone today, but tomorrow we feel quite irritated with them.  And then the day after that, we may feel great love once more.  That is the subjective nature of experiential feelings.  Traditions change, reason may evolve, and experience is subjective, but the Word of God in Holy Scripture is always the same.  The Bible is an anchor that keeps our faith from floating away into the oblivion of our own human subjectivity.  Methodist have always been a people grounded in Scripture and we must always be so if we are to be true to Christ our Lord.

Thankfully, Methodists are not a group who accept Scripture blindly as fundamentalists often do.  No, Methodist read Scripture intelligently--seeking to understand the historical and cultural contexts.  We use our reason to mine the depths of God's Word.  We use traditions to remember the lessons of God's Word.  And we experience God through the lens of what Scripture teaches us is true about God.

Tradition, reason, experience and Scripture are all distinctive parts of the Methodist way of Christian living.  They are some of the reasons I am a Methodist and I think our way of following Christ may be helpful for you too.   But there is another distinctive features of Methodism that is important for our world.  I will share some of these in the coming weeks, but I want to end with one more thing today.

The Methodist church is a sacramental church.  We believe that Jesus gave the Church some sacred ceremonies that He uses to help His people.  For instance, we typically celebrate Holy Communion once a month in a Methodist church because we believe it is a sacred and special ceremony Jesus told His followers to practice.  

We call it Holy Communion while many other denominations prefer the term The Lord's Supper.  We prefer Holy Communion because of the notion of communing with Jesus.  You see, some denomination would prefer to call Holy Communion an ordinance, while we call it a sacrament.  An ordinance is something you are supposed obey (sort of like a city ordinance).  So some denominations practice the Lord's Supper primarily out of obedience to the ordinance Jesus gave that they such celebrate the meal.  Methodists, on the other hand, celebrate Communion as a sacrament.  We believe it is a sacred moment when God is actually doing something.  So yes, we practice Communion out of obedience, but also because God does something.  We base our believe that God does something on several passage from the Bible where God acted through the celebration of Holy Communion.  For instance, the understanding of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) was illuminated when Jesus broke the bread of Holy Communion. 

Methodists believe Holy Communion is sacred, but we also believe it is accessible to anyone.  We practice an "open table" where anyone can receive Holy Communion even if they are not a mmber of the church or even if they are young children.  We believe God is infinitely sacred, but He is not something that must be kept separate from people.  Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross--shedding His blood to purify us--God has torn the veil that separates us from in two.  We can come boldly into his presence and so we do this symbolically by welcoming everyone to His table in Holy Communion.  It is a beautiful sacrament that nourishes the spirit just as food nourishes the body.  God impart grace to help His people through the celebration of Holy Communion, and we want everyone to receive this blessing if they are willing.

I hope you will follow this series as I continue over the next few weeks to discuss the identity of the Methodist people and what I believe we have to offer the world.  Perhaps, you may also discover your identity and maybe even choose to be a Methodist Christian as well.