Is. 53 is reality check of faith in Jesus Christ. Isaiah is like the realist father laying out all the details of what car ownership means/laying out the fullness of accepting Jesus Christ, the surprising Savior. Isaiah 53 presents challenges for those who are considering Christ. The prophet Isaiah is saying to the people: A messiah/Christ (hero!) is coming to redeem you ~ let me tell you about him because he is surprising ~ He is misunderstood, He will suffer, He will not defend himself, He will be silent, He will die. Is that the description of a hero? YES, but a hero of a different kind.
Young people at some point start dreaming of owning their own car, the freedom, the mobility, how a car would be a status symbol, and open up a new world. When at last the long awaited day comes, what else is thrust upon the new car owner? ~ bills, upkeep, expensive insurance ~ REALITY. Full responsibility that comes with owning a car is part of the price of the freedom that car ownership brings. If you don’t have a full understanding of what owning a car means, the car will become your enemy ~ it will break down, you will be nothing but frustrated and irresponsible…
Is. 53 is reality check of faith in Jesus Christ. Isaiah is like the realist father laying out all the details of what car ownership means/laying out the fullness of accepting Jesus Christ, the surprising Savior. Isaiah 53 presents challenges for those who are considering Christ. The prophet Isaiah is saying to the people: A messiah/Christ (hero!) is coming to redeem you ~ let me tell you about him because he is surprising ~ He is misunderstood, He will suffer, He will not defend himself, He will be silent, He will die. Is that the description of a hero? YES, but a hero of a different kind.
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Robert Lewis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, and many more works, was in poor health during much of his childhood and youth. One night his nurse found him with his nose pressed against the frosty pane of his bedroom window. "Child, come away from there. You'll catch your death of cold," she fussed. But Robert wouldn't budge. He sat, mesmerized, as he watched an old lamplighter slowly working his way through the black night, lighting each street lamp along his route. Pointing, Robert exclaimed, "See; look there; there's a man poking holes in the darkness."
Our calling as Christians is to be Lamplighters, poking holes in the darkness. There is an amazingly beautiful beach in Fort Bragg, CA, near San Diego. The beach is a story of transformation. Decades ago the townspeople used the beach as a dump. All the refuse was tossed down the cliff to the beach below. It became a terrible eyesore. Long after they quit using it as a dump, the beach was a huge mess. Nobody did a thing. There it sat. Slowly the beach changed. Over the decades, waves washed away the garbage. All that was left were bottles, thousands of colored bottles. Today the Fort Bragg beach is known as Glass Beach.
The miracle of God: He takes the "garbage" and turns it into a beautiful creation. He gives us new life. Wave after wave of blessings. Wake up and accept the promise of God to redeem you, change you, with no cost. God does not give up on you. He promises a new lease on life, turning the garbage of your life into a beautiful glass beach. Draw a line ~ with conviction in your heart declare to the world [and to yourself],
“I am a Christian, Jesus Christ was sent to the world for me a sinner, I am saved by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, I am alive because he has redeemed me. I am a Christian and I make a commitment to live by his promises, live by his power, amazed the Spirit of God is dwelling in me. I am a Christian, a follower of Christ, committed to growing in faith, learning constantly, living as a forgiven imperfect soul. I am a Christian, putting Jesus Christ on the throne of my heart, the center of my thoughts, the motivation for living, the strength in my bones. I am a Christian that is excited about sharing with others the good news of Jesus Christ that all can turn to him and be transformed by his power. I am a Christian.” It’s time to draw a line. Over the years people have asked me if there are any good books that would help them grow in faith, or something they could study to help in their Christian walk. Guess what? Faith is a verb. Faith is a living dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, with an emphasis on the living. Studying is great. Inspiration by a host of great writers is a blessing. But the only way to grow in your faith is to live your faith. We are saved by grace which is evidenced by a changed life. Any of you ever let your mouth get you in trouble? Perhaps you can relate to Ann Landers: “The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet.” Everyday, we speak 1000’s of words. Some are carefully chosen; others are impulsive. We get in trouble when too many of our words come out of our mouth without thought about how they will affect others. The solution for many is to practice biting your tongue, or maybe you are good at talking your way out of your unkind words, like this person… “A man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, “Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that’s how we sell them!” “You mean,” she persisted, “after all the years I’ve shopped here, you won’t sell me half-ahead of lettuce?” “Look,” he said, “If you like I’ll ask the manager.” She said that would be good, so the young man marched to the front of the store. “You won’t believe this, but there’s a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce.” He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, not realizing she’d followed him. Without missing a beat he continued, “And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half.” The Story is told of President Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. One of the ministers said, “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s replied, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.” This message is about faith ~ doing the will of God, aligning ourselves with God. The little phrase we sometimes add to prayers is larger than life: “not my will, but your will be done.” Lincoln reminded those ministers that religion is not a tool by which we get God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to being and doing what God wants. I found a great outline to help organize this message ~ three kinds of faith: dead faith, demonic faith, dynamic faith ~ Warren Wiersbe, the man of the outline said: "No man can come to Christ by faith and remain the same, anymore than he can come into contact with a 220-volt wire and remain the same." Faith in Jesus Christ will change you! The message is simple: be fair to all people. Don’t discriminate. Treat others with respect and dignity. Years ago there was a well known and much loved essay by Robert Fulgham, “All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten.” At my graduation from N.V. ‘79 the superintendent, Leo Groves, read it The essay included advice such as Share everything, Play fair, Don't hit people, Take a nap every afternoon, and When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.…. James is like that. All people are loved and precious in God’s sight. The message is simple: James 2:1 READ.
James is the brother of Jesus. I imagine James heard his brother talk about the importance of loving your neighbor; he saw with his own eyes Jesus put the walk to his talk when he died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. James may have heard Jesus tell the parable of the Good Samaritan and what it means to love your neighbor. Jesus gave himself without expecting anything in return. I’m always learning….this week I was able to spend time with Becky R., counselor at N.V. We talked about the community we both love… Becky gave me a chart, “A Measure of How Families are Doing.” nine categories… and symptoms in three levels of how the family is coping: “At Risk, Safe, and Thriving.” The idea is to help families move up the scale… for example, under the category of Family Relations/social networks and At Risk is... Safe is… Thriving is… This is what I learned: For several years I have thought in terms of being a safe place…. That’s important, but there is life beyond safe. Safe is good. Thriving is better…. Let’s pray for the people we meet through the church, in your life, to go beyond finding a safe place….the guys that come to the Men’s breakfast, the women who show up at “She Loves to Color”, those who gather on Sunday, Potluck dinner, S.S. classes…. Impact others for Christ with the goal of thriving…I like this chart, it’s helpful, but they left off the most important category ~ Spiritual Health. Faith. What’s a family/person look like that is At Risk, Safe, and Thriving in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Safe is a good starting point, but to thrive is the goal… James is not only a Survival Manual, it is a Thriving Manual. The internet: good or bad for you? Depends on how you use it… Chocolate: good or bad for you? Depends on how you use it. Any tension, any trial, any stress, any transition can result in good or bad depending on how you respond. One person said it this way: “God sends the trial and Satan turns it into a temptation.” Here is the question: When adversity comes, will you allow it to drag you down or will you let the spirit of God redeem you making you into a stronger person. The way of the world/Satan is the easy way, “the devil made me do it” “everyone else is doing it”, “what does it hurt.” “it’s so much fun.” The way of God takes faith because you cannot always see what you will be. The way of God is a long term commitment with a payoff somewhere down the road. This message is for those who are serious about the desire to resist temptation and instead walk in the way of God; those are the choices. The world does not care about overcoming temptations, they consider Christianity to be restrictive and prudish. I wear that mantle proudly, although I focus not on the negative, but rather the joy, the freedom of knowing Christ, walking towards Him, seeking to grow and mature in faith. This message is for you who feel like giving up who have tried and tried to keep your head above water. Every time you turn around you fall, you are beat up emotionally, physically, relationally....This message/James is about endurance. The long haul… finding strength in God almighty… Not only surviving, but surviving well. A story that illustrates an important truth in James 1:12: Behind the city of Colorado Springs, at the back of the U.S. Air Force Academy stands a mountain called Eagle Peak which is popular among the Boy scouts and local hikers. From it’s summit you can see into the depths of the Rocky Mountains on one side or overlook the vast expanse of the Great Plains on the other. Each summer the trail attracts experienced hikers and first time visitors. The inexperienced hiker is told that the hike will take all day to go up and back. He is told to start early and to set a strong, steady pace for the journey will be difficult and rigorous. The new hiker who follows this advice is easily disappointed or confused upon reaching the beginning of the trail, because he can see with his own eyes from the parking lot that the hike to the summit and back would take far less than half a day with little difficulty at even the most leisurely pace. Many people change plans. He meanders up the trail wandering frequently from the path, taking numerous side-trips and detours, after all, time is now not important. He stops to play and to snack on some of the supplies he had brought since he obviously won’t need so much for such a short trip. This he does until about half way through the day when he finally climbs to the summit only to discover that it was his eyes which had deceived him and not the words of those who had gone before. For he now stands on a false summit which had blocked his view of the higher summit far above. Realizing his lack of foresight, this hiker reevaluates his time and decides that if he pushes himself hard enough he can still make it to the summit and back before it gets too dark. And so he sets off at a frantic pace; stumbling, crashing through the brush, receiving bruises, scrapes and scratches as the sun moves steadily toward the horizon. Until at last he reaches his mark and looks up at still another summit. You see, Eagle Peak has two false summits, both of which must be traveled over before reaching the ultimate goal. Our inexperienced hiker now sadly begins his trek back down the mountain knowing he fell short of the real goal. Wiser, he will try again another day, for there are many beautiful days in Colorado Springs. James is a basic survival manual of the Christian faith. These are basic principles to keep you alive. A few of the things we talked about last week:
Years ago a new family moved into Nooksack. For some reason, after a few months of knowing him, he got on the topic of hell. Every time he saw me he’d want to talk about hell. After a while I ran out of things to say! The man was persistent; I got to the place where if I saw him in the store and could avoid him, I did. I was tired of hell! Most people are far more practical in what they want to talk to me about ~ few people want to talk about nuances of theology. Most people who call me for advice or informal counseling are desperate to keep their head above water. They are just looking to survive, a broken relationship, overwhelming depression, loneliness, falling one more time into the pattern of addiction, feelings of hopelessness. I.e. they want to talk about their life as a living hell! This is the book of James: A Survival Manual. James is like the Boy scout Handbook of the Bible ~ when lost in the wilderness, you don’t need a scientific explanation of heat and oxygen, you just need to know how to start a fire. You just need to know some basic knots. Getting out of the cold. How to survive. This is James: A Survival manual. How to survive when you are alone, feeling lost, confused… James is not only HOW to survive the wilderness, but how to survive it well. I appreciate a quote from Catherine Booth that makes an awesome summary of James: “The Waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over.” The message of James is going from barely surviving to thriving. Luke 2:40-52 ~ Longing for that which you already have (Story of Jesus in the Temple) ~ Carl Crouse12/29/2015 At my house, there are several places I set down my keys at the end of the day. How many times a week do I want to get in my truck and have to go back and forth looking in all the likely places for my keys. Not long ago I spent five minutes wearing a path in the house searching ~ at last I brushed up against the corner of the hallway, heard a familiar tinkle of the key sound, and found them/// on my belt loop! “You long for what you already have…” I watch people searching for peace, answers, satisfaction, desiring rest…. You already have what you need! You are discontent, wanting more, wear a path searching for that elusive something to make your life complete, and not realizing that what you are longing for is already within your grasp. Today’s scripture is a story with a purpose. The only story in the gospels from Jesus’ boyhood, Jesus is showing us how to enlarge our view of God in our lives, to grasp God who is waiting for us to see…to be at home with God. Discontentedness is a curse of our age. Unrest. Hurriedness. Incompleteness. It turns out that what we long for is within our grasp. We need God. An awareness of Christ takes time, listening, asking questions, patience… and the irony, we long for what we already have…God is waiting… Luke 2:36-40 ~ From the Cradle to the Cross to the Crown: The Story of Anna ~ Carl Crouse12/22/2015 Anna the prophet has the final word in the nativity stories in the book of Luke to underscore the importance of the world changing birth of Jesus Christ. What burns within Anna is the need to tell others about the life transforming salvation offered through Jesus Christ. Simeon, in last week’s scripture, knew Jesus was all about Salvation, but he held Jesus in his arms and responded by saying my life is complete, I can now die in peace (Luke 2:29). Mary, the mother of Jesus, famously responded to her newborn child by “pondering in her heart” what it all means (Luke 2:19). She knew something amazing had taken place, but she is not a prophet and is not able to put it all together. Anna response is different, READ Luke 2:38. “spoke about the child…” I am reminded when Esther, our oldest was born. Sally’s mother had come from California. The truth is that Sally and I are private people. I may stand in a public setting every week but there is much you do not know about our family life because we are both introverts. A few days after Esther was born we went to Bellis Fair with her very proud grandmother. I will never forget strolling through the mall, and Lucia is so excited about Esther, she starts telling every stranger we meet, “This is my grandchild… this is my new grandchild…” and she tries to strike up conversations with people we’d never met…. The cross of Christ is central to the Christian faith. It is both a symbol of shame and a symbol of victory ~ a symbol of shame because it represents death and punishment. Nobody brags that the one they love is in jail and sentenced to die. One N.T. writer called it “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles” meaning it gets in the way and it makes no sense. Yet we are invited to embrace the cross on the pathway to victory for it is on the cross Jesus Christ willingly hung. Jesus died on the cross because of his great love for us and it is on the cross that he took our place paying the price of sin. Today in this Christmas season we celebrate the cross of Jesus Christ. A wise man, a forward looking prophet, sees beyond the stable as he holds the baby Jesus in his arms and he prepares the mother of Jesus for what is to come. Beyond the Stable…the story of Simeon. The traditional nativity scene is rather fascinating. It is not a single event ~ but it is several events compiled into one scene. Like a collage of photographs in one frame… [set up the nativity scene briefly describing each character and where it comes from… Sometimes even a drummer boy… I looked up tradition of the drummer boy and it comes from a 1955 song recorded by the Von Trap family of “Sound of Music” fame…] The nativity ~ a collage of pictures in one frame… today and the next two weeks we’ll spotlight two important missing figures from this collage: Simeon and Anna. Simeon and Anna are prophets of God given insight into the purpose of God sending Jesus Christ. Next week’s message, “From the Cradle to the Cross” ~ Simeon pronounces his life is now complete as he holds the baby Jesus, but first he points to the cross, the pain, the hurt… May Simeon be a reminder that Jesus came for the purpose of salvation, he came for the purpose of bringing hope in a dark world. Simeon points beyond the stable. The story of two sisters, Martha and Mary, is simple. There is more to the story than the importance of housekeeping. Although there are a number of great memes/posters: “Instead of cleaning, I just watch an episode of ‘hoarders’ and I realize how fantastic my house really looks.” OR, “I’m starting a group meeting at my house for people with OCD. Not because I have it, but surely one of them will be bothered enough to clean it.” OR, “A clean house is a sign of a broken computer.” This is not about housecleaning! It’s about priorities. It’s about choices. It’s about the huge need to LISTEN. As Jesus travels, the sisters open their home: READ Luke 10:38. I included Luke 10:5-7 because I think Jesus entering the home of Martha and Mary is an example of the principle expressed to the disciples about entering homes.
Ah, young love. A true story with a made up name: Brenda had a guy friend in middle school. They decided to sorta kinda date even though it didn’t seem they belonged together. Brenda figured that out before the guy. After weeks of sorta dating, she told him it was over. He was crushed. He tried to change her mind. She remained firm. A few days later the guy called Brenda with one more plea to change her mind. He ended the conversation with these words: “There is a Brenda shaped hole in my heart.” What is the shape of love? In this scripture we are given a godly shape of love. Love looks like the Good Samaritan who bandages the wounds of the helpless. This story told by Jesus is perhaps the best known story of the Bible. Many people don’t even know what a Samaritan is, but the phrase, “The Good Samaritan” has become iconic. Hospitals, nursing homes, churches take on the name Good Samaritan, indicating the desire to bind up wounds, care for the weak, nurse the sick. I love the encouragement to love others, to give… There’s a meaningful wrinkle to this story, however, most people miss. The lesser application of helping others, is awesome. But there is something more important. When our son was about 5 years old I resigned as Pastor of the Nooksack Church. Sally and I felt bad because every time we drove near the church Forest would say, “I miss our church.” For months we heard the same thing. It was understandable, the wonderful people, a church family, a place to belong. After about 5-6 months we finally asked him what he missed. Suddenly we didn’t feel so bad. He immediately answered, “Riding the plastic truck down the ramp into the basement.” Priorities. Perspective.
This scripture is about what’s most important. There are many choices in life, if you gain a healthy perspective on priorities then you are well on the road to simplifying your world. Eight years ago our church went through an evaluation process in which we talked about what was most important. The guiding principle that emerged which shape us to this day is, “We were at our best when we are involved in ministry.” For example, Dena was not even here at the time, but when she wanted to spearhead a Turkey Dinner, that was an expression of the guiding principle. It also fits the mission we outlined: Rooted in the Word, Focused on the Cross, Missioned to the World. I hope everyone has a good time at the turkey dinner next Saturday, but the greater purpose is to hang out with folks from the community, share the love of Christ in a tangible way. What are your priorities? Daniel receives this final vision spanning chapters 10 - 12. A few years earlier, Daniel, an old man in his 80s, was tossed into the Lion’s Den. Incredibly, the King, the one who was tricked into making Daniel into Lion food, prayed to Daniels God believing he had the power to rescue Daniel. The King hurries to the den and calls to see if Daniel made it through the night. Daniel answers, READ Dan. 6:22a. The Lion’s Den served as affirmation of God’s protection when the world is overwhelming. This final word of Daniel 12 puts into word form the same message as the Lion’s Den: the Lord will protect, the Lord will bring us through the storms. Daniel’s world is overwhelming. He is living in a foreign land, enslaved and removed from his homeland as a teenager, his entire life remaining faithful to God in the courts of the most powerful kings on earth. Daniel has discovered life is not a fairy tale. The new super-power has allowed Jews to go back to Israel, but Daniel never returns. Now, at this moment in time, Daniel is hearing rumors the homeland is desolate, the walls are destroyed, the people who returned are discouraged. Life is supposed to be poetry. More than one couple has looked forward to retirement years, traveling, togetherness, good health, and death/sickness cuts the dreams short. Children make hard to understand decisions and you thought your days of worry were behind you. We were supposed to have an election and get the right political leaders, the right judges appointed, and the downward spiral continues. |
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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