March 29, 2020 Youth Sunday March 29, 2020 Ezekiel 37.1-10 *John 11.1-11 “Spiritual Growth: Sleeping” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

March 29, 2020 Ezekiel 37.1-10  *John 11.1-11 “Spiritual Growth: Sleeping” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

We are celebrating Youth this Sunday and I and trust you are doing as well as can be in this season of multiple interruptions.

I see in my mind’s eye the young people that have been to church or Sunday school not so long ago, Abrianna, Adeline, Adelynn, Aidrick, Aiden, Alania, Althea, Alyssa, Analisa, Andy, Anelise, Aubrie, Austin, Brandon D.,  Brandon H., Charlie, Dana, Drew, Dylan, Emilie, Grace, Hailey, Harry, Heather, Issac, Jackson, JD, Joseph, Kaleb, Katelyn, Kierralyn, Laurel, Logan, Lucas, Lucy, Luke, Mackenzie, Madeline, MaryGrace, Max, Micah, Michael, Nolan, Peyton, Ryan, Sam, Skyler, Sophia, Tatum, Taylor, Timothy, Tyler, Waverly, and Wesley.

If I have left out your name, let me know and you will get first dibs on homemade ice cream we’re going to make after church when we get back together. I am going to put everyone’s names on a welcome home banner  near the ice cream maker and we will add your name if I you do not see it today.

Our Old Testament lesson is from the prophet Ezekiel chapter 37. I will be reading verses 1, 4, and 10.

37The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out

by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  ⁴Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  ¹⁰I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

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The gospel lesson is taken from Matthew chapter 11. Hear the good news in verses 1 – 7.

11Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. ²When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ⁴Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. ⁶And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” ⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ==

Our young people have the hand of God on them, just like Ezekiel did when he said ‘The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me to a valley and that valley was full of dry bones.’

While we are working to remember to stay six feet away from one another, wash our hands and not get too close for fear of infecting one another, we can best believe that God has a hand on each one of us, guiding us from one place to another.

I once had a beautiful dream that God’s hand was very large like the size of a house. God was gently lowering a hand and someone was eagerly and clumsily climbing into the safety of that very big hand. I would love it if someone would draw a picture of God’s hand and a person climbing safely in.

There are young people who are in God’s hand, who walk with God, who hold God’s hand while looking out at this world. Sometime they may see what Ezekiel saw: a valley, a valley of dry bones, a valley of that which used-to-be alive, a valley, down, low, dark, deep, and dusty.

At one time, people who had passed through the valley of the shadow of death were said to be “sleeping.” We asked that they would “rest in peace.” Jesus spoke of the deceased as asleep since there would come a day that they would rise again, wake up, and live life as it was intended to be lived. Life is God’s plan. Life is to be expected. If we ask God to help us live our lives, God will do what we cannot possibly do alone.

A very intelligent and talented group of scientists studied the human body and decided “We can make a body like this.” One reached down on the ground and scooped up a handful of dirt, and God said, “No, no. If you think you can do this on your own, get your own dirt.”  We can’t make anything on our own. We always need God’s help.

We live in a world where we must choose to make good choices. Having a choice means that we live in a broken world where things get broken for the young as well as the old. Hearts get broken. Feelings get hurt. Stuff gets lost. Dreams burst into bubbles. But God….God helps us to heal and help wherever we can.

Jesus tells us that the devil is a thief who breaks into our lives in order to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but Jesus promises, I have come that my sheep may have a better life than they ever dreamed of.

A member asked me this week, “Pastor, do you think our war with the coronavirus is a wakeup call from God? Are we being punished?”

I don’t know everything. Only God knows everything, but God does not always tell us everything. We couldn’t handle it. When we listen to God’s word, we seek God with all our heart, serve God faithfully, and obey God quickly. But we are not perfect. So we need God to help us.

I don’t know everything, but I do know that whenever trouble and frustrations come our way, they bring rich opportunities for us to learn to make good choices, to spend time with the God who loves us deeply, to receive the peace of God and the joy of the Lord which make us strong enough to make it through anything.

When we do wrong, like a good parent, God has a million ways to teach us a lesson. We can speculate about what God is up to when things go wrong for ourselves or someone else, but in the end, God is the judge and the jury!

What do you expect from the God we serve? That is the question Jesus asked the crowd in verse 7. The crowd heard about the good things Jesus was doing - helping people to see clearly, hear better, walk straight, get well, wake up, and bring good news on a sad day. Jesus asked them what did you expect from God, something weak and flimsy, like a reed blowing in the wind, or something that does not matter, something for you and no one else?

When God says something, God means it!! God does not waste even one breath. We need every WORD that God breathes. When we hold our breath, we cannot hold it for long because we need every breath to live. God gives us every breath so we can live and do all the good that we can do.

When Ezekiel saw the dry bones in the valley, he watched while God breathed into them and they woke up, they came alive. That is what God wants us to do, wake up and breathe in God’s word and presence and with every breath to be alive in God so we can love God and each other with all our heart, so we can help each other see love clearly, (like a picture of someone climbing into God’s big hand of protection) so we can hear the truth better, walk in the straight and narrow paths that lead to life, to help each other get well, to wake up and breathe and speak kind words of good news every day, especially on a day like today. Let us pray.

Lord, bless our young people as you have blessed their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, neighbors and friends. We thank you for how you have provided energy and food and plenty of play time, time to read, and time to pray. We thank you for lots of patience and kindness on the good days and the sad days.

Bless those who need you most today – those who don’t feel well, those who are afraid, those who need someone to talk to, those who are ready to go back to school. Bless our leaders, preachers, teachers, and missionaries everywhere. We pray as Jesus taught us - Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

May the grace of God and the sweet, sweet communion of the Holy Spirit, rest rule and abide with always and give you peace.

March 22, 2020 “Spiritual Growth: Don’t Look, Don’t See” Pastor Hines

March 22, 2020  I Samuel 16.1-7 * John 9.1-14  “Spiritual Growth: Don’t Look, Don’t See” Pastor Hines

Since 911, every American citizen has been put on the alert for terrorists. We are told, “If you see something, say something.”  At Bethel we have a different twist on that saying.  We say, “If you see something, don’t say something. Rather speak to a Team and the Team will prepare a sensitive and thoughtful response rather than a typical cultural response wherein others become unnecessarily offended. The Team is officially charged with Speaking the Truth in Love.

I am convinced that sometimes we as Christians are very afraid to speak up perhaps because our first thoughts are not so kosher and we blurt them out of our control and once they are out, we cannot put them back in.

It is true that one of the top fears in life is public speaking. None of us wants to make a fool of ourselves. None of us wants to be rejected for sharing our perspectives. As we spend time with God and God’s people, the Spirit can give us a holy boldness to say whatever we need to say for God’s sake, for goodness sake, for the sake of those who urgently need to hear words of encouragement, affirmation, or warning.

Our words filter through our personalities and our culture. Prayer increases the chance that our words will resonate with holiness to refresh, heal, and transform lives.

The same thing is true for what we see. In our Old Testament lesson, the prophet Samuel goes in search of the perfect king, though God warned them that no earthly king could be as kind and fair a ruler as God can be. God sent Samuel to find a king to replace the evil Saul. God would reveal the right choice in due time.

Samuel went to Bethlehem and looked at the seven sons of a man whose name was Jesse. Among the seven men, Samuel picked out the one who looked most like a king. He had that royal look, handsome, tall, confident, and smart. But, God whispered in Samuel’s ear with a still small voice. ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’

“Don’t look on his appearance.” That is not easy to do, but if we don’t look on the appearance, the outside, the superficial…we see much deeper than what appears on the surface.

In this morning’s New Testament lesson, Jesus covered a blind man’s eyes with mud. You cannot see through mud. “Blindness” keeps us from seeing the things that are in front of us. Not being able to see forces us to look deeply within ourselves, to think carefully, to reflect honestly.

The blind man allowed Jesus to cover his eyes with dirt that Jesus spit in and made mud. It reminds me of a blood transfusion, Jesus shared a part of himself in order to bring healing. The mud assured the man could see nothing at all, not even shadows or a little light that he might have been accustomed to seeing. And, if he dared open his eyes with mud on them, dirt would get into his eyes and we all know how irritating that would be. If we don’t look, we don’t see what is on the surface. We will see much, much deeper.

Both scripture lessons this morning remind us to see our world through God’s eyes because God sees through the eyes of a greater love and purpose than we can imagine.

Every day we see pictures of the Corona virus. On the surface we see a plague. We see reasons to be afraid. We see things that make us afraid that we or a loved one will get sick or die. We see grocery lines a mile long, the stock market crashing, the National Guard policing food delivery trucks and sanitizing equipment, businesses closing, job layoffs. We see things that make us afraid that we may soon lack something that we do not want to live without. Don’t look! Don’t see merely what is on the surface.  Let’s look at what God sees. Let’s look within, let’s think about what God has done in troubling time, and let’s reflect on what God is saying to us.

When we look within, when we search our hearts, we see all the amazing gifts God has given us. We have been blessed with talents that help the church to stay strong, to grow the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, (or generosity), faithfulness, and self-control. When we look within, we see that we have gifts that build people up. We have attitudes that move mountains of obstacles. We have what it takes to do God’s will in the midst of a storm. If God brings us to it, God will bring us through it. Let’s look within and see what God has put in our hearts and our lives to bless us and to make us a blessing.

If we don’t look on the surface, we don’t see the surface. We begin to think about what God has done in the past. How has God healed you? How has God helped you? If you have ever been through a test, you have had the opportunity to witness God’s goodness and mercy. You have a testimony. Let’s look within. Let’s think about how God has touched our lives in the past.

Finally, let’s reflect on what God is saying to us? I found myself singing a song the other day: “Hallelujah anyhow. Never gonna let those troubles get me down. When those troubles come my way, I’ll hold my head up high and say, ‘Hallelujah anyhow.’

Praise and thanksgiving flows out of our souls to God – sometime it may be just a trickle. In every situation, there is always, always something for which to thank God. God designed gratitude to ease our anxiety, to unite us as one, to bring harmony where there is dissonance, to help us focus on what God is doing, rather than focus on what is feeding our fears. We praise God for God’s promises “I will never leave you or forsake you. I am the God who heals you.

Don’t look at the problems before us, don’t see with a superficial lens. Look within and see all the good things that God has given us to be a blessing. Count your many blessings, see what God has done. Know that God loves us with an everlasting love and is saying, “Be still…and know that I am God.”  God knows and God cares. Watch God work.

LET US PRAY:

Waymaker god, thank you for reminding us this day of your promises to take care of us, to deliver us from our many afflictions, to guide us to a place of healing and calm. Bless us with humble hearts to be the sheep of your pasture and to follow where you lead us. We pray as you taught the disciples - our father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever amen.

The Lord Bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and give you peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GnxTNMxcY&t=14s

March 15 2020 Spiritual Growth - Alone with Jesus

March 15, 2020 Exodus 17.1-7  * John 4.5-15 “Spiritual Growth: Alone with Jesus” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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We all have in our minds names of landmarks that orient us to where we are going and where we have been. There are landmark highways, bi-ways and waterways. We know highways 422, 76 and 73. Ellis Woods Road is a bi-way – an out of the way, way – a shortcut – to 422 as opposed to going straight down Bethel Church Road. Then there are waterways, on which we swim, travel by boat, kayak, canoe, and once the coronavirus dissipates, we will board cruise ships once again.

Statues, such as the Statue of Liberty,  can also be landmarks that help us see where we are and where we are going. Jacob’s well was a high profile landmark.

When our two confirmands and their sponsors the Hoffmans visited B’Nai Jacob synagogue last week, we learned that B’Nai Jacob means “son of Jacob.” Our Jewish brothers and sisters hold the name “Jacob” in high esteem. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel which means “one who wrestles with God.” We all may know something about wrestling with God, pushing every which way in the hopes of receiving God’s blessing.  The country and the people are named Israel because Jacob was a significant ancestor.

Jacob was born over 1500 years before Jesus. The fact that Jacob provided his family with a well that had not run dry was a sure sign of God’s blessings. Jacob’s well is a very important landmark in our religious history.

Jacob’s well is not mentioned in the Old Testament. The well is mentioned In the New Testament by a woman from Samaria. This woman from Samaria was not considered a classy woman. She broke the rules of being a lady. She had too many men flocking around her. She was not among the rich and famous. She was not treated as if she were someone special or important. There was no particular reason to think that any good could come from Samaria. Still this unnamed Samaritan woman could recite the rich legacy of Jacob’s well to Rabbi Jesus when none of the Old Testament shared it.

The 4,000 year old well still exists near Sychar. Christians, Muslims and Jews all agree it is located in an Eastern Orthodox monastery called the Holy Monastery of Jacob’s well.   In the monastery is a church that was built around Jacob’s 135 foot well.  The well is still flowing with living water that Jesus talked about when he spoke to the Samaritan woman. He went out of his way to speak with this woman, to share with her the concept of living water. 

I recall being in a service with a prayer line. Several people were waiting to be anointed with oil and prayed for by a certain preacher who was known and trusted as one who spoke words of life that made a significant difference. The words were considered edifying as well as mystifying. One couple stood before the preacher and the preacher said, “Your relationship is dead.” Later it was revealed that one member of the couple coming for prayer already had a spouse back home. Perhaps they were like a couple Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway church mentioned. A couple came to him saying they were in love even though they were married to other people. They were spending time reading the bible and praying. One even claimed that God was speaking to them. Pastor Morris reminded them that it was not God who was speaking to them and justifying their unfaithful relationships. It was Satan who was speaking to them. Their relationship was dead. It was not alive with God’s blessings.

Sources indicate that the church of the well is on the edge of a refugee camp called Balata or Neblus. It has 30, 000 people living within 15 square miles. It is one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps. I like to think that Jesus’ presence is still there, speaking to all who pass that way even if living in a refugee camp is not life at all.

No doubt God blessed Jacob with this fresh spring. As God prospered him, he paid the price for the well to be dug and maintained. Jacob was the man. And he did all he could to make sure the well was available to give life to his family, his workers, and his animals.

I watched the film Concussion yesterday.  It was based on a true story of Dr. Bennett Omalu a brilliant forensic neuropathologist who worked as coroner in Pittsburg.   Dr. Omalu autopsied the body of Mike Webster famous center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had 22 seasons and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Webster died by suicide after abandoning his family, living homeless for 18 months in his car, in debt, confused. He was only 50. According to the movie, twelve other Pittsburgh Steelers died young with psychological turmoil and cognitive disruptions.  CT scans and autopsies showed normal brains, but further research after death indicated that player’s brains were traumatized, thus damaged, by the hundreds and hundreds of concussions experienced while playing football.   Dr. Omalu said he learned how his patients lived by the stories their bodies told after they died.

In 2011 football players started suing the NFL because they put players back on the field no matter what. They used needles, tape, Zoloft, Vicodin, Toradol, Lidocaine, and Lexapro. Mike Webster once came to the game on crutches and played with torn cartilage and had the surgery right after. Football is known for its grace and excitement. As a sport, it has high-reaching benefits providing thousands of jobs, scholarships, and charitable events. Football is also known for being a mindless and violent game with the same greed and corruption found in many areas of life. They cause death, but Jesus wants to bring us life.

Living water flowed from Jacob’s well. If was refreshing and clean and crystal clear. Water that is kept in containers like cisterns can become stagnant with time -  murky, slimy,  mixed with dead bugs and all kinds of debris with nowhere else to go. The living water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman is the same water that he offers us. When we are alone with Jesus, we become refreshed and clean and we can see ourselves as clearly as Jesus sees us. We can see the good, the bad, and the ugly. That is what the Lenten season is all about.

The other day, Jim was playing a perfect Lenten song for communion. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling. Calling for you and for me.  Come home, come home. Ye who are weary come home. O for the wonderful love He has promised. Promised for you and for me. Though we have sinned He has mercy and pardon. Pardon for you and for me. Come home, come home,you who are weary come home…

May we find time during this Lenten season to be alone with Jesus and be refreshed and cleansed until we see ourselves as clearly as Jesus sees us!  Let us pray: 

God who knows all things. You know the details of our distress and the chaos of the virus that has us occupied our minds and hearts this day. Take away our fear and fill us with faith. Denounce our doubts and increase our determination to depend on you. Bless us to reach out and care instead of running away in this time of trouble. Deepen our desire to trust in you.

Bless those who are concerned about their next paycheck, health care, relationships, school aged children as well as the sick, injured, hopeless, helpless, heedless, leaderless and scattered, the persecuted and tortured, the detained and dispossessed. Hear our cry for mercy, our confidence that with you all things are possible, that we can cast our cares upon you because you care for us and you love us with an everlasting love. We bow down to you, our hope and our strength. Amen.

  

March 8 2020 "Spiritual Growth:Leadership" Pastor Jacqueline Hines

March 8, 2020 Genesis 12.1-4a   *John 3.1-17  “Spiritual Growth: Leadership” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Through the years there have been interesting trends in Christianity. You remember the days when men wore ties and suits to church. Women wore silk stockings, hats and gloves to match, if only on Easter Sunday. Through the years, we loosened up a bit and started wearing jeans, singing to the music of drums and guitars. Children were set free and allowed to dance in the aisles to a moving praise song. Churches with holy boldness could be found on the street corners handing out tracks that said “Jesus loves you” while asking passersby’s that classic question, “Are you saved?”

We can hear the Rev. Billy Graham passionately preaching before a stadium filled with hundreds, even thousands of worshippers.  “You must be born again!” [slide #  1 Rev. Billy Graham]

While at Eastern University in St. David’s [slide #  2 Eastern University] I wanted to share my faith boldly, but I was not at all comfortable speaking to strangers. When I entered Eastern University, it was not a university. It was called Eastern Baptist College. Each class began with prayers from the professor. Every week we attended chapel service often with high profile speakers. It was not unusual to see small groups gathered for spontaneous prayer in hallways and at dining room tables. There were bible studies, too numerous to count, and a chapel open 24 hours a day with recorded messages and music. There were two or three student choirs who would travel around the city and surrounding suburbs, sharing the good news of the gospel. This would encourage churches to send their young people to Eastern because they could see that youth were genuinely expressing their faith in real and exciting ways. [slide # 3 Eastern’s choir]

I would often travel to Eastern by train on the mainline at the age of 18. [slide #  4 train] One day I was on the Paoli Local and decided to be brave and I asked the woman sitting next to me in a quiet and hesitant voice, “Are you saved?” She pursed her lips, grumbled something indignantly, jumped out of her seat and stood at the door of the train for the rest of the ride. Clearly she was insulted by my question. It was a season in America when it was not an unusual question for a stranger to ask. It was not unusual to hear that you were going straight to hell if you did not hurry up and get saved. And, in order to be saved from hell’s eternal damnation, you had to be born again. [slide #  5… saved?  ] To be born again is to be saved, to invite Jesus into your heart and receive the holy spirit that is so subtle you will miss its guidance unless you are still and listening very, very carefully.

I do not think of hell as a physical fire burning. I think of it as a spiritual fire burning. Guilt and regret can burn a hole in our hearts, leaving us feeling wounded and empty. Regret can singe our minds relentlessly. I do not like to think of hell as a permanent place for unrepentant sinners to be. However, when we read Diving Revelation of Hell in bible study one year, I moved more in that direction. I began to understand that we do not have forever to make up our minds to do the right thing whatever the right thing might be.  After a certain point, our time is up and what we have sown, we must reap. Our chances to avoid consequences are gone. I have come to appreciate the idea that the offer for redemption can and will expire. I am no expert on heaven and hell, but I have seen enough to believe that heaven is real and so is hell.

For all I know, Nicodemus was on his way to hell. [slide #  6   Nicodemus and Jesus]. Verse 3 says he came to Jesus at night. It may have been because he was living in the dark. We all know what it is like to live in the dark. At times, we move so gradually away from the light that we are surprised to find ourselves in darkness. At times we grow accustomed to living without light until we experience it as normal.

You have probably been outside weeding or painting or playing in the evening and before you know it, the sun has set, your eyes have adjusted to the night and you suddenly realize you can barely see your hand in front of your face.

Nicodemus, like most of us, came to adjust to things the way they were. He could not comprehend a radical change such as being born again into the light of day. We too might question whether a person who is so far gone can start new, can become good after being so bad. He asked Jesus, “How can you be born again. Will you reenter your mother’s womb?” A great thing about being born again, living in the light, and being saved from the evils of the night is that what we have often rubs off on others. All those around us are also subject to be born again, to live in the light and to be saved from the evils of the night.

As that song says, it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love. You’ll spread his love to everyone. You’ll want to pass it on.

Being born again takes us back to a beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Being born again gives us pause to praise God for the heroes and heroines of this world. Many were born again when the first stone of the Berlin Wall came crumbling down. [slide #  7 Berlin Wall…]  Freedom brings new life. Artists like Henry Ossawa Tanner from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, renew our spirits, with his portrayal of Jesus’ Visit with Nicodemus, [slide #  8 Nicodemus ..] and the Banjo Lesson [ slide #  9 Banjo…]  and a favorite, Be Thankful. [slide #  10  table…prayer] Films like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood encourage our hearts, [slide #   11  movie studio] choirs like our Bethel choir inspire our lives, [slide #   12  Bethel choir, etc.] and young preachers like Tyler Collins [slide #  13  Tyler] revive our hopes. On the horizon we see new medical marvels with cures for cancer and vaccines for coronavirus. [slide #  14   lab] They will refresh our souls.

Yes, it’s true Nicodemus, You must be born again, for we are eager to see the evil things pass away and all things must become new. We are eager  for God to create something new in this world through us, in us, and for us again and again and again. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, for all to see - we can come face to face with our enemy and watch God work to heal us - so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and sacrificed until we come face to face with the love of Jesus. ¹⁵… whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that [slide #   15  for God so loved…] he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 

Kenneth Sauer a United Methodist Preacher from Tennessee told the story of wanting to be a rock star when he was in college. He hooked up with a guitarist who asked him, “Are you a Christian?” He answered, “Yes ” Although, he thought the question to be a bit odd. He had gone to church all his life....and even planned on becoming a minister someday.

The two eventually became besties. Shortly after, the preacher says, he realized that although he claimed to be a Christian, he was really just a Christian in name only. He wasn’t living the life. He wasn’t talking the talk and walking the walk. He knew the guitarist for whom he was singing had something that he didn’t.

He said, “I started to do some really heavy thinking.....I started thinking about God.....I started thinking about the devil....I started thinking about the meaning of life.....And I started talking about things--spiritual things--that I had never even thought of before. One night, I was walking down the sidewalk all by myself and I felt that I had come to a cross-road. Was I going to give my life completely over to God....giving up on the world and everything that I had placed between myself and a relationship with Jesus? I had to decide if I was going to continue down the road I was already going? Seeking, but not finding....Looking but not seeing....Listening, but not hearing....I decided to give all I had to God....it was a big decision for me, but I made it... and it was the most thrilling experience of my life....and the most important decision I have ever made. My life has not been even close to the same since. I had been born again!”

Yes, we must be born again so we can face our fears with faith. The corona virus helps us focus on our Lenten experience because Lent is about matters of the heart. This week Pastor Nora Minassian passed on the thought that the heart is surrounded by a corona or crown of blood vessels giving the heart its own supply of blood flow or love flow. When blood flow or love flow is stopped we get coronary heart disease….as we let the love flow…[slide #  16 let love flow] we come face to face with the love and sacrifice of Jesus and we are healed and made whole, and we can lead others to the way they should go. May it be so today! [slide # 17 love flow] Amen. [slide # 18 love]

March 4 Wednesday Lenten Message Pastor Hines

Praying for Goodness Sake! Lenten Message by Pastor Hines March 4, 2020 St. Matthews UCC Chester Springs

I Thessalonians Chapter 5.1-28 (the entire chapter)

Hear this scripture lesson from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Thessalonica as a personal letter written for every congregation in our day.

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5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

²⁵ Brothers and sisters, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

==

We do not write as many personal, handwritten letters as we did years ago. The computer has revolutionized our lives by making sending a message fast and convenient. Instead of writing by hand, erasing, and wasting that beautiful linen paper with inerasable mistakes and fussing with ink spills, today we have the phone, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and especially emails. And how we praise God for Alan Tesler who invented the copy and paste function on the computer. It has saved us hours of time and lots of money that we no longer have to spend on buying erasers and white out.

Technology has helped us to communicate faster and easier. That is great because as human beings we are always ready to get new news, and if we can get it quickly, we are all the happier. Lots of time we look forward to looking into that mailbox whether at the end of the driveway or at the top of the list of emails.

We wait and wait hoping for good news. During the season of Lent, we come to special services and wait for news of guidance on ways to get closer to Jesus. Perhaps this year you have waited for many reasons. Have you waited anxiously in front of the television set for that lottery number to be called out…or at the doctor’s office or surgical waiting room for your name to be called? It is with the same kind of urgency and longing that first century Christians of Thessalonica waited for news from their leader Apostle Paul. 

Thessalonica was a wealthy city, much like many of our areas. It was a city where Romans, Greeks, and Jewish folk lived together openly. The apostle Paul had free reign to share the gospel. Although, as can be the case at times, some protested the preaching of the gospel, threatened by the power and influence of Christians.

The Graeco-Roman Empire offered a certain peace and security in exchange for loyalty to the State which could be quite cruel and ungodly, but as we know, our greatest security and confidence come from our trust in our God who is good.

Paul loved the Christians in the city of Thessalonica and in his letter, provides pastoral guidance that is good for all Christian congregations, even ours. Christians all over the world have had God’s precious words of life preached and written and taught to them for 2000 years. God’s word has nurtured and sustained us from one generation to the next.

Most of us would agree that as Christians we mostly worship freely and without harassment. We have enjoyed decades of respect in our communities from people of all nations and stations in life. Many have appreciated our support and have basked in the sunshine of our love.  Like Jesus, we have been a light in this world. We have followed in the footsteps of Jesus, not always perfectly. We may have fallen down, but we get up and dust ourselves off, get back on track to follow the lamb back to the Cross, the emblem of suffering and shame, though that same cross leads to a powerful, undeniable resurrection and new life.

The path to the good life has not changed. Directions for good Christian living have not changed. The fact that being good Christians is a path of blessings has not changed. Just like the world needs good doctors, the world desperately needs good Christians.

None of us wants to eat a rotten apple. If you have ever searched the refrigerator for leftovers and found a circle of mold, you realize the food is no longer good to eat. We want and need food that is good. We want and need Good News.

Paul’s letter was good news to the Christians in Thessalonica who were hungry for the things of God.  I am focusing on verse 16 and 18 this evening which begins by saying Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Our gatherings of the Union of Churches are always joyful gatherings. There is no end to the warm smiles and friendly conversation that we enjoy. Our prayers are always full of earnest repentance and gratitude.  What I want us to take with us tonight is verse 17 that says: pray continually.

Paul urges us to pray continually because the day of the Lord is coming. He does not explain whether that means the end of time or he beginning of Heaven. There is room for it to mean a day of favor and blessing as well as a day of judgment. He says it is coming, so we wait.

Whatever any day brings, we do well to pray without ceasing, to pray continually. Praying continually does not mean we wear our spiritual discipline like a straight jacket. God is not calling us to maintain rigid rules and regulations. I often remember that Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for us. We were not made for the Sabbath. I was reminded that the Sabbath is about not working ourselves to death. It is not about not ironing my blouse on Sunday. Years ago, my mother asked me to take her to the store on Sunday and I grumbled that it was the Sabbath and the Lord grumbled back in a silent yet loud voice in my heart, “TAKE YOUR MOTHER TO THE STORE.” I got the hint, firsthand.

Whenever we take a stretch of time to relax from our labors, Sometimes the Holy Spirit guides us to “loosen up” to loosen our reigns of control. I went to an engagement party and I was looking at all the delicious food and settled on celery and carrots and one of my friends a psychologist, smiled and said, “I am very careful, too, but I eat like that when I am home.” Like a good trained counselor she spoke gently to me to loosen up, relax, maintain high standards sometime, but not all rules have to be followed all the time.

Of course, some boundaries should never ever be crossed. Some rules are never, ever good to break. As Christians we learn how far we can go before we incur God’s wrath before we cause harm to others. If there is one thing we learn about our heavenly father and mothering God, it is “Don’t mess over my children!”

Praying continually means to keep the conversation going. Have you ever had a disagreement with a neighbor and stopped talking to them? It is rarely a good thing. When our children stop talking to us – or I should say – stop communicating, because sometimes we send messages loud and clear to one another in many ways –many times without words - and we fail to listen – bad things can happen when the conversation stops or is blocked (hand over ears ). Living in a house when parties are not speaking to one another is one of the most destructive family dynamics according to family therapists. It is miserable and draining and all too common. The Holy Spirit has the power and the wisdom we need to connect to one another in spite of our age or our stage. When we pray, God stirs up the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the body of Christ that can heal and deliver.

When our conversation with God stops for whatever reason, it is never a good thing. Having a continual conversation with God is the greatest blessing we could ever, ever receive.

Sometimes we don’t pray because we think God does not care. The only way we ever believe the lie that God does not care is when we are not remembering God’s word. I Peter 5.7  says cast all your cares, your anxieties, your burdens upon the Lord because he cares for you. Matthew 23.37 …he gathers us like a hen gathers her chicks… Jeremiah 31.3: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Or as the Message version puts it, "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!  James 4.3  You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives. And as I was reminded this week that in Isaiah 43, God says you are precious and I love you.

Pillars in the faith have written songs telling of God’s great love for us. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer; Ask the Savior to help you, to comfort, strengthen and heal you, He is willing to aid you. Jesus will carry you through. I am thine o Lord, I have heard your voice and it told your love to me, and I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee…When we pray continually about everything, God puts a song in our heart to soothe and comfort us through the years and the tears, as well as through the bliss.

Sometimes we don’t pray because we are angry that God has answered our prayer with “no” or “maybe” or “wait.”  The bible reminds us that we should never let the sun go down on our anger. The bible also says be angry but sin not. Well, that is no fun at all! Nevertheless, it is wisdom, for anger makes us do things and say things that we often regret.

Moses could not lead God’s people into the Promised Land until he got angry enough to confront the Pharaoh for justice. But, because his anger was out of control, he was not able to enter the Promised Land.  Unchecked anger disrupts our lives with unpleasant words. Our joy is overshadowed with sadness as we witness the hurt and pain of rude and cruel behavior. Prayer can change our minds, bodies, souls, and spirits until self-control becomes a habit.

Researchers have found that the brain scans of monks who had spent 10,000 hours meditating, lit up in the way same as those who had taken LSD. Both experienced a change in their consciousness. To be sure, meditation heals the brain while LSD destroys it. It has been shown over and over that the meditation of prayer makes us less reactive, calmer, and less depressed. Prayer changes things, and first it changes us. Lent is a season of change and there is always room for improvement.

The world needs good Christians. May this Lenten season find us praying now more than ever, for goodness sake. Amen.

  

March 1, 2020 Spiritual Growth: The Wilderness

March 1 2020 Genesis 2.15-17;  3.1-7  *Mathew 4. 1-11 “Spiritual Growth: The Wilderness” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Matthew tells us that Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [slide #   1  wilderness] If we can wrap our minds around the idea that God allows tough times, temptations, trials and tribulations, we know God allows certain things. We wonder why and how, but we are not in charge. We are simply servants of the most high. We can see, though, that God always has a way of escaping or enduring the wilderness. God never leaves us and never leaves us empty-handed. We can trust that God has ordered a purpose and a plan that is bigger than any evil, bigger than our fears and frustrations. God is bigger than the inhumanity of humankind.

Every day comes with its own worries and troubles as well as its own joys and blessings. It takes faith to endure the hard times. With an attitude of gratitude and generosity and respect for God, we can happily enjoy our many blessings that we would otherwise take for granted or live in fear of losing.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. He was really hungry after 40 days of fasting.  When you go that long without eating, you may not be as physically hungry as one might expect. You may be more hungry for change in life. You may be hungry for an answer to a certain problem. You may be hungry for a miracle, but after going several weeks without food, you are more likely to lose your physical appetite than to gain it.

The age old purpose of fasting is to become stronger spiritually, physically, and emotionally in order to endure whatever life brings our way. We empty ourselves in order to do, as our Ash Wednesday preacher said, “…make room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.”  Mark 9 tells us that some demons don’t leave until you pray as well as fast.…

Jesus had the same temptations that all humans face. The devil took him to the highest point in Jerusalem and he took him to a high mountain. The devil messes us when we arrive in high places. He is there to make us feel high and mighty, to make us feel that we are the one and only one, as if there is no one as important as us; – that there is the temptation to believe that  MC Hammer song – “Na, na, na, na…can’t touch this.” [slide # 2   MC Hammer] As if no one can get close to being as good, so one has to look down the nose to see others. sometimes it’s the opposite. We are led to feel alone, if not lonely and vulnerable, and far away from others Like Adam and Eve, we are tempted to do what leaves us embarrassingly naked.

The high mountain where Jesus was tempted may have been Mt. Hermon, the Mount of Transfiguration we looked at last Sunday where the three disciples gathered between time and eternity with Jesus, Moses and Elijah – pillars of faith. Being in the presence of pillars of the faith is always a high place.

Bethel is a high place because we are often in the presence of generations of the faithful who remind us of the great things that God has done. The Holy Spirit is here and helps us remember fondly the names and the faces that are present and some that are now a part of the cloud of witnesses.

A high place is a good place, a holy place where miracles happens. A high spiritual place is a place where mighty winds of change shift a mess until miracles and marvelous things occur. However, when Satan shows up in our high place, misery and mess can also be found in high places.

In a high place, Jesus was tempted in three ways. In the first temptation he was told “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread. [slide #  3  Jesus with stone]   Satan knew Jesus was ready to eat, but Jesus knew that God’s eternal word was even more important than his temporary need for food.

“If you are the son of God…” Satan says… casting doubt on his character. Scriptures call Satan “the accuser,” the one who blames, finds fault, and ridicules. Satan is trying to distress Jesus into feeling insecure about his identity. “If you are the son of God… From time to time people dare us saying “If you are really all that, if you are really important, if you are really special, if anybody loves you, if you deserve good things, then I dare you to take authority and act big and bad.” From time to time people dare us to act out, prompt us to make fools of ourselves…and if we take the dare, we allow others to push OUR buttons, to pull our strings, to rule us so we will obey their commands and be in their complete control. Before we know it, we have given in to the temptation. Satan has once again deceived us into doing what he does best: kill, steal, and destroy.

We do not have to make ourselves big. God makes us whatever we need to be. Jesus’ answer helps us is to listen for every word that comes from God’s mouth. They are words of life that lead to right living, peace and joy in the Spirit.

For the second temptation Jesus was told if you are the son of God, throw yourself down so angels can catch you. [slide #  4   Jesus at a high place]  Satan has so many glamorous ways for us to self-destruct. We know that God is able to provide angels to protect us, but we would be foolish to put ourselves in harm’s way on purpose in order to test God.

In my home town of Connecticut, an emotionally imbalanced young mad would dart into a busy street near a local diner. Year after year, cars would come to a screeching halt. Family, friends, and local authorities got involved, but finally one day he was struck and killed, reminding us that it is not God’s will for us to purposely put ourselves in harm’s way. It is a waste of energy and resources. It is a distraction. It is a call for help. Instead of testing God, or watching others test God, we need to find ways to help and at the very least pray that we may avert a tragedy – if only for a season. And in helping, we begin to see those in trouble as God sees them. We hear God’s voice to guide us to the many spiritual and material resources that we see most clearly when God reveals them as we pray.

In the third temptation Jesus was asked to worship Satan in exchange for   the splendor of the world. [slide #  5 overlooking the worldly kingdoms] From the heights he could see all the kingdoms built by human hands, all those things that leave a very strong impression on us. We may be tempted to hold on to that which enchants us and woos us. We may want to stay in such a place and make it a part of our lifestyle. We may be tempted to buy whatever it takes to make ourselves impressive. And if we cannot buy our way to becoming impressive, we may be consumed with envy and feelings of worthlessness.

A report this week says that there is a trend among Millennials and Genz’s those between 25 and 39 who are going into debt to keep up with the Jones’. They fear being left behind and seem to want to be somebody at any cost. (It is our job to help them feel they are somebody. That is a good prayer, “Lord send me to a young person under 29 today and show me how to let them know that they are somebody important.” Some young people are spending more money on food, fitness, entertainment, shopping, and technological gadgets than baby Boomers and the generation of seniors, known as the Quiet Generation who spend much less. There is a trend for those under 25 years old seem to spend less on college education which is a bit scary.

One radio commentator suggested that the younger generation sees the glamor and glitz of friends on Facebook and Instagram, but what they are seeing is not the ordinary life of their peers but the highest moments. Some even make up moments, pretending just to look better than they really are.  When they see that others are impressed, they work to live life at that same high lever, at the top of the line, not realizing that every day cannot be a top of the line day.

One chart suggests that less than 10% of Genz’s, the 25 year olds have full time jobs and about 60 percent live off of an allowance that is given to them. Less than 25% have part time jobs [slide #  6  Gen Z chart]  Again, the trend has changed, and we do well to watch as well as pray.

Those of you who have been to Disney World have come back having enjoyed the magical kingdoms of princesses and princes, lovable creatures and singable songs. [slide #  7 Disney World ] The world of Disney is very impressive. But that is a kingdom to visit and enjoy, not one to live in.

While hearing all about the lifestyles of the rich and famous we are often impressed. The richest zip code in America is 33109 in Fisher Island, Florida. [slide #  8  Fisher Island] The average annual income is 2.2 million dollars. The island has less than 500 people on it. It was originally owned by Carl Fisher who made his money manufacturing headlamps for cars in the 30’s. Such a life is impressive, but if there are any Christians living on that island, I hope they are tithing and I hope they are using their impressiveness to help build the kingdom of God which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

It is good for us to pray for our daily bread at the very least. [slide # 9  prayer] It is also good to pray daily that the Lord deliver us from ENVY and feeling worthless, from being tempted to do bad things in order to have what someone else has, in order to be important, in order to feel special…

What a sad day it is for our heavenly father and mothering God to bless us and care for us so tenderly only to have us run away from such wonderful love, chasing after things or people that do not and cannot satisfy. [slide #  10 Are you running from God]

Jesus endured those three terrible temptations, after which verse 11 says  “suddenly” angels appeared and ministered to Jesus, waited on him, served him. [slide #  11  angels with Jesus]

Last week, I mentioned that in a Yale Divinity class a woman suddenly ran in screaming for help while a man chased her. The class was stunned and frozen, not knowing whether the incident was real or part of the class. It was effective because it happened suddenly.

The fact that the angels came to Jesus suddenly is Matthew’s way of teaching us that important things can happen without a moment’s notice. God may need our attention immediately and urgently. Lessons may come to us out of nowhere. Decisions are laid at our feet and we are instantly called to action. Angels descend abruptly to minister to us just when we thought we couldn’t take it anymore.

Sudden interruptions happen all the time, [slide #   12  chick emerging from shell ] and everywhere. Isn’t the Coronavirus a perfect example? When we prepare our hearts through prayer and fasting, we grow to expect sudden calls to action as well as sudden blessings. Then we find strength to resist falling into temptation. [slide # 13   at a cliff] Instead we have the strength to cling [slide #  14   clinging to the cross] to the God who love us, cares for us, saves us and waits on us. May you know that God today and always. [slide #  15  clinging to Jesus] Amen. [slide # 16  follow Jesus…]