3-30-14 Guaranteed to Win

 John 3:1-21

 “Guaranteed to win!” here is the story…Exodus 17:10-16

Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up — one on one side, one on the other — so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.

          Remember that story and this next one as we reflect on today’s sermon title: “Guaranteed to win!”

Numbers 21:4-9

Even though God had given the Israelies military victory as they wandered toward the Promised Land (heaven=eternal life), they grew impatient and spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we hate this miserable food!"  Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. (YEA GOD!)

7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the God and you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.  The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

Obviously medicine adopted the healing symbol of the snake on a pole. Did you know a snake is also a symbol for rebirth? As the snake sheds its skin it is as if it is reborn - it has gotten rid of the old and starts life anew. (…a snake lifted up on a pole represents healing and rebirth)

           You have those stories? Moses hands up…a guaranteed victory. Snake lifted up on a pole, guaranteed healing representing rebirth.

Now the story you have been waiting for…

John 3:1-21

 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said,

(QUESTION 1) "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." (What’s the question? Who are you?) In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (In other words - you can’t know the king without being born into the kingdom)

(QUESTION 2) Nicodemus asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (Two part birth - born into this temporary place AND born into the eternal place) 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

(QUESTION 3) Nicodemus asked, "How can this be?" Jesus said, "You are Israel's teacher, and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man.

Are you with me? vs 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  John 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be]”  John 12:32-33 “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Guaranteed Win!). 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.   This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

          Was Nicodemus born again?

John 7:45-52

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?" "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law — there is a curse on them." Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of the Pharisees, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

John 19:38-42

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds (normal 5 lbs - Imagine 15 5lb bags of sugar - for royalty - Nicodemus publically standing up for Jesus-missed a lot during Christ’s life by being a secret disciple). Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen and laid Jesus in a new garden tomb.

 

How are we guaranteed to win?

Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned.

What do we win?

Eternal life.

          How do we know we have won?

When we see Jesus high and lifted up giving his life for the world - John 3:16

Let’s share that good news with others as we lift him up.

 Beginning of service:

 http://youtu.be/nRCZkGshQGc   commercial banned from the super bowl

http://youtu.be/crk8WZ8t7GM   taking away John 3:16 sign

03-23-14 Miracle Shot

John 2:1-11

Miracle shot: Jesus turns water into wine

John 2:1-11

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.  8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

      Jesus’ ministry lasted 3 years.  There are a lot of days and events which aren’t recorded. Over 3 years there were many miracles and astonishing things that took place.  But there was also a lot of everydayness that took place.  For the most part, this was one of those days. Jesus, his mother and his first disciples were attending a wedding in Cana - 4 miles N of Nazareth, the very small hometown of newly acquired disciple Nathaniel - likely a relative or at least someone he knew well. Part of the reason this story is included is to show that Jesus is interested in the every dayness of our lives.

Jewish weddings were steeped in tradition and ritual. One of the customs was providing an extravagant feast for guests. Something went wrong at this wedding, however, because they ran out of wine early. In that culture, such a miscalculation would have been a great humiliation for the bride and groom even though the responsibility fell on the hired steward of the wedding.

Mary turned to Jesus and said, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby were six stone jars filled with water used for ceremonial washing. Jews cleansed their hands, cups, and vessels with water before meals. Each large pot held from 20 to 30 gallons.

Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water. He told them to draw some out and take it to the steward of the banquet, who was in charge of food and drink, and unaware of where the wine came from.  He was astounded and took the bride and groom aside and complimented them. Most couples served the best wine first, he said, then brought out cheaper wine after the guests had too much to drink and would not notice. "You have saved the best till now," he told them.

By this miraculous sign, Jesus revealed his glory as the Son of God. His amazed disciples put their faith in him.  The reason for a miracle is to produce faith - not the miracle itself (healing or walking on water). John 10:38-39 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. John 14:11  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. Miracles are faith producing!

Points of Interest from the Story:

Not only did Jesus produce a large quantity of wine, but the quality of it astonished the banquet master. In the same way, Jesus pours his Spirit into us in abundance, giving us God's best.

While it may seem insignificant, there is crucial symbolism in this first miracle of Jesus. It was not a coincidence that the water Jesus transformed came from jars used for ceremonial washing. The water signified the Jewish system of purification, and Jesus replaced it with pure wine, representing his spotless blood that would wash away our sins. 

MIRACLE: FIRST AND LAST

          Jesus turned water into wine - wine is a sign of life and a sign of God’s wrath. Rev 14:19   The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. It would be a miracle to escape the winepress of God’s wrath.  How could that happen? John 19:32-34  The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. FIRST miracle turned water to wine - LAST miracle - blood and water flowed from the fountain of eternal life.  The first miracle showed a great quantity (6 jars) and quality (excellent wine) of God’s best for a temporary moment of pleasure saving a few people from embarrassment.  The last miracle that looked very similar (water and wine/water and blood) showed a great quantity (All sins can be forgiven) and quality (perfect lamb of God) God’s best for eternal life saving all who believe from eternal torment. [you can’t make this stuff up].

MY SEED WILL CRUSH THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT

But wait, Did Jesus call Mary mother in this story? No, he called her woman - how odd - how beautiful.  In Genesis Eve is referred to as the first woman and in Gen 3:15 we have the  Protoevangelium ("First Gospel"), foretell how the woman one day will have her seed, her son, who will crush the head of the serpent/Satan. Jump ahead thousands of years to a wedding in Cana. [Mary] the new Eve (which means mother of all living) reveals her seed, her son as the miracle working son of God who will soon crush the serpents head.

THE NILE RIVER TURNED TO BLOOD

          But wait - what was the first public miracle of Moses - who represents the old covenant of the law? The first plague on Egypt, he turned water into blood which ultimately led to the death of the firstborn of the king of Egypt and freedom for the Jews from slavery.  Jesus first public miracle turning water into wine ultimately led to the death of the only begotten son of the King of glory which brought freedom for all from the slavery of sin and death.

AN UNEXPECTED AND BETTER WINE

But wait - there is more. Mary saying “they have no more wine” and Jesus providing way more than they would need, way better than they could imagine, from a source that seemed impossible (water) is a commentary on Judaism of that day.  It had become an empty religion of laws and regulations that no one could keep - along comes Jesus to introduce something that would provide way more than they would need, way better than they could imagine, from a source that seemed impossible (Jesus of Nazareth, can anything good come from there? - said by a resident of where? Cana)

NEW WINE NEEDS NEW WINESKINS

But wait - Matt 9:17  Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. The old covenant will not work with the new life that Jesus offers.  The New Covenant in his blood is not just newer - it is better. It makes the old obsolete.

BUT WAIT…Conclusion

Acts 1:4-8

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2:11-21   …miracle of hearing…

…“we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

…but wait…

3-16-14 Get in the Game

Scripture        John 1:35-51

The next day John the baptizer was there again (John played point guard; A PG is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time, to create scoring opportunities for his/her team. John was definitely IN the game. He knew his position/mission and lived it - point people to Jesus!  “Get ready, God’s kingdom is near!”  [John baptized with water in preparation of baptism by the spirit through Jesus. Now we are baptized in the spirit through Jesus, followed by baptism in water.

with two of his disciples. (One is Andrew - the other is likely John)  36 When John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by, he said to his two disciples, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. (Following Jesus meant they stopped following John.  They didn’t try to stop following John, they just couldn’t follow both.  When we start to follow Jesus, we naturally stop following whatever way we were going before.  Your old ways are gone and your new ways have begun.  When John says REPENT - he means turn around - stop going that way and start going toward Jesus! - You can’t get in the game if the sidelines have a hold on you!  If comfort and being a spectator is what you want . don’t follow Jesus!  He will ALWAYS call you off the bench and put you in the game.) 38

(Have you ever been creeped out by someone following you?  I mean you are walking somewhere and someone keeps following even when you turn a corner…and you just want to run or turn and say “WHAT!?”) Turning around, Jesus saw John’s two disciples following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" (Again, to us that sounds creepy, but they were inviting themselves to learn from him)  39 "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. (3:00 pm)

So they spent an afternoon with Jesus.  What difference did it make?  What was their conversation about?  What did Jesus say to them or teach them?  We don’t know for sure, except that from that brief visit, Andrew decided to get in the game - immediately!

40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.  Found him and brought him! This was not any small news he was telling his brother - If this were true, it would be a world changer.  It would mean everything they grew up believing about God was true; and they would be eyewitnesses of God’s revelation to the world)  Jesus looked at Andrew’s brother and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. (Why would Jesus leave after a couple guys just started following him? Because he is the greatest team recruiter to ever live.  He wasn’t going to wait for people to just join his team - he was going to go after them and tell them to get in the game?  Do you believe that? John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.)  Back in Joshua’s day some of God’s people did not want to get in the game so Josh laid it out plain: Josh 24:15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

  Finding Philip, he said to him, "Get in the Game! Follow me." Leaving his old life behind, Philip answered the call.  44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Now what do you suppose the first thing was that Phillip did?

RIGHT! 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Not everyone who hears about Jesus is immediately taken in.  People are naturally skeptical, like Nathaniel.  46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.  Phillip extends an invitation: "Come and see," said Philip. (Sounds like, “Where are you staying? Come and see!”

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." Jesus knows everything about you before he invites you to get in the game and he still wants you!  48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."  51 He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

When you get in the game, you are going to see heaven open up and see who Jesus really is.  Can you know Jesus if you are a spectator? No! You can have a general idea but you can’t know him; unless you allow him to become your coach and you join his team. Then you will see things you never could have imagined.  There is no guarantee you will win every game, but you will ultimately be the champions.

 Let me share with you the story of a man who got in the game.  A very young man who became a pastor at the time of the second world war.  I first heard this story on the day I was given a new position on the team - the position of pastor.  My ordination service 8-25-85 preached by Steve Harvey. The young pastor’s name (Rev. Jones / & Dr. Smith)

3-9-14 Jesus dunks

Scripture   (Jesus’ incarnation and baptism)   John 1:1-34

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament played each spring featuring 68 college basketball teams. The tournament, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and was the idea of Ohio State University coach Harold Olsen. Played mostly during March, it is known as March Madness, and has become one of the most famous annual sporting events in the US.

The tournament teams include champions from 32 Division I conferences, and 36 teams which are awarded at-large berths. The 68 teams are divided into four regions and organized into a single elimination "bracket", which predetermines, when a team wins a game, which team it will face next. Each weekend eliminates three quarters of the teams, from a round of 64, to a "Sweet Sixteen", and for the last weekend of the Tournament a Final Four. These four teams, one from each region, then compete for the national championship.

   THAT…is what most people know as March Madness…not so here!  (insert + love)

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19.  A basketball in the hands of Las Angeles Laker’s Kobe Bryant is worth $30 million, the next closest to him is Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks at $22 million.  There are a lot of players in the 15-22 million dollar range; only one at 30 million. It depends on whose hands it’s in.

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in Jesus’ hands will feed thousands.  It depends whose hands it’s in.

Nails in my hands might produce a few pictures hung on a wall.  Nails in Jesus Christ’s hands will produce a savior hung on a cross and salvation for the entire world. It depends whose hands it’s in.

OR, Luke 5:12-13 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

          How did God’s hands become real? Flesh? Visible? Able to heal and to bleed? How did the God who’s divine-heavenly-eternal-timeless-incorruptible being become one of us?

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood

it. Λόγος is from the root λεγω, meaning to lay: then, pick up: hence to gather or put words together…to speak. λόγος is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed.

The word here points directly to Genesis 1 (In the beginning...God said…), where the act of creation is effected by God speaking (Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made). The idea of God, who is in his own nature hidden, revealing himself in creation, is the root of the Logos-idea.

          Skip to vs 10 He (the logos = the word) was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

          14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

The decision of the Nicene Council made a choice between two words that differed by a mere letter but in meaning implied a profound theological difference; namely, homoousion (same substance), and homoiousion (like substance). The Council declared that the Father and the Son are homoousion and co-eternal.

The Nicene Council decided that, because the triune Godhead is fully present in Jesus, the reality of God’s love for humanity is demonstrated. Incarnation implied not retreat from an impure world but a sacrificial commitment to its healing. The incarnation is a Giant invitation to Live in the Love of God. Like a GIANT greeting card.

 

The Chalcedon Council also taught that Jesus Christ is of the same substance as the Father and the same substance as us; and although possessing two natures, divine and human, these are united in the one person.

Chalcedonian Creed

We then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a [rational] soul and body; [coessential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten,  to  be  acknowledged   in   two   natures;   inconfusedly,   unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ...

          Now that we have some idea of how God became a person with healing/bleeding hands, we must ask WHY?  He is word, creator, life, light, Father’s glory, full of grace and truth!  Grace = giving someone what they don’t deserve. Truth = reality of being true.

caris / grace. alhqeia / truth. These terms are based on the OT concepts of grace and truth related to God’s loyalty and faithfulness to His covenant and His covenant people.

One and Only - unique - no one else would do what he has done.  Other hands bleed like his but no other hands heel or save people from their sins like his.

The incarnation is Jesus getting dunked all the way from the glory of heaven into a manger in Bethlehem and a cross in Jerusalem.  The first chapter of john goes on to describe Jesus baptism, where he was dunked in the Jordan river as an example for us to follow.  The Christian life misses the mark if all we do is follow his example and not understand how his Holy Spirit becomes incarnated in us when we are born again.  The hidden heart of God, the very love of God in Christ is made known through his church, his people, his children…you and me.  That is huge.  Let’s do something, not just think something to make this more real to us.  Right – the word must become flesh.  So sit close enough to at least one other person so that you would be able to reach out and join hands in a few minutes.

Hand Meditation

Edward J. Farrell

Put your hands in your lap and close your eyes. Get as comfortable as you can and relax . . . Become aware of your hands . . . the air at your fingertips . . . between your fingers . . . on the palm of your hand. Think of your hands. Think of the hands of your father or mother or grandparents. Remember the oldest hands that have rested in your hands. Think of the hands of a newborn child of the incredible beauty, perfection, and delicacy in the hands of a child . . . Once upon a time your hands were the same size . . . Think of all that your hands have done since then . . . Think of all the learning your hands have done, how many activities they have mastered and things they have made. Our hands are not just for ourselves . . . but for others. How often were they given to help another? Remember all the kinds of work they have done, the tiredness, the coldness and aching, the heat, the soreness, the bruises. Remember the tears they have wiped away, your own or another’s, the blood they have bled, the healing they have experienced . . . How much hurt, anger, even violence they have expressed and how much gentleness, tenderness and love they have given . . . How often they have been folded in prayer . . . a sign of both their

powerlessness and their power . . . There is a great mystery which we discover in the hands of the man or woman we love . . . There are hands of doctors, nurses, and pastors . . . Now raise your hands slowly and gently and place them over your heart . . . press more firmly until your hand picks up the beat of your heart and then raise your hand just a fraction above your clothing . . . experience the warmth between your hand and your heart . . . Now as if carrying your heart, lower your hand to your lap . . . When you extend your hand to another, it is not just bone and skin . . . it is you heart . . . Now, without opening your eyes, extend both hands to either side and find another hand . . . Do not simply hold it . . . sense the history and mystery of this hand . . . Let your hand speak to it and let it listen to the other . . . Bring your hands back again to your lap. Experience the presence of that hand lingering on your hand . . . Whose hand was that?? ? It could have been any hand . . .  It could have been God’s hand . . .  IT WAS ! ! ! . . . HE has no other hands but our hands on this earth. If the work is to be done we must do it with Him . . . with our hands linked together we must be HIS working force of love in the world.

The value of a basketball in our hands, of some fish and loaves of bread, of nails…not much. The value of our hands being a visible, flesh extension of the hidden heart of God to the world is worth knowing that the love of God the father is revealed to one more person just like it was to you and me.

 

EXTRA NOT FULY SHARED DURING MESSAGE:

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.