11-26-17 How He Loves

Scripture    1 John 4:7-19

 Hebrews 1:1-3a     In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.     

          We have taken a year of looking at “God’s Social Network: The Bible.” We have seen how God has communicated throughout history in ways reflective of facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, You Tube, and more. Through ways like using an audible voice, “writing on a wall”, dictating His truths, appearing in human form (even in the OT = theophany’s) then disappearing, using living object lessons, prophets and angels.

          We have shown that God has a desire to communicate and used nearly as many ways as there are social media platforms. And yet, like social media – every one of those ways is not a perfect way to communicate – as communication tools, they all had flaws that couldn’t be fixed. So, God sent one final form of communication that could not fail – he sent His one and only, born of God son, who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.

          Knowing all of this begs the question… “What’s all the noise?” Why is God trying so hard to communicate with us, and what is God trying to communicate to us?  The answer to the why is inherent in the answer to what God is working so hard to communicate.

          In every act of communication, God is doing one thing – telling us that we are loved. God communicates more than that, but never communicates without that being central to His interaction with us.

          THE TRAIN ILLUSTRATION  (4 congregation members to help)

FACT  -  FAITH  -  FEELING

1 John 4:7-19

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

          13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

          God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

          19 We love because he first loved us.

To what can I compare the power of God’s love? Do you remember Hurricane Harvey (Houston), Irma (Florida Keys), Maria (Puerto Rico)?  [VIDEO] We only think of hurricane’s as a destructive force. For the moment, simply consider the power of a hurricane. Like God’s love, hurricanes have extreme power that cannot be harnessed, it is always in motion, it covers everything in its path. As the song says, “God’s love is like a hurricane and I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

          In other words, I may try to resist God’s love, but I cannot help but be affected by His love. Even my afflictions seem to disappear in light of his affections for me. Remember God communicates in various ways – even though Jesus Christ, God’s son is the final and full revelation of God – even Jesus can be communicated to us in various ways. Some of us need bent like a tree in a hurricane to feel the power of his love. Others may need to be quietly, carefully, slowly drawn to his love. In John 12:32, Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

          The song "How He Loves"(by John Mark McMillan, ends: And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets When I think about the way...That He loves us, / Oh, how He loves us, / Oh, how He loves us, / Oh, how He loves.

          One of my former youth pastors talks of how he came to faith. Grew up in the church but turned to his own ways – far away from Christ – found himself literally lying in a gutter when someone crossed the street, knelt down and told him that God loved him…and that changed everything.

          Likewise, Jesus has crossed the street and knelt down to us in the gutter to tell us and show us how much he loves us – how we are worth his death on the cross.

          John 3:16-17  "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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

2 Samuel 9 shows the story of God’s love. A new king would often kill all relatives of the former king for fear of an uprising. Not David. Even though he had been hunted by King Saul who wanted to kill him, David asked if any of Saul’s family – particularly, any of Saul’s sons family – (i.e. Jonathan’s family) were still living. Only Jonathan’s crippled son Mephibosheth who was summoned and feared for his life. David gave him all the property that was Saul’s and said he would now always eat at the king’s table.

          Even though we were enemies to God, crippled by our sin, Jesus invites us to sit eternally at the kings table and eat with him. Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

11-19-17 Thankful for Special Days!

Scripture:  Isaiah 38:19

SONG: Special Days

          The song says ‘everyday’ is a special day, however, by definition ‘everyday’ cannot be a special day – (better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.)

BEST GROUNDHOG DAY EVER

            There is a humorous story I like about a man sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper when his wife breezed through the kitchen, gave him a light kiss on the cheek and said matter of factly, “I’ll bet you’ve forgotten what day this is?!” The husband answered defensively, “I have not!” And he went back to the reading the newspaper while his wife finished getting ready upstairs. But for the life of him, he could not remember what special day it was.

            All the way to work it bothered him, “What day is this?” He knew his wife was very sensitive about forgetting special days such as their anniversary or Valentine’s day, but he simply could not recall from memory what this day was supposed to be.

            Deciding not to take any chances, on his way home after work he bought a box of candy, a dozen roses, and a gift-wrapped bottle of her favorite perfume. Upon arriving home, he quickly greeted his wife and yelled out “surprise” as he handed her the various gifts. To which she replied, “Oh sweetheart - this is the best Groundhog’s Day I’ve ever had!” 

What are some of the ‘special days’ in your life? Birthday? First Bicycle? Graduation? Salvation? Baptism? Marriage? Birth of child/grandchild? Job promotion? Home purchase? 300 in bowling or a hole in one in golf? Retirement?  Make a list of your special days. Pick your top 5. What did God have to do with making those special days happen? If you were to tell God you are thankful for those 5 days, what is it about His part in them are you particularly thankful for? Write that down.

Isaiah 38:19     The living, the living — they praise you, as I am doing today;

                         fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.

(If you have pics form the Ashland Ave. Church building – some of those could go here)

Ashland Building and Attendance history

          In 1993 72% of the Ashland Avenue Baptist Church voted to remain at the Ashland Ave. location and a few years later raised over $100,000 for capital improvements.

          In 2005, facing $900,000 in needed repairs to the facility the church voted to sell the Ashland church building and did so to Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church for $450,000 and the Tracker Organ was also sold for $300,000.

(Could change to pics of current building here)

      In 2007 Ashland purchased the current building (formerly the Oregon church of the Nazarene) for $700,000. Ashland held its first worship service here Nov 24, 2007. (Happy 10^th Anniversary)

          In 1987 Ashland membership was 454. In the 1920’s there were over 1000 members. Average Sunday worship in 1986 was 224. By 1989 it was less than 200 and a year later, Sunday worship averaged 186. In June of 2016 attendance averaged in the 70s and today it averages in the 80s occasionally seeing more than 100. That is a slow but positive trajectory.

          Are there special days in the church (any church) you remember and see where God was working? Write those down as well.

As our scripture says, Isaiah 38:19    The living, the living — they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.

          So, we are to tell the good things God has done for us. The video we saw earlier spoke of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea; Job giving thanks; barren Hanna giving birth and in thanksgiving; giving her son Samuel to God’s service; David danced before the ark in thanksgiving; Solomon thanked God for the completed Temple; Jesus at the last supper gave thanks.

          Isaiah told Hezekiah he would die. Hezekiah reminded God of the special days they had shared and God added 15 years to his life, and he said: Isa 38:16-19  Lord, by such things men live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living — they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.

The fathers would tell the sons these stories and still do to this day – about these special days and how God was involved in them and for these days they give Thanks to God.

Nov 4, 1974           Salvation

Feb 6, 1982            Marriage

Sept 19, 1985         Birth of son

June 17, 1988         Birth of daughter

March 17, 2016     Birth of first grandchild

May 22, 2016         Thank you Service (From the Heart Theater Group)

Isaiah 38:19           The MSG / It's the living — live men, live women — who thank you, just as I'm doing right now. Parents give their children full reports on your faithful ways.

To the living, I want to give the opportunity to do what the church should always do – give thanks. Do not take more than a minute or two, do not preach. Do say what Special day(s) you are thankful for and why you thank God for that day. Do introduce yourself by name.

11-5-17 Hidden Treasure: What’s it Worth?

Scripture:  Matthew 13:44-46

          Have you ever hunted for treasure? (00) We all have – for a spouse – a perfect job – the best car or a Pokemon with (00a) Pokemon Go? Or maybe some have even hunted for gold or money?

Reality TV has a plethora of shows about treasure hunting”

(01) Gold rush

(02) Bearing Sea Gold

(03) Treasure Quest: Snake Island

(04) Curse of Oak Island

(05) Cooper’s Treasure

(06) The Detectorists = looking for treasure while missing the treasures right beneath them.

MOVIES

(07) Treasure of the Sierra Madre

(08) Jewel of the Nile

(09) National Treasure

(10) Pirates of the Carribean

(11) Indiana Jones Series

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Jesus used parables as a way to teach people. Till now his parables were meant for the crowds and often hid some meaning about the kingdom of God. Now he tells two similar parables to his disciples, not to conceal, rather to reveal the kingdom of God. These two parables, one about a treasure and the other about a parable make a similar point in contrast to the parable of the wheat and weeds, which look forward to the 2^nd coming of Christ and the consummation of the kingdom of God, these two parables emphasize the current presence of the kingdom of God in the world.

          There is one kingdom of God experienced two ways – one day it will be experienced by being present in it – until then, it is experienced by the kingdom being present in you. Then it will be experienced fully, now it is experienced in part.  How is that possible? Revelation 3:20 NIV “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” He – Jesus, will be in my day to day life now even as much as when I am eating. But later - in the kingdom of heaven – I will eat with him.  For now, he is in me, so I experience the fullness of the kingdom but limited by my faith in this world – then I will experience the kingdom with no human limitations.  Living Bible “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.”

IN THE FIELD

If you owned property and had a ton of cash and banks did not exist – where would you keep that cash? In the ground. Here are some pics of banks in Jesus day. (Pic of caves in Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found). It was customary in Jesus day, if you had treasure worth anything, to bury it in the ground. Sometimes people would come upon treasure by accident – maybe the land owner had died or forgot where the treasure was buried and then there are those who are treasure hunters and go looking buried treasure. Both are covered in these two tiny parables.

          This finding seems by accident "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. He couldn’t steal the treasure, or try to buy it – that would cost too much -  so he let it lie briefly and sold ALL he had to purchase it. The story is NOT about a man who did not tell about the treasure -apparently the current land owner was unaware of it or would not have sold the property. The point of the story is that the treasure he found was worth EVERYTHING the man had. He sold all he had to obtain the single treasure worth more than anything/everything he previously owned. The treasure is the kingdom of God and a few verses later Jesus lets them know how blessed they are to see what was previously hidden that the prophets longed to see. Compare to the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life – “I keep the commandments…Matt 19:16-24 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Not all finds buried in the ground in Israel are by accident:

In 1992 volunteers from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, excavating in Caesarea dug up 99 gold coins that had been stashed in a makeshift safe beneath the floor of what was once a private dwelling. Caesarea is considered one of Israel’s richest archaeological sites in that diggers are still unearthing treasures after 21 years of digging.

I’m sure the guy who stashed his gold coins under the floor of his home in biblical times did not anticipate that someone else would find his stash of coins in 1992.

THE COSTLY PEARL

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Instead of accidently finding a great treasure – this is a person who finds and sells pearls. He was searching for them and when he found the greatest pearl ever – he realized it’s worth and sold everything to obtain it. Whereas the one with the hidden treasure was taking a chance on the value of the treasure – this person knows exactly what this is worth – for more than everything he had accumulated up to this point. Again, the point is not that you can buy your way into the kingdom – the point is the incomparable worth of the kingdom to everything else we have in this life.

          Jesus uses a pearl because it is an extremely valuable and precious gem on its own, let alone the greatest one ever found.

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH?

What is the kingdom of God worth to you? What is having a personal relationship with Jesus worth to you? Do you have a clue what that relationship is worth? Here is someone who knew not the worth of what was right before him:     A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. "I couldn't read it," the friend explained. "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it." "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror. "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!" His friend was unimpressed. "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."

Meredith Andrews    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg7h6GiNTLg

Song based on Acts 20:24  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

WORTH IT ALL

All I am Lord here before You  /  Reaching out for more  /  You're the promise never failing
You are my reward, Jesus, You are my reward

I let go of all I have just to have all of You  /  And no matter what the cost I will follow You
Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You

When I finally reach the end I'll say  /  You are worth it all

There's no riches or earthly treasure  /  That will satisfy  /  Every longing is for You Jesus

Set this heart on fire  /  Oh, set this heart on fire

I let go of all I have just to have all of You  /  And no matter what the cost I will follow You
Jesus everything I've lost I have found in You

When I finally reach the end I'll say  /  You are worth it all  /  You are worth it all

God cared for us so much that he did not send an angel or anyone else to reveal the kingdom of God – to reveal God himself. Jesus came as God in the flesh. He is a treasure worth everything we have and everything we are. Kristin Lewis, about 8 years old, mentioned that her mother's birthday was soon approaching. She was asked if she was going to make a birthday card on her father's computer. She said, "No. If you make one on the computer they don't keep it on the refrigerator as long as when you make one yourself."     (COMMUNION)