02/27/2022 = Matthew 5:38-48 = What Is God Saying? “Completely Perfect and/or Perfectly Complete”

(Click HERE to watch the FB Live video feed of this service, starts at 8:50, sermon begins at 25:15)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Matthew 5:38-48                                                                                                    

02/27/2022

 “What Is God Saying? ‘Completely Perfect and/or Perfectly Complete’”           

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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Take My Life and Let It Be – verse 4 . . . Jake Davis

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Hello everyone! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Take my love; take my self; I want to be completely Yours, and perfectly in Your service! What a beautiful prayer with which to begin this time of gathered worship! (Thank you Jake for opening our worship experience again today!)

Today happens to be SOMEONE’s birthday – Vern Lightbody – receive our love … Happy Birthday to you …..

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today!

Our worship theme this month deals with some hard, or weird, scripture passages or churchy themes – based on questions I have received from folks in our church over the years. My prayer is that we might learn something, but even more that we grow into being the Church God calls us to be – together here, and with THE Church wherever we meet to worship and serve in the variety of ways and cultures and languages we are God’s church together!

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Thank you, on behalf of our Elders’ Council, thank you for … continuing to be a place where we love each other and our families by:

“Wearing your mask while inside the building.”

This is not because we are afraid, but because we want to love our neighbors. We truly want that no one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, so continue to be gentle with each other. Listening to the Philippians 2:4 passage:

“ in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

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Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Love of the Lord be with you – and also with you – and also with you! And you! And you!!”

Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.

Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.

Today Scott Calls us to Worship from the Lord’s Prayer:

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Our opening song of praise and devotion –– #89 – Our Great Savior – led by Gene & Deanna Peden!!Please stand and join them powerful song of praise.

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Prayer of Illumination

Gracious and loving God, we thank You for Your divine providence in our lives that has so ordered the course of our living that You have intertwined our lives together in this Church.  We pray that by Your grace, by the deep working of Your Spirit in our midst, You would help us to be so released to You in what we do together that You may be able to fulfill in us and through us the good and perfect will for our wholeness for which You have brought us to this place at this time.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Intro series – difficult passages or theological ideas for us to understand or follow or even accept as from God, perhaps.

Today’s is a topic that every person that has ever walked this planet has had to deal with.  Probably everybody in this room this morning is in the middle of something that makes this topic extremely relevant.  What is today’s topic?  Forgiveness.  How to; why to; when to: how do you know if you have; etc.                                                                          I think we can all understand God’s teaching on this subject … and it’s simple enough to accept it as God’s truth … but, man it is hard to do!

Specifically, today’s topic came to me like this: “I have had two people do repeated vicious acts toward me, and I feel I have forgiven them; yet I fail to trust them.  Have I truly forgiven?” 

We might also ask, “How can saying ‘I forgive you’ wipe away all the pain and hurt that person has inflicted on me?”     If I asked for a show of hands from anyone who has ever wondered this question at some point in our lives, I’d bet almost all of us would have to honestly raise our hands.

Another way to approach that question is to say, “I have forgiven her, I just can’t forget what she did!”

CS Lewis once said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have someone to forgive … and then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger.”

He’s right, isn’t he?  We all know that forgiving another person their wrongs is the right thing to do – Paul said in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another; forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” – but when we have to do it nothing about it seems right anymore!

Let’s hear from Jesus this morning, too.  Today, from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-48 …. —-

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³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. [Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! That’s also from the Bible, Deuteronomy 19:21] ³⁹ But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 

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⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

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⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

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⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

That’s an order, a commandment, from Jesus, to forgive, isn’t it?  Deuteronomy 19:21 gives us the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” rule (and Deuteronomy is quoting from Exodus 21:24!).  That was a good rule, too.  Without that rule, people would say “an eye for a scratch, a tooth for a bruise”.  At least this Exodus/Deuteronomy rule was fair!

But Jesus says that “fair” isn’t good enough!  Jesus says to give him your other eye, too!  Don’t just not be fair … but also offer your assailant another chance to double your victim-hood.

First, take note that this instruction was given to Jesus’ disciples – not just the 12 apostles, but the whole larger group of followers, too.  It was spoken, therefore, for Christian individuals and probably Christian communities – churches.  It was not spoken to political entities or civil governments.  If the political/civil entity claims to be a Christian one, than perhaps even that secular gathering should be expected to follow this command.  But otherwise, it is for us as individual followers of Jesus Christ, and us as a community of followers.  We should forgive others and offer others the other cheek. 

But Jesus does not stop with that commandment – as hard as it is to follow.  He takes it to the next level: Love not only your friends and family … but love also your fiends and foes!  Understand?  Yeah, but ….  Accept it as coming from Jesus’ mouth?  Yeah, but ….  Follow it in our own lives?  Yeah, right!

This teaching from Jesus closes with the most difficult thing to follow. 

First He says to turn the other cheek.  Alright – hard, but … maybe. 

Second He says to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors – Pray for them maybe, love them, not likely – but the truth is that when we practice praying for our enemies we discover a love for them we never knew could be there – that’s a gift from God. 

Then He says, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!”  Yeah, right!

Here’s where we really get to the heart of today’s concern.  How do I know if I’ve really forgiven them when I can’t trust them?

What is at the crux of the Christian faith?  What grounds the Christian believer – the follower of Jesus Christ, the lover and server of God Almighty – in biblical faith?  It is the truth that our perfect God has perfectly forgiven us of our sinful behavior.  You and I have sinned – we continue to sin every day – and yet God has forgiven us through the act of Jesus Christ on the cross, resurrected from the grave, ascended to heaven to reign on the throne of grace forevermore!

Just as Abraham proved His love for God by obediently following instructions against all reason to sacrifice his son; so God has proved His love by sacrificing His Son for us.  In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!  Do we deserve it?  Yeah, right!  But we are forgiven!  God forgives us and welcomes us into His Kingdom.  What is our responsibility?  To receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior – that gives us the right to be called children of God!

What does Paul command?  Be kind and compassionate to one another; forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Just as in Christ God forgave you!  That is just perfect, isn’t it … or should I say, perfect justice!

But I can’t be perfect!  I’ve tried … and failed.  Nobody can be perfect!  Max Scherzer (2021’s best MLB pitcher) wasn’t perfect.  Tom Brady wasn’t perfect.  Stephen Hawking isn’t perfect.  Ludwig von Beethoven wasn’t perfect.  Not one single person ever has been perfect.  But Jesus says, “Be perfect just like God is perfect!”

There is a trick to this statement … and it is this trick which helps us understand the answer to today’s dilemma.  The trick is this: in Greek the word for “perfect” is teleios, which can also be translated – and often is translated – “complete” or “finished”.  When Jesus says to be perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect, part of what that means is to allow God to finish His work on us.

In order for God’s forgiveness on us to take effect – in order for it to work – we have to accept it.  That is the first step toward becoming perfect, complete.  We have to accept His forgiveness.

When we forgive another for the wrong they have done – some say we can’t really forgive unless they ask for forgiveness – but that’s not right; we can – and should – forgive them – they still have to accept it, whether they ask for it or not, for it to be completely, perfectly effective.  Whether they accept it or not, it is good for us to do the forgiving, but it is far better when it is received!

Trust fits into that same category.  God loves me and forgives me, and He asks me to do His work – He trusts His Gospel message into my lips!  But His trust is not yet complete – it is not yet perfect!  The more I prove my faithfulness to Him, the more trustworthy I become, the more perfect I will be.  In the meantime, God has to help me every day!

If I forgive someone who has seriously injured me – they spitefully attacked me in a meeting; they purposely keyed my car; they beat me with a baseball bat – I don’t think I need to trust that person to care for me until they prove themselves capable of showing that care.  I still forgive them – there’s no grudge, I do not repay their evil with my evil; but I don’t need to sit with them in a meeting, or park my car next to theirs, or stand idly by when they’re swinging a baseball bat!

If accepting God’s forgiveness is the first step toward becoming perfectly complete and/or completely perfect, what are the next steps?

The art of forgiving is a spiritual grace every Christian should develop.  Here are some practical steps on the road to completion:

2) Begin by assuring yourself that compared to Christ‘s suffering you haven’t been seriously wronged at all.

3) Recall the many kind deeds that have been shown to you, perhaps even by the person who has harmed you.

4) List the benefits you have received from the Lord.  “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”

5) Thank God for blessing you with His love and forgiveness each day.

6) Make an honest effort to pray for the one who has injured you.

7) Go even further by looking for an opportunity to help him.

8) If the offense is especially hard to forget, try to erase the memory by thinking gracious and generous thoughts.

Dutch watchmaker Corrie ten Boom and her family were put in horrible concentration camps during World War II. Their crime was hiding Jews from the Nazi invaders. Her father, sister and other family members died there. Corrie, then in her 50s, had a lot of people to forgive: the Dutchman who betrayed her that led to her family’s imprisonment, as well as the brutal prison guards.

Many years later as she travelled the globe preaching, she gave an illustration on releasing bitterness coupled with unforgiveness. Yes, she said, it is hard to forgive. But Jesus  requires it of His followers.

She said she had forgiven the guards who had abused her and caused the death of those in her family. Then some close friends behaved like enemies toward her and she was having a hard time. “So, you forgive but the bitter memories might keep surfacing,” she admitted. Then she shared an illustration that helped her.

“When a man rings a church bell, it goes bim bam—bim bam. Then there comes the moment he stops pulling and lets go of the rope. But the bell still goes bim bam a few more times. Yet he knows it will finally stop ringing.

“When we forgive, the memories might surface again and again, but you simply bring them again to the Lord. He is Victor. Soon He makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to help us become free of the bitterness. When other people make it hard for us, then we must pray that the Lord will use that for our sanctification.”

9) Finally, before you fall asleep at night, repeat slowly and thoughtfully that phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, 
    “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

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Father Robert Spitzer, former president of Gonzaga University, now he speaks on a philosophy blog called “Spitzercenter.org”. He says,

“And now we hear Jesus literally turning everything on its head – in two ways.

“The first thing that Jesus says is look, love your enemies. In this way you’re going to be perfect like your heavenly Father is perfect. What does our heavenly Father’s perfection consist in?

“The most radical thing that defines the nature of God is that He loves His enemies. Even His enemies He loves unconditionally.

[Then Father Spitzer points out a “slight translation error”]: “It’s not ‘be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect…’ Otherwise we’d be dead and in Heaven. Rather it’s ‘be perfected as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ This is a slightly different nuance of the text.

“So, our objective is to try to move, to be perfected as it were, ever more closely toward the Father who loves His enemies and loves them even unconditionally.

“The world has changed. [We] can’t even imagine what this sounded like in first century Jerusalem. [We] can’t even imagine how different this is from the whole world view and conception they had, which Jesus correctly repeats and Moses validates: Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.

“The second radical difference is suffering.

“In the Old Testament viewpoint, even up through the time of Job suffering really is about God’s punishment of sin in past generations.

“Of course, the idea of suffering is it’s God’s just punishment for the sins. It might have been you, might have been your father, might have been your grandfather, might have been your great-grandfather, down to the fourth generation. You don’t know where it came from, but one thing is sure, suffering’s a punishment for sin.

“All of a sudden, Jesus says, no, that’s not it. ‘He causes his rain to fall on the just, as well as the unjust.’ This is earthshaking. This is like taking an entire dyadic worldview and turning it upside down. And then He says ‘He causes his sun to shine, good things to happen on good, as well as evil people.’ And of course, people are going, ‘This cannot be the case.’

“And then Jesus tops it all off again with saying, in this consists the ultimate perfection of your heavenly Father, that he causes even good to happen to people who are evil.

“He actually loves His enemies, and so He encourages us to pray for our enemies and to do good for those who hate us.

“We look at that and the image of God has changed significantly. Jesus is superseding that, as it were, the ‘justice at all costs’ view of God, the [‘eye for an eye law’], and is superseding it with the notion of God is unconditional love, Jesus Himself as the unconditionally loving Son, and of course, the commandment to love as superseding an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

“Truly, the good news for us, for all of us who are imperfect, is that God loves us!

“But of course, the challenge is to follow and be perfected in that love as we try to move through our lives.”

Amen.

Great God of Creation,

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of worship in this sanctuary.

Prepare us for everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

                                                    In Jesus’ authority.  Amen. ……….

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20-22   Let’s come to the Lord in prayer –

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

23   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

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We are living, breathing messages of God’s love for the world. This is our work of faith and our labor of love and our steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Like the earliest Christians, we are here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

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Expedition Song #476 –  Not What These Hands Have Done  –!  – Chan & Sherry Park!  We opened today with a prayer of submission to God’s reign, and we close today with a declaration of God’s power and grace!

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We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

30   Announcements      

Resources: 

Bruce, FF; The Hard Sayings of Jesus; InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, IL; 1983; Pp. 68-76.

Mulholland, M. Robert; Shaped by the Word; Upper Room Press; Nashville, TN; 2000; P. 16.

Smedes, Lewis B.; Forgive & Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve; Pocket Books; NY, NY; 1984.

Spitzer, Father Robert (former president, Gonzaga University); https://spitzercenter.org/love-your-enemies/ 

ten Boom, Corrie; Marching Orders for the End Battle; Christian Literature Crusade; 1969; P. 53.

Wheeler, Mark; “What Did God Say? ‘Completely Perfect and/or Perfectly Complete”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 10/16/2005.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurchofchrist/legacy_url/3825/offering-invitations-for-ordinary-time.pdf?1418427555

02/20/2022 = Proverbs 9:10 = What Is God Sayin’ Here? “Is He Safe?”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video feed – starts at 5:00, sermon at 17:00 – the video keeps going long after we’re done … sorry about that)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Proverbs 9:10                                                                                           

02/20/2022

 “What Is God Saying? ‘Is He Safe?’”                                                                     

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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Take My Life and Let It Be – verse 3 . . . Jake Davis

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Hello everyone! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Take my lips, and let them be filled with stories about Your power and presence; take my silver and my gold, fully, to be used for Your purposes alone! What a beautiful prayer with which to begin this time of gathered worship! (Thank you Jake for opening our worship experience today!)

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today!

Our worship theme this month deals with some hard, or weird, scripture passages or churchy themes – based on questions I have received from folks in our church over the years. My prayer is that we might learn something, but even more that we grow into being the Church God calls us to be – together here, and with THE Church wherever we meet to worship and serve in the variety of ways and cultures and languages we are God’s church together!

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Thank you, on behalf of our Elders’ Council, thank you for … continuing to be a place where we love each other and our families by:

“Wearing your mask while inside the building.”

This is not because we are afraid, but because we want to love our neighbors. We truly want that no one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, so continue to be gentle with each other. Listening to the Philippians 2:4 passage:

“ in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA   

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Love of the Lord be with you – and also with you – and also with you! And you! And you!!”

Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.

Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.

Today Pastor Kathy Calls us to Worship from Psalm 67 and an ancient prayer of the church:

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Our opening song of praise and devotion –– #2 – Holy, Holy, Holy – led by Ken & Donna Stone!!Please stand and join them powerful song of praise.

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Prayer of Illumination

Gracious and loving God, we thank You for Your divine providence in our lives that has so ordered the course of our living that You have intertwined our lives together in this Church.  We pray that by Your grace, by the deep working of Your Spirit in our midst, You would help us to be so released to You in what we do together that You may be able to fulfill in us and through us the good and perfect will for our wholeness for which You have brought us to this place at this time.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Intro series – difficult passages or theological ideas for us to understand or follow or even accept as from God, perhaps.

Someone handed me a note at the end of our worship service a few years ago – and her note referred to a song we had sung and an oft repeated Biblical theme – she asked this: “I always think of my God as a loving God – why then should we ‘fear’ Him?”

Then she added the pressure: “I’ve asked other pastors this same question and never receive an answer.  Can you explain?”

Now, I can’t remember who gave me that note, I think I know, but if I say her name I’ll probably be wrong – so I hope the person who  asked this question is here this morning.

There are a LOT of Bible passages that refer to “fearing the Lord”.  I chose what is probably the most well-known verse on “fearing the Lord” (from Proverbs).

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In the Old Testament book of Proverbs we read, in chapter 9, verse 10, that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

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It seems like a reasonable place to start this discussion is with a Bible dictionary.  I looked in a few, and I share with you the Zondervan Bible Handbook Series dictionary definition of “fear”: “Fear. May be either that apprehension of evil which normally leads one either to flee or to fight or that awe and reverence which a man of sense feels in the presence of God, and to a lesser extent in the presence of a king or other dread authority.”

OK, that gives us two kinds of fear: 1) a sense of terror, anxiety, worry –  like I’m guessing the disciples felt when their just-killed       Friend and Leader appears in a locked Upper Room with them after His Resurrection.  What are Jesus’ first words? 

                             “Don’t be afraid – fear not.”

          FDR told a scared nation, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” –

Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement added, “But I think spiders should be

                             considered, too.”

And 2) a sense of “awe and reverence which a man of sense feels in the presence of God.”

But that definition still leaves me wondering what Proverbs 9:10 means, and which definition of “fear” he used.  Why does a man of sense feel that awe and reverence or terror in the presence of God?

I’ve heard someone say, “My fear is that one day I’ll meet God, He’ll sneeze, and I won’t know what to say.” 

          Is that what “fear” means?

To me, it seems that the next step in the discovery of what this means is to define – describe – God.  The person who asked this question already started this process with a wonderful word.  She said, “I always think of my God as a loving God.”

What else can we add to that description of God?  What else is God like? [Allow people to respond]

Did you listen to the words of Holy, Holy, Holy we just sang?  God is an awesome God!

                   He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and love.  Our God is an awesome God!

Last week I ran across a poem called, “Where God Ain’t”.  This poem does not describe God as fearsome, but when we realize what the poem says, I think we’ll also realize that fearsome only starts to describe who God is:

                   He was just a little boy, On a week’s first day.

                   He was wandering home from Sunday School, And dawdling on the way.

                   He scuffed his shoes into the grass; He found a caterpillar.

                   He found a fluffy milkweed pod, And blew out all the “filler”.

                   A bird’s nest in a tree over head, So wisely placed on high,

                   Was just another wonder That caught his eager eye.

                   A neighbor watched his zigzag course, And hailed him from the lawn;

                   Asked him where he’d been that day And what was going on.

                   “I’ve been to Bible School,” he said And turned a piece of sod.

                   He picked up a wiggly worm, replying, “I’ve learned a lot about God.”

                   “A very fine way,” the neighbor said, “for a boy to spend his time.

                   If you tell me where God is, I’ll give you a brand new dime.”

                   Quick as a flash the answer came!  Nor were his accents faint.

                   “I’ll give you a dollar, Mister, If you can tell me where God ain’t!”

God is everywhere!  He sees everything!  He knows all there is to know … about you.  Is that not a little scary?

In a Bible class we read from Revelation 14 where God’s final judgment is announced.  If “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, Revelation 14:7 tells us why.

                   “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people.  He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.  Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and springs of water.’”

We fear – terror – God, as loving as He is, because the hour of His judgment has come! 

As a child I “feared my dad” when I’d done something wrong.  As loving as Dad was, I knew when to fear him.

We worship God – awe and reverence – because He is the Creator of all that is.  He is an awesome God!

In the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the word for “fear” is “φόβος” (from which we get “phobia”, terrifying fear. This is not the same as respect or awe – it is the φόβος of God that is honored as the beginning of wisdom!)

You see, if He were not God, there would be no reason to fear Him.  But God is God!

          No matter how hard our society tries to convince us – and our children – that there is no God, and therefore there is no reason to fear Him — that does not change the fact! 

                   No matter which political system or human rights group tells us that it is unconstitutional to say the Pledge of Allegiance in our school classrooms because it includes the words “under God” – does not make it untrue!  We are still “under God!”  No matter who says we can’t pray in the name of Jesus at baccalaureate ceremonies or city council meetings, no matter who says we can’t display the 10-Commandments or Christmas Nativity scenes on government property – that does not make God less God!  And the more we move in that direction, the more we ought to fear God.

We need to choose, today, whose side we’re gonna stand on.  The side of our God, or the side of our human understanding.

Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate all evil”!  That is the beginning of wisdom!  The fear of the Lord is to choose to follow God, because Man’s ways lead us astray.

In CS Lewis’ children’s classic, The Chronicles of Narnia,he tells the Gospel story in analogy.  In this story four children find their way into a fantasy-land where animals talk and the kingdom is waiting for some humans to enter and take positions on the throne.  The Jesus Christ figure is a Lion named Aslan.  Here, let me quote a fairly early description of Aslan.  Listen to how closely it describes God:

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                   “Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.

                   “Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why, don’t you know? He’s the King … It is he, not you, that will save (your friend) Mr. Tumnus.”

                   “Is – Is he a man?” asked Lucy.

                   “Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he’s the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – The Lion, the great Lion.”

                   “Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

                   “That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

                   “Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

                   “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”

                   “I’m longing to see him,” said Peter, “even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point.”

17  

In another book in this seven-book series, Lucy is older and goes back to the fantasy-land where Aslan is king:

“Aslan” said Lucy “you’re bigger”.
“That is because you are older, little one” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. [Remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever…] But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”  [And perhaps a bit scarier, as well…]

I, too, long to see Jesus my King.  But it will be with fear and trembling.  Amen.

Great God of Creation,

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of worship in this sanctuary.

Prepare us for everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

                                                    In Jesus’ authority.  Amen. ……….

Ordination / Installation of New Officers

As we celebrate the honor and calling of leaders in God’s Church, we do so from God’s Word, the verses just prior to today’s sermon passage, I Corinthians 12:1-13 (#711 in your hymnbooks, and on the screens in front of you). Let’s read these verses responsively (I’ll read the smaller font, and all-y’all read the bold font):

18-21  

23  

Pastor Kathy calls our new officer forward: (Linda Soderstrom)

As Linda – who was unable to be with us last Sunday – stands before us, I invite the whole congregation to confess our faith together – reciting the Apostles’ Creed, what do we believe?

23-25  

26  

27-29   Let’s come to the Lord in prayer –

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

30   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

31 

We are living, breathing messages of God’s love for the world. This is our work of faith and our labor of love and our steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Like the earliest Christians, we are here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

32    

Expedition Song #415 –  It Is God Who Holds the Nations  –!  – Ken & Donna Stone!  We opened today with a prayer of submission to God’s reign, and we close today with a declaration of God’s wonder and our praise to His glory!

33-37

38  

We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

39   Announcements      

This afternoon, at 3:30, at Calvary Baptist Church, the oldest Black Church in Washington, is celebrating its 132^nd  anniversary, and we are invited to join in the celebration.  If you’d like to join Kathy and me for this celebration/worship – please talk to me before you leave today.

Resources: 

Lewis, CS; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Collie Books; NY, NY; 1950; Pp. 74-76.

Lewis, CS; Prince Caspian; Collie Books; NY, NY; 1951; P. 141.

Mulholland, M. Robert; Shaped by the Word; Upper Room Press; Nashville, TN; 2000; P. 16.

The New Compact Bible Dictionary: The Bible Handbook Series; Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; 1981; P. 173.

Wheeler, Mark; “What Did God Say? ‘Is He Safe?”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 10/02/2005.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurchofchrist/legacy_url/3825/offering-invitations-for-ordinary-time.pdf?1418427555

02/13/2022 = I Corinthians 12:12-31 = What Is God Sayin’ Here? “Be the ‘Body of Christ'”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video of this service – starts at 9:45, sermon at 22:30 … The FBLive post ends accidentally immediately after the sermon, but the full “text” is here)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

I Corinthians 12:12-31                                                                                            

02/13/2022

 “What Is God Saying? ‘Be the “Body of Christ”’”                                               

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

2  

Take My Life and Let It Be – verse 2 . . . Jake Davis

3  

Hello everyone! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Take my feet, take my voie,  and let them be swift and beautiful and singing, Lord, for Thee! What a beautiful prayer with which to begin this time of gathered worship! (Thank you Jake for opening our worship experience today!)

Welcome! W are glad you are here with us today!

Our worship theme this month deals with some hard, or weird, scripture passages or churchy themes – based on questions I have received from folks in our church over the years. My prayer is that we might learn something, but even more that we grow into being the Church God calls us to be – together here, and with THE Church wherever we meet to worship and serve in the variety of ways and cultures and languages we are God’s church together!

4-5  

Thank you, on behalf of our Elders’ Council, thank you for … continuing to be a place where we love each other and our families by:

“Wearing your mask while inside the building.”

This is not because we are afraid, but because we want to love our neighbors. We truly want that no one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, so continue to be gentle with each other. Listening to the Philippians 2:4 passage:

“ in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA   

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Love of the Lord be with you – and also in you – and also with you! And you! And you!!”

Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.

Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.

Today Ken Stone Calls us to Worship from Psalm 133 and one of those churchy themes we might struggle with:

6-7  

Our opening song of praise and devotion –– #291 – Sweet, Sweet Spirit – led by Lilly Haeger!!Please join her and sing these beautiful words of perception and prayer together.

8-9  

10  

Prayer of Illumination

Gracious and loving God, we thank You for Your divine providence in our lives that has so ordered the course of our living that You have intertwined our lives together in this Church.  We pray that by Your grace, by the deep working of Your Spirit in our midst, You would help us to be so released to You in what we do together that You may be able to fulfill in us and through us the good and perfect will for our wholeness for which You have brought us to this place at this time.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Intro series – difficult passages or theological ideas for us to understand or follow or even accept as from God, perhaps.

Today’s topic is one of those – and it’s one that tends to ruffle feathers.  The person who handed in today’s request didn’t so much ask a question as she did bring up a subject, and that subject is racism.   I will not go so far as to accuse anyone in this congregation of being prejudiced or racist or classist or ageist or any other-ist you can think of.  But, guess what, we are.  Sunday is still the most segregated day of the week!                                                “Nuh, uh! I’m not prejudiced; I hate everybody!” 

The two topics of forgiveness and racism are deeply related because when we have been the victim of an act of prejudice we are deeply injured and need to forgive.  And, frankly, most of the times when we are the ones who act in a prejudiced manner it’s because of some previous experience or upbringing that put that fear into us – that’s usually what prejudice is based on, fear – and whatever that event was needs to be forgiven!

The requester of today’s message also used a scripture passage from which to format her request: I Corinthians 12:12-31.  This section of this letter to a church with some leadership problems, and as a port city, with lots of racial problems – when people say they want to go to a New Testament Church, I always point out that not even all the New Testament Churches were all that – and Paul is describing how when each member uses the gifts God has given them for God’s Kingdom purposes, then everything that God calls us to do will be done; it’s just a matter of using the equipment the way God designed the equipment to be used – we’re back to that issue of stewardship again, aren’t we?

Let’s turn to I Corinthians 12:12-31 …. —-

11  

 ¹² For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized byone Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Indeed, the body is not one part but many.

12  

 ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

13  

 ¹⁸ But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. ¹⁹ And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

14  

 ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. ²³ And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, ²⁴ which our respectable parts do not need.

15  

²⁴   Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, ²⁵ so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. ²⁶ So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

16  

 ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed these in the church: 1^st apostles, 2^nd prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, leading, various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.

17  

Becoming the Body of Christ: that’s what this section of scripture is about.  When we become the Body of Christ, of course, all fear is gone and all racist, classist, ageist, and other –ists also disappear.  Can you imagine the actual Body of Christ arguing with itself over whether it should willingly submit to Pontius Pilate or not?  “Well I’mgoing to the cross.  No you’re not foot.  If you go we all have to go! I’m not about to go through with this. Why not? We’ve never done it this way before! …”  We would have a whole different Gospel!

One beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon two football teams meet to play the game of their lives.  Although it was expected to be a good game, only one team was assured of victory.  The teams dressed in their respective uniforms, one in blue and gold and the other in orange and black.

Game time approaches and the first team is all geared up and ready, all of the team was there and ready to play, not at all discouraged by the fact that the other team is favored to win.  That other team, however, is having some problems. The greatest quarterback since Joe Namath or Joe Montana is ready to play but some of the other players are not moved by his enthusiasm.  The wide receivers as well as the offensive linemen are missing in action.  The kicker finally shows up, seconds before the coin toss.  The whole defense is in attendance yet half of them had not bothered to show up for practice in a while. 

Finally the kickoff begins this all-bets-are-off game and that first team shows that they came to play.  The quarterbacks live up to their billing.  The ball moves down field with abandon. Touchdown after touchdown; back and forth scores. No one even cares about the Halftime show or even the commercials! But this proves to be a long game, even by “baseball” standards, overtime is expected. Who’s gonna win?  (We’ll have to wait until this evening to see how this ends….)

The Church is much like a football team (or an Olympic Hockey team – or whatever team-sport you like).  In order to achieve victory, all the players must be practiced and ready come game time. In I Corinthians, Paul describes the Church as the Body of Christ.  Yes, our team is assured victory.  Christ, the greatest to ever play the game, is on our side.  But there are some factors we must consider.

To be victorious we all must play our part.
To be victorious we all must give our best effort.

To be victorious we all must be in the game.

To be victorious we all must recognize and honor the other players on our team!

I’m not talking about personal salvation here – I’m talking about church-life, church-growth, church-impact-on-society!

1. To be victorious we all must play our part.
   A. The Body of Christ has many parts. (I Corinthians 12:14)
   B. Each part serves its God-given function. (Romans 12:3-8) [³ For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. ⁴ Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, ⁵ in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. ⁶ According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s^[b] faith; ⁷ if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; ⁸ if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.]

II. To be victorious we all must give our best effort.
          A. No one Christian is better than another.
                  1. Galatians 3:26-29 [You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus … There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.]    
                  2. I Corinthians 12:22, 25b-26 [neither Presbyterian or Lutheran, Methodist or Baptist, independent or RC]
          B. God has given each of us a part.
                  1. Refer to Team illustration.

In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels.  “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. 

18   “These five fingers,” says Lucy.  “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”

 “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus.  Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?“

                         2. Without each member doing their part, the Body of Christ suffers.
     III. To be victorious we all must be in the game.
               A. Christians must show up for practice.
                  1. Personal and organized study prepare us for the game.
                  2. II Timothy 2:15 [Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of truth.]
                  3. II Timothy 3:14-17 [¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, ¹⁵ and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God^[a] and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.]
                  4. Hebrews 10:23-25 [²³ Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.]
               B. Christians must show up for the game. (Ephesians 6:10-18 [¹⁰ Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. ¹³ For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. ¹⁴ Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, ¹⁵ and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.])
               C. Most important for victory is to be on the team.
     IV. To be victorious we all must recognize and honor the other players on our team!

               A. Everyone is welcome to the team. (John 3:16-17) [¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will 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.]
     B. Those “in Christ” are on the team.

Next Sunday, at 3:30, at Calvary Baptist Church, the oldest Black Church in Washington, is celebrating its 132^nd  anniversary, and we are invited to join in the celebration.  This would be one way to recognize and honor the other players on our team.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow arms and legs and livers and kidneys and eyes and ears and noses, receivers and defenders and quarterbacks and kickers, let us become the Body of Christ together.  Amen.

19  

Great God of Creation,

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of worship in this sanctuary.

Prepare us for everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

                                                    In Jesus’ authority.  Amen. ……….

Ordination / Installation of New Officers

As we celebrate the honor and calling of leaders in God’s Church, we do so from God’s Word, the verses just prior to today’s sermon passage, I Corinthians 12:1-13 (#711 in your hymnbooks, and on the screens in front of you). Let’s read these verses responsively (I’ll read the smaller font, and all-y’all read the bold font):

20-23  

24  

Elder Scott Lockwood calls our new officers forward: (Ashley Davis, Linda Soderstrom, Vern Lightbody, Donna Stone, Linda Tufto)

As these five stand before us, I invite the whole congregation to confess our faith together – reciting the Apostles’ Creed, what do we believe?

25-27  

28  

29-31   Let’s come to the Lord in prayer –

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

32   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

33 

We are living, breathing messages of God’s love for the world. This is our work of faith and our labor of love and our steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Like the earliest Christians, we are here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

34    

Expedition Song  –  Make Me a Servant!   –!  – Donna Stone!  We opened today with a prayer of submission to God’s reign, and we close today with a prayer of obedience to God’s calling on all our lives.

35

36  

We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

37   Announcements      

38   Happy Feb Birthdays      

08 – Julie Potts       15 – Mark Wheeler         17 – Caitlin Wheeler   19 – Sandy Summers  22 – Denise Hewson

22 – Ricardo McCarto              23 – Julie McCarter        27 – Verne Lightbody          28 – Hope Davis

Thiiiiiiis iiiis your birthday song, it isn’t very long!!

Resources: 

Bruce, FF; The Hard Sayings of Jesus; InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, IL; 1983; Pp. 68-76.

Mulholland, M. Robert; Shaped by the Word; Upper Room Press; Nashville, TN; 2000; P. 16.

Schultz, Charles; Peanuts.

Skelton, Mitchell; “The Body of Christ”; Midway Church of Christ.

Wheeler, Mark; “What Did God Say? ‘Becoming the Body of Christ’”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 10/23/2005.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurchofchrist/legacy_url/3825/offering-invitations-for-ordinary-time.pdf?1418427555

02/06/2022 = Matthew 12:48-50 = “What Is God Sayin’ Here? ‘Did Jesus Just Dis’ His Mama?'”

(Click HERE to watch the FBLive video of this service – starts at 2:30, sermon begins at 17:00)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Matthew 12:48-50                                                                                                  

02/06/2022

 “What Is God Saying? ‘Did Jesus Just Dis’ His Mama?’”                                   

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

2  

Take My Life and Let It Be – verse 1 . . . Jake Davis

3  

Hello everyone! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee! What a beautiful prayer with which to begin this time of gathered worship!

Welcome! W are glad you are here with us today! (Thank you Jake for opening our worship experience today!)

Our worship theme this month centers on difficult or confusing Bible passages or theological themes.

4-5  

Thank you, on behalf of our Elders’ Council, thank you for … continuing to be a place where we love each other and our families by:

“Wearing your mask while inside the building.”

This is not because we are afraid, but because we want to love our neighbors. Last week the State of Washington has suffered record-breaking numbers of new COVID cases (Spokane has not – but we likely will). We truly want that no one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, so continue to be gentle with each other. Listening to the Philippians 2:4 passage:

“ in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA   

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Love of the Lord be with you – and also in you – and also with you! And you! And you!!”

Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.

Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.

Today Pastor Kathy Calls us to Worship from Psalm 19 and an early Praise Song:

6-7  

Our opening song of praise and devotion –– #569 – Living for Jesus a Life that Is True – led by Deanna & Gene Peden!!Please join them and sing these beautiful words of hope and faith together.

8-13  

14  

Prayer of Illumination

Gracious and loving God, we thank You for Your divine providence in our lives that has so ordered the course of our living that You have intertwined our lives together in this Church.  We pray that by Your grace, by the deep working of Your Spirit in our midst, You would help us to be so released to You in what we do together that You may be able to fulfill in us and through us the good and perfect will for our wholeness for which You have brought us to this place at this time.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Intro series – difficult passages or theological ideas for us to understand or follow or even accept as from God, perhaps.

Today’s passage is one that came from one of you – and I agree that is certainly hard to understand … and when we understand it, it is hard to accept.  The fact that those are both true, possibly makes this a hard passage to follow.  Personally, I’ve never heard this particular question asked before – at least not exactly the way it was asked this time.  So, for the chance to wrestle with these words of Jesus for a week, and for the opportunity to explore them with you, I thank the one who asked today’s question.

The way I am asking this question is not the way the asker of the question originally asked it, but it is the way I interpreted her question and sought to discover exactly what God may have said.

14  

Here’s the exact question that came to me, but first, let’s read the passage, Matthew 12:46-50 …. —-

“⁴⁶ While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’

“⁴⁸ He replied to the one who was speaking to him, ‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’ ⁴⁹ Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

Here’s the difficulty that was asked me: “I know Jesus embraces all of us, but wouldn’t He acknowledge His mother?”  I ask it: “Did Jesus Just Dis’ His Mama?”

Part of what makes this passage hard to understand and accept is how it seems, when asked from the perspective of the “mother” who asked me the question, is how Jesus seems to disobey one of the 10-Commandments: to “honor your father and your mother.”  Does He not dis-honor His mother here?

15  

There’s another New Testament story of Jesus which fits this same category.  In John’s Gospel, chapter 2, at the site of Jesus’ first miracle when His mother suggests that He do something about the lack of wine at the wedding they’re attending. Jesus replies: “Woman, why do you bother me about this?! My time has not  yet come!”

16  

And in Luke 14:26 Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” 

In John Jesus calls His mother “Woman” and argues about doing what she wants (He does end up turning water into wine, but only after this initial refusal), in Matthew Jesus ignores His mother’s request to visit, and in Luke He goes so far as to say we all have to “hate” our mother.  What the heck is God saying?  How do any of these passages “honor” Jesus’ mother or your mother?  It’s almost as if Jesus was just a teenager when He gave these teachings.  But even as a teenager, would Jesus dis’ His Mama?

It doesn’t sound like Jesus, does it?  That’s why it’s hard to understand and accept.  It really doesn’t make much sense. 

So what’s the answer?  We have to look at the context, don’t we?  Context always defines the terms we use. 

Last July Lary & Sandy both said, “I do.”  And because it was at their wedding, we all know the context.  But if they had said the same thing, but the question instead was, “Who here wants to give me $1,000.00?”  Their “I do” would have meant something entirely different.  That might have been another “good” thing to have said … but that’s not what the context meant.

Here’s another context determined definition:  The Uber Driver asks his passenger, “Do you live on the right?”  And the passenger answers, “Yeah. Right.”  Or the Pastor asks Lary & Sandy, “Do you want to give an extra $1,000.00?”  And they answer, “Yeah. Right.”  By the context, and only by the context, do we know what that meant.

So what does the context of Matthew 12 tell us Jesus means when He says, “Who is my mother?”  Obviously Jesus knows who His mother is.  The same would be true in the context of the Luke passage.  Does Jesus hate His mother?  Does He really want us to “hate” our mothers?  “Yeah. Right.”  That would be absurd.

In both passages Jesus is speaking in hyperbole – He is making a point by exaggeration.  “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”  How does He answer?  “Anyone who does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother.”  This passage, probably more than any other, allows us to call each other “brother and sister in Christ.”  After all, if we do the will of Jesus’ Father in Heaven and thus become His brothers and sisters, do we not also become “brothers and sisters” of each other?  In John’s Gospel Jesus says that any who receives Him, who believes in His name, have the right to be called“children of God”.  Again, if we are all God’s children, are we also not each other’s brothers and sisters?

As Presbyterians we are “in communion” with a whole school of churches, but we are also in fellowship with every church that rightly worships God and loves and serves our neighbors – we are deeply connected to Fellowship Church of God with our orphan mission in Kenya, we share worship together every Summer cross-denominationally, interracially, multi-generationally, etc; in two weeks I will be attending the oldest Black Church in WA State’s 132 anniversary (Calvary Baptist Church on 3^rd Ave).  All of this affirms the truth that Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church is not the only legitimate church on this planet, and that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is not the only real denomination to worship God, and that, in fact, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, independent, and underground churches – if they receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, and do the will of His Father in Heaven – are all brothers and sisters in Christ!  Thank God!

So the next question becomes, what does it mean to “do the will of [His] Father in Heaven”?

Obviously, that could be a-whole-nother sermon.  But, briefly, the Luke passage and the John passage already referred to help us out.  To do the will of Jesus’ Father in Heaven starts with receiving Him as Lord and Savior.  That’s what God wants for the whole world.  That’s why you and I are told to go tell every creature the Good News of Jesus Christ.  That’s why we are given the Great Commission to make disciples and baptize everyone we find in the name of the Father, to Son and the Holy Spirit.

It also means that nothing and no-one should ever come before God in our relationships.  The First Commandment requires that we have no other gods!  Let nothing and let no one supersede God’s place in our lives.  That is doing the will of Jesus’ Father in Heaven.

Is Jesus dis’in’ His Mama?  “Yeah. Right.”

Better than that, Jesus is using His mother as an example of someone who does the will of His Father in Heaven, an example we should all learn to follow!  He holds His mother up as a demonstration as one who does the will of God.  Maybe if we did, our Church, God’s Church at Lidgerwood, in Spokane, across denominational lines and political borders, would do a better job of, in fact, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and loving the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind.  Amen?  Does that help?

17  

Great God of Creation,

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of worship in this sanctuary.

Prepare us for everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

In Jesus’ authority.  Amen. ……….

18-20   Let’s come to the Lord in prayer –

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

21   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

22 

We are living, breathing messages of God’s love for the world. This is our work of faith and our labor of love and our steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Like the earliest Christians, we are here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

23     Communion Invitation – COVID-friendly cups – cellophane and foil

                   Pastor Kathy will lead us in this commemorative celebration.

          Let’s prepare ourselves with a Communion song of Thanksgiving – #379 – For the Fruit of All Creation, Thanks be to God – led by Donna Stone:

24-26  

27

28  

Expedition Song  –  Spirit of the Living God!   –!  –!  We opened today with a prayer of submission to God’s reign, and we close today with a prayer for God’s indwelling presence and power to make us able to submit well.

29-30

31  

We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

32   Announcements      

Resources: 

Bruce, FF; The Hard Sayings of Jesus; InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, IL; 1983; Pp. 119-121.

Mulholland, M. Robert; Shaped by the Word; Upper Room Press; Nashville, TN; 2000; P. 16.

Wheeler, Mark; “What Did God Say? ‘Did Jesus Just Dis’ His Mama?’”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 10/09/2005.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/unitedchurchofchrist/legacy_url/3825/offering-invitations-for-ordinary-time.pdf?1418427555