Rev. Mary Lautensleger

Blessed are the Mothers-in-Law   

Mark 1:29-39

Suppose you are painfully resting in bed with flu-like symptoms, when suddenly, your son-in-law Simon appears in the doorway to announce that he has invited some friends home to enjoy one of your incredible home-cooked meals.

Flattery aside, you are probably thinking, “What? Has he lost his mind?” You are fearful of sitting up - much less standing - for any reason whatsoever. What was he thinking?

Then imagine one of those friends approaching your bed, looking as if he would like to shake your feeble, germy hand. You don’t have the strength either to reach out to him or to resist. He takes your hand in both of his, and proceeds to pull you up into a sitting position. Suddenly you feel so much better, just like your old self again. The friend continues to hold your hands as you stand to greet him and the other guests. Once again, you are the “hostess with the mostest.”

There is something very special about this young man that Simon has brought home. You can’t comprehend what has just taken place. It’s as if a miracle has occurred in your life, and maybe it has! You are overwhelmed with gratitude, forever changed.

I wish we knew her name. Christian churches could be named for her. That mother-in-law of Capernaum has much to teach us today about serving.

The news about the guest spreads like wildfire throughout Capernaum. Soon this modest home is surrounded by townspeople seeking healing. Jesus willingly meets and greets the townsfolk, and compassionately makes them whole.

Jesus must have been exhausted after a day of teaching in the synagogue, visiting with good friends, and healing many villagers. But the next morning, he was up before dawn for his devotional time. First things first. In today’s busyness it is easy to let that crucial time alone with God evaporate into our various activities.

Jesus then retreats to a deserted place where he can spend time alone with God. None of this Tebow stuff for him! When his friends find him, he is refreshed, spiritually strengthened, and ready to move on to the next town to minister to folks there.
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If you take a boat ride up to the north end of the Sea of Galilee, you can see the ruins of the synagogue at Capernaum. Recently archeologists have made a fascinating discovery nearby. As they removed the sand accumulation of many centuries, they discovered the circular foundation of an old church. Reading the inscriptions on a stone makes it clear that this ancient church was built over the location of Simon Peter's home.

 

Church-planting Paul    

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23    

Paul is called to preach. Not all have an opportunity to study at a seminary or preach to a congregation. Whether we have been to seminary or not, there are daily opportunities to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through both word and deed. Paul was passionate about his calling. He was on a mission, which was to win as many people as possible to Jesus Christ.

Who planted your church?

What would your church founder(s) say about your church today?

What would Paul’s ministry look like in your congregation, or in your community?

What if Paul were the leader of your church’s evangelism team?

How might we adapt Paul’s ministry to our own congregation’s/community’s needs?

 

 

Rev. Bryan Jackson

1 Corinthians 9: 16-23

1 - Is it an obligation to preach? Paul obviously thought so.

2 - If the good news is not proclaimed, does the orator suffer? The audience? Both?

3 - If preaching is done involuntarily on any given occasion, is the preacher really discharging the committed trust?

Hermeneutics. Gotta love it.

Perhaps the real good news is that even if the coming Sunday’s proclamation falls short, the preacher and the people are not denied Christ’s blessings.

 

 

Rev. Chris Ayers

A Time For Honesty

Isaiah 40:21-31

40:21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 

40:22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 

40:23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 

40:24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 

40:25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 

40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 

We have learned recently so many new things about the universe.  Exploring briefly these new findings as the “foundations of the earth” could provide a good sermon intro.

Or, another approach would be to talk about resumes/updating resumes. God in these verses seems to be providing what God feels like is an off the chart resume. Who is like me?, God asks. Better hire God fast.

40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? 

Let’s be honest.  There are many reasons we and others may think our way is hidden from the Lord and our right disregarded by God.  Share some personal stories of people in the news or in the congregation that illustrate our complex relationship with God. For example, a father witnessed a crocodile eating his daughter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090203/Indonesian-girl-eaten-crocodile-father-watches-horror.html

40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 

40:29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 

40:30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;

40:31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Here is a transforming word for those just hanging on in your church or in society.  End your sermon with the confident assertion of what God is doing in the lives of those gathered and of those struggling in the world.

A last paragraph for the sermon:  Yes, for those who wait – power – strength – the ability to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.  For those waiting, may the wait be over soon.