Word of Life Church Podcast

<p>The Crucifixion is not a defeat to be overturned by Resurrection; the Crucifixion is a victory revealed by Resurrection. The cross was made by Christ to become the portal by which he invaded death to liberate the dead ones.</p>

<p>In Cain the world was organized around an axis of power enforced by violence. Violent power became the organizing principle for human civilization. This is the story of Cain of Abel, the story of Romulus and Remus, the story Sméagol and Déagol. These archetypal stories remind us of dark truths we would rather keep hidden. But Jesus came into the world to shine the light, tell the truth, and re-found the world. In Christ crucified the world is re-founded around an axis of love expressed in forgiveness.</p>

<p>On Good Friday the sin of the world coalesced into a hideous singularity that upon the cross it might be forgiven en masse.</p>

<p>John's poetic prologue to his Gospel is one of the loftiest presentations of Christology in all the New Testament—it's also one of them of the most beautiful passages of Scripture. John's theopoetics reaches its crescendo when proclaims that until we see Jesus, we've never seen God.</p>

<p>When Jesus was dedicated in the Temple, two old prophets -- Simeon and Anna -- spoke of the infant Jesus as Salvation and Redemption. Indeed, Jesus will save both Simeon and Anna, but neither of them knows how.</p>

<p>We look for Jesus in the story of Isaac, because as Christians that is how we read the Bible. Issac is the son of promise. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Isaac is the son of laughter. Jesus is the bringer of joy. Isaac is the son of sacrifice. Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Isaac serves as a signpost pointing to the hope, joy, and new life we find in Jesus.</p>

<p>In his many adventures Abraham constantly encountered Christ in some way. Abraham encountered Christ in the Voice that called him out Ur of the Chaldees and into the land of Canaan. In the foreshadowing of Melchizedek king of Salem who gave him bread and wine. In the trinity of strangers he entertained at his tent under the oaks of Mamre. In the smoking oven and burning torch that appeared when the covenant was cut. In the ram caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah on the day Isaac was offered up. Truly Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”</p>

<p>Jesus is the Ark that carries the Cosmos away from corruption and into God’s new creation. Just as there was a door placed in the side of the Ark for access to salvation, so the side of Jesus was pierced that creation might enter the heart of Christ and be carried through the flood of destruction and arrive safely in a redeemed world where all things are made new.</p>

<p>Where do we find Jesus in Genesis in relation to Adam? We find Jesus as a new Adam who gives humanity a new original ancestor. We find Jesus in the Seed of the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent. We find Jesus in the One who comes in search of lost Adam.</p>

<p>If we read the Old Testament as only predating Christ instead of deeply anticipating and foreseeing Christ, we have failed to read it in a Christian manner. But when we see Christ as the Creator, as the New Adam, as Noah’s Ark, as Abraham’s sought-after city, as Isaac’s ram on Mount Moriah, as the ladder between heaven and earth that Jacob saw, as foretold in the life of Joseph, then are we reading the Old Testament in the way Jesus taught his disciples to read it following his resurrection.</p>

<p>John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore<br>His mama sure was proud of him!<br>He stood so straight and tall in his uniform and all<br>His mama’s face broke out into a grin<br><br>“Oh son, you look so fine, I’m glad you’re a son of mine<br>Make me proud to know you’re wearing a gun<br>Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get<br>We’ll put them on the wall when you come home”<br><br>That old train pulled out, John’s ma began to shout<br>Telling everybody in the neighborhood<br>“That’s my son that’s about to go, he’s a soldier now, you know”<br>She made well sure her neighbors understood<br><br>She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile<br>She showed them to the people from next door<br>She bragged about her son with his uniform and gun<br>In this thing she called a good old-fashioned war<br><br>Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come<br>Ceased to come for about ten months or more<br>Then a letter finally came saying, “Go down and meet the train<br>Your son is coming back from the war”<br><br>She smiled and she went right down, she looked up and all around<br>But she did not see her soldier son in sight<br>When all the people passed, she saw her son at last<br>When she did she could not believe her eyes<br><br>Oh his face was all shot off and his hands were blown away<br>And he wore a metal brace around his waist<br>He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she didn’t know<br>And she couldn’t even recognize his face!<br><br>“Oh tell me, my darling son, tell me what they’vd done<br>How is it that you come to be this way?”<br>He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move<br>And the mother had to turn her face away<br><br>“Don’t you remember, Ma, when I went off to war<br>You thought it was the best thing I could do?<br>I was on the battleground, you were home acting proud<br>You wasn’t there standing in my shoes”<br><br>“Well, I thought when I was there, Lord, what am I doing here?<br>Tryin’ to kill somebody or die tryin’<br>But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close<br><br>I could see that his face looked just like mine”<br><br>“And I couldn’t help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink<br>I was just a puppet in a play<br>And through the roar and smoke, the string it finally broke<br>And a cannonball blew my eyes away”<br><br>As he turned away to go, his mother was acting slow<br>Seeing the metal brace that helped him stand<br>But as he turned to leave, he called his mother close<br>And he dropped his medals down into her hands</p>

<p>My name was Richard Nixon only now I'm a girl<br>You wouldn't know it but I used to be the king of the world<br>Compared to last time I look like I've hit the skids<br>Living in the project with my two little kids<br>It's not what I would of chose<br>Now you have to call me Rose<br><br>I was boss of bosses the last time around<br>I lived by cunning and ambition unbound<br>The suckers said they'd stand behind me right or wrong<br>As if they thought that hubris was the mark of the strong<br>I was an arrogant man<br>But now I've got it in hand<br>It's not what I would have chose<br>Now you have to call me Rose<br><br><br>Call me Rose<br>Call me Rose<br><br>It's not what I would have chose<br>Now you have to call me Rose<br><br> <br><br>My name was Richard Nixon only now I'm a girl<br>You wouldn't know it but I used to be the king of the world<br>I'm back here learning what it is to be poor<br>To have no power but the strength to endure<br>I'll perform my penance well<br>Maybe the memoir will sell<br>It's not what I would of chose<br>Now you have to call me Rose</p>

<p>We're all born to broken people on their most honest day of living<br>And since that first breath we'll need grace that we've never given<br>I've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts<br>And it's not only when these eyes are closed<br>These lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,<br>But they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather<br>And my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,<br>Stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better<br>But it won't, at least I don't believe it will<br>So I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,<br>To sail these blood red seas and find your coast<br>Don't let these waves wash away your hopes<br>This war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors<br>Pulling fist-fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors<br>But I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single board<br>Washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores<br>So come on and let's wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief<br>And fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach<br>Come on and sew us together, just tattered rags stained forever<br>We only have what we remember<br><br>I am the barely living son of a woman and man who barely made it<br>But we're making it taped together on borrowed crutches and new starts<br>We all have the same holes in our hearts<br>Everything falls apart at the exact same time<br>That it all comes together perfectly for the next step<br>But my fear is this prison, that I keep locked below the main deck<br>I keep a key under my pillow, it's quiet and it's hidden<br>And my hopes are weapons that I'm still learning how to use right<br>But they're heavy and I'm awkward, always running out of fight<br>So I've carved a wooden heart, put it in this sinking ship<br>Hoping it would help me float for just a few more weeks<br>Because I am made out of shipwrecks, every twisted beam<br>Lost and found like you and me scattered out on the sea<br>So come on let's wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief<br>And fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach<br>Come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever<br>We only have what we remember<br><br>My throat it still tastes like house a-fire and salt water<br>I wear this tide like loose skin, c’mon, rock me to sea<br>If we hold on tight we'll hold each other together<br>And not just be some fools rushing to die in our sleep<br>While these machines will rust I promise, but we'll still be electric<br>Shocking each other back to life<br>Your hand in mine, my fingers in your veins connected<br>Our bones grown together in time<br>Our hands entwined, my fingers in your veins connected<br>Our spines grown stronger inside<br>Because I know that our church is all made out of shipwrecks<br>From every hull these rocks have claimed<br>But we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through the change<br>So come on and let's wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief<br>And fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach<br>Come on and sew us together, were just tattered rags stained forever<br>We only have what we remember</p>

<p>Well, I came upon a child of God<br>He was walking along the road<br>And I asked him, tell me, where are you going<br>This he told me<br>Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm<br>Gonna join in a rock and roll band<br>Got to get back to the land and set my soul free<br><br>We are stardust, we are golden<br>We are billion year old carbon<br>And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden<br><br>Well, then can I roam beside you?<br>I have come to lose the smog,<br>And I feel myself a cog in something turning<br>And maybe it's the time of year<br>Yes and maybe it's the time of man<br>And I don't know who I am<br>But life is for learning<br><br>We are stardust, we are golden<br>We are billion year old carbon<br>And we got to get ourselves back to the garden<br><br>By the time we got to Woodstock<br>We were half a million strong<br>And everywhere was a song and a celebration<br>And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes<br>Riding shotgun in the sky,<br>Turning into butterflies<br>Above our nation<br><br>We are stardust, we are golden<br>We are caught in the devil’s bargain<br>And we got to get ourselves back to the garden</p>

<p>Saw a man's home, a box made of cardboard<br>Frozen to the bone, can't take much more<br>He says Lord I need help here, send me a strong hand<br>To lift me from the street, help me to stand<br>I've been forgotten, been forsaken<br>Poisoned by a bottle I could not shake it<br>I've been passed over, been rejected<br>And I'm afraid I'll never feel<br>The warmth of summer come again<br>Man I am helpless, I'm freezing<br>You were there, you were there<br><br>I saw a sick man on a sick bed<br>Scorned by the world like he had two heads<br>He says I'm a man here dying a cruel death<br>I'm cut off from the world, man it was so sad<br>He was suffering, he was ailing<br>Tortured by his fate, his body was failing<br>He says I'm an outcast, left defenseless<br>And I'm afraid that I'll be dead<br>Before the summer comes again<br>I've been rejected, man I am dying<br>You were there, you were there<br><br>Saw a rich man alone in a dark house<br>A prison made of gold he could not break out<br>He says my life is aimless, it just seems pointless<br>Boredom truly kills, man I am hopeless<br>I got diamonds, I got houses<br>I got silver clouds and silver spoons to match it<br>I've come up empty, man I am desperate<br>And I never want to feel<br>The warmth of summer come again<br>I'll be forgotten, my life is over<br>You were there, you were there<br>You were there, Lord, you were there</p>

<p>When I was young it seemed that life was so wonderful<br>A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical<br>And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily<br>Joyfully, playfully watching me<br>But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible<br>Logical, oh responsible, practical<br>And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable<br>Clinical, intellectual, cynical<br><br>There are times when all the world's asleep<br>The questions run too deep<br>For such a simple man<br>Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned<br>I know it sounds absurd<br>But please tell me who I am<br><br>Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical<br>Liberal, fanatical, criminal<br>Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptable<br>Respectable, presentable, a vegetable!<br>Oh, take it take it yeah<br><br>At night, when all the world's asleep<br>The questions run so deep<br>For such a simple man<br>Won't you please tell me what we've learned<br>I know it sounds absurd<br>But please tell me who I am</p>

<p>When things become unsettled, we typically look for some kind of change, something new, but what we need right now is not a new car, a new job, a new spouse, a new church, or a new country. What we need in the midst of all this craziness is a new hope. Faith, hope, and love all work together. Faith is a present reality oriented towards the past, what God has done. Hope is a present reality oriented towards the future, what God will do. Love is that present reality made known by the Holy Spirit.</p>

<p>When David returned to his home in Ziklag, he encountered disaster -- he had lost everything. His house had burned down, his possessions had all been stolen, his family had been kidnapped. What do you do on a day like that? How do you recover from such devastating loss?</p>

<p>The living God is the God who speaks. This God who knows you, loves you, and calls you by name, will speak to you. You can learn to discern the voice of God. And this is a wonderful thing, because one word from God can change your life.</p>

<p>We live in a moment when almost everyone feels weary and worn. Too much has come at us too fast. We are facing no less than four crises at once: A public health crisis; an economic crisis; a political crisis; a racial justice crisis. In addition to these we still have to deal with whatever personal crises may come our way. We are weary and worn. And to the weary and worn Jesus says, “Come to me. You're weary and I want to give you rest. You're worn out from heavy burdens—let me lighten your load. The world is harsh, but I am gentle; the age is arrogant, but I am humble; the times are hard, but my yoke is easy. Come to me and I will give you rest.”</p>

<p>When I begin to feel pessimistic about the way things are in the world, I remember that the world will be saved, because God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. Because Jesus is the Savior of the world, the world will be saved. The Word of the Father sent from heaven will not return in vain—it will succeed! This is not an excuse for irresponsibility or apathy, but an invitation to trust Jesus and to cooperate with the Savior in saving the world.</p>

<p>To cultivate joy that is not dependent upon acquisition or events is deeply Christian.‬ It also subverts the powers who want to control everything, including our joy. The powers want to dictate when and why we can rejoice, and then sell it to us.‬ Rebel, and rejoice in the Lord!‬ This is the scandalous joy given to us by Jesus.</p>

<p>One of the most important stories in the history of Israel is the story of their exile in Babylon. Israel's experience with exile informs so much of the Bible that its importance cannot not be overemphasized. The story of exile is what sets up the good news of Jesus.</p>

<p>The life of discipleship (which is to say the Christian life) is a life of obedience to Jesus. When the church lets decisions replace discipleship, we drift into nominal Christianity.</p>

<p>This church and that church may come and go with the tides of time, but the Church, built upon the foundation of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, will outlast the gates of Death and endure from generation to generation.</p>

<p>The foundation for Christian faith is the revelation of Jesus Christ; not the Church, not the Bible. The revelation of Jesus is where our faith begins and it cannot begin anywhere else. The Church and the Bible are essential, but they are not the foundation. And both the Church and the Bible teach us this.</p>

<p>“The Psalms are not for those whose life is one of uninterrupted equilibrium. Such people should stay safely in the book of Proverbs.” –Walter Brueggemann<br><br>In the world of the king, in the safe confines of the palace, just reward and proper punishment are seen as a sure thing. But the Psalms see a much more complicated world. The Psalms give us a perspective from the bottom, from the outside, from the poor, from the forgotten. The Psalms give us prayers for an unpredictable world where just reward and proper punishment are not always the guaranteed outcome.</p>

<p>When Jesus says he’s the way, he means he’s the way to Father’s House. And what is the Father’s House? It’s the House of Love. We constantly have to choose between the House of Fear and the House of Love.</p>

<p>On their 40th wedding anniversary Brian and Peri Zahnd talk about a life of following Jesus together.</p>

<p>Have you ever said goodbye to a hero?<br>Have you ever had to lay away your dreams?<br>Have you ever been so lonely that a stranger is your best friend?<br>Then you'll know what I mean<br>So this is our highway to heaven<br>Our American dream<br>The two fools on the road to emmaus<br>Well they might as well be you and me<br>Have you ever been angry at your country?<br>Have you ever been angry at your God?<br>Have you ever been so angry that you can't see what you've got right in front of you?<br>Have you ever been distracted by the homeless?<br>Have you ever thrown your dollar with disgust?<br>Have you ever thought the great commission's just too great a cost?<br>Have you ever played the fool?<br><br> -Jason Upton</p>

<p>When Jesus died his soul descended to hell, Hades, Sheol, the realm of the dead. But Jesus did not enter Hades as a captive, Jesus invaded Hades as a conqueror. Because Jesus is fully human, he could die and descend into Hades. But Jesus is fully God, it was impossible for Hades to hold Christ as a captive.</p>

<p>The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a one-off personal victory for Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has cosmic implications -- new heavens and new earth! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the event that guarantees the resurrection of the human race! This is what the Apostles and the early church taught and emphasized. But somewhere along the way this emphasis got lost in the West. Now is the time to recover The gospel message that the resurrection of Christ is the resurrection of the dead ones.</p>

<p>Coming from the Mount of Olives, Jesus not only entered Jerusalem from the opposite direction than the Roman governor, but in the opposite manner. Instead of riding a warhorse like Pilate and all the warhorse riders throughout history, Jesus rides a donkey, and not even a full grown donkey, but a donkey’s colt. Jesus’ triumphal entry was the anti-military parade. It was a mockery of Rome’s intimidating show of military power. It also presented Jerusalem with a stark contrast between the way of war and the way of peace.</p>

<p>On three occasions in Galilee, Jesus foretold his death by crucifixion. But in Jerusalem, a few days before his death, Jesus talked about the meaning of his crucifixion. We cannot attempt to understand the meaning of the crucifixion without paying attention to how Jesus understood his death. Jesus interprets the meaning of his crucifixion by saying it will accomplish three things:<br><br>1. It will judge the world.<br>2. It will cast out the ruler of the world.<br>3. It will draw the whole world to him.</p>

<p>In the time of coronavirus the question isn't who can we blame, the question is how we can love and who can we help. We don't know what's going to happen, but we know we're not abandoned. We can't control our lives, but we trust God. We can help everyone, but we can help someone</p>

<p>We find ourselves here again at the the well in Samaria. This sermon invites us into the story of the woman at the well with a fresh perspective and a daunting challenge. Are we willing to see this woman as strong and brave? Are we willing to follow her lead and visit the places of our own pain? In doing so, we will find a God who doesn’t exempt himself from places of pain, but rather makes himself present there in that very place.</p>

<p>At the Transfiguration the disciples had a powerful encounter with the brightness of Jesus in his divine glory. During the season of Lent we can let the brightness of Jesus shine into some of the dark places of our hearts. Shadowy places develop in our hearts when we are living from a place of pretense or hypocrisy. Shadowy places expand in our hearts when we move away from love. God wants to do incredible things in our world and God has chosen to do those things through the church. God wants to set right a world gone wrong and that begins with setting his people right. Lent is a time for self-examination and repentance, a time to allow the brightness of Jesus to shine in our hearts to reveal pockets of our hearts that still do not look like Jesus.</p>

<p>In speaking of the devil I mean something, though not precisely, like this: Experiences of evil and pressure toward evil that become disturbingly present in our lived experience. We all have these experiences with evil from time to time, and in those moments there’s no doubt that the devil is real. And are angels heavenly energies of grace that are generally non-material (as we understand materiality) but can at times assume a material presence? This seems to be what C.S. Lewis thought and I tend to agree.</p>

<p>During Lent we follow Jesus from Galilee to Good Friday in Jerusalem. It’s a journey to the center of salvation. That the cross is the center of salvation is a confession all Christians can agree on, but precisely how the cross is the epicenter of salvation belongs to sacred mystery. The cross is a mystery, not because we have no idea what it means, but because we can never fully fathom or articulate the depth of its meaning.</p>

<p>Jesus who is the light of the world says that we are salt and light. As salt, Jesus is sprinkling us throughout the earth that we might provide moral flavor and preserve society from collapsing in on itself due to moral rot and decay. As light, we are reflecting the light of God's love into a world growing dark because of tribalism, rage, and despair. We are called to reflect something different in the world God loves. The pollution of perpetual rage has left people in a place of bitterness, cynicism, and despair, which is an awful state of existence. We who follow Jesus are the hopeful hope-bringers who shine the hope of the gospel into the darkness of despair.</p>

<p>Moses says if Israel is going truly be the people of God they must have a different economy.<br><br>The Prophets say worship is meaningless if it doesn't affect how we make and spend our money.<br><br>Jesus says love of money is the single biggest challenge to full participation in the kingdom of God<br><br>The Apostles say the newness of Christ touches all areas of our life, including our money.</p>

<p>The interesting thing about Jesus and money is that he really doesn't say anything other than what Moses had already said. What Jesus does is call his followers to take seriously what Moses said about money and to live according to God’s alternative economy. We see this especially in the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler.</p>

<p>“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.” –Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967)</p>

<p>Other than God himself, the Bible talks more about money than any other topic. We cannot separate our relationship with God from how we think about, how we make, and how we spend our money!</p>

<p>A portent is a sign that anticipates a momentous event. Isaiah’s Arise, Shine song is a portent of the three kings who came from the East bearing gifts to pay homage to the Christ child. But the event itself — the Adoration of the Magi — is a portent of an even more momentous event: The Gentile world coming to faith in Jesus Christ.</p>

<p>When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he gave them five gold rings in the Christmas announcement. These five announcements ring true:<br>Fear Not<br>Good News<br>Great Joy<br>All People<br>A Savior</p>

<p>It’s only by reading the Scriptures in the light of Christ that we get their full meaning. No one could have “predicted” that Messiah would be born of virgin from Isaiah 7. But once we are told that Messiah was born of virgin, then we can see it. Christians must read all the Bible in the light of Christ to discover all its riches</p>

<p>Advent is for waiting. As we tell the story of redemption through the church calendar we begin our telling of the sacred story, not with doing, not with celebrating, but with waiting — waiting for God to act.</p>

<p>Isaiah envisions a day when a Messianic king will rule in righteousness, causing the beastly to be converted and to live humanely with the most vulnerable in society. It's the glorious day when the lion lays down with the lamb.</p>