Word of Life Church Podcast

<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>

<p>Jesus Christ is the light that enlightens every person. In the light of Christ we know that narcissism is a deformity of the soul because in the life of Jesus we see self-sacrifice. In the light of Christ we know that materialism is a wrong orientation of the soul because in the life of Jesus we find no greed. In the light of Christ we know that nativism is odious because in the life of Jesus we see radical hospitality.</p>

<p>When you are grieving and in great pain, pour out your lamentation to God, but hold on to your ticket. Remember that life is a precious gift, affirm the goodness of creation, love every leaf and every grain of sand, and trust God. Trust that, in the end, God is able to make all things work together for good, that God will wipe away every tear, and that God will make all things new.</p>

<p>When we encounter tragedy, the question is not, Who can we blame? The question is, How can we help? If the framing question in tragedy is, Who can we blame?, then we end up doing the work of the devil. But if the framing question in tragedy is, How can we help?, we will do the work of God.</p>

<p>The Book of Job exposes the satanic practice of blame. The book presents a test to the reader: Can the reader hold onto what God says about Job — that Job was blameless. Most readers cannot. Eventually they are seduced into agreeing with the arguments set forth by Job’s accusers. Most readers end up forgetting what God has said about Job and agreeing with what Satan says about Job. This shows us the insidious lure of the satanic temptation to blame a scapegoat. It’s a temptation that really only Jesus can save us from.</p>

<p>“The essential thing in heaven and in earth is that there should be a long OBEDIENCE in the same direction that thereby results, in the long run, in something which makes life worth living—virtue, art, music, dancing, reason, spirituality—anything whatsoever that is transfiguring, refined, foolish, or divine.”<br>–Friedrich Nietzsche</p>

<p>Jesus shows us what it means to be family. We are fully seen and known by him. Even after diving deep into the details of our lives he still calls us family. This is how we are called to love each other as well. To go out of our way and be troubled by what troubles others is the love Jesus challenges us to live.</p>

<p>It feels good to be chosen, because it communicates to us that we are wanted. It communicates that not only are we welcomed, but we are wanted. It creates a sense of belonging. Psychologists since the 1950s have said that a sense of belonging is a fundamental human need. You feel like you belong when you know you have been chosen. As followers of Jesus we have been chosen, not for salvation, but for a vocation, for a mission to bear the image of God in the world. We live in a wolf-world and Jesus isn't sending us out to be a better version of the wolf. Jesus is sending us out like sheep among wolves. Jesus is sending us out to be distinctly different, a chosen and holy people. It is through our holiness, our distinctiveness, that we fulfill God's call for us.</p>

<p>You were made to worship, because you are human. Worship is a human quality. We all have the capacity to look towards something outside ourselves, to give attention to some version of the good life, to give our hearts and devotion to something or someone. This is what worship is and we were made for this. Our hearts were made for worship just as our bodies were made to move. We were made for worship. For followers of Jesus, God is looking for worshipers who will worship God in spirit and truth.</p>

<p>From Moses to Mary we see God calling individuals to specific tasks and special vocations through peculiar and powerful events. This can leave us awestruck and distraught at the same time, wondering what our calling may be and if we have missed our calling. In Christ we discover that we are all called and our calling is more about who are becoming than what we are specifically doing.</p>

<p>We are created to be people of peace. Jesus is present with us in the midst of our fears and worries. Rather than participate in the chaos Jesus invites us into the peace of His presence through prayer. Prayer is the place that makes space for peace.</p>

<p>There is a sense in our day that the drive for more is driving us crazy. Jesus wants to liberate us from this madness of more, setting us free to rest in his grace. Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” May we learn to walk the way of thankfulness and trust, seeing more than enough wherever we look.</p>

<p>The second most important question a person can answer is "Who are you?" This question follows the most important question "Who is Jesus?" As we look to Jesus and the cross we can honestly answer, "I am loved." Shame is soul-crushing and can keep us from believing the truth about who we really are. The good news is that shame has been defeated by Jesus' death and resurrection. The words of shame are not who we are. We are people who are loved. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others think of us. Coming home is claiming the truth. I am the beloved child of a loving Creator. We no longer have to beg for permission from the world to exist.”</p>

<p>Mama, take this badge off of me<br>I can’t use it anymore<br>It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see<br>I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door<br><br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br><br>Mama, put my guns in the ground<br>I can’t shoot them anymore<br>That long black cloud is comin’ down<br>I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door<br><br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door<br>Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door</p>

<p>Jesus just left Chicago<br>And he's bound for New Orleans<br>Well now, Jesus just left Chicago<br>And he's bound for New Orleans<br>Workin' from one end to the other and all points in between<br><br>Took a junk through Mississippi<br>Well, muddy water turned to wine<br>Took a junk through Mississippi<br>Muddy water turned to wine<br><br>Then out to California through the forests and the pines<br>Ah, take me with you, Jesus<br><br>You might not see him in person<br>But he'll see you just the same<br>You might not see him in person<br>But he'll see you just the same<br>You don't have to worry 'cause takin' care of business is his name</p>

<p>Now I've been happy lately<br>Thinking about the good things to come<br>And I believe it could be<br>Something good has begun<br><br>Oh, I've been smiling lately<br>Dreaming about the world as one<br>And I believe it could be<br>Someday it's going to come<br><br>'Cause out on the edge of darkness<br>There rides a peace train<br>Oh, peace train take this country<br>Come take me home again<br><br>Now I've been smiling lately,<br>Thinking about the good things to come<br>And I believe it could be,<br>Something good has begun<br>Oh, peace train sounding louder<br><br>Glide on the peace train<br>Come on now peace train<br>Yes, peace train holy roller<br>Everyone jump upon the peace train<br>Come on now, peace train<br><br>Get your bags together,<br>Go bring your good friends, too<br>'Cause it's getting nearer,<br>It soon will be with you<br><br>Now come and join the living,<br>It's not so far from you<br>And it's getting nearer,<br>Soon it will all be true<br>Oh, peace train sounding louder<br><br>Glide on the peace train<br>Come on the peace train<br>Peace train<br><br>Now I've been crying lately,<br>Thinking about the world as it is<br>Why must we go on hating,<br>Why can't we live in bliss<br><br>'Cause out on the edge of darkness,<br>There rides a peace train<br>Oh peace train take this country,<br>Come take me home again<br>Oh, peace train sounding louder<br><br>Glide on the peace train<br>Come on the peace train<br>Yes, peace train holy roller<br>Everyone jump upon the peace train<br><br>Come on, come on, come on<br>Yes, come on, the peace train<br>Yes, it's the peace train<br><br>Come on the peace train<br>Oh, peace train</p>