Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Matthew 4:23-25    Jesus Heals the Sick

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

5:1-12 The Beatitudes

The Bible is_____________. (Fill in the blank) For us it constitutes the Word of God, written by inspired men guided by the Hoy Spirit of God. There are 66 books written by 40 individual authors in their own style but the words are inspired by an author who can never die. It was written over a period of 1600 years and after a brief creation story as introduction, it deals primarily with the created, us, and our separation from the Creator through disobedience.  From the third chapter of Genesis forward, the theme is one of redemption to overcome this separation.

We are urged and encouraged to read this book carefully and often.

When you purchase a new car, one of the contents of the glove box or compartment is an Owner’s Manual. It shows you where things are, tells of necessary service, and informs you as to how to interpret all of the little symbols that appear on the lighted dash of the vehicle. You are alerted if you have forgotten to fasten your seat belt, failed to completely close the door, or if you need an oil change. Should the air pressure for a tire be low, a little symbol reveals this. The tire does not have to be affixed to the car but may be flat in the trunk and you will be informed. Neat but also embarrassing if you fail to think of it.

As we read and analyze the Bible, we are warned not to take isolated statements out of context. It is imperative to know what was said before and what follows as well. Conclusion jumping is not a recommended feat for Biblical interpretation. We learn information easiest when it is tied to a story. In addition to all He can do, Jesus is the world’s master storyteller. He frequently taught in short stories called parables that were to teach one or two salient points. In contrast, Matthew chooses to relate Jesus’ most important teachings in simple statements. They are the Beatitudes and we are to be blessed for certain attitudes and behaviors.

Importantly, what is the context? Jesus has been tempted by the Satan in the wilderness and has bested him by the quoting of Hebrew Scripture. He then goes about calling some of His disciples who follow Him closely. Why? They think He is the predicted Messiah of God. Great crowds followed Him because He was able to heal diseases and sickness and not particularly because they reasoned that He was the Messiah.

The crowd was large (over 5000) and Jesus chose to teach them from a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We all are aware of how well sound travels over water so this is an ideal spot. Note that His intimate disciples surround Him. His sermon is directed to His disciples and not to the vast crowd. It is not that the people are excluded but the teachings embrace the novel idea of Jesus interpretation of His messianic charge. What He says has application to all but individual application depends upon the listener’s concept of who this man is. (Matthew 16:13-14 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” )

With this background understood, Jesus then begins to teach the disciples (those who reason He is the Messiah) as well as the people of the land (those who reason He is a prophet). The understanding of the two groups as well as their interest is widely divergent. Jesus begins with the statements that we call The Beatitudes. The hearers are to be blessed if they cultivate certain attitudes. The first is “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” To be blessed is to be favored by God. No sooner than Jesus speaks than does He introduce controversy. Every Jew felt himself to be worthy of being in the Kingdom based on his ancestry traced to Father Abraham. As Jesus continued to speak, the crowd was held based on His mastery of speaking and teaching and not by the message that He delivered. Their interest was not in the spiritual but in the physical. They were an oppressed people who had been subjugated to foreign powers for the greater percentage of the last 500 years. They were seeking political liberation.

If they were unmoved by His opening statement, imagine their response when He ultimately followed with “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you.” This not only sounded irrational but impossible as well. But they subsequently demonstrated that they could forgive Him for such spiritual statements, if He would merely feed them. They sought to make Him King after He fed the crowd of 5000 men. John 6:15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Before we rise to prosecute the Jews of Jesus’ day, perhaps we should look carefully at our own responses 2000 years after the fact. And what is the fact? The Bible clearly and factually details the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the grave. This is as well documented as any event in history. Does such influence us in the life that we seek to live?

The Mount Sermon was given and directed to those who would acknowledge Jesus not just as God’s Messiah but as His Son as well. We should and must seek God’s favor with our thoughts, actions and behavior. Surrender to God’s Spiritual guidance is essential for Kingdom living, now and in the future.

Jesus loves us enough to sacrifice for us. He leaves heaven to be incarnate as a helpless infant and grows to manhood in the setting of poverty. He is abused by those He has created and is able to pray for forgiveness for those who crucify Him. The pall of the death of the perfect man is over-shadowed by His resurrection from the grave. This is the universe changing occurrence of all time.

Psalm 51:1-17

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹ Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴ Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

In the small town high school that I was fortunate to attend, the Principal knew the mischief makers by their senior year. If either sent or called to the Principal’s office, I was normally in the company of one or two of my peers. Before the close of one week, Larry and I had been to “the office” on two occasions. In retrospect, we should have guessed that our math professor was having a subpar week. When she entered the class door to teach, Larry turned to me and announced in a voice loud enough to hear, “Well, Charles, we may as well go to the office.” Her short fuse was ignited and she said, “Go”. A short 15 feet later we were in the Principal’s office. After a brief interrogation, he announced, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you two. If you think you can run the school better than I, here are the keys.” He then laid them on the desk. Larry reached and got the keys. The Principal had temporarily been outwitted by a guilty student. His problem had suddenly evolved from judgment and punishment to saving face and regaining control. Years later this kind, capable man came under my medical care as a patient. We had both escaped judgment and punishment for our perceived crime. The same man would later grant us permission to use the gym to play basketball in the summer by allowing us to use his keys.

King David was the author for the 23^rd Psalm. It is clearly known to us all with the ideas of “still water,” “valley of the shadow of death” and “house of the Lord forever.” It is natural to envision David as a young shepherd looking into the night sky and embracing God in worship through this song. It is of this same man that God declares that ‘he is after God’s own heart.’

From this you might reason that David was the perfect man, however, the 51^st Psalm is also from the hand and mind of David guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit. This same David, as King of Israel, had taken another man’s wife and their brief sinning had resulted in a pregnancy. David then plotted the death of her husband to cover their adultery. After a few months, God sent the prophet Nathan to cleverly expose David’s sin. The 51^st Psalm is a plea to God requesting compassion for David and forgiveness of his scarlet sins. David confesses his guilt. He acknowledges that his sin was against God. He professes that he is crushed by this sin. He assures God that his heart is broken and his spirit contrite for his sinful deeds. His pleading is for restoration in fellowship and  this request is granted but the consequences for David’s family remain. Such is the nature of sin.

How are we to understand this? Does this imply that God shows favoritism to David that He would not show to us? No, God is not a respecter of persons. What God does respect is the image of His Son on the soul of the believer. But wait, King David lived 1000 years before the birth of Jesus and knows not the gospel. Key for us is God’s dealing with Abraham the ancestor of David and our spiritual father as well. How so? What does the Bible teach of this? Not the opinion of myself or any other pulpit speaker or teacher, but the Bible.

Key is Genesis 15:6 (Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.)Abram was granted fellowship based on faith in God following God’s witness to him. The Bible clearly informs us that God is wrathful against sin and we know that all sin was punished on Jesus 2000 years ago outside of the walls of Jerusalem on Good Friday. In essence, the sins of Abraham, David and all expressing true faith in God before Christ’s sacrifice were managed by forbearance. God showed forbearance of their sin, knowing that it would be paid for in full by the sacrifice of His Son at a specific point in time. This speaks to the issue of us being spiritual descendants of Abram. Simply we have faith in God just as they.

What other similarity must we share with Abram and David to be righteous (in fellowship with God)? The key is revealed in David’s 51^st Psalm. Heart rending sorrow over sin. Sin must crush your pride in yourself and cause you to realize the enormity of all sin and who we have offended.

To repent is to turn from sin and its domination and seek God’s will. More simply, we recognize who we are in contrast to who God is. We are dust, God is eternal. We are finite, God is infinite. God is Creator we are created. God is all-knowing and we are profoundly limited in knowledge.

God has the upper hand in our relationship with Him. He controls the keys to His Kingdom. We must account for our sin either in judgment on ourselves or upon Christ, the perfect Sinbearer. Once we truly confess who we are, sinners, and are crushed by our sin, God will extend mercy to us to believe that Jesus is Savior and Lord and we are reborn in His image.

Does such make us perfect? The example of King David assures us that it doesn’t. But the blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse the confessed sinner of his sin and restore fellowship with God.

What is the resulting benefit of this fellowship with God? Faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior results in God accepting the punishment of the believer’s sin on Jesus as adequate and final payment. We no longer bear the responsibility for the judgment of this confessed sin since it was punished on Jesus. God declares us justified, cleansed, and His adopted sons and daughters. Rather than future judgment before the Great White Throne, we are gifted grace and rescued from our sin just as was King David. This is a Hallelujah moment.

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Christmas at Zion UMC
2009

What a wonderful day we had on the 20th of December when the children of Zion presented their annual Christmas Program during our morning worship service.
The children led the service from beginning to end and their program was titled: The Story of our Savior’s Birth.

The children were dressed in nativity attire with angels, shepherds, wise men and Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus.

They sang 7 beautiful Christmas carols and ended with Happy Birthday Jesus. Not only did they sing this song, they accompanied the song with beautiful sign language led by Alex Gregory.

Many thanks to Mary K, Kathy L, and  Dawn G for helping our children prepare this wonderful presentation for all to enjoy. And a big thank you to each child who participated and shared their talent with us. You gave us all a wonderful gift and I know Jesus was pleased for you did it as ‘unto Him.”

After the service, the congregation was invited downstairs to enjoy Jesus’ birthday cake and punch.

If I should mention the name Hank Williams, most would tell about Hank Williams, Jr. But I wish to go deeper into the past and talk about Hank Williams, Sr. He was one of the first and perhaps the originator of honky-tonk ballads. He both wrote and sang many of his own songs. Once you heard him, you would recognize his voice forever. No one ever called it pretty but it was distinctive. He was famous for both his music and his addiction to alcohol. He died in the back seat of his Cadillac as he was being driven to his next scheduled performance. He had hired a young Auburn University student to drive him to this site because of the weather. He had disembarked from Knoxville on December 31, 1952, but was without life when he arrived in Oak Hill, West Virginia on New Years 1953. He was 29 years old. Those that knew him best said that his body was pretty well used up in his brief life span.

At this point the factual material is diluted by what one must consider a combination of hearsay and legend. One version has him receiving an injection of morphine to control his seizures. Everyone seems to agree that he was sick. One version has him receiving his medical help by way of a private physician. Another version has him receiving medical care in the E.R. of the Knox General Hospital. This story relates that he received penicillin and raises the possibility of an allergic reaction as the cause of his death. His young driver did note that his “breathing was heavy” for awhile. This is one mystery that we can’t solve with the facts. Too much time has passed and the opinions are conflicting.

Such is not the case with out topic at hand, the Old Testament mystery of the Suffering Servant. From our vantagepoint in time, we can see with clarity the presentation. In fact He is the source for the salvation so widely acclaimed in the New Testament. It is worth repeating that although the Old and New Testament are separated in time by an interval of over 400 years, the subject matter deals with the same issues of the defeat and eradication of sin. Sin in its simplest terms is disobedient to the wishes and commands of God. Isaiah 52:13 seems clearly to be the voice of God declaring that His servant will act wisely and be ‘raised and lifted up and be highly exalted.”

For us time travelers, this sounds as though He will be exalted simultaneous with His being lifted up. The ordinary reading suggests that He will receive praise and the “lifting up” will be in accordance with this praise. But the following verse seems to contradict this for many were appalled at His appearance. In the event of His being lifted up, He seems to be marred beyond human recognition. The following verse (Isaiah 52:15b  so will he sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.  For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand) adds more confusion by inferring that he will be respected by even kings. Confusing for Isaiah and his contemporaries? Yes.

But just as the Old and New Testaments complement one another, the individual writings of prophets living hundreds of years apart may shed more information on the subject.
King David lived 250 years before Isaiah the prophet. He was a talented poet, musician and writer of worship music. One of these is the 22nd Psalm. The 16th verse (  Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced  my hands and my feet. ) indicates piercing by evil men. The outcome of the victim seems obvious since Verse 18 (They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. ) speaks of his helplessness. Verse 1 of this same Psalm is familiar to anyone who has attended a service in and around the Christian Easter. (Verse 1a My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?  ). We have all heard this cry from the lips of Jesus as He was pierced and nailed to a tree 1000 years later. The prophecy seems startling when you grasp that punishment by crucifixion would not arrive on the world scene for hundreds of years. The words from David and Isaiah seem to focus on the same individual. With our knowledge of the New Testament and the gospel story, we must conclude that this is Jesus of Nazareth. The mysterious fog of uncertainty seems to have been lifted as we apply our knowledge of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

It is inescapable that Jesus of Nazareth, the begotten Son of God, did what no one had anticipated. He chose to combine the roles of the Messiah (anointed of God) and the Suffering Servant into one. What emerges is the recognition that Jesus came not merely to live the perfect life but to die at the hands of evil men. This explains the strange behavior of Jesus when He chose to confront the leaders of Judaism rather than to avoid those desiring His death. His willingness to die seems inescapable. Such willingness exceeds the role of a martyr and is clearly much greater than a mere cause. In so doing, Jesus fulfills the desires of God.

Another question arises. What are the desires of God? Isaiah has further words of explanation. In the obvious style of prophecy, Isaiah reveals the very thoughts of God or at the very least God’s intentions. What appears at first as the struggles of the Suffering Servant become intimately involved with us since these struggles are for us.

If you didn’t make it this year, please know…you were missed…and please put the first Sunday in October on your list for 2009. That is when…the Lord willing…the little white church on the hill will celebrate Zion’s 117th year.

The lunch will be followed by a grand time of entertainment and singing in the church. This begins at approximately 1 pm. Our guest and member entertainers will be: Mary and Benny Hunt, Jim Jones, Glenn Loy, Serena Northern, Paul Larson, Ruth Perry and Franklin Galbraith and Friends.

Please join us for a wonderful day of joy in the Lord.

I suspect everyone is fairly familiar with the calling of a Code 99. We have been exposed to enough “Doctor Shows” on television to appreciate that this is an announcement over the public address system of a hospital indicating a cardiac arrest. Effective heart action has ceased and unless the heart is restarted, irreparable damage to the body begins. The brain requires a constant supply of sugar and oxygen to function. A cessation for as little as four minutes jeopardizes life. A code team must respond promptly if the patient is to be given anS opportunity to survive.

The Church of Jesus Christ is in a crisis situation. Numbers are falling and opponents question its relevance for the modern world. This is not a new occurrence but has been going on since shortly after the 2nd World War. The society upheaval in this country and in the Western World that occurred in the 1960s has questioned all things traditional.

Morals, practices and absolute truth itself have come under question. As disciples of Jesus, we have come face to face with the reality that our children that are eager to learn of Jesus now are likely to change dramatically in the next decade. When free to make their decisions as teenagers about being active in church worship, they may drop out, as have 90% of their peers. This is our call to arms. The question is “how shall we fight this?”

Knowledge is obtained by the accumulation of information. Wisdom is the application of this information in a Godly directed manner. We are all here for purpose. We are to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Simply, this world and life are not about us but are about God. God desires us to be in fellowship with Him as His created. The most important task of life is to comprehend this and to recognize how this is to be accomplished. This is where the Bible comes in. We need to understand its composition as well as its uniqueness if we are to guide our young people through the crisis that they and we face during the coming decade. It is imperative that they comprehend that they have eternal souls and that God desires theyS live in His presence once this earthly life ceases. They as well as we must comprehend that although God loves us enough to die for us, He is also Holy and must be approached with great care. So we will fully understand God’s nature, He has provided us with a revelation of Himself. Since God is so different from anything else that we experience in this life, He has provided a literary work that tells us about Himself. Man for several reasons is unable to correctly discover God’s true characteristics, therefore God has revealed Himself by the Bible.

Bible simply means book. It is a unique book written over a period of 1600 years. The composite is composed of 66 individual books written by over 40 different authors. Some of the authors are known such as Isaiah who lived hundreds of years before Jesus of Nazareth, but the authorship of Hebrews is unclear and debated. The opening and completion of this vast literary work begins and ends with God. This is key in understanding this book and its contents. God is central and we are secondary. This life is about God and our relationship to Him and not focused on us.

Our Protestant Bible is composed of two divisions that we refer to as the Old and New Testaments. The Old contains 39 books written between 1500 and 400 BC beginning with Genesis and concluding with Malachi. These literary works were revealed to the descendants of Abraham who was God’s chosen to provide a people to keep and maintain these scriptures and to provide a Savior for mankind. These books contained in this Testament were required to meet certain criteria and in so doing were accepted as being canon. Canon means that each met certain standards. The New Testament was written within the first century AD after the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth into heaven.

God called the authors of both divisions to this task for no one sought this responsibility. The content of the Hebrew Scripture is made up of history, wisdom literature, poetry, music and wise sayings. Contained therein are predictions, prophetic utterances about the future, many of which focus on an individual called the Messiah. The Messiah of the Old Testament and the Christ of the New Testament refer to the same individual. He simply is the Anointed of God. Many of the predictions of the Old Testaments have been fulfilled and are easy to see and understand. Those of the New are sometimes debated since some have yet to be fulfilled. The New Testament deals with this Messiah.

The Bible takes the form of a revelation (an unfolding) and its content from start to finish direct us to the understanding that it is Spiritually inspired. The content, theme, and general sense stays on theme although the authors (human) were quite diverse and not all knew one another personally. The concept of inspiration is critical to understanding the Bible’s merit. Each individual author was inspired in a unique way. His spiritual inspiration was for his literary work and not his style. The beautiful poetry of the Book of Isaiah

(Isaiah 53:13- 1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.)

contrasts greatly with the somewhat mystical Ezekiel.

(Ezekiel 1:10-14 – 10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.)

You see God’s hand in the selection of these men when we view the reluctant Moses, who authors Genesis through Deuteronomy and the belligerent Saul, who post conversion is responsible for a major portion of the New Testament under the name of Paul.

Critical to our understanding is that God’s revelation of Himself to us is essential. If we attempt to find and comprehend God on our own, we always distort the image of God. As followers of Jesus, we must know and understand the witness of the Bible. It is the true guide in all crisis situations.