Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Luke 23:44-46 (ESV) 44  It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45  while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46  Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.             Today, let us meditate and pray over the things that happened to Jesus on that Friday so long ago. Let us try to imagine the great sorrow those first disciples must have felt watching their teacher die upon that cross. Prayer:             Heavenly Father, today we try to enter into your great sorrow as you watched with the waiting world for your Son to die on the cross. We read about the great sorrow of Jesus’ first followers, and we ask you if there was not some other way Jesus could have saved the world. We stand amazed at your great love for us. You are dying so that we might not have to fear death anymore. We

  Scripture: Luke 22:19-20 (ESV) 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20  And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Devotion:             Tonight, the church celebrates the institution of the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist. Jesus deviated from the traditional Passover meal script to commemorate what was to come in the next few days: His death, burial, and resurrection. That this holy meal is still celebrated by the church some 2,000 years later is a testament to the power and meaning these events still have for the church today.             Jesus already knew that His time on this earth was drawing to a close. Therefore, He sets in motion this meal as a Holy Spirit-infused memorial meal for the church. In many traditions, including mine, these words of institution can only be

  Scripture: Luke 21:34-36 (ESV) 34  “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35  For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Devotion:             In this brief scripture passage, Jesus warns all His followers for all time. Jesus knows how easily humans can get off track and engage in sinful behaviors. Jesus warns us here and elsewhere in the gospels that His return will come without warning or any advance notice. (A word here for all who try to set dates for His return: You are wrong!) The date and time are unknown to any human, which calls for special vigilance and urgent repentance.             All the people in the world will one day be judged for their deeds. This is an

  Scripture: Luke 21:29-33 (ESV) 29  And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30  As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Devotion:             This parable about the fig tree occurs in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pages of ink have been spilled on the meaning of this little story, and we are no closer to fully understanding it than Jesus’ disciples were. So, my comments here are not dogmatic but are meant to show my understanding of these verses; you may decipher and apply them as the Lord leads you.             The basics of what Jesus tells us about the fig tree (and all the trees only here in Luke) are simple enough. Every spring where I live

  Scripture: Luke 21:1-4 (ESV) 21  Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2  and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3  And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Devotion:             We begin this Holy Week with a scripture passage that teaches us about gifts and giving to the Lord. We know from scripture that Jesus says that the greatest gift is to lay down your life for someone else. So, how does the widow’s gift of two small copper coins measure up to that gift? As Jesus says, it is very significant indeed. She gave all she had to live on to God. It was, in a certain sense, like giving her very life. Life was tough for widows in Jesus' day, as it remains today in some places.             Both first-century and twenty-first-century people tend to think that bigger is b

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 8:15 (ESV) 15  And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. Devotion:             The writer of Ecclesiastes offers real, down-to-earth wisdom. Today, we see him extolling the virtues of joy and contentment. The writer seems to be saying that these are God-given gifts to all people if they will receive them. The writer admits that we have to toil in perhaps not the most pleasant tasks. At the end of the day, however, God rewards all His children with joy and contentment in their eating, drinking, and relaxing.             In the 21st century, however, we are told that joy and contentment are for fools. Meaning is to be found not in passive enjoyment but in activities of all kinds. Eating and drinking are necessary evils imposed upon us by nature, and they are not to be enjoyed but tolerated. We are

  Scripture: John 16:1-4 (ESV) “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4  But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. Devotion:             The words of Jesus in today’s scripture were a warning to those who originally heard them. Persecution was coming, and it would be harsh and unforgiving. The original audience for this message would need encouragement to keep following Jesus even when He was not physically present with them anymore. It is a timeless message of encouragement for all believers in every time and place. Jesus will not leave or forsake us to the enemies of the faith.             Even in today’s world, we hear stories of people being persecuted or even killed

Scripture: John 15:26-27 (ESV) 26  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Devotion:             When John wrote this, the Helper had already come upon the disciples. Jesus’s words had proven true again. The Helper was, of course, the Holy Spirit that fell on the disciples on Pentecost. In addition to all the more spectacular miracles the Spirit brought about on that day was this gift of remembrance. The New Testament writers all had this miraculous assistance through the Helpers ministry. This ministry gift does not get the praise it deserves. Speaking in tongues, healings, words of knowledge, etc., all tend to stand out in our minds.             As I age, I pray for this gift from God more and more. My memory seems to become less reliable every day. With all the pressures of Apost

Scripture: John 15:12-17 (ESV) 12  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14  You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17  These things I command you so that you will love one another. Devotion:             Jesus's words in today’s text encourage believers throughout the ages to believe that we are not merely servants but friends of Jesus. Jesus explains His commandments to His followers then and now. As friends and followers of Jesus, we are to love one another

The following sermon I preached at 1st Presbyterian Church on March 17,2024. Technology failed us and live streaming failed us. I thought it good for all to read so I have posted it in its entirety here.  Good morning, my brothers & sisters in Christ. Today’s scripture is all about the unity of believers. We  will need God’s help to understand and put into practice what we find in these short verses. Please join  me in a time of prayer for our understanding of the truth of the Gospel:             Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning broken, hurting people. We admit we have deep divisions in a church you meant to be united. Forgive us for having a mindset of division rather than one of unity. Open your word to us today so we may hear and obey your call to be united in Christ. Amen. Unity. That is the theme of Jesus’ prayer in these verses from John, which we just heard this morning. In it, Jesus declared that He wanted all His followers united in their struggle to follow

Scripture: John 15:9-11 (ESV) 9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Devotion:             In these verses, Jesus is giving the disciples an intimate portrait of the love that exists between the Father and the Son and the Son and the disciples. These words were not recorded for the twelve apostles only. They apply to us as well. We know that the Father loved the Son with an extraordinary love. Without a strong bond of love, the power of God manifested in Jesus could not exist. What is the reason for this strong Father, Son love we see here? The keeping of commandments. It sounds strange to our 21st-century ears, but the love between the Father and Son is based on the Son’s obedience to the Father's commandments.         

Scripture: Acts 17:29-31 (NIV) [W]e should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30  In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. Devotion:             We conclude our look at Paul’s testimony before the elites of Athens today. Paul has been practically been begging the Athenians to repent and follow Jesus. He has given reason after reason why belief in Jesus is superior to any of the gods that the people currently worshipped. Now, Paul concludes his argument by letting the people know that God will judge them through this Jesus, whom God has raised from the dead.             While few, if any, of us have ever worshipped a representation of God made of stone or metal, we are all guilty of worshipp

  Scripture: Acts 17:24-28a (NIV) 24  “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands 25, And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. Devotion:             Paul’s message to the Athenians gathered at Mars Hill continues in today’s scripture. Paul’s primary emphasis is the difference between the God he is preaching and the gods the people of Athens worshipped. First, Paul declares that the God he worships created everything. The gods of the people were finite, an

Scripture: Acts 17:22-23 (ESV) 22  So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23  For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. Devotion:             In today’s scripture reading, Paul has been brought voluntarily to the Areopagus so that he can explain exactly what he is telling the people. The people of Athens were always willing to listen to new religious thoughts. As Paul notes in verse 22, they were a very religious people. The town was home to many objects and places of worship. The people of Athens were free to worship any God they chose at any time. The founders of the United States of America may have had this kind of freedom in mind when they wrote the 1 st Amendment to the Constitution.             Paul, however, found the many places of i

Scripture: Acts 17:19-21 (ESV) 19  And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20  For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21  Now, all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. Devotion:             On day two of our visit with Paul in Athens, we find him being led to the Areopagus (Mars Hill). Mars Hill served as an open-air forum. It could be used for legal proceedings, but that was not its only function. Since we find no judicial language in the text, we assume that the Athenians brought Paul there to hear what this new teaching was. For Paul, this presented a golden opportunity to share the gospel with some of the thought leaders of Athens.             Paul’s teaching would have sounded strange to the people of Athens because (despite what some detractors

Scripture: Acts 17:16-18 (ESV) 16  Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17  So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18  Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. Devotion:             This week we are going to spend some time with Paul in Athens. Paul had just been run out of the cities of Thessalonica and Berea for preaching the gospel. Because of the intense opposition to the gospel, he sought refuge in Athens. Paul waited there for Timothy and Silas, his ministry partners, to join him.             While waiting in Athens, he was walking around the city. As he went about, he was greatly disturbed

Scripture: John 16:31-33 (NLT) 31  Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32  But the time is coming—indeed, it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33  I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world.” Devotion:             This passage of scripture highlights the disciples' reactions to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. The disciples claim that they will all follow Jesus wherever He goes. Jesus knows His followers better than they know themselves. All of them will desert him, and one will even deny knowing Him. Courage among this group at this time does not even exist. Things have not changed much over the intervening 2,000 years.             Great courage is displayed in the developing world, where the gospel is exploding. Though persecuted and even killed for their