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February 24, 2009
Let's Study the Scriptures Together During Lent
Here is the website to visit to sign up for the WatchWord Bible video feeds. It is free. Simply go to the site and register:
www.thebiblechannel.com
www.thebiblechannel.com
February 23, 2009
MARTIN LUTHER DEFINES SIN
"It enjoys itself and uses everyone else, even God; it seeks itself and its own interests in everything: it brings it about that man is finally and ultimately concerned only for himself. This is the idolatry that determines all he does, feels, undertakes, thinks, and speaks. Good is only what is good for him and bad only what is bad for him" (Luther's Commentary on Romans, chapter 8)
February 21, 2009
Sermon: Have You Got What It Takes to Climb That Mountain?
Famed Alpinist George Mallory was once asked: "Why do you climb the mountain?" His answer has been the climbers' answer ever since: "Because it's there." The mountain represents a challenge. The mountain towers over the climber hostile, forbidding and immovable and when he looks at the mountain it is as if the gauntlet has been thrown down and somewhere deep in his being he knows he must conquer it. The climber climbs because the challenge must be met. But is that all there is to it? Is it just about being able to say, “I met the challenges of life successfully? That is what the secular world would have us believe. But is there another reason to climb the mountain? Is there a better answer than, “Because it was there?”
Years ago, my brothers and I spent ten days in the Adirondack Mountains, in what is known as the High Peaks region. We climbed mountains, mountains fairly similar in size and temperament to the mountains found in the Holy Land. It is hard work. After climbing uphill for several hours you are exhausted. And you don't have to climb Everest to experience danger. Mountain paths are often extremely narrow with a cliff above you on one side and cliff below you on the other. One wrong step can cost your life, even in New York state. And due to human limitations and the immense challenges a mountain presents you sometimes have to go to great lengths to accomplish a relatively short distance. Switchbacks often take you miles out of your way. Sometimes you can look over your head and see the summit right there, but you are hours or even days from achieving it.
Sometimes mountains are simply too big a project to climb in a single day and so sometimes real mountain climbers—not weekend warriors like my brothers and me—but the technical climbers who really know what they are doing, find themselves on the face of a cliff with daylight failing them and they are forced to tie themselves off in a bag and just hang from the side of the cliff, nothing between them and valley floor other than a thousand of feet of air. And there they remain suspended awaiting the return of the light of day. I would imagine that makes for some pretty long nights. An internationally renowned mountain climber was asked how he managed to sleep suspended in air like that. His response was classic. He said, “I sleep like a baby. I lie awake crying all night long.” Have you ever felt that way, when all your support systems have been taking away and you find yourself just hanging on waiting for some light to shine again?Mountain Climbing is physically demanding. A climber must be strong. Climbing is risky business A climber must be courageous. The work is tedious and the progress is slow. A climber must be determined.
In our Gospel reading this morning Jesus takes Peter, James and John and together they climb a mountain. Bible scholars don't know what mountain, or how high it was or any of that but any rock worthy of the name presents its difficulties. So the four of them climb a mountain together. And when they get to the summit they are greeted by Moses and Elijah. And that is an interesting pair to be there at the summit. Scholars point out that Moses represents the Law and Elijah the prophets and that is true and good and helpful. But there is something else that is usually overlooked. Moses and Elijah also climbed a mountain and each of them was met by the Lord's Presence on the mountain.
Why did Moses climb his mountain? He wasn't looking for a challenge. He already had a challenge. He went up the mountain seeking help. God had given him an assignment, “Lead my people.” But it didn't take Moses long to figure out that he simply did not have the strength, the courage or the determination that the job required. Moses needed God's help and so he goes up the mountain to get it. Here is the conversation Moses had with God. We are reading in Exodus chapter 33.12:
Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
And so Moses went to the mountain because He was overwhelmed. He was called to lead God's people and he had already discovered that the task was beyond his own abilities. And Moses says to God, I'm not going forward unless your Divine Presence comes with us. Moses went mountain climbing because He was seeking God's promised Presence there.
Why did Elijah climb the mountain? He wasn't seeking a challenge either. In fact, Elijah was up to his neck in challenge. He had tried everything he could to lead God's people back from their wicked ways and he had failed. Elijah was at the end of his rope. Elijah climbed his mountain looking for God's help too. And like Moses Elijah found God's Presence on the mountain and he found the strength to go and complete his calling. It's worth looking at the passage again: “Elijah got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (and God spoke in that still small voice)
God called Moses to the monumental task of leading God's people into the promised land. It was more than a man—even a great man—could accomplish. God called Elijah to preach and prophecy to a nation that had turned away from God and towards evil. It was an impossible task for any human being to accomplish. And so they went to the mountain where they found God's Presence, where they received from Him the power—the strength, the courage and the determination they needed to complete their assignment. What about Peter, James and John? What are they doing up on that mountain? Well, they too have been called. God has called each of them to a task. Look at what happened just before this Transfiguration passage.
Immediately before Jesus takes the disciples up the mountain Jesus has this interaction with the disciples. He asks the disciples who they say he is. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. And you will remember that Peter's immediately argues with Jesus. It begins in Mark 8.31, “[Jesus] then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Now pay attention because here is the task that the disciples and the rest of the crowd receive from God. “ Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Jesus speaks to both the disciples and everybody else who happens to be standing around. He places a challenge before them. He calls them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the gospel. And as his own example makes clear, he is not speaking metaphorically. Jesus, for the sake of the gospel, is headed to Jerusalem where he will lose his life in order to save it...for all of our sakes. Like Moses and like Elijah the disciples are called to lead God's people into relationship with God through their own devotion to the gospel. Did Jesus call these particular disciples because they possessed the strength, the courage and the determination to accomplish the task? I don't think so. In fact, they would abandon Jesus at his greatest moment of need. Jesus takes the disciples mountain climbing and at the top of the mountain they are introduced to God's own supernatural Presence-Jesus illuminated before their eyes—and all of creation with Him.
When God revealed his presence to Moses it was veiled in thick dark clouds and Moses was only allowed to see a shadowy silhouette. When God revealed his presence to Elijah it was surrounded by a terrible wind and an earthquake and a fire and all that Elijah was able to discern was a small still voice. Moses and Elijah only got little glimpses of God's glorious presence but when Peter and James and John reach the summit and God reveals his Glory on the Mount of Transfiguration it is not in darkness and terror. It is in brilliant light. And it is not in a shadowy silhouette. God's Presence is revealed in all its glory in Jesus Christ out of whom beams supernatural light. Here is the fulfillment of the promise to Moses and Elijah that God himself would lead His people. Here is the Glory of God revealed in all its fullness. The light that shines forth from Jesus is so intense that the entire mountain is illuminated by it. And when God speaks he no longer whispers. He speaks out loud and clear and says, “This is my Son—listen to Him.” This is the one Moses and Elijah asked for. This is the One who the whole world has been crying out for. Here is divine Strength, Courage, and Fortitude made incarnate in order to complete God's kingdom. God makes good on his promise to Moses and Elijah and they are present for Christ's unveiling. God makes good to his people Israel as the disciples witness Christ's glory. And God makes good to all of creation on his promise to redeem it. All God's promises are yes, and amen in his Son Jesus Christ.
Life is full of challenges, full of mountains to climb. We are facing tough economic times. Some of us are losing jobs or facing shrinking investments. Some of us are facing some pretty intense health problems. We may very well lose our lives. Our church is in a major fight over 'the gospel' and there may be consequences for us for standing for the truth of the Scriptures. Sometimes we sleep like babies. We lie awake all night crying. There are lots of mountains to climb—but there is one challenge that rises above all the rest: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Christian, Jesus challenges you to the greatest ascend the greatest summit in life. He calls you to surrender. He calls you to abandon yourself to faith in Him. He is Lord and Savior. It is a tremendous challenge but if you will accept it...if you will climb the mountain of faith with Jesus you will find God's Presence, his awesome Power, his unlimited Courage, and his relentless Determination illuminating your life. And from that mountaintop all the other mountains will look inconsequential. Once you have abandoned your life to Jesus and surrendered your life to God's amazing grace somehow all of life's challenges become manageable. Jesus is able to make molehills out of even the biggest mountains.
Mountain Climbing is physically demanding. A climber must be strong. Climbing is risky business. A climber must be courageous. The work is tedious and the progress is slow. A climber must be determined. But a climber need not manufacture it out of his own broken heart. Come to the Mount of Transfiguration. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and let the Presence of God carry you through.
Amen.
Years ago, my brothers and I spent ten days in the Adirondack Mountains, in what is known as the High Peaks region. We climbed mountains, mountains fairly similar in size and temperament to the mountains found in the Holy Land. It is hard work. After climbing uphill for several hours you are exhausted. And you don't have to climb Everest to experience danger. Mountain paths are often extremely narrow with a cliff above you on one side and cliff below you on the other. One wrong step can cost your life, even in New York state. And due to human limitations and the immense challenges a mountain presents you sometimes have to go to great lengths to accomplish a relatively short distance. Switchbacks often take you miles out of your way. Sometimes you can look over your head and see the summit right there, but you are hours or even days from achieving it.
Sometimes mountains are simply too big a project to climb in a single day and so sometimes real mountain climbers—not weekend warriors like my brothers and me—but the technical climbers who really know what they are doing, find themselves on the face of a cliff with daylight failing them and they are forced to tie themselves off in a bag and just hang from the side of the cliff, nothing between them and valley floor other than a thousand of feet of air. And there they remain suspended awaiting the return of the light of day. I would imagine that makes for some pretty long nights. An internationally renowned mountain climber was asked how he managed to sleep suspended in air like that. His response was classic. He said, “I sleep like a baby. I lie awake crying all night long.” Have you ever felt that way, when all your support systems have been taking away and you find yourself just hanging on waiting for some light to shine again?Mountain Climbing is physically demanding. A climber must be strong. Climbing is risky business A climber must be courageous. The work is tedious and the progress is slow. A climber must be determined.
In our Gospel reading this morning Jesus takes Peter, James and John and together they climb a mountain. Bible scholars don't know what mountain, or how high it was or any of that but any rock worthy of the name presents its difficulties. So the four of them climb a mountain together. And when they get to the summit they are greeted by Moses and Elijah. And that is an interesting pair to be there at the summit. Scholars point out that Moses represents the Law and Elijah the prophets and that is true and good and helpful. But there is something else that is usually overlooked. Moses and Elijah also climbed a mountain and each of them was met by the Lord's Presence on the mountain.
Why did Moses climb his mountain? He wasn't looking for a challenge. He already had a challenge. He went up the mountain seeking help. God had given him an assignment, “Lead my people.” But it didn't take Moses long to figure out that he simply did not have the strength, the courage or the determination that the job required. Moses needed God's help and so he goes up the mountain to get it. Here is the conversation Moses had with God. We are reading in Exodus chapter 33.12:
Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
And so Moses went to the mountain because He was overwhelmed. He was called to lead God's people and he had already discovered that the task was beyond his own abilities. And Moses says to God, I'm not going forward unless your Divine Presence comes with us. Moses went mountain climbing because He was seeking God's promised Presence there.
Why did Elijah climb the mountain? He wasn't seeking a challenge either. In fact, Elijah was up to his neck in challenge. He had tried everything he could to lead God's people back from their wicked ways and he had failed. Elijah was at the end of his rope. Elijah climbed his mountain looking for God's help too. And like Moses Elijah found God's Presence on the mountain and he found the strength to go and complete his calling. It's worth looking at the passage again: “Elijah got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (and God spoke in that still small voice)
God called Moses to the monumental task of leading God's people into the promised land. It was more than a man—even a great man—could accomplish. God called Elijah to preach and prophecy to a nation that had turned away from God and towards evil. It was an impossible task for any human being to accomplish. And so they went to the mountain where they found God's Presence, where they received from Him the power—the strength, the courage and the determination they needed to complete their assignment. What about Peter, James and John? What are they doing up on that mountain? Well, they too have been called. God has called each of them to a task. Look at what happened just before this Transfiguration passage.
Immediately before Jesus takes the disciples up the mountain Jesus has this interaction with the disciples. He asks the disciples who they say he is. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. And you will remember that Peter's immediately argues with Jesus. It begins in Mark 8.31, “[Jesus] then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Now pay attention because here is the task that the disciples and the rest of the crowd receive from God. “ Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Jesus speaks to both the disciples and everybody else who happens to be standing around. He places a challenge before them. He calls them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the gospel. And as his own example makes clear, he is not speaking metaphorically. Jesus, for the sake of the gospel, is headed to Jerusalem where he will lose his life in order to save it...for all of our sakes. Like Moses and like Elijah the disciples are called to lead God's people into relationship with God through their own devotion to the gospel. Did Jesus call these particular disciples because they possessed the strength, the courage and the determination to accomplish the task? I don't think so. In fact, they would abandon Jesus at his greatest moment of need. Jesus takes the disciples mountain climbing and at the top of the mountain they are introduced to God's own supernatural Presence-Jesus illuminated before their eyes—and all of creation with Him.
When God revealed his presence to Moses it was veiled in thick dark clouds and Moses was only allowed to see a shadowy silhouette. When God revealed his presence to Elijah it was surrounded by a terrible wind and an earthquake and a fire and all that Elijah was able to discern was a small still voice. Moses and Elijah only got little glimpses of God's glorious presence but when Peter and James and John reach the summit and God reveals his Glory on the Mount of Transfiguration it is not in darkness and terror. It is in brilliant light. And it is not in a shadowy silhouette. God's Presence is revealed in all its glory in Jesus Christ out of whom beams supernatural light. Here is the fulfillment of the promise to Moses and Elijah that God himself would lead His people. Here is the Glory of God revealed in all its fullness. The light that shines forth from Jesus is so intense that the entire mountain is illuminated by it. And when God speaks he no longer whispers. He speaks out loud and clear and says, “This is my Son—listen to Him.” This is the one Moses and Elijah asked for. This is the One who the whole world has been crying out for. Here is divine Strength, Courage, and Fortitude made incarnate in order to complete God's kingdom. God makes good on his promise to Moses and Elijah and they are present for Christ's unveiling. God makes good to his people Israel as the disciples witness Christ's glory. And God makes good to all of creation on his promise to redeem it. All God's promises are yes, and amen in his Son Jesus Christ.
Life is full of challenges, full of mountains to climb. We are facing tough economic times. Some of us are losing jobs or facing shrinking investments. Some of us are facing some pretty intense health problems. We may very well lose our lives. Our church is in a major fight over 'the gospel' and there may be consequences for us for standing for the truth of the Scriptures. Sometimes we sleep like babies. We lie awake all night crying. There are lots of mountains to climb—but there is one challenge that rises above all the rest: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Christian, Jesus challenges you to the greatest ascend the greatest summit in life. He calls you to surrender. He calls you to abandon yourself to faith in Him. He is Lord and Savior. It is a tremendous challenge but if you will accept it...if you will climb the mountain of faith with Jesus you will find God's Presence, his awesome Power, his unlimited Courage, and his relentless Determination illuminating your life. And from that mountaintop all the other mountains will look inconsequential. Once you have abandoned your life to Jesus and surrendered your life to God's amazing grace somehow all of life's challenges become manageable. Jesus is able to make molehills out of even the biggest mountains.
Mountain Climbing is physically demanding. A climber must be strong. Climbing is risky business. A climber must be courageous. The work is tedious and the progress is slow. A climber must be determined. But a climber need not manufacture it out of his own broken heart. Come to the Mount of Transfiguration. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and let the Presence of God carry you through.
Amen.
ASH WEDNESDAY EVENING SERVICE IS AT 7:30PM
7:30
The Ash Wednesday Evening Service is at 7:30. Disregard anything else you may have seen or heard.
The Ash Wednesday Evening Service is at 7:30. Disregard anything else you may have seen or heard.
February 20, 2009
THIS LENT MAKE LIGHT SHINE, Anglican Relief and Development Fund
While on your Lenten journey this year, The Anglican Reliefand Development Fund invites you to engage in an extra discipline of giving. Lent offers a time for reflection, for sacrifice, and for prayer as we draw closer to our Lord and Savior. This year, let Lent also be a time of action by sharing the love of Christ both in word and deed in the developing world. Please prayerfully consider how you can support ARDF during Lent. Click on the headline above and you will be rerouted to ARDF's site where you can make a donation to support the Lenten campaign to help change lives of our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
February 19, 2009
ASH WEDS SERVICES AT 7:00AM, 9:30AM, 7:30PM
Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist will be administered three times on Weds. Please choose to attend the service most convenient for you.
THE TRINITARIAN, FEB/MAR ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE
The Febraury--March issue of the Trinitarian has been emailed to everyone with an email address on file. If you are not receiving it via email you are missing the full color photography and graphics. We are still snail mailing and those copies will arrive in the next week. I am proud of the work Tori and Scott C are doing on this. Check it out.
February 16, 2009
WatchWORD Bible Online, A Free Lenten Discipline
Here is an easy way for us all to study the Bible together during Lent. At WatchWORD Online together we can watch and listen to a chapter of the Bible each day during Lent. Its easy and it is free for us for a limited time. Check it out by clicking on this article's headline. And then SIGN UP TODAY! I already have.
TIME MAGAZINE: THE BIOLOGY OF BELIEF
Here's an interesting article about the possibility that faith is hardwired. Read it by clicking on the headline above. BEWARE: Research that attempts to establish a cause and effect relationship between neurological firing patterns and human behavior are suspect and many scientists are suspicious of the results of such studies.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh's Bible Belt rivals South's, scholars say
PITTSBURGH'S BIBLE BELT RIVALS SOUTH'S, SCHOLARS SAY
Western Pennsylvania has been the epicenter of splits within two Protestant denominations because local clerics took exception to the more liberal positions of their churches. Church schisms here reflect an upsurge of conservative religion, an expert contends.
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To read the entire article, click here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_611801.html
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For the most comprehensive coverage of local news and sports in western
Pennsylvania, visit http://www.pghtrib.com
February 15, 2009
Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach, talks about his faith
Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach, talks about his faith
By: Art Stricklin
Original article can be found here, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=29752.TAMPA, Fla. (BP)--Since becoming head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago, Mike Tomlin has talked often of his appreciation and respect for former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, who first brought him into the NFL as an assistant coach.
Until this week's Super Bowl XLIII between the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, Tomlin had never had the international platform to follow his mentor Dungy and speak about his faith in Jesus Christ. But that's exactly what he did before hundreds of reporters in Tampa.
"First and foremost, I want people to know who I am and what the most important thing is in my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ," Tomlin said in response to a Baptist Press question about his personal faith.
"Football is what we do; faith is who we are all the time."
Tomlin, who attends Pittsburgh's Allegheny Center Alliance Church, was mentored by Dungy, who hired him as a defensive backs coach with Tampa Bay before Dungy moved on to Indianapolis.
When then-Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher retired, Tomlin was ready for the promotion, stemming from his time with Dungy, leading men onto the football field and leading men's hearts off the field.
"I want to lead with a servant's heart," Tomlin stated to media members who will be covering Sunday's Super Bowl.
"The biggest thing I learned from Tony Dungy was an unyielding belief in his message of faith," Tomlin recalled. "It was displayed all the time with him. He was extremely consistent and that's what I want to take to maximize my faith."
Tomlin's first expression of his faith during Super Bowl week came as no surprise to Steelers assistant coaches and players who have heard the same spiritual passion in private.
"It's a great blessing when a man of God is leading your team," defensive end Nick Eason said. "It's like a godly father in the household."
Tomlin said he is glad to share his faith in sport's brightest media spotlight, noting, "We embrace and appreciate this platform."
Amos Jones, the Steelers' assistant special teams coach, was baptized on the same day with his dad, Sam, at West End Baptist Church in Aliceville, Ala., where his mother still attends.
Having a Christian head coach has made a big difference to the team and has contributed to the Steelers' Super Bowl run, Jones said.
"I think his [Tomlin's] faith in the Lord is a blessing," the Jones said. "It's just a peace of mind knowing that he has everybody's best interest at heart.
"Mike and I share the same faith and it's amazing how many times something he might say to the team in the locker room could have a spiritual meaning."
Like most coaches, Jones has held plenty of jobs in his lengthy career in both college and NFL ranks, but he has always had the Lord as his one constant.
"I have always been blessed by the Lord. When I didn't have a job, He provided one. He gave me this job and allowed me to go to the Super Bowl. It's been a blessing," Jones said.
In the often hard-hitting world of the NFL, Jones said his wife Stacey has reminded him to see God's hand everywhere.
"She sits in the stands and can see the defensive backs praying together on the sideline. She sees Troy Polamalu, encouraging and praying with people."
Linebackers coach Keith Butler sat in the stands during Tuesday's media day silently watching the frenzied interaction between players and hoards of reporters.
"This isn't life-or-death pressure," Butler said of Super Bowl week. "It's not like life or death in eternity without God.
"Is this game important? Yes. Is it the most important thing? Not even close."
--30--
Art Stricklin, a Baptist Press sports correspondent based in Dallas, is in Tampa covering activities leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl.
Copyright (c) 2009 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press. Visit www.bpnews.net. BP News -- witness the difference! Covering the critical issues that shape your life, work and ministry. BP News is a ministry of Baptist Press, the daily news service of Southern Baptists.
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Sermon: Salvation and Surrender
A sermon on 2 Kings 5.1-16 by Fr. Scott Homer
Leprosy comes up twice in our readings this morning. Naaman the Aramean general is a leper and is healed by God in our Old Testament reading and Jesus heals a leper in our Gospel reading. Leprosy is mentioned often in the Scriptures. It is not clear to modern scholars what exactly it the disease was because the symptoms described differ from case to case but two things are clear: 1. The leprosy mentioned in the Bible was probably not Hansen's Disease and 2. It was some sort of very contagious skin disorder that was, in most cases, incurable. And because it was incurable the Bible remembers the stories of God healing lepers because they represent extreme examples of God's salvation—not perhaps as dramatic as raising the dead to life but amazing acts of God.
Let's look at the Old Testament lesson. The story is set in the ancient
The story of Naaman and Elisha is remarkable because it is a story about God healing a pagan. It is one of the very early examples of God acting mightily in the life of a non-Jew and of course after he is healed Naaman becomes a believer in the one true God. And that ought to remind us of what Jesus and his disciples are doing in the New Testament era. They go around from place to place healing people, and through those healings they are telling people that the
Naaman knows how to make things happen. He is a mover and shaker. He is the General in Charge of the Aramean Army and Aramea is one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time. Naaman is the king's right hand man—number two in the kingdom—one of the most powerful men in the world. Naaman is a huge success story. He has amassed a fortune. He has power and influence over thousands of men. His name is known and feared. This guy has achieved just about everything a man can hope to achieve. Naaman knows how to make things happen. He has it all…or he would if it were not for the fact that he suffers from this incurable ailment. Naaman is a leper. He suffers from a terrible skin disease. It is so terrible in fact that governments of the day forced lepers to live apart, quarantined from the rest of society. In
But Naaman doesn't seem to get it. He still seems to think that he can force a healing by his own efforts. He gets a letter from his king to use as leverage with the king of
We may know great success in life. We may enjoy great wealth, have the respect and admiration of kings, and wield vast power and influence over the affairs of men but all of that is of no consequence to God. The great man and the common man alike are at God's mercy when we are afflicted by our sins or oppressed by the circumstances of life beyond our control. Only God's grace and mercy can cure us and God's grace and mercy are not for sale, can not be won by force and will not yield to our influence. How can we obtain healing? What is required of us? Simple obedience to the Word of God, nothing more.
Naaman then is a sort of Everyman. He represents the human condition. We can all see in Naaman the problem we ourselves face. We chase after success. We amass fortunes. We fight for fame and influence and we are always seduced into believing that our efforts will result in secure lives, lives free from hardship, loss and disease. We think we will know health, joy and comfort as the fruits of our intelligence and our natural gifts and our labor. But Naaman reminds us that no matter how well off we may be, no matter how much power we may exercise in the lives of others, there are afflictions that we simply can not buy our way out of, or bully into submission or cause to pass us by. Ronald Reagan suffered from Alzheimers despite having been the most powerful man in the world. Howard Hughes suffered insanity despite being the wealthiest man in the world. Power and money saves no one.
Naaman finds the one true God of the universe in the last place he would have expected to find him, not where Naaman was strong, not where he was successful but at the very point of his greatest weakness. He comes into the presence of the one true God at the place in his life where he is unable to make anything happen—and at the one place where he is forced to bow to someone else's authority. Naaman knows God at the point in his life where he is powerless.
That is the fact for all of us. We want God to admire us for our competency but God is more interested in our ineptitude. We want to meet God in the celebrations of life but God is more ready to meet us in our moments of despair. We want to be big, important, powerful but God is really looking for us to become humble and obedient, to move back from having to be the center of attention and allow Jesus to take center stage.
Elisha is a poor Isrealite—one of the people Naaman threatens to conquer. According to world standards Elisha should be bowing and scraping before this great general but he does the opposite. He will not even grant Naaman an audience. He sends a servant out with a dismissive message to go and wash himself seven times in the
God does not make hard terms with us. He is not asking anything of us that is difficult. What makes our relationship with Him difficult is our pride. God insists upon being God. He will not step down off his throne and allow us to demand our own way. We can, like Naaman, be competent, powerful, and wealthy but it will avail us nothing in our relationship with God. God is not interested in any of that. God wants a submissive heart. He wants us to be willing to listen to his word, when necessary to swallow our pride, and a willingness to do what he asks us to do. We never fully learn this lesson. Some of us never get it at all. But our healing, our happiness and our long term security depend upon learning to live with Jesus as our Lord and Master.
Bottom line is: Humility is one of the cardinal virtues and pride is one of the cardinal vices. This is an extraordinarily difficult teaching in our culture because our culture is devoted to pride and personal power. We love our autonomy. We demand our own way in everything, but it is a destructive lifestyle. It holds us apart from God and prevents us from receiving God's healing. Naaman listened to reason. He dropped his pride, at least long enough to go and wash himself in the
Jesus has come to set us free. In chapter 28 of the Gospel according to Matthew Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me." "That," as Sandy Millar says, "is quite a lot of authority." Jesus has the power to set us free. And it is his desire to set us free. In our Gospel reading this morning the leper says to Jesus, "If you are willing you can heal to me." And Jesus responds, "I am willing…" Jesus has the power to heal us. It is his desire to heal us. We ought to let him. Amen.
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