John 3:27-30

"John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, "I am not the Christ," but, "I have been sent before Him." He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bride groom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:27-30

As a true disciple you are to be a friend, an encourager, not the key-stone in someone's life. One of the greatest lessons we must learn is to recognize the authority of Jesus in our lives. We all tend to be guilty of being a "Mr. or Miss. Fix-it." We jump in when we see this or that not going the way we think it should and our sympathy gets in the way of God's hand. We, in fact, become amateur providences. We tend to react instead of respond to the correct leading of the Spirit.

Truly it is a wonderful experience to witness the seeds that you have sown begin to sprout and grow, but when you become a necessity to that soul, you are out of God's order. Once you see a soul begin to reach out to the claims of Christ, you know that your influence has been in the right direction. Allow God to work out those chaotic struggles and the agony that many times precedes the death to self.

Pray fervently that those struggles will increase many times stronger until there is no power on earth or in hell that can hold that soul away from Jesus Christ. Beware that you do not rejoice with a soul at the wrong time, but rejoice openly when the time is right. Joy is yours when the time is complete. Jesus will increase while you will decrease. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Gal 3:24

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" Gal 3:24

A lot of people don't like the Old Testament. I can understand that. In many cases it is filled with difficult names. It supports the death penalty. Animals suffer as they are sacrificed to cover the sins of man. Prophets speak in mysterious phrases. Many of the pages are covered with blood and guts stories. It's easy to want to ignore those 39 books of the Bible.

But they are there for a reason - and that reason is to lead us all to Jesus. Think about it. In the first pages we learn of the God of creation - the God who was lonely and wanted a man with whom to fellowship. We learn that He created man in His own image. Man looks like God. Shortly thereafter, we find that man sins (he had but one law, don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). He is driven out of the Garden of Eden. With this knowledge, we know why we are sinners. We received a predisposition to sin from our ancestral parents.

From that point on, God is working to bring man back into a loving relationship with Himself. God chooses a family to work with - Abraham. From Abraham he builds a nation which will be the vehicle He will use to bring a world Savior. He dictates the Law to this people so that they will know beyond a doubt when they have sinned. If there is no law, there can be no knowledge of sin! The law is the line in the sand which we cannot cross without disobeying God.

Once sin is established, man becomes aware of his true nature. Man tries many ways to overcome that nature, but fails in every effort. God, through His prophets, tells man that a Messiah, a Redeemer, is on His way. Finally, God is silent. For four hundred years God does not speak to His people other than through His written Word. There are no prophets. There are no visions. Even dreams cease to have any significant spiritual meaning.

All of this leads us to John the Baptist - the voice crying in the wilderness "prepare the way for your Messiah!" See the importance of the Old Book? It is our instructor. It is our teacher. We can learn a lot from those dull, bloody, confusing, mysterious pages. We can learn who Jesus is, why He came, and what we need to do about Him.

As a new month is coming within a couple of days time, take a look at the Old Testament. Let God teach you about Jesus through it! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Matthew 12:15

"But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all" Matthew 12:15

If anyone could have boasted, it would be Jesus. He was the Son of God. He was a miracle worker. He could produce gold out of the mouth of a fish. He could raise the dead. It seems that there was nothing that He couldn't do. And all of this is true. Still, when it came to a point when He could boast, He told everyone to keep His story a secret.

He could have aroused the crowds into a rebellious frenzy. He could have commanded a legion of angels to prepare the way. If a follower were killed, He could have brought them back to life - He could have lead an undefeatable army! Supply lines - no problem. He could have spoken quality food into existence to feed His soldiers.

The people would have followed Him anywhere. They already followed Him into the wilderness - without food, water, or provisions. They knew He would take care of them. They would have followed Him into the very throne room of the Caesars! He was that popular.

But, in all humility He preferred to remain in the background. I can't recall a single time that He boasted upon Himself. Oh, He boasted alright. He boasted of the Father. He was proud of the Word. He loved the Temple, the House of God. But He never presented Himself in a proud manner.

Now, I, on the other hand, would have done just the opposite. If I could perform a miracle, I would want someone to take note. If I had a following like Jesus, I would want to promote it. If I could turn water into wine, I would want to bottle it. If I could multiply the loaves, or heal the sick, or raise the dead, I would be disappointed if my picture was not on the cover of Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" edition. I would try to parlay it into a Nobel Peace Prize.

Don't laugh! You can't tell me that you would desire anything less. All of this leads me to think, Edwin, you have a long way to go before you look like, walk like, talk like, and act like Jesus." How true. How about you? Praise God, Amen and Amen.

Proverbs 19:18

"Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction" Proverbs 19:18

An average child begins to struggle with his identity and seek his independence as he approaches the age of 12. The permissive parent starts to panic when the child assumes his own identity and starts pulling away. Fearing the worst, the parent becomes authoritarian by tightening the screws of discipline and restricting the child's activities. A power struggle ensues with predictable results. The child bolts and the parent calls for advice.

The problem of the rebellious, stubborn, disobedient child was easily resolved in the Old Testament: The child was stoned by the men of the city (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Sometimes we wish discipline were that simple! Yet this passage helps us understand that even decent parents who try to be good disciplinarians sometimes have stubborn and rebellious children. Why? Because you aren't the only influence in your child's life.

As parents, we must help our children establish their relationship with God so they know what it means to be a child of God. Once they go off to school, you can't go with them, but God can and does. If we don't help them establish their identity in Christ, they will establish their identity in the world. If we don't give them an eternal purpose and meaning in life, they will establish a temporary purpose and meaning. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

2 Corinth 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" 2 Corinth 5:17

If you don't 'know' you are a New Creation you will still act like the old creation. The spiritual nature of man is a fallen nature, it is the nature of Adam, it is a bad nature, which man received when Adam fell, because he got it from Satan. Not one of us can change our nature, no more than a leopard can change it's spots, we are what we are, but when we come to God through Jesus, then God who becomes our Father can change our nature as we come into Him.

When you experience this new birth, something happens on the inside of you in an instant. The old bad nature goes out and the new Nature and likeness of God comes in. God actually created you a brand new person on the inside, a brand new creation. Don't look at yourself from the old physical, moral and natural standpoint anymore, now begin to 'know' you are a New Creation if you have received Christ.

Start to look at yourself from the spiritual standpoint, because that's how God sees you 'in Christ.' Believe it, know it, live it. Amen and Amen!

Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 23; John 10:22-30

Loving God, as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us, and in confidence go forth to live what you show us. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

The 23rd Psalm is probably the best known, most loved, most quoted portion
of Scripture. It is so familiar that people who seldom if ever read a Bible or go to church can often still quote a portion of this Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and thy staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

One problem, though, is since this Psalm is so often requested at death-beds and funerals; many people too often associate the 23rd Psalm with death and dying. But the Psalm is really for the living. It speaks to the living - those who are fully alive in the true sense of the word.

A baseball player by the name of Roy Campanella, got involved in an bad accident some years ago that left him a semi-invalid. In his autobiography he talks about the many nights he cried himself to sleep, about the pain that racked his body and his sinking into deep depression.

He writes,

All my life whenever I was in trouble, I had turned to God for help. I remembered my Bible and asked the nurse to the get the one from the drawer in the night table. I opened it to the 23rd Psalm: `Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me.'

"From that moment on", he wrote, "I was on my way back. I knew I was going to make it!"

There are hundreds and thousands of testimonies like this - of how persons have found in this simple Psalm the comfort, strength, and the assurance that they are going to make it!

I'm sure many of you can tell your own stories about what this psalm has personally meant to you.

Psalm 23 not only gives comfort to the dying, it also gives courage, strength, and hope to those who are alive.

One of the things we must understand about it, is that the 23rd Psalm is steeped in the language and customs of shepherding and sheep in Palestine back in biblical times. If we do not know anything about the customs of shepherds and the unique relationship between the good shepherd and the sheep, then much of what this Psalm has to say simply passes us by.

What I am going to talk about this morning is focus on just one small part of the Psalm - verse 4:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and thy staff they comfort me.

You may be interested to know that tradition tells us that the Valley of the Shadow of Death is a real place in Israel.

It is a valley, or a mountain pass, that got its name from shepherds because of it's steep sides and sheer rock walls. But it was a pass that enabled the shepherds to lead their sheep from one mountain pasture to another. However it was a terrifying place for skittish, defenseless, fearful sheep: for in the steep cliffs on both sides of the valley there were numerous caves and rocks and crevices that were perfect hiding place for animals of prey - and for people who meant harm to passing travellers. Sounds would echo and amplify in the valley, making it a terrifying place for sheep.

We look at the Psalm and hear:

The Lord is my shepherd.... He makes me lie down in green pastures.... He leads me by still water.... He leads me in paths of righteousness.

But now the sheep are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Question: How did they get there? - We have to assume that the Good Shepherd has led the sheep into the valley.

Now, the images in this Psalm are very clear. The shepherd is the Lord Himself. Indeed, from our Gospel reading, we hear that Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd. The shepherd is the Lord. And, of course, we, the people of God are the sheep.

And what is the Valley of the Shadow of Death?

It is those terrifying, dark, lonely, frightening times in life - times of sickness, tragedy, emotional stress, tension, economic disaster, loneliness, all the times when God may seem far away.

But we can see from here that it is the Good Shepherd who leads the sheep into the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

But we must remember that the shepherd has a purpose: The shepherd takes the sheep from pastures that are now eaten up and barren, where food is scarce and the land is parched, to new lush, green meadows. But to get there, the shepherd and the sheep have to pass through the valley.

The sheep do not understand this. The sheep cannot really understand the purposes of the shepherd. All that the sheep experience are the frightening, terrifying surroundings. And you can imagine how nervous and scared that they get.

But the shepherd knows. The shepherd has a reason, a purpose. And the sheep have learned to trust the shepherd.

As Jesus said,

"My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand."

Yes, the sheep have grown to trust the shepherd. The shepherd has proven trustworthy and so the sheep follow the shepherd even through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, "fearing no evil."

And so it is the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who leads us through
troubled and difficult times of life. But he has a reason, a purpose - to lead us to greened pastures, to deeper faith. He calls on each and every of us to trust in him, to put our faith in him, even when we cannot always see his plan or purpose.

But we all trust the Good Shepherd, because we know the shepherd is trustworthy.

Another thing we need to realize is that there is a world of difference between death and the shadow of death. The shadow may be frightening, dark, and cold, but they are just shadows, not the real thing.

What is death?

Death - real death - is the separation from the awareness of God's love and grace. Death is being afraid of God.

It does not matter how strong or healthy and safe or secure you may think you are, if you live outside of the love of God, if God is someone you do not know or have come to fear, then you are among the living dead. You are living in death.

But St. Paul tells us that Christ has taken up our death into life! Into the resurrection life prepared for all who trust in him.

Do you remember that time when Jesus came to the tomb of his good friend, Lazarus, and he met his sisters, Mary and Martha, how Jesus said,

"I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."

The promise that we Christians have every day of our lives, is that we will never die. We will never be separated from the love of God that we have through Jesus Christ.

But there will still be those times when we experience the valley of the shadow of death. There will be those times when we might feel forsaken, abandoned, alone, rejected, there will always be those troubled times when we may wonder where God is.

The valley of the shadow of death are those times when we feel forsaken, but by faith we know that we are not, because we have both God's promise, and the experience of God's grace and love for us throughout the past.

When we are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, we may feel as if God is far away, but deep down inside we can know that God is very near. God promises us life - life in this world, and life in the world to come. Christians don't die. God simply calls us from one life to another.

But as long as we live in this world of sin and suffering, we will always experience the shadow of death.

And that can be a terrifying experience for each and everyone of us. At that terrifying time is it is good to recall how the Good Shepherd is leading us to green pastures where he will restore our souls. To remember that he is preparing a table for me - a table that contains the bread of heaven and the wine of everlasting and abundant joy..

Listen to the voice of the shepherd when you are in the valley of the shadow of death. Listen and know that he is leading to a better place.

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you, O Lord, are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Blessed be the name of our God - now and forevermore. Amen

James 1:2-3

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" James 1:2-3

Today this world is desperately attempting to redefine anything that would convict it of sin. Sin has become a very "relative" term. The world is attempting to say, "What is sin to you may or may not be sin to me. Everything is relative." Whether you realize it or not, this philosophy is being taught in schools. All students today, understand this principal. Simply said, "There are NO absolutes." Implied meaning, "There is NO God." Scripture tells us to, "Stay away from those that call good evil and evil good." That is a difficult task, especially when our children are required to attend schools and receive such an education.

Even some churches today will accept sinful behavior in favor of Political Correctness. Oh we cannot take a stand on that issue,such as abortion or lifestyle, such as homosexuality, we might be called too "Radically-Right." We must adapt and fit in and be socially acceptable.

Martin Luther once said, "If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God expect precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady in all the battle front besides is but flight and disgrace if you flinch at this point."

Five hundred years later, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Where do you stand?? Amen and Amen.

Psalm 34:8

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Psalm 34:8

David writes this psalm for the spiritually immature, who need to be instructed in the ways of God. One thing David thinks we need to know is how to live in a way that brings the blessing of God. How do we face the hard times? When we hurt, we want to know: Have we done something wrong? Has God deserted us? What do we need to do to receive God's help? These are good questions. If we pay attention to David, we will get some answers.

The word "taste" here means properly to try the flavor of anything, to eat a little so as to ascertain what a thing is. It is used here in the sense of making a trial of, or testing by experience. The idea is, that by putting trust in God - by testing the comforts of religion - one would so thoroughly see or perceive the blessings of it - would have so much happiness in it - that he would be led to seek his happiness there altogether.

If those who are in danger would look to him; if sinners would believe in him; if the afflicted would seek him; if the wretched would cast their cares on him; if they who have sought in vain for happiness in the world, would seek happiness in him- they would, one and all, so surely find what they need that they would renounce all else, and put their trust alone in God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

2 Corinth 2:9-11

"For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices" 2 Corinth 2:9-11

Friends, I think it was Saint Augustine who said that Satan is like a mad-dog on a long chain. He is powerless to harm us so long as we are outside of his reach (his domain), but once we enter his circle, we expose ourselves to injury and harm.

I picture him standing there, at the end of his leash, holding out enticing goodies (like chocolates, and not brussel sprouts) that he knows will interest us and bring us near or into his domain. His offerings will always appear to be good, they might even parallel your walk with the Lord, but in reality they will destroy some greater good, for which the Lord has been grooming you and your walk with the Lord.

Stay safe in the Lord, put on your full armor and constantly reply to the enemies attacks with the Word. Amen and Amen.

2 Corinth 4:7

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" 2 Corinth 4:7

There is a quote by someone named Seneca, a person I know little about but these words really got to me. "Most power full is he who has himself in his own power."

Sounds good. Certainly many men and women live by a creed much like that. Frank Sanatra sang a song with a harmonic theme, "I Did It My Way."

But let's take a look at that phrase and compare it to our Scripture Thought. "Most powerful is he who has him self in his own power." That means that the person with the most self-control, the most ambition, the most drive, is the most powerful. Someone else said it like this: "He who has the most toys wins." True or False? How many driven people do you know? How many of them are happy? Content? At peace? Oh, you can count them on one hand? No? Ah, one finger? No? OK. On a closed fist? Got you.

The most powerful are not those who are dependent upon themselves, according to Paul. It is the people who are vessels of God who have the most power. Why? Because the power of God is in them and works through them!

Let me ask another question. How many yielded vessels do you know? A few? One or two? How many of them are content? Happy? At peace? All of them? Most likely. Why? Because when they are yielded to God, when YOU are yielded to God, you are out of the picture and He is in control. And when God is in control of your life, you have nothing to worry about. Nothing to destroy your peace. Nothing to disturb their contentment. The simple fact is this. When God is in control, you are a spectator - of the most wonderful drama in the world. You get all the thrills, all the chills, all without the responsibility of failure, because God cannot fail.

Unfortunately, we all know far too few yielded vessels - and I include myself in that. We all are spending too much time being "captain of our own ships." We all find it hard to yield the controls of our lives to anyone. But this is exactly what we should be doing - as long as that "somebody" is God the Father. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Jeremiah 29:14

"I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive" Jeremiah 29:14

Something wonderful happens when we seek the Lord with all our hearts. He begins a restoration. It hasn't happened yet? How much is "all"? 50%? 80%? 99%? 100%? I know for some this seems hard, but it is the way of the Lord. He requires all. When you buy a car, do you buy the wheels only? Ok, how about the wheels and the frame? No? You mean you want all of it? With a full tank of gas, too? You even want air in the tires? Of course you do. You want to drive down the street with the knowledge that you own a car - lock, stock, and barrel. The same goes for the computer you just bought. You didn't just buy an Intel processor. You bought all the components. You bought the fancy case, the monitor, the speakers - every thing that makes it run. See what I mean?

When Jesus paid the price for your ransom, He bought all of you, not just an arm and a leg. He bought your body, your soul (composed of you mind and emotions), and your spirit. He paid for it all and that's what He wants. Let's go back to that shiny new car for a moment. Let's suppose that you drive it home and see a dent on the hood. Now it's no big dent, but it is noticeable to you. What do you do? You drive it back to the dealer and want it repaired. Why? You bought a new car and you want it to look new. A little later, you hear a tick in the engine. You repeat the process for the same reason. It's a new car and you want to keep it that way.

Jesus expects nothing less. Unfortunately, we tend to want to keep parts of ourselves for our own use. Won't work. Can't happen. If we want all the promises, we must keep all the conditions. And look at those promises: restoration of fortunes, restoration of lands, restoration of freedom. Joel (chapter 2) adds a few others: restoration of all that the canker worm and locust have destroyed, new crops, new wine and much more. All that in exchange for the right of ownership. "Sure," you say, "but it's easier said than done." Indeed it is. It's a process. It begins with a determination of the heart to seek God, to be totally yielded to Him. It grows as we give more and more of ourselves. It finds it's fulfillment in our total obedience.

Fortunately, Jesus is willing to let us yield a piece at a time. He is patient. He will grant us partial fulfillment for partial dedication. With that in mind, we need to begin today to yield ourselves. We need to continue tomorrow and the day after that and the week after that and the month after that and the year after that - until we have attained a measure of maturity. If we do this, we will see the restoration begin and amplify day by day. Oh, it may not be in the form in which we want to see it, but it will be there. We may not see it today, but we will see it as time goes by. Trust me on this. God has promised it. Let it happen to you! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Romans 14:19

"Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another" Romans 14:19

It is difficult to estimate the damage done by saying to a child:

- You'll never amount to anything.
- You can't do anything right, can you?
- Why can't you be like him?
- You're no son of mine!
- I'm not going to invest any more money in you.
- You're just like all the other kids.

Why not communicate your trust instead and give your child something to live up to? See the potential, not the problems. Looking for the good in your children will bring out the best in them and you.

Imagine how Peter felt when Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which translated means Peter [rock])" (John 1:42). Peter went on about his business of fishing. Sometime later Jesus called him to be a disciple. After Peter's great confession that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus said to him, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church" (Matthew 16:18). What confidence Jesus expressed in a smelly, uneducated fisherman who would later deny Him three times!

Would you have chosen Peter and expressed confidence in Him? Would you have stuck with Peter after he betrayed you? Jesus did, and He is sticking with you, too. He has entrusted you with His message, gifted you to serve, and blessed you with children. Are you trustworthy? Not completely. But His trust sure gives you something to live up to, doesn't it? Your trust in your child can do the same for him. Amen and Amen.

Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; John 21:1-19

Loving God, as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today, and in confidence go forth to live what you show us. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

As a teenager I engaged in what most teenagers engage in. I tried to figure out whether or not what I was thinking and feeling was normal or if in fact I was as different from everybody else as I suspected I might be.

You ever done that?

And again, when I became a Christian - I tried to figure out what was a normal way to experience the faith. I only did that however - after I noticed that my pattern of belief - my pattern of conversion - was not shared as widely as I had first thought.

What I went through was nothing quite as dramatic as what Paul experienced; but it did share some elements of what countless numbers of people have undergone.

I began with nothing but a wish - a dream - a hope - that maybe there was something more to life than what I could see, touch, and taste. Something more than "might makes right". Something more than "survival of the fittest".

I grew up in a home where God was almost never talked about, my father was a Buddhist, and my mother was a Roman Catholic (however, I am a Protestant after walking out of the Roman Church, but that is a story for another day) and where the holy things of our faith were unknown.

So for me there was a time of longing - of seeking - of struggling - for what I did not know; a time which finally cumulated in encountering a group of Christians who engaged me in a conversation: a conversation over several months, about God and about Jesus, and about how in Jesus God shows his unconditional love and his redeeming purpose for all people, - even for one such as I.

And the love that this group of Christians showed me, and the willingness they had to examine their own faith and their own assumptions about what it taught, touched me - and permitted me as I was reading the Gospel According to Luke one night in my little room in the basement of home in England, to move from unbelief to faith; from a life where the Tarot Cards and Astrology were being used to give direction, to a life where the law and the prophets provided guidance and the inner voice of the pirit was at last heard.

In short there was a day and a time when I gave my life over to God, - a day and a time when I prayed what is known in some places as the sinner's prayer, the prayer that goes something like this:

Lord Jesus Christ, I repent of my sins. I believe in you. I want you to be Lord of my life, to cleanse my soul and open the gates of heaven to me. Come into my heart. Help me to follow you each day. Rule in my life. Amen

And so it was. And so it continues - day by day.

But - in my innocence - in my lack of knowledge - and in face of the number of folk throughout history who have gone through something like what I went through - I made an assumption back then, a common assumption: the assumption that all "true believers" (you notice how I said that don't you?) that all "true believers" must go through a time when they repent of their past and consciously invite Jesus to be Lord of their lives.

And indeed there are many who tell us that this pattern of experience is the normal pattern, indeed the only pattern, that ensures one's salvation; that the pattern seen in St. Paul - who - though a believer in God - persecuted the church - and then - through an encounter with the Risen Christ and through the testimony of others - turns his life around and is made into a disciple and apostle of the good news. Is the pattern that should be seen in us all.

John Newton - the composer of the hymn "Amazing Grace" which is so well loved by the church around the world had the same kind of saving experience as Paul.

Brought up in a rough circumstances, Newton became the captain of a slave trading ship. He drank hard, he worked hard, and he hated with a passion all things Christian, all things he saw as weak, all things that would bridle his behaviour... and then - after years of self-loathing and of hating others, he heard the gospel with fresh ears - the Spirit worked in his heart - and he gave control of his life over to Christ Jesus, ending his days as a beloved Pastor in a church in London, ending his days as the author of the words we love so well:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

Such profound and beautiful words.

But what about those who have never been lost? What about those who have never been blind?

What about those who have believed from their mothers knee and heard the gospel from the lips of their fathers or their grandfathers?

What about those who have ever worshipped God as revealed through Christ Jesus those baptised as a child and confirmed as a young teen?

What about their experience? What about their faith?

You know - we can so easily - even with the best and most loving motives - make other people feel unimportant, unvalued, somehow second class.

We - with our seeking to define for ourselves what is normal so that we can assure ourselves that we are normal end up imposing upon others our definitions; we end judging others by the "one right way" we ourselves have subscribed to.

And yet there are many ways that lead us into a whole relationship with God and many people who have a whole relationship with God from their infancy: a relationship that may have it moments of confession and profession - it's times of wandering and returning - but whose essential strands are never broken and whose certainties are never in doubt.

After all my years as a follower of Christ, I remain convinced of the truth of what Kathryn Kulman, one of the last century's great evangelists said when she wrote these words:

"God has no grandchildren"

I understood some thirty years ago that to mean that no one can inherit their faith, that each person must confess and profess for themselves.

That is most surely true.

But that does not mean that those whose confession and profession has happened countless times since they were but babes coming to worship and repeating the creeds as we repeat them during this Easter Season are not as equally loved by God and saved by God as those who have at one great moment of their lives done it for the very first time in their basement bedroom - or on a highway - or beside the seashore.

Nor does it mean that those who have said the Lord's Prayer and who have called upon God over their meals and gone to Sunday School with their parents or grandparents are any less devoted followers of Christ than those who like Paul did not turn to Christ until later in their lives.

What it does mean is that everyone is called to have a personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus - and that relationship is one in which God accepts us as one of his much loved children, - and we accept God as a much loved - and supremely good - parent: a parent who calls us to a holy obedience and an everlasting joy an obedience and a joy that are based not on compulsion, but upon love.

What it also means is that each of us, from the youngest to the oldest, is loved intensely and personally - as only a mother or father can love their first born child.

What's normal?

In today's world as in the world of the past there are many people - perhaps more than anytime since the Emperor Constantine made the faith legal who will go through the pattern of call and conversion that Paul went through, that John Newton went through:

- an experience that leads them from being lost to being found, and
from being blind to seeing,
- from believing in nothing to believing in the God who does
everything good.

And there are many who have always had the freedom, the sense of belonging, the vision, that people like these have only come to latter in life, people like many of you here have had since your grandmothers sang hymns over your cradle or your father took you to be baptised and your brothers and sisters accompanied you to Sunday School.

What unites us is not how we arrive at faith nor is it even how we worship or where we worship or when we worship.

What unites us is the God who calls us all together and who names us as Christ's brothers and sisters, and who calls us to continue in faith - to love one another - to watch over one another to know Christ as both crucified and risen and to trust in Him.

There is one right way - but there are many roads that lead us to it, there is one God - one Christ - one Spirit - but many believers, many experiences of coming to faith and staying in faith

St. Paul - whose conversion - or call - name it what you will - is featured in today's readings once said this:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the scripture says, 'anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame', for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him."

I no longer know what is normal. And I no longer care.

It is enough for me that God has called me to give my life over to him, and that God will never let me be put to shame as long as I trust in him and follow him.

And it is great joy when others - the cradle born believers or the newly re-born - sing God's praise and give testimony to God's goodness and strive to do what Peter - the rock upon which our church is built - was called to do: when they feed Christ's sheep and tend the Lord's lambs.

I love the Lord and I love how in the way that is appropriate to each of us individually he calls us, how he knows our names and remembers who we are and makes us his own.

Peter or Paul, Mary or Martha, Richard or Robert, Denise or Shelley, each of us are called and called each in a different way.

We are called and equipped by God. We are named and blessed by Christ - so that we might not only be blessed, but bless others.

Let no-one, not even your ownselves, say your faith is less important or meaningful than someone else's, rather give thanks and glory to God for the faith you have received and love Christ and feed his sheep, his lambs, even as he has called you to do through Peter the Rock upon which the church of God is built in this world. Amen

1 Kings 8:27

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!" 1 Kings 8:27

It must have been a magnificent place, this temple that Solomon built. So much gold. So much bronze. So much stone and wood and labor and pillars all around. But Solomon had a glimpse of the power of God. Sure, he built a home for God. But he was wise enough to realize that God would not dwell there. It was too small. The entire universe was too small for this God of the Jews.

Still, we today continually put God in a box - not a house or a temple - a box. "How do we do that?" you may be asking. We do it by limiting the power of God to what we can imagine. We all have or know friends who have or had insisted that God could heal his or her husband, wife, etc. While he or she was at death's door. They had bone cancer, lupus, etc. They were sick beyond imagination and was weak as a kitten. They could not stand, or walk. The doctors had given up. And, I must admit, most of us had given up as well. We (The relatives and friends) were trying to figure out how we could prepare this poor woman or man for her loved ones demise.

Ah, but we had limited God to what the doctors said and what we could see. She had opened the lid on her box. Her God could do the impossible - AND HE DID! A few months later this DEAD PERSON was driving all over town, Praise God! It was an amazing recovery! Even the doctors were astounded.

So what problems are you facing? Think they are too big to be solved? May I suggest that you open the lid to your God box and stuff the problem in there. God will certainly devour it and deliver you from the trouble you face. All you have to do is let Him be God Almighty. He's much bigger and more powerful than you could ever imagine! AND NO PROBLEM IS TOO LARGE FOR HIM. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Phil 4:9

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you" Phil 4:9

Little girls like to dress up in mommy's clothes. Shoes and hats have a special attraction. Any of us who have had daughters know this to be true.

Little boys do the same. They want to be like daddy in every way. Daddy is their hero, there is none like him. I have to admit. I tried on my Dad's shoes when I was little. Now my big toe would hardly fit in those shoes! I learned a lot from my Dad. Some of them good. I sometimes have to fight off some of the things I don't want to copy.

We all have those little annoying traits, too. The tapping of the fingers or toes while we drive or the little smack of the lips as we read a book. Or the way we sip a cup of coffee. Or the way we steal the blankets at night. Those are things that we would rather our children not copy. Carmel likes to crunch down on hard candies which drives me nuts. Of course there are other things that turn little children into fearful babes. But that is another Devotional.

Paul was bold. He said that if we would emulate what we saw in him and heard from him, that the peace of God would be with us. In short he was saying, "Do as I do and you will see Jesus." Quite a boast. But, then, isn't that what we are all supposed to be doing? Modeling Jesus. Most of us would shy away from such a statement concerning our own lives. But we shouldn't. If we are trying to live for Jesus, then people who follow in our footsteps will see Jesus. Right?

If you don't think that is correct, then you need to examine your lives to see where you are headed. It's like the lady who was caught in a deep fog. She found some tail lights ahead of her and decided that she would follow them until the fog lifted. Suddenly the car ahead stopped. Hitting the breaks, she shouted out the window, "Why did you stop?" The other driver answered, "Because I'm at HOME!"

If people follow us, as believers, they should eventually come into the household of God! Keep those lights shining! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Luke 24:13-14

"Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened." Luke 24:13-14

It was a sad duo who trekked along the road to Emmaus. Sorrow filled their hearts and weighted their sandals like lead. Instead of joy and gladness dominating their conversation, they talked of what could have been and what should have been and what was. What they had expected and wanted was to be discussing the crowning of Jesus as their Messiah - the one who would free them from the tyranny of Rome. What they got was a crucified leader, in the grave now for three days.

Well, some women and a couple of the apostles had been to the tomb. They said He was not there, but no one reputable had seen Him. (Mary didn't count - she was simply too excited and who would believe that she saw both an angel and the Lord? Besides she is a woman) No, it was a sad day. A stranger joined them. Listening to their conversation for a moment, he asked to be brought up to speed on the matter. After the briefing, he began to tell them a few things about their Messiah. He began in Genesis and ran all the way through the major and minor prophets explaining why Jesus had to suffer the way He did. The two were amazed! They saw all that happened in a new light. But the fact remained that Jesus was dead - and His body was missing! Arriving in Emmaus, the stranger made his salutation as though he would continue on, but a good teaching deserved a good meal so the two persuaded the one to stay a while.

Supper was hot when they entered the room. As guest of honor, the stranger was asked to bless the meal. He picked up a loaf of warm bread, broke it, and gave thanks - then vanished in thin air as the two recognized that the stranger was JESUS! (I'm sitting here with goosebumps on my skin and my heart pumping a million times a second, just from writing that and then reading it again, I pray you feel the same. Pastor Edwin) Where was I? Oh yes, It can be that way sometimes. We have our minds and hearts set on something. We pray for it and about it and it never seems to come about. When at last dejection sets in, we feel we have been abandoned by the only hope that we had. It's then that someone comes to us - maybe a stranger, maybe a friend, maybe a spouse, and tells us the truth of the matter.

We listen - halfheartedly. We nod our heads in agreement, but we don't understand - not until we at long last have our eyes opened to the reality of JESUS is the messenger. The answer was there all the time, we just looked at it in the wrong way! As with the men from Emmaus, our hearts are burning with the joy of knowing Jesus again! Our hearts are filled to overflowing. We've just got to tell somebody what Jesus did for us! Perhaps today you are down and out, the answers seem far away. Open your heart and let Jesus - the resurrected Messiah, Savior - come in. Let Him shed the light of understanding into the dusty, cob web filled recesses of your spirit and renew your faith! Now I have a question to ask.

Are YOU Right with God?

True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or how your parents raised you, or what country you were born in. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior. It's not good enough that your priest, pastor, mother, or aunt knows Jesus, you must know Him for yourself. They cannot believe in Him for you, you must repent for yourself.

Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him NOW. Time slips by so quickly, don't miss this opportunity. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:

"Jesus, I know that I have sinned against you. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice, and I am the one responsible for it. I know that I have earned punishment from You, and that the fair punishment would be death. Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away, I am relying totally and only on You. You are the only one who can save me. I reject my sin, I turn away from it, I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin, and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You." Thank You Jesus, Amen

If you have prayed this, YOU ARE SAVED! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, innocent in the eyes of God, please e-mail me and let me know and I will guide you toward Fellowship and Baptism. Welcome to the family of God! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Rev 15:3

"They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!" Rev 15:3

I'm amazed! Let me set the scene. John is seeing a vision of heaven. He sees a glassy sea - glowing with the reds and oranges of fire. On that sea stands the saints from earth who were victorious over the beast and the number of his name. These are saints who have refused the mark of the beast and who have refused to bow down and worship the image of the antichrist. How did they get there? They were slaughtered, persecuted, starved to death. That was the punishment for refusing the mark.

Listen! Those persecuted saints are singing! What song is that? What are the words? Why such a joyful sound? "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty!" Were they singing of the wonderful works of God - though those works caused them to suffer? Indeed! How could it be? Listen to the next line: "Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations." God's ways are righteous? They are true? Certainly. And in the words of these suffering saints we can learn the response we should have to suffering.

When things go bad, things turn a bit sour, we have two choices. We can suffer and complain. Or we can suffer and rejoice in the privilege. What's the difference? Remember that time before you were saved that you hit your finger with a hammer? Oh how you turned the air blue with your curses. Did it help you feel better? NO. You suffered physically and you suffered spiritually. You grumbled and complained and groaned and muttered. You suffered and your suffering was compounded.

Now think about the time you hit your thumb with a hammer and you were saved. Sure it hurt, but you shouted "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" You offered a short prayer for relief and went about your business. You suffered, but your heart was rejoicing - and you suffering was tolerable. See the difference? It's all in the attitude. These saints had learned that all the suffering was worth it when you considered the end result. THEY WERE IN HEAVEN - STANDING BEFORE THE TEMPLE OF GOD! I think I'll rejoice, too! How about you? Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Job 1:9-11

"So Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" Job 1:9-11

Sometimes a person just needs to be sheltered. Other times he needs to be thrown into the crucible of purification. The trick is to know which at the right time. Dr. James Dobson talks a lot about tough love. God talks about holding you under His wing like a baby chick. Jesus told Peter that satan had requested permission to sift him like wheat - and He granted it!

There are times, when we hurt, when we are weak, when we are tired, that we need to rest under God's protection. We need that hedge built around us.

However, when we become too comfortable, God needs to kick us out of our nest and into the rarefied air of trouble - like an eaglet - so that we may grow stronger.

Whichever situation you find yourself in today, rest assured that God has it under control. Satan had to ask permission. God had to grant it before it could happen. God will give you the grace and strength to be the victor in the tough times.

Remember to pray for All Things - and start with confessing your sins. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Psalm 68:6

"God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land." Psalm 68:6

It's all about love. That's the sum total of the human experience. Of course we define love in many different ways, but when it comes down to it, we are all looking for the same thing - a love that passes understanding - one that is pure and satisfying beyond description. It's beyond the physical, though that is were many stop in their search. The physical is simply a shallow imitation if what we all desire. We want that eternal love, one that transcends time and space. There is only one place to find that kind of love - in the Father's arms.

The prodigal son found that out. When he was in the pig sty (a rough place for a young Jewish boy), he knew that what he had experienced, what he thought was love, was nothing. When the money was gone, the love was gone. He realized that his father's servants felt more love than he did. He would have been satisfied with the love his father gave the servants. Still, when he approached home, his father saw him, ran to him, put his arms around him and gave that lost son all that he wanted and needed. The prodigal found perfect love in the arms of his father.

David says that God places the lonely in a family. The lonely, like the prodigal, have mostly given up on ever finding perfect love. They have convinced themselves that second or third best or none at all in the love category is all they are worthy of. But the Father has other plans. He wants to give them all that He has for them. He desires above all else to provide perfect love - His love. All they have to do is start out for home and the Father will come running to them.

Perhaps you know of some lonely people. Do you shun them, or do you give them love? Do you cross the street and tell your children to look the other way, or do you feed them? How do you look at the homeless, the downtrodden, the poor, the filthy, the addict? They are people that Jesus died for. If God was willing to pay that price, don't you think you should be able to give them some of the Father's love - share the love He has freely given you? Don't be stingy with your love, give it away! The Father will give you much more in return - guaranteed! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Acts 5:17-32, Psalm 150; John 20:19-31

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

Last Sunday we celebrated Easter - and at that time I talked about how belief in the resurrection is the key to our faith, that upon the resurrection of Jesus is based our hope not only for a new life in heaven when our days our done, but also our hope for a new life here, on this earth.

Today's gospel lesson from John tells us about the first appearances of Jesus to his disciples after his death and resurrection, about how Jesus appeared in their midst on the first evening of that first Sunday when they were huddled together in fear and greeted them with words of peace - and then showed to them the wounds in his hands and his side so that they might believe what their eyes and their ears were telling them.

At that time, that first resurrection night, Jesus gave his disciples his Spirit and the authority to go and forgive the sins of people around them, the authority to remove from them the weights that prevent them from living a whole and fruitful life.

The disciple Thomas was not there that first night, but the Scripture records that the other 10 told him about how Jesus had come to them and how they had seen him and heard him.

The scriptures too record his reaction to this news:

"Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A normal reaction for a normal kind of guy. Give me proof - give me something I can touch and see - and I will believe.

And the Scripture goes on to record that Thomas' demand for proof was satisfied - that Jesus appeared again, a week later, to the disciples in the upper room - and Thomas was there, and Jesus after greeting them all with words of peace called to Thomas and told him to look at him and touch him and to believe - and Thomas did so - he believed what he saw and said to Jesus when he believed - "My Lord and my God"

Sometimes I think that the disciples had it easier than we did. How easy it is to believe when you can see and touch - as did they all in one way or the other.

What an advantage that is!

But then I think - about Jesus'words to those disciples and to Thomas in particular:

"Do you believe because you see me? Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

Blessed are those who believe without seeing me....Why is that?

Why is it blessed to believe without seeing? Without touching? Without hearing first, from the Messiah's mouth as it were, for ourselves?

I think that the answer lies in the nature of seeing and in the nature of faith.

Many people say that seeing is believing, but that is far from true, in fact the opposite is more often the case - believing is seeing, - believing something opens up to us the possibility of experiencing it,

- of seeing it come to pass in our lives,
- and of having that which we believe produce in us many kinds of blessings.

If you wait to see something before you will believe in it - then you may never see what you want to see come to pass.

I remember some years ago watching a most interesting person on TV, an interview with H. Ross Perot.

Mr. Perot, for those who may not know, was a wealthy Texan who has emerged out of nowhere to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America.

He was a candidate without a party and without any party support, and if he was to be elected, people in every state of the United States would literally have to write his name in on the ballot.

That hasn't happened in over 100 years in the United States - but what was so fascinating about Mr. Perot was that he believed that it could be done, that he, with the support of the American people could not only get elected without any support whatsoever from any party machine, but that he could successfully pull the United States back from the brink of ruin, by stressing personal responsibility, ethical behaviour, kindness to one's fellow man, and love for those whom you work with and whom you serve.

His belief in these things turned the American election into something worth watching that year.

His belief brought into being something that no one alive had ever seen before - and, for quite the longest time, it seemed that it might lead to a new kind of presidency and a new kind of United States.

Mr Perot's belief, his conviction about things neither he or anyone else had seen, produced a new political situation in the United States, it made it possible for him, and for many others, to see as possible, what was before thought to be impossible, namely a truly independent Presidential candidate whose only debt would be to the American people rather than to special interest groups, lobbies, and back room boys.

I do envy the disciples their experience of being able to see Jesus after the resurrection, of being able to touch his wounds and put their hands in his side, and hear him say "Peace be with you",

What an incredible experience to have.

But while I envy them that particular experience I do not require that experience and neither do any of you require that experience, to have faith in Christ and his resurrection and to receive from him the blessings of the power that God has given him.

All we require is a decision to believe the reports that we have heard, and to commit our lives to Jesus as our Lord and our God, and all the rest will come out of that..

Paul writes: "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.".

He also writes: "Whoever believe in Him will not be disappointed"

Think of all the people who have believed in Jesus, without ever having seen him as the disciples saw him, and who, after a number of years of believing have claimed that many have been the times since they first believed that they have

- felt Christ's presence in their lives,
- seen their prayers and the prayers of others answered,
- and been helped through hard times because of their faith
in God's promises.

It was once said - and not so long ago- that no one could build a ship out of iron and have it float, because iron is heavier than water - but someone believed that it could work, without ever having seen it work, and now iron and steel ships abound.

What is true for ships is doubly true for aeroplanes, and even more true for those, who without having seen, have had faith in the risen Lord.

Happy are those who believe without seeing. Happy are those who have made a decision to assert that life is stronger than death, that goodness is stronger than evil, and that love is stronger than hate, despite all that they have seen that might suggest the opposite.

They are happy because when they have come to believe in the Lord of life, the Lord of goodness, and the Lord of love, - they see and experience all that they believe in and they are saved - they experience goodness from God, a goodness that always conquers the evils that they may face in their daily lives.

Paul says that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

And faith my friends has moved many a mountain, healed many a sick person and overcome many an obstacle.

As the book of the Acts of The Apostles shows, when the disciples finally believed in Jesus, when they were convinced that he truly rose from the dead, they went from being people who hid in fear, fear of the authorities who had crucified their teacher, to being people who like that teacher not only healed the sick and did many mighty works, but who actually, despite being imprisoned by the authorities, were able to stand up before them and proclaim the name of Jesus.

Their faith gave them courage and peace - the peace that Jesus kept praying upon them. It gave them power to help people who were lost in their own sin and despair. And it gave them invulnerability to the criticism and negativity of the world around them.

As Peter says to the authorities in today's reading from Acts, it gave them the Spirit of God - the Spirit which is given to all who believe in and do God's word.

I have sat down with many a skeptic and have then got up and gone away feeling that I have been drained of life of hope, and of joy. But I have never sat down with a person who truly believes in God and then got up with any other feeling than one of hope, and renewed courage and faith.

The gospel message is very simple - Belief comes first and sight then follows - that when you believe - you become, and you live.

This is how it works in the world of science and invention, and this is how it works in the realm of the Spirit and the law, the realm of Christ and of God our Father and our Creator. AMEN

As I have loved you

Loving God, as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today, and in confidence go forth to live what you show us. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today we speak in the name of Christ Jesus about love - about Christ-like
love - about the kind of love mothers - and fathers - and indeed each one
of us - are called to have - and by the grace of God - do have - should we
in fact be following in his steps through faith.

We know the commandments concerning love - about who we should love and how we should love them.

What is the greatest commandment Jesus is asked. And he replies

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and the second is like it - love your neighbour as yourself.

Rabbi Label Lam, writing about the second of these laws, as it is found in
Leviticus 19:18, tells a story that goes likes this:

A Russian peasant farmer who never left the small and parochial surroundings of his town had occasion to come the big city of Moscow. He arrived at the elegant hotel with mud on his boots and overalls looking completely inappropriate. The man at the desk assigned him to a room on the top floor and treated him as any other paying customer.

With key in hand and a few possessions he started the long climb to the hotel room. On the first landing there was a full-length mirror. The man who had never seen himself before was suddenly startled and frightened by the imposing image before him. He growled and barked to scare the him away - only to find that the image in the mirror was willing to threaten and shout the same.

He ran to the next floor and confronted the fearsome giant again exchanging harsh looks and almost coming to blows. On the third floor they stood nose to nose and exchanged simultaneous insults as a deepening war-like attitude was taking root in both of the them.

Realizing that there was no where to escape this ugly beast-like fellow who was aggressively stalking him in the hotel he ran quickly back to the lobby and to the front desk to file a complaint. After having given a detailed description of the perpetrator the man at the desk understood that the he had met the enemy and it was the man in the mirror. So as to save the face of his guest and to disengage the hostility he offered simple advice.

He said, "The fellow who you confronted is here to protect people. He is really quite harmless. Trust me. If you will show him a harsh and angry countenance he will do the same. However if when you see him you just smile pleasantly and continue on your way he will nod and smile at you as well. Enjoy the rest of your stay."

That's what he did and remarkably that's what happened...

King Solomon is reported to have once said:

"Like the reflection of a face in water so is the heart of one person to another."

To love another is a difficult thing - especially when our experience of love is flawed, especially when we are unaware of how much we are loved, and most especially when the reflection in the water is full of anger or bitterness or resentment - as so many are.

To really love another we often need a standard or guide to follow and within that standard or guide - we need help - help to not only know what love is - but to know that the love we need is within us; that it is embracing us and has the power to embrace others through us, especially to embrace those others towards who we do not feel love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind,
and love your neighbour as yourself.

These commands, Jesus said - and all the Rabbi's agreed - summarize the Law and The Prophets, that law which Jesus says will not pass away until all is accomplished

To that law - that law which can be most difficult for us to keep - Jesus
added one commandment, and one commandment only, during the three years of his ministry - the commandment heard in our Gospel reading this morning - the one given by Jesus as Judas departs from the Last Supper to betray him to his death.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

As I have loved you, so you must love another.

And how is it that Jesus loves us? Is it not by giving himself away for us?
- By blessing us even when he knows that we are not following - and
perhaps will not follow - him.
- By being pro-active in love - rather than simply reactive?

Look at the cross. Look at this table where the Lord's body and blood are
lifted up so that we might remember.

This is the love that seeks to embrace us.

This is the love that is more than simply our guide and our model.

It is the love that when received - is more than able to pour itself out upon others, no matter how we might "feel" about them.

It is the love of the one who gave himself for us while we were yet enemies
of God; the freely given love of the one whose faithfulness destroys our death and whose resurrection restores our life.

A story is told about a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten
students put his boots on.

He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and sure enough, they were.

It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off then it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren't my boots." She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to.

Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said,"They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them."

She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

Ever have one of those days???

I think all of us do. The question is - will we bite our tongues - and do that good thing we desire to do? Will we face the countless little crosses that appear before us each day? Will we willingly taking on the burdens that should not be ours to take - despite a lack of appreciation and understanding among those whom we are helping?

This is what love does - it accepts the little crosses, knowing that the large cross has already been taken for us, knowing that because Jesus has accepted us, so we can accept others in his love - that we can trust them into his care, his judgement, his mercy, and his righteousness.

And never more so than with those towards whom love is hardest to show, - the self that fears the evil within - that stranger that we see in the mirror
- and the other strangers, those who are not in the mirror, but who stand before us in person screaming words like "crucify him" and holding in their hands the nails of execution.

Love one another as I have loved you.

This means be open to the new and to that which was previously impossible
for us to be open to, to be open - as Peter, in today's reading from the Book of The Acts of The Apostles, was open - open in his imperfect - human - but inspired way - to those he considered unacceptable, to those that all the apostles had previously thought to be outside of the loving embrace of God, open to the gentiles - the foreigners - to those viewed by all as unclean - as unholy - as undesirable.

For us that may mean be to be open to those that our wisdom and our feelings tell us to be unclean, unholy, unacceptable, and undesirable.

For some that may be someone in their own family who has hurt them beyond words. For others it may be the nameless pan-handlers and refugees who beg at our doors. Or the sinners who enter into our homes to steal not only physical treasures, but to rob the entire human family of its joy and hope. For still others it may be an employer, a debtor, or some group of persons that have done us or our world an injury.

God will judge all people. Not us. Blessed be God for that!

Blessed be the one whose love does not fail - and who wills to give us that love, and who vows to take care of all who follow him, to nurture them and
help them to grow and to usher them into the blessedness of his eternal
kingdom.

God will judge all people. Not us. Love one another as I have loved you!

God asks a question of his people through the prophet Isaiah, in the 49th Chapter of the Book of that Prophet. He asks of his people who are in exile for their sins:

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?

And he answers:

Even these may forget. Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Christ has inscribed us on the palm of our hands. He does not forget us.

And so the answer to question of the love of God for us is also answered with a promise - a promise that came to pass for Israel, and even now is
coming to pass among those of us who are willing to see:

Your builders outdo your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go away from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on. Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land-- surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

Love one another as I have loved you.

God loves us most powerfully. And gives us the power to love others.

Would you love someone today that you find it hard to love? Then know that God loves you - - that God loves you without condition and will make your life full and abundant as you turn to love others with his love.

Another story for today:

An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.

"You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl in the line said to the little fella. Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head.

His grandmother knelt down next to him. "I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles," she said, while tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful!"

The boy looked up, "Really?"

"Of course," said the grandmother. "Why just name me one thing that's more beautiful than freckles." The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma's face, and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."

May all our friends - and all those who would be our enemies if we let them be, have beautiful freckles and gorgeous wrinkles. Let go and let God, and love one another as Christ loves you - with a love that saves and redeems
his people -- both Jew and Gentile alike. Blessed be God's name, day by
day. Amen.

Isaiah 6:1-9; Romans 8:12-17; Psalm 29; and John 3:1-17

Let us Pray - O God, light of the minds that know you, life of the
souls that love you, and strength of the thoughts that seek you -
bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts. Breath
your life into us that we may live in the manner you have appointed
unto us and better love and serve you and one another. Amen

Not so very long ago a dear friend in England sent me through the internet the story of a little girl who was asked by her teacher to write an essay on “birth”.

After getting home from school, she quickly went to ask her mother as to how she had been born. Her mother, who was very busy with the cooking at the time, told her “the stork brought you, darling, and left you on the doorstep.”

Continuing with her research, she went to her father and asked him as to how he was born. In the middle of doing some repairs to his computer, and did not want to be interrupted in his work, her father in a very similar way deflected the question by answering, “I was found at the bottom of the garden. The fairies brought me here.”

Then, still continuing with her research, the little girl went and asked her grandmother how she arrived into this world. Her grandmother told her “I was picked up from next to the pool.”

After having gathered all this information on hand, the girl wrote out her essay. When the teacher asked her to stand up in front of the whole class, she stood up and began to speak in great confidence. “There has not been a natural birth in our family for the last three generations….”

In today’s Gospel reading we read and heard that when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of being born from above – or being born again – Jesus was not talking of a natural birth. He explained to Nicodemus that he was talking of a spiritual birth – a birth that was, and is still, somehow supernatural and a mystery.

“Very truly, I tell you”, Jesus said, “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit…”

Let us all take a moment to think about this today – let all of us think about our own unnatural birth – and about the mystery that is involved in our unnatural birth, and about the mystery that is involved in it, the mystery of God, the God who made us in the first place and gave us our first birth, the God who saves us, by becoming one with us, the one who is sinless dying with us, the one who is sinless dying for us, the God who lives and works in us and gives us our second birth, our unnatural birth.

I hope that you will be in agreement that all of our own experiences of God are marvelous and mysterious experiences…it is like looking at the picture of the old woman and the young woman you got inserted in your service sheet today. There is only one and only one reality, yet there is more than one reality at the same time.

And so it is with God.

We have and we know the God Isaiah told us about.
We know the God who is high up and lifted up in his temple.
We know the God who speaks and brings forth all of creation.
We know the God who is Judge, Lord, Ruler, King of all creation.
We know the God who is in light inaccessible, in other words hidden from our eyes.

This God is strange to us. This God is way beyond our understanding. This God we dare not touch, even though we know this God and he knows us, even though we see the signs of this God, signs that are all around us in this world, the wind, the air, and the fire.

And then we have the God who is in Christ. The God who is Christ, the God who is lowly, and humble; the God who reaches out and touches others; the God who humbles himself as a servant and serves others; the God who walks this world with us; and cries and laughs with us; the God who called God Abba, Father, Daddy. The God who is tempted with us, the God who hungers and thirsts with us, the God who embraces us and encourages us; the God who surrenders himself to death for us, having only the promise and the hope of being raised from the dead again.

And we have and know of God the Spirit. God, who gives to us all our visions and dreams; God, who is the source of all my strength and of hope; God, who is the supplier of healing words and of comfort filling prayer. God, who is the wind, the breath, the air we breathe in. God, who is the transformer, the one who gives new birth and new life. God, who is ever presence within us, and in the presence surrounding all of us. God, who is calling to us – calling for us – calling through us, calling in us….

Paul told us that we are all children of God.

When we cry Abba, Father, it is the Spirit of God, who is bearing witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

As a Christian, a lay preacher and a student of theology, I do not claim to know all about God, I do not claim to know all there is to know about God. I do not claim nor even imagine that I will ever know all there is to know about God. God is always much greater than my knowledge of him. However, I do know what God has shown or reveal about him to us. I do know God in three different ways, I know him in three ways. I experience him in three ways. I love him in three ways.

In his book “Mere Christianity” C.S. Lewis, tried to describe part of this experience, this three-fold knowing, this three-fold loving. In his description of a Christian at prayer he wrote: “What I mean is this”, he wrote, “An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with God. But if he is a Christian he knows that what he is prompting him to pray is also God: God so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all real knowledge of God comes through Christ. The Man who was God that Christ is standing beside him, helping to pray, and praying for him. You see what is happening. God is the living being to which he is praying – the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the living being inside him which is pushing him on – the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. The whole threefold life of the three-personal Being that is actually going on within that ordinary act of prayer.”

(PAUSE)

What so many people lack in this world of ours in their lives is a sense of the mystery of God and of the mystery of the life that God gives to them.
We keep on trying to develop one simple mental picture of God. One simple portrait of what our life in God is like or ought to be like.

Most people would like to think that things are either black or white, and most of us will go to great and incredible lengths to fit things around us into one or the other category – but God is much greater than any category – any system of thought or classification, and so is our life in Him.

We know that God is just and holy. We know that God demands from us perfect obedience, at the same time; we know that God is a merciful God. He is merciful and forgiving. He is willing to forgive us, no matter how serious our sins are.

I confess that I am a sinner. I am totally unworthy to even touch the hem of the gown worn by our Lord, Jesus Christ. At the same time I know that I am a child of God. As a child of God, I am intimately acquainted with the Spirit of God. I know that Jesus is my brother and I know that I am a joint heir with our Lord, Jesus Christ, in all the riches of heaven.

I know that our God is a mystery. The life that our God gives to us is a mystery. However, I know that God, within that mystery touches us. I know that God, within that mystery touches our souls. I know that it is a mystery that we can all experience and taste and know something of, but we will not know all within this lifetime of ours.

When I became a Christian, when I yielded myself to all the claims of Jesus, no matter how outrageous it may seem to other people. I yielded myself to His claim to be the Son of God. I yielded myself to his claim to be the way, the truth and the life. I yielded myself to his claim to be in the Father, and that the Father is in Him. When I yielded myself to Him, something happened to my life.

My vision in life began to change and started to see new things in the world surrounding me. I began to see the hand of God in the lives of the people around me; the hand of God stirring up the people surrounding me. And to sense that our God is reaching out to people all around this world and calling all of them to Him. I began to sense and see God in people surrounding us. I started to see God struggling to convince the people around us that there is great beauty inside each and every being. And to see the world as a magical place, full of enchantment, full of purpose and meaning. There is within me a compulsion to do things that I had never done before; a compulsion to pray for other people; a compulsion to tell other people that God is all around them; the compulsion to suddenly stop in the middle of the turmoil of my daily life and to give thanks to God for little things, or just simply to take a deep breath, and began to see the fact that there is some divine purpose in life, which is too deep for words, and began to experience within myself a growing peace. A peace that is continuing to grow and grow. I began to experience the suffering in other people as well as their joys; the suffering of creation and in the triumphs of the people surrounding me. I began to see God hand’s in the working of my life. I began to see the need to answer the call, that if I do love Him, I will go and look and feed His sheep!

My life and my birth is not a natural one, and I thank God for it.

What I am experiencing and going through right now is not something that came to me as a result of my first birth from my mother’s womb. I did not learn or experience it by going to any particular school. I did not earn it by living a better life or doing kind deeds. It just happened to me, as a result of my coming to believe in God, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in asking Him to be my God, my personal God, in the way that Jesus taught us.

Every one who believes in God has this experience. Every one of us who hunger and thirst for His righteousness has this experience. Every one of us who yearn for God will be satisfied by His presence in us. For all of us will experience Grace. All of us will sense the gifts of God of their lives. All of us will experience the incredible miracle of the indwelling God. All of us will know that that they are born from above. Every one who believes in God, know what a miraculous happening that we were born again, and our second birth, just like the first birth, was only made possible by the labours of other people, and not cause by ourselves.

For every one of us who is a believer, because of what we experienced and gone through, we begin to see the words of the Bible about God as the truth in each and every respect. We come to see that God has revealed Himself to us, and know that He is still revealing Himself in many different ways to all of us. We come to see God in the way that has been written in the Scriptures. And to see God in the way that God has been described to us, God as three persons, and yet there is only one God. We come to see God as the creator of all creation, the redeemer of mankind, and the sustainer of all life in the world. We will start to see God as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We come to see God as being our loving parent. We will start to see God as a dear brother. We come to see God as a caring presence. We come to see God in a true way, in a life giving way.

That my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is part of the truth that Jesus was talking about when he was speaking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus had a difficult time in understanding that truth. He had a difficult time in understanding how one could be born anew. It did not seem at all natural to him that one could be born anew. It is, we must all admit, not a natural birth, for it is divine. It is the gift from God, the Father, God, the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

So we preach, and so you believed – says the Apostle Paul. May it be so, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Philippians 2:1-13; Psalm 78; Matthew 21 23:32

The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "If you'll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven."

"I don't think I'll be there," the boy said. "You don't even know your way to the post office."

In today’s reading we hear of the story of two young sons: one younger and the other one older. We had in the story one of the sons who said yes when his father asked him to go and work in the vineyard – and then did not do it. We have the other one who refused to work in the vineyard, and yet later changed his mind and went and worked in the vineyard.

I would like to ask those of you who are parents here today – do you find this story familiar to you? Did you ever have one of your children promising to do something, and then not do it all? Let us have a show of hands…..

Have you ever had one of your children telling you that they would not do it, and yet later on had a change of mind and did it for you? Can we again have a show of hands…?

This seems to be a common enough experience for parents, and it is no wonder that Jesus used this story in order to demonstrate to us what obedience is and what is not.

There was this man who had two sons. He went to the older son and asked him to go and work in the vineyard today. And the boy answers – and I think that you can very well imagine some of the things that his son might have said. I also think that you can imagine the tone of his response.

No father! I will not go! I already make plans for today. I cannot do it. No way. It is not my turn to work in the vineyard today. Get my little brother to do it. You are always on to me. It is not fair. Forget it!

There was absolutely no sign of respect from the boy – no honouring of his father – no respect – no admiration.

How do you think the father felt – he had a sick feeling right in the pit of his stomach – a feeling that his son is going astray – that his son does not care – that the entire thing is out of control – his family is going out of control and nothing good will come out of such a situation – indeed most likely – great harm will come out of it.

As parents most of us have been there, have we not? But can you for one moment put yourself into Jesus’ shoes? Imagine it from His point of view – the very Jesus who wanted us to work with him in order to build a better world – the very Jesus who invites us to work in the vineyard that produces the best fruit in the entire world – in the vineyard that produces the love and joy and peace and hope and strength that is so much needed in this world of ours…..

“I slaved and laboured so hard every day for my son, I have given him everything, a fine land, a fine home, and countless blessings, thinks only of himself!”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is that not what is happening with a lot of people in this world? This happens not only with little children – but with so many adults as well.

They are all living in a fine land, they have fine homes, prosperity, good health, and blessings too numerous to count, and they say to God, the source of all good things: “Who are you? I do not owe you anything. I have better things to do with my time and my life than going to church. I have better things to do with my money than sharing it with people who are too lazy to work.”

“I am not going to go to church every Sunday and listen to someone telling me all those things about faith, or sing all those silly hymns. My time will be better spent sleeping for a couple more hours. When should I spend my time in church, when I could be looking at ways to win at the horse races or with betting on soccer games. No way am I going to help make the experience of the Christian community any better by joining the choir, helping with Sunday School classes, or being friendly and encouraging toward other people as they enter leave the church building. This is just not for me.”

“Why should I bother myself to go out there and tell others about all the wonderful things that Jesus did for me? Why should I go on prison visits? Why should I care about injustice in this world? Why should I help those who are in need of help? Why should I ever help anyone who is not a family member? Preaching the Bible is for those mindless insensitive and crooked bible thumpers! It is only for those who are either in trouble or have nothing better to do! If people would just stop spending their money on such needless causes, or stopped spending money on killing themselves off, they will be fine. They do not need me!”

No. I will not help you!

No, I will not work for you!

No, I have better things to do with my time and my money!

No, what you want is not important!

No, I do not care!!!

Thank of how our Father in Heaven feels!

Yes, think of how our Father in Heaven feels!

How wonderful it must have been for the father in the story when he went to talk to his other son. In this story it was the youngest son, and the son in reply to the father’s request said, “Yes, Father, I will go!”

Imagine it for a moment.

Imagine how the heart break of the Father turned around.

My child cares for me, for the family and for what I want!

My child has respect for me!

My child is willing to help!

My child is wiling to do the work that the world needs doing if the fine fruit of my vineyard is going to grace the world as I wanted it to; if my healing word is to spoken to others, and my healing touch to be experienced by all those children of mine who are in need of it.

But we do know what happened, do we not???

We know from the story that we hard this morning, the story that Jesus told us, what happened. We know from our very own experience with our own children, with our own families, and from our own friends just how the Father felt. We know just how God feels. When the willing son did not do what he promised to do. When the unwilling son changes his mind and did what he was first asked to do….

Some people said that Jesus told this story for the benefit of the chief priests and leaders of the people in order to shame them – in order to force them to recognize that they were just like the younger son – worshipping and obeying God as an appearance – but deep inside, they were rebellious, self-righteous, hypocritical and disobedient.

Some people will tell you that one should understand the words of this story in the context of verses 23 to 28 of our Gospel reading of this morning, where we have the chief priests and leaders challenging Jesus about his authority to teach do work miracles.

We are told that we should understand this story to be how Jesus got back at the chief priests and leaders of the day. He did it by suggesting to them that they are really like the younger son – disobedient children of God. And that the sinners, were like the oldest son, who came to Jesus for forgiveness and for mercy, were those who changed their minds as to the way they were living their lives. Those were the people whom the chief priests and scribes could not abide with because those were the tax collectors and prostitutes.

This may be the case with the way that Jesus ended the story when he told the chief priests and leaders in verses 31 and 32: “You can be sure that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.”

But to leave this story at this level of understanding is to miss the importance of the story for us here today. It only reduces the Gospel to simple history, and the Gospel is not and never was meant to be seen as history.

We here today know that the Chief Priests and Leaders of the people make a bad mistake. We know that their religion was only a matter of outward appearance rather than real inner passion.

So what???
What message does it give to us today?
What value to us apart from making us feel good does this judgment have on us today?
It is of great value if we ask ourselves as to which child are we?

Are we the ones who can recite the creed – the ones who can have our children baptized – even ones who work in the church and do all the things that make us seem holy – and yet nor really seeing and believing that God is working in and around us – just like the chief priests refused to believe that God was working in John the Baptist or in Jesus the Son of Joseph and Mary?

Are we familiar with religion – practiced even at religion? But not familiar with faith and with what it requires of us in our hearts and our heads and in our attitudes and our actions. What does it require of us and what does it do for us?

Or are we the ones who said at first – no way God – forget it; you do not even exist – and if you do – you are not what I want in a God – I have better things to do than pray and read that silly old book with all its rules and regulations, it wars and woes, its contradictions and craziness.

Are we the ones who led a life that was clearly wrong – ones who cheated on our friends, who stole from our employers, who drank and did drugs and lived on the street anyway we could? Are we the ones who do are using the excuses of being too tired from work to attend fellowship on a weekday?

And then changed our minds! Then, when listening to the pain that is within every human being; and to the voice promising forgiveness and wholeness that comes from without, through people like John and Jesus turned and received a new life?

Or are we somewhere in between? Children of God who try hard on some days to be faithful – and on other days – let our hardness of heart, our selfishness, our unwillingness to see God and listen to God in our daily routines get the better of us?

That is the benefit of this passage for us today – in asking ourselves who we really are – and what it really means for us.

And in asking who we are and what it means considering the Gospel that Jesus proclaims both in this story and elsewhere: the good news that it is possible to change one’s mind; that it is never too late; today at least – to become a child that is destined to see and enter the Kingdom of God.

It is all a matter of saving faith, a matter of seeing that God is and that God is willing and able and of accepting that and going forth and labouring at the work He has asked us to do for Him.

A matter of seeing that God is forgiving and gracious; of seeing that God is more interested in saving His children than in allowing them to perish; of accepting that God will give to us a new life – no matter how bad our old life is; and that He is able to accomplish all this in us; no matter how defiled we think that we have become when we turn to Him and allow Him to have His way with us…

It is a matter of seeing that God is present in the most unlikely persons that work each day around us, that as He spoke through the wild man of the wilderness; the one who wore the worst clothing and said the strangest things that as He spoke through a carpenter’s son and worked wonders in the world around him, so God is present today and in the most unlikely persons, in the least of our brothers and sisters; and that while present there in them He wants us to minister to him, to minister a cup of cold water; to minister some clothing to cover his nakedness; to minister hope and encouragement when he is placed in prison; and to bring comfort when he is sick in bed.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the good news I am preaching here today is not a gospel of what work we must do or not do.

It is not a matter of what we offer in terms of percentage of our income to God each year. It is not a matter of how to successfully avoid committing one or other of the seven deadly sins…

The good news I preach today is the Gospel concerning faith. It is the Gospel of believing; and in believing, in hoping and in praying, and in opening oneself to the power of God and to the will of God.

Today it is not too late to get right with God.

It is not too late to say to God – I believe – help me in my unbelief.

It is not too late to say to God – YES – I will go out in the vineyard after all. I will go with you as you go with me, and to work to bring the good news of your love to my family and my friends and to the whole world in all that I say and do. I will worship you and work with you and obey your will.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE!