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The Father's Will

6/27/2021

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          John 6:38 says, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”  Jesus said it.  He had an existence in heaven.  Even the most inventive imagination has trouble thinking about all he must have left behind just to come to the earth.  It would be like Adam and Eve when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.  The difference is that Jesus left willingly to carry out his Father’s will.  Adam and Eve goofed up.
          Jesus came down from heaven to carry out his Father’s will.  Down, just the word, doesn’t lend itself to a feeling of worthiness.  It doesn’t take much of a jump to figure out that there was something, or someone, needed to transition us from down here to up there.  And Jesus was the Father’s choice.  While here on the earth he told us of the many reasons he was sent.  And the Sunday sermon covered some or the reasons he was sent.
          “And the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)  Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a look at Jesus.  Something drove him to want to just see him.  This fellow was a tax collector.  His wealth came from over charging the people he collected from.  He’s a scoundrel but he wanted to see Jesus.  Jesus must have known too.  When he came to the tree, he called him down and told him that he was going to his house.  Arriving there, Jesus stated that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house.
          Matthew 5:17 says that Jesus came to fulfill the law.  God wrote the law, but mankind was unable to keep it.  Until the crucifixion of Christ there was no remedy for sin.  Death and hell were inevitable.  Galatians 3:13 tells us that Christ redeemed us (paid the price) from the curse of the law.  Until then we suffered from condemnation because men loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19).
          Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).  And, that he came into the world not to condemn the world but that the world would be saved through him (John 3:17).  Jesus, fully man and fully God, was the only one who could take this role.  He, because of his distinctive nature, was the lamb without blemish—the one who lived a perfect life.  Jesus is our redeemer.  Through him only is our salvation. ​
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They Followed Him

6/20/2021

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          The sermon was based on the passage found in Matthew 20:29-34.  It’s the story of two blind men Jesus encounters on the way to Jerusalem.  Of course, like many of Pastor Josh’s sermons, this is the launching point for the real message that he wants to deliver. 
           Before Jesus reaches this part in his journey, he tells the disciples that they are on their way to Jerusalem.  There he will be betrayed, mocked, scourged, and crucified.  And, on the third day, he will rise again.  A large crowd is following them.  It appears as though everyone is preparing for Jesus to make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Even the disciples don’t appear to make the connection that Jesus is going to die.
          The best way to put it is that it didn’t really sink in what he said to them.  Somehow all these folks are laboring under the idea that Jesus is the new political leader and will set up his reign.  This would seem to be the case.  In verses 20 through 24 James and John and their mother ask Jesus if one can sit on one side and the other one on the other.  Jesus tells them they don’t know what they are asking. 
          It’s the blind men who recognize who Jesus is.  They cry out to him and call him “thou son of David.”  Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 35:5,6) had said that the Messiah would come from the Son of David.  Two blind men knew this was the Messiah and wanted him to have mercy on them.  It’s very much like the thief who was crucified with Jesus and asked him to remember him when he came into paradise.
          Jesus hears the blind men and stops dead in his tracks.  Jesus, the ultimate man of mercy, listens.  He responds, “What can I do for you?”  It’s a simple request they know he can fulfill.  “Give us our sight.”  Jesus was moved by their faith, touched their eyes and healed them.  Being the believers that they are, they followed him.
          As Pastor Josh pointed out these men who were believers knew Jesus was coming by.  “Don’t ever have the notion that God doesn’t care for you.  He does care.”  He went on to say that even in the most profound moments ahead of him, Jesus took the time to stop and tend to others.  If we are to be more like Jesus, we should follow him just like the blind men did.  Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn based on this story: “Son of David! Hear my cry; Savior, do not pass me by; Touch these eyelids veiled in night, Turn their darkness into light.”  Let that song be your prayer.

​
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Whatever is Right

6/13/2021

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​          Matthew 20:1-16 could really be two stories.  It’s a well-known parable about the owner of a vineyard.  He has a lot of grapes that need to be harvested.  Laborers are waiting to be hired first thing in the morning.  He hires the ones that are there and look ready to work.  This is the story of our lives.
          Most of us have a plan for our lives.  We go to school, plan our future and begin work to accomplish our goals.  We put in a full-days’ work to get a full days’ pay.  Our reward is earned.  It’s the things we did to accomplish the lifestyle that we want.  And that’s the way it goes in this world of ours.
          Now this owner of the vineyard is genuinely nice.  You could say that he’s gracious, exceedingly so.  He goes back throughout the day and hires more workers.  Even an hour before quitting time, he hires the ones that are standing around dejected because they didn’t find work that day and will go home empty handed.  He sends them out to work even though it’s just for a short time.
          He didn’t tell these last workers what their pay would be.  Just that it would be whatever was right (verse 4,7).  When the end of the day came, everyone got paid the same amount.  Some were happy and others weren’t.  Why?  Because those that worked all day thought they should get more than the others who came to work later in the day.
          It’s like comparing apples to oranges.  This is a story comparing the world and its’ expectations to the grace of God.  God says to Moses in Romans 9:15, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  As people of faith we know that we don’t deserve God’s grace.  But do we really know just how gracious God is?  This parable points that out.  
          Sometimes we think that there are those out in the world that don’t deserve God’s grace.  It’s like the people that were hired to work an hour before quitting time.  They got the same reward as the others, eternity.  God saved them in the eleventh hour.  It’s truly miraculous.  God’s mercy and God’s grace are difficult to fathom.  But this little parable helps us to understand it.
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Excuses

6/6/2021

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         It’s an appropriate opening and it is found in Isaiah.  It ties in well with the sermon which is from Romans chapter one.  Isaiah 40:21 says, “Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?”  Pretty heady stuff.  Especially when it’s followed by Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
          Excuses.  Adam blamed Eve when he ate the apple (Genesis 3;12).  When   Moses returned from the mountain, he found the Israelites worshipping a golden calf.  He asked Aaron what he was thinking and he replied that the gold was in the fire and the calf just jumped out (Exodus 32:21-22).    King Saul blamed the people for taking the spoils of war and not destroying them (I Samuel 15:3,9,11,21) even though the Lord had told Saul to destroy the Amaleks and all they had.
          Excuses are not effective when it comes to sinning.  Adam was kicked out of paradise.  The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years.  King Saul lost the Lord’s blessing and the kingdom (I Samuel 15:28).  Samuel even goes on to say in verse 23 that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  Repenting, sincere and heartfelt, are much better than coming up with an excuse.  Nothing is lost on God.  He sees it all.   
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Laodicea

6/2/2021

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          There’s a little stained-glass window sitting on my sill with the words “Live everyday as though Jesus died yesterday, rose today and is coming back tomorrow.”  I thought of it when Pastor Josh said, “If Jesus came to your house, what would you try to hide?”  He has that way of making his flock stop and take inventory of their spiritual condition.  This week it was about the church at Laodicea and being lukewarm.
          Laodicea was located between two cities, Hierapolis and Colossae.  The first was known for their hot springs and the second for their cold water from the snow-capped mountains.  These two had their own water source but Laodicea didn’t.  They had to have their water piped in and by the time it got to them, it was nasty tasting and lukewarm.  That was an interesting side note since the first thing that Jesus has to say to them was that they were neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm.  The spiritual condition of the church there was much like the water they drank.
          How does anything become lukewarm?  Easy.  A hot drink or a cold beverage just has to sit on the counter, and it is soon lukewarm.  Action?  Do nothing.  Jesus points this out in Revelation 3:16. A wealthy church, has much going for it, has turned into a meeting house for buddies and friends to get together.  Slap each other on the back, sing a few songs, and tithe when the plate is passed around.  Talk about their week and the one to come.  It’s no wonder Jesus has had his fill of them.
          The Bible says “I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)  A better word for ‘spue’ would be vomit.  He’s had it up to here with them.  This is a real comeuppance.  However, Jesus is doing what is necessary to get this group of believers back on track.  They still have time to repent and move on.  In verse 20 of the same chapter he says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…”  He’s no longer inside but outside the church.  Another wake up call.  It’s a strongly worded letter.  Those who take heed and overcome will sit with Jesus in his throne (verse 21).
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    Linda Johnson

    Linda Johnson moved to Douglas County with her husband Tom 12 years ago after retiring from teaching. Following Tom's death in 2016, Linda began facilitating a grief support group called GriefShare through Sweden Church.​ She serves as the Sunday School teacher for our High School class. Her "Layman's Pen" articles are also published in the local paper, The Douglas County Herald. 

    Andrea Strong

    Andrea is Pastor Joshua Strong's wife. She also serves Sweden Church as Church Secretary, website administrator, and Sunday School teacher to the Intermediate Class.

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