Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23: Luke 24:44-53

There are some things about which the Biblical record is sparse. There are some areas where the Bible doesn't tell us as much as we'd like to know. For example, we have no information at all about Jesus' life from the time he was an infant until he was 12 and we see him scaring His mom and dad by staying behind to talk with the older priests at the Temple, and once again, we don't have any information about His life from the time He was 12 until He shows up to be baptized by John at the Jordan River when He was about 30 years old.

The time after the Resurrection is another of those times when we wish there was more said. Oh, yes, we have several recorded sightings of Jesus - eleven in all - where He appears and talks with different groups of disciples. Each is different - different people, often different places, different events. But there is an implication in some of the sightings that Jesus stayed around for hours or even days and taught the disciples much about Him that is found in the Old Testament scriptures. Yet we don't have this recorded. It is as if the Holy Spirit, working through the disciple's writings, says to us, "Isn't it enough that He came back alive?"

And so we come to our readings today, about forty days after Easter. Jesus had apparently been with a large group of the disciples, teaching them, when time expired. Forty, is the number of preparation in the Bible. It took forty days for the earth to dry after the Flood before Noah went forth. It took forty years before the Israelites could enter the Holy Land. Jesus took forty days in the wilderness to fast and pray before He began His ministry. And so, we now have the disciples taking forty days of instruction from Jesus before they will go forward with their ministries into the world. They walk outside of town, Jesus says a few words to them, and He takes off, literally floating up before them into the sky while the believers stand there with their mouths open staring into the sky and Jesus is going, going, gone! Jesus has left the planet!

Two guys in white robes suddenly appear beside them. I wonder if these are the same two angels that had the chance to tell Mary that Jesus was alive and would be waiting for the disciples in Galilee. Whoever they were, these two guys have a sense of humor. Looking at all these folks standing there with their mouths open, staring into the sky, they apparently materialize and say "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward Heaven?" and then they give a promise: "Jesus will return in the same way you saw Him leave."

Luke tells us that the group Jesus is teaching in the Gospel passage is "the Eleven and those with them, assembled together." In Acts, Luke tells us more about the group that went back into Jerusalem that day:

Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)"

This is quite important, because it helps us to understand to whom Jesus was speaking. You see, sometimes Jesus spoke to huge crowds, sometimes He spoke to only a small group of His disciples, others times He spoke to the Twelve, but this time Jesus is speaking to a group that includes not only the Eleven surviving disciples who would become known as the Apostles - you will recall that Judas hanged himself on Good Friday - but also Mary the mother of Jesus, his brothers including Joses, and James, as well as a group of women, and some other people, including Matthias (who became the replacement Apostle) and Barsabbas the Just, who was runner-up to replace Judas, and another hundred or so people. Therefore, we can safely conclude that whatever Jesus spoke during this time was directed toward all of His followers and not just the twelve Apostles.

Yes, these words of Jesus are directed toward you and me. It is interesting that three of the four Gospel writers record similar words during Jesus’ last hours on earth.

Hear these sets of commands again, the last words of Jesus spoken before He went back to Heaven:

From the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 24:

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Luke points to the resurrection and tells us that "repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" All nations will hear the good news that sins will be forgiven by God. But Luke also tells the listeners to stay in the city until power is given to them by God.

Again Luke, writing the Book of Acts, Chapter 1:

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This time Luke is more detailed in his writing. The listeners will "receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon" them and be Jesus' "witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The gospel message will be spread beginning in Jerusalem, which is the center city of the country, then Judea - the county-sized area around Jerusalem, and then Samaria, nearby, but home to people who were not Jewish, and then "to the ends of the earth". Putting this in a modern context, we are to be witnesses of Jesus first in Quiet Dell and Romines' Mill, then throughout Harrison County, then North Central WV, and then to foreign missions around the world.

From the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 16 we read:

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Keep in mind that the signs will accompany those who believe, but this does not mean that all believers must have these powers. Some will, some won't. But the first line is a clear command: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." And Jesus was clear about the second line also: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Each person's eternal destiny hangs upon whether or not they believe the gospel or not.

And from Matthew 28 we hear this:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And Matthew records that Jesus also made a clear statement: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Do you believe this? If so, then the rest of the command is for you: "Therefore go...and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them...and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

If we believe in Jesus, then we are commanded to spread the Gospel, beginning close to home, in our personal Jerusalem, moving a bit wider in the county, and then working in the entire area, and finally traveling far and wide to tell people about the Gospel.

But first, you will notice that Jesus spent some time with the Apostles and the greater group of believers - 40 days, "opening their minds to the scriptures" and the believers waited to receive the Holy Spirit and the power of that Spirit.

Beginning next Sunday evening at 6 pm, we will have a five-week study specifically to prepare you to spread the Gospel to other people. Each Sunday evening we will spend one hour examining scripture, listening to the Holy Spirit, discussing the meaning, and role-playing to give you the knowledge and the experience to approach friends and neighbors and family with the saving Word of God. This begins next Sunday evening at 6 pm.

When Jesus left that day, He left us with one unanswered question: Why did He have to leave? Couldn't He have stayed with us?

But if we think it through, there is something Jesus understood far better than we do. As humans, we tend to act like sheep. Just like sheep, when we see someone leading us, we tend to follow. And when we really trust in that leader, we also tend to follow more than perhaps we should.

Jesus understood that our natural tendency would be to hang out with Jesus and not do anything else. We see that in the church today - we feel inadequate, we feel uneducated, we feel like we can't speak well enough to talk to other people about Jesus. And so you hang out at the church, listening to a grey-haired fat man speak up front as though I know more about God than you do. Maybe I do - and maybe I don't.

But what I do know is this: God has worked in your life. There have been times in your life when your faith in the power of Christ has lifted you up and kept you from completely falling to pieces. There have been times when you have lost a loved one and the only thing that kept you going was the sure, certain knowledge that your loved one was headed to be with Christ in Heaven. There have been times when your world has been shattered by a pink slip, by a bad medical report, by an emotional break-up, and the only thing that keep you from falling apart were the promises that Christ made you that God is watching you just as God watches each and every sparrow, and that God has a plan for your life which is designed to bring you good and not harm.

God does not want you dependent upon anyone except God. God wants you to completely put your trust in God the Father, to read and understand the commands of Jesus the Son, and to listen daily, hourly, even minute-by-minute to God the Holy Spirit as that Spirit leads you into all truth. Our purpose in getting together each week is to encourage each other, to support each other, and to help each other determine God’s will and do that will in our daily lives.

When you come here, the concentrated Holy Spirit helps you to grow closer to God, and your part of the Holy Spirit that you bring here helps other people to grow closer to God. Each day, each week that you show up here on Sunday mornings, on Sunday evenings, at mid-week studies is a time when the flame of the Holy Spirit has a chance to guide you through the words of a sermon, the teaching of a teacher, or the smile and hug of a dear friend – and you can do the same for another each time you show up, giving your friends around you great encouragement that you don’t see or understand, but which is real. When you show up at church, you both learn from people and help other people. You are important to the people who gather here each week.

Around you, everywhere, everyday, there are people who are hopeless, or who have put their hope in hopeless things. There are people who have no purpose and so they look toward violence and war to find purpose. There are people who have no cause and so they look toward strange and crazy causes to find meaning in their lives. They are waiting to hear from someone why life is not hopeless. They are waiting to hear from someone why their life has a future. While most of these people have no church home, some may actually be here today. Both those who never come to church and those who are here are waiting to hear from YOU about the saving love of Jesus Christ. You have the answer to what is wrong in their lives. Won't you turn to them and speak with them?

Let’s practice: Turn to the person beside you and tell them: “Jesus loves you, and so do I.” Now tell the person on the other side of you, or in front of you, or behind you the same thing. You’ve just told these people a third of the Gospel.

Now let’s try part 2: Turn to the person beside you and tell them, “Whatever it is that you are ashamed of, God will forgive it, because God is ready to forgive all sins. Do you want God to forgive you of some sin?” and if they answer “yes”, say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” Now switch roles. That’s part 2 of the Gospel.

Now let’s go with part 3: Ask your neighbor if they are a baptized Christian. If not, ask them this: “Do you want to completely follow Jesus in word and deed?” If so, then offer to walk with your friend to the altar in the front of the church today. Who knows? There may be one or two of you that would like to get baptized this afternoon.

This, my friends, is one way that people come to the Gospel.

My friends, we have been commanded by Jesus Christ to deliver a message. That message is really quite simple: Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you so much that He died on the cross so that your debt to God could be paid. And God is ready to forgive you of all your sins, your crimes against God and other people if you simply will ask for that forgiveness. And the next act is to declare your intention to follow Jesus through words and through the deed of baptism. Through this you will receive eternal life and eternal communication with God through the Holy Spirit. And the final act is to follow those commandments of Christ, and become more like Him throughout your life.

Jesus went back to Heaven for one simple reason: He wanted us to step forward and grow closer to God by helping other people return to God. Jesus did not wish to leave us weakly dependent upon anyone, but wanted us to become strong, capable leaders of the faith, trusting in God the Father's plan and power – each of us.

There is a reason why every Ph.D candidate must teach others before receiving their degree – it is true that the teacher learns more about the subject than the students do when the teacher teaches. Find a friend or neighbor or family member to teach the Gospel to, and you will learn more about God and your relationship with God in a few days than you have in years. Do not let your fear or lack of knowledge hold you back – step out and learn about God through telling the Gospel.

As you go on your vacations this summer, as you meet people at the store or walking down the street, as you talk with friends and relatives and neighbors on the phone or over some barbeque – remember that you have been commanded by Christ Himself to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ with all people from all nations, both here, throughout the county and state, and even to the ends of the earth. Honor Christ’s sacrifice for you. Tell others about Him. Or explain to Him some day why you didn’t.

As we meet people, consider what is happening to them, and what you might say to them about God's love. Ponder this while you watch the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8

We have the answer to these hurts and worries. Share the Good News.

Mother’s Day

Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-12: John 15:9-17

I thought today about writing a sweet, touching tribute to Mothers because it is Mother’s Day. After all, the champion for this special tribute to Mothers, Anna Jarvis, waged her campaign only a few miles from here, from a house just south of Grafton. When Anna’s mother died in 1905, Anna began her campaign and was successful when the first Mother’s Day celebration occurred in 1908. Two years later, in 1910, West Virginia officially celebrated the day, and four years later, President Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day throughout America. It is now celebrated in most countries throughout the world.

It is the mothers who most commonly put into your mind that there were good forces in the world and bad forces in the world. How many of you had a mother that told you, “If your best friend jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?” Mothers, it seems, were very quick to begin a tug of war for your souls. And so I thought I would simply write a sweet, touching tribute to Mothers.

But then I looked at the text for today, and I saw that this part of scripture is so important, so vital, so interesting that any Christian mother would prefer I said something about this to her children so that they might rest assured in the promises of Jesus Christ, and one day join their mother with Jesus in the next life.

In our third reading, the Apostle John writes: 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

Let’s look at this in some detail.

John tells us that only those people who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are able to overcome the world. What does John mean by these words: “Overcomes the world?”

The Apostles understood from their conversations with Jesus that there is a cosmic, supernatural war going on between God’s forces of good and the devil’s forces of evil. God is much stronger, but God has set a special task for his side – God does not plan to win this war as an evil or human ruler would win, through the destruction of open warfare, but God plans to first convert as many people as possible from the side of evil to the side of good. God understands that warfare is damaging not only for the losers, but also for those who are victorious. God plans to win a victory that is good for God’s people, and even more so, rescue as many people as possible from the devil’s side.

There are multiple places in scripture where “the world” is talked about as a synonym for the devil’s side in this war. Make sure you understand this: This world is enemy-occupied territory, and God, through Jesus Christ, began to grow an underground, subversive movement that has already changed the world, and will continue to change the world as more and more people follow the teachings of Jesus. When your mother told you not to follow your friend’s leading, your mother was concerned that your best friend was part of the dark side and she wanted to keep you on the good side.

Thus, for someone to “Overcome the world” means for that person to break free of the system of evil thought that is commonly found in the world. This includes such ideas as revenge-taking, the rejection of all people who are different, and the use of money and other prestige items to determine the value of a person. The new system says that we teach people about the love of God, we embrace people of all types, that we understand that each person is an image of God, an intensely valuable portrait of God, and that we recognize that each person, no matter how rich…or how poor… is a damaged image in need of repair and healing. Jesus did not condemn people for sins they committed because they felt forced into those sins, but instead gave them forgiveness and a second chance and a third chance to change their ideas and follow Him.

But to follow Jesus, a person needs a deep assurance that Jesus is telling the truth when He claims to be God himself upon this earth – the Son of God. And so, John tells us that there are certain pieces of evidence and testimony which – if we understand them – can help us feel more certain that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and give us the assurance that we will indeed have eternal life.

The first line of evidence is Jesus “came through water and blood.” Our rescue from God’s wrath is only possible if we take care of two issues:

First, we must become spiritually pure. God will not associate with those who are tainted by the filthiness of sin – any sin. So God demands that we clean and purify our souls through the water of baptism. Baptism is how a person’s innermost heart is made pure through God’s action, as God applies a spiritual water to the heart at the same time the physical water is applied to the outer skin. As we step forward and ask that God clean us and forgive us from all sins, we show that faith – that trust – in God’s ability and goodness to fix what is wrong inside of us. This is the water part.

Second, we must satisfy an external requirement. In the law of Moses, God decreed that all sins must be atoned for – there must be a fine paid, a sacrifice made, and that sacrifice must be of the life-giving blood of some living creature. We saw in the Cain and Abel episode that vegetables and grain are not sufficient – only blood. And so for over a thousand years, the people of Israel sacrificed their best cattle and other livestock to pay for their sins. Yet, there were always sins that were not atoned for, sins that were not paid for. A tremendous debt had built up in the ledger that showed what people owed God for their disobedience.

And so, Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice upon the altar of the cross. Jesus was killed and sacrifice to pay our sin debt for all people, for all time. God mailed you a letter which clears your account of all your debts forevermore. And it is the blood of Jesus Christ that has paid that debt. All you have to do is open the letter and agree to it.

Do you remember what happened soon after Jesus died upon the cross? A Roman guard, checking to see if Jesus was dead, took a spear and punctured Jesus’ side. Out of the wound, according to John, flowed water and blood, which is completely consistent with a death partially due to the tremendous beating which Jesus endured, because the beating would have led to a loss of blood pressure which leads to water collecting in the lungs. The spear thrust would have penetrated the lungs, causing both water and blood to run out of Jesus’ body. Cleansing water and the sacrifice’s blood.

And so these two, the water of baptism and the blood of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus became the first two testimonies for John. Are you baptized? Do you believe the sacrifice happened? These two are the first three legs of a three-legged stool supporting our understanding of Jesus Christ as Son of God.

The third leg on the stool is the Holy Spirit’s testimony. John continues: “And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

When a person is baptized, the pastor lays hands upon the newly baptized and prays for the Holy Spirit to come into the person. And an amazing thing happens – over the next few days and weeks and years, the person – if he or she listens to the Holy Spirit – experiences a change. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the new Christian finds a new, inner strength that helps them kick bad habits and adopt new habits. The new Christian becomes a kinder, gentler person who now genuinely cares for others. The new Christian, in short, becomes “filled with the Spirit” and truly changes. Of course, this only happens if the new Christian listens to the Holy Spirit.

And so, the Holy Spirit becomes the third testimony. Are you baptized, do you believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and are you listening to the Holy Spirit?

The neat thing about this is that the Holy Spirit gives both an internal and an external testimony. Internally, if you listen to the Spirit, the Spirit will tell you when you are following God’s will – and if you are, then you have eternal life. Externally, your friends and relatives will notice the personality change over the days and weeks and years, and may tell you so, particularly if you ask them about it.

Thus, there are three questions for you to answer if you want eternal life. These questions are in no particular order, and the events are not in a particular order.

First – have you been baptized? It doesn’t matter if you were very young, or if the baptism happened last week, for it is God who acted with permission – either yours or your parents – upon your heart. If you have not been baptized, contact me this week, for we will be having a group of people baptized next Sunday.

Second – Do you believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, upon the cross? If you are unclear about this, or need to have some questions answered, join us some Sunday evening at 6 pm at the Defending the Faith study, which is a small group that discusses these sorts of things each Sunday evening.

Third – What does the Holy Spirit tell you and the people around you? Ask someone you trust, and ask that still, small voice inside of you whether or not you are a member of God’s Kingdom. Are you controlled by that Holy Spirit, or are you still controlled by a spirit that is of this world? See me if you cannot figure it out.

You know, many of us have mothers and grandmothers that have already gone to be with Jesus. Others are still here – many are sitting beside you today. If you want to truly make your mother proud, sit back and think through your ideas regarding the church. I know that some of you showed up today only because your mother asked you. And so I’m asking you – on behalf of your mother – to look once more at Christianity with an open mind, a mind that considers that there may be some people who hate Christians but don’t know Christianity, people who hate the church, but don’t know this church, people who consider Christian ideas to be foolish and unscientific and stupid, but who have never really considered why such people as the physicist Isaac Newton, the great politicians Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln, the reformer Martin Luther King Jr, the inventor of genetics Gregor Mendel, the brilliant writers Harper Lee and Leo Tolstoy, the philosophers Augustine of Hippo and Soren Kirkengarde, and the mathematician and philosopher Rene’ Descartes and a third of the world’s population today are all committed Christian believers. Why do all these people believe in a "foolish, unscientific, and stupid" idea? Perhaps someone had an axe to grind? Perhaps someone started with a bias? Perhaps someone rushed to judgment? Perhaps that someone was you.

Perhaps you need to make your mother proud and take some time to examine the claims of Jesus of Nazareth once again. Feel free to email me your questions or send me a comment.

You know – we make a great deal of the time Mary spent on the donkey traveling to Bethlehem when she was pregnant, and the suffering she must have had. But there was a worse time for Mary. When Jesus was on the cross, a few minutes before He died, Jesus spoke to the apostle John. He motioned toward His mother, Mary, who was standing there, and said to John. “This woman is now your mother” and He said to Mary, “This man is now your son”.

The moment must have been terrible for Mary, for only one who has lost a son or a daughter can fully appreciate this terrible time. Mary must have felt that this was goodbye forever. But it wasn’t. Jesus came alive once more and spoke with her and then He saw her again, years later when she went to join Him with His Father. And our sons and daughters will also live again, and we will speak to them once more in just a little while when we go to be with Jesus and His Father. The waiting is hard, but God’s promises are solid.

In the meanwhile, Jesus was a good son. Jesus made sure His mother was well taken care of in her old age through his friend and student John. And history records that where John traveled to, Mary followed. Legend has it that she is buried somewhere in Ephesus, an important Christian center of the time in southwestern Turkey.

And I guess I’ve just given you both an important teaching about a text – and a sweet story about a boy and His mother.

Abide with Me

Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21: John 15:1-8

Last Tuesday Andy and I were driving down Route 50 on our way to our house in Lowell, Ohio. BTW, please keep praying for our house to sell. Along the way, as we drove through Doddridge County, I began to notice more and more redbud trees along the roadside. Finally, as we approached Pennsboro, we began to go through cuts in the hills along which dozens of redbuds were in full blossom. Their mauve flowers were almost fluorescent against the green background of the other trees. It was quite a sight.

The eastern redbud is an interesting tree. I have a friend who has a PhD in biology and is an expert on West Virginia trees. He tells me that the redbud is actually a legume, like a bean or a pea, but it grows like a tree that is 15 to 20 feet tall. It only grows where the soil has been disturbed, which is why we find it so close to roadsides and rarely find it deep within the woods. The redbud is a marker tree. It tells you that you are close to a road. Flying along in the springtime, you can find a road by looking for that reddish-purple glow.

It reminded me that along the highway of life, we find markers that tell us when we are on the right path and when we’ve left God’s road. Let me tell you about some of those markers, redbud trees that God uses to tell us when we are on God’s highway.

First of all, God’s ways lead us to a land of less stress. If we are constantly having stressful days, then something is wrong in your life – but it could be either of two things. Your stress could be caused by doing the wrong things, which leads you from God’s path, or your stress could be caused by doing the right things, but your friends and relatives want you to go away from God’s path. Despite the potholes on the highway, God’s highway is smoother than driving off the highway, going over the rumble strips and then going over the ditches into the woods. But in the same way, if you have been off the highway, the trip back across the ditch and then over the rumble strip is not smooth. Only you and the Holy Spirit can decide whether or not you are headed off the highway into the woods, or out of the woods onto the highway.

Here’s some help, though. If your friends constantly talk positively of God’s ways, and you are under stress, then you are likely trying to drive off the highway. If your friends are obviously committing grave sins, if they are far from God, and your encounters with your friends are stressful, then you are probably headed back toward the highway and it is your friends who want you to stay in the woods, lost from God.

Another of God’s redbud trees is joy. Joy is that emotion that is the glimpse of heaven on this earth. Some people think that joy is intense happiness. That may be true, but that is only one way that joy appears. Joy can appear as an intense sadness for something that is wrong in this life when you also know that it will be made right in heaven and the knowledge of the heavenly state overrides the earthly state, as when you see a young child who has tremendous God-given courage die from leukemia, but you are overwhelmed with a vision of that child running with Jesus in Heaven. That is also joy, and joy is one of God’s redbud trees, telling us that our minds and souls are following His highway.

Another one of God’s redbud trees is our recognition of the beauty of a moment that is godly. Look at our first reading – the eunuch was a smart man, but was lost. He cannot understand what he is reading, yet the Holy Spirit leads Phillip to run near the Ethiopian, and to explain to him all about the sacrifice that Jesus had made. The Ethiopian – a man who was lost to God a few hours earlier – recognizes that he is lost to God, understands from what Phillip has said what is necessary to bring him into a complete relationship with God, and says, - “look – here is some water. Why can’t I be baptized right now?” If you see this as a beautiful moment, a joyous moment when a great sadness in the world was replaced with rejoicing, then you have just seen a redbud tree and are on the right track.

And some days, God puts the redbud trees all over the place. Have you ever had days when a particular verse speaks to you when you open the Bible in the morning, for example one day you are struggling to accomplish something, and here comes this verse 5 from our Gospel reading: 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." And then, your friend reminds you that you can not accomplish anything unless you are doing God’s will. Then, driving down the highway you turn on the radio and the verse of the day is 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." And you pick up your child or grandchild from school and they tell you that God helped them on a math test today.

Redbuds all over. Redbuds all over your life highway that day.

And the key message from Christ that you get and hold onto is: Abide in Me.

Abide – it’s an older word. It means to live within. We abide in a house. We abide in our abode, our house. Christ tells us to live within Him, within His system. Christ tells us to let Him live within you, within your mind and heart and soul, speaking to you constantly through the Holy Spirit.

There is a process in our life that we all must go through.

First, we hear about Jesus, God , and Holy Spirit. We go to find them, perhaps at church, perhaps on a televised religious program, perhaps on the radio.

Next, we begin inviting Them home with us to visit. We sit in the pews and listen to the scripture and the sermons and perhaps we are baptized And so we sit in the pews and invite Jesus to visit us from time to time.

Then we go to the next step. We invite Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit to begin visiting us on a more regular basis, as we begin to think about Them outside of church, in our own homes, in our cars, at our work.

But this is not what Jesus tells us to do. Jesus wants us to let Him live within the home of our body. He wants to be with you every minute of every day. Jesus invites you to live with Him, and He wants to live with you, walking around with you all the time, becoming part of your life and having you become part of His life. Does Jesus live with you or only visit?

Have you ever met a married couple that did not live together? You’d expect that they had problems in their relationship and that a divorce was soon to follow, wouldn’t you? But imagine meeting a married couple that has never lived together, that after the wedding they went to separate homes and simply visited each other a couple of times a week. What a strange relationship?

But that is what many people do with Jesus. In many ways, your baptism is just as strong a declaration of relationship as a wedding ceremony is, yet so many people forget to take Jesus home with them after the ceremony, preferring to meet Him here at church, once a week for years, perhaps even less often. Is that what you are doing?

On the other side of this are the people who take Jesus home and never come to the parties that He throws – and don’t allow Him to throw parties at your home. That’s what church worship is, after all. It is a party where the friends of Jesus get together and celebrate the good things He has done for us. If you never come to the party, how will anyone know what He’s done for you. Of course, you may not notice what He’s done for you, and that’s why you haven’t been coming to the party. Of course, you might want to consider how often you talk with Jesus at home and how close your relationship is, if you never want to celebrate anything with other friends of Jesus. If you have a Christian friend who rarely visits church, you might want to mention this idea of the party to them.

Let me suggest something. Imagine that the year is 2017 – two years in the future. Someone has just been inaugurated as our next President, and suddenly you realize that the President’s son has just moved in next door to you. The son comes over to talk – he’s a really nice down-to-earth guy! and he invites you over to his house – he’s planning on grilling some steaks with his immediate family and would like you and your immediate family to join them. Wouldn’t you think – this is someone who would be good to know, someone who could help in a time of trouble, someone who you’d like to have for a friend? Or would you decline the invitation because his father’s name and power frighten and intimidate you?

Now I’d like you to take some time this afternoon to consider just what it means to abide with Jesus, to live with Him, to live with the son of the Creator of the Universe. Are you taking advantage of the wisdom that He brings and willingly shares? Are you taking advantage of the power to accomplish good that He brings? Are you asking this man who knows more than any other man questions about what you should do, how you should live, and what is best for you and your family? Or do you prefer to keep your distance because you are afraid to get too close to God, because you are afraid of losing your independence, because you are too arrogant to admit you need help?

Hear again the words of Jesus:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

The highway of life is indeed lined with God’s redbud trees. Why? Because the highway of life is God’s driveway, leading you to God’s house, where you are invited to abide with God and Christ forever. Will you abide with Christ – or will you be a branch that is cut off and thrown into the fire and burned?

Every good home is known for the joyful meals that are served in that home. Christ is throwing a meal for you today. Served today is bread which Jesus said is His body which was broken for you, and the juice of grapes, which Jesus said was His blood which was shed for you. All who are friends or wish to be friends of Jesus are welcome at His table, but He asks two things of us before we eat.

First, He asks us to come to the table with a humble spirit, leaving our arrogance behind. Thus we will shortly pray a prayer of humbleness and ask forgiveness for the wrongs we have done. Secondly, Jesus asks us to be at peace with one another when we come to His table, and so we will shortly shake hands and hug each other, forgiving all who have harmed us and asking forgiveness for the harms we’ve done others.

When you receive the meal, you may pray at the altar by kneeling or standing. Any funds left on the altar rail will be used to help those in our community who are needy.