Rev. Dustin ParkerDeacon Don's Second Sermon
Recently, I lent one of my deacons out to a nearby parish. They had significant problems finding a substitute while their pastor was on vacation. As always, we worked through the sermon together Here is the other of Don's sermons- feel free to comment
SECURITY
Grace, Peace and Mercy from God our Father and from our Good Shepherd and Light of the world, Christ Jesus! The message today is taken from the Gospel of John, the tenth chapter, verses 27 and 28: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no will snatch them out of my hand."
The NORAD or North America Aerospace Defense Command center was designed to withstand up to a 30 megaton blast within 1-nautical-mile. It lies along one side of a main tunnel bored almost a mile through the solid granite Cheyenne Mountain. The tunnel is designed to route the worst of a blast's shock wave out the other end, past the two 25-ton blast doors that mark one wall. The powerful springs that support the complex can absorb much of the energy from a nuclear blast, allowing the complex to move 12 inches in any one direction.
The underground Combat Operations Center has a 70% probability of continuing to function if a multi-megaton blast was within 1.5 nautical miles. It was also designed to be self-sufficient for brief periods.
Water comes from an underground supply inside Cheyenne Mountain, deposited into four excavated reservoirs with a capacity of 1.5 million gallons.
It has six 1,750 kilowatt diesel generators for backup communications. It can house and protect staff in the event of a nuclear fallout or biological and chemical warfare, with incoming air that may be filtered through a system of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear filters to remove harmful pathogens and/or radioactive and chemical particles.
NORAD is thought by many to be the safest place on the planet. And I am certain those that researched and developed it believe it is. Sounds pretty secure to me, how about to you? What if there was an even more secure place than NORAD? A place that would not change with the passing of time, it could NEVER be destroyed and where NO ONE or NO THING could remove you from? What if you have already been taken there and you are there right here, right now? And the signs of it are all around you?
Would you believe it or continue to seek it out, plainly, like the Jews in the Gospel this morning?
Standing before them is the answer, plainly, to their request. THE Messiah! Jesus was not the messiah they were expecting. He was to be majestic and kingly, and destroy their enemies. That is exactly what He was there to do, just not in the way they imagined.
The One who would shortly voluntarily and willingly humble Himself to take on the guilt and punishment of all, endure great suffering, even death, even for those standing before Him, would defeat the true enemies of this world, sin, death and the devil. They’ve seen all the miracles and heard Him teach, but they seem to not be listening, those before Him just couldn’t seem to get it. And when they do realize it, they will react violently…
Are we any different today? In this place we see many obvious signs of the promises of God in front of us and to either side of us. Yet when we go straight out these doors, not even outside these doors, we see and hear differently. You hear those who say the church is not big enough, but do you listen to those who are here and have realized what they have in Christ? I listened to two after services last week and about dozen during Bible Study myself! You hear that the property on the north end of the lot is for sale. But are we listening to the possibility of a new opportunity to share the Gospel?
We see and hear of civil unrest in other countries, earthquakes and tornadoes, job loss, job stress, relationship issues and political posturing. In instances like these are we like sheep in the manner that they only look straight ahead or like sheep in the way they listen for their shepherd?
Sheep not only hear their shepherd they are listening for him. His voice is their security. It was not uncommon for flocks of sheep to come together at a watering place and for the flocks to be intermingled. When it was time to return home, the shepherd would call out and his sheep would come to him. How does this happen? Being a shepherd is not easy. A shepherd spends all his time with his flock. He brings them out in morning; he brings them home in the evening. While they are out he works diligently to safeguard them from thieves and predators. If he finds one has wandered off he brings it back into the fold. He provides food and water for them. And, in most cases, sleeps at the entry way to the pen, braving the elements, so to keep the sheep in and again, to keep out thieves and predators. A shepherd will even die for his sheep. It is a relationship. He invests himself into his flock. He knows all of them, knows when one is missing, injured, or in need.
So, If we are God’s flock and Christ is our Good Shepherd, what is our security? We find it in today's Gospel reading; "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no will snatch them out of my hand."
Also, listen to these words written by Paul in Romans 8:31-39: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all the daylong;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I don’t know about you, but to me THAT sounds like the most secure place one could be. And we ARE there! Right here! Right now! How? Paul again writes in Romans 6:3-11: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(FIRST SERVICE) The Feast of Dedication is also known as the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. In the Temple, the eternal flame of God was to be lit at all times as a symbol of God's presence. But when the Temple was rededicated after defeating the Greeks, there was only enough oil left in the temple to burn the flame for one day because the Greeks had defiled the rest of the oil, and it would take a week for new oil. But they lit the eternal flame with the remaining oil, and it burned miraculously for eight days. This is why the feast is also called the Festival of Lights. Jesus says He is the light of world and whoever follows him will never walk in darkness. Through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, that Light of the world now lives eternally and is received by us in the waters of our baptism.
(SECOND SERVICE)The Feast of Dedication is when the Jews celebrate the victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the temple, which, while under the rule of King Antiochus, was defiled by the sacrificing of a pig to Zeus in the temple. After regaining the Temple, it was cleansed, rededicated and the people gathered at the temple as one body.
They were not just meeting with themselves, but with God, to unite in fellowship with Him; so that they would remain aware of the covenant with God.
Through the waters of our baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit we have been cleansed and rededicated and we gather at the altar as one body to receive the new covenant of God found in Christ Jesus, given and shed for you.
(ENDING FOR BOTH SERVICES) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
AMEN?!
SECURITY
Grace, Peace and Mercy from God our Father and from our Good Shepherd and Light of the world, Christ Jesus! The message today is taken from the Gospel of John, the tenth chapter, verses 27 and 28: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no will snatch them out of my hand."
The NORAD or North America Aerospace Defense Command center was designed to withstand up to a 30 megaton blast within 1-nautical-mile. It lies along one side of a main tunnel bored almost a mile through the solid granite Cheyenne Mountain. The tunnel is designed to route the worst of a blast's shock wave out the other end, past the two 25-ton blast doors that mark one wall. The powerful springs that support the complex can absorb much of the energy from a nuclear blast, allowing the complex to move 12 inches in any one direction.
The underground Combat Operations Center has a 70% probability of continuing to function if a multi-megaton blast was within 1.5 nautical miles. It was also designed to be self-sufficient for brief periods.
Water comes from an underground supply inside Cheyenne Mountain, deposited into four excavated reservoirs with a capacity of 1.5 million gallons.
It has six 1,750 kilowatt diesel generators for backup communications. It can house and protect staff in the event of a nuclear fallout or biological and chemical warfare, with incoming air that may be filtered through a system of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear filters to remove harmful pathogens and/or radioactive and chemical particles.
NORAD is thought by many to be the safest place on the planet. And I am certain those that researched and developed it believe it is. Sounds pretty secure to me, how about to you? What if there was an even more secure place than NORAD? A place that would not change with the passing of time, it could NEVER be destroyed and where NO ONE or NO THING could remove you from? What if you have already been taken there and you are there right here, right now? And the signs of it are all around you?
Would you believe it or continue to seek it out, plainly, like the Jews in the Gospel this morning?
Standing before them is the answer, plainly, to their request. THE Messiah! Jesus was not the messiah they were expecting. He was to be majestic and kingly, and destroy their enemies. That is exactly what He was there to do, just not in the way they imagined.
The One who would shortly voluntarily and willingly humble Himself to take on the guilt and punishment of all, endure great suffering, even death, even for those standing before Him, would defeat the true enemies of this world, sin, death and the devil. They’ve seen all the miracles and heard Him teach, but they seem to not be listening, those before Him just couldn’t seem to get it. And when they do realize it, they will react violently…
Are we any different today? In this place we see many obvious signs of the promises of God in front of us and to either side of us. Yet when we go straight out these doors, not even outside these doors, we see and hear differently. You hear those who say the church is not big enough, but do you listen to those who are here and have realized what they have in Christ? I listened to two after services last week and about dozen during Bible Study myself! You hear that the property on the north end of the lot is for sale. But are we listening to the possibility of a new opportunity to share the Gospel?
We see and hear of civil unrest in other countries, earthquakes and tornadoes, job loss, job stress, relationship issues and political posturing. In instances like these are we like sheep in the manner that they only look straight ahead or like sheep in the way they listen for their shepherd?
Sheep not only hear their shepherd they are listening for him. His voice is their security. It was not uncommon for flocks of sheep to come together at a watering place and for the flocks to be intermingled. When it was time to return home, the shepherd would call out and his sheep would come to him. How does this happen? Being a shepherd is not easy. A shepherd spends all his time with his flock. He brings them out in morning; he brings them home in the evening. While they are out he works diligently to safeguard them from thieves and predators. If he finds one has wandered off he brings it back into the fold. He provides food and water for them. And, in most cases, sleeps at the entry way to the pen, braving the elements, so to keep the sheep in and again, to keep out thieves and predators. A shepherd will even die for his sheep. It is a relationship. He invests himself into his flock. He knows all of them, knows when one is missing, injured, or in need.
So, If we are God’s flock and Christ is our Good Shepherd, what is our security? We find it in today's Gospel reading; "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no will snatch them out of my hand."
Also, listen to these words written by Paul in Romans 8:31-39: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all the daylong;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I don’t know about you, but to me THAT sounds like the most secure place one could be. And we ARE there! Right here! Right now! How? Paul again writes in Romans 6:3-11: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(FIRST SERVICE) The Feast of Dedication is also known as the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. In the Temple, the eternal flame of God was to be lit at all times as a symbol of God's presence. But when the Temple was rededicated after defeating the Greeks, there was only enough oil left in the temple to burn the flame for one day because the Greeks had defiled the rest of the oil, and it would take a week for new oil. But they lit the eternal flame with the remaining oil, and it burned miraculously for eight days. This is why the feast is also called the Festival of Lights. Jesus says He is the light of world and whoever follows him will never walk in darkness. Through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, that Light of the world now lives eternally and is received by us in the waters of our baptism.
(SECOND SERVICE)The Feast of Dedication is when the Jews celebrate the victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the temple, which, while under the rule of King Antiochus, was defiled by the sacrificing of a pig to Zeus in the temple. After regaining the Temple, it was cleansed, rededicated and the people gathered at the temple as one body.
They were not just meeting with themselves, but with God, to unite in fellowship with Him; so that they would remain aware of the covenant with God.
Through the waters of our baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit we have been cleansed and rededicated and we gather at the altar as one body to receive the new covenant of God found in Christ Jesus, given and shed for you.
(ENDING FOR BOTH SERVICES) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
AMEN?!
A Simple Christian
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