Dying Before We Die

 Palm/Passion Sunday By Cayla Smith, 2020 11am, March 28, 2021 In the Sanctuary, Online at Zoom & https://www.facebook.com/centrechurchpa/ 83 New Park Road, New Park, PA 17352 https://centrechurchpa.org Palm/Passion Sunday Announcements Paul McPherson Prelude Kathleen Wilson, organ Call to Worship - John 12 & Psalm 118 (selected verses) The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: "Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Hymn #124 All Glory, Laud and Honor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wmv3KW5yj0 Prayer of Confession & the Lord's Prayer Lord, we come with gratitude to you. Your great love made you lay down your life for our redemption. We are forever indebted to you. As we observe Palm Sunday, we declare you our King, our friend, and our savior. You are mighty to save. Hosanna in the Highest. We pray that you will guide our every move and let your Holy Spirit comfort us in times of need. Let your love infuse our souls and give us peace as we meditate on your love for each one of us. We pray this humbly in Christ's name, who taught us to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Sharing of Prayer Requests Prayers of the People The Offering (online donations at https://centrechurchpa.org/) Offertory Prayers of Dedication and Illumination Scripture Text - John 12:20-33 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida, and said, "Sir, we want to meet Jesus." Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus. Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that "I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone-a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels-a plentiful harvest of new lives. If you love your life down here-you will lose it. If you despise your life down here-you will exchange it for eternal glory. "If these Greeks want to be my disciples, tell them to come and follow me, for my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, 'Father, save me from what lies ahead'? But that is the very reason why I came! Father, bring glory and honor to your name." Then a voice spoke from heaven saying, "I have already done this, and I will do it again." When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. Then Jesus told them, "The voice was for your benefit, not mine. The time of judgment for the world has come-and the time when Satan, the prince of this world, shall be cast out. And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to me." He said this to indicate how he was going to die. Sermon "Dying Before We Die" Rev. Dr. Don Hackett Hard to swallow Have you ever taken a pill that was hard to swallow? Sometimes pills or pieces of food are just too big to swallow with just one gup. We need to break up the pill or cut the food into smaller bites. If we do not, we can get into trouble. We can gag or choke, and even stop breathing. Some things are hard to swallow. We need to break them down to benefit. The Bible often has difficult truths to swallow. The teachings of Jesus can be hard to hear. This passage contains one such message. Let me set up the context. As the Jewish Passover Feast in Jerusalem was drawing near, Jesus knew his death was imminent. He told his disciples repeated that: ...the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 Hard truths Suffer and die. These are not the words the disciples want to hear. They shook their heads. "This makes no sense. You are Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Chosen by God to lead us to freedom. Remember?!" Peter took the lead and pulled Jesus aside and tried to get to stop such foolish talk. Yes! How did that go over? Not so good! Jesus stepped away from Peter and looked at all the disciples, rebuked Peter and said: "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:33-38 Tough words from Jesus. How do you and I understand them? Like a big pill, let's break this down. First, Jesus is clear that if we want to be like Jesus, follow in the way of Jesus, we need to let go of our old ways of living. Previously, we did what we wanted when we wanted. It sounds great, right? Great, until we realize how small, confining, and swallow our lives are without God. When our lives are all about us it is a very small world indeed. You and I were created for a life with God, flourishing in ways God created us each uniquely to love and serve. Jesus knows this. This is why Jesus came. The mission of Jesus was to make us one with God. That is one way to understand the concept of atonement, at-one-ment with God. We can understand the seriousness of Jesus' words when we realize he is trying to save us. If we go hiking through life without a trusted guide, without accurate maps, nourishing food, and a real purpose, we wander and waste the life given us. Without God, we become lost. If we do not graft our lives into the life of Jesus, our souls die. We were made by God to live, to breathe in all that is good, and to bless others. Follow the leader The good news is that Jesus leads us into this new life. Jesus is out in front leading us to where we need to go. This is what become clear in our passage today. Some Greek Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. It was a big trip and a great honor to be in this revered city on the most holy of days. They had heard of the Rabi Jesus and wanted to meet him. They talked to Philip. He and Andrew then went to talk to Jesus. Jesus gives an intriguing response: Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that "I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone-a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels-a plentiful harvest of new lives. If you love your life down here-you will lose it. If you despise your life down here-you will exchange it for eternal glory. Jesus is fully focused on his mission. The disciples do not realize it, but the time for Jesus to be arrested and killed has come. It will happen that very week. They are thinking we are just doing business as usual...teaching, healing a person here and there, and even giving some special audiences with Jesus, if he has time. No. There is no time to waste. Every moment matters. The Son of God, the Lamb of God, is preparing to be sacrificed. For all to live, this Lamb must die. Kernel of wheat Jesus was talking to farmers and gardeners of all ages in this passage. We know the basic principles of biology at work here. In a seed is all the genetic material to produce a fully mature plant. It remains dormant until the right combination of soil, temperature, water, and oxygen combine to start the germination process. Then it grows and eventually multiplies. It is an amazing miracle to watch unfold each Spring. If we leave the seeds in the barn or garage and never put them in the ground, will anything happen? Not likely. Jesus is pointing his disciples to his upcoming death in a way they can understand. Unless Jesus the Christ dies and is buried, there will be no resurrection for him or anyone else. The seed of God buried will burst up into new life for all. The one seed is multiplied into many. The life of Jesus Christ can now reside in every fertile, welcoming heart. That is the miracle of Easter. The suffering and death of Jesus lead to the conquering of sin and death for all. Jesus said about his death, "And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to me." Dying before we die Jesus is also showing us the way forward. If we want to live, we need to die first as well. The difference between us and Jesus is that we need to die now. We need to die before we can really live in this life or the next. Dying before we die. What does that look like? How do we do it? In most cases it begins with a big decision followed by countless little decisions for the rest of our lives. The big decision is to choose to follow Jesus the Christ. Even that can be a series of little decisions. Slowly or all at once we come to place where we want God more than anything or anyone else. More than money, success, more than new truck, more than being popular, famous, or rich. More than being comfortable or pain-free, we want God first. * We want to worship and honor God alone. * We want Jesus to forgive and connect us to God. * We want the Holy Spirit working to guide and transform us. * We know only the Christ has the words of life. All of life comes together in Christ. We discover who we are, why we were created, and what our purposes on Earth are. We are made to love and serve God and each other in a million different ways. We can only grow into this new life if we choose to die to our old way of living. Dying so we can live. Putting to death those parts of us that pull us away from God. What needs to die in you and me today? What will bring life and vitality to my soul in Christ? Let me suggest a few areas to consider. Think about it as a kind of Spring cleaning: 1. Dead branches - In most yards there are plenty of dead branches to pick up and get rid of. In all our lives there are things we do not need any more...books, clothes, stuff in the basement we can get rid of and become freer in the process. This applies to activities as well. May be there were things we used to do that do not fit us and our new life in Christ. Sports, hobbies, entertainment habits, hanging out with groups that are not the best investment of our time and energy. Realize that you do have to keep doing the same things you used to do. Ask God what needs to stop and say good-bye to those activities. 2. Pruning - One of the hardest spring chores is pruning. When we cut back those rose or hydrangea bushes way back, we wonder if they will die and never bloom again. In our lives there are certain things that need to be pruned or cut back. During the pandemic, many have binged watching on streaming networks or over investing in computer games. Others found comfort in eating or reading lots of novels. Whatever got you through this pandemic, may need to be cut back to new life can come in other areas. Ask God if there is something in your life right now that needs pruning. 3. Plant Seeds - Finally, plant some new seed in your life. Find a place to serve that has been catching your eye. Reach out and begin a conversation in a relationship with that new neighbor. Call up that friend or relative that has been distant for whatever reason and show you care about them. Jesus is inviting us to come with him this week. You and I are invited to walk with Jesus again as he enters this hard Holy Week. As he makes his way to the cross, enduring deep suffering and cruelty, remember he has you and me in his heart. He is doing all this for us. Let us die with Christ so we can be raised up with him! Prayer - All Mighty God, you sent your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to save us. He came to live on Earth to die for us. He was born to die. Help us see and embrace the love you have for us. Help us to follow in his footstep. Help us die to our old lives and be made new in Christ. Amen. Confession of Faith (from Brief Statement of Faith, PCUSA 1983) We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. Hymn #143 Lift High the Cross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcBXYP4AlE Benediction Colossians 1:18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and-leading the resurrection parade-he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe-people and things, animals and atoms-get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. 2