4/4/2021 Normal Service
are scripture reading for this morning comes from first John chapter 1 verses 1 through chapter 2 verse 22
we declare to you what was from the beginning what we have heard what we have seen with our eyes, but we have looked at and touched with our own hands concerning the Word of Life. This life was revealed and we have seen it and testify to it and declare to you the eternal life that was with the father and was revealed to us. We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son Jesus Christ. We are riding these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we've heard from him and Proclaim to you that God is light. And in him there is no Darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness. We lie and do not do what is true. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus. His son cleanse. Is this all from from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us if we confess our sins he who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar and his word is not in it my little children. I'm riding riding these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world now by this we may be sure that we know him if we obey his Commandments whoever says, I have come to know him but does not obey his Commandments is a liar and in such a person the truth does not exist, but whoever obeys his word truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him. Whoever says I abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved I'm riding, you know new commandment, but an old Commandment that you've had from the beginning the old commandment is the word that you have heard yet. I'm writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the True Light is already shining. Whoever says I am in the white while hating a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling but whoever hates another believer is in the darkness walks in the darkness and does not know the way to go because the darkness has brought on blindness. I'm writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you father's because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you young people because you have conquered the evil one. I am writing to your children because you know, the father I write to you father's because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you young people because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the father is not in those who love the world for all that is in the world the desire of The Flash the desire of the eyes the pride and riches comes not from the father, but from the world and the world and its desires are passing away. But those who do the will of the father do the will of God live forever. Children it is the last hour as you've heard that that antic that Antichrist is coming. So now many Antichrist have come from this. We know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us for the if they are belong to us. They would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us, but you have been anointed by the Holy One and all of you have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and you know that no lie, I comes from the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist the one who denies the father and the son the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Thank you, sir. What is prey? Lord May the meditations of our hearts and the words of my lips be pleasing in your sight our Rock and Our Redeemer. Amen.
growing up what it came time to do homework at the kitchen table. There was no argument quite like a mathematics argument. Anyone grow up in that kind of house? I remember very clearly arguing with my father about math and daring to bring you some a calculator. Calculator not even like a ti-81 calculator. I'm talking like a powered by the sun calculator. To bring a calculator like that into a math problem was not ever necessary. My dad was a machinist. And before a lot of computer-aided machine Machinery & Tool & Die making my dad made Gears at a place called Eagle Iron Works and they make Rock crushing equipment and Bridge rockers and things until these huge gears gears probably 8 foot in diameter sometimes and each would have to be just precise. And I remember him saying you have to be able to prove it. You have to be able to prove your work that you've done.
You know. Proving it in our faith is what shows the world the work that we've done. For him and his work crew for the work with the fact that the gears worked in the gravel was made and that was proof. He died in 2005 and he stopped working cuz he got sick very very quickly. And so his toolbox was still at in the Machine Shop there. And so when he passed my brother-in-law and I went to go get it and they brought it out on a big backhoe forklift and they lifted it up and they put it on the the truck. This guy came running out. His name was Mark my one of my dad's best work friends and Mark was like 7 ft tall and as much as his natural as much as his height came naturally to him the mathematics part of his job did not Nea that Robbie can can I get your dad's notebooks? from his toolbox I was like, okay, that's why my Dad's keys. I opened it up and I opened up these notebooks and it was the proof of the equations that he would do for the different types of Gears that they would need to make. And this is an example of how we in life provide proof when we go on to glory for what the work of our Christian faith is done. What We Leave Behind if there was one overarching message for today it is that The Christian Life must have at its foundation. Knowledge that Christ is real that Christ is alive and that Christ is necessary.
The scripture calls us to walk in the light. What what is that mean exactly it means to walk in the ways that God shows us through scripture. Not in the ways of this world. but in the ways of Christ Not of our own desires with the desires of God. This becomes very very difficult when it comes to understanding the world and Justice and mercy and Grace.
God's call for forgiveness Is not cheap in the reality of hurt and pain. It shows us that there is another way to not be tempted and defined by the darkness.
Also, the writer highlights that the important relationship between Fellowship of fellow Christians in the church. Even in the church at that time there was arguing and quarreling about what was right and what was wrong or who was right and who was wrong or who was righteous and who was unworthy.
Siri is a church or called to invest in relationships with one another that's what we do here. Not just on Sunday morning, but throughout the week throughout our lives the celebration of of life and of of birth the celebration of life as we grieve the loss of life. This is what we do as a church together. Who we welcomed into our body says his much about who we believe tries to be as what we met for playing.
The other part of it is the acknowledgement. of our sin the acknowledgement of our send every communion service. We have we we share in something called the call to confession and the call the confession. Is number 8 for the whole stack of them? All right number 890 and this is the one that we use and we say we when we gather together, but I want to invite you to hear these words instead with the word. I
Most merciful god I confess that I have sinned against you in thought word and deed by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart. I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent for the sake of your son Jesus Christ have mercy on me and forgive me. But I'm a delight in your will and walk in your way to the glory of your name. amen
What is every time we met we had to confess that confession? We had to share in to remind ourselves that there's some things that we should have done that we intentionally decided not to do and there's things that we haven't done. That we ought to have done and intentionally decided to do.
I want to highlight something.
Admitting our own sin. Does not call us to say anything about anyone else's sin. You don't have to God is never going to ask you why someone else did what they did.
God's never going to ask you to answer for somebody else's sin.
Bugattis going to ask you about your own. and if you don't think you have any that's a sending of itself. The reality is that were called the focus on our own selves. while loving others with the love of Christ What does it mean to extend mercy and Grace? What is all we focused on was obeying the commandments of Jesus and loving one another as Christ has loved us and loving God with our whole heart or whole mind.
What would that mean?
So many times we are tempted by the darkness. of our world by the darkness that calls ourselves to compare ourselves to others. The darkness that tempts us to focus on other people's shortcomings as opposed to our own. What is instead of worrying about judging others we worried? How God will judge us? If we did not love others.
These are weighty and heavy issues which is why the idea that Christian Life must have at its base of foundation in the knowledge that Christ is real Christ is alive. In the Christ is needed.
Foundations provide the basis for our living proof. It's not about the actions themselves, but the actions themselves are the culmination of the work that has been worked out.
The combination of a backpack Ministry or a neighborhood food pantry the culmination of just love and care. Is an acknowledgement that we have dealt with these heavy issues. that we're not trying to Define who God Is by who we keep out, but we tried to share with others the love of God that even People Like Us or let in
the world needs our faith Our Hope. God's mercy and God's grace because that is not of this world. Offering forgiveness in response to hatred isn't something the world with support. offering love in response to Brokenness Isn't what the world would support. put God calls for may we be the living proof of God's love in this world today?
Because for today we provide an example by which tomorrow. Is grown.
The foundation of our Christian Life is living proof. of a risen savior
May we walk in the light? We we have True Fellowship with one another. We we acknowledge our own sin.
We will obey the command of Jesus. And may we walk as Christ walked? amen