The Gift of God's Word

During the next four weeks we will all spend some time thinking about what gifts to give to our family and friends. My hope is that as we do this we will keep two things in mind, the first one is that going into debt to give gifts does not honor or glorify God, so we need to be fiscally responsible as we shop, but I also hope that we will think creatively about how to give gifts that will reflect the gift that God gave us in Jesus. Can we give gifts that will require us to spend time together? The gift of Jesus is the gift of God’s presence; God came to dwell among us. God came to spend time with us so can we give gifts that will require us to spend together? Like god’s gift in Jesus, can we give gifts that will help those in need around us? Can we give gifts that will build up the church and the work of God in the world? As we spend time thinking about gifts to give, we need to make sure the gifts we do give reflect the gift God gave us in Jesus, but the gift of Jesus is just one gift God has given to us and each Sunday leading up to Christmas eve we are going to look at a different gift God has given us.


Long before God gave us the gift of Jesus, God gave us the gift of His word. As we heard in John 1:1-2 it says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. So before the worlds were even created, God and his word were united. They were joined together as one, but God didn’t keep his word to himself, God shared his word, God spoke and when God spoke - things happened. When God spoke – life happened.

In Genesis 1:3 it says, God said, let there be light and there was light. When God spoke, when God shared his word, the process of creation began. When God said, let there be an expanse between the waters – there was a sky. When God said let there be land – the waters of the sea drew back and there was dry ground. When God said, let the land produce vegetation – plants grew. When God said let there be lights in the sky at night – stars and planets were formed. When God said let the oceans teem forth with life – all kinds of fish began to swim and when God said let there be animals – there were animals of all shapes and sizes and colors that began to walk on the land, and when God said let us make mankind in our image – we were created, men and women were formed. When God spoke, when God gave the gift of his word – the world came into being. God’s word brought forth life. But the gift of God’s word didn’t end on the 6th day of creation, God didn’t remain silent – God continued to speak and his word continued to bring life.

While we don’t know how it happened, there were people like Noah, Abraham, Moses and David who all heard God’s voice and they spent their lives trying to be faithful to what they heard. They knew if they followed God’s word – they would be blessed and experience all the fullness of life. But God didn’t just speak to a chosen few, God spoke to everyone. When God gave the 10 C and the law God was speaking to all the people and God gave the people direction on how to order their lives so that they could experience all the blessing God had to offer. God said that if the people followed his word and obeyed his law, they would be blessed, that’s what it says in Psalm 1.

But the people weren’t always faithful; they didn’t always delight in God’s law or follow God’s word and yet when they got off track, which was often, God didn’t remain silent; God continued to speak and he shared with his people both words of warning as well as words of hope. Through the prophets, God’s word continued to give the people direction, but those words also gave hope that a new day would come when God’s love and power would emerge victorious. God’s word through the prophets gave the people strength to keep going when everything around them seemed so bad. So from the very beginning, God’s word was bringing forth life. The gift of God’s word created life, it sustained life and it gave life direction, but God’s word was so full of life that it could not be contained in the sound of a voice, or in the gathering of letters on a page, the gift of God’s word needed to breathe and move, so again from John 1 we hear that the word became flesh.

In the person of Jesus Christ, God’s word became a living breathing human being and the word of God dwelt among us. In Jesus, God’s word lived with us and spoke to us and touched our lives. Through Jesus, God’s word laughed with us and cried with us and instead of telling us how to live, the word of God showed us how to live and how to love. Thru Jesus the word of God gave us a clear example of how to live life in such a way that we would be blessed.

So God’s word is truly a gift and it’s not just the words of the Bible we are talking about, it is the life example of Jesus and the testimony of those who saw and heard and experienced Jesus. But after Jesus ascended into heaven and was no longer walking this earth with us God did not remain silent; the gift of God’s word continued to be given through the Holy Spirit. In Hebrews 4:12 it says, the word of God is living and active. So the word of God isn’t just what we find written on paper, it is alive and moving in us and in our world. Through the Holy Spirit God’s word still speaks to us in so many ways, we just need to take the time to listen. It is amazing to think that the God who created the universe has shared his thoughts with us and it’s amazing to think that the God who set the worlds into motion so many centuries ago is not silent today but still speaks and gives as a gift words that bring direction and meaning to our lives. We don’t have to try and figure out what God wants from us or what God wants for us – we can read it in God’s word, we can see it in the word made flesh – in Jesus, and we can hear it in depths of our heart through the Holy Spirit if we will take the time to listen.

God’s word is a gift and while our focus in this season is on the word made flesh as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, my hope is that we will take the time to receive God’s word in all its forms. Now when we receive any gift the first thing we have to do is open our hands and receive it. We need to open our hand and hearts and minds to receive the word of God and the prophet Isaiah gives us some direction on how we should receive the gift of God’s word. Look again at Isaiah 2:3, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways. The first thing we see here is that God wants us to receive His word together. It says; let US go up to the mountain. He will teach US his ways. Receiving the gift of God’s word and learning God’s ways are not just an individual exercise. While personal times of reading and devotion are important and while the HS often speaks to us personally in the silence of our hearts, we are also to receive God’s word together.

It is important for us to receive God’s word together because we have a lot to learn from one another. There is faith and wisdom that comes from experience and we need to learn from the experiences of one another. There are insights into God’s word that you may have that others need to hear, or there might be insights that others have that you need to hear and so we need to come together and share our faith and our knowledge and our experiences and our understanding of how God speaks and what God has said and what God is saying today. The gift of God’s word isn’t just a personal gift – it is a gift given to the community and so God calls us to come together to listen and to learn.

Not only do we need to come together, but we need to come together and receive God’s word in a place set apart from all the distractions of the world. Again the prophet Isaiah said, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. God called his people to leave the busyness of their lives and the noise of the world to go to the mountain not because the mountain was the only place God would speak, but because the mountain was set apart from the activities of life. The mountain was a quiet place where people could still their hearts and lives and open the ears to hear what God had to say. The mountain and the house of the Lord were holy places, they were places set apart from daily life so people could gather together to listen and learn.

If for no other reason, this is why it’s important for us to come together to worship. When we gather together in these moments, we have the opportunity to leave behind some of the stress and activity and noise of life so that we can focus in and hear what God is trying to say. We have a moment or two here to be still and quiet, and in the presence of God and among God’s people – receive the gift of God’s word. God is still speaking. Through prayer, songs and silence God’s word still brings life but we have to quiet our hearts and lives enough to be able to hear.

As we receive this gift of God’s word we need to remember that it was also given to us for a reason. Look again at what Isaiah said, so we may walk in his paths. And then look down verse 5 let us walk in the light of the Lord. God gives us the gift of his word so that we can follow him and the reason God wants us to follow him is because he knows that it is only walking in the light of his word, walking in God’s will that we find life. Remember, the word of God always brings life – it was God’s word that created life and it is still God’s word that brings life today and it brings life by helping us see how to live. When we learn how to apply the word of God and when we follow the example of the word made flesh in Jesus and when we hear and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we begin to experience the life God wants for us.

God’s word is a life giving gift and it’s not just a gift for this season, it is a gift for every season, and a gift for every day, but it is a gift we have to be willing to receive. Will we come together this Advent to receive the gift of God? Will we come to the house of the Lord in order to listen and learn? Will we open our eyes and lives to the word of God made flesh in Jesus and will we follow the example he set for us? God’s word is a life giving gift; it is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path, so let us receive it with joy and in this season let us work hard to listen.

A Meal of Thanks-giving

I’ve notice that once you start asking people to name things for which they are thankful, it can be hard to get them to stop. Once our minds and our hearts get going and we begin to think of all the things to thank God for, it can be hard to turn our minds or our hearts off. One of my favorite books is, 10,000 things to praise God for and just about any page I turn to reminds me of more things I can be thankful for.


Many years ago Oprah did a show on giving thanks and she encouraged people to keep a thanksgiving journal and everyday write down 5 things for which we are thankful. That year some friends and I decided to do this via email and each day we would email the group 5 things for which we were thankful. I was amazed at how long we were able to keep this going. Instead of running out of things to thank God for after a week or two, it seemed like each day we found more. Some things were quiet simple, like a favorite food we suddenly thought of like clam chowder, and some things were quite profound like the love of our family and friends or the forgiveness of God, but what amazed me was that we never ran out of ideas. It was like once we started to taste the goodness of the Lord, we couldn’t stop eating! I am convinced that deep inside all of us is the book, 10,000 things to thank God for; we just need to take the time to write it. When I read David’s song of thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16, I had the sense that David just started giving thanks to God and once he started he just couldn’t stop.

Give thanks to the Lord, David begins, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. David just starts thinking about God when the flood gates open. In 16:9-13 David is thankful for God’s strength and for presence. He celebrates God’s miracles and his judgments and his words and his offspring and his children. Then in verses 15-18 David remembers God’s covenant, the promise God made with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob and a promise that extends to David and his family and to all the people of Israel. And then in verses 19-22 David remembers and gives thanks for how God helped the people of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. David remembers how God watched over the people during this time and how God kept them safe as they made their way through foreign and dangerous lands. And then in verses 23 – 30 it seems like David is simply overwhelmed with thanksgiving as he remembers who God is and what God has done and so his heart just pours out praises to God. Look at the words David uses to thank God, Sing to the Lord, Declare his glory, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, worship the lord, tremble before him. It’s as if David can’t contain himself and he can’t hold back his thanks and praise to God, and then as if all that isn’t enough look at the end of this psalm. In verses 31-33 David looks out at all of creation and not only sees God’s handiwork in the world, but he sees and hears all of creation giving thanks and praise to God. The seas roar, the fields exult, trees sing and the people give thanks because the steadfast love of the lord endures forever.

As we read through this psalms it’s as if David’s heart begins with just a nibble, just a taste of giving thanks to God but it quickly becomes a full blown meal of thanks-giving that extends course after course as David celebrates who God is, what God has done and what God has promised to do in the future. It is this heart of thanksgiving that we see in David that we need develop and it is the meal of thanks-giving that David eats that we need to share in today and everyday.

Now the meal of thanksgiving I’m talking about isn’t our Thanksgiving Day dinner, it has nothing to do with turkey, stuffing or pumpkin pie, the meal I’m talking about is our ability to give God thanks and praise and it is a meal that has only 2 ingredients. If we want hearts that are filled with thanks and praise like David’s then the first ingredients we need is awe or wonder. Look at 16:9, David says, tell of all God’s wonderful works. God’s works are full of wonder and for us to really thank God for all he has given us we need to see that wonder and be filled with awe, but I’m afraid that we have lost our ability to be amazed by God. When was the last time we just stood in awe because of the beauty of a sunset or stood under a starry sky and felt a chill because of how small we seem in comparison to the vastness of space? This past week there was a news story about a new planet that formed beyond our galaxy but was pulled into the Milky Way by another star. While I found this news interesting, it did not fill me with awe and wonder. In our science-filled world where it seems like we can explain everything away we have lost some of the mystery of life. For example, when we have 24 hour weather forecasts available to us, we lose the sense of awe and mystery that comes when we wake up in the morning to the first frost, and are we never taken by surprise at the first snowfall or do we simply prepare for it?

And with all our advances in medical science – we lose any sense of amazement when our broken bones heal or when we overcome sickness and disease. With all the medicine we ingest and rehab we go through we forget that ultimately it is God who brings healing and restores wholeness and life. And volcanoes and earthquakes don’t fill us with awe anymore, like a new planet they just become news stories that we read or a crisis that we respond to. What we lose in our scientific world is the sense of wonder at the miracles of God’s creation. To really be able to give thanks we need to just stand and be amazed by the snow, awed by our bodies and overwhelmed by the majesty and the mystery and the sheer size and power of God’s creation.

The author Joseph Campbell said, Awe is what moves us on. Awe moves us on in our faith because awe and wonder are invitations to go deeper with God. What happened when Jesus calmed the storms or walked on water? The disciples asked themselves who is this that has such power. What happened was the disciples wanted to know more. Those moments of awe awakened in them a curiosity that helped them look deeper into the heart and mind and words and actions of Jesus. If we want a heart like David’s that really knows how to gives thanks and if we want a faith that hungers to know more, then we need to develop a sense of awe and wonder at the works of God. Twice David talks about God’s wonderful works (16:9, 16:12). Whether it is the miracles David has seen, or remembering how God’s hand guided the people of Israel through the wilderness or just looking around at the beauty and power of creation, David is filled with wonder when he thinks about God and we need to be filled with that same sense of wonder when we think of who God is and what God has done for us and how God has created us and the world around us.

I’d like us to do that for just us a moment. I want us to look at one of the most wonderful things God has created – look at your hands. Look at how amazing they are. Notice how each finger moves. Notice how the thumb is different. It is in a different place and because it is we are able to do so much. From creating music to building skyscrapers, our hands enable us to do so much. And look at the lines and fingerprints – remember that they are unique in all of the world – no one else has hands like yours, no one ever has and no one ever will. And no one else has done with their hands what you have done. If your hands have some wrinkles on them, then think of all the work they have done, all the hands they have held, all the children they’ve helped, all the love they have shared, all strangers that they have welcomed. Our hands are wonderful – literally they are full of wonder and we need to give thanks for that.

Wonder is an invitation into mystery; it is what awakens our hearts to God and to the fullness of life around us. Without wonder the world becomes sterile and rigid and when everything is explained away we find very little for which to give thanks, so wonder is essential to giving thanks, and wonder is key for a deeper faith, but for us to recapture this sense of wonder we need the second ingredient of our thanks-giving meal and that is leisure.

Leisure is a rare commodity today. We feel like we need to fill our days with constant motion and activity and many of us feel guilty if they aren’t working every moment of every day. We feel like we are depriving our children if they aren’t involved in every sport and activity that is offered to them, and yet what we have scheduled right out of our lives is rest and without rest we have no time to reflect. Webster’s dictionary defines leisure as the freedom from hurry. Wouldn’t we all like some of that in this season of the year? Freedom from hurry, and an ancient Chinese definition of leisure says it is the space in which we let the sun shine. In the bible this kind of leisure time is known as Sabbath – a day of rest, but it is not a day to do nothing – it is a day to remember and reflect. After God created the heavens and the earth it says on the seventh day God rested, now I don’t think God did nothing on that day, I think God spent that day of leisure remembering all he had done and looking out over all of his creation and saying, this is good. I think God was filled with wonder and awe and joy at what he saw. We have a wonderful God, which means we have a God full of wonder himself and the only way we can experience that wonder and the only way we can experience the fullness of God and really be able to give thanks to God is if we are willing to take the time to do it.

Leisure is absolutely necessary if we are going to have a heart like David. David took the time to think about God. David took the time to sing praises to God; he took the time glory in God, to seek God, and to remember God’s wonder-full works, and God’s covenant and God’s faithfulness. David took the time look out at all of creation and see in it and hear it in the praise of God. David took time to reflect and remember and it was because he did all this that he was able to rejoice and give thanks. David not only took the time but he shows us that if we want to truly give thanks then we need to take the time as well. This whole psalm is a call for us to take some time to reflect and remember who God is and what God has done. Through David God calls us to sing and remember and declare and worship and tremble before God. Through David God calls us and take a look at all of his creation and be amazed. If we don’t take this time to reflect on who God is and what God has done and what God is doing in our lives, we will never cultivate a heart like David’s that is able to really give thanks to God.

It’s interesting that we seem to take pretty seriously some of the 10 commandments like thou shalt not kill or steal or worship false gods, but we don’t take seriously the call to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. We tell ourselves that we are just too busy to rest and there is simply no time to reflect and as long as we live that way, we will not experience the fullness of life that God wants for us. God took a Sabbath rest, not because God was tired but because wanted to reflect on his wonderful works and God simply wants us to do the same thing. Please take some time to rest and reflect and take note of God’s works that are full of wonder. When you do, your heart will be filled with thanks and praise to God.

My hope is that in the next few days, in between all the chaotic schedules of families, food and football games that you will carve out some leisure time to rest and remember with family and friends. Make some space in your heart and life to reflect on the way God’s love is shining in your life. Remember the awesome ways God has provided for you; come up with five ways in which God has shown you that he cares for you. There is a thanksgiving meal that won’t leave you feeling bloated and full at the end of the day, in fact, it is a meal that once you start eating you will never be able to stop and it is the meal of thanks-giving. It is a meal which requires us all to take the time and create the space to rediscover all the wonder of God.

The Earth Is The Lord's

We are entering into the most wonderful time of the year, and yet it is also probably the busiest time of the year and in the midst of all the activity it can become difficult to keep our focus on God. It’s ironic if you stop and think about it, because it seems like Thanksgiving and Christmas should be an easy to stay focused on God, after all the holiday’s are centered on giving thanks to God for all the gifts he has given us, including the gift of Jesus that we celebrate in Christmas, but it just isn’t that easy. While Thanksgiving is all about thanking God for all that we have, we lose that focus as we fill our homes with food and family and football, and then we immediately jump from Thanksgiving into an all out blitz of shopping. It’s sad how we go from Thanksgiving to Black Friday in just a few short hours, and then the pace never stops. The next month is a blur of shopping, setting up the tree, decorating the house, baking the cookies, wrapping the presents and getting ready for Christmas cantata’s, Christmas programs and Christmas vacations. Even in the midst of a holiday that is all about Jesus it is easy to lose our focus on the reason for the season, so I want us to take a moment today before things get all crazy to find a passage that can help us keep our focus during these next 6 weeks, and the passage I am going to suggest is Psalm 24:1, the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. We need to commit this verse to memory and repeat it often so we can keep our eyes and the eyes of our heart fixed on Jesus.


As we approach this season of Thanksgiving we need to remember that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in this world was created by God and comes from the hand of God. The food we will eat on Thanksgiving has come from God. So as we cook the turkey and bake the pies and mash the potatoes can we say to ourselves over and over again, the earth is the Lord’s and everything it. Can the very breath we take become a prayer of thanksgiving for all that God has given us? Can we look around at the faces of family and friends gathered at our tables and see each one as a gift from God? Everyone who lives in this world has come from God. God created us all and in love God placed us in families and gathered us together in circle of friends and communities and a church so that we can share his love and grace together.

All through the Thanksgiving season we need to say to ourselves over and over again, the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world an all who live in it (say it with me). This verse can help keep us grounded because it reminds us that the most important part of the celebration isn’t the turkey, stuffing or pumpkin pie; it is giving thanks to God for it has all come from him.

But let’s stop and think about this for a moment, if it has all come from God and it if all belongs to God then we need to ask ourselves, are we using it all the way God wants us to? Are we being good stewards of God’s creation? Did God give us the gift of food so we can fill our tables and eat all we can until we can’t eat anymore? Is the gift of family just for us or has God called us to share what we have and care for those who might be in need around us? Remember it says in Psalm 24:1 that all who live in this world belong to God, which means all those who are hungry belong to God. All those who are hurting and lonely belong to God. All those who the world has forgotten belong to God and God does not want them forgotten or lonely or hungry, God wants them remembered and loved and fed and God calls us to do it.

So part of giving thanks to God has to be making that sure we are using the gifts God gives wisely and according to God’s will. As we sit around tables overflowing with food will we make sure that others in our community have enough food? In the Old Testament strangers who were hungry were to be welcomed to the table and fed by God’s people as if they were family. Jesus calls us to feed the hungry and he told his disciples to feed the crowds even when they didn’t think they had the means to do it. I was thinking about this and I have decided this year that I am going tithe my Thanksgiving Day dinner. I am going to figure out how much money I will spend on food for my family on Thanksgiving Day, the entire day, and I am going to send a tithe of that amount to the blessing basket ministry so that others can have food on Thanksgiving, and I want to invite you to join me. Figure out what you will spend on your Thanksgiving Dinner, or on the food your family will eat during the entire day and then give 10% of that to the blessing basket ministry which is going to help provide food this year to 40 families, that’s twice as many as last year. Or if you want, you can figure it out after Thanksgiving and send your tithe to the food bank. Or you could do both, 10% to the food-bank and 10% to the blessing baskets and then as you faithfully give, watch God bless you. Isn’t that what it says in Psalm 24:4-5?

We will be blessed when we have clean hands and a pure heart. In other words we will be blessed when we live the way God calls us to live and the way God calls us to live is not just by saying thank you, but by living a life of thanks and gratitude that touches the lives of others because we are willing to share and give. So I invite you to tithe your Thanksgiving Day dinner, and when God blesses you in that faithful giving, step out in faith and tithe again during Christmas and then make tithing a way of life in the new year.

But it is not just about the money. As we sit down with family and friend on Thanksgiving can we invite others to join us who might not have a place to go? Do we have an empty chair at our table that could be filled by someone who lives alone and has no family in the area? Can we take some time during the holidays to visit those in the nursing home or those going through rehab during this season who might not have people to visit them. A couple of years ago when someone was delivering our Christmas dinners a woman asked the driver to stop and talk with her for a moment because he was the first person she had seen all day. There will be people who will spend Thanksgiving alone, can we remember them, visit them, invite them to join us? Again, in the OT one of the most important laws was the law of hospitality which said you welcomed strangers and those in need into your home, it’s God’s desire for His people to reach out to all those God has created and make sure they are remembered and loved and fed, will we do this?

Psalm 24 can help us keep focused during this Thanksgiving season, but it can also help us stay focused during the Christmas Season. It is believed that Psalm 24 was written when the Ark of the Covenant was carried into Jerusalem and then later used during times of worship when the people remembered that event. The thought is that when the ark moved into the city the people on the city gates would cry out Psalm 24:7 – 8a and then the people with ark would say Psalm 24:8b. Then the people on the city walls would say, Psalm 24: 9-10a and the people with the ark would respond again with Psalm 24:10b. And then the walls of the city would open wide and the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God entered the city. So this psalm remembers the moment that God entered the city of Jerusalem and as people recited these words and used it in worship it reminded them not to open the city gates, but to lift up the heads and open their hearts and lives to allow the king of glory to enter into them.

As we prepare for Christmas we need to remember that the entire celebration is about God coming to us in the person of Jesus. God comes to us just as he came to the people of Jerusalem, so will we open our hearts and lives to receive him. One of the carols we love to sing at Christmas is O Little Town of Bethlehem and there is a line in that carol that goes, to meek souls who receive him still the dear Christ enters in. Will we allow Christ to enter into our hearts and lives during this season? And if that is what we want, what will that look like? What will it mean for Christ to enter our hearts and lives during the busyness of this season? I don’t think God will be content to enter into our lives and then be told to sit and wait until the celebration is over for us to listen to him and respond to his leading. God wants to enter into our hearts and lives today to shape how we celebrate this season and how we celebrate the gift of Jesus.

If we go back to Psalm 24 we see that allowing God to enter into our heart and lives means having clean hands, a pure heart and then listen to this, not lifting our souls up to idols. If Christmas becomes a time when we go into debt because we think we have to buy the latest and greatest gifts for everyone we know, then we are lifting up our souls to the idol of materialism and greed. If the season is only about shopping and what to buy, then we are lifting up our souls to an idol, and it is so easy to do this. This past week, a full two weeks before Thanksgiving one of the big news stories I read was about how Target leaking their black Friday sales flyer so that people will be ready to run out and buy all the latest electronics and toys on the day after Thanksgiving. When that becomes an important news story, we are in danger of worshipping the wrong god. As we head into this frantic holiday shopping season, here is the verse we need to remember, do not lift our souls up to an idol.

Now I always feel the need to give this disclaimer here, not buying into the materialism and greed of this season doesn’t mean we don’t give any gifts at all, we can, and maybe we even should, give gifts at Christmas because what we are celebrating is the gift of Jesus given to us by God, but we need to think about how to give gifts that truly honor and imitate the gift of Jesus. God gave his son, not an ipad. God gave himself not a HDTV. God gave his time and love, not an xbox360. While all of those electronics might be great gifts to give, they do not reflect the gift of Jesus, so how can we give the gift of our selves, the gift of our time, the gift of our love in a way that reflects the gift of God? If you remember last year we learned how we can celebrate this season more faithfully when we are willing to spend less but give more. We need to spend less at target and amazon and walmart and give more of ourselves to others and to God. What relational gifts can you give? What gift can you give in Jesus name that will help the future of the church? What gift can you give in Jesus name that will lift up a community in Africa, or a family in Bellefonte? These questions need to guide us as we make our way through this Christmas season.

It will be a challenge to turn away from the idol of greed and materialism that says we need to get all the latest stuff for family and friends, but we need to turn away from the world and give the way God has shown us and in the way God has given to us and if we will do this – we will be blessed, again look at Psalm 24:4-6.

So if there is one passage that can guide us through this busy season of the year and help us to stay focused on what it is really all about, maybe it is Psalm 24 and these 2 verses:

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.

Do not lift up your soul to an idol… and you will receive blessing from the Lord.

Legacy

What kind of a legacy do you want to leave for your children or grandchildren? What kind of legacy do you want to leave the church you have been a part of and the community in which you live? A legacy is what we hand down to future generations and the most valuable legacy we pass on isn’t money or property, it is the witness of our lives. The legacy of my grandmother is best summed up not in words but in a picture of her I keep at home.

This picture sums up the legacy my Grandmother left in me. In this picture you can see that she is riding on a camel and the picture was taken on a trip she took to the Holy Land when she was in her late 70’s. Now what you need to know about my Grandmother is that she didn’t like to fly, but she flew half way across the world because she wanted to experience first hand the history of the Holy Land. While faith was important to my Grandmother, what I love about this picture is that it reminds me that it was later in her life that she began to explore the person of Jesus. I remember talking to her about the Shroud of Turin and she was fascinated thinking that it could have been the burial cloth of Jesus. I think going to the Holy Land helped take her faith in God and trust in Jesus to a new place – and that happened in her 70’s and she overcome her fear of flying to be able to experience it.

Part of the legacy of my Grandmother’s life is that she shows me it is never too late to build a stronger relationship with God, but the picture reveals even more of her legacy because she is riding on a camel. My Grandmother didn’t just leave a legacy of faith; she left a legacy of how important it is to live a full and active life. From riding a camel to helicopter rides into Hawaiian Volcanoes, my Grandmother rose above many of her fears to experience all she could in life. She was not going to let things pass her by. Even though she didn’t like to fly, she wanted to see new places and experience new things. That desire to experience all of life was also see in her love of learning. During a time when many women didn’t go to college, she graduated from Vassar College with a degree in math and horticulture. Part of the legacy she left behind was a passion to learn and to experience all there was to experience in life.

Even when she moved into a retirement center in her 80’s she continued to learn and experience new things in life. She started to volunteer in school and it was from working with elementary school children that she learned how to use a computer; in fact, they were the ones who taught her how to use a computer. The legacy my Grandmother left in me was to not be afraid to step out and experience new things in life and to embark on new adventures. The legacy of her life inspires me and the witness of her faith encourages me to keep building my own relationship with God and to remember that it is never too late to experience more of God’s love and grace.

What kind of legacy are we forming today in our children and grandchildren? How is the witness of our lives shaping the lives of those around us? What kind of legacy are we leaving behind in the church? These are important question because God calls all of us to leave behind a strong legacy. The last recorded words of Jesus before he was taken up into heaven are found in Acts 1. Jesus says, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So we will be a witness to Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn’t invite us to be a witness, he says we will be one; it is a statement of fact. In one way or another we will be a witness to Jesus; the question is what kind of witness will we be?

In Hebrews 12 we heard that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and the lives of these people inspire us to run the race of faith with perseverance and strength. Now the witnesses that the author of Hebrews talks about are the great men and women of faith from Israel’s past that he had just outlined in Hebrews 11, and as we reflect on their lives we begin to see the kind of legacy we need to be cultivating today. The first section of Hebrews 11 (v. 1-28) contains the names and the stories of men like Noah, Abraham and Moses. When we think of these 3 great men of faith there is one thing that jumps out at us, each one of them was willing to leave behind a way of life that was safe and secure to follow God.

When God called Noah to build an ark he was calling him to leave behind his quiet and ordinary life. Can you imagine the ridicule that Noah must have endured when he suddenly starts building an ark in his backyard? And when people ask him, hey Noah what you doing? What are you going to do with that big boat? Can you imagine how hard it must have been for Noah to tell them that he was going to fill it with two of every animal and wait for a world wide flood to come and destroy the earth? It is not easy to be teased and misunderstood and you have to believe that Noah was teased and misunderstood. How much easier it would have been for him to just continue to go about his safe and quiet life, but he didn’t. Noah heard the call of God and he followed Him, and so did Abraham and Moses.

Both Abraham and Moses were called by God to leave the safety and security of their homes in order to follow God into a new life. God called Abraham to leave his home and his family and go to a land that god would show him. In other words, God didn’t say, here is the map that will lead you to your new home, God said, leave your home - start your journey and then I will show you where you are going. How hard it must have been to leave behind the security of what he knew to step out into the great unknown, and yet he did.

Moses was also called to leave behind safety, comfort and security to become the leader of God’s people. When God calls Moses to lead the people of Israel, Moses was living with his wife and her family in the mountains and he was quietly living the life of a shepherd. Moses had already given up all the rights and privileges of Pharaoh’s palace that he had enjoyed earlier in his life, and now God was calling him to leave behind the quiet and secure life of tending sheep to go back to Egypt and lead the people of Israel out of slavery. So the legacy Moses leaves us, the witness of his life is a willingness to leave behind wealth and privilege and safety and security in order to faithfully follow God. That’s the common witness of Moses, Abraham and Noah. Their legacy is one of being willing to give up comfort and security to follow God. That’s the witness that not only surrounds us today but needs to inspire us in our own lives and faith. Are we willing to leave behind comfort and security in order to step out in faith and trust?

Now the second section of Hebrews 11 contains the names of people like Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and what these men have in common is that they were all great leaders in Israel’s history. Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and David all led armies into battle and many times they led their armies into seemingly impossible situations with only their faith and trust in God to help them be victorious. These men were asked to do the impossible by simply trusting in the power of God – and they did. .

That’s the story of Gideon. Gideon was called by God to lead the people of Israel against their enemy the Midianites. When God called Gideon the army of Israel numbered 32,000 men. So Gideon had a good sized army to go to into battle, but God said it was too big, so 22,000 men went home leaving Gideon with 10,000 men. While that was still a sizable force, God said again there were too many men, so Gideon separated them out again and this time sent 9,700 men home. Gideon now has an army of 300 men, about 1% of his original army and with those men God tells Gideon to go into battle and trust in the power of God to help them win. Gideon does and Gideon wins. The legacy of Gideon and the witness of these other men of faith is that we can find victory when we step out and attempt great things for God not because we are strong but because God is strong and God is with us.

So according to Hebrews 12 we are surrounded by this witness. The legacy given to us by these great men and women of faith is to set aside what is comfortable and embrace a life of faith that stretches us and challenges us to trust God more. But there is another witness we need to consider, look at Hebrews 12:2-3. To be strong in our faith we also need to consider the legacy given to us by Jesus and there is no better place to see that legacy than in communion.

Communion is a time where we reflect on the life of Jesus and part of what we need to do while we share in this meal is figure out how we can follow this example in our own lives. Think back to the night that Jesus celebrated the last supper with his disciples, before he broke the bread and gave the cup he first washed their feet and after he did he said, I have set for you an example, you should do as I have done. I don’t think Jesus is saying that we should wash each other’s feet, I think he is saying that we need to serve one another and be willing to humble ourselves in love and sacrifice ourselves for the needs and well being of others. That’s the legacy Jesus leaves behind when he washes feet and breaks the bread and shares the cup, and it is the legacy he leaves when he carries a cross.

The legacy of Jesus is a legacy of love, service and sacrifice and we need to consider how to make that way of life the foundation of our own lives. What will it look like for us to wash the feet of those around us? What will it look like for us to become the bread and the cup for the world today? What does it mean for us to deny ourselves and take up a cross? This is the legacy given to us by Jesus and this witness needs to give light to how we order and live our lives.

Today we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. There are those who have been part of our lives and shown us how to live, but there are also those ancient men and women of faith whose lives continue to be an example for us to follow, and then there is the legacy of Jesus that we see in this meal. Will we use all of their lives as inspiration and guidance as we consider the legacy we are creating today? In Hebrews 13:7 it says, Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Can we step out in faith like Noah, Abraham and Moses? Will we attempt great things for God like Gideon, Samson and David? Will we serve, give, sacrifice and love like Jesus? We have a great cloud of witnesses who have spoken the word of God to us, may we imitate their lives and leave behind a strong legacy of faith for all who will follow us.