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Prospect United Methodist Church, 2387 Westwood Road, Mechanicsville, VA (2026)

12/17/2023

May God bless you and your family this holiday season. Merry Christmas from Prospect Church!

05/06/2023

SERMON: SPIRITUAL NOT RELIGIOUS
May 7
SCRIPTURE:
James 1:26-27 NLT
“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

Colossians 2:8 NLT
“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”

INTRO:
I was driving along on 95, on my way home early that day, in 2008, from customer meetings in Downtown Richmond, my cell phone rang.

“Joe, it’s Mike, I have something to tell you, I have been diagnosed with MS.”

“Mike, no way, oh man, I am so sorry to hear that.”

Mike and I met in 1980, he and a guitar playing friend of his who had answered an ad I placed at a music store (just outside Philadelphia) for people interested in playing rockabilly music.

They were both almost 10 years older than me, but our birthdays were all around the same time and we clicked, both musically and as friends, we are friends to this day and I consider the guitarist (George) maybe my best friend.

Getting this news from Mike was no different than your sibling delivering tough news. After he told me how he had been losing strength in his hands and always seemed to be exhausted, he went and got tested.

Mike knew the road ahead was going to be long and not pleasant. I told him I would pray for him and keep in touch and he gave me a half hearted thanks.

Back in the early 80’s, the band would have much success and we got to know each others families and, especially, they knew mine as we would play at my fathers bar.

Naturally, I called my mother and she was upset but we both knew of someone that could help, my old Reverend and hers at the time, Reverend Dan.

04/14/2023

SERMON: LETS GET IT RIGHT
APRIL 16

SCRIPTURE:

Colossians‬
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

Acts of the Apostles‬
“Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

INTRO:
A man once confessed to friend in a letter:
“I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best.”

Fifteen years later, this same man would write to the same friend on a very different note: “Christian

10/27/2022

On Saturday November 5th, we’ll be having our annual fall cookout and church service. Service will be at 4pm followed immediately by a cookout/dinner! All are invited!

05/31/2022

SERMON: SETTING THE EXAMPLE TO MAKE DISCIPLES
May 29

SCRIPTURE:
Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭16:16-34‬ ‭
“One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.”

INTRO:
In the spirit of Memorial Day weekend let us reflect on a story you may be familiar with from a movie not too long ago.

He was born in 1919 in Lynchburg, Virginia a devout member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Desmond Doss did not believe in working on the Sabbath or killing and he was a conscientious objector.

Doss was working the Newport News Naval Shipyard when the US entered World War II and he could have easily received a deferment under his religious beliefs and status as a conscientious objector.

But Doss wanted to serve his country and honored his enlistment as he believed that saving lives was more important than taking them and he would pursue serving as a medic in the Army.

As you can imagine, Doss was not a popular man during boot camp. He was ridiculed for his non-violent beliefs, threatened by his fellow Army recruits, had shoes thrown at him while he prayed, and was completely ostracized by his unit.

It was so bad that his Commanding Officers sought to have him discharged for mental illness, but he was steadfast in prayer and steadfast in his determination to serve. When God calls us, there’s no stopping us.

Doss was sent to the Pacific, and all those men who had spent their days in boot camp threatening Doss would come to respect and value the Bible carrying medic.

When the unit, the 77th Infantry Division, landed in Guam, Doss would earn the Bronze Star for Valor as he risked his life to save his comrades under intense fire.

By the time they were sent to Okinawa, any reservations that his fellow soldiers had of him were gone. They believed and trusted that, through God Doss was there for them.

The mission was to overcome the top of the Maeda Enscrapment known as Hacksaw Ridge, facing near obliteration, using cargo net to scale the Ensrapment, Doss would set about scrambling throughout the battlefield, treating and saving men of the 77th.

The fighting had intensified to the point of facing orders to retreat, but on May 5th, 1945 Doss would refuse. There were an estimated 75 soldiers that remained behind at the top of the Enscrapment.

Doss saved these men by lowering them with a special knot he knew how to make and lowered each man from Hacksaw Ridge. Amazingly, he was not wounded.

On May 21 He would be wounded several times, hit by gr***de fragments and shot in the arm by a sniper, but continued to treat soldiers in the field until he was evacuated due to extensive wounds he was suffering.

Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor on October 12, 1945; of the honor Doss replied

“I feel that I received the Congressional Medal of Honor because I kept the Golden Rule that we read in Matthew 7:12. ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’"

POINT 1:
What we see in today’s scripture is both exploitation and the setting for salvation. Let’s begin with the slave girl and the spirit of divination, a spirit that allowed her to see the future. It’s not apparent that she is being hurt, but…she has a demon within her.

If we think about it, she’s not only enslaved by her masters, but her spirit is enslaved to a demon, and that can’t be a good thing, not for her at least, but her owners?

She has become a bankroll for her owners. They exploit her situation for their own personal gain.

Not unlike the exploitation that continues today, exploitation is a huge money maker in the many forms of human trafficking, it brings in $150 billion a year, it’s the exploitation of human beings for profit. Here is an early example of this.

This slave girl follows Paul everywhere, announcing “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”

Wow, you think Paul would be flattered to have a personal announcer everywhere he goes, but she probably becomes a nuisance, a distraction to Paul’s mission, and Paul knows it’s a demon within her, so he does the honorable thing, the Godly thing, and casts this menace from her.

Today, you better believe that if you interfered in a human trafficking ring, if you helped someone escape, although this would be a great achievement, you must be prepared to face danger, and possibly death.

Exploiters don’t care to be exposed or disrupted from their livelihood, and Paul and Silas run head on into this.

Not only have they tinkered with the owners income, they’ve taken away entertainment from the town, they have become agitators.

They have sliced into a corrupt community and have disrupted it. And we’ll come to learn how God will use this disruption.

Because Paul and Silas are here peacefully, they aren’t storming a building, they aren’t forcing themselves on anyone and Pauls act of casting out the demon is an act of mercy, Paul and Silas are here to bring the news of Christ through peaceful measures.

So, after casting out a demon from a young girl, giving her control back over her spirit, after telling the people the good news of Jesus Christ, where does this get them.

They’re thrown in jail because if you take away peoples vices, cut into their livelihood, of course they’ll rid themselves of you, and make sure your punished so they can hold on to the things that don’t even matter.

Isn’t this what was done to Christ? Do we see this going on today?

POINT 2:
Now, Paul and Silas, after being whipped and beaten, are now shackled and sitting in a jail. I don’t imagine this jail is like the jails we have today. This was probably a damp, dark, rat infested hole.

Most people would cry, beg for mercy, plead to be set free, but Paul and Silas? Powered by the Holy Spirit and their belief in Jesus Christ, sit in shackles and sing hymns and spiritual songs.

Their guard hears them, what must he be thinking? Maybe at first he thinks these men are crazy, but there has to be a part of him that’s impressed, moved, intrigued. We’ve whipped them, beat them, chained them, and they sing?

Then an earthquake comes, a little nudge by God we’re sure. The jail doors fly open, the chains come off, the guard is sure his prisoners are gone, a sentence of death for him, he’s ready to commit hari-Kari and plunge his sword into himself.

But Paul stops him, “we’re all here, you don’t have to kill yourself.” Even though they are unjustly beaten and jailed, they adhere to the rules and trust in Christ.

What is the result? The Guard is won over to Jesus.

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds.

“Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.”

Through their trust in Christ, their dedication to peaceful measures, they won over the jailer, his household and made disciples of Christ.

If we remember, Paul’s conversion started, not on the road to Damascus, but in hearing the Martyr Stephen call out to God to forgive the very people who were stoning him to death.

CONCLUSION:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. The beauty of nonviolence is that in its own way and in its own time it seeks to break the chain reaction of evil”

Martin Luther King said this as he lead many in peaceful measures to win Civil Rights.

Kings dedication to peaceful protest and trust in God had turned many perceptions.

As people sat in front of their Black and White televisions watching images of peaceful protesters being blasted with fire hoses, beaten with nightsticks and attacked by dogs, love and pressure would win out and change many hearts and minds.

“Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” This is the mission statement of the United Methodist Church. You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that’s a pretty lofty goal. How do we do that?

If we pay attention to the Gospels, we see how this is done. Paul and Silas, Stephen, Jesus on the Cross, Desmond Doss and Dr. King and his followers.

Some of these are extreme examples, and maybe we won’t have to die or be punished to win others to Christ, but we do have to live His example of peace, love and compassion.

What would you tell someone who approaches you and says, “what must I do to be saved?”

The Interpreters Bible tells us that there are at least four things a person must do to be saved:
1. They must join the Christian Church - no person can be saved part from community in which they live their lives, Christ will make himself known in solitary, but primarily where two or three at gathered.
2. They must learn the fundamental principles which underlie Christian belief and behavior, obtaining at least an elementary knowledge of Christian principles.
3. They must practice daily spiritual exercises through prayer, reading of scripture, devotion, reflection and sacrifice. Christians live in two worlds, the material of bread and butter and the invisible of love, loyalty and sacrifice, to know the invisible world, they must develop spiritual eyes and ears.
4.They must partake in Christian activity, activity that does good for someone else, someone in need, or a public service, or private charity, it must be done out of good works, devoid of the seeking of personal gain or recognition.

To seek to do these four things, to be drawn to the desire to be Christian, they, like Paul, like the Jailer, would have seen in us and our brothers and sisters in Christ a goodness, compassion and sacrifice that so moves them that they begin the journey to salvation in Christ.

Christ will do the saving, we just need to set the example, an example of non-violence of love and peace that is so strong it overcomes all.

‭‭ Jesus' teaching on nonviolence forms the charter for a way of being in the world that breaks the spiral of violence. Jesus Christ reveals a way to fight evil with all our power without being transformed into the very evil we fight. It is a way— the only way possible— of not becoming what we hate.

Like Paul and Silas in the jail cell, let us remain faithful and trusting in God, let us fight for what is right through the means that Jesus Christ professed, conquering bodies with force and might only leads to more of the same, conquering hearts and minds with love and peace, lasts a lifetime. May we Make Disciples in the Name and Spirit of Jesus Christ.

05/09/2022

SERMON: LISTEN
May 1 & May 8

Acts 9:1-8
• 9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 9:3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 9:5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 9:7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
• 1 Timothy‬ ‭2:1-5‬ ‭‬
• “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

INTRO:

Does anyone know the name, Chuck Colson? He passed away at 80 years old in 2012, but he was a testament to the calling of God in our lives. Billy Graham said this about him:

"For more than 35 years, Chuck Colson, a former prisoner himself … had a tremendous ministry reaching into prisons and jails with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. When I get to heaven and see Chuck again, I believe I will see many, many people there whose lives have been transformed because of the message he shared with them. … I counted a privilege to have called him friend."

So who was Chuck Colson? He got out of the Marine Corps in 1968, graduated from Law School, entered Republican Politics, and one year later was appointed Special Counsel to the newly elected President, Richard M. Nixon.

By 1971, Colson was quoted as saying that he would walk over his own Grandmother to re-elect Nixon. His pride was beginning to show signs of overtaking him.

By 1973, he resigns from the White House, in disgrace over the Watergate Scandal (one of many scandals to come our way the next fifty years), and he becomes a devout Christian, turning his life over to Jesus Christ.

His declaration is met with widespread skepticism from the press. Oh how quick we are to judge.

In 1974, Colson pleads guilty to obstruction of justice and is sent to Federal Prison, he is released in 1975, and vows to never forget the men he served with. He brings a small group of prisoners to DC for a religious retreat.

In ‘76 he founds Prison Fellowship, which would go on to grow into the Nations largest Christian Prison Ministry, he writes a book called Born Again, and by 1979 Prison Fellowship goes International and serves in 100 countries.

In 1983 he founds Justice Fellowship, which call on more restoration among the justice system based on biblical principles.

In 1993 he’s awarded $1Million for the Templeton Prize for progress in religion and he donates all of the money to Prison Fellowship. He would receive the Presidential Citizens Medal, second highest a President can give, from George W. Bush in 2008.

After a career in hardball politics, Chuck Colson emerged as one of the most influential evangelical leaders of the past half century, devoting his life to ministering to prisoners and sharing the Gospel’s message of love and hope to millions.

Chuck Colson said this in 1977:
"In Matthew 25, Jesus says, ‘I was in prison, and you visited me.’ He calls upon His followers to minister to those who are behind bars. In other words, we will be judged in part by the way we treat those who are in prison. The fact that a man has committed a crime, and is paying the price, does not mean that he forfeits his God-given dignity."

From being humbled, imprisoned and disgraced, God called Chuck Colson and he listened, and look what God lead him to do.

POINT 1:

I don’t know if Chuck Colson was a bad man leading up to Watergate, but he was definitely under the influence of pride and power, and in the midst one of the worst places to be, prison, God calls him. Locked away from the world, he was ready to listen.

Was the Apostle Paul an evil man? When he was Saul of Tarsus, he had been a zealous man of Jewish faith, a religious leader, a Pharisee. He was described in one book I read as a bull always charging the cape of a matador.

He saw the people of the Way as a hinderance and blasphemous to God. He saw them as trouble makers and he set out to do the duty he was instructed to do. And he did it in brutal fashion.

Although those acts were evil, such as his overseeing of the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Just like Chuck Colson serving Nixon, I’m sure Saul believed what he was doing was right, that he was doing his duty.

People can allow their skills and talents to become idols, Chuck Colson reveling in the notoriety and prestige of serving in politics, earning a reputation, becoming puffed up.

Saul was overly confident in his mastery of his religion, his status as a Pharisee and accolades he received as a crusher of the People of the Way.

We see people like this and immediately wait for their comeuppance, but God sees them and says, I’ve got them right where I want them.

And when they are humbled He calls them, the talents they have grown through their sinful pride are converted for Gods use, because God has got them in a place they will listen.

We don’t have to be sent to prison to hear Gods call. God will call us, the question is will we answer that call, will we listen? Sometimes we yearn to hear Gods call, we want to listen, but we can’t hear over our own frustrations and impatience.

Aldersgate Street. England, May 24 1738. After dismal experiences in missionary work in the colonies, in Georgia. John Wesley and his brother Charles were lacking faith;

Traveling with Moravians, they were in awe of the faith shown by the Moravians during a storm. As the brothers cowered in fear, the Moravians sang songs of faith and stayed calm. Both brothers befriended and studied the faith of the Moravians.

The Wesleys longed to have the faith of the Moravians, and when Charles was stricken with an illness he prayed for and received his call from God, he would recover and share his experience with his brother who was still seeking a call from God.

That day would come on May 24, 1738. John Wesley was invited to a society function he was not very thrilled to attend, but About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, Wesley said “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

From there on Wesley’s Ministry would become powerful and God would use him to go and do amazing works, with Charles by his side writing hymns, the United Methodist Church would rise from his teachings. God took the Wesley’s from self doubt to self assurance.

POINT 2:
As we read of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, we could say that he was changed in an instant. It is said that God calls some and they are changed in a flash, like the light that hit Paul and blinded him on the road to Damascus.

To be ready to hear Gods call means that our center must be changed.

Maybe some are called and find new life in Christ in an instant, but it is at the core that true conversion and a readiness to hear God comes from. For Paul this happens in the stoning of Stephen.

As Stephen calls out to God for the forgiveness of the raging mob stoning him to death, Saul hears him. He doesn’t speak of it until after his conversion, but he hears Stephen, Jesus calling through him.

There is nothing more powerful in the Christian life than the power to forgive, God speaks through us when we forgive and we have no idea the power of this. This, is the first call to Saul of Tarsus.

Saul is blinded to Christ, and many to this day are blinded to Jesus by their predispositions and preconceptions; but let one of us who believe show unmistakeable signs of Christian character and the scales fall from the eyes skeptics.

When we are called, when we give our lives to Christ and allow our true Christian character to shine through in forgiveness and mercy and compassion, then we allow others to experience what they can’t deny; authenticity, and they are touched and know Christ to be true.

So Paul is twice blinded, first he never sees Jesus for who he really is because he his blinded by his religion, his prominence within mission and his growing notoriety, but in Stephen’s character the first glimmer of light comes through, although he doesn’t speak of it at the time.

He is intentionally blinded by Christ, and when the scales finally fall from his eyes, so do all those things that had blinded him in the past and Saul is ready to become Paul and to do Gods work, because he knows Jesus Christ.

How many of us have come to church all our lives, never really seeing. Blinded by our day-to-day lives, we sit, we see, we hear, but never listen. God is calling. God is pursuing, the question is, are we listening?

CONCLUSION:

William Temple, who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the early part of the 20th Century; once told a graduating class from Oxford: “The most effective thing that the Church of Christ can do in the world, the most effective thing that any individual Christian can do, is to lift up our hearts in adoration to God.”

In his first letter to Timothy, the now Apostle Paul is firmly called by God and doing the works of the Lord, in his good works and throughout the Gospels, Paul consistently reminds us, as in today’s second scripture, of Gods desire for us to pray for peace for all people and that Jesus is our mediator, if we continually go to Christ, we will hear Gods call.

Praying is as much about listening as it is about speaking, how God meets us in our inner life is as much beyond our comprehension as are God’s activities in the world beyond our praying.

Our prayers begin with our faith in a personal God who is concerned with each individual while remaining ever active in the world.

From prison cells, to church services, and wherever our lives take us, we don’t know when or where God will call us, but through our faith and our prayer, like John Wesley, we will be more prepared to hear that call.

We also know that, like the Apostle Paul, or Chuck Colson, it may take a humbling to shake us to His calling.

So, instead of wallowing in sorrow or humiliation over something that may have befallen us, or something we have put ourselves in, pray to God and listen, he may be calling you in these moments, He may have you right where He needs you. In our weakness we are strong.

Be still, pray and listen, God is calling, and I pray we may we all be ready for His call and that we seek Him through the one who has breathed the Holy Spirit upon this World, Jesus Christ. May all of us be called to forever walk in His ways. AMEN

04/11/2022

SERMON: JESUS CHRIST OR COMFORT?
April 10
SCRIPTURE: (PRINT OUT THE SCRIPTURE AND HAVE THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE READ IT)
Luke 19:36-40
19:36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 19:37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,19:38 saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop."19:40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."
Luke 22:14-22
22:14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.22:15 He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;22:16 for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."22:17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves;22:18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."22:19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."22:20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.22:21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.22:22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!"
Luke 23:33-43
23:33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 23:35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,23:37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"23:38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?23:41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."23:43 He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

INTRO:
One of the greatest battles we are fighting today is the battle with convenience and comfort. We are progressing in a world that makes it easy to fall into comfort zones. There’s a lot of tough stuff going on, but we can lose ourselves and escape from it all in our tablets and TV’s.

Why is this? In a recent sermon, we discussed being put to the test. Note that all that the Devil threw at Jesus would have secured His comfort, satisfied His hunger, taken away the cross and given Him rule over all nations. He needed only to serve himself, which we know that Christ ministry is to serve others.

When we are saved by Jesus Christ, we are sometimes shocked to find out that life is still tough, still a hard ride. As we stay the course with Jesus, we find internal peace among the strife and we are able to endure.

There are those who move in and out with Jesus, latching on to him when it’s convenient, when they are in dire need, when all hope is lost do we pray and shout out to Jesus, save us Lord!

Jesus has saved us, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves and at the outset we are grateful and we celebrate, but then this world comes upon us like the Devil in the wilderness, “take up my cross?” As we noted last week, That doesn’t sound very…comforting.

And we ease back into our lives, our jobs, our problems, our comforts, our new idols and then all of a sudden we find that the comfort of life can be fleeting and we’re faced with death, financial hardship, divorce, loneliness and so many things that surround us, so many things that can actually arise from the things we avoid for comfort, and we shout out, Jesus save me!

The point is, Jesus has saved us, but have we accepted that fact, have we chosen to live for Christ or live for comfort? How many times do we have to call out…Hosanna…save us?

POINT 1
In our new modern world, typical attendance for Maundy Thursday Service and Good Friday is generally small. Or, like our church, the church is very small or re-growing and bypasses Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services.

So, it’s safe to say that a majority of Christians go from Palm Sunday, the celebration of Christ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the celebration of his many miracles, to the risen Christ of Easter.

From one celebration to another and we tend to miss all the uncomfortableness of Jesus journey to the cross. Maundy Thursday, the final supper, the washing of the disciples feet, and knowing Jesus will be betrayed is not very comforting.

Even less so, Good Friday, where He is judged a criminal, a rabble rouser, sentenced, flogged, and hung to die, all for us, it’s a tough and uncomfortable reflection. We depart Good Friday service, somber, a real downer to start the weekend…huh? But Palm Sunday, not so bad…right?

Jesus is at the end of His ministry. Fulfilling the prophesy of Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s c**t.”

He rides in on a c**t and is lavished with the welcome of a conquering King. The people shout hosanna, although this is not mentioned in Luke, the other Gospels will tell us that the people shout hosanna.

Hosanna means “save us” and after witnessing His many miracles, the people believed that their savior had arrived. They were filled with comfort and joy at the arrival of the messiah.

He, in fact, had arrived and He would save them, but not as they had envisioned and He would not relieve them of the rule of the Romans, He would not fire up a mighty military or crush oppressors of the time, He was here to save them in their hearts and give salvation, conquer the real enemies, sin and death.

His entry, like life, is both glorious and dreary at the same time. It’s even harder to read of Passion Sunday when we know what is just a few days away.

When Jesus, in the face of abandonment of the same people shouting hosanna, will have to face the people of Jerusalem, who were not believing in His ministry, along with some of the Pharisees and Jewish leaders who saw Him as a threat and spreader of lies.

You see those that are aligning the streets on the entry into Jerusalem are the pilgrims and country people who had followed Jesus and seen His miracles, they flee His side under pressure of those in Jerusalem who looked down on them as low class.

Thus, when those insiders arrested Jesus and brought Him to trial, the former supporters likely felt intimidated by the authority of the leaders within Jerusalem.

Supporting someone is much easier when there's a reduced chance of being imprisoned for it (Think about Peter's denials before the C**k would crow three times). And perhaps some of those wrapped up in the enthusiasm for Jesus were just as quickly wrapped up in the fervor against Him.

POINT 2:
So, we enjoy this brief moment of joy, this Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, where we recognize Jesus Ministry. We fold our Palm into crosses and carry them with us. And many of us go on about our week until we return on Easter to celebrate His triumph and resurrection.

And we gloss over the unpleasant price that Christ pays for us. Come Maundy Thursday, Christ gathers the Apostles for the Last Supper, he will also, in an act to accentuate the meaning of His Ministry, wash the feet of His disciples.

He will wash the feet of Peter, who will deny Him and Judas who will betray Him. And He leaves us with the words that sum up Christ Ministry and what it means if we are to claim to be Christian as recorded in the 13th Chapter of the Gospel of John:

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

Jewish leaders feared Jesus because of his growing followers. With the help of Judas Iscariot, Roman soldiers arrested Jesus and he was put on trial for claiming to be the king of the Jews. According to Roman law, the punishment for rebellion against the king was death by crucifixion.

He was placed before Pontius Pilate, who could find no wrong doing in Jesus, so to offer an out for Jesus He gave the crowd a choice, set free Jesus or Barabbas, a murderer and criminal, and the crowd shouts for Barabbas and shouts to crucify Christ.

Instead of doing in his heart what he knows is right, Pilate gives the crowd what they want to avoid any disruption and Christ is not only crucified, but beaten and humiliated in the process, and some of His final words as God in human form is; “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they are doing,” and also “It is done.”

CONCLUSION:
How hard it is to sit back and reflect on this week ahead. Of course, Easter is the hope and joy of the victory of Jesus Christ, where we can celebrate all that He has done for us, allowing us a path way and choice to salvation, a forgiveness and victory over sin.

But, many of us tend to gloss over what it took for Him to deliver this for us. Maybe it’s because we see how little we have changed in these thousands of years since Christ walked this earth. Maybe because it’s just too uncomfortable.

The Good News is that, even in our avoidance of discomfort, in our pondering of picking up our cross, Jesus loves us, and He waits for us, and if we really choose Him…well…it may not always be comfortable on this earth, but the glory that awaits is.

All Christ has done for us was to give us that choice, He doesn’t rule over us to force it, He wants us to realize His love for us, and make the choice from our hearts.

This week, whether you attend a service or not, take time on Thursday and Friday to reflect on the pain and suffering Jesus endured for us, and on Easter, feel the joy of His victory for us. When the choice is before us, we pray we choose Christ over comfort.

Lord, thank you, there’s is nothing we can do to earn your favor, you secured this for us…on the cross…all we can do is put our faith, hope and love in You, always joyful even when it’s uncomfortable. Amen!

Prospect United Methodist Church

12/17/2023

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