Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church

Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church Pastor: Rev. Lance Ness
Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church
208 Market St., Pocomoke City, MD 21

Worship 11am

Men's Group at Beaver Dam, Fri.6AM

PC Women meet the first Thursday of every Month at 1:30

05/27/2026

Memorial Day

04/30/2026

“The Next Step” Acts 2:42-47 John 10:1-10
When you were in school, how many of you heard of Thomas Edison? Probably most of us.
Edison was famous for - The electric light bulb. The phonograph. Motion pictures. By the end of his life Edison held 1093 patents.
Over the years I have learned some interesting things about Edison. There were actually 20 people who invented something akin to an electric light before Edison, but he is the one who made serious improvements that made it affordable and practical. Were you taught this as a child?
Other people invented the DC electric generator and electric motor. Edison simply made major improvements in all these things and more. Were you taught these things as a child?
As a child I never heard of Nikoli Tesla. Today a lot of us are becoming aware of how great his contributions were to our modern world.
For a short time Tesla worked for Edison. It was a tense relationship. After this there was a bit of rivalry between Tesla and Edison. Tesla perfected AC current, which is far more useful than DC current and it is what we use today. He also made some major innovations that are part of our modern world. Even now we are making new innovations because of Tesla’s studies. In fact we are investigating his theory that electricity can be transmitted without wires.
We really cannot diminish the importance of Edison, but the reason he is so well known, while others have been left behind in history, is partly because of the sheer number of inventions.
But Edison had something else. Edison encouraged a young Henry Ford to pursue gasoline powered cars instead of electric. When Ford’s wealth far surpassed Edison’s he supported him. Ford rebuilt Edison’s lab after a fire. Took him on highly publicized trips. Made his lab part of the Deerfield village in Dearborn Michigan. Ford pretty well guaranteed people would know who Edison was.
Whereas Nikoli Tesla died poor, crazy, and his many innovations largely forgotten.
Edison’s legacy lives on partly because someone loved him, someone believed in his importance, and someone went to great lengths to make sure the world would never forget the name Edison and what he did for us all.
Imagine if Jesus had lived his life much the way he did, but he did not allow people to follow him. Imagine Jesus performing the same miracles; healing people, calming a storm, even raising a few people from the dead, then dying and rising from the grave himself, but when he ascended he had no disciples, no large crowds following him, no one writing down his teachings, and he left behind no instructions for the future. Where would Christianity be today?
It might not even exist. Christianity may have died when Jesus rose from the dead because if there was no group of followers, no trained disciples, no instructions, who would have carried his words into the future?
Jesus began the work. But someone had to be here to take the next step.
And those next steps were essential. One of the reasons I have written about the early church is because it was such a crucial time for Christianity. Obviously Jesus built the foundation. He gave them what they needed to know. Then he gave them the motivation and the call to go and do his work. To carry the message throughout the world. To make disciples of all nations.
This would not be an easy task. Most of the Jewish leaders were very hostile to Jesus. They would not appreciate his movement continuing after his death. The Romans may not have cared about Christianity, at least for a while, but they would soon see this new faith as a problem.
And the early church would find itself in world where the moral standards were quite revolting to the teachings of Jesus. P**n, prostitution, decadence was widespread. Throwing human beings to wild animal, making human being kill one another, were common types of entertainment in the Roman Empire.
In my screenplay I deliberately avoid most social issues, and for many reasons. But I do touch on one. Today, the horrific reality of clergy harming children has been well documented and well reported, and it is all true.
In the first century in the Roman Empire, harming children was actually illegal, but people found ways to tap dance around the law; such as “when exactly is a child still a child”? And a lot of people looked the other way when teachers were alone with children. And slaves were not exactly human beings so masters could do whatever they wanted.
I have found proof the early church fought against it. There is evidence early Christian groups would actually kick people out for doing that. In a world that found a way to tolerate such behavior, early Christians said no.
This is where we started. In a world that said yes, Christians said no and faced the challenge of holding on to their faith and morals when the world was saying, “just do what you want to do.” This was one of the steps of the early church after Jesus.
In the first century when plague broke out in a town people would often run fast, run far, and stay away. Early Christians often went into towns where there had been an outbreak of plague. They risked their own lives, and some did indeed die, but they saved lives.
Even though leprosy was a dreaded disease, and some kinds are contagious, some Christians dared to go to lepers and help them.
Jesus dared to eat with tax collectors, prostitutes and other sinners; people Jews despised. Some Christians dared to do the same even in Jewish territory. They risked being hated, ostracized, maybe even attacked by hateful people, - But they did it to love their neighbors and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, because Jesus came into this world for all people, even the most vile among us.
Early Christians often had to survive in secret. They often had to hide from others. But they endured. How? Maybe Acts gives us the answer.
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
The early church found strength by following the teachings of the disciples. By having fellowship with each other. They broke bread together, and they prayed together.
This was the early church. This is where we came from. This was the next step after the Resurrection and Jesus ascension into heaven.
Someone followed through, started Christian groups so believers could gather, pray, and find strength in one another.
In some ways they were saying, “if we can’t see him then it’s up to us to do the things he did. It’s time for us to teach the message and bring salvation to the world.”
Sadly, when people organize it can make problems. The organization takes on a mind of it’s own, and even the best people will bring their issues to a group; even into a church.
This is why some people reject church, they hate “organized religion.” But where would we be without some kind of organization?
For us, it is not too late to look to the past and learn from that organization. We can see the first century church and rediscover who we are supposed to be. Perhaps for us the next step forward is to take a step backward and learn from our past.
Like them, we must focus on Jesus, focus on prayer, focus on word and fellowship. Focus on loving one another.
Jesus is Lord. Jesus is savior. Jesus is God incarnate.
But we wouldn’t be here if human beings hadn’t taken the next step and started the church. This is where we started. This is what we can be again if we let God be our guide.
In Jesus’ name.

04/21/2026

When we say the original Apostle’s Creed it contains a verse that many find very odd; “(Jesus) descended into Hell.” Many people really do not like saying it. It makes some people uncomfortable. It offends people and it definitely confuses us. What does it really mean? How could Jesus go to Hell? As usual there is more than one way to interpret the sentence.
Today many churches have a creed that reads “he descended to the dead.” That might mean he was simply dead for a few days, in the same way we all die. Or perhaps it means Jesus went into some kind of underworld that wasn’t exactly eternal flames, just a place where the dead waited for Resurrection.
But there are other very amazing ideas about what it means. One is that Jesus literally went into Hell, the eternal fire, home of the Devil and his demons, and that he preached his message to the souls in Hell. This interpretation could mean he gave even people in Hell itself an opportunity to believe in him and be set free. The teaching then goes on to say that Jesus did this for the 3 days. Then, on the third day, Jesus broke out of Hell. Even Hell itself could not hold Jesus for more than 3 days. Imagine the possibility that Jesus had the power to break out of Hell itself and even liberate souls from the eternal flames.
Today we often say Jesus broke the powers of Hell and death. If someone can break out of Hell then you know Satan’s power is broken.
I am not saying this interpretation is literally true but the belief behind it indicates it came from people with a deep and powerful faith. It came from people who have seen the powers of darkness in this world break because of the power of Jesus.
People will certainly question our beliefs but there is no question evil has been overcome by Jesus. People have broken out of their own personal Hell because of their faith in Jesus. There is no question the Word of Jesus has changed this world.
And it didn’t begin with people believing he rose from the dead. It came from people who said, “I have seen the risen Lord.” It came from witnesses who said they literally saw and touched and ate with Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. They saw the power of Hell and death broken because Jesus lived again. And this same Jesus lives with us still, setting people free from the powers of Hell and death
Praise be to God

04/13/2026

Hello. It looks like I may have control of this page again.

11/22/2024

We can move mountains - James 2:14-26 Matthew 17:14-23
Martin Luther, the great reformer, believed very heavily in the teachings of Paul. We are not saved by rituals or animal sacrifice. We are not saved by family or background. We are not saved by our Good works. Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul says clearly, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” And there are more.
Luther did not like the book of James. He called it “The Epistle of Straw.” Luther believed in faith and faith alone as the way of salvation.
The book of James may have been written by James, the actual brother of Jesus, who led the church in Jerusalem. There is plenty of evidence of some tensions between early Christian churches. Of course they didn’t have one New Testament to rely on. And there is evidence of some tension between Paul and James. Paul emphasized faith alone while James says that real faith is expressed in our works.
What if we were to ask Paul, “shouldn’t our faith lead us to doing good works?” Would Paul say, “No”? Of course not. On the contrary, Romans 12:20-21: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[5] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” These are works, and these are things Christians should do.
James emphasized good works. Not because the good works are what bring salvation, but the good works may be proof of the godliness in us, and if we have faith it will push us to do good works.
Years back, when we first started learning about the dangers of cholesterol a lot of people switched from real butter to margarine, because it had no cholesterol. Now science teaches us margarine might be more harmful to our hearts, so people switch back to real butter. Some people feel we shouldn’t wear certain types of clothing because they may be “too revealing” or maybe “just ridiculous” and people will ridicule us.
In the same way beliefs can influence our diet, our clothing, or other anything else, so our belief in God is supposed to influence what we do.
But the belief alone is not enough. A belief alone is not faith.
James makes an incredibly scary warning in James 2:19 - even demons believe in God. Of course they do. God is their enemy. They fight against God’s will. They are expelled by the word of God. They definitely believe, but that hardly means they are saved.
Obviously Faith does start with believing. But a belief is just a belief. Despite all the modern science and all the skepticism, plenty of people today still believe in God. But that alone is not faith.
Maybe I believe there is a dinosaur living in Loch Ness. What influence does that have on my life? I might want to visit one day. Maybe read up on the theories, but my direction in life, how I relate to other people, whether I do good works or not, will not be changed by this belief.
Despite all the modern science and all the skepticism, plenty of people today still believe in God. What does it mean to them? Does it show in their lives? How does it change their lives or guide them?
In fact I’ve read a lot of people actually believe in hell and the devil, but that doesn’t make much of a difference in their lives. Imagine believing in an evil enemy of God, and an after life of torment, but even that doesn’t drive them into church in droves to learn about salvation. Belief alone is not enough. Belief alone is not faith.
James never says “good works are what save you.” He says that the good works are an outward sign of your faith. What if we are alone on a desert island? What good works can we do for others? Not much, but we can have faith.
Faith is taking this belief, and making it a major part of who and what we are. Faith is not just taking a belief into our heads. Faith is making the belief part our very being. Faith is living by the beliefs. Faith is allowing these beliefs to guide our hearts, minds, and then letting our hearts and minds influence our behaviors. Faith is allowing the beliefs to guide our decisions.
My last superintendent in the UMC was a man I had many serious disagreements with. He is the man who served 2 churches in 30 years and he brought great growth to his churches. Both churches went from attendance around 40 to attendance around 200. That’s great.
Unfortunately he expected the rest of us to bring great growth to our churches as well and he made our lives miserable doing it. I think 1 reason he was so hard on us is he was tired of “retreat,” tired of pastors and churches just giving up. He felt if he could bring phenomenal growth then the rest of us should be able to bring some. I truly feel he was a lousy DS, but I applaud him for his skills as pastor, and his passion and determination to bring growth. And I appreciate he had great faith. Faith that had power.

Martin Luther believed and it caused him to defy the church, stand up for his beliefs, refuse to back down even when threatened with death.. He did good works – he taught people about God. He helped people build a new kind of church. He spread the word. Those are works.
James did not dismiss faith. Jammes 2:22 he comments our faith is “made complete” by our actions. He felt real faith is both.
And there is still more to faith than belief and making that belief live in you. Faith is also about trust. Even when things seem to be hopeless faith tells us to trust in God, that God will win in the end.
I mentioned being on a desert island. We obviously cannot do good deeds for others from there. But we can believe in God, believe in Jesus, believe in salvation, and also trust that God is in control. Even on a desert island, or in a prison, or under attack, trust that God knows and that God’s will is going to happen.
Christians have been hated, persecuted, killed. Sometimes Christianity has even been pushed out of a country. But trust means God is still God. Trust that our faith still matters. Trust that God can take the most horrible of situations and turn it around.
When we face pain and hardship in this world, when we face fear, discouragement, and thinking “we can’t do it,” faith is trusting that God will act. Faith is believing God still has a reason for us to be here. Faith is trusting God will eventually show us the way through the future.
We may never literally cast out a demon, or move a mountain, but faith leads to great things. The early church conquered the Roman empire by love, by faith, and with the Word of God. Despite the hate and persecution the church stayed faithful. They kept trusting in God.
Thanksgiving is coming. Pilgrims showed a lot of faith to cross the ocean in a creaky little boat, during storm season. Some must have been frightened, discouraged, and filled with doubt by the spring because more than half of the people died in the winter.
But faith worked a few miracles. What were the odds of finding a great place to land? What were the odds of finding Squanto, a native who spoke fluent English; a man who could teach them to survive?
Once the Plymouth colony was well established it became a door that opened wide for the rise of America as a free nation. By faith the Pilgrims did move some mountains.
And we can move some mountains if we have faith. People hunger for God. We can find them and share faith.
Churches are shrinking? Growth begins by believing God is still God and God is still with us.
Faith is swallowing our belief, filling our whole being with it. Faith is letting the belief guide our lives so we act out our beliefs.
Faith is trusting in God to keep God’s promises.
Faith is knowing there are things we cannot do but with God miracles can happen.
So let us not just believe but live by the belief. Let us make Jesus the Lord and center of our lives.
In Jesus’ name.

11/21/2024

The Apostle Paul: Misogynist or Feminist?
Who was Paul? Paul began life as a Jewish man named Saul. Saul was a very devout, very pious, Jewish man living in first century Israel. When the Christian faith began to rise Saul felt Christianity was a heretical movement and he persecuted Christians. He takes on the task of arresting Christians, and even approved of the ex*****on of a Christian. Until, one day, he underwent an incredible transformation experience and he became a Christian himself.
Not only did Saul become a Christian he would change his name to Paul and he would go on to become one of the greatest evangelists of all time and one of the most important figures in the Christian faith. Most of the New Testament was written by Paul and his writings are essential to modern Christian theology, teachings and practice.
But Paul is also a controversial character in the first century. One issue many people have with him is the allegation that he demeaned women.
In First Corinthians 11, Paul tells his readers that man is the head of the woman, and women should have their heads covered in the church gatherings. In 1 Corinthians 14:34, Paul tells women to “be quiet in church.” One of his most famous (or perhaps infamous) teachings comes from Ephesians 5:22, where he tells wives to “submit to your husbands” or “be subject to your husbands.”
It is because of writings like these that Paul often gets labeled as a misogynist, sexist or chauvinist. Is that a fair and accurate assessment of who Paul really was? Or is there more to the story?
There are 13 letters in the New Testament that Paul is credited with writing. In many of them Paul speaks very highly of women. In Romans 16:1, Paul refers to a woman named Phoebe as a “deacon of the church in Cenchreae.” In the original Greek the word Paul uses is “diakonos” from which the modern word “deacon” is derived. The word essentially means “servant.”
In Philippians 1:1 Paul writes to the Christians at Philippi and addresses the “overseers and deacons.” Although we do not have full understanding of early church hierarchy it is pretty clear deacons held some position of leadership. (In the same way today we refer to many church leaders as “minister” which basically means “to serve.”) In Acts 6:5 seven men are mentioned by name and chosen to be diakonos; deacons. The same word is also applied to several women in the New Testament; Phoebe and Mary in Romans 16, Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18, Apphia in Philemon 1, and others.
Ephesians 5 is an excellent example of our tendency to only see what we want to see. For some reason people readily quote Ephesians 5:22, “wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands,” but then totally ignorant of the verse immediately before it. If we back up just one sentence we read in Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Paul does not start this section of his writing by pushing women down into second class status. He starts by telling husbands and wives “submit to one another” as if it is an equal requirement.
Only after this does Paul tell women to submit to their husbands. Following this Paul tells husbands, verse 25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” The demand he places on the husband is in many ways far more extreme than “submit.” He tells husbands love your wives just like Christ loved the church. How did Jesus love the church? He gave up his life for us all. Paul is placing this huge burden on men.
Perhaps one of the most revolutionary writings in Paul’s letters is found in Galatians 3:28; “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul takes many common beliefs and essentially throws them out the window. Jews used to see themselves as God’s chosen people, therefore Greeks and other non-Jews were inferior. Obviously men saw themselves as superior to women and free people saw themselves as superior to slaves. Paul writes that Jesus does not care about any of these things. In Christ we are all equal.
So why do we see this apparent contradiction in the New Testament? Why does Paul seem to be inconsistent in his writings regarding the status of women?
There are several possibilities.
I. Paul’s views evolved.
Although it is hard to accurately date the books of the New Testament, many scholars believe Corinthians was written about 55 A.D. and Ephesians was written after 60 A.D. So perhaps during that short time period Paul’s views on what role women should play in the Church had changed. That is possible, however we cannot prove it and since there are scholars who date Galatians as being written before 50 A.D. it seems to contradict the theory that Paul’s views changed over time.
II. It Was Not Really Paul.
Through my seminary education I learned that not all the writings that are attributed to Paul may not have actually been written by the true Paul. In the first century it was not considered plagiarism or deception to place a famous person’s name on your writing. In fact it would have been seen as a great honor. (If I had lived back then and put Paul’s name on my writing I would, in a sense, be saying, “I honor Paul so I am stating that he is the real author of my writing.”) Because there are some differences in writing styles between the supposed writings of Paul it is possible not all of them were written by the actual Paul. If that is true some of these other writers probably had differing opinions as to what the status of women should have been.
III. Christianity was not a Uniform faith.
One thing that is absolutely certain is the early churches were a very diverse group. First century Christianity did not have one Bible. One group of Christians might possess one of the 4 gospels, another might have a different gospel, while another might have had a gospel that the Council of Nicea rejected when they were compiling the New Testament. Some communities might have had no gospels but a few writings of Paul, while others had never even heard of Paul. And some groups had to rely on oral traditions more than anything in writing.
And these early Christian communities arose in very different areas. Imagine a Christian community arising in Egypt while another is rising in Greece. These groups would have come from people with very different backgrounds, beliefs, traditions, so there is no doubt they would approach Christianity in different ways. You might say they were looking at Jesus through “different lenses.” Early churches would have approached such issues as the role of men and women differently. So, if Paul was literally teaching the Galatian Chhristians, “In Christ there is no male or female,” and at the same time telling women in Corinth to keep their heads covered and be quiet in church, it might have been because these two churches approached male and female issues differently and Paul altered his message to reach the people where they were. Perhaps Paul did not preach a “one size fits all” message; his writings may have been “tailor made” for the audience.
Regardless of what you may believe, one thing about Paul is absolutely clear; Paul elevated women in the same way Jesus elevated women. In the first century there were Jewish schools of thought that not only looked down on women as inferior, some questioned whether women really had souls. In a land with a mind frame like this, Jesus allowed women to join his group. Jesus deliberately preached to women. Jesus allowed women to touch him which a good Rabbi would have found abhorrent. When he rose from the dead, the first witnesses to his empty tomb were women. According to the gospel of John, the first person to actually see Jesus after he rose from the dead was a woman; Mary Magdalene.
Based on the fact that he was a follower of Jesus Christ, and based on his overall teachings about women, modern readers might want to disparage Paul for some of these writings but compared to most of the world of the first century AD, I would argue that Paul was a feminist. In the first century, Paul might have been elected as President of the “National Organization of Women.” Calling women “deacons” and greeting them with such love and respect as he did indicates that Paul was elevating women to a far higher status than almost any other man did in that age. Jesus, Paul and others clearly told the world women were human beings made in the image of God, just like a man. Women had souls, just like a man. And women did indeed teach and preach and serve in positions of leadership in early churches. In many ways the equal rights movement owes a lot to Jesus and those who followed him.

06/11/2024

An average American walks down the road past 2 church signs.
One church sign reads, "Jesus is Lord."
The other reads, "Jesus is pretty good."
Which church will the average American consider joining?

11/03/2023

A Sermon On Joy

Ephesians 2:1-10
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

John 9:1-12
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.


“Out of the Darkness” Ephesians 2:1-10 John 9:1-12
It’s important for a pastor to not put too much of themselves into the service. This is God’s time, not pastor time. That’s why I often pray, “Lord, put me aside…”
But sometimes I have to put a little more of myself into the service. Such as, Why did I become a pastor? Why am I here?
I have talked a little about my story sometimes. A big part of the story starts with my childhood. I can’t say I had a very unhappy childhood. But there was a good amount of sadness in my life. I may have been a joker even then but sometimes jokes are to cover up the pain. Life can be unfair and I was often depressed and very angry at life.
Then, one day, when I was 18, I saw the light. I gave my life to God. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior without understanding what that really meant back then, and definitely not what it would mean in my future. But I did it, and my life began to change. I did not understand what “Born Again” meant at the time but apparently it means when you let God into your life your entire life can change.
The day you were born a human being came into this world as a baby. Babies are very needy; very much centered on themselves. Hopefully as time goes by we learn there is a huge world out there that we are supposed to be part of so we start to develop who we are and what we will be eventually. That is what it means to be born into this world and into this life.
And as you all know, sometimes life after birth can be painful and it can have harmful effects on you. But then when we let Jesus into our hearts we change. Life can take whole new directions. We find ourselves guided by something else. We start to develop different beliefs, different attitudes toward the world. You can actually become a new person. It is like being born into a new you and even a whole new world.
Do you become perfect? Of course not. I had to learn the hard way a few times that parts of the old me is still here. I do have a temper that I keep under control. I still have my days when I get very sad. And some old habits are hard to break. But I am not the same person. When I gave my life to God I began to know who and what I was supposed to be. And I found a great deal of joy in knowing I was forgiven, and knowing I was loved by God.
So, one reason I became a pastor is I wanted to share the message that made me whole. I wanted to share the message that brought me a lot of relief, and a lot of joy.
Maybe that’s why John 9 is one of my favorite stories from the Bible. A man was born blind. What was his life like? Far worse than it is for a blind person today, that is certain.
When they met the man the first thing his disciples asked him is, “why was this man born blind?” That’s a fair question. Jesus had taught of a loving and benevolent God. Why would God allow something like this?
The standard answer at the time was, “it must have been sin.” Someone must have offended God. It makes sense. Anger God and the wrath of God falls on you. That seems logical.
So when a child was born with a disability it must have been sin. The parents probably sinned in some way. It makes sense, but what if the parents seemed like good and righteous people? What sin did they commit that many others with healthy children didn’t?
So some people developed the belief that perhaps the baby blasphemed, cursed God, before it was ever born. That sounds ridiculous but it might explain a few things.
In any case this boy would have been an outcast. Either he sinned or his parents sinned, so these are people to stay away from. Other children were probably cruel to him, or avoided him. His family might have been looked down on. It must have been a very lonely, very painful life.
When the disciples ask Jesus that question, “Was it his sins or his parents sins that caused him to be blind,” the blind man might very well have felt like life was kicking him again. It was probably a question that he was hit with many times.
Even though we call ourselves Christians, and even though we know Jesus said something different, that old belief, that pain and suffering is because of sin, still lingers. I have heard it before.
Why do we believe it? How many of us are a little over 21? Maybe 30 or 40? How many of us wear glasses? Or a hearing aid? How many of us have chronic pain? Maybe trouble walking? Sooner or later life hits us all with a disability: heart disease, diabetes, brittle bones, loss of energy and strength. Are these the results of our sins? If they are then why does the Bible tell us to honor and respect our elders? Because disability is not God’s wrath. We are mortal. We live in imperfect bodies and we live in this very imperfect world. Pain, illness, disability, sadness, loss, and even death, are just part of life.
So Jesus came up with a very radical and revolutionary, explanation. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” A man born blind is not a curse; it’s an opportunity.
The Bible says one day God called Abraham to pick up everything and move west because God had a special blessing for him. Since Abraham was in his 90s when God called he probably was a little disabled. Moses and Joshua were both over 100 years old when they were still leading the people. Age must have been effecting them, but God was with them. Pains, illness, loss, these give God an opportunity to work a wonder, and they give us a chance to see a miracle.
Beethoven was almost completely deaf when he wrote his 9th symphony. When he stood up there to conduct it there is no way he could have heard how the orchestra really sounded. He conducted by following the music in his head.
FDR couldn’t walk without help. He usually hid the fact that he was in a wheelchair because he didn’t want people to see him as a cripple. Even then many people often did not respect those who had a disability. Despite weak legs and hiding his disability, he became one of the most important Presidents in US history.
It was only after I became a born again Christian I learned I had a skill with Philosophy. Growing up, my best classes were math, science and history. I was a C student in English for most of my education. Today I’m a pastor and also a writer.
I’m sure when the man born blind was given his sight the first thing that crossed his mind was probably not, “I wonder what job I should look for” or “what kind of education should I look for.” The first thing in his mind was probably shock, disbelief, questions, and very soon -JOY. He met Jesus and he found incredible joy.
And a truly new life would come to him. According to church traditions the man would eventually become a Christian. One day Simon Peter would send him west. It is said he founded a church in what is now southern France and eventually became known as Saint Celedonius.
That’s a message worth sharing. When we know God we can know incredible joy. So many big troubles in our lives start to become less and less important. Some things that may have seemed scary yesterday don’t seem so scary anymore. Life becomes full of hope, possibility, and love, because God is love. Unhappy people find JOY in Jesus.
Of course there are people in the world who says their lives are fine without God. They find their lives happy and rewarding without faith.
That may be true. But what if I told you something small, something simple, something easy and cheap, could make your life even better, would you listen? Would you give it a try? If I said, “wearing purple sneakers could make your life so much better,” would you do it? Considering how many fads have come and gone I’m sure a lot of people would try it.
Well here’s a new fad for the world, try Jesus. Read the gospels. Read what Jesus said. Talk to some people, like us, to help you understand Jesus better. You might be surprised how even a little Jesus can change your lives.
And I know some people have been wounded by religion. Some churches, some church members, some pastors, have done their damage. We can be close minded and kind of mean no matter how faithful we think we are. For some people the thought of church is repulsive. So instead of preaching church, or preaching the whole bible, what if we preached Jesus?
Jesus says, “God is Love.” Jesus says love is one of the most important things in our lives, if not the most important thing of all. We should love one another, do good for one another. Forgive people who wrong us and try to reconcile with them. Is there any doubt in your minds that we cannot make real and lasting peace if we do not learn to forgive? That is the real Jesus. That is what we preach.
A few days ago my wife and I saw a movie called, “After Death.” It is largely made from the experiences people have from near death experiences. I am sad to say I found it largely dull but the stories are amazing.
Although they are not all the same there are many similarities. They talk about sounds and colors that cannot really be explained with human words. They are part of a far greater reality than this reality. In fact many people come back and report that after their experience this world seems to be the false reality because the other is so much greater and more powerful.
Almost all the stories describe a great light. A light many of them believe is God. What do they tell us about God? One man described the light as like being plunged into an ocean of love. The others also describe an incredible love from this incredible light.
What does the Bible say? “God is love, and in God there is no darkness at all.” Jesus came to the world and said, “I am the light of the world.” These are not exactly religious beliefs or church teachings, this is what God is really made from. God is like living light, living love.
If these stories are true then God is love, we are made from love, and the very heart of this universe is love.
And even if these experiences are not real, even if they are just a trick of the brain, then these experiences are made from our own minds, made from our own reality. So these visions tell us that there is something deep inside all of us that is pure love.
That is the message of Jesus. Love is the heart of God. Love is the heart of Jesus. Love is what we are made from. Love is what we are supposed to be.
And when love is in you it helps overcome all kinds of disability. It helps overcome all sorts of pain. It helps guide us into a better life. It helps give us new understanding of who we are and how life should be.
And when we understand this love, and understand who we are, it can lead to a far more fulfilling life. Sometimes a fulfilling life is not easy either, but quite a few people with a worthwhile life go home miserable from a hard, rotten day, and they still go to bed smiling because they know their lives have meaning. That’s a different kind of joy then, lets say, opening a great Christmas present, but it is joy and in some ways a more powerful kind of joy.
This is a message for all people, whether they may be Christian or not, and even for people believe who do not really believe in God.
This is the message that brought me joy. This is the message that brought many people joy. This is a message for all.
So, go forth in love. God forth in joy. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

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