March 13, 2019 Relationships Pastor Carol P. Taylor
Ephesians 2 New International Version (NIV)
Made Alive in Christ
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.
In our Ash Wed service last week, Pastor Dave Ewing spoke about Reconciliation. Tonight i’m sharing about Relationship. We can not have true reconciliation with God or others without effective relationship.
These Beloit area Lenten services have been going on for decades. As with most things, there’s been an ebb and flow to the churches participating. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to expand the number of churches and pastors who speak so we have a broader spectrum of the community. It’s a nice way for us to see other churches, experience other styles of worship, and to hear different musicians and pastors. Thru our offerings we support two valuable local organizations. And then we get to have some nice conversation over refreshments!
Lent being a time of 40 days which remembers Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. In the early church, it was a time of repentance and preparation for new believers, who would be baptized into the Christian faith on Easter Sunday morning! And is a time for those of us who’ve been Christians for some time, to repent of wrongdoing and to search for ways God is calling to deeper faithfulness.
My scripture lesson for this evening is from the Epistle to the church in Ephesus. I came across Ephesians 2:10 a few weeks ago in my devotional reading.. And it just spoke so deeply to me. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let’s look at the beginning of this chapter.. It’s a very Lenten chapter, isn’t it? The Bible over and over reminds us that humans are flawed and we fail in our relationship with God. We are dead in our sin….BUT GOD!! Rich in grace and mercy, LOVES us even tho we fail over and over…… And redeems us...thru faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. This is Grace.
Found a nice explanation of Grace in my study bible..
"Grace is God's unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action in our lives.
It's by this grace that we receive new life in Christ. God's Grace is pardon for the things we did wrong and power to grow day by day in the image of Christ . by Grace we are forgiven, healed, redeemed, restored, transformed, and Made Alive. by Grace we are saved!
We may sometimes think that we are not good enough to be saved- or we need to prove our worthiness... Ephesians 2 reminds us that God's merciful action in our lives does not happen because we deserve it or earn it we are saved by grace because God deeply loves us.
as recipients of this lavish gift let US in turn be bold in extending Grace to those around us." {CEB Women's Bible}
Grace is the story of Lent. We finite humans, created in the image of God but never managing to be anywhere near as good as God, that silly free will, after all, have the benefit of Grace.
We’re created in Christ Jesus (he was present In the Beginning, was part of the creation of all things AND is the body of the church in whom we live and move and have our being! (acts 17:28)
Ephesians 2:10 The Message (MSG) Paraphrase by Eugene Peterson
God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
We created for Good works! We’re created to live our faith. To love God and Love each other. (of course that is much more easily said than done!)
Someone said “You are a child of God, and so is that other jerk you are arguing with!”
Jesus set the example. Jesus, One with God, present In the beginning, came to earth, as a human, to live as we do. Came as a baby, completely vulnerable and dependent. As an adult, Knew the aches and pains of a long day’s work...as a carpenter, not an easy job by any means! Lived and worked and traveled with ordinary people and even those not accepted by their own society...purely out of Love, to Be ONE with us, and to show us how to be in that perfect relationships for which we’re created.
I believe with all my heart that people living as Jesus did, caring for one another, promoting compassion, and equality-- The Shalom of God for everyone--will prevail. And the WAY it is will be every single person knowing they are a child of God, created and beloved exactly the way they are, the way God wanted them.
One of the main reasons we do these Lenten services is to help two local Ministries, Caritas Food pantry/Diaper bank and Family Promise homeless ministry. I’ve worked closely with both as many of us here have!
This past fall, I had a wake up call about homelessness… we know there is a perception of addictions or just poor decision making being the reasons for homeless, but we’ve heard the statistics, that many homeless are veterans, which is a travesty, that medical expenses are a leading cause of homelessness. The expenses incurred by a devastating diagnosis or disabling accident can bankrupt a family in a heartbeat.
My wake up call came from a pastor I know, who is from KC, about a year ago took a call in Northern California. Andrew’s a great guy, for a KC Chiefs and Royals fan…
One day last fall, within a matter of minutes, his church, his home, and most of his town, burned to the ground. He lived in Paradise Calif.
He posted one day on Facebook, “Never judge the homeless or the refugee, you don’t know how quickly it could happen to you.”
Came across a story about one person living as Jesus did.. A man in Ohio named Keith Wasserman who works with homeless. He periodically becomes “homeless by choice’ as he puts it, to better understand the situation of the homeless in our society. Every few years, he spends several days at a time on the streets and in shelters, in various cities. His story is fascinating. {good-works.net}
He wrote “I believe that since Christ incarnated himself into our world in order to be a bridge for {people} to have a relationship with their maker, we too then, must incarnate ourselves into the world of those whom we care about in order to understand how they think and how they feel in order to really love and help them.”
He is striving to understand and re-evaluate the experience and treatments of homelessness, to serve in ways that are safe, meaningful and truly helpful.
He has, in these various stays, found that he may be treated as an alcoholic or drug addict. Staff may assume he is lying. He has witnessed staff being verbally abusive to clients. He has been made to sign long lists of rules without being given time to read them. He has experienced an utter loss of privacy and loss of identity. He wrote that "living in these situations, and the constant hopelessness and Fear changes one’s personality and affects a person’s life choices. Prolonged fear can turn you into someone you don’t like and don’t want to be with. Could it be fear that prompts some people to lie in order to survive?"
"I am aware more than ever before how these experiences have helped me to more fully understand that those who experience homelessness are people; human beings made in the image of God; people who in many ways are not much different from myself. Over the years, I have learned that for any of us to understand and help people who are suffering, we must learn how to leave the comfort of our own security and reach out, perhaps incurring some personal risk and pain. As a Christian, I now more fully understand what Christ Jesus has done for me. I am grateful and I want to continue to turn my gratitude into a godly activism."
Eph 2 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Now i am not saying that we all need to go live in a shelter for a while. But we can determine to prayerfully serve better, with more compassion than judgement, and to spend time with our neighbors in need in a grace-filled way. You know, sometimes the best talk you can have with someone is not to talk.. But to listen. To say only, “thank you for telling me. I care for you. We’re praying for you.” This is living in grace.
Grace is God's unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action in our lives.
Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15)
Shall we pray! Holy Lord God, this Lenten season, draw us ever closer to you, so that we recognize your powerful Grace. Let us take action to more completely live out the relationships chosen for us, to share that unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action with our all of our neighbors, especially those in need. Thru the Name and Spirit of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen.
