Yountville Community Church

21 Days of Focus: Restoring Rhythm2. Work, Rest and Restoring Identity Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor 15 January 2023 Intro: Whats in the box? A member of church gave me this book early last year. Half Time by Bob Buford. A book by a Christian business man about how to make the most of the second half of your life. Bob Buford was a TV station owner from the early days of television. He was wildly successful from a business perspective. But somewhere around the middle of his life, he got to a point in his career where he asked himself: Is this all there is? And so in the book, he describes this pivotal conversation with his business mentor. His mentor, Mike Kami, had been a strategic planner with IBM and Xerox in the early days, and went to consult at Coca Cola a heavy hitter. And an atheist. And Buford finds himself asking his mentor: (quote on handout) What should I do? How could I be most useful? Where should I invest my own talents, time and treasure? What are the values that give purpose to my life? What is the overarching vision that shapes me? Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there? In this blizzard of wonderment, Mike Kami asked me a simple and penetrating question: Whats in the box? If you had to decide THE one thing thats the most important part of your life, the one non-negotiable, the puzzle piece that everything else is built off, the thing that defines and motivates you, what would it be? Whats in the box? Thats what were going to be thinking about today as we open the Bible. So why dont we pray and ask God to give us wisdom. Our heavenly Father, we pray today that you would give us clarity and focus as we think about what the most important thing in our life is. Give us wisdom as we read your word, and keep transforming us into the image of Christ. In his life-giving name we pray, Amen. Well we are in the middle of our 21 Days of Focus something we do every January to help us refocus our faith at the beginning of the New Year. This year were calling the series Restoring Rhythm how to find balance in a busy world. We started last week with the premise that, as a society, we have a busyness problem. Two cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman have labeled our busyness problem as "hurry sickness." They noticed their patients in this continuous struggle [] to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time." Taken to the extreme, hurry sickness can cause real health issues. But most of us dont even notice it happening to us, because busyness is such a normal part of modern life. Its the air we breathe. But its not how life is meant to be. Jesus said: 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29) Commentator F. Dale Bruner said that the rest Jesus is offering us is not a vacation or a mattress to lie down on. Jesus offers us equipment, a new way to carry life so that our work and our rest are part of a life-giving rhythm. So today I want to share the first piece of equipment that Jesus gives to help us restore rhythm, and to find balance in a busy world. And that equipment is to restore our understanding of work, rest and identity (because theyre all tied up together). 1. Order and Disorder To restore a right understanding of work, rest and identity, we need to go back to Creation. At creation, God made humans in his image. And he gave us a role to play bringing order to creation. God gave Adam and Eve a job: to rule over creation; to subdue it; and to fill it. They were to bring shape and creativity to the world. This is the original pattern for work. Work was good and purposeful and life-affirming. That was day 6 of creation. Then on Day 7 God rested from his work of creation. And he commanded all of creation to do likewise. Gods deliberate act of stopping, and resting, shows us that in his world, there is balance between work and rest. Both work and rest are part of the goodness of creation. Work is good. And rest is good. Together work and rest are how Gods people are to experience the fullness of life and purpose in Gods good creation. But once we get to chapter 3 of Genesis, we see a big disruption when sin enters the world, a big upheaval. Sin takes the good order of creation and turns it into disorder. That leaves us experiencing a disordered pattern of work and rest. Work is often fraught, and rest is not so restful. This is the result of the curse in Genesis 3: God says because of sin, we will have thorns and thistles in our work. Work will not always be life-giving and purpose-affirming. It will not always be good. Our work life may be filled with trouble. Thats not the only trouble that comes as a result of the curse. - Sin creates trouble in good things such as parenting and childbirth. - Sin creates trouble in human relationships. The man and the woman now fight with one another, and that spreads into every human relationship. Sin brings upheaval to the good order of creation; and everything good is brought into disorder. Sins corruption makes its way into every corner of creation, every corner of society. And ultimately, into every corner of our own hearts and desires and dreams. This is an important theological idea to understand. Because sometimes we dont recognize the disorder. The messiness just seems normal to us. Weve grown up with it and its just what we expect from the world. Like the two fish who were swimming in the ocean. And one fish says to the other, The waters lovely today! And the other fish says, Whats water? Sometimes we get so used to the way things are, that we forget that things are not the way they are supposed to be. Disorder is not how our lives are meant to be. And thats where the Christian message is such good news. The gospel of Jesus is all about restoring order to a world disordered by sin. Its all about undoing the curse of sin, and helping us to recover the purpose we were created for. So thats the first big point: we need to recognize the disorder that sin brings to life, so that we can start to allow Jesus to re-order us 2. Disordered Identity Theres a new documentary on Netflix about the lives of tennis players. The first episode is all about Nick Kyrgios, an Australian player who has been hailed the greatest talent of his generation. Hes one of only a handful of players to have beaten the Big 3 Federer, Djokovic and Nadal and he beat each of them the first time they played together. Kyrgios is a major talent, but he has never really achieved at the highest levels. Hes just too volatile. So you watch Kyrgios play, and sometimes he plays with absolute confidence, hits trick shots, get the crowd behind him. Kyrgios is one of the best players in the world when hes on. But then other times its like somebody flicks a switch, and he gets inside his own head. He starts to yell and curse and he implodes. Its like his whole identity depends on whether he is winning or losing. I think we often share that same disordered thinking when it comes to our identity. Particularly because our identity is often tied to our work. Our society often equates a persons work with their value or status as a person. The higher paying the job, the higher the prestige and personal value we assign to that person. Or the more public a role, the more kudos and status they receive. It also means that we assign less value to those in lowlier paid positions. We assign them less value as humans because in our society, personal value is tied up with work. And so is our identity. When we meet someone for the first time, we ask them: What do you do for a living? And whether we mean to or not, we assign them value as a person based on how they respond. We equate their identity with what they do. And we do the same for ourselves. When our identity is tied up with our work, then its good when were winning. But what if were not? What happens when we retire? If our identity is tied up with our work, then its like we lose a part of our identity, or were somehow lesser of a person. I talked about this on Tuesday at our Hymns and Communion service, the idea that when we retire, the world often looks at us differently because they dont know who we used to be. They dont know what we used to do. They dont see the former football player, the former head of a department, the former mom to six children. Nobody sees that. They just see a person of advancing years, and sadly, we assign them less value as people because they no longer have a job. Do you see the disorder with that way of thinking? It has implications for the way we think about people with dementia, or diminished mental abilities. We bind personal value and identity to the ability to produce. No wonder we have hurry sickness. No wonder we cant rest. Because if we stop, then what happens to our identity? What happens to our value as a person? This is the water we swim in everyday, but were like the fish that has never heard of water. So often we dont even recognize the disordered way of thinking that is so normalized in our world... 3. Restoring Identity So how do we fix our disordered thinking? How do we restore the right understanding of our identity, so that we can restore healthy rhythms of work and rest? I think thats the yoke that Jesus offers tools to retrain our thinking so that we see the world through his eyes. The answer starts in creation. First we need to remind ourselves that our identity is not derived from our work, but from our status as a beloved child of God. The creation story reminds us that we are each created in the image of God. And that means our innate value and worth as a person is not derived from what we produce in this world, but who produced us. We are loved because of who God made us, not what we have made of ourselves. And when we look at how Jesus treated the people he met, we see that principle in practice. Jesus loved everybody who came to him: the rich and the poor, women and children, the sick, the disabled, the outcast. Jesus offered them all equal dignity, regardless of social status. Their worth in his eyes had nothing to do with their earthly achievements. And the same is true when it comes to salvation. We are not saved because of our work, or our righteous acts, or the roles we played in a church. Salvation is the gift of God! And it is due solely to his love for us, and his merciful grace to pardon our sins through faith in Christ. We can learn a lot by looking at the way Jesus went about in the world. Like I said last week, Jesus is not just the truth, but the way and the life. We need to learn from him. Because Christ comes to restore order to a world disordered by sin. He comes to restore right thinking, and to renew our whole approach to the world as he removes the distorting effects of sin from our lives. He comes to make us a new creation, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17) When our kids were little, we used to take them to a park that had funny mirrors. You know the sort of mirrors that make you look tall, or short, or fat, or skinny. Theyre great fun. But theyre all a distortion of reality. But when Christ recreates us, its like looking in a regular mirror for the first time. We start to see (understand/realize) that all the other mirrors were distorted, they all emphasized the wrong things, they all gave us the wrong perspective on the world. But now in Christ you can see clearly for the first time. And thats one of the ways that Jesus brings us rest. By giving us a renewed mind, and restored thinking (1 Corinthians 2:16). When we are weary of all the comparison, when were burdened from the pressure of the performance treadmill, when were exhausted from trying to create our own identity and legacy through our achievements, Jesus says: Come to me and Ill show you a better way. Come and Ill show you a new way to work and rest that is life-giving, and purposeful. I find it very freeing when the Apostle Paul says essentially that it doesnt matter what we do in life. What matters is how we do it: Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) Paul wants us to do whatever we do for the glory of Jesus. In Ephesians, he tells us that we have been created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. God is part of your story, and whatever season of life you are in, you can work (and rest) to the glory of Jesus. You can do whatever your work is in a way that serves Jesus, and honors him. Whether youre in a corporate job, or in a hospital, whether youre retired or looking after a home, the way you work helps to bring Gods kingdom in whatever realm God has placed you in. ~ Come back to Bob Buford, the TV exec from the beginning of the sermon. He finds himself in this conversation with his atheist business mentor. Hes midway through a very successful career, but wondering how to make the most of the rest of his life. What should I do? How could I be most useful? Where should I invest my own talents, time and treasure? What are the values that give purpose to my life? What is the overarching vision that shapes me? Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there? In this blizzard of wonderment, Mike Kami asked me a simple and penetrating question: Whats in the box? What is the most important thing in your life? What is it that drives your identity, your hopes, your dreams? Where do you find meaning and purpose in life? And how do you know youve succeeded at life? Whats in the box? For Buford, he decided that he wanted to put Jesus in the box at the center of his life. He had a moment of clarity where he realized that all the business success, it meant nothing if it pushed Jesus into the background, if it pushed Jesus out of his life altogether. He had a moment of clarity that changed everything. What about you? What is in the box?

21 Days of Focus: Restoring Rhythm2. Work, Rest and Restoring Identity Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor 15 January 2023 Intro: Whats in the box? A member of church gave me this book early last year. Half Time by Bob Buford. A book by a Christian business man about how to make the most of the second half of your life. Bob Buford was a TV station owner from the early days of television. He was wildly successful from a business perspective. But somewhere around the middle of his life, he got to a point in his career where he asked himself: Is this all there is? And so in the book, he describes this pivotal conversation with his business mentor. His mentor, Mike Kami, had been a strategic planner with IBM and Xerox in the early days, and went to consult at Coca Cola a heavy hitter. And an atheist. And Buford finds himself asking his mentor: (quote on handout) What should I do? How could I be most useful? Where should I invest my own talents, time and treasure? What are the values that give purpose to my life? What is the overarching vision that shapes me? Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there? In this blizzard of wonderment, Mike Kami asked me a simple and penetrating question: Whats in the box? If you had to decide THE one thing thats the most important part of your life, the one non-negotiable, the puzzle piece that everything else is built off, the thing that defines and motivates you, what would it be? Whats in the box? Thats what were going to be thinking about today as we open the Bible. So why dont we pray and ask God to give us wisdom. Our heavenly Father, we pray today that you would give us clarity and focus as we think about what the most important thing in our life is. Give us wisdom as we read your word, and keep transforming us into the image of Christ. In his life-giving name we pray, Amen. Well we are in the middle of our 21 Days of Focus something we do every January to help us refocus our faith at the beginning of the New Year. This year were calling the series Restoring Rhythm how to find balance in a busy world. We started last week with the premise that, as a society, we have a busyness problem. Two cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman have labeled our busyness problem as "hurry sickness." They noticed their patients in this continuous struggle [] to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time." Taken to the extreme, hurry sickness can cause real health issues. But most of us dont even notice it happening to us, because busyness is such a normal part of modern life. Its the air we breathe. But its not how life is meant to be. Jesus said: 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29) Commentator F. Dale Bruner said that the rest Jesus is offering us is not a vacation or a mattress to lie down on. Jesus offers us equipment, a new way to carry life so that our work and our rest are part of a life-giving rhythm. So today I want to share the first piece of equipment that Jesus gives to help us restore rhythm, and to find balance in a busy world. And that equipment is to restore our understanding of work, rest and identity (because theyre all tied up together). 1. Order and Disorder To restore a right understanding of work, rest and identity, we need to go back to Creation. At creation, God made humans in his image. And he gave us a role to play bringing order to creation. God gave Adam and Eve a job: to rule over creation; to subdue it; and to fill it. They were to bring shape and creativity to the world. This is the original pattern for work. Work was good and purposeful and life-affirming. That was day 6 of creation. Then on Day 7 God rested from his work of creation. And he commanded all of creation to do likewise. Gods deliberate act of stopping, and resting, shows us that in his world, there is balance between work and rest. Both work and rest are part of the goodness of creation. Work is good. And rest is good. Together work and rest are how Gods people are to experience the fullness of life and purpose in Gods good creation. But once we get to chapter 3 of Genesis, we see a big disruption when sin enters the world, a big upheaval. Sin takes the good order of creation and turns it into disorder. That leaves us experiencing a disordered pattern of work and rest. Work is often fraught, and rest is not so restful. This is the result of the curse in Genesis 3: God says because of sin, we will have thorns and thistles in our work. Work will not always be life-giving and purpose-affirming. It will not always be good. Our work life may be filled with trouble. Thats not the only trouble that comes as a result of the curse. - Sin creates trouble in good things such as parenting and childbirth. - Sin creates trouble in human relationships. The man and the woman now fight with one another, and that spreads into every human relationship. Sin brings upheaval to the good order of creation; and everything good is brought into disorder. Sins corruption makes its way into every corner of creation, every corner of society. And ultimately, into every corner of our own hearts and desires and dreams. This is an important theological idea to understand. Because sometimes we dont recognize the disorder. The messiness just seems normal to us. Weve grown up with it and its just what we expect from the world. Like the two fish who were swimming in the ocean. And one fish says to the other, The waters lovely today! And the other fish says, Whats water? Sometimes we get so used to the way things are, that we forget that things are not the way they are supposed to be. Disorder is not how our lives are meant to be. And thats where the Christian message is such good news. The gospel of Jesus is all about restoring order to a world disordered by sin. Its all about undoing the curse of sin, and helping us to recover the purpose we were created for. So thats the first big point: we need to recognize the disorder that sin brings to life, so that we can start to allow Jesus to re-order us 2. Disordered Identity Theres a new documentary on Netflix about the lives of tennis players. The first episode is all about Nick Kyrgios, an Australian player who has been hailed the greatest talent of his generation. Hes one of only a handful of players to have beaten the Big 3 Federer, Djokovic and Nadal and he beat each of them the first time they played together. Kyrgios is a major talent, but he has never really achieved at the highest levels. Hes just too volatile. So you watch Kyrgios play, and sometimes he plays with absolute confidence, hits trick shots, get the crowd behind him. Kyrgios is one of the best players in the world when hes on. But then other times its like somebody flicks a switch, and he gets inside his own head. He starts to yell and curse and he implodes. Its like his whole identity depends on whether he is winning or losing. I think we often share that same disordered thinking when it comes to our identity. Particularly because our identity is often tied to our work. Our society often equates a persons work with their value or status as a person. The higher paying the job, the higher the prestige and personal value we assign to that person. Or the more public a role, the more kudos and status they receive. It also means that we assign less value to those in lowlier paid positions. We assign them less value as humans because in our society, personal value is tied up with work. And so is our identity. When we meet someone for the first time, we ask them: What do you do for a living? And whether we mean to or not, we assign them value as a person based on how they respond. We equate their identity with what they do. And we do the same for ourselves. When our identity is tied up with our work, then its good when were winning. But what if were not? What happens when we retire? If our identity is tied up with our work, then its like we lose a part of our identity, or were somehow lesser of a person. I talked about this on Tuesday at our Hymns and Communion service, the idea that when we retire, the world often looks at us differently because they dont know who we used to be. They dont know what we used to do. They dont see the former football player, the former head of a department, the former mom to six children. Nobody sees that. They just see a person of advancing years, and sadly, we assign them less value as people because they no longer have a job. Do you see the disorder with that way of thinking? It has implications for the way we think about people with dementia, or diminished mental abilities. We bind personal value and identity to the ability to produce. No wonder we have hurry sickness. No wonder we cant rest. Because if we stop, then what happens to our identity? What happens to our value as a person? This is the water we swim in everyday, but were like the fish that has never heard of water. So often we dont even recognize the disordered way of thinking that is so normalized in our world... 3. Restoring Identity So how do we fix our disordered thinking? How do we restore the right understanding of our identity, so that we can restore healthy rhythms of work and rest? I think thats the yoke that Jesus offers tools to retrain our thinking so that we see the world through his eyes. The answer starts in creation. First we need to remind ourselves that our identity is not derived from our work, but from our status as a beloved child of God. The creation story reminds us that we are each created in the image of God. And that means our innate value and worth as a person is not derived from what we produce in this world, but who produced us. We are loved because of who God made us, not what we have made of ourselves. And when we look at how Jesus treated the people he met, we see that principle in practice. Jesus loved everybody who came to him: the rich and the poor, women and children, the sick, the disabled, the outcast. Jesus offered them all equal dignity, regardless of social status. Their worth in his eyes had nothing to do with their earthly achievements. And the same is true when it comes to salvation. We are not saved because of our work, or our righteous acts, or the roles we played in a church. Salvation is the gift of God! And it is due solely to his love for us, and his merciful grace to pardon our sins through faith in Christ. We can learn a lot by looking at the way Jesus went about in the world. Like I said last week, Jesus is not just the truth, but the way and the life. We need to learn from him. Because Christ comes to restore order to a world disordered by sin. He comes to restore right thinking, and to renew our whole approach to the world as he removes the distorting effects of sin from our lives. He comes to make us a new creation, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17) When our kids were little, we used to take them to a park that had funny mirrors. You know the sort of mirrors that make you look tall, or short, or fat, or skinny. Theyre great fun. But theyre all a distortion of reality. But when Christ recreates us, its like looking in a regular mirror for the first time. We start to see (understand/realize) that all the other mirrors were distorted, they all emphasized the wrong things, they all gave us the wrong perspective on the world. But now in Christ you can see clearly for the first time. And thats one of the ways that Jesus brings us rest. By giving us a renewed mind, and restored thinking (1 Corinthians 2:16). When we are weary of all the comparison, when were burdened from the pressure of the performance treadmill, when were exhausted from trying to create our own identity and legacy through our achievements, Jesus says: Come to me and Ill show you a better way. Come and Ill show you a new way to work and rest that is life-giving, and purposeful. I find it very freeing when the Apostle Paul says essentially that it doesnt matter what we do in life. What matters is how we do it: Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) Paul wants us to do whatever we do for the glory of Jesus. In Ephesians, he tells us that we have been created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. God is part of your story, and whatever season of life you are in, you can work (and rest) to the glory of Jesus. You can do whatever your work is in a way that serves Jesus, and honors him. Whether youre in a corporate job, or in a hospital, whether youre retired or looking after a home, the way you work helps to bring Gods kingdom in whatever realm God has placed you in. ~ Come back to Bob Buford, the TV exec from the beginning of the sermon. He finds himself in this conversation with his atheist business mentor. Hes midway through a very successful career, but wondering how to make the most of the rest of his life. What should I do? How could I be most useful? Where should I invest my own talents, time and treasure? What are the values that give purpose to my life? What is the overarching vision that shapes me? Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there? In this blizzard of wonderment, Mike Kami asked me a simple and penetrating question: Whats in the box? What is the most important thing in your life? What is it that drives your identity, your hopes, your dreams? Where do you find meaning and purpose in life? And how do you know youve succeeded at life? Whats in the box? For Buford, he decided that he wanted to put Jesus in the box at the center of his life. He had a moment of clarity where he realized that all the business success, it meant nothing if it pushed Jesus into the background, if it pushed Jesus out of his life altogether. He had a moment of clarity that changed everything. What about you? What is in the box?

New Years Day 2023Zacchaeus: A New Start Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorLuke 19:1-10 1 January 2023 Well good morning and Happy New Year! I always like to start my New Years sermon with a list of the top New Years Resolutions. According to one survey , the top New Years resolutions for Americans are: #1 exercise more#2 eat healthier#3 lose weight#4 save more money#5 spend more time with family and friends Highly ranked spend less time on social media (Speak more about that during January as we take the month to re-focus on God at the beginning of a new year) I was at an exercise class a few days before Christmas and the instructor said: Remember, come January 1, this place will be packed. Dont be put off, most people will be gone again by the start of February We love to make resolutions, but its hard to stick to them. So I found a different list of resolutions. On a website for a company that sells mattresses. (puffy.com). Here is Puffys list of 7 New Year Resolutions You Can Actually Accomplish In 2023 7. Do One New Thing A MonthNew Year resolutions often crash and burn because they try to tackle too much too fast. Set a goal once a month to do something youve never done before. That could mean eating at a new restaurant, gardening, or learning to salsa. However small or big, its still something to look back on at the end of the year. 6. Save A Small Percentage Of Your Paycheck 5. Do Your Bit For The EnvironmentTake baby steps. Carry a reusable tote bag to the supermarket (Im still trying!) 4. Be Kind To Yourself And OthersA small act of kindness will suffice. Text a friend you havent heard from in a while. Call your parents. Cook a meal for your partner. Treat yourself to a cupcake from your favorite bakery. Allow yourself to take a whole day off and do what you want to do. 3. Change Up Your LookTake a few inches off your hair, try a new hair color, get a tattoo, or simply switch up your personal style. Make 2023 the year you decide to embrace bold colors, mix patterns, and find the courage to wear outfits youve always wanted to but never thought you could pull off. 2. Try A New Recipe Each Week(This one actually sounds exhausting to me!) 1. Get More SleepWhile it sounds easy enough to get the recommended 8 hours of sleep every night, not a lot of people do. God has made us for Work and Rest, and were going to talk about this more as the month goes on But there you go. 7 resolutions you can actually accomplish in 2023. (Some I really like!) What about your spiritual goals for 2023? My question to you as your pastor is: What do you hope God will do in you in 2023? Where do you want this journey to take you? What are your spiritual New Years resolutions? Because were not just here for our weekly shot of religion. Were here for transformation. The kind of transformation that happens when people meet Jesus. So thats what were going to see in our Bible passage today a transformation story, with three take away lessons that we can build into our own faith story for 2023. So lets pray that God would start that transformation work in us (even now!) as we open his word. Our heavenly Father, will you speak to us through the Bible as we open it now. Will you use it to sharpen us, and focus us, so that we become more and more like Jesus every day. In his mighty name we pray. Amen 1. Seeking Jesus If you grew up in Sunday School, then you might know the story of Zaccheaus already. What does the song tell us? Zacchaeus was a wee little manAnd a wee little man was heHe climbed up in a sycamore treeFor the Lord he wanted to see If Zacchaeus was remembered for anything, it was that he was short! But possibly not the shortest man in the Bible. In the running for the shortest man you have Nehemiah (knee-high-mia). Jobs friend Bildad the Shuhite (shoe-height). But the winner is Simon Peter who fell asleep on his watch. Now if we ever have Church Camp, youll know the answer to at least one of the Saturday night trivia questions ;-) But lets get back to Zacchaeus. There was more to Zacchaeus than his height. Look at Luke 19 starting at v1: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. (Luke 19:1-3) Zacchaeus was a tax collector. In fact, a chief tax collector for the Roman Empire. At the time of our Bible passage, the Romans had conquered most of the Mediterranean, North Africa, Egypt, modern day Turkey and Syria, and of course Israel where Jesus lived. Rome had army garrisons throughout their territories, but they also used local governments to keep the people in check. One way of doing that is through taxation. In New Testament times, tax collectors were seen as collaborators because they worked for the Romans to collect taxes from their own people. They were also known for adding a little bit on for themselves quite liberally. And so not only were they collaborators but crooks. And Zacchaeus was a chief collaborator, I mean, tax collector. It tells us in v2 he was very wealthy. Im sure the townsfolk knew who Zacchaeus was. In fact in v5, they call him a sinner. But Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Or more accurately (v3) he wanted to see who Jesus was. By the time this encounter happened, Jesus had been traveling and teaching for almost 3 years. Doing miracles, healing the sick, preaching wisdom that no-one had ever heard before. He had been transforming lives and communities and Zacchaeus wanted to see it for himself. Perhaps Zacchaeus was looking for his own transformation story. Are you looking for a transformation story? Perhaps, like Zacchaeus, youve heard these stories about Jesus, but you just dont know what to make of them. Youre not sure if they could be true in your life. Does Jesus really heal the sick? Does he really cure addiction? Does he really bring forgiveness where there is only pain? Could it really be true? Zaccheaus decides to find out for himself (v4) 4 [Zacchaeus] ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. (Luke 19:4) I am guessing it was highly undignified for Zacchaeus to climb that tree. Probably he didnt think anybody would see him, because they would all be focused on Jesus. But how else was he to see Jesus? He couldnt be lifted on somebodys shoulders like a child. That would be even more humiliating. So he climbs the tree. He does what it takes to see Jesus for himself. And thats our first big idea for today Seeking Jesus. If you want to know who Jesus is, you cant just stand back and wait. You need to go after him. You need to climb the metaphorical tree. You need to do whatever it takes so that you can be sure, one way or the other. And it might raise some eyebrows. When you decide to start coming to church regularly. Or you decide to join a course to learn more about Jesus. Your family or your friends might look at you a bit funny if you start reading the Bible. Why would you do that? they might say. But take a lesson from Zacchaeus. Transformation starts by seeking Jesus, making a deliberate decision to seek after Jesus. What steps will you take in 2023? 2. Welcoming Jesus Ive told you before about one of our favorite ever television series at our house the Long Way Round. Two celebrities Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman ride motorcycles 19,000 miles from London to New York. Route: London through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, across the Pacific to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. 106 days. One of the parts I remember the most is when they were invited to stay with locals. Not set up, just people who invited them to stay in their homes, gave them beds when they were tired, shared their food with them. And made them feel welcome. Complete strangers, invited into their private world for just a moment Have you ever had an experience like that? It happened to Zacchaeus. Remember Zacchaeus is up in the tree, (v5): 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (Luke 19:5-6) Jesus invites himself over to Zacchaeus house. In my mind, Id be wondering if the house was neat enough to invite a celebrity in. Zacchaeus was wealthy he probably had a lovely home. But Jesus didnt go to peoples houses to admire their dcor. Jesus went to do business with peoples souls. Think about the other examples when you get home later on. Whenever we find out that Jesus is in a certain persons home, there is always a lesson to be learned. Something of significance always happens And this time the business is transformation. Zacchaeus is ready, I think, for whatever Jesus has for him. Look at the urgency in v5-6. Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once. This was Zacchaeus one chance to meet with Jesus. His one chance for a face-to-face with the greatest teacher of all time. This was his moment. And he took it. It may be that today is your moment. Jesus is rounding the corner and looking right at you and saying, You and I need to sit down. Today. We need to talk. You might be like Zacchaeus. You might have done things that Jesus wouldnt approve of. But that doesnt stop Jesus. (He will get to those things, BTW, but they are never an obstacle to starting the conversation.) He just wants the chance to talk to you, face to face, heart to heart. Your job is to let him in. To welcome him. To welcome him into your private world and to let him speak truth into your life. That can be terrifying, especially if youre the sort of person who never lets anyone get close. Nobody ever said transformation is easy. But its life-changing PAUSE/FOOT OFF Zoom out again to the people around Zacchaeus. Did you notice the reaction of the townsfolk when they heard Jesus say he would go to Zacchaeus house? (v7) 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. (Luke 19:7) Culturally, it was totally against the Jewish religious teachings for a Rabbi or a teacher to associate with a known sinner. Religion was for the righteous, and the righteous were to keep themselves separate from anything that might bring them into unrighteousness. Makes sense right? But Jesus wasnt like other religious teachers. Jesus didnt seek out the self-righteous. He was looking for people ready for a heart change But the watching world can be pretty judgmental. You picked that guy, Jesus? You picked the sinner? You think you can make a change in his life? Look at him. Look at her. Theyre hopeless. Worse is when the attack comes as muttering. When a person starts to change their life to include Jesus, other people often start muttering. She is going to church now? After what she did? He is going to church? You know what hes done, dont you? Sometimes it will be work colleagues who start muttering. Or family members. Or friends. Sadly even sometimes the people sitting in the pews who sow the seeds of doubt Dont listen to them. (Dont be those people either BTW! IT was probably the religious who were the ones muttering in the story) When a person first starts to welcome Jesus into their life, it can be a fragile moment. They might be inviting Jesus into a marriage. Into an engagement. Into a family system. Into a lifestyle and worldview that theyve spent their whole life living in. Accepting Jesus will take adjustment. And sometimes big adjustments. But nobody ever said transformation is easy. But if Jesus is who he says he is, then there is no better pathway to go down in life. So welcome Jesus. Invite him into your personal world, ask him to speak to your values and your beliefs and your hopes and your dreams. He cant do that if you shut him out. And church, we need to help people to welcome Jesus into their lives. We need to be advocates of Jesus and supporters when people take little steps in faith. We also need to keep letting Jesus into our lives! Sometimes those of us who have been Christians the longest are the most complacent. Dont settle for mediocrity. Let Jesus in this year, and welcome him into your secret places in 2023. 3. Changing because of Jesus Do you really believe people can change? When I was a High School Senior, I was part of the ROTC and we were out on a 24hr exercise one of those exercises where teams had to move around checkpoints without getting captured. Escape and Evasion they call it. Anyway I had a support role and so I was on a checkpoint overnight from 8pm 8am. The guy they paired me up with was also in my grade. Scott. Not somebody I had ever talked to much, even though we caught the same train for 6 years together, we had been in lots of the same classes, we had taken gym together. The difference was, he was on the rowing squad and he played football, whereas I was in the choir and spent my weekends rockclimbing. He was popular and I was a little alternative. The only interactions I remember having with him, he perpetuated the stereotype of the jock. So when I found out it was Scott, I wasnt looking forward to spending 12 hours with him. Our conversation started nervously. He was much more quiet than I imagined. He told me the reason he was on the checkpoint is that hed had a life-changing illness chronic fatigue syndrome which had robbed him of his athletic dreams. He now struggled with daily activities, concentrating, school work which he wasnt great at to begin with. But hed also had another life-changing event. Hed become a Christian. So had I, I told him. You? he said. I thought youd be way too cool to become a Christian. I had thought the same of him. Turns out you never know who will welcome Jesus into their life. We cant make presumptions that this person or that person is too cool for Jesus. Or too rich for Jesus. Or too [fill in the blank] for Jesus. You see, when people meet Jesus, they can really change. I spoke to Scott again at our 20 or 25 year anniversary and he was still struggling with health but living life to the full with Jesus. Jesus rewrote his story, just like he rewrote mine. And he can rewrite your story too, if you let him. Do you know that expression, a leopard can never change its spots. It actually comes from the Bible (Jeremiah 13). And we use that expression to say that people never change. We cant really expect change, or growth, or transformation. We get stuck in our old ways. You cant teach an old dog new tricks. Change is just not realistic after a certain point. To some extent thats true. When God speaks those words in Jeremiah, hes talking about his people when they were stuck in sin. They had rebelled against him and they had become accustomed to doing evil (Jeremiah 13:23). That was Zacchaeus story, wasnt it? He had been stuck in the sin of stealing from his own people. But look at what changes when Zacchaeus meets Jesus. (v8) 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. (Luke 19:8) Zacchaeus turns his life around. He finds mercy and forgiveness from Jesus. Gods grace to cover his sins. And thats the catalyst for change. Zacchaeus decides to make amends. He determines to stop sinning. Because Jesus brings transformation to his life. The leopard can change his spots. And thats part of the hope of Jesus that we share here every week. Jesus can make a real difference in your life, and in the life of the community around us. Im guessing it wasnt easy for Zacchaeus to turn his life around in an instant. In the chapter before this, Jesus had said how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:24). But here we see Zacchaeus do that very thing. Jesus declares in v9: Today salvation has come to this house, [] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus doesnt come to save those who are already saved. He comes to save those who have lost their way. Those who are stuck in sin. Those who are slaves to whatever it is that drives them. Jesus comes into the lives of the lost to help them find the way again. Jesus transforms lives. In a process that begins when we seek him, and welcome him in, and say yes to his new pattern for our lives. And that process isnt completed in a day, same as going to the gym once doesnt give you a perfect physique. But as we live with Jesus, as we let his word shape us, as we let his Holy Spirit teach and correct and train us in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) we will see transformation in our own lives. We are conformed, or molded, into the image of Jesus, it says in Romans 8:29. (The Bible calls this sanctification a sermon for another day!) And so thats the third big idea from the passage today. Changing because of Jesus. This year, we can each expect to change because of Jesus. We can expect transformation in our own lives, as we follow Jesus faithfully. And we can expect to see transformation in the lives of those around us, as we bring that new Christlikeness into every relationship. The New Year is always an opportunity to make a change. To make a new start. What will your new start be in 2023?

Gifts of Christmas4. Gold: The Gift of a King Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Christmas Week 2022 All this December we have been thinking about the gifts of Christmas. It got me thinking about some of the best gifts Ive received over the years.- Walkie talkies- Skateboards- Body boards (Christmas is in summertime in Australia, and we lived near the beach!) In fact lots of surf wear, swimsuits, towels, snorkels, fins etc. Water babies! My kids are 20 and 18 now, and of course Christmas gifts change as kids get older. The value of the gifts goes up, and usually were told what to buy (and what not to buy). I love the idea of surprising the kids, or my wife, with an outrageous gift. Have you seen those holiday ads from car dealers, the ones where a couple will surprise one another with a brand new car, without ever telling the other person. Has anybody ever had that happen to them? Perhaps my most valuable Christmas gift ever was finding out that my wife, Joanna, was pregnant with our first child. Such an exciting Christmas gift! Jo remembers the gift of morning sickness As I said, all through December weve been thinking about the Gifts of Christmas, particularly the gift that the wise men brought to the baby Jesus. Gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gifts that were of great value. But also gifts that had spiritual significance. They each point to a deeper truth about Jesus which would be revealed as he grew from Jesus the baby into Jesus the savior. And today we come to our last gift the gift of Gold. So why dont we ask God to speak to us and teach us as we open the Bible over the next few minutes. Heavenly Father, as we open your Bible today/tonight, will you teach us about who Jesus is? Will you reveal him to us, as you revealed him to the wise men on that first Christmas? Will you show us Jesus the king, and will you help us to respond to him in worship? We pray this in Jesus mighty name. Amen 1. Revealing The King As you may have guessed, I was not born in the US. I was born in Australia, and one of the stranger things about Australia is that we still belong to the British Commonwealth. So we still technically have the King of England as our head of state. (Feels strange to say The King after saying The Queen all my life!). One of the big questions as the Queen got older and older was, who would become the next King of England? Prince Charles was always the number 1 in line for the throne, but some people wondered if he would accept the role. Next in line is Prince William, who for a long time was one of the most eligible bachelors on the planet. When I became a school teacher in 1998, Prince Wills (as he was known) was 18, and I remember the girls hoping they would meet him and fall in love and marry a prince (because thats the dream, right?). Its also a regular theme in Christmas Hallmark movies  Why the lesson about the British royal family? This year with the passing of the Queen, a new king was revealed King Charles III. And the coronation was this spectacle to behold uniforms and pageantry and ceremony and horses and chariots and crowds of people lining the streets, as the new King took the throne. Because thats what we expect when the new king is revealed. And thats why the story of Jesus birth is so unusual, so unexpected, so unceremonious. Rather than a royal birth in a palace, surrounded by attendants and servants, instead Jesus is born in a stable, surrounded by animals. In fact it probably wasnt even a stable or a barn, but a cave where the animals sheltered. Jesus wasnt dressed in royal robes and laid in an ornate cradle instead he was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger, a feeding trough for cattle and donkeys. There was nothing to say that this birth was special if anything it looks the opposite. A desperate young mother and her husband with no family support, maybe because theyd heard that the baby wasnt Josephs. I suspect thats what the scene looked like to the innkeeper who let them stay in his barn. But thats not how God saw the birth of Jesus. He sends a legion of angels who fill the skies, singing Glory To God in the Highest. He places a star in the sky over Bethlehem, a sign to those who recognize it, a neon light to say here is the king! Its funny who recognized the star, and what it meant. Gods people had been waiting for hundreds of years for their king to be born. The one we read about in Isaiahs prophecy from 700 years before: 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Isaiah 9:6 (NLT) (BTW did you know if you go to In N Out burger, and you look under the bottom of the soda cups, this verse reference is written there Isaiah 9:6!!) Gods people were waiting for this Prince. But even those who studied the Scriptures faithfully didnt recognize what was happening in Bethlehem. Probably because it didnt look like what they thought it would look like. They wanted a royal birth, and a royal announcement, and a royal family, and instead Jesus was born to a carpenter and his virgin bride But the Wise Men, they recognized what was happening. I said a few weeks ago that we dont know much about the wise men. They were from the east, probably Persia, certainly from a different religious background than Jesus we believe they were astrologers who worshiped the stars as well as studied them. But from hundreds of miles away, from a different culture, from a different religion, they followed the star and came to understand that it revealed the birth of a king. When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and said, Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2 (CEV I love the wise men. Because they remind me that you dont have to grow up with a Christian background to be able to see the truth about Jesus. Somehow God made it clear to them that Jesus is very special. Dont be fooled by the manger. Dont be fooled by the humble circumstances. Jesus is quite extraordinary. He is a king like no other. So what should you do when you meet the king? 2. Responding to the King A few years ago back in Sydney, I took the family to the Broadway musical of The Lion King. Who has seen it? Ill never forget the opening scene. Its sunrise on the African savannah and as the light slowly fills the room, animals appear on stage (well, actors dressed in animal costumes). There are bird puppets flying overhead inside the theater, and then giraffes walk down through the audience onto stage actors on stilts standing 15 feet tall. I actually got a bit emotional when we saw it, because it is so visually overwhelming But then the focus switches to Pride Rock, where the baby lion Simba is revealed, the baby who will one day become king. And thats when the iconic scene happens - Rafiki the baboon holds Simba up, presenting him to all the animals. (Sing?) All the animals hoot and holler and then one by one, they bend their knees, and kneel down to honor their future king Thats what the Wise Men did to Jesus. Did you see it there in Matthew 2:2? They asked: Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.. And this is where our third gift comes in. Gold. Gold is a gift fit for a king. And even though Jesus is born in a manger, the Wise Men recognize him for who he is. A King who deserves our worship. A King who deserves our best. A King who deserves our honor and our praise and our allegiance. Look at what God says about Jesus. (Turn to the back page of your handout) In Ephesians 2, it says this about Jesus: 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything elsenot only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things Ephesians 1:21-22 (NLT) If you believe what the Bible says about Jesus, he is not some historical figure from 2000 years ago. One day Jesus will be revealed as the King over every other power and authority in the universe. Far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else. Not only in this world, bit the world to come. Because God has put all things under the authority of Christ. Make no mistake. One day we will all see Jesus revealed like this. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. In majesty and power and authority. Not a Christmas tradition, but the living and reigning ruler of all. The ruler of you, and me. And on that day, something else will be revealed. Where you stand with the King. Or more to the point, whether you have bowed down before the King. Whether you have worshiped him. Whether you have given him your best Philippians 2:9-10 says: Then God gave Christ the highest placeand honored his name above all others.10 So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down,those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Philippians 2:9-10 (CEV) I love Christmas, and I love the decorating and the gifts, and the family traditions. But dont let that get in the way of the real reason for celebrating this year. Jesus, the King has been born. Jesus, who brings forgiveness, and healing into our lives. Jesus who brings the end of hostility between us and God. Jesus who makes an end to suffering and death. Jesus who can bring us into eternal life and happiness. That is the gift in the manger. The gold of Christmas is Jesus the King. And he deserves your worship. Your very best. Not just in the holiday season, but every day. I know we already sung O Holy Night, but I just love that line: Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices. This Christmas, will you fall on your knees for Jesus? Will you worship him and honor him with all that you are and all that you have? Shall we pray?

Gifts of Christmas3. Myrrh: The Gift of a Lamb Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorIsaiah 53:3-7 18 December 2022 My wife, Joanna, was at her work Christmas party this week, and they each had to bring a gift for the White Elephant game, that game where you open a present but the next person can steal it if they like it more than their present. Anyway almost half the gifts were scented candles, so there was a lot of negotiating about who wanted French Oak, and White Bergamot, and Carmel Spice. So as we start, a question for the people sitting around you. If you could only burn one scented candle for the rest of your life what would it be? ~ I bring up scented candles because the Christmas gift were talking about today had one use as a perfume. Over these three weeks leading into Christmas, we are thinking about the gifts that the Wise Men brought Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. And particularly the significance of the gift, beyond just being valuable and useful. Last week we talked about frankincense, which was a gift pointing to Jesus as the High Priest. Today we are going to talk about the gift of myrrh. So what do you do with a gift of myrrh? What was myrrh was used for? It's unusual one again. Myrrh is actually quite similar to frankincense. It's another aromatic resin. Like frankincense, myrrh comes from a tree that grows in the Arabian Peninsula. It grows on a bush with lots of thorns and they cut the bark and the sap comes out and they use that to make the myrrh. In the ancient world it was used as an antiseptic, and even today apparently myrrh is used in some mouthwash and toothpaste. It's also used as a light analgesic to relieve pain from small injuries, or mixed into a topical skin product that you can rub on bruises and sore muscles. The word in the original language means bitter. Compared to a frankincense which has a very sweet smell, apparently myrrh smells kind of woody and earthy but a little bit medicinal. But it was also used as a perfume. And as you read through the Bible, myrrh is mentioned 17 times, about 10 of those references are in the Song of Songs where myrrh is described almost like an aphrodisiac. But when you come to the crucifixion scene of Jesus, myrrh is referred to twice for a different purpose. Look Mark 15:22-24 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of the skull). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. (Mark 15:22-24) They were offering Jesus this wine mixed with myrrh as a kind of pain reliever to help him with the pain before they crucified him. But Jesus wouldn't take it. We assume that Jesus wanted to be completely lucid as he went to his death. And then after his death we see myrrh again in John chapter 19 at verse 38 38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilates permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.(John 19:38-42) Myrrh plays this big role in the crucifixion scene of Jesus. And so when we think about the significance of this gift to the baby Jesus, the gift of myrrh actually points forward to the end of his life. There's a kind of tragic irony that this gift given to Jesus at birth becomes the same thing that he's wrapped in in his death. One commentator wrote: the die is cast early in Jesus life, pointing ahead to an early death. So why do I bring this up as a Christmas sermon? I've been asking myself the same thing. Well partly because the wise men brought this as a gift to Jesus. And partly because we cant separate Jesus the baby from Jesus the savior. I think God intended this gift to remind us that the die was cast but not by the Wise Mens gifts. The die was cast by God, in a plan that was announced some 700 years before the birth of Jesus. And so Ive called the sermon today: the gift of a lamb, based in Isaiah 53:6. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) But why dont we pray that God would teach us now, as we open the Bible. Heavenly Father, will you speak to us today as we open your word. Will you teach us about your son Jesus, and his significance in our lives. Will you grow us in faith, trust and obedience to him. In Jesus name we pray. Amen 1. The Gift of a Lamb I want to start by talking about sheep. As an Australian I grew up seeing sheep in fields. Thats because Australia has almost 3 sheep for every human. 25 million people, 70 million sheep. (Only 5 million sheep in the US explains the price of lamb!) Sheep are not very clever. Sheep are one of the only animals that need a shepherd. Most animals can manage themselves in the fields but sheep need protection. The mainly stick together in a flock, but occasionally a sheep will wander off on its own (just like in the Bible stories). Even when sheep are together, if wolves come, or if a bear comes, or if a lion comes, the sheep just huddle together and hope that they are not the one who gets eaten. And thats why they need a shepherd. Sheep are not very clever. There was a story from 2005 somewhere in Turkey where 1500 sheep wandered off a cliff together. Only 400 died because the first 400 made a big pillow for the other sheep. Back in Australia we have friends who are sheep farmers. One day we were on their farm, driving through the fields, and we approached the dam (which I think you call a pond or water reservoir). Anyway it was a very dry year and most of the water had evaporated out of the dam so there was thick mud. And there's this sheep up to his neck in mud, completely stuck. There's no way he could move and so my friend takes off his boots and he just had to wade in and drag his sheep out to safety. Thats what shepherds will do for the sake of the sheep. They go to rescue the one, because they're all valuable. So sheep get themselves into trouble. And Isaiah 53 six says we are all like sheep. We all wander off. We all go astray. We to go our own way. We turn to whatever we feel like doing. And just like sheep end up in danger, we end up in danger. We're endangered by what we do, and where we walk, and where we go, when we wander away from God. But the problem is we're different from sheep. Unlike sheep, were not stupid or innocent in our wandering. This is made very clear in verse 6, where it says our wandering results in iniquity. Iniquity is one of those strange words from the Bible. It means something like gross injustice or wickedness. So our wandering is not trivial. Its actually something that's very offensive to God. Another definition of iniquity is something that is disrespectful. Our wandering away from God is disrespectful to him. We talked about that last week as sin. And so God tells us in Isaiah 53:6 that we wander away from Him into gross injustice, wickedness, and sin that leaves us open to death. But here's the gift in v7: And the Lord has laid on himThe iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:7) God lays our iniquity, he lays our wickedness, he lays our sin and he lays our wandering unto Jesus. And a couple of verses later in v10 it will say that the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, and in v12 that he bears our sin. Thats why we keep the cross in the church all year long. This feels like an Easter sermon but the cross reminds us that Jesus death is the reason that we're forgiven, and the cross is where Jesus takes on our sin. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) There's this great exchange that happens. Jesus takes on our sin so that we can become righteousness. Isaiah describes how it happens in verses 5 to 7. BTW remember this is a prophecy that was written 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Look at vv5-7: it says He was pierced for our transgressions Do you remember when Jesus had died on the cross, the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. He was crushed for iniquities I think of the way the soldiers beat Jesus, how they mocked him, how they scourged him with whips And the punishment that brought us peace was upon him Jesus allowed himself to be punished. Punished in our place. He was wounded: And by his wounds we are healed. And then if you have a look at verse 7: 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Jesus goes to the cross like a lamb, and we're like sheep and wander away. So Jesus becomes a sheep for us. We wander, and he becomes a sheep, he becomes a lamb in our place. Last week we saw that Jesus was the high priest. This week we've seen that Jesus is not only the high priest but also the sacrificial lamb. At the beginning of John's gospel, when John the Baptist sees Jesus in chapter 1, he says: Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) And again were reminded of the Passover when God asked his people to kill a lamb and paint the blood on the doors. This lamb that would mean that God's wrath would pass over his people, that Gods wrath is averted, that God's judgment won't fall on us. The lamb protects Gods people. So thats why our first gift is the gift of a lamb. The myrrh reminds us that Jesus will die for us, so that we can be saved. 2. The Gift of Peace Here's the bigger gift. Maybe not the bigger gift, but here's the gift that you get to open today. And its the gift of peace. You know the holiday season is meant to be a season of love and joy and hope and peace; and that everything is supposed to be merry and bright, and holly and jolly. But the older that we get, the more we realize that Christmas is not always holly and jolly. It's not always full of love and joy and peace and hope. Sometimes it feels the opposite. It might be filled with sorrow or hurt or turmoil or despair or hopelessness. For some of us this might be one of the first Christmases after a loved one has passed. Or it might be a number of years, but still the holidays remind you of what you're missing. For some it's divorce. For some it's estrangement with your kids. For others it's illness or mental health. The holidays often bring back the feeling that something is missing, and that it is not all love and joy and peace and hope and holly and jolly and happy and merry. And you're not alone. If you feel that, you're not alone. Actually Jesus understands your pain. And Jesus understands your pain because (and this I think was what was missing in the sermon last week) because when Jesus comes to earth, he is God in human flesh. God the son steps down out of heaven, and he steps into our world, and he steps into our pain, and he steps into our suffering, and he bears our suffering. Have a look at v4 there in Isaiah 53: Surely he took up our painAnd bore our suffering (Isaiah 53:4) Jesus takes up our pain and he bears our suffering. He entered into our pain so that he could deal with the root source of our pain. He came to deal with sin. So many people think that sin is not very important. But sin is the root cause of all of the pain and all of the sorrow and all of the suffering that we experience on earth. It's the root cause of death. Sin is behind it all. Sin is like a decay that goes all the way through creation, and until it's dealt with, we'll always have sorrow and suffering and pain. We'll have moments of peace and joy and hope and love, but it will always tempered with moments of pain. But Jesus deals with this problem of sin by taking the only course of treatment that can deal with sin. Jesus takes all of the pain, and takes all of the suffering, and he takes all of its effects and he takes them upon himself until sin is exhausted, until there's no more power of sin and Jesus lays dead. He dies from bearing sin. It kills him. And then hes embalmed in the spice that was the same gift that he received as a baby. I think this was a film, the director would do a flashback to the motif of myrrh, and you would go oh wow I see what happened. Theres a tragic irony in the myrrh. But the biggest surprise, of course, is that Jesus death isnt a tragedy. His death isnt the end of the story. Because we know that three days later Jesus rises to life and the grave clothes are abandoned and the myrrh is left behind because they arent needed in a world where Jesus is. Jesus rising to life shows that the grave is no longer the ending of the story. It tells us that in a world with Jesus, pain won't always have the last word in your life, and suffering won't always have the last word because on the cross Jesus says it is finished. It's finished. Sin is dealt with and we can find peace. Look at v5 The punishment that brought us peace was on himAnd by his wounds we are healed Because of Jesus death we find peace. Not World Peace or the absence of all conflict. Not that kind of peace, not yet anyway. What we find is deep peace with God, knowing that our sins are dealt with, that we'll be with him forever. And by his wounds we find healing. We find healing and forgiveness and the promise of justice. That the things that have hurt us will one day be dealt with. And for the hurts that we have caused others, his promise is that we will find forgiveness, and that peace will be restored one day I love that promise going into the holiday season when so many of our relationships are wounded in one way or another. Jesus promises peace, perhaps not perfectly in this lifetime, but in his kingdom which lasts forever. In that world, there will there be no more suffering and no more tears and no more death and no more pain because the old order has passed away, because Jesus dealt with it as the lamb. And that means right now in the midst of our pain and in the midst of our suffering, we don't need to suffer without purpose. We don't need to suffer without hope. In fact we can look forward to the end of it, to something better. And in the middle of our pain and our suffering, even as it happens, we can point ourselves to Jesus, and we can point others to Jesus, to the hope of healing and peace. The gift of a lamb really changes our story. It means that even if you're having a difficult year, Christmas can be full of peace and healing and hope. And that's the hope that we find in the gift of myrrh. We find a lamb who dies a sacrificial death on our behalf, so that we can find peace and healing. Shall we pray? Heavenly father we thank you for this message of healing and hope thank you for the gift of the lamb and this little spice called myrrh that points us to Jesus death and resurrection. We pray that you would fill our hearts with resurrection hope, that you would be with us in our suffering and in our sorrow. We pray that you would bring us joy and healing and peace. We pray that we would be able to point others to Jesus and to healing and hope in him as well. We ask you to be with those who are missing a loved one this year, with those who are facing family troubles, with all who are suffering from illness and loneliness. Help us to bring healing and peace into those situations, wherever we might find ourselves this Christmas. And Father, we pray for all our Christmas services: for the concert tonight, for the traditional service on Tuesday, for our Christmas Eve services and our Christmas Day service. We pray that you would fill this house with people who need to hear about the hope of Jesus. We ask you to provide everything we need, so that in all things we bring glory to the Lamb, Jesus our savior. Jesus, we praise you, and we honor you, and we thank you for your gifts to us, at Christmas and everyday. In your saving name we pray. Amen

Gifts of Christmas2. Frankincense: The Gift of Understanding Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorIsaiah 40:3-5; Mark 1:1-8, 14-15 Sunday 11 December, 2022 In a small Southern town, the children in Sunday school were drawing pictures of the nativity. As the teacher went around, she complimented the children on their pictures of Mary, and Joseph and the baby Jesus. As she got to little Timmy, she noticed something unusual about his picture. The wise men were wearing firemens helmets. She said to Timmy: Timmy, I love your picture. But why are the wisemen wearing firemens helmets? Little Timmy says: Because, Miss, you told us that the wise men came from afar! ~ Well we are continuing today in our sermon series called Gifts of Christmas. Last week we began with the gift of preparation. And today we jump into the gifts that the Wise Men brought to Jesus, and from now until Christmas well look at one of those gifts each week. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were incredibly valuable gifts, but also very practical. Gold is money, and frankincense and myrrh had many uses in the ancient world. But these gifts were not just valuable and practical. Each gift actually foreshadows something of what Jesus would become, some of the aspects of Jesus character that would be revealed as he grew into the savior of the world. So those are the gifts were looking into over the next few weeks. Why dont we pray that God would reveal those insights to us now as we open the Scriptures? Heavenly Father, we thank you for Christmas and the gift of a little baby who would bring forgiveness and life to the world. Will you reveal to us the gift that it is to have Jesus in our life. We pray in his name, Amen. So I have a couple of little facts about the wise men before we continue. We often call them the three wise men, because of the three gifts they brought to Jesus (gold, frankincense, and wait theres myrrh). But actually the Bible doesnt say how many wise men there were it just says in Matthew 2 (on your handouts) 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. (Matthew 2:1-2) We actually dont know much about the magi. The word magi has the same root as our word magic, so it could refer to magicians or sorcerers. However in this case, it probably refers to those wise in interpreting the stars. Modern academic consensus is that the magi were astrologers from Persia (modern-day Iran). Early Christian tradition said that they were kings (carol: We three kings from orient are bearing gifts weve traveled so far) They were given names Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. It was speculated that they might have been the kings of Persia, and then later that they were kings representing Europe, Asia and Africa. But that is all speculation. We just have what is recorded for us here in Matthew 2, and so we have to live with the mystery. I read somewhere that wise men and women are still seeking Jesus. I like that. So, onto our gift for today. Frankincense. What is frankincense? Frankincense is the resin from a species of tree that grows on the Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa. The sap dries out into a resin, and the resin is very fragrant, very aromatic. The resin was added to essential oils, and became a very expensive perfume. The ancient Egyptians used frankincense as one of the embalming ingredients when a person died. It was used in the preparation of mummies. It also had many other uses. Here are some other uses I read online: Antiseptic; astringent; carminative; diuretic; digestive; sedative; and vulnerary therapeutic properties. In some parts of the world frankincense is still used to treat diabetes, and asthma, and blood disorders. A very useful product. But there's a second use for frankincense and I think this is what points to Jesus. In God's temple, the priests would burn frankincense or incense or as part of the priests duties. They would burn incense and the smoke would rise, and as it rose it represents the prayers of the people going up to God as a fragrant offering that he would accept that their prayers in faith. So frankincense is a kind of representative idea. The gift of frankincense foreshadows the fact that Jesus would be the high priest over all of God's people. 1. The Gift of a High Priest So why do we need a High Priest? This comes back to the Old Testament. We need to understand priests and what they did. In the Old Testament the priest had two functions and basically what they did is they represented the people to God. They did that by presenting sacrifices to God on the behalf of the people, so that God would forgive them. And they prayed on behalf of the people, interceding for them, raising prayers for the people so that God would accept them. The priest was an intermediary between the people and God. Now why do we need a priest? The reason is that sinful people can't approach a holy God and hope to survive. God in His Holiness, God in his purity, God in his goodness, God in all of the radiance of his pure holiness can't stand anything to come into his presence that is impure or unclean or sinful. And so sinful people can't approach God on their own. If we did we would die. (Do you remember that image in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah sees God on his throne, in all his holiness, and Isaiah falls down on his knees and says: I am ruined, Im a man of unclean lips and Im a sinful man, and my eyes have seen the King Isaiah was in the presence of the Holy God and he thought he would die until God sends the angel to cleanse him by touching a burning coal to his mouth) You see, sinful people cant come into the presence of God, otherwise we would die. And this is a difficult concept for the world to understand. Because we think of sin as something trivial, something a bit old fashioned, just an idea to scare kids into behaving. A bit like Santa Claus making a list and checking it twice. Sin is just there to find out if were naughty or nice. Speaking of which, have you heard about Elf on a Shelf? (Check if there are kids in the room) We didnt have this when my kids were growing up, perhaps its something that Santa launched more recently. But basically the Elf on a Shelf is there to keep an eye on the kids behavior and sends a daily report to the North Pole. The elves move around each night as well, and sometimes play tricks on the kids So we often see sin as something trivial. But when we look at the Old Testament temple, we see that sin is anything but trivial. Sin is so serious that it required the sacrifice of an animal. It required the shedding of blood in order for sinful people to be able to approach the holy God. It required death as an atonement for sin. An innocent animal would die in place of the guilty person. It worked like this. A person would bring an animal to the temple, which was kind of a representative of themselves. They would pay for the animal, they would bring it to the priest and the priest would slaughter the animal, and he would sprinkle the blood around. There was something in the temple called the mercy seat. And the priest would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat and it represented God accepting the sacrifice of the animals blood, the sacrifice on the persons behalf so that they could receive mercy and forgiveness. And then the priest would light the frankincense and pray for the people. And those prayers would go up in faith and trust that God would offer his forgiveness. Thats how the Old Testament sacrificial system worked. And it reminds us that sin is anything but trivial. Sin requires death. God is so holy and sin is so bad, that God requires death in order for sin to be atoned for. You might be asking where is the gift in all of this gore? Well the gift is that God doesn't want us to die. God didn't create us so that he could punish us. He didnt create us so that he could kill us. He didnt create us in order to say well you've been terrible, you're bad. That's not it at all. God created us, and he loves us, and he wants us to be able to approach him and be confident and know that were loved. Thats what the whole story of the Bible is about God overcoming our sin problem so that we can return to him. Have a look at the Hebrews 10 reading: 10 For Gods will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10:10) So God actually wants us to be holy, and he will be the one who provides the sacrifice in Jesus Christ. Jesus body will be the sacrifice for us and it's not a sacrifice that has to happen again and again. It is once for all, once for all time. And this also marks a change to the old covenant. Under the Old Covenant, in Old Testament times, people had to keep coming back to the temple and they had to keep buying animals and to keep bringing sacrifices and to keep the to keep killing things. It's kind of an abhorrent idea, isn't it? I mean it's very bloody, they splashed the blood around, and it's a very vivid illustration of the punishment for sin. But that was the old covenant and so read on. BTW Ive chosen the New Living Translation for this reading today because it really helps to bring the idea through clearly. Other translations wont say under the old covenant but it gives the context for v11. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. (Hebrews 10:11) In the Old Testament the sacrifices were never finished. You had to keep coming back year after year, sacrificing animal after animal. Because it says there that old system could never take away sins. Elsewhere in Hebrews it says the blood of bulls and goats can never atone for human sin. But look at v12: 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Jesus doesnt offer the blood of an animal. He offers his own blood. And that one sacrifice is good for all time. It is enough. His blood alone can pay for our sin. Jesus alone can make us right with God. And that is our first gift for today the gift of Jesus as High Priest, who lays down his life for us. 2. The Gift of Understanding British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes was famous for endowing the Rhodes Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship to the University of Oxford. He was also renowned as a stickler for correct dress. One night a young man was invited to dine with Rhodes, and he arrived by train and had to go directly to Rhodes's home in his travel-stained clothes. Once he arrived he was embarrassed to find the other guests already assembled, wearing full evening dress. After what seemed a long time Rhodes appeared, in a shabby old blue suit. Later the young man learned that his host had been dressed in evening clothes, but put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest's dilemma. Cecil Rhodes had empathy, didnt he? He had empathy for the young mans situation. He didnt want him to be exposed and publicly shamed. And thats the second gift we receive when Jesus is our high priest. Just like Cecil Rhodes had empathy for that young man, Jesus has empathy for us. And he doesnt want us to be exposed and publicly shamed. Look at Hebrews chapter 4:13. Because it exposes a truth about sin and a truth about us that would potentially bring us to public shame: 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:13) Its not the Elf on the Shelf that we need to worry about. Its God. Because he sees everything about us. And one day well be held to account for everything weve done. Every sin. Every unkind word. Every hurtful deed. The things weve done and failed to do. He sees them all. And on the day of judgment, for those exposed in sin it will be far more uncomfortable than turning up to a party in the wrong clothes. But heres the thing. Jesus doesnt want us to be left exposed. He doesnt want us to be publicly humiliated. He wont stand and point a finger in judgment, because he knows what it is like to be us. Have a look at v15: 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) In chapter 5 of Hebrews, it tells us about the High Priests back in the Old Testament temple. It says that the High Priest is able to treat us gently when we go astray, because he knows what it is to be subject to weakness. Hes human, just like us. I think thats why Im not a fire and brimstone preacher I couldnt imagine speaking words of judgment when I know that I deserve the very same judgment. Im subject to weakness, and I know how hard it is to live a life obedient to God. And so does Jesus. Thats what it says there in Hebrews 4:15. Jesus knows what it is like to be human, to be tempted. He understands the pull of all those things that we know arent good for us. He understands us in our weakness. With Jesus, we sometimes think of Jesus turning up on earth as the Son of God, completely impervious to all the temptations that we face. Like the Terminator, this robotic, unfeeling, unmoveable cyborg. But that wasnt Jesus at all. Jesus knows what its like to be us. He gets us. He gets you. Whatever your go-to sin is, Jesus felt all the same inducements to sin. He felt all the same pressures, all the same triggers, all the same temptations. And thats why he treats us gently. He doesnt stand back in his priestly robes shaking his finger. No, he has walked a mile in our shoes and he knows what its like to be us. Jesus understands us. Jesus isnt surprised by our weakness. He embraced it, and he overcame it. And thats why we dont need to fear God. We dont need to fear judgment, if Jesus is our High Priest. Read from v15 with me again: 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:15-16) When Jesus is our High Priest, we can come to God boldly. We can approach his throne, not with trembling, but with confidence because of Gods grace. Do you see it there twice? 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Just like Jesus understands us, God understands us. And he treats us gently. He offers grace, not judgment. Mercy, not condemnation, to all who are friends with Jesus. And that leads us to our third gift when we have Jesus as our high priest. The third gift is a new understanding of our relationship with God. 3. The Gift of Grace When I was in High School, the Deputy Principal was the school disciplinarian. If he called your name, you knew you were in trouble. And I found myself on the wrong side of his discipline once when I was in my first year or two at the school. But as a senior, it was a great joy to see another side to that teacher. The gruff exterior disappeared completely when he took over our homeroom when our regular homeroom teacher fell ill. And it turned out this disciplinarian figure was actually very friendly, very kind, very humorous and he became a huge support to me in a difficult time of my life. Sometimes we get the entirely wrong impression of a person, and it only changes when you get to know them personally that you find out the truth. And thats what Jesus wants us to understand. God is not an angry judge. Hes a loving advocate. Hes not a disciplinarian, he is a grace-filled friend. And when we know God like that, our whole relationship changes. From fear to freedom. From terror to trust. From exposure to embrace. And if you understand God like that, thats a true gift. A gift I hope youll unwrap this Christmas. Shall we pray? ~ Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Jesus, the gift of a high priest who understands, the gift of a high priest who brings forgiveness. We pray that we would be able to approach you with confidence and boldness. We know that we have sinned and we confess the things that we've done that are unpleasing, and we plead for you to forgive us by the blood of Christ. We thank you for your promise that you will forgive. Help us to live that truth. Help us not to feel shame anymore, but to come to you with confidence, and more than that, Lord, help us to live a new life to the glory of Christ alone. Amen

Gifts of Christmas1. The Gift of Preparation Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorIsaiah 40:3-5; Mark 1:1-8, 14-15 Tuesday 29 November, 2022 How many observe Christs birthday! How few, His precepts! O! tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.- Benjamin Franklin - If we get too caught up in the traditions, expectations, gifts and good cheer of Christmas, we could well be missing the reason for the season and begin to worship the very things that point towards Christ, not Christ himself- Illuminate Advent - I want to start the sermon today by saying that Ive had a breakthrough this year. An achievement in my level of adulting. I confessed in my Christmas eve sermon last year that I had not done any Christmas shopping until a few days before Christmas. This year there will be no confession. I started my Christmas shopping early! There are two kinds of Christmas shoppers, according to statistics. There are those who start early. 28.8% of Americans start their Christmas shopping in November. (Im proud to say that was me this year Courtesy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I bought one gift for one of my children. It arrived and hopefully come Christmas well remember that we purchased this little gift!) So 28% of us start our Christmas shopping in November. And then there are those of us who leave our Christmas shopping until the week before Christmas. Can you guess how many Americans leave their shopping until the last minute? 62% of us! (Im sure thats when Ill end up doing the rest of my shopping) And then there are the brave 7% who wait until Christmas Eve. ~ Christmas is one of those times of the year that takes lots of preparation. Aside from the gift shopping, theres the Christmas tree, and the decorations, maybe the Christmas lights on your house. And then there are the family logistics. Where are you spending Christmas day? Who is cooking? What are you cooking? Perhaps the kids are flying in from interstate. Or your parents. Then you have to work out whos staying at your house. Do you have enough towels, and sheets? There can so much to prepare! But thats the nature of the season. Thats advent for you. Advent is the season of getting ready, the season of waiting. A season that is focused on the arrival of that special day, the arrival of your guests, the arrival of your family, the arrival of a time of celebration. And so today, I want to focus on the gift of preparation. The gift of getting yourself ready for the special season thats coming. And not just the gift of preparing for your family celebration, but the gift of preparing for the arrival of Jesus. Because (of course) there is no Christmas without Jesus. So why dont we pray that God would help us to be prepared for everything that advent brings? Our heavenly Father, will you speak to us today as we open the Bible? Will you teach our hearts to be prepared for the arrival of Jesus? Will you open us up to his presence in our lives, and will you help us to make room for Jesus this Christmas? Speak to us now, in Jesus name. Amen Well, I can hardly believe its December already. But I am excited. The Board and I have spent months planning and praying and preparing all of the events that we have on the church calendar this holiday season! We want Christmas to be a time of celebration for us as a church, a time of celebrating Jesus and the gift he is to us. But we also want our friends and neighbors to join the celebration. And so weve carefully curated our Christmas program so that youll feel confident to invite your loved ones to any of the events on offer, as well as any of our regular Sunday services. Our mission as a church is to share the hope of Jesus in the Napa Valley and beyond. So thanks for being part of the mission I love what God is doing already through you and your prayers. So keep praying, keep inviting, and well trust God with the rest! Now lets get into the Bible. December is traditionally known as advent. The four Sundays leading up to Christmas are all about getting ready for the advent, or the arrival of Jesus. And to help us get ready this year, well be thinking about four different Gifts of Christmas. Thats what were calling our Advent series Gifts of Christmas. Gifts that will keep our focus on the reason for the season. Gifts that will point us to Jesus. And todays gift is The Gift of Preparation. 1. Preparing for glory Before I went into the ministry, I was a school teacher for a number of years. And I remember one year we got news that the school would receive a very important visitor the Governor General, who is the most senior government officer, even above the Prime Minister. The GG is the Queens representative in the Australian parliament. Anyway the Governor General was scheduled to visit our school to present a prestigious award to a student. It was only a 15 minute visit, but the protocol for those 15 minutes amounted to almost three months of work for the staff member who coordinated the visit. She had to provide plans and drawings and maps that showed where the town car would park, where the exits and fire escapes were situated. She had to measure the number of steps the GG would take from his car to the Theatre where the presentation would take place. She had to provide guest lists and seating charts and the names of dignitaries for the reception line. The school had to provide round the clock extra security in the days leading up to the visit, and then we had federal agents on site sweeping the buildings and grounds. We were all ready and then at the last minute the GG got called away to State business, and somebody far less recognizable came to do the job. It was months of preparation for the arrival of a dignitary. For Gods people, it was years of preparation, years of waiting for the arrival of not just a human dignitary, but one shrouded in the glory of the Lord himself. Look at Isaiah 40 with me: 3 A voice of one calling:In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 40:3-5) Isaiah was writing some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, at a time when half of Gods people were in exile. Sent out of the promised land because of their sinful disregard for the Lord. But even in the midst of their sin, God sent the prophet Isaiah to speak these words of comfort to his people in their distress. (v3) Prepare the way for the Lord. Make a highway in the desert because the king is coming. You can imagine what it would have been like when the Assyrian armies had turned up to capture the northern tribes of Israel. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers marching in step through the desert, the clouds of dust rising as the columns advanced, their footsteps the rhythmical drumbeat of impending doom.Those ancient armies were terrifying. But this prophecy speaks of an even greater king, an even greater victory to come. So earth-shattering that the landscape is literally rearranged, with the mountains sinking and the valleys rising so that all the earth becomes like a plain. And (v5) that is when the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all the people will see it together. Can you imagine how good it must have been to hear that prophecy while Gods people were still in exile? This wont last forever, is what it promises. Prepare the way for the king. Prepare for the day he returns. Prepare for his glorious return. A day when all the people, everyone in the whole world, will see the King unveiled in glory and power and majesty Are you good at waiting? Im not very good at waiting. When I was a kid, I was always the one who would lift up the gifts under the Christmas tree, and shake them and try to guess what they were. When I was about 10, I actually woke up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and snuck downstairs and unwrapped one of my presents. I remember it was a tennis racket and I probably could have guessed what it was just from the shape. But you dont think about that when youre 10. Waiting for Christmas is not that hard, because you can count down the days. But what about waiting when you dont know the end date? For Gods people, they had these words of Isaiah with them for almost 700 years before they came to fulfilment. And those 700 years werent always easy. More armies came, more people were taken into exile, the temple was destroyed and then the voice of God was silent for almost 400 years You might be going through a period of waiting right now, and you dont know when it will end. Perhaps youre waiting for God to show up but you havent heard his voice. Perhaps youre waiting for his glory to be revealed but right now all you see is immoveable mountains and the deepest of valleys Part of preparing is waiting. But when God speaks, he will always do what he said he was going to do. Even if it feels like youve been waiting forever Gods glory will appear. 2. Prepare your hearts At the start of 2015 I ran the furthest I have ever run. Just over 21km, 13.1 miles, the same distance as a half marathon. You might guess from my physique that I am not naturally gifted for running. Im gifted at eating, but running I have to work at that. Anyway I ran those 13.1 miles as part of my training for a half Ironman triathlon just a few weeks later, when I would have to run the same distance after a 1.2mi swim and 56mi bike ride. The race was great I finished, I didnt set any records but it was a good personal achievement. And I even did a bit better the next year. But so much of triathlon is about preparing your heart. You spend months working on the capacity of your heart to pump blood around the body. If you havent trained enough, on race day you are found out. There is nowhere to hide when you have to keep pushing for hours and hours. The state of your heart is revealed when race day arrives. And the same will happen on the day the glory of the Lord appears for all to see. The state of our hearts will be revealed on that day, and there will be nowhere to hide. So lets go back 2000 years, to the voice of one calling in the wilderness. Another prophet, this time the cousin of Jesus himself. Born just months apart, their mothers had both been visited by angels who told them about the role they would play in fulfilling Isaiahs prophecies. John the Baptist would become the voice calling in the wilderness, the messenger announcing the arrival of Lord The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way3 a voice of one calling in the wilderness,Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:1-5) Johns ministry was not about preparing a highway for the Lord. It was about preparing hearts for the Lord. His whole message was about checking the state of your heart. You see, the arrival of the glory of the Lord means we need to get our hearts right. [PAUSE] No sinful heart can stand before the holiness of the Lord. We must check our hearts before we meet God. (And Im going to talk more about how Jesus helps with that when we open next weeks gift) But for now, look at Johns preaching. He preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance. The key to repentance is turning our hearts back to God. The trajectory of sin leads us away from God, but repentance leads us back to him. And we see that repentance in the people who flocked to John the Baptist (v5). People from all over Judea and Jerusalem went out to John, confessing their sins, and getting baptized this symbol of being cleansed, and reborn, and rededicating their lives to God. John was asking people to prepare their hearts for the glory that was to be revealed And he speaks the same message to us today. Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus too, theyre all speaking the same message to us today. Listen to Jesus first sermon, in Mark 1:14-15 (on your handout) 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:14-15) Jesus wants us to prepare our hearts, because the kingdom of God is near. He wants us to repent, to turn back to God. And I love how Jesus finishes. Its not just repent. Its not just fire and brimstone. Jesus says you can believe the good news, which is that when you repent, God will bring forgiveness into your life. God will make your heart ready for his kingdom. This is good news for everybody who believes it. Do you believe it? Have you had that John the Baptist moment where you. Confessed your sins, and repented and dedicated your life to God. Perhaps it was the day you were baptized, maybe youve never been baptized. We would love to help you make that public commitment, if its something that the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. Perhaps a small step is to take communion today, maybe for the first time. A little step to say, Jesus I want to trust in you, I want to eat at your table in the kingdom, I want you to deal with my sin. Perhaps youre not ready for that I encourage you to stay on the journey. Come and get a coffee with me and tell me your concerns. Or sign up for our 3 week course in January called Explore. A place to keep thinking through what this good news of Jesus is all about. You can find more information on our website under Ministries and Explore Groups. But we all need to prepare our hearts for God. 3. Let every heart prepare him room At my house weve been listening to Christmas music since October. And one of my favorite songs is Joy To The World. (Great new version by Phil Wickham well be singing next week in church). The line that sticks with me from Joy To The World is there on your sheets: Joy to the world, the Lord is comeLet Earth receive her KingLet every heart prepare Him room Let every heart prepare him room. I love that idea of making space for Jesus in our hearts. Its such a practical image. Preparing room for Jesus is like preparing for the arrival of a special guest. We get things ready, and we tidy up for them, just like we do at Christmas for our families and friends. How much more should we get ready for Jesus! Let every heart prepare him room. So here are my three practical tips for making room for Jesus in your heart this holiday season. 1. Make room for Jesus during the preparation. As you think about all the things you need to prepare for the holidays, put Jesus on the list. Literally, if youre a list person, put him on the list, so that you deliberately plan to give thought to Jesus this month. Its so easy to let Jesus slip off the radar when youre busy shopping and cleaning, so youll need to be deliberate. - You could look for an advent devotional. There are some great books you can buy, or devotionals you can read online. Ive just finished one called Illuminate Advent it was 10 days about making sure your Christmas shines a light on Jesus, not just on the festivities. - You could buy or make an advent calendar, with a Bible verse a day. - You could read all the nativity stories in the Bible again. Whatever you do, the idea is to be deliberate. You literally have to make room for Jesus in your mental preparation, otherwise it will never happen. And that would be a missed opportunity. 2. Make room for Jesus during the busy season December is one of the busiest months in the calendar for most of us. And we often find ourselves pushed and pulled with all the demands on our time and attention. And again, it can be easy to say: Ill get back to Jesus when the craziness of Christmas dies down. Ill have more time for him in the New Year. Do you know what? In reality it never gets less busy. There will always be demands on our time and attention, and so we need to be deliberate every day to make room for Jesus. And this season of all seasons this holiday that is all about the birth of the king and the arrival of Gods glory, this should be the one that makes us focus on the reason for the busyness. So how do we make room for Jesus during the busy season? I think we need to make a commitment to continuing the spiritual practices that we do throughout the year. Keep coming to church. Keep reading your Bible in the morning. Dont let Jesus get pushed out by other demands. 3. The hardest one of all: make room for Jesus in your family traditions. I want to say this carefully, because I know from personal experience how hard it can be to be a Christian when your extended family doesnt share the same understanding of faith. It is difficult, and I get that. But heres what Id like to challenge you with. Id encourage you to consider how you can gently and respectfully make room for Jesus in your family traditions. Because when you gently and respectfully bring it up with your family, youll be making a powerful statement about your own hearts conviction, and the importance of Jesus in your life. How might that conversation go? - Maybe its asking if it would be alright to say grace at the Christmas table. Broach it with your kids, or your parents before the day, so that they are prepared. And if you get to pray, keep it short and sweet and filled with love and grace and mercy. - What about going to church at Christmas? Mom and I would love for you to come to church with us at Christmas, but we understand if youre not comfortable with that. But were planning to go, and the service is only an hour, so we hope you can respect our wishes. - And if they dont want to pray or come to church, then you should respect their wishes also. That shouldnt stop you praying for them privately, that maybe next year they would be more open At the end of the day, we do all this because we know that one day Jesus will return. Hell come back in person. Because Jesus is not just a story or a tradition. Hes a king who will bring Gods kingdom on the day when his glory appears. And you dont want to be caught unprepared

30 Days of Thankfulness4. An Invitation the Feast Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorIsaiah 25:6-8; Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-7 Sunday 20 November, 2022 Intro: Whats your favorite Thanksgiving dish? I tried a dish Id never tried before dressing. Its stuffing that was never stuffed inside the turkey. Pretty great! Thanksgiving is a time where we look forward to a feast with our family and friends. A time of wonderful warmth and enjoyment and love. And our Bible passage today is also about looking forward to a feast a feast that God is preparing for all those who are his family and friends. A feast that lasts not just for a day, but for all eternity. A feast we dont want to miss. So why dont we pray and ask God to teach us about this feast. Our heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the joy of feasting with our family and friends this past week. But we long to know more about the heavenly banquet, and your invitation to feast with you forever. Will you teach us now as we open Bible. In Jesus name we pray. Amen 1. Anticipating the Feast This is the last day of our 30 Days of Thankfulness. All month here at church we have been focusing on growing in gratitude, by practicing thankfulness daily. Many of us have been doing daily devotions with our 30 Days of Thankfulness prayer guide. Im still working through it, but I wanted to skip ahead to the last page because its about being thankful for how the story ends. Listen to what it says: Sometimes it may look like the enemy is winning. But we know the Truth. We have read the ending of the Book of Truth. The Truth is that when its all said and done, God will prevail. There will be a day when theres no more pain, sorrow, suffering, and all thats wrong will be made right. Our Bible passage today was written at a time when it seemed like the enemy was winning. Isaiah was written somewhere between 700 and 740BC, when the northern tribes of God's people had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians. They had been taken away from the promised land, and kind of taken away from God. God was punishing them for their sinfulness. And so in Isaiah, Gods people are hoping for restoration and they're anticipating a rescue from God. And so God gives the prophet Isaiah the words that we just read, a promise of restoration. Imagine that you you're taken away from your people, and you're taken away from your home. And God says I'm preparing something for you. Im preparing a banquet. I'm preparing a feast. I'm preparing a party or a celebration. It's a celebration of coming home (verse 6): On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,a banquet of aged wine the best of meats and the finest of wines. (Isaiah 25:6) It sounds like a good party doesn't it? When he says the finest of wines I'm sure it will be a Napa cab, and who knows maybe a French champagne? And the finest of meats. Perhaps a Turkey. Or lamb Do you know when I was growing up in Australia lamb was so cheap that we used to eat it every night of the week. We were so bored of it. Oh, were having lamb chops again??? Can you imagine? This feast that God is preparing this feast, this celebration it marks the end of trouble for God's people. And his rescue. Its God bringing his people back, bringing his people home and bringing them back into his family. So I have a question do you think this is a literal feast or is it a metaphor? When we look at the Old Testament we see all kinds of different real feasts. God's people in the Old Testament had seven different feast that they enjoyed every year the feast of Tabernacles, the feast of weeks, Passover (there was four more that I can't remember). But seven times a year Gods people stopped to feast and to remember that God feeds them. God fed them in the desert and God feeds them every day. There's something about feasting and eating that reminds us of family and celebration. And so perhaps in heaven there will be a literal feast every day Back in Australia Jo's grandmother lived at a house by the beach. And in the house next door there was a Polynesian family (Tongan or Samoan?). Anyway every Christmas they would have a feast, and this feast basically lasted three or four or five days. All day and late into the night, there would be people sitting out in the yard (Christmas is in the middle of our summertime). Somebody would play guitar and other people would be singing. They would cook meat and fish in the ground like a luau. People would come and go there was singing and praying and laughing and it lasted days. It was a wonderful feast with the family gathered all together. And I think heaven might be like that. It was the same in Jesus story when the prodigal son returned home. Do you remember what the father did? They killed the prize calf and they had a feast. They celebrated the return of their son who was lost and was now home. Feasting literally is a wonderful metaphor for being invited home and being returned and welcomed. Our family was invited to a feast this week in St Helena. We were invited into somebodys family Thanksgiving meal. Its such a tangible expression of being included, and loved So come back to the Bible passage in Isaiah 25. Is this a literal feast or is there something more going on? Actually when you look at vv7-8 there is something metaphorical about this feast. In v7 God says:7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,the sheet that covers all nations; (Isaiah 25:7) God is talking about death. He's going to destroy death on the mountain. Part of this celebration is not just a return from exile but it's the end of suffering. And it's the end of death and it's the end of sorrow. Verse 8 8 he will swallow up death forever.The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;he will remove his peoples disgrace from all the earth.The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8) Isn't that wonderful? The Lord has spoken When God says something is going to happen, it does. Isaiah 25 is a word of prophecy a promise of God about something that is yet to come. And if youve read the end of the Bible, Revelation 21 paints a very similar picture of the end of all things. Where the new heavens and the new earth come down and God is with his people and he wipes away every tear. And there'll be no more death and no more mourning and no more crying and no more pain because the old order has passed away and the new has come. This is an eternal promise. And so the feast in Isaiah points forward to the celebration of the end of all that is bad in this world, and signals the beginning of an eternity of only goodness. Isn't that wonderful? 2. Responding to the Fast So how do you respond to Gods invitation to the feast? Do you remember being a kid and at school and somebody has a birthday party. And they hand out invitations. Do they still do that or do the moms just text? In the olden days you used to get a paper invitation. It was so exciting. Everybody in the class got an invitation (except sometimes they didn't - that causes trouble!) But in Gods kingdom everybody gets an invitation. God says, I want to invite everybody to the celebration. He doesn't go around the classroom and say, Not you. Actually he invites everybody to this big party - the party that lasts forever, the celebration for all eternity. Have a look at a verse 6. It says there: 6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, At the time that God wrote this, he had his special people, his chosen people, the Israelites. But actually this promise is not just for his chosen people, it's a promise for everybody. And anybody who answers this invitation can come to the party. Wouldn't you want to go to this party? You wouldn't want to miss it, would you? So come to the Isaiah 55 reading. How do we respond to God's invitation to come to the party? God says: 1 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. God issues this invitation, and to come to the party you dont have to buy a ticket. It's not a party where you have to pay your way in. He actually offers it to people who are thirsty and hungry, people have no money, people who have nothing to bring, and nothing to offer. They're not friends with God because of anything good they've done. He just loves them as they are, and he says: I want you to come to my party When we come back to Matthews gospel next year, our very first chapter when we come back in Matthew 22 is this story of a wedding feast. The groom invites people but lots of them say, well I've been too busy I can't come. And so the groom sends his servants out onto the street and says we've got all this beautiful food I want everybody to come. And there's still room so he sends his servants out again and more and more people come into the feast. You see, God wants us to come and all he says is just come if you're thirsty. Come if you're hungry. You don't need to have money, I just want you at my party. You don't need to bring a present, you don't need to pay me back. Just come So how do we respond to Gods invitation? Look at all of the verbs in vv1-3:- V1 Come; buy; eat It's kind of strange to buy when you don't have money, isn't it. But it's almost like a free shop. God wants to give you everything. This is Gods grace in action! And then in v2:- listen We need to listen to God to respond to him. Then he says in v3 give ear and come to me Give ear means listen. And then he says it again listen that you may live When we come to God, when we listen to God, the result is that we find life. Eternal life. We get life that is true life. And I don't think it's just life into eternity, I think it's life right now. We don't have to wait until eternity to receive these blessings. We get them now. We get to live. And again have a look at v1. This is a promise for all people. Come all you who are thirsty. This is a message for all people everywhere, not just special people sitting in the church today. It's not just a message for people who identify as Christian. You know sometimes you look around and think, Oh well that person they wouldn't be interested in Jesus because they have a different cultural background, or a different religious background, or a different socioeconomic background. And so I don't need to share Jesus with them. That's not true at all! This invitation is for all people! This is a message for all people to come to God, to find life. And it's free and it's good and it's not just about food but it's about truly living and enjoying life the way that God made us to live. In the way that God intended it to be, to be with him around his table sharing at the feast. And do you know, for 2000 years people everywhere have been responding to this invitation. In Matthew 8, Jesus said: 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11) Jesus promises this wonderful party with people coming from everywhere, from all over the earth and every culture and every religion when they find their hope in Him But I do need to mention a caveat at this point. Even though Gods invitation is an invitation to all people, there is something very exclusive about what God is offering. To find this life that God offers, you need to come to him. You need to choose him, rather than trying to find life and satisfaction elsewhere. Look at v2: 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. (Isaiah 55:2-3) This is a hard word in a pluralistic world. Id love to say all roads lead to Rome, and all religions end in the same place. But thats not what the God of the Bible says. Here in Isaiah 55, God says you have to come to him if you want to find life. Jesus made it even more explicit when he said: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) We need to know Jesus if we want to respond to the invitation. Thats why we spend so much of our energy learning about Jesus here at church every Sunday. Hes the key. Hes the way we find life. And forgiveness. And all of Gods gracious blessings We need to come to him. 3. Enjoying the Feast So how do we enjoy the feast every day? I think it's a shame that we wait until Thanksgiving to eat turkey. I imagine you can probably buy turkey all year round, but we just don't and maybe it wouldn't be special if we did. But we don't need to wait until Thanksgiving, or we don't need to wait until Christmas, to enjoy God. We don't need to wait until we die to enjoy God. And in fact we shouldn't. Do you remember that fantastic movie with Robin Williams The Dead Poets Society? If you need to cry today you should watch that film. Its this beautifully directed film about a group of boys at a private Academy in their senior year of school. Set in the 1960s. And they have this teacher who inspires them (Robin Williams) to make the most of every day. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Dont put off till tomorrow what you can do today. And so with God, we don't want to put it off until tomorrow. We don't want to put it off until after we're busy or after the holidays or after I've got over this medical issue. We don't want to put off enjoying God. We want to do it everyday. Have a look what it says at the end of Isaiah 55 in verse 6. It's just like the Dead Poets Society. I think they might have copied from the Bible. 6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Seek the Lord while he may be found Now is the time for people to find God. And actually this is the easiest time of year to help people find God. Because Christmas is the easiest time to talk about Jesus. We've got all these wonderful events at church that will gently put Jesus and the holidays together for our family and friends. And this is not just a plug for our events, this is how we help you invite people to the feast. You know when you get invited to dinner at somebody's house, it's very special. It indicates something about your relationship. It is an honor, in some ways, to be invited into someones home. I think when we invite people to church, we want it to feel the same as inviting them to a feast. You might need to actually invite them to a feast first. You might need to invite them to your home for a meal to show them that you love them and that you want them to be part of your family. But eventually that will also mean inviting them to share in your bigger family, this family here at church which is Jesus family. Because you dont want your friends to miss the party. When I was a kid, we missed a birthday party once. We received the invitation, and we RSVPd. We bought a present. But it got to Saturday afternoon and somehow with 4 kids at home we forgot to go to the party. We missed it. And I was so upset. When it comes to Gods party, you dont want to miss the invitation. You dont want to miss the RSVP date, you dont want to forget that this feast is coming. You want to seek the Lord while he may be found, and we want to help our friends seek the Lord while he may be found. We don't want to wait until they die before taking the chance to have that conversation with them. Don't wait until it's too late because there's a beautiful feast for everybody who responds. And God wants us to help invite people to his big feast. Let's pray. Heavenly father we thank you for the feast that we enjoyed on Thursday and we thank you for the feast that we'll enjoy in heaven forever and ever. Help us enjoy you today to have life to the full. And we pray that we might enjoy life with you forever. And father please, please will you help us to invite people to the feast of Jesus Christ, the feast where there is pardon where the disgrace that we had from our sin is washed away. Where people who have nothing to bring, nothing to offer, no money to buy salvation find forgiveness in your Son. We pray Father that you would help us to invite them to come with empty hands and to enjoy your gracious provision. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen

30 Days of Thankfulness3. Thankful for what we have Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Deuteronomy 6:4-12; Hebrews 13:5 Sunday 20 November, 2022 I was looking for something in my desk drawer this week when I found this a wad of cash from different countries Ive travelled to. Theres money from Fiji, and the United Arab Emirates, and Tanzania. But this stack means the most to me. Its from Rwanda. Right before I moved here to become your pastor, I had the privilege of traveling back and forth to Rwanda for 2 weeks each year, teaching a theology certificate course to pastors and church workers, most of whom had no formal theological education. It was a super rewarding experience. But one of the things Im reminded of when I hold this stack of 1000 RWF notes, is how cheap everything feels when youre in a country like that. You can buy a coffee for 1,500RWF ($1.50), or a burger and fries for $4. A meal at this amazing rooftop bar in the city is $8. And at the best restaurant in Kigali, dinner and drinks still comes out less than $35pp. Like I said, it feels cheap compared to here. Until you realize what the average Rwandan earns. Some earn as little as 1000RWF, or USD$1 a day. So my spare change is worth a days work for someone else. If you tipped $1 on your coffee order, it would be like giving a $100 tip to the person receiving it. To put it in perspective, at the end of my last visit to Rwanda, we were having a celebration dinner, and one of my students leaned over the table to ask me a question privately. She said: Is it true in your country, that you have a machine that washes the clothes. Yes, I said. And do you have one? Can you imagine a world without a washing machine? How much longer it would take to do everyday tasks? That was the world that many of my students were living in. Still are living in, I would think. To somebody in Rwanda, if you own a washing machine, that makes you an incredibly wealthy person. 1 Do you own a washing machine? A dishwasher? By some standards, that makes you an incredibly wealthy person... But thats not how we measure wealth, is it?In the Western mindset, wealth is abundance. Excess. Luxury. Opulence. With that definition, not many of us would class ourselves as wealthy. But as we enter into Thanksgiving week, I want to challenge that definition of wealth. I want us to understand how much we truly have, so that we can be thankful for it. And more to the point, to be thankful to the one who gave it to us. So why dont we pray that the Giver of all things would speak to us now as we open his word. Our heavenly Father, you are the giver of all things. Will you teach us now as we open the Bible. Teach us how to view our wealth, and how to be truly thankful. Challenge us and change us, we ask. In Jesus name. Amen Well, we are in the middle of our 30 Days of Thankfulness. This series is all about deepening our gratitude in daily ways. To help, we have our 30 Days of Thankfulness prayer guide (which you can download or pick up a paper copy on the welcome desk). Im on Day 18 which is Thank God for the Bible. It says: We are so blessed to have access to [Gods] word, to be able to own it, house it in our homes and in our hearts, to read it and experience its life-giving power. It is the guide by which we are to live [...] Thank God that you have access to God-breathed, supernatural knowledge through his Holy Word. Here at Yountville Community Church, we are thankful for the Bible! And every Sunday at church, we read the Bible carefully to hear what God says to us in it. And so today as we think about being thankful, I want to base what I say on what God says. This is his wisdom, shared with us, because he loves us. So Ive entitled this sermon: Thankful for what we have. Premise: Redefining Wealth Lets start by coming back to our definition of wealth. Like I said a moment ago, in the Western mindset, we think of wealth as abundance, excess, luxury and opulence. And not many of us live that lifestyle, at least not all the time, and so we dont think of ourselves as wealthy. 2 But what if we defined wealth in a different way. What if wealth was about having enough...? David Kotter in his book For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty defines wealth like this: Wealth ... will be defined as a suitable accumulation of resources and possessions of value. Under this simple definition, one is wealthy to the extent that one has sufficient food of good quality, clothing appropriate to keeping cool or warm, and shelter for protection from the elements. In a modern economy, this definition is often extended to include access to safe and reliable transportation and communication that enables one to work. Wealth includes adequate physical possessions to live and flourish as a human being created in the image of God, and it also requires a specific heart attitude toward the purpose of possessions. (David Kotter, For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty) If we start with a different definition of wealth, that wealth is about having enough, then by that definition, all of us here are wealthy. Is your home secure and dry? Do you have food in the pantry? Were you able to get here today? Then you are wealthy. I am wealthy. And the first step to being thankful for what we have is acknowledging that we are wealthy. We might not have everything we want, but we have a lot to be thankful for... So thats the premise I want to begin with: we need to redefine wealth. We need to see what we have with fresh eyes, and understand that we have great wealth. 1. Remember where our wealth comes from In an old episode of the Simpsons, Bart is asked to say grace. He says:Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing. Amen. The watching adults gasp. Mr Burns chuckles and says, Only an innocent child could get away with such blasphemy. God bless them all. But Barts caustic honesty is funny because, as comedy so often does, it pierces through the veneer of polite sentiment and says aloud what many of the watching adults are actually thinking anyway.We did go to work. We did earn the money. We did pay for this stuff ourselves. So why all the thanksgiving to a God we cant see?1 1 The Generosity Project, p21 3 The Bibles answer is that the God we cant see created everything we can see. And touch and hear and feel, including us. He created it all. In Psalm 50:12, God says:the world is mine, and all that is in it. (Psalm 50:12) Everything that is in the world belongs to God. And the Bible goes on to say that he is the one who feeds, and sustains us. He is the one who gives us everything we have. In James 1:17, it says: 7 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father... (James 1:17) In the OT, Gods people had to learn that lesson in a very tangible way. When they were too afraid to enter the Promised Land, God caused his people to wander in the desert for 40 years. But every day he fed them, causing mana to fall down like dew from the sky a good and perfect gift from above. And do you remember that he gave them just enough for one day a time, so that they would remember who it was that fed them... Do you know who feeds you, day to day? Who gives you your daily bread? Who gives you every breath you take? Who sustains you and keeps you and watches over you while you sleep? When we think about what we have, we need to remember where it came from. It comes from our Father in heaven. And our Father says its especially important to remember that truth, when we have more than just our daily bread. And thats where our Deuteronomy reading comes into play. One of the big storylines of the OT is Gods promise to bring his people into a land they could call their own. The Promised Land, the land that God originally promised to Abraham. And hundreds of years later, Gods people would finally enter that Promised Land a land flowing with milk and honey, this place that symbolized Gods blessing and Gods provision and Gods generosity towards his people. He was going to make them rich.But listen to the warning he gives them in Deuteronomy 6 (reading from v10): 10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give youa land with large, flourishing cities you did not 4 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not build,dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plantthen when you eat and are 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, satisfied,out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12) Can you imagine that Gods people get to move into this country where they get to enjoy the fruits of somebody elses work. They move into houses they did not build, they get to drink from wells they didnt dig, eat from orchards they didnt plant. They receive this inheritance that comes from the hard work of someone else. Actually it comes from God. And God warns them not to forget him when they receive their inheritance! When he blesses them with all kinds of wealth, they must be careful not to forget him. PAUSE What if the wealth we have is just like the wealth they had? What if we have what we have because God has chosen to bring us into the place where we find ourselves? What if our success is not just the product of our own hard work. Its also because God chose to bless you in the ways that he has. We are living on the tail-end of the greatest wealth-generating period in history. Since WWII, Baby Now I know youve worked hard for what you earned, but every other generation in history also worked hard. You just happened to live through a period of unprecedented economic growth. Have you stopped to remember where that extraordinary growth comes from? Have you thanked God for including you in the greatest wealth-generating period in history? And have you thought about how you might give back some of the wealth that he has given you? 2. The art of contentment John D. Rockefeller, arguably the worlds richest person in the early 1900s, was asked by a reporter how much money is enough. He replied, Just a little bit more! Just a little bit more... 2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhall/2019/11/11/the-greatest-wealth-transfer-in-history-whats-happening-and- what-are-the-implications/ 2 Boomers (those born between 1944 and 1964) this is your generation, isnt it? the US (and Australia too) have seen decades of prosperity and economic growth. 5 At our house, we love renovation TV. Theres this couple out of Utah who just design amazing homes (Studio McGee). And then theres Chip and Jo from Waco, Texas who bring this farmhouse chic to everything they do. And theyre Christians too, so we like them even more for that. We love watching those shows. But Ive realized they arent necessarily good for us. Because renovation TV is built on the premise of just a little bit more... Just a little bit more decoration, and youll be a happier person. Just little bit more kitchen, and youll have a better family life. Just a little bit more, and your life will be fulfilled... Just a little bit more... But how much more will be enough? A survey of regular churchgoers in the USA found that almost 90% say greed is a sin; only 20% say they were ever taught that wanting a lot of money is wrong; and almost 80% wish they had 3 Now theres nothing wrong with having money. We are embodied creatures, we have physical needs for food and shelter, and the way we meet those needs in this world is usually through the exchange of work for money so that we can buy what we need. Anthropology Economy 101. The danger is when our desire for money becomes greed.Perhaps the richest man who ever lived, King Solomon, wrote this in his book Ecclesiastes: Whoever loves money never has enough;whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. (Ecclesiastes 5:10) Solomon was just like Rockefeller. The danger is that no matter how much we have, its never enough... And the Bible warns us that this never enough attitude can have destructive consequences in our lives. The Apostle Paul writes:9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and 10 more money than they do.Seems 80% of us share the spirit of John D. Rockefeller. Just a little bit more... harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10) 3 Brian Rosner, Beyond Greed, p18 For the love of money is 6 This is strong language, isnt it? - Temptation - A trap - Foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin - Destruction - A root of evil - Wandering away from the faith - Causing all kinds of grief If this was an ad for medication on the television, there is no way you would ask your doctor to prescribe you the love of money. The love of money wont bring happiness. It will kill you! We only need to look at crippling debt, and crippling work hours that plunge individuals into ruin. Then there are the industries that prey on the financially vulnerable, modern slavery and human trafficking, which are financially motivated and nothing short of evil. And then there are Christians who get so focused on work and financial success that they let their faith go along the way... One compromise after another until one day they wake up and God isnt even in the picture anymore. Thats if they even notice that God was missing. Jesus said we can only worship one thing well either choose God, or money. Gordon Gecko was wrong. Greed is not good. Greed is a killer.And so whats the antidote?The answer is: Contentment. Have a look at Hebrews 13:5 with me: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)Did you see that right in the middle? Be content with what you have... Theologian Dr Brian Rosner in his book Beyond Greed says: be content with what you have: these six words form one of the most difficult commands in the Bible, especially in our day of ingrained consumerism and unquestioned materialism. The worlds approach to contentment is by way of addition. 4 Brian Rosner, Beyond Greed, p90 4 7 The worlds approach to contentment is by way of addition. Getting more things. But God says be content with what you have. Look at what you have and be happy. I was thinking about how to do this practically for myself. I dont know about you, but I look around my home and Im often thinking what I would change. Or fix. What if instead we looked around our home and picked up one of our possessions and just enjoyed it. Or thanked God for it? What if you got in your car and played I Spy with all the things that bring you joy? People often ask me what I miss about Australia. I miss living near the ocean. Somebody who was over at our house recently said, when you drive through the vineyards, thats your ocean. Do you see how just a little mental adjustment can shift your attitude? You could buy a gratitude journal and spend a few minutes each day writing down all the things youre thankful for. You could make a habit of sharing something youre grateful for before dinner each day make your grace a real thanksgiving. And then when it comes to contentment, I really think we have to break the stranglehold of consumerism. The idea that more will make me happier: it never does. It just leaves us wanting more. And so perhaps we choose to live with less. We simplify. If you dont spend enough time on your boat to justify the expense, perhaps you could live without it. If you dont get to the gym or the country club often enough, is it worth keeping the membership? Do you really need a new car, or new golf clubs, or new shoes? Or could you find contentment with what you have already? And this brings me to the last idea. 3. Enjoy the One who gives you wealth Weve been thinking about how to be thankful for what we have. So we started with the premise that we all enjoy considerable wealth, just by virtue of having enough to live comfortably. Then we were reminded that all we have is the gift of God. He has given us everything we have, and so we ought not forget him, especially when we find ourselves very well off. Because greed is destructive. And so instead we need to cultivate contentment. But heres the catch. God wants us to enjoy the things that he gives us. And to find contentment in them. But he doesnt just want to watch on from a distance. God wants to be part of our lives. We shouldnt just enjoy the gifts God gives us we should enjoy the Giver as well! Years ago, a friend at church gave me his guitar. We played in a band together, and I had a guitar that wasnt that great. And when Tom bought a beautiful new guitar, he gave me his old 8 one. I love that guitar. Its a great instrument. And when I play it, I often remember who it came from. And the generosity of Tom to pass it on to me. The guitar is kind of a symbol of our friendship. The gift and the giver are tied together. And thats the conclusion that Solomon came to. If were to be content with what we have, if were to enjoy what we have, we have to enjoy it with the Giver. 24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own 25 toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25) for without him, who can eat or find This Thanksgiving, where will you find your enjoyment? Shall we pray? 9

30 Days of Thankfulness2. Thankful for Who We Are Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 100 Sunday 13 November, 2022 In last weeks sermon, I spoke about a song that goes: I Raise A Hallelujah. Its such a good song, that Ive had it going around in my head for about a week now. Around and around. You know what they call that? When a song goes round and round in your head and you cant seem to shake it off? An earworm. Its like the song burrows its way into your brain, and you cant get rid of it. I did a little Googling and I found out it was the Germans who first coined the phrase earworm about a 100 years ago. Scientists have a much more boring word to describe the phenomenon Involuntary Musical Imagery. Apparently all kinds of things can trigger an earworm. A particular word, a phrase, hearing some notes from the song, or even feeling an emotion that you associate with the song. They trigger a memory in your brain, without you even thinking about it voluntarily. They call that involuntary cognition. Thats your science lesson for the morning. Apparently it happens more with people who are musically inclined. I think Im musically inclined, because ever since I was a kid I remember humming tunes. Its pretty cute when little children hum out loud, or sing songs to themselves. They have this unself-conscious way of doing it, they dont care if anyone is listening, they are probably not even aware of it. Its just their little hearts expressing the joy that music can bring, as they sing their happy song. I remember some time not long into elementary school, where I was told that its not really OK to sing out loud in public. I dont remember who said it maybe another kid, maybe the teacher, or it might have been my mom wanting to protect me. From that moment on, I learned to hide my happy song, at least on the outside... But on the inside? I think thats what my earworms are. My happy song. Whats your happy song? What is the song that plays inside your head when things are going well? What fills you with joy and brings singing to your heart? Perhaps not literal singing, but that same kind of unrestrained joy that little children have? What makes your heart sing? That is what were thinking about as we open the Bible today, so why dont we pray that God would teach our hearts to sing. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for speaking to us in the Bible, for revealing truth to us, for teaching us. Will you do that today will you speak and reveal truth and teach us to take joy in you, as you remind us of who we are in Christ. We pray in his saving name, Amen So all this month we are working on the practice of thankfulness growing in gratitude as we deliberately focus ourselves on all the things that we have to be thankful for. Were calling it 30 Days of Thankfulness, and to help we have our 30 Days of Thankfulness Prayer Guide. (Observation from today) 1. ShoutingForJoy Our family is a rollercoaster family. Ever since the kids were little, weve loved going to theme parks to ride the rollercoasters, as well as all the other rides. The bigger and the faster, the better. It wasnt always that way. One of our children was a bit nervous about rollercoasters when they were really little. But with time, theyve both ended up as thrill-seekers. One of the things I love the most about going to the theme park with my family is that they love to scream on the rides. All of them. There is a ride called the Tower of Terror back in Australia. - Feet dangling, high up in the air, waiting for them to drop you... - Screams! When my family screams, theyre the kind of screams that make people turn their heads and look up to smile, because they know were having such a great time! You can hear it. The screams of terror arent really screams of terror. (Well kind of...) Theyre also shouts of joy. Psalm 100 begins with a shout of joy. The kind of noise that makes you look over, and pay attention: 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. When I read this, it sounds like the beginning of a song which lots of Psalms were, of course. But the words arent just hollow. The songwriter, the Psalmist, is actually painting a picture of an alternate reality. A reality where all the earth, every creature, pours out a song to the Lord. A song of joy. A song of gladness. A song of worship. - A picture of heaven: (Revelation 5:13) 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! This is an image of all the earth worshiping around the throne of Jesus. (Repeated in Rev 7, 14). A picture not of an alternate reality, but an eternal reality.One day, all of the earth and everything in it will shout for joy to the Lord. And if you are friends with Jesus, that is the eternal reality for you. What does joy in the Lord look like for you right now? How does your life sing a song of praise and worship to the Lord? What makes your heart sing? 2. IdentityWho we are I was a child of the 80s, and one of the best parts about the 80s were the mustaches. The best mustache of course belonged to Tom Selleck from Magnum PI. My dad also had the most amazing mustache in the 80s. Just like Magnum PI. And so I decided when I grow up, I am going to grow a mustache just like Magnum PI and just like my dad. Because thats what real men do. Thats part of the identity of a real man. Sadly the Lord has not blessed me with a Magnum PI mustache. Or at least not the last time I tried, about 15 years ago. And so Ive had to deal with not achieving the identity that I thought I would. Im not who I thought I would be when I grew up. Now of course Im joking around. But actually, when you think about what you wanted to be when you grew up, have you achieved everything you thought you would? Have you become the person you wanted to be? Have you done all the things you wanted to do? Have you grown into the identity that you pictured as a child? Because the reality is, many of us dont become the person we wanted to become. We might not have the life we expected to have. We might not have the job we expected to have. We might not have the family we expected to have. We might have made mistakes that we didnt want to make. And we fall short of the identity that we created in our minds. We might even be disappointed with who weve become. What has formed your identity? What makes you who you are at your core? But Psalm 100 reminds us that our identity is not caught up in our achievements, or our life choices. Psalm 100 reminds us that our identity is formed in our relationship to God. 3 Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3) Psalm 100 teaches us that no matter what our life has brought us, we have an identity that is unshakeable. Unchangeable. We belong to God... we are his So today as we focus ourselves on thankfulness, I want us to thank God for who he has made us to be. I want us to be thankful to God for the identity that he has given us. I want us to: 3 Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. So to help us be reminded of the depth of these words, I have four (or five?) Bible verses that remind us of how important we are in Gods eyes. (i) First, the idea that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Who knows where that Bible verse is from? Psalm 139. Psalm 139 talks about the way that God was intricately involved in creating you to be the way that you are, even before you were born. 13 For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mothers womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book (Psalm 139:13-16) Psalm 139 reminds us that God knows everything about us. Because he made us. Down to weaving together your genetics in your mothers womb. Bringing cells together to create you made in his image, made as Gods handiwork. Knit together by him, just the way he wanted to make you. You are a perfect creation of God. Isnt that something? God himself made you, and he knows you. You are his. You were created with intention, and you were created for a purpose. (ii) And thats where we come to our second Bible verse. Colossians 1:16 tells us that all things were created by Jesus and for him. 16 For in him [v13 says that this is talking about the Son Jesus] all things werecreated: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16) That means when God saw your unformed body, when he knit you together in your mothers womb, he did it for a purpose. He made you for Jesus. In fact Jesus himself had a part in your creation, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all worked together to bring creation into being. They did that for each of us, just like in the beginning. And if we were made through Jesus and for Jesus, then it means our life will find its ultimate meaning only when we know Jesus. Do you know Jesus? He knows you... PAUSE Most of the world doesnt know Jesus. Most people live their lives without reference to God. They dont know that God created them for a purpose. And so they try to find their purpose in other things, in other achievements, in other relationships. I think thats where our identity gets so messed up. We compare ourselves with others, and there is always someone richer, or smarter, more beautiful, more accomplished than us. The identity game is a trap you can never win... But when we find our identity in Jesus, we find out that no matter who we are, no matter what weve achieved, we are deeply loved. (iii) Thats the third idea that we are deeply loved. 5 The first Bible verse I ever learned was John 3:16. Do you know how it goes? 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) God loves us... And he loves us so much that even our sin wont get in the way of his fierce love for us. God loves us so much that he gave his only Son to deal with our sin, so that we wouldnt have to deal with the consequences of our sin in ourselves. Jesus died to make us right with God. And thats what Colossians 1 goes on to say, a few verses after the part we read before. You see we were created for Jesus, but our sin led to separation from God. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (Colossians 1:21) God takes our sin seriously. He calls it evil behavior. And it alienates us from God. But did you see what v22 says? 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christs physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation... (Colossians 1:22) We have been reconciled to God by Christs physical body. When Jesus died, he died so that we could be presented to God: holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation... (Colossians 1:22) Can you imagine what it must feel like to find out that you are holy in the sight of God? Without blemish and free from accusation? Weve all done thing we wish we didnt do. There are sins Ive committed that I wish I didnt do. And it might feel like our sins are hanging over us, and that God is waiting to punish us for them... What would it be like to know that you are holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation... There is a true story of a priest in the Philippines, a much-loved man of God who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years before. He had repented but still had no peace, no sense of God's forgiveness. 6 In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and who claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ and he with her. The priest, however, was skeptical. To test her he said, "The next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary." The woman agreed. A few days later the priest asked., "Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?" "Yes, he did," she replied."And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?" "Yes," she replied"Well, what did he say?""He said, 'I don't remember'" Jesus doesnt see us as the sum total of our mistakes. He doesnt hold up a record of our sin, and wave it in our face. No, instead he says, I love you. And because of the cross, I see you as holy, without blemish and free from accusation... That is your identity in Christ, if you belong to him.To go back to the words of Psalm 100, we belong to God. We are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.And thats why Jesus said in John 10:14... 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Fatherand I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15) Do you know the good shepherd? The one who has laid down his life for the sheep? Because he knows you. And he loves you. And he wants you to be secure in that identity, no matter who you are, no matter what youve done. And so that just leaves the question of how we respond to Jesus. 7 3. EnterwithThanksgiving Our son Jamie volunteers down at Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch. He goes down everyday to feed the pigs and the goats and the sheep. He loves it, and he especially loves how the goats and the pigs know who he is. Theyre smart animals, and they know that he is going to feed them. And they know hes going to scratch their ears and look after them. Last week two of the goats got out of the pen. They climbed out, I think. Anyway these goats escape and they go off to explore the farm. And so my Jamie has to catch them. How do you catch a runaway goat? You get his favorite food. And you lure him back until you can catch him. Sure enough, Jamie gets a little bowl full of goat food. These little pellets that they love. And he calls the goats and they see the food and they come running to Jamie. He opens the gate and the goats go back into the pen. Because they know who feeds them. They know who looks after them. And thats how Psalm 100 finishes. With Gods people, the sheep of his pasture entering his gates with thanksgiving. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgivingand his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5) When we know Gods voice, and when we recognize his goodness, we will want to come back to him. Well want to enter into his presence to say thank you to him. Well want to enter into his presence to praise him. Thats what we do every Sunday here at church. We run with joy into the presence of God. We worship him with gladness (v1-2). We enjoy God with our church family, as we pray and sing together, as we hear Gods promises spoken through the pages of the Bible, as we remember Jesus sacrifice for us, as we pray for his kingdom to come. Coming to church is actually (in a little way) a preview of that day when all of Gods creatures will shout for joy to the Lord. This is a preview of whats to come for all of eternity. Because the Lord is good. And his love endures forever (v5). That word for love in v5, its that Hebrew word hesed. It means faithful love. Gods enduring, faithful, unchangeable, never-stopping, never giving up love. Love that doesnt quit. Gods love is forever. And his faithfulness continues through all generations. 8 And thats why we need to keep singing the song of Gods love in our lives. We need to keep entering his courts with thanksgiving, and praising his name because thats how the next generation will hear about what Jesus has done. When God makes our heart sing, people sit up and take notice. So what makes your heart sing? And what song are you singing to the next generation? Shall we pray? 9

30 Days of Thankfulness1. Taste and See That the Lord is Good Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 34:1-8 Two friends met each other on the street one day. One looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, What has the world done to you, my old friend? The sad fellow said, Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars. Thats a lot of money. But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear. Sounds to me that youve been very blessed. You dont understand! he interrupted. Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her. Now the mans friend was really confused. Then, why do you look so glum? This weeknothing! ~ Thankfulness. November is the perfect month to think about the idea of thankfulness. Of course we have Thanksgiving (the holiday) at the end of the month, but why limit our thankfulness to just one day? The Bible is full of encouragements to be thankful thankful to God for who he is, and what he has done. Thankful for everything he has given us. Thankful for providing even when things dont seem to be going our way. Being thankful is not always easy. It takes practice. And thats why I want us to spend all of November practicing thankfulness together, with a series Im calling 30 Days of Thanksgiving. Im excited to see what God will do in our hearts, as we cultivate our thankfulness and grow in gratitude together over the next 30 days. To help I have produced a downloadable 30 Days of Thankfulness prayer guide. I wanted to have paper copies printed for you but our printer stopped printing color this week, so youll have to be thankful for black and white notes, or you can easily read it on your ipad or computer. The idea is to focus every day on something youre thankful for. There is plenty of space to jot down notes or thoughts or prayers. I really hope it helps us learn thankfulness. Ill be working on this myself, so you can ask me what Im thankful for as wellJ 1 So the question we have to ask ourselves as we come to church this morning is, What are you thankful for in 2022? And how will you look back on 2022 and see blessing, and provision, and protection? And how can you take that thankfulness into whatever the coming season brings? Were going to be looking at Psalm 134 to help us answer those questions, so why dont we pray and then well open the Bible together. Our heavenly Father, as we reflect on the year weve had, help us to see your goodness and your sovereign hand over every circumstance. Give us thankful hearts as we remember your promises and your provision. Give us all joy in thanksgiving today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen 1. The Power of Words I love the idea of thanksgiving. And scientific research shows that thankfulness is good for us! For example, a neuroscientist from USC found that there is a link between gratitude and the parts of our brain tied to social bonding, reward and stress relief.1 Other studies have linked gratitude with oxytocin production oxytocin is also known as the cuddle hormone or the love hormone, because its released when people snuggle up or bond socially. Researchers out of Berkeley have shown the benefits of gratitude on mental health2, and theyve put all their research into a book called The Gratitude Project.3 But in all that research, the benefits of gratitude come when we practice it regularly. When express our gratitude, and put it into words. In all the studies, participants would either keep a thankfulness journal, or write gratitude letters, or just make a regular habit of putting their thankfulness into words. Because our words are powerful, and words can shape the way that we think about the world around us. The writer of Psalm 34 (King David) understood the power of words. Listen to how he starts the Psalm: 1 I will extol the Lord at all times;his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the Lord; Fun fact about Psalm 34. This Psalm is an alphabetic acrostic in the original Hebrew language every line in the starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, heh etc). 1 https://news.usc.edu/163123/gratitude-health-research-thanksgiving-usc-experts/2 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain 3 https://www.newharbinger.com/gratitude-project 2 But come back to the idea that words are powerful. Because the Psalmist makes the choice to speak positive words into his situation, no matter what happens I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord. The word extol is translated bless in many of the other Bible versions. And I think this represents a choice for David, the Psalmist. We could look at our circumstances and curse God, or we can choose to bless him. David says, no matter what, I choose to bless the Lord at all times. The next two lines carry a repetition in the original Hebrew. Praise and glory have the same root in Hebrew both come from the hallelujah word. And so we could crudely translate v1b and v2: A hallelujah will always be on my lips, I will hallelujah in the Lord. There was a big worship song a few years ago that came out of a church in northern California, called I raise a hallelujah! You might have heard it on the radio. The words are all about continuing to praise God, to glory in him, to raise a hallelujah whether we are faced by enemies, or storms, doubts... Regardless of what comes our way, David says, keep Gods name on your lips, keep praising him, and youll keep the right dialogue going on in your head... Because it is so easy to listen to words of the tempter, isnt it? The one who undermines our confidence. The one who loves to sow the seeds of doubt. The Devil loves to get inside our heads, doesnt he. And thats why I love this Psalm so much. David writes this Psalm for people who have been listening to the wrong voices... verse 2b let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. David wants those who are afflicted to listen to his testimony. He wants to come alongside them, he wants them to hear his bold choice to speak words of hope in danger. He wants them to hear and rejoice to listen and to have their joy restored. I know that the last few years have been difficult for many of you. Some of you have shared those hard things with me, and weve prayed over illness and death and estrangement and mental health and all kinds of hardships and afflictions. Collectively weve all lived through a pandemic that has changed our day to day existence, and continues to produce uncertainty about the future. Its easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. 3 But in this Psalm, David teaches us that there is something we can do to reorient ourselves in the middle of trouble, and thats to keep speaking truth about the greatness of God, no matter what enemy we see before us. Thats what verse 3 is all about. The ESV and King James translate this verse: Magnify the Lord with me! We need to magnify God that is, we need to look closely at how big and powerful and majestic and wonderful God is. We need to keep making him great in our lives. Making him the biggest and most impressive thing we see. Because its way too easy to let the hard things in life grow out of proportion. Our problems can seem insurmountable, unsolveable, unmanageable. But when we look at them alongside the God who spoke creation into being, are they really that powerful? Sometimes it takes a friend to help us see the truth. Thats what David does. He encourages all the afflicted to remember Gods greatness with him. To lift Gods name on high. To join him in the hallelujah... What words are you speaking to yourself in the middle of the storm that is 2022? What is the narrative that youre telling yourself about this year? Is it a narrative that puts God firmly on the throne, that puts God unquestionably in control of today and tomorrow? Are you speaking a hallelujah over every day that the Lord has given you in 2022? Thats your self-talk. Now I want you to think about the words that you speak into the lives of those around you whether they trust in the Lord or not. What testimony are they hearing from your lips? Are they hearing your testimony to Gods greatness, as you speak about 2022? Are your words bringing gospel comfort and peace and joy and hope and thankfulness? Words are powerful... Thats our first big idea. 2. The Promise of Deliverance Our second big idea is that our words dont fall on deaf ears. Bookshops are full of self-help books, and books about the power of positive thinking. Is that the essence of Davids exhortation? Is that all there is to it? Think good things about God, and everything will turn out alright? 4 To push it a step further, should we expect to live a life free from affliction when we trust in the Lord? That wasnt Davids experience. When we read the attribution at the top of this Psalm, it says: [A psalm] of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left. This Psalm seems to be written during the time when David had to run for his life away from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. You might remember that the Lord had anointed David as king over Israel, but Saul was still on the throne. Things got messy. And David finds himself hiding out in the royal court of his enemies, the Philistines, when the Philistine King recognizes him and says: Isnt this David, the king of the land? Isnt he the one they sing about in their dances: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands? (1 Samuel 21:11) David has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire... And so he pretends to be mad drools into his beard, and scratching the doors with his fingernails, until the Philistine king sends him away. So did David live a charmed life because of his magical words about Gods greatness? No. Back in Psalm 34 David reminds us in v19 that: The righteous person may have many troubles, BUT... the Lord delivers him from them all; In this Psalm, David looks back on a difficult moment in his life, and he has a testimony about how God rescued him. How God helped him through the trouble. How God was faithful to his promise to bring David to the throne, by saving him from his enemies. And we see that refrain time and time again throughout the Psalm God promises to deliver those who call out to him: 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 5 We have a promise-keeping God. He promises to hear us when we cry out to him our words are not hot air. They are words that remind us of the One who is able to do more than we could ask or imagine, and the One who is powerfully at work within us by his Spirit (Eph 3:20). In some ways we are nothing like King David. We will probably never find ourselves on the run from one king and threatened by another. But there will be times when we fear for our jobs, for our health, for our families. And the threat might remain, but listen to what David says in v4: 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. As we face all kinds of difficulties in life, the temptation will be to make that problem into the biggest thing in our life. To let it loom over us, to let it dominate our thoughts, to let it steal our confidence in Gods bigger plan for us... Because God has a bigger plan for us. The Bible is absolutely clear about the future for those who trust in Jesus Christ. Its a future without evil, its a future without suffering, its a future where God keeps his promise to make us his children and heirs of the kingdom. Its a glorious future, just like David faced, only even better. So what could get in the way of Gods good plan for you? What enemy is so big that Gods plans might be thwarted? Coronavirus? Cancer? Your mental health? Your physical health? Are any of those problems so great that they could prevent God from rescuing you and bringing you into his kingdom? No. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, and nothing that will stop God from bringing about your ultimate rescue. Demons, death, disease they are powerless against the one who is bringing all of history towards the day when Jesus kingdom triumphs over all others. Even Satan cant stand in the way of Gods plans, because Jesus has dealt with Satans grip on our souls. Jesus has dealt with our sin and shame on the cross so that not even our unrighteousness will hold us back from Gods promises, if we ask Jesus to rescue us from it. And thats the joy of the gospel that David knew also: 5 Those who look to him are radiant;their faces are never covered with shame. (Ps 34:5) 6 Whenever Moses would meet with the Lord, do you remember, his face would be radiant, literally. There was something about being in the presence of the Lord that made him glow. And David says its the same for everyone who knows God and trusts him deeply. There is something radiant about them. This is not about hollow words of affirmation, but an abiding trust in Gods promises experienced in the past, and the present and anticipated in the future. Are these the promises that keep you steady in the storm? God kept these promises for David. God kept these promises for Jesus. And he will keep these promises for you, regardless of what difficulties we face... Thats big idea 2 to remember Gods promises of deliverance. 3. The Proof is in the Pudding And that leaves us with one last idea to finish: the proof is in the pudding. It wouldnt be Thanksgiving without pie, particularly Pumpkin pie and Pecan pie. Until just a few years ago, I had never tasted pumpkin pie. Its just not a thing in Australia. You cant buy pumpkin in a can, you dont see pumpkin pies in stores, and even Starbucks didnt have pumpkin spiced latte until a few years ago. And so when we got to our friends house one night for dinner, and the wife announced that we were having pumpkin pie for dessert, I have to admit I was a bit wary. Is there anyone else who thinks pumpkin pie looks like baby food? Turns out pumpkin pie is pretty good. And so is pumpkin spiced latte. Sometimes you just have to try something to find out if its good. David writes to people who are facing big enemies. People who are finding it hard to trust that God is bigger than whatever they face. That might be you. You might be listening today thinking, Im just not sure if God can deal with this thing that is going on in my life right now. Im not sure if I can trust what weve read today. Im not sure that I want to put all my eggs in that basket. If youre thinking that way, youre not alone. Over the last 3 years, all of us have been thrown by events we never expected. Some deeply worrying events... But I dont want those worries to keep you from experiencing the goodness of God. A bit like pumpkin pie, sometimes you just have to try something to find out if its good. David writes in Psalm 34:9 7 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34 is an invitation to give God the benefit of the doubt. To try him for yourself and to see if his promises are true in your life. To taste and see that the Lord is good. Again, this psalm doesnt promise the perfect life. But it promises a blessed life. A life without shame, a life that brings peace (v14) and a life that experiences the comfort of knowing that someone hears you when you cry out. A life where there is something (and someone) greater than any difficulties you might face... Thats worth giving thanks about... Will you pray with me? 1 I will extol the Lord at all times;his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the Lord;let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me;let us exalt his name together. 8

Kingdom People10. The King in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 21:1-19 Symbols I want to start with a little game guess the movie. Give you 30 seconds with the person beside you to name whichever movies you can based on the symbols... Then well check the answers together. Just so you know, this came from a survey of 1000 people in the US. The percentages are the percentage of people who recognised each symbol. (Reveal movies on click) Anybody get 100%? Anybody on 0%? Anybody else whos never seen Dodgeball??? Or Watchmen? When I see the Ghostbusters icon, and it takes me back to 1984 when I was 9 years old, and I went to see Ghostbusters in the movies with my friend Damien. No parents, just two 9 year olds at the movies on their own. Do you remember the opening scene in the library with the ghost librarian? We were terrified... for about 2 minutes anyway. The rest of the movie was hilarious! (at least according to 1984 standards, as reported by a 9 year old! ) Anyway, we have minds that quickly recognise symbols like these. And even simple symbols like these, simple graphics, can evoke the entire plotline of a movie, or a series of movies. Of course you need to have been exposed to these symbols to recognise them. And so when they collated the results of the study by when participants were born, CLICK They found that people born in the 70s recognised the most symbols thats to do with which movies they chose for the study whereas the next generation above that recognised less. If they were icons from older movies Im sure the stats would be reversed. The point Im trying to get at is, in every culture there are icons or symbols that are immediately recognisable. And if youve been brought up with those stories, then an image, a word, a line from a movie, even a misquoted line from a movie is immediately recognisable as part of a bigger plotline. 1 Well in our Bible passage today, Jesus performs three symbolic acts. Symbols that would have been immediately recognisable to the people around him, the people who had grown up with the OT scriptures and prophecies as their popular culture. For us, though, were a bit like people born in the 60s or earlier (at least the ones in the film study we looked at). Well probably recognise a few of the OT symbols and symbolism, but not 100%. But Im hoping today we can come closer to seeing the triumphal entry through the eyes of those who were there, to see it in the bigger plotline of the Bible, and to understand how Jesus wanted people to respond to him. So why dont we pray that God will help us see Jesus clearly and in the larger Biblical context this morning/evening: Dear Father, as we read this passage today, will you help us to see the symbolism, to recognise Jesus (as the promised King), and to respond with faith and fruitful lives as his followers. We pray this for the glory of the King who died for us, amen. The three symbolic acts are not surprisingly the colt, the courtyard and the curse. The Colt Lets start with the colt. Youll remember that Jesus has been travelling deliberately towards Jerusalem ever since he was revealed as the Messiah, back in chapter 16. That was in Caesarea Philippi in the very north of Galilee, the very north of Israel. And as we start ch21 Jesus has travelled all the way south to Jerusalem in Judea, a journey of 100 miles. Which he would have travelled on foot. With him are crowds of people. Some are there for his healing and teaching. Others are making their way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Passover was one of the three festivals where Jewish males were expected to go up to the Temple in Jerusalem (along with Weeks Tabernacles1). During Passover, the population of Jerusalem could swell from 30,000 to perhaps 180,000 people, with pilgrims coming from not only Galilee and other parts of Israel, but from all over the Mediterranean. You can imagine how busy it would have been, how many people would 1 France p771 2 have been camped all over the hills around Jerusalem, because there was no way the city could accommodate them all. And this is the scene into which Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his first symbolic action. So we pick up the action at 21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away. Now the commentators assume this is something that Jesus has pre-arranged. Its not a Jedi mind trick (these are not the droids you are looking for... the Lord needs them... ;-) (Had to be from the 70s...) No, Jesus has pre-arranged this moment for exactly the reason that Matthew gives in v4 Jesus is planning to ride into the city on a donkey in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, prophecies that paints him as the King. 5 Say to Daughter Zion,See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey,and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. BTW this quote is actually a mashup of Isaiah 62.11 and Zechariah 9:9. Isaiah and Zechariah are two prophets who wrote 700 and 500 years before Christ respectively. But both are written out of the context of Gods people living under foreign rule. If youll allow me a quick history lesson of the Israelites. Davids kingdom had been split into two after Solomons death, the northern tribes had been destroyed by Assyria in 722BC. The southern tribes had been taken into exile by the Babylonians in the 586BC. After 70 years, the southern tribes were allowed to return Jerusalem when Persia conquered Babylon, but Gods people were still under foreign rule in their own country, in the Promised Land. After the Persians, it would be Alexander the Great, and then the Roman Empire up to the time of Jesus, ruling over Gods people. 3 Gods people were waiting for a king. A Messiah. A savior. A king to bring Gods people under Gods rule. And so Zechariah, in 500BC, imagines the day when Gods king will ride into Jerusalem, and assume the throne, establish the kingdom, restore Israels fortunes. Listen to Zechariah 9:9, and read along with v5 on the passage from Matthew: 9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you,righteous and victorious (Zechariah 9:9) A righteous and victorious king... In the two centuries before Christ, there had been a number of Jewish rebellions against the occupying Roman armies. Men who claimed to be the righteous and victorious king. The messiah. But they were swiftly and brutally put down by the Roman rulers. And now we have Jesus ready to ride into Jerusalem as the promised king. The messiah. You can only imagine the tension in the air... Will he the king they were expecting? Did you notice the difference between Zechariah and what is written in Matthew 21:5? Righteous and victorious. They are missing from Matthew. You see, Gods people had majored on the victorious aspect of Zechariahs prophecy. This king is going to come and he is going to conquer and rule and get trid of the Romans. But they were focusing on the wrong part of the prophecy. Actually, the king in Zechariahs prophecy is not a warrior king. Hes gentle. Lowly. He comes to bring peace. In Zechariah, God says the king will remove the warhorses from Jerusalem. And thats why Jesus is there on this little donkey. Its just like Jesus told the disciples in the last chapter Jesus hadnt come to lord his rule over people like the Gentiles did, instead he taught them that the Son of Man came to serve others. Whoever wants to be first must be a slave. Jesus is a very different kind of king. PAUSE 4 But the crowds, they get the image the Zechariah prophecy is being fulfilled before their eyes. Theres no missing this famous teacher, the one who everyone had been talking about on the road, the one who had been healing and teaching. And now as they arrive in Jerusalem, there he is. Sitting above the crowd, riding on a donkey. So they roll out the red carpet for the king. Palm fronds and clothing anyway. It was part of the festival tradition for people to carry palm fronds or tree branches on their way up to the altar its part of Psalm 118 which is a traditional Passover psalm... A song that the pilgrims would always sing on their way into Jerusalem. But now Psalm 118 (which is where the Hosanna quote comes from) all of it sudden takes on a different meaning when the actual Son of David, the promised King, the Messiah is there in front of them. Hosanna to the Son of David!Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Hosanna literally means, Save us. But they would have said hosanna a bit like we say hallelujah that is, a term of praise, more than a literal plea to be saved. But here when theyre singing Hosanna and Jesus is right there in front of them, theres this beautiful double meaning when you know that just a week later, he would literally save them by dying on a cross... So thats the first symbolic act, laden with Old Testament symbols and imagery and fulfilment of prophecy. Its Jesus painted unmistakeably as the Messiah. So what are we supposed to take from these verses? I think were meant to see Jesus as hes portrayed, and see him as the centre of Gods plan to bring peace, the centre of Gods plan to restore his people, the centre of Gods plan to restore his rule over a rebellious world. Thats certainly the wider Zechariah context, and the wider context of all the OT prophecies about the Messiah. So thats the first idea kind of simple recognise Jesus as the Messiah. The Courtyard The next part of the passage teaches us that not everybody will recognise Jesus as Messiah. 5 And that tension begins in v10, when Jesus enters the city. We read that the whole city was stirred that is shaken up. And not stirred with positive emotion, but instead with the first seeds of opposition that will eventually lead to Jesus crucifixion. The Jerusalemites want to know who this is making an entrance as a king. Another Jewish wannabe-Messiah would be bad for them. It would bring political tension with the Roman governor, perhaps jeopardise their way of life, their relative peace. So you have the crowds who had been following Jesus from Galilee who are proclaiming him as Messiah, contrasted with the people of Jerusalem who are questioning Jesus identity. Thats when Jesus performs his second symbolic act and the scene for this is the temple court. [Slide Temple] Just to help you picture it, this is a reconstruction of the Temple in the Israel Museum. In real life the Temple in Jerusalem was huge, the size of 29 football fields. And it was imposing, built on top of a hill so that if you looked up it would fill your vision. A symbol of Gods presence with his people, looming large over the city. It was the place for symbolically drawing near to God, the place where Gods people offered sacrifices of blood to remind themselves of the seriousness of sin. A place to find forgiveness. And a place to remember Gods promises to his people, Gods rescue of his people. Thats why so many had come to Jerusalem, to remember the way God had rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, the miraculous saving of his people when they painted blood on their doors and the angel of death passed over them, passed them by. But you can imagine the hubbub, the commotion, of 180,000 people arriving and crowding into the Temple precinct. Because they wouldnt have brought their sacrifices with them, all the way from Galilee or further afield. No, they had to buy animals when they arrived. And so there were the merchants selling lambs and goats, and doves and other birds for sacrifices. There were the money changers, who you needed so that you could pay your temple tax in the temples currency. There must also have been food for sale, to feed so many people. You could imagine those tables and stalls and markets all around Jerusalem in the surrounding villages and just outside the temple walls. But in Jesus time, the sellers had taken their trade inside the temple walls, into the Court of the Gentiles the very large courtyard that you can see surrounding the smaller walled area in the centre. 6 Any person could go into the court of the Gentiles but only Jews could go into that inner walled area, and then only certain people could go so far Jewish women to the first part, then Jewish men, then priests into the part where they performed the sacrifices, and then into the most holy place, the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest could go in, and even then only once a year. [Slide off] But now, the outer Court of the Gentiles was filled with merchants and money changers. Jesus is furious. He goes in (v12) and he drives them all out the money changers, the dove sellers. He turns over their tables and he yells at them a mashup of Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7 prophecies about keeping the temple holy. 13 It is written, he said to them, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:7) I read that it was perhaps Caiaphas the High Priest who had allowed the merchants into the temple courtyard, and maybe only a year or two earlier. It puts an interesting spin on Caiaphas role in the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin you could see this symbolic act in the Temple as Jesus condemning Caiaphas personally and deliberately, then just a few days later Caiaphas getting his revenge on Jesus. An interesting theory, but Matthew doesnt make it explicit, so we can speculate, but I wouldnt stake my career on it. What we do see, though, is Jesus condemning hollow religion. Jesus was condemning the priests and teachers of the law for failing to treat the temple as the holy place it should have been. The same way they failed to treat God as they should have. Its a complaint against many of the priests throughout the OT, and it makes me think seriously about my own heart as someone who works in the church... Because this is the problem I think. Jesus comes into the temple, and he sees all these people who are close to God, living right under the shadow of Gods presence, yet they fail to follow him properly. Its exactly the same as many of the crowds who had followed Jesus they were close to him, they heard his teachings, but they never followed him fully. Never really gave up their lives, never really changed their allegiance towards Jesus. They were close to God, but not really changed. 7 And I think theres a warning for us here in church about that. A warning not to live our lives close to following Jesus, close to knowing him, close but no cigar. That was the rich young man back in chapter 19 wasnt it. From external appearances he looked so close to God, but in the end his heart was far away. His heart was consumed by his stuff, instead of being consumed by God. So what about your heart?Because Jesus third symbolic act tells us that this is a life or death decision. The Curse After the episode in the temple court, Matthew contrasts two very different reactions to Jesus in just one verse (v15): there are the little children who keep shouting what the pilgrims outside the city had shouted Hosanna to the Son of David! Remember all through ch18-20 the little children have popped up as models of dependent faith. Well, here theyre contrasted with the chief priests and teachers of the law who are indignant about what Jesus had done, indignant that anyone should identify him as the messiah. One is a model of faith, the other a model of false religion. To make the point clear, the next day Jesus enacts a parable about the consequences of false religion, the consequence of living a fruitless religious life. Verse 19: he sees a fig tree without any fruit on it, and he curses it, and it withers straight away. The image comes from the OT again the fig is a symbol of the good life that God promises his people, but also something he threatens to take away when his people fail to take him seriously, when they stray to sin and other gods (Jeremiah 8:13). And so here Jesus pronounces judgment on the fruitlessness of the chief priests and teachers of the law. Like the fig tree, God removes his blessing from them. He curses them and they will wither eternally... Again, this is a stark warning for us.Our hearts matter to God, our genuine faith matters... PAUSEJ 8 Thats a heavy message, I know. We normally read this passage at the beginning of Easter week. Because this passage begins the last week of Jesus life... a week that would end with Jesus dying on the cross, then rising to new life on the third day. And that Easter story reminds us that what we just read is not a fairy tale. Its history. And a part of history that hasnt yet been completed. Because Jesus the King will return one day to his kingdom. Just like that day in Jerusalem, he will come back to earth, and hell turn over the tables of hollow religion. He will ask us about the state of our hearts. Hell look for the fruit of faith growing in our lives. And many will be shown to be pretenders. But not those who have cried out Hosanna save us. There is something so beautiful about faith in Jesus. He knows we could never save ourselves. We could never do enough religious ceremonies to save ourselves. We could never do enough penance to earn his forgiveness. We could never outweigh our mistakes with good deeds. There is nothing we could do to stand before God on our own merits. It would be hopeless. And so we need a king who rides into our lives, with the promise of mercy and peace. A king who forgives. A king who saves... Shall we pray? Our loving heavenly Father, help us to draw near to you with all our hearts. Hosanna, save us. Sometimes it is so easy to forget you, or not to take you seriously, or to get caught up with other things. Hosanna, forgive us, and restore us, and save us we pray. Give us hearts to serve you only. And we pray this week that many in the Napa Valley and beyond would hear the news of your love for us in Jesus Christ. We pray that many would recognise Jesus as King, and give their lives to him. And we pray in his saving name, Jesus our Lord and savior. Hosanna and amen. 9

Kingdom People7. Wealth in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 19:16-30 16 October 2022 In this passage we watch a young man walk away from Jesus because he chooses his earthly possessions over eternal life. Jesus warns us how difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. As a church, how are we preventing one another from stumbling (18:6) in this area? A businessman man stops his sports car to get some money out of the ATM. He withdraws a large sum, puts it away in his wallet, then he turns to go back to his car. Out of the shadows, a large and imposing man appears. Pointing a gun at the business-man he says in a gruff voice, Your money or your life! The business-man instinctively puts his hand to his back pocket, where he has just put his full wallet. He looks left. He looks right. He says nothing. The mugger speaks louder. I said, your money or your life. Whats it going to be? The business man says, Give me a moment, Im still trying to decide. In our Bible passage today, a rich man comes to Jesus. And Jesus asks him that same question your money or your life. This morning were going to be thinking about what it means for us as rich people to follow Jesus without anything else getting in the way. Our passage says its a difficult thing for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, so we need to ask God to help us listen and learn from this passage. So why dont we pray and then well open the passage in detail. Our loving heavenly Father, as we open your word today, help us listen carefully to your Son. Help us to do what is right when it comes to the wealth you have given us. Help us grow in this area as a church, to have kingdom priorities as we look forward to the treasure of eternal life with you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 1 Its good to remember where were up to in our Teaching Series in Matthew. Its our pattern here at Yountville Community Church to spend most of the year working our way carefully through sections of the Bible, sometimes whole books. That means we get a balanced diet of Old and New Testament, and it also means we allow God to set the agenda with the topics that are raised as we work methodically through books of the Bible. In our section of Matthew that were working our way through this fall, ch17-21, weve had some confronting topics. Sin, hell, forgiveness, divorce. And this week money, and the cost of following Jesus. It would have been much easier to preach the three verses just before our passage when Jesus blesses some little children, and says the kingdom belongs to such as these. But Im saving them for another day ;-) Just so you know, I think there are three big ideas from the passage today. Riches. Risk. Reward. Riches First one... Riches Our story happens as Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. Hes on his way to fulfil what he had predicted back in chapter 16. That is, that the Messiah must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, that he must be killed and on the third day to be raised to life. Jesus is now on his way to Jerusalem, crowds of people are still following him. Hes healing and teaching. And this young man comes to Jesus with a question. Verse 16Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? (Matthew 19:16) Ive been wondering all week about the mans motives in asking the question. In the first half of the chapter, somebody had come to Jesus with a question to test him. And so we wonder with this young man. Is he testing Jesus as well? When you read Marks account of the same moment, the young man falls at Jesus feet, as if he is desperate to know what he has to do to be saved (Mark 10:17). 2 Its not as clear here in Matthew. The young man asks: Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?Jesus plays with him a bit, and says Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. (i.e. God) Of course, we know that Jesus is the Son of God, but the young man obviously didnt. He calls Jesus, Teacher, as if he is just one of the rabbis. Maybe the young man asked all the rabbis the same question. But its a serious question how can I be sure that Ive done enough? How can I be certain Ive done enough good things to get eternal life? Jesus asks him about his religious law-keeping. And in v20 the young man says he has kept all the commandments that Jesus named. (reading from v17) [Jesus says:] If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. 18 Which ones? [the young man] inquired. Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. 20 All these I have kept, the young man said. What do I still lack? (Matthew 19:17-20) He is a religious young man. He knows the commandments, hes morally upright as far as the law is concerned.But he knows there is something he still lacks. What do I still lack? he asks Jesus. What more do I need to do to get eternal life? PAUSE There might be some people here today asking Jesus the same question. What do I need to do to be saved? Tell me, and Ill do it! 3 Well Jesus tells this guy something he didnt expect to hear. (v21) 21 Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. (Matthew 19:21) Jesus says, its your money or your life. He says to this man: you can choose your earthly wealth, but you wont find eternal life. Or you can give it all away, sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor and youll have eternal life. What will you choose treasure here on earth in this lifetime, or treasure in heaven for all eternity? Its a tricky verse, isnt it? Because if its a command for all of us, then we all need to go out and sell everything before we can follow Jesus. Is it saying that all Christians need to take a vow of poverty? It makes me think of my friends who are missionaries. We have close friends who are missionaries in Cambodia, and Chile, and one who used to be in a predominantly Muslim country. When you go as a missionary with the company the belong to, the company takes this verse very seriously. My friends each had to sell all their worldly possessions except what would fit into their car. Can you imagine?For them, that was part of following Jesus wherever he would send them, and not being tied down by the things of this world. Which I think was the problem for the rich young man in the passage. Jesus literally called him to come, and follow him on the journey to Jerusalem, which would later be followed by the journey of the apostles to take the gospel to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth. Following Jesus on that particular day probably would have changed what this young man did for the rest of his life. But he was too tied down by his wealth. He was too invested in this world, in this life, to see the clear pathway to eternal life opening up before him. No, he looked at his stuff and said, thats too much for me. Too great a cost. I could never give up... my things. And he walked away from Jesus sad. Presumably he walked away from eternal life. 4 PAUSE Risk So is this a command for all of us? A vow of poverty?I dont think so. But I do think its a warning.Theres a risk for all of us that our wealth can get in the way of our relationship with God. Interestingly when Jesus questioned the young man about keeping the commandments, Jesus didnt ask whether he had kept the first and second commandments you shall have no other gods before me, and you shall not to make idols and bow down to them. It seems the rich young man had allowed his wealth to become a rival god. He probably didnt intend it that way. He was morally upright, a religious man. But it was like Jesus had warned in the Sermon on the Mount: 24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24) PAUSE This passage warns us about our own relationship with our wealth. Most of us here have great wealth, especially compared with the developing world. But even in American terms we are very well off. And so I think we are to see ourselves in the rich young man, or at least the risk of us being like him. Religious and rich. Caught between two rival gods where there is only room for one. Jesus says (v23) Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:23) It would be easier, Jesus says, to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. How easy is it for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle? Impossible.Jesus is saying that it is hard, if not impossible, for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. 5 People like us.And so we have to examine our hearts when we read a passage like this. For me I was brought up worshiping the god of money. Ive been a Christian more than half my life, but it is a constant tension for me. I imagine it is for you too.So how do we live as rich disciples of Jesus?Well I dont think this passage is telling us to take a vow of poverty.Although one of the best ways to loosen moneys grip on you is to give some of it away. Some years ago we had other friends who were about to leave as missionaries to South America. I had left my job to go to Bible college, to Moore College. We had kids and a mortgage, and no income, and we were paying inner city rent. I was stressed about money. And these missionaries showed up at our door with an envelope with $100 in it. The husband said, we want you to have this. We know that God always looks after us, and we want you to remember it too. I was so thankful for the money it really did help. But more than that, I realised that these people who had sold everything were still able to give out of the little they had left. Because they trusted that God would provide for them. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Its not that God promises to rain money down on us if we give some of it away thats the lie of prosperity preachers. Rather it is that we can trust him, like little children trust their parents to provide their daily meals. My missionary friends are ok financially, even though they gave me that money. And we can trust God that he will provide what we need, when we need it. Book: Beyond Greed In the back of this very helpful book about Christians and money, Broughton Knox, a former Moore College principal writes about the two reasons we dont share our money. The first is greed, and the second is fear, because of a lack of trust in God. The other obstacle to sharing our money is fear. We are frightened that we will leave ourselves short if we give it away; not short perhaps in the present, because we can estimate that, but in the future with all its uncertainties. The answer to this sort of fear is faith in Gods faithfulness in the future. It is he who has given us our present 6 possessions and he has promised that, if we seek to do his will, he will give us what we need when we need it. I think thats what Jesus is getting at in v29, when he says everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. Ill come back to that verse if we have time, but Jesus says we can trust him to look after us if we follow him... Thats one way to loosen moneys grip on you, to give some of it away. Another way is to learn contentment. The Apostle Paul talks in Philippians 4 about learning to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Phil 4:12) Another chapter at the back of this book (Beyond Greed) is by Sandra King, former missionary to France. She talks about taking deliberate steps to practice contentedness, including the idea of not keeping up with the Joneses, and not buying anything new for a period of time. Just in case youre not familiar with the expression, keeping up with the Joneses means constantly comparing yourself with your neighbours, and making sure that your standard of living matches theirs, so that you dont feel socially inferior. The metaphorical Joneses might not be your neighbours, but people at work, or at the school gate, or perhaps even here at church, that you feel you have to keep up with to fit in socially. It might mean making sure your house looks like the others in the street, or the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the places you go for vacation. But you feel like you have to keep up, or youll be socially inferior. Is that a Christian way to view possessions? Was that Pauls way when he said he had learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance? The advertising world is based on making us feel discontent with what we have. That way well always want to upgrade, update, go bigger, better, faster, shinier. For lots of us, there is a huge pressure to upgrade when the newest shiny thing is released. The other one still works fine, but... 7 I think a lot of us become slaves to the shiny screens in our pockets. Slaves to the expensive plans and repayments. Slaves to the shiny world they launch us into. I think there is a big discussion to be had about devices in the life of Christians, maybe something you can discuss in your Small Group this week. As rich followers of Jesus, I think we need to be careful not to be pulled into the shiny world of upgrades... the world of keeping up with the Joneses. An alternative to always upgrading is to decide not buy anything new for a time. A couple of years ago our friend decided not to buy anything new for a year, that is, no new clothes or toys or books or furniture. They would just stick with what they had, and if it broke, theyd make do. They survived the year, and in fact, like other people whove tried the experiment, it has changed the way they think. It might change your relationship to consumerism. It might just give you some space away from the noise of advertising to find contentment in simple things. Jesus says it is very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven... And so as a church, as a rich church, we need to be careful not to cause one another to stumble in this area, nor to let anyone wander away from the flock because of their great wealth. We need to find ways to talk helpfully about money. Because its not impossible, Jesus says, for the rich to be saved. Hard, yes, but v26, with God all things are possible. Reward And it will be worth it, Jesus says. Peter asks a question about whether there will be any reward for those who have done what Jesus asked the rich man to do. Peter says (v27), Weve left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us? So Jesus paints a picture for them, of the new heavens and the new earth, and he calls it the renewal. The Son of Man, that is, Jesus, is seated on his glorious throne, and around him the twelve apostles will somehow share in his judgment. For the apostles this is their reward. But look at v29. There is a reward more broadly for all who have followed Jesus faithfully. 8 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. What does that actually mean? Well Mark says we will receive those blessings in the present age. But Matthew just leaves us with what we read in v29. In the context, hes talking about treasure in heaven, which fits with what he promised the rich young man back in v21. Heaven will be so amazing that it outweighs any cost we might feel on earth to follow Jesus. The message for rich people, then? Could you imagine it better than what you already have? A life so fulfilling that it makes your current wealth look pitiful by comparison. Weigh the two, your treasure on earth and your treasure in heaven. Which is more impressive? Which should you seek after? And for those of us trying to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle that is struggling with the lure of wealth and the loving call of Jesus, what do you need to do to make sure you choose Jesus? 26 Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) Shall we ask for Gods help? 9

Kingdom People6. Marriage and Divorce in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 19:1-12 2 October 2022 As we come to todays passage about Marriage and Divorce in the Kingdom, I realize we are entering territory where I need to tread very lightly. Because marriage breakdown is one of those topics that touches all of us in some way or another, whether personally or amongst family members or friends. Marriage breakdown causes deep wounds. And sometimes those wounds are multiplied by the way that divorce is talked about, or whispered about, in church. So today, I want to speak into that space of marriage and divorce, so that it isnt the subject of whispers and innuendo. Because I want us to be a church where the grace and mercy of Jesus and his kingdom is extended to every person who walks through the doors. But like I said, that means I need to tread very lightly. So will you pray with me now, that this message comes to each of us with that mercy and grace of Jesus and his kingdom? Our heavenly Father, you are the God of love, and you love each of us dearly. As we speak about matters of the heart, and matters that leave deep wounds, will you bring peace and grace into the conversation. Will you teach us and guide us now into all truth by your life-giving Spirit. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Well you have joined us today in the middle of our sermon series working our way through Matthew chapters 17-21. Were calling it Kingdom People because its all about the way that God wants us to live out our faith on earth as it is in heaven. And for the last few weeks, we have been deep in Christian ethics. Jesus has been teaching us about how to think Christianly about conflict and forgiveness, and what they look like in the church family. And that sets the scene for the question that Jesus is asked in our passage today. (v3) The Pharisees Trap3 Some Pharisees came to him to test [Jesus]. They asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason? (Matthew 19:3) The Pharisees were the most religiously conservative Jews (of Jesus day). The Pharisees prided themselves on following the OT law to the letter, and they considered their rabbis to be the moral arbiters of religion. 1 And so they come to Jesus with a question of ethics. Its actually a trap, or a test it says in v3. They want to know which side of the religious divide Jesus falls on when it comes to his ethics: conservative or liberal. You see, there were two prominent Jewish teachers in Jesus day, Shammai and Hillel. Shammai was the conservative, and Hillel the liberal. And they both interpreted Moses teaching about divorce differently.1 The conservative Shammai taught that the only lawful reason for divorce was adultery. But Hillel took a liberal approach to what Moses said in Deuteronomy 24:1. That verse talks about divorce when a husband finds (and I quote) something indecent about his wife. Hillel interpreted that to mean that a husband could divorce his wife for any and every reason, including burning the dinner! So, the conservatives ask Jesus, which side does he fall on? Our side or theirs? BTW this is an interesting question in our context. California was the first state to permit no- fault divorce in 1970 (when Ronald Reagan was Governor). Since then every other state has followed suit. If there is a silver lining, at least now divorce no longer requires that somebody be judged the at-fault party. But that doesnt make divorce any less messy. In the US approximately 50% of all marriages end in divorce, although research says that number is dropping slightly. Something like 28% of Christian marriages end in divorce.2 And when it comes to dealing with divorce in the church, we find that some churches and denominations are very conservative when it comes to divorce and remarriage, and others are very liberal. Some denominations forbid all divorce, where others are more permissive. So how do we come to a genuinely Christian understanding of divorce? The answer is very carefully. We start by very carefully unpacking what the Bible says, and then we check that we have read it with humility and generosity, and then we check it against others who have taken the same approach. Sometimes two people might read the same scripture and come to a different conclusion. And that might happen today. You might hear me and think no, he has it wrong. I might. But what Im going to say is the fruit of lots of study, and lots of prayer, and lots of reflection. And Im happy to discuss it more privately at a later time. Thats part of doing ethics together. 1 Deuteronomy 24:1 something indecent2 https://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/ 2 So what does Jesus say about divorce? The Purpose of MarriageJesus starts by taking his listeners back to the OT, back to Gods original purposes for marriage. (v4) Jesus quotes from the very first book of the Bible, from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to establish the idea of marriage the way that God intended it. First, he reminds them that marriage was designed by God. It was the Creator who created people, and Jesus tells us that it was the Creator who ordained marriage as part of his good creation. Second, Jesus asserts that marriage is to be complementary. (v4) says God made them male and female, and he intends marriage to be between a man and a woman. They are made for each other by Gods design. Thirdly, marriage is to be permanent. In a marriage, the man and the woman are united and the two will become one flesh. This is not the kind of relationship that should be easily broken. You wouldnt tear off your own arm or leg, and so we ought not tear apart the one-flesh relationship that God has created within marriage. This one flesh idea also affirms the goodness of sexuality, one of Gods good gifts to his people. In a marriage, a husband and wifes physical bodies are joined and from their one flesh comes a lifelong reminder of their union children, who are literally part mom and part dad. Children are one of Gods blessings to his people in Genesis he wants us to be fruitful and multiply. The fourth thing Jesus teaches about marriage is that it is to be exclusive. The two become one, and God wants nothing to come between a husband and wife, or specifically (v6) no one must separate them. Because its not just that we choose to be joined to one person, then to another as our heart desires. No, it is God who joins us together (v6) in a one-flesh, inseparable relationship.3 3 Based on Michael Green, The Message of Matthew (BST, p202-203) 3 4 Havent you read, he replied, that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, 5 and said, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. (Matthew 19:4-6) ~ Now this is a very high standard for marriage. It is Gods original intention for what marriages should be like wonderful, safe, loving relationships that endure. Of course, that was all before the fall. At the fall, the first husband and wife, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and brought sin and separation into the world. From that moment, every human relationship has shared elements of the dysfunction of Adam and Eve. It is difficult to attain that high ideal for marriage the way that God intended it. And thats why the fifth thing this passage teaches us is that marriage isnt for everyone. (v10) 10 The disciples said to him, If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.11 Jesus replied, Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. (Matthew 19:10-11) In a world that says we can only find happiness and fulfilment in sexual relationships, Jesus says actually for some people it is better not to marry. In v12 he says that there are some people who choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. That is, there are some people who choose to remain unmarried because that is the pathway that God opens up for them in life. And this is not the time for a sermon about singleness, but remember that Jesus himself never married, never had children and yet we would consider him the most loved and most loving human who has ever walked the earth. Jesus teaches us that intimacy with God is even more fulfilling than the intimacy of the marriage relationship, and more permanent than marriage which ends with death. Marriage itself is used to describe the relationship between Jesus and the church: a wonderful, loving, safe, permanent, protective and grace-filled relationship... Thats the picture Jesus paints of marriage.But the Pharisees want to know about the ethics of divorce. (v7) 7 Why then, they asked, did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away? (Matthew 19:7) The Possibility of Divorce The Bible is really clear that divorce is not part of Gods plan for marriage. In Malachi 2:16, God says he hates divorce, or at least he says there is something terrible about divorce when a man hates his wife, and divorces the one he ought to have protected. There is a kind of violence about it, God says. 4 And historically, that was often the case with divorce. In those very early days of Moses, divorce was a fact of life for Gods people, even if it wasnt part of Gods purposes for marriage. Divorce happened, and it happened to women who were in a very vulnerable position. In ancient cultures, women were often treated as property, and while a man may divorce a woman and marry another, he could come back at any time and claim rights over the previously divorced wife if he so chose. But the certificate of divorce declared the legal dissolution of the marriage. The certificate of divorce meant this woman could remarry without fear of her former husband returning to claim her again. Without this she had no hope of convincing another man to marry her. And so Gods command about providing a certificate of divorce was actually a protective measure. It was a necessary concession in a society that had undermined the goodness of marriage. And thats what Jesus says in v8: 8 Jesus replied, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. (Matthew 19:8-9) Its interesting that Jesus is talking to men, isnt it? I know divorce isnt one-sided, but for their male-dominated society, the power was in the hands of men. And Jesus had to teach the men to respect the sanctity of marriage. You see, Jesus doesnt declare that divorce is a command of God. He said it is something that Moses permitted, because of the hardness of the human heart. Sin makes us mess up even the relationships that mean the most to us. Thats why we need to forgive, and forgive without ceasing. (That was our lesson from last week.) But its not always enough. Sometimes our hearts are too hard, and our relationships are too broken to save. And thats why God allows the possibility of divorce. ~ You might have been at a church which teaches that divorce is sinful. I think here, Jesus says divorce is a fact of life in a broken and sinful world. Its not the ideal, but where divorce happens, Jesus recognizes it and takes steps to protect the vulnerable. Im going to say more about that in a moment.5 Remarriage after divorce? But let me jump back into v9. Because Jesus gives a new teaching about divorce and remarriage. He says: 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. (Matthew 19:9) Some commentators call this The Matthean Exception. Their interpretation of this verse is that sexual immorality is the only legitimate reason why a person might ask for divorce. And there is good reason for that. Adultery, or sex with a person outside of the one-flesh marriage relationship, tears at the fabric of a relationship. The two become one, but then you add someone else into the mix, and the sanctity of the one-flesh relationship is torn apart. But the word Jesus used for sexual immorality means more than just physical adultery. Porneia is the Greek root behind our word pornography. Porneia encompasses a whole host of sexual thinking and activities that are destructive to relationships. From lustful thoughts, to inappropriate relationships, to instant messaging, to acting out sexually online. Jesus says these can be relationship killers, as much as physical adultery. We mustnt be fooled. Jesus says: anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27) And I think thats the intention behind Jesus comment in v9. Look closely at what it says about the person who initiates the divorce. He says that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. Jesus was condemning the idea of people getting rid of one spouse in order to be with someone else. Thats adultery! And in Matthew 5:32, Jesus says that when a divorce happens like that, the abandoned wife is actually the victim of the husbands adultery. Many Christian traditions take these verses to say that any remarriage after divorce makes a person an adulterer. Whether they were the person who committed adultery, or the victim. But is that what Jesus is really saying? If I read Jesus correctly, he is saying that remarriage is a possibility, at least for the person who is the innocent party. The adultery of the spouse has effectively ended the marriage, because he or she has broken the one-flesh union. And the innocent divorcee is free to remarry. Divorce is the ending of a marriage before death. Now I know some will consider this a controversial interpretation, but Im just trying to read Jesus words faithfully. 6 Because it seems to me that Jesus would want justice for the victim of adultery, rather than condemn them to a life of celibacy because of somebody elses sin. That wouldnt seem fair. And I take it that this is true of other sins that cause the death of a marriage. Things like abandonment, and abuse. Gods concession of divorce was there to protect the weak and vulnerable. Surely he would protect in those circumstances... And surely he would set the victim free to marry again, if that first marriage was truly dead. Some will agree with me, and some wont. In all things charity... Its tricky, isnt it, applying kingdom ethics? We need to read the scriptures carefully, and with humility, and with generosity. As Ive read different books and papers this week about divorce, Ive had to weigh arguments and decide if they are biblically faithful. But at the end of the day, our discussion is not about the legal arguments for and against divorce or remarriage. Were actually talking about real people, and real marriages, and real heartbreak and pain and sorrow that comes from the breakdown of marriages. And so when we speak about this subject, were never speaking in a vacuum. We have all felt the effects of divorce to a certain degree, and some more than others. So as a church, I want us to practice kingdom ethics. I want us to think like Jesus, and speak like Jesus. Because Jesus always infused his conversations with grace and mercy, especially to those who were hurting. And when a person joins our church family here, no matter what their background, I want them to know the same Christ-like grace and mercy through everything we say and do. Because at the end of the day, we are all victims of the brokenness that comes from sin. And were all guilty of bringing brokenness into the relationships that mean the most to us. None of us are innocent in that sense. And yet our Lord is consistently compassionate to those who fail, repent, and come back to him for restoration. There is no sin too great for the Lord to forgive, and no heart too broken for him to fix. Isnt that good news? Lets pray. 7

Kingdom People4. Conflict in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 18:15-20 18 September 2022 This week I found myself wondering: what is the hardest gymnastic move in the world? So I did some research and it led me to the greatest gymnast of all time, the most decorated gymnast in history. Simone Biles. And when we look at a list of the most difficult gymnastic moves in the world, not surprisingly Biles holds the record for the most difficult skills performed on three out of the four apparatus (beam, the floor and the vault; but not the uneven bars). So what is the hardest gymnastic move in the world? Its called the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault, and only one woman has ever tried it in competition. You guessed it Simone Biles. Its described as a round-off onto the springboard with a back handspring onto the table, followed by a double somersault off the vault in the pike position. (Id show you but...) Its such a difficult move that only 5 men have ever tried it in competition. And its so dangerous that judges have lowered the scoring for it so that nobody else will try it. There you go, the hardest gymnastic move in the world the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault Why am I talking about gymnastics? When I started preparing the Bible passage this week, I thought to myself, it might be easier to go and learn the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault than to preach on this passage... Because its a passage about conflict, and interpersonal relationships. And I know some of us will find this content particularly challenging. But for what its worth, I think the passage today is actually quite simple in what it says, but putting it into practice, thats the hard part. So why dont we start by praying that God would speak his wisdom into our lives and our community as we open the Bible now? Our heavenly Father, as we broach the topic of conflict in relationships, please give us an extra measure of your Holy Spirit to hear and understand and process your wisdom. Teach us about your grace and your forgiveness, and help us to be a church that follows 1 after Jesus. We pray particularly now for those who will find this topic difficult. May your grace abound as we hear you speak. In Jesus name. Amen Well we are in the middle of our fall teaching series from Matthew 17-21. Were calling it Kingdom People, because its all about the way that Jesus wants us to live out his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. And today our Bible passage is all about conflict, and how we deal with it. Conflict Resolution Models Now before we open the Bible, I just want to recognize that each of us has different ways of dealing with conflict. Default ways of dealing with conflict, that often go back to the family we were raised in. Probably even right now as I raise the idea of conflict, you are already reverting to your default mode of responding to conflict. So just for yourself, see if you recognize your own default response in one of the following: The first is conflict avoidance. Conflict-avoidant-prone families will normally be presented with a conflict and then act as if nothing is happening. They are masters at sticking their heads in the sand and avoid getting to the root of the issue. They might act as if the problems don't exist, but that doesn't mean that anger, sadness, and resentment aren't brewing underneath the surface. Without any resolution, family members sometimes choose to remove themselves from the family altogether, because it feels easier to do that than to handle the conflict head-on.1 At the opposite end of the spectrum is the aggressive approach to conflict resolution. Families who take conflict on in an aggressive manner tend to attack each other either verbally or physically as a primary means of handling disagreements. There is almost no regulation of negativity, which means that conflict can only ever escalate, with devastating consequences. So those are the extremes from conflict avoidance to destructive aggression. But in between are a range of other strategies that have to do with collaboration, compromise and accommodation.2 For more information on this, relationship psychologist Dr John Gottman describes 5 different patterns of conflict resolution in couples (link in transcript). According to Gottman, the family I grew up in could be described as volatile (not necessarily a negative expression).3 1 https://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/family-conflict-examples-plus-stress-free-ways-deal 2 https://kilmanndiagnostics.com/overview-thomas-kilmann-conflict-mode-instrument-tki/3 https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-5-couple-types/ 2 The opposite of conflict avoiders, my family was intensely emotional. Conflict was often a time for debating, exercising intellect and trying to win the argument from a legal point of view (I am the child of a lawyer). It could get loud, but there was usually lots of laughter and shared amusement. And although we argued intensely, there was rarely contempt. We could share negative feelings, but they werent seen as personal attack. Rather it was how we heard what the other person was thinking and feeling. To the conflict avoider, my family looked terrifying! But that was our default mode of conflict resolution. Of course you can do it in a much quieter way than my family did, and I was lucky to watch my best friends parents navigate conflict in exactly that way quietly, gently, humbly seeking compromise and accommodation. What Im trying to show is that we all have default ways of responding to conflict, probably ways that we learned early in childhood, and ways which have been reinforced positively or negatively as you have brought them into your adult life, into marriages, into work situations, and into parenting and grand-parenting. So I think its worth doing some reflection on your background, if you havent before. Ive found this book to be particularly helpful Growing Yourself Up by Jenny Brown PhD. How to bring your best to all of lifes relationships. This book explains the principles of Bowen Family Systems Theory, which is all about understanding your family of origin and the way that it shapes you. But its also about moving beyond those patterns, especially if they were unhelpful. (Also some more resources linked in the footnotes to the sermon today which you might find interesting you can pick up a paper copy of the transcript if there are any left, or youll be able to download it at yountvillechurch.org/sermons) So that is a very long introduction to our Bible passage, which is all about Jesus model for dealing with conflict. Biblical Conflict Resolution So what does Jesus say about conflict resolution? Come to Matthew 18:15 with me: 15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. (Matthew 18:15) When Jesus says brother or sister here, he means a fellow disciple, another Christian person. So really this is a model for dealing with conflict in the church family. I would love to tell you that we are all perfect in the church, and that there is never any sin, but you are all too clever to believe that. Augustine, the church father, said that the church is a 3 hospital for sinners. And thats really true. As a church family, we will have conflicts and disagreements just like a regular family, as sinful people doing life together. Hopefully not too often, but when it happens, Jesus has great advice for us. He starts: If your brother or sister sins... Now depending on what version of the Bible youre reading, it might say if a brother or sister sins against you... Apparently some of the early manuscripts said sins against you, but not all of them. And so the translators have gone with the more difficult reading (like Simone Biles). What kind of sin were they talking about? We often think of sins as the bad things that people do. For example the Ten Commandments tell us that we must not murder, or steal, or commit adultery. They say we shouldnt lie, or be envious of others and their possessions. They tell us to honor our parents. Now most of us probably havent murdered anyone, but remember that Jesus said if we get angry with someone we would face Gods judgment for it. Same with adultery Jesus said looking lustfully is the same as committing adultery in your heart. (This is all back in the sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7). So sins are sometimes the wicked things we do, or think about doing. But sin is ultimately about the way we treat God. The first half of the Ten Commandments reminds us to honor God alone with our worship, not to replace him with idols that cannot save, not to denigrate him with our speech, or ignore him in our moments of Sabbath. You see if we belong to Gods kingdom, we must live within the laws of the kingdom. Our lives must honor the King, and no other in his place. And so sin is anything we put in our lives that makes us unfit for the king or the kingdom. Whether its attitudes, or behaviors, God wants us to be fiercely loyal to him alone. And thats where verse 15 makes more sense. Its not just about someone sinning against you, it might be someone caught in sin who is putting their salvation at risk. Jesus wants us to lovingly point out their sin so that they might be won back over to his kingdom... 15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. (Matthew 18:15) We dont live in a culture that likes pointing out the personal flaws of others, let alone sins. In our individualism, we go by the maxim of you do you. That idea, whats right for you is right for you, and whats right for me is right for me, and who am I to comment... Well Jesus says in the church, we should comment, if we see someone caught in sin. 4 Heres where it gets awkward. I dont think Jesus is telling us to go on a witch hunt, and certainly this is not about pointing out peoples faults publicly (although he will say more about that in a couple of verses.) No, this is about seeing somebody caught in destructive behavior, and trying to get them to see the danger they are in. Go alone, says Jesus, just by yourself, in private, and point out the fault that you have noticed. And the hope is that they will listen to you, and youll win them over. That they will see the mistake, and acknowledge it, and repent. Our Bible passage is not about rushing to notice the sins of others. Its about how to broach a persons sin in a careful and sensitive way. Now the verse assumes the person is guilty of sin. But I have heard of this going wrong, with people accused of sins that they had not committed. For that reason, the private, quiet, personal approach means you can talk without publicly shaming the other person. The hope is gentle restoration. Of course when Jesus wrote this, there were no phones or email or text messages. And today they are often the way that we communicate. But I think Jesus would suggest, if possible, going to see the person face to face. I dont know how many times Ive agonized over the wording of a text or an email, only for it to be taken the wrong way. And lots of us have lost the art of telephone calls. Probably because we arent tied to the wall anymore, and we take calls in the middle of other business, and so were always distracted. So where possible, try to speak face to face. That might be scary, or confronting, and it probably will be for the person on the receiving end as well. But prayerfully, your gentle, gracious approach will win them over. But what if it doesnt? In v16 Jesus says: 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Matthew 18:16) It was an Old Testament principle that a person couldnt be judged guilty of an offense unless there were two or three corroborating witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). It was actually a protective measure, instituted by God to limit unfounded accusations against the innocent. In this case, the same principle applies. Hopefully the witnesses would stand up for the accused if they deem the person innocent, rather than allow false accusations to be made. But the thrust of Jesus argument is that the person is guilty of sin, and so hopefully the presence of the witnesses will encourage them to listen. Again, the hope is that the person 5 acknowledges their sin and comes to repentance. The context is still personal, and private, and seeking reconciliation. But what if even that fails to convince the person? (v17) Jesus says: 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. I take it that this is an absolute last resort, and reserved for very serious sin. This is not a light decision, and I think Ive only ever seen it done once in my 30 years in the church. But Jesus does seem to say that there are times when sin may need to be exposed before the whole church for the sake of honesty and transparency, even though it might hurt at the time. Because Jesus kingdom stands for something. It is meant to be set apart, and holy, and different from the world which so often tolerates corruption. The church is to hold itself to a higher standard to Jesus standard. And when sin is allowed to fester and is not dealt with, then the reputation of the church, and the reputation of the gospel, and the reputation of God himself is in danger. Thats why sometimes sins need to be brought to light. Over the last 20 years or so, many churches in both your country and mine have had to shine a light on child sexual abuse in the church. Something which was often covered up by those in leadership, allowing further abuse to occur. Thank God for the bravery of those men and women who came forward and exposed the sin of their abusers. And God willing it leads to making churches a safer place for our precious kids to learn about Jesus. BTW thats something we take very seriously here at Yountville Community Church. We are a member of an organization called Ministry Safe. Ministry Safe conduct mandatory online training for all our childrens team and volunteers; they run background checks on anybody who works with kids; and their guidelines have helped us to develop our own Ministry Safe policy that governs all our kids programs. That all means that we can be sure we have done everything in our power to make Yountville Kids a safe environment for our kids, and a place where you can bring your kids with confidence. (policies at yountvillechurch.org/kids) A Difficult Decision Before we finish there is one more idea in our passage today that I want to touch on. This is kind of the worst case scenario what happens if a person still remains unrepentant about their sin, despite every effort we have made (personal approach, with witnesses, bringing it before the whole church)? 6 At the end of v17, Jesus says: and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (Matthew 18:17) In Bible speak, a pagan is someone who doesnt believe in God. Some of the old translations called them heathens. Jesus says, if somebody who claims to be a Christian acts in a blatantly unchristian way, and they are unwilling to own their behavior, then we ought to treat them as if they are no longer part of the church family. We were watching a movie recently about a US Marine who faked a marriage to get extra benefits as a married man. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. At the end of the movie, he gets found out and he is dishonorably discharged from the Marines for conduct unbecoming. There are standards of behavior expected of Marines, and this man crossed the line. And Jesus says its the same in the church. If a person crosses the line into behavior unbecoming of somebody in his kingdom, they are in danger of being thrown out of his kingdom. BTW this is a difficult thing to think about, isnt it? Id much prefer to talk about the hope of reconciliation, but in this case, the person themself makes it impossible. And so rather than continue to pursue reconciliation, Jesus says its better to make a clean break and treat them as an unbeliever. Again, this is not about a snap decision. Any discipline like this calls for prayer and patience and understanding and time for repentance. But if all other avenues have been exhausted, then Jesus says he will stand by the decision that two or three people make. Two or three reliable who are trustworthy witnesses. (v19) 19 Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:19) Jesus promises to stand with us, when we stand up for his kingdom. As if he were right there beside us. We can be confident, even in the midst of a difficult decision like separating from an unrepentant sinner. PAUSE Now I dont know about you, but this could leave us feeling like we stand on shaky ground. Like our place in the kingdom is uncertain, or that we are in danger of being dishonorably discharged from Jesus and his promises. 7 (And we should heed Jesus warning. Unrepentant sin has real consequences.) But the gospel is not for perfect people. Jesus kingdom is not for perfect people. The church is not for perfect people. We dont gain entry because of our perfect track record. Actually the opposite. Jesus invites us into his kingdom and into his church which is a hospital for sinners. He invites us to own our mistakes, and he heals us from them. Its in the church where we find forgiveness, from God and from those who we sin against. Its in the church where we find reconciliation, a foretaste of Gods heavenly kingdom where all the wounds of our conflicts will be healed. And its in the church where we see Gods kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. Its the perfect place to practice being Kingdom People. Will you pray with me? 8

Kingdom People3. Greatness in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 18:1-14 11 September 2022 There is an expression that has become very popular recently G.O.A.T or the GOAT. An acronym for the Greatest Of All Time. Usually used to talk about sporting heroes. My research tells me that the first person to be described as the GOAT was Muhammad Ali (back in the 90s). But since then there have been many names thrown about as the Greatest Of All Time. (30 seconds to turn to the person beside you and share who you think is the greatest sports person of all time...) - Babe Ruth - Michael Jordan (6 championships, 6 NBA Finals MVPs, 6 League MVPs) - Tiger Woods - Wayne Gretzky - Michael Phelps - Lewis Hamilton (7 driver championships, most wins, most pole positions, pro since 2007, youngest F1 World Champion in history) - Simone Biles (25 World Championship medals, most decorated gymnast in history) - Serena Williams (23 Grand slam titles, ranked No. 1 for 319 weeks, including 186 consecutive weeks, year end No. 1 five times) - Tom Brady (7 Super Bowl wins, including 5 Super Bowl MVPs, see what happens when he kicks off his 24th season in Dallas later today..) Its a fun game trying to decide what factors contribute to somebodys status as the Greatest Of All Time. Is it high scoring like Michael Jordan? Is it longevity, like Babe Ruth or Serena Williams? Is it championships won? Or is it something else? So what makes someone the greatest? That is the question at the heart of our Bible passage today. A question that helps us understand what matters to Jesus, and what matters in his kingdom. So why dont we pray and ask God to teach us as we open his word right now. Heavenly Father, as we open the Bible now, will you teach us about your kingdom and the values that matter to you. Teach us about greatness and humility, as your Spirit does his work in our hearts. Make us more like Jesus as you make us into people for your kingdom. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen 1 We are in the middle of our Fall teaching series from Matthew 17-21, which Im calling Kingdom People. In these chapters, Jesus teaches us all about the culture and values of the Kingdom of Heaven. But they are not just cultures and values for when we die Jesus wants us start living the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. And the disciples learn a lesson about Jesus kingdom values when they come to him with a question. (v1) 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (Matthew 18:1) I grew up in a competitive household. I have an older brother and two younger sisters. When we were kids, my brother and I competed for the fastest, and who was the strongest, and who could eat the most pancakes. Then my littlest sister got a bit older and then we all had to compete to be the loudest. And then we all got a bit older again and had to compete with my other sister for who was the smartest... Now were all in our 40s and we compete about whos aging the best. Id like to say comfortably Im winning. (May not be true but thats just the competitive person I am. Win at all costs.) The disciples want to know who is winning at being the best Christian. Or best Israelite, probably. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? they ask. Remember not too much earlier Peter and James and John had been invited to go up to the mountaintop with Jesus. They were his closest companions and his inner circle. Perhaps the disciples wanted to know if one of those three was the greatest. Of course up on the mountainside two dead guys showed up perhaps the two greatest dead guys in the history of Israel. Moses and Elijah. Moses who represents the law and the ten commandments, kind of the grandfather of Gods OT people. And Elijah, the greatest of the prophets. So great that he didnt actually die God took him up to heaven in a chariot of fire. So maybe Elijah is the greatest figure of the OT, and maybe he would be the greatest in heaven, apart from Jesus I guess. Maybe they were thinking of someone else. (And this is where it starts to look like the debate we had earlier about the GOAT.) - King David killed Goliath when he was just a boy, became King, established Jerusalem as the ruling seat of Gods people. God promised David would always have a descendant on the throne. But then there was Bathsheba... - Solomon? Unparalleled wealth and diplomatic influence, incredible wisdom but not so wise when it came to the ladies. 2 - Jump to NT times. What about Mary? She gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Surely Mary might be one of the greatest in the kingdom? - Peter who becomes the rock on which the church is built. - Paul who becomes the greatest missionary church planter in history, not to mention writer of half of the NT. What makes a person great in the kingdom of God? Is it achievements like this that make us great? Little Children Jesus does what he often does. He takes an everyday object and turns it into a teaching tool for us. (v2) 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2-3) I kind of laughed when I first read this, because my siblings and I were just like the disciples we always wanted to know who was greatest. I assume Jesus did not pick a child like me and my brothers and sisters as his example ;-) No, he calls a little child to come over. And he says to the disciples, dont worry about who is greatest. He says, if you even want to enter the kingdom of heaven, then you need to change and become like this like little children. So what is it about little children that makes them an example of what you should be like, if you want to belong to the kingdom of heaven? I would love to say its innocence. But watch a two year old for a couple of hours and youll find out that they are anything but innocent. Cheeky and adorable, yes, but naughty as well... So its not that Jesus wants us to be innocent to be worthy of the kingdom. Maybe its child-like wonder. There is something about little kids that helps them see the world with fresh eyes. They havent been conditioned by disappointment, or constrained by cultural expectations. They sing and dance without worrying about what other people think. They have this beautiful optimism, and as adults we wish we could shield them from the realities of the world so that they dont lose that hopefulness. But life rarely works out that way. So I dont think Jesus is talking about child-like wonder. 3 Maybe he is talking about the receptiveness of children the way that they trust what we teach them. But then again, little kids will also believe the wrong message if somebody they trust teaches it to them. Surely Jesus isnt saying we need to be gullible to be part of his kingdom. So what was Jesus getting at? Theres a little word in v4 that tells us what he was thinking: lowly. Time for a little history lesson. In ancient times, many cultures thought less of children than we do today. Children were treated as property rather than people. Children were bought and sold as slaves, at other times beaten and neglected, and even sacrificed to pagan gods. In the first century when our story today takes place, Roman law gave a father absolute power over his family which extended to life and death.1 A father could have his child killed, and not be punishable by law. Children had very different rights than they do today. They were some of the lowliest (most unimportant) people in society. And that lowliness was what Jesus commended about children. (v4) 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (Matthew 18:4-5) You see, the disciples had come asking who was the greatest in the kingdom. Who was most important. And Jesus says the kingdom is not about achievement. Its not about individual accolades. Its not about winning, or earning, deserving. Its the very opposite. Its all about dependence. Think about children. Children play no part in the decision to be born. They enter the world completely helpless. They rely on a parent or a carer to feed them and clothe them and change their diapers. Even as they grow more independent, our kids trust us to provide a home, and safety. They have no way of paying for those things, and it wouldnt even cross their mind. They dont get to be our children by earning it. They dont receive our love only when they deserve it, at least thats the way its meant to work... Children are completely dependent. And entry into the kingdom of God, its about being dependent. On Jesus. Thats a humble position to be in, isnt it? Completely dependent on someone else. And its the very opposite of what this world says makes us great. Our world says you need to be independent, able to hold your own, pay your own way, climb the ladder, beat a pathway to success. 1 https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-jesus-thinks-about-children/ 4 And the same can happen in the world of church. Some of the disciples had grown up in very legalistic religion. They thought the kingdom was a matter of keeping the commandments, and performing religious ceremonies. And some of us might have grown up that way too, trying to earn Gods love. But Jesus says, none of that matters. Not in my kingdom. The greatest will be the one who accepts my gift of forgiveness. The one who receives my pardon. The one who trusts me like a child. Its a change of mindset, isnt it?And thats what the disciples needed. Jesus told them that back in v3: unless you change and become like little children... That word for change in the original language, it really means coming to have a new perspective. Jesus needs them to see that they have been thinking about it all wrong. The kingdom is not about greatness, its about humility. I just want to pause before we move on to ask, is this a mindset you need to change as well? My whole upbringing was about seeking greatness, so I know how hard it is to switch the mindset from seeking greatness to seeking humility. But Jesus leads the way in humility, and he shows us that the humble can still achieve great success its just about the way you carry yourself on the journey. I grew up watching Rugby Union, a kind of tackle football played without pads. In the 1990s, Australia dominated the world stage, and brought home two Rugby World Cups (like Olympics, only played every 4 years). At the center of the Wallabies success was the captain, John Eales. 67, 262lb, a work horse on the field. A fierce competitor but always fair; well-spoken and gracious in victory or defeat. He led from the front, but never brought attention to his own achievements. He just quietly went to work, leading Australian rugby into a period of unparalleled success. Legend has it his team gave him the nickname Nobody because Nobodys perfect. John Eales is considered one of the greatest rugby players of all time, and I think his humility is a huge part of his legacy. Not surprisingly, John Eales is a follower of Jesus. How is Jesus forming humility in your life?Thats our first big idea for today. The kingdom is a matter of humble dependence. Little Ones 5 The second big idea from today is welcoming little ones. No doubt you saw on the news this week that the Queen of England died at the age of 96. A sad day for the world. As an Australian, Im actually a subject of the Queen Australia is a member of the British Commonwealth, and Queen Elizabeth has been part of my life for all of my 46 years. And thats true for my parents as well the Queen was crowned in 1952, when my parents were just 4 years old. Now I know Ive told you this before, but my mother got to meet the Queen in 1954 when she was on her coronation tour to Australia. Mom was 5 or 6 years old, and she lined up with a row of other kids who had lost their fathers in the war. And the Queen came past and spoke to them, and took their gifts of flowers. And that pattern continued all through the Queens 70 year reign. She loved to meet her subjects, especially little children. Jesus loved little children too. In a society where children were often overlooked and undervalued, Jesus was never too busy for the littlest ones in his kingdom. And he says to the disciples in v5:5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (Matthew 18:5) When we reopened Yountville Community Church a year ago, it was really important to us to welcome the little children into Jesus kingdom. And so we launched Yountville Kids, a program for 0-10 year olds. We had two trained leaders my two children Charlotte and Jamie. And we had a mission to share the hope of Jesus with every member of our church, from the biggest to the littlest ones. It has been such a joy to see the way Yountville Kids has grown over the last 12 months. The number of kids has grown, the number of leaders has grown. Every week the classroom is buzzing with kids playing games, doing craft, singing songs, and most importantly hearing about Jesus from the Bible, and learning to put their trust in him. And so I would ask you to pray for Yountville Kids. Pray that we can welcome more and more children into our programs, which means welcoming more and more families into our church. It means praying for more leaders, so that we can open more classrooms. Soon it will mean asking for the finances to pay for a staff member who will lead Yountville Kids as it expands, and so that we can start planning for Youth Ministry. But we do all this because its part of sharing the hope of Jesus in the Napa Valley and beyond. The gospel is for everyone, from the biggest to the littlest amongst us. And Jesus says, whenever we welcome just one child in his name, its the same as welcoming him. But kids arent the only little ones in our society. 6 Jesus wants us as a church to make sure that we extend the welcome to all those who find themselves in lowly positions in our society. Just like Jesus had time for children, he also had time for the blind, the lame, the sick, and the outcasts. In a world that measures people by their achievements, those little ones are often overlooked, arent they? Or more strictly speaking, we are the ones who overlook them, ignore them, and push them out of sight because they arent successful like us... Its that greatness/humility theme again, isnt it? Jesus talks quite a bit about little ones in Matthews gospel. Its here in ch18, back in Mt 10:42, and also in Mt 25:40. Jesus wants us to have concern for those who are hungry, those who need clothing, those in prison... In our context, I think Jesus would be talking about the homeless and the most vulnerable in our cities. But look at what Jesus does for those little ones in v12: 12 What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:12-14) You see, Jesus will go to extraordinary lengths for the little ones. He reaches into their lives, into their messes, he finds them where they are, and he brings them home into his kingdom. Ive seen amazing testimonies from the Alpha prison program, where inmates have the chance to learn about Jesus through Alpha just like we do here. And Jesus is changing lives through it, and creating new futures. Ive seen the same thing with the crew who do our landscaping here at church every week. They are all part of an addiction recovery program called The Bridge in Napa. Its a 12 month residential recovery program where the guys replace their addiction with a year of learning about Jesus. I love talking to the guys a couple of them are really on fire for the Lord. All because Jesus walked into the messiness of their addiction and carried them home. We get to be a little part of that here at Yountville Community Church, but dont you want to do more? Wouldnt you love for this church to be a place where everyone is welcome, from the greatest to the least? Thats my prayer for us. Maybe youll join me in that now... 7

Kingdom People2. Faith in the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Matthew 17:1-13 4 September 2022 Ive always had a fascination with Everest, and the idea of reaching the top. Back in Australia I climbed lots of little mountains, but our tallest peak is 7,309 ft just a little bit shorter than Everest at 29,032 ft! Back in 1995, a postman from Washington State named Doug Hansen had his chance to climb Everest. But due to bad weather, he was forced to turn back just before the summit. Hansen returned the following year, in 1996, to finish what he had started. You might know the story. He was part of a team who started their summit attempt shortly after midnight on 10 May. They were instructed that everyone had to summit by 2pm, otherwise they would be turned around. At 2pm Doug Hansen hadnt reached the summit. At 3pm snow began to fall as a storm gathered on the horizon. Still Doug Hansen hadnt reached the summit. He was so close at Hillary Step, just 30 minutes away from standing on the top of the world. He was out of oxygen and exhausted, but determined to make the top. Tour guide Rob Hall offered to escort him on the final stretch. At 4pm Doug Hansen finally reached the summit of Everest. But they say descending is the most dangerous part of mountain climbing. Hall and Hansen were already 2 hours past the safe cutoff time. A storm rolled in. Without oxygen and in the dark, Hall and Hansen were in trouble. Hansen became physically and mentally impaired and could not be coaxed onward by Hall. Hall descended to the South Summit, but when he got there Hansen was no longer with him. His ice axe was later found jammed into the ice just above a sheer drop off. It is conjectured that Hansen slipped and fell 7000 feet to his death. Later that night, guide Rob Hall and 6 others also perished, alongside Hansen... They say descending is the most dangerous part of mountain climbing. In our Bible passage last week, we were taken up onto a mountain top with Jesus, and Moses and Elijah, and three of the disciples. And there Jesus was revealed in shining glory. It was this golden moment, a moment where you see the world from an entirely new perspective, a life- altering moment. But as Jesus comes down from the mountain in todays passage, we have an abrupt reminder that life is not always like the mountaintop. Everyday life is not always glorious. Its not always 1 golden. Actually life is messy. There is sorrow and tragedy and brokenness. And its not the way we want it to be. And so todays passage takes us into the mess, into the valley, and it asks: what will Jesus do about our brokenness? Thats where were going, so why dont we ask God to speak to us as we open the Bible now. Our heavenly Father, as we open this part of your Scripture now, will you speak to us. Will you reveal to us your good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives. And will you help us make sense of the brokenness, and your eternal plans to bring it to an end. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well we are just a couple of weeks into our fall teaching series from the book of Matthew. Well be working our way through Matthew 17-21 over the next 9 or 10 weeks. I love these chapters because they are so practical for us as a church family. Jesus will talk about conflict and forgiveness, leadership and humility, money and materialism, marriage and divorce. There is lots for us to learn and to discuss as a church family. So I do want to encourage you to take a set of these Study Notes, and to work through them yourself. But Id also love you to think about joining one of our Small Groups theyre a great way to get to know people and a chance to dig deeper into the themes we study on Sundays. Anyway, lets jump into the Bible. As I said before, our passage follows right on from the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration, where Jesus was revealed in shining glory as Gods own Son. There was the cloud of Gods glorious presence, his voice speaking from the clouds, the OT heroes Moses and Elijah were there. And it was so good that Peter never wanted it to end. It was this amazing experience of Gods power and presence, and spiritual awakening for Peter as he understood Jesus true identity for the first time. That mountaintop experience gives us a foretaste of what heaven will be like. But that bubble bursts as Jesus and the disciples come down from the mountain. Almost immediately they run into an abrupt reminder that this earth is far from [the glory of] heaven. The Sick Boy A father comes to Jesus with his very sick son. 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt beforehim. 15 Lord, have mercy on my son, he said. He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him. (Matthew 17:14-16) 2 As a parent, I can only imagine what it was like for this father. There are few things harder than having a sick child, especially when its an illness that is so out of control. [When our daughter Charlotte was 2 years old, she had super high fever on Christmas Eve. Christmas in Australia is in the middle of summer, and so the outside temperature was in the early hundreds. So was Charlotte. When we measured her temperature, the thermometer said she was like 42 Celsius, or 107 Fahrenheit. And then she started seizing. It was really scary to see our kid like that. We called the ambulance, they took her to hospital, and the doctors said that sometimes happens with really little kids. They get a really high fever, they have a seizure and its kind of like hitting the reset button. Within 24 hours she was doing much better, and shes never had another seizure. Not so for the father in our story. His son had seizures often - violent seizures that put his life in danger. He had fallen into fires, and into water. I know this sounds like epilepsy to us, but apparently there was a word for epilepsy in the Greek language at the time, but they didnt use it here. Instead they use a verb which comes from the word for moon perhaps you could translate it as the boy is moonstruck. The old King James, uses the word lunatick not politically correct, but it conveys that root in the original language. Apparently in the ancient Near East, people were afraid that the moon (and the sun) held/harbored/contained harmful magical powers. We see that in Psalm 121, where the Psalmist trusts that God will keep him from harm from the sun during the day, and the moon at night.1 So this young boy, as far as the father is concerned, has come under some kind of evil influence. The seizures arent medical, they are supernatural. As we read on, the cause is revealed as demon possession. Now I know that sounds weird to our modern Western ears, and Im going to say more about that in a moment. But before we go there, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the father, or the shoes of the boys mother. This must have been terrible. Frightening, and unpredictable, and unrelenting. In Marks account of this incident, it says the boy had been robbed of his speech he was no longer able to speak.2 In Lukes account, we learn that this is an only child.3 This is a desperate parent, bringing their sick child to the great healer in the hope of a miracle... 1 Psalm 121:5-6 2 Mark 9:3 Luke 9:38 3 Illness and Evil? Now come back to the weirdness. It would be unusual for us to take our child to the emergency room, and the doctor diagnoses them with demon possession. And so I want to take a moment to address what the Bible says about illness, and its causes, and the relationship between sickness and the supernatural. The first thing to remember is that the Bible assumes a supernatural or spiritual realm that is outside of our human perception. God himself is spirit. There are angels, and demons. Satan, or the devil. They all exist. And the Bible is matter-of-fact about all of this. And in ancient culture, the supernatural world was often held responsible for illness. As one commentator writes, The ancient world believed unquestioningly and intensely in evil spirits. The air was so full of these spirits that it was not even possible to insert into it the point of a needle without coming against one. Some said that there were seven and a half million of them; there were ten thousand on a mans right hand and ten thousand on his left; and all were waiting to work men harm. They lived in unclean places such as tombs, and places where no cleansing water was to be found. They lived in the deserts where their howling could be heard. [...] They were especially dangerous to the lonely traveler, to the woman in childbirth, to the newly married bride and groom, to children who were out after dark, and to voyagers by night. [...] One of their favorite ways to gain entry into a mans body was to lurk beside him while he ate and so to settle on his food.4 William Barclay Sounds a bit like germs, doesnt it? So that was the prevailing understanding of the time. There was great interest in the demonic perhaps more than was healthy. We probably have the opposite attitude as modern Westerns we have so little belief in the demonic that we almost dismiss it completely, in the same way that many dismiss the idea of any supernatural power good or otherwise. So is there a link between illness and evil? The OT is clear that God alone gives life, and God takes life away. He gives us the breath of life (Genesis 2:7, Isaiah 42:5, Job 33:4) and he numbers our days (Job 14:5, Psalm 139:16, Psalm 90:12; Psalm 39:4). 4 William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew (Vol 1), p320-321 4 And so it makes sense in the OT that it is God who is the source of sickness, as well as healing. In Deuteronomy 32:39, the Lord says: There is no god besides me.I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal,and no one can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39) Much of the theology of the first 5 books of the OT set out a relationship between obedience to God and a prosperous life without illness (Exodus 23:25-26, Deuteronomy 7:12-15). This wasnt a promise just for individuals, it was a promise for Gods people as a nation. Obedience would result in prosperity and fertility; sin would lead to illness and decline. When you come to the NT, Jesus is not as mechanical about the link between sin and sickness. Of course there are some choices we make in life that have direct consequences on our health. But we wouldnt say that a child with cancer did anything to deserve it, any more than we would say that disabilities are the result of personal sin. Thats an abhorrent idea. Rather Jesus teaches that death and disease are a consequence of sin more generally. That is, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, they unleashed a torrent of evil/corruption that has tainted the goodness of Gods creation to its very core. For example, Jesus was speaking about a natural disaster that had happened a tower fell and killed 18 people. But Jesus said it wasnt because those people were more sinful than anyone else the accident was part of a world that is broken. On another occasion somebody asked Jesus about a man who was born blind he asked if the mans blindness was a result of his sin or his parents sin. But Jesus says it was neither it happened so that God could display his power in the mans life. (John 9:1-3) Jesus healed him and many believed because of it. So when we think about sickness, or illness, or accidents, a biblical attitude is to understand that these things happen in a world where sin is still eroding the fabric of creation. Its not normal for God to punish our sin by sending sickness, although I guess he might, but thats not the normative pattern. God doesnt operate on karma. Actually he treats us better than our sin deserves (Psalm 103:10). Jesus says that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45), he blesses every human with all kinds of good things. And even in the midst of our sin, he reaches out with the gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ. But most people never recognize the source of the blessing. And they dont get forgiveness. 5 But healing? That makes people sit up and pay attention. Sickness and Healing Come back to our passage. This father comes to Jesus, begging him to heal his very sick son. And Jesus heals him, with just a word. Look at v18: 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. (Matthew 17:18) We see here that the father was right his son had been possessed by an evil spirit. But even the world of demons has no power when Jesus is there. And thats the testimony throughout the NT Jesus heals the demon-possessed time after time. The devil may prowl about like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), but hes a caged lion. His power is limited only to what Jesus permits him to do. And when Jesus heals, he gives us a window into his eternal kingdom where there is no more sickness, no more suffering, no more loss, no more accidents, no more death, no more mourning, no more pain. A world where evil is no more. Dont you long for that world? When someone we love is sick, we long for healing. Thats why people flock to the healing waters of Lourdes in France, hoping for a miracle. Its why people make pilgrimages to the burial places of saints, hoping for a miracle. Its why the crippled in Jerusalem waited at the pool of Bethesda during Jesus time they hoped for a miracle. Its why crowds came out to see Jesus. We long to be healed. We long for someone to take away the pain. We want a miracle in a world where our bodies break down and eventually die... Did you notice how easy it was for Jesus to heal the boy? He speaks, he rebukes the demon and its gone. On other occasions, Jesus spoke and the lame walked, the blind were made to see, the deaf to hear. A man with a shriveled hand had it restored before a crowd of onlookers. In Jesus kingdom, death and decay disappear, like a bad dream disappears when you wake up. PAUSE I know there are people in this room who have experienced miracles that cant be explained by medicine. I love that! I love that God is still doing miracles in this world. 6 But I also know that some of you are praying for a miracle right now, and the miracle hasnt happened. One of my good friends in Africa found out that his wife was sick. She was only in her 30s, with 3 small children. Not a country with great health care. My friend prayed. His wife prayed. His church prayed. They trusted God for a miracle. But still she died just a few weeks later. And the truth is, even if we experience a miracle healing from Jesus, one day death will claim us anyway. Thats a reality of living this side of the resurrection. Jesus kingdom is coming, but its not completely here just yet. We live in the in-between, in the now-and-not-yet. We get glimpses of whats to come, but were waiting for the fullness of the promises of God to break into this world and to rebuild it from the inside out. Thats what will happen when Jesus returns, bringing with him the new heaven and the new earth. When all of us who trust in Jesus will be resurrected to eternal life. Imperishable. Never again to die. But that day is sometime in the future, whenever God decides the time is right. So what can we expect in this lifetime? Can we expect God to heal? First I want to say that God can do whatever he wants. God still does miracles and absolutely we should pray for them. But its up to God to decide if, and when, he will heal in this lifetime. And even if God chooses not to heal our illnesses, that shouldnt change the way we feel about him. You see, Gods promise doesnt change. Full restoration is the promise on the other side of the resurrection. Every illness will be healed, even if he doesnt heal us today. And as hard as it is to understand, perhaps God has a more important purpose for your life than healing your body. Perhaps the way you live with illness will help somebody see the glory of God even more clearly. Perhaps your implicit trust in God, even in the face of death, will lead your family and friends to the same trust that you have. Because trust, or faith, is what is most important, says Jesus. Look at v19. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, Why couldnt we drive it out? 20 He replied, Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Jesus wants us to know that there is no obstacle that he cant overcome in our lives, if we just 7 trust him. Whatever our life might look like, we can trust him to achieve his purposes for us, even in the face of death. After all, thats the attitude Jesus took to the cross, wasnt it? Even death couldnt stop the kingdom of God from advancing in this world. In fact, Jesus had to face death in order to bring an end to it once and for all. And on the day that he rose from the grave, his resurrection showed us that we have nothing to fear, even from death. On the other side is the world that we long for, the world where our prayers for healing will be answered fully and finally. Is that something you can put your faith in? 8

Kingdom People1. A Taste of the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorMatthew 17:1-13 28 August 2022 When people find out Im from Australia, they often ask: What are some of the differences between Australia and here? There is a lot that is similar and most of the time I feel right at home. Until something happens that makes me remember this is a second culture for me. That happened at our sons High School graduation a couple of months ago. Our youngest, Jamie, went to Vintage High School in Napa, and we were excited to go to the graduation. My wife and I both worked as teachers back in Australia, so we have been to graduations before. And every American high school movie has as scene where the students walk onto the stage and receive their diploma. How different could it be? Back in Australia, every school child wears a uniform. And the graduation ceremony or Speech Day as we call it is a very formal affair. The school where I taught held Speech Day right in the center of Sydney, in the Town Hall an ornate marble building from the 1800s. All the parents and students would come in and take their seats, and then when it was time to start, the teachers would walk in procession, wearing our academic robes and the hoods signifying which university and which degrees we held. If you cant picture it, think of Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Thats basically what education is like in Australia. The graduation here was a bit different. Walking into stadium, it felt more like we were going to a football game than a graduation. There were people in baseball caps and cowboy hats and woollen hats. There were air horns, and air balloons and life-sized cutouts of graduates. As the ceremony started, two soldiers in uniform marched onto the football field with the flag. The crowd rose and with hands on hearts and hats removed, they joined in singing The Star Spangled Banner. As the sun began to set, the words of the Pledge of Allegiance echoed through the bleachers. I loved it. I didnt know all the words, and I didnt expect it. But I could see what was happening, as this magical moment unfolded and I felt part of something bigger. America. Now what does that have to do with our Bible passage today? Our passage today comes out of a different culture. And we might not recognize all the cultural references at first. But when we immerse ourselves in the moment, well see that this passage is about something much bigger. A magic moment that is part of our story Thats what Im hoping to show you today. So why dont we pray and ask God to help us experience that magic moment. Our heavenly Father, as we open the Bible today, will you open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to understand the magic moment that happened on the hillside that day. Will you remind us of your plans and promises and leave us with the feeling that we are part of something bigger. Will you speak to us today through your word. In Jesus name we pray. Amen Well, we are back in the gospel of Matthew. We have been working our way through Matthew section by section for the last 3 years. Over the next 10 weeks or so we will work our way through chapters 17-21 in a series Im calling Kingdom People. These chapters are all about the culture and values of the Kingdom of Heaven. But they are not just cultures and values for when we die Jesus wants us start living the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. As the church, as Jesuss followers, we are to be Kingdom People. And when we live as Kingdom People, God willing, the world around us will see the difference. Theyll experience the goodness of God through us. And our prayer is that many of our friends and neighbors and colleagues will want to know more about Jesus kingdom because of what they see in us, and ultimately find life and hope in Jesus for themselves. So thats where were going. But it all begins with a life-changing experience, the kind of experience that alters your perception forever. And thats what we have in Matthew 17:1-13, with a story we call the transfiguration. What does that word mean? Transfiguration Let me start with a little story. A couple of years ago a young photographer in Chicago decided she wanted to capture beauty on film. The photographers name is Shea Glover. She would approach people on the street and ask if she could take their photograph. She would take the first photo, and then tell the subject, The reason I wanted to take your photo is that you are beautiful. [SLIDE] You can see the faces of the people light up, and completely change, cant you? And this portrait gallery contains the two pictures of each person, the before and the after. Isnt that great! The power of a simple compliment Well in our Bible passage, we see Jesus face completely change. Thats the meaning of transfiguration. His appearance is completely transformed as something very special happens. Lets read from v1: 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. (Matthew 17:1-3) Just to remind you of some of the backstory, Jesus has been on the road now for almost 3 years. He has spoken to crowds of thousands, astounding them with his teaching about the kingdom of heaven. Hes performed miracles, he has healed the sick and raised the dead. He is this massive celebrity, very much in the public eye. But on this day, Jesus takes only his three closest friends his inner circle up onto the mountaintop with him. Peter, James, and James brother John. And when they reach the top, Jesus is changed before their very eyes transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. I want you to picture this in your mind. If you were Peter, James or John, what would you think was going on? Its kind of like the pictures of angels we see in the Bible, isnt it? Angels always appear like a figure shining with bright white light. That would be a good guess, that Jesus is like an angel. But every other angelic messenger comes and goes. They never stick around like Jesus did for 33 years. Nobody ever saw an angel born of a human mother, and grow up like a regular kid. Jesus was not an angel. We have to dig deeper into our Old Testament cultural references. There are a bunch of clues that tell us what is happening here. First, Jesus and his companions are on a mountaintop. The mountaintop was often a place where God met with key OT figures, like Moses on Mount Sinai. That was where God gave Moses the stone tablets with the 10 Commandments, and the rest of the law for Gods people. And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, do you remember what was different about him? His face was radiant, presumably shining like Jesus face was at this very moment. Exodus 34 says that Moses face became like that whenever he entered the Lords presence to speak with him (Exodus 34:34). The prophet Elijah also met God on a mountaintop on Mount Horeb. That story is in 1 Kings 19. It was there that God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice almost a whisper. Coming back to our story in the NT, who is there on the mountaintop with Jesus and his 3 disciples? Moses and Elijah, men who had been dead more than 1000 years. So we have the shining face of Jesus, the mountaintop location, the OT prophets Moses and Elijah. The scene is set for a theophany, an appearance of God. Thats exactly what happens. Skip down with me to v5: 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5) We have another OT reference here. The cloud. This is the same as the cloud that went before the Israelites as they escaped from Egypt. The same cloud descended on Mount Sinai when God was speaking to Moses. This cloud represents the presence of God with his people, his glory descending to earth, and his voice speaking to his people (Exodus 24:16). With Moses and Elijah there, its almost like God was rebooting the OT prophets, getting ready to recommission them, and relaunch the vision of the Promised Land that was the center of the OT promises of God. That was what the Jews expected to happen in the last days. They expected Moses and Elijah to return. The very last words of the OT from the book of Malachi say: 5 See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. (Malachi 4:5) God had given Moses a similar prophecy for the people in his day: 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Do you see what is happening here? All the weight of prophetic expectation from the OT is piling up on this moment on the mount of transfiguration. Something big is about to happen. God speaks from the cloud. This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5) These are the same words that God spoke to Jesus at his baptism. But probably only Jesus heard them back then. Now Gods voice is plain to everybody listening. Jesus is the prophet Moses was pointing ahead towards. The prophet who would bring his people into the promises of God, and into the promised land. And all of them were to listen to him. Moses and Elijah, as great as they were, were just precursors. Humans with a very important job, but just people nonetheless. Not Jesus. Jesus, we learn, is Gods own Son. God himself declares it from the cloud. To the great prophets of the OT, and to the messengers of the NT the apostles who would take this truth to the ends of the earth. And Gods glory is no longer just a reflection in the face of the prophets. Jesus radiant appearance tells us that he himself is the glory of God , he himself is the presence of God among his people. Jesus himself will speak the words of God to his people, calling them back into repentance and back into fellowship with God. Jesus is God in human flesh. Recognition Have you ever had one of those moments when the penny drops? (Do you all know that expression when the penny drops? It means when you finally understand or realize something in a new way.) [SLIDE] In literature, Aristotle gave this device the name anagnorisis (a Greek word which means the moment of recognition). The classic example is in Oedipus Rex, when Oedipus finally learns his true identity and realizes that he has murdered his father and married his mother. Thats a fairly high brow example. Perhaps a more accessible example is in The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy spends the whole film trying to find the Wizard, so that he can help her get back to Kansas. But in the end she learns that she had the ability the whole time because of the ruby slippers she just needed to tap them together three times and say Theres no place like home In our passage, the disciples have their moment of anagnorisis, their own moment of recognizing something that was there all along. They had been traveling with Jesus for three years, but somehow they hadnt truly recognized him for who he was. But in this moment, with Jesus shining with the glory of the Lord, with Gods voice booming from heaven, this is the moment that they finally see Jesus. Their eyes are opened to see not Jesus the man, but Jesus as God incarnate, standing in front of them. And like everyone who comes face to face with the living God, they fall to the floor terrified6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.7 But Jesus came and touched them. Get up, he said. Dont be afraid. 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. (Matthew 17:6-8) I think there are many of us who spend our lives like Peter and James and John. Weve known Jesus for a long time. But have you had that moment of anagnorisis, that moment of recognition, when you understood that Jesus is more than just a moral teacher. He is not just one voice amongst all the philosophers and psychologists and leadership podcasts of our generation. He is the definitive voice, the voice of God. God himself says (in v5): Listen to him! You see, Peter and James and John had a life changing moment with Jesus. A moment when their physical eyes were opened to see what only the eyes of faith can see. They were given a moment of spiritual clarity. At that moment, Jesus was revealed as God to them. Not just their friend, not just their teacher, but God himself. Have you had that moment of spiritual clarity? Have you recognized Jesus as this passage reveals him? Because one day you will. Whether youre prepared for it or not. The Bible says that on the day that Jesus returns, every knee will bow before him, and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11) And for those who have lived as enemies of Jesus, and those who have not paid him any heed, that day will be terrifying. But not for those who have recognized Jesus, and aligned their lives with him. I love the way that Jesus responds to the terrified disciples in v7. Get up, he says. Dont be afraid. Jesus does not want to terrify us. He wants to bring us into the presence of God, where all the goodness of creation is restored for all of eternity. We see that idea in the last few verses of our passage. Jesus wants what is best for us, what is best for our families, what is best for our community. Jesus wants to give us life to the full (as he says in John 10:10). That all begins when you recognize Jesus. I know that many of us here know Jesus as Lord. But if you are someone who hasnt had that moment of recognition for yourself, can I encourage you to join us at Alpha this Fall.[SLIDE] Alpha is a 6 week course designed to help you find out about life and faith and meaning, and how Jesus fits into it all. Its a free course, theres good food and discussion, and the chance to really interrogate the Christian faith and whether it is for you. If youre interested, grab one of these brochures at the front of church or click on the link on the homepage at yountvillechurch.org. Wed love to have you along for the ride. In the moment Now there is a little part of this passage that I skipped over. Back in v4. The three disciples are up on the mountainside and the transfiguration happens. Jesus is shining, and the two greatest prophetic figures in the OT show up, and theyre talking to Jesus. Did you notice what Peter was doing? He was loving it. 4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three sheltersone for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (Matthew 17:4) Peter was a fisherman, a salt of the earth guy, practical and hands-on. And I love the way he offers to build shelters for Jesus and Moses and Elijah. Maybe its because Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai Peter wanted to make sure they were comfortable if they were camping out. Or maybe it was going to rain. Or maybe Peter had his mind on the things of this world, like Jesus had said to him in the previous chapter. It's a kind of odd interaction, but there is something profound in what Peter says, and I dont want to miss it in the awkwardness. Look again at the first thing Peter says there: 4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. Peter realized the goodness of being in the presence of Jesus, and in the presence of God. He didnt want it to end. He wanted to camp out with Jesus, and stay with Jesus. He wanted to hang out with Moses and Elijah. It is good for us to be here, Peter said. Do you think about church the same way? It is good for us to be here. As we spend time together, asking God to speak to us, trusting that he is present here by his Holy Spirit. It is good to be here. What about your small group? Do you get together and think, it is good to be here! What about when youre getting coffee with someone from church, or praying with them over the phone, or serving on a roster together here at church, or handing out food at our monthly food pantry. Do you stop and think, it is good to be here! There is something very special about being the church. God has put his Holy Spirit in each of our hearts, so we dont need to be church for God to show up in our lives. But were not made to do this alone. We are made for church. And when were together, we get a foretaste of what heaven will be like. We get a foretaste of the kingdom of God, and a foretaste of the heavenly family and the heavenly banquet table and the heavenly worship. It is good to be here! And I hope you want to be here, because this is the most important couple of hours of your week. In a moment were going to stand and sing our final song, and when we do, I want you to say to yourself, it is good to be here! This is what I was made for. And this is a taste of eternity Lets pray

Psalm 13 intersects with the experience many of us have had with sorrow, mental anguish and depression. But it reminds us that even in the darkness, a light of hope shines through.

When we see God up close , his majesty is a mixture of magnificence and terror. But Psalm 8 reminds us that God is not unapproachable. Join Pastor Dan Bidwell for a message about the dignity that God bestows upon his children in Christ Jesus.

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We all have songs that form the soundtrack to our life: songs that bring back significant memories, songs that lift us when we are down, songs that inspire us, songs that move us. And for Jesus, those songs were the Psalms. What can we learn from the soundtrack to Jesus' life?

Prodigal means extravagant, lavish, unrestrained, excessive; carelessly wasteful. In this story, a ungrateful son lives a prodigal lifestyle after he takes his inheritance. But the end of the story leaves us asking: who is the real prodigal?

In our final encounter today, were going to look into the future, to see an encounter with Jesus that every person who ever lived will someday have. An encounter that will have eternal consequences. An encounter we dont want to get wrong.

A criminal meets Jesus in his dying moments, and receives a welcome that noe of us deserve.

This encounter is a little different.It is an encounter between Jesus and the devil; anencounter where the devil tempts, or tests Jesus; and an encounter that reveals an importanttruth about character Jesus character, and our own character in the face of temptation.

When a sinful woman has an encounter with Jesus and finds forgiveness, it leads us to ask: have we found the same?

When a wedding runs out of wine, Jesus performs a sign that points to more than just a wedding toast.

In this special Mother's Day message, Jesus reminds us not to get distracted from the most important thing - spending time with him.

In this special Mother's Day message, Jesus reminds us not to get distracted from the most important thing - spending time with him.

When Jesus asks for a drink at a well, a Samaritan woman learns a lesson about the only water that can truly satisfy.

Four different characters, four different personalities, four encounters with Jesus.

In this first 'encounter with Jesus', Mary Magdalen encounters the possibility of life beyond death.

When we go to the Garden of Gethsemane, we see the cross through the eyes of Jesus, and we glimpse the plan of God beginning to be revealed. We get an insight into the very character of God, his love and justice working together in a real and powerfully emotional way. And we see ourselves reflected in the weakness of the disciples. In this week before Easter, allow Jesus to show you his love in the Garden and the Cross.

Join us as we share our vision for Yountville Community Church in 2022 and beyond.

The longer Ive been a Christian, the more I realise that plenty of us still ask this question regularly: How can I be sure if Im saved? How can I be sure Im going to heaven?

Join Pastor Dan Bidwell for the second part in our Wisdom series, exploring wisdom as presented in the New Testament.

Join Pastor Dan Bidwell for the first part in our Wisdom series, exploring wisdom as presented in the Old Testament.

Join us for our special Christmas Eve message.