First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
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First Love Church
I Have Seen The Lord! Easters Witness
Mary Magdalene's simple yet powerful testimony, "I have seen the Lord," forms the foundation of Christian witness throughout history. Like a neighbor pointing out crocuses blooming beneath Chicago snow, Mary shows us where to look for hope when our circumstances feel frozen in grief. Her commission as the first resurrection witness reminds us that each of us carries a similar calling—to recognize and proclaim where we've seen the risen Christ in our world.
The disciples' experience of Jesus appearing behind locked doors speaks directly to our tendency to isolate ourselves when afraid. No barrier—physical, emotional, or spiritual—can prevent Jesus from reaching those he loves. His greeting, "Peace be with you," acknowledges their fear while creating space for courage to flourish alongside it. This peace doesn't require the absence of fear but rather provides strength to move forward despite it.
Thomas's honest doubt offers perhaps the most encouraging message for contemporary believers. Rather than condemning his need for tangible proof, Jesus meets Thomas exactly where he is, offering precisely what he requested. Without recording whether Thomas actually touched the wounds, Scripture simply captures his profound confession: "My Lord and my God!" Throughout the resurrection narratives, we see Jesus meeting different people's needs—Mary needs to hear, the disciples need to see, Thomas needs to touch, and later, some need to taste breakfast on the beach. Whatever witness we require, Jesus graciously provides it.
The breath of the Holy Spirit transforms these frightened followers into agents of forgiveness and reconciliation. In the same way, we're invited to participate in resurrection life by practicing the presence of peace—inhaling God's peace and exhaling love to a world desperate for both. When we forgive others, we declare the fundamental truth of the gospel: nothing separates them from God's love.
As resurrection people, our lives should overflow with generosity, wonder, and praise. We're invited to look for Christ in unexpected places, to change our thinking when necessary, and to participate in God's kingdom that's already present among us. The life Jesus offers isn't reserved for some distant future but begins now as we align our thoughts with his and become agents of his reconciling love.
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In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala Florida.
Speaker 2:Good morning everybody. Welcome to First Love Church in person. Give yourselves one clap. If you're here in person, good job. If you're here online, thank you for being here online. Share it with one friend. Good job, well done. Glad you guys are here.
Speaker 2:On Eastertide we see Eastertide, okay, everyone remembers when my mom talked about this last year, right, good, okay, we're all up to speed. I don't need to go over it. No, I'm kidding. So here's something very fascinating about Eastertide. Right, you have Lent right before. Okay, that's 40 days. Eastertide is 50 days.
Speaker 2:Okay, isn't that wonderful that we spend more time in hope and in love and in resurrection than we do in the grief Agreed? I have a recent example of grief in my life right now. On Friday I got some not great news about something that I was really hopeful for, and it's really hard to hold on to hope and grief at the same time. It's important not to diminish grief. It's important not to stuff down grief. It's important not to throw grief in the trash, because sometimes you have to grieve Agreed. But trying to hold on to grief and hope at the same time is like trying to hold on to two oversized beach balls. It's just not possible to hold on to both at the same time. So what do you do when you can't process these emotions to the best of your abilities? You can pass it over to someone who is willing to work with you, in that we have a benevolent and wonderful Savior who does want to hold on to these things with us. Amen. Would you guys like to read?
Speaker 1:with me this morning.
Speaker 2:Is there a reading? Oh, we read already. All right, we're done reading, okay, no, we're not done reading. We all know my mom. She's going to make us read somewhere and that's okay. It's just something that's going to happen. Is it turn to come up or is somebody else coming up? Oh, my mom loves applause. Do you want to give her applause? Okay, she hates it, but I like doing that to her because it's fun. But I'm very thankful for my mom, just like I'm sure all of you guys are, and I'm very grateful for her ability to communicate, and I would invite everyone to open your hearts up to the different things that she's going to share with us this morning. Some of you may have heard this before, some of this might be new to you, but I invite you to really take a look at the things that my mom has prepared for us. Amen, amen, amen. So be it. Goodbye.
Speaker 1:So grateful for everyone who is present with us this morning in person. For those of you online, thank you For Amy, who brought us a witness, a creation witness. I want to remind you that there are witnesses of the resurrection and even if someone didn't perfectly say to you he is risen, he is risen indeed. I want to remind you that one of the best ways that we can proclaim as witnesses to the resurrection is I have seen the Lord and all of us have a witness. Sometimes we just have to figure out how or what that looks like. Somebody said to me recently I wish that I had lived in the time of Jesus because there were miracles, and I would like to see miracles Beloved. There are miracles all around us every day. Maybe your eyes just need to be healed so that you can see that, or maybe you need someone else to show you where to look for the miracles and what the hope is. I grew up the first 21 years of my life in the city of Chicago, and that means that there were 21 horrible, wicked, terrible winters, where I love snow and I like cold, but once it's 17 degrees below zero, you begin to have some ideas that maybe you shouldn't be there and so you form thoughts and ways. And on the way to school one morning I was freezing and it was little and I was walking between our house and it was after Easter and it had snowed, and it had snowed a lot and it was freezing. And I must have had a look on my little face as I walked between our house and we had neighbors to the left of us, the Rows, and they were East Indian and I have never seen anyone garden in more finery than our neighbor, mrs Rao. She had beautiful caramel skin and she would wear a sari every day and she would be out there elbows in the dirt in her sari in gardening. But one particular day I was freezing on the way to school and I was walking in between our houses and she looked at me and she called from the step and she said neighbor, come here. And so I walked over freezing covered into snow, and she said, look there, right next to the dryer vent of our house, it had melted snow and there was a pile of crocuses and it was such a hope, beautiful crocuses, these perfect little flowers in the midst of the bitter and the cold. And I was thinking sometimes we have to be like Mrs Rau who says to us neighbor, come look right here, spring is coming. This will not always feel this way and this is the resurrection hope for us. This is what Mary did when she said I have seen the Lord In the past month.
Speaker 1:I received a phone call from one of the beloved brothers in our church. I knew that because when I looked at it I saw his name in my context and when I picked up the phone he said I'm in terrible trouble and I need your help. Now, when somebody starts the conversation like that, there's some adrenaline, some anxiety. And this is not just somebody, this is somebody who could have been in terrible trouble. I mean, we could imagine the trouble that this person could have been in. And he said I'm in terrible trouble and I need your help. And at first I thought I may not be the one to call. But then I didn't say that and I said how can I help? And he said I need another way to see this, I need a different way to think. And I was so excited. I was like beloved, this is resurrection, this is how transformation comes, this is how everything changes when you think one way over and over again, and then you say to someone else, to the Holy Spirit, to God, to nature, to your brothers and sisters, I need another way to think. He listened to the words that I said and he said I don't think I can do that. And I said fair. And I said, but can you do nothing right now until you can? And he said absolutely, and sometimes, beloved, that's enough. The Holy Spirit meets you in the pause. The Holy Spirit meets you in the difference.
Speaker 1:And so today, as we are in the second Sunday of Easter, I am so overjoyed to share these texts with you, as I am with every we're in. I mean, I'm excited about Advent, I'm excited about Lent, but, beloved, we are a resurrection people, and this only only is eclipsed by the fact that there's gonna be Pentecost coming. The Holy Spirit's coming. So it is this beautiful building for us of all of the goodness of God, and so I'm grateful that you're here with me this morning. I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit among us who will, by the activation of God's own power, give us revelation and understanding, and may we see things even as we never saw them before.
Speaker 1:I do want to talk about something that's coming up and that is on the 23rd of May, we're going to have a hymn sing together. And while we're talking about resurrection beloved, sometimes that's all you need for a resurrection in your spirit is to spend an hour or two singing the hymns with people. And so we're going to meet here at the church and we're going to sing the hymns, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on that. So bring a friend, bring a neighbor, bring an enemy, bring whoever you want, but sit with us, sing hymns.
Speaker 1:We read a psalm this morning that said God will deliver us from our enemies, and sometimes we have really strange ideas about what that's going to look like. We sometimes feel like that means that God will, you know, make them leave or change them, and really the invitation is has always been that our beautiful brothers and sisters become our family. That God says to us he's preparing a table for all of us in the presence of enemies. Enemies become brothers and sisters at the table, and so there is such a hope for that. So I ask you to join us in the hymns. But I am reading this morning and Thomas mentioned that I do like to read, I do like to listen to the witness of scripture. In particular, I love the stories of Jesus. I love how there is a witness to us that says what is it like for us to see the living word. Jesus is the word made flesh, and every written word that we have bows to the living word.
Speaker 1:Mary Magdalene, who had been at the tomb the whole time, she never left Jesus. Please look at your scriptures and remind that and find that there. She stood with him at the cross. She went with him after his death and watched over his body and she was there with an intention to bless, to anoint. And when she heard and this was last week's message she heard Jesus call her by name. She recognized him and Jesus said to her I want you to go and I want you to tell the others that you have seen me. The first person commissioned the apostle to the apostles, the first person commissioned to preach the resurrection, was Mary. So she goes and she tells. So here we are in verse 18.
Speaker 1:Mary Magdalene found the disciples. I do want to tell you that they were back up in the room that they were with when Jesus had the dinner Thursday night. Jesus takes them back to the place of. This is the table. He returns to the table. They had gone there and Mary found them and said I have seen the Lord. And then she gave them his message. Maybe you need someone to show you where the crocuses are starting to bloom. Maybe you need someone to remind you that it will not always be this way. Beloved, we have seen the Lord.
Speaker 1:The Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, because they were afraid of the religion that had joined together with empire, and suddenly, suddenly, jesus was standing there among them. Peace be with you. Mary says I have seen the Lord. And they're like yeah, okay, you know, this was by this time the same day she had already told them this the disciples had gone to the tomb. They also saw, saw the empty tomb, but they don't know what to make of it. But Mary says this I have seen the Lord.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus shows up and I want to tell you something about the Jesus post-resurrection. Maybe you haven't noticed it, maybe you have, but Jesus post-resurrection is unruly. I mean, jesus shows up in places that we do not expect him, like behind locked doors. Jesus shows up places that we didn't think he'd be, like on a beach preparing breakfast for us, like. There's Jesus who defies the norm, and I want to invite you in the next few weeks to look for the presence of Jesus in places maybe you forgot to look, or in the beautiful places that you've called yourself to, in seclusion or in your pain. I love here that the disciples are behind locked doors. It reminds me of Adam and Eve in the garden. Here we are.
Speaker 1:John is always retelling the Genesis story. Here are our beloved brothers behind wooden doors. We've taken those trees and we fashioned them into doors and we've locked ourselves behind them. This is the human way we hide ourselves when we are afraid. Jesus shows up and Jesus speaks peace. I remind you that peace does not mean that there is an absence of fear. They still had fear, but there could be peace there. It is not an absence of grief. They don't even know what to think right now as Jesus shows up them, and I imagine that his very presence caused anxiety. His very presence there, as he says peace, upset them and so we are in good company this morning, beloved. And as he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side, and they were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. And again he said to them Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. And then he breathed on them and said Receive the Holy Spirit. This is what the peace of Christ ushers to us. Again, this is the Genesis story and Adam and Eve. In the beginning, when the story is told in the first book of the First Testament, god fashions humans and then God breathes into them and gives them a living soul. Jesus is doing the same thing here. He's rebirthing us, he's remaking humanity, and Jesus breathes on them and says receive the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:One of the practices that we do during the time of Eastertide is we practice the presence of peace. When we feel ourselves in anxiety, when we feel ourselves in unsurety, we look for peace and very often it happens through our own breath. There's a beautiful breath prayer that goes with this, and it is I inhale peace and I exhale love. How are we able to exhale love when what we have experienced is anxiety or grief or terror? Because of the Holy Spirit beloved. The power to transmute, the power to turn. This is the power of Christ. What was given in anger, what was given in violence, can be turned into forgiveness. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathes on them and says receive the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Jesus speaks peace and then goes right into forgiveness. This is our job as believers. This is our job as people who have seen the Christ forgiveness of sins. I read this in many translations and there was one particular one that I loved just the last part of it. It says if you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. We've got that. And it says if you do not forgive anyone their sins, what are you going to do with them? Anyone their sins, what are you gonna do with them? I thought what a beautiful way to think about that. What am I gonna do with these sins? Give them to the Christ, who forgives them. Give them to God. This is how the kingdom comes. That we are people who have seen the Lord and we are people who practice forgiveness. That we forgive each other. That we are people who pray forgiveness. That we forgive each other. That we are people who pray forgiveness, but that we are people who bless each other and the world with the power of forgiveness.
Speaker 1:To forgive someone's sins is to remind them there is nothing that separates you from God. You are a beloved child of God. You are made in the image of God. There is nothing that separates you from the love of God. It was the Apostle Paul who said this is what I hope for everyone that you would come to know how wide and how high and how deep and how huge and how never-ending the love of God is. That there is nothing on heaven above, or on the earth beneath or in even under the earth, that could separate you from the love of God. This is resurrection promise. You are one. There is no separation with you and God, and this is the power of forgiveness. Jesus prayed this in John's Gospel, chapter 17. Father, make them one. Oneness with God is where the peace is. Oneness with God is remembering that we are never alone, that the power of God among us is the presence of peace and is our job. Jesus commissioned us and said forgive. This is how you stay in peace. You choose to forgive, you choose to remember. I am one with that person because Jesus made us one with them, and that God is working all things together.
Speaker 1:One of the 12 disciples, thomas, nicknamed the twin, was not with the others when Jesus came. You could go on a little rant about why it's good to be with other believers, even if you're together behind locked doors, because sometimes the presence of the resurrected Christ shows up. I don't know why Thomas wasn't there. Maybe he was doing something really important, maybe he was taking care of someone, or maybe he was taking care of himself, but he was absent and he did not get what everyone else got.
Speaker 1:Everyone else saw the wounds, everyone else touched, everyone else heard the story told to them by Christ and they were breathed on and were given the Holy Spirit. And Thomas was not there. So they told him we have seen the Lord Again. Told him we have seen the Lord Again. Mary says I have seen the Lord. Now everybody else says we have seen the Lord. And this is the practice of resurrection declaring where it is that you have seen the miracle. Where is it that the crocus is blooming underneath the snow? Where is it that you can have hope for everyone? But he replied, replied I will not believe it until I see the nail wounds in his hands and put my fingers into them and place my hand into the wound in his side. I love this about Thomas, because Thomas goes. You can't cheer me up. I'm not going to get past what just happened to someone that I loved. I will not just leap over this grief. This is real and he honored it. And he said until there is something else, I'm not just going to get over this. There's an invitation to not get over but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins.
Speaker 1:Eight days later, the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. That's a good news for all of us. When we have not been with, we gather together again, and the doors were locked, but suddenly, as before, jesus was standing among them. Peace, be with you. He said, standing among them. Peace, be with you. He said. I love that he says peace, be with you. And keeps walking through walls, because that's a way to frighten me, that is a way to know. I know you locked the door. Did you lock the door? Yes, we've locked the door. The door is locked, no one else is coming in. Excellent, we're all here.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus is there saying peace, and that's a way to panic me, that's a way to panic these people. And Jesus is saying I want you to see that there is something greater than Peace. Be with you. And then he says to Thomas put your finger here and look at my hands. Put your hand in the wound in my side. Do not be faithless any longer. Believe, trust. Look at this.
Speaker 1:The text does not tell us that Thomas touches. The text doesn't tell us that Thomas did anything except erupt into praise my Lord and my God. Thomas explained my Lord and my God. He recognizes the oneness of Jesus with the Father. He recognizes the oneness.
Speaker 1:And Easter is a beautiful time for us to doubt. Easter is a beautiful time for us to question. In fact, so many times here we see what God is doing for us. In fact, I was counting and Mary needs to hear the words of Jesus, to recognize him. He says Mary, and then she recognized him. They've had a conversation before and she didn't recognize him. And very often beloved Christ is there with us and we do not recognize him.
Speaker 1:But Mary needed to hear it. And then people, other disciples, needed to see it, not only the empty tomb, we needed to see it. So we've heard it and we've seen it and we've felt it. And Jesus is offering that. And so in our doubt and in our places of questions, do not be frustrated with your need for another witness. We've heard it, we've felt it, we've seen it. And a little bit later, later, jesus comes and makes breakfast for his friends on the beach and they taste it and they recognize. So, wherever you are, whatever it is you need, I hope that you see a Jesus who will come and will show up for you and show you his hands, show you his feet, cook you breakfast. Whatever it is, you need to see this, one of my favorite beautiful parts of this. It's coming in the next few weeks, so read it, but I would encourage you, don't miss. It is on the road to Emmaus. Beautiful disciples are there and Jesus shows up and he spends hours with them and they don't recognize him. And they're talking with him and they don't recognize him in the communion.
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe. It's such a hopeful story for all of us that we would see him in the bread and the wine.
Speaker 1:But really, why they don't recognize him is because they have a religious thought that was given to them by their religion and it contradicts everything that they knew. They believed Jesus to be a new way and they were followers, but when he ended up being crucified, it horrified them, because what they knew was this that there is a prophecy that said cursed is anyone who hung on a tree. So in their minds they could not make sense of what had happened. How did we see him do all these miracles? How did we hear him teach with authority? Yet what we've been told is that is a cursed one. Jesus begins to enlighten us and change the way that we see things, and this is the hope for resurrection. This is a resurrection promise that we would allow god to expand our mind, that we would allow the holy spirit that, by forgiving other people's sins, that it would remind us and expand our capacity to live in the Spirit. Then Jesus told him you believed because you've seen me, and blessed are those who believe without seeing me.
Speaker 1:And the disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. I want to hang out here for a minute. The disciples saw Jesus do many other signs, many other miracles in addition to these ones. There were many other words that were spoken in addition to these ones. In fact, it is John who says if all the words that Jesus spoke were written down, the world could not contain the amount of goodness and the amount of the truth that was spoken to them.
Speaker 1:So I remind you that we are not limited to just the words that we have read here, but that we are invited to be people who are led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who continues to speak to us, to give us hope, and, while we recognize the sacred witness of scripture beloved, the Holy Spirit is with us in all things, will speak to us, will give us information, will give us hope, will change the way that we do things. And we, as believers in Jesus, we as people who are people of resurrection, we can attune our hearts to the frequency of what the Spirit is telling us. We can learn these things in following the way of Jesus. We can open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit so that we can ascend. This is the hope for all of us that we would allow God to give us a higher thought. This is what Jesus said when he said this is the way that you would change the way that you think, that you would live a life of repentance, a life of changing your thought, that you would live a life of repentance, a life of changing your thought. God said through the prophets of old my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. They are so much higher and the invitation of the Holy Spirit is come and allow God to change your thought. When our beautiful brother called me and said I'm in trouble, I need to change your thought. When our beautiful brother called me and said I'm in trouble, I need to change my way of thinking. Beloved, that's resurrection power right now. That's the miracle of allowing the Holy Spirit to change the way that we think. The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book, but these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him, you will have life in the power of his name. Beloved, this has always been the hope that you would have the life that Jesus came to give us.
Speaker 1:When Jesus announces his ministry, he goes into the temple and he takes the scroll and he looks for a specific portion of scripture. I remind you that scrolls didn't have like we have in our text. We can go to 1113. It was a scroll. Very often it was handed to you. You were going to read it. There was no particular rhyme or reason. But Jesus looks for something and he tells the people. He begins to read this portion of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Speaker 1:When people heard Jesus talk, often their response was this is startling, because we've heard this before, but now we're hearing it from one who speaks with authority. Now we are understanding this. But Jesus shows up and he's in the temple and he reads from the prophet Isaiah. And he said the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for I have been anointed to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. And Jesus begins to say this is what it is. In one of the gospels Jesus is recorded as saying I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the way to real living, and the invitation for all of us is to say what would it be like for me to hear the word spoken saying I have come, that you would have life and have it to the full. This is what Jesus offers all of us real life.
Speaker 1:I was thinking about being young and about aging. I don't know if anybody else has this ever that they think about, but sometimes I do, particularly when I stand up and my bones make noises that I did not ask them to make. I thought the other day it sounded like mousetraps were going off when I was standing up, like, oh, listen to that. But I was contemplating in the time of prayer and thinking about what it's like to be young, and one of the things that I, when I look back, I love about being young is I don't think you savor very much. I think you feel like you have so much time and you have so much everything that you just enjoy it and you don't even care about certain things. I mean like you don't try to savor.
Speaker 1:It feels to me like I'm sucking the marrow out of every day. I'm like, where's the goodness, where's the testimony? I see the flowers and I'm like, oh, look at God and and I'm hoping for all these things and I'm and I'm looking for for life everywhere. I want the witness of eternal life, I want the witness of love. I'm looking for it, I'm scrounging for it, but I feel like I'm sucking the bones for marrow, and I think that's the beauty of aging to go. The marrow is where the good stuff is, that's where the life is, and so sometimes there's this beauty of aging to go. The marrow is where the good stuff is, that's where the life is. And so sometimes there's this beauty and I no way am saying that I want to be young again but to be able to say what is it like to enjoy every day?
Speaker 1:In fact, one of the greatest, most wise people that have ever lived, solomon, writes everything is vanity. I mean, it's all going to blow up. It's just grass, it's going to fade. So don't worry about those things. Jesus said this to us seek first the kingdom of God, and all of these things will be added unto you. Jesus also tells us, if we're worried, we should go outside and look at flowers. I didn't know if you knew this, but that is the word of Jesus. Are you worried about something outside? Consider the lilies of the field.
Speaker 1:I have a friend who just this year wrote a beautiful prayer and it said Jesus, I went and looked in the flowers and it didn't help, and sometimes that is the truth for us. But it is the practice of going outside to the flowers and reminding ourselves. It may look dry now, but there is a time of resurrection coming. It may look hopeless now. I may feel grieved and deeply saddened now, but there is another day, there is an eternity, and now Jesus said to us this is the kingdom now. This is the hope for all of us that we would live, that we would live in Christ. This is the hope for all of us that we would live in the presence, that we would live in the consciousness of Jesus. This is the hope for all of us that we would think the way that God thinks. The apostle Paul said this may this mind be in you, the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. What does it look like for you to go into a situation and to really imagine what it would be like for Jesus to be in that thought? I'm thinking to myself. Duane is agreeing with me and I do want to tell you this. I know him very well. He is my friend.
Speaker 1:We went to outreach together on Saturday. Thank you for everyone who came and who gave groceries with us and who shared good news, and Dwayne and I walked around and we prayed with people and we brought joy. Dwayne did. Dwayne brought a lot of joy and there is a hope for us in hearing the beauty of the cries of a baby that says I am not getting what I want or what I need, and the witness is that there is attentive people who will make sure that he gets what he needs. That is true for us.
Speaker 1:The same way with the Spirit of God. The things that you have need of the Spirit is offering us, and the kingdom is not in some faraway place. The kingdom is right here. In fact, jesus said you may not be able to observe the kingdom with your eyes, but the kingdom is within you. It's so close, it's in your mouth. The kingdom of God is among us. This is the hope of resurrection. Believe him.
Speaker 1:This becomes difficult in our particular Believe him. This becomes difficult in our particular world and our particular worldview because in some ways, people have diminished belief to a proof. That is not believing. Believing is a trust. I do not know how this is going to work out. I do not know how this will change. I do not know what will come, but I believe that the goodness of God is available and will promise this to come to pass. God is making all things new, beloved. This is the good news of Jesus, and when we attune ourselves to this, you will have life by the power of his name. There is for us a remembrance, there is for us a call to say this is life, this is the power of his name. I remind you that this voice, this remembering I have seen the Lord this paying attention to the witness, this, every one of us saying where can I forgive the sins? Where do I get to pronounce and bless? In fact, the scripture gives us beautiful invitation that every time we come to the communion table, we are announcing the forgiveness of sins. Jesus made this announcement and he said the same way the Father sent me, I'm sending you. Announce the forgiveness of sins, reconcile everyone. This is the goodness of Jesus Christ. This is written so that you would continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
Speaker 1:It is this message of resurrection that makes possible the myriad, the diversity of voices that are around the throne. In the book of Revelation it says that there are multitudes, numbered so many that they cannot be counted, and they come from every tribe, every nation, every tongue, that it looks like this beautiful palette of everything. This is what is around the throne, and it says that they begin to shout with full voice. They are singing. People sometimes ask me why do you sing so loud? Yeah, it's happened, I know. But they ask me, why do you sing so loud? Because sometimes that's the best part of my day. I want the loudest part of my life to be praise, not complaining, not demanding something change, but I want the loudest part to be praise.
Speaker 1:I also am practicing for the great communion of saints, because the scripture already tells us what happens there, that there is people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, so many that it cannot be numbered. So, even beyond what we can imagine, and what they say together in one loud voice worthy, is the lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and blessing, all blessing, all glory, all wisdom, thanksgiving, honor and power. Be unto our God forever and ever. And I want my voices among that throng. You want your voice among that throng.
Speaker 1:But this begins now when, together, we say I've seen the Lord. I have seen the miracles that are happening when someone changes their mind. I have seen the Lord when a bud comes up out of the ground. We have owls on our property. We've had since we lived there, I think we moved onto their property as if it were actually told, and they've had a few owlets. But there's one particular owl and he is less afraid of us than I think he ought to be, and maybe because we were all there. But he shows up in places that I feel like are a little close and I hear his parents beyond him calling, and he's young and beautiful. But he reminds me of so much of the majesty of what God created and I hope that you will see something in nature. Perhaps it is your dog, perhaps it is something in nature, perhaps it is your dog, perhaps it is the squirrels, perhaps it is whatever, but that you will allow your pets, that you will allow animals to prophesy to you, to testify to you of this incredible hope.
Speaker 1:We have seen the Lord, he is good and he invites us all to come to the table. There is an invitation in our practicing, in our prayers, in our breathing in peace and our exhaling love. There is for us an invitation into holy communion. It is, in fact, perhaps the most sacred thing that we will do together this morning and in just a moment we will participate in that. So you set your heart toward that. Together, we'll come to the table, but we are coming to the table in faith. We come invited to a holy mystery. We come and Jesus said this as he's gathering with his friends. I have longed, I am so excited to eat this meal with you, this invitation for all of us to wait for the person in front of us, An invitation to join with brothers and sisters, an invitation all of us invited into the table of the Lord. And the invitation is radical hospitality, not just here, that we ourselves would practice here, but that we would open our homes and our lives, that we would be people, agents of forgiveness everywhere. This is an invitation for us. There is an invitation for us into a deepening understanding even of our giving, that we have a beautiful invitation to follow the Lord, into giving, into radical giving, the way that Mary did, opening her life and saying I recognize who God is, and so I am a person who follows that way and gives.
Speaker 1:I'll read to you from 2 Corinthians, chapter 9. Remember this a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give, and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a person who gives cheerfully. I remind you that God loves a person who gives cheerfully. I remind you that God loves a person who gives not cheerfully either, and God loves you. If you are stingy and God loves you if you never give, you will miss out on things, but that does not change the love of God for you. This is an invitation into more, and then God will provide all you need. God will generously provide all you need. God will generously provide all you need, and then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the scripture says, they share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
Speaker 1:The kingdom of God. The intention of God is always to care for the poor, always. Over 2,000 texts in our Bible talks about caring for the poor. This is what the kingdom looks like. That we would care for each other. Their good deeds will be remembered forever, for God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and bread to eat. That we would care for each other. Their good deeds will be remembered forever, for God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and bread to eat.
Speaker 1:It is the beautiful power of resurrection, but of miracles too. A seed goes into the ground. Someone put it there A farmer did and it grows into wheat. And someone took that wheat and someone harvested it and milled it and turned it into bread, and the Spirit of God upon that bread turns it into so much more. All around us, there are witnesses of resurrection. There are witnesses of miracles, of supernatural things. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and produce a great harvest of generosity in you, beloved. This is always been the plan that you would be generous, like God is generous.
Speaker 1:Hoarding and selfishness is never the plan. That is for people who have amnesia. That is for people who forget wherenesia. That is for people who forget where all of their things are from. This is a practice in generosity, a practice in remembering we are one with God. God who loved the world, gave everything. Jesus for it. That God gives, but that you would produce a great harvest of generosity. You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. They may not thank you.
Speaker 1:You may not receive any credit for it, but when they receive that, they will thank God. So two good things will result from the ministry of giving the needs of believers in Jerusalem will be met and they will joyfully express their thanks to God and as a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God, for your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the good news of Jesus Christ. Generosity and giving are some of the ways that we prove to ourselves that we declare to ourselves this is a resurrection experience. This is a miracle that we're invited to participate in, that we would give of our resources and then God would receive glory. Then God would allow things to be done, but among us the poor would be cared for, but among us there would be those.
Speaker 1:I mean, we talk about miracles and I think the miracle that is most underrated in the Gospels and in Acts is the generosity that happens between people when they show up to meet Jesus. I mean the New Testament church. It says that there's not one who has a need among them. They just take care of each other. They just find ways to meet each other's needs.
Speaker 1:This generosity is what it looks like to be part of the resurrection and as we gather together this morning, we have a choice to participate, and you can give in the offering boxes, you can give online, you can give how, but this is only where you start. This is not where you finish, beloved, because there is a hurting world. There are people around us who need forgiveness, who need needs met, and we are to be light and we are to be love and we are to be agents of the Holy Spirit. That is why, when we come together and we're reminded of the Holy Spirit's work among us, when Jesus says peace, receive the Holy Spirit, he is saying I have a new way of living. I am giving it to you. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
