“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the Gospel i preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” I Corinthians 15:1-4

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

Today is the day before 9-11; the 20th anniversary. It is my prayer that you all are well and healthy today and are walking with the Lord. Let us continue in prayer for our nation, our world, and for one another.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the church over the past year.  Not just The Seed Christian Fellowship, I have been thinking about the church universal. I do not want to bore you with statistic and numbers but my first degree from college was in Business and Accounting. I love to work with numbers.  The funny thing is that God called me out of counting financial reports and called me to counting sheep. A glorious by-product of this new style of counting is that I no longer count sins, forgiving and forgetting sins instead of logging all the hurts and betrayals of sins on my ledger sheet. I don’t know if God has called you to this new style of counting but, for sure, it is my new way of living.

The other day I was reading and article on numbers about the church and church membership in America. A recent Gallup poll shows that church membership in America has dropped to below 50% for the first time in eight decades — that is 80 years if you are counting. Today church membership in local congregations stands at 47% when in 1999 (22 years ago) church membership was around 70%.  Gallup’s reports says that “The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preferences.”  You know those forms at hospitals and other places where you fill them out and you can put your religious preference on them? The box for religious preference is now being marked  “NONE.”  The NONEs have it! (or do they?)

George Barna is a Christian researcher.  His organization did some research on the meaning of Easter.  Here are some of the things that they found. Within the religious definitions offered by Americans, there is a certain degree of confusion: 2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.” Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday.  On the non-religious side, 13% of respondents said they were not sure how to describe Easter. Another 8% of Americans said the holiday means nothing to them or that they do not celebrate the occasion. Other non-religious descriptions of Easter included: getting friends and family together (4%), spring break (3%), a symbol of new beginnings, rebirth, and renewal (2%), a time to dye and hide eggs (2%), an event for children to have fun (2%), the Easter bunny (1%), an occasion that is too commercialized (1%), and an opportunity to enjoy food and candy (1%).

What I find most interesting is how unchurched people view Easter. In terms of the audience that most Christian churches attempt to attract every Easter weekend – non-churchgoing adults – the research shows that only 25% of the people connect the EASTER holiday to Jesus’ resurrection! Church, we need to do a better job of proclaiming EASTER! Like the verse above says, I tell you what is most important: Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

It can’t be said much easier. The GOSPEL is this: Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

Resurrection Reminder
“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” I Corinthians 15:1

Paul wants to encourage the church (we are the church now) to remember!

Remember the Gospel!

The Greek word for Gospel is “εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion” which means “Good News” and it is the word from which we get the word “evangelism.”

So What is the “Good News” to you? What is it that you will take a stand on?

What do you believe and what is it that you are willing to hold onto no matter what?

When Billy Graham was preaching in Germany one day, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer invited him to his office: Coffee was served, but before Billy’s first sip, Chancellor Konard started in: “Young man, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?” “I most certainly do,” Billy replied. “So do I, Chancellor Konard said. If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, there is not one glimmer of hope for the human race. When I leave office, I am going to spend the rest of my life studying and writing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s the most important event in human history.” [i]

In the words of Jaroslav Pelikan, an American scholar, “If Christ is risen—then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—then nothing else matters.”[ii]

Timothy Keller, a pastor, wrote, “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?[iii]

Paul wanted the early church to take a stand and remember the Good News! In Paul’s day being a Christian was more than intellectual assent to a group of doctrines. The social price that followers of Christ paid forced them to take a stand in a hostile world. I think we can learn a little from Paul as we go through this worldwide pandemic called COVID-19. With all the news we are bombarded with 24 hours a day: what is the Good News?  What can you and I stand on?

Listen to Paul: We stand on the hope and power of the resurrection.

My favorite comes from Paul’s letter to Romans — …if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

With all that the world is going through, we are living in a time when we need to stop and remember what our north star is, what is our center point of our faith.

Here’s your homework: What (or who) is my north star?  What (or who) is the center point of my faith?

So What?
John Stott, a wonderful pastor and teacher, wrote these words about the resurrection of Christ: “The Resurrection somehow resonates with our human condition. It speaks to our needs as I reckon no other event of antiquity does, or even could.”

In other words, it is not up to us to make the resurrection relevant; it already is relevant without us. We just need to proclaim it and apply it with joy and confidence. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not just an idea, a concept, or a doctrine—although it is truly a breathtaking and revolutionary doctrine! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that will usher broken fragile humanity into Christ’s “newness of life”.

I love that Matthew ends his gospel with Christ ascending from the mountain, saying, “I’ll be with you til the very end of the age.”

Where are you in this story? Paul is writing a letter to his friends and family in the church in Corinth. Evil abounds everywhere they go. The world is calling out to them every day. Can you relate? I can.

Imagine receiving an email or a text from Paul right now: I Corinthians 15:1-11 — Put your name in the Bible. Put your name in all the blank lines below.  Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and put your name in the story.

Now,  YOUR NAME _________, I want to remind you _____ of the gospel I preached to you _______ , which you ______  received and on which you ______ have taken your _____ stand. By this gospel you ______ are saved, if you ______ hold firmly to the word I preached to you ________.  Otherwise, you _______ have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you _________  as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

Every day I get to go spend time with my father-in-law whom I call dad.  He is 89 and slowly fading away.  Every day he says to my wife and I, “I haven’t seen my wife in a long time. She must be dead. I just can’t believe that she’s gone.”  His wife of 71 years is gone but every time we talk about Mom’s death, I get the blessed opportunity to talk to dad about heaven, about the hope and power of the resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins that comes with faith in Jesus.  He has learned to love to hear about forgiveness. He has the hope of the resurrection within his heart and mind and he is not afraid of dying like he was.  The resurrection has put the living face and name of Jesus Christ into his heart. Dad knows that some day he will die and that he will be able to live forever without any more pain, suffering or tears.

Here is you final “so what?” You are on a deserted island…the world is on one side…calling your name…offering you trinkets of fame, gold, fortune…on the other side stands the risen Jesus Christ…calling your name…offering you His legacy of grace, forgiveness, mercy, joy and love. Do you know what side you are standing on?

My wife and I talk every morning. We read our devotionals and discuss the high points. This morning I asked how she was doing. “I’m sad. They lost my Covid test and I can’t go see Dad until I redo another test, which means 3 more days and it’s already been 2.” Fortunately, they didn’t lose my test and I am able to go visit Dad. (The care home is now requiring two tests a week from non-vaccinated people. We cannot get the vaccine at this time due to health issues and we are happy to test–despite the great inconvenience. The end goal is our ability to see Dad.) Jac told me about an article she had read about a red cord and she said, “It reminded me of how Rahab hung a scarlet cord in her window after hiding the spies in enemy territory. They promised that if she hung the red cord in her window, they would find her and rescue her. That’s how I’m feeling. This is really hard–what I’m doing with Dad and with covid but I hear, ‘I see you. I see your red cord in the window. I will rescue you. Wait.'” I’ve thought about how her thoughts apply to us all. There’s no magic-8 ball with all of the answers–at least there’s no human, magic-8 ball. We have the Bible (basic instructions before leaving earth) and we have the hope of the risen Jesus Christ. He sees your red cord in the window of your heart. Wait. He’s coming back.

Long ago, I counted financial reports and profits and loss and numbers. It took a whole new call for this former accountant to learn how to count on Christ–who is actually counting on me. Together, Jesus and I are an overwhelming majority. This coming week, I will fly home to be a Spiritual Director on a men’s grace weekend. I leave you with one, last thought and prayer:  the world or Jesus…what side are you standing on?

Paul says, “I give to you the 3 most important things I know: Christ died for your sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose from the dead.”

Sometimes the GOSPEL is that easy. You only have to know how to count to three.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www,theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fantastic Seed-Sowers,

Grace and peace to you all.  I pray that the Lord watches over you and keeps you from all harm.  We have so much to be praying for in our families, schools, churches,nation, and world.  Praying for all those who are struggling with Covid-19.  Praying for those who have lost loved-ones.  Praying for firefighters, police-officers, all medical teams, and all of our military personnel who stand in the gap and defend our lives and our freedom.

Open your bible to John 2:1-11.  This is one of those famous stories of Jesus’ life and His miracles. This is the first miracle that Jesus performs. We could spend a lot of time looking at the miracle and what it means in light of Jesus.  Have you ever stopped to think about those servants at the wedding?  They get advice from Jesus’ mom.  Do you notice that they didn’t ask for it but they got it anyway? And I am so glad they did. Because it really is the best advice any mother ever gave.

In the NASB translation it is seven little words, “WHATEVER HE SAYS TO YOU DO IT!”  In our reading today from the NIV, it is five words, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”  In the original Greek it is six words and when translated literally, it is “WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”

I would like to take a few moments and take a look at these words, the best advice any mother could give:
“Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.”

WHATEVER
Think of the word “whatever.” I know many have used that as a slang when asked to do something … whatever and shrug their shoulders and walk away.  Mary tells the servants “WHATEVER” Jesus tells you to do — do it!
Have you ever thought of the scope, the scale, the possibilities, the potentials, the prospect, the options, and opportunities of “WHATEVER”?

In the Greek,  “whatever” is actually three words translated into one word.  It is a relative pronoun that means, “anyone, anything, who, what, whoever, whichever, and whatever.”  This is an all-inclusive word that says — “whatever, whenever, whoever, anyone or anything.”

This is the same word used when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in the middle of the night in John 3. “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  Same word Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4 — “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14

Maybe a good “so what?” for us right now is “WHATEVER” –whatever is Jesus asking you to do? I mean it, stop and ask yourself this important question.

Did you notice that the servants did exactly what Mary told them to do?  They did not hesitate, or make excuses, or look for someone else to do the work.  They did not ask why me? They did not say you sound like a crazy mom.

We need to remember that there have been no miracles done by Jesus yet.  The blind have not been given their sight back. The lame and paralyzed have not been healed. The lepers have not been made clean. There has been no multiplication of fish and bread to feed thousands. No walking on water and no storms stilled.  No demon possession and deliverance. These people have not seen any resurrections from the dead.

But here we are at a family wedding celebration.

And mama says, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO.”

These humble servants were asked to simply obey. But what a strange request. There is no wine but go and fill these 6 stone water jars that hold twenty to thirty gallons up to the brim with water.  Do you know that one gallon of water is 8.34 pounds?  Let us do a little math: 20 gallons of water would weigh 166.8 lbs. — roughly 167 pounds.  If they were 30 gallons, they would have weighed 250lbs. that means they were asked to carry up to 1500 lbs. of water?  Can you imagine what these servants were being asked to do? Enter the story.  Jesus has just asked YOU to go carry 1,500 pounds of not wine but water!

This is not the first time God had given unusual instructions.

Go back to Moses who tells the people to put the blood of a Lamb over your doorway. Naaman, was told by Elisha to go dip 7 times in the Jordan. Joshua told the Priests to take up the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan at flood stage. Joshua was instructed to march around the walls of Jericho for six days without shouting or making a sound. Then on the seventh day walk around the city seven times and on the last time around– shout and blow the trumpets. Rahab was asked to hang a scarlet rope out of her window so that she and her household would be saved.

To be honest with you, none of those things would have made sense to anyone. Truly it is the same way today. We are called to obey whatever Jesus tells us, no matter how unusual it seems.

HE TELLS
DO WHATEVER “He tells” is one of the verbs in this sentence. Of course, it is a present active verb, meaning that that action is continuous and never ending.

Jesus has not stopped speaking. Have we stopped listening?

Notice that HE is Jesus!  Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Jesus is our Savior and we called to trust Him for forgiveness and eternal life.

Why do we not trust and obey our Savior?

SO WHAT?
Sometimes men and women who never stand in a pulpit preach the greatest sermons simply through living out the living Word in their daily lives. 

Jesus’ mother said, ‘’Whatever He says to you, do it!” What a power sermon of seven words!

Drop the mic. Turn off the TV. Stop the train. Let go of your electronics.

“Whatever He says to you, do it.”

‘WHATEVER!” This means YOU….do and keep doing…whatever Jesus asks you to do.

Remember the sheriff in Groom, Texas. He was sitting at the cafe wondering what he would say to 3 little children whose mama had just died. Jac and I were leaving the big, white cross display when I felt a total nudge to go eat lunch in Groom, Texas. I ignored it. I got on the highway. “Turn around and go eat lunch in Groom.” I turned around. We went in. We stuck out like sore thumbs in our flip flops and tee shirts. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch. The sheriff paid and went outside. Jac went outside and made mention of the Sheriffs tee shirt. He asked what I did for a living. And then he waited for me to pay. For the next 60 minutes the sheriff and I talked about Jesus and heaven. He needed help in knowing how to tell 3 little children sad, sad news. We talked, we prayed and he left–encouraged. For 100% sure whatever HE tells you to do…do it.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com