Worship May 31, 2020

"Exhibiting Resurrection After Easter:"

Christ's first appearance after the resurrection is to a small group of the disciples just as the angle had predicted but Thomas is not there. On his second appearance in the upper room, the doubter is there. Thomas finally has his eyes opened to the fact that Jesus has accomplished the final act of his mission on earth. Jesus himself seals this fact with these three words just before his death, It Is Finished. The resurrected Christ then appears to two more of the disciples on the road to Emanues. They do not recognize who this person is until he brakes bread with them in their home, it is then that they feel the presence of Jesus' divine spirit being with them. As strangely as he appeared on the road that day, Christ then seemingly vanishes from their sight. But, they remember when their hearts burned with passion and their spirits were lifted as He walked and talked with them on the road that day.

In the reading from Act 2 today, we find all the believers gathered together in one place. Suddenly a great wind fills the house, and tongues of fire appear above the head of and every person assembled. The promised gift has arrived and everyone there is filled with the Holy Spirit. They can see and feel that something amazing is happening to them, but onlookers accuse them of being drunk. In today's reading, Peter stands up and speaks into the excitement and confusion of that moment. He proclaims the core of our faith, as followers of Christ, saying that Jesus crucified, is in fact, the risen Christ, the Messiah, the annotated one. Christ is the entity that was with God from very the beginning of creation itself. I want you to read it for yourselves, it is in the very first chapter of Genesis, you will find it in verse 26. The Gospel of John confirms this truth for us in his fist chapter starting at verses 1 we read: In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and was the same as God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind and The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Peter in Acts 2 today highlights for us some of the reasons for Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus is a disrupter. Especially to those who want to maintain the status quo, to those who resist change he is a troublemaker. He was a threat to people who were more interested in personal power rather than in God’s kingdom and He was crucified because of it, a threat to both Church and state. It can be very easy for us to reflect upon those ancient rulers and their need for power and how it led them to crucify Jesus, but shouldn't we as Christians begin to examine our own reluctance to give ourselves over to Christ. Our resistance to turn from our worldly ways and to forgive those who have trespassed against us leads us to withhold parts of our own lives from Christ? We must begin to realize this truth. Whatever I withhold from Jesus, I also withhold from my own Resurrection. Why would I say that? Because we know from scripture that if I withhold forgiveness from anyone, even my worth enemy, I will be withholding from myself. This is scriptural my friends.

According to Peter and the other Apostles, to accept Jesus crucified is to welcome disruption in all parts of our lives, to let our own need for control to be crucified with him, so that we can make room for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and live as people who exhibit resurrection. To accept Jesus crucified is to grapple with The Christ who was crucified with Him, but it is the Christ who defeats death, only to rises again, and sends the Holy Spirit to be with us. I say this because I believe that Jesus' true divinity was not present in His human form, but was within his resurrected spirit “The Christ” as Paul and the Apostles now claim him to be. Lord help me not to shy away from you. Show me how to die to anything that holds me back from you and make real to me the resurrection that comes from giving my life to you. Amen

Sunday Worship at Emmanuel Methodist Southampton Bermuda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbvBRw4h5Y0

Turn you eyes upon Jesus

"A Word from Coronavirus"

Coronavirus Letter To Humanity  Author Unknown:
The earth whispered but you did not hear. The earth spoke but you did not listen. The earth screamed but you turned her off.  And so I was born... I was not born to punish you..  I was born to awaken you. The earth cried out for help...Massive flooding. But you didn't listen. Burning fires. But you didn't listen. Strong hurricanes. But you didn't listen. Terrifying Tornadoes. But you didn't listen.  You still don't listen to the earth when. Ocean animals are dying due to pollutants in the waters. Glaciers melting at an alarming rate. Severe drought. You didn't listen to how much negativity the earth is receiving. Non-stop wars. Non-stop greed. You just kept going on with your life. No matter how much hate there was. No matter how many killings daily. It was more important to get that latest iPhone than worry about what the earth was trying to tell you.  But now I am here.  And I've made the world stop on its tracks. I've made YOU finally listen.  I've made you take refuge. I've made you stop thinking about materialistic things.  Now you are like the earth.  You are only worried about YOUR survival.  How does that feel?  I give you fever-- as the fires burn on earth.   I give you respiratory issues.--has pollution fill the earth air.  I give you weakness as the earth weakens every day.  I took away your comforts.  Your outings. The things you would use to forget about the planet and its pain.   And I made the world stop.
 
 And now--China has better air quality--Skys are clear blue because factories are not spewing pollution unto the earth's air. The water in Venice is clean and dolphins are being seen see. Because the gondola boats that pollute the water are not being used.  YOU are having to take time to reflect on what is important in your life.  Again I am not here to punish you.  I am here to Awaken you.  When all this is over and I am gone... Please remember these moments. Listen to the earth.  Listen to your soul.  Stop Polluting the earth. Stop Fighting among each other.  Stop caring about materialistic things.   And start loving your neighbors.  Start caring about the earth and all its creatures.   Start believing in a Creator.  Because next time I may come back even stronger....

Signed,   Coronavirus

"We Are Not Alone"

Message for Today:

It was refreshing to see on the late CTV National News on March 31^st a Jewish Rabbi and a Catholic Bishop offering prayer for our world.  We have but almost completely eliminated God and Prayer from public gatherings, places of public education, and governments.  A question that comes to mind for me is:   How can we hope, that the will of that which created the universe and our planet be accomplished if we have taken on the mission of callously and carelessly setting God aside.  Was it man that programed that huge Elem Tree within that tiny seed?  Was it man that programed human life to emerge from an egg and sperm so small that the eye cannot see it?

Have we become so blinded by the wisdom of governments, corporations, and the financial world that all it takes is a tiny virus, that which the eye cannot see to bring us to our knees and put the whole world in isolation.  Have we truly not learned that money and materialism or human wisdom on its own will never offer us security nor save us from nature’s rebellion?   

Prophetic voices have been telling us from the very beginning of time, turn away from your foolish idols and the fear of death, for nothing that God created is sustainable by human effort alone. 

Psalm 27:1 Tells us:  May I be so boldly to paraphrase like this:    The LORD is my light and my salvation of whom or what shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evil advance against me to devour my flesh, when the enemy and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  We are not alone, God is with us.  Thanks be to God.  

Sunday message for March 29, 2020