2017 UALC PREACHING April 23 May 14 No Fair!

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1 2017 UALC PREACHING April 23 May 14 No Fair! SERMONS Topic 1: How to Fight Like a Christian Matthew 18:15-20 Topic 2: The Math of Forgiveness Matthew 18:21-35 Topic 3: A Fair Wage Matthew 20:1-16 Topic 4: They Got Healed, Why Not Me? Matthew 20:29-34 SCHEDULE Date LRT/LRX LRC MRS MRX April 23 *Topic 1 (Gemechis) Topic 4 (Jeff) Topic 3 (Brodie) Topic 2 (Dave) April 30 Topic 2 (Dave) *Topic 1 (Mark) Topic 4 (Jeff) Topic 3 (Brodie) May 7 Topic 3 (Brodie) Topic 2 (Dave) *#Topic 1 (John) Topic 4 (Jeff) May 14 Topic 4 (Jeff) Topic 3 (Brodie) Topic 2 (Dave) *Topic 1 (Scott) *Joe Valentino will be hosting our guests from the NALC, and giving an introduction before they speak. Please allow 25 minutes during the sermon time during these Sundays with guests. #Bishop John will be presiding over Holy Communion during the MRS services on May 7. OVERVIEW One of the first lessons of social interaction we learn as children is that things don't always seem fair. Sometimes our brother gets a bigger scoop of ice cream, or a friend gets a longer turn on the swing. As adults, maybe we feel the boss passed us over for a promotion or raise. The gospel of Christ is not merely personal, but social. Followers of Christ are called to model the kind of selfless love that Jesus exemplifies, even when people seem utterly undeserving of it. The amazing grace we so joyfully sing about for ourselves is not so easy to swallow when we watch someone else receive it, but this is the heart of Christian community. As we grow in Christ, we learn to love like Christ, even when it's not fair. This series focuses on four passages from Matthew's Gospel that challenge our notions about church life, forgiveness, grace, and healing. RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP PLANNING DENOMINATIONAL GUESTS During this series, we will have four guests from our denomination, the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). During this series, please allow for 25 minutes during the sermon time during Sundays when a guest is present which will include an introduction. Joe Valentino will be serving as the host for our guests during their time at UALC, and he will introduce them in their respective services. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 1

2 Our guests are: Rev. John Bradosky, Bishop Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba, Assistant to the Bishop for Missions Rev. Mark Chavez, General Secretary Rev. Dr. Scott Ness, Missionary to Ethiopia and former Associate Pastor of St. John s Lutheran Church in Grove City, OH TONE OF EASTERTIDE Eastertide (or Paschaltide) is the period of fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, indeed as the "great Lord's Day". Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter, and, after the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, while the whole fifty-day period concludes with Pentecost Sunday (June 4). Eastertide is a season of joy and celebration following Lent. The color for vestments and paraments are white and/or gold; alleluias are sung often, as well as the Doxology. EASTERTIDE DISMISSAL The dismissal during Eastertide may be expanded with alleluias: Leader: Go in peace, serve the Lord; alleluia, alleluia! All: Thanks be to God; alleluia, alleluia! PRAYERS OF THE DAY For the Easter season, this prayer may be used at any time: o Eastertide Prayer Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy the festival of our Lord s resurrection. Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say and do; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. These prayers may be used on specific Sundays of the No Fair! Series: o Topic 1 Prayer (How to Fight Like a Christian) O Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. o Topic 2 Prayer (The Math of Forgiveness) O Lord God, merciful judge, you are the inexhaustible fountain of forgiveness. Replace our hearts of stone with hearts that love and adore you, that we may delight in doing your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. o Topic 3 Prayer (A Fair Wage) Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 2

3 o Topic 4 Prayer (They Got Healed, Why Not Me?) God of love, you know our frailties and failing. Give us your grace to overcome them, and grant us the fortitude to bear the challenges of the day confident of your grace, support, and mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 3

4 NO FAIR! Topic 1: How to Fight Like a Christian John Bradosky, Gemechis Buba, Mark Chavez, Scott Ness SCRIPTURE TEXT Matthew 18:15-20 (NIV) 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. 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. 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. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 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. THEME Jesus gives a plan for settling conflict in the church. NOTES Most of the time, Jesus speaks in nebulous parables that invite reflection and prognostication. But occasionally in the Gospels, he is remarkably practical and direct. This is good news and bad news, of course, as Jesus' practical instructions may be easier to understand but leave much less wiggle room in terms of interpretation. Jesus takes it for granted that there will be in-sinning against one another in the church, but something as important as relational hurt within the body of Christ cannot be left to chance. When it comes to forgiveness within the Christian community, Jesus says, Do it like this. The irony, of course, is that churches are often the most indirect, passive places in the world. One church I know was so intimidated by their elderly longtime organist that they couldn't fire her, so they just threw her a retirement party. When that didn't work (and I'm not making this up), they just gave away the organ. In the very places where the gospel should be manifest in our interactions with others, we may be even more likely to gossip, whisper behind closed doors, and nurture old grudges in the dark, while vehemently denying them in the light. If we are to forgive as God forgives, we have to pay close attention to the way God forgives us. In God's economy, forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a choice made in faith. We, the stiff-necked, need to hear that a lot, because many of us assume that being able to forgive is a matter of feeling like it that we will know it's the right time to forgive because we will want to but Jesus implies that moment is not coming. So Jesus spells out conflict resolution in three easy steps. First, go directly to the person who has wronged you, and speak alone. This simple directive alone would change the course of Christian history. Before we discuss it with others, before we harbor it so long that it slowly af/bt/dm/jm/kb 4

5 poisons us against the possibility of reconciliation or wait until they catch on to our signals and come to apologize, go and find the one who has sinned against you. Is this fair? Absolutely not. Does it sound like Jesus? Unfortunately yes. Step two of the Jesus plan for reconciliation is to involve others. But again, Jesus is not saying, Go and talk about this person behind their backs. Jesus is saying, Bring in others whom he or she might listen to. The proper role of having others be part of a conflict, according to Christ, is to give some perspective to the issue. If that step does not work, then Christ calls on us to involve the church. This invites imagining how much work we would need to do in our own faith communities to make them places of healing and reconciliation for our members, much less the outsiders. The point is clear: the church is meant to be mediator in a world of misunderstanding, peacemaker in a world of passive-aggressiveness. We often forget that Jesus' wonderful declaration that he will be with two or three gathered in his name comes in the middle of a discourse about hard conversations and reconciliation. According to Jesus, the church ought to be reducing conflict through direct discussion, accountability, and transparency. When the church fails to live this out, when the church fails to invite Christ into our conflicts, we shouldn't be surprised when it's hard to see Jesus in our midst, no matter how many are gathered. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 5

6 NO FAIR! Topic 2: The Math of Forgiveness Dave Mann SCRIPTURE TEXT Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV) 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? 22 Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 At this the servant fell on his knees before him. Be patient with me, he begged, and I will pay back everything. 27 The servant s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. Pay back what you owe me! he demanded. 29 His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, Be patient with me, and I will pay it back. 30 But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 Then the master called the servant in. You wicked servant, he said, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart. SERMON SYNOPSIS We are like Peter in that we want to establish a limit on the call to forgive others. But if we have a maximum, even a generously high one, we miss Jesus point to develop a life style of forgiveness. Forgiveness sets free not only the one who has offended, but even more importantly also the one who has been offended. ONE MAIN POINT Offering forgiveness is the DNA of the follower of Jesus. It is not an add-on or a graduate school degree for the spiritually mature. It is the heartbeat of what it means to be in Christ. As we forgive others, we show that we understand that we have been forgiven. GENERAL OUTLINE 1. The family and close relationships are the places where forgiveness is the most difficult and the most needed. The speaking of words like You always or You never we reveal that we have not really forgiven in the past and that we have been keeping score. 2. Forgiveness is costly, and someone has to pay. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 6

7 3. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing. Forgiveness only needs one party. Reconciliation requires two. Sometimes it takes a long time for trust to be reestablished. 4. Forgiveness does not mean that we become a doormat for abuse. There are times when we need to protect ourselves and our children from additional abuse. But we can still forgive while seeking protection. 5. Forgiveness is a process, not a one-and-done deal. When we realize that resentment and bitterness still live in us, caused by an offense in the past, we return to the cross to be overwhelmed by Jesus forgiveness of us so that we can be inspired once again to forgive. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 7

8 NO FAIR! Topic 3: A Fair Wage Brodie Taphorn SCRIPTURE TEXT Matthew 20:1-16 (NIV) 1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. 5 So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing? 7 Because no one has hired us, they answered. He said to them, You also go and work in my vineyard. 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first. 9 The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 These who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last. SERMON SYNOPSIS What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? Not what you think, at least that is what Jesus consistently taught His disciples. It seems like we are always trying to make our case for what God should be like based on what we experience in our present system. Problem is our present system and every other system that has ever existed has the same problem, the human condition is altogether different than God. So who s Kingdom is better, the Kingdom of Heaven or our present system? Which one do you want to count on? ONE MAIN POINT We should live merciful lives It is how Jesus lives It is how we will live at the end of all things Living mercifully is actually the best way to live Living mercifully changes people now and forever GENERAL OUTLINE 1. Introduction- Fairness, we learn as kids, rarely exists in this world. Nothing quite hurts like seeing a sibling get a bigger share of dessert, or getting a privilege at a af/bt/dm/jm/kb 8

9 later age than a younger brother or sister did. The systems of this world are just not fair so what about the Kingdom of Heaven is that going to be any better or am I getting screwed for eternity? In a closed system, someone must get the short end of the stick will it be that way forever? Who is going to make those decisions? Am I ever going to catch a break? 2. What is the context of Matthew 20:1-16 a. What is a parable? Why did Jesus teach this way? b. What is going on in Matthew 19? What about Jesus disciples giving up everything? c. What are the unpredictable turns in this parable? What are the things that the people would not have expected? d. What conclusions would the first audience of this parable would have come to? 3. Are we sure that we understand what is fair and what is mercy? 4. As it pertains to God and His Kingdom do we want what is fair or do we want what is merciful? 5. If that is the way things are going to be then should we start living like that now? OTHER THOUGHTS I was going to make an invitation to the congregation to not gravitate to the hardest example of living into this kind of mercy (i.e. forgive my spouse for cheating on me, forgive my employer from robbing me of this or that benefit ) rather try to focus on living like the Kingdom of Heaven in a much for accessible way. Who can I offer mercy to? Is there someone in my everyday life that I can demonstrate mercy to in a way that costs me something and is a blessing to them? Thinking a 1st grade attempt at living like Jesus, not graduate school af/bt/dm/jm/kb 9

10 NO FAIR! Topic 4: They Got Healed, Why Not Me? Jeff Morlock SCRIPTURE TEXT Matthew 20:29-34 (NIV) 29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us! 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us! 32 Jesus stopped and called them. What do you want me to do for you? he asked. 33 Lord, they answered, we want our sight. 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. SERMON SYNOPSIS Why does God heal some people and not others? Why does God heal at all? Healing is a sign that the Kingdom of God has broken into our troubled world. It points to the time of Jesus return when all tears will be wiped away and all suffering will cease. But we re not there yet. There are still enemies and the Kingdom has not arrived in it s fullness. We live in the messy incompleteness of the meantime. The question of fairness is our question and compares our experience with that of others. A better question may be is your faith in the healing or the Healer? If you seek mercy from God, do you trust him to define what shape that mercy will take? ONE MAIN POINT Is your faith in the healing or in the Healer? Do you trust God to define what shape His mercy will take in your life? GENERAL OUTLINE This story of the healing of two blind men begs the question, Why do some people get healed while others don t? Why did my friend get healed, but not me? These are questions of fairness. We tend to define fairness by comparing our experience to the experience of others, and cry foul if God disappoints our expectations. If you re a parent, your ultimate goal is to bring your kids to maturity. That s God s goal for of us, too. Maturity means learning to trust Him in every circumstance. Putting our hope, not in the healing, but in the Healer. In our Scripture text, Jesus encounters two blind men on the road outside Jericho. They are blind because they live in a broken, sinful world where things are not as they should be. But they believe that Jesus can change that. They confess Him as the messiah. They refuse to be silent when the crowd tells them to be quiet. And Jesus rewards their persistence by asking, What do you want me to do for you? af/bt/dm/jm/kb 10

11 It s a good question. To be able to name our greatest need before the One who created us. And sometimes we know what we most need, but sometimes we don t. Because we don t have God s perspective. The blind men are bold in asking for sight. And In this instance, in His wisdom, Jesus chooses to heal them. Healings were frequent in Jesus ministry as a demonstration of the Good News He proclaimed. Healings were frequent in the ministry of the apostles, too. And at UALC we believe that divine power for healing is still available today, which is why we have ministry time in our services and pray for people in need. The very practical question of why some are healed and some aren t assumes that physical healing is the be all and end all. But all physical healing is temporary. In other words, we will all eventually die. And what about emotional healing? Healing from bitterness and anger? What about spiritual healing from unforgiveness or greed or false piety? God s desire is to fit us for heaven and make us like Himself so that He can use us for his kingdom purposes. Joni Earickson Tada (a quadrapalegic for 40 years) says, I know it s not theologically accurate, but I want to take my wheelchair to heaven and tell Jesus, this was hard, but without it I would never have leaned on you like I did. Joni s ministry has touched millions more people than it would have if God had chosen to give her back the use of her limbs. He was using her brokenness for his kingdom purpose. There are plenty of explanations given to people who are not healed physically. Most of them place blame and induce guilt. Most suggest a lack of faith or unconfessed sin, etc. But we never know enough to second guess God s motives. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Not everyone receives physical healing in this life. Then or now. (Examples from the gospels, Timothy s stomach illness, Paul s thorn in the flesh. Paul s prayer, in particular, was NOT answered in the way he expected. The Lord said to Him, My grace is sufficient for you. Do you believe that? Is your hope in the Healer or in the healing? When we ask God for mercy do you trust Him to decide what shape that mercy will take? Can you rejoice with those who have received exactly what they asked for when we have not? God s grace was sufficient for Jesus as He hung on a cross on Good Friday. On Saturday, all the people including those closest to him said, it s over. But it wasn t, right? There was more to the story. Easter came. And it s coming for you, too. For now, we live in the incompleteness of the meantime. If you haven t received from Jesus the healing you had hoped for, know that the rest of your story is still being written. In His time, the One who died and rose and ascended and reigns and sent His Holy Spirit to live in you will make all things new including you. af/bt/dm/jm/kb 11