SERMON John 3:1-17. June 3, 2012 CHILDREN S MESSAGE

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1 1 SERMON John 3:1-17 First Lutheran Church Rev. Darrell J. Pedersen Aitkin, Minnesota Holy Trinity Sunday June 3, 2012 CHILDREN S MESSAGE Kids, I have here an old silver dollar. How much do you think this dollar is worth? It s worth one dollar right, 100 gumballs in a gumball machine? Are gumballs still a penny each? Well, guess what. This silver dollar is very old, so if I sold it to a coin collector, I might get $5 for it, 500 gumballs! Or $10, 1,000 gumballs! This coin is worth more than people might think, more than it might look like its worth. The same can be true with people. When Jesus was walking around 2,000 years ago, many folks thought that he was just another ordinary person. In those days people killed some people by nailing them to a cross. That was a terrible thing to do to any person, but when they killed Jesus on the cross, they were actually killing God! When Jesus came back from the dead it proved that God can beat death. When Jesus forgave everyone and said that he still loves us all, he proved that God is amazingly loving! Silver dollars may be worth more than they seem. Jesus was not just an ordinary person, but God s Son. And Jesus chose to die for ordinary people like your parents, me and you. But wait, in God s eyes, nobody is ordinary. Everybody is special, precious, and beloved. God loves us and our world so much that God/Jesus decided to come into this world and to die for us. Nobody can love us any more than to give up their life for us. God decided that we are worth dying for! We are worth so much to God! Every person is worth so much to God! Do any of you have a silver dollar at home? If you do, it might be worth way more than a dollar. You have something else that is absolutely precious and you can t even see it. Do you know what I mean? Well, I could be talking about God s Holy Spirit that lives inside of you. You can t see the Holy Spirit but the Spirit is helping you all the time. Or I could be talking about faith. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith. You can t see faith, but faith is what makes it possible for us to trust that God loves, cares for and hangs onto us. No amount of money can buy such a precious gift. Who loves you most in all the world? God does. Amen.

2 2 ADULT MESSAGE Brian, young teen from the big city, was flying north across the wilderness of Canada in a small plane. Brian s parents had recently been divorced. Now it was summer and time for Brian to join his father where he worked in the far northern oil fields. A pilot had been hired to fly the young man to that distant airfield. Brian s thoughts were torn over what had happened between his folks and he was uncertain about spending the summer so far from home. While they were flying over untracked woods and lakes the pilot suddenly gasped, grabbed his chest and promptly slumped over the wheel of the plane. He was dead. Brian was helpless. The plane crashed and sank into a large lake. Fortunately Brian was able to get the door open and swim to the surface and to the not-too-distant shore. There he lay on the beach - bruised, battered and having no idea where he was. He quickly realized that all provision and all providers where gone. He was quickly overwhelmed with the hopelessness of his wilderness situation. He was overwhelmed, that is, until he began to count what he had instead of what he didn t have. He was alive. It was summer. And strapped to his belt was a hatchet which his mother had given him as he boarded the plane. Brian and his hatchet began to learn about woodcutting, shelter-building, tool-making and even fire-starting. As Brian began to trust more and more what he had berries, wood, fish, flint, hatchet his skills and self-sufficiency increased. It was grow or die and he learned to risk growing So starts the fictional book, Hatchet by Gary Paulson. We bought it for our son to read. Maybe you ve read it too. The book may be fictional, but it is also true Count what you have instead of what you don t have. For about 30 years, my brother Rod had the security of a well-paying job plenty of vacation, good benefits, regular hours, weekends and holidays off It prevented him from pursuing employment that he would have enjoyed doing more. He literally hated his job, but it bought him that lake home, boats, four-wheelers, snowmobiles and the fishing trips that he d gotten used to. Then when he was 51 years old his job suddenly evaporated. How many have experienced that in recent years. If Rod had taken a risk to leave that job earlier, it may have been better. At that point however, out of his control, he was forced into having the freedom to see

3 3 what else was out there for him. He entered into that scary situation in the assurance of a close relationship with a loving God who walked with him all the way. It wasn t easy. He went back to school. He struggled to find a good job and finally did. This past weekend, while with my brother, he told us that that job, his last job, was the best one he ever had. He is retired now, but God still walks and works with him Have you ever run headlong into trouble in your life? Have you ever been faced with apparent disaster? Felt hopeless? In the Gary Paulson story, Brian started with a hatchet. For my brother it was faith and hard work. When we take an inventory of what we have it s best to start with faith in God. Most all of the rest that we have can be ripped away in a moment. Whoever has faith has everything necessary for life. That s radical, but it is God s promise. So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. What is eternal life? What is saved? Here in John s Gospel eternal life/salvation means authentic life lived in relationship with Jesus Christ. This is not just an after death thing. Eternal life starts to embrace us here and now. It means being safely in God s care now and forever. May not perish? To live apart from God s love in Christ begins now and can last forever it is to experience the consequences of aloneness that separation from God brings. Faith? If you re here today, you re not alone in this world. And anywhere out there divorce, plane crash, job loss, arrest, drugs God is there too. God will always be there for you if you let God be. If God s own death didn t stop God from loving and caring about you, me and this broken old world, nothing can stop God! In adult membership classes, I have often heard people say that they ve felt judged or excluded by the Christian church. They ve felt like they didn t measure up. Yet it is ever so clear, straight and certain in our Gospel lesson for today Jesus came to: - Save,

4 4 - Include, - Restore relationships - Heal lives, - And empower abundant living. Jesus did not come to condemn, write off or forget you or anyone else. Jesus came, lived, died and rose again for you and for all people. We re talking GOD, died, rose and is still pursuing your love and trust TODAY AND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AND ETERNITY. GOD LOVES YOU! GOD WALKS WITH YOU. TRUST GOD. How are things going for you right now? Be sure to look at what you have before you are overcome by what you lack. We all stand lacking, but given the chance, Jesus fills that void in every way. When you re up against the troubles of the world, start by calling upon your God-given faith. If even just a little bit, you start to draw on that faith reserve financial worries, job stress, relationship problems, legal problems, health problems none of these will be bigger than what you and God can handle together. Even if your faith might not be there at that moment, God will still be there. Count one more than you can see GOD who loves you more than anyone else in the world. And for sure don t forget, when you re celebrating your gifts lifegiving relationships, vocation, health, the beauty of nature, and the joy of each new day - remember to count one more than you can see then too. Stop and say, Thank you Lord. There is only one thing absolutely needful in this life. That is a lifegiving relationship with God. It comes through our God-given faith. Once we have faith, even just the tiniest bit we have a tool, with God s help, capable of granting to us: - Wisdom - Courage - Strength - Confidence - Abundant Life! Even death won t have the last word with you. That s because Jesus has the last word, and Jesus has you! For God so loved the world For God so loves you Thank you Lord! Amen.

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