Sermon, , Easter, Once Upon a Time. (Pastor Tim carries small toys Nemo, Bruce and Inky from Finding Nemo and places them on his stand.

Transcription

1 (Pastor Tim carries small toys Nemo, Bruce and Inky from Finding Nemo and places them on his stand.) Today is Easter. The traditional Easter dinner in our culture is?... ham. Who is having ham for dinner today? The best part of ham dinner for me is the leftover ham sandwiches. I heard a story about a young man who one Easter evening was having leftovers at his in-law s house. He filled his plate and he made the most beautiful ham sandwich. As far as ham sandwiches go, it was perfection: a couple thick slabs of ham, a big, fresh Kaiser roll, crisp lettuce and plenty of that expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard. His mouth was watering with anticipation. 1 P a g e He made his way into the family room and found a comfy chair. He sat and balanced the plate on his lap and picked up the ham sandwich with both hands. But, he was stopped suddenly by his wife who was now standing right in front of him, holding out their 6 week old baby son. Here take Johnny, so I can get my plate, she said. The young man put the sandwich down, took the baby boy, shifted to one side, and got him balanced between his elbow and shoulder. As he reached again for the ham sandwich, he noticed a streak of mustard on his fingers. He love mustard. He had no napkin. He licked it off. It was not mustard. No man has ever put down a baby faster. He sprinted for the bathroom, tongue sticking out. With a washcloth in each hand, he did the routine shoeshine boys do, only on his tongue. Later, after his wife stopped crying from laughing so hard, she said, Now we know why they call that mustard Grey... Poupon! Show pic A couple weeks ago I watched a TED Talk, an online video, by Andrew Stanton. Andrew Stanton is a writer for Pixar. He is the writer of all 3 Toy Story movies, Finding Nemo, Wall-e, and more. He was talking about storytelling and he said, Every story is a joke. Like a joke, you always know the ending of a story and you work toward it.

2 This it turns out was rule #7 of Pixar s 22 Rules of Storytelling 2 P a g e I found the TED talk by Stanton at the bottom of an article called Pixar s 22 Rules of Storytelling that someone had posted on Facebook. I tell stories, and sometimes write stories, and I love Pixar, so I was interested The rules were originally tweeted by another Pixar story artist. They are not all profound, some are quite practical. Here s a few of them: 1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. 6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. 9. When you re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up. 14. Why must you tell THIS story? What s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That s the heart of it. 16. Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don t succeed? Stack the odds against. 19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating. And the Rule that I really like is rule #4. It s called the story spine. It is this: 4. Once upon a time there was. Every day,. One day. Because of that,. Because of that,. Until finally. Here is an example of one of those elements in one of Pixar s movies. Show Video Finding Nemo 13:00-15:15 4. Once upon a time there was. Every day,. One day. Because of that,. Because of that,. Until finally. Once upon a time there was a fish named Nemo who lived with his father. Every day... his father was very protective of him because he had lost his mother to a big fish. One day... Nemo ventured off the reef and got caught and taken far away from home. Because of that... his father went looking for him. Because of that... Nemo learned how to overcome obstacles. Until finally... Nemo and dad were reunited and dad realized he didn t have to so afraid of the world and Nemo could survive in it. (Black slide) Now, this made me wonder if Bible stories have the same spine. I think that the stories of the Bible have a common story spine too. It is a slightly different than Pixar s, but it is a recurring framework, a pattern, that happens over and over again.

3 We see it in the story of Jesus. 3 P a g e People kept thinking they knew what the story of the Messiah would be... They thought the Messiah would be born in a royal house. But he wasn t. He was born in a stable. They thought the Messiah would be from an important city like Jerusalem. But He wasn t. Nathanael said, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" They thought He would be part of the religious rule police. But He wasn t. He healed on the Sabbath. He was a friend of sinners. They thought He would be a warrior conqueror. But He wasn t. He was a suffering servant. They tried to destroy his body. They tortured him, flogged, tore out his beard. Beat a crown of thorns into his brow. Mocked him. Cursed him. Spit on him. Watched him die. Buried him. They thought Jesus was dead... But he rose from the grave. We see it in the story of The Apostle Paul, also known as Saul, Paul is the main character in the story of the early Christians in the NT. Paul, at first, is an enemy of Christians. He is a persecutor. He kills Christians trying to stop what he thinks is a new false religion. Jesus appears to him after his resurrection and a bright light surrounds Paul and Jesus says, Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me. Why are you harassing, threatening, killing my followers? Who are you Lord? I am Jesus! Paul is blinded. He goes to where Jesus tells him and 3 days later receives his sight. He does a complete 180 & starts searching the scriptures, and praying, and God shows him that Jesus was the Savior. Do you see God s rule for his story telling? We see it In John chapter 8 where a woman is caught in adultery. The religious leaders drag her out in front of Jesus and try to use her to trap him, because he was opposing and embarrassing them with some of his teaching.

4 They say should we stone her Jesus? (Pummel her w/large stones as a death sentence?) They want him to say yes, then he will not be Mr. loving or Mr. forgiving. Or if he says no, then he will be denying what God s word had commanded and they ll have him. 4 P a g e Jesus said, let him who has not sinned be the first one to throw a stone at her. Then each one dropped the stones in their hands and went away, starting with the oldest. Jesus turned to the woman and said, Where are those who condemn you? She said, there is no one Lord. He said, Then neither do I. Now go and leave your life of sin. Do you see God s rule for his story telling?... One more before I tell you it. There s a kid in the Old Testament. His name is Nemo. Well it could be. His name is Mephibosheth. Nemo had an undeveloped fin, so he couldn t swim very well. Mephibosheth had two disabled feet from a fall when he was 5. Nemo had a dad who was afraid to let him out in the world. Mephibosheth had relatives who hid him from the world for fear he d be killed. David is chosen by God to be the new king of Israel, before the old king is dead. The old king s name is Saul. So Saul hears that David has been chosen by a prophet as his replacement. But, he s not ready to be replaced. So, Saul takes all his armies and hunts David to kill him. David suffers a great deal for months, even years, because of Saul, until Saul is finally destroyed. So, when David takes over as king, they hide Mephibosheth. He is Saul s grandson. He is the only heir who might one day avenge what David has done in defeating Saul s family. People think this kid is dead meat. He s doomed to live lame, poor, and in fear. Instead, one Day David remembers his dear friendship with Saul s son Jonathan and asks is there no one in Jonathan s family/his enemy s family/ who I can show kindness to? They tell him about Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth is brought back to David s palace. And David restores to this lone heir all of Saul s lands. He gives him servants to work it for him. And he tells Mephibosheth he is always to eat at his royal table. And the story ends with Mephibosheth having a son named Mika.

5 Can you imagine in this primitive society? A man who is lame in both feet, without a family, penniless, living in exile, in fear for his life. How does he think his story is supposed to go? How is his story supposed to end? 5 P a g e But David, the King, takes him into his house. Restores his wealth. Bestows blessings he did not know he had. Let s him eat at his table. Gives him honor. Gives him a family. And that man grows up and has his own son. That is not how that story is supposed to end! But with God the rules of the story are different. Here s what I think God s #1 rule for story telling is... It s this: Or if you prefer: You can rewrite your story with God s help! The story is never over. A life w/god is never beyond rescuing, beyond changing, beyond hope. God is the expert of the rewrite! The story of your life and mine does not have to end any certain way. The story of your life is not fixed, it can be changed! This is the typical Bible story spine. 1. Once upon a time... We meet a person. 2. Everyday...The person has a flaw or a problem or a struggle. 3. One day... God engages the person. Thru a prophet, angel or Jesus. 4. Because of that... The person trusts and obeys God. 5. Because of that... The person is changed. 6. Until finally... God rewrites the person s story. (Repeat.) God rewrites Paul s story! My greatest enemy now my greatest asset! God rewrites the woman caught in adultery s story. Go and rewrite your story he tells her! I don t condemn you. But go an sin no more. God rewrites Mephibosheth s story A life of brokenness, fear, isolation, and loss becomes a life of grace, restoration, blessing, and belonging.

6 God rewrites other s stories in the Bible too. He rewrites Joseph s story. And Isaac, and Moses, and David, and Peter, and Zaccheus, and me, and many of you... 6 P a g e Does he rewrite Jesus s story? Well not in a literal way. But he rewrites every perception anyone had about how his story was supposed to go. And even to the very end, Jesus had to put his trust in God That the way it looked like it was ending on the cross Was not the way it was really going to end He Arose!!! His story does not end as everyone thot it was ending! The story you think is written for you, may not be the story God has written for you. He is in the business of rewriting stories This is the hope of Easter!!! Have you ever heard this verse? Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Do you know when God said this and why? Do you know the context of what was happening? Jeremiah was telling the people a hard time is coming. The Babylonians were going to come and conquer them. And they would be taken away & forced to live in Babylon for years BUT!! Don t worry... For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. It will look dark. It will look difficult. It will seem like all is lost. It will seem like the end of the story has come and it is hopeless. But, don t lose hope! I will rewrite the ending. I will come and restore. I will save you and return you to all that seems lost. I will raise you up!!! This what God does! He enables people to rewrite their story! Wherever your life is today, you can walk out of here today and rewrite your story if you want with God s help.

7 You can change! He can change things for you. Even if some things can t change, He can change you in significant ways in that which cannot change. 7 P a g e Maybe life has you ready for a change, like it or not. I know of several people among us facing job changes. One just had his last day this Friday Good Friday. Some of you may be older and starting a job search later than you d like. He specializes in giving people new careers. Some may be ready to leave your job because you know you have to. Maybe to start something new. Maybe to start your own business. Maybe your job is just taking too much of a toll and you need a change to save your marriage or your health. Maybe you are in your twenties and you really are wondering if the job you have now is the job you want to have for the rest of your life. I had a job with Xerox from when I was 19 to 26. And it was a great job. Then I went school to be a pastor & I haven t regretted it for a moment. You can find your life s calling even in the middle of it! Maybe you are older and it s harder to make a change. Maybe you could be a pastor too. It s never too late! Maybe it s your marriage that needs a rewrite, a new start. God can resurrect what seems dead. God can rewrite and give you a new start, if you trust and obey him today. If you are struggling with a habit or addiction, God can rewrite your story. Ask him and surrender your life to him. If you have secretly been developing a prescription drug habit? If you had an accident and needed pain medicine, but now you are taking more than you have been subscribed.

8 If you started drinking a little wine in the evening to take away the stress, but now your one glass a night became one bottle a night and one bottle a night has become two. And now you need it to get to sleep. God can rewrite your story today. 8 P a g e If you have let yourself get into a wrong sexual relationship, God can rewrite that today. You can change. If you have developed a habit of looking at porn, God can rewrite that today. Whatever it is in your life, about your life, where it has been or where it is now. God can rewrite your story. Last story. Thomas was a doubter. After his resurrection Jesus appeared to all his disciples at once. But Thomas wasn t there. When they told Thomas, he said I can t believe it. Unless I see it for myself and put my hands in his wounds, I won t believe it. Soon after, Jesus appears to them all again. And he tells Thomas see my wounds. Come put your hands in my wounds. Thomas falls to the ground and says, My Lord and my God! Two things from this. When Jesus is resurrected, he still has his wounds. When God writes the unexpected ending to Jesus story, there is continuity with the pain and suffering of what came before the resurrection. When God rewrites you story, There might be a wonderful radical transformation, but there will also be continuity with that which needs to be rewritten He can forgive all your sins, but he might not take away all the wounds. Those will be there to show other people how wonderful God is When he rewrites our life stories. Other thing. Before Thomas could get his new start, his new story, He had to bend his knees and confess that Jesus was his Lord. So will you.

9 Our message is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, but our story is the that the tomb is empty!! 9 P a g e This is the hope of the resurrection! The story is never over! The story doesn t have to end in defeat and discouragement. God can resurrect any aspect of our lives! That s the once upon a time. What is your story today? What is your every day? What do you struggle with or you feel that needs to change. This is your one day. One day, this day, God has engaged you. Because of that, what will change? You don t have the power to change yourself, but God does. Because of what Jesus can do, I encourage you to chose to follow Jesus. Come to church so you can worship and learn. Read the Bible. Read the NT. Read his story. Talk to him in prayer. God can rewrite your story. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.