The sermon podcast for Sunday, September 25, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website. This is the last sermon in our series about discipleship and the transformed life entitled “Follow Me.” This deals with following Jesus to Forgiveness, starting with ourselves. In it we examine the life of Peter. We look at Isaiah 53: 3-6 and John 21:1-19. Also by clicking on these verses you can see my notes from the sermon as a note in the YouVersion online Bible. You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.
Tag Archives: Forgive
Restoration
One of things we see in the prophets in judgement.
God stands before the people and says – you have worshiped idols. You have done wrong. You have departed from my ways.
It is because of that, you have been punished. And it is because of that punishment is coming.
Your idolatry has caused terrible judgement to come.
We see that a lot in the prophets.
And it always gets me.
As I told my Small Group Connection here at Asbury Church last night, I understand how sinful I am, I understand the things that I do wrong, I understand how much I miss the mark.
And that keeps me from being too judgmental of others. I know right from wrong and I still choose wrong. So, how can I want grace for me and judgement for you?
That is why I love reading the prophets. The notion of deserved judgement is there. But, so is something else. We read this today in Micah 2:
12 “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you;
I will gather the remnant who are left.
I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture.
Yes, your land will again
be filled with noisy crowds!
God is a God of Hope. God is a God of restoration. God is a God of forgiveness and grace.
Do we deserve the grace, mercy, and hope He gives? No.
Do we deserve the forgiveness He offers? No.
Do we deserve any of this? No.
The only thing we’ve earned is judgement.
Yet, time after time after time, He gives grace. He gives love. He gives forgiveness. He gives hope.
Today, hear the words of Micah. God longs to gather you up. God longs to love you. God longs to restore you.
No matter what the past was. No matter what has happened. No matter what you’ve done.
You. Are. Loved. Today.
No matter what.
God is a God of restoration. God is a God of Hope.
God is a God of love.
Let Him restore you today. Let Him bring you life today. Let Him bring you back home today.
You are His. He won’t let go. He loves you. No matter what.
Equality
There was a phrase from seminary that’s always stuck with me.
It was something that Dr. Barry Bryant, my professor of United Methodist Studies shared with us in one my classes. I don’t remember the class, and I don’t remember what brought the statement about.
He was talking about John Wesley. And he said Wesley believed that everyone was equal. But, their equality was not based on their “worth” but on their sin.
The logic flowed like this. Everyone is equally sinful. Everyone is equally in need of a savior. Christ died for everyone’s sin. So, we are called to love everyone the same.
Because God did.
We are all the same, because we all need a savior. We are all the same because we are all equally in need. Each of us. There are no “better thans” in God’s family. We are all equal, for we are all equal in sin and in our need for salvation.
We need to remember that, so that we never become like the Pharisees:
30The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ 31Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’
They thought they were better than the tax collectors. They thought they were better than those sinners. They though they were not as needy as they were.
They didn’t see their sin. So, they needed see their need. They didn’t see they were just as needy for a savior as those they regarded as sinners.
Today, let’s not forgot our need for Christ. Let’s forgot our need for a savior. Let’s not forget that we are each in need of forgiveness and salvation.
You are. I am. We each are.
Even those folks that we think that we are better than. We are not better than. There are no better thans in God’s kingdom. We are all equal in sin. We are all equal in our need for salvation.
And God loves each of us. May we love each other just the same.
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