“I Am the Lord’s Servant”

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
December 17, 2017

"I Am the Lord's Servant"

Luke 1:26-55
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

 

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Voices from the Wilderness

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
December 10, 2017

John the Baptist lived in the wilderness, preaching an old message in a new way.  There hadn't been a prophetic voice in Israel in over 300 years.  People flocked to listen to him, and be baptized in the Jordan River.  What was his message?  And what did John say about the Messiah? 

Voices from the Wilderness

Mark 1:1-8
1 This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It began as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“God said, ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’

 

3 Someone is shouting in the desert,

‘Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!’”

 

4 So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching.  “Turn away from your sins and be baptized,” he told the people, “and God will forgive your sins.” 5 Many people from the province of Judea and the city of Jerusalem went out to hear John. They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

 

6 John wore clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  7 He announced to the people, “The man who will come after me is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to bend down and untie his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

November 26, 2017

November 26, 2017,  Guest Preacher, Rev. Carol Lillie.

Shepherd of the Saints

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
November 26, 2017
Christ the King Sunday

Shepherd of the Saints

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
11 “I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I myself will look for my sheep and take care of them  
12 in the same way as shepherds take care of their sheep that were scattered and are brought together again. I will bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark, disastrous day. 13 I will take them out of foreign countries, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. I will lead them back to the mountains and the streams of Israel and will feed them in pleasant pastures. 14 I will let them graze in safety in the mountain meadows and the valleys and in all the green pastures of the land of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will find them a place to rest. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.

16 “I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that wander off, bandage those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick; but those that are fat and strong I will destroy, because I am a shepherd who does what is right.

 

20 “So now, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge between you strong sheep and the weak sheep. 21 You pushed the sick ones aside and butted them away from the flock. 22 But I will rescue my sheep and not let them be mistreated any more. I will judge each of my sheep and separate the good from the bad. 23 I will give them a king like my servant David to be their one shepherd, and he will take care of them. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken.

Thanksgiving of the Saints

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
November 19, 2017

Thanksgiving of the Saints

Deuteronomy 8:6-18
6 So then, do as the Lord has commanded you: live according to his laws and obey him. 7 The Lord your God is bringing you into a fertile land—a land that has rivers and springs, and underground streams gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land that produces wheat and barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. 9 There you will never go hungry or ever be in need. Its rocks have iron in them, and from its hills you can mine copper. 10 You will have all you want to eat, and you will give thanks to the Lord your God for the fertile land that he has given you.

 

11 “Make certain that you do not forget the Lord your God; do not fail to obey any of his laws that I am giving you today. 12 When you have all you want to eat and have built good houses to live in 13 and when your cattle and sheep, your silver and gold, and all your other possessions have increased, 14 be sure that you do not become proud and forget the Lord your God who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. 15 He led you through that vast and terrifying desert where there were poisonous snakes and scorpions. In that dry and waterless land he made water flow out of solid rock for you. 16 In the desert he gave you manna to eat, food that your ancestors had never eaten. He sent hardships on you to test you, so that in the end he could bless you with good things. 17 So then, you must never think that you have made yourselves wealthy by your own power and strength. 18 Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because he is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors.

Stories of the Saints

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
November 12, 2017

Stories of the Saints

Joshua 24:1-4, 14-25

1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has to say: ‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. 3 Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

14 “Now then,” Joshua continued, “honor the Lord and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15 If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.” 

16 The people replied, “We would never leave the Lord to serve other gods! 17 The Lord our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed. 18 As we advanced into this land, the Lord drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the Lord; he is our God.”

 

19 Joshua said to the people, “But you may not be able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, 20 and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before.”

21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

 

22 Joshua told them, “You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

 

“Yes,” they said, “we are witnesses.”

 

23 “Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have,” he demanded, “and pledge your loyalty to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

 

24 The people then said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey his commands.”

 

25 So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and there at Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow.  

Clothing of the Saints

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
November 5, 2017

Clothing of the Saints

(During the sermon, I stepped away from the microphone to light candles in honor of the Saints our church lost in the last year.  There may be a quiet time on the recording while I was away from the microphone.)

Revelation 7:9-17


9 After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd—no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They called out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

13 One of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?”

 

14 “I don't know, sir. You do,” I answered.

 

He said to me, “These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. 15 That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence. 16 Never again will they hunger or thirst; neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them, 17 because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

A Life Well Lived

Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
October 29, 2017

A Life Well Lived

Deuteronomy 34 - The Death of Moses
1 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah east of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole land: the territory of Gilead as far north as the town of Dan; 2 the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far west as the Mediterranean Sea; 3 the southern part of Judah; and the plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there.”

5 So Moses, the Lord's servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. 6 The Lord buried him in a valley in Moab, opposite the town of Bethpeor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. 8 The people of Israel mourned for him for thirty days in the plains of Moab.

 

9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with wisdom, because Moses had appointed him to be his successor. The people of Israel obeyed Joshua and kept the commands that the Lord had given them through Moses.

 

10 There has never been a prophet in Israel like Moses; the Lord spoke with him face-to-face. 11 No other prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. 12 No other prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.