Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:1-5
10/26/14
by Doug Marshall

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song, 
    As the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long?
Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear? 
    As the daylight fades into deep night shades, does He care enough to be near?
Does Jesus care when I’ve said good bye to the dearest on earth to me, 
    And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks – Is it aught to Him? Does he see?
O yes, He cares – I know He cares! His heart is touched with my grief; when the 
          days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.  Frank Graeff

    Joy taught a class of under-privileged nine-year-old girls at an inner-city church.  They were a wonderful group.  They had all sorts of energy and questions.  One child, however, was different from all the others.  Her name was Raichla.  The other girls talked and squirmed.  Raichla sat very still.  The other kids sang the songs with gusto, and Raichla sat silently, listening.  The other girls often giggled, as only nine-year-olds can do.  Raichla never laughed.  She was always present, always listening, and always silent.  No one knew for sure what had happened in her life, but all the adults assumed that she had experienced some sort of tragedy that left her timid, afraid, and withdrawn. 
     One day Joy taught the class about heaven.  She talked about the new heavens and the new earth that we heard about in both of our passages this morning.  She talked about seeing God sitting on his throne.  She talked about heaven as a place of beauty and joy and said that God would wipe away every tear so that no one was ever sad again.  As she talked she noticed that Raichla was listening very intently.  After a few minutes Raichla raised her hand.  “Miss Joy?”  Everyone was stunned.  No one had ever heard her ask a question before.  “Yes Raichla?”  “I was wondering if there was a place in heaven for girls like me?”

    At some point in our lives we all ask that question.  “Is there a place in heaven for me?”  Our question may not be as blatant as Raichla’s, but I think we have all wondered if God really knows me and loves me.  God is so busy running the universe – does he have time to pay attention to me?   God is focused on the big problems of the world.  God is working on how to stop the wars and violence and terrorism.  God has enough to do in dealing with Ebola and all the problems of the world.  Isn’t God too busy to think about me?
     These questions are not primarily intellectual problems.  They develop out of the brokenness of our lives.  We grow up learning “God is great.  God is good.”  but then life happens, and we start to question who God is and what God does.  The brokenness of our lives is different for all of us.  It may be a 14-year-old girl whose heart is broken by the love of her life, or a 27-year-old man who can’t find a job and is struggling with substance abuse, a 42-year-old putting  his or her life back together after a divorce, or someone grieving the death of a loved one.  What  I want you to hear this morning is that when we go through a time of brokenness, not “if” but “when,”  there is a word from God that brings us hope and peace and joy.  Let’s look at our Bible passages.
The passage in Isaiah is one of the most positive and uplifting passages in the Bible.  It is filled with hope and joy.  But to really understand this passage we need to know about the context, what was probably happening in the life of the Israelites, the people of Yahweh.  
     In the 6th century BC Babylon was the main world power.  The kingdom of Judah was an insignificant little country.  They tried to stand up to Babylon but they were no match for Nebuchadnezzar and his army.  In 587 BC the Babylonians broke through the walls of Jerusalem.  They captured the King of Judah.  They killed his sons right in front of him and then they poked out his eyes so that the last thing he saw was he sons being murdered.  The Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple which the Israelites believed was the holy place where God lived.  And then the Babylonians took the Israelites away from the Promised Land, into exile.  For 70 years they lived in exile, until almost everyone who had been living had died off.  Then Cyrus, the King of Persia, overthrew the Babylonians and allowed the people of Israel to return to the Promised Land. 
     They went back with great hope.  They hoped to return to their former glory, but that never works.  You can’t go back to the good old days.  The city of Jerusalem and the Temple of God had been destroyed.  At best, when they went back, Jerusalem was a second, or third-rate city.  There were many people living in and around Jerusalem who had some semblance of the Israelite faith.  They took seven out of the Ten Commandments and a few other teachings from the Law, blended them with some beliefs from Babylon and some from Egypt.  They added in a few other ideas and combined them all into a very convenient and easy faith.  They called themselves Israelites, but they weren’t really faithful and obedient to the God of Israel.  
     On the other hand, there was a small remnant who were faithful to Yahweh, who clung to the God of Abraham, the God of Moses and Elijah.  As best they could they tried to follow the law.  They weren’t very popular.  In fact, they were outcasts and oppressed.  They were discouraged and afraid.  They were broken.  Into that small community of people who had survived the exile, yet were still living without any real hope, Isaiah spoke a message of hope and joy. 
     He talked about a glorious new creation.  The old one was so messed up it couldn’t be saved so God created a new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem that will be filled with joy.  Part of that joy is because everything is “new and improved.”  Part of it is because God delights in his people.  I love that idea.  God delights in you.  God is crazy in love with us.  When God thinks of you it brings him joy. 
Isaiah described something of what that new creation will be like.  Infants won’t die and everyone will live a long life.  Justice will be a reality.  Verse 24 says that not only will God answer our prayers; he knows us so well that before we even pray he knows what we need and has answered our prayers.  Verse 25 points to relationships of peace.  Wolves, lambs, lions, serpents, all creatures will live together in harmony. 

    In Revelation 21 John picks up on these images and develops them.  He affirms that God is making everything new, but he adds several new ideas.  
    John talks about the new Jerusalem as a beautiful bride.  I heard one pastor say that he had done lots of weddings and he had never seen a bride who wasn’t beautiful.  Some of the grooms may not have been so great, but the brides were all gorgeous.  
     The second new idea is that God lives with us.  “The home of God is among mortals.  He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (Revelation 21:3 NRSV).  Our God is not an absent or distant God.  God lives with us.  That is what the Incarnation is all about – God with us.  That is what Pentecost is all about – the Holy Spirit is God with us.   God is right here in this church.
    Third, John tells us that in this new creation there will be no sorrow.  God “will wipe every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more” (Revelation 21:4 NRSV).
     I’m aware that many people struggle with the book of Revelation.  No one really understands it and there are many weird and sometimes scary ideas.  I think part of that problem is because we tend to take it too literally.  John, like Isaiah before him, used poetic language to paint a picture.  They were not trying to give us details of what heaven is like.  They are trying to create images that are intended to fill us with hope and peace and joy. 

    A few months ago I was working out in my yard.  We live on a hill and I had gone part way down the hill and saw a board, a two-by-six.  I picked it up to see if it was any good.  Underneath I found a colony of bugs.  The top of the board looked pretty good.  But underneath there were lots of creepy, crawly things and the back of the board was rotting.  
     In some ways I think that describes our lives.  On the surface we look okay.  We put on masks and pretend that we are fine.  But underneath and behind, there are many things rotting away.  We have secrets that we can’t let anyone know.  We have struggles that keep us from the abundant life we want.  We have fears that keep us awake at night.  There is brokenness in our lives.  And because the church is made up of people who are broken, there is brokenness in the church.  
     Over the past few weeks I’ve started hearing some of the stories of the brokenness that has been going on here in Sharon.  To be honest with you, one of the things that attracted me to this church was that when I interviewed with the search committee they didn’t pretend that everything was okay.  They admitted that there was a problem. The first step in the healing process is admitting that we are broken.   Turn to someone next to you and say “You are broken.”  Some of you are enjoying doing that too much.  Now say to that same person, “I am broken too.”  All of us are broken and sinful people.
     My hope for the Sharon church is not that this will become a perfect place filled with perfect people.  It isn’t that Sharon will return to the glory that it had back in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  That will not work.  My hope is that the Sharon church will be a place where broken people are able to experience the healing presence of God.  My hope is that Sharon will be a place in which people hear the good news that God is doing something new, and that God invites us to live in that  new creation, with hope and peace and joy.  
    Friends, the good news for us today is that in Jesus Christ God is creating something that is brand new, within us and around us, in our own lives and in the life of the Sharon church.  I don’t know what that creation will look like.  No one does.  What we do know is that this is God’s church.  God is with us and this new creation is a gift from God.  God is creating something new and invites us to live in that glorious new creation with hope, and peace, and joy.

John 1:29-42
10/12/14
by Doug Marshall

Thought for Meditation:

His [John the Baptist’s] mission was to prepare the way for Jesus, and he realized that the wasn’t the living water for anyone’s parched soul.  Neither is the church, the small group, or one’s parent, pastor, mentor, or spiritual director.  Craig Barnes “Sacred Thirst” p167

   On the main floor of the library at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary there is a desk.  It is the desk Karl Barth used for 50 years, as he wrote Church Dogmatics and many other writings.  For those of you who don’t know Karl Barth, he is considered the greatest theologian of the 20th century.  He articulated the faith in modern terms. 
     Above the desk is a reproduction of a painting.  It is the one that is up on the screen and on the front of your bulletin.  This picture was above Barth’s desk throughout his career.  The painting was by Matthias Grünewald called “The Crucifixion.”  You can see that it has a picture of Jesus on the cross.  On his right side are his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the apostle John.  On Jesus left side is the figure that was most important for Barth.  It is John the Baptist pointing to Jesus.  The figures in the painting are a bit distorted.  John’s finger, that he is using to point to Jesus, is about twice as long as a normal finger should be. 
     The message for Barth was that John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was greater than he was.  John was considered to be the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, yet he knew that he was not the answer to the basic needs of human life.  John knew that he could never satisfy the deepest longings of people, so he pointed to Jesus.  His ministry was to witness to who Jesus is and what Jesus does.  We see that very clearly in our passage this morning, as John encourages his own disciples to follow Jesus, the Lamb of God.  Let me read our passage for you.  (2:15)

“John 1:29-42”
• v30:  John was born about 6 months before Jesus.  Therefore Jesus came after him.  However, John also knew that Jesus was the Son of God, who had existed from the beginning of time.  Therefore he says “He came before me.”
• v31:  John’s ministry was to reveal Jesus, to point to Jesus.
• v32:  The gospel of John doesn’t tell the story of Jesus’ baptism.  Instead, John mentions that story by talking about “the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.”
• v36:  Again, John points to Jesus.
• v37-42:  This is the Word of the Lord.

     John tells his own disciples to follow Jesus.  As soon as they do Jesus asks them a strange question. “What are you looking for?”  It can be understood several different ways.  It could simply be a surface level question, “Do you need something?”  A few weeks ago I was at a grocery store, looking for something – I don’t even remember what it was.  What I remember was that I couldn’t find whatever I was looking for.  After looking up and down several aisles I got that dazed look where everything blends together and you can’t find anything.  Fortunately, a clerk saw me and recognized the glazed eyes.  “Can I help you find something?  What are you looking for?”  Jesus question could mean that.  “Can I help you?  Do you need something?” 
     However, this question probably had a much deeper meaning.  Jesus’ words often have several different levels of meaning.  Jesus’ question cuts behind our defenses.  His question penetrates to the core of being.  “What are you looking for?  What is it that you really want out of life?  What is your deepest longing?  What are your goals? Your hopes?  Your dreams?  What is it that if you found it, you could say, ‘Now I have what I need’?  What are you looking for?”  That is the question Jesus asks these first disciples.  It is the question Jesus asks us.  (7:00)

     Here’s the problem – all of us have a tendency to look for things to satisfy us, things that never can or never will satisfy us.  It is a form of idolatry that is part of our lives.  My sister and her family go on cruises every year. When I hear her talk about their cruises I get jealous and think “I wish we could afford to take our family on trips like that.  That would satisfy me.”  But it wouldn’t satisfy.
     Many people look for relationships with other people to satisfy them; whether it’s a teenage girl looking for just the right boy or a mom looking to her children to satisfy her – it will not work.  People will always disappoint us. Some people look for the right job or for retirement from a job to satisfy.  How often do we eat something or buy something, not because we are hungry or need the thing we buy, but because we are feeling empty or lonely and want the food or the thing to fill us and satisfy us?  What are you really looking for?  That is the question Jesus asks?
     At first glance the disciples’ response seems odd.  Jesus asks them about their deepest desires, their most cherished dreams, and they respond “Where are you staying?”  This question is not just about a location.  In John 15 Jesus talks about being the true vine and we are the branches.  He tells the disciples that they need to stay connected to the vine.  “Abide in me.  Stay connected to me.”  The word “abide” or “stay” is the word the disciples use when they ask Jesus “Where are you staying?”  In other words, they are not so much asking about the location of his house.  They are on a spiritual journey.  They want a relationship with Jesus.  They are looking for a holy place where they can be connected to God.  That is what we all want and need.
     Jesus responds by saying “Come and see.”  And so the disciples went with Jesus.  John doesn’t tell us all the details, but they probably talked, and ate, and talked some more.  The disciples began a journey of faith that fulfilled their deepest needs and longings.  What they were looking for was found through a relationship with Jesus.  (10:00)

     Let me share with you a few reflections from this passage.  First, these verses remind us that our relationship with God is initiated by Jesus.  Jesus is the one who first spoke to the disciples.  Before they said anything Jesus asked what they were looking for and invited them to “Come and see.”  He invited them to follow him and join him on the journey of life.
     I was raised in a Presbyterian church.  In high school I had lots of questions about my faith.  I understood the basic teachings of Christianity, but something was still missing.  During the spring of my freshman year of college I had what I would call my spiritual awakening.  It was the time I committed myself to Jesus and started growing in my faith.  However, I’m convinced that long before I ever accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, Jesus was at work in my life, drawing me in to a relationship.
     I’m a big C.S. Lewis fan.  I’m curious, how many of you have read The Chronicles of Narnia.  I love the stories.  Tanya is reading the 6th book right now.  In the fourth book, The Silver Chair, there is a wonderful picture of the idea that Jesus initiates our relationship.
     Aslan, the great lion and the Christ figure, has called Eustace and Jill out of our world into Narnia.  They are up on a high mountain and Jill starts goofing around showing off next to a cliff.  She slips and starts to fall off, so Eustace tries to save her.  Jill gets back on solid ground but Eustace falls off the cliff.  Aslan rushes up and blows him to wherever he is going. 
     Eustace had been to Narnia before.  He knew Aslan.  Jill had not been there and had no idea who Aslan was.  All she saw was this huge, terrifying lion.  Let me read to you what happens.   

Read p18-19 


     Jill and Eustace were able to get into Narnia because Aslan had first called them there.  Aslan was the one who initiated the relationship.  Jesus is the one who initiates our relationship with him.  Long before you ever thought about Jesus he was thinking about you.  He has initiated your relationship and continues to call you – “Come and see.”  (15:00)


     Second, notice what John the Baptist says about Jesus.  Twice in our passage there is a phrase that jumps out.  John says about Jesus “I didn’t know him.”  If anyone should have known Jesus it was John.  According to Luke they were related, maybe even cousins.  There is a good possibility that they spent time together as they were growing up.  John knows that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He says that Jesus ranks ahead of him, because he existed before him.  John had actually baptized Jesus, and saw the dove descend down onto him.  He had heard God call Jesus his beloved Son.  He knew all of that, yet he also said, “I don’t know him!” 
     I believe this is a word of caution to all of us who claim to know Jesus.  I’ve been a pastor for just over 27 years, and growing in my faith for 10 years before that.  I’ve been in the church my whole life.  There are times when I think that I know who Jesus is and what he is doing, or what he wants to do.  But the moment I make that assumption Jesus usually does something I don’t expect, something that throws me for a loop.
     I believe that one of the greatest problems in the church today, at least in the United States, is that there are too many people who assume they know Jesus and know what he wants. We know that Jesus is a Republican, or a Democrat.  We know how he would vote in this next election.  We know what Jesus wants us to do about global warming.  We know what Jesus wants us do in the Middle East or Hong Kong. You name the issue – there are probably Christians who claim to know what Jesus wants. 
     All of us tend to make Jesus in our own image.  We assume that he wants what we want, that our goals and ideas are the same as his goals and ideas.  The moment we begin to assume that we know Jesus, what he is doing and what he wants to do, we are assuming way too much and Jesus is likely to do something that will throw us completely off balance.  We must always seek Jesus and his will for our lives.  But, like John, we must never assume we know, and can control, Jesus.  (17:30)
     I don’t know where you are in your spiritual journey.  I hope in the next few weeks and months to hear the stories of how God is working in your life. What I do know is that the only way you will be fulfilled and satisfied is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  And so I believe that the invitation that he gave to those first disciples is the same one  he gives to you and me – “Come and see.”  Let us together spend time with Jesus and  follow him, for he alone can and will satisfy your life.

Matthew 14:13-21
10/5/14
by Doug Marshall

Thought for Meditation:

    “Send the crowds away so that they may go and buy food for themselves” (Mt. 14:15)…  I wish I could have seen the expression on the disciples’ faces when they heard the Master’s response. “They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat.”  
    I think it was a test – not to show them what they couldn’t do, but a test to demonstrate what they could do…  When Jesus saw the people, he saw an opportunity to love and affirm value.  When the disciples saw the people, they saw thousands of problems.    Max Lucado  “In the Eye of the Storm” p46-47.

    I want to look this morning at the second most important story in the gospels.  The crucifixion is obviously the most important story.  All four gospels have their version of the cross and the resurrection.  There is only one other story that is in all four of the gospels.  I read it a few moments ago – the feeding of the five thousand. 
 If you look at the passage right before ours, at the beginning of chapter 14, it sets the context.  Jesus has just learned some news that was both devastating and threatening.  John the Baptist, his cousin, his friend, his partner in ministry, had been killed, brutally murdered by Herod.
      Our passage tells us that when Jesus heard about John’s death he wanted to get away and spend some time alone.  We all have moments like that, times when we need some quiet, to reflect and pray, times to get ourselves back together.  Jesus got into a boat and crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Unfortunately, people found out where Jesus was going and followed him.  When he reached the other side, instead of finding a quiet area where he could be alone, there was a huge crowd.  I wonder if he was tempted to get back in the boat and go someplace else.  He didn’t do that.  He got out of the boat and spent all day with the people; listening their stories, healing those who were sick, loving each person with the love of God. 
     At the end of the day the disciples came to Jesus and told him to send everyone away.  “Jesus, there is a McDonald’s a couple of miles down the road, and an Eat’n Park right next door.  Tell everyone to go get something to eat.”  Jesus said that they should feed them right there.  The disciples complain that they only have 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  Jesus said, “That’s good enough.”  He took the five loaves and the two fish, and fed everyone.  
     Matthew tells us that there “were about five thousand men, beside women and children.” In other words, there could have been 10 – 15 thousand people there – fed with five loaves of bread and two fish!  This story is so familiar that we forget the shock of the miracle. Let me see if I can help us to get a glimpse of how amazing it really was.  
     It is my understanding that after worship today there is a reception.  I hope that all of you will come.  I’d like to get the chance to meet you.  I also heard that there were cookies.  I took upon myself to make sure that the cookies were good enough and that there were enough cookies for everyone.   (eat a cookie).  Don’t worry, I think there are still two or three cookies left.  That should be plenty for all of us.  After that we could have lunch together.  We have one loaf of bread and a cup of grape juice.  If Jesus could feed 10-15 thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish this loaf ought to be able to feed all of us! 
     Let me share with you one other idea from this passage that is often overlooked.  Matthew tells us that when the people sat down to eat Jesus took the loaves of bread, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to feed everyone.  When Matthew tells the story in the Upper Room of the first Lord’s Supper, he uses the same words.  Jesus took the bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples.  In other words, the story of the feeding of the 5000 points to the Lord’s Supper.  The feeding of the 5000 reminds us that Jesus is the one who gives us the food that nourishes us physically and spiritually.  
     Let me suggest that just as Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it away, he takes us, he blesses us, he breaks us, and gives us away.  (5:30)
 
     Let’s look at each of those.  First, Jesus blesses us.  The Greek word for bless literally means to speak well of, or to say something good about.  It means the same thing as to praise or to celebrate.  “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.”  The word bless is also used to talk about giving thanks.  Before a meal we bless the food.  We aren’t praising the food as much as we are praising or giving thanks to the one who gave us the food.  That’s what the word “bless” means in our passage.  Jesus gave thanks to God for the food.
     Henri Nouwen tells the story of a powerful experience of blessing.  Henri worked at a center for mentally handicapped adults.  One day he was getting ready to lead worship.  Janet, one of the members of the community, came up to him and said, “Henri, can you give me a blessing?”  Henri was a Roman Catholic priest, so he made the sign of the cross on her forehead.  Janet objected.  “That doesn’t work. I want a real blessing!”  Henri had no idea what she meant so he invited her into worship.  
     After he led the worship service Henri said to everyone, “Janet has asked for a special blessing.”  Janet immediately got up and walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.  Henri had on a long white robe, and as he put her arms around her she almost disappeared underneath the robe.  Henri said, “Janet, I want you to know that you are God’s beloved daughter.  You are precious in God’s eyes.  Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the people in your house, and all the good things you do show us what a beautiful human being you are.  I know you feel a little low these days and that there is some sadness in your heart, but I want you to remember who you are:  a very special person, deeply loved by God and all the people who are here with you.” When he finished Janet looked up at him and smiled.  He knew that Janet had heard and received God’s blessing. Henri went on to bless a number of people who were in the room.
     There is something in that story that is very touching.  I have a sense that all of us long to know that we are blessed.  Here is the good news; all of us are blessed.  We have material blessings beyond the imagination of most of the world.  We have more than we need of food, clothes, cars, homes, and all sorts of other things.  God has blessed us with families and friends, this church.  I count it a blessing to be here with you.  But above all we have the blessing of God that receives us with open arms.  God wraps His arms around us.  God holds us and says, “You are precious in my eyes.  You are my beloved child.”  Believe the good news that in Jesus Christ you are blessed!

     Jesus took the bread, blessed it and then he broke it.  This bread looks wonderful, but it won’t nourish us unless it is broken and eaten.  In the same way, there are times in our lives when we are broken.
     My first two churches were in Colorado.  We had 13 wonderful years there.  Then I took a call as the senior pastor at a church in Ohio.  After about a year and a half it was obvious that it wasn’t a good place for me. It is a long story, but I ended up resigning from that church before I had a new call.  I thought my ministry was over.  I was broken and scared.  Who would hire a pastor that was a failure?  It was one of the most difficult experiences in my life and I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.  However, I stand before you today and can tell you that God used that experience and transformed me, and I believe I became a much better pastor.  
     Sharon Church has gone through a difficult time.  I’ve heard bits and pieces of the story and I’m sure I’ll hear more as time goes on.  I imagine that in some ways this church feels broken.  Being broken is not fun.  However, I would remind you that being broken does not mean that God has rejected us or abandoned us.  Being broken doesn’t disqualify us from being used by God.  God uses our brokenness to share His love, to proclaim God’s faithfulness, and to reflect God’s glory.  
     Two conductors, maestros, were listening to a young soprano.  She gave a wonderful performance and the first maestro was praising her purity and the clarity of her voice.  The second maestro agreed.  “Yes, she is very good, but she will be even better when her heart has been broken.”
     No one likes to be broken, and certainly we don’t need to seek it out.  However, when it comes, whether it is the death of a loved one, a divorce, an illness that tears at our bodies, a conflict at work, or whatever, we are called to cling to God.  We are called to trust that God is at work and will use our brokenness to share God’s love and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.  (13:00)

    Jesus took bread.  He blessed it, he broke it, and he gave it to the disciples and they gave it to others.  God has blessed us and God will break us so that we can be given to others.  If the disciples had kept the bread for themselves the people who were there would have been hungry.  For the bread to do what it was meant to do, to be what it was meant to be, it had to be given away.  For us to do what God wants and to be what God wants us to be we must give what we have received.
     We live in a world that tells us that joy is found in getting. We are fulfilled through the things we accumulate and through the accomplishments of our lives.  God’s message is that true joy comes not from getting, but from giving ourselves to others.  Joy is found through giving.  (14:30)
     Giving certainly includes giving of our money.  I haven’t been here long enough to know how the finances are doing here at the church, or what the plans are for stewardship.  But giving money is something we need to think about more often than just during a stewardship campaign and budget planning.  We are also called to give of our time and our talents.  All week, as I’ve been settling into the office, it has been wonderful seeing all the people who have come in to help at the church.  Everyone has gifts and talent that God calls us to use in a variety of ways; from singing in the choir to visiting people who are sick, to helping in the office.
     Let me suggest, however, that the greatest gift you can give is yourself.  Give your love, your joy, your faith, your friendship.  Give a smile to someone.  A smile can make a big difference in someone’s day.  I don’t know if we have any visitors here today, but if you see someone here who is a visitor give yourself to that person. Welcome him or her and invite them down to the fellowship time.  Most of us have probably know John 3:16.  “God so loved the world that he gave.”  My friends, give yourself to the God who gave himself to you.
     Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and give it away.  God takes us and blesses us.  God will break us.  And God wants to give us away, so that the world may know the love of Jesus Christ.