Garden Grove Church of the Nazarene
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Angels…they are a natural a part of our thinking as believers.
Pastor Jim decided to take us into the “classroom” for a little while this week and perhaps answer some of those questions.
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Our topic this for this sermon may seem a bit out of theme, but it really isn’t. Why? Because it seems that much of our struggle with faith comes directly from not having an adequate perspective about the “other side” of eternal life. As Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 13:12:
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing Him directly just as He knows us! (1 Corinthians 13:12 TM)
Most of us have been mad at God at one point or another. Something went wrong. Prayers seemed to go unanswered. You became convinced that God didn’t really care, or even notice that His children were hurting, badly. We’re trying to see God’s side, but we just can’t. We want to believe that God loves us. We want to believe that God cares. But it’s hard to see. And it’s so easy to turn on our faith and assume that God has failed us.
Here’s the question… Would it help just a little if God would choose to give us just a little glimpse… just a little peak on the other side of the curtain?
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Scars tell stories don’t they? I would guess that most everyone here has one or more scars they could point to that would tell us a story about you. And down through history, the center focus – the powerful symbol of the forgiveness and the healing of our hearts that God offers through His Son – has been the nail scarred hands and feet and the wound in his side.
Heaven Is For Real! is a simple, yet profound, story written by Todd Burpo, a pastor in the Wesleyan Church, about his son, Colton, who, at the age of three, experienced a near death trauma (that I will let you read about for yourself).
The story that began to emerge for Colton’s parents in the months following that experience is the beautiful and extraordinary story of this little boy’s trip to heaven and back.
Off and on through the next several weeks I will be using little pieces of Colton’s story to focus our attention on the Christ who we love and serve, and on heaven, the place that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him.
19That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
22After he had said this, he breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, who was called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord.” Thomas told them, “I refuse to believe this unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my fingers into them, and put my hand into his side.”
26A week later Jesus’ disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe.”
28Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you’ve seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me but believe.” (John 20:19-29 GW)
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One of the most intriguing and enlightening passages of the gospels is found only in the Gospel of Luke. It is a brief interaction between Jesus and a condemned criminal.
As we reflect on the setting there on that execution hill, we see an amazing picture, a symbol – so to speak – that represents all of mankind and our response to the passionate love that Christ has for all of us.
Two men, both condemned to die, knowing for certain now that they were out of options in this life. There would be no reprieve. There would be no one to help them, or save their lives. They both seemed to know who Jesus was, and they both came to that critical moment of departure from this life with an attitude about him that would secure their eternal future!
At the end of the sermon, enjoy this video with a beautiful meditation on the words of the Thief:
Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.
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On Easter Sunday at GGNaz, we had a special celebration service with music from our choir, our kids and our worship team. Pastor Jim spent a few minutes in this brief sermon proclaiming the truth and power of the resurrection.
Down through the centuries, some have claimed that Jesus’ death on the cross was nothing more than a criminal’s execution… mistaken perhaps… but then innocent people have been executed before. For some, this is nothing more than a tiny blip on the screen of history to be ignored or perhaps to be studied along with other ancient stories that may or may not be true.
Our purpose on Easter Sunday morning is not to examine the pros and cons of these arguments and claims, or to defend the claims of the Christian faith by logical argument. Rather, we’re reminded that no one has ever been able to effectively discount in any way the truth and validity of these two essential truths of the Christian faith.
1. Jesus died for the sins of the world!
2. Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive forever more!
Where is the proof?
The proof is to be found, very simply, in the transformed lives of millions of people down through the centuries… people who have not argued or debated the pros and cons of the Christian faith, but people who have simply testified in their own personal way to the saving grace and redemptive love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for their sins and who conquered death on that first Easter morning so they could experience eternal life… life that begins at the point of belief.
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On Palm Sunday morning we continued our contemplation of the Stations of the Cross. Station number four is entitled simply, “Jesus Speaks to the Women.” The record of these words of Jesus as he journeyed the Way of Sorrow to Golgotha are found in Luke 23 beginning with verse 27. Pastor Jim takes this passage a verse or two at a time to help provide understanding and context to these verses that seem rather strange coming from the mouth of God’s Son.
Jesus’ words may sound sarcastic or even mean, but it was nothing of the sort. He was rather redirecting their attention to a more serious issue. When we give ourselves to things that mean little while ignoring matters of eternal significance, we grieve God, just as Jesus grieved earlier in the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday.
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See more of the beautiful hand-cut, marble mosaics like the Stations of the Cross mosaics at:
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A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)
(Mark 15:21 NLT)
In our continuing examination of the Stations of the Cross, Pastor Jim asks the question,
How did Mark know that a pilgrim from North Africa named Simon had two sons, Alexander and Rufus?
As we reflect on a letter to the Romans written many years later, it becomes quite possible that this brief mention contains the story of a man who unwittingly became a living example of service for all of us. He wasn’t asking to have his life interrupted by this gruesome task, but this first act of service seemed to have led to a lifestyle that influenced his wife, sons and some of the most notable leaders of the early church.
‘If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me.’ (Mark 8:34 CEV)
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See more of the beautiful hand-cut, marble mosaics like the Stations of the Cross mosaics at:
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Just after Jesus’ was was sentenced to death, Pilate ordered that Jesus would be flogged and prepared for crucifixion. The second station of the cross is the moment that Jesus accepts his cross:
Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
They spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they gook off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. (Matthew 27:27-31)
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull. (John 19:17)
As we read these passages, we know that the dreadful routine of execution had now begun. What’s going on here? Why did the Gospel writers choose to write such vivid and stomach turning detail? Perhaps it’s because they didn’t want anyone to miss the profound nature of Christ’s sacrifice for us. So we must discipline ourselves to not allow our eyes to glaze over and our ears to be muffled when we hear about Jesus being sacrificed for our sins.
Let’s not allow our minds to minimize the extent of the suffering that Jesus endured in order to express the full extent of his love, both for His Father, and for all people who have ever lived… including you and me.
If there was ever a time of testing in the brief life and ministry of Jesus, it was now.
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See more of the beautiful hand-cut, marble mosaics like the Stations of the Cross mosaics at:
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It’s only five weeks away from Easter. During these weeks leading up to Easter, Pastor Jim focuses on the significance of some of the specific events during the hours of the passion of Christ just prior to his crucifixion using the eight-fold “Stations of the Cross” as a guide.
“Throughout history, “The Stations of the Cross” has referred to the religious practice of using various events in the final hours of Jesus’ life as a structure for prayer and meditation. These events encompass Jesus’ journey carrying his cross from the Hall of Pilate where he was condemned to death, to the site of his execution on Golgotha.
“For many centuries, as part of their acts of devotion, early Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem have retraced the route of Jesus as he carried his cross to his death. By the sixteenth century, the route this pilgrimage took through Jerusalem came to be called the Via Dolorosa, “The Way of Sorrow.” Along the Way, certain points on the journey (stations) were associated with specific events recounted in the Gospel accounts.
“The Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross are still a popular pilgrimage destination in Jerusalem. Each year during Lent and especially on Good Friday, thousands of Christians retrace the route of Jesus through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, many carrying small or large wooden crosses.”
(Dennis Bratcher, The Cross as a Journey)
This Sunday, we’ll focus on the moment that marked the beginning of the end, the “kangaroo court” that led to Jesus’ condemnation and death. To bring this part of the story to a place where all of us are confronted with its meaning, it’s important to think of this as a drama and identify with the players: Jesus, Pilate, his wife and the crowd. Then we must ask the question, “Who is Christ to you?”
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See more of the beautiful hand-cut, marble mosaics like the Stations of the Cross mosaics at:
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There are countless causes, groups…
…who are ready & willing to TELL US who we are!
The quest to answer the question: “Who am I” “…is a continuing, never-ending, life-long struggle, all the way from the womb to the tomb.” (from Passages by Dr. Gail Sheehy)
The wonderful and mysterious occurrence in the act of Christian baptism is that in that moment we publicly embrace and identify with a gift that is given to us. The Christian message is not that we should try hard to “act like somebody”. The Christian message is simply that “we are somebody!”
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