May 19, 2025 • 44 mins
Mary Magdalene's simple yet powerful testimony, "I have seen the Lord," forms the foundation of Christian witness throughout history. Like a neighbor pointing out crocuses blooming beneath Chicago snow, Mary shows us where to look for hope when our circumstances feel frozen in grief. Her commission as the first resurrection witness reminds us that each of us carries a similar calling—to recognize and proclaim where we've seen the risen Christ in our world.
The disciples' experience of Jesus appearing behind locked doors speaks directly to our tendency to isolate ourselves when afraid. No barrier—physical, emotional, or spiritual—can prevent Jesus from reaching those he loves. His greeting, "Peace be with you," acknowledges their fear while creating space for courage to flourish alongside it. This peace doesn't require the absence of fear but rather provides strength to move forward despite it.
Thomas's honest doubt offers perhaps the most encouraging message for contemporary believers. Rather than condemning his need for tangible proof, Jesus meets Thomas exactly where he is, offering precisely what he requested. Without recording whether Thomas actually touched the wounds, Scripture simply captures his profound confession: "My Lord and my God!" Throughout the resurrection narratives, we see Jesus meeting different people's needs—Mary needs to hear, the disciples need to see, Thomas needs to touch, and later, some need to taste breakfast on the beach. Whatever witness we require, Jesus graciously provides it.
The breath of the Holy Spirit transforms these frightened followers into agents of forgiveness and reconciliation. In the same way, we're invited to participate in resurrection life by practicing the presence of peace—inhaling God's peace and exhaling love to a world desperate for both. When we forgive others, we declare the fundamental truth of the gospel: nothing separates them from God's love.
As resurrection people, our lives should overflow with generosity, wonder, and praise. We're invited to look for Christ in unexpected places, to change our thinking when necessary, and to participate in God's kingdom that's already present among us. The life Jesus offers isn't reserved for some distant future but begins now as we align our thoughts with his and become agents of his reconciling love.
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In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala Florida
.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning everybody.
Welcome to First Love Church inperson.
Give yourselves one clap.
If you're here in person, goodjob.
If you're here online, thankyou for being here online.
Share it with one friend.
Good job, well done.
Glad you guys are here.
On Eastertide we see Eastertide,okay, everyone remembers when
(00:33):
my mom talked about this lastyear, right, good, okay, we're
all up to speed.
I don't need to go over it.
No, I'm kidding.
So here's something veryfascinating about Eastertide.
Right, you have Lent rightbefore.
Okay, that's 40 days.
Eastertide is 50 days.
(00:53):
Okay, isn't that wonderful thatwe spend more time in hope and
in love and in resurrection thanwe do in the grief Agreed?
I have a recent example ofgrief in my life right now.
On Friday I got some not greatnews about something that I was
really hopeful for, and it'sreally hard to hold on to hope
and grief at the same time.
It's important not to diminishgrief.
(01:15):
It's important not to stuffdown grief.
It's important not to throwgrief in the trash, because
sometimes you have to grieveAgreed.
But trying to hold on to griefand hope at the same time is
like trying to hold on to twooversized beach balls.
It's just not possible to holdon to both at the same time.
So what do you do when youcan't process these emotions to
(01:37):
the best of your abilities?
You can pass it over to someonewho is willing to work with you
, in that we have a benevolentand wonderful Savior who does
want to hold on to these thingswith us.
Amen.
Would you guys like to read?
Speaker 1 (01:50):
with me this morning.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Is there a reading?
Oh, we read already.
All right, we're done reading,okay, no, we're not done reading
.
We all know my mom.
She's going to make us readsomewhere and that's okay.
It's just something that'sgoing to happen.
Is it turn to come up or issomebody else coming up?
Oh, my mom loves applause.
Do you want to give herapplause?
Okay, she hates it, but I likedoing that to her because it's
(02:14):
fun.
But I'm very thankful for mymom, just like I'm sure all of
you guys are, and I'm verygrateful for her ability to
communicate, and I would inviteeveryone to open your hearts up
to the different things thatshe's going to share with us
this morning.
Some of you may have heard thisbefore, some of this might be
new to you, but I invite you toreally take a look at the things
that my mom has prepared for us.
(02:35):
Amen, amen, amen.
So be it.
Goodbye.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So grateful for everyone who is present with us
this morning in person.
For those of you online, thankyou For Amy, who brought us a
witness, a creation witness.
I want to remind you that thereare witnesses of the
resurrection and even if someonedidn't perfectly say to you he
is risen, he is risen indeed.
(03:02):
I want to remind you that oneof the best ways that we can
proclaim as witnesses to theresurrection is I have seen the
Lord and all of us have awitness.
Sometimes we just have tofigure out how or what that
looks like.
Somebody said to me recently Iwish that I had lived in the
time of Jesus because there weremiracles, and I would like to
(03:24):
see miracles Beloved.
There are miracles all aroundus every day.
Maybe your eyes just need to behealed so that you can see that
, or maybe you need someone elseto show you where to look for
the miracles and what the hopeis.
I grew up the first 21 years ofmy life in the city of Chicago,
(03:44):
and that means that there were21 horrible, wicked, terrible
winters, where I love snow and Ilike cold, but once it's 17
degrees below zero, you begin tohave some ideas that maybe you
shouldn't be there and so youform thoughts and ways.
And on the way to school onemorning I was freezing and it
was little and I was walkingbetween our house and it was
(04:06):
after Easter and it had snowed,and it had snowed a lot and it
was freezing.
And I must have had a look onmy little face as I walked
between our house and we hadneighbors to the left of us, the
Rows, and they were East Indianand I have never seen anyone
garden in more finery than ourneighbor, mrs Rao.
(04:28):
She had beautiful caramel skinand she would wear a sari every
day and she would be out thereelbows in the dirt in her sari
in gardening.
But one particular day I wasfreezing on the way to school
and I was walking in between ourhouses and she looked at me and
she called from the step andshe said neighbor, come here.
(04:48):
And so I walked over freezingcovered into snow, and she said,
look there, right next to thedryer vent of our house, it had
melted snow and there was a pileof crocuses and it was such a
hope, beautiful crocuses, theseperfect little flowers in the
midst of the bitter and the cold.
(05:10):
And I was thinking sometimes wehave to be like Mrs Rau who
says to us neighbor, come lookright here, spring is coming.
This will not always feel thisway and this is the resurrection
hope for us.
This is what Mary did when shesaid I have seen the Lord In the
past month.
(05:30):
I received a phone call from oneof the beloved brothers in our
church.
I knew that because when Ilooked at it I saw his name in
my context and when I picked upthe phone he said I'm in
terrible trouble and I need yourhelp.
Now, when somebody starts theconversation like that, there's
some adrenaline, some anxiety.
And this is not just somebody,this is somebody who could have
(05:52):
been in terrible trouble.
I mean, we could imagine thetrouble that this person could
have been in.
And he said I'm in terribletrouble and I need your help.
And at first I thought I maynot be the one to call.
But then I didn't say that andI said how can I help?
And he said I need another wayto see this, I need a different
(06:13):
way to think.
And I was so excited.
I was like beloved, this isresurrection, this is how
transformation comes, this ishow everything changes when you
think one way over and overagain, and then you say to
someone else, to the Holy Spirit, to God, to nature, to your
brothers and sisters, I needanother way to think.
He listened to the words that Isaid and he said I don't think
(06:37):
I can do that.
And I said fair.
And I said, but can you donothing right now until you can?
And he said absolutely, andsometimes, beloved, that's
enough.
The Holy Spirit meets you inthe pause.
The Holy Spirit meets you inthe difference.
(06:57):
And so today, as we are in thesecond Sunday of Easter, I am so
overjoyed to share these textswith you, as I am with every
we're in.
I mean, I'm excited aboutAdvent, I'm excited about Lent,
but, beloved, we are aresurrection people, and this
only only is eclipsed by thefact that there's gonna be
Pentecost coming.
The Holy Spirit's coming.
So it is this beautifulbuilding for us of all of the
(07:19):
goodness of God, and so I'mgrateful that you're here with
me this morning.
I'm grateful for the HolySpirit among us who will, by the
activation of God's own power,give us revelation and
understanding, and may we seethings even as we never saw them
before.
I do want to talk aboutsomething that's coming up and
(07:40):
that is on the 23rd of May,we're going to have a hymn sing
together.
And while we're talking aboutresurrection beloved, sometimes
that's all you need for aresurrection in your spirit is
to spend an hour or two singingthe hymns with people.
And so we're going to meet hereat the church and we're going
to sing the hymns, and Iwouldn't want you to miss out on
that.
So bring a friend, bring aneighbor, bring an enemy, bring
(08:00):
whoever you want, but sit withus, sing hymns.
We read a psalm this morningthat said God will deliver us
from our enemies, and sometimeswe have really strange ideas
about what that's going to looklike.
We sometimes feel like thatmeans that God will, you know,
make them leave or change them,and really the invitation is has
(08:21):
always been that our beautifulbrothers and sisters become our
family.
That God says to us he'spreparing a table for all of us
in the presence of enemies.
Enemies become brothers andsisters at the table, and so
there is such a hope for that.
So I ask you to join us in thehymns.
(08:43):
But I am reading this morningand Thomas mentioned that I do
like to read, I do like tolisten to the witness of
scripture.
In particular, I love thestories of Jesus.
I love how there is a witnessto us that says what is it like
for us to see the living word.
Jesus is the word made flesh,and every written word that we
have bows to the living word.
(09:04):
Mary Magdalene, who had been atthe tomb the whole time, she
never left Jesus.
Please look at your scripturesand remind that and find that
there.
She stood with him at the cross.
She went with him after hisdeath and watched over his body
and she was there with anintention to bless, to anoint.
(09:25):
And when she heard and this waslast week's message she heard
Jesus call her by name.
She recognized him and Jesussaid to her I want you to go and
I want you to tell the othersthat you have seen me.
The first person commissionedthe apostle to the apostles, the
(09:47):
first person commissioned topreach the resurrection, was
Mary.
So she goes and she tells.
So here we are in verse 18.
Mary Magdalene found thedisciples.
I do want to tell you that theywere back up in the room that
they were with when Jesus hadthe dinner Thursday night.
Jesus takes them back to theplace of.
(10:08):
This is the table.
He returns to the table.
They had gone there and Maryfound them and said I have seen
the Lord.
And then she gave them hismessage.
Maybe you need someone to showyou where the crocuses are
starting to bloom.
Maybe you need someone toremind you that it will not
always be this way.
Beloved, we have seen the Lord.
(10:33):
The Sunday evening, thedisciples were meeting behind
locked doors because they wereafraid of the Jewish leaders,
because they were afraid of thereligion that had joined
together with empire, andsuddenly, suddenly, jesus was
standing there among them.
Peace be with you.
Mary says I have seen the Lord.
(10:55):
And they're like yeah, okay,you know, this was by this time
the same day she had alreadytold them this the disciples had
gone to the tomb.
They also saw, saw the emptytomb, but they don't know what
to make of it.
But Mary says this I have seenthe Lord.
And then Jesus shows up and Iwant to tell you something about
the Jesus post-resurrection.
(11:15):
Maybe you haven't noticed it,maybe you have, but Jesus
post-resurrection is unruly.
I mean, jesus shows up inplaces that we do not expect him
, like behind locked doors.
Jesus shows up places that wedidn't think he'd be, like on a
beach preparing breakfast for us, like.
There's Jesus who defies thenorm, and I want to invite you
(11:38):
in the next few weeks to lookfor the presence of Jesus in
places maybe you forgot to look,or in the beautiful places that
you've called yourself to, inseclusion or in your pain.
I love here that the disciplesare behind locked doors.
It reminds me of Adam and Evein the garden.
(12:00):
Here we are.
John is always retelling theGenesis story.
Here are our beloved brothersbehind wooden doors.
We've taken those trees and wefashioned them into doors and
we've locked ourselves behindthem.
This is the human way we hideourselves when we are afraid.
Jesus shows up and Jesus speakspeace.
(12:22):
I remind you that peace doesnot mean that there is an
absence of fear.
They still had fear, but therecould be peace there.
It is not an absence of grief.
They don't even know what tothink right now as Jesus shows
up them, and I imagine that hisvery presence caused anxiety.
(12:42):
His very presence there, as hesays peace, upset them and so we
are in good company thismorning, beloved.
And as he spoke, he showed themthe wounds in his hands and his
side, and they were filled withjoy when they saw the Lord.
And again he said to them Peacebe with you, as the Father has
(13:07):
sent me, so I am sending you.
And then he breathed on themand said Receive the Holy Spirit
.
This is what the peace ofChrist ushers to us.
Again, this is the Genesisstory and Adam and Eve.
In the beginning, when thestory is told in the first book
(13:28):
of the First Testament, godfashions humans and then God
breathes into them and givesthem a living soul.
Jesus is doing the same thinghere.
He's rebirthing us, he'sremaking humanity, and Jesus
breathes on them and saysreceive the Holy Spirit.
(13:50):
One of the practices that we doduring the time of Eastertide is
we practice the presence ofpeace.
When we feel ourselves inanxiety, when we feel ourselves
in unsurety, we look for peaceand very often it happens
through our own breath.
There's a beautiful breathprayer that goes with this, and
(14:13):
it is I inhale peace and Iexhale love.
How are we able to exhale lovewhen what we have experienced is
anxiety or grief or terror?
Because of the Holy Spiritbeloved.
The power to transmute, thepower to turn.
(14:36):
This is the power of Christ.
What was given in anger, whatwas given in violence, can be
turned into forgiveness.
This is the power of the HolySpirit.
Jesus breathes on them and saysreceive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive anyone's sins,they are forgiven.
If you do not forgive them,they are not forgiven.
(14:59):
Jesus speaks peace and thengoes right into forgiveness.
This is our job as believers.
This is our job as people whohave seen the Christ forgiveness
of sins.
I read this in manytranslations and there was one
particular one that I loved justthe last part of it.
It says if you forgive anyone'ssins, they are forgiven.
(15:20):
We've got that.
And it says if you do notforgive anyone their sins, what
are you going to do with them?
Anyone their sins, what are yougonna do with them?
I thought what a beautiful wayto think about that.
What am I gonna do with thesesins?
Give them to the Christ, whoforgives them.
Give them to God.
This is how the kingdom comes.
That we are people who haveseen the Lord and we are people
(15:40):
who practice forgiveness.
That we forgive each other.
That we are people who prayforgiveness.
That we forgive each other.
That we are people who prayforgiveness, but that we are
people who bless each other andthe world with the power of
forgiveness.
To forgive someone's sins is toremind them there is nothing
that separates you from God.
You are a beloved child of God.
You are made in the image ofGod.
(16:02):
There is nothing that separatesyou from the love of God.
It was the Apostle Paul whosaid this is what I hope for
everyone that you would come toknow how wide and how high and
how deep and how huge and hownever-ending the love of God is.
That there is nothing on heavenabove, or on the earth beneath
(16:23):
or in even under the earth, thatcould separate you from the
love of God.
This is resurrection promise.
You are one.
There is no separation with youand God, and this is the power
of forgiveness.
Jesus prayed this in John'sGospel, chapter 17.
Father, make them one.
Oneness with God is where thepeace is.
(16:47):
Oneness with God is rememberingthat we are never alone, that
the power of God among us is thepresence of peace and is our
job.
Jesus commissioned us and saidforgive.
This is how you stay in peace.
You choose to forgive, youchoose to remember.
(17:09):
I am one with that personbecause Jesus made us one with
them, and that God is workingall things together.
One of the 12 disciples, thomas,nicknamed the twin, was not
with the others when Jesus came.
You could go on a little rantabout why it's good to be with
other believers, even if you'retogether behind locked doors,
(17:30):
because sometimes the presenceof the resurrected Christ shows
up.
I don't know why Thomas wasn'tthere.
Maybe he was doing somethingreally important, maybe he was
taking care of someone, or maybehe was taking care of himself,
but he was absent and he did notget what everyone else got.
Everyone else saw the wounds,everyone else touched, everyone
(17:51):
else heard the story told tothem by Christ and they were
breathed on and were given theHoly Spirit.
And Thomas was not there.
So they told him we have seenthe Lord Again.
Told him we have seen the LordAgain.
Mary says I have seen the Lord.
Now everybody else says we haveseen the Lord.
And this is the practice ofresurrection declaring where it
(18:15):
is that you have seen themiracle.
Where is it that the crocus isblooming underneath the snow?
Where is it that you can havehope for everyone?
But he replied, replied I willnot believe it until I see the
nail wounds in his hands and putmy fingers into them and place
my hand into the wound in hisside.
I love this about Thomas,because Thomas goes.
(18:40):
You can't cheer me up.
I'm not going to get past whatjust happened to someone that I
loved.
I will not just leap over thisgrief.
This is real and he honored it.
And he said until there issomething else, I'm not just
going to get over this.
There's an invitation to notget over but, by the power of
(19:02):
the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins.
Eight days later, the discipleswere together again, and this
time Thomas was with them.
That's a good news for all ofus.
When we have not been with, wegather together again, and the
doors were locked, but suddenly,as before, jesus was standing
among them.
Peace, be with you.
(19:23):
He said, standing among them.
Peace, be with you.
He said.
I love that he says peace, bewith you.
And keeps walking through walls, because that's a way to
frighten me, that is a way toknow.
I know you locked the door.
Did you lock the door?
Yes, we've locked the door.
The door is locked, no one elseis coming in.
Excellent, we're all here.
And then Jesus is there sayingpeace, and that's a way to panic
me, that's a way to panic thesepeople.
And Jesus is saying I want youto see that there is something
(19:46):
greater than Peace.
Be with you.
And then he says to Thomas putyour finger here and look at my
hands.
Put your hand in the wound inmy side.
Do not be faithless any longer.
Believe, trust.
Look at this.
(20:10):
The text does not tell us thatThomas touches.
The text doesn't tell us thatThomas did anything except erupt
into praise my Lord and my God.
Thomas explained my Lord and myGod.
He recognizes the oneness ofJesus with the Father.
(20:30):
He recognizes the oneness.
And Easter is a beautiful timefor us to doubt.
Easter is a beautiful time forus to question.
In fact, so many times here wesee what God is doing for us.
In fact, I was counting andMary needs to hear the words of
Jesus, to recognize him.
(20:50):
He says Mary, and then sherecognized him.
They've had a conversationbefore and she didn't recognize
him.
And very often beloved Christis there with us and we do not
recognize him.
But Mary needed to hear it.
And then people, otherdisciples, needed to see it, not
only the empty tomb, we neededto see it.
So we've heard it and we'veseen it and we've felt it.
(21:10):
And Jesus is offering that.
And so in our doubt and in ourplaces of questions, do not be
frustrated with your need foranother witness.
We've heard it, we've felt it,we've seen it.
And a little bit later, later,jesus comes and makes breakfast
(21:31):
for his friends on the beach andthey taste it and they
recognize.
So, wherever you are, whateverit is you need, I hope that you
see a Jesus who will come andwill show up for you and show
you his hands, show you his feet, cook you breakfast.
Whatever it is, you need to seethis, one of my favorite
(21:52):
beautiful parts of this.
It's coming in the next fewweeks, so read it, but I would
encourage you, don't miss.
It is on the road to Emmaus.
Beautiful disciples are thereand Jesus shows up and he spends
hours with them and they don'trecognize him.
And they're talking with himand they don't recognize him in
the communion.
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today.
(22:13):
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
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This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
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If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
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(22:36):
subscribe.
It's such a hopeful story forall of us that we would see him
in the bread and the wine.
But really, why they don'trecognize him is because they
have a religious thought thatwas given to them by their
religion and it contradictseverything that they knew.
They believed Jesus to be a newway and they were followers,
(22:59):
but when he ended up beingcrucified, it horrified them,
because what they knew was thisthat there is a prophecy that
said cursed is anyone who hungon a tree.
So in their minds they couldnot make sense of what had
happened.
How did we see him do all thesemiracles?
How did we hear him teach withauthority?
(23:21):
Yet what we've been told isthat is a cursed one.
Jesus begins to enlighten usand change the way that we see
things, and this is the hope forresurrection.
This is a resurrection promisethat we would allow god to
expand our mind, that we wouldallow the holy spirit that, by
forgiving other people's sins,that it would remind us and
(23:43):
expand our capacity to live inthe Spirit.
Then Jesus told him youbelieved because you've seen me,
and blessed are those whobelieve without seeing me.
And the disciples saw Jesus domany other miraculous signs in
addition to the ones recorded inthis book.
(24:04):
I want to hang out here for aminute.
The disciples saw Jesus do manyother signs, many other
miracles in addition to theseones.
There were many other wordsthat were spoken in addition to
these ones.
In fact, it is John who says ifall the words that Jesus spoke
(24:25):
were written down, the worldcould not contain the amount of
goodness and the amount of thetruth that was spoken to them.
So I remind you that we are notlimited to just the words that
we have read here, but that weare invited to be people who are
led by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who continuesto speak to us, to give us hope,
(24:48):
and, while we recognize thesacred witness of scripture
beloved, the Holy Spirit is withus in all things, will speak to
us, will give us information,will give us hope, will change
the way that we do things.
And we, as believers in Jesus,we as people who are people of
(25:08):
resurrection, we can attune ourhearts to the frequency of what
the Spirit is telling us.
We can learn these things infollowing the way of Jesus.
We can open ourselves up to theHoly Spirit so that we can
ascend.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would allow God to give
(25:29):
us a higher thought.
This is what Jesus said when hesaid this is the way that you
would change the way that youthink, that you would live a
life of repentance, a life ofchanging your thought, that you
would live a life of repentance,a life of changing your thought
.
God said through the prophetsof old my thoughts are not your
thoughts and my ways are notyour ways.
(25:51):
They are so much higher and theinvitation of the Holy Spirit
is come and allow God to changeyour thought.
When our beautiful brothercalled me and said I'm in
trouble, I need to change yourthought.
When our beautiful brothercalled me and said I'm in
trouble, I need to change my wayof thinking.
Beloved, that's resurrectionpower right now.
That's the miracle of allowingthe Holy Spirit to change the
(26:14):
way that we think.
The disciples saw Jesus do manyother miraculous signs in
addition to the ones recorded inthis book, but these are
written so that you may continueto believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, andthat by believing in him, you
(26:35):
will have life in the power ofhis name.
Beloved, this has always beenthe hope that you would have the
life that Jesus came to give us.
When Jesus announces hisministry, he goes into the
temple and he takes the scrolland he looks for a specific
(26:55):
portion of scripture.
I remind you that scrollsdidn't have like we have in our
text.
We can go to 1113.
It was a scroll.
Very often it was handed to you.
You were going to read it.
There was no particular rhymeor reason.
But Jesus looks for somethingand he tells the people.
He begins to read this portionof the prophecy of Isaiah.
(27:18):
When people heard Jesus talk,often their response was this is
startling, because we've heardthis before, but now we're
hearing it from one who speakswith authority.
Now we are understanding this.
But Jesus shows up and he's inthe temple and he reads from the
prophet Isaiah.
And he said the spirit of theLord is upon me, for I have been
(27:42):
anointed to preach good news tothe poor, to heal the
brokenhearted and to set atliberty those who are oppressed.
And Jesus begins to say this iswhat it is.
In one of the gospels Jesus isrecorded as saying I am the way,
(28:04):
I am the truth, I am the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
Jesus is the way to real living, and the invitation for all of
us is to say what would it belike for me to hear the word
spoken saying I have come, thatyou would have life and have it
to the full.
This is what Jesus offers allof us real life.
(28:28):
I was thinking about being youngand about aging.
I don't know if anybody elsehas this ever that they think
about, but sometimes I do,particularly when I stand up and
my bones make noises that I didnot ask them to make.
I thought the other day itsounded like mousetraps were
going off when I was standing up, like, oh, listen to that.
But I was contemplating in thetime of prayer and thinking
(28:52):
about what it's like to be young, and one of the things that I,
when I look back, I love aboutbeing young is I don't think you
savor very much.
I think you feel like you haveso much time and you have so
much everything that you justenjoy it and you don't even care
about certain things.
I mean like you don't try tosavor.
(29:12):
It feels to me like I'm suckingthe marrow out of every day.
I'm like, where's the goodness,where's the testimony?
I see the flowers and I'm like,oh, look at God and and I'm
hoping for all these things andI'm and I'm looking for for life
everywhere.
I want the witness of eternallife, I want the witness of love
.
I'm looking for it, I'mscrounging for it, but I feel
(29:32):
like I'm sucking the bones formarrow, and I think that's the
beauty of aging to go.
The marrow is where the goodstuff is, that's where the life
is, and so sometimes there'sthis beauty of aging to go.
The marrow is where the goodstuff is, that's where the life
is.
And so sometimes there's thisbeauty and I no way am saying
that I want to be young againbut to be able to say what is it
like to enjoy every day?
In fact, one of the greatest,most wise people that have ever
(29:56):
lived, solomon, writeseverything is vanity.
I mean, it's all going to blowup.
It's just grass, it's going tofade.
So don't worry about thosethings.
Jesus said this to us seekfirst the kingdom of God, and
all of these things will beadded unto you.
Jesus also tells us, if we'reworried, we should go outside
(30:21):
and look at flowers.
I didn't know if you knew this,but that is the word of Jesus.
Are you worried about somethingoutside?
Consider the lilies of thefield.
I have a friend who just thisyear wrote a beautiful prayer
and it said Jesus, I went andlooked in the flowers and it
didn't help, and sometimes thatis the truth for us.
But it is the practice of goingoutside to the flowers and
(30:44):
reminding ourselves.
It may look dry now, but thereis a time of resurrection coming
.
It may look hopeless now.
I may feel grieved and deeplysaddened now, but there is
another day, there is aneternity, and now Jesus said to
us this is the kingdom now.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would live, that we
(31:05):
would live in Christ.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would live in the
presence, that we would live inthe consciousness of Jesus.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would think the way that
God thinks.
The apostle Paul said this maythis mind be in you, the same
mind that was in Christ Jesus.
(31:26):
What does it look like for youto go into a situation and to
really imagine what it would belike for Jesus to be in that
thought?
I'm thinking to myself.
Duane is agreeing with me and Ido want to tell you this.
I know him very well.
He is my friend.
We went to outreach together onSaturday.
Thank you for everyone who cameand who gave groceries with us
(31:50):
and who shared good news, andDwayne and I walked around and
we prayed with people and webrought joy.
Dwayne did.
Dwayne brought a lot of joy andthere is a hope for us in
hearing the beauty of the criesof a baby that says I am not
getting what I want or what Ineed, and the witness is that
there is attentive people whowill make sure that he gets what
(32:11):
he needs.
That is true for us.
The same way with the Spirit ofGod.
The things that you have needof the Spirit is offering us,
and the kingdom is not in somefaraway place.
The kingdom is right here.
In fact, jesus said you may notbe able to observe the kingdom
with your eyes, but the kingdomis within you.
It's so close, it's in yourmouth.
The kingdom of God is among us.
(32:33):
This is the hope ofresurrection.
Believe him.
This becomes difficult in ourparticular Believe him.
This becomes difficult in ourparticular world and our
particular worldview because insome ways, people have
diminished belief to a proof.
That is not believing.
Believing is a trust.
(32:54):
I do not know how this is goingto work out.
I do not know how this willchange.
I do not know what will come,but I believe that the goodness
of God is available and willpromise this to come to pass.
God is making all things new,beloved.
This is the good news of Jesus,and when we attune ourselves to
(33:18):
this, you will have life by thepower of his name.
There is for us a remembrance,there is for us a call to say
this is life, this is the powerof his name.
I remind you that this voice,this remembering I have seen the
(33:39):
Lord this paying attention tothe witness, this, every one of
us saying where can I forgivethe sins?
Where do I get to pronounce andbless?
In fact, the scripture gives usbeautiful invitation that every
time we come to the communiontable, we are announcing the
forgiveness of sins.
(33:59):
Jesus made this announcementand he said the same way the
Father sent me, I'm sending you.
Announce the forgiveness ofsins, reconcile everyone.
This is the goodness of JesusChrist.
This is written so that youwould continue to believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son ofGod, and that by believing in
him you will have life by thepower of his name.
(34:22):
It is this message ofresurrection that makes possible
the myriad, the diversity ofvoices that are around the
throne.
In the book of Revelation itsays that there are multitudes,
numbered so many that theycannot be counted, and they come
from every tribe, every nation,every tongue, that it looks
(34:45):
like this beautiful palette ofeverything.
This is what is around thethrone, and it says that they
begin to shout with full voice.
They are singing.
People sometimes ask me why doyou sing so loud?
Yeah, it's happened, I know.
But they ask me, why do yousing so loud?
Because sometimes that's thebest part of my day.
(35:08):
I want the loudest part of mylife to be praise, not
complaining, not demandingsomething change, but I want the
loudest part to be praise.
I also am practicing for thegreat communion of saints,
because the scripture alreadytells us what happens there,
that there is people from everytribe, every tongue, every
nation, so many that it cannotbe numbered.
(35:32):
So, even beyond what we canimagine, and what they say
together in one loud voiceworthy, is the lamb that was
slaughtered to receive power andwealth and wisdom and might and
honor and blessing, allblessing, all glory, all wisdom,
(35:53):
thanksgiving, honor and power.
Be unto our God forever andever.
And I want my voices among thatthrong.
You want your voice among thatthrong.
But this begins now when,together, we say I've seen the
Lord.
I have seen the miracles thatare happening when someone
(36:14):
changes their mind.
I have seen the Lord when a budcomes up out of the ground.
We have owls on our property.
We've had since we lived there,I think we moved onto their
property as if it were actuallytold, and they've had a few
owlets.
But there's one particular owland he is less afraid of us than
(36:39):
I think he ought to be, andmaybe because we were all there.
But he shows up in places thatI feel like are a little close
and I hear his parents beyondhim calling, and he's young and
beautiful.
But he reminds me of so much ofthe majesty of what God created
and I hope that you will seesomething in nature.
(37:01):
Perhaps it is your dog, perhapsit is something in nature,
perhaps it is your dog, perhapsit is the squirrels, perhaps it
is whatever, but that you willallow your pets, that you will
allow animals to prophesy to you, to testify to you of this
incredible hope.
We have seen the Lord, he isgood and he invites us all to
come to the table.
There is an invitation in ourpracticing, in our prayers, in
(37:25):
our breathing in peace and ourexhaling love.
There is for us an invitationinto holy communion.
It is, in fact, perhaps themost sacred thing that we will
do together this morning and injust a moment we will
participate in that.
So you set your heart towardthat.
Together, we'll come to thetable, but we are coming to the
(37:48):
table in faith.
We come invited to a holymystery.
We come and Jesus said this ashe's gathering with his friends.
I have longed, I am so excitedto eat this meal with you, this
invitation for all of us to waitfor the person in front of us,
(38:14):
An invitation to join withbrothers and sisters, an
invitation all of us invitedinto the table of the Lord.
And the invitation is radicalhospitality, not just here, that
we ourselves would practicehere, but that we would open our
homes and our lives, that wewould be people, agents of
forgiveness everywhere.
This is an invitation for us.
(38:34):
There is an invitation for usinto a deepening understanding
even of our giving, that we havea beautiful invitation to
follow the Lord, into giving,into radical giving, the way
that Mary did, opening her lifeand saying I recognize who God
is, and so I am a person whofollows that way and gives.
(38:55):
I'll read to you from 2Corinthians, chapter 9.
Remember this a farmer whoplants only a few seeds will get
a small crop, but the one whoplants generously will get a
generous crop.
You must each decide in yourheart how much to give, and
don't give reluctantly or inresponse to pressure, for God
(39:16):
loves a person who givescheerfully.
I remind you that God loves aperson who gives cheerfully.
I remind you that God loves aperson who gives not cheerfully
either, and God loves you.
If you are stingy and God lovesyou if you never give, you will
miss out on things, but thatdoes not change the love of God
for you.
This is an invitation into more, and then God will provide all
(39:39):
you need.
God will generously provide allyou need.
God will generously provide allyou need, and then you will
always have everything you needand plenty left over to share
with others.
As the scripture says, theyshare freely and give generously
to the poor.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever.
The kingdom of God.
(40:00):
The intention of God is alwaysto care for the poor, always.
Over 2,000 texts in our Bibletalks about caring for the poor.
This is what the kingdom lookslike.
That we would care for eachother.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever, for God is
(40:20):
the one who provides seed forthe farmer and bread to eat.
That we would care for eachother.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever, for God is
the one who provides seed forthe farmer and bread to eat.
It is the beautiful power ofresurrection, but of miracles
too.
A seed goes into the ground.
Someone put it there A farmerdid and it grows into wheat.
And someone took that wheat andsomeone harvested it and milled
(40:52):
it and turned it into bread,and the Spirit of God upon that
bread turns it into so much more.
All around us, there arewitnesses of resurrection.
There are witnesses of miracles, of supernatural things.
In the same way, he willprovide and increase your
resources and produce a greatharvest of generosity in you,
beloved.
This is always been the planthat you would be generous, like
(41:14):
God is generous.
Hoarding and selfishness isnever the plan.
That is for people who haveamnesia.
That is for people who forgetwherenesia.
That is for people who forgetwhere all of their things are
from.
This is a practice ingenerosity, a practice in
remembering we are one with God.
God who loved the world, gaveeverything.
Jesus for it.
(41:35):
That God gives, but that youwould produce a great harvest of
generosity.
You will be enriched in everyway so that you can always be
generous.
And when we take your gifts tothose who need them, they will
thank God.
They may not thank you.
(41:55):
You may not receive any creditfor it, but when they receive
that, they will thank God.
So two good things will resultfrom the ministry of giving the
needs of believers in Jerusalemwill be met and they will
joyfully express their thanks toGod and as a result of your
ministry, they will give gloryto God, for your generosity to
(42:17):
them and to all believers willprove that you are obedient to
the good news of Jesus Christ.
Generosity and giving are someof the ways that we prove to
ourselves that we declare toourselves this is a resurrection
experience.
(42:38):
This is a miracle that we'reinvited to participate in, that
we would give of our resourcesand then God would receive glory
.
Then God would allow things tobe done, but among us the poor
would be cared for, but among usthere would be those.
I mean, we talk about miraclesand I think the miracle that is
most underrated in the Gospelsand in Acts is the generosity
(43:02):
that happens between people whenthey show up to meet Jesus.
I mean the New Testament church.
It says that there's not onewho has a need among them.
They just take care of eachother.
They just find ways to meeteach other's needs.
This generosity is what it lookslike to be part of the
resurrection and as we gathertogether this morning, we have a
(43:24):
choice to participate, and youcan give in the offering boxes,
you can give online, you cangive how, but this is only where
you start.
This is not where you finish,beloved, because there is a
hurting world.
There are people around us whoneed forgiveness, who need needs
met, and we are to be light andwe are to be love and we are to
(43:46):
be agents of the Holy Spirit.
That is why, when we cometogether and we're reminded of
the Holy Spirit's work among us,when Jesus says peace, receive
the Holy Spirit, he is saying Ihave a new way of living.
I am giving it to you.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
(44:11):
online at firstlovechurchorg.
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala Florida
.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning everybody.
Welcome to First Love Church inperson.
Give yourselves one clap.
If you're here in person, goodjob.
If you're here online, thankyou for being here online.
Share it with one friend.
Good job, well done.
Glad you guys are here.
On Eastertide we see Eastertide,okay, everyone remembers when
(00:33):
my mom talked about this lastyear, right, good, okay, we're
all up to speed.
I don't need to go over it.
No, I'm kidding.
So here's something veryfascinating about Eastertide.
Right, you have Lent rightbefore.
Okay, that's 40 days.
Eastertide is 50 days.
(00:53):
Okay, isn't that wonderful thatwe spend more time in hope and
in love and in resurrection thanwe do in the grief Agreed?
I have a recent example ofgrief in my life right now.
On Friday I got some not greatnews about something that I was
really hopeful for, and it'sreally hard to hold on to hope
and grief at the same time.
It's important not to diminishgrief.
(01:15):
It's important not to stuffdown grief.
It's important not to throwgrief in the trash, because
sometimes you have to grieveAgreed.
But trying to hold on to griefand hope at the same time is
like trying to hold on to twooversized beach balls.
It's just not possible to holdon to both at the same time.
So what do you do when youcan't process these emotions to
(01:37):
the best of your abilities?
You can pass it over to someonewho is willing to work with you
, in that we have a benevolentand wonderful Savior who does
want to hold on to these thingswith us.
Amen.
Would you guys like to read?
Speaker 1 (01:50):
with me this morning.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Is there a reading?
Oh, we read already.
All right, we're done reading,okay, no, we're not done reading
.
We all know my mom.
She's going to make us readsomewhere and that's okay.
It's just something that'sgoing to happen.
Is it turn to come up or issomebody else coming up?
Oh, my mom loves applause.
Do you want to give herapplause?
Okay, she hates it, but I likedoing that to her because it's
(02:14):
fun.
But I'm very thankful for mymom, just like I'm sure all of
you guys are, and I'm verygrateful for her ability to
communicate, and I would inviteeveryone to open your hearts up
to the different things thatshe's going to share with us
this morning.
Some of you may have heard thisbefore, some of this might be
new to you, but I invite you toreally take a look at the things
that my mom has prepared for us.
(02:35):
Amen, amen, amen.
So be it.
Goodbye.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So grateful for everyone who is present with us
this morning in person.
For those of you online, thankyou For Amy, who brought us a
witness, a creation witness.
I want to remind you that thereare witnesses of the
resurrection and even if someonedidn't perfectly say to you he
is risen, he is risen indeed.
(03:02):
I want to remind you that oneof the best ways that we can
proclaim as witnesses to theresurrection is I have seen the
Lord and all of us have awitness.
Sometimes we just have tofigure out how or what that
looks like.
Somebody said to me recently Iwish that I had lived in the
time of Jesus because there weremiracles, and I would like to
(03:24):
see miracles Beloved.
There are miracles all aroundus every day.
Maybe your eyes just need to behealed so that you can see that
, or maybe you need someone elseto show you where to look for
the miracles and what the hopeis.
I grew up the first 21 years ofmy life in the city of Chicago,
(03:44):
and that means that there were21 horrible, wicked, terrible
winters, where I love snow and Ilike cold, but once it's 17
degrees below zero, you begin tohave some ideas that maybe you
shouldn't be there and so youform thoughts and ways.
And on the way to school onemorning I was freezing and it
was little and I was walkingbetween our house and it was
(04:06):
after Easter and it had snowed,and it had snowed a lot and it
was freezing.
And I must have had a look onmy little face as I walked
between our house and we hadneighbors to the left of us, the
Rows, and they were East Indianand I have never seen anyone
garden in more finery than ourneighbor, mrs Rao.
(04:28):
She had beautiful caramel skinand she would wear a sari every
day and she would be out thereelbows in the dirt in her sari
in gardening.
But one particular day I wasfreezing on the way to school
and I was walking in between ourhouses and she looked at me and
she called from the step andshe said neighbor, come here.
(04:48):
And so I walked over freezingcovered into snow, and she said,
look there, right next to thedryer vent of our house, it had
melted snow and there was a pileof crocuses and it was such a
hope, beautiful crocuses, theseperfect little flowers in the
midst of the bitter and the cold.
(05:10):
And I was thinking sometimes wehave to be like Mrs Rau who
says to us neighbor, come lookright here, spring is coming.
This will not always feel thisway and this is the resurrection
hope for us.
This is what Mary did when shesaid I have seen the Lord In the
past month.
(05:30):
I received a phone call from oneof the beloved brothers in our
church.
I knew that because when Ilooked at it I saw his name in
my context and when I picked upthe phone he said I'm in
terrible trouble and I need yourhelp.
Now, when somebody starts theconversation like that, there's
some adrenaline, some anxiety.
And this is not just somebody,this is somebody who could have
(05:52):
been in terrible trouble.
I mean, we could imagine thetrouble that this person could
have been in.
And he said I'm in terribletrouble and I need your help.
And at first I thought I maynot be the one to call.
But then I didn't say that andI said how can I help?
And he said I need another wayto see this, I need a different
(06:13):
way to think.
And I was so excited.
I was like beloved, this isresurrection, this is how
transformation comes, this ishow everything changes when you
think one way over and overagain, and then you say to
someone else, to the Holy Spirit, to God, to nature, to your
brothers and sisters, I needanother way to think.
He listened to the words that Isaid and he said I don't think
(06:37):
I can do that.
And I said fair.
And I said, but can you donothing right now until you can?
And he said absolutely, andsometimes, beloved, that's
enough.
The Holy Spirit meets you inthe pause.
The Holy Spirit meets you inthe difference.
(06:57):
And so today, as we are in thesecond Sunday of Easter, I am so
overjoyed to share these textswith you, as I am with every
we're in.
I mean, I'm excited aboutAdvent, I'm excited about Lent,
but, beloved, we are aresurrection people, and this
only only is eclipsed by thefact that there's gonna be
Pentecost coming.
The Holy Spirit's coming.
So it is this beautifulbuilding for us of all of the
(07:19):
goodness of God, and so I'mgrateful that you're here with
me this morning.
I'm grateful for the HolySpirit among us who will, by the
activation of God's own power,give us revelation and
understanding, and may we seethings even as we never saw them
before.
I do want to talk aboutsomething that's coming up and
(07:40):
that is on the 23rd of May,we're going to have a hymn sing
together.
And while we're talking aboutresurrection beloved, sometimes
that's all you need for aresurrection in your spirit is
to spend an hour or two singingthe hymns with people.
And so we're going to meet hereat the church and we're going
to sing the hymns, and Iwouldn't want you to miss out on
that.
So bring a friend, bring aneighbor, bring an enemy, bring
(08:00):
whoever you want, but sit withus, sing hymns.
We read a psalm this morningthat said God will deliver us
from our enemies, and sometimeswe have really strange ideas
about what that's going to looklike.
We sometimes feel like thatmeans that God will, you know,
make them leave or change them,and really the invitation is has
(08:21):
always been that our beautifulbrothers and sisters become our
family.
That God says to us he'spreparing a table for all of us
in the presence of enemies.
Enemies become brothers andsisters at the table, and so
there is such a hope for that.
So I ask you to join us in thehymns.
(08:43):
But I am reading this morningand Thomas mentioned that I do
like to read, I do like tolisten to the witness of
scripture.
In particular, I love thestories of Jesus.
I love how there is a witnessto us that says what is it like
for us to see the living word.
Jesus is the word made flesh,and every written word that we
have bows to the living word.
(09:04):
Mary Magdalene, who had been atthe tomb the whole time, she
never left Jesus.
Please look at your scripturesand remind that and find that
there.
She stood with him at the cross.
She went with him after hisdeath and watched over his body
and she was there with anintention to bless, to anoint.
(09:25):
And when she heard and this waslast week's message she heard
Jesus call her by name.
She recognized him and Jesussaid to her I want you to go and
I want you to tell the othersthat you have seen me.
The first person commissionedthe apostle to the apostles, the
(09:47):
first person commissioned topreach the resurrection, was
Mary.
So she goes and she tells.
So here we are in verse 18.
Mary Magdalene found thedisciples.
I do want to tell you that theywere back up in the room that
they were with when Jesus hadthe dinner Thursday night.
Jesus takes them back to theplace of.
(10:08):
This is the table.
He returns to the table.
They had gone there and Maryfound them and said I have seen
the Lord.
And then she gave them hismessage.
Maybe you need someone to showyou where the crocuses are
starting to bloom.
Maybe you need someone toremind you that it will not
always be this way.
Beloved, we have seen the Lord.
(10:33):
The Sunday evening, thedisciples were meeting behind
locked doors because they wereafraid of the Jewish leaders,
because they were afraid of thereligion that had joined
together with empire, andsuddenly, suddenly, jesus was
standing there among them.
Peace be with you.
Mary says I have seen the Lord.
(10:55):
And they're like yeah, okay,you know, this was by this time
the same day she had alreadytold them this the disciples had
gone to the tomb.
They also saw, saw the emptytomb, but they don't know what
to make of it.
But Mary says this I have seenthe Lord.
And then Jesus shows up and Iwant to tell you something about
the Jesus post-resurrection.
(11:15):
Maybe you haven't noticed it,maybe you have, but Jesus
post-resurrection is unruly.
I mean, jesus shows up inplaces that we do not expect him
, like behind locked doors.
Jesus shows up places that wedidn't think he'd be, like on a
beach preparing breakfast for us, like.
There's Jesus who defies thenorm, and I want to invite you
(11:38):
in the next few weeks to lookfor the presence of Jesus in
places maybe you forgot to look,or in the beautiful places that
you've called yourself to, inseclusion or in your pain.
I love here that the disciplesare behind locked doors.
It reminds me of Adam and Evein the garden.
(12:00):
Here we are.
John is always retelling theGenesis story.
Here are our beloved brothersbehind wooden doors.
We've taken those trees and wefashioned them into doors and
we've locked ourselves behindthem.
This is the human way we hideourselves when we are afraid.
Jesus shows up and Jesus speakspeace.
(12:22):
I remind you that peace doesnot mean that there is an
absence of fear.
They still had fear, but therecould be peace there.
It is not an absence of grief.
They don't even know what tothink right now as Jesus shows
up them, and I imagine that hisvery presence caused anxiety.
(12:42):
His very presence there, as hesays peace, upset them and so we
are in good company thismorning, beloved.
And as he spoke, he showed themthe wounds in his hands and his
side, and they were filled withjoy when they saw the Lord.
And again he said to them Peacebe with you, as the Father has
(13:07):
sent me, so I am sending you.
And then he breathed on themand said Receive the Holy Spirit
.
This is what the peace ofChrist ushers to us.
Again, this is the Genesisstory and Adam and Eve.
In the beginning, when thestory is told in the first book
(13:28):
of the First Testament, godfashions humans and then God
breathes into them and givesthem a living soul.
Jesus is doing the same thinghere.
He's rebirthing us, he'sremaking humanity, and Jesus
breathes on them and saysreceive the Holy Spirit.
(13:50):
One of the practices that we doduring the time of Eastertide is
we practice the presence ofpeace.
When we feel ourselves inanxiety, when we feel ourselves
in unsurety, we look for peaceand very often it happens
through our own breath.
There's a beautiful breathprayer that goes with this, and
(14:13):
it is I inhale peace and Iexhale love.
How are we able to exhale lovewhen what we have experienced is
anxiety or grief or terror?
Because of the Holy Spiritbeloved.
The power to transmute, thepower to turn.
(14:36):
This is the power of Christ.
What was given in anger, whatwas given in violence, can be
turned into forgiveness.
This is the power of the HolySpirit.
Jesus breathes on them and saysreceive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive anyone's sins,they are forgiven.
If you do not forgive them,they are not forgiven.
(14:59):
Jesus speaks peace and thengoes right into forgiveness.
This is our job as believers.
This is our job as people whohave seen the Christ forgiveness
of sins.
I read this in manytranslations and there was one
particular one that I loved justthe last part of it.
It says if you forgive anyone'ssins, they are forgiven.
(15:20):
We've got that.
And it says if you do notforgive anyone their sins, what
are you going to do with them?
Anyone their sins, what are yougonna do with them?
I thought what a beautiful wayto think about that.
What am I gonna do with thesesins?
Give them to the Christ, whoforgives them.
Give them to God.
This is how the kingdom comes.
That we are people who haveseen the Lord and we are people
(15:40):
who practice forgiveness.
That we forgive each other.
That we are people who prayforgiveness.
That we forgive each other.
That we are people who prayforgiveness, but that we are
people who bless each other andthe world with the power of
forgiveness.
To forgive someone's sins is toremind them there is nothing
that separates you from God.
You are a beloved child of God.
You are made in the image ofGod.
(16:02):
There is nothing that separatesyou from the love of God.
It was the Apostle Paul whosaid this is what I hope for
everyone that you would come toknow how wide and how high and
how deep and how huge and hownever-ending the love of God is.
That there is nothing on heavenabove, or on the earth beneath
(16:23):
or in even under the earth, thatcould separate you from the
love of God.
This is resurrection promise.
You are one.
There is no separation with youand God, and this is the power
of forgiveness.
Jesus prayed this in John'sGospel, chapter 17.
Father, make them one.
Oneness with God is where thepeace is.
(16:47):
Oneness with God is rememberingthat we are never alone, that
the power of God among us is thepresence of peace and is our
job.
Jesus commissioned us and saidforgive.
This is how you stay in peace.
You choose to forgive, youchoose to remember.
(17:09):
I am one with that personbecause Jesus made us one with
them, and that God is workingall things together.
One of the 12 disciples, thomas,nicknamed the twin, was not
with the others when Jesus came.
You could go on a little rantabout why it's good to be with
other believers, even if you'retogether behind locked doors,
(17:30):
because sometimes the presenceof the resurrected Christ shows
up.
I don't know why Thomas wasn'tthere.
Maybe he was doing somethingreally important, maybe he was
taking care of someone, or maybehe was taking care of himself,
but he was absent and he did notget what everyone else got.
Everyone else saw the wounds,everyone else touched, everyone
(17:51):
else heard the story told tothem by Christ and they were
breathed on and were given theHoly Spirit.
And Thomas was not there.
So they told him we have seenthe Lord Again.
Told him we have seen the LordAgain.
Mary says I have seen the Lord.
Now everybody else says we haveseen the Lord.
And this is the practice ofresurrection declaring where it
(18:15):
is that you have seen themiracle.
Where is it that the crocus isblooming underneath the snow?
Where is it that you can havehope for everyone?
But he replied, replied I willnot believe it until I see the
nail wounds in his hands and putmy fingers into them and place
my hand into the wound in hisside.
I love this about Thomas,because Thomas goes.
(18:40):
You can't cheer me up.
I'm not going to get past whatjust happened to someone that I
loved.
I will not just leap over thisgrief.
This is real and he honored it.
And he said until there issomething else, I'm not just
going to get over this.
There's an invitation to notget over but, by the power of
(19:02):
the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins.
Eight days later, the discipleswere together again, and this
time Thomas was with them.
That's a good news for all ofus.
When we have not been with, wegather together again, and the
doors were locked, but suddenly,as before, jesus was standing
among them.
Peace, be with you.
(19:23):
He said, standing among them.
Peace, be with you.
He said.
I love that he says peace, bewith you.
And keeps walking through walls, because that's a way to
frighten me, that is a way toknow.
I know you locked the door.
Did you lock the door?
Yes, we've locked the door.
The door is locked, no one elseis coming in.
Excellent, we're all here.
And then Jesus is there sayingpeace, and that's a way to panic
me, that's a way to panic thesepeople.
And Jesus is saying I want youto see that there is something
(19:46):
greater than Peace.
Be with you.
And then he says to Thomas putyour finger here and look at my
hands.
Put your hand in the wound inmy side.
Do not be faithless any longer.
Believe, trust.
Look at this.
(20:10):
The text does not tell us thatThomas touches.
The text doesn't tell us thatThomas did anything except erupt
into praise my Lord and my God.
Thomas explained my Lord and myGod.
He recognizes the oneness ofJesus with the Father.
(20:30):
He recognizes the oneness.
And Easter is a beautiful timefor us to doubt.
Easter is a beautiful time forus to question.
In fact, so many times here wesee what God is doing for us.
In fact, I was counting andMary needs to hear the words of
Jesus, to recognize him.
(20:50):
He says Mary, and then sherecognized him.
They've had a conversationbefore and she didn't recognize
him.
And very often beloved Christis there with us and we do not
recognize him.
But Mary needed to hear it.
And then people, otherdisciples, needed to see it, not
only the empty tomb, we neededto see it.
So we've heard it and we'veseen it and we've felt it.
(21:10):
And Jesus is offering that.
And so in our doubt and in ourplaces of questions, do not be
frustrated with your need foranother witness.
We've heard it, we've felt it,we've seen it.
And a little bit later, later,jesus comes and makes breakfast
(21:31):
for his friends on the beach andthey taste it and they
recognize.
So, wherever you are, whateverit is you need, I hope that you
see a Jesus who will come andwill show up for you and show
you his hands, show you his feet, cook you breakfast.
Whatever it is, you need to seethis, one of my favorite
(21:52):
beautiful parts of this.
It's coming in the next fewweeks, so read it, but I would
encourage you, don't miss.
It is on the road to Emmaus.
Beautiful disciples are thereand Jesus shows up and he spends
hours with them and they don'trecognize him.
And they're talking with himand they don't recognize him in
the communion.
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today.
(22:13):
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
(22:36):
subscribe.
It's such a hopeful story forall of us that we would see him
in the bread and the wine.
But really, why they don'trecognize him is because they
have a religious thought thatwas given to them by their
religion and it contradictseverything that they knew.
They believed Jesus to be a newway and they were followers,
(22:59):
but when he ended up beingcrucified, it horrified them,
because what they knew was thisthat there is a prophecy that
said cursed is anyone who hungon a tree.
So in their minds they couldnot make sense of what had
happened.
How did we see him do all thesemiracles?
How did we hear him teach withauthority?
(23:21):
Yet what we've been told isthat is a cursed one.
Jesus begins to enlighten usand change the way that we see
things, and this is the hope forresurrection.
This is a resurrection promisethat we would allow god to
expand our mind, that we wouldallow the holy spirit that, by
forgiving other people's sins,that it would remind us and
(23:43):
expand our capacity to live inthe Spirit.
Then Jesus told him youbelieved because you've seen me,
and blessed are those whobelieve without seeing me.
And the disciples saw Jesus domany other miraculous signs in
addition to the ones recorded inthis book.
(24:04):
I want to hang out here for aminute.
The disciples saw Jesus do manyother signs, many other
miracles in addition to theseones.
There were many other wordsthat were spoken in addition to
these ones.
In fact, it is John who says ifall the words that Jesus spoke
(24:25):
were written down, the worldcould not contain the amount of
goodness and the amount of thetruth that was spoken to them.
So I remind you that we are notlimited to just the words that
we have read here, but that weare invited to be people who are
led by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who continuesto speak to us, to give us hope,
(24:48):
and, while we recognize thesacred witness of scripture
beloved, the Holy Spirit is withus in all things, will speak to
us, will give us information,will give us hope, will change
the way that we do things.
And we, as believers in Jesus,we as people who are people of
(25:08):
resurrection, we can attune ourhearts to the frequency of what
the Spirit is telling us.
We can learn these things infollowing the way of Jesus.
We can open ourselves up to theHoly Spirit so that we can
ascend.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would allow God to give
(25:29):
us a higher thought.
This is what Jesus said when hesaid this is the way that you
would change the way that youthink, that you would live a
life of repentance, a life ofchanging your thought, that you
would live a life of repentance,a life of changing your thought
.
God said through the prophetsof old my thoughts are not your
thoughts and my ways are notyour ways.
(25:51):
They are so much higher and theinvitation of the Holy Spirit
is come and allow God to changeyour thought.
When our beautiful brothercalled me and said I'm in
trouble, I need to change yourthought.
When our beautiful brothercalled me and said I'm in
trouble, I need to change my wayof thinking.
Beloved, that's resurrectionpower right now.
That's the miracle of allowingthe Holy Spirit to change the
(26:14):
way that we think.
The disciples saw Jesus do manyother miraculous signs in
addition to the ones recorded inthis book, but these are
written so that you may continueto believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, andthat by believing in him, you
(26:35):
will have life in the power ofhis name.
Beloved, this has always beenthe hope that you would have the
life that Jesus came to give us.
When Jesus announces hisministry, he goes into the
temple and he takes the scrolland he looks for a specific
(26:55):
portion of scripture.
I remind you that scrollsdidn't have like we have in our
text.
We can go to 1113.
It was a scroll.
Very often it was handed to you.
You were going to read it.
There was no particular rhymeor reason.
But Jesus looks for somethingand he tells the people.
He begins to read this portionof the prophecy of Isaiah.
(27:18):
When people heard Jesus talk,often their response was this is
startling, because we've heardthis before, but now we're
hearing it from one who speakswith authority.
Now we are understanding this.
But Jesus shows up and he's inthe temple and he reads from the
prophet Isaiah.
And he said the spirit of theLord is upon me, for I have been
(27:42):
anointed to preach good news tothe poor, to heal the
brokenhearted and to set atliberty those who are oppressed.
And Jesus begins to say this iswhat it is.
In one of the gospels Jesus isrecorded as saying I am the way,
(28:04):
I am the truth, I am the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
Jesus is the way to real living, and the invitation for all of
us is to say what would it belike for me to hear the word
spoken saying I have come, thatyou would have life and have it
to the full.
This is what Jesus offers allof us real life.
(28:28):
I was thinking about being youngand about aging.
I don't know if anybody elsehas this ever that they think
about, but sometimes I do,particularly when I stand up and
my bones make noises that I didnot ask them to make.
I thought the other day itsounded like mousetraps were
going off when I was standing up, like, oh, listen to that.
But I was contemplating in thetime of prayer and thinking
(28:52):
about what it's like to be young, and one of the things that I,
when I look back, I love aboutbeing young is I don't think you
savor very much.
I think you feel like you haveso much time and you have so
much everything that you justenjoy it and you don't even care
about certain things.
I mean like you don't try tosavor.
(29:12):
It feels to me like I'm suckingthe marrow out of every day.
I'm like, where's the goodness,where's the testimony?
I see the flowers and I'm like,oh, look at God and and I'm
hoping for all these things andI'm and I'm looking for for life
everywhere.
I want the witness of eternallife, I want the witness of love
.
I'm looking for it, I'mscrounging for it, but I feel
(29:32):
like I'm sucking the bones formarrow, and I think that's the
beauty of aging to go.
The marrow is where the goodstuff is, that's where the life
is, and so sometimes there'sthis beauty of aging to go.
The marrow is where the goodstuff is, that's where the life
is.
And so sometimes there's thisbeauty and I no way am saying
that I want to be young againbut to be able to say what is it
like to enjoy every day?
In fact, one of the greatest,most wise people that have ever
(29:56):
lived, solomon, writeseverything is vanity.
I mean, it's all going to blowup.
It's just grass, it's going tofade.
So don't worry about thosethings.
Jesus said this to us seekfirst the kingdom of God, and
all of these things will beadded unto you.
Jesus also tells us, if we'reworried, we should go outside
(30:21):
and look at flowers.
I didn't know if you knew this,but that is the word of Jesus.
Are you worried about somethingoutside?
Consider the lilies of thefield.
I have a friend who just thisyear wrote a beautiful prayer
and it said Jesus, I went andlooked in the flowers and it
didn't help, and sometimes thatis the truth for us.
But it is the practice of goingoutside to the flowers and
(30:44):
reminding ourselves.
It may look dry now, but thereis a time of resurrection coming
.
It may look hopeless now.
I may feel grieved and deeplysaddened now, but there is
another day, there is aneternity, and now Jesus said to
us this is the kingdom now.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would live, that we
(31:05):
would live in Christ.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would live in the
presence, that we would live inthe consciousness of Jesus.
This is the hope for all of usthat we would think the way that
God thinks.
The apostle Paul said this maythis mind be in you, the same
mind that was in Christ Jesus.
(31:26):
What does it look like for youto go into a situation and to
really imagine what it would belike for Jesus to be in that
thought?
I'm thinking to myself.
Duane is agreeing with me and Ido want to tell you this.
I know him very well.
He is my friend.
We went to outreach together onSaturday.
Thank you for everyone who cameand who gave groceries with us
(31:50):
and who shared good news, andDwayne and I walked around and
we prayed with people and webrought joy.
Dwayne did.
Dwayne brought a lot of joy andthere is a hope for us in
hearing the beauty of the criesof a baby that says I am not
getting what I want or what Ineed, and the witness is that
there is attentive people whowill make sure that he gets what
(32:11):
he needs.
That is true for us.
The same way with the Spirit ofGod.
The things that you have needof the Spirit is offering us,
and the kingdom is not in somefaraway place.
The kingdom is right here.
In fact, jesus said you may notbe able to observe the kingdom
with your eyes, but the kingdomis within you.
It's so close, it's in yourmouth.
The kingdom of God is among us.
(32:33):
This is the hope ofresurrection.
Believe him.
This becomes difficult in ourparticular Believe him.
This becomes difficult in ourparticular world and our
particular worldview because insome ways, people have
diminished belief to a proof.
That is not believing.
Believing is a trust.
(32:54):
I do not know how this is goingto work out.
I do not know how this willchange.
I do not know what will come,but I believe that the goodness
of God is available and willpromise this to come to pass.
God is making all things new,beloved.
This is the good news of Jesus,and when we attune ourselves to
(33:18):
this, you will have life by thepower of his name.
There is for us a remembrance,there is for us a call to say
this is life, this is the powerof his name.
I remind you that this voice,this remembering I have seen the
(33:39):
Lord this paying attention tothe witness, this, every one of
us saying where can I forgivethe sins?
Where do I get to pronounce andbless?
In fact, the scripture gives usbeautiful invitation that every
time we come to the communiontable, we are announcing the
forgiveness of sins.
(33:59):
Jesus made this announcementand he said the same way the
Father sent me, I'm sending you.
Announce the forgiveness ofsins, reconcile everyone.
This is the goodness of JesusChrist.
This is written so that youwould continue to believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son ofGod, and that by believing in
him you will have life by thepower of his name.
(34:22):
It is this message ofresurrection that makes possible
the myriad, the diversity ofvoices that are around the
throne.
In the book of Revelation itsays that there are multitudes,
numbered so many that theycannot be counted, and they come
from every tribe, every nation,every tongue, that it looks
(34:45):
like this beautiful palette ofeverything.
This is what is around thethrone, and it says that they
begin to shout with full voice.
They are singing.
People sometimes ask me why doyou sing so loud?
Yeah, it's happened, I know.
But they ask me, why do yousing so loud?
Because sometimes that's thebest part of my day.
(35:08):
I want the loudest part of mylife to be praise, not
complaining, not demandingsomething change, but I want the
loudest part to be praise.
I also am practicing for thegreat communion of saints,
because the scripture alreadytells us what happens there,
that there is people from everytribe, every tongue, every
nation, so many that it cannotbe numbered.
(35:32):
So, even beyond what we canimagine, and what they say
together in one loud voiceworthy, is the lamb that was
slaughtered to receive power andwealth and wisdom and might and
honor and blessing, allblessing, all glory, all wisdom,
(35:53):
thanksgiving, honor and power.
Be unto our God forever andever.
And I want my voices among thatthrong.
You want your voice among thatthrong.
But this begins now when,together, we say I've seen the
Lord.
I have seen the miracles thatare happening when someone
(36:14):
changes their mind.
I have seen the Lord when a budcomes up out of the ground.
We have owls on our property.
We've had since we lived there,I think we moved onto their
property as if it were actuallytold, and they've had a few
owlets.
But there's one particular owland he is less afraid of us than
(36:39):
I think he ought to be, andmaybe because we were all there.
But he shows up in places thatI feel like are a little close
and I hear his parents beyondhim calling, and he's young and
beautiful.
But he reminds me of so much ofthe majesty of what God created
and I hope that you will seesomething in nature.
(37:01):
Perhaps it is your dog, perhapsit is something in nature,
perhaps it is your dog, perhapsit is the squirrels, perhaps it
is whatever, but that you willallow your pets, that you will
allow animals to prophesy to you, to testify to you of this
incredible hope.
We have seen the Lord, he isgood and he invites us all to
come to the table.
There is an invitation in ourpracticing, in our prayers, in
(37:25):
our breathing in peace and ourexhaling love.
There is for us an invitationinto holy communion.
It is, in fact, perhaps themost sacred thing that we will
do together this morning and injust a moment we will
participate in that.
So you set your heart towardthat.
Together, we'll come to thetable, but we are coming to the
(37:48):
table in faith.
We come invited to a holymystery.
We come and Jesus said this ashe's gathering with his friends.
I have longed, I am so excitedto eat this meal with you, this
invitation for all of us to waitfor the person in front of us,
(38:14):
An invitation to join withbrothers and sisters, an
invitation all of us invitedinto the table of the Lord.
And the invitation is radicalhospitality, not just here, that
we ourselves would practicehere, but that we would open our
homes and our lives, that wewould be people, agents of
forgiveness everywhere.
This is an invitation for us.
(38:34):
There is an invitation for usinto a deepening understanding
even of our giving, that we havea beautiful invitation to
follow the Lord, into giving,into radical giving, the way
that Mary did, opening her lifeand saying I recognize who God
is, and so I am a person whofollows that way and gives.
(38:55):
I'll read to you from 2Corinthians, chapter 9.
Remember this a farmer whoplants only a few seeds will get
a small crop, but the one whoplants generously will get a
generous crop.
You must each decide in yourheart how much to give, and
don't give reluctantly or inresponse to pressure, for God
(39:16):
loves a person who givescheerfully.
I remind you that God loves aperson who gives cheerfully.
I remind you that God loves aperson who gives not cheerfully
either, and God loves you.
If you are stingy and God lovesyou if you never give, you will
miss out on things, but thatdoes not change the love of God
for you.
This is an invitation into more, and then God will provide all
(39:39):
you need.
God will generously provide allyou need.
God will generously provide allyou need, and then you will
always have everything you needand plenty left over to share
with others.
As the scripture says, theyshare freely and give generously
to the poor.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever.
The kingdom of God.
(40:00):
The intention of God is alwaysto care for the poor, always.
Over 2,000 texts in our Bibletalks about caring for the poor.
This is what the kingdom lookslike.
That we would care for eachother.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever, for God is
(40:20):
the one who provides seed forthe farmer and bread to eat.
That we would care for eachother.
Their good deeds will beremembered forever, for God is
the one who provides seed forthe farmer and bread to eat.
It is the beautiful power ofresurrection, but of miracles
too.
A seed goes into the ground.
Someone put it there A farmerdid and it grows into wheat.
And someone took that wheat andsomeone harvested it and milled
(40:52):
it and turned it into bread,and the Spirit of God upon that
bread turns it into so much more.
All around us, there arewitnesses of resurrection.
There are witnesses of miracles, of supernatural things.
In the same way, he willprovide and increase your
resources and produce a greatharvest of generosity in you,
beloved.
This is always been the planthat you would be generous, like
(41:14):
God is generous.
Hoarding and selfishness isnever the plan.
That is for people who haveamnesia.
That is for people who forgetwherenesia.
That is for people who forgetwhere all of their things are
from.
This is a practice ingenerosity, a practice in
remembering we are one with God.
God who loved the world, gaveeverything.
Jesus for it.
(41:35):
That God gives, but that youwould produce a great harvest of
generosity.
You will be enriched in everyway so that you can always be
generous.
And when we take your gifts tothose who need them, they will
thank God.
They may not thank you.
(41:55):
You may not receive any creditfor it, but when they receive
that, they will thank God.
So two good things will resultfrom the ministry of giving the
needs of believers in Jerusalemwill be met and they will
joyfully express their thanks toGod and as a result of your
ministry, they will give gloryto God, for your generosity to
(42:17):
them and to all believers willprove that you are obedient to
the good news of Jesus Christ.
Generosity and giving are someof the ways that we prove to
ourselves that we declare toourselves this is a resurrection
experience.
(42:38):
This is a miracle that we'reinvited to participate in, that
we would give of our resourcesand then God would receive glory
.
Then God would allow things tobe done, but among us the poor
would be cared for, but among usthere would be those.
I mean, we talk about miraclesand I think the miracle that is
most underrated in the Gospelsand in Acts is the generosity
(43:02):
that happens between people whenthey show up to meet Jesus.
I mean the New Testament church.
It says that there's not onewho has a need among them.
They just take care of eachother.
They just find ways to meeteach other's needs.
This generosity is what it lookslike to be part of the
resurrection and as we gathertogether this morning, we have a
(43:24):
choice to participate, and youcan give in the offering boxes,
you can give online, you cangive how, but this is only where
you start.
This is not where you finish,beloved, because there is a
hurting world.
There are people around us whoneed forgiveness, who need needs
met, and we are to be light andwe are to be love and we are to
(43:46):
be agents of the Holy Spirit.
That is why, when we cometogether and we're reminded of
the Holy Spirit's work among us,when Jesus says peace, receive
the Holy Spirit, he is saying Ihave a new way of living.
I am giving it to you.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
(44:11):
online at firstlovechurchorg.
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