Sermon from May 3rd - Woodlawn Christian Church

Well, here is the manuscript for the sermon that I gave here at Woodlawn Christian Church last Sunday (May 3rd, 2015).

Gail was here for the service along with my brother Merrill, Jr and his wife Karen.  We all had a good visit over the weekend and went out to eat at the Carnegie Cafe here in Lake City on Saturday night. Hopefully, Jr and Karen will be able to come and visit us here on a regular basis.  It's always great to see them and have some time to spend together.

I had an interesting week last week with getting to help out a stranded motorist, getting to go and visit with all of our elderly up at Shady Oaks (the retirement center here in town), and going to the Upper Midwest Disciples of Christ's Congregational Gathering on Saturday in Newton, Iowa.  I'm looking forward to learning more about the Region which is made up of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.  It's a huge territory and I feel sorry for the Regional Staff for all the miles they have to travel.

With that, I need to work on this weekend's sermon so I'll just post below the manuscript from this last week's sermon.

God's Blessings & Joy to you all,
Roy

Good morning once again.  It was a beautiful week here in Lake City and it was an interesting week.  We were able to help a stranded motorist, Leon took me out to Shady Oaks and introduced me to all of our members who are residents out there.  Also Jeff and I yesterday spent the day in Newton, IA at the Disciples Congregational Gathering.  I was able to finally meet in person Bill Spangler-Dunning and Julie Gibson who were instrumental in getting you all and myself introduced to one another.  

Today we're fortunate enough to not only have my lovely wife Gail with us but also my older brother and favored sibling, Merrill Junior, or JR as I call him, is here with us as well.  JR also brought along his long suffering... I mean, I mean..... his wonderful and loving wife Karen.  In all honesty, Gail is the one that we could most accurately describe as long-suffering. Fortunately, for both of us Karlen boys we married up, so to speak.  Remember as I mentioned last week, to not believe any stories about me that my brother might tell you.  Unless of course they're stories where I was being good and behaving myself.

Sanctuary of Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa
WmRoy Karlen photo

One of my earliest memories, I suppose I was about 4 or maybe 5 at the time, involves my older brother JR.  Who is not only older than I but wiser as well... though I am better looking. Anyways, it was springtime and the snow was melting and the creek near our home was running high.  JR and myself along with my older sister Laura were playing down by the creek.  We decided to have 'stick races' in the creek; we'd throw a stick into the water and then run alongside and see who's stick got to a certain spot downstream first.  Well, my stick got hung up along the bank and I went down to dislodge it... well of course I fell into the creek.  My loving sister came and tried to pull me to safety, which ended up in me pulling her into the creek with me.  

Well, now both of us are in the water and screaming for JR to rescue us.  That is when my wiser and older brother said those words that we'd all do well to remember in times of trouble.  He said to us “stand up”, for you see the water was only a bit over knee deep even on a little boy like I was at the time.  And isn't it so often in life that when we're feeling swept away, that if we'd only just “stand up” we would find that the raging waters are only knee deep.  Once we stood up, we just walked out of the creek.

Before we go any farther though, let's pause and go before the Lord in a moment of prayer and reflection.  

Creator God, Father, Abba, as we turn to your Word let the light of your love, grace and being, be upon us here. That through your love for us we may grow in our relationship with the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord we pray. Amen 

Okay this morning we're going to be taking a look at some verses in the very short but extremely impactful book of 1st John.  As I mention last week, 1st, 2nd and 3rd John are all believed to have been written by the same author, an individual who identifies himself in 2nd & 3rd John as 'The Elder'.  The traditional opinion is that these letters or epistles were written by someone from the same community as the author of the Gospel of John.  The date of these writings is unknown, but 1st John was alluded to in the writings of Polycarp in the year 135 ad.  There is though, no known mention of 3rd John until the middle of the third century.  But the writing style and vocabulary of the three speaks to them having a common author.  Because of the strength of 1st John, all three epistles eventually made their way into the accepted canon.

With that, let's take a look at our scripture verses for today.  If you have the 'Good News Bible' in front of you, you will find these verses on page 327 of the New Testament.

1 John 4:7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Okay, let's go through this now bit by bit...

Verses 7 & 8:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

Well... I don't know about all of you, but for me 'The Elder' has just put forth what we might call a 'Tall Order'.  
1) Let us love one another
2) Love is from God
3) Whoever loves is of God & knows God
4) Anyone who doesn't love, does not know God
5) God is Love

One of my own personal sayings is this:
"If when reading scripture you never feel convicted, if you never see the hairy hand of God pointing a fat finger right back at you... well then you're not paying close enough attention."

I think these few verses do a pretty good job of convicting all of us.  Is there anyone among us who can honestly say they are filled with love always?  I doubt even the most kindly and gentle among us can live up to the standard that God has relayed to us through 'The Elder' here in 1st John.  If we do not love one another, we do not truly know God.  Fortunately for all of us, God loves us in spite of our struggles to love each other.  The reality is that this is an area that we all need to work upon.  And let us NEVER use the excuse that just because few can live up to this directive, that it means we do not have to try.  We have declared to be followers of Christ, that means trying our very best to walk in His path.  We are to try to model our lives and love around his example.

My late mentor Jesse used to say that Jesus never told anyone to worship him, but he did time after time tell people to follow him.  Jesse was afraid that we've gotten so concerned with worshiping Christ, that we've forgotten  to follow Christ.  Heck, all too often we don't even try because after all Jesus was perfect.  We fail to realize that following Christ is the most sincere and important way that we can worship him.  Will we be able to do it perfectly, no I rather doubt we can... but we sure as the dickens need to give it our best shot.

Verses 9 - 11:
9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 

God sent Jesus to live among us not because we loved him adequately, but because he loves us perfectly.  He sent Him to us that we might live through him.  Of course there is the obvious over-tone of the substitutionary sacrifice here but there is also the idea that I just was hitting upon.  We live through Jesus because he has shown us the 'WAY' to live.  As we likely all are aware the early 'Jesus Movement' back when it was just the newest Jewish sect was called 'THE WAY'.

We are called to live like Christ and the first step in that is to 'love one another'.  

Verses 15 & 16:
15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

To 'abide in' means someplace where we reside, where we live, where we are at home.  If we love each other, then God lives in us and we live in God.

Verses 17 - 19:
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

Well that right there, is the basis for a pretty long sermon all on it's own.  Maybe someday we'll come back to these verses.  But for right now... let's just leave it that this pretty much dispels any idea of being scared into a relationship with God.  A relationship with God is based on mutual love and not fear of any kind.

Verses 20 & 21:
20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

If you were here with us last Sunday for the sermon, you might remember that I referenced the ending of the Gospel of John were John instructs Peter, and this directive is to all of us and not just Peter by the way... anyway he told Peter after asking

These verses here today are further proof-texts for my position that really the only way we can demonstrate our love for God is to love his children.

Here God is telling us that if we don't love our brothers and sisters 'who we have seen', that we can't truly say that we love God.  Loving God means loving his creation and that include those among us that are seem to be unlovable.  If we love God we will love our brothers and sisters, in spite of themselves and in spite of ourselves.

Let's please close with a prayer...

Dear Father, Abba, we come to you humbly, and freely accept the grace that you provide to us, grace given despite our sins against you in thought, word and deed.  Lord, we thank you for your love and forgiveness and we cherish above all else our relationship to you, we also thank you for the relationships that you have blessed us with in our families, our friends, our fellow believers and all our fellow human beings.  Truly, all are a part of your grand design and creation.  Dear God, let us always be mindful of your directions in this world and let us be your hands and feet in this place.  Father, we look forward to the day when through your direction all shall be reconciled to you and to each other.
We pray this in your most Holy and Blessed name, AMEN.

Little Country Church Poem

Little Country Church

Wooden, white, weathered and worn,
surrounded by hard pack, thistle and thorn.
Whitewash fades from warping walls.
The steeple bell no longer calls
the faithful in to find their pews
and be inspired by God’s Good News.
Stained glass memories of better days
create a multi colored haze
on unused pulpit, dust-caked floors,
a broken chair and open doors.

Tractor tracks gouge the gravel drive
where farming families once arrived
on Sunday morning and Wednesday night.
But now, the economic plight
has forced those families off the land
and into lives they never planned.
Weeds grow through the picket fence
that surrounds the congregants
who lay beneath once well-kept sod.
Headstones proclaim their faith in God
and say they have gone on to Glory.
But, no one’s here to read their story.

The scene is quaint and some say, sad.
An empty church. But it’s not bad
because the seeds of faith they grew
have been transplanted someplace new.
The good news soon to be revealed
is of the increased harvest yield.
God’s field hands have been moved to where
they can witness, love and care
for those whose lives are in the lurch.
See, that building’s just a building.
God’s people are The Church.

Poem by, Jeff Hildebrandt 

Stained glass window in the Grant Park Chapel
at the Christian Conference Center near Newton, Iowa.

Yesterday Jeff Frank and I attended the Christian Church in the Uppermidwest's 2015 All Congregational Gathering in Newton, Iowa.  A large part of the gathering was the dedication of the various parts of the new Worship Center.

Some of the funding came from Churches that had closed their doors and the congregations gifted to the region remaining funds to go towards the construction of this wonderful worship center.  Hearing their stories reminded me of the poem that I linked above.

Tomorrow I'll post up the manuscript for the sermon today at Woodlawn Christian Church and tell you more about my week and weekend.  For tonight, I'm a bit tired and I need to get some shut-eye.

Remember to "Be A Blessing To Someone Today"!

In His abundant love & grace,
Roy

Parsonage at Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa - Spring of 2015
WmRoy Karlen photo

Windows in the sanctuary at Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa.
WmRoy Karlen photograph

April 26th Service at Woodlawn Christian Church

Yesterday was my second Sunday as the Pastor here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  The service went well and the sermon seemed to be well received.  I've attached the manuscript from the sermon at the end of this short blog post.

Gail didn't make the trip up to Lake City this weekend so there is no video of the sermon this week.  Hopefully, next weekend Gail will be here along with my older brother Merrill and his wife Karen.  Gail got a new cell phone this last week and it's supposed to have a fantastic video camera, so we'll try it out and see how well it records next weekend's sermon.

I'd like to encourage everyone to pray for the folks in Nepal concerning the earthquake there the other day, and also please pray for calm and common sense in Baltimore.  It seems that there is now a faction in our society that will glam onto any excuse to loot and destroy.  This kind of behavior does nothing for anyone, except this faction which feeds off of chaos and destruction.

Please pray for the police and the good people who are being endangered by this faction of evil and hatred.  Pray that the minds of those who are causing all the injury and destruction are softened and changed.  May God reach into these dark hearts and bring their souls into the light of love and peace.

In God's abundant Love & Grace,
Roy

Good Morning!  And isn't it a beautiful day here in Iowa. It was a busy week of just trying to get my bearings here in Lake City and I'm looking forward to starting to doing some visitations very soon and getting out and walk around town, hopefully, meeting people as I go along.  If there is anyone here who would like me to drop in for a visitation just let me know as I'd love to stop over and get to know you all better.  Also, if you know of anyone who needs a visit from the Pastor for whatever reason, also please let me know.

This Sunday Gail isn't here with us, so you are all stuck with the lesser of the two halves of the whole.  But, next Sunday Gail will be in worship with us, as well as hopefully my older brother Merrill and his wife Karen.  Now I will warn you that my big brother is a terrible liar and just remember to not believe anything that he might tell you about me.  Actually, Merrill Jr., is a wonderful man and I'm sure you'll all enjoy getting to meet him and his wife.

Before we get started with today's Sermon, let's go before the Lord in a moment of prayer.  Please bow your heads and open your hearts.

O' God we desire your presence with us here today.  Lord, still our restless spirits, that with quiet minds and reverent hearts we may hear your voice and genuinely worship you.
Prepare our minds and hearts O' God, that through your word, read and proclaimed, Christ may come to dwell within us, and ever rule over our thoughts and affections as the Lord of our lives.     AMEN

Today we're going to be looking at a bit of scripture in the Gospel of John.  John is the Gospel that sort of, well... does its own thing.  It's not one of the synoptic gospels and is often just called the “Fourth Gospel”.  As I mentioned last Sunday it is almost unanimously thought to be the last Gospel of the four canonical gospels to be written.  The date I personally believe to be the most likely for this writing is to be approximately 90 to 95 ad.  The earliest references to the Gospel of John are in writings between the church fathers in the second century.

Unlike the Synoptics where Jesus' ministry is approximately 10 months in duration, John gives us a three-year long ministry.  John's Gospel has other variations from the Synoptics as well, one worth noting is the difference in the portrayal of the last supper where the washing of the feet takes center stage.  John's emphasis rather than the substitutional sacrifice is the service.  Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.  We are called to continue this service.

Whereas most scholars agree that the writers of Luke and Matthew almost assuredly had copies of the Gospel of Mark at their disposal, most scholars don't believe that the author of John had access to any of the synoptic Gospels.

Today's scripture concerns sheep and shepherds, as someone who grew up on a cattle ranch, I don't have any personal stories to allow me to relate to the sheep in these verses.  The only story I have is one told to me by my father.  My grandfather was a very industrious man and besides ranching he had other endeavors, one of these was that he owned a grocery store on one of the Indian Reservations in South Dakota.  Now my father was a youngster of only twelve when my grandfather had dad running the day to day operations of this store.  Well, one day grandpa traded the store for a herd of sheep.  My father was put in charge of the sheep, and he became a shepherd.  Dad quickly discovered that compared to cattle, sheep aren't the brightest animals there is.  He hated sheep for the rest of his life, he wouldn't allow one on the place honestly. (LOL)  So I guess we can't say that Dad was a 'good shepherd', but he was a very kind and generous soul, one you got past the crusty Rancher veneer. 

But with that, let's take a look at today's scripture verses. 

John 10:11-18
11 “I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. 12 When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. 14-15 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. 16 There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 “The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.”

All right now, let us take a closer look at these verses.  First the word in Greek that is translated here as 'good' actually is probably better thought of as 'faithful' or 'beautiful' or 'noble'.  So rather than 'good' he is the 'faithful' shepherd, one who we can count upon, as he clearly outlines in these verses.  He is the shepherd that will even die for his flock.

When you are looking at scripture, you should always take a look back at what comes before, and also look and see what comes after the verses that you're contemplating.  Now immediately ahead of the story about the 'Good Shepherd' we find the story about the man born blind.  Remember that story?  The man was born without his sight, Jesus encounters him and even though it was the Sabbath, Jesus heals him, much to the great displeasure of the Pharisee leadership.  And this isn't the first time Jesus has violated the Sabbath.  He seems to be making a habit of it.  Likely to drive the point home to the Pharisees.  The religious leaders and elders are on the warpath for anyone following Jesus because, “This man does not keep the Sabbath day, so he is not from God”.  The Jewish leaders question the man and then his parents.  His parents want nothing to do with any of this as they feared the elders. So they put it back to their son saying that he is of age and can answer for himself.

Well the blind man ends up thrown out of the Temple and excommunicated.  Jesus comes upon him and in their dialogue, Jesus states;
John 9:39-41
39 Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were there with him heard him say this and asked him, “Surely you don't mean that we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus answered, “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty.”

We have here another one of those reversals that Jesus seems to use so often.  The people that are truly spiritually blind, are the individuals who were thought by the populace to be the ones that can see the most clearly.   The religious leaders are entirely blind to Jesus' message and mission.  The leaders are blind to who Jesus is and this blindness will lead them to persecute and to ultimately hand Jesus over to the Romans to be executed.

In verse 8 of chapter 10, Jesus states that 'all the people who came before him, are thieves and robbers.  We really don't know if he meant the other people that had claimed to be the Messiah in and before his time.  For you see, Jesus wasn't the first nor the last person who was thought to be, or who claimed to be the Messiah.  There were numerous Messianic movements, all of which died out once their leader was killed by the Romans.  Or it may be that these thieves and robbers are a reference to the religious leaders of the time.

I think it's most likely that the thieves and robbers were these other false messiahs and that the references to the 'hired hands' who run away and do not protect the flock from the wolves are the religious leaders.  These leaders are only workers, Christ is the son and truly cares for his flock.  He will shortly, as we know, literally lay his life down for his flock.

It is likely also that this story is included in the Gospel as a none too subtle stab at a faction that had split off from the Johannine Community.  The books 1 & 2 John appear to be addressed to leaders in Churches that are undecided as to the direction they are going to swing.  These letters are urging them to stay with the majority of the Community and to not go the path of those that have split away.

It is debated what the “other sheep, in the other sheep pens” is supposed to mean.  It seems that the general conclusion is that it points to the gentiles, which would be everyone but the Jews and Samaritans.  There is the possibility also that again this story is relayed in part to speak to the faction that has left the community.  Could these other sheep also be considered as those who have left the fold?  Is the author using one of Jesus' stories to let them know that Jesus still loves them in spite of them splitting away.  Scripture has many layers and we can in turn take these verses and consider whether it might point towards all of the various factions and divisions that we have in Christianity today.  Having come to you from the Baptist tradition, I can tell you there are dozens of different Baptists alone, much less all the rest of the various protestant denominations, the numerous forms of the orthodox church, as well as the several divisions in the Catholic movement itself.

Jesus is the Shepherd of all of these very many 'sheep pens'.  He knows his sheep and they know his voice as well.

We have to remember that as I said last week, even the early church had it's share of turmoil.  The Johannine Community was a group struggling with some deep theological issues that make the things that we tend to allow to divide us look pretty darn trivial.  A long time Pastor once told me that the number one thing that he'd seen split congregations was the music and the number two was what color should the new carpet be.  I think we can all agree that this is pretty sad to say.

Of course we all know that the imagery of a Shepherd is a common theme in the Gospels.  This is of course because the people of the time would have been able to relate to these illustrations.  And it serves to connect these lessons and messages with the stories of the Old Testament as well.  Every Jewish individual hearing these stories from Jesus would recall that the great King David himself was a Shepherd, and had been a 'good shepherd' to his people Israel.  Remember that the Messiah was to come from the house of David, and both Luke and Matthew include genealogies to solidify Jesus' claim as a descendant of King David.  The Messiah would come from the house of David and would lead his people like no one had done since the time of David, who was again a shepherd.

When we first read these verses in Chapter 10, we can't help but to be reminded of the parable of the 'Lost Sheep' found in both Matthew and Luke.

Luke 15:3-7Good News Translation (GNT)
3 So Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. 5 When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders 6 and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

The good shepherd, here isn't about to let any of his flock go missing.  He cares for them and will search tirelessly for them.  Remember that the story of the lost sheep is followed immediately by the story of the lost coin.  Both parables speak of the great joy and celebration over recovering that individual which was lost.  Both parables also speak to God's single minded determination to pursue these lost sheep.  God will keep knocking on the door whether you answer or not.  Let us not forget that as his hands and feet in this world, God is often sending us to knock on these closed doors.

The imagery of tending to sheep continues to the very end of John's gospel where we read this exchange in Jesus' last appearance to the disciples.
John 21:12-17Good News Translation (GNT)
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.
14 This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.
Jesus and Peter
15 After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.” 16 A second time Jesus said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 A third time Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” and so he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.

Some of you were in the Bible Study class last Sunday night.  There I mentioned that it is my opinion that the main way we can display our love for God is to take care of his people.  It's these verses here at the end of John's Gospel which I point to to reinforce this thought.

If we love him, we will tend his sheep.  And if we love him we'll be good and loving shepherds to his lost and wandering sheep.  Like him we will not give up on those that are lost, not ever.  We'll search for these lost sheep no matter how late the hour, and we'll celebrate over finding each and every one.

Let's close with a word of prayer, please bow your heads and open your hearts.

Dear Father, Abba, we come to you humbly, and freely accept the grace that you provide to us, grace given despite our sins against you in thought, word and deed.  Lord, we thank you for your love and forgiveness and we cherish above all else our relationship to you, we also thank you for the relationships that you have blessed us with in our families, our friends, our fellow believers and all our fellow human beings.  Truly, all are a part of your grand design and creation.  Dear God, let us always be mindful of your directions in this world and let us be your hands and feet in this place.  Father, we look forward to the day when through your direction all shall be reconciled to you and to each other.
We pray this in your most Holy and Blessed name, AMEN.

First Service at Woodlawn Christian Church

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

It was a great first Sunday here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  And we are all looking forward to many, many, many more Sunday's here.  The building is just absolutely gorgeous and the people are so excited for us to be here.  I'm certain it's where I'm supposed to be and I'm excited to see what God has in store for all of us here in Lake City.

I've attached a copy of the sermon manuscript to the bottom of this blog post.

Here are some more photos of Woodlawn Christian Church in Lake City, Iowa.

God's Blessings!
Roy

Woodlawn Chrisitan Church, Lake City, Iowa

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Chapel Mosiac at Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Window in the Chapel
Woodlawn Christian Church, Iowa

Chapel Window
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Chapel Window
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Chapel Window
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa

Good morning, I really cannot possibly tell you all how pleased Gail, Maddie and I are to be here with you.  It's been a long process for us in searching for a church to serve, and I know it's been a very long process for you all in finding a settled pastor as well.  Praise God that he has brought us all together and I pray that ours shall be a long and mutually beneficial as well as an enjoyable relationship.  Gail and I look forward to growing spiritually here with you all, and to developing many deep and loving friendships as well.

During the time that I have been searching, I've maintained a blog called “The Path to the Pulpit”.  Well, the path has led me here, and what an incredibly beautiful pulpit the Lord has led me to.  What an incredibly beautiful Church, and what wonderful Christ-filled people. I am so looking forward to celebrating with all of you the wonderful heritage of this congregation as we celebrate together 150 years of service by the Woodlawn Christian Church here in Lake City.  It's a remarkable accomplishment and one that is worthy of a grand celebration.

As I said I have maintained, and I'll continue to maintain a personal blog.  If you're interested in looking at it please feel free to do so.  I've left some of my old cards along with some of my new cards by the back door leading to the hallway to the fellowship hall.  Please feel free to grab one or more of either or both cards.  My old cards have the address to my blog printed on them.  I will normally post the manuscript of my sermons on the blog, and you can go back and look to see how far I strayed in my presentation.  Perhaps you'll find yourselves saying “If only he'd have stayed on script, it would have been a decent sermon...”

Now... before I get into our sermon I should tell you a bit about my general style of preaching.  First of all I don't consider myself an eloquent nor polished speaker, but I do preach from the heart.  I have and will always consider myself to be more of a teacher than a preacher, and therefore generally my sermons contain some element of teaching within them.  I will also try in my sermons to leave you with something that you can use in your faith walk, or perhaps something that as you ponder it, will draw you nearer to the Almighty.

But, before I dive too deeply into this sermon... let's go before the Lord in a moment of prayer, please bow your heads and open your hearts...

O' God we desire your presence with us here today.  Lord, still our restless spirits, that with quiet minds and reverent hearts we may hear your voice and genuinely worship you.

Prepare our minds and hearts O' God, that through your word, read and proclaimed, Christ may come to dwell within us, and ever rule over our thoughts and affections as the Lord of our lives.     AMEN


All right now... today we're going to be looking at a passage in the Gospel of Luke.  Luke is of course one of the three synoptic gospels; Mark, Matthew and Luke.

Most scholars consider Mark to be the oldest of the three, likely written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 ad.  Matthew and Luke were most probably written somewhere around 10 years after the writing of Mark.  John is considered the most recent of the four gospels that we find in our New Testament and most likely penned just prior to the end of the first century.

The author of the gospel of Luke is unknown though Church tradition assigns it's authorship to the physician Luke who traveled with Paul.  Nearly all scholars agree that whoever it was that wrote Luke, that person also wrote the book of Acts.  Luke and Acts contain what is regarded as the second best Greek in the New Testament.  Which book contains the best?  Well as strange as it may sound, that would be Hebrews.  But we'll go into that on another day in another sermon.

I will tell you that the gospel of Luke is my personal favorite of the four Gospels, and I like to call the author of Luke the 'Peace Maker'.  There are a number of reasons for this and I'll share them with you as we go from sermon to sermon.  Just realize that just like today the early church was made up of people, and where you have people you occasionally will have discord.  There were differences of opinions in the early church, just as there are today.  Reconciliation was a key part of this author's motive for writing these two books and soon enough you'll learn that reconciliation is a key part of my own personal theological beliefs.

Today we're going to be looking at the story in the 24th Chapter of Luke concerning the two people that are traveling back to Emmaus from Jerusalem.  They encounter Jesus along the way and in what is one of the more surprising verses in Luke, they don't recognize Christ even though they were apparently, close followers of his ministry.

How can this be that they don't recognize him?  And if you're like me and you suffer from a bit of an attention deficit disorder mindset, and your mind likes to make big jumps then, one of the things that pops into your busy mind is well... I wonder what Jesus actually did look like?

The New Testament tells us virtually nothing about Jesus' appearance.  We can surmise though that as a first century Jewish male he wouldn't have been overly tall, he would have had a darker complexion than we normally portray him as having, he would almost certainly have had brown eyes and dark brown hair.  The fashion for Jewish men at the time was to wear their hair short and to have a short to moderate beard.  He would have likely had a beard more like mine, or a bit longer than say a beard like the fellows in ZZ Top.

Though it is worth noting that as I told the children the earliest depiction that we can identify as being of Christ  shows him with short curly hair and no beard.

We know that Jesus was a carpenter, but the Greek word for carpenter can also mean a stone worker and given the region where Jesus lived it's much more likely that he worked with stone.  Now these wouldn't have been little stones, they would have been stones that were physically challenging to work with.  Therefore, it's a reasonable assumption to think that Jesus would have been a fairly muscular and well-built man.

Now I said that there is virtually nothing about Jesus appearance in the New Testament and that's true.  But there is one place that just might, just maybe, and it's a long drawn out maybe, tells us something about his appearance.

That verse is found here in Luke in Chapter 19.  Do you remember the story about Zacchaeus, the short little tax collector.  Remember that he heard Jesus was passing by, and in wanting to see him he climbed a tree... he climbed a tree we are told 'for he was short'.  Well, in this passage where the Greek tells us that 'he was short' it is impossible for us to know if it's telling us that Zacchaeus was short or that Jesus was short.  So just possibly, Jesus was shorter than the average male in the first-century Jewish population.

At any rate it doesn't seem that Jesus' appearance was of little concern to the writers of the New Testament, it is obvious that Jesus' appearance... was of NO concern to these writers.

This also reveals to us just how charismatic Jesus must have been.  It doesn't seem that he drew people to him because of his rugged good looks but rather because of his message and how effectively he delivered that message.

Now let's take a look at the scripture verses.
Luke 24:13-35 
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.  Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

So now, let's break this down just a little bit.  What do we have going on in this story.  Well, the first thing that stands out to me is that we have another in the long line of stories in the Gospels about not seeing, or not seeing correctly.  These two who are identified as 'two of them' in other words two of Jesus' followers don't even recognize the Christ when he's walking along with them.  This is a continuation of an ongoing theme, tales about the healing of the blind men, the Disciples even Peter not understanding what Jesus was all about, and Peter drawing a sword in the garden, because he did not understand how the Kingdom was coming to be.  Blindness, an inability to see or understand. Now here we again have two of Jesus followers blind to what is right before them.  They were in the very presence of Christ and did not realize it.  

One of my commentaries tries to explain away this 'blindness' as being caused by the fact that they were traveling west and into the sunset.  They go on to proclaim that since it was resurrection day the sunset would have been particularly brilliant and this brilliance blinded the two followers. Well there are several problems with this, first of all we don't actually know where Emmaus was located.  There is speculation as to what village it identified, and even the distance quoted in the scripture is debated, so we don't know if it was east or west, north or south of Jerusalem.

Frankly, trying to explain away this blindness as being something mechanical is done at the cost of the deep theological meaning that it is meant to portray in the scripture.  These followers are blind to the significance of what has transpired and it is through the instruction of Jesus himself that their 'eyes' are opened to him.  This 'sunset explanation' also totally misses the point that they have gone inside and they still don't recognize Christ until, he breaks and blesses the bread.

Which brings us to the second point, here we also have another of a long line of dinner or food oriented stories.  There is so much power in the sharing of a meal, in breaking bread and the act of community that comes from this act.  I can scarcely believe that the very first sermon I am to give as a Pastor in a Disciples of Christ Church is this very passage of scripture.  These verses that essentially underline, mark in bold letters, and draw a great big red circle around the importance of the last supper.  The importance of this remembrance as an ongoing and regular act and not as an occasional sacrament.

William Barclay in his well known and often utilized commentary says that this meal at Emmaus isn't a sacrament like the Last Supper but just a normal meal.  I really, really could not disagree with him more.  The scripture says “whenever you eat of the loaf or drink of the cup”, it doesn't say that whenever you sit down for communion in Church.  We need to bear in mind that in Paul's letters to the church in Corinth we learn that this meal originally was an actual meal, and not just a symbolic remembrance.  And in Acts the community is actually living together and taking all their meals together.

It's my opinion and you're completely free to disagree, but I'll ask you to consider that we're supposed to 'remember' Christ, his life, his ministry, his repeated emphasis on meal ministry whenever we sit down together with fellow followers of Christ and 'break bread'.  Unfortunately, it our modern rush, rush, rush world we've really forgotten this remembrance.

We've forgotten to remember the miracle at the wedding, the feeding of the 4 and 5 thousand.  All of the meals with sinners and tax collectors.  The meal with  Zacchaeus, where his eyes were opened and he came to see Christ and his ways.  His ways which would become “The Way”, as Christians were first identified.  This shared meal where Zacchaeus was forever changed.

It is here at this table that these two followers of Christ discover him for who he is, just like Zacchaeus before them.  The very reason that this table is such an integral part of our way of worship here as Disciples, is because it was such an integral part of Jesus ministry.  This meal that we share weekly is one of the ways through which Christ reveals himself to us.  But please consider that it isn't just during this meal, taken here as one body when we are to remember Christ and his work.  Rather I feel, it's in every meal that we share with fellow believers.  In each of these meals we are re-enacting the meal ministry of Christ.  Let us do this in remembrance of 'Him'.

We also need to bear in mind that this brings another meaning to these meals.  It's not just about the blood and the body, but also about the community.  We are all together one body, we are together in Christ.  Let us always remember this in our actions and interactions with each other.  We are all connected parts of one body, the followers of the way of Christ.

As I told the children, we as believers carry Christ with us each day.  He lives, he lives within our hearts.  And our eyes and our actions should display this living Christ to each other and to the world at large.  I see him alive and well as I look out across this loving congregation.
As I said earlier, too often in today's world we're so focused on our busy, busy schedule that we forget our fellow travelers.  We're so very focused on this journey, this journey to Emmaus.  We're focused on getting to Emmaus and we all too often don't recognize just who we're traveling with.  Let's try and pay less attention to the road and more attention to our fellow travelers.  Look around you, do you see Jesus in the hearts and eyes around you?  It's never about the destination, it's always about the journey... and we're taking this journey with Jesus.  Praise God!!

Let us close with a word of prayer, please bow your heads and open your hearts and minds.

Dear Father, Abba, we come to you humbly, and freely accept the grace that you provide to us, grace given despite our sins against you in thought, word and deed.  Lord, we thank you for your love and forgiveness and we cherish above all else our relationship to you, we also thank you for the relationships that you have blessed us with in our families, our friends, our fellow believers and all our fellow human beings.  Truly, all are a part of your grand design and creation.  Dear God, let us always be mindful of your directions in this world and let us be your hands and feet in this place.  Father, we look forward to the day when through your direction all shall be reconciled to you and to each other.
We pray this in your most Holy and Blessed name, AMEN.

Completed Commission Pieces - Artwork

Yesterday I installed the two pieces of artwork that I've been working on.  They both look fantastic in their new home.

Tomorrow will be my first day at Woodlawn Christian Church.  I'll blog about it in a day or two.

Please continue to follow along with the adventure.

God's Blessings!

Roy

Original artwork by Wm Roy Karlen (a/k/a Klaude Montier)
This is a 52 x 75 inch acrylic painting on board.

Original artwork by Wm Roy Karlen (a/k/a Klaude Montier)
This is a 110 x 88 inch wall sculpture.

If you like the church photos

If you are interested in the photos I use, many of them come from this Facebook page, check them out if you love old church photos.

Pairie Santuaries on Facebook

ANNOUNCEMENT of CALL!

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

I am very excited and happy to announce that the long journey to finding a permanent pulpit has ended.  This past Sunday, Gail and I accepted a call to serve at 'Woodlawn Christian Church' in Lake City, Iowa.  This is a Disciples of Christ congregation and the Church is a part of the 'Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Upper Midwest' which is made up of 154 congregations from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.  The Church has a magnificent building and a lovely parsonage.  One of the major things that we'll be working on together is the celebration of the congregations 150th anniversary this coming September.

My official first day on the job will be April 19th and I couldn't be more thrilled to be working with such a beautiful facility and such absolutely wonderful people.  I consider myself among those most richly blessed.

I've attached many photos of the Church and I will be back to blog more in the very near future.  Right now I'm working overtime trying to prepare for the changes ahead this month.

May this blog post find you all well and blessed abundantly!

In Christ,

Roy

Link to website for 'Christian Church in the Upper Midwest'

Woodlawn Christian Church - Facebook Page

Link to Google Maps Street View of Woodlawn CC

(you can click on the photos and it will bring up full sizes for your review, blessings!)