Nov. 11, 2018 is a special day in a special year. It is the day when we pause to remember and give thanks for those who fought in wars past to preserve our freedom and those who still work to protect our freedoms today. This year we also remember the 100^th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.

Anniversaries are times of celebration and reflection. In particular, Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on wars past and present. We live in chaotic times, but the world has been in chaotic times since the beginning of time. We have been fighting wars since the beginning of time, and we are still fighting wars today. Since the end of World War II, there have been more than 250 wars worldwide.

In particular, we are fighting the war on terror, especially the group known as ISIS. We are fighting a hostile enemy in a hostile environment. This enemy will use every weapon at its disposal to try to gain victory-including kidnapping and murdering innocent civilians. This environment, like all environments of war, is hostile. In this environment, conflict is inevitable.

Here in Canada, we might think that we are immune to this. After all, the last time a war was fought on our soil was over 200 years ago during the War of 1812. Unfortunately, having this view is like looking at ourselves through rose-coloured glasses. The 2014 shootings at the National War Memorial and Parliament Hill and the 2014 hit-and-run death of a soldier in Quebec City should serve as reminders that no one is immune from the forces of evil and terror.

No one in his or her right mind wants war. The cost in terms of money, property damage, injuries and death is astronomical, and those of you who have been in battle know what I am talking about. We must love our enemies if at all possible, but sometimes we need to heed the words of an old Irish blessing that goes like this. “May God bless those who love us, and those who do not love us, may He turn their hearts. If he does not turn their hearts, May he turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping.”

Unfortunately, there are times when war is necessary. Pacifists believe that if we prepare for war, we will get war. In their view, the only way to achieve peace is to eliminate the causes of war, but sometimes this means going to war. Sometimes war is the only way to get rid of dictators and terrorists like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Hussein, bin Laden and ISIS. The goal of pacifists is admirable and in fact we must try to avoid war if possible, but sometimes war is necessary and inevitable. Sooner or later war destroys those who resort to it, especially with nuclear weapons.

War is hell. It might be necessary at times, but it is not “good”. It is evil. We find strength not in our weapons, but in our faith in God. War is a tragic fact of life in our world. God prefers peace, but he often sends his people into war. He does so under three conditions:

1. To liberate oppressed people.
2. To punish evildoers
3. To defend themselves.

True pacifists believe in fighting with the weapons of the Holy Spirit. The pacifist position has always been a respected minority position among Christians. Jesus was not a pacifist. Just look at what he did to the moneychangers in the temple! He even told his disciples to be armed with swords-not for fighting snakes, but for self-defense. That’s why Peter was able to cut off the soldier’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before Christ was crucified.

Our spiritual battle plan is similar to a military battle plan. We have objectives, strategies and tactics. Satan and Jesus plan their attacks and direct their forces just like a military general does. We have to put on spiritual armour just like soldiers have to put on battle armor. Our armour is Christ himself. He fights Satan on our behalf just like armed forces fight battles on behalf of their political masters. The real battle in life is against Satan and evil in all of its forms. Our opponents bring evil into our lives just like enemy armies bring evil onto a physical battlefield.

Life is a battleground. Those of you who fought in times of war know what it is like to be on a real battlefield. You were armed and ready for battle against the forces of evil just like each and every one of us has to be ready to fight the same battle. You had to be watchful, and so do we. We have to watch out for obstacles that will make us stumble on our walk of life, and our veterans had to deal with obstacles such as barriers, barbed wire and mines. Our struggle with evil will result in certain victory because of God’s promise to be with us in good times and in bad times. Our veterans had to keep their minds on their duties in order to improve their odds of success and survival. We as Christians have to increase our chances of success in spiritual warfare by keeping our minds on God’s word. Our veterans had no guarantee that they would win their battles, but they didn’t give up. They persevered in spite of harsh conditions, and so can we because we are bold soldiers in God’s army.

Veterans fought to free people from the bondage of occupation by hostile forces. Spiritual warfare also involves freeing people from bondage-the bondage of sin and evil. There were many times when our veterans cried out in despair for God to protect them. After all, there is an old saying that “there are no atheists in foxholes.” Christian warriors are also encouraged to turn to God in faith. In both cases, evil in all of its forms is resisted. God helps us in our struggles. He will stand with us during the battles of life just like he stood with our veterans in wars past and just like he stands with the members of our armed forces today. He will give us the ammunition and the equipment we need to fight the battle.

So how can we fight the enemies of today and win? The answer is simple. We have to use weapons that are similar in nature to weapons used by soldiers in times of war. These similar weapons were outlined by the apostle Paul in the reading from Ephesians 6:10-17, which we heard read a few moments ago. Each piece of this armour of God is an ethical quality which is derived from the character of Christ and which is ours through faith.

First, we have to put on our helmets. Just like a physical helmet protects soldiers in battle, a spiritual helmet protect Christian soldiers. A soldier on the battlefield has confidence that his helmet will protect his head, and a Christian soldier has confidence that nothing can separate him or her from the love of God. As Paul says in Romans 8:31-39, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Next, we are to arm ourselves with weapons. In the case of a soldier on the battlefield, these weapons include guns and grenades. On the spiritual battlefield, the weapon is the truth of the Word of God.

We are to wear a belt. A soldier’s belt allows him to carry his weapons. A spiritual warrior wears the belt of truth-truth about himself or herself, relationships, God and God’s love, our spouses and children and relatives. The belt of truth allows us to live truthfully and not to live a lie. The belt of truth is the best weapon to use for fighting evil.

We are also to arm ourselves with shields of protection. A soldier on the battlefield today or a police officer on duty wears a bulletproof vest and a helmet. Riot police are also equipped with face shields and full-length body shields. A Christian soldier has the resources of the greatest shield of all-Jesus Christ. He stands with us and fights with us and for us against Satan’s attacks.

A good soldier also needs good footwear. Soldiers wear boots that have to meet tough regulations. Christians are to wear the sandals of peace. Just like a soldier’s boots provide traction for every type of terrain, the good spiritual boot called the Gospel gives Christians the stability of sure footing when we face pain and fear. These spiritual boots will allow us to take the gospel anywhere and everywhere, just like a soldier’s boots will allow him to go anywhere and everywhere.

Even the best equipment does not offer a 100% guarantee of safety, survival and victory. On Nov. 11, we remember those who made the supreme sacrifice to ensure victory in wars past. We have heard the list of donations that have been made and wreaths that have been purchased. All of these wreaths and all of the donations are in memory of those who fought and died in battle. To many of us, these people are just names on a sheet of paper or on a cenotaph, but to those who made the donation or purchased the wreath, these people were husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, many of whom went off to war and never came home. They are still remembered and missed by those they left behind. They are remembered on the cenotaphs in communities throughout this country and on the rows of crosses at Normandy, Pusan and thousands of other cemeteries in this nation and around the world. They were people who hated war but made the Supreme Sacrifice.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this message, 2018 marks the 100^th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Have we as a society learned anything from these events? Have we as a society learned anything from war at all? The answer to both of these questions is both yes and no. Warfare has taught us that it is something to be avoided if at all possible. In the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars?”

One thing we as society have not learned from war is that we live in a world where the ambitions and greed of a few can cost the lives of thousands. Nazi Germany was a good example. Hitler’s greed for land and his ambition to get rid of the Jews cost millions of lives. Today we can look at ISIS and see how their goal to create an Islamic state is costing lives and the money that is needed by countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and others to fight this evil.

Is it even possible to live peaceably with others? In a 2014 newspaper column, the late Billy Graham was asked why nations can’t get along with each other. He was also asked if warfare could be eliminated if poverty was eliminated. He stated in his reply that “Even if all poverty were somehow eliminated we’d still have conflicts and wars. This is because our real problem is deeper than economic inequality, or other social or economic problems. Our real problem is within ourselves, within our own hearts and minds.”

As long as there is greed and evil in this world, there will be war. War will only cease when we live according to the way God wants us to live, and that will only happen when Christ returns. Until then, there will always be a Remembrance Day or Veterans Day or Memorial Day, because there will always be a need to remember the lessons of war as well as those who made the Supreme Sacrifice.

Bibliography

•  Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
• Franklin Graham, “Standing Strong in Battle.” Retrieved from www.bgea.org

• Stephen Davey, “Dressed for War.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

• Dr. David Jeremiah, “The Armor of Righteousness.” Retrieved from www.davidjeremiah.org

• Dr. David Jeremiah, “Christ our Armor.” Retrieved from www.davidjeremiah.org

• Pastor Rick Renner, “Spiritual Warfare is real.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

• Dr. Neil Anderson, “Choosing Truth.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

• Sheri Rose Shepherd, “Stand.” Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

• Pastor Rick Renner, “Are You Dressed in the Whole Armor of God?” retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

• Bruce Epperly, “Justice for Veterans and the Vulnerable: A Veterans’ Day Reflection.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com
• Dunnam, M.D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
• Craig Condon, “We Will Remember.” Retrieved from the author’s personal sermon library
• Billy Graham, “Why Can’t Nations Get Along?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com

What kind of legacy do you want to leave when you die? If you knew that today was the last day of your life, what would you do? Are you prepared to spend eternity with God? There are times when we need to stop and look at our lives, what we are doing and whether or not it’s worth the time and effort. We need to decide if our lives have any sense of accomplishment or purpose.

A police officer stopped a driver for going 25 kilometres over the speed limit. After he received the ticket, the driver asked the officer “Don’t you give out warnings?” “Yes, sir,” the officer replied. “They’re all up and down the road. They say, ’Speed Limit 100.’

There are some people who have rejected God all of their lives and refused to accept his forgiveness for their sins. When they stand before God when they die, they will have to give an account of their lives just like the rest of us. When they receive their judgment, they will probably say the same thing as the driver did: “Don’t you give out warnings?”

God will probably reply, “Yes I do. The Bible is full of warnings to prepare for eternity. Every year you were reminded of my offer of forgiveness and eternal life at both Christmas and Easter. I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” Because they refused God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation, they will have to pay the penalty for their own sins.

Those who believe in God and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour have their names written in God’s Book of Life. They will still have to stand before God in judgment, but instead of being judged for their sins they will be judged on the basis on how they served God here on earth and be rewarded accordingly.

One way we can serve God is to meet the spiritual needs of other people. For example, Rev. Billy Graham’s father-in-law, Dr. Nelson Bell, was a medical missionary to China. He built a 300 bed hospital in the community where he lived. Because of his skill many of his patients were cured, but eventually they died. He knew that it wasn’t enough to meet their physical needs, so every patient who was mobile was required to attend chapel every day in the hospital where they were given a Bible lesson and presented with the Gospel. Those who weren’t mobile were visited by someone who would share Christ with them. Consequently, thousands of Chinese men and women received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour at that hospital.

There is nothing we as humans can do to win our salvation. Not even church membership can win our salvation for us. Only Christ can save us, and our hope and trust must be in him alone. He became the sacrifice we need for our sins, and only he can give us hope for eternal life because of his resurrection. Just has humans die only once and after that they are judged, Christ sacrificed himself once to bear all of our sins and will return to save those who are waiting on him for salvation.

The eternal heavens are realities because they are God’s dwelling place. They are truer than earthly copies. In a similar way, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross because of the single offering of himself is sufficient for all his followers for all time. It was superior to the Old Testament sacrifices because the Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated, and the high priest had to atone for his own sins as well as the sins of the people. Christ was sinless, so he did not have to atone for his own sins. He died once as an offering for all our sins, and he will return to judge the world and save his followers. Each of us has a single life before eternal judgment, so there will be no “second chances” after death.

The copies of the things in heaven were the tabernacle, the laws and the Old Testament rituals. They were only pictures of Christ’s sacrifice. That the heavenly things needed to be purified doesn’t suggest any defilement in heaven, but they represent the complete cleansing brought about by Jesus’ death. This inaugurated heaven itself as the new holy place and Christ as the new and final high priest.

“Presence” actually means “face.” Jesus has entered into the holy places on our behalf and represents us as our mediator, advocate and attorney before God. Because Christ’s sacrifice to put away sin once was sufficient, it doesn’t have to be repeated, unlike Old Testament sacrifices. For this reason, Communion services today do not repeat Christ’s death but celebrate his once-for-all sacrifice.

Christ’s ministry has three tenses:

1. Past: His First Advent to save us from the penalty of sin.
2. Present: He is in heaven to save us from the power of sin.
3. Future: His Second Advent to deliver us from the presence of sin. It will be confirmation that God has been fully satisfied with Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. At that point salvation will be consummated.

God is a God of infinite holiness who can’t stand sin. No sinner can survive in his presence. He is also a God of infinite justice, so all sin must be punished according to his standard of holiness and perfection. His justice calls for death, and if we don’t accept Christ as our Saviour that death will be spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God in hell. God is also a God of love. That’s why he sent Jesus to die on the cross 2,000 years ago in our place to meet the demands of God’s justice so that we can be forgiven of our sins and receive his gift of eternal life.

When Christ first came, he came because of humanity’s sin. When he returns, he won’t atone for sin. Instead, he will complete salvation for his people. We need to be prepared for life after death. We must endeavor to live our lives in such a way that when we stand before God and give an account of how we have lived our lives, God will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have the evidence to stand boldly before God in prayer, and we can go boldly into the world to serve others and be witnesses to God’s love.

Bibliography

• Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

• ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.

• Evans, L.F. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 33: Hebrews (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985)

• MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)

• Lucado, M: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010)

• Ricard Inness, “Know God.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

• Ricard Inness, “How to be Sure you’re going to Heaven.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

• Ricard Inness, “Ignoring the Warnings.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

• Ricard Inness, “God’s Judgment Throne.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
• Anne Graham Lotz, ”Physical & Spiritual Needs.” Retrieved from angelmin.info@angelministries.org
• Billy Graham, “If I’m Not a Church Member, Will I Be Kept Out of Heaven?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com
• Dr. Harold Sala, “If Only You Knew.” Retrieved from www.guidelines.org
• Lee Ann Dunlap, “Dots on a Screen.” Retrieved from www.esermons.com

When I was preparing this message, I found a story about a little boy who went to church one Sunday morning to get out of the cold. He had been trying to sell newspapers, but no one had passed by. He entered the church, hoping to pass an hour unnoticed in the back row. The minister delivered a powerful sermon about Jesus and his love for us. At one point during the service, they took an offering.

One of the ushers stopped right in front of the boy and held out the offering plate. After a long pause, the boy asked the usher to put the plate on the floor. Then the little boy did something unusual. He stepped into the offering plate, first one foot and then the other. He slowly looked up and with tears streaming down his cheeks said, “Mister, I don’t have any money. I haven’t sold a single newspaper today, but if Jesus did all that the minister said he did just for me, I will gladly give my life to Him”.

The story of Ruth and Naomi and the Parable of the Widow’s Mite provide some very interesting contrasts between the Christian’s way and society’s way. Both are stories of how God uses the culture of Jesus’ time to do his will in our society and teach us how we are supposed to care for each other.

In Old Testament times, the Law of Moses stated that the poor, orphans and widows were to be cared for, but in most cases the care that was provided was the bare minimum that was required. For example, farmers who grew grain were to leave the grain in the rows at the edges of their fields for the widows and orphans, but that was it. The farmers did not have to take the grain to the widows, nor did they have to bring the poor to their fields so they could pick the grain.

That was what Ruth and Naomi were doing in the field. They were picking the grain that was left for widows such as Naomi. Now Naomi had a big problem. Not only was she a widow, but both of her sons were dead, so it was just Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth. Naomi was planning to go back to her homeland, and Ruth was going to go with her, so Naomi decided to play matchmaker by encouraging Ruth to “introduce” herself to her distant relative Boaz, who happened to own the field that they were working in. Ruth followed Naomi’s advice, and the result was that she and Boaz married and became the parents of Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of King David…and from that lineage of David came Jesus. God took a bad situation for Naomi and used it to fulfill his purpose.

Jesus later used another widow to fulfill his purpose-namely, to teach us the value of giving to God’s work. The Parable of the Widow’s Mite took place in Jerusalem during the week before Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus taught his disciples to beware of those who act pious and holy on the outside but who are evil and corrupt on the inside. He used the example of the scribes. They wore long flowing robes and enjoyed the privileges of their position. They enjoyed the adoration they received from the ordinary people in the street, and they had the best seats in the synagogues. They also used crooked schemes to force widows out of their own homes.

Even today, those in power sometimes lose compassion and take advantage of others, including widows, orphans and the poor. They do not have a heart to love and serve God. In fact, they often stand between us and God. In contrast, both widows revealed faith in a caring God. He will not overlook them, and he does not overlook us. The widows encourage us to hold on to our faith in a God who will not disappoint us.

Jesus always championed social justice, which means caring for the less fortunate in society. He and the disciples were sitting in the area of the temple treasury. The treasury contained thirteen trumpet-shaped chests where people could deposit their gifts and the temple tax. Jesus could see how much money people gave. He could see the large sums of money that the scribes and the wealthy gave, and he could also see how much the widow gave. He used a comparison of the gifts to illustrate their significance.

The wealthy gave out of their abundance. That is, they gave out of what they had left after they paid their bills and purchased the necessities of life, including food. In contrast, the poor widow gave all that she had. By putting all of her money into the temple treasury, the widow probably had to go without food for at least one meal. In Jesus’ eyes, she gave more than all the rich people simply because she gave everything to God.

Many large donations are given at least in part because of the public relations value. Jesus doesn’t condemn large gifts from wealthy people, but he does say that the effect of the widow’s small donation is even bigger than any large donation because she gave out of what she had. She put God first and she is a good example for us to follow. We must always put God first.

God gives us resources to use, including money. In return, we have to manage these resources in God’s best interests-including caring for the poor. Let me give an example from my own life. I am the secretary-treasurer for the local food bank. My duties include receiving cash donations from people and recording them. I can’t get into specifics because of confidentiality, but I can tell you that the donations I see are a good example of the Parable of the Widow’s Mite. Some people give more than others, which is understandable given different income levels, but I can tell you that there are cases where the donations come from people who do indeed give most if not all of what they have. In addition, my mother and I made separate donations to the food bank each month. These were sacrifices for us because of her fixed income as a senior citizen and my low income from part-time work at the time, but like the widow, we gave out of all that we have.

Love and giving describe our lifestyles and what we were made for. Life is meant to be lived outward to the world, not inward to ourselves. God has hardwired us for generosity. When we live generously, it shows in our faces and in our lives. People in the health care profession are a good example. They show genuine care and compassion for their patients. They are not in the profession just for show. They are in the profession because they care.

God measures giving not by what we give, but by what we keep for ourselves. He measures the gift by the sacrifice involved. That is why Jesus valued the widow’s gift. She sacrificed her well-being in order to show her love for God-just like Jesus showed his love for us by dying on the cross to save us. Ruth also sacrificed her own plans for her life to stay with her mother-in-law, and God rewarded her by making her the great-grandmother of King David. If Ruth, the widow, and Jesus can make sacrifices for others, surely we can make sacrifices for others.

Bibliography

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker 8 Bible Software package.

1. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker 8 Bible Software package.
2. ESV Study Bible. Part of Lessonmaker 8 Bible Software package.
3. The Rev. Francis Wade, “Against Giving”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
4. Exegesis for Mark 12:38-44. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
5. McKenna, D.L and Ogilvie, L.J., The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
6. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 32^nd Sunday (B)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
7. Steve Preston, “Great Riches”. Retrieved from bibletalk@freegroups.net
8. Bishop Kenneth L. Carder, “The Lavish Gifts of the Poor”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
9. Micah D. Kiel, “Mark 12:38-44, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B”. Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=1418
10. Dr. Philip W. McLarty, “The Widow’s Might”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
11. “Giving our All”. Retrieved from http://sermons4kids.com/giving_our_all_print.htm

Do you enjoy playing games? I do. Every game comes with its own special set of rules. To really enjoy the game as it was intended, everyone must play by the rules. Have you ever played a game with someone who didn’t follow the rules? Do you always follow the rules?

There are rules that we must follow in the game of life too. The Bible is the rulebook we must follow in life. To really enjoy life the way God intended, it is important to follow His rules.

Prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, various factions within Judaism were vying for control of religious practice in Roman occupied Israel. While the Chief Priests and Herodians held control of the Temple, they were viewed with suspicion by the majority of Jewish people because of their associations with the Romans. The Sadducees, while not directly connected to the Temple, insisted that the proper focus for Jewish devotion to God remained in the Temple—even under Roman control. They also followed only the written books of the Law, which they often interpreted differently from the Pharisees. The Pharisees disagreed with the Sadducees on many points, following a written and oral Law and studying God’s Word in synagogues, thereby deemphasizing the role of the Temple.

Each group had scribes whose job it was to interpret the law. However, these scribes were not the rabbis or priests in charge of the interpretation; they were more generally associated with the proclamation of the law for the group with which they were associated. And so the people often saw scribes as lacking in authority. It is into this environment that Jesus was born; and it is in this environment that Jesus taught.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day liked to sit around and discuss the law. They would sometimes ask Jesus questions about the law to try to trick him into saying something that would cause people to turn against him. One day they were questioning Jesus and he answered them with one good answer right after another. A Jewish teacher of the Law came in and heard that Jesus was giving good answers and he asked him, “Of all of the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus answered him, “The most important one is this, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

There are a lot of rules in the Bible. It may sometimes be difficult to remember all of them. If we can just remember and obey the two commandments that Jesus said were the most important, all of the rest would follow. Then we would enjoy life the way God intended it.

A scribe of the Pharisees would find it particularly difficult to make their laws simple and meaningful: 613 statutes comprise the oral law with 365 prohibitions to coincide with the number of days in the year and 248 commandments to equal the reputed number of generations of man. Attempting to make this morass meaningful, scribes divided the statutes into “weighty” and “light” categories and cross-classified them as “ritual” or “ethical” laws. The need for meaning in the Law also kept before them the challenge to develop a single, simple, working principle that would encompass all of the other statutes. When the scribal expert asked Jesus, “Which is the first commandment of all?” he must have had this challenge in mind. At least, Jesus’ answer made that assumption.

After Jesus answered in a few short sentences the question that absorbed centuries of scribal time and energy, His intellectual protagonists lost their daring and left, knowing that He would have to be faulted on something other than His words. From that point on, no one dared to ask Him a question.

When Jesus answered the scribe’s question, there was a great meeting and agreement between the Christian and Jewish traditions: that love of God had precedence over all other religious requirements, observances, and loyalties. This love of God requires that we give all of ourselves, and when that is given, love for our neighbours will be the visible symbol of our love for God.

Jesus took the Pharisees’ question one step further by identifying the second greatest commandment because it was critical to an understanding of the complete duty of love. This commandment, also from the books of Moses is of the same nature and character as the first. Genuine love for God is followed in importance by a genuine love for people.

The Law of Moses was a burden for the people, but faith in Christ is simple and light. God was willing to forgive us and love us. In return, He expects us to love Him and our neighbour. The more we understand God’s love, the more we will love Him back, the more time we will spend in prayer learning about Him and developing a relationship with Him, and the more our love for Him will grow.

Christianity is all about love. How do we define love? What does it mean in practice? The answer to both of these questions involves discernment. The Holy Spirit will tell us how, when and where to love. We can love God with our emotions, our actions, and our minds. God’s love seeps into every area of our lives and challenges us to love others with our head, our heart and our hands.

The phrase “love as I have loved you” makes Jesus the standard by which to measure our love. Jesus doesn’t love people who deserve love, and God’s love isn’t based on our worthiness or performance but upon His choice. This type of love is what a husband should have for his wife, parents for their children, and Christians for each other.

This type of love can be hard to show, especially when we’re going through life’s trials. People are going to hurt us, do unfair things, abandon us when we need them the most, and say things that will hurt us, but we can let it go. We can give it to God. God has blessed us too much to spend one moment of life being angry. There will be times when we have to fight and argue, but most of the time we can just let it go. We don’t need to hold a grudge. We can love people just where they are. No one is perfect.

There are ten ways to love other people:

1. Listen without interrupting.
2. Speak without accusing.
3. Give without sparing.
4. Pray without ceasing.
5. Answer without arguing.
6. Honour others above yourself.
7. Enjoy without complaint.
8. Trust without wavering.
9. Forgive without punishing
10. Live and love as a child of God.

When the people we know think of Christians what do they think? Do they think of Jesus’ love and kindness, or do they think of people who are judgmental, opinionated or hypocritical? Jesus is clear about the impression he wants us to make in the world. That is why Jesus created the two Great Commandments.

Are you letting your light shine? This beat-up world is watching us and wondering if our faith is genuine. They don’t expect us to perfect, but they do expect to see some evidence that the love of Christ is real. How can they know it is real unless we let it shine? The kingdom of God is built and maintained by love. Christ’s love for us the only hope and remedy for our sick world. If we are Christians, Christ’s love is ringing very loudly for us to remember it and practice it.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, p. 1366)
2. Amy Lindeman Allen,” To Love and to Disagree.” Retrieved from https://politicaltheologytoday.com/to-love-and-to-disagree-mark-1228-34/
3. “Rules to Live By.” Retrieved from https://www.sermons4kids.com/rules_to_live_by.html
4. McKenna, D.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 19822, pp. 242-245)
5. Macarthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
6. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions, 31^st Sunday (b), Nov. 14, 2018.” Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
7. David Peary, “Beyond the Rule Books.” Retrieved from mail@hope1032.com.au
8. Bill Crowder, “Power of Simplicity.” Retrieved from noreply@rbc.org
9. Skip Heitzig, “Christianity in a Nutshell.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
10. Bobby Schuller, “From Blessed to Worry.” Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofpower.org
11. Carol Around, “No Other Commandment is Greater than These.” Retrieved from www.carolaround.com
12. Thee Rev. Dr. Charles Reeb, “Lose the Cape.” Retrieved from http://day1.org/8293-charley_reeb_lose_the_cape.print
13. The Rev. Genechis Desta Buba, “Kingdom Built by Love.” Retrieved from http://day1.org/492-kingdom_built_by_love.print

Have you ever tried to describe a difficult concept to someone, especially when you know that the person you are speaking to doesn’t know anything about what you are talking about? If you have, you know what Jesus is trying to do in these five parables from Matthew’s Gospel reading. Jesus is trying to describe the abstract concept of God’s Kingdom in terms that his audience could understand.

What we read in this passage is a series of pictures that show what the Kingdom of God is like. The Kingdom is not easy to understand or explain, so Jesus has to use several different analogies to get his point across to different audiences. All of these parables are about transformation-specifically, how the Kingdom of God transforms believers.

The first parable Jesus uses is the parable of the mustard seed. The radical concept in this parable is the idea that God’s world is different from many aspects of the world we live in. It is an inclusive, merciful and egalitarian community based on practical, merciful, loving service to others. For example the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has served God and man by bringing the Good News to millions of people around the world, and that ministry started in 1934 when God planted the seed of the Holy Spirit in heart of Billy Graham.

The parable shows that big things come in small packages. The Kingdom comes to us in small ways such as through the ordinary people we meet on our Christian walk of faith. Whenever we serve the poor, the elderly or the sick, we are serving God and His Kingdom. A good example is the work of Franklin Graham and the Christian relief organization he is the president of-namely, Samaritan’s Purse. It has spread the Good News of the hope of the Kingdom through its relief work in areas that have been affected by war, sickness or disaster.

Jesus intended to use this parable to encourage the early disciples as they faced overwhelming odds, and this parable continues to encourage disciples today. Most of the church’s work gets done in ordinary circumstances. Our mission seems overwhelming, and our resources seem too few, but Jesus promises that God’s power makes everything possible.

The Kingdom also comes in hidden and unexpected ways, as described in the parable of the yeast. Today, yeast comes in neat little packages, but Jesus was talking about leaven, which was a rotten, moldy lump of bread. The woman in the parable hid the leaven in good flour. This sounded unclean to the people of Jesus’ day because of the prevailing attitudes regarding cleanliness and women, but the point of this parable is that God’s Kingdom takes hold in hidden and unexpected ways.

The parables of the treasure and the pearl show us what our allegiances should be and where they should be. Was the treasure seeker behaving in an unethical manner? Maybe yes, maybe no, but that isn’t the point. The point is that both the treasure and the pearl can’t be kept secret. God’s Kingdom also can’t be kept secret, and it must not be kept secret. We are to spread the Good News about the Kingdom-just like the mustard seed grows and spread out. When we do this, we have to pay a cost. We have to give up something of worldly value in order to gain something of even more value.

There is an even greater cost that we must be prepared to pay. Following Jesus can lead to rejection by society and/or our family, as many Christians in the Third World know all too well. There might be jail time, beatings or worse. There’s no way to follow Jesus without a cross, but guess what? Some people, just at Jesus’ warning, drop everything they are doing, desert their parents, let their work go down the drain and follow Him. That’s what the Kingdom of God does to those who find it, says Jesus.

The Kingdom starts out small and grows into the Good News, a treasure worth giving up everything else to get. Why is that? It is because our old way relies on a false God who likes to punish people, a false God who justifies the ways in which we punish each other. In Jesus we meet a God of forgiveness and grace and love. We meet him in our daily lives as he hosts us in the meal of forgiveness and grace, the meal of peace for this world.

The parable of the net of fish means that God’s kingdom is available to everyone. It catches good and evil, and our job as Christians is to pull that net through the water of our communities and grab whatever we can. This is God’s way. Some undesirables will grow into genuine Kingdom people, and some who seemed promising in the beginning will betray God in the end. We are not responsible for keeping out riff-raff. The evil is tossed back by tossing it into the fires of hell, and God’s Kingdom is accomplished in the end.

Jesus is encouraging us to live the kingdom in every aspect of our lives because the kingdom is here and now on earth. It also promises an eternal reward. Between the minute beginning when the seed is planted in us and the grand culmination, there is continuity. God’s Kingdom is pervasive and priceless. Within God’s Kingdom, we get more than we bargain for. The seed and the yeast represent God’s pervasiveness in our lives. It is worth selling all that we have just to enjoy it. We have to make room for the Kingdom in our lives. We must allow it to take over our lives in a big way. When we allow God to be significant in our lives, we create a path for him to be significant in the lives of other people.

The Kingdom involves four things:

1. God’s kingship, rule or recognized sovereignty
2. The rule of heaven is spiritual in nature
3. It is visible today in the Lord’s church.
4. It is in both the present and the future.

The message of this portion of Mathew’s Gospel is that God’s Kingdom has come near. The kingdom is present when God’s sovereignty, actions and presence are felt. It is where and when God’s will is being done and God’s rule accepted and acted upon.

We must look at our lives. Do we realize what we have found in God’s reign? Has it deeply affected our lives, given us a sense of priorities, filled us with gratitude for having been “netted” for God? We must be patient, and we must exercise discernment. God does not see things as we see them. What is important to us is insignificant to God, and what is unimportant to us is important to God. Things aren’t always what they seem to be.

We do not live according to the prevalent standards around us. We choose honesty, even when it means not making extra profits on the job. We treat all people in a loving way even if others don’t think these people are worth it. We are faithful in marriage and friendship, even though the world treats promises casually. We help people who need us, even if we don’t owe them anything. We have hope as we look into the future, even though there is a lot that could make us despair. We forgive those who offend us, even though our world keeps a long memory of wrongs.

We are like the Pharisees, but only to the extent that we are responsible for studying the Scriptures and teaching them to others. We are to be trained for life in God’s Kingdom through worship services, Bible Study and Christian fellowship. We need to engage in spiritual disciplines such as praying and reading the Bible.

When we feel alienated, separated and estranged, maybe by others or maybe by our own selves, when it feels like everyone and everything is against us, it’s easy to forget that God is unequivocally for us. Sometimes we get dirt in our eyes and the deep realities of divine love are hidden from us. When that happens, we must remember that the subtleties of God’s kingdom require a discerning heart in order to find them.

Finding the Kingdom of God within and between us, spread out before us, requires dying-dying to that God who hides in heaven or waits in the wings until we have pulled all the weeds. Dying to such a faraway God of righteousness means coming alive to a God of compassion as well as goodness. If Jesus is right, and we know that he is right, God is waiting in the weeds of our lives to bind up our wounds and mend the disease that separates us from ourselves and one another and from all that is holy.

Bibliography

1. Mark G. Vitalis Hoffman, “Lectionary for July 24, 2011; Sixth Sunday after Pentecost”. Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=983
2. Proper 12A. Retrieved from www.processandfaith.org/print/resources/lectionary-commentary/yeara/2011-07-24/proper-12a.html
3. Dale Allison, “Lectionary for July 27, 2008”. Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=107
4. Paul J. Nuechterlein, “The Irresistible Seed of Peace”. Retrieved from http://girardianlectionary.net/year_a/proper12a_2002_ser.htm
5. Craig Condon, “Parable of the Mustard Seed”. Preached at Trinity Anglican Church, Liverpool, NS, June 2006
6. The Rev. Beth Quick, “Lectionary Notes-11^th Sunday after Pentecost”. Retrieved from www.bethquick.com/pentecost11anotes.htm
7. The Rev. Beth Quick, “Keys to the Kingdom”. Retrieved from www.bethquick.com/sermon7-28-02.htm
8. The Rev. Beth Quick, “Kingdom Come”. Retrieved from www.bethquick.com/sermon7-24-05.htm
9. Notes from Peter Anthony’s Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew
10. Bishop William H. Willimon, UMC, “Go for the Gold”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
11. The Rev. Dr. William L. Dols, TEC, “Looking for the Kingdom of God Too High Up and Too Far Away”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
12. Greg Laurie “Caught Alive”. Retrieved from http://www.crosswalkmail.com
13. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions: 17^th Sunday (A)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange,org.
14. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “The Work of the Baker Woman”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org
15. The Rev. John Bedingfield, “The Great Prize”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org
16. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament
17. Jamieson-Fawcett-Brown Commentary
18. Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
19. People’s New Testament
20. ESV Study Bible
21. Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV
22. Wycliffe Bible Commentary
23. Exegesis fort Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.org
24. Daniel Clendenin, PhD, “Discerning the Depths of Love of God: Nothing Can Separate Us”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus,net

The passage from John 11:30-47 shows Jesus at some of the highest and lowest points in his ministry. Jesus was told a few days earlier that his friend Lazarus was sick, but he waited for two days before he and the disciples went to the home of Mary and Martha, who were Lazarus’ sisters. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead for several days, so it’s not surprising that Mary and Martha were disappointed with Jesus.

Sometimes Jesus disappoints us as well. We’ve prayed, but no answers have come. We’ve pleaded, but God has delayed. We’ve waited, but he hasn’t arrived. Why has Jesus waited? Possibly it is because our faith and hope in Jesus have to be proved and/or tested. Our faith depends on the faith that comes from experiencing God’s power in our lives. That faith needs to be as deep as Martha’s was when she said that God could do for Jesus whatever he asked. She had a faith experience because she had seen him work miracles throughout his ministry and she knew what he was capable of.

When he saw the mourners and their raw grief, Jesus wept. Why did he weep? There are several possible reasons. Jesus could have been genuinely moved by his grief and that of the other mourners. After all, Jesus was both fully God and fully human, and as a human he experienced human emotions. Jesus was also in awe of the power of God that was about to flow through him to triumph over death. Jesus’ tears could also have been caused by grief for a fallen world that is caught up in sorrow and death caused by sin.

Jesus could have also been grieving because the people could not see that the Messiah had come and therefore they could not see what God would do through him. This is a good lesson for the church to learn. The church can be unbelieving, unconcerned and indifferent toward Jesus and God. Regardless of the reason for his weeping, the knowledge that resurrection and joy would follow were the underlying points of his grief.

It might be hard for us to believe that Jesus could cry. After all, we’ve been told for years that only babies cry, but as Dr. Phil said in an episode of the Dr. Phil Show a few years ago, “Big boys don’t cry, but real men do”. I’ve even cried. I cried during my mother’s knee replacement operation a few years ago. Jesus wept because he was sad and hurt, and his tears provided relief. Jesus was sad over Lazarus’ death. He could have spared everyone grief by coming sooner, but he didn’t because it benefitted them in the end to witness his power over death. His actions proclaimed his power and glory.

Jesus’ prayer to God shows the intimacy of their union and the gratitude that God heard and answered Jesus prayer. Jesus always did what his father asked him to do, so all he does is in reality a prayer to God. Jesus hoped that everyone who heard him pray to God would know that he was the long-promised Messiah.

Our suffering and grief matter to Jesus, and he wept in empathy many times. When we get to heaven, there will be no more sorrow, pain or tears. We will experience love like we have never experienced it before. This miracle set the stage for Jesus’ death and resurrection. It was his last miracle. Some of the people who witnessed the miracle reported it to the Pharisees, and that led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. If Jesus can raise Lazarus from the dead, and if Jesus can rise from the dead, he can bring new life to us as well if we are willing to profess our faith in him.

Jesus asked the people to unbind Lazarus and let him go. He could have done it himself, but when human beings are capable of doing something themselves, God will not intervene. Jesus calls us to unbind people as well-people who are bound up in prejudices, bad habits or other problems. They’ve heard the saving word of Christ, but they still need to be delivered from the bondage of sin. That is the ministry we care called to. When we unbind people, we show God’s love.

There is a lot of emotion in this story-grief/sorrow, sympathetic neighbours who shared the grief of Mary and Martha, Jesus weeping. In the midst of these emotions, there is an abundance of faith-faith in the words of Mary and Martha and faith in Jesus’ prayer to God. The most important feature in this story is the love of Jesus, especially as shown in his weeping. His love shows us God’s mind and nature, especially his compassion and sympathy.

The people were sad because they were stifled. Their lives were constricted. They could only see the darkness and finality of death. They knew that when Jesus’ hour came, he had to meet it and that there was no way out, and they also knew that the same thing would be true for them. They could not see the sunlight and eternity of life with Jesus in heaven until he died and rose again. Only then did they realize that Jesus made it through the valley of the shadow of death and came out on the other side. The other side was filled with light and glory.

Lazarus heard the voice of Jesus and answered the call. The voice of God reassures us and calls us from the past into the present. The voice of God keeps our faith alive. Jesus always seeks people out. He comes to us wherever we are. He calls us whoever we are. He can use us whatever we are.

When Jesus called to Lazarus, he brought Lazarus from death this time. Lazarus eventually died again. There will be a time when Jesus will call our names and bring us out of death into everlasting life. Jesus’ raising of Lazarus sent the people running for cover, and it should also send us running for cover too. We and they finally see that Jesus is Lord and liberator of all the people of God. Those who are oppressed in any way by society will be convinced that his power came from on high and could not be defeated by the evil forces of the world. Evil plotted to silence Jesus by crucifying him, but Jesus has silenced evil through the hope that his resurrection offers each and every one of us.

Bibliography

• ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible Software package.

• Frederickson, R.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985)

• “Bottle of Tears”. Retrieved from keys@lists.cbhministries.org

• Stanley C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2009)

• MacArthur, J.F. Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)

1. 1. Joni Eareckson Tada, “God Weeping”. Retrieved from www.joniandfriends.org

• Harvey Stob, “He Will Call Our Name”. Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net

• The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “Who Gets the Last Word?” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

• Dr. Mickey Anders, “Waiting and Weeping”. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

• The Rev. John Bedingfield, “Deconstruction”. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

• Dr. Philip W. McLarty, “The Raising of Lazarus”. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

• Dr. Keith Wagner, “A Voice You Can Be Sure Of”. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

• Maxie Dunnam, “The Ministry of the Unbinding”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

1. Eric S. Ritz, “Called by Life”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com
2. James W. Robinson, “A Cup Running Over”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com
3. Thomas Peterson, “Come Out!” Retrieved from www.esermons.com
4. Carlyle Fielding Stewart III, “Take Off the Grave Clothes”. Retrieved from www.esermons.com

Have you ever had problems or trials in your lives? We often have times of trial and difficulty in life. Sometimes they are the result of things we have done, and other times they are caused by God. All of us know what it is like to be hurt. It is part of all cultures, and it can only be cured by a powerful potion. In the case of believers, that potion is faith. Christian hope is grounded on the reality of Christ and his resurrection. Christ will protect us from persecution. He will protect our souls while allowing our trials to strengthen our faith. Trials humble us and prove the genuineness of our faith, but we can rejoice in suffering because of our faith.

All of our trials are temporary, because our life on earth is like a snap of our fingers-over in a flash. Our sufferings pale in comparison to the glory we will receive in heaven. We do not have to wait to catch a glimpse of God, because Jesus has told us about God. If we have faith in Jesus, we have faith in God. Faith makes us certain of the realities we can’t see, including God. When all seems hopeless, faith gives us the strength we need to keep going. Faith gives us hope.

God tests our faith so that we can experience his love. God will be with us as we face life’s challenges. We must not let our trials take away our joy. In fact, a good sense of humour can help us cope with life’s challenges. We can receive joy in the midst of our trials because God is with us. The power of God keeps us strong through faith and will continue to do so until the Second Coming. Our faith might be weak, but God is strong. This joy is unspeakable and full of glory because it comes from the Holy Spirit within us. This knowledge comforts us along with the knowledge that our trials are temporary. Our hope is in Christ alone. Hardships can strengthen our faith, and suffering can strengthen our character. Suffering can make us more sensitive to others. All of these refinements cause us to be more like Christ.

No matter how bad things get, we are to keep trusting in God, because God keeps his promises. He promised to be with us always, and he is with us always. We who trust Christ must praise God for keeping his promise of salvation. We must also live out that salvation in our daily lives. Salvation is a gift from God, and he gives believers this gift because of his mercy, grace and sovereignty. The world puts its hope in things that decay but Peter reminds us that our sure, secure hope is in Jesus. This hope allows us to face life’s challenges. Having hope does not mean that we won’t have problems, but it does mean that our sorrow will not last and that joy is central to our hope. Suffering leads to praise, honour and glory.

Peter wrote his first letter at a time when early Christians were being persecuted. The early Jews gave a living testimony to Jesus as the long-promised Messiah. Thousands came to Christ, but the early Jews were under a lot of heat. Christians are still being persecuted today, especially in the developing world. Like the early Jews, they can take hope in the knowledge of Christ’s resurrection. When we are asked why we have hope, we can say that it is because of Christ’s resurrection experience in our lives as we are born again in the Spirit. The rebirth gives us a heavenly inheritance that will never perish, will never be polluted and will always be bright. That living hope is also our shield against the perils of our sin-filled world.

When we face trials, it’s only natural for us to grieve, but we have the best comforter of all-Jesus. He has promised to be our Comforter and Encourager. He will be there so that our faith may be proved genuine. He will be with us so that we can gain praise, honour and glory at the Revelation of Christ. When we turn to Christ, especially in times of trial, we get to know God, we get a new life in Christ and we get a future in heaven.

Bibliography

• Rebecca Barlow Jordan, “Refiner.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

1. Bayless Conley, “Keep Laughing.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
2. Bayless Conley, “Keep Trusting.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
3. ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
4. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
5. Cedar, P.A. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 34: James/1&2 Peter/Jude (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1984)
6. Bayless Conley, “For Just a Little While.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
7. Joni Eareckson Tada, “Reasons!” Retrieved from www.joniandfriends.org
8. Pastor Rick Warren, “Anybody Needs a Fresh Start.” Retrieved from www.purposedriven.com
9. Dr. Keith Wagner, “A Living Hope.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org
10. Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on James, 1&2 Peter (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)  

How do you deal with distress, sickness or trouble? Sometimes we offer suffering or sick friends our own remedies as though we are the experts. Even Christians can deal with sickness and distress poorly. They ignore the reality of their troubled fellow Christians by saying, “God will heal-just pray.” They reduce trouble to only the physical when problems might be emotional, mental, relational or a combination thereof. The only solution is to turn to God for help, like David did in Psalm 34:1-8.

The background for this psalm is found in 1 Samuel 21-22. In jealousy, King Saul pursued David and threatened his life, forcing David to live on the run. In one of the loneliest times of his life, David sought refuge with the Philistines. When they realized who he was, he feigned insanity to protect himself.

David was physically weak and didn’t have any allies to help him. He was weak spiritually and aware of his sin. In spite of his weakness, he sought the Lord and the Lord heard him and delivered him from all his fears. Only through prayer can fear be overcome by faith. Like David, when we gather for worship every week, we come seeking the Lord’s guidance, direction, healing and hope.

The psalm begins with a call to worship. It’s an invitation for us to identify with David. The praise of the Lord is always in David’s mouth. David’s invitation is a call to continual worship that lifts the hearts of others, drawing them into a chorus of delighting in His name. The invitation is followed by comfort. We will only have happiness when we surrender our lives to God. When we do, God will provide for our needs. He will protect us from the devil’s attacks.

The psalm is a realistic view of the plight of worshippers who love the Lord. There is no prosperity gospel in it. It speaks of the righteous person’s many troubles. Those troubles come in the form of fears. The psalmist refers to such troubles by referring to the need for angels to surround the righteous.

How good it is for us to remember that we have a song of praise that we can sing to our Creator. There are lots of times when our mouths fall short of the glory of God or the words that come out of our mouths shock other people. When that happens, God wants us to chew on some compassion, mercy, grace and forgiveness. We will “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

The phrase, “to bless the Lord at all times” comes easily when times are prosperous. But David sang his song during tough times. When God’s people are afraid, they should worship. When they are filled with panic, it’s time to sing praises to God. When worry overwhelms us, the time for worship has arrived. Can you remember a time when you were in a time of trial? What did your heart and soul cry out? Did they cry out to God? When you have the opportunity, do what David did-praise God. Tell someone else what you learned.

When we are at a loss as to how to respond, it’s good to know that we can depend on God to bring order out of chaos. As we lean into Him, He will lead the way for us and for others. God calls each one of us to come to Him and develop a firsthand understanding of His love and kindness. No one else can do this for us. We must personally experience His presence and learn what it means to delight in Him.

Stepping out in faith means that we don’t know all that is going to happen but we are putting our trust in someone who does. Putting our trust in Jesus is not always the comfortable way to go. The risk we take is that God knows what He is doing better than we know what we are doing. History and common sense tell us to put our faith in the infinite Creator and Saviour of the universe rather than our unstable selves. Are we ready to take another step in the direction of faith? Then we have to accept God’s challenge to “taste and see.”

The phrase “the angel of the Lord” appears only three times in the Book of Psalms. Jesus appeared several times in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord. Not only has God promised to deliver His people, He has promised to give them the deliverer! Jesus himself draws near to believers in their fear.

Praise is accepting from God all that comes our way, both the good and the bad. Praise takes our minds off our situation and focuses them on God. Praise acknowledges that God has a plan for our lives. We praise God for our current situation. Praise releases God’s power.

In a scene from the classical musical Oliver!, Oliver has just come to the orphanage. It’s dinnertime, and he’s been served very little to eat, and he’s hungry. He eats what he’s been given, gets up and walks down the dining hall toward Mr. Bumble. Oliver lifts his bowl and asks, “Please, sir, I want some more.” Shock and disapproval followed that request.

In contrast, God generously invites us to taste and see that He is good. We have a God who, when we come and say, “Please, sir, I want some more,” smiles and generously gives us more. More of Himself and His goodness. More of His kindness, His mercy, His graciousness.

How do we magnify the Lord? By sharing our stories of how He has worked in our lives. Our lives aren’t perfect. When we show our imperfections we shine the spotlight on Jesus, the One who has healed our wounds. He takes our failures and mistakes and uses them for our good and His glory. He has led the way for us even in the darkest times in our lives, so we can confidently follow Him into the future, regardless of the trials we face.

Our testimonies are not boring because they involve the action of God, the one whose ears are tuned to us, the one who has delivered our forefathers, and the one who is ready to deliver us if we are bold enough to ask. We are reminded that when God does deliver us, we are to share that story so that our individual praise can become a communal praise.

We also make Him bigger by fixing our eyes on Him and not on our circumstances, lack, fear, insecurity, doubt or conflict. When we do that, when we shift our perspective to focus on God, faith will rise in our hearts and we will live knowing the truth that we serve a big God who can do big things.

How often do we focus on the small things in life instead of the big God that we serve? We can have twenty great things happening in our lives, but when one thing doesn’t go right, we lose sight of the twenty and focus on the one little problem. That is why we must always decide to make God bigger than anything else in our lives. The more we focus on Him, the smaller the problems in our lives will become.

There are times in our lives when we need fresh eyes. We have to stop and get a new perspective. God often makes us stop what we are doing because He knows we need to see things and Him differently.

Praise opens our eyes and ears to God. When we focus on God in praise, we’re much more likely to hear God’s Word. Praise isn’t easy for us because it demands that we make changes in our lives. Most of us don’t like change.

So how do we delight in the Lord? It begins with a mindset. It starts first thing each day. We have to make a conscious effort, even before we get up in the morning, to place the day in God’s capable hands. Look for the good. Begin with gratitude. When we start the day by praising God, it keeps a song in our hearts throughout the day. When we offer our praise and worship to the Lord, He can dry our tears and banish our fears. His praise will be continually on our lips.

Also, God wants His Word to be an oasis for our souls. His word is filled with comfort and promises to give rest and peace. Read it. It is satisfying food for a sagging spirit. Finally, meditate. Let the healing balm reach into your mind and soul. Taking refuge in God-that is, being protected, warm, and loved-can result in a deep, inner sense of contentment, a feeling in the very depth of your being that all is well. Those who allow themselves to be wrapped in the arms of God will find true peace, love and contentment.

Glorifying God isn’t limited to worshipping in church. In fact, praise should permeate our lives. One way that we can praise God is with our voice. We can either speak or sing our worship. True worship flows from the mouths of believers who are focused on God’s attributes. They want to honour Him because of who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised for the future.

God is praised when we serve Him. People are created for the purpose of bringing glory and honour to His name, therefore, nothing should limit our willingness to work for the King, particularly when we have a chance to share Him with others. Christ is honoured when we speak boldly about His grace and His work. Believers’ testimonies are an amazing form of praise that magnifies God’s name.

What people think about God will strongly be influenced by what they see in us. We have been baptized into His name. With His eyes wide open, God chose to align His reputation with ours. What is the best way for us to glorify God? As we penetrate a dark world with the light of the Gospel, what is the best way for us to build God’s reputation? What will people see in our example and hear in our testimony that will cause them to admire God even more? How will their experience with us in congregations and communities cause them to admire God even more?

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p.728)
2. Williams, D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 13: Psalms 1-72 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1986; pp. 270-274)
3. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 727-728)
4. John A. Nelson, “Praise Always.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org
5. Joe Natwick, “Psalm 34:1-8.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu
6. Amy Carroll, “Finding the Happy Ending to Our Sad Story.” Retrieved from www.proverbs31.org
7. Elizabeth Cole, “Please Sir, I Want Some More.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com
8. Dena Johnson, “The Marks of a Life Transformed.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
9. “When All That’s Left is Good.” Retrieved from www.leadlikejesus.org
10. Jim Burns, “Taste and See.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com
11. Judy Fussell, “The Real Thing.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
12. Pastor James MacDonald, “Time to Pull Over?” Retrieved from Christinaity.com@crosswalkmail.com
13. Rick Ezell, “Expressing Genuine Praise.” Retrieved from rickezell@greerfbc.org
14. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Charged by Praise.” Retrieved from mydevotional@leadingtheway.org
15. Pastor Bobby Schuller, “Help Through Hope and Healing…”Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofppower.org
16. Dr. David Jeremiah, “Praise Him in the Morning.” Retrieved from turningpoint@davidjeremiah.org
17. Dr. Charles Stanley, “Expressions of Praise.” Retrieved from www.intouch.org
18. “When We Don’t Know.” Retrieved from www.leadllikejesus.com
19. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Taste and See..” Retrieved from mydevotional@ltw.org
20. Christine Caine, “Shift Your Focus.” Retrieved from no-reply@christinecaine.com

1. Christine Caine, “Make God Bigger.” Retrieved from no-reply@chrstinecaine.com
2. Eric Mathis, “Commentary on Psalm 34:15-22.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2615
3. Eric Mathis, “Commentary on Psalm 34:1-8.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2613

How many of you have to take pills every day? I’m certainly no exception. I have to take 4 medications and an iron supplement every day because of health conditions. If I don’t take my pills, my health will eventually get worse. In the same way, if we don’t read our Bible and pray every day, our spiritual health will get worse. In fact, the apostle Paul talks about spiritual health in the passage we heard from Romans.

Paul describes the gospel not as a message or a set of doctrines, but as “the power of God” effecting salvation. This salvation has universal reach, in that it extends to both Jews and Gentiles. The good news of salvation reveals “the righteousness of God,” which is expressed through God’s faithfulness toward humanity, a faithfulness that enables humanity to express faith through God’s faithfulness toward humanity, a faithfulness that itself enables humanity to express faith in Christ.

All that Paul has said to this point in the Letter to the Romans is painfully true: man has earned the condemnation of God. Paul’s first words in verses 21-22 signal the beginning of a new section of his letter-and a new day in the world of faith: before Jesus Christ, the Jews were self-righteous and the Gentiles were unrighteous. Now the righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

Sin is an overstepping of the divine boundary between good and evil, a failure to meet the divine standard, the intrusion of self-will into the place of divine authority, spiritual anarchy and an insult to the divine veracity. God has installed a warning system called guilt into our souls. We experience it when we do something wrong. Just as pain tells us there is a physical problem that must be dealt with or the body will suffer, guilt tells us something is wrong spiritually and needs to be confronted and cleansed. Guilt is the symptom of the real problem of sin.

In New Testament times, a slave market was a common sight. Slaves were displayed before potential buyers who would examine them and would buy the slave. Those days are long gone, but we are living in a time where similar tactics are used for a variety of reasons. We are familiar with hijackings, kidnappings and hostage-takings, which are often resolved only when innocent people pay huge ransoms to free other innocent people. Paul sees humanity as being in a similar situation. Christ is portrayed as the one who, when He came into the place of our bondage and seeing that we were hostages to sin, freely paid our ransom.

The subjects of redemption are sold under sin but are under sentence of death. The purchase price is the blood of Christ who died in their place. The redeemed are never again exposed to sale. Christ paid the price, the Holy Spirit makes deliverance actual in experience. Christ endured the righteous sentence God imposed on humanity. His righteousness is His consistency with His own law and holiness in freely justifying a sinner who believes in Christ.

There’s no question about human sin, guilt, divine judgment and condemnation. There is also evidence of God’s love for sinners and His commitment to their redemption. People who want to be reconciled to God have two choices: live a life that will be so pleasing to God that they will be rewarded by reconciliation, or trust God to give them a chance, even though it is neither earned nor deserved.

Salvation by grace through faith doesn’t mean that the Law is useless. On the contrary, it is still important. Salvation by grace underscores the true importance of the Law:

1. By providing a payment for the penalty of death, which the Law required for failing to keep it.
2. By fulfilling the Law’s original purpose, which is to teach us that we can’t obey God’s righteous demands and to drive people to Christ.
3. By giving believers the capacity to obey the Law.

The righteousness of God is neither an attribute of God, nor the change of character of the believer, but Christ Himself, who fully met every demand of the Law, and who is righteous. No one is outside the scope of God’s righteousness; there is also no distinction among those who are saved-or among those who are lost: all fall short. Divine righteousness excludes all boasting. It eliminates all human pride, prejudice and presumption.

Grace is one of God’s expressions of love for us. It is the gift unsought, unmerited, unlimited that overrules whatever a person has done, no matter the depth of transgression or the darkness of heart. He has made His righteousness available to us, and we don’t even have to obey the Law perfectly to receive it. He has shown this to be the case in His dealings with His people through the Law and the prophets.

It’s because of God’s grace that there is a gospel to proclaim and a Saviour to praise. He doesn’t get tired of us. Instead, He chooses to deal graciously with us. When we understand grace, we no longer resist and resent God. We long to draw near to Him.

 We won’t find God’s grace until we acknowledge that what we bring to the table is only our sin and guilt. We need God’s grace. What God brings to the table is everything. Our welcome into God’s family is zero because of what we’ve done and 100% because of what God has done for us in Jesus’ death on the cross.

 Because many years passed during which God continued to atone “temporarily” by covering over sin, it might have appeared that God did not take sin seriously. The cross of Christ removed all doubt: The cross is the public declaration that God is righteous in the way He has handled human sin. It is no longer merely covered, but removed!

How do we deal with sin? Some of us deny it, but a better way is through faith in Jesus. He shows us that God loves all of us, regardless of our sins. Christ came to pay the price for our sins. He covers our sins. He is the sunglasses that we wear so that we can see other people through God’s eyes.

How do we show our faith in Jesus? Some people think that going to church once a week is enough to keep sin away and show our faith, but it isn’t. In addition to a weekly dose of Bible study and prayer, we need a daily dose too. We need to read our Bible and pray each day to keep sin away, just like many of us have to take pills every day to keep illness away.

Bibliography

1. 1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, p. 1548)

• The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testament. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.

• Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 85-94)

• MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)

• Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)

• Pastor Greg Laurie, “The Good in Guilt.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

• Pastor Ken Klaus, “What You’ve Got.” Retrieved from lh_min@lhm.org

• Dr. Charles Stanley, “Justice and Mercy.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

• “A Shot in the Arm.” Retrieved from www.Sermons4KIds.com

• Pastor Ed Markquart, “Me and My Shadow.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com

• Matt Skinner, “Commentary on Romans 1:16-17; 3:22-28(29-31).” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

This coming Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, many Protestant churches will celebrate the re-birth of the church, also known as the start of the Protestant Reformation. Sure, the church was actually born on the Day of Pentecost, but over time the church strayed away from its original purpose. It went from a God-made institution with the Ten Commandments, the Two Great Commandments and an emphasis on God’s love to a man-made institution with its emphasis on man-made rules and rituals.

There was a time when the church pictured God as an angry God who was watching over us and anxiously waiting for us to make a mistake so that he could punish us with eternal suffering in hell. The church taught people to fear God in the worst sense of the word, and the church used that fear to control the people, to get them to submit to church leaders and obey all of the teachings and rules of the church. The church used that fear to obtain wealth and power for the Pope in Rome and for the Roman Catholic Church. For example, by the 16^th century the Roman Catholic Church became wealthy from the indulgences or fees that worshippers had to pay to free the souls of their loved ones who were in purgatory, which was the place between heaven and hell where the faithful were being cleaned up for heaven. There were at least seven sacraments that were prescribed by man.

By the time of the Protestant Reformation, the church was similar to the Pharisees of Jesus’ time-very authoritarian. The word of the pastor or church elders was law, and no one in the congregation could question it. Part of the reason was because the language of worship services at that time was Latin. There were very few Bibles available because they were copied by hand, and the few Bibles that were available were also in Latin. Since very few people other than the wealthy and the educated could read or speak Latin, they had to trust that what the minister said was the word of God.

The situation in the church was similar to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants in Matthew 21:33-42. Reformers agreed with the parable’s idea that because the Israelites had abused their tenancy as God’s people, God would lease his church to another people-the (new) Christian church. They also argued that because the (new) Christian church had abused its tenancy, God would replace it with the Reformed Church.

Over many years the church and its practices were reformed, but the process was not easy. One key event that helped the process was the invention of the printing press. That made the publication and distribution of Bibles easier. The Reformation was also helped by efforts to translate the Bible from Latin into the languages of the common people in Europe, specifically the efforts of John Wycliffe and William Tyndale to translate the Bible into English, and Martin Luther to translate the Bible into German. That made it possible for more people to read the Bible and discover the truth of God’s word for themselves.

Luther also believed that church music was for everyone to sing. He wrote, “The devil who is the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless trouble, flees before the sound of God’s music almost as much before the Word of God”. That belief inspired him to compose the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, and it is a bold affirmation of the love and power of our heavenly Father.

The end result was the idea that ordinary Christians could and should read the Bible for themselves in their own everyday language and draw their own conclusions from it. They did not have to accept the words of centralized religious authorities at face value. They did not have to accept traditions at face value unless they were prescribed by the Scriptures. Naturally this undermined the authority of the established church, which is why the church prohibited translation of the Bible into the language of the people, and publicly burned such Bibles as they could find.

Even today, the Roman Catholic Church is largely authoritarian in nature even though changes were made in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council-changes that included allowing services to be conducted in the language of the common people. In addition, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormon Church and other fundamentalist denominations such as the Salvation Army, the Pentecostal Church and some Baptist churches are still thriving today, and individual preachers can be authoritarian (If you don’t believe me, just listen to Pastor Perry F. Rockwood!!!!!!!!!!).

Luther and other reformers understood that Biblical theology can only be done on the basis of a detailed and comprehensive study of all the relevant material, and not by blindly accepting a minister’s word as law. They struggled to accept the church’s teachings. In fact, it is largely due to Luther’s struggle to reconcile his faith with church doctrine that the Protestant Reformation was successful. Luther and other Reformers such as John Knox discovered that the only sacraments that were necessary were those that were explicitly mentioned in the Scriptures; namely, baptism and Holy Communion. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther had had enough of the corruption and false teachings that were coming out of Rome. He nailed his 95 theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany-thereby opening the floodgates to the Reformation.

There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God personally. Luther and the Reformers discovered this and so did the common people. The Reformation changed the church’s emphasis from the suffering Christ on the Cross to the Risen Christ and an empty cross. It’s not the “what” of our faith that saves us, but the “whom”. In his sacrifice for our sins, Christ truly sets us free from our sinful nature. Christ was most concerned about freeing us from our bondage. He came to free us from the bondage of sin, just like the Reformers freed people from unnecessary rules and rituals made by man and replaced them with those that were prescribed in the Scriptures.

Grace is the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ which is freely given without set and described patterns. It is the same point that Paul tried to make in Ephesians 2:8 when he wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, but the gift of God”. It was hard for both Paul’s readers and Martin Luther to understand and accept this concept because they came from religious backgrounds which underlined the importance of keeping the law to earn the love of God. What made it even harder for Martin Luther to understand this concept was the fact that his church told him that he could become justified before God and cleansed of guilt by doing certain things to make himself more pleasing to God-things such as becoming a monk, praying more, fasting longer, or by going on a pilgrimage. He did all of those things, but he still didn’t feel that he had done enough. It was only by carefully reading the Book of Romans, specifically Romans 8:19-28, that he discovered the reality of grace. Only then did he find peace with God and a sense of assurance and rest for his troubled spirit. He expressed God’s grace in the second verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”:

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing

Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing

Dost ask who that might be? Christ Jesus it is He

Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same

And He must win the battle

The sole aim of the Reformers was to invite Christians into a new vision of the possibility of a genuine relationship with God that was not governed by church officials, of the promise of forgiveness based not on what we have done, but by what Christ has done for us, and the guarantee of access to God’s grace and promise of eternal life that was not mediated by man-made rules. In other words, the Reformers invited Christians to freedom.

The truth of what we believe is set in the truth of Jesus. When Jesus talks about abiding in his word, he is talking about obeying his teachings and building a life based on Jesus himself-a life of faith-a strong life. Christianity is about spiritual growth. It is about the hard work of sanctification, which requires both the Spirit of God and the disciplined and repeated use of the means of grace. A genuine believer holds fast, obeys and practices God’s teachings.

Grace can be abused, and in fact sometimes it is abused. Limitations are appropriate and necessary. God does give us commands. They are not meant to stifle us, but to allow us to grow in faith. Freedom in the biblical sense never means just doing what we want to do. It is the power to do what we ought to do. It is the freedom we need to be Jesus’ disciples. In serving God and serving others, we are free thanks to Jesus.

In the words of Martin Luther, we are justified according to the Scriptures alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The work of genuine reformation is never finished. The church has always adapted to reflect changes in society while remaining true to the Scriptures.

Reformation can continue here, today, with a commitment to continue in the word of Jesus-not as a hobby, but as the core and source of our daily lives. Grace is focused in Jesus Christ, but it is also all around us. God wants us to learn, God calls us to love with our minds, because the search for truth leads to God. If we look for it and listen for it, when we least expect it, a voice will say, “You are loved, you are affirmed, you are set free”. If we accept it, embrace it, trust in it, and let it penetrate every fibre of our being, it will make a difference in every aspect of our lives. It truly will set us free.

Bibliography

1. 1. “Translator William Tyndale Strangled and Burned”. Retrieved from www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11629961/print
   2. The Rev. Dr. Douglas Oldenburg, PCUSA, “Grace”. Retrieved from www.day1.org/876-grace.print
   3. The Rev. Dr. Brett Younger, “Loving God with All Your Mind”. Retrieved from www.day1.org/3241-loving_god_with_all_your_mind.print
   4. Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2009)
   5. Erdman’s Handbook to The History of Christianity (Berkhamstead, Herts, England: Lion Publishing, 1977, pgs. 345-432)
   6. Pastor Allen Schoonover, “The Truth Will Set You Free”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   7. Pastor Dean Haferman, “Knowing God Personally”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   8. Pastor Dean Haferman, “Reformation Day”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   9. Pastor Thomas Kadel, “Quo Vadis Domine?” Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   10. Pastor Joseph Robb, “Reformation: Major Transformation”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   11. Pastor Dan Sello, “Life-Changing Discoveries”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   12. Richard Neil Donovan, “The Truth Will Set You Free”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
   13. Greg Laurie, “Satan, Society or Savior?” Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
   14. R.C. Sproul, “Climbing Out of the Mire”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
   15. Macarthur, John: MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006; 2008)
   16. Charles F. Stanley, “The truth That Sets Us Free”. Retrieved from www.intouch,org
   17. Charles F. Stanley, “True Freedom”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
   18. F.B. Meyer, “Our Daily Homily”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com

• Dr. Tony Evans, “The Authority of Stewardship”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com

1. Charles R. Swindoll, “Grace and Freedom”. Retrieved from www.insight.org
2. Biography of Martin Luther. Written by R.W. Heinze, PhD, Lecturer in Church History at Oak Hill College in London, England. Part of Libronix Digital Library System computer software package.
3. Biography of John Wycliffe. Written by R.G. Clouse, PhD, Professor of History, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana. . Part of Libronix Digital Library System computer software package.
4. Biography of John Knox. Written by H. Griffith, M.Div., Associate Pastor, Stony Point Reformed Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Virginia. Part of Libronix Digital Library System computer software package.
5. Ben Witherington, “Man of the Bible”. Retrieved from www.stlibrary,com/print.html?id=84376
6. David Lose, “Commentary on John 8:31-36”. Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=827
7. Daniel Clendenin, Ph.D., “A Remarkable Exercise in Honest Thinking”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20091026JJ.shtml?view=print
8. Daniel Clendenin, Ph.D., “Correcting the Correction”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus,net/Essays/20051024JJ.shtml?view=print
9. The Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson, “god’s Presence, Freedom and Truth”. Retrieved from http://dimlamp.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/reformation-sunday-yr-c/
10. The Rev. Walter W. Harms, “Sermon on John 8:31-36”. Retrieved from www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=529&kennung=20071028en
11. Lucy Neely Adams, “Reformation Day: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. Retrieved from www.christianity.com/Home/Christian%20Living%Features/121523552/print/