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"Get Up!"

6/24/2021

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2 Cor. 8: 1-15; Mark 5: 21-43

13-year-old Long, a Cambodian girl, was kidnapped and sold into a brothel. When she rebelled, the brothel owner gouged out her eye with a metal rod.

Sunita, a young Indian bride, was held down on a cot by her father-in-law and brother-in-law, while her husband doused her with kerosene and set her on fire. She later died in the hospital of her wounds. The reason? Her in-laws were demanding a bigger dowry from her parents. Sunita was murdered over a refrigerator.

     A 12-year-old girl was killed in an acid attack in Southern Afghanistan, because she befriended a 15-year-old boy (who was also killed).

    A 12-year-old Yemeni girl died three days after her wedding night from acute bleeding.

    12 year old Anisha was promised her in marriage to a Taliban fighter to pay a debt. She was handed over to his family who abused her and forced her to sleep in the stable with the animals. When she attempted to flee, she was caught and her nose and ears were hacked off by her husband as punishment.

    These young girls are a reminder that, despite all the advances we have achieved, there are still in many parts of the world where girls and women still face extreme danger and prejudice. Violence and discrimination are still practiced and long standing.

   Greek philosopher Aristotle 4th century BCE, following his ancient tradition, considered women ‘defective’ human beings. Christian writer, Tertullian, addressed women in the 2nd century: “You are the Devil's gateway; you are the unsealer of that tree; you are the first forsaker of the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the Devil was not brave enough to approach!" Martin Luther wrote in the 16th century: “If they (women) become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth. That is what they are there for.”

          How different is today’s account of Jesus’ words and deeds toward women from these news reports, philosophers and church writers. Today’s story finds Jesus mobbed by a crowd. Pushing his way through to get to Jesus is the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus. Leaders of synagogues were not generally hospitable to Jesus.   The leaders of Jesus’ home synagogue in Nazareth tried to push him off a cliff when he first preached there. At another synagogue in Galilee, (Luke 13:14), the leaders publicly rebuke Jesus for healing on the Sabbath a woman crippled for 18 years. We know from the gospel accounts that these rulers took an active role in having Jesus condemned to death.

But this ruler, Jairus, is unlike the rest -- his actions speak to us of a different possibility. Jairus is one of the few people who are named in Mark’s gospel who come to Jesus for help. His little girl, just 12 years old, on the cusp of adulthood, is dying. Should he go and publicly plead for a miracle from this man who associates with people he wouldn’t let in the doors of the synagogue?   Should he put his reputation aside in a desperate effort to keep his little girl from dying? Jairus throws caution to the wind. He falls to Jesus’ feet – an act of submission -- he begs repeatedly to go to his home and lay his hands upon her. Jairus loves his daughter. He is willing to do anything for her. His actions on behalf of his little girl are heart-warming – even ahead of its time -- in a time when daughters were not valued as much as sons – a sign for sure of Jairus’ enlightenment.

          Jesus goes with Jairus. But along the way Jesus is detained – by a woman with a flow of blood. She has been bleeding 12 years – since the time Jairus’ daughter was born, in fact. Unlike Jairus, she is unnamed. Jairus is well-to-do and influential, the woman with the hemorrhage is now impoverished – having spent all her money over the years seeking a cure. She is a social outcast – her flow of blood makes her ritually unclean, unable to touch anyone, or anything. The law stated clearly: “If a woman has a discharge of blood …she shall be unclean…. everything on which she sits shall be unclean. And whoever touches these things shall be unclean.” (Lev. 15:25). She has been deprived of human contact for 12 long years. Nearly half a lifetime, for a woman in Jesus’ day.

Then that fateful day happened: Jesus was walking to Jairus’ house, surrounded by a multitude. The bleeding woman faced a choice -- Should she risk exposing herself to ridicule and public condemnation for touching a man? Should she risk making Jesus ritually unclean?

          This unclean woman is desperate and so she touches Jesus’ clothes, and at once is made well. And Jesus knows. Jesus stops -- demanding to know who touched his clothes. Why does he do this? Does he want to embarrass this poor woman? And the woman does come forward, in fear and trembling, and she too throws herself at Jesus’ feet. Jesus does not upbraid her. He doesn’t point out that she broke the law.   Instead, Jesus praises her in front of everyone: he calls her daughter. Most people thought no doubt she was sick because of her sinfulness; Jesus praises her faith. Jesus sends her forth in peace healed of her disease.

          All this time Jairus must have been in anguish. As this woman is healed, his daughter succumbs to her illness. Here was a woman, Jairus, who could never have come near the synagogue. Jairus, you were personally responsible to keep her out. And while Jesus is restoring her to life, your daughter loses hers. What a bitter experience. But Jesus addresses you, Jairus, his only words to you: “Do not fear, only believe.” Jairus, it’s time. Wake up.

          Jesus perseveres and goes to Jairus’ house. Amid the wailing, and commotion and even the derisive laughing at Jesus, Jesus goes into the dead girl’s room, and takes her hand and says, Talitha cum -- Little girl, get up. This is one of the few phrases which remain in Jesus’ native tongue of Aramaic -- one of the few times the gospel writers records Jesus’ actual words. And the little girl gets up and began walking about.
          In both stories, the little girl and bleeding woman are called daughters. They are loved. Both females are ritually unclean according to the law – which means cut off from human touch and community. But they weren’t cut off from Jesus. They weren’t cut off from a law of love. Jesus brings healing to a prominent man’s family. Jesus brings healing to an unknown isolated woman. There are no boundaries with love, not even death.

          The Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Galatians: ' There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male nor female: for all of you - all of you - are one in Christ Jesus.' Only the practice of a love that restores wholeness to community, a love that restores us to life, matters. We all are equal in God's eyes, all equally loved by him, and all are welcome.

     Today, Jesus tells us -- get up! How many little girls (and little boys) long to get up – from under what oppresses or hurts them?

As we follow Christ, we too say, Get up – to all the Longs sold into slavery and to brothels.

--Get Up-to all the Sunitas who die in dowry burnings.

-- we say Get Up to those young girls who are married before their time, and die from childbirth or from bleeding to death.

-- Get Up - to all the Anishas of the world—disfigured and cut off from education, and a dignified life.

-- Get Up to all the girls bullied, abused, trapped by unhealthy body images and poor self esteem,

– Get Up – Get Up -- to all of us – to be awakened to the power and mercy of God to transcend whatever walls we put up – to be awakened to the life God has in store for you, the peace of Christ within our grasp -- if we but dare to grab hold of the hand of Jesus, who will not let go. Amen

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"The Other Side"

6/24/2021

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Mark 4:35-41; 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Yesterday we celebrated Juneteenth, June 19th, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. This happened when enslaved peoples in Texas learned from Union troops on June 19, 1865, 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation, that they were a free people. This past week congress passed a motion signed into law by the President to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Since 1865, Juneteenth has been celebrated primarily in African American communities with prayer and religious services, festivals of food, music and dancing, community picnics with speeches and educational events. While it is a holiday that celebrates the official end of slavery, it also points to the ongoing work that remains to be done to bring about racial justice and harmony in our land. The challenge remains despite the celebrations.

We live in challenging, stormy times. All this produces enormous anxiety, fear in us. Where will the next mass shooting take place? Violent crimes are spiking. Prices and taxes are going up. Will our children be able to afford college or to take out a mortgage?   Will we be able to retire? What will happen if we get sick? How will we pay the bills?
Our readings today speak of battle, overwhelming challenge, nightmarish storms. In our reading from 1 Samuel, David, a shepherd boy, encounters a valley to be crossed, a valley separating two armies poised for battle. On one side of this valley stands the army of the Philistines and their top warrior, Goliath of Gath. A giant of a man, all decked out in the latest technologically advanced and seemingly impenetrable bronze armor. He is the ultimate fighting machine, the heavy weight champion of the Philistines, ready to make mince meat of the hapless Israelites.

         On the other side of the valley stands the Israelite army. Upon seeing Goliath, the soldiers are quaking in their boots. But there on the sidelines, is a young man named David, a boy, a teen-ager, eighth son of his father, the youngest, not yet old enough for his driver's license. David’s skills so far include tending and defending sheep, playing musical instruments and writing poetry. When this kid hears Goliath shouting his insults, he goes to King Saul and says, “I’ll go fight this Philistine.” So, David crosses into enemy territory with nothing more than those stones and his shepherd’s staff and sling. Goliath is insulted that his enemies could not come up with a more worthy opponent. When Goliath came forward, David reached into his shepherd's bag, took out a stone, and slings it, striking the Philistine in his one vulnerable place – his forehead. Goliath, the mighty giant, is taken day by a mere stone.

        What enabled David to win? What kept fear, trauma and anxiety away? David’s words have become a rallying cry for us in our times of trial – “The battle is the Lord’s.” David stayed centered in this belief. David declares “The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the bear will save me from the hand of this Philistine!” David may be young, but he is mighty in faith. He has been delivered before. He holds onto this knowledge as he prepares to confront another adversary. David’s words and deeds reminds us we have been in battle before, we have crossed the valley many times in the past. With God’s help, we have made it through.

        Our gospel story from Mark finds Jesus and his disciples crossing the sea in the midst of a storm. Jesus had been teaching the crowds much of the day. When evening had come, Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” Jesus was bone-tired from ministering and teaching the crowds all day. They were leaving the Capernaum area on the Northwest side of the lake and traveling about 4-5 miles across to the eastern side of Lake Galilee.

            As they traveled, in the dark, a ferocious storm hits them. Waves were coming in over the sides of the boat. Although seasoned fishermen, used to terrible storms, they are terrified at the viciousness of the current storm they find themselves in. The boat was on the verge of sinking, and Jesus was asleep, through it all. Teacher, they finally cry out, at the point of desperation, “do you not care that we are perishing?” Unlike David, the disciples are talking from a place of fear, not belief. We’ve been there too.

        Sometimes, at very important times in our lives, when we are in the dark and buffeted by the storms of life -- it feels that as though God has forgotten us. That Jesus doesn’t care. That Jesus has fallen asleep while we are fighting for our lives. We feel alone. Fear replaces faith. The boat is taking on water. The winds are whipping, we’re losing our balance. We shout out, “do you not care, God?” Do you not care God, that my loved one is on the verge of death? Do you not care God, that my bank account is almost empty? Do you not care God at how alone I feel, how helpless I feel, how much darkness and despair I am in?

        When the disciples finally awaken him, Jesus immediately rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And when everything has calmed down Jesus in a similar fashion rebukes the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” This word here is actually more like, “why are you cowardly?” Jesus was with them. He would not let them drown. In some ways, Jesus was teaching them the kind of faith they would need to minister among different peoples, in challenging times like today-- a faith we need to withstand the hardship that comes from daring to get to the other side to righteousness, justice and peace and faith.

Both stories, the one about David and Goliath and this one about the storm on the lake, are about facing almost insurmountable challenges. What giant looms large in our lives? What storms threaten our safety? How do we overcome this fear-mongering, greedy, materialistic culture and stay rooted in faith? What has enabled all oppressed people, hurting people to endure and stand up for healing, wholeness, peace and justice? That’s why holidays like Juneteenth, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, are so important to celebrate. They remind us of the words and deeds of people of faith who have gone before us.. How are parents sacrificed for us. How to survive and thrive in adversity in the storms of life. They did it, we can too.

Consider this. A young boy, at the age of seven, he had to go to work to help support his family. At nine, his mother died. At twenty-two, he lost his job as a store clerk. At twenty-three, he went into debt and became a partner in a small store. At twenty-six, his partner died leaving him a huge debt. By the age of thirty-five, he had been defeated twice when running for a seat in Congress. At the age of thirty-seven, he won the election. At thirty-nine, he lost his reelection bid. At forty- one, his four-year-old son died. At forty-two, he was rejected for a land officer role. At forty-five, he ran for the Senate and lost. At forty-seven, he was defeated for the nomination for Vice President. At forty-nine, he ran for Senate again and lost again. At the age of fifty-one, he was elected President of the United States. During his second term of office, he was assassinated. But his name lives on among the greats in U.S. history--Abraham Lincoln. Who issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.

Think of the sprinter Allyson Felix who has won more medals in track and field than any other woman in America. An Olympic hopeful for the Tokyo Olympics, she recalls her loss in Beijing through the lens of faith. “Sometimes God puts you through something in order for you to accomplish something bigger in your life… There is a bigger picture. A lot of times with faith, you don’t get it in the moment. Then later you see why that happened.” (New York Times Magazine, June 20, 2021)

Like the first celebrants of Juneteenth, we claim what was already theirs – freedom. Hope. Faith. A better future. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s. Others who need our help are waiting. There is a bigger picture, that faith leads us to see. The Battle is the Lords. So today we face the storms within us, around us. Through faith we face the giants along the way, with the true knowledge that with the Grace of God, we will cross that valley, we will get to the other side, victorious. Amen.

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"Be the Seed!"

6/24/2021

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Mark 4:26-34; 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; June 13, 2021
      I invite you to pull out your bulletin for a moment. Let your eyes fall on any sentence and follow it to the end. Eventually you will find a sentence that ends in a period. Look at that period. A small dot with the power to stop your reading. At least if we follow the rules of grammar. But that isn’t the only amazing thing about that dot.

      Look at that dot. There was once a time when you were no bigger thank this dot. In those cells no bigger than this dot, was contained all the genetic instructions necessary to direct the development of organs and tissues, bones and nerves, glands and blood, limbs and hair. When you were still this tiny, it was already determined whether you’d be male or female and what the color of your eyes, hair and skin would be. Can you imagine you were once this small? Think of this: at some point, we were all small enough that taken together the population of the world could easily fit inside this sanctuary!

       I am not a biologist, I don’t know the exceptions to the rule, but from what little I know, we are not unique in this way. All living things and creatures begin their lives as a seed – one dot of a cell. We could draw a parallel with non-living creation: great masterpieces of literature, art, architecture, music inventions, the ways of thinking that direct our lives – all begin as an idea, a thought carefully worked upon, edited and redone many times before achieving their final form. So much comes from a speck, a thought, a dot a small seed.

Jesus asked, what shall we compare the kingdom of God?  What did his listeners think?  What were the popular answers in his day?  Is it like the Temple in Jerusalem?   Is it like a Roman fortress?  The Davidic dynasty?  Is it the restoration of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah?

  No, it is like a mustard seed, Jesus said.  Just like the period at the end of a sentence. How is this little seed a sign of God’s sovereignty?  Why would God settle for that?         But why did God settle for David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, ignoring seven older, wiser, more seemingly capable brothers as we heard read from 1 Samuel this morning?  Why in salvation history, did God choose the younger over the eldest:  the offering of Abel over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Rachel over Leah, Joseph over his ten older brothers?

          Jesus’ teachings are filled with images and reminders of what is small, little, frail and young.  Did not Jesus say “let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.? Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14)   Jesus also said: “For the least among all of you is the greatest.”  (Luke 9:47-48) and “The last shall be first.”

     It’s an interesting theme that runs throughout the Bible -- this emphasis on the smallest, youngest, the weakest amidst all the pomp and glory.  It’s what the Lord declared to Samuel: “we look on the outward appearance – the Lord looks upon the heart.” So the seed is an important reminder.  The parable of the mustard seed, one of the shortest parables in the gospels, has one of the biggest messages of faith.

There is nothing more important than the mustard seed. The mustard seed is not only small, it can grow in just about any soil, and just about anywhere in the world.  Once it gets started it is persistent, it grows and grows.  So, to have a mustard seed faith means seeing as God sees. Believing in the potential and vision.  It means to have that ability to look past all that on the outside and look upon the heart. To see within the seed the dominion of God – where the ordinary, small acts we do can be powerful and significant.

When a friend of mine, Chris, was a teenager, he was once in an accident.  He had been hit by a car, thrown out of his shoes. His parents did not know where he was, because Chris had talked a friend into deceiving their parents so they could go to the movies.  They missed their bus home and had to walk.  Then the car hit him. Chris was bleeding profusely, and he was in shock.  He thought he was going to die.    As a crowd of strangers gathered. Then one woman, brought a blanket and covered him. She held him and talked to him, not knowing if he were going to die in her arms. Chris was taken to the hospital and recovered completely.  But he never could find that woman again to thank her. He never learned her name.  But Chris will always remember her. Chris credits this woman with leaving an indelible mark of grace on his soul -- with shaping the course of his life, toward faith and toward service, especially with homeless addicts.   She planted a seed in Chris’ life.

Now, you may wonder, like me, this act wasn’t so small.  It was significant.  Or you may think, “I’ve never been called to save or change someone’s life like that.”   But, how do you know?   How do you know? We don’t usually see the long-term results of our acts toward others.  Every act of goodness, every act of mercy matters to God, and God in turn uses for kingdom growth.

Hilde Back was a schoolteacher in Sweden, when she decided to sponsor one child’s education in Kenya. Hilde’s sponsorship of Chris Mburu cost about $15 per month. Thanks to Hilde’s generosity, Chris wound up graduating high school, going to University of Nairobi and then attending Harvard Law School. He became a U.N. Human Rights Advocate, and he started a charity. He petitioned the Swedish embassy to find the name of his anonymous sponsor. Then he named his nonprofit the Hilde Back Education Fund after the benefactor he never met.

The Fund pays tuition for deserving poor students in Kenya. Since the charity’s start, 847 children have been supported. That doesn’t even include the impact on their families. And who knows how many of these students will be inspired, as Chris was, to give back?

       It’s interesting that the only reason Hilde Back was even alive to support Chris was because of a stranger’s kindness. Hilde was a Jewish child living in Germany during the Nazis’ reign. Both of her parents were killed in concentration camps, but a stranger helped her escape to Sweden. Hilde said that as a Jew, she wasn’t allowed to go to school in Germany. It seemed natural for her to sponsor schooling for someone who couldn’t otherwise attend. And so see pasted the seed on.

Little acts, that we take for granted, can and do have a significant, life- changing impact on people. An encouraging word. A hug. A favor done without reward. Getting involved. In the hands of God, they become powerful.  What if Samuel had not listened, had chosen Jesse’s eldest, Eliab, instead of David? Imagine how different salvation history would have turned out. That woman with the blanket never knew how she changed the course of one life. How were those bystanders changed?   How many lives here have been touched by Chris, thus indirectly by this woman?   And what small acts of kindness shaped THAT woman that put her on the path through Chris, who by the way is now the Executive Director of Homestretch Inc. an award-winning program in Virginia that helps homeless families back on their feet. Over 2000 to date. Think of the ripple effect that those families and children have gone on to help.

Is a tiny, mustard seed significant?  Do the little things we do have any impact?   Does our life have importance in the large scheme of things?   To our God who is all powerful, omnipotent, and omnipresent, who knows the number of hairs on our hand and the grains of sand on the beach, every tear we have shed, every seed of love planted, tended, watered, pruned, is a branch in the realm of God.

Be the seed.   Remember what is important. Remember from where you came. A little seed. And countless seeds, sown by countless, unknown people, over countless years. Over centuries.  Only God could orchestrate such a living tree, with roots and branches that stretch out over millennium, scattering seeds in every new generation.

One seed, one act at a time, over time. You are that seed God casts in this world. Cast yourself into the world, every day sharing the love of God in every way imaginable. You are that that seed, sown everyday.  Tended everyday. Until the grain is ripe. The harvest is ready.  Until the dominion of God is realized in our midst.   Amen

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"Keeping Up with the Jones, the Kardashians________"

6/24/2021

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1 Samuel 8 : 1-20; Mark 3: 20-35

From 1913 to 1938, a famous cartoon strip ran in US papers called “Keeping up with the Jones”. It featured the antics of the McGinnis family, mom, dad and daughter, along with their black maid Bella Donna, who are always comparing themselves to their elusive neighbors the Jones, who always seemed one step ahead of them. The comic series taped into a deep drive of the human psyche – to constantly measure ourselves to others, to never feel like we have enough, to try to get ahead, be the one on top. As a result “Keeping up with the Jones” is a common phrase in our vocabulary. There are video games, songs, a movie named after it; even a revised reality TV series of 20 years called “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” featuring the well-coiffed, potty mouthed, super affluent Kardashian/Jenner clan as the latest family to measure ourselves against. Renowned country-western singer Johnny Paycheck epitomized the dangerous results of trying to keep up with the Jones in this song: Let’s listen toa stanza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urP5lr5yMTE&list=RDurP5lr5yMTE&start_radio=1. You can tune in to youtube to hear the rest of the song!

      The people of Israel had their own version of this social scourge known as: “Keeping up with the Philistines, or Amorites, or whoever was invading the borders that year.” Israel was created to be a Theocracy, meaning that God was the ultimate ruler and caregiver and protector of the people. God created a covenant with the people, they were to put God first, obey the law and God would take care of them. From the get-go there were problems with this plan. The people constantly rebelled and compared themselves to other nations. Even after escaping 400 years of slavery in Egypt, they quickly whined about their abundant food in Egypt, compared to the bread and manna they received in the wilderness. Once in the promised land, God faithfully raised up judges for them to care for them in times of attacks from their neighbors. No matter how many times the people sinned, God was merciful to raise up help for them. Yet this wasn’t enough.

According to our Hebrew lesson today, the people noted that Samuel, the judge, prophet seer, was getting old. Furthermore, the sons Samuel appointed as judges-- without God’s approval by the way --Joel and Abijah, were not righteous men. The people clamored instead for a king, to be like all the nations.

The request in and of itself was reasonable. God said that both Abraham and Jacob would have kings descend from them. The law in Deuteronomy makes provisions for the kings that God would appoint and what their character should be like. The problem here is the people of Israel’s motives are not pure.   They do not ask for a King who would lead them more closely in the ways of the Lord. They do not inquire if it is God’s will at this time to send them a king. They text is clear: they demand that Samuel -not God- give them a King. This comes after battles with the Mesopotamians, the Edomites, the Moabites, the Canaanites, the Midianites, the Ammonites the Philistines, (all battles which God fought on their behalf). Although God had a good track record in caring for them, yet their hearts yearned for the trappings they saw in their neighbors/rivals. They too wanted the prestige the figurehead of a king provided: a nice palace, a court, a ready to roll army. The Israelites were the new kids on the block so they wanted to prove themselves – not by God’s standards – but with the human standards they saw around them. They want to be like everyone else. Just like the Jones.

As Samuel prays to God about this quandary, it is clear to God that this request is a rejection of God’s kingship over the people. Even so, he directs Samuel to honor the request. Trying to be like other nations would be a disastrous move. By the end of the reign of King Solomon, the second king on the united throne, the rivalries among God’s people grew so intense that they divided into two kingdoms: The kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. 12 out of 20 kings of the Kingdom of Judah were bad. Of the 19 kings of Israel, all were bad – some bible scholars say perhaps 5 were righteous. Both kingdoms would end up defeated and destroyed by foreign invaders, occupied by other nation’s armies until the time of Christ and beyond. In fact, Israel did not exist as an independent state except for a few years here and there from the 6th BC until the 20th century. Such was the devastating consequence of wanting to be like other nations. Yet God worked through this disastrous decision and never abandoned God’s people.

In our gospel reading from Mark, we see a similar dynamic at work, but on the family level. Jesus has given up all the respectable things families seek after: decent income and a respectable standing in the community. Yet it seems that Jesus gave up his career as a carpenter. He has also stirred up the wrath of the authorities, endangering his life and potentially that of his family’s. Further, he has chosen to go against the norms of society by becoming an itinerant preacher. Jesus seeks to follow God’s will, God’s timing in all matter. Jesus declares that our true families are those forged by the spirit, according to God’s doing.

Who are we trying to keep up with at the detriment of our soul’s health? What family or social ties do we place over our loyalty with God? This is a dicey concept. God isn’t saying don’t love our families or not to honor our parents. Don’t seek leadership. Don’t seek a good life. It’s just that our duty to God comes first. Because the people of Israel wanted to be like other nations, they paid the price and are still in conflict to this day.

Who are the Jones or Kardashians we seek to emulate? Supermodels? The wealthy? Professional athletes? Our affluent neighbor who manages to keep his flowerbed blooming and his lawn immaculately trimmed and a late model car in the driveway? Do we measure our kids against Ivy league standards? Our texts today are reminders that our hearts will always be wandering, always restless, nothing will satisfy, unless we are rooted and grounded in God. So today, let us turn our hearts first to God, seeking his sovereignty in our lives. The scripture remind us that Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. (Rev. 17:14). So farewell Jones. Farewell Kardashians. Farewell neighbors who seem to have it all. Hello King Jesus, Hello chosen and faithful ones who seek Keeping up with Jesus first. Amen.
http://www.firstchurchofharwich.org/sermon-keeping-up-with-the-joneses/
https://jesusalive.cc/kings-israel-judah/

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"Get Up!"

"The Other Side"

"Be the Seed!"

"Keeping Up with the Jones, the Kardashians________"

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