Guarding Good Marriage (Malachi 2:10-16)

Today, we’re continuing our series through the book of Malachi, and today our text is about marriage and divorce.  I want to start this conversation with two stories from my own family.  

My Grandpa Broward was an extremely gifted man, but not a good man.  

As a young man, he directed “Broward’s Little Symphony,” which had a regular slot on the radio.  If any of his musicians didn’t show up, he simply played their instrument for the night.  Clarinet, cello, trombone, whatever - he could play them all.

As an old man, he ran a repair business for appliances and musical instruments.  He could fix anything, but refrigerators and violins were his specialty.  

But Grandpa was also an alcoholic womanizer.  He had at least 9 children, that we know of, but we suspect more.  He was a pretty nice guy when he was sober, but he was a mean drunk.   
[From this point forward several of the facts have been corrected by my Aunt Judy, so they are a bit different from what I shared in the spoken sermon.]
A few of his darkest moments were when my grandma was in the hospital for surgeries, he brought home their cleaning woman for an affair right in front of the children.  

Although Grandma moved out and filed for divorce several times, she always reunited with Grandpa until my dad came home from basic training in the army.  My dad told my grandpa that if he ever hit my grandma again, he would kill him.  I think everyone in the family believed my dad would actually do it, so to protect my dad from killing his own father, my grandma finally went through with the divorce.   That was what you might call a “good” divorce.  It was unquestionably the right decision.

Years later, Grandma’s kids started becoming Christians, with the help of Chic Shaver, a local Nazarene pastor.  Then, they began working on Grandma.  They had almost convinced Grandma to give her life to Jesus, when Grandma asked, “If I become a Christian, can I join your church?”

The Call of Grace (Ephesians 3:1-13)

Ladies, imagine that the CEO of Chanell International called you and asked you to be their global beauty representative.  They want you to go all around the world talking to people about beauty and demonstrating beauty principles.

Naturally, you might be surprised.  You would immediately start thinking of all of your faults and weaknesses.  I’m too thick or too thin.  I have too many wrinkles or too many zits.  This part is too big, and this part is too small.

But the Chanell CEO was ready for this.  “First of all,” she says,  “that’s the point.  You are a normal woman.  We are starting an Every Woman Campaign - sending out the message that every woman is beautiful.  No matter your skin type or body shape, every woman is beautiful just as she is.  We deeply believe this, and we want you to help us get the message out.   Secondly, we won’t leave you like we find you.  We’ll connect you with our top nutritionists, fitness coaches, skin experts, and stylists.  After a few months with us, your inner beauty will begin to shine outwardly where everyone can see it.”

How does that sound ladies?  A little intimidating, but pretty exciting right?!

OK, men, I know eye shadow and facials doesn’t really get you excited - at least I hope not.  But how about this?  Imagine that the General Manager of Manchester United called you and made a similar offer: “Hey man, this is your lucky day.  Man-U has chosen you to be our global fitness representative.  We know that people all over the developed world are really putting on weight, and we want to do something about it.  Sports and athleticism are not limited to a few guys with exceptional DNA.  We believe that every human being alive has a natural sports star inside, and we want to prove it through you.  We want you to be our the global face and body of our Every Man Campaign.  You’ll even get to play with Man-U in a few Premier League games.”

Killing our Hostility (Ephesians 2:11-22)

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

We have often read this text when we are talking about our church’s vision of being a multicultural community.  We want to embrace our differences as God brings us together through Christ.  The theological roots for this part of our vision are here in Ephesians 2, so we we have turned to this text again and again for encouragement and inspiration.

But as far as I can remember, before today, we’ve never preached directly on this text.  I expected to do some basic teaching and encouragement about being a multicultural community, breaking down cultural barriers and being one in Christ.  But I kept getting stuck on the middle part of this passage.

• “... he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”  What was that wall of hostility?  How did it separate us?
• “He did this by ending the system of the law with its commandments and regulations.”  Wait, huh?  How does ending the system of the law break down walls of hostility?  What is the connection between law and hostility?  And how does ending the system of the law make any difference in reconciliation or peace?
• “... by means of his death on the cross ... our hostility to each other was put to death.”  The Greek here is that Jesus actually “killed the hostility” in his body on the cross.  How does that work?  How does Jesus’ death “kill” our hostility for each other?

We Are All Orphans (Ephesians 2:1-10)

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

This week we will hear reports from our January trip to the Village of Hope in B., so I will keep my comments brief.  These beautiful children are a metaphor for us.  They are living parables explaining our passage today, and explaining our relationship with God.

These children, who are now so full of hope and joy, were once undernourished, homeless, and hopeless.  In many ways, they were dead - even though they had breath and blood.  They had no chance in life.  They had no dreams or hopes other than a full stomach.  Even if they were able to imagine some dreams of future careers, they had no ability to go anywhere or to do anything other than to scratch for daily survival.  Their only future was a life of hard work for little pay, giving all their efforts for survival until even that wasn’t enough.  In the great injustice of this broken world, the sins and failings of others had stripped them of the very resources necessary for living.  They had no life and nothing to live for.

In a very real sense, when Nazarenes in B. welcomed them into the Village of Hope, they were raised from the dead.  With nutritious meals, good education, and heaps of TLC (tender loving care), these kids have blossomed like desert flowers after the rain.  Their joyful faces and warm affection have captured the hearts of every person from our church who has visited.  

By Gracious Powers: A Poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
And confidently waiting come what may,
We know that God is with us night and morning,
And never fails to greet us each new day.

Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
Oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation,
For which, O Lord, you taught us to prepare.

And when this cup you give is filled to brimming
With bitter suffering, hard to understand,
We take it thankfully and without trembling
Out of so good and so beloved a hand.

Yet when again in this same world you give us
The joy we had, the brightness of your sun,
We shall remember all the days we lived through
And our whole life shall then be yours alone.

By gracious powers so faithfully protected,
So quietly, so wonderfully near,
I'll live each day in hope, with you beside me,
And go with you through every coming year.



- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Letters and Papers from Prison."

100 Things I Love About Korea - #20 - People: Shannon Smith

This month our church members are sharing testimonies during the worship service.  This is Shannon's testimony from two weeks ago.

Anyone who knows me well will know that I am not a person who likes change. I came to Korea 4 1/2 years ago with the intention to stay here one year and go back to the U.S. I didn't want to come to Korea, but after living here a few months, I made many friends, learned to love Korean food, as well as love Korea's people and culture. As I said though, I hate change and I have experienced a lot of change while living here. Since moving to Korea, I have worked at 5 different schools, lived in 5 different apartments, and said goodbye to so many friends. It hasn't been easy for me. Part of the reason is because when I care about people, I care about them deeply, so it’s hard for me to let them go. It’s good because it means I genuinely love others, but it’s bad because it means I am often easily hurt. 

For most of my life, my self-worth and acceptance have come from what other people think about me. I am a people-pleaser. I often feel like I can't say "no" to people, because I worry about whether they will still love me or care about me. And even though I have been a Christian for almost 20 years, my relationship with God was the same. I never felt good enough or worthy enough for God to love me. No matter how many times I asked God to forgive me, I never felt like I was really forgiven. I believed God could heal and forgive everyone, except me. I walked around with so much guilt, shame, brokenness, and negativity. I felt so lonely, even though I was rarely alone. 

Most people didn't know this though, because I was too afraid to share it with others. I cried almost every day for months and it was even hard for me to pray. I just felt so heavy and burdened by all of it. I wanted to fix it, but there was nothing I could do. Throughout this whole time of struggle, I was so focused on what "I" should do, that I never really surrendered it all to God. I was never really honest with God about all of my angry and hurt feelings. Just like my fear of telling people about my struggles, I was even afraid to tell God. It wasn't until I simply said, "God, I need you. I need you. I need you", over and over through my tears that I began to really experience God's love and grace in my life. There never would have been anything I could have done to heal my brokenness and pain. I needed God to heal me. I needed God to reassure me that no matter what my past looks like, He still loves me and forgives it all. I needed God to give me peace where there was so much despair. And I needed God to give me hope that no matter what my future holds, He is with me and will never leave me alone. 

Sabbath Laws? (Nehemiah 13:15-22)

Jerusalem had been destroyed.  The best and brightest Jews had been carried off into slavery in Babylon.  The prophets said God sent Israel into exile because they neglected their covenant with God, especially the Sabbath - the sign of the covenant.  Jeremiah tried to prevent the exile.  He warned Israel: 

“If you obey me, says the LORD, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever.  There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. ... But if you ... refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates.  The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.”  (Jeremiah 17:24, 27)

Later, while Israel was still in exile, Ezekiel explained that bad Sabbath practice lay at the root of Israel’s troubles for many generations.  Listen as God speaks through Ezekiel:

“I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.  And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me.  It was to remind them that I am the LORD, who had set them apart to be holy.  But the people of Israel rebelled against me ... They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life.  They also violated my Sabbath days  ... I swore I would scatter them among all the nations because they did not obey my regulations.  They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.  I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.  I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them ... so that I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the LORD.”  (Ezekiel 20:11-26)

For the prophets, there were some clear connections here that may not be obvious to us.  First, Israel’s relationships with God was a blessings/curses covenant.  Obey the covenant, and God will bless Israel.  Disobey the covenant, and God will curse or punish Israel.  Second, keeping the Sabbath was the sign of keeping the whole covenant.  Not keeping the Sabbath was like abandoning God and God’s covenant.  So then, third, for the prophets before and during the exile, there was a clear connection between keeping the Sabbath and experiencing God’s blessings or curses.  

But exile didn’t last forever.  Eventually, Israelites started to return home.  With the leadership of godly governors like Ezra and Nehemiah, there was a great organizational, structural, moral, and religious revival in Jerusalem.  But then, Nehemiah was called back to Babylon for several years.  We don’t know who the governor of Jerusalem was at that time, but he wasn’t very good at running the city according to God’s rules.  When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem several years later, he had to begin several reforms all over again.  Listen as Nehemiah describes with shock what he found:

But in those days, I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath.  

Retro Poem #9: Owners of the Floor

Boldly dancing

with ease and grace,

their age melded with youth

to sing an aromatic duet

which evanesced through the room.

Though they seemed oblivious to all,

none could help but notice them.

[At the same jazz club (see below), one older couple danced with such grace and obvious affection that they stole my heart.  I copied this down on another napkin and gave them a copy.]

Mephibosheth: From Shame to Grace (2 Samuel 9)

Read 2 Samuel 9.

My nanny dropped me.  Worst day of my life.  My father and grandfather were with the army in Jezreel.  Every time they went out, I staged my own battle with little wooden men in the garden.  I had archers and chariots and flag bearers.  I was only five, but I moved the men forward in formation until they crashed into one another - with soldiers flying this way and that.  It was great fun!  Of course, Israel always won, and my father and grandfather were always the heros.  The king and the crown prince were always the gallant warriors who saved the day.

Until the rider came.  My nanny had to drag me away from my little Battle of Jezreel.  We at at the royal table, eating the best food of the land, the only food I had ever known.  I still had my dad’s toy soldier in my hand for the whole meal.  I took it with me wherever I went.  It was my way of feeling closer to him while he was away.  

Until the rider came.  We could hear him pounding on the gate - and I can still hear his desperate, haunting voice - hoarse from shouting, dry from riding.  The whole palace spilled into the courtyard to see what all the fuss was about.  There standing in our safe little sanctuary of home was a wounded, bloodied, exhausted rider announced the news that shattered our entire family:  “King Saul and Crown Prince Jonathan are dead!”  

No one had any idea what would happen next. 

Unconditional Conditional Grace (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

I’m a bit of a control freak. 

I tend to have a plan with three points for everything.  

Really, I just want things done the right way.  And of course, I usually think the right way is my way.  

Now, you’re not allowed to laugh at this one .  Not that I’m trying to control you or anything, just a recommendation.  

If you don’t think I’m a control freak, that’s good.  That means one of two things: either I’m getting better or I’m getting better at hiding it.  Maybe those are the same thing.

Some of us are loose and free, but for most of us, one of the hardest things in life is letting go of control.  We want to control our present, past, and future.  If we’re really honest, we want to control our family, friends, and pets.  We want to control our bosses, our employees, and our customers.  We want to control our food, our weight, and our appearance.  We want to control the environment, the weather, and global warming.  We stop short of trying to control the stars and planets - but only because we’re too busy trying to control everything else.

Control is hard.  Being out of control is one of the worst feelings out there.  But one of the most basic lessons with God is that we are not in control.  God is.

Me and Abel - Genesis 4:1-16

Today we skip forward in our journey through Genesis.  After the creation of humans, there was the famous “Fall,” when humans first sinned.  Chapter 4 tells us, we kept falling, farther and farther. 

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 4:1-16

¹ Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD’s help, I have produced a man!” ² Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel.

   When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

 ⁶ “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? ⁷ You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

 ⁸ One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Life's Fast Moving Opportunity - 1 Thessalonians 5

    First of all, I want to thank you for all of your care and support for our family over the past week and a half.  Many of you came to visit us.  Several offered to help or brought us meals.  John David is a blessing, but you have also been a blessing and an encouragement to us.
    Second, I want to let you show you some pictures of the newest member of our family, and this is not John David.  Let me introduce you to Elliana Renae Palmer, or Ella for short.  Ella was born on Tuesday - three weeks early.  Michael and Elizabeth went to our hospital for a check up and were holding her in their arms three hours later.   John David and Ella were born 4 days and 32 minutes apart.  Sarah and Elizabeth were in the same hospital, on the same floor, just across the hall from each other.
    These are special times - full times - full of love and meaning and opportunity.  We couldn’t have planned it like this if we tried.  This was a beautiful, serendipitous blessing.  
    But these days will not last forever.  These moments are passing.  We can only experience them now.  You know what parents say to each other: Cherish these moments.  Before you know it, he’ll be riding a bike.  Blink twice, and she’ll be entering college.  They grow up so fast. 

    This is not far from our text today.  This week, we are finishing our study on 1 Thessalonians, so we’ll read all of chapter 5.  It’s pretty long, so we’ll take it in sections.  Let’s start with just verse 1.

1 Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you.

    You can’t catch it very well in English, but Paul actually uses two different Greek words for time here: chronos and chairos.  Chronos is for the simple progression of time - tick, tock, tick, tock.  One second after another, one hour, one day.  Chronos is the kind of time when you say, “Their plane arrives Friday September 2 at 1:05 pm.” 
    But Chairos is a different kind of time.  Chairos is focused on the quality of time rather than the quantity of time.  Chairos is closer to the idea of an opportunity or when we look back on a particular period in our life and say, “Those were good times.”  Chairos is like that moment of opportunity when there is an opening in a horse race, and the rider has to go fast before it closes.
    To help explain the nature of Chairos, the ancient Greeks depicted Chairos as a young man moving fast, with wings on both his back and feet. He is tipping the scales in one direction for now, right now only.  One scholar explains, “His hair is long in front and bald behind; he must be grasped, if at all, by the fore-lock.”  If you want to catch Chairos, you have to get ahead of it, or it will get away.  ...

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