Midweek Sermon Thoughts

Greetings! I thought I'd give a little talk about what's on tap for this Sunday.

This week's lectionary texts are Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4-14, and John 12:1-8...however, I felt that the Roman Catholic lectionary text for this week would fit better with the other two, and so the Gospel text I will be using this week is John 8:1-11. Another and more important reason that I chose this text is that in the RCL, it is not ever used in the three year cycle! I find this rather unfortunate, because I absolutely love how Jesus handles this situation. So I decided that now was as good a time as any to include it with the texts. John 12 is a good story too, but perhaps I will use it another time.

The title of this weeks sermon is, "All is Loss in the Shadow of the Cross," a reference to Paul's passage in Philippians 3:8, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" as well as Issac Watt's hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" ("When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride"). The main idea dove-tails onto last week's sermon, because again the concept is that God wipes away our sins and remembers them no more. Jesus met the woman caught in adultery, and when He challenged those who judged her, He said to her "Go and sin no more." In other words, he had mercy on her despite of her sins, but told her to go away from this encounter and sin no more. Paul gives similar advice in Philippians 3:13-14, "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. " The concept is that no matter what we've done, Jesus gives us a second chance, and often times many more chances than that. But the concept is to leave our lives of sin and focus on becoming more and more like Christ, the goal of our lives in Him. And with our eyes upon Christ, straining toward the finish line, we will be able to say with Paul in 2 Timothy 4, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." So while we may not and will not live perfect lives on this earth, we should repent of but not dwell on our sins. Instead, we must recognize the cleansing power of Christ's blood and, rejoicing in His grace, we must press on with endurance toward the victors crown of gold, never quitting the race of life...but if you want to hear more, come to Bessemer Presbyterian Church this Sunday at 10:45AM.

By the way, I split this post in two today because the other post is kinda long. Take some time to read it though, and tell me what you think (although maybe I'll regret this!) Anyway, have a blessed day!