Lifted Up - 3/14/2021

 

Call to worship:

L: In sadness we remember the days of our exile;

P: We called upon the Lord, and the Lord heard our cry.

L: In gladness we celebrate our deliverance from bondage;

P: The Lord heeded our summons, and the Lord brought us home.

A: O come, let our praise of the Lord resound! O come, let us sings the songs of Zion!

Opening Hymn:   God Hath Spoken by the Prophets   #108

1 God hath spoken by the prophets,
spoken the unchanging Word,
each from age to age proclaiming,
God the One, the righteous Lord!
'Mid the world's despair and turmoil,
one firm anchor holdeth fast:
God eternal reigns forever,
God the first, and God the last.

2 God hath spoken by Christ Jesus,
Christ, the everlasting Son;
brightness of the Father's glory,
with the Father ever one;
spoken by the Word incarnate,
God of God, ere time was born;
Light of Light, to earth descending,
Christ, as God in human form.

3 God yet speaketh by the Spirit,
speaketh to our hearts again;
in the agelong Word expounding
God's own message, now as then.
Thru the rise and fall of nations,
one sure faith yet standing fast,
God abides, the Word unchanging,
God the first, and God the last.
God the first, and God the last.

Opening Prayer:   

Almighty and gracious God, who does not trade love for love but gives love without price, who does not return evil for evil but renders good for evil, who does not crucify sinners but dies in their place, we are as helpless to explain your ways as we are anxious to share your presence. So we make bold to ask for the gift of your presence in our congregation and for the guidance of your Spirit in our worship.

Epistle Reading:  Ephesians 2: 1-10

You were dead through the trespasses and sins ² in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. ³ All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹ not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Children's Message (link)

Hymn:  There Is a Balm in Gilead   #375

Refrain:
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.

1 Some times I feel discouraged,
and think my work’s in vain.
But then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again.
(Refrain)

2 Don't ever feel discouraged,
for Jesus is your friend,
and if you look for knowledge
he'll ne'er refuse to lend.
(Refrain)

3 If you can’t preach like Peter,
if you can’t pray like Paul,
just tell the love of Jesus,
and say he died for all.
(Refrain)

Prayer of Dedication:

O God, who in nature displays matchless power and who in Christ manifests marvelous grace, we bow before you in grateful adoration. We are moved to awe by your power; we are moved to shame by your grace. We rejoice in your goodness and your greatness. For if your goodness were as ours, you would not redeem us. We thank you, O Lord of heaven and earth, that your goodness is equal to our need; that your greatness is a match for your goodness, that you can and do redeem us.  Amen.

Gospel Reading:   John 3: 14-21

¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Sermon Title:    Lifted up (link)

Lifted up. This is a term that, as Christians, we should be very familiar with. We are supposed to be lifting each other up in love and encouragement so that we can all excel in our call to glorify God with our particular talents. Unfortunately, however, in the passage that we just read, this term went to the other side and became a dark and sinister thing, which later on became a good thing for all of us.

In today’s message from John, we hear some familiar words and then some not so familiar words and as we endeavor to make sense out of them today and every day, let us dwell firstly on the phrase, “lifted up.” As I stated, we think about lifting others up by encouraging them, loving them, praying for them, and so on. But Jesus was not being lifted up in encouragement or love at this juncture, it was more like He was being offered up as a scapegoat. By definition, I suppose, that is exactly what Jesus was there to be. At least that is the definition we have today, and if you look at the actual history of the word, you see that it all begins to make sense. In the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, God ordained a particular day during which the entire nation of Israel would set aside work, and during which the priests would atone for the sin of the whole nation. Among the rituals prescribed was the scapegoat:

“And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.” —Leviticus 16:8-10, KJV

So you see, the scapegoat carried the sin of the people away with it, thereby cleansing Israel for another year.

And this is what Jesus did; however, he did not just get thrown out into the wilderness against his will. Jesus chose to put himself in the position of sacrifice so that the whole world and all of its peoples would be free from their sin; FOREVER.

Now we come to some more familiar words; probably the most quoted passage from the entire Bible can be found in our reading today, John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” 

We have read this and heard this and we have watched our kids repeat it in the Christmas program every year. We have endeavored to understand it, accept it, and own it, but each year; each time, that it breaks the surface, it is shot down just as quickly and we are told that it must be a myth. We question, “How could anyone love us that much?”

Friends, I am going to admit to right now that I do not know how anyone can love us this much. I just know that God does. And we are told this in no uncertain terms throughout the Bible; God’s word saying I love you in such a plethora of ways that surely at least one of them will strike up some familiarity with each and every one of us.

For instance: Psalm 36: 7 states – “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men (and women) find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

We are God’s creation and He loves us so much that He lifted up his only Son in order to save us. By Jesus’ sacrifice and grace, we are lifted up in love. 

Amen.

Closing Hymn:  Amazing Grace   #378

1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.

2. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

4. The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be,
as long as life endures.

5. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

6. When we've been there ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise
than when we'd first begun.