God loves Children – Jamaica Report 2009
Mark 10.13-16 (page )
We got back from Jamaica on Monday night – I want to thank Lindon and Betty for taking us up to the airport and thank Dave for picking us up. When we left it was about -8 degrees and still cold when we got back. It is always 80 to 90 degrees in Montego Bay.
This was my 11th time going on a mission trip to Jamaica. Many of you have gone with us and hopefully in the future, more of you will go. It is a trip that is in some ways the same every year, but also unique every year. We had a total of 18 people on our trip. A large part of the trip is taking things down with us to give to the orphanages and schools we visit and I want to thank you for what you gave us to take down. We took the school supplies you brought in last summer. You gave us close to $500 to spend. I spent about $350 for medicines at Medicap Pharmacy – Thank John Engelhardt – this included children’s Tylenol, cold medicines, anti-biotic creams, and a new kind of Pedialite for the kids. While we were there we spent the rest of the money on other supplies the orphanages needed, including a new printer for the office at Blossom Gardens Children’s home. I thank you all for what you contributed this year – all of you.
Why do we go to Jamaica each year? There are a lot of answers to that question; including it is warm down there and very cold up here in February. It is fun for me to swim in the ocean every day. But there are other answers to the question.
1. We are showing love to children that God loves. In Mark 10.13-16 Jesus told us very clearly his attitude toward children. Read. Jesus had been in a serious discussion with the Jewish people and his disciples. These were important matters that needed to be settled. But right in the middle of all of that, some of the parents came with there noisy little kids to have Jesus bless them. The disciples of Jesus, Saint Peter, Saint John and all the rest, tried to keep the kids from Jesus. When he saw what they were doing, he got very upset at them – indignant is the word. What are you doing? It would have been normal for kids to be excluded from a teacher or rabbi. They were just a bother – they did not pay attention to what was being said and they may even talk out loud when they should be quiet. But Jesus loved them – all children – very much, so he told his disciples to let them come to him. Listen again to what he said to the disciples – read 14-15. The kingdom of God belongs to them – they are God’s children, and he loves them very much. If we as adults do not receive the kingdom of God like these kids, we will not enter the kingdom of God. Do you see the love Jesus had for these kids? He not only blessed them, but took them in his arms and held them. There is something almost divine about holding a special little child – Jesus experienced that, and so do we.
Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them. This is what we do in Jamaica, for the Lord. We show God’s love to them in very special ways. These kids are taken care of from a physical sense – enough food, clothes, etc. They are taken care of very well we believe. What they need is someone to talk to them, hold them, play with them, and pray for them. That is what we do. Blossom Gardens has a lot of little babies who have been abandoned or taken away from parents. Some were just a few weeks old. They also have toddlers – a total of 50 some kids. (This number is down from 60 to 70 kids in years past.) The workers there take care of them, but there are just not enough laps and arms to hold all of them. We get to hold them and play with them, and they just absorb all of the love we give to them. (Like little sponges)
One of the things we encourage all of the team members to do is pray for them – we composed this HUSH prayer a couple of years back to pray for them as we hold them. Read. We pray this prayer and we just pray for them, telling them I love you and God love you. We have seen God bless them in special ways. It is hard to describe, but it was seen this year that the kids are a lot better off than in the past. They are more able to share, less aggressive, and even more relaxed it seems. Things are better at Blossom than they have been.
We also spent a couple of days at Westhaven Children’s home. This is out in the country a few miles from MoBay. It is for older kids – mentally and physically handicapped – from 8 or 10 years old to in their 20s or more. Some of them were little babies at Blossom when we first started going there. In some ways they are harder to deal with – they will never get better and most will spend their whole lives there.
One difficult thing was the death of Marlin last year. He was a teenager who developed some tumors a couple of years ago. He was supposed to be brought to the US to have them taken care of, but that never happened, and he died last May. He was a joy to talk to there and greatly missed. We are really praying for his twin sister, Marlene, who needs to get out of there. She is developing the same kinds of tumors. She is not mentally handicapped – very normal – probably put in there just as an orphan. Do any of you want to 17 year old to raise?
One of the things I do each year is take a book with me to read. It is hard to decide which book I am going to read down there, but usually they have been pretty good. This year I read the book Desire by James Huston. The main thrust of the book is that we need to develop a deep desire for God and the things of God. The desire for God is unique in that God fulfills that desire as God gives us himself and his peace to us. He fulfills our desire. But also there is a lasting hunger for more of God – more of his love, more of his joy. So we keep on seeking God.
One of the sections of the book referred to a passage of scripture in Romans 8 where the apostle Paul uses the word – ABBA. This is the word in Aramaic for what we would us as Daddy or as my son Peder calls me – Pops. Jesus used this word when he talked to his Father – God. This word was never used to refer to God, but Jesus used it. Then it is used in Romans 8.13-17. Read. Abba, Father. The morning after I read this section of the book I was holding one of the little kids and thought – this is an Abba child – the Father’s child, God’s child. I am getting to hold this little one for a few days to show the love of God. God know the name of this child and loves him or her very much. He is an Abba child. All of the kids around the world are his, no matter what color or language, rich or poor. They are Abba kids.
In the same way, all of us here are Abba children, kids of the Father, children of God, and he loves us very much. I had a Dad and Mom who loved me, but even more than that I have a Daddy, God himself, who loves me with a love that is wider, longer, higher, and deeper than I can even imagine.
God loves you, and offers to all salvation in Jesus Christ.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sermon Feb 15th
Faith in Jesus – What does that mean?
Mark 6.1-6
Believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is easy for some people but very difficult for others. After we believe, we almost take it for granted that all people should believe what Jesus taught and said. But some have a hard time believing in Jesus Christ. Why? That is what we are going to look at today in this message. The passage in Mark 6 tells about Jesus teaching in a Jewish synagogue about himself and then the reaction of the hearers to what he said.
Listen as I read Mark 6.1-6. What made it hard for the listeners to believe what Jesus said? Read. The Jewish synagogue was the equivalent to our churches. The Jews traveled to the temple in Jerusalem once a year or so to worship there. But on a regular basis – every Sabbath or Saturday the Jews gathered in their synagogue to read the OT, hear a message about the scripture, and pray. This was the home synagogue of Jesus where he learned Hebrew and the other teachings of the Jewish religion. It was a custom to invite a teacher to read the OT in Hebrew. The congregation read a portion of their Bible – the OT – on a regular system – on a 3 year rotation or something like that, like some churches do with a lectionary today.
It just so happened that the scripture Jesus read on that day was from Isaiah 61.1-2. Luke 4 is the parallel passage of the gospels and it says Jesus read this. Read Luke 4.18-21. For centuries the Jews in their synagogues read this passage on a certain day. After it was read the speaker of the day would say, someday this scripture will be fulfilled and the Messiah of Israel will come to us. The people in the congregation would shake their heads in agreement with a hope that someday soon the Messiah would come. But this day after it was read, Jesus rolled up the scroll and said to the people, “Today the scripture is fulfilled in me.” In Jesus.
The barrier to belief here is that they knew him too well – he was from their home town.
That is why the people in the congregation were so surprised at what Jesus said. They knew he was claiming to be the very Messiah prophesied in so many passages in the OT. The congregation was being asked to believe that this man, a man who had grown up in this very town and synagogue was the Messiah. It would be like me claiming to the Messiah here today. I am not, but I did grow up here in Austin and this very congregation. Some of you knew me when I was a teenager when my whole family came to this church – not many, but at least some. Would it be hard for you to believe me, if I claimed to be the long awaited Messiah? Of course.
Jesus had given them some evidence already that he was the Messiah. His teachings were extremely unusual. He did preach to the poor. He did give sight to the blind. He did heal many diseases. Jesus gave them evidence of his right to be called the Messiah.
Some times it is hard to believe in Jesus in our world today. There are a lot of honest people who do not believe that Jesus was or is God. There are a number of reasons for lack of belief, or barriers to belief. 1)It is hard to believe in the miraculous things Jesus did when the view of the world is that everything is based on scientific evidence. Science seems to say that only natural things can happen, not supernatural things. If Jesus claims to raise people from the dead or feed thousands of people with just a few fish and a couple of biscuits, it just could not happen to them.
2) What is taught in college and even high schools is a barrier to belief. I think too that many college teachers think their main job in teaching is to get their students to give up any childish faith in God. They want the students to doubt everything they have been taught in church or Sunday school. They want to create atheists it seems or young people without morals, without purpose and direction, for whatever reason. I have looked at the evidence for faith, and I am sure there are good reasons to believe in Jesus Christ. (Intelligent design/millions of pure accidents.)
This week I received an email with a story about and atheist. He was in the Rockies enjoying the beautiful scenery – what beautiful mountains, trees, little animals. Then a bear started chasing him. Tripped and fell. Bear right on top of him. Prayed – God, save me. Behind the bear there was light and a voice which said, “Is that really fair? You have denied me all of your life.” The atheists said, you are right, but one thing. Will you make the bear a Chr? Immediately the face of the bear changed to a serene look. The bear sat up, folded his paws, closed his eyes and prayed, “Dear God, for this meal I am about to eat, make me truly thankful.”
3) Another barrier to belief is the sins of others. I have talked to people who tell me that their dad or grandpa or a priest or minister was a religious person, but did this or that to them. That is too bad and I am sorry. Too many religious or even Chr people sin against children, but the greatest tragedy is that these sins might keep the child from God.
4) Sometimes sin of the person, himself or herself, is a barrier to belief. When we sin we do not want to face God or go to church so we avoid God. I know the devil works hard on this as he tells us we are can not ask forgiveness – we are not worthy to even approach God. But that is the very message of Jesus Christ – he says I love you just as you are. Come to Jesus and ask forgiveness. Let me say too that Jesus loves us so much he will not leave us the way we are – with his power he will change us so we can live a fulfilling life for him.
These are barriers to belief. Are there benefits of belief? 1) Hebrew 11.6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” We must believe in Jesus Christ to have a relationship with God. God rewards us when we diligently seek our loving God.
2) Another benefit of belief is the knowledge of forgiveness of sins – you and I are completely cleansed from sin – all past sins. We do not need to carry the burden of the past around. We can come into the presence of God as clean and pure because of the blood of Christ.
3) We have purpose in life – to live and serve the living God for his glory. We are not just floating through life aimlessly – we know where we are going and what we are doing.
4) Finally, we have the benefit of belief that gives us the hope of eternal life – heaven forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Forever and ever. Eternal bliss and eternal joy.
Jesus invites you to believe in him today. He is the Messiah – the Savior – the Lord.
Mark 6.1-6
Believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is easy for some people but very difficult for others. After we believe, we almost take it for granted that all people should believe what Jesus taught and said. But some have a hard time believing in Jesus Christ. Why? That is what we are going to look at today in this message. The passage in Mark 6 tells about Jesus teaching in a Jewish synagogue about himself and then the reaction of the hearers to what he said.
Listen as I read Mark 6.1-6. What made it hard for the listeners to believe what Jesus said? Read. The Jewish synagogue was the equivalent to our churches. The Jews traveled to the temple in Jerusalem once a year or so to worship there. But on a regular basis – every Sabbath or Saturday the Jews gathered in their synagogue to read the OT, hear a message about the scripture, and pray. This was the home synagogue of Jesus where he learned Hebrew and the other teachings of the Jewish religion. It was a custom to invite a teacher to read the OT in Hebrew. The congregation read a portion of their Bible – the OT – on a regular system – on a 3 year rotation or something like that, like some churches do with a lectionary today.
It just so happened that the scripture Jesus read on that day was from Isaiah 61.1-2. Luke 4 is the parallel passage of the gospels and it says Jesus read this. Read Luke 4.18-21. For centuries the Jews in their synagogues read this passage on a certain day. After it was read the speaker of the day would say, someday this scripture will be fulfilled and the Messiah of Israel will come to us. The people in the congregation would shake their heads in agreement with a hope that someday soon the Messiah would come. But this day after it was read, Jesus rolled up the scroll and said to the people, “Today the scripture is fulfilled in me.” In Jesus.
The barrier to belief here is that they knew him too well – he was from their home town.
That is why the people in the congregation were so surprised at what Jesus said. They knew he was claiming to be the very Messiah prophesied in so many passages in the OT. The congregation was being asked to believe that this man, a man who had grown up in this very town and synagogue was the Messiah. It would be like me claiming to the Messiah here today. I am not, but I did grow up here in Austin and this very congregation. Some of you knew me when I was a teenager when my whole family came to this church – not many, but at least some. Would it be hard for you to believe me, if I claimed to be the long awaited Messiah? Of course.
Jesus had given them some evidence already that he was the Messiah. His teachings were extremely unusual. He did preach to the poor. He did give sight to the blind. He did heal many diseases. Jesus gave them evidence of his right to be called the Messiah.
Some times it is hard to believe in Jesus in our world today. There are a lot of honest people who do not believe that Jesus was or is God. There are a number of reasons for lack of belief, or barriers to belief. 1)It is hard to believe in the miraculous things Jesus did when the view of the world is that everything is based on scientific evidence. Science seems to say that only natural things can happen, not supernatural things. If Jesus claims to raise people from the dead or feed thousands of people with just a few fish and a couple of biscuits, it just could not happen to them.
2) What is taught in college and even high schools is a barrier to belief. I think too that many college teachers think their main job in teaching is to get their students to give up any childish faith in God. They want the students to doubt everything they have been taught in church or Sunday school. They want to create atheists it seems or young people without morals, without purpose and direction, for whatever reason. I have looked at the evidence for faith, and I am sure there are good reasons to believe in Jesus Christ. (Intelligent design/millions of pure accidents.)
This week I received an email with a story about and atheist. He was in the Rockies enjoying the beautiful scenery – what beautiful mountains, trees, little animals. Then a bear started chasing him. Tripped and fell. Bear right on top of him. Prayed – God, save me. Behind the bear there was light and a voice which said, “Is that really fair? You have denied me all of your life.” The atheists said, you are right, but one thing. Will you make the bear a Chr? Immediately the face of the bear changed to a serene look. The bear sat up, folded his paws, closed his eyes and prayed, “Dear God, for this meal I am about to eat, make me truly thankful.”
3) Another barrier to belief is the sins of others. I have talked to people who tell me that their dad or grandpa or a priest or minister was a religious person, but did this or that to them. That is too bad and I am sorry. Too many religious or even Chr people sin against children, but the greatest tragedy is that these sins might keep the child from God.
4) Sometimes sin of the person, himself or herself, is a barrier to belief. When we sin we do not want to face God or go to church so we avoid God. I know the devil works hard on this as he tells us we are can not ask forgiveness – we are not worthy to even approach God. But that is the very message of Jesus Christ – he says I love you just as you are. Come to Jesus and ask forgiveness. Let me say too that Jesus loves us so much he will not leave us the way we are – with his power he will change us so we can live a fulfilling life for him.
These are barriers to belief. Are there benefits of belief? 1) Hebrew 11.6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” We must believe in Jesus Christ to have a relationship with God. God rewards us when we diligently seek our loving God.
2) Another benefit of belief is the knowledge of forgiveness of sins – you and I are completely cleansed from sin – all past sins. We do not need to carry the burden of the past around. We can come into the presence of God as clean and pure because of the blood of Christ.
3) We have purpose in life – to live and serve the living God for his glory. We are not just floating through life aimlessly – we know where we are going and what we are doing.
4) Finally, we have the benefit of belief that gives us the hope of eternal life – heaven forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Forever and ever. Eternal bliss and eternal joy.
Jesus invites you to believe in him today. He is the Messiah – the Savior – the Lord.
It is my Dad’s birthday today – Vernon Arnold DeFor – February 16, 1921 – he would have been 88 years old today. In late October he will have been dead for 50 years – that is a long time.
I am thankful for him. He was a kind and gentle man even though he was a big man. He was fun to be around.
I think of how fortunate I am for a number of things. I have seen my kids grow into adulthood – Dad did not get to see that. I am proud of all of my kids as adults. I have seen them get married and have kids. He would have had so much fun with his grandkids, and he would have been good with them. I know that I have the most handsome and pretty grandchild – they are smart and nice too.
I guess I have thought about him more since Mom is gone. When she married Ray I struggled with some one else replacing my Dad. Ray did not do that – he was very good for Mom, but never my Dad.
I am going to go out to the cemetery this afternoon and put a flower on his grave and talk to him – thanking him for being my Dad. I hope that does not sound too weird. I had him for too short a time.
I am thankful for him. He was a kind and gentle man even though he was a big man. He was fun to be around.
I think of how fortunate I am for a number of things. I have seen my kids grow into adulthood – Dad did not get to see that. I am proud of all of my kids as adults. I have seen them get married and have kids. He would have had so much fun with his grandkids, and he would have been good with them. I know that I have the most handsome and pretty grandchild – they are smart and nice too.
I guess I have thought about him more since Mom is gone. When she married Ray I struggled with some one else replacing my Dad. Ray did not do that – he was very good for Mom, but never my Dad.
I am going to go out to the cemetery this afternoon and put a flower on his grave and talk to him – thanking him for being my Dad. I hope that does not sound too weird. I had him for too short a time.
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