Sermon

A promotion can allow us to make a bigger difference, earn more, and be recognized for our achievements.

Jesus announces quite a promotion - We are friends and no longer servants.

Being a friend means having mutual affection and a relationship, acting out of love rather than duty. True love gives, even at great cost.

Jesus calls us to love one another as he loves us.

This is a life-changing truth. If Jesus laid down his life for us when we didn't deserve it, we are compelled to love others, even when they don't deserve it and are difficult to love.

We might not be nailed to a cross, but every day we are faced with the question of whether or not we'll abide in Jesus' love.

Our great hope is to be true friends with Jesus and each other.

As the old children's song goes, "Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me."

This language may seem a little out of place in a world with so many great needs. How can an apple or a bunch of grapes help?

But, we need to remember that Jesus frequently uses images and situations that we are familiar with to reveal portions of the kingdom of God that might be unfamiliar to us. In this case, he uses fruit as an illustration of a part of God's purpose for us.

In the world around us, fruit has two purposes: to nourish and to reproduce.

Our world hungers for this kind of fruit. In a world filled with illusionary hope, true nourishment, and life satisfy our appetite like nothing else. Since the need is great, in Jesus, we are called and equipped not only to lead people to true meaning and worth but also to equip them to do the same for others.

This influenced and shaped churches. It affected the way we taught and prepared our members. Rather than the labor-intensive handcrafting of Christian growth, maturity, faith, and life, we turned to the efficiency and reliability of standardized prepared curricula, classes, and programs. We lifted up uniformity in Christian practices, proclamation, theology, and ministry. To a certain degree, this contributes to the increasing number of young people finding the Christian faith irrelevant.

Our oneness in Christ is a core element of our faith and salvation. But God's intention is for us to develop and become a unique part of the body of Christ.

Through the Holy Spirit, God brings amazing uniqueness - not uniformity. Being one in Christ brings wonderfully different expressions of call and ability - not based on what we can do, but what God can do. Not upon our limited understanding, but on God’s eternal purposes and calling. Not just for ourselves, but for all of God’s people and the world. Not so we can boast, but for the glory of God and bringing people to him in the grace and love of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul opens his second letter to Timothy by celebrating the impact of Timothy's mother and grandmother on his life and faith. Growing up with their love and example shaped Timothy and equipped him to be a teacher and minister of the gospel, preparing him to share with others what his mother and grandmother shared with him.

There is a difference between visiting and moving in. You may deeply enjoy being there when you visit, but knowing you will eventually leave flavors everything. The difference between things that are temporary and those that are permanent is immense.

Jesus invites us to "Abide in him as He abides in us."

Abiding in him is very different from visiting him. It is living in Jesus' footsteps, living with him, not just talking about him. Abiding in Christ isn't going to church like we would a museum, appreciating what we see and experience, only to go home.
Abiding with Jesus is living with him and for him.

Jesus' resurrection profoundly transforms not only our relationship with God but also our relationships with others, including those who have sinned against us.

If God loves us enough to send his Son into the world so that we might live and Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, that immense love leads us to love others as we have been loved.

This maybe hard. People do terrible things to each other, and we may have wounds that remain with us. But the immense mercy of God's love leads us toward healing and forgiveness—not just for ourselves but also for our forgiving others.

Many things catch us by surprise, not because they are unbelievable, but because we are not expecting them. Jesus' resurrection was no exception. Despite Jesus telling them what would happen, his disciples and the women were surprised, confused, and even scared when the risen Jesus appeared to them.

Knowing they could not do what needed to be done, Jesus' followers also expected Jesus to do the big work. Instead, Jesus gives them the job of continuing what he has begun. They are not left alone, however. Jesus tells them to wait in Jerusalem to be clothed in God's unlimited power rather than relying on their own weakness.

Those gathered in that room looked for their own explanation for seeing Jesus instead of Jesus, the Messiah, fulfilling God’s promises and plans.

The challenge to our faith isn't that we expect too much, but that we expect too little.

Our shortsighted expectations are obstacles to fully knowing and experiencing God's grace. We prefer for God to do things our way, rather than our doing things God's way. Many would prefer to win the lottery than the joy God offers that wealth can never buy. We prefer lives of leisure when the deepest and most satisfying joy comes from serving others. Our ultimate fear is death when, in Jesus, the death of our bodies is birth into new life.

Upon reaching their destination, instead of saying goodbye to the person they were walking with, they invited Jesus to their home, demonstrating hospitality towards a stranger, despite their personal disappointment and disillusionment. It was then that their eyes were opened and their world changed as they recognized the risen Jesus. What they previously believed to be defeat was revealed as a victory.

Jesus was that for the Apostle Paul. In light of Jesus' resurrection, he left behind many of the things he was once proud of. He forgets what is behind him in his quest for God's call in Christ Jesus.

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!

The great news of Easter is not that their expectations were met but rather that Jesus was not dead like they expected but had risen from the dead.

The good news of the Gospel isn't found in God meeting our expectations but shattering them, revealing far more than anything we could ask or imagine - then using us to reveal the news of the risen Christ to others.

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!