Jamesville Community Church
...embracing all Christians who wish to share the love of Christ!
Latest Sermon
Sermons are written in conversational style and include notes and directions to the preacher. Sermons are always better when heard rather than when read, but if you missed last week's, here it is:
Do You Hear What I Hear (Bible)
1 Samuel 3:1-20,
Jan. 15, 2012 - 2 nd Epiphany
Children : Carpenter's level. What is it for? It checks how straight an LEVEL something is. Let them check several things. Level is good. Crooked is not so good.
Sometimes… our LIVES can become Crooked. As a matter of fact… when someone is particularly dishonest… or Cheats… we Call them Crooked… or a Crook! Having crooked lives… is not Good. Is there any kind of LEVEL we can use for our LIVES… to make sure we are not CROOKED? The BIBLE (hold it up)
What do we do with it? Put it on our head? (put it one child's head). No we READ it. We READ the stories about God and Jesus and people… so that we can remain Solid and LEVEL followers of God
Psalm 139 :
1 O Lord , you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord , you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end * —I am still with you.
1 Samuel 3:1-20
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord , where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!' * and he said, ‘Here I am!' 5 and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.' So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!' Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.' 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord , and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.' Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord , for your servant is listening.” ' So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.' 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, * and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.'
15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord . Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.' He said, ‘Here I am.' 17 Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.' 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord ; let him do what seems good to him.'
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord .
OK… so what do ALL of the following Phrases have in common?:
A fly in the ointment.
Wheels within wheels.
At wits end.
Apple of his eye.
Den of thieves.
Salt of the earth. And
By the “Skin of my teeth”!
They all appear… in the King James Version of the Bible.
The King James Bible… Just celebrated its 400 th Birthday!
You see… way back in the early 1600's… the two main religious groups in England… The Puritans and the Anglicans…
Were Feuding…
And in an Attempt to bring them Together for a common cause…
The King of England… James…
Authorized this new English translation of the Bible.
Now… unfortunately… it didn't break up their Fight…
But it did become THE standard Bible translation for hundreds of years…
Because … it's a Beautiful translation…
AND Because… it was Printed… in MASS…
Using the New-Fangled Guttenberg Press.
(Many of the Bible facts in this sermon come from “Homiletics” magazine, May 2011)
As of 1611 the Bible became available to almost anyone who could read English…
As a matter-of-fact… Countless people LEARNED to Read English…
Using the King James Bible.
Some people think that Jesus actually SPOKE…
In the King James English.
Perhaps you Noticed… that when I played that video Clip of Moses and the Burning Bush… from the 10 Commandments… last week…
When GOD spoke… it was in the King James English.
Everybody ELSE spoke in Regular English…
GOD spoke with “Thees” and the “Thous”
(pause)
Last week I spoke about the “Voice of God.”
Well… one of the most Common ways that God Speaks to us…
Is through the BIBLE.
Today's Sermon COULD be titled:
“The Voice of God Part II… the BIBLE”
(pause)
Years ago… in another church… I came to the church… Late at night… to do some work…
And noticed that the CUSTODIAN… Jim… was at work in their Also.
And as you might imagine… churches… can be pretty Scary places at Night… all alone.
So… I snuck into the Sound room next to the sanctuary…
Turned the Amplifier on High… picked up a microphone…
And said:
“JAMES! … JAMES! … This is GOD!”
(pause)
I gave poor Jim a good Scare…
But he knew right away that I wasn't God.
Perhaps I should have used some “Thees” and “Thous.”
(pause)
The Good News NOW is…
We don't Have to wait for the Booming Voice from Heaven if we want to hear God…
All we have to do is pick up a Bible… and Read the Word of God.
(pause)
Over 7 and ½ BILLION Bibles have been distributed since the First one was printed in 1456…
Over 100 million More… are added each year…
Making it Far and Away… the most Published…
And hopefully the most Read Book… in all the Earth.
At least PARTS of the Bible… have been Published…
In over 23 Hundred different Languages.
There have been over 900 English Translations alone.
(pause)
My point is… The Bible is available to US like Never before to any other people.
If you want to hear God SPEAK…
All you have to do is Pick up a Bible … and READ.
(pause)
As I said Last week: God IS speaking to us…
We may not be LISTENING…
(slowly)
But God IS Speaking.
(pause)
2500 years ago… WELL before Guttenberg or the King James Bible…
A young boy... was Asleep in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem…
And God himself... SPOKE to him: " SAMUEL!! !"
But Young Samuel… didn't Understand.
The first THREE times... The boy Mistook the Word of God… As the word of his elderly Teacher… Eli… calling out in the night.
But the FOURTH time... Samuel was Ready...
And the Bible says: "The Lord came and STOOD there, calling as before, 'Samuel! Samuel!'"
But THIS time, Samuel didn't Run to Eli...
Instead he responded:
"SPEAK, for your servant is LISTENING!"
(Talk to me God… I'm Listening!)
And God proceeded to TELL the Boy... About the FUTURE…
And about God's will.
(pause)
I am Convinced… that God STILL Speaks to US…
We can Hear it…
We can SEE it (hold up Bible)…
The QUESTION is… Do we take the time… to READ it?
(pause)
When children first go to Sunday School...
our teachers introduce them to the Wonderful Stories of the BIBLE.
They color pictures of Noah... and the animals on the Ark...
They Sing Songs... about Zacheaus...
And they Recreate the story of Jonah being swallowed by the whale...
or the Birth… of Jesus.
These stories are taught DIFFERENTLY to Kindergarteners...
than they are to 9th Graders...
and ADULTS look at them differently yet.
To a 5 yr old... Noah is about Animals... and Rainbows…
To an ADULT... it is about Sin and Judgment... and New Beginnings.
(pause)
These stories of the Bible... form the CORE of our Christian faith...
They are… the WORD of GOD…
But as we GROW... Some of the stories of the Bible may become SUSPECT.
Think about it:
Jesus Walking on Water…
The Universe created in 7 days…
Jonah… Swallowed by a Whale!
Are they TRUE ? ... Are they Really True ?
(pause)
Take TODAY'S reading from the Old Testament again...
"The Call of Samuel."
God STOOD before a young boy… Called him by name…
And proceeded to TELL him… face-to-face…
About the Future.
(pause)
That's never happened to ME …
Or to anyone I Know.
(pause)
No… Much of the Bible... Sounds too incredible to be true...
To far-fetched to BELIEVE.
(pause)
When my son, Joshua was a youngster... I asked him to tell me about Jonah and the Whale...
His Sunday School class was doing a little PLAY about it...
And I wanted to see what he had Learned.
He told me very matter-of-factly...
about God telling Jonah to go tell some people something...
and Jonah ran away...
and a Whale Swallowed him...
and he prayed to God in the Whale's stomach...
and the Whale Puked him up... on the sand.
And Jonah told the people what he was supposed to tell them.
And that's the end.
I studied the Same Story that year with a group of TEENAGERS… at FISHING camp ... since it's a good FISH story...
and one of the more... (pause)... MICHEVOUS... boys OBJECTED...
"Come on... You don't really expect us to BELIEVE this stuff." he said...
It's a FISH story!"
(pause)
It IS pretty hard to Believe…
And so… many of us LOOSE our child-like faith in these Wonderful stories of the Bible…
We Simply Stop Believing that the Bible is TRUE.
(pause)
People sometimes Ask me…
Is the Bible TRUE ?
Did God really create Eve out of Adam's rib? …
Did the Whale really Swallow Jonah? …
Did Methuselah really live to be 969 years old?!
(pause)
They are all good Questions ? …
But are they questions of FAITH… or something Else ?
The Bible… you see… was never intended to be about SCIENCE…
For that matter… there was no such thing as Science… or even Critical thinking… when the Bible was written…
The Bible wasn't even written… as a HISTORY book.
The Bible is a book about FAITH…
About People's relationships with God…
It is Many Books about FAITH.
(pause)
If you want to learn about PHYSICS… read a Physics book…
If you want to learn about Evolution…
Read a Biology book… or a Science book…
If you want to learn about Faith, and Life, and God...
Read the Bible. (hold up Bible)
Because it is TRUE.
(pause)
SOME of those truths... we read Today.
(pause)
God spoke to a Boy...
Only Samuel couldn't HEAR it... He couldn't UNDERSTAND God...
UNTIL he took the ADVICE of his older, wiser Teacher...
(there's a good Lesson there)
Finally... Samuel learned how to LISTEN to God"
"SPEAK to me Lord, for your servant is LISTENING!"
(pause)
Perhaps Samuel's problem is OUR problem also...
Maybe we are just Not LISTENING properly...
We listen like CHILDREN... and cannot grow beyond the fairy tales and the magic...
Or we Listen as the world listens ... as those with no Faith...
And cannot BELIEVE the Fairy Tales or the Magic.
(Hold Up Bible)
God IS speaking to us through this wonderful, Holy Book...
Only many of us... have never really Learned how to LISTEN.
(pause)
The truly AMAZING part of the Bible is this:
As a 4 year old... it gives us Good religious truths to Grow by...
As a 14 yr old ... it STILL has Countless Spiritual truths to Live by... and
As a 94 yr old... the Bible is STILL chocked Full of Good helpful truths of faith.
THAT is the REAL Magic of the Bible...
it speaks to ALL of our lives... in EVERY circumstance...
no matter what our age or station...
no matter what our opinion or situation...
It is TRULY the Word of God.
(pause)
The Resurrection is TRUE...
I Know... because I have Experienced the power of the Risen Jesus in my Life...
And I Know... because the BIBLE... Tells me so...
(pause)
The Call of Samuel is TRUE…
I know… because I have experienced God's call in MY life…
God didn't Physically Stand in front of me… and Talk to me
face-to-face…
But God DID CALL me…
Through the Encouragement of Family and Friends…
Through the Support of my Church…
Through my Conscience and my Heart…
And through THIS (hold up Bible).
(pause)
Just like Samuel… older and wiser people have had to HELP me to HEAR… and to UNDERSTAND God…
Teachers and Colleagues… even Family and Friends.
And like Samuel… I have even had to deliver some Difficult news.
(pause)
Through the Bible... God is Standing in Front of EACH of Us...
in much the same way God was standing in front of Samuel...
Ready to SPEAK TO US... (SPEAK INTO MIKE) " Samuel, Samuel"
Ready to SPEAK to US... in Every Circumstance of our lives...
And in COUNTLESS different ways.
May WE learn the lesson of Samuel... and say together:
"SPEAK, Lord, for your servant is LISTENING"
(repeat all together) Amen.
Prayer : We thank you, Lord… for your Holy Word for us. For the way that you SPEAK to us through Scriptures. We have mentioned some people with special needs today, Lord. May THEY find comfort and healing and direction in your Word as well. And finally, Lord… we pray that you would help us All to Listen, … and then to ACT. In Jesus' name. Amen.