Cornerstonekaty

Psalm 92

I think I will write you a prescription for joy this morning. I can do it. I have been granted access to it, only it isn’t in pill form. I’d like to write you a prescription to join me in corporate worship every Sunday. Worship of the Lord leads to joy and a glad heart. This is the testimony of the Psalmist. He writes in verses 1-5.

Do you think about coming to worship with this expectation? Do you experience it? Let’s talk about why this is statement is true. Worship of the Lord leads to joy and a glad heart.

Psalm 91

When I was in the 5th grade, my family moved into a house in which my room shared a wall with my parents’ room. That’s when I realized my sister was scared of the dark. She is 3 years younger than me and on some nights, I would be laying in bed and could hear her the pitter patter of bare feet slapping the parquet wood floor down the hallway as she ran from her room into my parents’ room. She had taken shelter with mom and dad. That, I knew, was a safe place. No matter what terror was hiding under the bed, we knew that if you could just get to mom and dad’s room, you would be safe. Nothing could get you.

The key was getting there. When I was younger, before we moved into that house, there were times I would get scared at night of the monsters that I believed were hiding under my bed. But I rarely made it to the shelter. I was afraid the monsters were faster than me; that if they even knew I was in the bed above them, they would get me. So I often layed there, not moving, barely breathing, hiding under the covers, enduring the sweat from the heat, for hours. I wanted to reach the shelter, but rarely made it. Did you ever have moments like that when you were young?

When you get older you eventually realize that there were no monsters under the bed. They were just figments of your imagination. However, you also discover that there are real monsters lurking about in the world today. If I asked you to make a list, what would you put on it? Politicians who threaten your freedoms? Viruses? Vaccines? Ideologies? Corporations? Hollywood? Climate change? In 2020 so many people let their fears keep them from taking shelter. We saw this literally with the shutting down of churches and the demands that people made to stay at home rather than come together for corporate worship. Society had become like me as a child, too afraid to make the dash from my bed to my parents’ room for shelter. Instead, like me, they tried to “shelter in place” and hope for the best. You know how long that works? Only as long as you can tiptoe through life quiet enough to never, ever get the attention of those monsters. That’s untenable long term.

We need a real shelter. And that’s the focus of this Psalm. God is our safe space. He is the only shelter that can withstand every danger that exists. If you take shelter with God, nothing can harm you. Period. End of story. The end.

Psalm 90

Wisdom. If I could bottle it, would I make a fortune? It’s what everyone knows they need. But it isn’t at the top of many people’s list. Most of us are more eager to pursue things that are exciting, interesting, or attention grabbing. Wisdom can seem like broccoli: good for you, but much less of a draw than ice cream. We ignore her as we walk past her in the streets.

It should, however, be at the top of our list. So how do we gain a heart of wisdom? That is the focus of Moses' prayer in Psalm 90. Wisdom leads us to life.

John 8-14-18

Romans 8:18-30

John 15:1-17

Mark 15:1-39

As you may have noticed, the world we live in is increasingly divided. People are divided over politics, practices, and faith perspectives. And it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. When we look across the world we see Biblical Christianity growing. And we also see devout secularism growing. The middle is losing ground. Instead of having reasonable discussions on these opposing views of the world, whether because of hostilities or fear, the dominant approach is to mock and denounce the other side because they have “closed their eyes to the truth.”

That is not a healthy thing to do, however. It may feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t bring people together. It further divides.

The reality is your worldview isn’t just a matter of the head. It is also a matter of the heart. Facts are important, as all worldviews must fit the facts. But facts aren’t enough. There is a heart component. We are driven by that which captivates our heart. This is why the truth we find in the Bible is found in stories. The stories invite us to feel, not just to think. And the ultimate story we find in the Bible is the story of Jesus. And the ultimate action we find by Jesus is found in his death. Jesus death invites us to believe.

Revelation 2:1-7

Back in 2007/2008 I had a few friends in college who were marines that had recently returned from a tour in Iraq and, naturally, they had many stories to tell. I remember one story where my friend and his squad were set up around a city that they were preparing to invade at night. The city’s power supply had been knocked out so everything was pitch black, and they had split up on opposite sides of a street, hiding behind some buildings while waiting for the command to advance. The commanding officer was using his night vision to look for threats when, from the squad across the street, a source of light was created. It brightened suddenly, then dropped down, dimmed, then came back up, then brightened again. Immediately recognizing what that was, the commanding officer darted across the street, snatched the …cigarette… out of some very surprised hands, shoved it into the dirt… “ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US ALL KILLED??? A SNIPER COULD SPOT YOU FROM A MILE AWAY WITH THAT!!!” Shining light in the darkness can be dangerous.

The church of Ephesus is no small cigarette, and neither is the church at large. Their letter opens with a reminder that they are one of the 7 lampstands among which the Lord walks, as established in Revelation 1. But what does that mean for them? How about us? What is a lampstand supposed to do when there are enemies in the darkness who hate the light? Let me suggest 3 headings for you this morning: 1. A lampstand must keep its light pure. 2. A lampstand must keep its light bright. and 3. A Lampstand must trust in the source of its light. Let’s start walking through our text.

Mark 14:22-72

I know this is a long passage and we’re not going to explore each verse but rather make some observations of the overarching story. It begins with the institution of the Lord’s Supper, something we celebrate each week. It is the reason that Jesus endured this fateful night. I think it is grossly under-appreciated and poorly understood. This morning we will address this. Whether you realize it or not, you need spiritual food as much as physical food, that your spirit and your faith may be revived and refueled. The Lord’s supper is given to us as a means toward this.

There is a good example of this in the life of David. Before David was king he and his band of mighty men returned home one day to find that it had been raided and their wives and family had been taken. It was a devastating blow to their morale. They were already worn out from their battles and in need of rest and recovery when this took place. And now “they raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.” David’s men were so upset they were ready to stone David. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. How did David do that? The clue is in “his God” at the end of the sentence. David had a personal faith in his covenant God. That, is where he began. The Lord’s supper points us to this covenant God and invites us to him through personal faith.

Mark 14:1-21

With chapter 14 the plot to kill Jesus takes an ominous step forward and his final hours are described in great detail. It’s as if Mark has been rushing us to this moment with his familiar phrase, “and immediately…” until this moment that all of redemptive history has been preparing for, when Jesus would be put to death.

It is set in motion with the plotting of the scribes and chief priests.

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” (Mark 14:1–2)

In the meantime, Jesus and those close to him have their own preparation to do and that is what we see happening in this passage. In particular, we find two actions set in stark contrast to one another, one from a woman who interrupts a meal, and the other a disciple who sought an opportunity to betray Jesus. It’s such a stark contrast we can’t help but consider the actions and reflect upon the relationship each had with Jesus. And at the end of the day, it invites you consider your own relationship with Jesus. What does yours look like?

As we explore these two people, one important difference stands out, and that is the value Jesus has to them. Jesus taught about the value of the kingdom of God with parables. The first that brings this out is Matthew 13:44.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44)

Another parable is found in Mark 10:17-21

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:17–21)

Why did he need to sell all that he had? It wasn’t that this would earn his way. It was to show his devotion to Jesus. That’s what it means to have eternal life. It means to be fully devoted to Jesus.

The woman in our passage was devoted to Jesus. Judas used Jesus. Which are you? What should our devotion look like?