"Faithful People Keep Awake"

Rev. Kevin Murphy

Preparation Scripture:  Isaiah 64: 1 - 9, Psalm 80: 1-7, 14-19

Mark 13: 24

24 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light, 25  and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

As we begin Advent Season leading up to Christmas celebrating the birth of Christ, we anticipate the excitement of this special occasion. Kevin helps us recall this same excitement we have all experienced at the arrival of Christmas morning. At such times, we have no problem keeping awake. In fact the excitement sometimes keeps us from sleeping at all. 

As we become excited about preparing for and enjoying the Celebration of the birth of Christ, shouldn’t we also become even more excited about anticipating and preparing for the return of Christ?

We know when Christmas will arrive, but we know not when Christ will return.  Listen as Kevin brings this message to become a part of your life.

“And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

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“Doing it to the Least”

Rev: Kevin Murphy

NOVEMBER 20,2011

Preparation Scripture:

Psalm 95 1-7a

1    O come, let us sing to the LORD;

    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

2    Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

3    For the LORD is a great God,

    and a great King above all gods.

4    In his hand are the depths of the earth;

    the heights of the mountains are his also.

5    The sea is his, for he made it,

    and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

6    O come, let us worship and bow down,

    let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

7    For he is our God,

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    and the sheep of his hand.

   

Matthew 25:31-46

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Kevin tells us that, although this is a very powerful statement, it is not a summary of God’s instructions for our salvation. We are taught that our salvation is not earned by our actions, but simply by God’s grace. Throughout Biblical history we see examples of individuals and societies that have turned against God’s love, but then returned to an ever accepting and forgiving God. Listen as this sermon reveals a deeper understanding of these words of Jesus near his final days with his disciples.

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Digging a Hole

Rev. Kevin Murphy

NOVEMBER 13, 2011

Preparation Scripture:

Psalm 123

1    To you I lift up my eyes,

    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

2    As the eyes of servants

    look to the hand of their master,

    as the eyes of a maid

    to the hand of her mistress,

    so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

    until he has mercy upon us.

3    Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,

    for we have had more than enough of contempt.

4    Our soul has had more than its fill

    of the scorn of those who are at ease,

    of the contempt of the proud.

Matthew  25:14-30

14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This sermon, based upon this parable, reminds us that our wealth as well as our talents are gifts from God.  We can choose to hoard and express pride in our possessions... or we can multiply and use them for the good of mankind and the glory of God. 

It is natural for children to cling to possessions as being MINE! After a time and encouragement, they learn the value of sharing. As we grow and mature, we continue to secure and maintain our hard earned achievements, but we also continue to learn that sharing God’s blessings benefit all including ourselves.

The Church is a community for achieving an ideal state where we learn to understands and please God. Should we isolate and protect this community from all “outside the wall” who do not enjoy our blessings? 

To do this might become comfortable, but would fail to spread the word and grow God’s Kingdom. 

We should instead, make every attempt to share our time and talents to help others discover God’s blessings also available to them. We can do this by our generosity with what we can afford to share. We can also do this by contributing our cheerful attitude and honorable treatment of others.

If we achieve God’s plan, perhaps one day we will need no walls as we enjoy a peaceful coexistence.

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“Essential Oil”

Rev. Kevin Murphy

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

Preparation Scripture:

Psalm 70 

1    Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.

    O LORD, make haste to help me!

2    Let those be put to shame and confusion

    who seek my life.

    Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor

    who desire to hurt me.

3    Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!”

    turn back because of their shame.

4    Let all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you.

    Let those who love your salvation

    say evermore, “God is great!”

5    But I am poor and needy;

    hasten to me, O God!

    You are my help and my deliverer;

    O LORD, do not delay!

Matthew 25:1-13

1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

In this sermon, Kevin explains the symbolism of this parable. We are the bridesmaids, Jesus is the bridegroom whom we are awaiting to return and claim the righteous. We know not the day or hour, but should continue to be prepared by doing God’s will. (Essential Oil). Otherwise, it may be too late to make preparation and we will be denied.

He then explores the meaning of this parable, explaining that this waiting time, waiting for Christ to return is preparation time. Preparation by the way we live our lives serving God. Not out of fear that we will fail to qualify for a blessed eternity, but out of love for God and the blessings we experience by becoming a part of his positive influence on all mankind. These preparation oils of faith will help us as we live our lives experiencing occasional difficult times of despair, grief, or fear. Kevin then reminds us that our lives can become a light to the world... a beacon of hope.

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