Emphasis Preaching Journal

Acts 3:12-19
Franciscan priest Richard Rohr describes what faith is not, and what it is:

Now I know that faith is not believing-certain-ideas-all-evidence-to-the-contrary. It is not dogged loyalty to childhood conditioning or pledges of allegiance to sacred formulas and official explanations. It is surely not the addictive repetition of rituals or practices that keep God under control....

I can only describe faith in its effects: people of real faith seem able to hold increasing amounts of chaos in one tranquil and ordered life. Faith seems to make people spacious, non-controlling, and waiting in awareness. The faith that Jesus praises as salvation (and sufficient in lepers, Samaritans, and those outside the temple system) is something very different than religion as such. It is a capacity within people to contain and receive all things, to hold onto nothing, with almost no need to fear or judge rashly. Faith-people find it unnecessary to secure themselves because they are secure at a deeper level; there is room for Another in that spacious place.

(from Richard Rohr, "Mending the Breach," on the website of the Network of Spiritual Progressives)

Acts 3:12-19
Dave took his daughter to the doctor's office. Daphne could not get over her bad cold. She would feel better for a couple of days and then her fever would return. This had gone on too long; it was time to see the doctor.

As they waited for their appointment an older woman came and sat next to them. Dave noticed that she was all alone. She began talking to him, telling him how she had to ride the bus to the doctor's office. In just a couple of minutes she shared about her life and her many health challenges and difficulties.

While she was talking Dave felt the gentle nudge of the Spirit to share his faith. He told her about the church they attend and how loving and caring the people are. She replied that she had not been to church for years because she had a bad experience.

Dave shared that whenever he was feeling down he would read a chapter from the Bible and then pray. The conversation continued. The woman asked Dave if he would pray for her, which he did in the waiting room. She thanked Dave for the prayer and for caring. The nurse then called Dave and Daphne to see the doctor.

As they were leaving the doctor's office, Dave noticed the woman sitting outside waiting for a bus. He asked if he could take her home. They continued their conversation. The woman seemed genuinely interested in attending church, so Dave asked if he could pick her up on Sunday morning to bring her to church. This woman discovered new life in Christ and soon made friends and became involved in the women's sewing circle. In just a couple of months she seemed and felt like a new person.

The apostle Peter had an opportunity to share his faith with others. He started by talking about "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him." He would conclude by inviting his listeners to "Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out."

Acts 3:12-19
Nothing refreshes like a good drink of water. How often have you heard that? That drink may be refreshing because an average person loses up to ten cups of water a day through perspiration, urination, and breathing. Water is necessary for proper digestion, for the body to absorb vitamins, and to detoxify the kidneys and liver. Water is also the medium by which the body gets rid of waste. Getting plenty of water boosts energy, keeps the blood at the right consistency, and is a natural appetite suppressant.

Peter talks about another refreshing experience, that of repentance. Repentance brings times of refreshment from the Lord. Is that because through repentance we get a good drink of living water?

1 John 3:1-7
Sometimes, we just want to know. The thirty-year-old single woman working a job she hates just wants to glimpse twenty years in the future. Will the husband she longs for ever show up? Should she move on with her life and forget old dreams?

Or the man slaving away in an office. Will he ever get a promotion? Will he make a breakthrough? Or would he be better served to join his brother's plumbing business? After all, that's all he really wants to do. But if he has a chance at being a CEO....

Paul reminds us that we can't know the future. Wherever we are in life, we are God's children now. We don't have to wait until some unspecified time to be old enough or advanced enough to share God's love.

1 John 3:1-7
The pastor gathered the children in worship. "I want to tell you about a child who had a favorite blanket. Bunny loved her blanket. She was five and had it all her life. But it was a quilt, sewn together from little pieces. Bunny had her blanket so long, slept with it, and dragged it around, that no matter how it was mended, it was always falling apart.

"Know what the parents did? Every week after the mother washed it, she took scissors and cut a little bit -- like this -- off all the edges. Just a little. Over the months it was taken away so slowly that Bunny didn't miss it. It got smaller and smaller until it was the size of a scarf.

"I tell you this to help you think about God treating us as beloved children. God slowly takes away not anything we really need but our sin. We don't even miss it as we become better children of God. Let's pray now and thank God for slowly making us better and better children of God...."

1 John 3:1-7
On Sunday afternoons the state children's home dressed the children in their nicest clothes and paraded them through the dining room during open house. They were shown off to visitors who might be prospective adoptive parents. Freckle-faced Allison was always so hopeful, with a huge winning grin, but was never chosen.

Finally the day came when a wealthy couple expressed an interest in Allison. They spent time telling her about their lavish home and all the things they could give her. There was an in-ground swimming pool in their backyard and a tennis court behind it. She would have her very own room, complete with television and computer. They would be glad to have a puppy or kitten join the family, too, if she wished. They would fill the shelves with every toy imaginable.

They offered Allison the fulfillment of a dream world. Astoundingly, Allison told them that she thought she would rather remain at the children's home. This well-heeled couple could not believe their ears. Their generous offer was being refused by an orphan. They simply could not understand until Allison explained, "All in the world I ever have wanted was somebody to love me."

Luke 24:36b-48
"You are witnesses of these things." What does this mean?

We couldn't possibly be eyewitnesses to the good news of resurrection. How could we? We weren't there!

No, Jesus Christ needs us to engage in a different sort of witnessing. Our Lord needs us to be character witnesses.

If defense attorneys are angling to undermine the prosecutor's argument, they are likely to call one or more character witnesses: people who know the defendant, who are willing to vouch for that person, to observe how unlikely it is that their esteemed friend or colleague would ever commit a crime.

That's the kind of witnesses Christians are called to be for Christ: character witnesses. We can't tell firsthand stories about the resurrection -- other than the timeworn, smooth-as-a-piece-of-beach-glass stories that have been passed on across the generations. Yet, we can witness to a personal Christ, a living Lord whom we know, one who has touched our lives and made a difference.

Luke 24:36b-48
Roberta needed a change of scenery. Her husband died following a brief illness. She was trying her best to cope with the sudden loss of her husband. It was difficult being alone every day plus she had the task of going through her husband's clothing and personal belongings. There were days when she would find something that brought back a special memory that would bring tears to her eyes.

Her son, Tom, invited her to go to the beach with him and his family for a few days. Reluctantly, Roberta agreed even though she had much to do at home.

One day she sat for an hour watching the ocean while Tom and his family went shopping at the outlets. Roberta was able to clear her mind of all the events of the past six months. She could not remember the last time she felt so relaxed.

Sitting and watching the waves come in and go out she felt as though God was speaking to her. She found a new sense of meaning for her life. She felt alive again. She would go back to her church and start a grief support group where people could share their stories and work through their losses.

The disciples were grieving Jesus' death. As they were meeting, trying to make sense out of what had happened; the risen Lord Jesus appeared to them, "Peace be with you." The disciples were both startled and frightened. Jesus showed them his hands and feet. Their grief turned into joy! Jesus was alive! More importantly they realized that they had a job to do -- Jesus needed them just like Jesus needs each and every one of us today to share the good news with others!

Luke 24:36b-48
One of the most dramatic scenes the pastor ever witnessed was the day a mother was reunited with her son. The family noticed that David was missing when he never showed up at the dinner table. It was learned that David had taken the boat out that morning on a mission to find the illusive pickerel hole. Now, as the evening hours approached, David still wasn't home. When the family tried to reach David on his cell phone, it just kept ringing -- no answer. After supper, David's brothers took out boats to scour the lake. Well after dark they found David's boat, but David was nowhere to be found. They towed the boat home and waited for morning light to resume their search.

The family gathered early the next morning, their numbers bolstered by a number of friends and the pastor. They shared a word of prayer and were about to get into boats and search the shores of the lake when they heard a shout. There, coming through the woods was David, cold, tired, and hungry but very much alive.

It seems that he got off his boat to make a fire to cook a fish. But his boat became unmoored and drifted away. His cell phone's battery was dead, so David had to walk through the woods all the way home, a circuitous route of about 25 miles. He heard the boats looking for him, but by the time he ran out of the woods to the shore, the boats had already moved on.

When he emerged from the woods that morning, his mother ran to him and running her hands over his face repeatedly, said, "It really is you. You are alive!" This was the very thing that Jesus was inviting his weary disciples to do.