Fairfield Presbyterian Church - Blog

PASSION PROMISE: BETRAYAL AND BLESSING - for Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020

4/4/2020

The events of Passion Week are all about betrayal and blessing. We combine the Palm Sunday reading with a Maundy Thursday reading to see how people and events play out with results that raise some questions for us.

The Jerusalem crowds on Palm Sunday greet the one who came riding on a donkey, like the prophet Zechariah foretold. But they seek a political messiah to liberate then from Roman rule and corruption. They aren't interested in the blessing Jesus brings in seeking to advance the Kingdom of God in the Holy City. They will soon betray him for failing to to do what they seek.

Skipping ahead to the events of Maundy Thursday, we start with Judas arranging his own payoff. We learn why "Iscariot" may have betrayed Jesus.

Then we come to the last supper, a Passover Seder celebration of God's blessings for God's people in the Exodus from Egyptian slavery to God's liberation. Jesus tells his disciples gathered for the Seder that there is one among them who will betray him. They deny it and protest the accusation. But having to plead with Jesus shows that even they wonder, if not about themselves but another in their midst.

Jesus proceeds to take loaf and then cup, sharing them with the disciples. How does this action symbolically impact the goal of his betrayal? Watch the sermon video below and find out.

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FAITH MEETS DEATH - for Sunday, March 29, 2020

3/28/2020

"Jesus Wept" by Daniel Bonnell

Life-and-death topics reveal a lot about us, uncovering our poor priorities, our weak faith, and our desire to play God. A trip to the vivid valley of dry bones with prophet Ezekiel comes together with Jesus confronting the death of Lazarus to show us God's promise of new life in faith.

We are remarkably okay with playing God. In the sermon, I reflect a recent article that highlighted the frankly scandalous statements and conduct of those who are more concerned with the well-being of the economy (read 'profits and wealth') than with the health and well-being of society, and really for no intelligent reasoning.

The power of death shapes us more than we would like to admit. On the other hand, the power of faith often begs for a witness.

Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones speaks to God's people enslaved in exile in Babylon; the prophet himself is in Babylon. As a vision, it is metaphorical, portraying the condition of God's people in their harsh new reality as a conquered and subjected people. The witness of faith in the vision is for God;s people to know God's power to bring new life where it would never be expected.

John 11 is similar, but it focuses on Jesus and his ministry to bring hope and new life in the Kingdom. His friend Lazarus is dying, but he does not go to him. When he has died, then Jesus decides to go there. Lazarus's sisters Martha and Mary reflect the power of death, each moaning, "Lord, if you had been here."

Jesus shows the power of God in faith by calling Lazarus out of the tomb and commanding that the bindings of death be removed so that he can be freed from death's power and given new life.

Get the whole story of the power of faith over the specter of death in the sermon video below.

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BLIND TO THE BLESSING - for Sunday, March 22, 2020

3/21/2020

They say that 'seeing is believing,' but what if you need to believe but can't see it? Yes, you have a problem. Indeed, you may have had experience with this problem lately. We see Samuel who can't see what God sees, and while Jesus may have healed a blind man, he also showed that the sighted were quite blind in their own way.

Since we have suspended services, there is a bit extra that has been front-loaded on the sermon video - announcements and a common prayer followed by the usual scripture readings and sermon.

Yes, this was recorded in my kitchen, and I know the lighting needs to be better, but consider that neither of my dogs barked the whole time. For some reason, the video editor decided to give me fits, consuming my entire Saturday afternoon, so if it isn't looking too well put-together, oh well. I hope my skills will improve. Enjoy what we have and see what you can see about God and yourself.

03-22-20-ff-answers.pdf
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SATISFYING THE THIRST - from Sunday, March 15, 2020

3/16/2020

Water is vital for life. It can also symbolize the promise of life. In their Exodus wanderings, God's people have a strange complaint. Jesus' simple request for water from a Samaritan woman becomes an opening to describe "living water."

The issue that God's people have with Moses and the lack of water in their camp sounds on the surface like a legitimate complaint. However, when set in context, you realize that this complaint is odd. God has provided for the needs of God's people several times before on their desert sojourn, manna and quail, and even water. What is the deal this time? If the complaint seems disconnected from reality, then we can safely assume that there is something else behind this peculiar complaint.

It is also odd to find Jesus in Samaria, odd to find him conversing with a Samaritan - a people considered unclean and detested - and really, really odd for him to be conversing with Samaritan woman. A simple request for a cup of water turns into an theological discussion about what Jesus calls "living water." The discussion moves from the literal - remember the problems Nicodemus had with "born again" in last week's sermon - to the metaphorical or symbolic with an interesting outcome.

No sermon video this week (sorry, the camera stopped halfway through), but there are downloads below.

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FAITH OUTSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE - from Sunday, March 8, 2020

3/8/2020

The comfort zone is a trap for people of faith. The faithful life REQUIRES leaving one's comfort zone. As Abram is called out of his, we hear Jesus calling Nicodemus out of his. Very different results. Do you see yourself in one of these?

As noted in the sermon, the church does absolutely nothing to move the faithful out of their comfort zones. If anything, it encourages God's people to stay there. The scriptures give us two versions of how this can come out.

Abram and his wife Sarai have done very well in Haran. There is one hitch; no heir. God promises him in a grand vision that "I will make you into a great nation." That seems unlikely. If he stays in Haran, in his comfort zone, that blessing will not occur. Abram needs to pick up stakes and sojourn with his God somewhere to the west of Haran. Destination unknown, Abram leaves his comfort zone and trusting in faith in the promise of his God, he goes.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus seeking to better understand what this new, exciting teacher on the scene is all about. In a somewhat comical dialogue, Nicodemus cannot grasp what Jesus is saying. The ideas are beyond his standard frames of reference. He cannot extract himself from his comfort zone in order to grasp the promise of blessing that is right before him.

See if you see yourself in one of these stories as you check out the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel.

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03-08-20-ff-answers.pdf
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THE GOD TEMPTATION - from Sunday, March 1, 2020

3/2/2020

Temptation! This is the way we start Lent.

But we need to scale up our thoughts about temptation so that we can see what is really important, and what is the crux of all sinfulness.

Return to the Garden of Eden and join Jesus in the wilderness as we journey into the one, great temptation. Check out the sermon video below and use the downloads available below the video panel.

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BIG SHOW, SIMPLE MESSAGE - from Sunday, February 23. 2020

2/23/2020

The big show is very impressive - pillars of fire, towers of cloud, brilliant lights. But the razzle-dazzle may keep us from hearing the simple message. Follow Moses up the mountain and join Jesus' disciples at the Transfiguration to see if you can hear the simple message.

It is a spectacular sight when God descends upon the mountaintop and Moses enters the presence of God. The spectacle is about something much simpler for God's people who will soon be on their own.

Jesus, too, ascends the mountaintop with Peter and the Zebedee brothers. A fantastic show ensues, complete with cameos by Moses and Elijah no less! But the whole shebang is all about a simple message. Hint: it gets delivered with an exclamation point.

Check out the sermon video below and see if you saw beyond the fire and smoke, the glitter and the luminous and heard the simple message.

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DOES JESUS REALLY MEAN THAT? - from Sunday, February 16, 2020

2/16/2020

Jesus' teaching is so radical, we may find ourselves asking: "Is he serious?" or "Does Jesus really mean that?" Moses reminds the people that God's way is really different while Jesus' Sermon on the Mount considers strategies for resisting the oppressor and demands love for one's enemies.

Overcoming our confirmation bias - finding our biases confirmed by everything we encounter - is necessary to hear God's word and change ourselves into what God desires from the faithful.

Knowing from long experience how poorly God's people make choices when it comes to being faithful to God, Moses has some parting words as their leader just before they set out to conquer the Promised Land. Choosing God is choosing life; not choosing God or God's way has bitter consequences.

Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God requires some significant changes in the way people engage with life. His teachings begin, "You have heard it said ..." referring to the customary, common way of thinking. Then he re-orders things as the Kingdom way. Some of his most difficult teachings are here.

First, the trio of examples about not resisting the evildoer. As we consider the three examples, we find that Jesus is talking about non-violent resistance and a renunciation of violence, not passive acceptance.

Second, love for one's enemies and prayer for those who persecute you are plenty challenging, but underscore the values of the Kingdom, and for us, the difficult choices to be made in pursuing the Kingdom life.

Get the whole picture in the sermon video below.

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WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT? PART TWO - from Sunday, February 9, 2020

2/10/2020

90-year old Arnold Abbott arrested in Fort Lauderdale for feeding the homeless, his second arrest in one week in November 2014. Abbott died at age 94. Here is his obituary: https://hrld.us/38gnyss

Picking up where we left off last week, we return to the voice of a prophet denouncing empty devotions and explore the Beatitudes for directions, insights, and answers about what Jesus' Kingdom vision is all about.

Like the prophet Micah last week (6:1-8), this week the prophet Isaiah takes his turn, addressing pretty much the same issue 200 years later. God's people love to do ritual and worship (go to church), but the important stuff that is on God's agenda is not something they seem to care about at all. God's complaint is followed by a to-do list of things that God expects faithful people to do. Hint: ritual, worship, and devotions are not among them.

We resume our examination of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, providing a recap of last week which covered the first three Beatitudes. Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of God and by using the Kingdom as the lens to focus our understanding, we discover the radical nature of Jesus' vision for the Kingdom.

Explore it all in the sermon video below.

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WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT? - from Sunday, February 2, 2020

2/2/2020

What does the Lord expect? Going to church on Sunday? Think again. Micah tells God's people what God expects, and Jesus teaches a radical vision of the Kingdom.

We continue with the different understanding learned last week in examining wisdom and foolishness, very differently understood by the world on one hand, and the Kingdom on the other. Going further, we consider what God's expectations are from God's faithful people.

Micah 6 starts with God's complaint, continuing with the peoples' response. God's people don't understand God's problem. They do all of the right worship and ritual practices. Does God want more, far more, ridiculously more?

No, answers the prophet implicitly. Then Micah lays out the three things that God requires, and - spoiler alert! - doing worship by going to church regularly isn't among them.

Jesus, too, doesn't include, 'Blessed are the church-goers' among his Beatitudes in Matthew 5. We examine the first three beatitudes to understand that "poor in spirit," "mourn," and "meek" are not - I repeat NOT! - different ways of referring to feeling or being wimpy.

Explore what the Lord expects from all of us in the sermon video below.

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