January 11, Communion Sunday, delayed from January 4.

Lesson: Galatians 1.1-10

Sermon Title: Forsaking All Others

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INTRODUCTION

The manager of a large office noticed a new man one day and told him to come into his office. "What is your name?" was the first thing the manager asked the new guy.

"John," the new guy replied.

The manager scowled, "Look, I don't know what kind of a place you worked at before, but I don't call anyone by his first name. It breeds familiarity and that leads to a breakdown in authority. I refer to my employees by their last name only -- Smith, Jones, Baker -- that's all. I am to be referred to only as Mr. Robertson. Now that we got that straight, what is your last name?"

The new guy sighed and said, "Darling. My name is John Darling."

"Okay, John, the next thing I want to tell you is ..."

    1. He cannot say "Darling!"

    2. There are some who cannot say that the Christian is about faith and freedom.

    3. They have to add to the mix other elements that take away or eliminate freedom.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. The book of Galatians is the charter of Christian freedom.

    1. In this profound letter, Paul proclaims the reality of our liberty in Christ--freedom from the law and the power of sin, and freedom to serve our living Lord.

    2. Most of the first converts and early leaders in the church were Jewish Christians who proclaimed Jesus as their Messiah.

      1. As Jewish Christians, they struggled with a dual identity: their Jewishness constrained them to be strict followers of the law; their newfound faith in Christ invited them to celebrate a holy liberty.

      2. They wondered how Gentiles (non-Jews) could be part of the kingdom of heaven.

    3. This controversy tore the early church.

      1. Judaizers--an extremist Jewish faction within the church--taught that Gentile Christians had to submit to Jewish laws and traditions in addition to believing in Christ.

      2. As a missionary to the Gentiles, Paul had to confront this issue many times.

    4. Galatians was written, therefore, to refute the Judaizers and to call believers back to the pure gospel.

      1. This why Paul writes as he does.

      2. We note especially verses 6-9

        1. 6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--

        2. 7not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

        3. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!

        4. 9As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

    5. The Good News is for all people--Jews and Gentiles alike. Salvation is by God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus and nothing else. Faith in Christ means true freedom.

    6. We often face the same dilemma.

      1. Authority figures arise who promote their own viewpoint.

      2. They convince people of the validity of their claims.

    7. It is necessary to be on guard.

      1. Know the scriptures.

      2. Know the basics of the gospel.

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  1. There are certain steps that one might take to insure that you are in harmony with Jesus and not the Judiazers.

    1. Keep Looking Up

      1. Looking down only lets you see the detritus of life.

      2. Looking horizontally only lets you see what's directly in front of you.

      3. Looking up focuses the eye, the mind, and the spirit on Jesus Christ.

        1. That is if you want your focus to be on Jesus.

        2. He is the one who came from up and returned up and in the up he is offering help and assistance.

      4. It was Virgil and Blanche Brock who wrote the song Keep Looking Up (1)

          1. Like millions of other boys, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Brock had just been called overseas to face the dark, dangerous days of war.

          2. The hearts of the family were heavy.

          3. Shortly after, the father of the soldier-son noticed a motto on the wall of his minister's study it read,

            1. "Keep Looking Up!"

            2. It was like a message from heaven.

          4. Returning home, he and his wife wrote this lovely gospel song.

    Life has its joys and sorrows, too,
    Sometimes the mists will hide our view;
    If we would hope and strength renew,
    There's just one thing to do:

    Refrain:

    Keep looking up, thy God is still the same today,
    Keep looking up, He will not fail thee, come what may;
    Keep looking up, the darkest cloud will roll away,
    So do not doubt, but keep looking up!

    When darkened clouds have filled your sky,
    And faithless friends have passed you by;
    When prone to doubt or reason why,
    There's just one thing to do:

    Refrain:

    Keep looking up, thy God is still the same today,
    Keep looking up, He will not fail thee, come what may;
    Keep looking up, the darkest cloud will roll away,
    So do not doubt, but keep looking up!

    So when your faith is sorely tried,
    And earnest prayers have been denied;
    Whene'er you need a faithful guide,
    There's just one thing to do:

    Refrain:

    Keep looking up, thy God is still the same today,
    Keep looking up, He will not fail thee, come what may;
    Keep looking up, the darkest cloud will roll away,
    So do not doubt, but keep looking up!

    1. Stay Hooked Up

      1. Christianity might be compared to life support.

        1. You might need oxygen?

        2. You might need nutrition.

      2. Stay connected to Jesus Christ.

        1. To find the answers to life's questions, we can do no better than looking to God's Son.

        2. He is the reflection of God's glory and the imprint of God's being. Heir of all things. Creator of worlds. Sustainer of all.

          1. When we are searching for direction and guidance, he can lead us.

          2. When we are desperate for forgiveness and new life, he can fill us.

          3. When we are hungering for meaning and insight, he can satisfy us.

          4. When we are looking for holiness in the swirling chaos of current events, Jesus can reveal himself to us.

      3. In him is life and the light of all people.

      4. He is the true light which enlightens everyone.

      5. To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God

      6. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

      7. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

    2. Always Keep Up

      1. This is not keeping up with the Jones'

      2. Keeping up with faith and love for the family.

      3. Don't get left behind in anything.

    In his book The Jesus Way (40-41), Eugene Peterson recalls that hiking in the mountains was a favorite family recreational activity when his sons were growing up. But when the boys reached adolescence, he recalls, they became impatient with the slow pace of their parents on the ascent and would rush off ahead. "For them," writes Peterson, "the trail, the way, was reduced to one thing and one thing only: the way to the top of the mountain. They set out with all deliberate speed to conquer (their verb of choice) the mountain, get to the peak, write their names in the metal box containing the names of successful climbers. They always took a couple of pictures to document their feat. And then, reeking with boredom, they waited for their slowpoke parents who were carrying the lunch. 'What took you so long? We've been waiting for hours!'"

    Peterson gives this explanation, "What did take us so long? Well, there was a lot to see, to savor, to absorb, to enjoy: a mountain goat posing regally on a cliff, a blue-fringed gentian to look at again for the first time, the wind-sculpted trunk of an ancient white-bark pine, a water ouzel (small stocky diving bird without webbed feet; frequents fast-flowing streams and feeds along the bottom) plying in a waterfall, the nectarine that we relished as we sat and took in the next range of mountains that had just come into view

    Way for us was far more than a way to get to the top. It was a way of being present to everything on the way " He recalls a line by Robert Pirsig: "To live only for some future goals is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow. But of course, without the top you can't have the sides. It's the top that defines the sides."

    Peterson recalls that Dorothy Day loved to quote St. Catherine: "All the way to heaven is heaven, because he had said, 'I am the Way.'"

        1. The wise man in Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NRSVA), observed:

    Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.

        1. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?

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CONCLUSION:

  1. Above all never give up.

    1. God

    2. Yourself

    3. Family

    4. Church

  2. Helga's plaque on her office wall.

    3. DON'T YOU QUIT

    When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
    When the road your trudgin' seems all uphill,
    When the finds are low, and the debts are high,
    And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
    When care is pressing you down a bit,
    Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

    Life is queer with its twists and turns,
    As everyone of us sometimes learns,
    And many a failure turns about
    When you might have won had you stuck it out.
    Don't give up though the pace seems slow.
    You may succeed with another blow.

    Success is failure turned inside out.
    The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
    And you can never tell how close you are,
    It may be near when it seems so far.
    So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,

    It's when things seem worse that you must not quit.

    Amen!

COMMUNION INTRODUCTION

    Rev. Richard White, Parish of the Northern Lights Diocese of Algoma, Haileybury, ON, Canada writes:

    "When my wife and I were missionaries, we dragged our children from church to church during furlough, and ate many potluck suppers at our supporting churches.

    "At one church, my wife Linda showed the children a stained-glass window of the Last Supper, and asked them what they thought it depicted. 'Oh,' our youngest answered, "that's Jesus at the potluck supper!'"

    Communion is a little like a pot-luck meal although the meal is provided by one person and consists of two courses bread and wine.

    1. Retrieved from http://present-truth.org/1-Jesus/Look-Live.htm

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