Jesus in the House--The Living Room

Prayer
Luke 11:1-13
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who know, the door will be opened.
We started a new series this week—Jesus in the house, it’s a metaphor for asking Jesus into our lives. Then he goes through our lives, room by room. We begin with the living room, asking Jesus to come in. He initiates it all by knocking, knocking on the door of our hearts and asking if he can come in. It’s that simple. Of course, it’s the living room. The conversation begins with small talk, simple things, talking about the stuff. But that’s how you begin—don’t spill your guts, that might come later.
Our passage was Luke 11:1-13. Jesus tells his disciples about prayer—a conversation between us and God. The disciples see Jesus pray, and they want to pray like him as well. You see Jesus was God’s son and he prayed that way, not with formality, no elaborate formality, but with an ease, a familiarity as if he knew God well. In prayer, Jesus talked with his father. He talked with one who he knew cared for him, who treasured him and desired the best for him. Jesus knew that he was beloved.
Then he tells a story about a couple of friends and a request that comes at midnight—surprise guests and the need to borrow some food. The love of a friend overcame his sleepiness, the inconvenience, the late hour. Jesus ends with a funny comparison about hungry children asking their father for food, and the absurdity of the father giving their child a snake or a scorpion, instead of food.
You see, in prayer, ask and it will be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. Why? Because the one listening to your prayers, the one you need to respond to you, he is your heavenly Father, a trusted friend. God loves you like his own child, like an old friend. He will give you what you need, show you where you should go, and open the door when you get there.
This whole teaching is Jesus’ encouragement for us to pray. Pray knowing that we are heard by one who loves us best, one who will give us what we need most. This is important to remember because we don’t have our prayers answered at the first request. Jesus tells us to pray and pray and pray, not with endless repetition, or formulas, or prayer wheels or flags on mountain tops. No pray to your heavenly Father who hears you the first time, in fact who knows what you need before you even ask for it. But our heavenly Father wants us to ask and ask, perhaps because of how this practice changes us, strengthens in us our desire for those things we need most. For the Holy Spirit to move in us and through us, to glorify his name, to bring others into his kingdom, to do God’s will, to provide for our needs, forgive our sins, and win our battle over the evil one that fights so desperately to pull us down.
So come into the living room, and talk with the one who loves you best.
He is risen,
James

Hearts Ablaze: Luke 24:32-35

Do you long for meaning? For truth? For relationship that fill our hearts with passion and fire? That’s the end of the gospel. The end of our faith. The reason we come to church.
We began this worship series 3 Sundays ago, walking on the road to Emmaus with two men, sad, disappointed, hollow. Life was empty. Then, Jesus walked with them. He opened the scripture, broke the bread. The result? Luke 24:32-35. Their hearts burned within them. Their hearts went from being hollow, empty, to being full, full of passion, fire.
That’s why we come to worship. To gather together with Jesus in our midst, to hear the scriptures, to break bread, to light our hearts ablaze once again. Hearts that can become cold in the rush of life, empty through all the demands of life, of work, of relationships, of sin.
The book of Revelation—we see a vision of heaven, of the end of this age—what do we see? All creation worshiping at the throne of God .hearts ablaze reflecting the blaze of light and love coming from the throne, from our Father whose heart burns in love for us. The fire of love we long for and search for so fervently in so many lesser things. Idols are simply items other than God that our hearts burn for.
Sunday worship is central for us as a church because At it’s best, it is a foretaste of heaven. Worship rekindles our hearts with fire for God and for each other. Worship as the energizer for mission. We go forth to tell others about we have found—that Jesus is risen from the grave—that everything he said was true—because he rose from the dead, our dead hearts can be raised with him, from the grey of depression, the haze of indifference, the cold of cynicism to the blaze of light and life, of joy and wonder. Just like those two on the road to Emmaus, they took off to Jerusalem with a message that changed their lives.
Keeping Capitol Hill church open is keeping a light lit in the heart of our city for God, shining out proclaiming the Father’s love for this city. This is a piece of ground dedicated solely to keep that lamp burning and to invite others to come and have their hearts set ablaze as well. That is why we are here. That is why we labor as a community on this church. We are chartering as a time to celebrate the fact that the Holy Spirit has re-established this church for a new season of service, of witness to God’s burning heart for this city.
We came forward last Sunday and signed the petition to charter. This is the formal request to Presbytery to let us charter, to be a fully functioning, independent church.

Why? So we can continue to gather to keep our hearts burning. To hold open a place where we can invite others to gather as well, so together we might light a blaze of love for God and each other.
He is risen,
James

Road to Emmaus 3-Revealed through the breaking of bread

The disciples invite Jesus to stay with them. As they eat with Jesus, he breaks the bread and they recognize the stranger in their midst. It is Jesus who has been with them all along the road. This scripture is used by the church to underscore one of the purposes of the sacrament of communion. Through the mystery of the Holy Spirit coming over the elements of bread and juice, God opens our eyes to his presence in our midst.

Communion is also a metaphor for discipleship. Every time Jesus breaks bread—whether it is the Lord’s Supper or feeding the multitudes—the gospel writers use four verbs: taken, blessed or gave thanks, broke and gave.
Taken—we are chosen by God. From the foundation of the world. We are unique, formed by God’s Spirit in our mother’s womb. We are not an accident. The world tells us different. What to do?
Open your eyes to the world that is violent, manipulative, desiring you to feel unwanted, rejected—this makes it easier to use you. To take advantage of you.
Find a community that will remind you of your chosen-ness. You are the beloved of God.

Blessed—we are blessed by God. We love this part, we are healed, instructed, inspired. We have many ceremonies of blessing in the church. This is important because we so often feel cursed, rejected. The curse is a lie. We introduce the curse into the world through believing it. What do we do?
Take time for Prayer, for prayer, especially silent prayer, opens our heart to hearing God’s blessing.
Be Attentive—look for the ways God has blessed you.

Broken—we are broken by God. Everyone who follows Jesus will be broken. We hate this part. What to we do when everything falls apart, all our plans seem ludicrous, our lives go into crisis mode, where instead of changing the world, we are trying not to completely fall apart. At this point, we can turn from God and go back to our truth, the truth of our selves. To go into damage control, fix the problem, ignore the truth. Or we can turn to God, allow ourselves to fall apart, realize that there is nothing good in us.
Embrace your brokenness. We are all broken.
Put it under the blessing—don’t let your brokenness confirm the lie, the curse. Accept the pain as God’s deep transformative work.

Given—we are given by God in service to the world. Our greatest joy as human beings is to give ourselves to others. Only now, assured that we are chosen of God, that we have been blessed by God. Only when we have been broken of our independence, our confidence in our selves, our strengths. Only now, can we experience the blessing of being given to the world

He is risen,
James