Message Title: Waters Changing Tides
Theme: Flopped Inventions & New Discoveries
Season: EPIPHANY (started Jan 6th)
Main Text: Mark 1:4-11
Scripture Reading: Psalm 29
RCL Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
Focus: John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and a voice claims Jesus as his son.
Function: To commit or recommit to the continual transformation of our baptism.
Other Notes: (Wisemen arrived!) (Hidden Ministries/Mission of the Month)

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 29 You, divine beings! Give to the Lord—give to the Lord glory and power! ²Give to the Lord the glory due his name! Bow down to the Lord in holy splendor! ³The Lord’s voice is over the waters; the glorious God thunders; the Lord is over the mighty waters. ⁴The Lord’s voice is strong; the Lord’s voice is majestic. ⁵The Lord’s voice breaks cedar trees—yes, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. ⁶He makes Lebanon jump around like a young bull, makes Sirion jump around like a young wild ox. ⁷The Lord’s voice unleashes fiery flames; ⁸the Lord’s voice shakes the wilderness—yes, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. ⁹The Lord’s voice convulses the oaks, strips the forests bare, but in his temple everyone shouts, “Glory!” ¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned over the floodwaters; the Lord sits enthroned—king forever! ¹¹Let the Lord give strength to his people! Let the Lord bless his people with peace!

INTRO INTO EPIPHANY:  We entered into the season of Epiphany on January 6^th. This season is a time of revelation, discovery, and proclamations. As we look at revelations about Jesus, we will also look at discoveries and inventions, some successful and some flops. Perhaps these discoveries will inspire our own revelations.

INVENTION:

1. Did you know that Post-It Notes were a mistake?
   1. In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. (WIKI)
   2. There is a claim by another gentleman, Alan Amron, that he was the one who actually invented the tech, but the story gets quite confusing to follow.
2. Sources:
   1. https://www.businessinsider.com/failed-experiment-created-post-it-notes-2014-9
   2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_Note 

TRANSITION: The legend of Post-It notes speaks of failure as the gateway to success. This failed experiment became a staple of office supplies.

Though the epiphany that leads to Post-It notes is not a glamorous one, our text for today will lead us to another epiphany on a much grander scale. What will Mark’s epiphany teach us?

SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:4-11⁴John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. ⁵Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins. ⁶John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. ⁸I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ⁹About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. ¹⁰While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. ¹¹And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

EXPLAINATION:

1. Intro to Mark: Mark is the gospel for Year C in the Lectionary. Mark is the reader’s digest Gospel. He is quick and to the point. Mark is not the Gospel to search for details about Jesus.
   1. Mark did not tell a Christmas story. Instead, Mark’s Gospel starts with John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness.
2. John The Baptist:
   1. John, in the wilderness –camel’s hair etc
      1. In the Hebrew Bible, God met people in the wilderness
         1. Hagar, Moses, The people of Israel
      2. John’s appearance & diet is to draw a parallel to
         1. Nazarite vow- a person set aside for holy work
         2. Prophets- OT writers describe other prophets looking this way-i.e. Elijah.
   2. John’s words mimic the prophets
      1. Note- in Mark’s Gospel, John does not draw the link between Jesus  & “the one coming.” In other Gospels that thought is linked.
      2. “Change your hearts & lives”
3. Baptism:
   1. People of Judea & Jerusalem were getting baptized
   2. We’ve talked about this before, baptism for a Jew was common but different from what we Baptists do today.
   3. Ancient Jews used ceremonial washing frequently to set people or things apart for God’s use.
      1. Jesus is among them, receiving this baptism. We consider Jesus’s baptism the beginning of his ministry.
   4. This baptism was about transformation.  Some translations use the word repentance. But I think that word can have a very grand sensation without a lot of meaning.
      1. I love the CEB translating the Greek to say “Change your hearts and lives.”
      2. Knowledge of God’s intentions should change us.

INTERPRETATION:

1. A voice reveals Jesus as God’s son at his baptism. (No thanks to John -.-)
   1. Many ponder why Jesus needed baptism, if he was perfect.
      1. Some say this baptism was the first act of connecting heaven and earth.
      2. Some say Jesus’ baptism was only an example
      3. Others consider it his commissioning for his ministry.
2. Our Baptism is about a commitment to be continually transformed by God’s Spirit. Not living by our own ideas or standards, but allowing ourselves to be changed by God’s guidance.
   1. John uses the phrase: “Change your hearts & lives”
      1. Our baptism is a commitment to Christ and the ongoing spiritual growth journey.
      2. Baptism isn’t the end, it’s the beginning.
   2. If you would like to talk about being baptized and committing to the ongoing faith journey, talk to me or a deacon after church.
      1. As Baptists, we baptize those who will say that: “Jesus is our savior”  and can commit to growing with a body of believers (Liberty, specifically).

APPLICATION: Epiphanies in our world– To commit or recommit to the continual transformation of our baptism.

1. An epiphany has happened in our country this week on January 6th. Division has become so strong that Americans were attacking Americans.
   1. I recognize bringing up this topic is difficult. The story has become so convoluted that it is difficult to agree on what is happening and what these events mean. We don’t know who to listen to or who to trust, and politicians continue to fuel the flame.
      1. We have two separate narratives active in the news.
   2. How did we get to this place? We have stopped considering the perspective of our opponents and have labeled them our enemies.
      1. We have become so focused on being right that we have become virtually unteachable.
      2. When you are so determined to be right that you cease to show love, you are no longer right.
2. The job of a pastor is scary during events like this. We may have our personal convictions and believe them just as passionately as you believe your convictions. But we must also tread carefully or risk repercussions from speaking of our convictions.
   1. The world encourages pastors to be spiritual guides, but to keep their political thoughts to themselves. “Stick to scripture,” leave the politics out of it.
      1. Scripture informs the rest of our lives. It is all connected. Your faith should inform your politics.
   2. We hear an opinion that we disagree with and our tendency as humans is to talk to everyone BUT the person we disagree with. Gossip spreads like wildfire. No healing happens.
      1. We rush to protecting our allies and reject any thoughts from our opponents.
      2. I’ve experienced this very thing in my own life.
   3. How is this behavior showing we are God’s people?
      1. How is our language showing we are God’s people?
3. Defense is our natural reaction. I want to interrupt that moment right now.
   1. Liberty is a diverse group of thought. Not everyone in this room thinks the same way about what happened on January 6^th. But the people you are sitting next to are not your enemies. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ.
   2. Together WITH our differences, we can listen for the Spirit of God to speak.  Together IN our differences, we can evaluate the messages we hear and listen for God’s truth. We need diversity of heritage, economic status, and voting record. We need a body of believers with critical thinking skills in order to challenge the voices attempting to sway our attention.
   3. In this space, we are not republicans or democrats, tea party or libertarians, we are followers of Christ.
      1. Unity doesn’t mean that we stop being an individual with thoughts and feelings. Unity means we are working together for a solution rather than taking our toys and playing somewhere else.
4. Action: We are going to take some time to reflect together. There will be a song playing and I invite you to listen to the words or reflect on these questions. If you would like a copy of these questions just raise your hand.
   1. Song & Reflection prayer for our country
      1. Where is God asking me to speak? Where is God asking me to listen?
      2. Where is God calling me to let go? Where is God calling me to stand up?
      3. They Will Know We Are Christians: by Jars of Clay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugQwh-phnZY

CONCLUSION: Sticky-Notes were birthed out of failure. This failure led to a HUGE success.

The biggest failure in the church is believing we don’t need people who are different than us worshipping next to us. The church choosing to only worship next to people they agree with on every single thing leads to a church who has lost its way.

I need you. You need me. We need each other. If we want our faith to continue to grow and be stretched beyond our limits, we need to work together. Share your differences in love and work together to find a God centered solution.

Invitation to baptism & commitment to growing with this church.  

Message Title: Shout it from the Roof Tops
Theme: God’s consistency
Season: Christmas
Main Text: John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14
RCL Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Focus: Jesus was present & part of the plan from the beginning.
Function: To practice awe and wonder while considering the implications of our beliefs on our lives.
Other Notes: (Hidden Ministries/Mission of the Month)

SCRIPTURE READING: Jeremiah 31:7-14 ⁷The Lord proclaims: Sing joyfully for the people of Jacob; shout for the leading nation. Raise your voices with praise and call out: “The Lord has saved his people, the remaining few in Israel!” ⁸I’m going to bring them back from the north; I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the disabled, expectant mothers and those in labor; a great throng will return here. ⁹With tears of joy they will come; while they pray, I will bring them back. I will lead them by quiet streams and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble. I will be Israel’s father, Ephraim will be my oldest child. ¹⁰Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations,  and announce it to the distant islands: The one who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock. ¹¹The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are. ¹²They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion, jubilant over the Lord’s gifts: grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds. Their lives will be like a lush garden; they will grieve no more. ¹³Then the young women will dance for joy; the young and old men will join in. I will turn their mourning into laughter and their sadness into joy; I will comfort them. ¹⁴I will lavish the priests with abundance and shower my people with my gifts, declares the Lord.

INTRO: Though many of you have already taken down your Christmas decorations, this a still a season of awe and wonder. On Dec 29^th, 2020 NASA took a poll through their twitter feed @NASAHubble to pick the Hubble photo of the year. Let’s take a look at the four options.

1. 2020 Hubble space telescope photos
   1. Cosmic Reef
   2. Jupiter
   3. Saturn
   4. Neptune
2. Which is your favorite?
3. Polling Results PHOTO
4. Did you know that most photos taken by Hubble have been digitally edited in one way or another?
   1. This doesn’t mean NASA is lying to us, but that the technology we use to capture photos doesn’t work like a typical camera.
   2. Through the data they receive they are able to make estimations about the colors in the photos.
      1. “Finished color images are actually combinations of two or more black-and-white exposures to which color has been added during image processing. The colors in Hubble images, which are assigned for various reasons, aren’t always what we’d see if we were able to visit the imaged objects in a spacecraft. We often use color as a tool, whether it is to enhance an object’s detail or to visualize what ordinarily could never be seen by the human eye.”
   3. Sources:
      1. https://www.space.com/8059-truth-photos-hubble-space-telescope-sees.html
      2. http://hubble.stsci.edu/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/
      3. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-hubble-images-are-manipulted-2015-3
      4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=WSG0MnmUsEY
      5. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/01/05/hubble-revisits-an-icon-the-pillars-of-creation/#close
      6. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/05/dear-hubble-space-telescope-transformed-astronomy-and-us-all/

TRANSITION: Humanity has been curious since the very beginning about our world and the heavens above.In our text for today, John starts his Gospel focusing on the vastness of creation. Let’s zoom out with John and see the big picture of the story of Jesus.

SCRIPTURE: John 1: 1-18 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. ²The Word was with God in the beginning. ³Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being ⁴through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. ⁶A man named John was sent from God. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. ⁸He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light. ⁹The true light that shines on all people was coming into the world. ¹⁰The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light. ¹¹The light came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him. ¹²But those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children, ¹³born not from blood nor from human desire or passion, but born from God. ¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full  of grace and truth. ¹⁵John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace; ¹⁷as the Law was given through Moses, so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.

Explanation:

1. Intro to John’s Gospel: John’s Gospel wants everyone to know that Jesus didn’t enter the scene at Christmas. Jesus has always been on the scene. Jesus wasn’t some dude that God liked and claimed as his son. Jesus was God in the flesh. But there are other gods who have similar stories, so John’s gospel focuses on Jesus’ divinity and its uniqueness to other stories of gods-made-flesh.
2. “in the Beginning” should bring us back to Genesis 1:1. John is saying that Jesus was present at creation as the Word.
3. Word, Life, Light- Jesus is more than just a man that we meet at Christmas.Jesus is God, who was present with us at the beginning.

INTERPRETATION & APPLICATION: To practice awe and wonder while considering the implications of our beliefs on our lives.

1. Awe & wonder are significant elements in our worship of God. Our God is three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This idea is way bigger than my brain can understand. The complexity should lead to worship.
   1. And perhaps worship starts out as questions which can lead to wonder.
2. AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT:  I want to play a philosophy game with you for a moment. I will ask a question that I want us to ponder together. I am not looking for a “right answer” but for thoughtfulness.
   1. Why did God make other “stuff” besides earth & the sun?
      1. Did God make creation FOR us?
      2. If not, then why did God make creation?
   2. When I think about these questions, and the answers I develop, it changes the way I view the world and how I interact with it.
3. Honesty time: When I read scripture, I don’t always think of a tangible way to apply the words I read. Frequently, the words continue to inform me about who God is and the collective information adjusts my behavior.
   1. Atomic Habits by James Clear
      1. One nugget from this book: The way we think or speak about ourselves places a large impact on our habits or behavior.
   2. This passage in John makes me think, “… Ok, and now what?” I don’t hear a practical step screaming out from this passage. However, I am filled with awe about God.
4. AUDIENCE ENAGEMENT: How would the knowledge that Jesus was present at creation and not just at Christmas change things for you?
   1. How do your beliefs create a chain reaction to other parts of your life?

CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the wonders of God *should* stir something inside of us. Much like seeing the majesty of space leads to awe and wonder. It’s exciting to talk about the discoveries NASA and Space X are making. Do we talk about our discoveries with God?

The goal is not to provide a guilt trip but a time of reflection. We have survived 2020 and know that there are no guarantees in 2021. How do we make 2021 a year that God’s kingdom comes to this world? The possibilities are in your hands.

COMMUNION: As we dwell in the awe of God, we will also take time to celebrate communion together.

Let’s dwell in the mystery of Bread & Juice, as it represents Jesus’ body and blood and the salvation we receive through him.