Hosea 11:1-11; Luke 12:13-21
Good Morning … my name is Tom, and I’m glad to be here, and I know that you are, too.
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”
Introduce family …
It’s been an adventure for us … April, 2006, I ended 36 years of installed ministry to begin interim work.
Donna and I had a garage sale and downsized.
I gave away 6000 books, threw away 40 years worth of sermons, emptied a 4-drawer file cabinet, hurried out to the dumpster, lest second thoughts prevail.
July 22, I finished 15 months at a church in northern Michigan … left my snow shovel there, a few books, and had two more garage sales.
An important moment this past week: I set my computer and phone to West Coast Time.
What was was; what is is! “Letting go of the past, to push on to the future.”
Friends ask: “Isn’t it hard to make all these changes?”
“Yup, it’s hard, but half of what we have, we don’t need, and most of what we did, we don’t need to do again.”
Letting go is our pathway to the future!
So, here we are: Donna and I thank God for the opportunity to find the future with all of you, to join hands with you in the journey of faith … to walk with Jesus Christ, to love one another … to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
And we’ll do it together.
Together, with God, with one another … arm-in-arm, we’ll travel the yellow brick road … a tin-man who wants a heart, a lion who wants courage, a scarecrow who wants a brain, a girl who wants to go home, and Toto, who wants to be where they are.
Together, arm-in-arm, we will
explore and discover,
pray and ponder,
help and hold,
love and be loved,
serve and be served,
tell our stories and learn from each other,
study God’s Word and grow in our faith,
reach out to our world and make it a better place.
Day by day,
O, dear Lord,
three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
You can call me Tom, Pastor Tom, Dr. Eggebeen, Rev. Eggebeen … or “highfalutin’ holiness” - whatever suits your fancy … my office door is always open, and I’m just a phone call away.
There’s a jar of pistachios on my desk.
If you feel like a nut, stop by my office.
I’ll spend time listening to you … God gave us one mouth, two ears … listening is twice as important as talking.
The roadmap ahead will clear for us … the will of God will unfold for us … it’s our job to trust and be patient – to wait upon the LORD …
Fear & anxiety will have no place in our hearts … we’ll enjoy the present and let God take care of the future.
God loves us dearly,
God is at work in all things for good,
God stands beside us,
God stands behind us,
God stands ahead of us,
God lives within us.
The Cross of Christ at the Center – the prince of peace, the king of kings, the LORD of Lords.
The Lamb of God:
Seeks the lost, finds the lonely … restores our faith, takes away our sin; cleans the slate, rebuilds the heart … makes all things new.
To Zacchaeus up a tree: “Come on down; I want to eat at your house tonight.”
To Nicodemus, fearful and uncertain, “You can do it; start all over; be born again.”
To the fisherman with their nets: “Follow me and I’ll make you into fishers of men.”
To Martha in her kitchen, “Don’t fuss about the small things.”
To the disciples with only a few loaves and fish – “That’s more than enough to feed the multitude. Trust me.”
To all of us, wherever we are, “Greater things than these you will do.”
The Lamb of God fills us with faith, hope and love; grace, mercy and peace; courage, confidence and conviction …
“I am with you always” …
“I will never leave you or forsake you” …
“I will build my church” …
“Fear not little ones, it is your Father’s will to give you the kingdom.”
The Lamb that Roared … an intriguing image from the Book of Revelation … when John looks to the throne of God, he sees a lion, the Lion of Judah … and then looks again and sees a Lamb … this strange juxtaposition of two contrasting images … the lion and the lamb.
Strength and gentleness … perfect combination … good balance …
strength to see the whole thing through; gentle on our mind …
strength to fashion the universe; gentle to fit into Mary’s womb …
strength to carry the sins of the world; gentle to carry us.
“Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The Lamb that roared!
“When Israel was a child, I loved him … but he turned away and broke my heart … I wanted to hurt him, but I didn’t … I’ll roar like a lion, but I’ll love like a lamb.”
“Teacher, tell my brother to do what I want.”
But the Lion said no; the Lamb told a parable … “be wise, be thoughtful, be smart … the things of this world are not the source of your life … enjoy this life, but keep your eyes on heaven … be rich in the things of God.”
The poor rich man had it made, but he couldn’t count his blessings … never enough; always more … but count your blessings, name them one by one …
Remember that Sunday School hymn? – SINGERS!
Count your blessings, see what God has done … count your blessings, name them one by one, you’ll be surprised by what the LORD has done.
The poor rich man thought something was missing … and that, dear Christian friends, is the original temptation; the source of heartache and ill – something missing.
The snake in the grass said to Adam and Eve “Something is missing, and you really need it … and no one is going to help you, not even God. It’s all up to you.”
So they plucked the fruit, and what a bitter pill it’s been.
But nothing is missing!
The blessing of God is complete and generous. It’s all here; all that’s needed.
“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
In the fullness of Christ, we have fullness of life … we’re buried with Him in baptism; we’re raised with Him in faith; God makes us alive with Christ.
Covenant Presbyterian Church has all that it needs … we need nothing more than what we have right now, here and now …
The LORD leads, the LORD guides; His grace is more than sufficient.
“LORD, open my eyes that I may see … let me be a blessing counter.”
“LORD, I promise to stop, look and listen, to appreciate your kindness in my life, the people around me, the hope I have in Christ.
LORD, I’ll be a blessing counter.
I won’t waste time looking at what you’ve given to others … when envy and greed come my way, I’ll send them packing with hymns of praise.
LORD, you have blessed me … I have life, and I have it abundantly … I trust your promise and I trust your grace … today, tomorrow, and forever … in life and in death, in good times and hard times … when I’m at the top of my game, and when the game turns against me … Christ in the morning, Christ at noon, Christ in the evening.
I am who God says I am.
I have what God says I have.
I can do what God says I can do.
Rich toward God … the Lamb that roared.
Amen!
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