Who Is This Guy?

Sunday, July 5, 2020

First Sunday at my new appointment
serving Lakeview UMC (St. Albans WV)
and Humphreys Memorial UMC (Tornado WV)

Sermon title: “Who Is This Guy?”

Scripture Reading    Romans 7:15-25a    NRSV

15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ò

Gospel Reading       Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30    NRSV

16 “But to what will I compare this generation?
It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ò

Sermon: Who Is This Guy?
This sermon outline was used for the worship service at each church.
Each church’s worship service was live cast on Facebook:
Lakeview UMC: https://www.facebook.com/kerrfunk/videos/10223484489279803/

Humphrey’s Memorial UMC: https://www.facebook.com/kerrfunk/videos/10223485263179150/

•  I am generally lousy with coming up with sermon titles before a bulletin is printed. But sometimes I’ll tell you what it is. “Who Is This Guy?”

• So a church was interviewing for a pastor. This guy’s credentials were very good. Good school, graduated at the top of his class while young even. They call him in.
What’ve you done with your training? Consultant for a while, then I had a fall and stopped what I was doing.
Can you tell us anything about this 14-year gap in your employment history?
No. If it makes you feel better you can say I was ‘figuring out who I am.’
Mmhmm. And now you’re a laborer? – I go from town to town, see what kind of work I can get.
Well. What’s this about your record, you’ve been jailed several times?
Disturbing the peace, but that’s really in the eye of the beholder, know what I mean?
Well your resume looked great, Mr. Saul (You can call me Paul) but I’m afraid we’re looking for someone a little more stable than you.

• The apostle Paul, author of the book of Romans – his magnum opus – never met the man Jesus, at least not before Jesus’ crucifixion resurrection and ascension. But Paul’s fingerprints are all over Christianity as he guided fledgling church communities in “the Way”.

• A little bit about Who Is This Guy (Paul.)

A preacher could talk for weeks about Paul but I’m just going to bring up one thing: Paul, learned teacher and apostle, shared the Gospel by admitting and talking about his own weakness. Who does that? Not culture, not then not now.
“I do not do the thing I want to do but instead I do the very thing I don’t want to do.”
I’m a wreck, Paul says. I’m a mess.

But there’s good news there. Great news. God can do great things with messes. Because God is not a mess. God is more than able to handle any situation and there is no mess we can make that God can’t right. That’s good news. Even better, God WANTS to make things right with us and for us. Not because of our credentials but because of the name on our label. God’s name is on our labels.

• How about a little bit about Who Is This Guy (Jesus).

• Jesus talks about it in Matthew 11, not subtly poking at the religious leaders. What do you want? We played joyful music for you and you said it’s wrong to dance. We played a dirge and you wondered why we weren’t joyful.

Jesus will not be put in a box. They tried putting him in a box, dead, but we all know how that turned out.

Jesus is savior Lord redeemer, SO THAT we might have life to the full.
Healing and wholeness and forgiveness. SO THAT we might know rest.

• Who Is This Guy? PK

• Lover and hoper. Lover of God, life, Melissa, Lexi, you.
Runner, biker, cobbler (do what you can with what you have), transplant (Midwesterner who’s lived in the east for 20 years).

I am not Christian FOR you, but WITH you.

My hope is you will take my words as invitation.

• into the Apostles’ Creed (UMH35)