The Lamb of God

Sermon

June 2, 2019

FBC of Longmont

Hunter Irvine, Teaching Pastor

+ Open in prayer

+ Read John 1: 35-37

Terrace Townhouses

During my elementary school years, my family lived in a townhouse in Annandale, Virginia.  The townhouse neighborhood was ethnically diverse with families from various countries such as Pakistan and India.
One day I was playing outside with my friend, and he pointed out a townhouse, which was on the west side of the large complex.  The boy told me a Jewish family who live there had sacrificed a Passover Lamb.  Then he showed me what they had done with the blood.
After killing a lamb, they took some blood and brushed the blood on the frame over the door and at the sides of the door!  I looked at that blood.
This was back in the 1970’s, yet I truly remember that.

The only reason I even knew about the Jewish Passover there in the fifth or sixth grade was since I had watched The Ten Commandments movie.

At the original Passover in Egypt, God instructed every Jewish family to sacrifice a lamb and then put blood from the lamb on the doorframe, above and to the sides of the door.  Those who obeyed saved their firstborn child from death.

And God told the Jewish people to continue to sacrifice a Passover lamb every year in order to remember the fact they were delivered by God from slavery in Egypt.


Temporary forgiveness.

In addition to the Passover sacrifice, the Mosaic Law required an array of other animal sacrifices.

Lambs, goats, bulls, rams, and some other animals under certain circumstances, such as birds, were required to be sacrificed!

Temporary forgiveness of sins came through those animal sacrifices.

God was using such incomplete sacrifice to lead to the permanent sacrifice which Jesus would make.


Permanent forgiveness!

Jesus was the permanent atoning sacrifice!!!

The Lamb of God made the supreme sacrifice, being the permanent substitute for the sins of anyone.


Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The consequence of sin is spiritual death, yet Jesus, who was the perfect Lamb of God, paid the penalty on the cross.


Jewish people no longer need to sacrifice animals!
Jewish people have the offer of the forgiveness of sins because of the perfect atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah on the cross.
And now all people have the offer of the forgiveness of sins because of the perfect atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.


I Corinthians 5:7 “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival…”

** There is a new Passover to celebrate, and it is the Passover of Jesus Christ!!


The Gospel
Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the wages of sins, which is spiritual death.  If you believe in Jesus, then you will have eternal life.

Invitation
I invite anyone who is not in a relationship with Jesus to turn to Him today.  All you need to do is believe in Jesus!!
You will be forgiven forever!

Easter thorn

   This morning I attended an Easter worship service at a church I have been visiting for over a month.  After the service they had a large Easter egg hunt.  All the kids were lined up on the sidewalk with their baskets in hand eager to jump in.  There was a crowd of people behind them to watch, but I wanted to get a clear view of the enthusiastic rush for plastic eggs.  So I walked over by the building to stand against a wall where there were no people.  Stepping through a mulch strip, there were bushes which had no foliage, which is no surprise because we have had a cold month.  But my dress pants snagged on some thorns.  I had thought the branches were from just any old bush, but they were extremely thorny rose bush branches.  Shortly after standing behind one of the rose bushes, the kids were released to grab eggs.
   Then I noticed there were two eggs in the thorn bush in front of me.  One of the children’s ministry leaders surely dropped them in there not knowing it was a rose bush.  Just then a young boy came to grab one, and I quickly warned him about the thorns.  Then I carefully looked at the bush and saw how many little thorns were poking out.  I decided to get the other egg out of there so no child would get hurt.  I slowly reached my hand down to get hold of the egg.  Though being careful, the branches were thick, and the back of the hand was pricked by a thorn.  It hurt.  I rubbed the tiny wound, and then I put my hand in there again.  Then I got a hold of the plastic egg and removed it from the bush and put it to the side.
   As I continued to stand there, the prick of the thorn was a reminder for me today of the suffering Jesus endured.  I thought of the contrast of thinking of Christ’s suffering on the day we Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with much joy.  The suffering is what I pondered Thursday and Friday after all.  Yet the little prick made the suffering more real for me on Easter.  Being only a quick prick, I considered the fact the painful crown of thorns put on Jesus’ head brought suffering for Him for hours.  God the Son was willing to suffer more than I can imagine because He loves people.
   The atonement Jesus made on the cross is finished!  Jesus was resurrected.  Every day we Christians can celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  Yet every day we can remember the suffering He endured for us and be thankful.  And every single day is a day where someone can believe in Jesus and receive the salvation He offers.
   I add that personal suffering and pain can still be known by any of us in the world on any given day.  Trouble remains daily in this world.  Yet on the first Easter, human history was changed, because beginning on that day, any person can have eternal life in Christ.
   Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the penalty of sins, which is spiritual death.  Then He was resurrected!  He is in heaven!  And Jesus is still at work in the world through His Spirit!  All those who believe in Jesus receive the free gift of eternal life in Christ.
Jesus Christ is risen!
love,
Hunter Irvine

Sacrifice by men and women in Christ

   After doing ministry work in various manners during my 28 years of following Jesus, I have learned successful ministry work involves teamwork.  I am convicted that when Jesus gave what is commonly termed “The Great Commission” to His disciples, it was also intended to be a command to all disciples of all following generations, since Jesus mentions being with us to the “very end of the age.”  Thus all Christians are called to do ministry work.  Now people serve in a variety of ways according to callings and gifts, yet all Christians are called, whether man or woman, or whether young or old, to be a witness of Jesus in their community, and to serve Him.
   When it comes to positions in church communities, many have the conviction women can be pastors, whereas many have the conviction women cannot be pastors.  I think this is a challenging Biblical interpretation issue.  This doctrine has become a divisive point in the United States culture which has aided to the polarization of a number of denominations, which I think is sad.  Yet I address one fact I hope all Christians can agree on: both women and men have given their lives as martyrs for Jesus.
   The book published in 2017 entitled Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the second through Fifth Centuries, is authored by Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes.  Dr. Cohick was hired in the past year as the new Provost at Denver Seminary, and Dr. Hughes is a professor at Gordon College.  My friend Sarah, who is the daughter of my longtime college friend from Virginia Tech, has Dr. Hughes for a class this current semester, and Sarah told me she is a fantastic professor.  Full of detailed information, these two high class scholars give a thorough examination of Christian women in post-apostolic times.  The book is complex, yet much historic information is stated in plain terms.
   One point the authors made which illuminated me was the fact many women as well as men were murdered for their faith in Jesus Christ in the second and third centuries.  Dr. Cohick and Dr. Hughes focus much on two martyrs, Perpetua and Felicitas, from the source, Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, which was written by Tertullian.  This got me thinking about the historical writings of Eusebius, which are referenced at times by Dr. Cohick and Dr. Hughes.  In 2006 and 2007, I chipped away at Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, which is a rough read, yet a crucial book concerning early Christian history.  But honestly I skipped the “Book of Martyrs” section for the most part, since the killings were so evil, horrible, painful, and demented.  The torture of Christians during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian was unthinkable.  My studies over the years have included the reality of martyrdom, since I have studied much about the Twelve Apostles.
   Searching back through Ecclesiastical History, I swiftly found the names of three women who are mentioned as accepting martyrdom for Christ.  First is a Thecla.(1)  This is not the legendary Thecla whom Dr. Cohick and Dr. Hughes devote the first chapter of their book to.  The latter Thecla was probably named after the former.  Eusebius tells of a second woman in the first chapter of book five who was martyred named Blandina,(2) who is discussed by Dr. Cohick and Dr. Hughes.(3)  And only paragraphs later Eusebius tells of the martyrdom of a third woman by the name of Biblias.(4)  Eusebius may have listed others.  Women were martyred for their faith in Jesus!
   Now I question the following statement made in Christian Women in the Patristic World: “Although very few Christians died a martyr’s death in [the second] century…”(5)  They seem to contradict the statement made in their footnote number four on that same page which states, “…many congregants are martyred in 177.”(6)  And in talking about the martyrdom of Ignatius and Polycarp in that footnote number four, Justin Martyr is not even mention.  But most importantly no consideration was given of how other Christians may have been killed in various countries without having their sacrifice recorded in writing, or without having their sacrifice recorded in writing which still exists.
   Yet this question aside, the three of us would completely agree many women and men were killed for their faith in Jesus Christ in the combination of the second and third centuries.  This is a powerful contemplation for me, because it emphasizes the fact there have been women all throughout history, including in the current day and age, who have given the ultimate sacrifice of losing their physical life in service to Jesus Christ.
   The Church comprises of men and women who have been adopted into the family of God by faith in Jesus Christ.  We all have one Father.  We all are in His Holy family.  Whether man or woman, we are called to witness the love of Jesus Christ, and to tell and show people who have not received salvation the Gospel and the truth that Jesus loves them.
   I conclude with the question, “Are we brothers and sisters willing to live for Jesus?”  In the wake of the evil persecution of Christians resulting from the edicts in 303 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, there remained the opportunity for people to live for Jesus.  As restoration was taking place, Eusebius records: “…and at the same time [both genders] of every age, male and female, with the whole power of the mind, and with minds and hearts rejoicing in prayer and thanksgiving, gave glory to God, the Author of all good.”(7)
   Today, recognizing sacrifice is necessary, brothers and sisters-in-Christ can live by the love of Jesus!
Hunter Irvine

(1) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 309.
(2) Ibid., 150.
(3) Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes, Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries 
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017), 96-98.
(4) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 151.
(5) Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes, Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries 
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017), 28.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 357.

Keep on Teaching

Sermon

Beecher Island Church
Matthew 28:20

March 3, 2019

by Hunter Irvine

+ Open in prayer.

= Matthew 28:20 “…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 is called by many, “The Great Commission.”  To cover the entire passage, I would need three sermons, so I am simply going to address the third command.

I love you all!
   The past year serving here at Beecher Island has been an honor.  I have had some different church ministry positions over the years, and this has been the best church ministry position I have ever had!  I thank you all for being such a blessing to me.  I will miss you all!

Subbing at Longmont Christian School
   The point I want to make to start out is that teaching is hard work.
   Being a substitute teacher is about the toughest teaching position, and I have plenty of stories from being a sub.
   From the spring of 2007 to the summer of 2008, I was a substitute teacher at Longmont Christian School, which is an excellent school.  Now I did not sub much, because I lived down in Denver, so I could not drive all the way up there in time if a teacher called in sick at the last minute.  But I still got a bit of substitute teaching work here and there, and I loved teaching there!
   I subbed for a wide variety of classes.  The most unusual was subbing for the math teacher, since that is not my subject.  Yet that went fine, since they were mature high school students.
   Normally I would only sub for high school classes.  But sometimes they needed someone to sub for the elementary students for gym or music, and I agreed to do that.
   So one day I subbed for the elementary gym teacher.  The absent gym teacher wrote in his plan to me that all I needed to do was have them play dodge ball.
   When the 5th grade gym class started, I lined them all up in the middle of the gym.  Then one at a time I had each student say his or her name.  They confidently did that.  Then I had them do some serious stretches.  I have always been an advocate that stretching is the most important thing to do before sports, and for my rare day in the sun as a gym teacher, I was determined to have them stretch.  Boy did they complain.
   Then we started preparing for dodge ball.
A young lady came up to me.  She seemed really distraught.
   Then she blurted out, “I didn’t want to do it.  My name is actually Ruth.  Austin told me to tell you a different name.  Before class, Austin told everyone to tell you a different name.  We all lied!”
   Sure enough, Austin, who told me his name was Dallas, told every student to give a false name when I called roll.  I did not have a clue until honest Ruth exposed the joke.  What sweet student.  Her honesty made my week.

I think this story is funny, yet I have some teaching stories of rough times that are not funny at all.  When you teach, there are some serious challenges.

Teaching is hard work!!
   All good teaching is hard work!!
I have done a ton of teaching and preaching over the years, for ages from fifth grade to people who are one hundred years old, as a youth pastor and as a volunteer, and teaching is always a challenge.

Preparation is a key to success.  It is much work and much sacrifice, yet the result is good fruit!

So keep on Teaching!
   Brothers and sisters, you all have a special ministry here at Beecher Island Sunday School, and I encourage you to keep on teaching.  Your teaching ministry is needed!  Keep going, even when it gets discouraging.  Teaching about Jesus makes an eternal difference!

   I do not even know what my next church or job is going to be.  However, with the hopes I get a position, I already have a teaching plan.  I have a book picked out, which I can buy a number of copies of at a low price.  We will read some chapters in that book for several months, and I am going to have some people give short talks on some of the chapters.  I have this all planned out for the future, because I enjoy teaching, and I know Bible teaching is needed.

Howard Hendricks
+ Howard Hendricks was one of the leaders in Christian education.  He taught for years at Dallas Theological Seminary.
He wrote a book in 1987 called, Teaching to Change Lives.  I read the book back in 1999 or 2000, when I was a youth pastor, and it helped me to be a better teacher.
   I gave away that book away about four years ago when I was in Ithaca, yet I found a copy this winter for only $3 at Mardel’s.  This past month, I read the book again.  Normally I am the type who can only read a book once.  If I read a book a second time, it means I think it is a great book.  And again after 20 years, this winter I learned some things to improve my teaching.

+ Here is a great story of the power of teaching the Bible, from page 15.
+ And here is a classic story about the life of Dr. Hendricks, from pages 13 and 14.

Love!
The root of all good teaching is love.

Jesus told us to teach everything He commanded.
One of His commands is recorded in John 15: 12
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

The reason Jesus died on a cross for us was because He loves us!

His Hands
The first time I ever served as a substitute teacher at Longmont Christian School, I filled in for the music teacher.  It was a busy week.  One day, during my lunch hour I sat at the desk in the empty classroom eating my bag lunch rather than going to the cafeteria.  Enjoying the quiet time, I looked at the poster on the wall behind the desk.  It was a picture of Jesus sitting outside with a young girl on his lap, and with two children standing next to Him.  The one girl was pointing at His hands.  The words on the poster captured her question, “What happened to Your hands?”

We need to teach the children what happened to Jesus’ hands.  We need to shelter them from graphic details, yet we need to be honest and say what disasters are taking place in this fallen world because of the sins of all people.  We need to tell them of how Jesus died as the substitute for people, in order to save people.  We need to tell them that for anyone who believes in Jesus, he or she will have eternal life with Jesus, and will be sanctified by Christ.

+ Invitation

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, I invite you today to give your heart to Jesus.  You can receive Him by simply believing.  Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved.

Jesus loves you!!!

The Father's House

Sermon at Beecher Island Church

Luke 2: 41-52

January 6, 2018

by Hunter Irvine

+   Open in prayer

#    Luke 2: 41-52 reading

+   I had the dream for many years of studying at Colorado Christian University because my favorite preacher of all time is Dr. David Beckman.  Dr. Beckman was a mentor and a friend, and he had much influence on me.  At CCU Dr. Beckman had a colleague and friend, Dr. Woody Northcutt.  Dr. Northcutt served CCU students for nearly four decades, and he loved students.  Also, Dr. Northcutt served at my grandma’s church for five years between 2001 and 2006.  Once when I heard him preach, he told this story: 
   When Dr. Northcutt’s children were young, his family went to church one typical Sunday.  Their one young boy fell asleep during the sermon, but they let him sleep since the family had been so active the day before.  After church, the family talked with some friends in the sanctuary, but they soon left for home.  Driving in the car, they were nearly home when they came to realize one of their children was not with them.  They had left their youngest boy at church.  Frantically driving back to the church, they rushed in the sanctuary.  Lying in the pew right where they had sat during the worship was their son, still curled up and sound asleep.

   In this passage, Jesus is left behind in Jerusalem.  His parents traveled for an entire day towards Nazareth before realizing He was not with them.

   Were Joseph and Mary downright negligent??

First, children around the age of 12 were given more responsibility than children are often given today.  In fact the NIV states that Jesus “stayed” behind.  He knew what He was doing by not departing the group.

Second, Jesus was surely their “model” child ☺   He was probably the last child they would have expected not to show up for the departure.

Third, Joseph and Mary had at least six children besides Jesus during their marriage as is told in Matthew 13: 55-56.  They had at least four other boys and some girls.  A few children may not have been born yet, but most probably were.  Thus there were definitely a number of other young children Mary and Joseph needed to be concerned with, including possibly an infant.

Fourth, Joseph and Mary were in a large caravan of family and friends.  Though traveling was safer within the territory of the Roman Empire, traveling always had an element of danger.  Thus many Jewish people would travel to Jerusalem in large groups.

But I am not making excuses for them.  His parents were careless!
   When I was a youth pastor, I always did head counts when we were going from point A to point B, and I did not even have large youth groups.  I wanted to make one hundred percent sure no one was left behind.

   Joseph and Mary figured out Jesus was not with them the first evening.  They left the caravan and walked back to Jerusalem.  This would mean they would have to take the risk of journeying home without group protection.

They looked for Jesus for three days!  That is a long time.
There would have been thousands and thousands of Jewish visitors therein Jerusalem from other countries who had come for the Feasts.

After three days, Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple courts.  Jesus was there having discussions with Jewish teachers.  He did not even express remorse to His parents.
Jesus simply asked Mary, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

   How could Jesus be so casual about being missing for four days?

First, regarding this first pilgrimage of the year, the Mosaic Law required all Jewish people to attend both the Passover Feast and the Feast of Unleavened Bread!
Everyone was supposed to stay in Jerusalem for a full week!

(Scriptures which give details on requirements include Exodus 12:18 and Leviticus 23:5-8.)

Second, I think Joseph and Mary failed to stay for the entire Feast of Unleavened Bread.

A key word in this Scripture passage is “custom.”  Some Israelites followed the “custom” of participating in the Passover Feast, but then they did not stay for the full week as was required by the Mosaic Law.

Luke 2:43 states Joseph and Mary left after the Feast of the Passover was over.  Now some people surely called the entire week the Feast of the Passover, but the fact Scripture states nothing about the Feast of Unleavened Bread gives a clue that Joseph and Mary left early.  (I looked at an interlinear Bible to double check details.)  We do not know for sure, since Scripture does not say they left early, yet I think they did.

Third, Jesus did not leave early!!  He obeyed the Mosaic Law.

Obeying your parents is good, and in this passage it states how Jesus obeyed His parents, yet such obedience is always secondary to obeying God.

Speaking of Dr. Woody Northcutt, when I first studied this passage in 2002 or 2003 and came up with this thesis, I wrote a letter about it to Dr. Woody Northcutt.  He said my idea was excellent and he agreed with me.

+   So the message is - Jesus obeyed the Father.

+   And the personal message for us is - we should obey the Father!

How do you obey your Father?
                                                    By following Jesus!

John 14: 6-7 “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

That is because Jesus and the Father are One!

+   That 12 year old boy who was mixing it up with teachers of the Law in the temple courts, a place where animal sacrifices were done day after day, would one day be the perfect sacrifice for the consequence of sins.
Even as a 12 year old, He was God, and as a 12 year old, He knew that one day He would suffer death as the everlasting atonement for sins.
Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will have eternal life with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

+   If you have never opened your heart to Jesus, I invite you to do so this very day.  Jesus is One with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, Jesus is God the Son.  If you believe in Him, you will be saved.

Born the Savior

Beecher Island Church Sermon

Luke 2: 8-15

12/23/18

Hunter Irvine

Scripture reading by Joseph

   My friend Dave worshiped at his church on Christmas Day several years ago, and his minister told a story of an occasion when he served at a different church years earlier.  One year the youth of that church prepared for a big Christmas play.  The play director was a woman who worked diligently for many weeks with the students.  Thanks to her hard work, the students were well prepared the night of the performance.
   In the Bible, it states there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn.  Bethlehem was such a small town, there was probably only one inn.  Now normally people would stay with relatives when traveling to their home town.  But there is speculation that since Mary was pregnant out of wedlock, that no relatives would have anything to do with her or Joseph.
   The director really wanted to emphasize that no one would give Joseph or Mary a place to stay there in Bethlehem, so she embellished the play and added three inns, and three innkeepers.  During the play, Joseph and Mary went to the first inn trying to get a room.  Joseph pleaded with the innkeeper telling him that Mary could have a baby any minute.  But the innkeeper told him “no” in a gruff manner.  The same rejection came from the second innkeeper.  Then Joseph and Mary went to the third inn, and for the last time, Joseph pleaded for a room.  There was a pause, and then the innkeeper said, “Yes!  You can stay here!”  That third innkeeper invited them to come right in.
The play director got frazzled because with Joseph and Mary staying at an inn, how were they going to get to the manager scene?  There was a period where none of the students knew what to say.  The director finally got some improvisation carried out to get Joseph and Mary from the third inn to the manger.  But the play was derailed for a bit.
   After the play, the minister talked with the student who was the third innkeeper.  He had no intention of scolding him, but he was curious why he changed his lines.  The minister knew the boy knew his lines, because the minister had watched the dress rehearsal.  The minister asked the boy how come he changed his lines in the play.  The boy looked at the minister and said, “I could not say ‘no’ to Jesus.”

   As recorded in Luke 2:10-12, an angel of the Lord spoke to some shepherds in a field.  The angel made the announcement of a Savior.

My first question: What do we need to be saved from?

   The answer is sins.  Sin is that which is apart from the holy will of God.  Sin is that which hurts us, even when we cannot detect it.
I was born in Colorado, but I grew up in Annandale, Virginia.  When I was in school, I wanted to do the right thing for my teachers, and in elementary school I always received the “Citizenship Award” which was given at the end of every school year.  I was Captain of the Safety Patrols at my elementary school, which was a huge honor.  In fact I was voted the second best safety patrol in my entire county in the year 1979.  I was an Eagle Scout, and I did much Scouting work in my youth.  In fact I was one of only two Eagle Scouts in Troop 150 history to earn all three Palms up to that time.  My Boy Scout accomplishments became a part of my self-image.  When I went to college at Virginia Tech, I became a Resident Advisor my sophomore year, a job I continued to work until I graduated from Virginia Tech.  It involved much responsibility, and status as a rule enforcer.
   Now all these activities were special.  I would do all of them over again, though some to a much lesser degree.  Yet deep in my heart I was not the moral person a number of people thought I was.  Deep down in my heart, I struggled with lust and anger.  Deep down in my heart, I was not a truly loving person.  Deep down, I was spiritually dying.
   I needed forgiveness of my sins.  I needed true love.  I needed a Savior!

How do you receive the Savior?

   Believe in Jesus.  This is how you receive the Savior.  You need to simply believe in Jesus.
  To believe is to receive!

   Christians should be baptized in water.  God wants that.  But that is not an act which results in salvation.  Christians should be partaking in the Lord’s Supper.  God wants that.  But that does not result in salvation.  God wants believers to do a number of things which will result in goodness, such as reading your Bible, growing spiritually to be more like Jesus, living a life which glorifies God, telling people the good news, doing some things to express love to various people, and fellowshiping with brothers and sisters in the Church.  Christians should be doing work, and we are enabled to do so because we have the Holy Spirit.
   Yet you cannot do any of these things to be saved.  To be saved, you need to believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord!!!

   That angel spoke to shepherds outside the town of Bethlehem.  Those shepherds raised sheep.  Wool was a valuable commodity in those days.  And sometimes sheep were used for meat.  Yet one other thing: sheep were the animal used as the sacrifice for the Passover once a year, and they were used for certain atoning sacrifices throughout the year!
It is possible some of the sheep in that flock, in the coming months or year, may have been sacrificed for the temporary atonement of sins of the Israelites.
   About thirty-three years after His birth, Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the atonement for the consequence of sins.  Then He was resurrected.  If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be saved!!!

   If you do not know Jesus, I invite you right now to open your heart to Him.  This Christmas season, you can receive Jesus by simply believing.
May you know this Christmas season that Jesus loves you!!!!

Cannot Keep a Secret

Beecher Island Sunday School Sermon

Mark 1: 40-45

by Hunter Irvine

November 4, 2018

Mark 1:40-45 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  “I am willing,” he said.  “Be clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.  But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.  As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.  Yet the people still came to him from everywhere (NIV).

This man had a serious skin disease.  We do not know exactly what skin disease he had, though it may have been leprosy.  There were several types of skin diseases back then, and sometimes one word would be used to cover the range.  Some were curable, but apparently there was not a cure for what we call leprosy today, which is that horrible disease where flesh even falls off.
   I saw the Christian gospel group “The Martins” in concert about 17 years ago.  This wonderful singing trio consists of two sisters and a brother.  That music group used their influence to work for a cause of ending leprosy, since there is a cure for it today.  As of the early 2000’s, there still were some people with the disease in a few regions in a few third world countries.  People can be given a shot, but it cost money of course, and The Martins were working to raise money to get this cure to people with the disease, until all humans were cured.

I think this man had what we would call leprosy today, considering he literally begged Jesus for healing.  I think he knew he could not gain a cure on his own.  I like how the man got on his knees.  It shows much humility and sincerity to get on your knees.  Sometimes when I pray by my bed, I like to get on my knees.

Look what Jesus did: Jesus touched the man.  If someone had leprosy, the last thing I would want to do would be to touch the person.
Jesus touched him.  The man was then miraculously healed!

First, Jesus gives him a “strong warning” to keep it a secret.
Why did Jesus sometimes tell people not to tell anyone about His ministry work?
That is a good question!

I learned from a great book, Jesus The Messiah, by Robert Stein, that Jesus knew many Jewish people expected the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government at that time.  Jesus was cautious in order to prevent Jewish people from trying to put Him on a human throne, since this would have provoked the Roman government to come after Him before God’s appointed time for the crucifixion.
I think this is a good theory.  I have trouble picturing the Pharisees putting Jesus on the throne, but there always could have been a revolt attempt by the Israelites, and the Roman’s would have hit hard against any such activity.

Secondly, Jesus tells the healed man to do what is required under the Mosaic Law recorded in Leviticus 14.  Jesus was following the Mosaic Law!
Under the Mosaic Law, if a person had a skin disease, he or she was considered “unclean,” and could not enter the temple.  There was terrible, since it signified that he or she could not be with God, since the presence of God was in the temple there in Jerusalem.  Any Jewish person would want to be cured and be able to go back to the temple.
If a person was cured of the skin disease, before going to the temple, the person had to go to a priest.  The priest would do a complex ritual involving the sacrifice of a bird.  Then the person would need to give to the priest three lambs to be sacrificed.  It was a complex ordeal laid out in Leviticus 14.

Yet this guy does not obey Jesus.  This guy starts telling people what happened!  He cannot keep it a secret!

I think this is a rare occasion where even though Jesus gave a command, He was actually smiling in His heart this guy was so excited that he could not help but tell folks about what Jesus had done.
This guy was ready for the New Covenant!

The main point of this passage:   This guy is so happy he has been cured he starts telling everyone the good news about his healing!

The personal message for us:   We should be so thankful for what Jesus has done for us that we must tell people!

Obviously you have to be tactful about your witness for Christ.
The witness of each of us is personal, and all of us have different gifts.
Each of us needs to go by the guidance of God!

One example of untactful witnessing:  As many of you know, I am a proud graduate of Virginia Tech!  I was not a Christian when I studied at Virginia Tech.  Once I became a Christian, about one year after graduating from Tech, I gained a friend in my church who had also graduated from Virginia Tech a few years before me.  He had been a Christian for a long time.  His name is Rae.
Rae once told me a story from college when he was walking back from class.  He went through a tunnel where students walk through going from one area of the academic buildings to another.  I remember walking through that tunnel plenty of times.  At the very end, there was a student perched behind the edge of the tunnel.  When Rae was about to come out of the tunnel, the guy jumped out in front of him and asked loudly, “Are you saved?!!”  He scared Rae.  Rae told him that he was saved, and he wanted to ask the guy, “Are you crazy?”  Jumping out in front of someone is not a good way of building a relationship with someone and telling them about the loving relationship he or she can have with Christ.

Regarding a tactful manner of evangelism, every year since 1997, I have written a Christmas letter.  It is my longest lasting ministry.  It started off because when I moved back to Colorado from Virginia, most of my family and friends were in Virginia.  I love to write, so I started giving it much attention year after year, and the letter has thus been a major ministry endeavor since 1997.  The letter goes to people who are Christians and people are not Christians.  Some people are more receptive to a message about Jesus around Christmas time, so it is an evangelistic opportunity for me. 

I want to be like that man!  I want to tell people the Good News.  It is the reason I love preaching!
I am thankful for my total opportunity here today to tell the Good News.
Maybe your gift is to be able to explain the Gospel to a friend over lunch, someone who would not otherwise ever step into a church.

+  I give an invitation if there is anyone here who does not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, to give your heart to Him.  What you need to do is believe in Jesus!
   Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the sacrificial atonement for the penalty for sins.  If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be saved from spiritual death.  You will have eternal life.  Jesus loves you!!

Scripture Love Blog