Sunday – July 21, 2013 “How to Confound a Cynic”

Posted on July 23, 2013 by PastorAndy

July 21, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

How to Confound a Cynic from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

How many times do we ask ourselves, “What am I to do?” The answer is often to answer the crowds- our friends, family and those whose opinion we value. Usually our decisions are to cede responsibility for our actions to popular opinion and cultural standards. It is often easier to keep our finger on the pulse of society as long as it costs us nothing. We want to satisfy the expectations of our friends; even we know their desire to be less than honorable. How often do we sit in the seat of Pilate? We ask the right question- “What shall I do then with Jesus?” But we get the answer wrong.
Join us this Sunday as we look at Jesus before Pilate as recorded in the Gospel of Mark. “How Do You Shock a Cynic?” Join us tomorrow and find out.

Word On Worship – July 21, 2013 Download / Print

Mark 15:9-13
“Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

How many times do we ask ourselves, “What am I to do?” The answer is often. To answer the crowds – our friends, family and those whose opinion we value – we usually cede responsibility for our actions to popular opinion and cultural standards. It is often easier to keep our finger on the pulse of society as long as it costs us nothing. We want to satisfy the expectations of our friends; even when we know their desire is to be less than honorable. How often do we sit in the seat of Pilate? We ask the right question – “What shall I do then with Jesus?” But we get the answer wrong.

In the quiet of our own mind and souls we prefer Jesus to the envious and manipulating religious leaders and the rebellious Barabbas, but in the noise of real life we never move further. It is easier to risk nothing than it is to stand next to Jesus in the noise. The difference is whether Jesus is king of the Jews or He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. A king of some other people can be deferred to when it is convenient, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords requires our utmost devotion and loyalty. In Pilate’s mind, this crucial moment in God’s dealing with mankind’s sinful nature was just another day in his long tenure of dealing with the squabbles of the troublesome Jews.

Jesus took the place of a condemned man. He did not volunteer to die in the place of Barabbas, but was chosen by God to die for all sinful mankind. Jesus took up the bitter cup and took the place of a murderer and all humanity on the cross. To be the victim of leaders who have no moral compass would be difficult for anyone to abide. But it would be particularly difficult for one who brought about so much good in the lives of people. And still every day we turn our eyes away so we can pretend not to see what is taking place. And on this dark day, no one stands up to say stop.

How much have we learned since the day the crowds shouted for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus? We still prefer the one who represents our narrow personal hopes. Barabbas appeals to our personal interest, with violence if necessary. Jesus holds out a kingdom that will require personal sacrifice and perseverance in this life. One path allows us to defer to the blowing wind of public perception. And when others use tools we do not agree with, that is just the cost of doing business. The other path requires we trust God at a personal cost. We gladly trust God for the afterlife, but do we trust God enough with the here and now if we have to suffer? Do we fear not only the physical pain, but also the blast of disapproval from friends, family and culture when we answer the question of what we will do with Jesus Christ?

Sunday – July 14, 2013 “Mission Impossible”

Posted on July 17, 2013 by PastorAndy

July 14, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

Mission Impossible from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

It is easy to conclude Jesus is the victim of great injustice, false evidence and a rigged jury. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was the Son of Man and was in complete control of everything that took place. Jesus was under no compulsion to testify against Himself, and the false witnesses were doing just fine shooting themselves in the foot. If Jesus chose too, He could have shredded the charges against Him just as He dismantled the traps set to trip Him up while He was teaching in the temple. Jesus is not going to argue over trivia or petty charges. Jesus would testify when it came to the critical issue of who is Jesus Christ. Is He the divine Messiah? Is He truly the Son of God?
Join us this Sunday as we continue in our study of the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verses 53 to 72 on “Mission Impossible” and see why this text was written for us.

Word On Worship – July 14, 2013 Download / Print

Mark 14:61-64
Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.”

A common name for Jesus in the Gospel of Mark is the Son of Man. The term comes from the Book of Daniel and is associated with great power, glory and forth coming judgment. Judaism in the time of Christ saw the Son of Man as someone who would be a supernatural man who would transcend the suffering of the Jewish community because He would possess the power and exaltation they lacked. And yet when Jesus claims the title, it is the testimony which seals His fate before the High Priest.

In Mark, we see the Son of Man associated with power that is blended with suffering and weakness. Jesus openly declares He is the Messiah only when there is no possibility the crowds will rise up and crown Him king. His admission is the only evidence the Sanhedrin has to convict Jesus of blasphemy and secure a sentence of death. This was not the Messiah they wanted. Jesus as Messiah is far less than they hoped because He never raised a finger against Roman authority and passively submits to the beating of the religious elite and a sentence of death.

As Messiah, Jesus was far more than anyone hoped. In the most devastating and chaotic time in all human history, Jesus is in charge. God’s power is seen in weakness and Jesus demonstrates the power of God. He is bringing about His death, in His time and in His way. Anyone looking for mighty displays of power, miraculous feats or startling prophecies will see nothing. But those who connect the dots see the Son of Man, orchestrating the events of this kangaroo court to accomplish the will of God. And the will of God will be completed when the Son of Man returns with the clouds of heaven to judge those rejected Him and the His calling to be the Lamb of God.

Sunday – July 7, 2013 “For God So Loved the World”

Posted on July 9, 2013 by PastorAndy

July 7, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

For God So Loved the World from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

We have seen how many people can reject the Bible as the Word of God. We have seen some treat the entire Bible as a fairy tale; a fairy tale made up by men to curtail the fun of others, causing them to have a joyless life. We have seen some treat parts of the Bible as true in a general sense, but untrue for specific situations or cases. We have seen some say the Bible is true, but then make translations or interpretations that even language experts who do not believe the Biblical agree are not the best way to translate specific words or in many cases are out-and-out false translations or interpretations.
Join Elder Thom Rachford in this study of some of the most familiar and often most misquoted passages of the Gospel of John

Word On Worship – July 7, 2013 Download / Print

John 3:16-18
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. – NASB

Despite how people want to view or interpret the meaning of scriptures, more evidence exists for the accuracy of most Bible translations than any other book of ancient times. Let’s look at the Bible, applying the same standards for accuracy that would be applied to any historical book. The extremely large numbers of ancient copies, in which the texts agree, speak to the accuracy of the Bible. The extreme care in translating GOD’s word, not man’s word, caused translations to be more carefully made than other books, again insuring the accuracy from the original text. The nearness of the dates of the existing manuscripts to the time of recorded events help insure accuracy of the recorded text. The endurance of generation after generation of those who desire to read and study the Bible speaks to it accuracy and truth. And lastly, the millions upon millions of changed lives of those who follow the truth of the Bible prove its accuracy.

These standards make the Bible the most valuable book in the world. However the value is only realized when one studies, believes and applies what the Bible says. Otherwise, it is of no value. It is like a penniless person holding a check for a million dollars but never cashing it. One’s life does not change even though one has the thing that will change it at one’s fingertips.

Do you want to know where you are going in life? Do you want to know if you should go right or left at the fork in the path? How can you know which path to take in the dark? Do you want to see where your feet are going so you can avoid stubbing your toes on rocks on the road or falling into a hole? How can you see when the bridge ahead is so rickety that it will collapse the minute you step on it? God’s word is the answer. Psalm 119:105 says God’s word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. A lighted path shows you the only true route while illuminating your destination and a lamp allows you to safely avoid any obstacles you may encounter along the way.

That lamp and light, The Bible, is true and accurate and valuable beyond measure for those who will read, meditate or seriously consider what it says, and then follow what it says for it is the Word of the living God.

Sunday – June 30, 2013 “Slavery, Shrimp & the Supreme Court: Did God Get It Wrong?”

Posted on July 3, 2013 by PastorAndy

June 30, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

Slavery, Shrimp & the Supreme Court: Did God Get It Wrong? from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Idolatry and unbelief are evil bed fellows. While there is a relationship between unbelief and idolatry, we would not be correct in thinking idolatry is only practiced with images of stone or clay. Idolatry, at its heart, is fashioning God in our own image. Idolatry is sinful because it fails to do justice to God’s perfection. Idolatry misrepresents God, often distorting His character as a cartoonist characterizes the features of a prominent personality. But we distort God with wrong concepts and wrong theology just as much as we do with physical likenesses which have no resemblance. Theology is simply a word-picture of God.
Man is continually editing that word picture of God to make Him less than He truly is. We think if God got eating shrimp wrong, how can we trust what He has to say about something as complex as human sexuality right? After all, now even the Supreme Court agrees with us.
Join us this Sunday for a thoughtful response to the events of this week as Pastor Andy returns to the pulpit for his message “Slavery, Shrimp and the Supreme Court- Did God Get it Wrong?”

Word On Worship – June 30, 2013 Download / Print

Romans 1:20-22
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Knowledge of God is given to everyone. This knowledge is attainable by observing the handiwork of God in creation around us. Just as we can learn much of a writer by studying his work, or of a painter by his paintings, so, also, we can learn of God from His handiwork, His creation. We may learn, Paul says in verse 20, of God’s eternal power and of His divine nature. Who can look at the raging power of the Niagara Falls and not be struck with the power of the One Who created them? Who can study the power of the atom and not be impressed with the infinite power of the Creator? And who can ponder creation without concluding that someone far greater than mortal man was the originator of it all?

But many men have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and exchanged the blessings of God in His provision for sexual fulfillment for that which is unnatural and disgusting. “… for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire towards one another …” (Verse 26). This is a deadly sequence of events. Rejection of God’s revelation leads to idolatry, and idolatry leads to immorality and man at last plummets into the grossest perversions imaginable.

To a great extent, the judgment of God is getting exactly what we want. Men reject God’s revelation of Himself and God gives men over to idolatry. Men reject God and His purposes for men and God gives man over to practice the unnatural. Not only is this so in the present; it will be so in the future. What an awesome thought. Hell is getting exactly what we want. And on the reverse side of the coin, how grateful we Christians should be to our heavenly Father Who has and will withhold much of what we ask for, for our own good.

Sunday – June 23, 2013 “God Does Not Act Needlessly”

Posted on June 27, 2013 by PastorAndy

June 23, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

God Does Not Act Needlessly from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Why does God require people come to Him through Jesus Christ and His work upon the cross? Join Elder Ken McAuley as he walks us through Galatians chapters 2 and 3 to see the mind of God for salvation of sinful mankind. While the cost of our sin was so great, praise God, He does not send His Son needlessly, but with a specific purpose and plan.

Word On Worship – June 23, 2013 Download / Print

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Galatians 3:10

Ever give any thought to the fact that the Scriptures declare that anyone who puts his trust in the Law of God to gain the approval of God, is under a curse? Most people think that the Law of God is righteous and holy and it is! But to be under a curse if you put your trust and hope in it?!?!

The issue is that one has to obey every one of them or you are guilty of breaking the whole Law. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:10. We don’t like to look at it that way. We want to believe that it is a good code of conduct that everyone should live by. There is nothing wrong with that idea. Everyone should live by it, but when we think God will look on our behavior and say that our good works are deserving of Heaven, the idea is from someone’s imagination and not from what God has said in His Word, the Holy Scriptures.

You see, the Law requires death as the penalty of breaking even one of them. Some curse, eh? But God has a remedy. The Scriptures say that the Law is but a tutor to lead us to Christ. We must realize that we need help being righteous. Christ is the sacrifice of God for our sin to satisfy His requirement for the penalty of death for breaking His Law. That’s why Jesus had to die and rise again. That’s something that we can’t do for ourselves. That sounds pretty special to me!

So, all we have to do is put our trust in Christ. That may sound strange to some. How do we do that? What does it mean? We simply believe that Jesus did for us all that needs to be done to satisfy God. There is nothing that we can do to earn God’s approval or get Him to recognize that we are good enough. When we acknowledge that God’s sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is all we need and stop depending on how good we think we are, our dependence transfers from ourselves to Him. We call it faith. His grace then gives us the gift of Salvation from the bondage of this evil age and gives us hope for the future in Heaven with Him. We can then focus on Him instead of ourselves. It’s not about us. It’s all about Him.

Sunday – June 16, 2013 “His Name is YAHWEH”

Posted on June 19, 2013 by PastorAndy

June 16, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

His Name is Yahweh from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Secular humanism is attempting to banish all thought of God from the minds of people. They have assumed modern science has relegated the God of the Bible to the tales of Hans Christian Anderson and so God, merely being the elderly gentleman in the sky, has no more power or authority to control the affairs of men than the Greek gods of antiquity. Who do we think God is? Is He merely the “old man” who started up time only to become bored and disinterested with His creation? Is He an attempt to explain unknown forces by an ignorant people? Or is He the One who spoke the universe into existence and controls all things for His plan and purpose?
Join us this Sunday as we seek to understand who is God as a special Father’s Day message entitled “His Name is Yahweh” from Isaiah 42.

Word On Worship – June 16, 2013 Download / Print

Isaiah 42:8
“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.”

The Bible does not make an argument for the existence of God and it does not need to because it is the record of the way God has revealed Himself to mankind. It begins with the positive conclusion there is a God in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth“and those that come to Him must believe He exists (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible begins with the statement God is the Almighty Creator and implicitly refutes all other attempts by man that deviate from the truth about who God is. It refutes atheism which states there is no God. It refutes polytheism which states there are many gods. And it refutes humanism which worships man as the creator of his own world and destiny.

By the time of Moses, some 400 years after Abraham, the human race had begun to worship so many false gods and idols that God clearly distinguished Himself from all other gods of the pagan world. That is why God, through Moses, revealed His name as YAHWEH in Exodus 3:14-15 “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” God chose the people of Israel as His divine channel for revelation about Himself to maintain this truth. They were the people of Yahweh, literally people of the Name or Semites.

Through the people of His Name, Yahweh revealed He is the God of redemption as well as Almighty Creator and Master. He is the God of love and grace who offers us not only to know of Him, but that we may come to know Him personally. As the Self Revealing God, He demonstrated He is a God of redeeming grace and has provided for the rescue and redemption of sinful men in order that they may know Him and fellowship with Him. And that begins with our coming to YAHWEH, through the work of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary.

Sunday – June 9, 2013, “What Makes Biblical Prophecy Different?”

Posted on June 12, 2013 by PastorAndy

June 9, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

What Makes Biblical Prophecy Different? from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Prophecy. The word conjures up different meanings for different people. Our view of prophecy is usually based on what we have been taught by our denomination or what seems to fit our personal hopes and desires most. Denominational teaching learned at an early age or at an impressionable time in life and reinforced by repetition may be hard to shake. Also, our understanding of prophecy is frequently based on what we think God would or should do. In other words, what we would do if we were God.
Join us this Sunday as Elder Thom Rachford returns to the pulpit to continue his series on understanding biblical prophecy. Worship begins at 8:45 AM with refreshments served before our monthly prayer meeting at 10:30 AM. We hope to share fellowship with you.

Word On Worship – June 9, 2013 Download / Print

1 Corinthians 14:33
“… for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints..”

Prophecy. The word conjures up different meanings for different people. Our view of prophecy is usually based on what we have been taught by our denomination or what most seems to fit our personal hopes and desires. Denominational teaching learned at an early age or at an impressionable time in life and reinforced by repetition may be hard to shake. Also, our understanding of prophecy is frequently based on what we think God would or should do. In other words, what we would do if we were God.

Our view of what and how God is doing things must grow out of his prophetic word. We must let the prophecy and indeed all of God’s word shape our view. We should not start with a particular view and then “make” prophecy fit that view. Attempts to do this result in people, some Godly and very learned teachers, accepting only prophecy that conforms to their preconceived ideas. They want to throw out any prophecy that does not seem to fit their preconceived and entrenched view. Yes, entrenched, because apparently, no amount of study or revelation causes them to change their position.

Because it does not fit with the preconceived structure of some denominations and church bodies, they disregard or refuse to teach certain books of scripture in whole or in part. Frequently the excuse is these prophecies are too hard for man to understand. If that is true, shame on God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. God is either a mischievous trickster for giving man a book that he cannot understand under the guise of presenting all scripture as valuable or he is unable to keep evil men from inserting wrong teaching into his Holy Book. You can see how this kind of thinking would undermine God’s word, power and authority as well as His deep desire to have men see and understand His plan for relationship. Who would want this result? Satan, of course.

Sophisticated teachers, however, frequently don’t throw the prophecy out; that would be too obviously a rejection of God’s word. What they most often do is say, “what this prophecy appears to say is not what it means.” They say it is symbolic of something else and then they fill in the blank. Or they say it is a metaphor or allegory of a spiritual concept and not physical or material in any way. Often the prophecy is said to be about heaven and not earth, even if it refers to earth or physical things.

The question is illustrated by the following. How can one believe the prophecy that a virgin should be with child (the Messiah) and reject the prophecy of the Messiah’s physical return to earth? A virgin being with child is the supreme oxymoron. “With child” means pregnant – a virgin by definition has not had sex and in this world no child is conceived without sex. Yet Isaiah prophesied this nearly 700 years before it happened. And it happened. This virgin birth is believed by many. Yet many of those who believe in the prophecy of the virgin birth, reject the prophecy of Christ’s physical return to the Mount of Olives as prophesied in Zechariah 14:4. (They still however believe the same prophet for the Zechariah 9:9 prophecy that Christ would enter Jerusalem on a donkey.) How is the virgin birth less credible to believe than Christ’s physical return to earth on the Mount of Olives?

What then is the answer? How should we view prophecy? View every line of scripture as literal unless the language uses “as” or “like” which indicate a picture of rather than the real thing. Some parts of scripture are obviously poetic and should be viewed as such. The key to discernment is constant study of all of scripture. You will find there may be parts you do not agree with or like, but they are God’s word to you. Keep studying as you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth and understanding to you. He will reveal them as Jesus said in John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

God is not the author of confusion. 1 Corinthians 14:33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. God has made His word clear enough for the one who diligently studies it to understand and complex enough to discourage the casual seeker of pat answers or just information. God placed His prophecy in the scriptures for your understanding and benefit. It is revelation of the living God who knows the end from the beginning.

Sunday – June 2, 2013, “Jesus Arrested, Follower Barely Escapes”

Posted on June 4, 2013 by PastorAndy

June 2, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

Jesus Arrested, Follower Barely Escapes from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Mark’s version of the arrest of our Lord conveys a grim realism. A large mob deputized by the temple rulers converges on the garden of Gethsemane armed with swords and clubs as if Jesus were some terrorist bandit. But Jesus has been teaching in their temple all week long with nothing to hide and no revolution planned. Ironically, Jesus chastised the rulers of the temple for turning His Father’s house of prayer into a den of thieves and robbers. Now temple goons, led by Judas, arrest Him after His prayer as if He were a robber.
Join us in our continuing study of the Gospel of Mark as we learn about the power and sovereignty of our Lord Jesus as He delivers His disciples from arrest and delivers Himself up for for our sin as we examine Mark 14 verses 44 to 53 and see “Jesus Arrested, Follower Barely Escapes”.

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Mark 14:48-50
And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” And they all left Him and fled.

This mob does not understand the Scriptures nor has no idea they are involved in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and the promise of Jesus to the disciples in John 18:9 “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” The temple leaders on hand to supervise the arrest foolishly thought they were so clever in accomplishing their purposes with their plots and hired mercenaries to ensure the arrest of the rabbi from Galilee. But Jesus knew in all of this the plans of God were being fulfilled – plans which did not require swords and clubs. God’s power is manifest in weakness. Jesus has extended God’s mercy and forgiveness to sinners and now He is led off to be killed by sinners.

Peter previously told Jesus the disciples had left family and jobs, forsaking all things that they might follow Him. But now, their desire to save their lives causes them to flee into the night. At a time when all hope appears to be lost, Mark reminds us that God’s will is being fulfilled. What is taking place – the betrayal, the arrest and the desertion of the eleven – is all a fulfillment of the Scripture. And despite the darkness of the garden this night, Jesus has promised to be reunited with them in Galilee after His resurrection.

Are you in the darkness of the garden this morning? Maybe you stand with the religious leaders thinking how clever you are as if you were in control of your own plans and destiny. Or maybe you are waking with the disciples, overwhelmed and afraid at what stands around, looking to run. Each of these is vanity; a false thinking that you have outwitted God with your schemes or outrun His grace by your failure. The Lord is still sovereign in all things, and for those who plan against the Lord, He sits in the heavens and laughs (Psalm 2:4), but for those who have come to Him for mercy and grace, He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:6). Truly, what can man do to you?

Sunday – May 26, 2013, “The Essence of Hell”

Posted on May 30, 2013 by PastorAndy

May 26, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

The Essence of Hell from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Mark’s record of the Gethsemane scene is the darkest of the four gospels. Matthew’s account describes Jesus’ grief as simply grieving while Luke omits all references to Jesus’ grief entirely. The lack of description in the other gospels has caused many to wonder why Mark includes this description of anguish and wrongly concludes that Jesus suffered from an eleventh hour crisis of nerve. Join us as we look at Mark 14 verses 26 to 42 and learn the lessons of the Garden of Gethsemane and explore the “Essence of Hell” as Jesus prays to His heavenly Father.

Word On Worship – May 26, 2013 Download / Print

Mark 14:33-36
“He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

Mark’s record of the Gethsemane scene is the darkest of the four gospels. Matthew’s account describes Jesus’ grief as simply grieving while Luke omits all references to Jesus’ grief entirely. The lack of description in the other gospels has caused many to wonder why Mark includes this description of anguish and wrongly conclude that Jesus suffered from an eleventh hour crisis of nerve. How can Jesus challenge James and John to drink His cup when He now seemly shrinks from it Himself?

If we attempt to discount the strong emotions of Mark’s description then we fail to see that Jesus has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Many explanations have been suggested to explain His trembling and tears. Did He know the sins of the world were to be laid upon Him? Maybe it was from contemplating dying by a cursed method of hanging from a tree? Others suggest it was being abandoned by His closest friends when the disciples lose faith and scatter leaving Him alone.

Jesus’ mental torment during the waiting in the garden was yet another temptation He had to face. The suffering Jesus experienced at the beatings and floggings were a physical ordeal. But it is the anxiety of waiting that can make one fall to pieces. Jesus knew infinitely more about the holiness and righteousness of God and what would be required to pay for the sins of the world. Jesus was not worrying about the future as we do. He is not exaggerating possibilities. He knew precisely what the future held. What He anguishes over is exactly what He will experience and knew He must call upon His Father and to entrust Himself to His will.

So what do we get from Mark’s gospel which is not included in the other gospels accounts of the long night of Gethsemane? Mark allows us to see Jesus following His own teaching to the disciples – praying and drawing closer to His Father. Hearing Jesus pray at this moment of great crisis is the example He wants each of us to follow. Satan battles for every human heart and we are hardwired by sin to try to save our own lives. The disciples are no example to us as they flee in the night when Judas changes sides and Peter denies Him publicly. Jesus, our Great High Priest, resolves the anguish by coming to His Father in prayer and obediently submitting to the will of the God.

Sunday – May 19, 2013, Can Good Works Get You to Heaven?

Posted on May 20, 2013 by PastorAndy

May 19, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

Can Good Works Get You to Heaven? from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Do you want to go to heaven? Of course you do, who wouldn’t want to go to heaven? But how do plan on getting there? Work a deal with God? Perform some special act of service? Elder Ken McAuley takes us into a thoughtful examination of Galatians 2 and 3 as he examines the basis of our salvation and the natural tendency to gratefully accept salvation by grace, but then seek to fall back on good works to demonstrate your worthiness to enter the Kingdom of God.

Word On Worship – May 19, 2013 Download / Print

(Galatians 2:16)
… a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus.

Often we think that by doing something good we will please God in some way for our personal benefit. Our thought is that we can do something that we consider good and that it will also fall into God’s category of good. Most of the time, we hope that it will result in what we want to accomplish, whether it pleases God or not. In other words, our desire is not primarily to please God, but to get what we want. It may not be something evil, just not focused on God. It may be hypocritical or selfish or designed to draw attention to ourselves and we wonder why our prayers are not answered. Surely God has our interests at heart.

Take Lent, for example. What are we giving up, something evil? Then why don’t we give it up for the rest of our lives? Is it something that we consider needful, a sacrifice, to show God that we depend on Him to supply? Then why don’t we depend on Him to supply all the time? The point is, are we trying to please God or impress someone else of our piety? God knows our heart and He’s not impressed.

Are we trying to work our way into Heaven with our good works? Do you realize that God says in His Word that we are on the wrong track? Our motives are corrupt. Whether you take it from the Psalms 14:1-3 or Romans 3:10-12, the truth about our works of self-righteousness remains the same. Everything we generate from our own thinking is tainted in some way, and ultimately falls short when it comes to His righteousness or goodness (Romans 3:23). But He has a fix for this dilemma.

Did you ever give any thought as to why Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Almighty God had to go through all that torture and shame and death? Because in God’s way of thinking, there was no other way! Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice, as a human, for our sin because He was without sin. Because Jesus Christ was without sin He satisfied the requirement of a Holy God to pay the just consequence for our sin. The only thing He requires from us is to believe that to be true and place our trust in what Christ did, not in anything we can do. He then places His Spirit within us to inspire us to do things that are truly good. Then getting into Heaven is no longer an issue because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. But our works, whether good or not so good, testify of our relationship to Him and can affect how we live there.