MAC KIRK

Romans 13:11 “ You know what time it is” In an interesting phrase we are reminded of time and the presence of God in our lives. Literally, “ And also this knowing the time” Did you ever have anyone ask you, “ what time is it?” Usually I think, “ daytime” , but then I politely tell them the time. I wonder how they can not know the time. They do not have a watch or a phone to look at with the time . Time as my theology professor used to say is the measure of the motion of created objects. In God , there is no time. He is eternally now and present , past and future. One of the earliest Christians , ST Augustine ( who died in 430 AD) heard parts of this passage, specifically vs. 14 “ Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.” As he read, he experienced this as God speaking directly to him, convicting him of his past sins, and offering him forgiveness; calling him to amend his life, and promising him the grace and power to do...

Protection, Patience & Endurance- Luke 21:18-19 “…not a hair of your head shall be lost. In your patience possess your souls.” In the next few weeks (Nov 28)we will begin a new Church year in the Season of Advent. Advent is a wonderful time in the Christian year for it gives us time to reflect and pause before we enter into the Festival of Christmas. Advent is not as penitential as Lent ( the 40 days before Easter). Even the Third Sunday of Advent is (Gaudete –Joy) represented by a rose candle, not a purple one. We drop singing the Gloria in Advent until Christmas. Advent means coming and so we must prepare ourselves for a worthy and fruitful celebration to come. The texts I have been reading this week are also about the Second Coming of Jesus as was our O.T. Malachi 3 & 4, “ For behold the day is coming, Burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble…” “ But to you who fear my Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with heali...

Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10 “ The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Zacchaeus) , “ …he had employed methods which had destroyed his honesty. He had no vital interest in righteousness, but a great interest in revenue. He was lost , of no value..to God, of no value to man, contributing nothing .” The Great Physician , Morgan. Today there is need for a new Reformation and grasp of what it means to be in God’s kingdom. To see this we can see what is true about Zacchaeus. I am sure there are many people today that are lost in the sense of what they are doing for God and what they are doing for others. Just like Zacchaeus they are lost. We need as well to be challenged in this area of what our commitment to Christ actually means to ourselves and others. It is not a vague repetition of words at our reception into the Church or by our parents at our baptism when they hope one day we will ratify with a yes that baptismal covenant. Are we lost? To be lost is to b...

Luke 18:9-14 Worship & the Life---a Reality Check This story that Jesus tells has its point in verse 14, “ I tell you , this man went down to his justified , rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” If this is the case, then we should like to know more about the publican. We can do that too by looking at the Pharisee who is a study in contrast. The Pharisee seemed to have the right language and he had the behavior to back it up. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. (18:12) Apparently he was dressed as a Pharisee and observed the Law outwardly . These things in themselves are not bad, are they? Worship should be a place where we enter God’s presence in a formal way that is not just like any other day. We can certainly pray on our own as we should. When we come to the place where our forebears worshipped , spoke, and lived, we have a decided sense of awe. Yes, we ca...

YEAR C RUTH 1: 1-l9a/ PS 113 2 Timothy 2:3-15/ Luke 17;11-19/ The theme that runs through the lessons appointed for today's study and meditation is one of a question. We must all deal with it,. Some of us have not dealt with it very we11. And others see how we react. The questions relate tor" How do we serve Godr/love God/ in the hard times?" My theoloGy professor used to say that God does not give Christians any easier life in this life or all would see the temporary benefits and become Chrislians. NO---God is cal-1ing us in grace and love to serve Him, not because we can get something, but because of Who He is. He is worthy of our love and worship. C.S.Lewis said there are two kinds of people: those who say to Godr " Thy will be doner " and those to whom God says" A11 right then, have it your way." Do you see the difference? we talk a lot today about self esteem and how we feel. I would propose that if we do not put God first and our spiritual relat...

Luke 17:5-10 “ Lord, Increase Our Faith” In David Mc Cullough’s book, 1776 , we are reminded of George Washington’s dramatic battles for our Independence . He had never led an Army before in battle. The Continental Army experiences defeat after defeat with a long retreat across New Jersey . Washington launches a night attack during Christmas that changes history. He went across the Delaware River and surprised the British capturing prisoners, cannon, horses and arms. John Hancock said that the victory at Trenton was all the more “ extraordinary” given that it had been achieved by men ‘ broken by fatigue and ill-fortune.’ So the apostles say to Jesus, “ Increase our faith” upon hearing of the difficulty of forgiveness and the temptations that will daily assault their souls. Jesus’ reply to them is all the more remarkable for what it says in Luke 17 :6. He tells them that if their faith was like the mustard seed they would be able to uproot the mulberry tree ( a tree th...

“ Two Men, Two Roads, Two Results” Luke 16:19-31 In the last few weeks we have been working through the Gospel of Luke in the morning messages and we have discussed such things as Discipleship (“ Strive to enter through the narrow gate” 13:24), Counting the Cost as a Disciple and bearing our Cross (14:27), the Lost sheep, lost coin from Luke 15 and last Sunday the Parable of the Unjust Steward Luke 16 where we heard “ You cannot serve God and riches” 16:13 These have not been easy lessons . Today again we are focused on another story from Luke. I would think we should be careful if we call this a parable since it is more than that I believe. Parables are stories but in this story we have characters who are named. Be careful not to dismiss stories of Jesus either because in them we have the Word of the Gospel. I subtitled this message years ago when I talked about it ----“ Taking a wrong turn in life” Today we are looking at two ways of living. I am not trying to iden...