12/30/2018

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The Temple  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  20:55
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All the ways which we have felt your love.

We give these ties in these offerings. To the building up of your kingdom. to the spreading of your hope Did the sharing of your gospel? I'm n

the scripture for this morning comes from Luke Chapter 2 verses 41 through 52.

Every year Jesus's parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover when he was 12 years old. They went up to the festival according to the custom after the festival was over while his parents were returning home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.

Thinking he was in their company they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends when they did not find him. They went back to Jerusalem to look for him after 3 days. They found him in the temple courts sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking them questions.

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers when his parents saw him. They were astonished his mother said to him, son. Why have you treated us like this your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. Why were you searching for me? He asked don't you know, I had to be in my father's house.

They did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them but his mother treasured all these things in her heart and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. The word of God to the people of God. Thanks be to God. Let us pray.

Lord May the meditations of our hearts and the words of my lips. Be pleasing in your sight. I will rock. and Our Redeemer I'm in.

Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem probably three times a year. For Nazareth to Jerusalem. One of those was for Passover.

It took probably four to five days traveling 15 miles a day for them to reach Jerusalem.

tuber probably right around 25 to 30 days of travel a year just back and forth to Jerusalem. No, not everyone did this but but Jewish people that that wanted to be good juice and so they would do that. It was an expected thing. And so for 12 years Jesus went back and forth with this family three times a year. Anytime you do things with your family repetitively over and over and over again. You begin to get in a rhythm of things. Let's say your family goes camping. Your family goes camping on the day that you were done camping. You have one person that's going to begin taking down the tent another person's going to begin cleaning up the campfire stuff. And another person's going to do this or do that we get in these Customs, right? So I'm sure they probably stayed at the same place every time and I'm sure that they had this routine and somewhere along this routine. Jesus just gets distracted. Is 12 and any of the Jewish tradition 13, he would have been a man and so in 12 he's kind of caught in this little bit of in-between time. So he's he's technically a child. And so I don't know what exactly the family was thinking, but I think I kind of know a little bit of what maybe Drew Jesus to the temple. Now and whatever line of work you have done, there's probably conventions. There's a convention for everything right there were ironworker conventions when my dad was a machinist. I was like who does that but they do are in Chicago in case you're curious and so they do these things. And so anytime you have a convention you also have like the after-party of the convention right like the farm the farm show, right? Like the world Farm progress show is like up indicator every other year, right and so deals are made in the business even after or before the show. It's like when the people really kind of our making moves, right? And so imagine these three times a year. They have these festivals. These religious festivals were people from all around the community all the other teachers and everything there in Jerusalem for the festival and then like I'm sure if they're anything like me they want to stay afterwards and really get down to like hang out with their friends and talk ShopRite. No one wants to go to a pastor's convention. Okay? No one cuz we all hang out and afterwards and we just talk and so I think that's probably one of the things that Drew Jesus to the Temple Run, it's all these people of Faith. They're talking about God and he's searching so much for for knowledge and deep and understanding that he's drawn to the temple. Nothing, Mary and Joseph went three times a year because it was the obligation. It was the obligation of them to God to go three times a year and obligations can do a lot of good things for us. They said boundaries, right? So obligation set boundaries like that shalt not right. So the Ten Commandments that Define parameters in our life. What parameters in our life only goes so far? See see these boundaries these obligations. They they don't set goals. They don't give us anything to Aspire to they just kind of tell us what we can't do and what we have to do. They don't give us Direction. See the direction comes in our life.

Through our our engagement with through our commitment with God. The commitment is what Jesus had. See the the commitment was what Jesus had in doing it. It says here in My Father's House. Another way to say it would be the work of my father. Okay. So the work of my father the work of God write like why are you surprised I'm going about God's business. I'm supposed to be here doing these things because that's the culmination of was drawn out of all of the obligations. Did the allegations aren't the point in so many times in our lives were tricked into believing that if we do these things, this is really what matters or if we don't do these things. This is what really matters and separates us out. But in reality, it's the process of those things that leads to the commitment that we have. And so anytime we're reading scripture. If you're ever curious what the point of scripture is, and there's letters in red. the scripture so in in in this particular

brickipedia the point is The first words that Jesus ever says in the gospel.

Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house? Why were you searching? for me

You know.

Jesus

it is time of his life and is shaping his identity. Okay? and the shaping of identity happens throughout childhood like all of our identities if our ancestors were here they would say Well, some of the mannerisms of of so-and-so is exactly as I saw them when they were to write like I had a I had a Mennonite gentleman that I saw in the store and he had like 12 kids with him and I was like, wow your kids are really really well behaved. He said, yeah, if you don't beat it out of him by the time they're two they're lost. And I was like, I'm a mandatory reporter. I don't really know what to do with this information. But but the identity is made so early on and we're all that way, but the identity is reinforced through many things that we do right so like this morning.

The church forms identity for for children, right? Like I remember growing up in a church exactly like Aetna, and I knew that that church at least until I was like eight as a source of belonging as a safety as a safe place and a place where I could get really good Chiclet gum. I knew those things but I connected that and so it's it's no surprise that I connect with it later on as well. Biggest churches been something like my relationship with God has been something that's continue to be nourished and I continue to nourish and so it's one of the things that gives us meaning Traditions is the other one. It gives us a sense of identity in family makeup gives us another and so all of these things in the early years begin to form our sense of identity. And so for Jesus even his early years are beginning to form his sense of identity and what's important to him is relationship with God the Father. His presence in the temple little bit of foreshadowing going on there. And his mom having to travel around to figure out where he's at. And so all of those things happen in this scripture and this is what's interesting. This is the only piece we get into Jesus The Missing Years. For 30 years. This is all we get. The rest we kind of have to imagine with our holy imaginations, right? But it says that that he grew and understanding and wisdom and stature. Maybe your ears picked up on the fact that Mary. Kept these things as precious and stored them up. Does that sound familiar? It's it's what also happens from the angel. So she's she's remembering these things that she's getting cuz they are going to be fuel in her time of doubt. They're going to be fuel for her time of Despair when she doesn't know where Jesus is cuz he doesn't have his location set on GPS. And so you think I've no idea where he's at and so she's just left to pray and to wonder. and to lean on to those trees

What are the things that many of us are doing right now? Is we're picking out goals for the New Year's resolutions, right? Some of y'all doing that still like Pastor Rob have a goal of waking up everyday much past that not really sure. But but every every every year I usually try to over several years. I tried to make a goal about soda. I drink a lot of soda. So my goal was soda, right and over the last year I'm proud to say is not no longer soda, cuz it's not as much of a struggle is it once was but now it's going to be something different right? And so in these times we're we're thinking of goals and things in life. I want to remind us That its weak. We also are called to have this commitment to Christ. It's not just about the way we we do components of our lives. But what fuels the purpose of our life? See we each have a purpose that's in direct relationship to God. You know the most difficult decisions that we have to make in life aren't between what's right and what's wrong? It's not the most difficult relationship most difficult discussions decisions we have to make in life is in between. What's right and what's wrong? What's between two really good options? Our our world is so blessed that we're left between choices of what to do with our time with between things that are usually really good options. No in my hometown kids are having to choose between like youth group and band. Right? What do you do with that? Right? And how do we share? What what we say about life in those decisions. We make one either one is bad. Neither one is bad, but both of them do show what our purpose is. And so how do we reinforce and support people who are going through phases and times in their life when they're trying to figure out their purpose or if we don't Define our purpose others will Define it for us. The world will Define it for us and so many of us have spent so much time in this last season of of holidays trying to support others purposes in life by guessing what they are so we can get them the perfect gift.

And it pains to see that they're still emptiness after all of that. It pains to see that no matter what that whole is it's never filled with anything other than God and fully. Pol and so one of the things that that my prayer is for you is at as you begin to plan out your next year in terms of resolutions that you keep in mind what God might be calling you to do towards your purpose. And I can't answer that for you. I can help you find out if you want I certainly can pray for you. But that's really between you and God and searching out those things. And there's a lot of good resources for that. But it takes the very real and important work of setting things as priorities. And claiming Stakes of those things as priorities.

for Jesus

being in the temple was a priority. I don't know what day he decided. He wasn't going back to Nazareth right away, but he made a bold decision. And I don't know how angry Joseph got on the way back. Even if he was the most laid-back guy in the world, and I don't know a single Carpenter. That is even if he was he's hopping mad by day 4. And he's scared. And he finds him sitting in the temple.

Where has Christ called you?

to be your temple Where has God called you to sit at the feet and learn and do absorb? Enter find your purpose in life. All of our purpose is to follow God but where God is leading you and where God is leading me together as a church God is leading us together, but in our individual lies, it looks very different. I don't teach so I don't go to the school. I don't. Together as a church, we do the ministry of Christ in the world around us, but each and every individual one of us who's the minister by the way is called to be a minister of the gospel. And so God's call on each and every one of our Lives is going to be somehow unique and different. Answer my prayer for you. Is that is you look out for the year ahead as you seek to to Define? What's going to be your purpose? And what is your purpose or always searching for identity and purpose and making meaning of our life? That you take the time.

to sit with God to be still and to search What is calling you to?

And how God will get you there. And do it out of all not out of obligation, but out of commitment. Do it out of commitment to the purposes of God.

for the future of God's Kingdom

purchase certain hope amen

this next Sunday between now and this next Sunday is the first of the year and so in John Wesley's day. They would have gathered for worship on New Year's morning and they would have shared in a covenant prayer you have this with you. This is the hope that you may take it home and stick it on the fridge or put it next to the to the card in the bathroom wherever you want to put it. this is a wonderful prayer to pray remind us of our position in relationship to God, but also In our understanding of our relationship with others. Do you ever want to be humbled or if you ever want to Humble your spouse and say you better go read that prayer and send them on to read it. So can we please join together in the Covenant prayer the Wesleyan tradition? I am no longer my own but thine put me to what that Wilt rank me with whom thou Wilt put me to doing put me to suffering. Let me be employed by the or laid aside for the exalted for the or brought low for the let me be. Maybe empty. Let me have all things. Let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and Disposal and now a glorious and blessed god father Son and Holy Spirit. Thou Art mine and I am thine so be it and the Covenant which I have made on Earth, let it be ratified in heaven. I'm in

You please stand for the closing song Angel.

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