Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this last Friday of April. I am up early morning to do my morning devotions, then I am planning to watch the royal wedding telecast from Westminster Abby, London. I have visited the Westminster Abby several times. I attended an international bicentennial celebration of British Baptist Missions and also of the Missionary trip of William Carey to India in 1793. The bicentennial celebration was held in 1992 at Westminster Abby. I was blessed to have worshipped at the Abby with hundreds of Christian leaders from around the globe. In July, 1981 I arose in the early morning to watch the wedding of Prince Charles and princess Diana. At the time I was attending a conference at Albright College in Reading, PA. That wedding was held at the St Paul's Cathedral in London.
I have been reading from Luke 24, the Emmaus experience. Some of the saddest words in our language begin with the letter D, such as disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair, and death. All of these are summed up in the words of Cleopas and his companion as they spoke to the stranger who joined them on the Emmaus road.
As the weary travelers made their weary way to Emmaus a stranger came along who walked beside them. It would to be one of the most wonderful walks in history! We know, of course, that it was the risen Jesus, although somehow they failed to recognize him. In fact Luke recorded that "they were kept from recognizing him." It was no accident that they did not comprehend who he really was. They were prevented from recognizing Jesus for a purpose. It was so that they might be in the same position that we find ourselves in some 2,000 years later.
The stranger asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" In response to this query they poured out their sad story to one who seemed so willing to listen. How wonderfully kind and compassionate is our Lord. The way that Jesus dealt with the situation is a lesson to all that are in a position to help those who have lost hope. Their spokesman, Cleopas, expressed surprise at even being asked what was worrying them, "Are you the only one living in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?" Jesus patiently asked, "What things?" "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
The two Emmaus bound disciples were correct in their theology as far as it went. They told the stranger that this Jesus "was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people". "He was ..." - notice the use of the past tense, which strongly implies that he wasn’t relevant to the present or otherwise they wouldn’t have been in their present downcast state of mind. Their experience of Jesus was in the past, and they thought they were alone. The Cross had taken him from them, and their minds had not yet made sense of the changed situation, or adjusted to it. The Cross was just a great negative to them.
We have all heard exciting testimonies of what Jesus has done in the past - but what about the present? Jesus is still there. He’s is still the unseen "stranger", walking with us, listening to us and, if we are willing to hear his voice, revealing himself to us. As the two disciples spoke of the Cross he took hold of their bewilderment and sorrow and gave them a heart lifting experience. He pointed them to God’s self-revelation in the Scriptures. Luke records, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." He expounded on the The Old Testament!
When Jesus intrudes into our lives, probing our thoughts, it is for the purpose of blessing us. Cleopas and his companion accepted the gentle rebuke that Jesus made when he said, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."
A famous picture painted of this scene, of Jesus knocking at a door, but the door has no handle. If there was a handle, it must have been on the inside! This is very much the situation in the Emmaus story. We are told that "Jesus acted as if he was going further." It was apparently a test to see if the disciples had more appetite for the things of God. They did. We are told, "They urged Jesus strongly, ‘Stay with us ...’" That’s the sort of invitation that Jesus cannot resist or refuse! "He went in to stay with them."
A meal was quickly prepared. The bread was on the table when the moment for Jesus’ disclosure has come. "He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them." It was the action of the breaking of bread. They saw his hands - so different from when he had broken bread at the Feeding of the Five Thousand, and at the Last Supper. They were the nail-pierced hands of Jesus. In an instant they knew him. Then an instant later he was gone.
I can imagine Cleopas and his friend standing in amazement; perhaps embracing in great joy, asking each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Their world had come together again. That heart-burning experience is something that we all need. The Risen Lord deeply longs for each one of us to walk with Him in close fellowship so He can fulfill His plans for our lives. The two Emmaus disciples had no doubt walked this way many times before, yet this day would be different, for it was the time for a life-changing encounter with their Lord. Christ is risen from the dead! Christ is the Savior! Christ is the hope of the world! The two disciples lost no time in retracing their steps to Jerusalem to share the Good News. May that be our experience this Easter time and for the rest of our life.
In Christ the Risen One,
Brown
http://youtu.be/C-lY8VQpSTY
Friday 04.29.2011:7PM
TV outreach on Time Warner Cable ch 4
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 4-28-11
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. It has been thundering and raining much of the night. The new day is dawning; praise the Lord, the author of Salvation. He blessed us with a beautiful Wednesday evening gathering. The fellowship and study are always a blessing.
I have been reading the Resurrection passages again about the first Easter people. One of the first Easter people is a woman named Mary. The story of Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus at the empty tomb is found only in John’s gospel. The vignette ends with the mourner turned into a missionary, running to tell the others what she has just seen and heard.
Although Mary Magdalene played an important role in the life of Christ, we know surprisingly little about her. She is one of at least five different women named “Mary” in the New Testament; this much we know. The Lord had cast out seven deadly demons from her. When Christ set her free, he liberated her from the evil impulses that had kept her chained figuratively and perhaps literally. She became living proof that those whom the Son sets free are free indeed. Having been liberated from demonic bondage, she said to herself (and perhaps out loud), “I love him for what he did for me. I will follow him wherever he goes.” It has been often said that Mary Magdalene was “last at the cross and first at the tomb.” This is a high honor that can be said of none of the men who followed Jesus. She was the first to see him alive and the first to hear his voice. The irony of the story is that when she first saw him, she didn’t recognize him. Yet, when the truth hit home, she became the first evangelist in Christian history. Christ bestowed this great honor on her because she loved him so deeply and so devotedly.
Craig Barnes is pastor of National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. In an article called “Easter in an Age of Terror” (you can find it online at www.christianitytoday.com), he points out that Easter is both good news and also terrifying news. It is good news that Jesus came back from the dead. It is terrifying news because Easter confronts us with the awful reality of death. The biblical accounts of the crucifixion stress that many people watched it from a distance. They wanted to see what would happen but they didn’t want to get too close. That’s how most of us handle death, by keeping it at arm’s length. We avoid going to funerals if possible and we never just drop by a funeral home to have a cup of coffee. We work out and lose weight and lower our cholesterol and we try to be careful so that death won’t come too close to us. However, sometimes death comes and knocks at the door. At other times death it breaks down the door and comes barging into the living room whether we like it or not. That’s what happened on September 11. Death entered every home in America. No one could escape the anger, the horror, the shock, and the terror. In one dark moment, all our illusions of security were utterly destroyed.
Death is never easy to deal with. Most of the time we can avoid it or postpone it or keep it far away from us. But sometimes death stares us in the face and we don’t know what to do or how to respond. That is why Mary was standing alone at the Garden Tomb about 6:30 AM on the first Easter Sunday.
“But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him’” (John 20:11-13).
Mary wept because the tomb is empty. She wept over an empty tomb; the very thing that should have been good news broke her heart! Today we say today that the empty tomb is one of the greatest proofs of the Resurrection. Yet Mary wept. We often do the same thing. When faced with trials and unexplainable tragedy, we often weep over our circumstances.
Note the question Jesus asked, “Who are you looking for?” He did not ask, “What are you looking for?” That is altogether a different question. Mary was looking for a what, a dead body. She was looking for something; Jesus pointed her to someone. The answer to our deepest needs is not something, but someone, the Lord Jesus Christ.
“ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).
“Mary.” He still knows her name!
“Rabboni.” She calls him, “My Master!”
She knew his voice and he knew her name, so Mary went and told the disciples what she had seen and heard. The Greek is very vivid. Literally, “Mary came telling!” She couldn’t stop talking about her encounter with the risen Lord. The mourner became the missionary! So it is with all who meet the risen Lord. We are called to do as Mary did—to run and tell all who will listen that we have seen Jesus! Mary has firsthand knowledge and so do we.
Jesus asked Mary, "Why are you weeping?" The time for tears is over. The time to tell the Good News has come. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/yzzqhaLl_8w
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner
Praise the Lord for this new day. It has been thundering and raining much of the night. The new day is dawning; praise the Lord, the author of Salvation. He blessed us with a beautiful Wednesday evening gathering. The fellowship and study are always a blessing.
I have been reading the Resurrection passages again about the first Easter people. One of the first Easter people is a woman named Mary. The story of Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus at the empty tomb is found only in John’s gospel. The vignette ends with the mourner turned into a missionary, running to tell the others what she has just seen and heard.
Although Mary Magdalene played an important role in the life of Christ, we know surprisingly little about her. She is one of at least five different women named “Mary” in the New Testament; this much we know. The Lord had cast out seven deadly demons from her. When Christ set her free, he liberated her from the evil impulses that had kept her chained figuratively and perhaps literally. She became living proof that those whom the Son sets free are free indeed. Having been liberated from demonic bondage, she said to herself (and perhaps out loud), “I love him for what he did for me. I will follow him wherever he goes.” It has been often said that Mary Magdalene was “last at the cross and first at the tomb.” This is a high honor that can be said of none of the men who followed Jesus. She was the first to see him alive and the first to hear his voice. The irony of the story is that when she first saw him, she didn’t recognize him. Yet, when the truth hit home, she became the first evangelist in Christian history. Christ bestowed this great honor on her because she loved him so deeply and so devotedly.
Craig Barnes is pastor of National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. In an article called “Easter in an Age of Terror” (you can find it online at www.christianitytoday.com), he points out that Easter is both good news and also terrifying news. It is good news that Jesus came back from the dead. It is terrifying news because Easter confronts us with the awful reality of death. The biblical accounts of the crucifixion stress that many people watched it from a distance. They wanted to see what would happen but they didn’t want to get too close. That’s how most of us handle death, by keeping it at arm’s length. We avoid going to funerals if possible and we never just drop by a funeral home to have a cup of coffee. We work out and lose weight and lower our cholesterol and we try to be careful so that death won’t come too close to us. However, sometimes death comes and knocks at the door. At other times death it breaks down the door and comes barging into the living room whether we like it or not. That’s what happened on September 11. Death entered every home in America. No one could escape the anger, the horror, the shock, and the terror. In one dark moment, all our illusions of security were utterly destroyed.
Death is never easy to deal with. Most of the time we can avoid it or postpone it or keep it far away from us. But sometimes death stares us in the face and we don’t know what to do or how to respond. That is why Mary was standing alone at the Garden Tomb about 6:30 AM on the first Easter Sunday.
“But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him’” (John 20:11-13).
Mary wept because the tomb is empty. She wept over an empty tomb; the very thing that should have been good news broke her heart! Today we say today that the empty tomb is one of the greatest proofs of the Resurrection. Yet Mary wept. We often do the same thing. When faced with trials and unexplainable tragedy, we often weep over our circumstances.
Note the question Jesus asked, “Who are you looking for?” He did not ask, “What are you looking for?” That is altogether a different question. Mary was looking for a what, a dead body. She was looking for something; Jesus pointed her to someone. The answer to our deepest needs is not something, but someone, the Lord Jesus Christ.
“ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).
“Mary.” He still knows her name!
“Rabboni.” She calls him, “My Master!”
She knew his voice and he knew her name, so Mary went and told the disciples what she had seen and heard. The Greek is very vivid. Literally, “Mary came telling!” She couldn’t stop talking about her encounter with the risen Lord. The mourner became the missionary! So it is with all who meet the risen Lord. We are called to do as Mary did—to run and tell all who will listen that we have seen Jesus! Mary has firsthand knowledge and so do we.
Jesus asked Mary, "Why are you weeping?" The time for tears is over. The time to tell the Good News has come. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/yzzqhaLl_8w
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 4-27-11
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this last Wednesday of April. It was a summer-like day yesterday, with the temperature reaching into the mid-eighties. We will gather for our mid-week fellowship and study this evening at 6 PM.
We are living in the afterglow of Easter. Paul met the Risen Savior. His life was radically transformed by the Risen Lord. He passed on to life from death. He wrote "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
Death is clearly the strongest predator on the face of the earth, relentlessly tracking down each victim, catching and wrestling him down to the rot and mire of the grave! Death is seen day and night going to and fro throughout the earth stalking his prey. He is seen lurking in the shadows, with the souls of men in his grasp. He is the terror of the night, who plays no favorites and is not prejudiced: He leaps upon young and old, man, woman, and child alike.
THE THE DAY DEATH DIED WASTHE DAY CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE!!!
"Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph oe’r His foes
He arose a Victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose, He arose, HALLELUJAH, Christ Arose!!
The day Christ arose from the grave, Death (for the Christian) died. Scripture tells us:
- I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore ... and have the keys of hell and death. (Revelation 1:18)
- And having spoiled principalities and powers, he make a show of them openly triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15)
- ... Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory!!
Death need hold no more terror in our lives, for Christ "Tasted of Death" for us, and triumphed over it on that First Easter Morning. That first Easter morning will ever be know as THE DAY DEATH DIED!!!!
MAX LUCADO, in his book, "Six Hours One Friday", told the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.
That’s exactly what Jesus did! He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe. He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe. He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result. He let a dead man spend four days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him. Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side. No wonder we celebrate the Resurrection!
In Christ,
Brown
This video is from Lebanon/ Easter Morning.
http://youtu.be/o0ZS9o6NLnM
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner
Praise the Lord for this last Wednesday of April. It was a summer-like day yesterday, with the temperature reaching into the mid-eighties. We will gather for our mid-week fellowship and study this evening at 6 PM.
We are living in the afterglow of Easter. Paul met the Risen Savior. His life was radically transformed by the Risen Lord. He passed on to life from death. He wrote "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
Death is clearly the strongest predator on the face of the earth, relentlessly tracking down each victim, catching and wrestling him down to the rot and mire of the grave! Death is seen day and night going to and fro throughout the earth stalking his prey. He is seen lurking in the shadows, with the souls of men in his grasp. He is the terror of the night, who plays no favorites and is not prejudiced: He leaps upon young and old, man, woman, and child alike.
THE THE DAY DEATH DIED WASTHE DAY CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE!!!
"Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph oe’r His foes
He arose a Victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose, He arose, HALLELUJAH, Christ Arose!!
The day Christ arose from the grave, Death (for the Christian) died. Scripture tells us:
- I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore ... and have the keys of hell and death. (Revelation 1:18)
- And having spoiled principalities and powers, he make a show of them openly triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15)
- ... Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory!!
Death need hold no more terror in our lives, for Christ "Tasted of Death" for us, and triumphed over it on that First Easter Morning. That first Easter morning will ever be know as THE DAY DEATH DIED!!!!
MAX LUCADO, in his book, "Six Hours One Friday", told the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.
That’s exactly what Jesus did! He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe. He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe. He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result. He let a dead man spend four days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him. Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side. No wonder we celebrate the Resurrection!
In Christ,
Brown
This video is from Lebanon/ Easter Morning.
http://youtu.be/o0ZS9o6NLnM
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner
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