Sermons in Glass 9. Prayer

Sermons in Glass: 9. Prayer

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

November 3, 2013

Mark 14:32-35; Genesis 3:22-24; Genesis 7:1-5

            Today’s sermon moves us to the Garden Window. In the first lancet—

            Jesus Prays in great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest.

          Adam and Eve are driven from the Garden of Eden after disobeying God’s command and the flaming sword is placed by God to bar them from re-entry and from the tree of life.

          The serpent watches the event and the apple, the symbol of their disobedience, lies on the ground.

          Fuchsias decorate the upper corners of the window.

          God destroys the world by flood because of sin, saving Noah and his family. Noah builds the ark in which two of all species on earth are preserved.

          A dove sent aloft on the forty-seventh day returns with an olive branch symbolizing the end of the flood.

          Isabella Thoburn was the first woman missionary to India sent in 1869 by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society.

          She founded Lucknow University plus three high schools, three hospitals, four boarding schools and seventy day schools.

          She is pictured in front of the Taj Mahal. She died in 1901 of cholera.

          Artichokes decorate the upper corners.

          In this series of messages I am telling the stories that surround us in our stained glass windows.

                   They are Bible stories.

                   They are stories of faith.

                   They are stories that all Christians should know.

          The upper panels tell of the life of Jesus.

          The bottom panels are church history scenes.

          The six major theme windows are biblical scenes.

          The theme in all of today’s windows is prayer. Let’s think about prayer—particularly prayers to overcome evil.

                   Jesus struggled with the forces of evil in the garden of Gethsemane.

                   Adam and Eve struggled with evil in the Garden of Eden.

                   Noah struggled with evil as he built a big boat.

                   Isabella Thoburn traveled to India to educate the people about evil.

          Jesus knew that prayer was the only way to overcome evil.

          Prayer doesn’t really need to be taught.

                    It doesn’t require training, like being an astronaut.

                    It doesn’t require a manual, like flying a spacecraft.

                    It simply requires a heart willing to speak honestly to God.

          Prayer is not an interview of God,

                   or a speech to God,

                   it is a conversation with God.

          It is a time to listen for what God has to say back to you.

         

          Prayer means we are never alone.

          Even when we feel we are completely isolated, floating aimlessly through space, prayer is our lifeline to God.

         

          I can remember a plaque in the old stone Pennsylvania farm house I was raised in that said, ‘Prayer changes things.’

          Prayer is about unleashing the power of heaven to make a difference in our lives and the lives of others.

          1. Jesus prays ‘thy will be done’ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

          Last Sunday we saw Jesus in the Upper Room with his disciples.

          At that time the feelings must have been overwhelming for Jesus.

          Jesus needed some space. Even though he needed to be alone he took some of his closest friends with him to the Garden of Gethsemane.

                   There was a cloud over Jesus.

                   He knew that he was in trouble.

         

          In time of trouble we want someone with us.

                    We do not necessarily want them to do anything.

                    We do not necessarily even want to talk to them.

                    We do not want them to talk to us.

                    We only want them to be there.

          Jesus was like that. Certain things are clear about Jesus in this passage.

          He did not want to die but he had to compel himself to go on—just as we have to do so often.

          He did not fully understand why this had to be. He only knew beyond a doubt that this was the will of God, and that He must go on.

          He had to accept—as we so often have to do—what He could not understand.

          He submitted to the will of God as he prayed—Abba.

          Abba is the Aramaic for ‘My Father,’ and it was that one word which made all the difference.

          If we can call God ‘Father’ or ‘Mother’ everything becomes bearable.

          Jesus knew that.

          That is why He could go on—and it can be so with us.

          2. Adam and Eve

          The story of the Garden of Eden is about one little word.

                    It has three letters.

                    We don’t talk about it very much.

                    That word is—SIN!

         

          The Bible resounds with a crystal clear message.

          There is a power at work in the world whose mission is not of God's design.

                    You may call it a variety of names but nevertheless it is very real.

                    You may call it the devil, Satan, the serpent or simply evil.

          The point is that even Jesus had to wrestle with a power hostile to God in the Garden of Gethsemane.

          Recently I heard about a suburban neighborhood in which several residents were extremely upset at the reckless and fast driving that was occurring in their quiet subdivision. They organized a petition drive and demanded that the police patrol the area with greater frequency and penalize drivers who ignored the speed limits.

          The police obliged and immediately ticketed five drivers who ignored the speed limits. All of them were fuming at the fines they received. It seems, however, that all five of these ticketed drivers had signed the petition calling for enforcement.

          We hate sin, don't we? At least other people's sin!

          Mark Twain once said that Adam was only human—this explains it all.

          He did not want the fruit for the fruit's sake; he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent, says Twain, and then Adam would have eaten the serpent!

          Comedians have a great time with Adam and Eve in the garden, but there is nothing funny about temptation.

                   Millions of broken lives,

                   broken families,

                   broken hearts

          give testimony to the power of temptation in our lives.         

          As someone has said, "Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell."

          3. God destroys the world by flood

Why did the people on the ark think the horses were pessimistic?
          They kept saying neigh.
What kind of lights did Noah have on the ark?
          Flood lights.
Which animal took the most baggage into the ark?
          The elephant took his trunk.
Where did Noah keep the bees?
          In the ark hives.
Why couldn’t Noah catch many fish?
          He only had two worms.

          There are two principal characters in this drama.

                   Noah—so, what sort of ancient man builds a boat at the command of a                       God he cannot see?

                   God—and. what sort of God asks him to do it?

           Noah was a man who

                   saw what others didn't see;

                   heard what they didn't hear;

                   looked where others didn't look.

          He took risks and planned and acted, no matter what anyone thought or said.

          Did it matter to Noah that no one else dared build an ark where there seemed to be little need for one? No.

          What sort of man was Noah?

          The words "eccentric" and "patient" come to mind.

          The man's building a boat, the first of its kind, on dry land, in anticipation of a natural phenomenon that had never occurred before; moreover, he's cooped up in cramped quarters with his wife and family, not to speak of a boat load of animals, for 40 days and 40 nights.

          The Biblical account also tells us what he did when he got off the boat—he got drunk!
          Did Noah have doubts? Probably.

          Did he sometimes question himself? Likely.

          Wouldn't you?

          Noah was a risk-taker, a man who wagered his reputation, his wealth and all that he had on an idea—the idea that it is healthier to listen to what God says, than not to listen.

          Noah's character was strong enough to endure ridicule, tongue-clucking, name-calling and derision. He must have had high tolerance for public embarrassment.

          Noah was a righteous man, living in an unrighteous time, yet he was able to make good choices.

          It is always hard to be righteous and countercultural.

          It is as difficult now as it was then.

          Noah was a persistent man.

          Mrs. Noah might have called him stubborn.

          How much work does it take to build a huge ark without power tools or a lumber mill when you are 600 years old?

          Finally, he was a man who "walked with God.”

          He knew the companionship and fellowship of God, and when you have that in your life, you can put up with just about anything else.

          As for God—here we see—
                   A righteous and just God.
                   A merciful God.
                   A faithful God.
                   A personal God.
         

          4. Isabella Thoburn (1840–1901) was an American Christian missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church best known for her establishment of educational institutions and missionary work in North India.

          She was an American missionary to India whose work in education there, culminated in the founding of an important woman’s college and Methodist High School in Kanpur. These two educational establishments were amongst the first in colonial India.

          Thoburn attended local schools in United States. After she had taught for several years, Isabella was invited by her brother to assist him, in his educational and missionary work in India.

          Jesus, Adam and Eve, Noah and Isabella Thoburn all sermons in glass!

Prayer

          Most loving God, we thank you for this time together, this sacred space of prayer.

          We thank you that you are always present to us, to guide and to strengthen, especially when we are uncertain and lonely.

          We would pray for those who feel abandoned and isolated and therefore feel as though they have been left behind while everyone else continues on their way.     We offer our prayers for those who are in transition, and feel as though they walk on unsafe ground.

          We lift our prayers for those who are far away from home in unfamiliar lands.

          May all for whom we pray feel surrounded by your love through the power of the Holy Spirit.

          Keep us mindful of Jesus who walked this earth as we do,

                   who also felt loneliness and betrayal

                   but who triumphed over all adversity

                   and lives forever as our sure foundation,

                   the very ground of our being.

          Help us to remember that no matter where we are -- you are there.

          For we pray in the name of Jesus the Christ who taught us to pray, saying…..