Sermon Title: We Are Witnesses

Sermon Text: Acts 10:34-43

Sermon Date: Easter, April 12, 2009

^{Acts 10:34-36}Peter fairly exploded with his good news: "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he's doing it everywhere, among everyone. ^37-38"You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him. ^39-43"And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn't put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we're not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets."

Peter. Mary. Blind Bartimeaus. Lepers. Roman army captain. His servant. The possessed. Lazarus. Martha. Mary Magdalene. Thomas. Andrew. A little boy who shared his lunch. The thousands who received lunch. The lame man lowered through the roof by this four friends. The soldier who stood at the cross and said, “Surely this is the Son of God.”

You’ve heard of them, haven’t you? All of them met Jesus.

All of them understand that Jesus offered forgiveness, grace, mercy and the possibility of redemption. All of these people, and many more, witnesses to good news of the message of Jesus Christ.

We too are witnesses but we wake every day to a lot of bad news these days. I cannot tell you how many people have told me that they are no longer watching the news because they cannot bear the pain. The stock market. The unemployment. Shootings. Kidnappings. Horrible, horrible things. And it so easy to let the bad news overshadow the good news. The amazing news. The incredible news that each day we wake up to a day filled with possibilities BECAUSE JESUS LIVES.

Not just on Easter. Every day. Every day of our lives is filled with possibilities because we worship a risen Lord. Because we are madly loved by a God who came down to be with us. Because we are surrounded by brothers and sisters in our church who love us. Everyday is a day with good news.

A bit ago we heard the story of Mary Magdalene and other women finding an empty tomb. We’ve sung songs and heard glorious music celebrating the resurrection. Now, my friends, let’s decide today to live every day as Easter. Let’s agree today that every day we will look for good news instead of dwelling on the bad stuff. I’ll go first!

GOOD NEWS IN LAFAYETTE: In the midst of a downturned economy, a person who wishes to remain anonymous donor contributed $8 million gift to Purdue for scholarships. Often, it seems, that money is donated to build a building or fund a chair and the name of the donor is often attached. But not this donor. This donor, it seems, is interested in young people having the opportunity to go to college. And that is good news for a lot of students who will be able to go to Purdue because of his, her or their generosity.

And we here in the Greater Lafayette area are witnesses to this good news.

GOOD NEWS NEARBY: Just a few weeks ago my son Gregg emailed with the news that his high school friend Bernard had been chosen by Extreme Home Makeover to receive a new house in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis. If you haven’t been there you might not know how depressed it is. When I visited that neighborhood last year to visit a church I was amazed at how much it had gone down in the years since I had been there.

Bernard’s home was taken down and in its place is a new home and center next door for his not-for-profit organization. Gregg worked on the home and was there when they all shouted “Move that bus!” He took my sister and me over there yesterday so we have seen this wonderful home, the church down the street that got new siding and the new trees all around the neighborhood. You can ask him questions after church but he signed a statement saying he wouldn’t divulge anything until after the show airs.

I think the story about Bernard getting a new home is fantastic but the part that I find the most compelling is the story of Paul Estridge, the home’s builder.

When Estridge was asked if he wanted to take on the project he said yes, but with two conditions.

First, if you aren’t familiar with the show “Extreme Home Makeover” you don’t know that they build homes for deserving people. Unfortunately, it has seemed to me that they sometimes build very fancy homes in extremely un-fancy neighborhoods and it puts the families in higher tax brackets.

Estridge said that his two conditions were this: First that the home be one that is most agreeable to the neighborhood and second, that he be able to help the rest of the neighborhood. Estridge plans to demolish vacant houses, renovate neighboring homes, clean streets, pave alleys and plant trees in the 450-house Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, near 25th Street and Keystone Avenue. They also plan to renovate the closed public school to be a community center and wireless internet access has been put in.

I wondered if his generosity was motivated by faith so I wrote to him and thanked him for helping Bernard and his sons. He is on vacation this week but his assistant wrote to me saying he would answer when he returns. So alas, I have no answer for you today. That will have to wait. But what a story this is.

Estridge said, "It's been the most surprisingly emotional experience for all of us," To see Bernard's reaction when he saw the home just absolutely just rocked us all."

And people say we don’t care about our neighbors anymore. Estridge’s business is in Carmel and Bernard and his friends live near the inner-city of Indianapolis.

We are witnesses to this good news. Shirley Webster, president of the Greater Citizens Coalition of Martindale-Brightwood, said “Estridge is doing more in one week than residents have been able to do in their "piecemeal" efforts. It's just like a shot in the arm.”

GOOD NEWS IN ITALY: It has been a rough week in Italy but we aren’t going there today, except in prayer.

I asked my missionary friend Debbie Kelsey for a story about witnessing God’s grace in their ministry there and she sent me this:

“Yesterday I took my friend who is visiting from the US to meet Emma, our Nigerian friend who left prostitution after having been arrested for not having documents.  I called Emma ahead of time to see if she could meet us at the train station in Verona.  She said she had nothing to do and could come.  It is a miracle that she stays off the streets where she could at least earn a little money. 
The grace of God has broken in on Emma.  She used to live bound by her lack of awareness of the world outside her dark little eggshell.  She never broke out of the shell because she had no reason to believe that there was anything outside for her.  But, God used the Italian police to make a small hole in the egg.  Having been off the street for 60 days, and having had a missionary to call her and go and visit and encourage her, she was able to believe that she could survive outside that eggshell.  Having a laypastor who is learning in Jim's training program that God calls us to minister to the whole person, she had someone to go and confront her pimp and convince him to leave her alone.  She was empowered to make the choice to stay off the street.
She still has a lot of the shell clinging too her.  Her life is not perfect.  Her lack of documents and work remind her everyday of the darkness.  It would be easy to lose hope.  She is not yet willing to talk openly about her painful experiences inside that shell.  But, little by little, by God's grace, we chip away at those little pieces of shell.  Little by little, we encourage her to open up and remind her of God's power to remove from her heart the stains of her former life. 
When Deb and I met Emma at McDonald's, Emma was all smiles.  God's grace has changed her from a woman who lived in shame and silence about her suffering to a woman who can have lunch with two Christian sisters and know the joy of being loved no matter what she has been through. 
God's grace is sufficient.  There is resurrection and we are witnesses. (from Debbie Kesley in Padua, Italy)

Gregg, who is a media specialist in the inner city of Indianapolis, is teaching poetry to the kids this week and sent me this poem from Langston Hughes. It is far too long to read in entirety but let me close this good news sermon with Hughes’ words:

When a man starts out with nothing,
When a man starts out with his hands
Empty, but clean,
When a man starts to build a world,
He starts first with himself
And the faith that is in his heart-
The strength there,
The will there to build.

First in the heart is the dream-
Then the mind starts seeking a way.
His eyes look out on the world,
On the great wooded world,
On the rich soil of the world,
On the rivers of the world.

The eyes see there materials for building,
See the difficulties, too, and the obstacles.
The mind seeks a way to overcome these obstacles.
The hand seeks tools to cut the wood,
To till the soil, and harness the power of the waters.
Then the hand seeks other hands to help,
A community of hands to help-
Thus the dream becomes not one man’s dream alone,
But a community dream.
Not my dream alone, but our dream.
Not my world alone,”

Not my world alone,
But your world and my world,
Belonging to all the hands who build.

On this Easter Sunday, we remember and celebrate the good news of an empty tomb. We celebrate the generous spirit investing in young people and education. We celebrate new homes and renewing neighborhoods. We celebrate cracked eggshells. We celebrate hands that build houses and transform lives. We celebrate love!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

And this is the good news that has changed each of our lives. May we continue to be changed each and every day.