May 30, 2015 - Church at Worship

Sermon: "Hope Unlimited" - Roy Ice

Pastoral Welcome: Doug Mace

Child Dedication: Brianna Madalyn Herrmann - Doug Herrmann; Noah Komal KaiSheng Nowrangi - Roy Ice

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35–41, TNIV - Richard Blum-Johnston  

Note: Child Dedications and Baptisms are on the extras section of the dvd.

Sermon Notes:

God falls asleep sometimes. That’s right. You don’t have to read very far through the Gospels to see that God falls asleep. That thought doesn’t bother us too much, if we think of a Jesus who leaves his disciples around the campfire to turn in early. We know he needs his sleep, because we also know that before sunrise he will be far up the mountainside having his daily devotions. God sleeps. It’s only natural. We sleep too. But God also gets exhausted—not the kind of exhausted that causes you to put down your work and flip on the TV—but the kind of exhausted where even a bucket of water to the face can’t awaken you. Have you noticed? Jesus, God in flesh, in a single day would heal entire towns, heal a leper, remotely heal a centurion’s son, cure Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, and cast out a crowd-worth of demons. That’s exhausting work. But Jesus, seeing each encounter as a solitary opportunity to demonstrate the character of God, chose exhaustion over selfpreservation. It’s in his nature.

We’d probably be okay with that if God would avoid scheduling his exhaustion at times he knows we’re sailing directly into a storm! But amazingly, God is not bothered by the storm. He sleeps while the sea spray cascades off his bearded cheeks. He sleeps while the boat fills with water and capsizes the hopes of the faithful few. He sleeps a deep, coma-like sleep. We cry out our spine-tingling screams, and God sleeps.

Have you ever felt like you were in the midst of a storm and God was asleep? Perhaps you’re in the pelting tempest today. How do you keep your hope from drowning in the midst of the storm? Today, from Mark 4, we will experience the true hope that the presence of Jesus brings—a hope that cannot be washed away—a hope unlimited.

Today’s message has been intentionally crafted to compliment the Memorial Tribute slideshow that will take place at the end of the service. This annual tribute recognizes our precious loved-ones who have fallen asleep in the loving arms of Jesus within the past 12 months.

Roy Ice, Pastor for Resource Development