A Hog on the Altar!

 Independence Day Sunday!

Prayer

Psalm 30

       Watch clip:

                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqENd4GaiVc

Introduction:

Thursday was Independence Day!  This is Independence Day weekend, and I would like to look back to a time when an Independence was declared by the people of God and they were rededicated to the Lord=s service.  When the O.T. ended, Palestine was controlled by Persia, but there are 400 years between the testament that our Bible is silent on.  The Catholic Bible and other historic writings give us some insight into what happened between our testaments that helps us understand the context of some of the writings within our own Bible.  After Persian rule, there was Alexander the Great, then Egypt, and then Syria. 

Under Syrian reign there were several rulers, but the one I want to mention is Antiochus Epiphanes.  During his reign, he did all he could to stamp out temple worship in Jerusalem.  He brought in idol worship, and to top it all off, he desecrated the temple by sacrificing a hog on the altar!  Hogs were thought to be unclean by the Hebrews!  This was awful! This made a mockery of Judaism to the world.  This was the last straw! This began a revolt in Jerusalem that is called the Hasmonian Dynasty.  The Syrians were still in control officially, but they were busy with other things which gave time for a family called the Maccabeus to reign in Jerusalem for a season.  During this time, Judas Maccabeus rededicated the temple to proper worship of God in 165 BC.  This was a grand time!  This is all between our testaments.  This is the folks in the clip that Israel is still trying to figure out if this is their tomb!  This rededication is remembered by the Jews with a religious holiday called Hannakkah. In the eyes of the Hebrew people, this hog stood between them and God and it interfered with their worship and presentation of God to the world! 

 

Trans.

Our scripture for today was used as a part of this dedication.  Let=s consider how it might apply to us today.

                     

I.   What is the Hog on the altar today?  What has defiled us?  What stands between us and God?  What interferes with our worship and presentation of God to the world?

 

     A.   Not so much something from the outside.

          1.   We enjoy the freedom of religion today; so far, we have not had anyone come in and throw something on our altar and make us worship differently than we want to!

           2.  We want to scapegoat and say it was because prayer was taken out of schools, but as long as there are tests in schools, there will be prayer in schools. 

           3.  We want to blame it on all kinds of outside forces, but the reality is, what defiles us today is pretty much an inside force.

 

     B.   People have been abused by the church!

          1.   We hear of clergy abuse of women and children.

2.   We hear of church volunteers and workers abusing vulnerable adults and children.

3.   The news told awhile back of a Sunday School teacher who abused and killed one of her students.               

4.   It has marred the church and people approach the church with some amount of skepticism.

 

C.   The church, as a whole, is judgmental!

1.   Popular theology is to judge people for their sins and make them conform to our way of thinking.

     a.   A lot of churches do this.  United Methodist are better at not being judgmental, but sometimes we can even fall into this!

     b.   During my ministry in the UMC, I’ve experienced many converts coming into the church who have had this kind of history with other parts of the church.  They were judged and got out of the church.

     c.   They didn’t know there was a church that wasn’t judgmental, and when they found us, they made a profession of faith, becoming some of the most hardworking and dedicated people among us!

     d.   They didn’t know we were here until someone told them!  It starts with an invitation!

2.   People can see through this judging; they see Christians sin, yet Christians judge them for theirs! They see this as Hypocrisy!

3.   It drives people away from God.

4.   It is the Hog on the Altar!

 

 

II.  On this Independence Day, What can we do to be free and overcome this defilement?

 

A.   We can rededicate to Christ!

John 8:36

ASo if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.@   

 

B.   We can rededicate to being a safe place for people to learn about God!

1.   We can get behind what our church is doing to keep people safe:

Pastors have to do boundaries and Safe Gatherings training.

Our volunteers and workers have to do Safe Gatherings training.

Part of both of these is a background check.

2.   Rededicate to taking this seriously; it is about providing a safe place!

3.   It is about overcoming the skepticism and insuring that it won’t happen here!

 

C.   Rededicate to offering Christ in a graceful, loving way.

People will respond to that!

People don=t want to be crucified for their sins

     They want a relationship with God!  That is what their hearts desire!

     1.   We serve a big God; let God be the Judge!

     2.   If someone’s sin is hurting someone else: child abuse, rape, murder, stealing, etc. We need to speak out about that, but if it is not, John Wesley gave us some guidance:

 

          “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in everything else, charity!”

 

     3.   In the UMC, we have good theology!  We offer a gospel of grace!  We need to let people know.  This is where we can shine today!  This is why people might want to come to our church!  We need to let them know!

 

4.   In the Great Commission in Matthew, Jesus tells us to “Go make disciples, baptizing them I the name of the father, of the son, and of the Holy Spirit,” so go, tell, share the Love of God!

 

D.   When we do this, we will grow!

 

Conclusion:

In concluding, let=s re-read the psalm that was used as a part of the rededication of the temple and let it become a part of our rededication.

 

                  Psalm 30

 

            Prayer of Confession

 

          Celebration of Communion