Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Braxton, Senior Pastor
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church
1518 M Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005 www.metropolitanamec.org

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40 (The Message Bible). The Ethiopian Eunuch 26-28Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah. 29-30The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31-33He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this: As a sheep led to slaughter, and quiet as a lamb being sheared, He was silent, saying nothing. He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial. But who now can count his kin since he’s been taken from the earth? 34-35The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him. 36-39As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be. 40Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.

Every day, our worship experience, faith practice, and our daily living are cloaked in religious affirmations. We attend bible study, church, and church school because we believe. And we affirm what we believe. Every pastor hopes that what you believe and affirm in church, you live and practice “out there.”

In our daily living, we have so many Affirmations: “I believe in God; I believe the bible is the word of God; I believe Jesus is the son of God; I believe in the power of the prayers of the righteous; I believe that if I give a 10th of all my earnings back to God, God will open up windows of heaven and I won’t have room enough to receive it; I believe that if I love God, and love my brothers and sisters as I love myself, I will be pleased with my life; I believe that if I love those who hate on me and say derogatory things about me, God will bless me.” I can go on and on and on with these affirmations.

We are pleased with ourselves when we consciously know that we have fully practiced and lived up to our affirmations. We puff out our chests and say: Wow! I really got it right today! I spoke to that old demon on my job today! It hurt me to speak to him, but I did it anyhow. When the day is over, we kind of pat ourselves on the back when we live up to our affirmations.

But when we come up a little short in living up to our affirmations, because someone ticked us off and the (male, or female) “Sapphire” came out in us, we face God with a little guilt at the end of that day. We feel bad because we didn’t quite measure up to our affirmations.

But one of the marvelous things about life is that it is never static. When your living becomes static, you are either dead, just about dead, or would be better off dead. Every day, good, bad or indifferent, there ought to be something going on in your life. There ought to be something that causes a smile, a grin, a tear; there ought to be something that puts a spark in that day; something that ensures that each day is never static.

I want to suggest this morning that as your life is not static, neither ought the practice of your affirmations be static.

Every now and then God calls on us to test Him and see if we are willing to push beyond the comfortable boundaries of our every day affirmations. He said: Moses, go and push beyond your affirmations and go stand before Pharaoh. David, go push beyond your affirmations and stand in front of the Goliath. Daniel, it might mean having to sleep in the den with lions, it might mean denying Nebuchadnezzar, go push beyond your boundaries and let them see you praying to God. Mary Magdalene, go push beyond your boundaries and use that expensive vial of perfume and with your hair anoint the feet of the Master.

Let me suggest that, after all this work we put into restoring this church building, all the money we had to come up with during the worst of economic times could be seen as a call of God for us to TEST God. Maybe it was a test of our faith to push beyond our affirmations; maybe God was asking: Do you really believe? Will you step beyond the comfort of your affirmation that, “With God, all things are possible?” I know you SAY it, but do you really BELIEVE it?

So you affirm that if God is with you, all things are possible. But you know Brothers and Sisters, I have come to realize that talk is really cheap. You might tell your wife, your significant other, “Baby I love you; Honey, Baby Doll, Sugar Dumpling – all that sweet talk – but if you don’t bring your money home to your family, you are in an abusive relationship and your talk is cheap. I’m trying to help somebody here this morning. You might say all kinds of sweet words, but you don’t help rear your children. You run the streets day and night, and nowadays, it’s the females running the streets as much as it is the males.

Talk is cheap. And sometimes, affirmations are cheap too.

Sometimes, we affirm that we will go through something, but as soon as something happens, we start complaining against God.

Here in the scripture text, we encounter the evangelist Philip, one of the seven Greek-speaking Jewish Christians appointed as one of the 12 disciples. Philip received a divine invitation to get up and go past Gaza. The Message Bible says: “…The Angel of God spoke to Phillip and said: ‘At noon today, I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.’” Philip is not intimidated. He was already pushing his boundaries as a Jew ministering to Samarians. Philip got up and went to Gaza.

There are three blessings in store for you when you make the effort to push beyond your affirmations:

1. You will never know what blessings God has stored up for your life until you push beyond the boundaries of your affirmations. You don’t know WHAT God has in store for you. On the road to Gaza, Philip encounters a well-to-do African brother, the minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. This African brother was some-body. He was the cabinet Secretary-Treasurer of all of Ethiopia. He handled the budget. You had to go to him to get anything. As Barbara Brown Taylor writes: “He was wealthy enough to ride in his own chariot…educated enough to read Greek…devout enough to study the prophet Isaiah…and humble enough to ask for help when he couldn’t understand what he was reading.”

We can see that Philip was truly blessed by this experience, and God was able to use him in a more significant ministry, no longer working with the poor and sick and needy or waiting on tables. God began to use Philip to preach all over. What if he had denied God/said no to God/said “I can’t” to God?

Unless you are willing to step out in new directions with God, willing to push beyond the boundaries of your affirmations, willing to trust God more to walk with a deeper faith to give more of your time, talent, and financial resources, you will never know what God really has stored up for just you!

Likewise, the Ethiopian pushes beyond his status, his wealth, his education and asks a stranger for help, and light comes his way.

God has blessings waiting for you. You can’t get my blessings, and I can’t get your blessings. Mine are mine, all mine.

But all God asks of me is for me to step out, beyond what I mumble everyday in my affirmations and put Him to the test. As the psalmist says: “Be not dismayed…whatever comes your way…God will take care of you.”

2. If you push beyond your Sunday morning worship, church School lessons, bible study affirmations, and surrender and serve, God will lift your life to heights you cannot imagine.

As you push beyond the boundaries of your affirmations, expect some stony roads, expect some wilderness experiences, expect some desolate times; but be a witness out there, and watch God lift you up! Serve God out there and watch God pour blessings on your life. Tell folk about your faith, tell folk about your church, tell folk how good God has been in your life. Get up and get on the road, invite someone to get in your chariot on Sunday morning.

God will turn your desert, stony places, your rough roads into a highway of exaltation. Jesus had to suffer, but on the wilderness path, God exalted him. Rosa Parks found herself in jail, but God turned her wilderness into a pathway of exaltation. If you push beyond, if you serve and witness, God will lift your life.

The wealthy African, who has everything, pushes beyond material wealth, credentials, titles, and God blessed him even more. “Why can’t I be baptized,” he cries. And Philip takes him down to the water, and baptizes him on the spot!

3. When you push beyond all of the “stuff” in your life — even some of your affirmations — and take God and God’s word to heart, you will never find your life coming up short.

Everything you give to God, God will give it back to you. You will never come up short. Every time you will recover more than you gave. You will get back from God not just what you gave God but he will give it to you pressed down and shaken together, running over! Just try God, push beyond what you say, and put it into practice. Watch God do for you what you never imagined could happen.

As the song goes: Great is thy faithfulness…morning by morning…new mercies I see…all…- not just part of it – …all that I need his hand has provided.

How many people in here this morning, can witness that you’ve had moments in your life when you didn’t know how you were going to make it? And then an hour before all seemed lost, God stepped in? And you know that He did it for YOU, and you KNOW you could not have done for yourself? A prayer answered. A mountain moved out of your way. A door opened, a path made straight. And I’m not just talking about money, but health issues, and you KNOW it was God. You’d been praying and crying, didn’t know where to turn, and when you almost gave up, the sun came out. You got a check in the mail you weren’t expecting; a blessing came. A kidney came! And you know it was nobody but God? You tell me I can’t preach? You’re a lie. You tell me I can’t witness? That’s a lie? I can’t testify? I can’t go out and live for Him? I can’t give Him everything? That is a lie from hell. I will preach, witness, testify — not just in here — but everywhere I go until the day God calls me home and says: “Enough.”

Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Braxton, Senior Pastor
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Metropolitan AME Church
www.metropolitanamec.org

Scripture: Luke 24:36b-48 (NIV Translation). Jesus Appears to the Disciples 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

In the scripture, the disciples, like many of the other believers, found themselves locked behind closed doors huddled together, scared to death that they would meet the same fate that Jesus, their teacher, had met. By now, the reports are coming in. They were there when he was crucified; they were present when he was buried in the cave and the stone was rolled over the entrance. On the first day of the week, they saw with their own eyes the empty tomb. But then Mary the Magdalene reported that she had seen him alive. Now others were coming with similar reports. The disciples were confused and scared out of their wits. What is to be believed? What are all these rumors about? What do we do next?

Peter most of all, but all the others too, were loaded with guilt, grief, unbearable frustration, doubt, and anxiety. And in the midst of their confusion and anxiety about the empty tomb, the unthinkable and unimaginable occurred: Jesus appeared, standing tall in their presence.

1. When Jesus stands tall in your life, his presence restores the peace. Look at the first thing that Jesus does. In the midst of all the noise, chaos, and confusion, he restores the peace and tranquility that existed when he was alive just by saying: “Peace be with you.” Jesus’ mere presence restores a sense of peace to them.

There are many occasions in the bible when Jesus speaks peace and calms the situation. Remember when he was in the hull of the boat asleep, and remember when he walked on water to save his disciple walking in the midst of a raging storm? Both times he stood and spoke the word peace.

And there are many other times when Jesus brings a sense of peace and tranquility to a situation: Remember the lunatic in the cemetery who was found clothed and in his right mind. Remember the 10 lepers; the woman with the issue of blood; the man who couldn’t get into the pool of Bethesda – there so many others where Jesus brings a sense of peace and tranquility to a stormy situation.

You might know the story of Horatio Spafford, who was a successful attorney in Chicago, father of five children and an active member of a Presbyterian Church who knew what it was to live in peace and happiness. But without warning, life started crashing in on him. His only son died; then the great Chicago fire wiped out the family’s fortunes. Then, when he decided to take his family to Europe to lift their spirits, the ship was struck by an English vessel and his family, along with 226 other passengers, drowned at sea. Only his wife survived. Yet, out of his deep sense of sorrow and unwavering faith, Spafford composed the hymn we all know: “When peace like a river…when sorrow like sea billows roll…whatever my lot…it is well with my soul.”

Brothers and sisters, whatever is going on in your family, your job, whichever party is in office, whatever congress or the Supreme Court hand down – it won’t matter. If the living Jesus is standing tall in your life, you can live with a sense of peace.

2. When Jesus stands tall in your life, he challenges you to live with a conquering courage. Here is the second thing that happened when Jesus stood up in their presence: Jesus understood the disciples’ fears, but he challenged them to live with a conquering courage. “They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost” reads the NIV. Look at how Jesus deals with their fears; the Message Bible says: “Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. (Instilling courage) Look me over from head to toe.” Can you imagine the courage it must have taken to touch him? Can you imagine how their whole persona and being must have shifted when they realized that Jesus had actually conquered death?

Sisters and brothers, when he who conquered death stands up in your life, your whole being will shift. You take on a conquering courage to live in spite of and because of he who stands tall in your life. Some will see your courage as arrogance, but with Christ standing tall in your life, there is a spirit that thrives to conquer the unconquerable. Cancer, unemployment, foreclosure, loss, death, terrorist attack, a school killing — as daunting as these challenges are, when Jesus stands tall in your life, there is a conquering spirit that will rise up in you to keep you pressing on.

3. Finally, when Jesus stands tall in your life, every challenge becomes an opportunity. When the living Jesus stands tall in your life, every challenge becomes an opportunity to let others see Christ living and standing tall in your life. In verse 45, “Then he opened their minds” and told them to go and witness to all nations.

It is a terrible thing to live closed minded. If we open our minds and spirits to the Jesus who stands tall in us, it will help us take the risk and walk through some new door.

If we open our minds and spirits, every challenge in life can become our witness that he lives in us.

No matter that you’ve been knocked down, everyday God is doing a new thing and he’ll stand you back up. No matter that you’ve been pushed out, he’ll close one door, and he’ll open another.

Every challenge will be accompanied by new possibilities…if you let Jesus stand tall in your life.

Rev. Nancy T. Lee
Community of Hope AME Church
Speaking at Metropolitan AME Church
Women’s Day, 7:45 a.m. Service
Sunday, April 15, 2012
www.metropolitanamec.org

2011 was a challenging year, full of storms.  But a storm for YOU is not necessarily a storm for ME.  Some of us experienced physical storms, such as a disturbing report from the doctor.  But the storm is passing over, thanks be to God.  When you are going through a storm, have you noticed that much advice is available, but very little help?  2011 was a stormy year because some saw their homes subjected to foreclosure.  Some saw secure jobs lost. Some saw savings that had been accumulated over many years slowly exhausted.  Some of us found ourselves robbing Peter to pay Paul.

In verse 10 of the scripture, Paul advised the crew not to leave the harbor; but his warning was  ignored and they sailed into the storm.  Sometimes our impatience places us in a storm. Sometimes we enter in to a hasty marriage when all the signs were against it. Sometimes we are impatient to move to the other side of town to get away from the high crime rate, and we find ourselves being robbed on the other side of town.  Some of us are impatient about staying in a church in which we feel we are not being fed.  But you can’t get fed if you don’t come to the altar.

The scripture today gives us three “D’s” to guide us until the storm passes over:

1.         DON’T DRIFT.  In the scripture, when the storm got increasingly rough, the crew just gave up and started to drift.  When we drift, we let go of our goals and we forget where we are headed. We just go with the flow.  In the midst of your darkest storm, remember that God is the light, and there is no need to drift.

2.         DON’T DISCARD.   In the scripture, in the midst of the storm, the crew threw the cargo overboard.  Sometimes we drift, then we throw out the very things we need to keep:  We give up on our dreams, goals, relationships, and values.  V29:  “When it looked as if all were lost…”   The safest thing to do in the storm is to STAND STILL and watch God’s will unfold.

Sometimes situations seem so overwhelming that we just want to change everything. That’s when we need to anchor in God. We miss what God intends for us because we keep moving out of vision.  Have any of you ever experienced “missed blessings?”  You look back over your life and you see the blessings that you missed because you were too busy to appreciate them, or you didn’t stay in a relationship long enough to receive them.

3.         DON’T DESPAIR.  In Verse 20, they gave up all hope of being saved.  In order to withstand the storms, you need to be covered, covered by the blood of Jesus.  In verse 25, the disciples were covered because of Paul’s faith, not because of their own faith.  Some of us have been spared during the storms of life because of the prayers and the faith of others – our mothers, our fathers, our grandmothers our grandfathers.

Sometimes you are so down and in such despair that YOU can’t pray.  Make sure you’ve got some people in your life who can get a prayer through.

Finally, Brothers and Sisters, the storm is not meant to DESTROY you; it is meant to bring you closer to God.  Think about it – many of you found Jesus during a storm.  You were battered and scarred by an angry sea, and Jesus caught you.

So, no matter what it looks like; no matter whether you are in a storm, just got out of a storm, or are going into a storm, know that the storm is passing over.

Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Braxton, Senior Pastor
Palm Sunday, Sunday, April 01, 2012
Metropolitan AME Church
www.metropolitanamec.org

Scripture:  Mark 14:1-9 – The Message Translation:  1-2 In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want the crowds up in arms,” they said. 3-5Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. 6-9But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.”

Today is Palm Sunday, and this whole week, we will reflect on the Passion of Jesus:  the sacrifice of his life; the betrayal of Judas; the denial of Peter; the mockery trial in the Sanhedrin — the same crowd who were crying their hosannas to be saved, but a few days later turned on him and cried their shouts to crucify him — and then the final steps towards crucifixion and death. As I reflected on Jesus’ last few days, I thought to myself:  “What a costly gift on the part of Jesus for my salvation and the salvation of the world.”   In every respect, on those last days, Jesus surrenders to God his best gift — obedience even unto death. This morning, I’d like to speak from the word:  “When You Give Your Best Gift to God.”

If Michael Battle is correct and the Passion story of Jesus teaches us what divine love looks like, then let me suggest that in this scripture passage, the woman Mary, teaches us what human love for God ought to look like.

The Message Bible’s rendering of the scripture says:  “While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume.  Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head.”  The text helps us to understand that this was not cheap perfume:  “[It was] [a] bottle of very expensive perfume…could have been sold for over a year’s wages.”

The perfume reminds me that, when my sister and I were little poor children growing up in the projects, we thought that we were doing something great when we went to the local drug store and purchased a bottle of  “toilet water” as a Christmas or Mother’s day gift for our mother.  Mary’s perfume was not, by any stretch of the imagination, toilet water, it was not cheap perfume; it was not cologne.

Unknowingly, Mary’s gift comes at a crucial and pivotal moment in the life of Jesus.  It was a gift of love.  She had no idea what Jesus was about to experience, she just offers him the best gift she could possibly give.

Several aspects of this story ought to speak to us:

1.  Out of sheer love for what Jesus meant to her, Mary offered to Jesus the best gift she had to give.  The woman in the scripture has given much thought, reflection and prayer over the valuable perfume.  Out of all of her possessions, it was the best gift she could give. Out of sheer love for Jesus, she offers her best.  It wasn’t a “left-over gift”…it wasn’t a “re-gift”…it wasn’t a “closet gift” – you know when you forget get someone a gift and you just go in your closet to see what you can give them?  It wasn’t a gift that she gave after all of her other obligations had been met.  It was a gift “off the top”; there was nothing in her earthly possessions more valuable than this bottle of perfume.

And that’s how we ought to give – out of pure love for God, just because God is God; because God has been better than good to us; because God has given to us God’s best in Christ Jesus; because God saved me from my sins; because every morsel and crumb comes from God; because we are blessed with a reasonable portion of health and strength; because our worst days are not really the worst days…

As God moves in your life, opening doors for you, making ways for you, know that, whatever you have, whatever you are becoming, be clear that it is a gift from God. The house you live in, the car you drive, the clothes you wear, the job you have – or the job that’s on the way – it’s a gift from God. Out of sheer love for God, we ought never to offer anything less than our best.

2. In a spirit of sincere worship and praise, when we offer to God our best, it becomes a blessing to God.  Certainly, Mary’s act along with the gift is a blessing to Jesus. In verse 6 of The Message Bible, Jesus says:   “She has just done something wonderfully significant for me!”

What a thrill it must be to do something wonderfully significant for God!  A ministry, a weekly tithe, giving your talents, gifts, sharing your expertise to advance the church, a good service to aid someone – what a thrill it is when, in your small way, you offer to God your best service, your best gift.

Here is a different frame of mind when you start giving and when you start doing:   When you think about giving, when you think about serving, when you think about all you do or should do, say to yourself, “I am going to bless God.  I’m going to bless GOD.  I’m going to choir rehearsal – I’m going to bless God I’m going to the board meeting – I’m going to bless God.”  And it will make a difference in your posture.  If you say:  I want to be a blessing to God, your attitude will change. It has nothing to do with your spouse, your church – it’s just you doing something for God

But for God’s sake, don’t think that everybody is going to be excited about your giving your best gift.  As the children say: “Somebody is going to hate on you.”  A whole lot of “some-bodies” are going to hate on you when you give your best.   In one passage, we are told that Judas hates on Mary; we are told that Mary was scolded by some people in the crowd.  “What a waste,” they said.  “We could have done a whole lot more with that perfume.”  Be clear, that, what was waste to them, in the eyes of Jesus, it was an act of worship and praise.

The same holds true of the Palm Sunday story.  These poor people standing in the street shouting “hosanna save us,” taking their precious garments off of their backs and laying them on the ground must have appeared to the Pharisees, priests and Sadducees standing there “what a waste.”  But in the eyes of Jesus, it was worship and praise.

O Brothers and Sisters, can you hear the haters:  “Why do you keep going down to that church 2, 3, 4 days a week – what a waste!”   You say – but it’s worship and praise – I’m serving God.  “What a waste – men running up the street, feeding the hungry – we could take that money and pay on the mortgage or the carpet – what a waste!” But I’m worshipping, praising God.  I’m broke – don’t have a dime, but I’m taking my tithe and I’m putting it in the offering plate.  What a waste!  …But I’m blessing, worshipping, and praising God.  And I know I can’t beat what God has already done in my life; but every time I go to the Lord, I prayer he answers prayers, and I pray that my gift is a blessing to God.

3.  God honors your best gift.    The text says that Jesus said “Ya’ll leave that woman alone, because when my story is told, her name will be told as well. When they start talking about two days before the Passover, when they start talking about my march into Jerusalem, when they talk about my love at the table – someone will call the name ‘Mary.’”

But I got news for you – nobody may say thank you, but you just keep on giving God your best gift. Nobody may shake your hand and tell you how great a job you did – but I tell you don’t stop, keep on working/serving/giving God all you have.  I’ve got a message for you: God will honor your gift, God will open a door, God will lift you up because of your gift.  Let the work I’ve done speak for me.  Let the life I live speak for me.  When I’ve done the best that I can, when I’ve given the best I can; when I’ve sung my best/served my best, I got a word He’ll understand.

When you give God your best gift, God will honor that gift.  And the first gift He wants is:  Your Life.  Because if He has your life, He knows you’ll give Him EVERYthing.

Sermon Notes:  “Supposedly…With Liberty and Justice for All….”

By Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Braxton, Senior Pastor, Metropolitan AME Church, Sunday, March 25, 2012

I pledge allegiance, to the flag of the United States of America.  And to the Republic for which it stands, supposedly one nation, supposedly under God, supposedly indivisible, supposedly with liberty and justice for all.

I wear this morning this “Hoodie” – I didn’t even know what I was wearing; when I jog in the morning outside, I just put this thing on, and the pants that go with it, and go out for my morning jog.  I didn’t realize that by wearing this, I was in danger.  I didn’t realize that someone in the community in which I live – it’s not gated, but it’s a community – but I didn’t realize that when I ran around in that community someone could actually do me bodily harm and justice would not prevail. I didn’t realize that could happen even having an African American president, and even with slavery ended a long time ago - I thought I was free.  I vote.  God knows I pay a whole lot of taxes. I thought I was free.  I never thought that this hood makes me look like a criminal. I never thought that if I was walking in the dark and I pulled out my cell phone that it looks like a gun.  And so anyone who claimed that they were a part of a protective force – a force that  I thought was  trying to protect ME – would have the right to shoot me dead in the street and then go home, and the police would never raise any questions about my murder.  I never thought – my mother told me about it, my grandfather told me about it, but I never thought that people could actually beat other people to the ground, get a hundred dollar fine and a few weeks of community service, while other people could steal a loaf of bread because they were hungry and go to jail for a year.  I thought I was free; I thought I was part of a country “with liberty and justice for all.” 

By Rev Jonathan V. Newton, Associate Minister, Metropolitan AME Church, Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Scripture: Acts 6:1-7 - The Choosing of the Seven (NIV Bible Translation).  ¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Braxton
Senior Pastor, Metropolitan AME Church
Washington, DC
Sunday, March 18, 2012
www.metropolitanamec.org

Scripture: Numbers 21: 4-9 (The Message Bible translation): 4 They set out from Mount Hor along the Red Sea Road, a detour around the land of Edom. The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. 5 They spoke out against God and Moses: “Why did you drag us out of Egypt to die in this godforsaken country? No decent food; no water – we can’t stomach this stuff any longer.” 6 So God sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke out against God and you. Pray to God; ask him to take these snakes from us.” Moses prayed for the people. 8 God said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live.” 9 So Moses made a snake of fiery copper and put it on top of a flagpole. Anyone bitten by a snake who then looked at the copper snake lived.

The Bible is loaded with a series of, what I want to call, “Wilderness and Desert Experiences.” In Genesis 21:15, Hagar and her young son are sent out into the wilderness or desert of Beersheba. In 1 Samuel 26:3, David, fleeing for his life, was hiding out in the wilderness of Ziph. Jeremiah in chapter 2 talks about the God who stayed with him, “through the wilderness years…through all the hard places.” John, known to us as the Baptist, is said to have lived in the wilds of the wilderness. In 2nd Corinthians 11:26, the Apostle Paul cites living in the dangerous wilderness as one of his afflictions. If you remember, after the baptism of Jesus, Paul is led by the spirit to the wilderness and engages in a series of trials, temptations, and tests.

These wilderness moments and experiences are marked with hard times, times of great trial, times of extreme temptations and tests. It is clear that, for those who must endure these wilderness and desert times, it is as if everything in their lives is on the line. Their life, their faith, their trust and their belief in God, seemingly is hanging in the balance in the wilderness/desert.

One of the worst times in the lives of the Hebrew people was the journey out of Egyptian slavery to the freedom of the Promised Land. In Exodus 13:17 we are told that God did not lead them through the land of the Philistines which was the shortest route, for fear they would end up in a battle. Rather, they were led by God through the wilderness. Here is an aside — sometimes the only route to get to where God wants you to be is through a wilderness route. Craig Kocher writes in his commentary on this passage, “Moses has led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Day after day they have been tramping around in the desert.”

Most of us can testify and witness that there is no fun, very little joy and jubilee going through the slums of a wilderness/desert moment. One of the things that the Bible makes very clear is that all of the biblical characters are human and, at times, wear their humanness in front of the rest of humanity. Though they are men and women of great faith and with great testimonies about the power, love and goodness of God in their lives, the Bible never presents to us men and women who are flawless in their own humanity. Kocher goes on to say, “Because they are weary and frustrated, not at all sure where they are going or if their leader Moses knows what he is doing, and sure they are about to die, dissension has grown in the ranks.”

Now, for sure, these Israelites are not people of great faith, trust or belief. Every time they come up short on anything they follow the same behavior of most of us — by grumbling, murmuring and complaining. In Exodus 15:22ff, they complained about the bitter water of Marah; in Exodus 16: 2ff, they complained about what they said was a lack of food; again in Exodus 17: they complained about being thirsty; after God sent the manna each day, in Numbers 11:4ff, they complained about the manna; in Numbers 14 they rebelled at the prospect of invading Canaan. And now in this text, listen to them — “The people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Clearly, this endlessly tramping around in the wilderness, not sure where they were going or where they would end up, had worn these people down, and their relationship with God and Moses had become strained.

Wilderness/desert experiences: Been out of a good paying job for too long; been suffering with this illness long enough — where is my healing; as hard as I pray for that child and nothing seems to move him/her in the right direction; this battered relationship that I am in; this sense of helplessness, loneliness, lack of self-worth that creeps its ugly head into my life; this day-to-day tramping around in my wilderness pity party, beating up on myself, wasting the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with talking about — “I can’t”; “It’s no use trying”; “It’s the same old thing”; “They don’t like me.” I am talking about wilderness/desert experiences; they can strain your relationship with God.

The text says, “The people spoke against God.” The Message Bible puts it this way, “The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. They spoke out against God.” Apparently, it did not take much for these faithless, doubting people to lapse into this untrusting, unfaithful posture. And, unfortunately, it does not take but so much for us to follow the same pattern and behavior. Just let God not move sooner than soon, quicker than quick — like some cosmic bell hop or some supernatural waiter at our table of distress — and our relationship can very quickly become strained. And let me denounce any theology blaming God for our troubles, blaming God for our wildernesses and deserts. They are just there and we just have to deal with them. The promise of God is that He will be with you, never leave you; will help you and give you what you need while you are in it.

1. Learn to be patient with God. Let me give you a major contributing factor why our relationship with God can become strained in our wilderness and desert times. It is wrapped up in the sin of impatience. And here lies point #1: We must learn to be patient with God. It amazes me how we (without exception) can become so demanding of God, telling God what to do, when to do it, how to do it, where to do it, and to whom to do it to. Have you ever heard that hymn, “I must tell Jesus, I cannot bear these burdens alone, Jesus will help me, Jesus alone….” At some point in your wilderness travels, tell Jesus; then step back; pray, do all you can humanly do, and wait on God to do what nobody else but God can do. Be patient with God, God will send God’s blessings when God wants to send God’s blessing. God will open that door, make that way, clear that path in God’s own good and ready time. Exercising patience with God will keep your relationship with God from becoming strained. Maybe the Apostle Paul was stabbing at this thing of patience with God when he tells the church, “In all things…give thanks.”

2. Never be afraid to fess up to your mess up. Here is the 2nd thing — in your wilderness and desert experiences, if you want to keep your relationship with God from becoming strained, never be afraid to “fess up to your mess up.” Maybe that way of saying it is too “street.” In church and theological terms: Seek God’s forgiveness. I like the street better, “Fess up to your Mess Up.” When the people saw that they had wronged God and Moses and that their relationship with God was not only strained but had brought upon them some unbearable conditions, they quickly fessed up to their mess up. Look at verse 7, “The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned…Pray for us.”

It’s okay to say: “God, I messed up!” It is okay to tell God about your mess up…it can be cleansing to tell God about your foolish and sometimes uncontrollable behavior…it is just the thing to do to tell God how short you fell…how messed up your mind was in that instant…how terrible and painful was your deliberate mistake. Fessing up, confession cleanses and purifies the soul. In one of King David’s most strained wilderness moments, he goes to God to fess up about his mess up with Bathsheba and her husband Nathan: “Have mercy on me O God, wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt; soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down…against you and you alone have I sinned…” Message Bible translation.

3. It doesn’t take much to get back on track with God. Finally, from this lesson we learned that, back then, it did not take much for God to put our relationship with him back on the right track. Moses prays for the people, and God blesses the people. Moses prays, and God relents. Some were still bitten by the snakes and some still died. Sometimes even in God’s grace and with God’s forgiveness we have to suffer the consequence of our behavior, but still mercy and grace prevails in our lives. I want you to know this morning that grace and mercy prevails.

I think that I made a mistake — I said that it didn’t take much back then for God to relent, for God to change God’s mind. And for us, it doesn’t take much; but it took a whole lot for HIM. For us now it doesn’t take much—a sincere heart, a cry for mercy, a plea for Grace. But for God it took a heap, a whole lot:

Temptation in the wilderness

Betrayal by a friend

Denial by a loved one

False representation

Lies

Mocking and Scorning

70 lashes

A Cross on his back

A march up a dirt road

Nails in his hands and feet

Stakes in his side

It took a wilderness on God’s part to keep our relationship with God intact.

You will go through your wilderness/desert moments. But don’t let them strain your relationship with God. Be patient with God; fess up to your mess up; and know that God has worked it all out for you.

Rev. Dr. Ronald E Braxton, Senior Pastor
Metropolitan AME Church
Sunday, March 11, 2012
www.metropolitanamec.org

Rev. Ronald E Braxton, Senior Pastor
Metropolitan AME Church
Sunday, March 4 2012
www.metropolitanamec.org

Scripture Mark 8: 31-38 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

A part of the scripture that is not provided is the piece where Jesus asks the Disciples: “Who do you say I am?” Peter confesses in v. 27 and 29: “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.” Jesus says: “It is necessary that the Son of Man be tried, found guilty by the high priests, be killed and after 3 days come back alive.” Peter objects to this Jesus and grabs Jesus in protest. Jesus scolds Peter – “Get lost! You have no idea how God works!” He gathers all the disciples together, saying: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let ME lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat – I am – don’t run from suffering – embrace it – self sacrifice is the way.”

Rev. Newton comes up with “youthful jingles” in his sermon, so I thought I’d try my version. “You Got to Go Through It to Get To It!”

Last night a lady who had just lost everything after a tornado hit her home explained, “I have lost everything; but I’ve got my life. I’ve never been through nothing like this before, but thank God I’m on the other side of it.”

It’s one thing to go through a devastating experience, another to get to the other side. In my neighborhood, people observe the holidays with the appropriate lights. I passed a house adorned with “Happy Easter” decorations. The banner was pleasing to the eye, but I thought it a bit premature. Those neighbors skipped and bypassed the sacrifice and went straight through to Easter. Wouldn’t it be nice if parents could just bypass the 9 months of pregnancy, skip labor and delivery, and just get a nice healthy baby? But you’ve got to go through it to get to it.

Jesus was trying to explain to the Disciples that it was necessary for him to go through an ordeal of suffering, be tried by religious scholars, be killed and after 3 days, come back alive. Peter was an outspoken seaman. Peter took the great liberty to chastise Jesus for making such a statement. For Peter, Jesus had already proven that he was the Messiah – he had already fed thousands, cast out demons, cured leprosy, and raised the dead back to life. Peter could not comprehend that Jesus had to do any more – or go through that kind of suffering – to prove that he was the Messiah – it did not make sense to Peter. So Peter tried to rebuke Jesus in protest. Here is a lesson Jesus is trying to teach Peter: “Peter, your mind is not on divine things but on human things, you have no idea how God works.” There are messages for us too:

1. There are very few shortcuts to get to where God wants you to be. You have to go through some things to get to where God wants you to be. When you try to take the shortcut, you are prone to miss some lessons that will be beneficial to you down the road. Maybe during the conversation in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was asking God: “Is there a shortcut to what I have to go through?” But God was saying, no you have to go through betrayal, denial, crucifixion – you’ve got to go through it to get new life.

2. When you put Jesus in the driver’s seat of your life he will show you how to live through whatever the world throws at you. Jesus tells the disciples: “Don’t run from suffering – embrace it! Take up the cross. Follow me and I’ll show you how to go through it!”

Bros and Sisters, a whole lot of us in here this morning – admit it or not – are going through something. An illness, no job or a bad job – and let me caution you to keep the bad job until you get the other job. A family crisis, a downward emotional or psychological spin, or just a bad time/place in your life. Somebody in here is going through something this morning. The promise of Jesus is that, if we lose ourselves/follow/serve him, he will show us how to get through it. And the way he shows me how to get through it may not be the way he’ll show you how to get through it – but if you hold on to him, lose your life in him, he’ll show you how to get through it.

One of the things I’ve learned is that God’s grace and mercy has gotten me through every turn, every snare. God was not always in the places where I thought He would have been, but in the moments and places where I thought God would be absent, I am a witness that – whatever burdens you’re bearing or have been through, His strength/power/grace/mercy/love is sufficient to get you through. In his footsteps you must walk every day. When the storm clouds rise in your life, when disaster/sickness/death follow you – don’t fight it – Jesus said “EMBRACE IT, and I’ll show you how to walk through it.”

“Embrace it” – that’s a tough lesson to learn. It’s not a lesson that says “sit on your do-nothing and do nothing.” Or “Pray, go home, go to bed, pray some more.” It’s a lesson that says: “Do everything you can do by the example of Christ.” Christ never stopped. He knew what was ahead, he knew he had to suffer, but he kept on healing and saving lives, until he got through it.

I like the fact that Jesus does not end the text on a sour note. He says “I gotta go through some bad times.” But like the woman who had lost everything but her life, there is the other side. I skipped over the part of the text where it says – “…and after 3 days, I’ll rise up ALIVE.” The scripture is saying: Jesus had to go through it to rise up and go to it!

I don’t know about you, but I know that God does work in ways that are mysterious to us. We ought to stop telling God the way to bless us; we ought to stop telling God what the other side is supposed to look like, because God knows what we are going through. And God has prepared a brighter day, and a better way. God has already opened the door and made a better way, and there is a bright side for you. So don’t give up, don’t throw in the towel, don’t hang it up, don’t you stop until you get to it!!

Whatever you are going through – there’s nothing too big or too small to take to God. Whatever you are going through, it’s just a season. It’s YOUR season to go through it. If you’re not going through something now, you may have been spared, but YOUR season is coming to go through something. Know that whenever – or whatever – you are going through, there is a better/brighter day coming.

Rev. Jonathan V. Newton, Assistant Pastor
Metropolitan AME Church
Sunday, February 26, 2012
www.metropolitanamec.org

On this last Sunday of Black History Month, the first Sunday of Lent, and the 50^th Anniversary Celebration of the Sons and Daughters of Allen, I’d like to pick up on the Sons and Daughters of Allen’s  theme, “Reflections on the Past, Links to the Present and the Future” with a sermon titled:  “Before I Let Go’.

I grew up in the South Bronx at a time when music was big, and I thought I was the world’s greatest D.J. There was a go-to song that I would play that was guaranteed to start the party off, or shut the party down”  “Before I Let Go,” by Frankie Beverly.  It is a timeless classic, and even though it came out 30 years ago, young people and old people still jump up and say “That’s my song!”  It’s on my IPod in rotation, right now.

The song is about a deep love that is REAL; it’s about a strong, everlasting commitment; where devotion is plentiful, and commitment runs deep. It gives meaning to the words:  “Til death do us part.”  The words of the song say: “I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever let you go!”  We all like to sing about this strong commitment, this unwavering presence.

If only it were true.  Because if we look at our families, our churches, our fraternities, our communities, our public service institutions, it is apparent that, as a people, we are constantly LETTING GO.

Look at the high school dropout rate, the rate of incarceration of Black males, the high unemployment rate for Black people, the rising number of single parent homes, the declining number of marriages, the fact that some people are choosing to live with pets rather than partners, the empty pews in churches all over the country – it is clear that WE ARE LETTING GO.  DC can no longer boast about being the Chocolate City.  How many opportunities/relationships/ ministries/breakthroughs/triumphs have we lost because we let our guards down and WE LET IT GO?

More important than the material signs of our letting go is the way that we as a community are letting our identity go.  We used to walk around and sing with James Brown – “I’m Black and I’m Proud!”  But now, some people just can’t wait for Black History month to end. Some of us think we are living in a “post-racial” generation because President Barack Obama got elected.  But the Secret Service had to augment security protocols at an unprecedented level because there were so MANY death threats against the President – BECAUSE he is Black.  It ain’t all that “post-racial” ya’ll.

Things that once defined us as a Black community are not socially significant to us anymore; some say “Now, there are all kinds of different Black people; now, there are so many opportunities, why should we just identify with black-stuff?”  Some think, “Why should I limit myself to the black community, the black church, black businesses, black schools?”   But the reason we are UNIQUE, the reason we are SPECIAL, is because we have something that needs to be TREASURED.

After attending great schools for a number of years, it was when I went to Virginia Union to study Theology that I finally arrived at a school where the Dean said: “We are UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK.”   We need to hold onto our history, take pride in it, preserve it, and never let it go.

If we consider the theme for today, it is clear there were some things that identified us as a Black community. We have always faced struggles, but we used to stand firm – by faith — and we should take confidence in the fact that: GOD HAS NEVER FAILED US YET. We stuck together as a people when we were COLORED, when we were NEGROES; but when we became “AFRICAN AMERICAN,” a lot of us were just out for ourselves.

In the scripture text, Paul wrote a letter to the church at Thessalonica.  That church was founded on a solid Biblical foundation.  They were new Christians, with new challenges, new questions, and new concerns about the return of Christ that made them consider letting go.

Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica was intended to give the church strength; to strengthen their faith to stand firm until Christ comes back.

We have the Norfolk State University Choir here with us today, and since I used to sing in a choir, I’m going to use some “choir terminology” to lay out some things that will HELP US NOT TO LET GO.

1.         EVERY ONE CAN’T SING THE SOLO.   In the scripture at verses 12 and 13:  “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.”   The lesson from the scripture is this:  Every one can’t sing the solo. At the church of Thessalonica, there was order and decency and there were elders and leaders in the early church. It was not about status, it was about following God’s leadership.   God asks us to respect the leaders so there will not be dissension in the church.

In his letter to the church, Paul is essentially saying that those who are putting their faces to the ground must be respected so we can maintain decency and order in the church.  It’s about leadership, NOT SHOWMANSHIP.  We need to step back, help the organizations that we are a part of, don’t get caught up in false expectations because we get so caught up in ourselves.  That’s when we start to let go, lose faith in God, lean on our own understanding – that’s when we let go so we can pursue our own selfish ambitions; that’s when we get angry impatient and disruptive – that’s when we let go.

People want to know – “why isn’t the church doing this; why isn’t the church doing that?”  Why don’t YOU do it?  Then the church will be there for the people coming back from prison, for the children who need a parent, for the elderly, for the homeless.   Stop worrying about who gets the credit; rid yourself of the belief that “everything has to be about me.”  Our “Big Momma’s” and our “Pop Pop’s” wouldn’t let it be all about us; we had to get up and DO something!

2.         STAY ON BEAT.  We want things QUICK, immediate – the days of toiling day and night are gone.  If we can’t see it from the start in the morning, we let go. But in choir terms, we need to “Stay on beat.”  It’s a trick of the enemy, the devil, to create dissension and to get us “off beat.”  We got hoodwinked, bamboozled into thinking we have it all together.  Jesus is not interested in those who create negativity and dissension.  The enemy sneaks around us, with gossip and dissension. We look at one organization and find 10 things wrong with it; another organization and find 12 things wrong with it.  We need to look at an organization that has ONE thing RIGHT with it.  We have to be active and dynamic.  If we “lean on our own understanding,” we will become weary, selfish, angry – that’s when we let go.

If you don’t trust God enough to tithe, if you don’t trust God enough to make a difference in someone else’s life, you may already be letting go.

Every day, I see people outside, WAITING IN LINE TO BUY A CUPCAKE.  But if you ask them to show up at a church meeting, a fundraiser, to feed the homeless, to help the elderly – they might be “missing in action,” because they may already be letting go.

In the scripture, Paul is saying, before you let go, you need to look at the person in the mirror.  It’s like the song by the Rapper Ice Cube: “You better check yo’self before you wreck yo’self.”

3.         KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE DIRECTOR.  In verse 19, Paul says:  “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; avoid every kind of evil: keep your eyes on the Director.”

Sometimes, we get so caught up in what WE want that we don’t give God enough room to move. Gideon’s troops were whittled down from 25,000 to 300 so they would know it was God who had fought their battle. Everyone was worried that Jesus arrived too late to save Lazarus, but Jesus came, and Lazarus arose from the dead, right on time.   The woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and she was HEALED.  Whether you needed healing, peace, some bills paid, a door opened – whether you needed a counselor, or a comforter, you know He’s been there for you – SO TRUST HIM IN ALL THINGS.  HE WILL DO IT.

I’ve seen it in my own life.   I was studying for the Bar Exam.   Most people know that you might go to law school, but if you don’t pass the Bar, you are never really a “lawyer.”   I didn’t have the money to take the bar review courses, so I just got some books and studied on my own.  Then I became terrified.  I thought – how can I make it out here studying on my own?   But God gave me a message – He used Mary J. Blige and the lyrics in her song “My Life” to get a message to me:

…[B]e at peace with yourself
You won’t really need no one else
Except for the man up above
Because He’ll give you love…
Take your time…
…don’t you rush a thing
Don’t you know, I know
We all are struggling
I know it is hard
But we will get by
And if you don’t believe in me
Just believe in “He”

I trusted; I prayed in Him, He brought me peace. I trusted, and He brought me through.  And I passed that Bar Exam the first time.

In the scripture, Paul is letting us know that WE HAVE TO BE READY; Jesus is coming back and we want to show that, as a community that has come this far by faith, we STILL have faith.  There’s no sitting back, trusting in our degrees, our connections, our muscles, or our looks.  You need to “check yourself before you wreck yourself,” and see if He don’t bring you through.

And if Frankie Beverly didn’t do it for you, James Weldon Johnson penned a song for President Lincoln, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”  Sometimes we don’t get to the third verse of the song, but this is what it says:

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light,

Keep us forever in the path, we pray. 

Lest our feet stray from the places our God, where we met thee;

Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee…

Brothers and Sisters, we can’t let go of our history and culture; we are unique we are special. As we go through Lent it’s a reminder to us NOT TO LET GO.  Jesus didn’t let go; he stayed on that cross and died for us, and he came back to watch over us.

And Brothers and Sisters:  Never forget the Lord; never forget what He’s done for you; never, ever, ever, ever, EVER let go.                                                                                                                             …Amen