Universal Life Church

Online sermons, Sunday school and other interesting readings.

Monday, July 4, 2005

Universal Life Church

In Him By Him Through Him
Evening and Morning

Gen 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ..  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The progression of events on God's Calendar is simply this, it gets better and better.

No matter how bad it may seem, the end result is that we can rest in the fact that there is a great punch line. From our Human Perspective is summed up in statements like.

It's all down hill from here,
Over the Hill.
It don't get any better than that, The Good Ole Days.

We live in a mindset that the past was Glorious and the Future is Gloomy.

Why do we feel that way? Because that is what we see. That is what
many of you have experienced. In fact we can look in the mirror and
see some evidence that this may be true. Just let me clue you in,
that that is Stinking Thinking

God's View is Evening and Morning. No matter the darkness that
approaches there is a New Day Coming.

In the Last Supper Jesus warned them that dark days approached. I
can see the overcast sky and the night quickly approaching as they
entered into that Fateful Garden for the Last time. This place that
was the common place of prayer in the Life of Christ, we find it to
be the place of an origination of a sequence of events that would
catapult the world into the Darkest of Times.

As his Disciples slept, Jesus Prayed. He prayed like a man with a
death sentence. As he finished praying one of his trusted followers
approached him, kissed him and in that action betrayed him. As his
disciples melted into the darkness to escape the obvious trouble,
Jesus was led forth. In that darkness of that Night, one of his Bold
Disciples denied him. No sooner had this dark moment came, the sun
broke over the horizon in that the Rooster began to crow.

Jesus is passed around the thrones of power like a hot potato; no
one wanting to be responsible for what they knew must be done. Even
the Jewish High priest prophesied that a Man would die for the Jews.
When given an opportunity to give their King a crown of acceptance
they with one voice rejected him and damned him to die a death of
unspeakable cruelty.

As Pilate washed his hands of Jesus, Jesus began to endure an
amazing example of what love he had for you. As the day waned, we
find Jesus struggling under the load of a cruel tree. When he
finally is nailed on and lifted up, and his death rapidly
approaches, Jesus forgives his persecutors and promises paradise to
a thief.

The Darkness of death is so great; we cannot even perceive what it
is. No one wants to die. No one wants someone they Love to die.
Imagine when the Man that represented all your Faith, and that Man
died a Humiliating and Shameful Death.

Darkness.

We must Remind ourselves, It is Evening and Morning.

We spend our time in the middle of Evening and Morning. In that
unsettled place of Darkness. To truly appreciate the Light, you must
experience the darkness of Night.

Truly Jesus Rose from the Dead. After 40 Days walking, talking and
showing himself, he went away. He left. He was taken up and his
promise was. I am coming back.

We are living in the middle of Evening and Morning. The principle of
Christ, found in his teaching and his passion is that it gets better.

When the prophets of doom and gloom forecast that the worst is
coming, be of good cheer. WE must be able to see past the obvious
future and see the future that Faith brings.

Will we have trouble?
Will there be great controversy? Will we be tried and tempted? Will
we suffer in some manner?

Jesus is the ultimate object lesson for you and I. Consider him who…

The answer to all of these questions is yes. However we must stretch
our faith to see the founder of all there is and know that God sees
beyond our Evening and night. You know what he sees? He sees morning.

Weeping may endure for the night, but Joy comes in the Morning.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 
Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.
 
The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 
Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

No comments:

Post a Comment