"Down By The Riverside"

A sermon preached on The Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 13, 2007, at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Acts 16:9-15.

There’s something about the riverside that seems to attract us. Now, I don’t know if it’s the shade of the trees from the sweltering sun or the refreshing waters that flow freely and endlessly. But, without a doubt, the riverside is a place of refreshment, rejuvenation, relaxation, healing and life.
Most of us are familiar with the old spiritual, Down by the Riverside. Originally, it was a song associated with the slaves’ struggle for freedom. They longed to be able to gather freely "down by the riverside." To them, the riverside was a place of freedom - a place where they could "lay down their burdens," namely the burden of slavery. After the American Civil War, it became a song of peace for those who were fed up with fighting and wanted to instead "lay down their sword and shield" and "study war no more." For Christians, the song is a reminder that we can go down to the riverside and drink from the living water and sit under the shade of God’s protection. The riverside offers a beautiful analogy for new life and healing.
I can’t think of a better place to gather for worship than "down by the riverside," and such was the setting for Lydia and that group of faithful women that we read about in our Scripture Lesson this morning.
In fact, I can picture in my mind’s eye that scene that Luke paints for us in the 16th chapter of the Book of Acts, real well. As Lydia and the group of women sat listening to Paul share the gospel, I can imagine the wind was rustling the branches overhead until they become a swaying canopy whose shadows danced across the circle of women bowed in prayer. It didn’t matter that Philippi had so few Jews living there that there wasn’t a formal house of prayer; because the riverside was the perfect spot for this little group’s worship service - a green sanctuary, if you will, where they gathered each Sabbath to pray.
The women sat quietly as Paul shared the gospel with them. Suddenly, Lydia wasn’t feeling the breeze of the wind blowing against her skin any longer; but rather, the strong wind of the Holy Spirit flowing through her! I can imagine tears rolling down her cheeks even though she felt like singing. And afterward, she and her household were baptized in the Gangites River, near Philippi. Lydia insisted that Paul and Silas, and probably Timothy and Luke accept her hospitality. Most scholars agree that her home more than likely became the very center of the church in Philippi.
Now, Philippi may have seemed to be an unlikely place to plant the gospel. It had been named for Philip II, who was the father of Alexander the Great, who had been attracted by gold-bearing mountains to the north of the city. It quickly became a prosperous Roman colony located on the main highway linking the eastern provinces to Rome. The citizens of Philippi included a large number of retired Roman soldiers. Despite its size, Philippi didn’t have enough Jews to provide the requisite quorum of ten reliable males to form a synagogue. But, Philippi did have a group of faithful, praying women.
I think it’s interesting to note that Paul had not planned to visit Philippi but was on his way to Asia Minor when he felt constrained by the Holy Spirit to turn back. Soon after that, he had a vision or a dream in which a man from Macedonia begged him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Days later he found himself on the riverside preaching to this group of faithful women who had gathered there for prayer.
If we continue on in the 16th chapter, we read that shortly after Lydia’s conversion, she received news that Paul and Silas had been thrown into jail. There crime was they had perform an exorcism on a slave girl and upset at the loss of profits from her fortune-telling, the girl’s owner dragged Paul and Silas before the city magistrates, claiming that they were causing an uproar in the city by advocating customs unlawful for Romans to accept or practice. And, of course, we all know the story real well of Paul and Silas bound and chained in the inner jail, and they began singing hymns and praying while the other prisoner’s listened. Then, we are told, sometime after midnight, there was an earthquake which shook the foundations of the prison so violently that the doors flung open and the chains of all the prisoners fell off. As a result, the jailer and his whole household were converted. After they were released, they returned to Lydia’s home for a short while.
When Lydia did finally say good-bye to them as they continued their missionary journey, she may have remembered the words of his accusers, along with the circumstances that Paul and Silas faced for preaching the gospel. But that didn’t stop her, just as it didn’t stop Paul or Silas. She continue to cause an uproar by preaching and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ there is Philippi.
As far as we know, Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Europe and the first member of the church in Philippi - a church which would later become a source of great consolation and comfort to Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome.
Perhaps it was her prayers, joined with those of the other women gathered "down by the riverside" that helped prepare the way for the gospel to be planted in Europe. No one really knows or can estimate the full impact these women had; but, nonetheless, they would have had a huge impact on those they came into contact with.
Lydia’s success as a businesswoman in the city of Philippi came from dealing in cloth that had been dyed a particular shade of purple. Originally, she was from Thyatira, located in Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey, the city is now known as, Akhisar. Thyatira was known for it’s wool and dye industries and Lydia probably knew the secret formulas for the dyes made there. Her occupation was one that involved a lot of commercial trade, and she must have been fairly successful, for Scripture records the fact that she had her own home, as well as servants. Her unique position as a woman in business gave her the opportunity to travel, and to learn more about Jesus and Christianity, and to offer her home and hospitality to Paul and his companions as ministers of the gospel.
Lydia not only is a wonderful role model for all women, but for all of us as Christians. She challenges and encourages us to be willing and able to allow God to use us. She teaches us the importance of prayer and leadership, fellowship and service. I am convinced that we need more Lydias in the church today. More men and women who are ready and willing to respond to the Lord’s call. Willing to serve in whatever way needed. While Lydia may not have been a biological mother, she was most certainly a spiritual mother - a church mother and a fitting woman for us to focus on, on this Mother’s Day.
I came across a story this past week of a teacher who gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question; "My full name has six letters. It starts with an ‘M’ and I pick up things. I have a strong hold and am attracting. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was amazed and shocked to find that almost the whole class answered the question with the word "Mother."
Lydia was a powerful magnet for Christ and the Church. And certainly, the lives of our church mothers are too. We gather this morning to honor and praise them for their strong bound to Christ and his Church, for their magnetic force which leads and drives others to Christ.
The famous female Bluegrass singer, Alison Krauss has written and sung a beautiful song, which appeared in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? The song is titled; "Down to the River to Pray." The lyrics of the song read;

"As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good old way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way !
O mothers let's go down,

Let's go down, don't you want to go down,

Come on mothers let's go down,

Down in the river to pray."

And so, let us thank God for those who have shown us the way - especially our church mothers. Those who have led us to the "river of life." We celebrate their ministry and we say thank you. Thank you for your hard work! Thank you for your tireless devotion! Thank you for your unfaltering dedication! Thank you for your enduring patience! And thank you for your sacrificial love to us and to Christ and his kingdom. Happy Mother’s Day!

"How To Maintain an Enthusiastic Faith"

A sermon preached on The Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 6, 2007 at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Romans 12:11-12 and I Thesslonians 5:16-28.

Few of us would argue that life is difficult. In fact, life is full of challenges, struggles and disappointments. There are times when we feel as though we want to give up, throw in the towel and call it quits. And certainly it is no different when it comes to our Christian faith. Living the Christian life and faith is a constant struggle - one filled with many challenges.
Danny Bradfield, pastor of Fairview Community Christian Church of Sutter County, California, shares the struggles he faces when it comes to his faith journey. He writes; "Every step I take on the journey of faith presents more questions than answers. And every day, I find it [challenging] to maintain good relationships within my family, my community, my world ...and God. It's all so confusing and overwhelming. Should I do this, or that? Should I speak, or remain silent?" He goes on to write; "Scripture helps [in such times and in the face of such struggles]. The teachings of wise prophets, men and women of great faith both ancient and modern, help. Prayer helps a lot. But even so, some days I find that I can do nothing. I'm stuck. Paralyzed. I realize that I really don't know how to be a father, a husband, a pastor, a mentor. I don't even know how to live. I find myself searching for something—anything—that I can do, that I know how to do, something that I can start, work on, and finish, something that I can look back on and say, ‘that job is done—and I did it well.’" Perhaps you can relate to Danny’s experience. One of my favorite prayers reads:

"Dear Lord, I want to thank you for another good day. With your help and strength I haven’t been impatient, lost my temper, complained once, been grumpy, angry, judgmental or envious of anyone. But I will be getting out of bed soon, and I know that I will really need your help and strength then, Amen."

Maybe we should keep this prayer by our beds and pray it every morning when we wake up. Because we never know what cards life is going to deal us. Nor do we know how we are going to respond. And so, what are we to do? In our Scripture Lesson from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we find a beautiful word picture for the Christian life. In fact, the commentator James Moffatt offers this interpretation of Paul’s words, he writes; "Never let your zeal flag, maintain the spiritual glow." And Eugene Peterson wrote; "Don’t burn out; keep yourselves refueled and aflame." The image of an "on fire" Christian speaks to us because it is so easy for us to lose our zeal - it’s so easy for us to loose our enthusiasm and our passion. But how are we to keep that radiance, vibrancy and charisma? How do we overcome that spiritual dullness and lifelessness that threatens all of us? Well, the Apostle Paul gives us the answer, he calls it "the refreshing of the spirit."
We begin where Paul did with the recognition that our vibrancy, our zeal, our charisma comes from the Holy Spirit. Only the Divine Power that appeared at Pentecost like tongues of fire can bring our lukewarmness to a full boil. So many Christians are like those Christians of Laodicea - we are "neither cold nor hot" - we bring neither refreshment nor healing, we are just "lukewarm."
I think it’s interesting to point out that the word "enthusiastic" in Paul’s command to "be enthusiastic in spirit" is the Greek word zeo, meaning "to boil with intensity." Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit should fill our lives to the point that we are boiling with intensity - with enthusiasm. Many of our burners are set on "low heat," or perhaps even on "off". But Paul is saying that our lives should be boiling. This was also Paul’s message to the church of Thessalonica. He said; "Do not quench the Spirit" and "do not despise prophecies." Paul is saying that we must seek to hear the voice of God through his Holy Spirit, and we must listen carefully and attentively to his word, for these are God’s means of communication - these are the channels through which God speaks to us - Word and Spirit! But are we listening?
Notice how Paul begins verse 11 in his letter to the church of Rome. He begins with a negative, he challenges them to"never flag" which means "do not hesitate." Paul is saying that we must banish idleness and laziness from our hearts. I am convinced that this is one of the greatest challenges for the church today. We have tendency to fall prey to being idle or lazy when it comes to doing the Lord’s work. There are some in the church who sit quietly on the sidelines and let others do the work. And then there are others who feel as though they have nothing to offer, no adequate gifts to share in the ministry of the church and so they do nothing. And then there are some who treat their service of God as though it were irksome chore. But such attitudes will never cause our hearts to be filled with zeo - enthusiasm or zeal for the Lord, Paul tells us.
I came across a story this past week of a junior-high music teacher who had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her first he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school along with school board officials. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of it, but to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood before the nervous musicians, she leaned forward and whispered to them; "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, the curtain raised, she lifted her baton and with a swift move, brought it down signaling for them to begin and lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence.
Sometimes, we in the church are like that junior-high band, unsure of our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to trumpet forth the music of faith that God desires of us. And so, we remain silent or idle.
While we face many circumstances, challenges and struggles, Paul says that we always have reason to rejoice. Now, we might think that Paul is being a little unrealistic here. I mean, after all, life throws some pretty hard punches at us sometimes and we are expected to rejoice even in such times? Mother Teresa once said; "Never let anything so fill you with sorrow, or doubt or fear as to make you forget for one moment the joy and the hope of Christ risen." You see, friends, our hope is in Christ. And it is through Christ that we find strength in times of weakness, hope in times of despair, healing in times of sickness, direction in times of confusion, help in times of struggle and joy in the face of our tears.
Now, it is true that if our attitude is determined by our circumstances then, yes, this is impossible. But if our attitude is determined by our relationship with Christ, then we can see how Paul isn’t being so unrealistic.
In verse 21, Paul says to the Thessalonians; "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good." I am convinced that if we weigh all things, we will see that the scales tilt to our favor.
I have always found Greek Mythology fascinating. One character in Greek mythology I find interesting is Ananse, who was a simple man, and yet through various obstacles and conversations with the gods transformed himself in a godlike gift-giver. I think we would all love a god like that - a god would give us anything and everything we ask for. But God loves us too much to do that. Instead, God gives us what we need. God gives us what is best for us. While we may fantasize about a god who would treat us like that and give us everything we imagine we want, God know how unhappy we would be. It’s not physical, materialistic or even tangible things that we truly need, and God knows that. And so, when we put our lives on the scales we see that God’s goodness outweighs everything! Maude Royden said it best:" When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough."