Last Friday as I was writing this message, I got the biggest shock.  There are several websites that offer free sermon illustrations and stories to spice up a sermon.  So I went to one called "Higher Praise," and let me tell you it gave me some spice.  When I opened it looking for a story, up on top was an ad for - are you ready - Victoria's Secret! - on a church website.  It said, "Last chance, semi-annual sale - ends Jan. 26."  What a way to raise funds!  The ad wasn't revealing, but it was very revealing that a Christian website would take ads from a business that has no secrets.  When God said all things should be brought to the light, I don't think He meant it in the way Victoria's Secret does.  So, can anything good come from this?

          These words of Nathaniel are memorable:  "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"  Those words tell us he didn't much care for the place.  People from small towns know that kind of  rivalry, as well as the disdain one town may have for another.  Windom, MN, wherre I'm from, always distrusted nearby Jackson and Worthington.  But not Mt. Lake.  We laughed at that little pipsqueak town east of us.  After all, "What good can come from Mt. Lake?"

          Nathaniel was probably just having a bad day.  We all get them.  One day is great, and the next is a disaster.  One day you're riding a high horse, feeling fine, and the next day you're bucked off, eating dirt.  Life is like that, always has been, always will be.  Sin makes it that way.  No matter what kind of job, what we own, style of life we live, or expectations we carry around, life gives us a nasty kick now and then.  But the good thing we must realize is that it usually doesn't last forever.

          Actually, nothing lasts forever, except the grace of God by which we stand in Jesus.  That never goes away.  God's grace lasts more than a lifetime, for it takes us from this life to the next.  It takes us to the glories of heaven, to the throne of grace where there are no more tears, no more sadness, nor anger or weariness or disappointment or struggles due to sin and work and failure.  In heaven there is no weary work - think of it!  Extended vacation - permanent retirement - only enjoyable and worthwhile activities - but no bills, no wars, no disease, no commercials, no bad days, no politics.  Wow, talk about heaven...

          We all have our bad days when we get thrown to the ground.  But they need not keep us down.  Getting back up when you've been knocked down is a part of what life is all about.  And getting back up is going to be a big part of following Jesus in 2006.  It is every year, but something tells me it will be bigger for us this year than we expect.

          Take out your Bibles and turn to John 1.  Today's Gospel lesson comes on the heels of John's opening statement about Jesus being the Word of God (1:1-14), and then the account of His baptism by cousin John (1:29-34).  Then the story jumps right into Jesus' recruitment of disciples, starting with two of John's (1:35-39).  One of them we believe was Andrew, but we're not sure about the other.  Some think it was John the Gospel writer himself.

          An interesting fact here is how one disciple recruits another.  Andrew is called and then brings his brother Peter to Jesus.  Philip is called and immediately recruits brother Nathaniel.  If one of them was the Gospel writer John, he must have told his brother James.  Good thing those brothers got along!  Looks like following Jesus is a family matter!  If you find something good, share it with brothers or sisters or children or parents!

          Remember, "Jesus is God, Jesus is Lord.  Jesus be praised evermore - sing Allelujah!"  That's the song of angels, what our choir just sang, and it's something we can share with family or friends.  When we find something good, it's hard not to share it with those we love.

          So what do you think will it be like to follow Jesus in 2006?  I think it will mean some learning.  One day a man named John ran into his friend Bill.  "Say Bill, you remember what a bad memory I had?"  Bill answered, "I sure do."  "Well, it's not bad any more.  I went to a seminar that taught us how to remember things by association, a great seminar, and now I have a wonderful memory."  Bill said, "That's great!  What was the name of the seminar?"  John hesitated.  "Well, uh, wait a minute, my wife went with me.  I'll ask her."  He turned and saw his wife nearby.  Then he turned back to Bill and said, "Say, what's the name of that red flower with a long stem and thorns?"  "Do you mean a rose?" Bill asked.  "Yeah, thanks.  Hey, Rose, what's the name of that seminar we attended?"

          2006 has a lot of possibilities for us.  They won't all be monumental as they were with the new disciples, but they will have something good for us.  One of the things we'll need to follow Jesus is to be near Him.  It's impossible to follow Jesus if you stay away from Him.  Another thing - you'll need to do what He says.  I've gone to several seminars and conferences and promptly forgot everything that was said afterwards.  That doesn't work.  We need to listen to Jesus and remember what He tells us.

          A man walked into a doctor's office and found the nurse.  He said, "Ma'am, I have this cut on my chin and I'd like to see a doctor."  She barked at him, "Down the hall, first door on your right, take off all your clothes, put on a gown."  He said, "I don't think that will be necessary.  It's just a little cut but it needs a stitch."  She ordered, even louder, "Down the hall, first door on your right, take off all your clothes, put on a gown!"  He said, "Ma'am!" and this time she snarled, "Down the hall, first door on your right, take off all of your clothes, put on a gown!"  The man finally gave up and went into the room.  There sat a man in a gown shivering.  It was kind of an awkward moment, so he broke the ice.  "Boy, that sure is a cranky nurse."  "Tell me about it," the shivering man said.  "I'm the UPS driver."

          What will it take to follow Jesus in 2006?  You'll need to feed your faith.  It begins with the good food of God's Word.  Jesus once said, "I am the bread of life.  Whoever partakes of me will no hunger or thirst." (John 6:35)   We get hungry when we don't get fed, or when we feed ourselves with the wrong things. Like some anonymous person said, "Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death."

          God the Father has given us life, and the Holy Spirit has given us faith.  Through our baptism we belong to God, and through the church, we belong to each other.  Those first disciples found a connection in Jesus that changed their lives, and so can we.  The love of Jesus Christ covers all things.  His mercy and forgiveness make all things possible.  His death makes our life possible, and His life overcomes our death.  The Good News is that no matter what, we can always follow Jesus.  He loves us no matter what, and accepts us just as we are.  He may not leave us as we are - He may change us - but we'll be the better for it.

          I heard of a Grandpa who walked into the family room and found his little grandson, Jeffy, standing up in his playpen, crying.  He looked so pitiful, standing there in his little baseball T-shirt and diaper.  When Jeffy saw his grandpa, his face lit up, and he held up his arms and said, "Out Papa, out!"  Grandpa was just about to take him out when into the room came Law and Order.  "No, Jeffy!" said Mom.  "You are being punished.  You have to stay in bed!  Leave him there, Dad."  Oh fine.  Now what's a grandpa to do?  His grandson's reaching little hands tugged one way, but he didn't want to interfere with a mother's discipline.  He couldn't stand staying in the same room just looking at him, nor could he turn around and walk out the door.  What could he do?  Well, Grandpa's love found a way.  He climbed in with him.  "If you're in there, Buddy, I'm in with you," he said.  "What's your sentence?  How long are you in for?"  And finding a big, warm grandpa next to him, little Jeffy found comfort even in his captivity.  And that's what God does for us - He crawled into the prison of this world in His Son Jesus, and is with us all the way.

          If I could encourage you to do one thing in the new year, I'd say, be an optimist.  There's no real good in being anything else.  The world - and the church - are filled with cranky pessimists, and we don't need more of them!  Ths year you're going to hear about Spiritual Gifts, and there is no spiritual gift called Pessimism.  If you're always looking for the underside, you'll never see the light.  And maybe there's some anger you need to get rid of.  If you harbor bitterness, happiness will never visit you.  It's never too late to be kind or gentle - or even to have a second childhood, provided you don't forget the lessons you learned in your first.

          A final thought:  In 2006, be willing to get rid of the life you've planned, so you can have the life God has planned for you.  Our life is God's gift to us; what we do with it is our gift to Him.  We people spend so much time working on our own plans that we don't realize God may have other plans, better plans, just around the corner.  God sees the whole picture, like a stained glass window.  All we see is something blue, or even something black.  But God sees it as a part of the whole picture.  We're so close we can only see black and blue.

          If you don't have a good friend, during 2006 find one.  There's nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.  A good friend is a true gift of God.  Proverbs 18:24 says, "A friend sticks closer than a brother."  We all need someone who will do that.

          By the way - recall how I said in the beginning, "What good can come from Mt. Lake?"  Well, according to my Dad, the best senator Minnesota ever had, Sam Franz.  And my dear sister-in-law Betty came from Mt. Lake.  And one of our members, our church builder, Gene Voshage, came from Mt. Lake.  There's always someone good, isn't there?  Even from Nazareth!  Amen

Copyright © 2006 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.