Year of Miracles
January 2, 2005
Ephesians 3:20-21
Epiphany of the Lord
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
back to our church home page
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly
beyond all that we ask or
think,
according to the power that works within us,
to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations forever
and ever. Amen.
In 2005 I feel led to preach about miracles.
Here are my plans for the coming months.
As you can see, all these sermons touch on miracles in
the Bible.
6 sermons on the Book of Judges (Miracles of Faith & Leadership)
Introduction to Judges January 16
Ehud January 23
Deborah January 30
Gideon February 6
Jephthah February 13
Samson February 20
9 Sermons on the Miracles of Jesus (Power Over Nature)
Introduction to the Miracles of Jesus Feb 27
Water turned to wine March 6
Walking on Water March 13
Lazarus raised March 20 Palm Sunday
the Resurrection March 27 Easter Sunday
Feeding the 5,000 April 3
Calming the Storm April 10
Coin in fish April 17
Large catch of fish April 24
6 sermons on the Prophet Samuel (Miracles in a life devoted to God)
Introduction to Samuel May 1
Call to ministry 1Sam 1-3 May 8
Ark Narratives 1Sam 4-6 May 15
Samuel as a Judge 1Sam 7 May 22
Samuel and Saul May 29
Samuel and David June 5
8 Sermons on the Miracles of Jesus (Power Over Sickness)
Man with Leprosy Matt 8:2-4 June 12
Roman centurion’s servant Matt 8:5-13 June 19
Peter’s mother-in-law Matt 8:14-15 June 26
Two men from Gadara Matt 8:28-34 July 3
Paralyzed man Matt 9:2-7 July 10
Woman with bleeding Matt 9:20-22 July 17
Two blind men Matt 9:27-31 July 24
Mute, demon-possessed man Matt 9:32-33 July 31
9 Sermons on Elijah and Elisha (Greatest miracle workers in the Old Testament)
Introduction to Elijah and Elisha September 4
Contest on Mt Carmel September 11
Flight from Jezebel September 18
Choosing a successor September 25
Passing the Mantel October 2
Bears and Bad Boys October 9
Oil in a jar October 16
Shunammite woman’s son October 23
Naaman the Syrian October 30
What is a miracle?
A great definition is given
in Ephesians 3:20.
“Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us”
God does much more
than we think is possible.
God consistently goes WAY past
the limits of our imagination.
Over and over again
God exceeds:
our strength,
our abilities,
our resources,
our hurts,
our failures,
our sin,
our highest hopes,
and our fondest dreams.
We serve a God of miracles.
FOUR WORDS
There are four words
in the Bible
used as synonyms
for miracles:
Sign, Wonder, Work, Power.
Let’s look at those words
and learn more about what miracles are.
SIGN
In Isaiah 7:14
the Bible says
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel.
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born
the prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah
would be born to a virgin,
and that the Messiah’s name would mean
that God is with us.
The birth of Jesus was a miracle.
The prophet Isaiah also called his birth a sign.
What does a sign do?
It points to something else.
Without signs we would always be getting lost.
At the four corners of Galena there is a stop light,
and that is where southbound MD Route 213 takes a sharp right.
Lot’s of people miss that.
Every single day, Sue and I see people
pulled over in front of Phyllis Sessa’s house.
They are looking at their maps.
They didn’t see the sign at the stoplight in Galena.
Dear ones,
miracles are signs
that point us to God.
It isn’t the miracle that is important.
It’s God.
God wants this church (that’s you and me) to pay attention
so we don’t lose our way.
WONDER
In Joel 2:30
the Bible says
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth.
There is an aspect of miracles
I like to call the “WOW factor.”
Miracles are impressive.
You don’t forget them.
They move you. They grab you.
Miracles make you wonder.
“Did God do that?”
This is important.
You see, miracles cannot be understood
apart from faith.
It takes faith to believe in God.
It takes faith to see a miracle for what it is: an act of God.
Miracles never force you to believe
because
God never forces you to believe.
Faith is a choice.
To fully appreciate miracles,
you have to have faith.
That’s part of the “WONDER”.
(Show video clip of man who was healed)
WORK
In Mark 6:5
the Bible says
And he could there do no mighty work,
save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk,
and healed them.
When Jesus went back
to his home town of Nazareth,
there was a problem.
The people there refused to believe in him.
They saw him grow up,
and they thought they knew who he was.
They were wrong!
As a result of their lack of faith
Jesus was not able to do his mighty “WORKS”
in that place.
He healed a few people,
but that was nothing compared
to what he did in every other town in Israel.
Dear ones,
God wants to do his work in your life.
God wants to do his work in this church.
It is up to us
to let him.
If we shut down our hearts
and close our minds
we will not see miracles.
But,
if we open our hearts
and let God fairly and politely enlighten our minds,
God will do his work
and what he does is greater than you can imagine.
(Show video clip of woman who was healed)
POWER
Miracles display the power and the authority of God
over his creation
over his people
over you
and over me.
God can step past the laws of this physical universe
because he made the universe.
He can make time stand still.
He can heal the sick.
He can restore broken relationships.
Because God is powerful and good,
some day, we are going to cast our crowns
at the foot of his throne.
We are going to going to confess
with all the angels of heaven
these words from Revelation 4:11.
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created.
PRAYER
Thank you Lord, for a year of miracles.
In 2005 we look forward to seeing your
signs and wonders, and works of power.
Lord we confess that our faith isn’t
what it ought to be.
Sometimes we miss seeing a miracle because
we are just too busy, or too hard hearted.
Slow us down! Prepare our hearts!
When your hand moves, we want to see that.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.