John 17:1-11

One day a preacher asked one of the congregation's leaders to say a prayer in the service. That person stood up and began offering a prayer. As he prayed a guy on the back row yelled, "I can't hear you." The guy kept praying. The one on the back row yelled again, "I can't hear you." He kept praying and a third time the guy yelled, "I can't hear you." Finally the one praying stopped and turned to the man on the back row and said, "I wasn't talking to you."

In the 17th chapter of John, Jesus is praying. Some call this chapter the real Lord's Prayer. The prayer we usually call the Lord's Prayer is actually Jesus sample prayer for the disciples, so it is really the disciple's prayer. But here the Lord is the one doing the praying. Another way to look at it is, the Lord's Prayer is Jesus' teaching on prayer, but here we have his example.

On top of that Jesus is openly praying it before his disciples. True he is not talking to them. He is talking to the Father. But he is obviously aware that the disciples are listening and he wants them to hear. He wants them to know for their own peace of mind but also as an example. So I want us to listen to the Lord praying this morning for our peace of mind and so that we can learn from his example.

First of all it is significant that Jesus is praying. Some people look at this and say "what? Is God talking to himself?" Jesus had said "The Father and I are one." Is Jesus talking to himself when he prayed? I don't what to plumb the depths of the mystery of the Trinity or the Incarnation. But it bears comment.

It bears comment in order to highlight the point that Jesus chose to pray. Jesus was headed toward betrayal, arrest, abandonment, and the cross. In the midst of that trial he chose to pray. In his hour of need the Almighty in the flesh chose to pray.

Some Christians don't think they need to pray. "Oh, God already knows what I need and what I think and what I feel. I don't need to tell HIM." My wife already knows I love her. I guess I don't need to tell her. She knows I love her, but she still wants to hear it from me. In the same way the Father already know what Jesus was going though. But Jesus felt the need to pray. If Jesus needed to pray, then we certainly need to pray!

The second thing we learn is the proper attitude of prayer. Jesus' sample pray for his disciple begins, "Our Father in Heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come your will be done�" In the same vein Jesus begins this prayer, "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." Jesus' first thought is God. You know some people seem to always talk about themselves. Other's always seem to focus on what others are thinking or feeling.

Jesus' first though is God and God's will and God being glorified. He is praying for himself, but that he would be faithful so that Father's will is done. Too many Christians think first of themselves What do I need; want do I want.

Our attitude in prayer should be God centered, not self centered. Jesus is about to go through the worst ordeal a person could endure. Yet he focuses on God and God's will. Yes we should pray in the face of trials. But our praying should be done in an attitude of humility before God.

The third thing we learn is the meaning of Eternal Life. Jesus gives us a definition of Eternal life. He says, "this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Eternal life is not something that is achieved and won or bought. It is a relationship.

So we should seek to know God. That means talking to God. It also means listening.

Do you want eternal, abundant life? Then seek a relationship with God first. Then everything else will fall into place.

The fourth thing we learn is that Jesus prayed for you. Jesus prayed, "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." Jesus is praying for his disciples. They are about to go through a trial themselves. They will experience pain and terror and anxiety and anguish and loss and guilt and shame. So Jesus prays that God will take care of them.

But he was not just praying for the handful of people 2,000 years ago. He was praying for you too. He was praying that God would take care of you in the midst of your trials. When you are experiencing pain and terror and anxiety and anguish and loss and guilt and shame.

Finally Jesus prayer for unity. I guess Jesus knew there would be divisions in the church. On every level Christians manage to divide themselves. We organize ourselves into theological factions and use labels like Liberal or Conservative or Evangelical or Charismatic. We divide ourselves into denominations: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox� And even within congregations we make divisions between the young and the old and between people who like this ministry and those who liked that program, between those who voted yes and those who voted no.

But I don't think Jesus wants us all to think and act alike. He made us different so that we could fulfill different purposes. A team has different groups. You might have the infield and the outfield. You might have the guards and the forwards. You might have the offensive line and the back field. But they are still part of the same team. We Christians may be different, but that doesn't mean we should be divided.

Downtown in Columbia there is a soup kitchen in the basement under Washington St. United Methodist Church. It is called the Soup Cellar. It serves 200 people a day during the week. It is in Washington Street's church, but it is staffed by a group of churches. These include Southern Baptist and United Methodists, a very conservative Presbyterian church and others. These churches have different theologies and ways of doing things, but they are united the provide food for the hungry.

Jesus prayed. The gospels are always talking about Jesus going away to pray. Here we have an example of how he prayed. An example he intended for us to study as an example of prayer.

What do we learn from this small part of it? We learn that Jesus felt the need to pray. That he prayed in humble focus on God. That Eternal life comes in knowing God. That Jesus prayed for us. And that we should be united in Christ.

Jesus prayed, so let us pray with him! You graduates, you will go through some tough times as well as some wonderful times. Remember Jesus prayed for you and the Bible tells us that Jesus continues to intercede with the Father on our behalf. Take time while taking new classes or beginning a career to maintain a relationship with the Father just as Jesus did.

Acts 1:6-14

We learn a lot about the disciples from the passage we just read in acts. For instance did you know we learn from this passage what kind of car the disciples drove. Yes, we know from this passage that the disciples drove a Honda. In the King James Version it clearly says in verse 14 "All these with one accord." There you have it the disciples drove a Honda Accord!

But all kidding aside we do learn something about the disciples. We learn that they knew how to wait. You may think this is a simple thing to know how to wait. But in our multitasking busy world we don't wait very well. We get impatient.

But in this passage we see the disciple showing a talent for waiting.

It has been said: "Life is what happens when you're waiting for the next bus." It always seems like we are waiting for something else. When I was a child I was constantly being told I had to wait. Wait till you are older then you can ride a bike. Wait till you are older then you can drive a car. Wait till you are older then you can go off to college.

It seems all our life is spent waiting for the next big thing to happen. We wait to grow up. We wait to meet the right person to marry. We wait to have children. We wait to retire. We are waiting for the preacher to stop preaching so we can go home. �. Then we wait to die

But when does life happen? It happens while you are waiting. It happens in the here and now. We need to seize this day and not lose the day as we dream of what is off in the future.

That is the situation the disciples were in when we meet them in Acts 1. They were waiting between two big events. Jesus had risen from the dead on Easter and for 40 days he appeared to the disciples. Jesus talked to them about the Kingdom that he had said was coming. The disciples could not wait for the day of the coming of the Kingdom. So when Jesus was about to ascend into heaven they asked. "Are you going to bring in the kingdom now!?"

Jesus told them not to worry about times and seasons. Then he told them to wait. Something big was coming all right. The Holy Spirit would come. And it would send them into all the world to be his witnesses.

Then Jesus ascended into heaven. As they watched him go an angel reassured them and chided them: "Don't just stand there looking up at the sky. He will come again just as you saw him leave." In other words "Don't waste your time longing for his return go serve him in the here and now.

So there the disciples were stuck between Jesus ascending into Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit. They knew the Spirit would give them power and send them out on their glorious quest to be his witnesses to the whole creation. So what did the disciples do? They went back to Jerusalem to wait as Jesus had told them to do. But they didn't waste their time daydreaming or sky-gazing. They devoted themselves to prayer.

This is important. I think we modern Christians have lost a sense of waiting on the Lord. We feel we ought to be doing something all the time. And that is true - we ought to be serving God all the time. But sometimes waiting is service.

Jesus had told them to wait. They were fulfilling a command. But they didn't just twiddle their thumbs. They prayed! As a group they all spent their time getting closer to God.

Like the first disciples we are living between two big events. We live in the age between the first coming of Jesus and his second coming. Jesus first came to earth a baby at Bethlehem. He taught and healed and died and rose again and them ascended into heaven. But we are promised that he will come again to judge the earth and set all thing straight. Some theologians call this age "The Between Time." This is the time between the first and second comings of Christ.

What should the church do in the mean time as we look for Jesus' return? First of all we should not spend all out time looking at the skies. He will come again. We have all known Christians who were too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. But here is where we different from the disciples in Acts Ch. 1. They were told to wait for the Holy Spirit. Well the Holy Spirit has come and we are told not to wait but to go into all the world and be witnesses to the living Lord.

But there is still a lesson for us in this waiting. We Christians should be about being his witnesses but we do not always need to do that in big ways. When we think of being God's witnesses, we usually think for the big things. We measure our activities by the Disciple class we take, or the Outreach activity we do, or the "make him Known" Sundays. But most of life is lived between the big events.

What do we do in the mean time? First of all devote ourselves to prayer. Time spent in prayer is never time wasted. Prayer is often the biggest thing we can do. And try focusing on the little things you can do to be God's witnesses. Let your small words of kindness and acts of mercy be a witness to the love of God. When you think of witnessing you may think of knocking on strangers doors to invite them to church. But did you know that one of the most effective ways of drawing people into the church is to be invited by a friend or family member. So in the mean time, as you are waiting for the next bus in life your life to come by, try focusing on the small things.

Our passage today ends in an interesting way. It lists the remaining disciples, after Judas left them. And it says they devoted themselves to prayer. Then it adds "together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus. Luke could have begun the list with Mary. But by putting her at the end he gave her a place of prominence.

I think there is a special message in this for Mothers. I know that sometimes you may feel like you are waiting for the next big thing to happen in you child's life. You are waiting for them to walk, to talk, to go off to school, to go to college, to get a job, to get married, to have children, to move out � But there is a lot of time between those events. What do you do in the mean time?

Take a lesson from Mother Mary. Pray! Pray for your children. Pray for yourself. And seize the opportunity to do the small things. When your children grow up their fondest memories of you will be the small thing you did together.

Remember life is what happens when you are waiting for the next bus. Your life as a mother is lived when you are waiting for the next bus to come in your child's life. So in the mean time live your life to the fullest!

John 17:1-11

What's Jesus doin' now? We all have heard about what he did while he was alive. We know that he was born in Bethlehem. We have heard about angels and shepherds and Magi witnessing his birth. We have heard how he grew in wisdom and strength and lived as a carpenter until he was thirty. We have also studied his teachings, "love your enemies," "Blessed are the poor," and the parables. We have heard of his miracle and wonders like healing the sick, stilling the storm, raising the dead and feeding the multitudes.

We have heard of his suffering and death. How he entered Jerusalem on Sunday to shouts of "Hosannas" and left on Friday to shouts of "Crucify." We know how he loved his disciples to the end and washed their feet. We know how he went like a lamb silent to the slaughter and said "Father forgive them." We also know that he rose from the dead and that he ascended into heaven after 40 days.

But what's he doin' now? Now that he is in heaven what's Jesus' doin'? Sure he sent the Holy Spirit like he said he would. But is that all? Jesus ascended he didn't retire!

The Bible gives us a lot of answers to this question. Jesus himself in John 14 said "I go to prepare a place for you." He is carrying on his carpentry skills on a heavenly level. He is constructing a city of mansions for his believers to live in for eternity. In Rev. 22 we have a glimpse of this city of mansions. So Jesus is getting heaven ready for our homecoming.

The Bible also tells us that he is sitting at the right hand of the father. This means that he is in a position of authority and power over the universe. Philippians 2 tells us that because he humbled himself unto death on a cross he had been given a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus even knee should bow and even tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus has taken over the reigns of the universe. He has claimed his inheritance of the throne of heaven.

The Bible also shows us that Jesus is with his servants suffering with them. Jesus told the disciples that he would be with them until the end of the age. When Jesus appeared to Saul he said, "Why are you persecuting me."(Acts 9) That shows that when Saul was persecuting the Christians he was persecuting Christ. And another Biblical example of Christ's presence with the church is how Jesus appeared to John on the Island of Patmos and gave him the book of Revelation. (Rev. 1)

It may be inconceivable to us that Jesus is both in heaven of on earth at the same time. Or that he is ruling as king and working as a carpenter. It is not possible for a human being to be in more than one place at one time, but Jesus is not just a human being. He is also God in the flesh and God can be in all places and all times in one eternal instant. So I am sure that this brief survey only covers part of what Jesus is doin' now.

Among the many things Jesus is doing is what he is doing in John Ch. 17: praying. And that is the thing I want to look at today. Of course the incident we read about in Ch. 17 of John happened before Jesus' death, but it gives us a glimpse of Jesus fulfilling his role as our high priest. The book of Hebrews calls Jesus our Great High Priest. In the Hebrew religion the High Priest was the only priest with authority to go into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt. He did this to bring the blood of atonement before God and to intercede on behalf of the people of God.

Jesus, as we speak, is serving as our High Priest. He is carrying the blood of our redemption before God in heaven. But he is also interceding on our behalf. He is praying for is in the midst of our trouble. He is pleading for us in our daily lives.

In John Ch. 17 we see Jesus doing this same thing before his death. He is going before God carrying a burden for his followers: praying that they will be protected and made strong in his physical absence. And I believe that this is a vision of what Jesus is doing for us now in heaven as we speak. He is interceding with the father asking for our protection and guidance.

Let's take a closer look at Jesus' prayer for his disciples. Jesus begins the prayer by saying that he has made the father known to his followers. He says that God gave him authority to give eternal life and that eternal life is knowing God. In other words, by making God known to them he had given them eternal life. He then asks the father to return him to the glory he knew before his earthly existence.

Not only does Jesus say that he has made God known to his followers but he has made them know that all he has said is from God. Jesus said, 'Now they know that everything you have given me is from you." He also said, "They have received them and know in truth that I came from you." These are the ones that Jesus is praying for. Not the people who have not come to believe but those who have received and believed in him.

Then Jesus says, "protect them ... so that they may be one as we are one." This oneness Jesus seeks in his followers is a oneness of heart that has both a vertical and a horizontal axis. Jesus is praying that we may be one in will with God: that his followers may be united vertically with God. It is also a prayer that we be one with each other horizontally. That fellow Christians be united in our desire to do God's will in the world.

Jesus prayed 2,000 years ago in Galilee and is still praying that his disciples may be one. And I believe that the Father is protecting us and the Holy Spirit is moving us toward unity. But how responsive are we to it? God can send the guidance but it is up to us to follow it. God can call us into unity but it is up to us to heed the call.

You know when I was growing up people used to talk about ecumenism. I can actually remember my preacher preaching on it. It was the belief in the unity of the church and the effort to bring Christians together. Too often we try to keep Christians apart. Sure we have differences of opinion on what God's will is. And we should hold fast to them but we need to realize that we are all on the same side.

One Saturday morning a couple of young people from another church in town came to my door and began asking me if I went to church and such. I told them that I did go to church every Sunday. I told them, "In fact I am the Methodist minister and this house is the Methodist church's parsonage." At that one of the young girls said, "Ho!" and covered her mouth. I said "That's okay. Were on the same side," and then I pointed them to some neighbors who I knew didn't go to church.

Are we really as united as Jesus wants us to be. We have disagreements and we need to hold ourselves accountable. But do we Christians see ourselves as in enemy camps. Or do we view ourselves as being on the same side all of us opposed to the devil. And if we do not see ourselves on the same side could it be because we are not as one with God as we should be?

Jesus is praying that we be one with God and one with each other. And the Father is calling us to oneness. Let us seek to grow closer to God and closer to one another. Instead of seeing this church and that church let is remember that we are all one church with Jesus as our great high priest.

I think I have told you before that when Mary was one year old she learned quickly that the cross, Jesus and church all went together. She thought that Jesus and church were one word. When she saw a steeple or a cross she would say "JesusChurch." If we were driving along and we saw a church and asked her "What church is that," she would reply, "JesusChurch." Our church buildings may have different names on the front but they are all Jesus' Church. The church of Jesus Christ has many branch offices that are called Methodist or Baptist or Catholic or Orthodox or Pentecostal, but we all have one Great High Priest! In essence the Church of Jesus Christ has a lot of associate pastors and one Sr. Pastor: Jesus the Son of God. Maybe if we realized that we could all work together much better!