2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Say "Amen." One day a preacher was preaching and in the congregation was his son. At the end of the service he said a prayer. The little boy knew that this was the last thing before the service was over and he could go out to play. But the father was really getting into the prayer. And the boy was getting impatient. Finally he blurted out during a pause in the prayer, "Say A-men Daddy. Say Amen."

There are two kinds of "Amens." There is the amen at the end of something like a prayer that signals that it is concluded. Kind of like the "The End" on the last page of a book. Then there is the kind of "A-men" shouted out when someone says something that resonated with you. This kind of "Amen" is more an affirmation then a conclusion. It is an "Amen Brother" or "Amen Sister!"

Paul tells the Corinthians "For all the promises of God find their Yes in (Jesus). That is why we utter the Amen through Him, to the glory of God." (vs. 20) Jesus is the embodied fulfillment of all of God's promises to the human race. He is God's "A-men" or affirmation. God's "Yes" to all our deepest and most genuine prayers. When the Father sent Jesus, He was shouting "A-men humanity!" And so in response to God's "Yes" in Jesus we say "A-men" So say "A-men!" (A-men)

So what are some of those promises God has fulfilled in Jesus? For one God has been faithful to us. You have to admit humanity has not been very faithful to God. Even before the Ten Commandments had been carved in stone Israel had broken several of them. Just read your Old Testament. Over and over again Israel went after other god's.

But through it all God was faithful to Israel. There were times when God allowed Israel to feel the consequences of their choices, but God never abandoned Israel. There were times that God punished Israel, but God did not cast them off. There were times when God pruned the bush of Israel back to its trunk but God never uprooted it completely.

God was always faithful even when HIS people were not. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this faithfulness. God had promised a Savior, a Messiah, but Israel looked to political or military power to save them. God could have refused to send a Messiah. But God was faithful and fulfilled his promises. Jesus was God's yes, and to God's yes HIS people all say: "A-men."

God promised to be faithful and God was and is faithful. God also promised peace. People search for true inner peace. But so few find it. God offered it to his people. And through Jesus he gave it. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior He gives us peace. A peace that is beyond our understanding. In Jesus God said "YES" to the promise of peace, and to God's "yes" HIS people all say: "A-men."

God also promised us Hope. Humanity is in a hopeless situation. We have all sinned and we do not have the strength to pull ourselves out of that sin. So God sent Jesus to bring us some hope. He was able to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. In Jesus, God said "YES" to the promise of hope. and to God's "yes" HIS people all say: "A-men."

God promised us Love. One of our basic human needs is to love and be loved. People literally die of broken hearts because of lack of love. A newborn baby that is not loved as in infant with simply stop living for no apparent physical reason. In Jesus God said "YES" to the promise for Love. Jesus came into this world to show us God's love. He healed and counseled and fed and then he stretched out his arms and said "My daddy loved you this much" then he died on the cross, and to God's "yes" HIS people all say: "A-men."

God promised us forgiveness and righteousness. But people have never been truly righteous. We have always been sinful. In the Old Testament the Israelites would sacrifice animals. Some incorrectly thought they were purchasing righteousness through they sacrifices to God in the Temple. But how could a cow or a sheep or a million such sacrifices ever reimburse God for what we have done to ourselves and each other? So God said "YES" to the promise of forgiveness and righteousness. He sent Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. In Jesus he paid the price for our sin. And to God's "yes" HIS people all say: "A-men."

Paul was right - "All God's promises find their 'yes' in Jesus." Through Jesus God said "YES" to his promises. and to God's "yes" HIS people all say: � Wait a minuet. We have been literally saying "a-men" to each of these promises. But is that all Paul meant when he said that God's people "utter the 'a-men' through him?"

Perhaps this 'amen' is more than mere words. It is one thing to say "a-men" it is another to live it. Maybe we should put our actions where our mouth is. Maybe uttering the "amen" means living for Jesus.

Jesus gave his life for you. He left the glories of Heaven to die on a cross. And because of that you have peace and hope and love and forgiveness and � In Jesus God said "YES" to all the needs of the human race. And to God's "yes" let all God's people say: "Amen!"

Mark 2:1-12

Jesus gained a reputation as a healer rather quickly. It seems people had no trouble believing that an ex-carpenter from Nazareth could cure diseases. In fact Jesus' reputation grew so fast that by the second chapter of Mark he was playing to packed houses. Our lesson this morning tells us about one of those episodes.

Jesus was preaching and teaching in a house that was so packed that no more people could get in. The doorways and window were all blocked with people come to hear Jesus and be touched by him. If they had had fire codes back then they could have shut Jesus down. Among those in the crowd were some men with a paralyzed friend. We don't know why he was paralyzed, but we know that he was bed ridden. And they were prevented from getting their suffering friend to Jesus by the crowd.

So the friends decided if they couldn't go though the crowd they would go over it. They hoisted their friend to the roof. Then they tore a hole in the roof and lowered him through it right to Jesus. When Jesus saw the man he said "Your sins are forgiven." At that all the religious leaders cried, "Blasphemy, you can't forgive sins!"

I have to stop the story here to remark on the irony of this situation. Jesus' contemporaries had no trouble believing that he could heal the sick. But they found it unacceptable that he could forgive sins. Today many church people have no trouble believing that Jesus can forgive sins, but they have trouble believing that he still can heal the sick. That of course is not the point of the sermon, but I couldn't help but comment on it.

To get back to the story. The religious leaders were shocked that Jesus was so bold as to pronounce forgiveness of the man's sins. So Jesus asked them, "Is it easier to say 'your sins are forgiven' or 'get up and walk.'" The obvious answer is that he later is the harder because everyone could judge immediately if he had been effective. So Jesus said, "Get up and walk" and the man did just that.

The whole point is that Jesus' power to heal bodies is proof of his power to heal souls. The people didn't doubt that he could heal the body because they could see him do that. However they could not see a healed soul so they doubted that.

On one level, we see a pivotal point in Jesus' ministry here. People could see that Jesus was a healer. And they recognized a need in themselves and their loved ones for healing. Let's face it. We all know from experience that if you are in pain or physical distress all other things seem less important. So Jesus, out of love, healed the people and they came flocking to him.

But he knew that there was so much more that he had to offer them. The flesh is temporal and will wear out and die sooner or later. Jesus could see the sickness of the people's souls. He knew that their deeper need was for forgiveness. They needed communion with God.

People are no different today. People will run to the doctor at the first sight of illness. But will they run to Jesus at the first sight of sin? Yet, that is the real need.

The same thing happens today. Many people call on Jesus for all sorts of reasons. They call on him because they are in physical, emotional or financial need. They pray for healing, for love, for money.

But what about forgiveness? What about healing of the spirit and soul? What about communion with the Eternal Creator of body soul and spirit?

That is what this meal is about today. You know in the early church the Lord's supper was celebrated with a full meal. But as time went on, it was changes to a small piece of bread and just a sip of wine. Perhaps that reminds us that this is not about feeding the body. It is about the spiritual food of forgiveness and grace that we have through the breaking of Jesus' body and the shedding of his blood.

And we need that more than food and water don't we? Or do you doubt what I say? Do you really doubt that Jesus' death can free us from our sin? Well, is it easier for him to say "I forgive your sins" to us or to say "Get up and walk" to a paralyzed man? He's done that already, need I say more?

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