the angel tyler

skipped meal: unclean hands

The Heart of the Matter.
Mark 7.1-.23

The Sunday Morning of Power House (back at the beginning of november) I was sitting in the auditorium of the Fairfax Church of Christ worshiping when Bruce Black got up to preach. His sermon was on being clean and holy as one of God's people. As the text was read I realized that I had missed a meal. I am not talking about breakfast but about one of the Meals of Jesus I have been writing about. So today I am going to explore a missed meal.

The story begins with some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law come down from Jerusalem and are gathered around Jesus. They notice that Jesus disciples are eating with unclean hands. Not that they didn't wash the dirt of their hands but that their hands were not ceremonially clean. Concerned about this they go to Jesus and ask him two questions. First they ask him why his disciples eat with unclean hands? Secondly they ask him why they don't keep the traditions of the elders.

Jesus turns to them and instead of answering the questions they ask he goes to the issue under the questions. Their concern for ceremonial cleaness and traditions is a sympton of the fact that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law have set aside the commands of God for the traditions of men. He says “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”

He confronts them about their hypocrisy of worrying about the disciples keeping a tradition of men. While they ignore God's direct command for children to honor their parents. In doing so he tells them that they are nullifying the word of God by their traditions.

All churches have traditions. They are the forms in which the commands and teachings of the LORD and his son Jesus Christ give us. The traditions are not the commands but the forms we give them in our churches. For instance, it is our tradition to serve the LORD's Supper on trays with men carrying them down the aisle to everyone. Other churches have people come up to a central table and take the elements for themselves. While other churches have you go to a station and have the LORD's Supper their. Which of these is commanded by God? None of them and all of them at the same time. The forms are not commanded but the act of taking the LORD's Supper is commanded.

Each of us has our own traditions based on the commands and teachings of our God and his Son Jesus Christ. For instance we are commanded to be holy but how do we live that holiness out? Somethings are taught to us but somethings we have to figure out for ourselves. So have creat our own form and tradition. So some of us abstain from seeing rated r movies, some don't read romance novels, some of us only listen to Christian musice and some of us don't watch any tv. Are these specifically commanded for us to do? No, but they are forms we use to be holy.

One of the things Jesus is teaching us in this passage is that we need to keep perspective. The commands of God are paramount over the traditions we use as a church and as individuals.

sparkyphilms!

if you are looking for my video blog it has moved. i am going to use this blog to do "traditional" blogging and use the other site as my vlog.

so if you want to see my vlog got to sparkyphilms.blogspot.com and check out my first vlog of 2006

Fwd:

From: Josh Byrd
Date: Jan 24, 2006 3:57 PM
Subject: phun @ the apple store in tyson's corner



phun @ the apple store in tyson's corner

--
gmail
from
josh byrd
youth minister
@ the church of Christ in falls church, va.

The Meals of Jesus: The Road to Emmaus

here is my sermon on the meal that happens at the end of the journey to emmaus by two disciples and unknow to them Jesus. enjoy!

(Quick note these articles were adapted from the weekly article I write for my church's bulletin.)

The Meals of Jesus
Passover Supper with the Disciples Part Two
Matthew 26.1 - .30
Mark 14.12 - .26
Luke 22.1 - .38
John 13 – 17
1 Corinthians 10.14-.22
I Corinthians 11.17 - .34

Yesterday we explored what we traditionally call the Last Supper. Jesus takes elements from the Passover Meal and makes them new. He takes the symbol unleavened bread and makes it represent his body broken for us. He takes the wine and changes it to represent his blood poured out for us to seal the new covenant. As I mentioned then this is a meal that we still eat today. Instead of calling it the Last Supper, we call it Eucharist, or Communion or the LORD's Supper. You are either about to participate in this meal or you already have depending on when you read the Family Life on Sunday. The big question is why did Jesus want us to keep eating this meal? Here are three of the reasons I see for his desire for us to eat it.

One reason is remembrance. On the night Jesus was betrayed he began the meal and we are to eat it to remember his life, crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 22.19 & 1 Corinthians 11.24-.25). He tell us to eat the bread and drink the vine to remember because we are forgetful. We forget things all the time. Where we put our keys, what our anniversary date is and even what our phone number is. We need a reminder so we have daytimes and palm pilots to help us remember. Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper to remind us what he did for us and what we need to do for him because of it. Every time we eat Communion together we proclaim the LORD' s death and his returning (1 Corinthians 11.26).

Another reason is anticipation. The night the meal started Jesus tells those present that he had anticipated eating the Passover meal that night with them and that he will not eat it again until the Kingdom of God comes (Matthew 26.29, Mark 14.25 and Luke 22.14-.16). He wants to eat it again not just with the small group gathered that night but with all of his people. We are also anticipating eating it with him in what some call the great Messianic Banquet. Some day off in the future we will all sit down with our LORD and he will break the bread and hand it to us. He will pass the cup and we will drink it with him a new in the Father's Kingdom.

The next reason is participation. When we eat the bread and drink from the cup we participate in the body and blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 10.14-.17). In eating the bread we participate in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord's body. When we drink from the cup we participate in the blood that was poured out for us. In addition to participating in the LORD's life we also become one as a community. From the one loaf we all become on body and that body is the church (1 Corinthians 10.17). When we eat the bread and drink from the cup we remember the life death and resurrection of our LORD. When we eat and drink, we are anticipating and proclaiming the coming of our LORD. When we eat and drink we are participating in the life, death and resurrection of our LORD.

This article and the last one about the LORD's Supper are incomplete explorations
of this meal. These are my reflections and thoughts compressed into a one page format. So if I missed something important it is because I don't have the space in this format.

The Meals of Jesus
Passover Supper with the Disciples Part One
Matthew 26.1 - .30
Mark 14.12 - .26
Luke 22.1 - .38
John 13 – 17
I Corinthians 11.17 - .34

Everything that happens today, right now, changes everything that will happen in the future. The choices we make this moment change and shape our future in dramatic and minute ways. Some events and choices are more life altering than others. For instance the shirt you are wearing is a choice that will have less impact on your life than the wife you choose. In the meals of Jesus this is also true. All of his meals impact us but today's meal is huge! In fact we are still eating this meal. No other meal impacts the future of our world as the Passover Meal he eats with is disciples on the night he was betrayed. We traditionally call this the “Last Supper” but I don't think that is a good name for this meal. Following this meal Jesus eats at least 4 more times with his disciples.

This meal begins with Jesus showing his disciples that he is in control of what is happening. He sends Peter and John into town to find to make preparation for the passover. (Luke 22.8) He sends then with specific instructions on how to find the room for the passover meal. They are to look for a man carrying a water jug and follow him.

They find things just as he said. (Matthew 26.18 & .19, Mark 14.13 - .15 and Luke 22.10-.12) The Lord has provided the place for the meal. When they all arrive in the upper room and begin to eat Jesus sets the mode with a terrible announcement that one of them will betray him. They all begin to question who this might be and to deny that it is them. (Matthew 26.20 - . 25, Mark 14.17 - .21 and Luke 22.21 - 23) This betrayal is key to understanding this meal. When Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for the way it celebrates the Lord's Supper he describes it as the meal Jesus ate the night he was betrayed. (1 Corinthians 11.23)

At the beginning of this Passover meal Jesus takes the unleavened bread they were to eat to remind them of their forefather's hasty escape from Egypt and changes the meaning. Now it is his body! He tells them to take and eat the bread that is his body
which is for you. Jesus body is no longer for himself but now it is for all of us. (Matthew 26.26, Mark 14.22, Luke 22.19 and 1 Corinthians 11.24) The betrayal will lead to his body being offered as a sacrifice.

Then towards the end of the traditional passover meal he take the cup of wine and changes it too. Now it represents his blood of the new covenant which is going to be poured for us. The blood is the life of the body. The blood is sacred. The Old Covenant between the Israelites and the Lord was cemented thru the sacrifice of lambs, goats and bulls. Now this New Covenant we live under is brought about by the blood sacrifice of God's only and unique Son. (Matthew 26.27 - .29, Mark 14.23 - .25, Luke 22.17 - .18 & .20 - .22 and 1 Corinthians 11.25)

The betrayal that happens much later that night is another history changing event. Those who had been looking for away to stop Jesus had their opportunity to put him on trial and kill him. They failed! His arrest, trial and crucifiction were all part of his plan to save us all by creating a New Covenant between humanity and the LORD. Jesus was in control the entire time. He provided the place for the meal and now he provides the sacrifice for the Covenant that brings forgiveness and salvation to all.
This is just a short examination of this meal. We will look at it again next week to examine why it is a meal that we still eat. This is the only meal of Jesus that we actually take part in.

harvest festival 2005

Every Fall here at the Church of Christ in Falls Church, we do a big restock of our Food Pantry, we maintain, distributing food to those who walk up with need. Click here to watch this years Harvest Festival.

Trunk or Treat

i know this is about a month late but it is still good!
click here to watch Trunk or Treat

this is so kewl!

this may be the coolest thing i have seen in a long time!

A Thanksgiving Miracle

click here to watch A Thanksgiving Miracle

leaves w/o fruit

Leaves without Fruit
Mark 11.12 - .26
Matthew 21.12 - .22

In Mark 11.12 - .26 (also in Matthew 21.12 - .22) we find Jesus hungry and walking from Bethany towards the Temple in Jerusalem. He sees in the distance a fig tree with leaf. He approaches it to see if it has any figs and he finds none. This should have been no surprise to Jesus because it was not fig season. Instead of using his power over creation to make the tree produce figs he curses the tree so no one will ever eat figs from it again.

Why does he do this?

He is making a point by using a dramatic prophetic act. Prophets in the past have done this to make there points as well. What point is Jesus making? He is making one about the Temple! From a distance when one saw the Temple it looked like a place to worship and pray. Unfortunately when you get into the temple you discover it had become a market place. Like the fig tree the Temple is producing the leaves but has no fruit.

Jesus' dramatic prophetic actions don't end with the fig tree. When he enters the Temple he begins to throw people out! He over turns the tables and benches of the money changers and sellers of doves. He doesn't even let anyone carry merchandise thru the temple. Following the chaos he begins to teach the people who gather around. Part of his teaching is that the Temple was to be a place of prayer for all nations but it has become a den of robbers (Mark 11.17, Isaiah 56.7 & Jeremiah 7.11). His prophetic action against the fig tree and Temple become clear.
The fig tree represents the Temple. It is a place of prayer and worship, that is no longer producing fruit, in fact it has become corrupted. So what do you do with a fruit tree that produces no fruit?

You cut it down! What is the LORD going to do with the Temple that is no longer a house of prayer and worship? Destroy it! That is exactly what happens in the AD 70 at the hands of the Roman army.

This could easily happen to us! If you or I do not produce fruit as one of God's people we will be cut off. If the church is no longer a place of prayer, fellowship, worship and learning it will be treated like the Temple or the fig tree. It is a warning to us to be fruitful so
that we won't perish like the fig tree.

graduate course of the devil!

the number for the graduate level course on the book of revelation at abilene christian univ is 666. click here to see

experiment one

click here to watch experiment one

i haven't had a chance to vlog in a while but here are some experiments i have been doing with a demo version of istopmotion the first section is out my window looking up the hill the middle section is me working on my sermon last sunday (the road to emmaus it is coming soon) and the last section is just straight out my window. the car is lilly (named by the kids) the ford we bought back in 95 while still in abilene texas. she is a blessing.

the sound track is something i put together in garageband it is a cut down of a longer song i call "08 techno"

A Dinner for Jesus

A Dinner for Jesus
Matthew 26.6 – 16; Mark 14.1 – 11 and John 12.1 – 11

In the town of Bethany lived some people Jesus loved deeply. I would venture to say that these 3 siblings were Jesus’ best friends. You will remember the sisters from an earlier meal but the brother has a fame all his own. Martha invited Jesus to her house for a meal earlier and her sister Mary was there too (Luke 10.38 – 42). Martha busied herself with the meal, while Mary just sat and listened to Jesus. You know the rest of the story but Lazarus has an even more amazing story. He was dead for at least 4 days when Jesus arrived and raised Lazarus from his sleep (John 11.1 – 44).

Now sometime later a dinner is being held in honor of Jesus at Simon the Leper’s house. If you read the accounts in Matthew and Mark you do not learn the name of the women who anoints Jesus but John gives us her name. She is Mary! This is the very same Mary who sat at the Masters feet to learn and whose brother was raised from the grave. We again find Martha serving but this time she does not complain, while Mary worships Jesus. Lazarus and the rest of the guest enjoy the meal.

When Mary pours half a liter of expensive perfume on Jesus feet the entire house if filled with the fragrance (John 12.3). I feel that she does this in appreciation for Jesus raising her brother from the dead and because she like her sister believes that he is the Christ, the Son of God. This is an act of worship on her behalf. She had been saving it for his funeral but feels compelled to anoint him with it now.

One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, watches this and comments, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” (John 12.5) John tells is that Judas’ motivations were not pure because he kept the moneybag and would help himself to its contents (John 12.6). Jesus not only defends Mary but also rebukes Judas. “Leave her alone! She was saving this for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Essentially he is saying, she is giving me a wonderful gift and I will not let you diminish it! He is also telling Judas that he is a hypocrite. There are poor all around you should be helping instead of complaining about what Mary is doing.

Matthew and Mark tell us that following this rebuke Judas goes to the chief priest (Matthew 26.14 – 16 & Mark 14.10 &11). He agrees to betray Jesus. The chief priests are delighted to hear this.

You and I need to fill our houses with the fragrance of our worship. People in our lives need to smell worship when we are near by. They can smell it thru our actions, thru our words and thru our attitudes. Our lives will not be perfect of easy but like many of the Psalmists we can worship the LORD in the midst of our pain.

Judas is rebuked by Jesus and instead of deciding that Jesus is right and he needs to make some changes in his life. He decides to turn his back on the LORD. When we read the Bible or another believer challenges us we need to listen to what we read and what they are saying. Instead of shutting Jesus out of our lives like Judas, we need to open ourselves up to be changed into something better than we are. It won’t be easy but it will save us!

sabbath supper at the pharisee's house

click here to listen to "sabbath supper at the pharisee's house"
I gave this sermon the evening of Sunday, August 21st 2005 at the Church of Christ in Falls Church, Va.

a prayer for the gulf coast

A Prayer for the Gulf Coast

My Lord, My God
Holy is your name.
As I watch the suffering and hardship in the wake of hurricane Katrina I know that I am helpless to do anything.
I ask that you, my God, will bring comfort and grieving.
I ask you to feed the hungry.
I ask you to clothe the naked.
I as you to shelter the homeless.
I ask that you protect and care for the orphan and widow
Lord,
There are many who are dong their best to help the victims of the Gulf Coast.
Give them mercy
Give them strenght
Give them patients
Give them wisdom
Give them home
They need these so much in this difficult time.
I can only imagine how hopeless they feel. You are the only hope. I pray that you will show them your hope and glory thru Your people.
Open our hearts
Open our eyes
Open our hands
To show Your hope, love, grace and mercy to those who need it so badly.
Lord,
Move Your Holy Spirit in Your people to contenue Your Son's ministry here and now. Make us to humbly serve.
Show me the best way I can help.
I pray this in the awesome and powerful name of Your Son Jesus Christ
Amen

click here to watch a prayer for the gulf coast

austin draws

click here to see austin draw

a prayer in memory of imogene byrd

this is the prayer that i gave as the grave side service, at the bethel united methodist church in dawsonville, ga., for my memaw's funeral. she passed away a week ago monday and her funeral was last friday at tillman united methodist church. i will be posting my comments from the funeral service soon.

Heavenly Father
We gather here mourning the lose of our Memaw
our sister
our mother
our cousin
and our friend
we do not mourn as those without hope but because of your Son we mourn and grieve with hope.

As we share our memories of Memaw's life and our time with her we are filled with hapiness and sorrow
we are filled with saddness and joy.

Sorrow and saddness because of the dark times we shared.
Saddness and sorrow because our time with Memaw has come to an end for now.

Happiness and joy because of the good times we all shared together.
Joy and happiness because of the hope that we will all be together again in the resurection.

We know that this is not the end of Memaw life with you. But it is only the end of the beginning of her eternal life with You.
She started her eternal life with You long ago when she became one of your children and she has been a shining example of your great and steadfast love in this dark world.

She has been a light to all of us quietly living a life that glorifies you.
Encouraging us by actions and words to live a life that glorifies you.

As she leaves us now to join that great cloud of witnesses. Help us to folloe in her godly footsteps and live as shining examples ofyour great love in this dark world.

Contenue to fill us with your grace, mercy, hope and love.
We pray this in the wonderful and beautiful name of your resurrected Son.
Jesus Christ
AMEN

sad news

my memaw passed away last night at the age of 90. she had been in a coma since saturday and had not been keeping food down for a while.

as much as i will miss my memaw i am happy that she had a great life and was a great spiritual example to me as to how to live a christian life.

i will be leaving for atlanta on thursday.