First Sunday of Lent

I used to write out my sermons - word for word - but found that I would catch myself reading them if I did this, so now I just make notes and phrases and highlight the things I want to be reminded of or emphasize. So here are my notes from last Sunday:

Sunday, February 21, 2010 – Theme: The Beauty of Discomfort 1st Sunday in Lent – Ruth Hirner

Sing Song: God So Loved the World (Mary Kidd - accompanist)

Theme: The Beauty of Discomfort – tell story of talking to Mary about preparing to sing the special music today and saying I’m glad that I don’t have to preach on this theme, as it’s a hard one, only to have Scott ask me to cover for him today while he was out of town.

Talk about 1st Sunday of Lent – Temptations of Jesus

Read Scriptures:
Psalm 91:2 – I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust.

I Nephi 3:189 – “And whoso shall publish peace, even tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.”

Doctrine and Covenants 163:1-2a – “Community of Christ”, your name, given as a blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go.
Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation.

Tell kids & young adults - bear with me while I set the stage. (Story from Luke 4:1-12 IV)
Define temptation: (Wikipedia) a temptation is an act that looks appealing - usually has a negative connotation
Tell what Jesus’ temptations were:
   Satan came to Jesus while he was fasting for 40 days and nights in the desert
1)   stone into bread
2)   jump from pinnacle of the Temple and have angels catch him
Devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12 that God promises this but Satan carefully leaves out the part about it being an accident rather than jumping on purpose. It’s ironic that people today are tempted to use the scriptures to prove their own point of view by leaving out part of the passage. How often are we tempted to leave out part of the story to meet our own purposes?
3)   Satan and Jesus went to a mountain where they could look over all the kingdoms of the world and Satan offered them to Jesus IF he will worship Satan.
Jesus response showed that he knew his call would change this world into God’s kingdom.
Now that I’ve set up the story for today it’s time to play a game.
Back in 2007 there was a game on TV called Temptation – anyone remember it? It only lasted about a year. It was a remake of a game show that ran in several nations – New Zealand, Australia, Paraguay, Greece., France and it debuted in the U.S. in 1969. It was called Sale of the Century. Now anyone remember it? The premise was that contestants answered questions about pop culture and earned points which they in turn transformed into dollars to buy luxury gifts at a huge savings.
For the sake of time and to have a better chance at getting people to volunteer, I won’t ask questions. Now can I get a few volunteers? [Hand each a paddle with $$$. One at a time show pictures (sports car, flat screen TV, RV, vacation package, etc.) and tell them to raise their paddles to buy the items. Pick a picture and say, ‘this item is for sale today at the low price of $11, then whip out the picture. Whoever raises their paddle first gets it. Repeat two or three times.]

Ok, what was the point?
The point is just as Christ was tempted; we too are tempted even today. How does that play out in our lives? Maybe it’s by purchasing items we can’t afford or maybe it’s by taking a longer break at work than we are due. Or, maybe it’s by failing to take care of our environment by not conserving. Do you compost? Do you use re-usable bags? Do you recycle? It’s easy to be tempted to ignore conserving practices. The more we are good stewards the more we help the environment not just once but twice – once when we conserve properly and once when others see us doing it and change their behaviors too.
And what about the way we treat each other? How many times have you been tempted to look the other way when a group is beating up a person of another race or sexual orientation? Most of us would not stand idly by. But are we any less guilty if we use words that make others feel of less worth? How long are we going to allow unjust behavior to keep us from bringing about the peaceable kingdom?
Being tempted is not a sin but giving in to negative temptation is! Christ could have taken the easy road but he saw the greater good – the greater beauty in His discomfort; probably the most awful discomfort imaginable – And why? To give us the greatest beauty of all – a chance for eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
When you step out of your comfort zone and achieve good things that you might not have otherwise, there in is the beauty of discomfort.
Be aware of the beauty in difficult and uncomfortable situations. Today, I am asking you, as disciples of Christ, to not only fight negative temptations in your daily lives but to fight FOR right -- stand up for and PURSUE PEACE! Can Christ count on you?