Pastor’s Notes for 6th Sunday After Epiphany, A Date: 2/16/14 Theme: Jesus’ Teaching Alters the Law Bible Ref’s: Deut. 30:15-20 or Sir. 15:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1Cor. 3:1-9; and Matthew 5:21-37.

Prayer of the Day O God, the strength of all who hope in you, because we are weak mortals we accomplish nothing good without you. Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace and power to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Brief Sermon Outline: “The Stress of Chess” Focus Statement: God & humanity found out the stress of life, like the stress of chess, was too much.

1.  As I said before, chess is a game of rules and strategy, and if you get too cocky or careless in the moves you make, you get humbled pretty quickly. I don’t want to press the analogy too far, but chess can be a lot like life. If you follow the rules and think through your moves carefully, then it usually goes well for you, but if you are careless, if you disobey the rules, the game won’t go well. 2. This was pretty much the strategy behind the law and the prophets that God established in ancient Israel.  God swears in Deut. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life & death, blessings & curses. Choose life so that you & your descendants may live…”But God & humanity found out the stress of life, like the stress of chess, was too much. 3.  So often I’ve told people, you haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed a real live chess tournament: the hot intensity & cold sweat, inflated egos brought low, the jealousy and quarreling, smoke & drama.  As one grandmaster put it baldly, “On the chessboard, lies & hypocrisy do not last long.” 4.  For the ancient Israelites about to enter the promised land, the question was, “How shall we live together as God’s people?” “What are the rules going to be?” “What’s the game plan?” So Moses laid it all out in Deuteronomy—& since he wouldn’t himself enter the promised land with them, the Torah (w/ Deuteronomy as the heart) would be their surrogate “Moses” to cross over the Jordan. 5. The Lewis Chessmen are a fascinating subject that takes you back to life in medieval Europe >800 years ago, when kings, queens, bishops & knights wielded the power, & most others were treated like pawns. Chess had become so popular by the 12th century that it was frequently banned by the Church, though many manuals of strategy were produced by monks, & its symbolism in sermons. 6. But the Lewis Chessmen, carved out of walrus tusk, are remarkable for their detail—esp. the ex- pressions on their faces, & these can serve to clue us into the stresses of life we face just like the ancient Israelites who were entering the promised land, a land already occupied by Canaanites. 7.  One choice was through military conquest & political power. This was tried many times—the Israelite army’s fierce reputation often preceded them. But just as often, warmongering & blood- shed led to defeat. Kings like Saul, David & Solomon made righteous/wise decisions one moment, then turned around the next to violate God’s law yet again thru murder/adultery/coveting/stealing. 8.  After the split into the northern & southern kingdoms of Israel & Judah (& esp. after fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria) hopes of military conquest & power gave way to increasing fear and foreboding.Prophets like Amos & Hosea reminded the Israelites of their choice between life/death, blessings/curses. But still, the people invariably chose death, & so the southern kingdom also fell. 9.  Now in Babylonian exile their worst fears were realized; fear gave way to overwhelming des- pair. In fact,  the question of living at all disappeared, just a huge question mark of what would happen  not only to the people of Israel, but to all people everywhere, to the whole creation?  Many false prophets & false messiahs came along offering quick fixes to the stresses of life. 10.  So in this very confusing/complex situation, Jesus came along  preaching things that did not sound like the rules/strategies of the past; sure, he was talking re: fulfilling the law & prophets (in some places radicalizing the law. “You’ve heard that it was said…‘You shall not murder’…  But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment…” 11. He does that with adultery and divorce and swearing…but then he goes on to preach re: loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, not to worry re: what you will eat or what you will wear. So that, by the end of his Sermon on the Mount in Chap. 7, it says “the crowds were as- tounded at his teaching,  for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” 12. Jesus not only addressed the stresses of life in his sermon,  He would take all those stresses of power, fear & despair to the cross, so that the chess game of life would no longer be a question of winning/losing,  but working/strategizing for the joy of the game, for the reconciliation of all things to God, to bring hope to the despairing, strength to the powerless, confidence to the fearful. 13.  Sometimes it’s not easy to see that our hard work amounts to anything— but our confid- ence lies in the one who’s faithful to us, J.C. our benevolent King who blesses us to be a blessing.

Hymn of the Day: “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” (LBW #487)

Children’s Sermon

Pastor: Good morning. I have a special chess set I wanted to show you today. I found this in a little antique shop in Illinois many years ago, and someday I’ll build a special chessboard for it. These are copies of some very old chess pieces that were found in Scotland on an island called the Isle of Lewis. So we call these the Lewis Chessmen, over 800 years old.

In chess, each piece has its own special moves on a chessboard—so if you think of the chessboard as the world, then these pieces are like us. God made each one of us with special moves. And in the game of chess, when all the pieces are working together, then the game goes well for you, and you might even win the game!

But if you make a bad move—if each piece tries to win the game by itself, or if you’re impatient and move before you think—then the game won’t go well for you. Chess is a game of rules & strategy, & if you don’t follow the rules or make wise choices, then you lose.

Sometimes as a kid, we feel small and all alone, like a little pawn. We have questions: we wonder what God wants us to do in our life; we don’t know which way to move; maybe we don’t know the special moves that God gave us. Jesus had a special place in his heart for pawns of the world. He said the least in the world are the greatest in the kingdom of God.

With Jesus as our King, all of us are winners in life. God may not give us knights and queens, but God does give us parents and teachers, pastors and grandparents and many others to serve and protect one another and care for the world. But most importantly, God gives us Jesus as our King—we are servants of the king and we serve in God’s kingdom.

Let us pray: God of love, you give us all we need to play the game of life well. When we’re feeling like lowly little pawns, remind us that we are loved by Jesus our King. You created us as your servants with special moves. By your Holy Spirit, help us to follow your rules, guide us in the choices we make, and teach us to work together in Jesus’ name. Amen. The Word

(Deuteronomy 30:15-20) See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

(Psalm 119:1-8) 1 Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. 4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 5 O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances. 8 I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.

(1Corinthians 3:1-9) And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

(Matthew 5:21-37) “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Sermon Notes

Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment. Garry Kasparov

Don't be afraid of losing, be afraid of playing a game and not learning something. - Dan Heisman

You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas. Stanley Kubrick

The older I grow, the more I value pawns. - Paul Keres

You work for a long period of time and the results don't really show, but at some point everything just comes together and you start to play better, or get more confidence. - Fabiano Caruana

To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game. - Savielly Tartakower

A real sacrifice involves a radical change in the character of a game which cannot be effected without foresight, fantasy, and the willingness to risk. - Leonid Shamkovich

On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not last long. - Emanuel Lasker

When the Chess game is over, the Pawn and the king go back to the same box. - Irish proverb

For more chess quotes, visit: www.chessquotes.com