Sunday Sermon on Miracles

Today’s Gospel reading from Mark starts with Jesus placing his hands over Peter’s mother in law, and instantly curing her fever. Then the Disciples brought many people from the City of Capernaum to Jesus. Jesus would then proceed to heal people of a variety of illness’ while driving demons out of them.

Now this story of Jesus healing people with his touch might seem hard to believe.. But this is just one of many stories about Jesus that might seem hard to believe. For it is hard to believe that Jesus was really born of a virgin? It is hard to believe that Jesus really did walk on Water. It is hard to believe that Jesus fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of Bread and 2 fish. It is hard to believe that Jesus could turn Water into wine? It is hard to believe that Jesus could cure the sick of their illness with his touch. And it is hard to believe that Jesus rose from the dead two days later.

For the miracles of Jesus can be difficult to believe in, since we never have experiences like them.. For example you could pour a pitcher of water into a cup millions of times, and it in all likihood won’t turn into wine. If you were to go out on Lake Shamineau, and try to step out of a boat and walk on water, you would instantly realize why swimming lessons are a good idea. You could go out to Lakewood Health Center everyday for years, touch everyone there in a hospital bed, and no one would be instantly healed of serious illness. You never hear of anyone being born of a virgin, and you have never seen the dead walking around town. For The miracles of Jesus seem so spectuaalr, so extraordinary in this day, that it can be easy to wonder if they really happened. –

But when someone goes up to me and says “Did Jesus really do all the miracles that the Bible said he did,?-
It takes me a half-second to respond “Absolutely, yes”. For although Miracles are so contradictory to our everyday experiences, they are at the very center of the Christian Faith. –
For The Christian Faith without Miracles, would be like the Super Bowl being played today without a football, there would’t be much there. –

When looking at how miracles shape the Christian faith.
In The Virgin Birth- Jesus was born of a virgin, so that he was would be different than every other child, For Jesus was God born in human flesh.
It was because Jesus was God in human flesh that his resurrection became possible. - Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, so he could overcome sin and death the- the penalty of sin. For only God in human flesh could do what no human could do, and that was live a life without sin, and then defeat sin’s penalty in death by his resurrection. .

He did this out of his great love for people, all that they may be saved. How did people hear of this salvation through the Bible. For The Bible itself is miraculous in its origins. For it is not just the written words of humans like Harry Potter, Moby Dick, or Tom Sawyer. For the Bible is authoriative in that it is God’s inspiriation and God’s conviction of people that brought God’s very word and the message of salvation to be written down and spread throughout all nations.
For without these miracles of Christ’s birth, Christ’s message , or Christ’s resurrection then there would be no way for us to receive salvation.

But still people will say? Miracles are so strange? So out of the ordinary? How can I ever believe in them? Well if one believes in God. They would say that God created nature as it is. By this I mean someone would say God created the world so that people need to be born with two parents, God created the world so you can’t stand on top of water. God created the world so when people died, they stayed dead.

But just as God created all these things in this world, he can change all these things in his very creation. Anything that in this world that might seem impossible, God as this world’s creator can make possible.

For Also, if you believe that God created the universe, created life as we know it, , and God watches over creation today, it is not hard to believe at all that a God this powerful can perform miracles when he wants..–

For no different than a writer changing their own book? Or a cook changing their own recipe. Or a Basketball Coach their game plan. -

God can change his creation when he wants, to perform miracles, for his own reasons, most of all to bring us salvation. ?-
What difference does it make one might say if Jesus miracles aren’t true?-

For there are important reasons for why Jesus’ miracles need to be true. Such as to deny miracles is to say the Bible isn’t true, or that if Christ couldn’t do miracles, how can he be God. –

But the most important reason, Jesus’ miracles need to be true. Is because the miracle of Christ’s resurrection is the most important event of the Christian Faith. The resurrection is the very foundation of our
salvation.

For In 1 Corinthians 15verse 14- in some of the most important words in scripture, Paul speaks to the resurrection. And he states –
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” For the miracle of Christ overcoming sin and death by his resurrection is of such importance. If it didn’t happen there would be no point in getting up on a Sunday morning and being here today. In fact, there would be no point in having any sort of faith in Jesus Christ. If Christ hadn’t been raised from the dead, and I was visiting someone on their death bed, I really don’t know what I could tell them. –

- For as Paul says” For if Christ hadn’t been raised from the dead, we would face punishment and not forgiveness for our sins.”

But Paul then gives hope later on in 1 Corinthians 15 when he says-
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first of many to be raised.-
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.-
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”.-

It is because of Christ overcoming the one thing everybody will experience in this world - Pause- death, that we too have hope that one day we may overcome death, and be with God for all eternity. . It is because Christ was raised from the dead, that we know that God can overcome all the pain, sin, and suffering of this world. It is because Christ was raised from the dead, that we may have comfort in our most difficult of hours. It is because Christ was raised from the dead, that we gather here on Sunday morning’s to worship a God, who we know loves us because he died and rose again so we may be forgiven of our sins.

For We worship here Sunday mornings because it is through God’s miracles of becoming man, dying and rising again, and revealing his message through the Bible, that we receive his grace and salvation. –

When we read accounts of miracles in the Bible they might seem strange, we might even wonder did they did really happen. But miracles can happen, because we have a God who created this world in every detail, and is powerful enough to perform miracles. And the reason God acted in Christ Jesus through miracles, wasn’t just because he could, but so we may that we may receive God’s wonderful gift of salvation. Amen