I, John - A Tale Of Two Kingdoms

“A Tale of Two Kingdoms” – December 19, 2021(Sunday AM)

Subject: What is the connection between religion and politics?

Complement: its a confusing connection - but our King is Jesus

Big idea: The government shall be upon his shoulders.

Introduction: (the sermon is told by John in first person); I come to the pulpit dressed as a fisherman.

Merry Christmas! --- how’s the fishing in these parts?

“Arn??? I said Arn??? (people reply; "Narn"). *** this is a local expression, unique to NFLD.

I used to fish for fish... now I fish for people.

Do you like talking politics?... well in my day we had plenty to talk about – those ruthless Romans...

I’ve come to realize that “Politics” is just another word for “power”

Politics is everywhere... because people are everywhere.

Isn’t it interesting how religion and politics intersect – and how one gets confused with the other! ...maybe you have overcome this confusion???

Some people say ....”don’t talk politics or religion” – I say how can we not talk about these matters – they are so important!!!

Me... I’m a political prisoner on Patmos – my name is John - son of thunder...

John, the disciple of Jesus.

Rome... sees me, as a threat to its power... (!)

Patmos is a small outcropping of rock off the coast of turkey...

The view of the Mediterranean sea is quite beautiful and the ocean breezes are warm... but a prison is a prison.

My heart is with my 7 churches on the mainland...Ephesus... Philly...Smyrna...Laodicea...Thyatira...Sardis...Pergamum.

Sometimes I forget that I’m not really a prisoner... that Rome isn’t in charge, and I belong to another king – and another kingdom.

Do you?

Do you ever forget who your king is?

...I want to tell you the Christmas story – it's a tale of two kingdoms...

...you must understand that I wasn't there when Jesus was born... I came on the scene years later – I was a rough and ready fisherman – who became a disciple of Jesus ... then a preacher...then a pastor ... and a theologian- writer - and now a prisoner.

Ephesus was my primary place of ministry... those were pioneering days... breaking new ground is hard work.

• 7 churches were under my care.

• I guess in some ways you could say I went from fishing to farming – take your pick – they are both very demanding.

• But when there was fruit to harvest – a soul who repented... freed from sin and its corrosive effect – well that was a good day. A day to rejoice.

My name is John...

My brother James and I were known as “the sons of thunder” –

that’s a nod to father.

You may know him as Zebedee – we knew him as “thunder.”

His voice was deep,

His strength was enduring,

His presence was impossible to ignore.

O yes... “thunder,” was a good description of father.

But I’m an old man now – and a prisoner... I’m pretty worn out. Or so I thought – turns out old age has some benefits. We see things that no one else sees – just because we are old. It's partly the ability to compare and contrast things... we see patterns that stretch over the years... we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t...Mind you, the younger crowd doesn’t always listen to us – they think they’re smarter and wiser... but we know better.

Yes, old age has its benefits indeed.

And being old - I’ve had time to write.

I didn’t want to write anything too soon – I needed to settle things in my mind – plus, I was too busy – on the go all the time.

But eventually I wrote an account of Jesus and his ministry – after all, I had a front row seat

...and I tried to use a different approach from Matthew, Mark and Luke – I didn’t need to copy their style.

I wanted it to be my own – rather than a story-by-story narrative... I decided to write a theological essay - to capture the essence of Jesus of Nazareth.

I think it turned out quite good – of course I can’t take all the credit – the HS helped me along – I wouldn’t want it any other way.

...I’ve been on this road now for some 50 years. I guess you could say I’m the last man standing from the original team of 13. Jesus called us to follow him – and we did... “the 12”... We were as shocked as anyone.

**Miracles – there were many.

Mercy – more than all the priests combined.

Ministry – mostly on the streets...

That was Jesus and the 12...

Preaching. Teaching. Talking. Listening. Praying.

3 great years...

We thought he was going to set up his own government and sit on David’s throne...