Posted on by Cheryl Norman

In Christ Alone

Pastor Sherry’s message for April 13, 2026

Scriptures: Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Ps 16; 1 Pet 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

We are a people who believe in Christ’s Resurrection. Do we live today—post Easter—as though we really do? If we aren’t sure, our God has shown us how. Our readings today give us 4 vital ways. Let’s unpack them using the verses of (another) contemporary Christian song; It was written in 2002 by Adrienne Liesching and Geoff Moore, ”In Christ Alone.”

Verse 1: In Christ alone my hope is found.

He is my light, my strength, my song.

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.

My comforter, my all in all.

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In our Acts lesson, 2:14a, 22-32, it’s 9:00 am on the Day of Pentecost and the people think the apostles are drunk. Peter, who has recently stumbled in his faith, is powerfully energized! He’d been afraid that he too might be crucified. But now, he preaches the first sermon in what is known as “the Church Age”—leading to the conversion of 3,000 Jews. Obviously, both he and his fellow apostles are Fired Up! They know Jesus is Who He said He was! That He is their light, their strength, their song; that He is the Chief Cornerstone, their solid ground, the source of their (and our) salvation. They therefore trust that He will see them through every problem that threatens them.

If we are living into Easter, we too should be fired up! We, too, can trust that our God is Who He says He is. God did what is impossible for people; He raised Jesus Christ from the grave. So, we too can see Him as our strength and our salvation. Because of Him, we, too, have nothing to fear. Like them, we can affirm, Here in the love of Christ we stand!

Verse 2: In Christ alone who took on flesh-

Fullness of God in helpless babe—

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Til on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied,

For every sin on Him was laid.

Here in the death of Christ I live.

Our Gospel lesson is from John 20:19-31. St. John details two Post-Resurrection appearances to the frightened apostles: Everyone but Thomas is present for the first visit. The 10 see and believe that Jesus is alive! They realize anew that He must be Who He claimed to be: God. They see that He really did accomplish what He said He would: overcoming the power of sin and death over humankind. And they receive from Him (1) His deep shalom peace—not dependent on our circumstances but on our relationship with Jesus; (2) A mission or purpose: As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you (v.21). He was ordaining them for ministry; telling them they would need to pick up their cross, like Him and follow Him; and to be ready to lose their life so as to gain it. (3) Finally, He gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit-→God’s empowerment to do all that He was asking them to do, and God’s discernment for forgiving people their sins, in Jesus’ name.

If we are living into Easter, we too believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection. If we believe, we too are born to eternal life! As St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)–>God made Him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. If we believe, we too receive Christ’s peace; life purpose, mission, or ministry; and the powerful assistance of His Holy Spirit. We also realize that, Here in the death of Christ we live.

Verse 3: There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the World by darkness slain.

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again.

And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine…

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Thomas misses out and does not believe their reports. A week later Jesus returns so Thomas can see for himself. How gracious of the Lord to be patient with our unbelief! How sweet of Him to come back for the one (lost sheep) who still didn’t get it. Then look at the lengths to which Jesus goes to prove to practical Thomas what the others already accept. Finally convinced, Thomas confesses, “My Lord & My God!” You see, Jesus doesn’t expect us to park our intellect at the church door. He meets us where we are, and if our hearts are willing, and our eyes are open, He shows us He is alive, living, victorious!

If we are living into Easter, we too share in His victory over sin and death! We, too, can believe that He has defeated Satan’s power over us. We, too, can celebrate our freedom in and through Christ! As St. John tells us, (Jn 3:16, NIV)–>For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ has ransomed us with His life. We, too, can rest assured that We are His and He is ours…bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Verse 4: No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand.

Til He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Psalm 16 is a prophesy from King David, also known as “The Song of the resurrection.” In it, David foretells of (verses 8-9), Jesus’ life and death. In verse 10, he predicts Jesus’ resurrection (NLT)-→For You [meaning God the Father] will not leave My soul [meaning that of Jesus] among the dead or allow Your Holy One [Jesus] to rot in the grave. Jesus, and David, both put their whole trust in God, and so should we.

In 1 Peter 1:3-9, the never-again-wavering Peter both celebrates Christ’s resurrection and warns us of trials to come. In verses 3-5, He practically dances with joy because of what the resurrection means for us all (NLT)-→All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

But he also warns us—and he should know—to anticipate that we will experience trials that will test our faith, (verses 6-7, NLT)-→So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold….We have all suffered tests of our faith, haven’t we? It’s so tempting to bail on God when things in our lives get rough. But here is Peter exhorting us not to abandon Jesus when we experience times of trial. And difficulties. Remembering this, realizing our hope is “in Christ,” Here in the power of Christ we’ll stand.

Because of Jesus’ death on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead, we believers can live into new Easter attitudes and new, improved Easter behaviors: We can live life fearlessly, trusting in the love and protection of our Lord. We can rely upon the fact that He has paid the price for our sins so we too will be resurrected and live with Him, eternally, in heaven. We can relax in His love, knowing He has redeemed us with His blood. And, we can rest assured that He has the power to help us overcome the worst Satan and the world can throw at us.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Alleluia, Alleluia!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

Pastor Sherry’s message for Easter Sunday

Scriptures: Jer 31:1-6; Ps 118:1-2,14-24; Acts 10:34-43; Matt 28:1-15

We opened our worship service this morning with the hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” (p.251 of the new Global Methodist Church hymnal)

It was written by Charles Wesley, who lived from 1707-1788, and “was probably the greatest hymnwriter the Christian Church has ever known.”

(Robert K. Brown & Mark R. Norton, The One Year Book of Hymns, Tyndale House, 2024, p.88.) He was the youngest brother of John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist denomination. Both brothers were Anglican priests, serving the Church of England. Rev. John was known for the radical idea of preaching outdoors. Actually, the Church of England at that time was spiritually dead. John and Charles Wesley were both filled with the Holy Spirit and “on fire” for Christ. Their desire for revival, and their preaching aimed at winning souls to Christ, distressed many of their parishioners and the Anglican Church authorities, so they were put out of the Church! Then John and Charles simply took the Gospel to the people, preaching in city squares, and outside factories and coal mines. Their congregation became the poor and often illiterate agricultural, industrial, and mine laborers of the day.

Rev. John moved about the countryside on horse-back, and Charles often accompanied him. It is said that Charles wrote an average of two hymns a week as they traveled, from age 31 (the year of his conversion) until his death, 50 years later. His over 6,500 wonderful hymns were a brilliant way for those who could not read the Bible to learn about Jesus. Some of his most memorable hymns are “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,”and, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”

Consider the lyrics of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” a hymn about Jesus’ resurrection, including simple, but theologically sound lyrics, easy to remember:

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply. Alleluia!

Charles is teaching that all earthly and heavenly beings celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

Lives again, our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting, Alleluia!

Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Why do heaven and earth celebrate?  Because Jesus defeated death and saved us  Death has dogged human beings ever since Adam and Eve. But the grave could not confine our Lord Jesus! He broke the bondage of death through His resurrection (echoing St. Paul, from 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT) who quotes from Hosea 13:14-→Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death…But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. How beautiful that people who could not read, could learn this hymn and be reassured that the grave would not be their final end if they believed in Jesus!

Our Scripture lessons today all reiterate this truth:

A. In our Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 31:1-5, God reassures us of His continuous, faithful love for Israel and for us. The Lord asserts through the prophet (v.3, NLT)-→”I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to Myself.” He is saying to them and to us that—despite our sinfulness and despite how often we disappoint Him–He still loves us! He has not given up on us. He promises in this chapter that He will one day restore Israel, both so that they will again worship Him; but also, in God’s great scheme of things, they will also come to worship His Son, Jesus. The implication, then, is that we will be resurrected and in Heaven so we too can worship Him there.

B.  St. Luke, in Acts 10:34-43, affirms this when he writes that one result of the resurrection was that Jesus’ work on the Cross opened the way for us Gentiles to gain entrance into God’s Kingdom. As we have often noted, ethnic divisions were deeply ingrained in the Jews in 1st century Israel. For the Israelites, there were only two categories: Jews (God’s Chosen people) and Gentiles (everyone else). Knowing this, Peter is surprised to be summoned to the home of the Roman Centurian, Cornelius (He managed a troop of over 100 men). His household already knew about and believed in the Jewish God. Peter enters his home and announces: (v.34, NLT)–>I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.

Peter’s sermon from vv.36-43 is truly a great summary of the entire Gospel. In short, (a) Jesus lived and walked among us, preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out demons; (b) He died on the Cross to satisfy the penalty for our sins; (c) And He rose again, demonstrating His power over sin and death. Cornelius and his family and friends wanted to be baptized and to become Christ-followers. Then the Holy Spirit fell on them all, validating what Peter had been told. All of us who are “in Christ” (have been born again) are going to heaven.

C. Scholars tell us that Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, was sung by Jewish believers, from memory, at the Passover meal. Jesus, the true Passover Lamb, would have sung it with His apostles after they drank the final cup of wine at His Last Supper. The psalm is a song of salvation, celebrating the victory of a reigning king who had once been looked down upon. Several verses are particularly meaningful when viewed in the light of the resurrection: Verse 18, NIV–>I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord…He has not given Me over to death. Jesus was laid dead in a tomb; but He did not remain there as we know. Instead, He rose again, overcoming death! And verses 22-23, NLT–>The stone [the rock: Jesus] that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see.  Verse 24 summarizes it all beautifully (NLT)-→This is the day [Resurrection Day/Easter Sunday] the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Today, the universal Christian Church celebrates Jesus’ resurrection.

D. Our Gospel gives us John’s version of the events of Resurrection morning (John 28:1-15). He reiterates what the other Gospels attest to: women, not the men, were the first eye-witnesses to the Resurrection. This is important to note as women were not considered reliable witnesses in those days.

Remember, our God likes to do things “opposite the ways of the world.” I think He was also affirming that He valued women. So, the angel appears to Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother of James and Joses/Joseph), 2 witnesses. They were greeted by a shining angel, following an earthquake and the supernatural opening of the tomb. The Roman guards are so shocked they faint away. This in itself is unlikely as these were hardened men. It seems the angel didn’t want them to overhear his conversation with the women. The angel tells the ladies that Jesus is alive! He has risen! They can look into the tomb and see for themselves that His body is gone. They are to go tell the disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead, and intends to meet them in Galilee.

Even better, as they are on their way to witness to the men, they encounter Jesus Himself! He tells them not to be afraid—don’t you love it?! And to tell the men to rendezvous with Him—away from Jerusalem—in Galilee.

Meanwhile, the guards revive and have to report they’ve lost the One whose body they had been assigned to guard. This could have resulted in capital punishment for each of them. However, the Jewish religious leaders concoct a convenient narrative: Despite the sealed tomb, and the contingent of battle-hardened soldiers, Jesus’ unarmed followers stole His body! They have to bribe the soldiers to agree to collude with them. And Matthew informs us that many Jews believe that false narrative, that hoax, to this day—proving yet again, at least regarding false narratives, that there is nothing new under the sun.

But John and Charles Wesley, like us, knew the true story, and Charles enshrined it in his hymn:

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

(Jesus is victorious over death.)

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the Cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

    (We too shall die to be raised again.)

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Good Friday Meditation

Pastor Sherry’s message for 4/13/2026, 

Scriptures: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; John 18:1-40.

Some years ago, I provided some psychological (as a licensed psychologist) and spiritual (as an ordained pastor) training at a nearby Christian residential treatment center for those suffering from mental health issues or addictions. In response to something I said, one young man wanted to know what made me think Christianity is superior to any other of the great world religions. The treatment center is avowedly Christian, so I was surprised that he appeared to believe that Jesus is just like any other religious figure, one among equals. I also soon realized he was less interested in discovering an answer and more committed to being provocative. I have to credit the Holy Spirit, but as I thought for a minute, He led me to say, “It is the only world religion in which God chose to die for His people.” That answer seemed to have caused him to think. I hope it also opened a way for him to draw closer to our Lord.

On Good Friday, today, we commemorate the day our God died. We say, “Christ died for us,” and that is true. Over 2000 years ago, on a hill just outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ—God in the form of a man–died on a cross. As Revelation 13:8 (NLT) tells us, He was…the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. In other words, this was not a “Plan B,” devised by the Trinity when it became evident that people could not, on their own, sustain an intimate relationship with a holy God. It had always been God’s plan that His Son would die as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all of us. At the Cross of Christ, we see our God at His most loving and at His best. We also see human beings at our worst. 

Our Scripture passages appointed for today are all appropriately solemn. The Apostle John’s “Passion Narrative” (please read it now) takes us through Jesus’ arrest; His trials before the former high priest, Annas, the current high priest, Caiaphas, and the Roman overlord, Pontius Pilate; then finally to His actual crucifixion. What is stunning in John’s account is how calm Jesus appears to be. We know He had been so stressed earlier that, as He prayed, He sweated blood. Now that His time had come, however, as a huge detail of men arrives to capture Him, He seems to be firmly in control. Twice He tells them who He is—“I Am He” (meaning He is God) almost prompting them to proceed. Though the lynch mob was armed, Jesus would not allow them to become violent toward His disciples. He even chastised Peter for cutting off Malchus’ ear and heals the damage. One would think this might have alerted them that Jesus is who He says He is, but they are so bent on destroying Him that they ignore that evidence. Instead, they tie Him up and haul Him off to see Annas.

Now Annas had displeased the Romans, so, though legally out of power, he nevertheless still operated as the chief religious broker of Jerusalem. Biblical scholars say he was both brilliant and evil. Many credit him with the final plan to eliminate Jesus. He has his troops wait until the cover of night, when all those who loved Jesus would be home sleeping. Annas interrogates Him and an official of some sort strikes Jesus for what he interprets as insubordination. Jesus challenges them honestly (verse 23, NLT) If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating Me? The most just and honest person in the crowd calmly but firmly reminds them that they—and this kangaroo court–are out of line. By Jewish law, no court trial could begin or be held at night. Additionally, no one could legally strike a person on trial without a verdict. Finally, Jewish Law prohibited sentencing a man on the day he was brought to trial. Annas then sends Jesus to Caiaphas, the Roman’s choice for “high priest” and Annas’ son-in-law (an early example of nepotism).

John reminds us in 11:50 that Caiaphas had previously said to the Sanhedrin—when they were plotting how to eradicate Jesus—You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. The puppet high priest did not realize then that he had spoken prophetically. Nevertheless, Jesus knew that by this point, He had totally recommitted to laying His life down for the sins of Israel and for us. Caiaphas and Annas find Jesus guilty of blasphemy because He honestly admitted He is the Son of God. They would have liked to have stoned Him, but the Romans forbade any other nation to invoke capital punishment but them. So Jesus is next sent to Pilate.

Pilate tries every which way to free Jesus: He knows the Jewish religious establishment is just jealous of Him. He has Jesus scourged (39 lashings with a whip, one lashing short of killing Him), hoping this will satisfy their blood-lust. He offers to set Him free, but hands Him over to be crucified when the Jews threaten to report to Caesar that Pilate has let a man go who claimed to be the king of the Jews. And so, trading the sinless Son of God for a murderous insurrectionist, the Jewish leadership has their way and Jesus is crucified. Ironically, the sign on His cross identifies Him as King of the Jews in three languages: Hebrew, the language of religion; Greek, the language of culture and education; and Latin, the language of law and order. The Jews want it reworded, but for once Pilate would not give in. 

Notice that John does not tell us much about the crucifixion. The soldiers gamble over who will get His clothes, and John relates three statements Jesus makes as He is dying: (1) He asks John to care for His Mother, Mary; (2) He says He is thirsty; and (3) He asserts, It is finished (meaning the work of salvation He was set to do is complete). Lastly we learn that Jesus’ body was removed and buried just before the Sabbath began at sundown.

All four Gospel writers were all rather circumspect about Jesus’ six hours on the Cross. They each highlight His dignity, but they did not want us to focus on the grusome details of His agony. J. Vernon McGee (Through the Bible Commentary on John, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.106) says the Father deliberately made darkness come over the land from noon until 3:00pm so that curious observers could not witness Jesus’ intense suffering. McGee writes so eloquently, “It was during that time of darkness when men could no longer do anything, the Son of God was working on the Cross. It was during those 3 hours in blackness that the Cross became an altar and the Son of Man, the Lamb of God, paid for the sins of the world.” Jesus was of course suffering from extreme physical torment, but also because He had taken on all the past, present, and future sins of the world, spiritual torture—as well as experiencing for the first time–being totally separated from His Father, emotional and cognitive anguish.

To get a sense of what the crucifixion was like, we have to turn to the Isaiah (52:13-53:12) and Psalm (22) lessons. The Isaiah lesson appointed for today (please read it now) is the 4th Suffering Servant Song. It is a Messianic prophesy, written about 700 years before the events actually transpired, but fulfilled perfectly by Jesus. It is a prediction of how Messiah would be treated prior to and during His execution. Isaiah tells us that Jesus will be raised high, lifted up (on the Cross), but also highly exalted (when it is all over). No one who viewed Him carrying His Cross would think this could ever be so. He will, in fact, startle the whole world—render them speechless—because it will be through the loss of all things that He gains all things.

To begin with, He looked ordinary, not model or movie star handsome. Isaiah foretold that He would be (v.3, NLT) :…despised and rejected–a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief….He was beaten beyond recognition; pierced, crushed, oppressed, afflicted; executed in the worst possible way, like a common criminal, hanged between two true felons; and he died childless, cut off—a condition the Jews would have regarded as evidence of a tragic, futile existence. People will think He got what He deserved, but He didn’t: (vv.4-5, NLT) :Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Verse 9 tells us He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man’s grave. The Father will richly reward Him (v.11, NIV) :After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life [resurrection], and be satisfied…Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong.  In other words, God intends to reward Him as though He were a king sharing in the spoils of a great military victory. His rewards derive from having gone willingly to death and from having interceded with His body for our sins.

Psalm 22 (please read it now) reveals to us Christ’s thoughts from the Cross. He feels forsaken by His Father—even though the Father had been present with Him as He was arrested, subjected to His ludicrous trials, beaten, and nailed to the Cross. But the Father turned His back on Him when He became sin for us, from noon until 3:00pm. He admits to feeling like a worm. This was a specific type of worm, called a “Coccus,” which emitted a substance used to make red dye—symbolic of Jesus’ blood poured out for us. From the Cross, He feels surrounded by His enemies: The soldiers are the many bulls…the strong bulls of Bashon (a place where cattle were raised); His tormentors from the foot of the Cross (Scribes, Pharisees, the hostile Jewish mob) resemble (v.13) :roaring lions tearing their prey; and (v.16) :dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. Nevertheless, He trusts in the love of His Father.

Biblical scholars tell us Jesus fulfilled 28 prophesies of the Messiah from the Cross (McGee, p.159). We can recognize them from our Psalm and Isaiah readings. The sinless Son of God laid down His life for us, paying the penalty for our sins, clothing us in His righteousness, and reconciling us to God the Father. These sacred writings prove to us that Jesus—and only Jesus–was and is the Messiah, the Son of God. 

Psalm 30:5 says, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. The only way to the joy of Easter is through the agony of Good Friday. In God’s economy, suffering often appears to precede satisfaction, trial comes before triumph, clouds before sunshine, rain before flowers. Today, let’s remember that salvation is free for humankind, but it cost God and Jesus everything! Let us remember our Lord today with gratitude and abiding love! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory—over sin and our death penalty–through our Lord, Jesus Christ! AMEN!  

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Amazing Love!

Pastor Sherry’s message for March 29, 2026

Scriptures: Isa 50:4-9a; Ps 31:9-16; Phil 2:5-11; Matt 26:14-27:66

Back in 2003, the Newsboys (a Christian boy band) released a song called “You are my King (Amazing Love).” I’ve always loved that song! Here is a link to the video: Amazing Love by Newsboys with lyrics I love this song because it expresses so well what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

Today, the Christian Church celebrates Palm Sunday—the anniversary of the day of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The people hailed Him as their Messiah—and they were right! But in a few short days later (by Good Friday), the palm waving ended in His procession to Golgatha. That’s why we ask Joy, who has such a lovely soprano voice, to sing the “Via Delorosa” today—Jesus did experience such a sad painful journey on the road to Calvary.

From today through Holy Week to Easter Sunday, we move from joy to grief to extraordinary, resurrection joy again. But what was the point? What did God intend for us to learn?

Well first, Jesus’ mission on earth fulfilled about 300 Old Testament prophesies (There are another 25-26 that He won’t fulfill until His 2nd Coming.)

Many prophets said the Messiah was coming. They described exactly what He would do when He arrived on the scene (His job description is foretold in Isaiah 61:1-3). They predicted how He would die (Psalm 22 and the portion we read today from Psalm 31, as well as the 4 “Suffering Servant Songs” from Isaiah—including Isaiah 50:4-9). And they also insisted He would overcome the power of death. One of the more subtle prophesies comes from way back in Genesis 3:14-15, which tells us that the Christ will crush Satan’s head. What’s fascinating about this is that Jesus died at Golgatha, which means the place of the skull.

This demonstrates that Jesus’ death fulfilled God’s plan and purpose. His death was not just a sad outcome of Judas’ lack of faith or of the Jewish religious leadership’s jealousy; nor was it just one of many, many oppressive Roman attempts to ensure peace in a turbulent country. No, it was God’s demonstration of His extreme love for us! Think of John 3:16-→For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. God sent His sinless Son (see Philippians 2:5-11) to humbly and obediently take our guilt upon Himself and to ransom us from the death penalty we had incurred.

Jesus also went to the Cross for us so that we might, once again, regain the sweet fellowship with God that was lost to us by Adam and Eve when they sinned in the garden. Our God is holy. He will not abide in the presence of sin. When sin entered the world, through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, humankind realized there was nothing we could do on our own to get back into God’s good grace! Jesus’ saving act of dying on the Cross made this possible once again.  If we believe in Jesus, we are covered with His righteousness. (As St. Paul says, we are in Christ). Just as the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom at Jesus’ death, this ensures that there is now no impediment, no barrier between us and God the Father.

Back in 2005, an American pastor surveyed 100 Christians from several churches in his town. He asked them, “Would it have made any difference in your life as you are now living it, if Jesus had not died on the Cross?”

1. 45% said they did not think so—almost half!

2. 25% (1/4th) said they thought so, but they could not specify how;

3. 20% said it made all the difference in the world to them.

4. And 10% said they had no idea.

(As cited by Jeff Strite in www.sermoncentral.com, 3/19/2005

5. What a sad commentary on the work of the Church! We are clearly failing at convincing folks they need a savior and at bringing folks into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

So what would you say? I hope that each one of you realizes that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. I pray each one of you can say His sacrifice of Himself on the Cross means the world to you! He saved your life and He saved mine! I also pray you live each day in that knowledge and that you allow His tender, self-sacrificial love to gently transform you into the image and likeness of Christ—becoming the best you the Lord meant you to be. Lastly, I pray you live each day of your life praising Jesus for saving you!

©️2026 Rev Dr Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Complete Restoration

Pastor Sherry’s message for March 22, 2026 

Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Ps 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

The story is told that…

“In a remote Swiss village stands a beautiful church–Mountain Valley Cathedral. It has high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows, but what makes it special is the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from far off lands just to hear the lovely tunes of this organ.

“One dreadful day something went wrong with the pipe organ. It released the wrong tones and produced only sounds of disharmony. Musicians and experts from around the world tried to repair it. No one could find the problem. It was uniquely made; it had been customized, so no one really knew how to fix it. They gave up.

“After some time, one old man arrived for a worship service. “Why wasn’t the pipe organ used?” It’’s not playing right” said the church staff. “Let me try to fix it,” replied the man. Since it had been lying there essentially useless, the staff reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at it. For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The church workers were, in fact, getting a bit nervous. Then on the third day at noon, suddenly music poured forth from what had been a dead instrument. The pipe organ gave off the best music after so many years. The people in the village heard the beautiful music. They came to the church to see. This old man was playing at the organ. After he finished, one man asked, “How did you fix it? How did you manage to restore this magnificent instrument when even the world’s experts could not?” The old man said, “It was I who built this organ fifty years ago. I created it, and now I have restored it.”

(James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988, pp. 244-245.)

It took the creator of the organ to restore it. The congregation of Mountain Valley Cathedral were totally blessed when the fellow who built the organ showed up. The old fellow had designed and constructed it; so he certainly would know what needed to be done to restore it.

Now think about us. Who is there who is in the best position to restore us?

Medical science knows a lot about the human body—and I am not trying to disparage them, as they have been gifted by God to help–but their medicine doesn’t always heal us does it? We can read self-help books or listen to podcasts by “experts,” regarding what ails us, or even order supplements off the internet said to be healing, but even they often disappoint.

Our divine Creator is both knowledgeable enough and powerful enough to restore us. Nicodemus (from John 3)came to Jesus wanting to know how to enter heaven-→Jesus, the King of Heaven, told him to be “born again”—to develop a personal relationship with His Savior, which he did. The woman at the well (from John 4) wanted water she would not have to draw from the well daily—Jesus told her He is the Living Water, God’s Word made flesh. If she repented of her sins, and drank in His words daily, she would never spiritually thirst again. The man born blind (from John 9) was given his sight by Jesus,

He then gazed upon the Messiah. The skeptical Pharisees missed out, but the newly sighted man perceived the Light of the World. In today’s Gospel, John 11, Jesus demonstrates His power over life and death, revealing Him as the Resurrection and the giver of Life.

Our Scripture lessons today all stress our Lord’s ability to bring us to bring us exactly what we need, to bring us to complete restoration: 

A. Let’s begin with our Old Testament lesson from Ezekiel 37:1-14. The prophet Ezekiel is foretelling the restoration of the nation of Israel. At that time, the Israelites—due to their idolatry and rebellion– had been taken captive by the Babylonians and exiled away from the Promised Land. While still in captivity, God sent His mouthpiece, Ezekiel, to tell them the Lord meant to revive them spiritually, and to bring them home. In a sense, they are just like the dry, desiccated bones lying about in a disconnected disarray. A modern crime scene investigator would have postulated a titanic battle had taken place and the victors had denied their vanquished foes a proper burial (a sign of contempt). But the Lord tells His prophet these bones are what is left of His Chosen People.

The Lord then instructs the prophet to prophesy to the bones—i.e., to tell them God’s truth. As Ezekiel speaks God’s words over the bones, they reassemble in stages: From scattered fragments to cadavers (bodies without life), to a restored and living assembly! The prophet speaks, but it is our God who gives them life. Since our God creates life, like the old organist, He can certainly bring about complete restoration!

B. Our psalmist (Psalm 130) wants us to remember that our God hears us when we call to Him out of our deep distress. Are you grieving? Tell the Lord about it. Are you worried about your health, your adult children, your grands, your finances? Take your anxieties to the Lord. Does the news upset you? Do the wars going on cause you concern. Each negative news item can become for you a prompt to prayer. We need to remember, as Beth Moore says, that when a problem is over our heads, it is always under God’s feet. We can put our faith in Him because He cares for us. He is a God of unfailing love (v.6). Verse 7 assures us that His redemption overflows. Again, the message is clear: Our God has the power to restore us completely.

C. As Paul writes in Romans 8:6-11 (NLT, v.9)-→But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. So we want to honor the Holy Spirit within us and listen to His guidance. Furthermore, we have this blessed assurance (v.10-11)-→And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Hallelujah! We will be resurrected! Hallelujah! We will receive completely restored, resurrection bodies!

D. In our Gospel lesson (John 11:1-45), Jesus calls the 4-days-dead Lazarus out from the grave, alive again! Laz is the third of three folks Jesus resurrected before going to the Cross: The first was the 12YO daughter of the synagogue leader, Jairus, who had just died minutes before Jesus came to her.

The second was the son of the widow of Nain, who was being carried to the grave yard for burial. Since they buried people quickly, due to the heat, he might have been dead a day. Then came Lazarus. As with the man blind from birth, God the Father wanted people to know that His Son, Jesus, had the power to do the impossible. The man said no one had ever heard of a person born blind restored to sight. Similarly, no one had ever experienced watching a person, dead long enough to have begun to decay, brought back to life.

Jesus was giving His followers yet another chance to believe He was/is the Son of God. This, though was the coup de gras! More than merely healing, this was a demonstration of complete restoration power, miraculous resurrection power! Jesus tells Martha (vv.25-26, NIV)-→I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die….If we have Jesus, we have life!

The great novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky learned this first hand and it permanently changed his life. As an educated young man from a wealthy family, he flirted with communist revolutionary thought in pre-revolution 1917 Russia.

The Czar learned of his activities and had him arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by a firing squad. Dostoevsky was blind-folded, dressed in burial clothes, bound, and led into a public square where he was tied to a post. The young writer heard the firing squad cock their guns. The order was given, “Ready, aim….” But just at that moment, a message arrived from the Czar to commute the death penalty to four years of hard labor. Dostoevsky later wrote that he never totally recovered from this experience.

On the train to prison in Siberia, he was given a copy of the New Testament, which he devoured. Realizing it was God who had saved him, he then turned his life over to Christ. Despite witnessing some truly evil things done by his cellmates, he developed the belief that humans are only capable of loving if they believe they are loved. His novels stress the Christian themes of sin, repentance, grace, and forgiveness. In other words, coming so close to death radically altered his sense of what is important in life. The soon -to-be-great Russian author had been profoundly affected by the Lord’s rescue (complete restoration) of him (Original source of this story unknown.)

Do you realize that we are not meant by our God to fear death? Or anything, really? Why would we when we worship a God who can completely restore us to life? Why would we when we realize that our Lord Jesus and Our Heavenly Father are supremely powerful and totally loving? They created us and They know what we need to live life at its fullest and best.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Alleluia! Alleluia! 

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Our God, the “Contrarian” 

Pastor Sherry’s message for March 15, 2026

1 Sam 16:1-13; Ps 23; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41

What is a “contrarian”? Have you ever been accused of being one?According to a number of excellent dictionaries, it means essentially,

“1.One who takes a contrary view or action, especially an investor who makes decisions that contradict prevailing wisdom, as in buying securities that are unpopular at the time.

“2. A person who habitually takes a view opposite to that held by the majority.

“The contrarians in the stock market prefer to sell when most analysts advise us to buy.”

“3. A person who expresses a contradicting viewpoint, especially one who denounces the majority persuasion.”

  1. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, as shared on Google.com)

In other words, a Contrarian” is someone who has opinions that differ from those of the majority of folks on certain issues. We tend to think of a contrarian as someone who is rebellious. Perhaps it could be said to describe you at times. I’m sure my ex-husband, and several bosses for whom I once worked said it of me. But, you know, it puts us in good company because it can also be said of both Jesus and of God the Father. We don’t want to be intentionally disagreeable—that would be neither Christian nor reasonable. Nevertheless, as one of my favorite Bible commentators, Rev. John Fairless (of “Two Bubbas and a Bible” fame) puts it:

“We don’t like it when God gets contrary, do we? We like God to color between the lines, to follow the speed limit and to stay in the right lane. And the Bible shows us a God who likes to speed, who can sometimes barely keep it between the ditches, who not only does not color between the lines; it sometimes appears that God doesn’t even know that the lines are there.”

(John Fairless and Delmer Chilton, The Lectionary Lab Commentarty, Year A,, 2013, p.91)

Fairless has exaggerated for effect, but he is saying that we tend to expect God to behave according to what we think is the one right and only way (usually our own opinion). But God is God and so what He or Jesus does is the true, right, and best way—even if it might not initially look that way to us.

This is clearly illustrated in our Old Testament and Gospel readings today:

A. In 1 Samuel 16:1-13, the prophet Samuel is tasked by God with anointing the continuously disobedient King Saul’s replacement. We learn that Samuel is reluctant to do so. He really loves Saul, despite Saul’s rebelliousness toward God. And he worries that if Saul gets wind of what he is doing in Bethlehem, the King will have him assassinated.

Despite his fears, Samuel gathers Jesse and his sons, under the guise of an impromptu worship service, and looks the seven sons over. He’s impressed with the eldest, Eliab, but God says, “NO, he’s not My choice. You are responding to what you see of his outward appearance”—the problem the people had when they selected Saul, who was tall and good looking. So, God redirects him by saying (v.7, NLT)…Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

He then asks Jesse if he has additional sons. It’s as though the youngest is so insignificant to his father that he has forgotten David. Jesse had other shepherds who could have tended the flock. However, he says in verse 11-→There is still the youngest, but he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats. David’s father had not planned for him to attend the worship service or the banquet to follow. But David, at 16, the youngest of 8, is the one God wants. And when Samuel anoints him as the next King of Israel, the Holy Spirit falls upon him, marking him as God’s choice.

How surprised—and perhaps how envious—the older brothers must have been! Instead of choosing the eldest brother, God–as we saw Him do with Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—chooses the youngest. This flies in the face of human expectations! We think that the baby son has the least experience and may be spoiled or entitled, having an underdeveloped character. But our “contrarian” God sees things in these younger sons that we might miss. God knows what trials they will face; and He also anticipates the character they will develop. Remember, despite his sins, King David proved himself to be (unlike King Saul) a man after God’s own heart!

B. Our Gospel lesson, John 9:1-41, relates the events surrounding Jesus’ healing of the man blind from birth.

First Jesus addresses the faulty but prevalent belief of the time that if you were somehow physically disabled, it was because you or your folks had seriously sinned. Being blind from birth was not his fate, or his karma–Christians do not believe in either. His condition was meant to provide the opportunity for God to prove that Jesus could heal a never-sighted person (v.3)-→This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

Then He heals him. Here’s where the questions, the doubt, and the fun begin: The neighbors question whether or not this newly sighted guy is truly the blind guy they known for years. He insists he is and that his healing is real, but they don’t believe him. How frustrating for him that he cannot convince them.

My question is “Why is no one rejoicing with him?”  This has never happened before, it’s a miracle. Why are the people who are acquainted with him not rejoicing?!!

Instead, the neighbors take him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees can’t rejoice in his new eyesight either because they get tangled up in the fact that Jesus healed (or did work) on the Sabbath! The Pharisees then argue over whether or not Jesus is from God or is a blatant sinner. They ask the man and he insists that Jesus must be a man of God, a prophet. But, because the whole enterprise contradicts their belief system—their narrative—they discount the man’s testimony and search out his parents. He’s a grown man! Lord have mercy!

They locate his parents and demand to know if the man was truly born blind. The parents have heard the Pharisees are throwing Jesus’ followers out of the Synagogue—the center of Jewish community in that day–so they are cagey with their response. Interestingly, even they don’t celebrate his healing. This makes me wonder if they were already missing the money he made from begging. If you truly loved your child, would you not be thrilled that he was now able to see?!! They wisely, and probably cheekily, tell the Pharisees to ask him for themselves.

The Pharisees call the man back in, saying (v.24)-→God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner. The man honestly states (v.24)-→I don’t know whether He is a sinner…but I know this: I was blind but now I can see! Can’t you just hear his frustration?

No doubt he is thinking, “I’ve never been able to see, but now I can, due to this man you call Jesus. Can’t you just celebrate with me?” So he tells the Pharisees (v.27)-→Look!…I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples, too? The Pharisees are frustrated too. Their perspective is that Jesus is a sinner, no one with Godly authority. So they curse this man whose only misstep was to have been healed by our Lord! They place their faith in Moses because they don’t trust in Jesus’ origins or His power. The healed man, probably inspired by the Holy Spirit, then takes them to school (vv.30-33)–> Why, that is very strange! He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where He comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, He couldn’t have done it. (He reminds me, in his “moxie” of the Samaritan woman at the well.) The Pharisees, however, are outraged—their pride is offended—so they do expel him from the Synagogue.

Jesus comes to his rescue again. He reveals Himself to the man as the long-awaited Messiah. He says He came to give sight to the blind, which He has done for this fortunate fellow (as per Isaiah 63:1); and to try to convince those who are spiritually blind that they do not see. Overhearing, the Pharisees get involved again and ask (v.40)-→Are you saying we’re blind? Now who is the contrarian? Jesus says, If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty [you’d have an excuse]. But you remain guilty because you claim you can see. The short answer is “Yes.” They are able to see physically but not spiritually; whereas the blind man was physically blind, prior to Jesus, but now sees spiritually, and with much more accurate perception than the religious leaders and teachers of his day.

So what might we learn from this? We have learned that life is not fair, and sometimes our God may not seem fair, as judged from our perspective. We say or think that He doesn’t do the things we think He should do, or that He doesn’t do them the way or the time we think they should be done. YIKES! We want to think that through carefully. We are not God and we are not privy to all that He knows and plans for us. If we can trust in His nature, we know He is the Good Shepherd as Psalm 23 tells us: He provides for us, protects us, and blesses us. St. Paul exhorts us (Ephesians 5:8-14) to live as people of the Light. Christ’s light shines out only what is good and right and true. This kind of behavior differs from secular wisdom and contemporary woke expectations. If we don’t see the evidence of God’s blessings in our lives today, we need to trust in His nature and wait—with hope and faith—for what He does in our future.

We have learned that God’s purposes are right and good. The Pharisees misjudged Jesus because He did not present Himself in ways that fit their expectations, their system, their narrative. If we are offended because our God often appears to be a contrarian, we need to remember He is God and we are not.  As a result, we should each probably ask ourselves, “What truth about God or Christ have I missed because it did not fit my view of how things should turn out?”

Just as King David’s family, the prophet Samuel, and the Blind man’s parents and his neighbors, we need to be willing to put our human assumptions aside and look to see what “opposite world” thing our God is doing. Jesus came to save the lost. We are lost—and inaccurate– if we insist that all things should go our way. But we worship a Jesus who is never lost, and who—as the Son of Man, the Christ, the Messiah, the Living Water, the Light of the World—came to show us the unerring way to the Father’s heart.

Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Passing God’s Tests

Pastor Sherry’s message for March 8, 2026

Scriptures: Ex 17:1-7; Ps 95; Ro 5:1-11; Jn 4:5-42

There is an anonymous story told of an Ohio State University student who was academically competent but tended to need time to complete assignments (he was smart but not speedy). He was troubled by a Calculus class he needed to pass—and wasn’t—taught by an annoying professor. The guy seemed to delight in frustrating his already discouraged students (You know the type. They seem to dislike students and should never be allowed to have authority over them.) During exams, he would walk around, watching them like a hawk, hoping to discover someone cheating; and he would frequently announce the amount of time left just to interrupt their trains of thought and to agitate everyone. In a class of 1,000 students, the slow-but-steady young man was the only one not to turn in his exam when time was called. The prof waited impatiently and then, an hour later, when the young man finally finished his test, the prof asked him what he thought he was doing. The young man answered, “Turning in my exam.” The prof replied, “Your exam is an hour late. Congratulations! You’ve failed it. So, I will see you next term when you repeat my class.” 

The student smiled and asked, “Do you know my name?” The professor replied gruffly, “What?” The student rephrased his question, “Do you know what my name is?” With irritation, the prof replied, “There are 1,000 students in this class. What makes you think I would know your name?” The student then smiled, and, lifting up a tall stack of test booklets, placed his completed test in the middle of the pile and casually exited the huge lecture hall.

Life sometimes presents us with tests–and authority figures– like that one. We may think our prospects are slim and we don’t have much of a chance at succeeding. The truth is that if we have a relationship with the Lord, we can make it through about any trial that might come. Let’s see what light our passages today have to shed on this issue: 

A. Our OT lesson comes from Exodus 17:1-7. The context is that God is leading His people from the Wilderness of Sin—and doesn’t sin truly place us in a wilderness?–to a placed called Rephidim. The Children of Israel have already experienced God’s miraculous deliverance of them from Pharaoh’s Chariots at the parting of the Red Sea. Three days into the desert, they come across a pond of bad water which the lord empowers Moses to turn good. He then leads them to an oasis with 12 delicious fresh water springs, so they can load up their water skins. By the 15th day out of Egypt, they have run out of food (except for their herds), but God supernaturally supplies them with manna. Now they find themselves at Rephidim where there is no water.

Having apparently learned little about trusting in the Lord for His provision, they fail to pray and ask for His assistance. Instead, they turn on Moses. It’s a test which they flunk. God has provided for them already, at least 3-4 times! Psychology tells us the best single predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Jehovah Jirah truly is our provider. By now, they should have trusted in the Lord and sought Him out in prayer. Moses, afraid for his life, pleads with God to intervene. And God uses him to lead them to the Rock at Horeb, at the base of Mt. Sinai (where they will soon receive the Ten Commandments).

There God makes water rush out from the rock, enough to satisfy 2 million people and only Heaven knows how many animals. Moses names the place Massah—which means testing—and Meribah—which means quarreling. It becomes a monument to their lack of faith in God.

It is also a testimony to their rebellion, their hard hearts, their ingratitude, and their self-pity. Many centuries later, Paul will write 1 Corinthians10:1-4-→I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. And he followed up in verses 9-10-→Do not…put Christ to the test, as some of them did and… don’t grumble as some of them did….Because Massah and Meribah is also a reminder of God’s gracious and abundant provision—in spite of His peoples’ attitudes and behavior! Unlike the calculus professor at Ohio State, God is for us, not against us. Our Lord tests us to help deepen our faith and trust in Him.

B. Psalm 95 picks up the same theme! This is one of the psalms that memorializes the Israelites’ rebellious lack of faith. Verses 8-10 state (NLT)-→The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw everything I did. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts turn away from Me. They refuse to do what I tell them.” Other psalms say essentially the same thing: Psalm 81:7-→You cried to Me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Psalm 105:40-41(NIV)-→They asked and He brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of Heaven. He opened the rock and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. Psalm 106:13 (NLT)-→Yet how quickly they forgot what He had done! They wouldn’t wait for His counsel!  In the desert their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that wasteland.

You see, our God tests our faith in Him. As we develop in our spiritual walk, He tests us to discover whether we love Him for what He does for us or because of Who He is. As Paul reminds us in Romans 5:3-5-→We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they they help us develop endurance [patience, persistence]. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

Returning to Psalm 95, God provided for that generation, but—because they repeatedly failed His tests, (v.11)—So in My anger I took an oath: They will never enter my place of rest [the Promised Land]. He did not detest them, but He was angry and grieved with and disappointed in them. They wandered in the wilderness because they did not trust God. He waited for the last of that adult generation to die before leading the people into the Promised Land. 

C. Our Gospel lesson (John 4:5-42) relates Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman around her need for living water. First, we note that He had to go through Samaria. Jews normally avoided traveling through Samaria.

The Samaritans had intermarried with non-Jewish northern people after 721BC, and were considered mongrels by their Jewish kin in Judea. Nevertheless, Jesus stopped there to fulfill a divine appointment with this woman. (Never believe that women are second class citizens in God’s eyes! Jesus, the King of Glory, went into Samaria precisely because the Father told Him to meet with this woman.)

She comes looking for water at noon, a time when other women would have been elsewhere. No doubt she hoped to avoid them, and their “snarky” comments. Additionally, she was probably lonely, discouraged, and feeling empty and weary.

She encounters Jesus, the Word Made Flesh, the Living Water. He engages her first, thus overcoming barriers of gender, race, religion, religious practice, and morality. He meets her where she is, with compassion and love. He steps into her reality, promising her water that…becomes a spring gushing up to eternal life. She is curious and asks Him to give her this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. But one thing stands in her way: her sinful lifestyle. Unlike the student from Ohio State, she is known to Christ. He knows her sinful history of 5 husbands and a 6th paramour. When He calls her out on her sins, she believes He is a prophet. But He reveals Himself to her as the promised Messiah. Thrilled, she abandons her water jugs and brings her whole village to Him. She and they all partake of the true Living Water, the Word of God, Jesus Christ. She and they—considered by the Jews to be no better than feral dogs—are transformed and saved!

We need to be aware that God will test our faith. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we should expect the testing to begin and not be surprised. Further, we don’t want to be stubborn and stiff-necked like the ancient Israelites, repeatedly failing God’s tests. No, we want to be like this Samaritan woman, realizing we are lost, unfulfilled, and desperate without Jesus. We want to learn from the tests to deepen our faith. We want the Holy Spirit to develop in us endurance and patience; to mold and shape our characters to look more and more like that of Jesus; to transform our attitudes and behaviors; to increase our hope; and to discover if we can continue to love Him even when He doesn’t give us what we want.

So the question really is, Will we pass God’s tests? When we experience deprivation, loss, a heart-breaking health diagnosis, or some trauma, will we doubt God’s presence and His provision, like the ancient Israelites? Or will we like Moses, go to Him in prayer for help, trusting in Him to rescue us? Or will we, like the Samaritan Woman, open ourselves to His loving correction and transforming power?

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams  

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Forgiving the Unforgivable

Pastor Sherry’s message for February 22, 2026

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Yesterday and the day before that, I led a women’s retreat on forgiveness. In three talks, I focused on “Forgiving Others,” Forgiving Self,” and “Forgiving God.” All of human forgiveness takes its cue from our God who sacrificially forgave us through the atoning death of His Only Son on the Cross. I’m not going to recapitulate for you what I had to say during the 2-day retreat. However, I do want to bring to your attention the documentary film work of Laura Waters Hinson. Back in 2006, she debuted her 53 minute, masters thesis film, called “As We Forgive,” a treatment of the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. I was present at a church conference where her film debuted and was amazed at the story she had to tell.

Perhaps you are familiar already with the genocide. The Hutu tribe—mostly farm workers—had gained power over the wealthy, landowning, and cattle breeding, but smaller tribe of Tutsi. The Hutu waged a campaign of hatred against the Tutsi, first dehumanizing them, then urging disaffected Hutu to search out and kill them. They had been neighbors for years, living together peacefully in the same villages. But in 100 days, the Hutu killed over a million Tutsi’s, mostly hacking them to death with machetes. Twelve years later, the Rwandan government decided to let the over 40,000 incarcerated, men who had murdered their countrymen and women, go free. Many were very worried about what would happen when convicted murderers returned home to their villages. 

At this point, several Christian Churches stepped in. They trained men as reconciliation counselors to meet with victims of the massacre, as well as with perpetrators of the violence. In Hinson’s documentary, she traces the stories of two women: (1) Rosario, a woman of faith, who had lost her husband and 4 children. She had been pregnant when the murderers found her family. They macheted her left shoulder, stabbed her in her left thigh, rammed her chest with rifle butts, and left her for dead. 6 months later, she gave birth to her daughter and named her the Rwandan word for “gift.” It is clear that her faith helped her cope with the heinous tragedy. She was going about life and seemed at peace. (2) The other woman in the film was Chantele. Her father had been ambushed and killed, by 3 men, two years before the genocide. During the genocide her husband and 28 members of her family were killed. She felt God had failed her, left the Church, and appeared to be embittered and depressed. 

A man named Saveri admitted in the film that he had killed 7 people. He said what he had done had “shattered his heart,” and that he was left with “terrible guilt.” When the reconciliation counselors approached him, he seemed to sincerely ready to apologize to Rosario and to do what he could to make amends to her. He, with others, helped build her a new home and joined with other villagers to harvest her sorgum crop. She was grateful to him and was able to forgive him. John was one of the men who had killed Chantele’s father. He felt very guilty and ashamed, saying he could not look her in the face, and that he was afraid to talk to her. With the assistance of a counselor, he did ask her to forgive him. She refused, adamantly, for 3 years, but was eventually convinced—perhaps by observing the difference in others who had reconciled—to grant John forgiveness. Her village friends cheered as she stated her forgiveness, and she, John, and John’s wife became friends. Her depression has lifted, her bitterness is gone, and her face seems lighter and brighter. This is demonstrated in a second short film (7 minutes long), a 3-year-later epilogue to “As We forgive.”  [I showed this epilogue in church this morning and recommend that you locate it and the longer film and watch them.] 

These Rwandans have truly forgiven the unforgivable. They have taken very seriously Jesus’ admonition in the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor (or the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant). I am including it below in the New Living Translation:

Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” [The rabbis taught that 3 times was enough, so Peter was being generous.]

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” [490 times, essentially meaning an infinite number]. 

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars [10,000 talents; scholars say the amount was worth $400,000,000 in today’s money—an inconceivable number; currently more than the Gross National Product of 80% of the countries in the world].  He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 

“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all’ [an offer of impossible retribution; notice he did not ask for forgiveness]. Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. [So who absorbed the debt? The king did, just as Father God did through Jesus’ atoning death for our sins!]

“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars [100 denarii, about 100 days’ wages for a working man then]. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded [notice his statement is almost the same as the unforgiving debtor].. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king [like modern day whistle-blowers] and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 

“That’s what My Heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.“

This is Jesus speaking! We will be tortured if we do not forgive. He’s not referring especially to hell, though unbelief and unforgiveness can land us there. He is implying that our own focus on what was done to us will continue to torment us unless we forgive. Remember, refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the wrong-doer to die. It is also giving them, and what they did or failed to do, space in our brains rent-free. We stay preoccupied with them and what they did to us; we ruminate over it, stay stressed, run up high levels of hydrocortisol, impair our immune system, and leave ourselves unprotected against opportunistic illnesses and diseases like flu, colds, cancer, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, etc. We unforgiving ones suffer while the wrong-doer may not care or may not even remember what they did or did not do.

The Koine Greek word Jesus uses in this parable is aphime which means—among other things—cut em loose. You see the Romans had another horrible way to exact capital punishment besides crucifixion: they would chain a cadaver to your back. It would stink and begin to break down until you became diseased and died. Imagine trying to sleep at night while attached to a cadaver. Jews in those days would be forbidden from attending synagogue (unclean due to touching something dead) and expelled from the village or town to live isolated and alone. It was a slow and horrible way to die. Jesus is saying “cut yourself free from the cadaver of offense and forgive.”

Notice, at the end of the parable, Jesus says our Heavenly Father forgives us in the measure to which we forgive others. If we fail to forgive, well we aren’t forgiven. YIKES!! No wonder those brave Rwandans cooperated with the Christians counseling them to forgive. They too wanted forgiveness. If you watch Rosario and Chantele, you can see by the end of the epilogue that they are transformed persons. So too can we be. Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Alleluia, alleluia!

(Side note: The Irish have contacted the Rwandans to learn how their two tribes came to reconciliation; so too have some other nations.)

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Closing the Loopholes

Pastor Sherry’s message for February 15, 2026

Scriptures: Deut 30:11-20; Ps 119:1-8; 1 Cor 3:1-9; Matt 5:21-37

Do you know there are entire websites devoted to reporting stories of people who located loopholes and benefited their finds?

A. In the following real life example, a daughter reports: 

  “My Dad’s Lexus was stolen right out from his carport, so he reported it as stolen to the police and insurance company. After two weeks, when the car never turned up, the insurance company paid him for the car. Another week goes by, and he gets a call from the police saying they found his car parked two towns away. There wasn’t a single scratch on it, and not a lot of miles had been put on it either. So now the insurance company owns the car, and they put it up for auction. My dad goes to the auction and bids on his car to get it back. He won the bid with $10,000 to spare. So he drove home in his car with an extra $10,000 in his pocket.”

(As shared on http://www.Buzzfeed.com, 2/12/2026)

Isn’t it just in our nature to enjoy a tale in which a “little guy,” an average citizen, outsmarts the “big guys”—in this case Corporate America/the insurance company? We think, “How clever of this dad!” But wait a minute! As Lee Corso (the college football coach and commentator) used to say, “Not so fast my friend.” That clever dad defrauded the insurance company! He should have told the company that his car was found, returned the money they paid him, and retrieved his car. This kind of behavior raises all of our insurance rates.

And aren’t there loopholes that are even more damaging? Consider the court cases in which a guilty party gets off due to a technical error on the part of the District Attorney’s office or the police. For the past two weeks, the news has been full of speculation surrounding the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie. Friday night, I heard several police and FBI experts criticize the sheriff of Tucson, Arizona, for having released the crime scene—her house–too soon. They claim that that gave the opportunity for news reporters, neighbors, and curious “lookey-loos” to contaminate evidence. Should the kidnapper be apprehended, any evidence collected from the house after the crime scene was no longer secure would be suspect, and could not be admitted into court. There is always the possibility that someone planted that evidence. This is a kind of a loophole, isn’t it? If they lack sufficient evidence to get a conviction when the crime scene was closed off, a guilty party could get off “scott-free.” There would be no justice for Nancy Guthrie nor for her family.

Several of our Scriptures passages today address God’s view of minimum standards and loopholes. Let’s take a look.

    A. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, God Himself speaks to the Israelites, giving them two choices (He is speaking through His prophet Moses). The former Egyptian slaves are about to go into the Land of Promise without him.

He puts before them two choices: Life and prosperity/blessings, or Death and destruction. The choice God lays out is an either/or choice, with only 2 options: If they/we love God and obey Him, if we walk in His ways and keep His commands, decrees, and laws, they and we will reap blessings. If, however, they/we abandon God or are disobedient, our lives will turn out badly; we will live with regrets over lost opportunities. Notice how straight forward this is—no both/and; no loopholes.

    Then He reminds them, in v.20 , they/we want to do this because…the key to their life, as individuals and as a nation, is absolute commitment to the Lord. Or as Jesus says in John 15, …apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. There it is again, in the New Testament, choose life or choose death.

If we want to be productive, if we want to make a difference in this life, if we want to leave a meaningful legacy, we need to love God and obey Him. Again, God leaves us no loopholes. 

  B. In our Psalm, Psalm 119:1-8, the author, inspired by God, lays out what happens to the persons who make the right choice: Verses 1-2–> state that they are joyful. Verse 3–>says they do not compromise with evil, like seeking out loopholes. Instead, they walk in a way that pleases the Lord. Verses 4-5–>assert they desire to keep God’s commandments and obey His decrees. Verses 6-8-→indicate that the man or woman who pleases God has an obedient, surrendered attitude toward God and a desire live out the Lord’s will.

And, at the very end, he pleads that God not give up on him, knowing we are all unable to do all of this perfectly–knowing there are no loopholes by which we can wiggle out of being held accountable; knowing we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit to live holy lives.

  C. Paul, in our 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 lesson, lectures the Church in Corinth—a true sin-city like Las Vegas or New Orleans–on having chosen Jesus but continuing to live a carnal life. They are living like “Baby Christians,” persons new to the faith, trying to live a life that reflects knowing Jesus, but also looking for loopholes that allow them to behave as they did before confessing Christ. Paul is not having it! In chapter three, he confronts them on their jealousy, their quarreling with one another, and their division into factions.

He wants them to be united in Christ, recognizing that Paul may have planted the seed—won them to Jesus—but Apollos came after to disciple them, and God has made their faith grow. Who did what is not as important as is God. In fact, Paul and Apollos are both servants of God. Back to what the Lord said in Deuteronomy: Choose life or death; no loopholes!

     D. In our Gospel lesson, Matthew 5:21-37, Jesus expands upon several of the 10 Commandments, with a view toward how we please our heavenly Father. This is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Prior to this passage, He has told us the kinds of heart attitudes that please God/result in blessedness (the right choice): (1) Humility; (2) Self-restraint and self-control because we are obedient to God; (3) Sincerity, integrity; (4) Caring deeply for the welfare of others; (5) Being merciful toward others; and (6) Living at peace with them. He has also encouraged us to be salt and light in the world.

     Today He turns His attention to what it would look like if we truly lived by Biblical principles, teaching what is at the heart of God’s commands and decrees.

In verse 21 He says, You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder’…but I tell you…He is digging down into the 6th Commandment. He says, don’t allow yourself to get angry; it’s the start of an escalation that can destroy you and others. Catch anger as it intensifies. Stop yourself and back down from seeking revenge or escalating to bitterness and unforgiveness. Don’t even allow yourself to use abusive language toward another. Instead of name-calling, as much as it is dependent upon you, be reconciled to others. Forgive others before you present your worship or gifts to God.

  In verses 27-32, He deals with adultery and divorce. He is digging down into the 7th Commandment. He is holding up the marital ideal: No adultery; No divorce. He is saying we need to guard our primary relationships because they are foundational to our children’s security and to our society. He is making the point that adultery and marital unfaithfulness begin with lust. He wants us work intentionally to overcome lust–not to literally blind or maim ourselves, since a blind or lame person can still lust. Those are exaggerations for effect. God allows divorce to prevent cruelty or even murder. The Rabbis were teaching that a husband could divorce if his wife burned the dinner. Jesus is saying the grounds must be much more severe than that.

In Verses 32-37, He deals with oaths. He is addressing the 3rd & 9th Commandments He says, don’t swear on God’s name and don’t lie or bear false witness. We are to be honest in our dealings with others. If we live with integrity, there is no need for us to take oaths at all. Sister Judith, my first principal back in 1970, when I first taught high school Social Studies used to say to me, “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” High School students respect that, and so do others.

Jesus sets very high standards, doesn’t He? No loopholes. In the Sermon on the mount, He spells out for us some lofty expectations about how we are to love God and love others. However, He also knows we cannot achieve living this way on our own. In our sinfulness, we will blow it. We will get angry. We may engage in lust. We might make vows and break them. We need to help of the Holy Spirit to live into these new heart-attitudes. Fortunately, we can be assured that God forgives what we confess to Him. The Apostle John writes in 1 John 1:8-9 , If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. God has so set things up that we can take any sin to Him, ask His forgiveness, and He will grant it—an infinite number of times. That is God’s grace and mercy in action. But as we continue to walk with the Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us. We learn the rough lessons from our sins that way lies pain, shame, despair, and isolation. Violating God’s laws, without confession and repentance, is spiritual (as well as emotional and even physical) death. And we also learn the wisdom of God. He desires to lift us up, out of the miry pit. He wants to heal us, to bless us

God has set out His standards for us—and they are not minimums.

He does not want us to search out loopholes. As we attempt to be salt and light, as we prepare for Lent (which starts on Wednesday), make it your goal to walk the walk. No one said it would be easy; God’s standards are high. But He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us move more and more into compliance with them. When you fall short—and we all do—ask God’s forgiveness and believe He gives it to you. AMEN!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Eye-Black as Salt and Light

Pastor Sherry’s message for February 8, 2026

Scriptures: Isa 58:1-9a; Ps 112; 1Cor 1:1-12; Matt 5:13-20

Some years back, I read Tim Tebow’s autobiographical book, Shaken (WaterBrook, 2016) which I would recommend. In it, he shares some facts that are rather astonishing: You may remember he became known for citing a Bible verse address in his eye-black. On January 8th, 2009, for the National Championship football game against Oklahoma, he put John 3:16 on his cheeks, in his eye-black. Not only did the Gators win that game, but then Coach Urban Meyer told him afterward that 94 million people watching had Googled John 3:16-→For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Tim writes (p.155), “Talk about humbling. God is so big that He used something so small, a tiny biblical reference painted under my eyes, to impact people to search His Word.” Interesting that soon afterward, the NCAA made a new rule banning players from placing messages in their eye-black. Now some 10-15 years later, players are once again placing Biblical references in their eye-black.

Nevertheless, exactly 3 years to the day later, Tim was playing for the Denver Broncos in an NFL playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the NFL also didn’t allow players to put messages in eye-black. You may remember that Denver beat the heavily favored Steelers 29-23, in overtime in that game, with a touchdown thrown by Tebow to Demaryius Thomas. Following that astonishing win, a Bronco’s PR man told Tim (p.156), “Do you know that it was exactly 3 years since you wore John 3:16? And during this game, you threw for 316 yards. Your yards/completion were 31.6. The time of possession for Denver was 31:06. The ratings for the night were 31.6 million. And during the game ninety million people Googled John 3:16,” (based on statements by the TV commentators).

I find this astonishing! Tim says, “I was reminded that God…is always at work—with or without me. Just goes to show you that we never know what God can do with the small choices we make, with the stands we take, or with something positive we do even unintentionally.” Tim had done something small—changed the citation in his eye-black for a big game—and God kept using it for His glory 3 years later. Clearly no one can say our God isn’t concerned about details.

Most of us don’t receive the kind of attention a Tim Tebow does, but even so—as our Scriptures today demonstrate—we can make a difference in this world for our God, if we behave like salt and let our light shine:

A. In Isaiah 58:1-9, God is explaining to the Judeans that their religious words and actions are all about going through the motions. If they really want to show God they love Him, they will quit performing empty rituals and spouting off meaningless prayers. I know we have at least two parishioners who are really into movies. But do any of you remember “Clueless” from 1995? In it, Alicia Silverstone immortalized the sarcastic statement of skeptical disbelief, “As Iff….” Isaiah is making an “As iff” statement to the Israelites. “Yeah, right, you say you love God, but….” God is saying through him, “Yada, yada, yada…same ole, same ole; precise but meaningless worship. I am not impressed!”

Instead, He wants them to demonstrate their faith in Him through their actions—the way they live their lives: Free the wrongly imprisoned; Lighten the burdens of your workers; Stand up for the oppressed; Share food with the hungry; Clothe the naked; and Provide shelter for the homeless. If they (and we) do these things, God says, Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and He will say: Here I am (vv.8-9).

The Israelites then, and we followers of Jesus Christ now, are to be light in the world. If we are making God first in our lives, and loving others as we love ourselves, our examples will both preserve and demonstrate God’s love and shine brightly in this dark world, helping others not to stumble and to see their way.  

B. Psalm 112:1-10 is the masculine equivalent of the Proverbs 31 woman, listing the characteristics of a man who “fears”/respects the Lord` Timothy Keller, in his book Forgive (Penguin Books, 2023, p60), asserts that the fear of the Lord is not the terror kind of fear, but rather a sense of being deeply affected or in awe of who God is and what He’s done. God is saying through the psalmist that He blesses those who are in right relationship with Him. The righteous man is blessed in that his children reflect well on him; he is economically and spiritually secure; he is generous and just, and cares for the poor; and he is well thought of by others. And even though the wicked are jealous of him, they cannot prevail against him. Light shines from this person, doesn’t it? Such a man (or woman) is exceptional, like a Tim Tebow. Their life and witness help others to come to Christ and to be salt and light. 

C. Our Gospel lesson is Matthew 5:13-20. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and occurs just after the passage containing the Beatitudes. In it, Jesus calls Israel (and us) to be salt and light. He also challenges us to live that out in our world.

Salt in the Ancient Near East was a preservative then as they lacked refrigeration. It stopped fermentation and decay of meats and other foods. 

You could say it was an early “green” or conservation method. Jesus is saying we are to live our lives in such a way as to preserve others. What we model in the way we live our lives should encourage others want to know the Jesus we know;

Because of the way we love God and others, they will come to want to function that way too.

Additionally, light banishes the darkness. It helps us to see clearly and to avoid obstacles. If I forget whether or not I have locked my front door at night, I may use a flashlight to light my way from my bedroom to the door. I see what is illuminated in that small circle of light and keep from stubbing my toes on furniture.

As Paul reminds us, in 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, we have the mind of Christ because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and reminding us of all that Jesus taught. We are clothed in His righteousness, we seek His will, and we reflect the light of His Holy Spirit from our eyes and from our spirits. So, as we go about our lives, walking in His light, reflecting His light in a dark world, people are drawn to us and to what we have in us.

In this Gospel passage, Jesus says He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He is the only human being who has ever lived out the Law completely. This is how He fulfilled it—by being salt and light. This is also how He is able, this side of the Cross, to apply His righteousness to us.

When we are salt and light, God uses even the little things we do to bring glory to Himself. I read a story this week of a woman’s reaction to her mother’s cancer diagnosis: Her name was Emily Potter and she was disturbed ot receive a call from her sister affirming, “It’s cancer,” describing the diagnosis their mother had just gotten. “Not my mom,” thought Emily. “Please not my mom.” Cancer had already devastated their family once before, and they had lost friends to it as well.

“The only way that Emily knew how to express herself was to create something. So, she made a sweatshirt with the word “salty” sown across the front. She showed up to her mother’s first round of chemotherapy wearing the sweatshirt. And why did she choose that particular word? Emily says that being salty “means that I am extremely bitter, angry and resentful towards her cancer.” But it also sends the message that her mom is “tough and a fighter.”

“According to Emily, people with cancer are some of the toughest and most courageous people on earth. She wears her “salty” sweatshirt as a kind of armor, one that strengthens and preserves her bond with her mother. When she puts it on, she is saying, “I love you. I’m here for you. Let’s be salty. Together.””

(As shared in http://www.proclaimsermons.com; 2-4-26)

I want to invite you to look around this week and ask God to show you to whom you are to be salt and light; and then do what He prompts you to do: Pay a visit. Make a phone call. Send a card or an email. Provide a meal. Contribute to a worthy cause. We don’t have to do everything, just do what God places before you. Remember Tebow’s eye black…such a little act, with such a huge response. Paul quotes for us in 1 Corinthians 2:9–>No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him….Be willing to do something little, out of your love for God, and watch the Lord do big things with it. AMEN!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams