Pastor Sherry’s message for November 8, 2026

Scriptures: Jos 24:1-25; Ps 78:1-8; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 26:1-13

“The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt [our 32nd president], who often endured long receiving lines at the White House [remember, he was in a wheelchair]. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”

(Source Unknown, but quoted in www.sermons.com, 11/3/26.)

You know things are bad when people don’t even pay attention to what the President is saying! You may have noticed that sometimes folks do not hear you correctly; or perhaps they don’t take the time to listen carefully. Chuck Swindoll tells a story about himself in which he does not listen closely to his family members:

“[He} once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. “I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day,” he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. “Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was becoming unbearable.

“I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, ‘Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’

“Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered, ‘Honey, you can tell me — and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly.” “I’ll never forget her answer: [She said], ‘Then listen slowly.'” 

(Chuck Swindoll, from June 24, 1993, quoted in www,sermons.com.)

We probably all need to slow down and listen slowly, carefully, and well. Otherwise, what can happen? As with the president, we totally miss the message being conveyed. Or we demonstrate to the person speaking that what they have to say isn’t important to us (We dismiss them).

We especially want to listen well to what our Lord has to say to us through our scripture lessons today:

     Our OT lesson is from Joshua 24:1-25. In this passage, Joshua urges his people—3 times—to remain faithful to God. He wants them to renew their covenant agreement with God at Shechem. He especially wants them to be mindful of avoiding idolatry. They did not kill all the tribal peoples living in Canaan as they had been directed to do by God. So God and Joshua both knew they would either (1) intermarry and adopt the idolatrous practices of their spouses; or (2) they would be so intrigued with the despicable religious practices of their pagan neighbors (infant child sacrifice and temple prostitution, etc.) that they would turn away from worshiping the True God.

    In verse 15 (NLT), he challenges them: Choose this day Whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. In verse 24, the people, united, say: We will serve the Lord our God and obey Him. But over time, they prove faithless. They promise fidelity to God, but they quickly succumb to idolatry. Sadly, they forgot what they had promised Joshua and worse yet, they stopped listening to the Lord.

B. Psalm 78:1-8 is the introductory portion of a mischil, a psalm of instruction. Asaph speaks prophetically for the Lord when he says (v.10)-→O My people, listen to My instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. They are to listen and learn.

They are to teach God’s precepts to their children. God hopes for them to avoid the poor examples of their ancestors who adopted idolatry rather than remain faithful to Him, the One, True God. Notice that our God remained steadfastly faithful to them! Again, our God asks them (and us) to listen to and to obey Him.

C. Our New Testament lesson is from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Paul, the consummate church planter, is instructing essentially “baby Christians” on the Rapture! Paul was in Thessalonika less than a month. He left there, on his 2nd missionary journey, for Berea; then he journeyed to Athens; and then to Corinth. At Corinth, Timothy and Silas, who had remained behind in Thessalonika, rejoined him and brought him theological questions from that newly formed church. Since Jesus 2nd Coming had not yet occurred, the Thessalonian Christians were worried that their friends who had died in the faith might have missed the rapture. Paul had apparently already taught them that Jesus was coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. They knew those alive were to be raptured. The word in the Greek is harpazo; it means to catch up or grasp hastily; to snatch up; to lift; to transport; and to rapture. Paul apparently underestimated the length of time of the Church Age (what we are living in now), and taught that the Rapture would be the next great event on God’s agenda for humankind. These sincere Christians were worried that their believing friends, relatives, and neighbors who had already died were out of luck.

“NO!,” Paul says. In fact, dead Christ-followers will rise first! They will rise up out of their graves (even if cremated, their bodies can be restored by God). They will be pulled up to meet Jesus in the sky. Then, those of us still alive will meet Jesus in the air as well—how amazing! Without space suits, or oxygen hoses, somehow Jesus will sustain us on this fantastic trip to heaven! It will be a great family reunion. 

    With death, our body goes to sleep until the resurrection. We lie down in death and stand back up when resurrected. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:8 To be absent from the body [our flesh] is to be present with God. To truly understand the faithfulness and great mercy of God, we need to remember the cultural beliefs of the day: A Roman inscription found in Thessalonika read, “After death no reviving, after the grave no meeting again.” The Greek poet, Theocritus, wrote “Hopes are among the living; the dead are without hope!” But, because of Jesus, we believers have hope! Paul writes in verse14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep [died] in Him.

    One more point, Gabriel will not be blowing a horn! It is not an angel who will announce Jesus 2nd Coming, nor a trumpet. Instead, it will be the commanding voice of our Lord Himself, loud as a trumpet. In Revelation 1:10, St John writes, I was praying in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. When he turned, he saw the glorified Jesus. Because of God’s faithfulness throughout the ages, we can accept that this will happen as prophesied, as written; and, as a result, we then know what to expect.

     How well are we listening? Do we hear and understand what God is saying to us? If so, we have nothing to fear. Jesus Himself is coming for us, to gather us up and take us to heaven with Him.

D. Our Gospel Lesson, Matthew 26:1-13, contains yet another

opportunity for Jesus’ disciples to realize His execution is going to take place soon. This is the 6th time He tells them He is going to die. Additionally, He tells them when it will happen—during Passover. In verses 3-4, the chief priests and the elders decide He must die soon, but, they say-→”Not during the Passover celebration…or the people may riot.” And yet He did die during the Passover, which demonstrates that Jesus, not His enemies, determined the time of His execution and death. After all, St. John, in Revelation13:8 (NLT) calls Him–>the Lamb Who was slaughtered before the world was made. (The NIV states He is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.). Just as God the Father provided the sacrificial ram for Abraham in place of Isaac, He also sent Jesus to be the sacrificial atonement for our sins. Jesus is and was in command, even under those dire circumstances. As J. Vernon McGee states, “The closer Jesus gets to the Cross, the more kingly He becomes.” 

(J.V.McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Matthew, Thomas Nelson, 1991, pp160-161.)

But then Matthew (and Jesus) divert our attention to from the hatred of His enemies to the love of His followers: He is dining at the home of a former leper, a man he had healed, when a woman anoints Him with very expensive, perfumed oil. We know from the Gospel of John (12:3) that this woman was Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and Martha’s sister. She may have heard Him say He was going to the Cross, or the Holy Spirit may have inspired her. However the idea came to her, she anoints Him with oil in anticipation of His death and burial. She performs this service beforehand, probably realizing she would not be allowed to do so at the time of His death.

If the disciples had registered that His time was short—if they had been listening (but they were like Chuck Swindoll before his daughter humbled him, or like the people in FDR’s receiving line), they would not have complained about the waste of money. Jesus commends her, saying (verses 12-13)-→She has poured this perfume on Me to prepare My body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed. (This story appears in all four Gospels.) Mary listened well to Jesus. And He blesses her for her accurate perception.

So, How Well Do We Listen? Do we hear and understand what Jesus is actually saying to us? Are we accurately hearing what He tells us in Scripture? Are we being obedient and faithful? Or are we ignoring Him—to our peril—or misunderstanding His meaning, due to being distracted, uncaring, or rebellious? This week, and always, let us make it a point to listen well to Christ and to obey Him. Amen!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams