Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Light’s On!

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 5, 2025 

Scriptures: Isa 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-7, 10-14; Eph 3:1-12; Matt 2:1-12

A fable is told of… “a cave which lived under the ground, as caves have the habit of doing. It had spent its life in darkness. It heard a voice calling to it: “Come up into the light; come and see the sunshine.” The cave retorted: “I don’t know what you mean; there isn’t anything but darkness.” Finally, the cave ventured forth and was surprised to see light everywhere. Looking up to the sun [the] cave said: “Come with me and see the darkness.” The sun asked: “What is the darkness?” The cave replied: “Come and see.” And so, one day the sun accepted the invitation. As it entered the cave it said:  “Now show me your darkness.” But there was no darkness!”

(Autoillustrator.com, TRUTH, as shared on www.FamilyTimes.com, 1/2/2025.)

It’s true, isn’t it…that the presence of light dispels darkness. Where ever you shine a lamp, a flashlight, a candle, your I-phone, light overcomes or invades and eliminates darkness.  This is the point of our Scriptures today:  Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.  He came into this world to save us, but He also shone the light of His sinless example to model for us a better way to live.

Today our Gospel Lesson (Matthew 2:1-12), on the Sunday closest to January 6th, celebrates Epiphany.  An epiphany is a God-sighting.  It always occurs on God’s timing, and it indicates a moment when the veil is pulled back, allowing humans to see God–and to realize that they have seen Him.  My 17 year old grandson was in a wreck in his pick-up truck on New Year’s Eve morning.  It was foggy and the road was slick.  His truck flipped but he emerged from the accident without a scratch.  It was a miracle that he wasn’t killed.  I told him afterward how happy I was that he is alive, and that it was God who had spared him.  That experience was an epiphany for him and for all of us in my family.

The first NT epiphany occurred when Mary and Joseph beheld the infant Jesus’ face.  The 2nd folks to view Jesus—and recognize Him as Messiah—were the shepherds, the night (or early morning) of His birth.

The prophets Anna and Simeon recognized Him when He was presented on His 8th day at the Temple (though the priests serving there, and the other worshippers, missed out).   But interestingly, the Christian Church has long celebrated Epiphany as the date that marked the visit of the Gentile Magi to Bethlehem.

The Magi seem to materialize out of nowhere, present their gifts, and disappear.  Only Matthew references them and he doesn’t tell us when they came.  I always thought it was directly after the shepherds, but Biblical scholars believe it was up to 1- 2 years later.  Matthew 2:11 reads—on entering the house.  This suggests that after eveyone else who had journied to Bethlehem to be counted and taxed had gone back home, Mary and Joseph had decided to remain.  They had been homeless, but let’s not forget that, as a carpenter, Joseph had a trade he could practice anywhere to support them.  So Jesus may have been a toddler by the time the Magi visited Him.

Matthew also doesn’t tell us how many Magi made the trip.  Paintings from the 2nd and 3rd centuries show four of them.  Other accounts cite 12. Church tradition settled on 3, because there were 3 types of gifts.  But because their caravan caused quite a stir in Jerusalem, there were probably more.

Furthermore, Matthew doesn’t really clarify who they were, or where they were from.  Again, tradition/song refers to them as Kings, probably based on the 10th verse we recited this morning from Psalm 72—May the kings of Tarshish [Turkey] and of the isles render Him tribute; may the kings of Sheba [Yemen] and Seba [Sudan] bring gifts. Some believe they were descended from Noah’s 3 sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.  A Greek manuscript from the 6th century actually names them:

(1)  Balthasar, who was said to have been a black king from Ethiopia, about 40 years old, brought myrrh. Myrrh was used in perfumes but also as a pain-killer and as a funeral gift.  Due to its high cost, it was used for embalming a dead prophet or a king.

(2) Melchior, also 40, a King of Arabia, brought gold –-the world’s most precious commodity, a gift you presented to royalty! (3) and Caspar, a King of Turkey, around 20, brought frankincense–fragrant gum resin burned as incense in worship services,  This was a gift typically provided to a priest, wheich he would then use in a worship service. 

Thus they appear to represent Gentiles of all nations and races, and to bring gifts fitting for Jesus in his three “offices” (or functions) as suffering prophet, high priest, and king.  All Matthew tells us is that they came “…from the East” [east of Israel](v.1).  The Greek historian, Herodotus, writes that the priestly caste of the Medes [of Iran] were called Magi.  Magi are also mentioned in the Old Testament books of Esther, Jeremiah, and Daniel.  Jeremiah and Daniel both describe the Magi as serving in the Babylonian [Iraqi] court.  They were the doctors, scientists, mathematicians, and legal authorities (wise men) of their time.  They were also well-schooled in astronomy and astrology, and they advised the king.  In Daniel 2:48, King Nebuchadnezzar appoints Daniel, the Jewish prophet, master of all his Magi.  No doubt Daniel, and the other Jews living in Babylon, shared their faith in Israel’s One, True God.  Perhaps they also shared with them prophecies regarding the Coming Messiah.  So it is quite possible that they were familiar with the predictions from Numbers 24:17—A star shall come forth from Jacob [meaning Israel], and a scepter [indicative of a king’s rule] shall rise from Israel…and from Micah 5:2—But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. 

What we do know for sure about these Gentile visitors is that they came from some distance, bringing gifts, and that they worshipped the baby Jesus. They are probably the first Gentile believers. They were drawn, obediently, to Bethlehem by the star–a “star” that traveled westward, leading them from the East.  This special star appeared to have stopped  and remained over Bethlehem on the exact night of the birth of Jesus-–and may have flashed on and off for some time after—light’s on for the Magi.  This Epiphany light was predicted in our Old Testament Lesson, Isaiah 60:1-2—Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.  See, [spiritual] darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory [His bright, shining light] appears over you!

The Apostle Paul assures us in Ephesians 3:6 (NLT) that God the Father always intended for us Gentiles to come to know His Son, Jesus—And this is God’s plan:  Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children.  Both are part of the same body [the Christian Church] and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.  God ensured that the Magi would not miss out on the birth of His Son.  And He didn’t want us to either!

On Epiphany Sunday, we celebrate the fact that the Light of Christ has come into the world!  It is possible to miss it!

Consider the following story:

“A man flew into Chicago and hired a taxi to take him downtown. As he was riding along they came to a red light & the driver went right on through the red light. The man said, “Hey, the light was red. You’re supposed to stop.” The driver said, “Yeah, I know, but my brother does it all the time.” Soon they came to a second red light and again he went right straight through. The passenger said, “You’re going to get us killed. That light was red. Why didn’t you stop?” The driver said, “Don’t worry about it. My brother does it all the time.” Then they came to a green light and he stopped. The man said, “The light is green. Now is the time to go. Why don’t you go on through?” The driver answered, “I know it’s green. But you never know when my brother may be coming through.” Sometimes it seems as if all the world is going through on red and stopping on green. We’re constantly trying things that don’t work. But the Gospel works. Folks, the Gospel works.”

(Melven Newland – Sermon Central; www.family times.com, 1/2/2025).

We don’t want to be misperceiving the meaning of the Light of Christ. We don’t want to stop when we should go or go when we should stop!

Let’s Pray:  Lord God, please help us to recognize any epiphanies—any God-sightings—in our lives.  Through Your Son, Jesus, you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts.  You’ve turned His light on!  May others see that this Christ light shines in us.  May we deeply believe in Him, treasure His light, and allow His light in us to dispel the spiritual darkness of the world around us.  Amen.

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

How to Love Well

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 29, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Sam 2:18-26; Ps 148; Col 3:12-17; Lk 2:41-52

I just went with my family to see the biopic movie on Bob Dylan, “A Complete Unknown.”  It was an excellent walk down memory lane as I realized how much his music and songwriting had impacted my life.  But his personal story was sad.  He felt so compelled to write music that his relationships suffered—he appeared to use people rather than to value them.  He also seemed to either suffer from OCD or to be somewhere on the Autism Spectrum.  And it was fairly clear that he had rejected God.  He is still alive, at 83.

How many of you have seen the movie, ”The Blind Side”?  This movie has been out a while and is also excellent (I liked it so much, I read the book).  But, unlike Dylan’s bio, it is a story of redemption!  A wealthy white woman, Leigh Anne Tuohy–a Christian, living in Memphis–takes in a poor, homeless, and very large African-American youth, Michael Oher.  Michael doesn’t really know his daddy.  His mother, with 9-10 neglected children, is on crack and in and out of jail.  So Michael had been sleeping on couches here and there, and overnighting in Laundromats and gymnasiums, before Leigh Anne invited him to live with her family.  The movie chronicles the Tuohys’ and Michael’s adjustments to each other, and how Michael is helped to catch up socially, academically, and athletically.  With the Tuohy’s help, Michael is able to graduate from a Christian High School, and become a superb offensive tackle who is highly recruited.  He goes on attend Ole Miss on a football scholarship, and in 2009, was a first round NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens.

What I liked most about Michael Oher’s story is that it demonstates that the right kind of love can overcome allot of deficits, allot of obstacles.  Bob Dylan could have used this kind of love.  Though enormously talented, his life seems sad and lonely by comparison to that of Michael Oher.

I wish that were the end of the story.  Some time ago, however, I learned that Michael Oher had taken the Tuoeys to court.  They had claimed to have adopted him, but he later discovered they had not—they had instead made themselves trustees of the money he made.  What a disappointment!  It leads us to ask, “So does anyone love well?

I had to give this a lot of thought.  I believe two people who are great examples of folks who truly do love well are the characters in O Henry’s story, The gift of the Magi. Della and Jim are a poor, young married couple with no money for a Christmas gift for the other.  Jim has a gold watch handed down to him from his grandfather and his father.  Della has gorgeous long hair, down to her knees.  Jim sells his beloved watch to buy Della two jeweled hair combs, while Della sells her hair to buy Jim a gold chain for his watch.  They each gave away their most precious asset in order to fund a special gift for the other.  This, then, is a legitimate example of two people who love well.

Our God is a God of love; He has told us to love Him above all things and to love one another as well as we love ourselves. Fortunately, He hasn’t left us clueless about how to do this.  Let’s look at what our Scriptures have to say about how to love effectively, how to love well:

A. Psalm 148 tells us to love God above all things; all of heaven and all the earth’s creation is joined in loving praise of Him.  This is where it starts!  If we get the vertical relationship right [us to God], we know we are loved.  If we get the vertical relationship right, we can let go of trying to make others meet our needs for love.  If we get the vertical relationship right, God empowers us to love generously, to love extravagantly, while holding on to others loosely.  So, it all begins with loving God, praising Him, worshipping Him—like we are doing this morning.

B.  Our Old Testament lesson is from 1 Samue; 2:18-26.  IT tells the story of Hannah and her child, Samuel.  Hannah had been childless until she begged the Lord for a son, promising to place him in God’s service if God answered her prayer.  God does and the previously barren Hannah conceives Samuel [his name means, I asked the Lord for Him].  She keeps her promise and brings Samuel, when he is 3 years old (the age at which Hebrew children were weaned], to serve the Lord at Shiloh, where he will be mentored and trained by the Chief Priest, Eli.

Now this was indeed a risk as Eli had done a very poor job of raising his two sons, Hophni and Phineas.  As Samuel  was growing up, under Eli’s care, the word got around that Eli’s boys were hellions, evil and corrupt.  They helped themselves to the offerings at the altar, even before the Lord was given His portion—thus stealing from God.  YIKES!  They engaged in sexual liaisons with women who came to worship, fornicating in the Temple.  Double YIKES!  We don’t know why they were so bad—some scholars believe Eli may have been too indulgent with them.  By the time of our story today, God was fed up with them and had issued them the death penalty for their rotten behavior.

So Hannah has placed her beloved son among unsavory influences.  But she was a woman of prayer, so we can assume she prayed and prayed mightily for his safety, his intellectual growth, and his moral development.  Furthermore, she visited him when she could, bringing gifts, reminders that he was loved and remembered.  She gracefully models that she loves him enough not to thwart his destiny.  She wanted him to become who God meant him to be:  [1] The first prophet of Israel since Moses; [2] The best of the judges of Israel; [3] And the one who God sends to anoint Saul and David as kings over Israel.

Can we, like Hannah, love enough to take time to pray for our children and grandchildren🡪 asking God to provide for their safety and their physical, intellectual, and moral development?  Rather than determining we want a lawyer or a doctor, we need to look for where God has gifted our children and encourage them to live into their gifting—regardless of our preferences. It may be difficult and inconvenient to commit ourselves to this kind of love, but, as Samuel’s life indicates, it is certainly very effective.   

C.  Our New Testament lesson is drawn from  Colossians 3:12-17.  The Apostle Paul has come to the practical application of what it means to live out a Christian life:  it is to clothe ourselves with Christ, or to imitate Christ.  Eugene Peterson says it this way in his modern paraphrase of Scripture, The Message (p.2148)🡪…dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, [gentleness, patience, self-discipline], …and, regardless of what else you put on, wear love.  It’s your basic, all-purpose garment.  Never be without it!  To this list, Paul adds, be a person who forgives; take hold of God’s peace; demonstrate your appreciation to God for what you have; spend time in God’s Word, so that the wisdom/truth of Scripture is available to you; and encourage others.

I believe the O Henry characters, Jim and Della, live out these characteristics, but I didn’t see evidence of this in Bob Dylan.  It is possible to teach these values and attributes to our children and our grandchildren.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is even possible to live them out in our own lives.  Our lives are the best testimony to our children and grandchildren that we can give them.  Sometimes we are grouchy or tired or sick, and so we may not act very Christ-like; but, fortunately, kids who know they are loved tend to be forgiving and to look at the whole rather than a few poor exceptions.

D. Finally, our Gospel Lesson (Luke 2:41-52) recounts the only story we have from Jesus’ youth.  It demonstrates how home, synagogue, and Temple helped form Him.  Obviously Joseph and Mary have brought Him up in the faith.  They attend the Passover in Jerusalem annually.  The Law required believers to attend 3 feasts in Jerusalem each year; however, those who lived far way—Nazareth was 3 days’ journey from Jerusalem—only had to attend one, the Passover.  Men were required to go, but women were not, so the fact that Mary was there, too, is an indication of her own devotion to God.  Surely they had taken Him to Synagogue, taught Him Scripture, gave thanks at the table, and prayed with Him.  The year from age 12-13 was a year of preparation for Jewish boys.  At 13YO, they were declared men and were held accountable for their actions.

So the nearly adult Jesus is in the Temple, listening to and questioning the religious scholars of the day.  He is involved in learning more about God, and likely what the religious scholars were teaching about His Father.  His response was intended to remind Mary and Joseph that He was deep into preparation for His mission (saving humankind)–discussing theology and questioning men of God about His Father.  His response to their worry is to leave the company of scholars and journey back with them to Nazareth.  He is obedient to His parents, but the 3 days spent at the Temple underscore His devotion to God’s call upon His life.  Sometimes our response to God’s call may cause inconvenience to or even worry for others.  There is a tension between choosing God and choosing family, choosing God and choosing friendships.  Prioritizing is difficult.  Jesus, only a young adolescent, demonstrates the right priority: God first, parents second, and we may assume others 3rd.

Our God has provided Scripture–the examples of Hannah, Mary, Joseph, the teachings of Paul, and the model of Jesus–to help us to live lives characterized by love.   As we approach 2025, Let us intend to love well.  As we approach 2025, let us resolve to love effectively.

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Mary, Did You Know?

Pastor Sherry’s Christmas Eve message 12/24/2024

This is the 9th Christmas Eve worship service I have attempted to help us wrap our minds around what it means to realize that Jesus was born.   I have asked us in the past to consider what each of the participants might have felt as they responded to Him:  (1) The shepherds—remember the little boy who thought the words shepherds were watching their sheep by night, were instead shepherds were washing their socks by night?  That misperception led me to images of shepherds, sitting around camp fires, washing their white tube socks and placing them on sticks to dry.  (2) The wise men, possibly disciples of the prophet Daniel, who traveled for miles and miles, seeking the Christ Child.  (3) The angel, Gabriel, ever obedient to God, but wondering if it was such a good plan to send Jesus to earth as a baby—afterall, they are not all very trustworthy or nice down there.  (4) The inn-keeper in Bethlehem, who no doubt wished he had built on even one more room for the young, very pregnant couple.  (5) Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, tasked with protecting and providing for his special little family.  6. Even God the Father–what must it have cost Him to send His only Son to earth to die?  And (7) we have examined the feelings and perceptions of the young Mary, unwed, but chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah.  Tonight I want us to consider again the feelings, the wonder, the awe, the love of Jesus’ mother, Mary.

Perhaps you are aware of the song, “Mary, Did You Know?”  It’s my new favorite Christmas song.  We bless Mary because she said “Yes” to God.  We know she was a devout, humble, faith-filled young woman.

Scholars believe she was somewhere between the ages of 14-16YO, a teenager.  She was also unmarried, yet promised to an older fellow named Joseph (30?  Young girls in those days tended to marry older men who were established in a career and had the means to support a family).  When the angel, Gabriel, appeared to her she was first afraid; then perplexed about how she would have a child though a virgin; and then obedient, willing to bear the long awaited Messiah, no matter the personal cost to her (NIV, Luke 1:38)🡪”I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary.  “May it be to me as you have said.”

Mary was willing to do God’s will, but did she understand what her obedience would mean?  Consider the words to the song, “Mary, Did You Know?”

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy would come to make you new?

This child that you delivered will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would conquer storms with His hand?

Did you know your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?

Oh, Mary did you know? (repeated several times)

…the blind will see;

…the deaf will hear;

…the dead will live again;

…the lame will leap;

…the dumb will speak the praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all Creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is Heaven’s Perfect Lamb?

The sleeping child you’re holding is the Great I AM!

(Lyrics by Mark Lowry, 1985; Music by Buddy Greene, 1991; my favorite version can be located on YouTube, sung by the Pentatonix.  It is well worth the listen.)

It’s such a beautiful song!  It causes us to wonder what she might have known, as well as what she probably never expected.

I asked a long time Christian mentor of mine. who also has a doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy, what she thought Mary might have been cognizant of as she raised her Holy Son.  We agreed she certainly knew He possessed miraculous powers (Remember she encouraged Him to change water into wine at the wedding at Cana).  She would have known He had mastered the Scriptures (Remember she and Joseph found Him at 12 years disputing the meaning of Old Testament passages with Jewish scholars in the Temple). She of course knew that He was the Son of God, Messiah, and that He would save us all.

But did she know how it all would work out?  Did she suspect the extent of His miracles, even to raising people from the dead?  Did she worry about the tangles He would get into with the Jewish religious leaders?  (Remember at one point she and her other children tried to rescue Him, thinking He was crazy.)  Did she suspect she would witness the horrendous way He died?   Probably not, but thank God she said “yes”!  This brave young woman who, as the song says, kissed the face of God.  This Christmas Eve, let us all follow her example and say “Yes” to God’s will in our lives.  This Christmas Eve, let us welcome Jesus into our hearts and into our homes.  Amen!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Touched by God

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 22, 2024

Scriptures: Mic 5:2-5a; Lk 1:46-56; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45

The story is told of a man, a nonbeliever, with cancer, who was being treated in the hospital.  His prognosis was poor.  He had been raised to know Jesus, but had quit going to church when his complaints about church and church goers multiplied.  You’ve heard what non-attenders say about us:  (1) The church is too small—I can’t hide out. The folks there are too nosy; the folks there are too judgmental.  (2) The church is too big—I’m lost in the crowd; no one knows my name, or cares if I am there or not.  (3) The people there are hypocrites—acting loving on Sunday, but knifing you in the back Monday-Saturday!  I don’t like the hymns–they are too old fashioned–or I can’t stand the multiple repetitions of contemporary Christian music. (4) All those people want is my money!  (5) YIKES!  They’ve got a woman preacher!  I don’t know this guy’s particular criticism but he had given up on church long before he was diagnosed with an incurable cancer.

One day a hospital chaplain entered his room.  The fellow hadn’t called for a visit from a clergy-person, so he was surprised.  The chaplain addressed him by name and asked if he would like some prayer.  The man thought, “Why not?  What could it hurt?”  The chaplain proceeded to pray for his comfort, freedom from pain, a miraculous healing, and that he might know and trust Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  When the visit ended, the man felt moved to write the following:

“Lying on my narrow, hospital bed, feeling the oil of gladness and healing, I knew I had little time. More importantly though, I felt by a wondrous grace that this was the first time in my memory that the Church was paying attention to me, individually, by name, naming me, praying for me to deal with my painful circumstances and my suffering, the suffering that is uniquely mine. All of a sudden I realized, I matter, I really matter. I still can’t get over the power of this feeling of mattering, of being an irreplaceable individual.”

(Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com, 12/18/2024.)

Praise God the guy experienced being touched by God.  Though he referenced being attended to by the church, he learned that he mattered to Jesus.  Despite his previously negative judgments against churches and church-goers, he learned our Lord touched him, thorough a clergy-person, in his time of need.

Our Scriptures today all center on folks who were touched by God in very unique and important ways.  Let’s see what we can learn from them.

A.  Our Old Testament lesson is from the minor prophet, Micah (5:2-5a)—again minor because his book is short, not because his message is unimportant.  He served as God’s spokesman to both the Northern and Southern Kingdom capital cities from 750-686BC.  He correctly predicted the fall of Samaria (Northern Kingdom) to the Assyrians in 722-721BC; and that of Jerusalem and Judea later in 586.  He then went on to correctly predict Jesus’ birthplace, 700 years before His birth (NIV, v.2)—But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah [Bethlehem and suburbs], though you are small, out of you will come for Me [God the Father] One [Jesus] who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. 

Though Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, Jesus was born in Bethlehem–due to Caesar’s census–fulfilling this prophesy.  A number of Pharisees rejected Him as Messiah because they did not realize Jesus had actually been born in Bethlehem as predicted.  Furthermore, the prophet states that though Jesus arrived on earth as a baby, His origins are from old, from ancient times, meaning He dwelt with the Father from before the creation of the world.  Remember, the Apostle John wrote in the very beginning of his Gospel (NLT, 1:1-3)—In the beginning the Word [Jesus, God’s word made flesh] already existed.  The Word was with God and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through Him and nothing was created except through Him.  Creation was the Father’s idea, but Jesus spoke everything into existence.  This is why He could accurately say to the Jewish religious leaders later, (John 8:58)—I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!

From Jesus’ place of birth, Micah then jumps across the eons to predict the events of Jesus’ 2nd Coming.  At that time, God’s Chosen People will be scattered throughout the world, as they are now (It is said that there are more Jews in New York City than there are in Israel). The Jews will have suffered centuries of travail.  But the Lord Jesus will return to earth to re-gather them (and us, we who are grafted into Jesus’ line) and to shepherd them (v.4)—He will stand to lead His flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.

Jesus will care for His people powerfully.  They will accept Him as their Messiah, and He will usher in a time of world-wide peace.

Micah was certainly touched by God, inspired by Him to speak these truths to the people of Israel and to us. Through Micah, the Lord tried to touch His people.  Through the book of Micah, the Lord touches us today.

B. The writer to the Hebrews is adamant that Jesus was no afterthought, no Plan B because God’s Plan A had failed.   In Chapter 10, verses 5-10, the author makes it clear that the Lord always knew the blood of animal sacrifices could only temporarily atone for our sins. They covered the sins that were confessed, but did nothing toward any future sins—or even unacknowledged past sins.  So sacrifices would have to be made again and again.  Under that system, you would have to once again purchase or raise an unblemished animal, take it to the Temple, pronounce all your sins upon its head, and watch the priest kill it and sprinkle its blood over the horns of the altar.  But because Jesus was the only perfect, sinless man, the sacrifice of His shed blood covers our sins for all time.  He is the Once and for All Perfect Sacrifice for our Sins!  All of us who are “in Christ”—who believe in Him and who love Him—are credited by the Father with Jesus’ righteousness.  Praise God we have all been touched by God—redeemed–through Jesus!

C. Our psalm or song this morning is Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56).  Mary was, of course, very intimately touched by God.  She was no doubt awe-struck at the thought of having God’s Son.  This was the hope/the dream of every Jewish young woman…Will I be the one to bear the Messiah?  The Greek Christians later called her the theotokis—the God-bearer.   And so she celebrates this honor in 3 verses:  (NLT) Vv.46-49—Oh how my soul praises the Lord!  How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!  For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed!  For the Mighty One is holy and He has done great things for me.

But the remainder of her Psalm is focused on what God is doing for His people through the arrival of the long awaited Messiah:  She praises God for being merciful to those who respect/revere Him; she reminds us of His past works of power; she celebrates His surprising propensity to reverse worldly expectations:  the lowly are raised up, while the lofty are brought low.  And she applauds God for fulfilling His promises to Israel: He is bringing forth a Messiah who will bless all the earth.  This King comes from King David’s essentially extinct dynasty.  Mary’s genealogy in Luke places her in David’s lineage, though as a very poor relation, and Joseph, as per Matthew’s genealogy, also comes out of this diminished promised line.

Mary is such a great model for us, isn’t she?  She is humble and obedient.  God’s favor upon us is often unexpected, but she immediately complied with God’s plan.  She said “Yes” to God; may we say “yes” to Him as well.

D. Our Gospel lesson today is the passage just before Mary’s song of praise (Luke1:39-45).  The angel, Gabriel, tells Mary her elderly cousin Elizabeth is expecting a child too.  I think he gently gave the unwed Mary a good reason to leave town for a spell. Did he mean to prevent her from being stoned?  Fornicators and adulterers were to be stoned in those days, according to the Law of Moses.  As far as her neighbors were concerned, Mary had conceived as an unwed person and was liable.  Or did God mean to provide her some respite from being judged and condemned by her friends and neighbors, and even her family?  Perhaps all of this, as well as to help her feel affirmed by someone who loved her and who also appreciated the miraculous touches of God.

Elizabeth greets her (v.42) Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!   Without their even having shared Mary’s condition, Elizabeth—inspired by the Holy Spirit—declares—(NLT) Vv.42-45—God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.  Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me?  When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.  You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.  Mary, you believed God, despite the awkward and dangerous position this placed you in at home.  Mary, your faith and trust in God to see you through will ever be a model to the rest of us.  Elizabeth has clearly been touched by God!

Do we all realize that our God so loves us that He broke into human history, as a helpless baby, to live among us and to die for us?  What a fabulous Christmas gift!  As we celebrate His birth this week, may we each be fully aware that we matter to Jesus.  And may we each come away from Christmas believing we have been touched by God. 

Amen!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Christmas Joy, All Year Round

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 15, 2024

Scriptures: Zeph 3:14-20; Isa 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:7-18

If there is a single word that describes what Christmas is about, it’s JOY!  Some of our favorite Christmas carols include the word:  (1) Joy to the world, the Lord is come; (2) O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…; (3) Shepherd, why this jubilee, why your joyous strains prolong? (4) Good Christian men rejoice, with heart and soul and voice; (5) Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with the angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem.”

But, I wonder how many of us could truthfully say we are filled with joy this morning?  Listening to these wonderful carols can help lift our spirits; however, it’s not always easy to feel joy, is it?  Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.—a Supreme Court justice for 30 years–admitted becoming a judge had been his second choice of vocation.  He later said, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers,” a sad commentary on the clergy of his day.

(Moody Bible Institute’s “Today in the Word,” 6/88, p.13).

Or as the Christian writer, John Ortberg asserts, “Joy in this world is always in spite of something.”  His statement implies that we have to fight against negative emotions to feel joy.  It also suggests that we have to work hard to overcome every seduction of the world, the flesh, and the devil to experience it. 

(John Ortberg, The Life you’ve Always Wanted, 1997. P.73)

I think a large part of our problem with the emotion joy is that we have mistaken the way we think about it.  We tend to connect it with happiness and believe it is due to our circumstances.  But the truth is that true joy comes from our relationship with Christ Jesus.  The Rev. Will Willamon, former chaplain at Duke University, once said: Real joy is not self-induced. The Christmas story affirms that despite the oppressive political systems and the depressing reality of life, Christians can still be joyful, for they know joy is not about what they do to solve the problems of life, but that it is instead a byproduct of what God does through Jesus Christ. 

(Will Willimon, Christmas sermon, Duke University, 12/25/1994)

Like the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), it has much less to do with what is going on in our life situations, and much more to do with the depth of our connection with our Lord.

Additionally, true joy just shows up on our faces.  Someone once stated, “Countenance is a press conference that your face calls to give the state of union of your soul.”  The story is told of a man… who walked by a table in a hotel and noticed 3 men and a dog playing cards.  The dog appeared to be winning.  “That must be a very smart dog,” the man commented.  “He isn’t so smart,” said one of the players. “Everytime he gets a good hand he wags his tail!”

(Kent Crockett’s  Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com, 12/24/18)

I guess you could say that it is possible to look at certain people or animals and see joy all over their faces, or in the way they carry themselves, even if you know their life situations are troublesome. 

Our Scriptures this morning point to how we can experience true joy this Christmas—and actually, all year round:

A.  In our Old Testament lesson, Zephaniah 3:14-20, the prophet foretells of a glorious day coming for Jerusalem (and for those of us who love Jesus).  Zephaniah (who prophesied from 640-609 BC) was of royal blood, the great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah—one of the few good kings of Judea.  He was a minor prophet who appeared on the scene during the reign of King Josiah, another good king of Judea, and was one of the last of the prophets prior to the “Babylonian Captivity.”  Unlike his contemporary Jeremiah, who is often referred to as the weeping prophet, Zephaniah is called the prophet of love because of the final chapter of his prophesy.

He spends two chapters warning the people of God’s coming judgment on them for their idolatry and apostasy—for which they were subsequently carried off into the Babylonian Empire for 70 years.  His last chapter foretells of God’s planned restoration and redemption of them.  In His love for them, God is going to bring them back to Jerusalem from where they have been scattered.  How gracious of God to promise them deliverance and restoration even before He punishes them.

The prophet predicts essentially the 2nd Coming of Christ as well, also known as “the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord.”  In verses 14-15 he writes—Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!  Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!  The Lord has taken away your punishment, He has turned back your enemy.  The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.  And continuing on into verse 17, he comforts us all with this beautiful promise—The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

God, through Zephaniah, wants us to know that He will indeed discipline us, but He will also restore us because of His great love for us.

The writer to the Hebrews affirms this fact in 12:6—…the Lord disciplines those He loves….The Apostle John says it another way, quoting Jesus (John 15:1-2)—I am the True Vine and my Father is the Gardener.  He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes [this process tends to hurt!] so that it will be even more fruitful.  Paradoxically, the fact that God allows us to go through trials is evidence of His love for us.   Furthermore, if we have the self-discipline and godly insight to recognize this fact, we can actually rejoice in our trials, knowing God is using them to mold and shape us.

B.  Isaiah 12:2-6 is essentially a song of praise to God.  In verse 2 he asserts—Surely it is God who saves me.  I will trust in Him and not be afraid.  He follows this up in verse 6 by assuring us that our response to God’s acts should make us—Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.  So, we are to rejoice in God because He is our savior; our strength, our song, and our salvation; and because He has done—and will do–glorious things for us.

If we focus our hearts and minds on these things, we cannot help but be filled with joy.

C. In our New Testament lesson, Philippians 4:4-7—Paul actually commands us to rejoice!  We are not to worry about anything, a 2nd command.  Instead, we should submit all our concerns—with thanksgiving–to God through prayer.  Paul is insisting we pray about everything, a 3rd command.  Then, he promises, God’s peace will settle on us and in us and even guard us.  And, if we concentrate, intentionally, only on things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, we will retain our peace and increase our joy.  In other words, achieving a state of joy is both a choice and a habit.  It comes from disciplining ourselves to look for and celebrate the good.  It is also based upon trusting God, trusting in Jesus. 

Joy is certainly available to us, but it is not found in people’s usual life pursuits:

1. Voltaire, the French philosopher and historian (1694-1778), was an atheist who asserted as he died, “I wish I had never been born.”

2. The British poet, Lord Byron (1788-1824), investigated every possible type of pleasure but concluded before his untimely death at age 36, “The  worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”

3. Jay Gould, an unscrupulous, American financier and multi- millionaire (1836-1892), said from his death-bed, “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”

4. Lord Beaconsfield (1804 –1881), also known as British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, later wrote, “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle, old age a regret.” 

5. Even Alexander the Great (357-324BC), the young Greek General who conquered the known world of his day, was said to have wept in his tent, because he believed, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”   He died at age 33.

Each of these famous persons realized by the end of his life, that joy does not come from unbelief in God, nor the dogged pursuit of pleasure, money, position, fame, or successful military conquest (i.e., power).  

(Idea borrowed from “Pursuit for Joy,” www.bible.org, 12/14/2018).

D. Fortunately, though, we can all access joy through drawing near to Jesus.  In our Gospel lesson, Luke 3:7-18, John the Baptist teaches two activities that result in joy:  The first is submitting to baptism.

John’s baptism symbolically washes away our past sins.  Jesus’ baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us to avoid present and future sin.  If you ever saw the movie, “Oh Brother, Where art Thou?” you may remember the scene in which the fugitive convict, Delmer, gets baptized in the river.

Later, in the car with his other 2 convict buddies, he exclaims, “I have been redeemed.  The preacher said so. All my sins and wrongdoings has been wiped away, including robbing that Piggly-Wiggly.”  Another convict says, “Uh, Delmer, I thought you said you was innocent of those charges.”

Delmer confidently replies, “Well, I lied, but I been forgiven of that too.”

Having his sins washed away filled Delmer with joy—as it should for each of us.  

The second activity that can lead to joy is being generous toward and honest with others.  John the Baptist exhorts is listeners to share with those who have needs, to not extort or oppress those less powerful, and to only charge a person their fair tax.  Our Christmas gift exchanges are a great way to experience this kind of generosity.  So are putting money in a Salvation Army kettle, filling Christmas shoe-boxes for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child, or bringing food to the ill or the grieving.  

May we each draw closer to Jesus this Advent and experience His gift to us of Christmas joy all year round.  Amen!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Look Up!

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 1, 2024

Scriptures: Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:1-10; 1 Thess 3:9-13; Lk 21:25-36

Remember when you were a little kid, waiting on Christmas morning?  You knew Santa Claus would have come and that there were other surprises for you under that tree.  The time had finally arrived for you to unwrap those gifts you had spotted—with your name on the tags–that you had snuck around to shake, trying to figure out what was inside the box or bag.  That waiting was excruciating, wasn’t it?  Five more wake ups til Christmas…two more wake ups, etc.

Besides having to wait on Christmas, we wait on the arrival of a baby (especially when 8-9 months pregnant).  I think the last month of pregnancy is deliberately so uncomfortable that we are willing to go through the pains of labor just to be at ease in our bodies again.  How about the wait we undergo during the surgery of someone we love?  This time of year, we wait in lines in Publix, the Post Office, and the car wash.  Several days ago, I was waiting at the Customer Service counter at the grocery store. I only wanted a book of stamps, but I found myself in line behind a guy buying what looked like dozens of bouquets of flowers.  The cashier laboriously searched out the bar codes on each bunch.  Then the guy used a card to pay for his haul of flowers that did not work.  He had to search for another card that would.  As he fumbled in his wallet, I was becoming so impatient!  All I wanted were stamps, for heaven’s sake!  How ashamed was I to then be presented by the guy with one of his bouquets.  I was stunned!  Maybe it was his way of apologizing for keeping me waiting, but the store personnel told me he comes in weekly and buys up bunches of bouquets to give away.  How amazingly generous of him!  His gift reminded me that I needed to be more patient.

I also heard this week of a guy in NYC who was a professional line-waiter.  People paid him to wait in line to purchase tickets for them to a game, a concert, or a show.  He said his toughest wait was for tickets to “Hamilton” because his tent froze on the inside!  YIKES! He has also been paid to wait for a new IPhone model or for some other new tech gizmo to be released, or to purchase the latest limited edition hoodie, etc.  It is said that he made $86,000 a year!  Kind of an amazing service, isn’t it?

(as shared by www.sermoncentral.com, 11/29/2024)

With the possible exception of the professional line waiter, most of us hate to wait.  Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent, a time of waiting on Jesus.   We prepare for His 1st Coming, at Christmas, as a helpless infant, from a small, Hebrew, backwater town.  His mission then was to save a sin-sick and lost world.  We also await His Second Coming when He will return as a triumphant, all powerful king, with the mission to judge the world and create a heavenly, peaceful order on earth.  Our Scriptures today speak to both Advents or Comings:

A. In Jeremiah 33:14-16, the prophet reminds us that the promised Messianic King (Jesus) will be coming.  He will come from a righteous branch of King David’s family tree (a promise God had made to David that we spoke of last week).  This Messiah would save His people (Jesus’ name actually means God saves).

Jumping ahead to the end times, He will be called, “The Lord Our Righteousness.”   At His second coming, Jerusalem will Live in safety. 

It doesn’t now, by any stretch of the imagination, but it will then, praise God!

B. Our Psalm 25:1-10 is a plea from King David for God’s protection and love.  It suggests that God has a purpose as He makes us wait:  Waiting provides time/opportunity to learn (a) His ways more clearly: (v.4): Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; (b) to trust in Him more deeply; (c) to ask for His mercy, love, and forgiveness; and (d) to cling to hope due to His great faithfulness.  We can do these things by reading Scripture; praying/talking with God as we wait; remembering when God has shown up in our lives before; and by learning how others have experienced God’s intervention in their life. 

C. Our 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 passage teaches us two other benefits of waiting: (1) God uses the time to strengthen a heart of holiness in each of us.  Waiting has been called “the crucible of the saints.”

One of my seminary professors used to say that as we wait, God is molding and shaping our character.  (2) He is also teaching us to abound in love–to love Him and to love others better. 

D.  In our Gospel lesson, Luke 21:25-36, Jesus gives us a few more clues as to what we can expect before His 2nd Coming:  Just as buds on trees broadcast the coming of Spring, we will know the end is near when…according to Peterson’s paraphrase of Scripture, The Message (p.1904): It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers that be quaking.  Heavenly bodies: stars, planets, our moon, will be shaken, doing never-before-seen things.  Worldwide, people will fear the roaring and tossing of the sea.  Does this mean an increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes, typhoons, sunamis?  Perhaps.  What about a frightening incursion of water into previously dry land (like mountainous Western North Carolina during Hurricane Helena)?  Could be.  Whatever the case, everyone–especially non-believers–will be freaked.

Then, the Son of Man (Jesus’ favorite name for Himself) will come on a cloud.  He will arrive with power and with great glory.  Believers can and should rejoice.  We have every reason to Hope in Christ and in His return!

Today we lit the candle of hope on our Advent wreath.  “But,” you might say, “we hate to wait!”  Yes, but isn’t it also true that “good things come to those who wait” (consider my surprise bouquet of flowers)?  We believers in Christ Jesus celebrate His 1st Coming and dare to hope in His 2nd.  Remember, Hebrews 11:1 (New Living Translation, p.1572) tells us: Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

One of my favorite stories about hope concerns Fiorello La Guardia, the Italian mayor of New York City from 1934-1946 (during the Great Depression and much of WWII).  It is said that he was…

“…quite a character. He would ride the city fire trucks, take entire orphanages to baseball games and whenever the city newspapers went on strike, he would get on the radio and read the Sunday “funnies” to the children.

“At any rate, one bitter cold winter’s night in 1935, Mayor LaGuardia turned up in a night court that served the poorest ward in the city, dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself [He was an attorney, but I doubt a mayor could substitute for a judge today]. After he heard a few cases, a tattered old woman was brought before him, accused of stealing a loaf of bread.

“She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick and her grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, insisted on pressing charges. “My store is in a very bad neighborhood, your honor,” he said. “She’s got to be punished in order to teach other people a lesson.”

“The mayor sighed. He turned to the old woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you,” he said. “The law makes no exception – ten dollars or ten days in jail” [Remember, $10.00 meant a lot more in 1935 than it does now.]

“But even as he spoke, LaGuardia was reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ten dollar bill.  “Here is the woman’s fine,” he said, “and furthermore, I’m going to fine everyone in this court room fifty cents for living in a city where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat [There were no welfare services in 1935]. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”

“The following day, the New York Times reported that $47.50 was turned over to the bewildered old woman. It was given by the red-faced store owner, some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations and city policemen – and they all [75 people] gave their mayor a standing ovation as they handed over their money.”

(Erskine White, Together in Christ, CSS Publishing Company, as shared by www.Sermon Central.com, 11/28/2024)  

Mayor LaGuardia set such a great example of how things will operate when Jesus comes back to earth.  You might logically expect the worst in a given situation; but Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will set things exactly right.  Tattered old grandmothers with poor, starving grandchildren will find mercy and provision.  The meek and the hungry will experience goodness and mercy.  Similarly, those who–like the baker—have been robbed, will be justly compensated for their labors.  Everyone wins!

Our Advent hope is that Jesus will come again, in His unlimited power and awe-inspiring glory, to restore us all to a true state of shalom: total well-being, physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual.  We can hope for this with confidence!

I don’t know how many of you have watched the 4 seasons thus far of “The Chosen.”  I think it is a beautifully dramatization of Jesus’ time with His disciples.  In an episode in which Jesus heals the woman who had been internally bleeding for 12 years, the series creators portray her huddled on her knees, head down in the roadway.  The crowd is clustered around her and Jesus wants to know who touched His garment.  A person who bled in those days was considered “unclean.”  Since her malady was chronic, she could not attend synagogue and had probably been shunned by her family and her community.  For 12 years she had been alone and alienated from all society.  Jesus tells her first to “Look up.”  He then goes on to reinstate her into Jewish community by calling her, “Daughter,” a relational term.  I was so stunned by His direction to her to “Lookup” that I bought a Chosen coffee cup that says exactly that: Look up!  Isn’t that precisely what we need to do when worried, troubled, or even joy-filled?  Because of Jesus Christ, we can all be brave and bold enough to Look up!  Amen!  May it be so this Advent and always!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Christ our King

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 24, 2024

Scriptures: 2 Sam 23:1-7; Ps 132; Rev. 1:4-8; Jn 18:33-37

Many of you met my houseguest, Elizabeth, last weekend.  She is a therapist I befriended at Honey Lake and had been recruited by them from Vermont (we’ve both since stopped working there).  When I learned she had never been to a major college football game, I invited her to attend last week’s Gator game against LSU.  It was a great game!  UF won in a surprise upset.  We both wore Gator shirts and hats, and I was amused to see her get so into the game, the cheers, the big crowd atmosphere.  We joked that the 90,000+ fans present outnumbered the entire population of the state of Vermont!

I must say, however, I became a bit frustrated by the lyrics to the UF alma mater, which I had never before really noted.  We were singing along to the words posted on the stadium “jumbotron.”  The last line states, “There’s no other name so glorious, all hail, Florida hail!”  It immediately hit me, “I love the Gators, but just a minute…there’s no other name so glorious?”  Are you kidding me?!!  How about the name of Jesus?

Similarly, if you follow professional fights, the announcers invariably use all kinds of hyperbole to introduce each fighter.  You’ll see them grab a mike lowered from above and shout out something like… 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are liiiiiiivvvveeee! This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Iiiiiiiit’s TIME! Introducing out of New York City, he is the reigning, defending, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the one, the only, the infamous [fill in the blank] !!!” The crowd goes crazy.”

But let your imaginations go and consider what if he instead shouted this: “Ladies and Gentlemen, kings and lords, nations of the world, we are liiiiiivvvveeeee! This is the moment you have all been waiting for. It’s time! Introducing out of Bethlehem of Judea [having endured death on a Cross for our sins, and having risen from the dead 3 days later, we have the one, the only Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ, our Savior!!!]

(Concept and dialogue borrowed fromproclaimsermons.ccsend.com, week of 11/18/2024)

Wouldn’t that be something to amaze us and to applaud?  Today, the Church does just that.  Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday.  It’s the final Sunday of the Church calendar.  Next Sunday we begin Advent, the time of commemorating the birth of Jesus, the “starting place” of the Christian Church.  No jumbotron/fight announcer proclaims it…but all of our readings today acclaim Jesus as greatest King of all times!  Follow along with me to see or hear how this is so.

A. Our Old Testament reading comes from 2 Samuel 23:1-7. These are the last words King David spoke publically.  They are prophetic and humble words.  King David reminds us his father was not a king, but a farmer and sheep-breeder.  He expresses gratitude that God raised him up to become Israel’s 2nd king (reigning after Saul for forty years, from 1010-970 BC).

In verse 3, he acknowledges that the Holy Spirit anointed him as a prophetic spokesman for God.  The Lord told him how a righteous king was to rule, and that he and his descendants would continue to rule over Israel until and unless they stopped worshipping and obeying God.  David says in verse 5 that he knows his family is not worthy—and they weren’t—all but 5 became idolaters!  So, his dynasty died out when Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians in 587BC.

Instead this last public statement becomes a prophesy of the One Who is worthy.  Many generations after King David died came Jesus, David’s descendant, the One King David called “Lord.”  God had promised him (2 Samuel 7:12) that the Messiah would come from his lineage.  (Both Jesus’ mother, Mary, and His step-father, Joseph, were poor descendants of David’s.)  Jesus would be the King that Isaiah will later call, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (think “Halleluia Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah).

B.  Psalm 132 celebrates God’s faithfulness to King David.

The psalmist is unnamed, so not King David.  In verses 1-5, he describes David’s greatest ambition as king: to build a house, a Temple, in Jerusalem for God.  He recalls for us in verses 6-9 how the ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem, how the Temple was built (by Solomon), and how God, who is omnipresent, made His particular presence felt there.

Next the psalmist reviews God’s covenant with David:  His line shall continue as kings of Israel provided they do not stray from God—which, as I said earlier–they did.   Unfortunately, most of David’s descendant kings became disobedient idolaters so God brought their reigns to an end.  But, as Isaiah prophesied (in 11:1, NLT)—Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 

Then he culminates with this assertion in verses 17-18—…My Anointed One [Messiah, Jesus] will be a light for My people…He will be a glorious king!  Like King David, the psalmist–who celebrates David’s relationship with God—prophesies that David’s most famous descendant will the greatest king of all!

C. The Apostle John wrote Revelation (1:4-8).  It is a narration of what he saw in a Sabbath-day vision.  Late in his life, he was on the prison island of Patmos, praying, when the Lord Jesus appeared to him.  He obediently wrote what he was shown and now addresses this revelation to the churches in Asia Minor with whom he was associated (as Bishop of Ephesus).  The revelation was given to him by Jesus Himself. 

In it, Jesus tells John that He is (v.8)—the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end.  Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  Jesus is saying He’s the A to Z, the complete package, all we have ever needed for salvation, blessing, and peace.

Earlier (v.5) John tells us that Jesus is—the faithful witness to these things [what is to be revealed], the first to rise from the dead [and not die again, like Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, and the widow of Nain’s son], and the ruler of all the kings of the world.  There it is! John is stating that there is no king greater than Jesus.

D. Finally, we have Jesus’ own words in John 18:33-37.

King David, the psalmist who penned Psalm 132, and the Apostle John all testified that Jesus is the greatest of all kings.  Now Jesus Himself, on trial before Pilate, states that He is a king, but not a political one (v.36)—My kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.  If it were, My followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders.  But my Kingdom is not of this world. 

Pilate, a cynic, probably didn’t know what to make of this, but he appeared to realize Jesus was not a threat to Roman rule—but rather to the authority of the Jewish religious establishment.  This side of the Cross, we know that Jesus is King over a spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.  And that His rule will manifest all over the earth when He comes again in all of His sovereign majesty. 

While today is Christ the King Sunday, we also celebrate Thanksgiving this week.  This is a good time to remember to thank God that Jesus is our King.

Just prior to this sermon, we sang the hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God.” 

“This particular hymn was written during the Thirty Years War in Germany, in the early 1600s. [The 30 Years War was a war fought between Catholics and Protestants over which brand of the faith would take precedence in Europe.  I cannot think that Jesus would have ever commended Christians for fighting Christians.]  The hymn’s author was Martin Rinkart, a Lutheran pastor in the town of Eilenburg in Saxony

“Now, Eilenburg was a walled city, so it became a haven for refugees seeking safety from the fighting. But soon, the city became too crowded and food was in short supply. Then, a famine hit and a terrible plague and Eilenburg became a giant morgue.

“In one year alone, Pastor Rinkart conducted funerals for 4,500 people, including his own wife. The war dragged on; the suffering continued. Yet through it all, he never lost courage or faith and even during the darkest days of Eilenburg’s agony, he was able to write this hymn:

Now thank we all our God,

with hearts and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom the world rejoices

…[So] keep us in His grace,

and guide us when perplexed,

and free us from all ills,

in this world and the next.

“Even when he was waist deep in destruction, Pastor Rinkart was able to lift his sights to a higher plane. He kept his mind on God’s love when the world was filled with hate. He kept his mind on God’s promises of heaven when the earth was a living hell.”

(Erskine White, Together in Christ, as shared by www.sermons.com, 11/18/2024)

If this man can celebrate God and thank Him in the midst of death, famine, overcrowding, and chaos, can’t we do the same?  By comparison, our lives seem relatively trouble-free.  Let’s remember all we have to thank our God and King Jesus for as we celebrate Thanksgiving this year.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Recognizing Everyday Saints

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 10, 2024

Scriptures: WMC, 11/10/24; Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; Ps 42; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44

I heard this story just the other day.  It appears to describe a large Catholic parish in the Midwest:

“A priest once asked one of his parishioners to serve as financial chairman of his parish. The man, manager of a grain elevator, agreed on two conditions:  (1) No report would be due for a year, and (2) No one would ask any questions during the year.

“At the end of the year he made his report. He had paid off the church mortgage of $200,000.  He had updated the church’s interior. He had sent $1,000 to missions [he could have been more generous here], and he had put $5,000 in the bank’s savings account.

“How did you do all this?” asked the priest and the shocked congregation.  Quietly he answered, “You people bring your grain to my elevator. As you did business with me, I simply withheld 10 percent [in other words, he overcharged them by 10%] and gave it to the church. You never missed it.”

(Contributed by James S. Hewett, http://www.Sermons.com, November 5, 2024)

Now please don’t get alarmed.  I am not going to launch into a sermon on tithing, or your monetary giving to our church.  Too many people just happen to visit a church on the very day the pastor encourages everyone to contribute more money.  They walk away believing the church is only interested in digging into their wallets.  My son attended a non-demoninational church of 22,000 members in Texas.  He said at one point the pastor preached on tithing every week.  I guess he had a large facility and an equally large staff to support, so money was uppermost in his mind.

Because of this, however, I hardly ever say anything tithing.  Instead, I will let today’s Gospel passage speak for itself.

Instead, I want us to focus today on what our Bible passages tell us about how we might go about recognizing everyday saints.

Last week, I distinguished between canonized saints and “everyday saints.”

Canonized saints are those holy people who led obviously Christian lives, may have died for their faith, and often performed some sort of miracle.

Reports about their lives are scrutinized by the Catholic Church.  And if they meet the 3 criteria, they are recognized as true “saints of the Church.” 

Conversely, “everyday saints” are those of us who love Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and who try to model our lives after Him and what we learn from Scripture.  Keeping this 2nd category in mind, let’s examine the passages appointed for today to see how they help us recognize “everyday saints.” 

A.  Our OT lesson is from portions of Ruth 3 and 4.   You may remember that Ruth was from Moab, one of the perennial enemies bordering Israel.  The Moabites originated from the incestuous relationship of a drunken Lot and one of his two daughters.  The girls had seen the destruction of Sodom and feared they would never marry or bear children.  So they got their father drunk and slept with him.  Naturally this was abhorrent to our God (Genesis 19:30-37).  The Moabites also tried to hire a false prophet, Balaam, to curse Israel.  He was not a follower of the Hebrew God, but he obeyed God when He told him he could not curse His Chosen People. (Numbers 22 and 23).  So Ruth was from a nation that Israel despised and avoided.

Nevertheless, she had met and married one of the sons of the Israelite woman, Naomi.  From Bethlehem, Naomi had moved to Moab, with her husband and two sons, to escape a famine.  They had located food in Moab, and jobs, but all three men got sick there and died.  Naomi was once again faced with poverty and starvation and decided to return home to Bethlehem.

She tells her 2 devoted daughters-in-law to return to their Moabite relatives.

One, Orpah agrees and, though sorrowful, leaves her; the other, Ruth, loves Naomi dearly and loyally accompanies her into Israel.

What might this tell us about Ruth, a woman we might term an “everyday saint”?  For one thing, she’s compassionate: She puts her mother-in-law’s needs for companionship and help ahead of her own comforts.  Those of you who have cared for aging parents now or earlier have done the same, haven’t you?   Additionally, she’s loyal enough to accompany Naomi to a land where she might always be considered a despised outsider (Think of what a member of Hamas would experience today if such a person attempted to become a Jew).  Ruth is certainly courageous, willing to leave all she’s ever known to go where she might be treated hostilely.  And, perhaps most important, she has become a follower of Naomi’s God.

As we pick up in today’s reading, Naomi plays matchmaker for Ruth.

Naomi owned land in Bethlehem, land owing what we might call “back taxes.”  Back in Genesis (38: 13-30), the Lord had made provision for widows through the concept of a Kinsman Redeemer.  This male relative could claim the widow’s land if he paid what was owed, and he could marry the dead man’s widow (to continue her dead husband’s line) if she agreed.

Another, closer relation wanted the land but not the foreign widow.  But Naomi knew the kinsman-redeemer, Boaz (who foreshadows Jesus as our Kinsman Redeemer), had signaled he liked Ruth a lot.  So, Naomi has Ruth get all dolled up and approach the sleeping Boaz at a harvest festival.  By placing the blanket at his feet over hers, she signaled to him that she wanted to marry him.  (This may seem a little strange to us today, but that was the custom then.)

They do marry, and happily pick up in chapter #4 where Ruth bears Boaz a son, Obed [servant of the Lord], who will become the grandfather of King David.  Because of Ruth’s faith and character, the Lord establishes from her son, Obed, the line of Jesse, the stump of Judah, from whom Jesus later comes.  The Lord so values Ruth for her faith and character, that He places her—a hated outsider (like Hamas)—in the lineage of the Messiah.

B.  Psalm 42 was written by some sons of Korah.  Though their father had been discredited and killed for leading a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16), God spared his sons and grandsons.  Those descendants of Korah who had been spared their father’s fate become gate-keepers and choir members in the Tabernacle.

This psalm is called a maschil or a teaching psalm.  Its primary message is that we are to hope and trust in God despite our negative circumstances.  The sons of Korah are certainly evidence that punishment for evil in one can result in good behavior in others, and that people do often recognize and appreciate God’s grace.  The instruction in this psalm consists of realizing that we worship a God of grace and mercy.

C.  The writer to the Hebrews (9:24-28) wants us to be clear that we realize that Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for our sins was sufficient.  It was enough to clear our debt to the Father for our sins, past, present, and future.  Jesus’ atoning death on the cross was complete, sufficient, and perfect.  We don’t’ have to do anything to assure our salvation except say yes to Christ.  He did all the heavy-lifting, for all time.

Our response to Him should be one of gratitude.

D. Finally, in our Gospel (Mark 12:38-44), Jesus condemns the Pharisees for being fakers, posers, and hypocrites, caught up in appearing righteous to others, while missing out on a legitimate, honest, humble relationship with God.  Everyday saints are sincere.

They don’t just try to look good, but their hearts are good.  They desire to please God more than to please people.  And they, like the widow who gave her last coins to the Temple treasury, are fully trusting and fully committed.

So what are the characteristics of everyday saints?  The Book of Ruth shows us that everyday saints are compassionate, loyal, risk-takers, and courageous.  They are also committed followers of God/Jesus.

Psalm 42 teaches us that everyday saints are grateful to God, trusting in Him, through bad times as well as the good.  As Paul later on states, (Romans 8:28): For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose.

Our Hebrews passage reiterates the powerful message that Jesus has done all that needed to be done to assure our salvation.

As He assured us from the Cross, It is finished.  Simply said, we are saved if we agree to believe in Him.

Finally, we demonstrate we are everyday saints if we are humble and sincere.  This means we don’t “put on airs” or fake our devotion to God.  This means we are not religious hypocrites.  Others will recognize we are everyday saints if we practice the Christian virtues our passages outline today

You may be thinking, “That’s a tall order to be compassionate, loyal, courageous, committed followers of Jesus, grateful, trusting, and sincere.”  Yes it is if we try to practice each of those virtues at once.  But we can consider which ones we already do pretty well, and then pick one we are less likely to demonstrate.  For this next week, try to practice one that is not yet true of you.  Psychology teaches us that it takes 23 repetitions to replace a bad habit with a good one. 

May the Holy Spirit empower you to cement these virtues in your life. Lord, make it so!  Amen!   

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Everyday Saints

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 3, 2024

Scriptures: Isa 25:8-9; Ps 24; Rev 21:1-7; Jn 11:32-44

Today we celebrate All Saints Sunday.  It is the Church’s attempt to counter the secular focus on ghosts, goblins, and all matter of scary Halloween folk, alive or dead, and instead highlight those followers of Jesus—Saints–who have gone on to glory.  Halloween was originally “All Hallows Eve,” when Christians everywhere meditated on their friends and family members—saints—who had entered into God’s glory.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t tend to think of myself as a saint.

Perhaps it is because the Roman Catholic Church has a lengthy process by which it canonizes someone into sainthood. Canonized saints had to have lived a holy life—in which they demonstrated the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity—and often were martyred for their faith.  They must also have performed some sort of miracle.  But the truth is that if we have been baptized into Christ, we too carry the name “saint.”  The academic dean of my seminary used to greet us all at every chapel service by saying, “Good morning, Saints!”

The following story provides an example of what we might call not a canonized but an “everyday saint”:

“During the course of earning her master’s degree, a woman found it necessary to commute several times a week from Victory, Vermont to the state university in Burlington, a good hundred miles away. Coming home late at night, she would see an old man sitting by the side of her road. He was always there, in sub zero temperatures, in stormy weather, no matter how late she returned. He made no acknowledgment of her passing. The snow settled on his cap and shoulders as if he were merely another gnarled old tree. She often wondered what brought him to that same spot every evening. Perhaps it was a stubborn habit, private grief or a mental disorder.

“Finally, she asked a neighbor of hers, “Have you ever seen an old man who sits by the road late at night?” “Oh, yes,” said her neighbor, “many times.” “Is he a little touched upstairs? Does he ever go home?” The neighbor laughed and said, “He’s no more touched than you or me. And he goes home right after you do. You see, he doesn’t like the idea of you driving by yourself out late all alone on these back roads, so every night he walks out to wait for you. When he sees your taillights disappear around the bend, and he knows you’re okay, he goes home to bed.”

(Contributed by Keith Wagner, Almost Heaven, adapted from Garret Keizer, Watchers in the Night, http://www.sermons.com, 10/31/2024.)

Everyday saints are big-hearted  souls like the old man in the story. .They generously  put themselves out for the benefit of others.  The young woman in the story didn’t ask him to watch out for her.  He just determined that someone needed to check on her safety, and that someone was him.  No fanfare; no publicity.  I believe a lot of us might similarly qualify as “everyday saints.”  I learned last night that my son-in-law, Job, went into action to help the police subdue some drunken, combative fans at a big football game in Jacksonville yesterday afternoon. These out of control football enthusiasts had thrown punches at the police who had come to escort them out of the game. Later Job said he helped the police cuff the drunks because he did not want them harming his family or any other observers in the crowd.  I told him this qualified him as an “everyday saint.”  Isn’t it true that so often we think, “Someone should do something about this or that situation,” and then we realize, perhaps I am that someone.

Our readings today all focus on the future home of both canonized and everyday saints.  Let’s examine them together to see what we have to look forward to.

A.  Our Old Testament reading is from the prophet Isaiah (25:6-9)—whose name means “the Lord saves.”  Imagine living out your life knowing this is what your name means.  In this passage, Isaiah is foretelling what the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be like for all of us saints.  When the Great Tribulation ends and Christ returns to earth a second time, He will usher in 1,000 years of peace—known as the Kingdom Age, or the Millennial Reign of Christ—as He rules over all the earth.  He will reign from Jerusalem.  He will provide for all our needs.  This is what is meant by verse 6 (NLT version): …the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [Jesus] will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world [i.e., all those who believed in Jesus while they lived] .  It will be a delicious banquet with clear well-aged wine and choice meat.  We will eat well.  Our appetites will be satisfied.

Even better, verses 7-8 tell us: He [Jesus] will swallow up death FOREVER!  The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears.  He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land and people.  The Lord has spoken!  In our new home, in our resurrection bodies, there will be no death or grief.  Jesus’ victory over death on the Cross will be a reality for each one of us.  Since He will have “swallowed death up,” death the concept and death the reality will ease to exist!

Verse 9 tells us: In that day, the people [we everyday and canonized saints] will proclaim, “This is our God!  We trusted in Him and He saved us!  This is the Lord in Whom we trusted.  Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!  Our new home will be a place of joy and celebration.  We will be so grateful that we trusted in what Scripture has told us about our God.

B.  Psalm 24, Like Psalm 23 just before it, was written by King David.  In it, David prophesies that Jesus, our Chief Shepherd, will–at His 2nd Coming–be the King of the whole world.  David lived about 350 years before Isaiah, but he says essentially the same thing:  He predicts that Jesus will take possession of Jerusalem and Mount Zion, the Temple Mount.  There will be no more Dome of the Rock, the Moslem mosque that currently sits where the Temple used to be.  This is all possible because as vv.1-2 state: The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to Him.  Since our God created all things, including us, it and we all belong to Him.  If He means to reclaim the Temple Mount for Himself, He will.  Given the upcoming national election, it is good for us to remember, our country does not belong to Democrats or Republicans, or to socialists, communists, or capitalists.  America belongs to God, whether we all recognize it or not.

As the remainder of the psalm asserts, the gates of the city will open for Jesus, the King of Glory.  We will be there because we loved Him and believed in Him. We everyday saints will dwell with our Great Shepherd in our glorious new home.

C.  Our New Testament passage is from the end of the book of Revelation (21:1-7).  The Apostle John tells us that after the 1,000 year reign of Christ, the devil will be destroyed, once and for all.  God will then create a new Heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem.  (Some scholars believe the old earth and the old Jerusalem will be destroyed by fire.)  As our other passages have foretold, there will be… no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever. 

And, as the hymn proclaims, “Oh happy Day!”  This is what our eternal home will be like, Saints!  Don’t you want to be there?  I do.  As another anthem asserts, “Oh yes, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in!”

D. Finally, in our Gospel lesson (John 11:32-44), we remember how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  What is so important to realize is both that (1) Jesus demonstrated His power over life and death;

(2) but also that He was so angry about death.  Yes, He was sad that Mary and Martha and others were grieved over Lazarus’ death; He Himself wept.

But He was also angry that death had not yet been defeated.  How ironic that it took Jesus’ death to break the power of death over us.

As the message has been repeated throughout our readings today, in our new home–as either canonized or everyday saints—we will no longer experience death.  The evil one will have been destroyed, and we will live eternal lives of comfort, safety, health, and celebration.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I always want us to consider how the messages of our Scripture passages apply to us today.  These are ancient words that are still so very true.  Today, our focus is on what our new eternal home will be like. We certainly don’t want to miss out on it, do we?  We want to rejoice in our salvation and to please God.

We also want to live like everyday saints.  One example of how to do this comes from the following story:

“Several years ago, a New York City radio station ran a contest. Disc jockeys invited their listeners to tune in their clock radios. “Just for fun,” they said, “when you wake up to the sound of FM-106, call and tell us the first words you spoke when you rolled out of bed. If you’re the third caller, you’ll win $106.”

“It didn’t take long for the contest to grow in enthusiasm. The first morning, a buoyant disc jockey said, “Caller number three, what did you say when you rolled out of bed this morning?” A groggy voice said, “Do I smell coffee burning?” Another day, a sleepy clerical worker said, “Oh no, I’m late for work.” Somebody else said her first words were, “Honey, did I put out the dog last night?” A muffled curse was immediately heard in the background, and then a man was heard to say, “No, you didn’t.” It was a funny contest and drew a considerable audience.

“One morning, however, the third caller said something unusual. The station phone rang. “Good morning, this is FM-106. You’re on the air. What did you say when you rolled out of bed this morning?”

“A voice with a Bronx accent replied, “You want to know my first words in the morning?”  The bubbly DJ said, “Yes, sir! Tell us what you said.”  The Bronx voice responded, “Shema, Israel … Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” There was a moment of embarrassed silence. Then the radio announcer said, “Sorry, wrong number,” and cut to a commercial.”

(Borrowed from http://www.Sermons.com, 10/31/2024.)

Wow!  Are the first words out of your mouth each morning a prayer of praise to our wonderful God?  This is clearly one way to live like an everyday saint.  Like the old man in the Vermont cold, it also comes as a result of looking out for the health and wellbeing of others.  Prompted by All Saints Sunday, let’s be aware this week of demonstrating our love to God and to others in practical, generous, and maybe even brave ways.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Humility

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 27, 2024

Scriptures: Job 42:1-17; Ps 34:1-8, 19-22; Heb 7:14-28; Mk 10:46-52

In a story borrowed from Our Daily Bread, it was recounted that…

 “Shortly after Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady. 

“The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” he replied. “Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do something for a friend.” She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.”

Another true story of a famous person who demonstrated humility is told of the great evangelist George Whitefield.  Whitefield was a friend and a contemporary of John Wesley, who, in the 1740’s, led the American colonies in a huge revival known as “The First Great Awakening.” 

“Although George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel. When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.” 

(W. Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers,  Moody Press, 1984, p. 255.)

Both Dr. Booker T. Washington and Rev. George Whitefield illustrated the very rare virtue of humility.  We know that Jesus was humble. So too was Paul.  In Acts 20:19 (all biblical quotations cited are from the New Living Translation), Dr. Luke states that Paul asserted in Ephesus: I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.  By the time he penned his epistle (1 Peter 5:5-6), Peter had also learned to be humble: All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” [Proverbs 3:34].  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. 

Humility is one of the marks of a true follower of Jesus. I believe our God rejoices in us when we put aside our pride and live lives characterized by true humility.

A. Job (42:1-17) is another great example of a man who learned to be humble before God.  Verses 1-6 reveal that as a result of his confrontation with God, Job humbly admits he has erred by assuming he could judge God.  He admits his sinfulness (v.6): I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance

Then, in verses 7-9, God takes Job’s judgmental friends to task.

He rebukes them for their presumptions and their spiritual arrogance—for thinking they knew God’s purposes with Job.  He directs them to make sin offerings to atone for their guilt.  And then He tells them to ask Job to pray for them. God vindicates Job before his best but wrong-minded buddies.

Finally, God restores Job’s fortunes.  Somewhat like when the Egyptians gave the Israelite slaves their “back pay” when they left Egypt, Job’s relatives and friends (v.11) are prompted to bring him silver and gold, a kind of “grub-steak.”  God himself replenishes his supply of animals: WOW!  Consider the Lord’s largesse:  14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen (really 2,000 oxen), and 1,000 female donkeys (remember donkey milk was prized then in the Ancient Near East)—twice as many animals as before.  He also helped Job procreate 7 sons and 3 beautiful daughters (not 20 kids, because he would later see the first 10 in heaven.)  And He grants him long life.  Scholars believe Job was about 70 when all of this took place, so God added 140 more years to his life.

The book of Job illustrates, among other things, that humbling ourselves before God brings us blessings.  Job lost everything, even his health, but God restored him two-fold—due to his faith, trust, repentance, and humility.

B. Psalm 34 was written by King David to express his gratitude to God for rescuing him from his enemies.   In verses 1-2, David praises God for delivering him from a king of the Phillistines (Achish, who was an Abimilech, or ruler in the Canaanite tongue).  In verse 3, he calls on others to praise God too.  David says (v.4): I prayed to the Lord and He answered me; He freed me from all my fears.  He continues in verse 8, Blessed is the man [or woman] who takes refuge in Him.  He concludes in v.19: A righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.  Just because we love the Lord does not mean we live trouble-free.  Actually, Jesus later stated (John 16:33): Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows [will not might or could].  But take heart because I have overcome the world.  It means that He will sustain us through our difficulties. 

Essentially, David’s point is that we can and should depend upon the Lord.  He can and does rescue us when we cannot save ourselves.  Holding firmly to this insight should make us humble, as we realize that we can’t but God can.

C.  The writer to the Hebrews (7:14-28) pretty much spends his [or her] entire book outlining why we humbly owe Jesus our love, gratitude, and respect.  (Many credit Paul with writing the Letter to the Hebrews, but Paul always identified himself as the author of his books and did not do so here.  Other scholars speculate it may have been Priscilla of Priscilla and Aquila fame.  She had been raised in Rome and probably had had an exceptionally good education, as the Greek used in this book is of a very high level.  We can only speculate and will have to ask in Heaven who the actual author was.)  

Whatever the case, Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not of Levi, the priestly tribe.  But, as verse 16 explains: Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.  He became a priest through His resurrection from the dead.  As is clear from Psalm 110:4 [God is speaking]: The LORD has taken an oath and will not break His vow:  You [meaning Jesus] are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedec [the mysterious priestly king of Salem, forerunner of Jerusalem, in Abraham’s time].  In other words, Jesus surpassed the Arronic priesthood (begun with Moses’ brother, Aaron) because He is both perfect (without sin) and eternal.  And today, He is seated at the Father’s right hand, interceding for each of us, sinners though we are.  If that isn’t humbling, I don’t know what is.

D.  As a good friend of ours often states, “moving right along,” in our Gospel lesson (Mark 10:46-52), Jesus encounters a blind fellow named Bartimaeus.  Jesus is leaving the vicinity of the Old Jericho (left in ruins with a curse upon whoever might dare to rebuild it) and instead is departing from the “new” Jericho, built in a different location by Herod the Great.  Beggars often sat outside city gates, so they could solicit money from passers-by.  Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing and calls to Him (v.47): Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!  Jesus graciously stops and responds to the man, What do you want Me to do for you?  We suspect the guy would want to be healed.  But maybe he wanted more money, or a better place to live, or even a spouse.  Jesus often asked people to clarify their motives for themselves and for any onlookers.  But, Bartimaeus honestly says, I want to see.  And in verse 52, Jesus heals him saying, Go, your faith has healed you.

Jesus commends him for his faith.  Huh?  Jesus realizes Bartimaeus is a man of faith because he calls the Lord, “Jesus, Son of David.”  This is a Messianic title from the Old Testament.  Bartimaeus believed Jesus was the Messiah and that He was meant to bring about God’s Kingdom rule on earth.  Bartimaeus knew from Isaiah 61 that this meant Jesus would minister to the poor—of which group Bartimaeus was one—and that He would heal the maimed, lame, and blind, his particular affliction.  Notice, Jesus doesn’t touch him, but simply speaks healing into his life.  And then a sighted Bartimaeus humbly and gratefully follows Jesus.

So, where do these passages lead us?  Our God has told us back in Micah 6:8: The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you:  to do what is right [just], to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  We don’t see much humility around us these days, do we?  Instead of being humble, people tend to put themselves forward and/or brag about their accomplishments.  I, for one, am much more impressed by a proficient athlete who praises God for their successes than I am by to those who take all the credit themselves.  Scripture provides us with many examples of men and women who humbled themselves before God and people.

I think a case can be made for us each to act humbly because…

1. As Job discovered, we can question God but our minds are not capable of understanding the complexity of the universe, nor of comprehending the mind and plans of the Almighty. We need to approach God mindful of and repentant for our sins.  We should come before Him in all humility. 

2. King David says in Psalm 34, God hears our prayers and rescues us from trouble.  As Beth Moore, the wonderful Bible teacher, frequently states, “God loves to mess with our messes.”  Even if we have behaved like an absolute stinker, if we ask the Lord to redeem our mess, He will in ways beyond what we might have asked or imagined. 

3. As the writer to the Hebrews says, Jesus is powerful enough to save us and to intercede for us with God the Father.  We can’t save ourselves by our own actions.  We needed our great high priest, Jesus, to do the work of atonement for us—and He has!

4. Similarly, Bartimaeus knew he could not restore his own vision.  He needed the healing power of Jesus Christ to do it for him.

This week, let’s try to do the right thing, to love extending grace and mercy to others, and to walk humbly with our God.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams