Posted on by Cheryl Norman

We Can’t Outgive God

Pastor Sherry’s Message for December 20, 2020

Scriptures: 2 Sam 7:1-11, 16; Ps89:1-4, 19-26; Lk 1:26-38

How many of you are aware of the Jan Karon series about the town of Mitford, in western North Carolina, and the pastor there named Father (Fr.) Timothy Kavanaugh?  Karon has now published 14 books in this series.  They are “clean,” Christ-centered, and heart-warming stories. In seminary, many of us hoped to serve at a parish like Mitford (the church there is called “Lord’s Chapel”).  We would have done much better, however, had we hoped we would be more like Fr. Tim himself.  Karon’s Fr. Tim is modest and self-effacing.  He is honest but also tactful.  He is inordinately patient with the elderly, children, and even unruly pets.  He displays a great sense of humor.  He has a pastor’s heart for his people, and he clearly loves Almighty God!

I recently read the 12th book in the series titled Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, and what I found to be most noteworthy is Fr. Tim’s remarkable prayer life.  Fr. Tim frequently lifts up the needs of his parishioners.  He prays with them, he prays for them while engaged in other activities, and his favorite come-back for a prayer request is, “Consider it done!”  A Bible-believing Episcopal priest, he has memorized many of his denomination’s beautiful prayers called “Collects.”  Quite a few were written by Archbishop Cranmer following the Protestant Reformation in the mid-1500’s.  Fr. Tim wakes up and ends his days reciting them.  He praises God when things go well.  He often prays what he calls the prayer that never fails: Lord, thy will be done….

Isn’t it true that most of us pray for help when our world is looking grim?  Or we pray to know God’s will when facing a big decision.  We may even remember to thank and praise Him for the wonderful moments, the miraculous events, the blessings in our lives.  But do we ever think to ask Him what He’d have us to do bless Him?  “Lord, how can we give back to You?”  Or, “What could we do that would please You?”

Today’s Old Testament lesson (2 Sam 7:1-11+16) sheds some light on what tends to happen when someone wants to gift God.

We are presented with King David, who lived about 1,000 years before the 1st Coming of Jesus.  Though he was a member of the tribe of Judah, he united all12 tribes to form the nation of Israel.  He also established Jerusalem as his capital.  With God’s help, he subdued all of Israel’s enemies and, at the time of this passage, is experiencing an unprecedented period of peace.  Furthermore, he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and danced before it, worshipping God as it entered the city.  He composed some great worship music, many examples of which are preserved for us as Psalms.  As you can imagine, our passage finds him very grateful to God for having blessed him in all of these ways.

My favorite Bible Commentator, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, suggests it might have been on a rare stormy or rainy day that the king spent some time and energy comparing his situation in his palace with that of God’s in the Ark.  He may have fretted, “Here I am sitting in this lovely cedar-lined palace, dry and warm, while God’s Ark sits out in the rain.  That is hardly right.  Why don’t I build God a house?”  Truly, the “tent” which held the Ark was not covered.  Nevertheless, David doesn’t pause to ask God if this is something that will please or bless Him.  He just assumes it will.  To King David, it probably seemed like a slam-dunk.

Even the prophet, Nathan, agreed with the idea, saying essentially, “Great concept!  Run with it!”  But God grabs ahold of Nathan and says, Go back!  Tell David I said “no.”  Furthermore, God adds, whoever said I needed a house?  For years, God had lived in a tent!  It has the advantages of being mobile, flexible, and portable (Other people groups in that day believed their local gods were confined to one geographic area; but the Hebrew God went all over the place).  God is saying, essentially, I appreciate the thought, but I will not be contained by humankind.

Afterall, He’d manifested as a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.  When He gave directions for them to build the “Tent of Meeting”—in which He met with and spoke to Moses and Joshua– He was present but not confined by the tent.  All of this was so until God allowed David’s son, Solomon, to build His Temple; and until informs us in John 1:14–The Word became flesh and dwelt (tented; pitched His tent) among us–a tent of flesh!

God denied the gesture but honored David’s intention.  He then proceeds to give David more than he could have asked for or imagined.

  1. First, He calls David “Servant.”  This is actually a Biblical term of endearment indicating a special relationship between a person and the Lord.  Typically it is used only with some patriarchs, the prophets, the nation of Israel, and Jesus.
  2. Next he tells Nathan, “Tell David I will build him a house” (dynasty).  David already has a luxurious palace.  The word House is bayith in Hebrew.  It has 3 meanings:  (1) David’s palace (vv.1-2); (2)Yahweh’s Temple (vv. 5-7, 13); and (3)David’s dynasty (vv.11, 16, 18, 19, 25-27, 2 times in 29).  This is the only royal house that the Lord would ever sanction in perpetuity.
  3. God then sets out the terms of His Covenant with David.  God promises:

    1.) I will make your name great (famous/renoun)

   2.) I will provide a place for My people;

  3.) I will give you rest from your enemies;

4.) I will raise up offspring to succeed you;

5.) I will establish the throne of your kingdom forever.  This means that God would not allow anyone to usurp David’s throne from him.  It also means that while the dynasty may fade, it will not disappear completely.

6.) I will be his Father/He will be My son.  God will father Solomon after David passes away.  And later, God will be/is still the Father of Jesus.                         

7.) I will discipline Him….God allows David’s wicked descendants to be taken out by the Assyrians or the Babylonians.  And much late–though He was without sin–Jesus is flogged and crucified.

 8.) But I will always love him!

9.) Your throne will be established forever:  In Luke 1:32–Gabriel says to Mary, He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of his father David.

         This 2 Samuel 7 passage is a very important section in the Old Testament as it expresses the Messianic Hope!  Our God is a Promise-Keeping God.  He placed the scepter (symbol of kingly power and rule) in the tribe of Judah way back in Genesis 49:10.  This Messianic Hope is reiterated time and time again in the Old Testament: 4 times in Isaiah; 3 times in Jeremiah; 2 times in Ezekiel; and once each in Hosea, Amos, and Zechariah.

Additionally, this passage shapes our Christian understanding of Jesus Christ:

  1. He is a son of (descendant of) David;
  2. One who will rise up from the dead;
  3. He is the capstone or cornerstone of the House of GodàJohn 2:19–Destroy this Temple (His body) and I (Jesus) will raise it again in 3 days.
  4. He is the possessor of a throneàRevelation 3:21–To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne…
  5. He rules over an eternal Kingdom:
  6. Jn 18:36–Jesus said, My Kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, My servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.  But My kingdom is from another place.
  7. Matt 28:28–And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
  8. He is the Son of God:
  9. Mark 1:1–The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
  10. Acts 9:20–At once [Paul] began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God.
  11. He is also the product of an “immaculate,” miraculous
  12. conception since God is His Father.
 

Now what does this mean to us today?  For one thing, our God keeps His promises, both to David and to us!  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is descended from King David’s line.  He thus fulfills all of the Old Testament prophesies about His identity.  Just as He was the hope for David (and for many down through the ages), He is our hope, right now!  He has made us for relationship with Himself.  He loves us with a steadfast and loyal love. He is faithful and true.  He will never leave or forsake us.

For another, we can never out-give God.  Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from the penalty for our sins.  The great temple built by Solomon (later rebuilt by Herod the Great) is gone (destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, and not yet to this day rebuilt.)  The point of that is thatGod’s house is not a building!  Now, it’s us.  By the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit, our bodies are God’s temple.

I think the literary character, Fr. Tim Kavanaugh, truly demonstrates how to live and pray in a way that honors God.  As we approach Christmas this week, let’s come to God with grateful hearts.  Like dear, humble Mary, let’s seek to do God’s will at all times.  And, while we can’t out-give God, let’s ask Him how we might bless Him this Christmas.  Amen.

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

More Than Anything Else

Pastor Sherry’s Message for December 13, 2020

Scriptures: Isa 61:1-4, 8-11; Ps 126; 1 Thess 5:16-24; Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

At a little less than 2 weeks until Christmas, how many of you have finished your Christmas shopping?  The story is told of a man who, at this point in the Christmas season, has purchased zero gifts. In fact, he has not yet gotten around to purchasing an acceptable gift for his wife for last Christmas. He did give her something last year, but he could tell by her reaction to it that she had not been dreaming of getting a car emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly this gift violated an important rule, but the man had no idea what this rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him.

The poor guy in the story has no clue, does he?  We don’t buy what we would want—or even what we believe the gift receiver needs–but what the gift recipient believes they need or would love to have.  Effective gift giving requires that we observe the other and watch and listen for what’s on their heart.  And there tend to be plenty of hints floating around, if we are tuned in. Our God is certainly very tuned into what we need more than anything else.

Let’s review our Scripture passages today to verify just how tuned in God is to giving us that gift that we need more than anything else:

Our Gospel lesson (John 1:6-8, 19-28) introduces us to John the Baptist.  The Apostle John began his account of Jesus by establishing that He was both present at creation,and spoke it into existence.  He inserts into his account the existence and mission of John the Baptist (vv.6-8)–He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Then John goes on to describe (vv.19-28) a dialogue between John the Baptist and some Priests, Levites, and Pharisees regarding his (JtB’s) identity.  They wondered if he were Elijah, come back to earth.  They surmised he was the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18: 15 & 18…a successor to Moses–though all the prophets from Moses until John the Baptist were successors to Moses.  JtB freely admits he is not the Messiah/the Christ.  He denies he is any of the others they suggest.  Then he quotes Isa 40:3—which we read last week—and admits he is the forerunner to Jesus–The voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”

This should have clued them in that God’s Greatest Gift was coming soon—but they apparently didn’t believe him.  JtB told them they needed to repent.  They needed to make their hearts ready to receive Jesus as their Savior.

Paul suggests a number of ways we can make our hearts ready to receive Jesus, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.  Instead of putting up our tree, baking cookies, or wrappingpresents—though there is nothing wrong with doing these things–the Apostle wants us to demonstrate some

Christmassy attitudes:

  1. Can we be joyful?  Search out and name things for which we are thankful.
  2. How about adopting an attitude of prayer?  Remember those from our fellowship who especially need our prayers; and consider that we can pray while driving, walking, working, cooking or cleaning.
  3. Let’s give thanks in all circumstances, even when we feel defeated or despondent.
  4. Paul admonishes us to always do the will of God (not quench the Holy Spirit).
  5. He also urges us not to be indifferent to God’s Word or to prophesy.  We can recognize a true prophet because what he or she says is always consistent with Scripture and it later always comes true.  (It may take us some time to see if the latter happens.)
  6. We are to hold to what is true and genuine and not to be gullible or taken in by frauds or scam artists.
  7. We are to abstain from even the appearance of evil.
  8. And finally, we should trust we can depend upon our God.   

How do we know that Jesus is God’s greatest gift?  Our Old Testament lesson (Isa 61:1-4) reveals the reasons to us.  Jesus came the 1st time to…

  1. Preach Good News to the poor (in spirit and economically)—the Gospel.  He brought comfort.  By paying for our sins, He brought blessed assurance.
  2. He also came to bind up or heal the broken-hearted.
  3. He proclaimed freedom for captives (those who have been captured and harmed by the sins of others);
  4. And release for prisoners (those whose own sins have put them in bondage).

We can also trust with faith that He will accomplish the prophesy about what is yet to be when He returns a 2nd time:  He will judge between the good and the evil-doers.  He will put down rebellion.  He will eradicate evil.  He will provide peace and comfort to all those whomourn or grieve,exchanging their pain and grief for beauty,gladness, and praise.  He will sostrengthen them that they will stand as strong as oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.  They will also rebuild the ancient ruins…and renew the ruined cities….  In other words,He will greatly bless those who love Him,materially, physically, and spiritually.

Our Psalm (126) encourages us to begin to praise Jesus now for what He is going to do.  It is a “Psalm of Ascent,” sung by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem as they walked up to the hills, then up to the Temple.  They sang, praising God for delivering them from Exile in Babylon.

But we can appropriate it for what Jesus has done and will do for us. Our Lord Jesus is the perfect gift!  He is what we need more than anything else.  He has made us right with God the Father, satisfying the penalty for our sins, and ensuring for us eternal life.

When we get to know Him intimately, He meets the deep desires of our hearts.  He is always “in season,” in good taste, and His one size fits all.  And He is a far better gift than a car emergency kit!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

We Hate To Wait.

Pastor Sherry’s message from December 6, 2020.

Scriptures: Isa 40:1-11; PS 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Pet 3:8-15a; Mk 1:1-8

WE hate to wait, don’t we?  We are used to fast food, fast times in the ER,  ATM’s that work quickly, vending machines that pop out a soda or water in seconds, and rapid computer start-ups.   And we can get very impatient if things take longer than we expect them to.

But God doesn’t appear to mind having us wait.   First of all, He operates out of KYROS –God’s time, not KRONOS —our time, chronological time.

Secondly, God has things to teach us while we wait.

Our Scriptures today all have something to tell us about waiting:

In 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Peter reminds us that God himself is patient.  He calculates time differently than we do–vv.8-9–With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

It may seem like He is slow to keep His promises (a day is like 1000 years); but, even so, He patiently delays because He wants to give us time.  He wants everyone possible to come to a saving faith in His Son, Jesus.  Consider what God told Abraham about the Canaanites:  He said Abraham’s numerous descendants would sojourn as captives in Egypt for 400 years, until the time of the Canaanites had come to an end.  Apparently God was informing these pagans about Himself during that interval and they rejected Him.  He gave them 400 years to come to Him and they apparently refused.  So, when the Israelites came into the Land of Promise, God told them to wipe out all the tribes of nonbelievers who were there.  If you want to stop smoking, you don’t hang out with smokers.  If you want to quit drinking, you don’t hang around drinkers.  God wanted His chosen people to remain faithful to Him and not adopt pagan ways.  The Israelites were disobedient.  They fraternized with the non-believers then let live and became idolaters, bringing upon them God’s punishment.

On the other hand, when God takes action, the swiftness with which He moves will blow your hair back!  He’ll move when you least expect it, v.10–But the day of the LORD will come like a thief.  We’ll all be shocked at how quickly He acts then.  So, we need to be prepared, to be ready.  The season of Advent reminds us to prepare our hearts to celebrate His first coming, and to anticipate His second coming, His triumphant return in majesty and authority.  Thus, we might be able to better bear up under waiting if we can remind ourselves that God Himself is patient.

Our Old Testament reading is from Isaiah 40:1-11.  These famous words are sung in arias in Handel’s Messiah.  1st, the Lord speaks a word of reassurance:  verse 1–Comfort, comfort my people; speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

The double comfort is an emphatic reassurance of God’s tenderness and goodness.  God is announcing, through the prophet, that their 70 year captivity in Babylon is ended.  The people have paid for their sins, and God is about to engineer their release and return to Jerusalem.

Verses 3-5 explain that John the Baptist is going to show up and point out the Messiah.  Our Gospel (Mark 1:1-8) lesson echoes this passage and identifies John the Baptist as the long prophesied forerunner of Christ.  Mark quotes from Malachi 3:1–“See. I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.  Then Mark recites Isaiah 40:3—A voice of one calling [John] in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.

            In verses 6-8–God reminds us of how short our lives are compared to the eternal value of God’s Word—His Word written, the Bible; and His Word made flesh, Jesus.  You may recognize verses 9-11 as another of the arias in Handel’s “Messiah.”  The prophet tells us that Jesus will come with power at His 2nd Coming; but He will be a tender and gentle shepherd during His 1st Coming.  In other words, we can wait patiently because wonderful things are sure to happen!  And did you notice that our God loves to comfort us!

            The portions of Psalm 85 we read today, remind us that God keeps His promises to His people:  Messiah is coming.  When He comes again, He will bring a world-wide peace.  Furthermore, the psalmist speaks of several qualities as if they were living beings, saying thatlove and faithfulness will meet at Jesus’ return;  righteousness and peace will kiss each other;faithfulness will spring forth from the earth;and righteousness will look down from heaven.  In other words,Jesus will arrive with these four attributes:  love for us;faithfulness to God’s direction;righteousness, or right living; and God’s deep shalom Peace.

Jesus is coming, John the Baptist will prepare folks for His arrival, and Christ will demonstrate peace, love, holiness, and faith.

We hate to wait, so what thoughts might help us wait with grace?  It has been said that we can bear any how if we know the why.

First, I believe we need to understand that waiting can reveal to us our true motives.  Waiting requires that we are committed enough to take some time for things to unfold.  If we cannot wait, we might just have to ask ourselves how committed we are to God or to someone else we are waiting upon.  If we are so “me focused” that we are impatient, we may lack that commitment and perhaps are unwilling to postpone our own gratification.

Second, waiting builds the spiritual fruit of patience.  The old saw goes, Don’t pray for patience.  If you do, God will put you in a situation that requires that you develop it.  God will and does answer that prayer, but you may wish He had taught you that virtue another way.

Third, waiting builds anticipation, so that we better appreciate those things that did not come to us immediately.  One Christmas, my daughter located all of her gifts that I had hidden away prior to wrapping them.  On Christmas morning, she asked where a purse was that I had gotten her.  I had forgotten it and even where I had put it.  She knew where it was and that gave her secret away.  I asked her if it had been worth it to have found everything ahead of time.  She was sorry that she had spoiled her surprises. Similarly I think when we have to work hard for something and wait to gain it, we tend to value it more when it comes to us.

Fourth, waiting builds intimacy with and dependence upon God.  As we wait, we either come to believe that God is not answering our prayers and lose heart—or even get angry with Him—or we deepen our faith in Him.  As we see Him then resolve what we had asked Him for, we become more dependent on Him, more surrendered to His will.

Finally, we want to remember that waiting is the crucible of the saints!  Waiting is a grand Biblical tradition:

  1. Abram waited 25 years for Isaac; (his descendants waited 440 years to inherit the Land).

2. Jacob, Abraham’s  grandson, worked for his shifty Uncle Laban 21 years                                before returning to “the Promised Land” as Israel.

3.  Moses waited 40 years + 40 more years (in the back of beyond as a

shepherd) before he led the Israelites out of their Egyptian bondage.

4. King David was anointed by Samuel, then waited 20 years to actually become king.          

5.  Even Jesus waited.  He could have been teaching and preaching from age 12, but God sent Him back to Nazareth to grow in stature with God and humans before beginning His ministry at age 30.

Waiting molds and shapes our character.  God uses it to train us (to help us learn to trust him and to persevere in doing the right thing).  God uses the time to burn off such impurities as impatience, pride, lust, greed, etc.   God uses waiting to make us dependent upon Himself.  The prophet Isaiah extolls the value of waiting in Isaiah 40:31àThose who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not be faint.  The psalmist of Psalm 27:18 writes—O tarry and await the Lord’s pleasure; be strong and He shall comfort your heart; wait patiently for the Lord.

We have a God who keeps His promises, and who often requires us to wait!

Let us wait in faith.   Let us not grow anxious or weary, but, instead, let’s trust in God’s goodness and loving kindness towards us, and in His perfect timing!  Amen and Amen!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Be grateful for Jesus, our Shepherd King

Pastor Sherry’s message from November 22, 2020

Scriptures: Eze 34:11-16, 20-24; Ps 100; Eph 1:15-23; Matt 25:31-46

I love funny signs, don’t you?  I found some this week that made me laugh out loud:

Signs on property fence lines:

​​​1. No hunting; No fishing; No nothing!  Go home!

2. No trespassing! Violator will be shot; survivors will be shot again!

​​​3. No trespassing!  We’re tired of hiding the bodies. 

Signs of warning:

1. High voltage. Do not touch. Not only will this kill you, It will hurt the whole time you are dying.

2. Warning. If the help desk thinks your question is stupid, we will set you on fire!

3. Unattended children will be given an energy drink and a free puppy.

​​​4. No dumping cats!  $750 fine and/or 90 days in jail.

5. My personal favorite: Warning! If you think you can run across this pasture in 10 seconds, Don’t! The bull can do it in 9.

As we approach Thanksgiving this week, I think one thing we can all be thankful for is humor. We began our service today with an opportunity for each of us to express our gratitude to God. As you may have noticed as they were read, today’s Scripture passages all focus on reasons we can and should be grateful to God.

Additionally, our Bible passages today all relate to the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

In the Ezekiel passage (34:11-16, 20-24), God is essentially firing the religious leaders of Israel. He is fed up with their ineptitude, their failures to protect His sheep, and their outright abuse of them. Instead, He shares His resolve to send a new, improved, better shepherd to watch over, teach, and guide His people: Jesus.

So, among the many things we have to be grateful for, we can thank God for sending Jesus to be our perfect Shepherd.  He has redeemed us from our bondage to sin and death; and He saved us from the penalty for our sins.  We can also thank God that Jesus, as Christ the King, is coming again.  When He does return, He will dispense true justice.  He will also establish lasting peace on the earth.  And He will gather to Himself those who love Him.

Psalm 100 is a song of praise to Christ as King. During my time at seminary, I worked my way through by directing a college counseling center. The college was “Reformed Presbyterian,” which meant, among other things, that they did not use musical instruments in church or chapel. Instead, they sang the psalms only, with no accompaniment, but in 4-5 part harmony. This psalm they called “Ole 100.” Hearing it sung in 5 parts, acapella, was both spectacular and very moving.

Verse 3 tells us that the LORD is God. He is our Creator, our Redeemer; and He is the Shepherd of Israel and of the Church. V.4 reveals what J. Vernon McGee3 calls “the password to worship: Thanksgiving! [We] Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. This is how we worship God in spirit and in truth. We express our thanks to Him. We praise Him for His goodness, grace, and loving-kindness towards us. After you have memorized Psalm 23 as well as Psalm 51, you may want to put Ole 100 to memory too, as it’s a beaut!

In our Ephesians passage (1:15-23), Paul expresses thanks to God for the faith and love he sees demonstrated by this church.

When I was ordained, my Bishop gave me a devotional that takes a person through the Bible in two years. It’s meant for a pastor’s quiet time daily with the LORD. The Bishop signed it for me, inscribing it with these verses. It was as though he was saying, “I will be praying for you just as Paul was praying for those Corinthians.” Paul was delighted that they loved Jesus, loved Paul, their pastor, and loved God’s Word. He tells them they are on his prayer list. He doesn’t pray for material blessings for them, but rather for spiritual blessings:

1. He wants them to have wisdom and discernment, especially as they meditate on Scripture. He wants the Holy Spirit to continue to lead and guide them. In 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, he wrote, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him; but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.

2. He wants them to be people of hope.

3. He wants them to be aware of the endless energy and the boundless strength of Christ that can and will be used for their good. Jesus runs the universe; He also rules the Church. He is no pasty-faced, skinny, 98 pound weakling, but He is both robust and powerful enough to resurrect and to ascend to Heaven. When Scripture asks if anything is impossible for the LORD, the answer is no because He holds the power to do and to act.

In our Gospel (Matt. 25:31-46), Jesus reminds us that, at His 2nd Coming, He will separate out sheep from goats.  The sheep– true believers–will be set on His right side.  These are those of us with faith in Jesus.  Our faith will be evident in the way we lived our lives.  Our charitable works on the behalf on others don’t earn us salvation; only our faith in Christ does.  But because we love Jesus, we try to love others by serving them in loving ways.  Our charitable works come from a generous heart, a trusting spirit.  And we try to be humble…Lord, when did we….Our reward will be to hear Jesus say to us, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you….

The goats—unbelievers—will be sent to His left. These are the ones who have discounted Christ, blown Him off, refused to believe in Him during their life time. They will be condemned. They will hear Jesus tell them, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The goats will be shocked and horrified. They will react with self-righteousness…When did we not….

What’s so alarming about this teaching is its permanence. Jesus is warning us—like some of those goofy signs I shared earlier—(v.46) [the wicked] will go away to eternal punishment, but be grateful for Jesus, our Shepherd King the righteous to eternal life. He is serious. The results of our choice—with or without Christ—is forever, changeless and without end. What’s so wonderful, however, is that we are free to make the choice. I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful that loving Jesus sets me up to be awarded an eternal place among only righteous persons. I’m so grateful that by loving Jesus, I avoid being consigned to that place where only evil-doers will dwell. I have often thought it would be horrible to be in prison, not just due to your lack of freedom. But consider who your neighbors are there. You would be confined to the company of murderers, thugs, rapists, and robbers. How would one be able to sleep at night? Hell will be so much worse!

So let’s think—as we approach Thanksgiving day—of what all of us has to be thankful or grateful for:

1. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, came to save us.

2. Jesus, our Great Shepherd King, will come again to establish justice and bring us to Himself.

3. That gratitude/thanksgiving is our password into God’s gates; the threshold into true worship.

4. Paul and other intercessors pray for us by name.

5. That Jesus calls us to give ourselves away—using our gifts and talents—in love and service to others.

6. And aren’t we just so grateful, too, for a little humor while we await our heavenly reward?

C 2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Using Our Talents

Pastor Sherry’s Message for November 15, 2020

Scriptures: Judges 4:1-7; Matt 25:14-30

A pastor friend tells the story of his brother, Tony, and their elderly Aunt Mildred.  Aunt Mildred was getting along in years, so the two brothers bought her a motorized recliner.  You know the kind, it pushes you up and out of the chair so you don’t have to struggle to stand.  Soon after gifting her, Tony went to see how Mildred liked her new chair.  “Tony,” she says, “I’m having a lot of trouble getting out of my chair.”  Puzzled, Tony replied helpfully, “Let me check on the motor.”  Mildred then told him, “Well, that won’t do no good.  I never plug it in!”  Dumbfounded, Tony asked, “Well, whyever not?”  To which Aunt Mildred replied, “Well, what if the power goes out whilst I was a-laying back in it?  I wouldn’t never be able to get out of it!”  I love this story because it demonstrates so well how fear, and a lack of faith, can prevent us from using the blessings, the “talents,” God has given us.

Our OT and Gospel lessons today give us two examples of what God thinks of those who do not trust in Him enough to utilize the talents He has given us for building up His Kingdom. In our OT lesson, we have the only example of a woman called to lead the nation of Israel, Deborah the Prophetess.  She was called and equipped by God to lead during the time of the Judges.

The backstory is that Joshua has died at 110 years of age without a follow-up human leader.  The Israelites had not yet been governed by a king.  Their leader, to date, had been a man like Moses or Joshua, selected  and directed by God)   Even though the people promised Joshua three times (recall our OT passage from last week), they would remain obedient to God, within 40 years, they had taken up idolatry and forsaken the LORD.  As a result, the Lord would then allow a Canaanite people—Amorites, Amonites, Moabites, Midianites, or even Philistines—to oppress them.  They would then call out to the LORD for help.  He would reply by raising up a judge to lead them in defeating their enemy.  They would thank and praise Him.  But, shortly, once the threat was over, they would again forget about their loyalty to God.  And the 40 year cycle would begin all over again.  Deborah, a woman, was the 3rd such judge God provided.

Who was she?  She only takes up two chapters of Scripture in which we learn the following about her:

            1.) She was a wife to Lippidoth.  We know nothing of him, except that he seemed to have recognized God’s call on his wife’s life; and he did not appear to resent her influence or power. 

2.) She was “a mother of Israel,” out of the tribe of Ephraim.  While this may imply she had children of her own—if so they are not mentioned in Scripture–it certainly means she nurtured and cared for the nation.

            3) She was a wise counselor.  People came from miles away to seek her wisdom and advice.

            4.) She was a renowned judge like Judge Judy, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, or Judge Jannine Pirow.  Instead of sitting at the city gates to hear cases, verse 5  tells us she sat beneath a palm tree named for Her–the Palm of Deborah–located between Ramah and Bethel.

            5) She was a legitimate prophetess.  Like her male counterparts, she was anointed by God, who told her what to say to His people.  She conveyed God’s words to the people and she foretold events accurately.

            6.) We learn in today’s passage that she was a warrior.

            7.) She was also a poet.  She wrote a song/psalm, describing what God accomplished through her leadership—in Judges chapter 5.

            8.) Finally, she was a woman who loved and trusted God.

Notice, she had many gifts/talents.  What did she do with them?  The Canaanite King Jabin had oppressed the Israelites for 20 years. He terrorized them with 900 iron chariots/horses, and an able-bodied general named Sisera.  During this oppressive time, Jabin confiscated all the Israelites’ iron weapons.  The people call out to God for help, and God tells Deborah to send for General Barak of the tribe of Naphtali.  She did and told Barak that God intended for him to lead the people into battle against Sisera.  In V.6 she says to Barak, The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulon and lead the way to Mount Tabor.  I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.

Deborah knows that God is going to give Gen. Barak the victory.  The General doesn’t see how—he lacks faith in God.  His citizen army is outnumbered 10 to 1, and Sisera’s army is much better equipped.  He must have felt like Deborah was essentially telling him to prepare for his death.  He does eventually agree to go as directed, but only if the prophetess will go with him.  Is he afraid?  Or is he simply clear that he needs the counsel of the one who hears from God?  Since he doesn’t really seem to trust her or God etirely, she tells him God will give the victory (over Gen. Sisera) to another woman (Jael, the wife of a weapons maker).

Judges, chapter 5, is called Deborah’s Song:  Some Biblical scholars call it “one of the oldest and finest pieces of Hebrew poetry.”  In it, Deborah gives God the glory for their victory.  Deborah walked in faith to free her people from oppression.  She used her gifts of leadership to direct the Israelites into battle, despite overwhelming odds and the prevailing customs for women of the time.  Because of her obedience, God gave Israel another 40 years of freedom and peace.

In our Gospel lesson, Matthew 15:14-30, Jesus provides examples of two who utilize their talents for God and one who does not.  In His parable,the master (probably God) leaves his assets in the hands of threestewards/servants (believers).  He appears to have doled out his assets according to the degree to which He trusts in their abilities and their motivation.  One very able fellow gets 5 talentsàA talent back then was equal to 1 years’ wages; for the purpose of illustration, let’s say a years’ wages were $30,000.  That would mean this 1st guy has been entrusted with 5 times that or $150,000.  The next gets 2 talents, or $60,000;and the 3rd gets 1, or $30,000.

When the Master returns, He expects them to account for how they invested His money during His absence.  The fellow who had 5 talents invested them wisely and wound up earning double or $300,000!  The guy with 2 also invested wisely and doubled his earnings, netting $120,000.  The faithless guy hid his 1 talent, so he gained nothing.  Although he was honest and returned the $30,000 in tact, the master was angry because he could have at least deposited it somewhere and earned interest on it.  The Master commends the first two dudes, but He has nothing but contempt for the third.  This guy was either so lazy as to not use the talents at all.  Or perhaps like Aunt Mildred, he was too afraid to fail, so he did nothing (safe but unproductive).  This guy then gets thrown into the outer darkness, (v.30)…where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth—not a pleasant place!

This is not a story about investing money wisely.  It is about utilizing the skills and the ministry gifts we have been given to build up God’s Kingdom.  Notice, all are called to account—this is the “White Throne Judgment” at the end of time:  Those who have used their gifts are blessed now and in the afterlife; while those who have not are chastised and punished.  Those of us who believe in Jesus Christ will be clothed in His righteousness, so we will not be reminded of all of our sins in this judgment scene.  Instead, we will probably be asked how we did at loving God and others (The Great Commandment), and whether or not we used our talents and gifts to benefit God’s Kingdom (The Great Commission).

So what is the point for us today?  God uses people who trust in Him.

Do you trust God?  Are you willing to be obedient to Him, even when the situation seems difficult or impossible?  If He can use an unarmed army to defeat a vastly superior force, He can master any situation we bring before Him.  God expects us to use the talents He has given us to bless others.  Are we doing that?  May it be so!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman · 1 Comment

God’s Faithfulness

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 8, 2020.

Scriptures: Jos 24:1-25; Ps 78:1-7; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 25:1-13

Oscar Wilde once said: God likes to forgive, I like to sin; it’s a nice arrangement.   His statement was meant to be funny, but like a lot of folks, he’s kind of missed the point, hasn’t he?  We don’t just stand on our trust in God’s mercy—though He is wondrously merciful.  As Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2…shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or as Peterson paraphrases it in The Message, So what do we do?  Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving?  I should hope not!  If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there?  No, our response to God’s mercy and generosity towards us—His faithfulness to us—should be generosity and mercy we express toward others, and faithfulness we practice toward Him.

Our lessons today all revolve around the theme of God’s Faithfulness:

Our OT lesson is from Joshua 24:1-25.  In this Joshua challenges the people—3 times—to remain faithful to God.  He wants them to renew their covenant agreement with Godat Shechem, before he dies.  He especially wants them to be mindful of avoiding idolatry.  They did not kill all the tribal peoples living in Canaan, as they had been directed to do by the Lord.  (Remember, God had given them the 400 years–while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt–to come to Him but they resisted.)  So both God and Joshua realized they would either intermarry and adopt the idolatrous practices of their spouses; or they would be so intrigued with the sensual and often sexual religious practices of their pagan neighbors, that they would fall away from worshipping God.

In V.15, Joshua challenges them:  Choose this day Whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.  In V.24, the people, united, say:  We will serve the Lord our God and obey Him.  However, over time, they prove faithless.  They promise fidelity to God, but they fall into idolatry. Just as we promise fidelity in our marriage vows—agreeing to forsake all others—they were promising to forsake all other gods.

Psalm 78:1-7 is the introductory portion of an extended history of the people of Israel, from Moses to King David, from Exodus to 2 Samuel. The people repeatedly fail in their promise of fidelity, faithfulness to God; but God remains steadfastly faithful to them!  Amazing!  How many of us would remain faithful to a spouse who repeatedly cheated on us?

Our New Testament lesson is from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Paul, the consummate church planter, is instructing essentially baby Christians on the Rapture!  Paul was in Thessalonika less than a month. He left there, on his 2nd missionary journey, for Berea; then he journeyed to Athens; and then to Corinth.  At Corinth, Timothy and Silas, who had remained behind in Thessalonika, rejoined him and brought him theological questions from that newly formed church.  Since Jesus 2nd Coming had not yet occurred, they were worried that their friends who had died in the faith might have missed the rapture.

Paul had apparently already taught them that Jesus was coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead.  They had learned from him that those alive were to be raptured.  The word in the Greek is harpazoà it means the following:

[1] to catch up or grasp hastily;

[2] to snatch up;

[3] to lift;

[4] to transport;

[5] to rapture.

Paul apparently underestimated the length of time of the Church Age (what we are living in now, the time from Pentecost until now), and taught that the Rapture would be the next great event on God’s agenda for humankind.  These sincere Christians were worried that their believing friends and neighbors who had already died were out of luck.  “No,” Paul says!

In fact, dead Christ-followers will rise first!  They will rise up out of their graves.  They will be supernaturally pulled up to meet Jesus in the sky. Then, those of us still alive will meet Jesus in the air as well.  It will be a fantastic and joyful “family reunion.”

 The Left Behind series came out when I was in seminary.  A number of my professors dismissed it, implying it was unscriptural.  I read all the volumes and could see for myself that it was scripturally faithful and presented a plausible explanation of what might happen with the rapture.  The protagonist is an airline captain flying a cross-Atlantic trip, and considering an affair with one of his stewardesses, when some passengers on his plane disappear.  Crew members say purses and glasses and jackets were left behind on seats, but could neither explain nor account for what had happened to them.  After all, they are in the air and no doors have been opened.  When the pilot arrives home, he discovers his believer wife and son had disappeared as well.  He is joined by his non-believing daughter and the two of them make their way to his wife’s pastor—funny that a pastor would not be raptured along with his flock!  But I guess someone needs to be available to teach those others who missed being beamed up to heaven.  As he searches the Bible and puts together what has happened, the pastor’s faith becomes solid.  He is able to lead the airline captain and his daughter to belief in Jesus as well, but they all have to contend with the persecution of the Great Tribulation because they had essentially discounted Jesus.

According to Scripture, when we die, our body goes to sleep until the resurrection.  In a sense, we lie down in death and stand back up, like Lazarus, when we are resurrected.  Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5:8 To be absent from the body [our Christian community and/or our flesh] is to be present with God.  To truly understand the faithfulness and great mercy of God, we need to remember the cultural beliefs of the day:

  • A Roman inscription found in Thessalonika read, “After death no reviving, after the grave no meeting again.”
  • The Greek poet, Theocritus, wrote “Hopes are among the living; the dead are without hope!”
  • The Persians taught that the dead become gray “shades” who sit about languishing, doing nothing, having no hope.

But, because of Jesus, we believers have hope!  Paul writes in v.14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep [died] in Him.

If I may offer an additional point, it appears that the Archangel Gabriel will not be blowing a horn.  I could be wrong, but as I read Paul and John, it is not an angel who will announce Jesus’ 2nd Coming, nor a trumpet.  Instead, it will be the commanding voice of our Lord Himself, loud as a trumpet.  The Gospel of John tells us He spoke creation into existence and, in Revelation 1:10, St John writes, I was praying in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.  When he turned, he saw the glorified Jesus.  We also know that when He meets the forces of evil at Armageddon, He will speak a word or words, and they will be destroyed.

Because of God’s faithfulness throughout the ages, we can accept that this will happen as prophesized, as written.  Since some 300 prophesies about Jesus have been fulfilled by Him, we can safely assume these end time prophesies will be as well.  They also tell us what to expect.

Our Gospel Lesson, Matthew 25:1-13, contains yet another warning, this time from Jesus Himself.  He tells the story of the wise and the foolish bridesmaids.  The 5 wise ones come to the bridal procession with their own supply of oil.  The lamps Jesus was referring to were like current day “tiki torches” with cloth wicks.  They tended to burn out of oil in about 15 minutes.  Oil, in this parable, is synonymous with the Holy Spirit.

So these wise bridesmaids were filled with the Holy Spirit and had a personal, heart relationship with Jesus Christ.  The 5 foolish ones, on the other hand, act like they are with the program, but they lack the Holy Spirit.

They ask the wise maids to share, but it’s too late.  They are not prepared for Jesus—the Bridegroom’s—arrival.  Jesus says they will be left behind.

But don’t feel too bad for them.  There will be time for them to come to accept Jesus in their hearts during the 7 years of the Great Tribulation.

These will be very difficult times, but they will also provide an opportunity for those who simply went through the motions of faith to truly come to Christ.  The point of the parable is that we can be asleep (dead) or awake (alive), but either way, we need to be prepared for Jesus’ 2nd Coming.

Our God is faithful.  Each of us needs to Choose this day Whom you will serve.  Choose Him again each day!  He said He is returning to earth again and we can believe it! Our preparation for His return is to remain faithful to the One who is faithful to us.

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

It’s Good to be Humble

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 1, 2020

Scriptures: Joshua 3:7-17; 1 Thess 2:9-13; Matt 23:1-1

Back before the Civil War, there was an exchange in the US Senate that went something like this: The senator from North Carolina pontificated, “I come from North Carolina, a great vale of humility, lodged between two mountains of conceit.” The two mountains of conceit he was referring to were his neighboring states of Virginia and South Carolina.While there is nothing new under the sun regarding human nature, how gentlemanly an insult that was compared to the way our politicians attack one another today. Not to be outdone, the senator from Virginia stood and replied,“That is true but only because North Carolina has a lot to be humble about.” The Virginian meant his remarks as a slur, thereby missing the point that, according to our Lord, It’s Good to be Humble.

Several of our Scriptures today testify to this point. In our Old Testament lesson, Joshua 3:7-13, the people of Israel are poised to enter the Promised Land. As we read last Sunday, Moses has died and has passed on the mantle of leadership to his assistant, Joshua. Now Joshua announces to the people how the Lord intends for them to proceed into Canaan: The Jordan River, massively swollen from Spring rains, is at flood stage. Rivers at flood stage flow quite quickly and carry a lot of debris. You don’t want to step into one as you might be swept off your feet by the current or hit by a floating tree truck. Nevertheless, the priests are to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the midst of the river. Once they do, the river’s flow will stop and the people will pass over on dry land. From the time the Ark had been constructed, it had been carried on two long poles supported by priestly shoulders and suspended from golden loops—i.e., it was not to be touched by human hands. The Ark of the Covenant was holy—set apart—for the Lord.

Now remember how God had parted the Red Sea: Moses held out his staff and a strong wind separated the ocean. Crossing the Jordan perhaps took more faith as there was no such demonstration. Those poised on Jordan’s banks had only heard the stories of the Red Sea Crossing and the 10 Plagues upon Egypt.

Only Caleb and Joshua had actually experienced these miraculous events. So, what was God demonstrating by leading His people with His Ark? All throughout the wilderness wanderings (40 years), the Ark had traveled, or rested, in the middle of the camp. This had signaled to them that God was in their midst. Now, though, the Ark was to go first, signifying:

(1) God is leading His people (as Hebrew shepherds do).

(2) He is more powerful than the gods of Canaan. Baal, chief of the Canaanite gods, had—by legend–defeated the gods of the sea. So the Canaanites believed the flood waters of the Jordan were Baal’s efforts to prevent the Israelites from entering what they considered to be their land. God is going to demonstrate to everyone that flood waters are no barrier to Him.

(3) Additionally, God will assist them in overcoming the tribes who now occupy the land (Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites). No doubt the folks in Jericho thought they had plenty of time to prepare for a big fight. It would never have occurred to them that the God of the Israelites could or would stop and cross a flooding Jordan.

(4) And since God was leading the Israelites, He is claiming Canaan—the Promised Land—as His own (which of course it was). The people were to pass by the Ark about 3,000 feet distant. Scholars tell us the Ark is a “type” (symbol) of Christ; after all, Jesus is Emmanuel, GOD with US. (By the way, when the Israelites camped, they arranged the members of 3 tribes to the North, three tribes to the South, 3 tribes to the East, and 3 tribes to the West of the Ark, which was in the middle of all 12 tribes.)

(5) Finally, since it occurred just as Joshua predicted, God is demonstrating His confidence in Joshua as Moses’ successor. Joshua is actually a great example of a humble leader. He does not assert himself as God’s choice, but instead obediently follows through on God’s instructions; and he allows God Himself to confirm him as God’s choice of a leader.

Our Epistle lesson today is from 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13. In it, Paul expresses his gratitude to the church at Thessalonica for their faithful obedience to the Word of God. Paul had brought them this word. He thanks God for them because they believed the Gospel. He commends them for faithfully serving God, and for being humble and obedient to Jesus. He reminds them that he was simply doing God’s will and God’s work when he came among them. Paul claims to have ministered to them in humility and encourages them to follow his example.

Our Gospel lesson from Matthew 23:1-12 shows Jesus publically denouncing the Scribes and Pharisees for their overweening pride. Remember, they have dogged Him as he has attempted to teach in the Temple, and have asked numerous questions to try to entrap Him so they could have Him arrested. The role of the Pharisees and the Scribes was supposed to have been to teach the people how to live in relationship with God. They were to explain who God is, what God expects of us (the Law), and how to talk to Him and hear from Him. That’s pretty much what the job of a pastor is today.

Jesus first commends them, saying (v.1) they…sit in Moses’ seat….

Moses collected and taught the meaning of the 10 Commandments. They are continuing his function as teachers of the Law. Jesus is saying they have authority to do so. However, He goes on to qualify this in (v.3) So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. You see, the Scribes and the Pharisees made two mistakes:

(1) They preached religiosity (live by the rules) rather than relationship;

(2) And they didn’t live up to the standards they taught–like the politicians and news commentators who have condemned us for not wearing masks, then were caught on camera not wearing masks themselves.

We look at folks like that and say, “Hypocrites!” Rather than remaining humble and obedient to God, the Pharisees wore large symbols of their special office, to draw attention to themselves. They also enjoyed special treatment, privileges, and deference. Furthermore, they gave themselves special titles: Rabbi/teacher when only Jesus is our Rabbi; and Father when only God is our Father.

Now I wear robes and you call me Pastor—is that bad? No, some terms and clothing help us both to remember the duties of the office. What Jesus has a problem with is pride that comes from such things. He clarifies this when He says, (vv.11-12) The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus does not want us to get carried away with pride. Jesus wants us to stay humble. Jesus wants us—like Joshua, Paul, and the Thessalonians—to remain obedient to God’s authority.

Today the Christian Church celebrates All Saints Day. I believe one of the marks of a true saint is not so much holiness (who of us is truly holy?) as the recognition that we are set apart for God. God has done this for us. Our appropriate response is our humility. We are all called to be humble servants of God. In our country today, we have replaced our belief that we all have equal rights and opportunities with the secular notion that–no matter how we behave–we have the right to be proud of ourselves and to demand that others respect us. Even in the Church today, we have replaced an awareness of our sinfulness and our need for a Savior—and gratitude for the great gifts of Jesus’ sacrifice and of His forgiveness and grace–with the simplistic notion that “God loves you no matter your behavior.” He does love us just the way we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us that way. So, unlike the Scribes and Pharisees, or any other proud and puffed up religious leaders, we want to be humble. We want to remember and emphasize loving the person over the rule. We don’t want to be “all show and no go.”

Today, All Saints Day, let us humbly remember that God’s love for us is more a function of His grace andmercy than of anything we have done or deserve; that we are all called to love and serve others—not as arrogant or proud persons–but as Servants of Christ. And let us remember that it’s good to be humble!

Copyright 2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

The Primacy of Love

Pastor Sherry’s Message for October 25, 2020

Scriptures: Matt. 22:34-46; Deut 34:1-12; Ps 90:1-6, 13-17; 1 Thes. 2:1-8

You hear a lot of talk today about people who claim they are spiritual but are not really interested in committing to Jesus. I hear this from the young people who spend 30-60 days at Honey Lake Clinic. They come in admitting they have tried everything they know to help themselves overcome their addictions, or their hopeless depressions, or their paralyzing anxieties. Through the testimonies and examples of staff, we tend to be able to convince them that Jesus loves them and is able to heal them. Where we have less success is in persuading them to join a body of believers–to support their newfound faith–when they return home. You see, they can believe Jesus loves them, but they doubt they will experience love from His body, the Church.

They look around at us and say, “Hypocrites!”   Unfortunately, they see us as judgmental, critical of them and of their lifestyles.  Sometimes I think they are so sure we will reject them that they reject us first.  While we may be able to win them over to our God because He loves them and wants to heal & bless them—even though they cannot see Him, we do much less well at talking them into getting involved with other followers of Christ—who they can see.

Remember last week I encouraged us to pray for those political persons we find ourselves hating or at least severely disliking.  This is tough to do, isn’t it?  It’s not our natural inclination. We’d rather hold onto our resentments and our anger.  This is exactly what nonbelievers hold against us.  I have shared with you before that G.K. Chesterton, the noted British writer, said 100 years ago, Jesus…tells us to love our neighbors.  Elsewhere the Bible tells us Jesus said we should love our enemies.  This is because, generally speaking, they are the same people.

So, how exactly do we go about loving the seeminglyunlovable?  Those who have offended us or harmed us?  Our lessons today speak to this point:

First of all, Jesus instructs us on the primacy of love in Matthew 22:34-46.  The Pharisees are now colluding with the Sadducees to try to trap Jesus.  This is like a coalition of conservative Republicans and Green New Deal Democrats, a very unlikely coalition.  An expert in the Law asks Jesus (v.36), Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?  Now bear in mind they taught there were as many as 613 commandments, the original 10 plus others.  Hoping to trip Him up, the Pharisee is saying “What’s the most important one?  Give me the bottom line.  What’s our takeaway?  Come on, Man, let’s cut to the chase (and bear in mind that we will make a huge deal of the ones You omit!)   

So Jesus, who is great at getting to the bottom line, says two things matter most in this life.   Citing Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, Jesus ties them together as the greatest commandment.  Deuteronomy 6:5àLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  And Leviticus 19:18à…love your neighbor as yourself.  We tend to believe these two laws were created by Christ, but God the Father set them out early on in the Torah.

Then Jesus politely shuts them up by tossing them a riddle from Psalm 110:  If the Messiah is David’s son (descendant), how can He also be David’s master?  This is for them an unanswerable question, somewhat like, Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  From this side of the Cross, we know the answer is “Jesus is Lord of all,” including King David.  What the observing crowd understands is that Jesus has bested them—again–at their own game.

 As Christ followers, we are to love God above all things, and love our neighbors—even the ones we don’t like– as ourselves.  This means we are to begin with a healthy love for ourselves.  I’m not talking about an arrogant or narcissistic self-love, nor do I mean a self-love so self-effacing as to appear we hate or loath ourselves.  As they say in Live Oak, Florida, “You can’t get back from where you ain’t been! “  We have to love ourselves in order to be able to love others.  Jesus is saying, we are to love God and others because God the Father has commanded us to do so.  We are to love God and others because Jesus seconded the motion. 

Finally, we are to love God and others because this is what wins the world to Christ!  Remember in world-wide plagues in the late 100’s and late 200’s, the Church grew because Christians remained to help nurse those who were sick, while other religious and political leaders headed to the hills to save themselves.  Christians also rescued infants abandoned on the city trash-heaps and raised them.  Their pagan neighbors were so impressed by the selfless love involved in both actions that they decided to become Christ-followers themselves.

Now, let’s look at our other Scripture lessons to see if there are hints as to how we demonstrate the primacy of love:

Deuteronomy 43:1-12  describes the death of Moses, at 120 years old.

Some scholars say this final chapter ought to be the first chapter of Joshua.  We know that Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—the Torah (Law); but how could he write this last chapter describing his own death?  Perhaps Moses was being prophetic?  Or maybe his successor, Joshua—who was not there—recorded what God told him about the event.  Afterall, verse 9 says Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid hands on him.

Verse 6 tells us, He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.  Who is the HE who accomplished the burial?  God.   God the Father probably had His angels perform it, while He presided—what a funeral!   Some scholars say, He [Moses] died by a kiss of God.  The Israelites then honored Moses by grieving for him for 30 days.

Why did God see to his burial?   Verse 10 tells us, Since then [until Jesus], no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.

Because Moses loved God and served God, our God was with him until the end of his life and appears to have ushered him into the one beyond.  I believe that If we love and serve Him with this kind of dedication, He will welcome us too into eternity with open arms!

            Psalm 90:1-6, 13-1 7 tells us that grasping the concept of eternity is really beyond the capacity of our earthly intellect.  Seriously, think about it for long and it will give you a headache.  Same result if we try to understand how God always was, is now, and will be forever.  Moses wrote this Psalm in about 1400 BC.

Now, having shepherded the children of Israel out of Egypt (1-2 million of them), and learning from God that none of them (except Joshua and Caleb) would enter the Promised Land—due to lack of trust in God to help them conquer the tribes living there—I think it is safe to say that Moses attended a lot of funerals!

He has, as a result, written a Psalm of death.  He lived to be 120, and yet he refers to how brief life is:  He says our lives are like a watch in the night (v.4);  like the new grass of the morning—though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered (vv.5-6).  Then he compares our lifespans with God’s: (V.2) …from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.  Literally, in the Hebrew, that means, from vanishing point to vanishing point; from east to west or from the past into the future.  In other words,

                                   [1] Before time was, God is;

                                    [2] When time shall be no more, God still is.

                                    [3] God never was;

                                    [4] There is never a time when God will be;

                                    [5] God simply is (I am who I am).

So, in light of God’s eternity, Moses asks God to (v.12) Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Moses is urging us to remember that we are mortal, and that we make our days count by demonstrating/living out God’s love to others.

            1 Thessalonians 2:1-8àWe make our days count by sharing the Gospel with others.  Sometimes we do this with our words.  But, perhaps more powerfully, we do this by our actions.   Paul says he did not come to the Thessalonians out of self-serving motives, or to earn money.  He did not minister among them to gather prestige, honor, or position.  He came to them out of his love for Christ and Christ’s love for them.  That’s how we make our days count.

We do what God has put before us to do, out of love for Christ and for His people.

God’s View of what’s crucial in this life ought to be ours, right?

The upcoming election next week is certainly very important. However, it is not as important as loving God and loving others.  This week, let’s try to be aware of being a good example of a Christian.  If non-believers were watching you or watching me, would they want to become a follower of Jesus Christ?

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

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Trick Questions

Pastor Sherry’s Message for October 18, 2020

Scriptures: Ex 33:12-23; Matt 22:15-23

Anyone who has spent any time with young children knows they can ask some questions that contort our minds as they force us to search for explanations they can understand (assuming we understand).  Here are some examples you may have heard in the past:

  1. Why do leaves change colors; why do they fall off the trees?
  2. If shampoos come in so many shades in the bottle, why is it only white when you use it to scrub your head?
  3. If the #2 pencil is the most popular kind, why is not #1?
  4. Why can’t dogs have kittens?
  5. Where does the water in the sink come from?
  6. Why is the sky blue?

The story is told of a young child who had been watching TV.  She grew tired of the political ads and the programming aimed at adults; So she asked her Daddy to please read her a fairy tale instead.  He had no sooner begun when she interrupted with a question:  “Daddy, do all fairy tales begin with “once upon a time?”  “No,” he answered, “only those that begin with, “And when I am elected….”

Two of our Scriptures today involve important questions.

Let’s examine them together.  First, our Gospel lesson, Matt 22:15-23, takes place just a day or two before Jesus is arrested.  He is teaching in the Temple.  A group of Pharisees gather—together with a delegation of  Herodians–to entrap Him by using a question.  Now the Pharisees were nationalists.  True, they felt responsible for teaching the Israelites how to relate to God, but they also loved their country.  As a result, they hated Roman rule.  The Herodians, on the other hand, were not even a religious group but rather a political party.  They favored the rule of the secular

Herodian kings.  And they supported Roman rule because doing so was their pathway to wealth from influence-peddling.  Needless to say, with these 2 unlikely groups in cahoots or colluding together, Jesus knew something was fishy.

Notice their approach:  They begin with flattery.  If they truly believed what they said, they would not be trying to entrap Him.  They claim they know He is a man of integrity.  They say they believe He teaches accurately and truthfully.  They affirm that He does not pander to any specific interest groups–He’s not on the take like they are, and He does not slant what He says in order to gain popularity, like most politicians, and like them.

If they truly believed their flattery, you would think they would admire Him and leave Him be.  But no, they are in a devilish pact to bring Him down.

So they ask …is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?  I have so much admiration (and love) for Jesus.  He is so smart and so cool!  He calls them out on their conspiracy!  In v.18, He asks, Why are you playing these games with Me?  Why are you trying to trap Me? (This is the way Eugene Peterson translates it in his modern paraphrase of the Bible called The Message.)  Now if Jesus said don’t pay taxes, don’t support Rome, the Herodians would have had a fit and tattled to Rome.  Rome would have considered such a statement treasonous, and would have invoked the death penalty for Jesus.  On the other hand, if our Lord said do pay taxes, the Pharisees would have accused Him of being disloyal to the nation.  In Jesus’ calm and unruffled way, He sidesteps their trap by asking to see a coin.  The inscription on the coins (denarii) of that day read, “Tiberius Caesar Divi August: Filius Augustus Pontifex Maximus,” translated this meant, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, high priest.”  This inscription claimed Caesar was a god, which he clearly was not!  Jesus, who is God, looks at the coin and says, This engraving, who does it look like?  And whose name is on it?  They have to say Caesar’s as that is whose head was on it and that is what the coin read.  Then, He says, give Caesar what is his, and give God what is His.

As He often does, He has turned their question back on them and evaded their trap brilliantly!  In the Greek of that day, the word Jesus uses is apodote, which meant, render, give what is due by obligation.  Now the Jews resented Roman rule, but they also profited from Roman roads, viaducts, and architecture, Roman trade, and Roman law and order.  They clearly owed Rome something in taxes.  Jesus is saying the coins which bear Caesar’s image belong to him; thus, they were to give Caesar his due.  As long as what Caesar required did not conflict with what God requires, Jews and Romans could peacefully coexist.  (Persecution broke out against Christians, however, when the Romans demanded that Christ-followers say, “Hail Caesar!  Caesar is Lord!”)

But there is the crux of the matter, isn’t it?  The really difficult, mind-contorting question is, “what do we owe to God?”

We saw the answer two weeks ago when I preached on the Parable of the Wicked Tenants.  They and we owe God our love and gratitude.  We owe God our worship.  And we owe God our obedience.

We see it again today in our Old Testament lesson, Exodus 33:1.  Moses has just come down from the mountainwith the 10 Commandments, carved into 2 stone tablets by the finger of God.  He arrives to the camp and is stunned to catch them dancing around a goldencalf.  They have committed spiritual adultery.  Right out of the gate, they have broken 3 of the newly minted 10 Commandments!

God has seen their apostasy, and has essentially told Moses He is fed up with them.  Because God keeps His promises, they may proceed on to the Promised Land, but He will not be going with them.  In other words, they will now longer enjoy a personal relationship with Him.  To their credit, the people do not want this, nor does Moses.  Moses intercedes for the Israelites.  He asks God to (v.13) teach me your ways so that I might know You….that is, “Help me to understand You better; Teach me about Your character, Your nature.”  Then he reminds God (v.16), How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us?  What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?  God then relents, because of His relationship with Moses and with His chosen people.

Next we see that God allows Moses to have a special, profound, personal revelation of Him.  Moses gets to see God—in the rearview mirror—and live. Imagine the state of his faith after this!

So that was ancient Israel.  What is the point for us, living today in the USA?

Now I am not suggesting we answer our grandchildren or our children’squestions with a question.That is a technique Jesus often used.

Neither do we want to be like the young photographer sent to record the fires on the West Coast, who didn’t ask enough questions.  He arrived on site and found he could not get good picturesdue to the dense, dark smoke.  So he prevailed upon his agency to charter him a small plane from which to memorialize the damage.  They agreed and he sped to the airport to hop on awaiting aircraft.  As He jumped on board with his gear and closed the door, he yelled, “Ready for take off!”

The little aircraft proceeded down the runway, and jerked and shook its way airborne.  The photographer, somewhat alarmed, noticed that the pilot looked young and nervous.  Nevertheless, he asked the pilot to fly low, over the flames.  ”Why?” the pilot asked.  ”Well because I’m a photographer and I need to be close to the action to record the fire.”  The pilot was silent for a few moments, then said, “Oops, I thought you were the flight instructor.”  We do want to ask the important questions.

Today’s important question is, “What we should render to God?”  Our Scriptures today teach us that we want to offer Him a heartfelt desire to know Him personally.  This sincere quest to know Him will lead us to loving Him, being grateful to Him, worshipping Him.  This also implies that we will become obedient to Him while serving Him.  When we do these things, God is with us and God protects and blesses us.  Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman · 1 Comment

The Keys to Peace and Joy

Pastor Sherry’s Message for October 11, 2020

Scriptures: Ex 32:1-14; Ps 106: 19-23; Phil 4:1-19; Matt 22:1-14

I just read an article by Judith Graham (in the Epoch Times Newspaper) titled, “Seniors are having Second Thoughts about Where to Live.” Generally speaking, older Americans have desired to remain in their own homes until health issues (physical & cognitive) have made it necessary to (1) downsize to smaller retirement homes;(2)or move in with adult children;(3)or move to nursing homes or assisted living facilities.  But given that some 70,000 residents and staff have died in nursing and assisted living facilities by mid-August of this year, due to the pandemic—and many others have suffered emotionally from being isolated from others—numbers of retirement aged-Americans are rethinking where to spend their “twilight years.”  Some are choosing to build homes or set up mobile homes closer to family members. Others, who have found small city apartments too lonely and confining during the quarantine, are now choosing to move to multigenerational “cohousing communities” where neighbors share dining and recreational facilities.  One of my former professors at FSU built a home in such a community in Tallahassee, Florida.  Each family had a separate home, but they all partook of meals together and they all shared a common recreational park.  Still others have decided to build bigger homes, on the premise that if they are again stuck in a lockdown, they will at least have more space (and can share their shelter with friends).

The folks Ms. Graham interviewed seemed to think the keys to peace and joy are picking a place to live that allows us independence while also providing community.  These concerns are an unexpected legacy of the Covid-19 virus among older Americans.  The writer does not distinguish between those older Americans who have a vital Christian faith and those who do not.  I think if she had, her conclusions might have been different.

No matter what our age, the Apostle Paul has some  excellent ideas for how to live out our lives—not with worry—but with peace and joy.  In Philippians 4, Paul gives us 6 ideas for how to live a joyful, peace-filled life:

  • V.1–Rather than worry about an unknown future—which could change in a New York minute–let’s set our minds on heavenly things & stand firm in the LORD.

This includes setting aside our quarrels with others. As he did with Euodia and Syntyche, Paul would have us figure out a way to forgive insults or slights from others.  He would want us to grant grace and forgiveness to others as Jesus has to us.  These are ways to keep our minds on heavenly things and to stand firm in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

  • V.–We are to rejoice!  i.e., to celebrate!

Paul didn’t have a bold feature or capital letters, exclamation points, or thumbs up “emogies” on his computer of the day.  The way he emphasized something was to repeat it.  Our joy comes from our relationship with Jesus. We need to celebrate this.  One good way to do so is to daily think of three things you can be or are grateful for and to thank God for these.  This practice will help you feel better.  When we think of what we are grateful for, we end up smiling.  Additionally, this practice will begin to retrain your brain to focus on what is positive rather than the negative.  Psychology and medical science tell us our brain’s default is to think negatively.  We tend to scan the environment for threats because attending the negative may keep us safe.  However, focusing on the negative does not lead us into peace and joy.  This practice will help you better note and remember the good things that God is doing in your life.  If those Israelites from our Old Testament lesson today had daily repeated 3 miracles God had done for them since leaving Egypt—the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, God’s daily provision of food and frequent provision of water, not to mention destroying the army of Egyptian chariots hot on their trail—they might not have fallen so quickly (40 days) into idolatry (Ex 32:1-14; Ps 106:19-23).  What were they thinking?!  Worshipping a golden calf, fashioned after a beast that eats grass on all fours.  They formed this idol and then worshipped it.  How foolish!  They worshipped a creature when they had had intimate contact with the Great Creator!  YIKES!

  •  V.6–Rather than be anxious (or rebellious), we should pray.

Those Israelites could have prayed for Moses’ safety and his quick return to them.  Instead, they abandoned their faith in God and took matters into their own hands.  The Lord wants us to bring every concern we have to Him.  No request is too small.  As Dr. J. Vernon McGee says, “If it matters to us, it matters to God.”

We want to follow up our appeals with thanksgiving.  Now we are not assuming God will do what we ask every time, so we are not thanking Him in advance for complying with our wishes.  No, this would make us God instead of Him.  Instead, we realize that sometimes God agrees with us and says “yes.”  Other times, His answer is “not yet” or even “no.”  So we are instead expressing appreciation that He always hears us and pays attention to us.

  • V.7–When we pray and leave our worries to God, His peace which transcends all understanding will descend upon us.

In the place of stress, we will feel His shalom peace.  Shalom meant more to the ancient Hebrews than a wish for peace, but instead conveyed total well-being, in mind, body, and spirit.  This deep shalom peace depends on our relationship with Jesus, not on our current circumstances.

(5)  V.8–Again, we want to focus our thoughts on the positive: …whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about these things.

Our news media is likely to emphasize whatever is scary, depressing, unexpected, or horrifying. This tends to lead us to believe their reports accurately reflect the national state of affairs—that things are more awful than they are good.  We have to remember, however, that the true, the good, the noble, the right, the pure, the lovely, and the admirable are not considered newsworthy.  So, unless we listen to a compassionate newscaster or commentator with an ear to peoples’ acts of kindness, we do not often hear of these things.    

If we are to live out lives that demonstrate peace and joy, we have to discipline ourselves to look for and celebrate the good!  Paul saw the truth of this long ago.  Secular Psychology has just recognized this truth in the past 20 years.  Modeling this very concept, Paul commends the Philippian

Church for sending him money.  He writes this letter to them from jail in Ephesus.  In those days, a prisoner—not the prison—was responsible for providing his/her own food and drink.  Without support from friends or family outside, any prisoner was out of luck.  Now God had been sustaining Paul in ways he did not report; but, even though he never wrote asking them for support, he still greatly appreciated the money they had sent him via Epaphroditus.  In the final words of his letter, he thanks them for their kindness to him.  Paul knew and was modeling the fact that expressing thanks blesses those whose generosity has already blessed him.

  • Finally, he blesses them (v.19)—And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

Paul exhibits faith and trust in God’s loving care for the Philippians.  Knowing God is able to do so, Paul prays that God will provide for them as they have for him.

Jesus offers us a 7th key in His parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14).  Special guests had been invited to the King’s Son’s wedding banquet, but they (the Jewish religious leadership) made their excuses and did not come.  These excuses were very weak.  By refusing to attend, they expressed disinterest and lack of respect.  As we saw last week, the King is enraged and punishes them by destroying them and their city—again a prophesy of the obliteration of Jerusalem in 70AD by the Romans.

Then the King dispatches His servants to bring in those the original guests would have considered undesirables (a “basket of deplorables”). He supplies wedding clothes and is angry when a guest does not come dressed appropriately.  This is not a matter of fashion; rather, it reflects God’s concern for righteousness—having a mind and a heart set on Christ; being grateful to God; trusting in Him; and praying to Him.  Without our wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness, we will be tossed out of the wedding banquet.  This is the 3rd parable of judgment on the Pharisees, elders, and Scribes of Jesus’ time, preached by Jesus two days before His arrest.  All of them—and all of us–are invited to God’s heavenly banquet, but not all will be allowed to participate.  Those who are rebellious (as the Israelites in today’s Exodus passage, and the short-sighted religious leaders in Jesus’ time) and reject Jesus will be excluded.

God has given us, in His Scriptures, a pathway or the keys to a life of peace and joy.  As we go about our daily lives this week, let’s be mindful of…

  1. Keeping a heaven-mindset, standing firm in the Lord;
  2. Rejoicing!  Celebrating our relationship with God;
  3. Praying, the small and the big things, turning them all over to Jesus.  Let’s leave our concerns in His care, resisting the impulse to worry, while also being grateful to God for His many blessings and for attending us.
  4. Seeking God’s peace and His continued blessing.
  5. Remembering, with gratitude, that we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.

Let’s also remember this is not our home.   Our final retirement home is in Heaven and our invitation to the banquet comes at a great price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams