Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Wise Up!

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 12, 2023

Scriptures: Amos 5:18-24; Ps 78:1-7; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 25:1-13

Someone on the Internet has come up with a list of 263 ways to say a person is not too bright. We probably all know, “The light’s on but no one’s home,” or “dumb as a box of rocks,” but have you heard the following:

1. A few screws short of a hardware store.

2. A few fries short of a Happy Meal.

3. The gates are down and the lights are flashing, but the train isn’t coming.

4. The elevator goes all the way to the top floor, but the doors don’t open.

5. Would lose a debate with a doorknob.

6. If this person had another brain, it would be lonely.

7. If you gave them a penny for their thoughts, you’d get change.

8. Has a mind like a steel trap: rusty and illegal in 37 states.

9. If their nose was on upside down they’d drown in the rain.

10. Their dog teaches them new tricks.

(Borrowed from https://dan.hersam.com/lists/not_bright.html)

My adult son offered a new one as we watched our favorite football team compete yesterday. They were playing at their opponents’ stadium and we noticed a big “3” painted on their field. The TV announcers never explained what the number three meant. My son suggested it stood for the number of their football players whose IQ was greater than that of Forrest Gump’s.

Both the list and my son’s comment may all be pretty funny, but none is kind. I don’t advise applying them to someone—remember, Jesus said not to call anyone “an idiot” (Matthew 5:22). However, in today’s Gospel, He does encourage us all to be wise instead of foolish.

I’ve titled today’s sermon, “Wise Up!” because our scripture readings point to the difference between wise and foolish behavior; i.e., we don’t want to be “eating soup with a fork.”

A. In Amos 5:18-24, our Old Testament reading, the prophet Amos is certainly telling the folks in the Northern Kingdom of Israel to wise up! We might say they go through the motions of attending church—they act like they love God—but their behaviors the rest of the week reveal their hypocrisy. Even worse, they actually worship idols, false gods. They have turned their backs on our One True Lord. They have broken the 10 Commandments; they are behaving immorally; they have corrupted justice; they have trampled on the poor; they have oppressed the righteous; they have taken bribes. Doesn’t this sound a lot like our culture today?

And the Lord has about had it with them. God cannot be fooled. We might try to hide things from Him, but He knows everything! He knows they have betrayed and abandoned their faith in Him (and for our nation, our faith in Christ Jesus). God, through Amos, gives them one last chance to repent, to change their ways. He warns them that terrible punishment is coming to them. Amos calls it the Day of the Lord and it will indeed be horrifying for those who have rejected God. He uses two arresting metaphors: (1) They might run to escape a lion or cougar, but will then encounter a bear. (2) They might think they have reached the safety of their home, only to be bitten there by a poisonous snake. In other words, there will be no escape for evil-doers, no matter how fast or how far they run.

In God’s mercy, they could have averted this terrible punishment if they had (v.24)—> …let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! But, they were unwilling to change, so their end came shortly after Amos’ prophesies. In 722BC, God used the dreaded, blood-thirsty, Hamas-like Assyrians to overrun them, defeat them, and carry any survivors off to Ninevah (Iraq) as slaves. They were stubborn. They didn’t wise up. God, after dozens and dozens of warnings, finally let them have it.

This is why we pray for our nation weekly. America is now a post-Christian nation. We were founded as a Christian society and meant to be an example for the world. Now, we too have rejected and rebelled against God. We too have had dozens of chances. We hope that the Lord will help our nation return to Him, rather than bring on an Assyrian-like punishment.

B. In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Paul is warning Christians there (and us now) to be prepared for the end of time. He states in v.2 that—> …you know very well that the day of the Lord [same expression used by Amos] will come like a thief in the night. “The day of the Lord” is a synonym for God’s judgment. It will come when folks least expect it. Nevertheless, true believers need not be afraid of it. Paul equates nonbelievers with those living in nighttime darkness. But we who believe in Jesus Christ are all…sons [and daughters] of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep but let us be alert and self-controlled (vv.5-6). We who love Jesus have nothing to fear because we will have been raptured up to heaven before the Great Tribulation takes place. God’s judgment will fall on nonbelievers and evil-doers. Meanwhile, the dead who waited on Christ, or who believed in Christ, will rise first. Then those of us believers who are still living will be lifted up/beamed up (raptured) to meet Christ in the air.

Now I used to wonder if the rapture came before, during, or after the Great Tribulation. However, Paul makes it clear in verse 9—> For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is pretty clear, isn’t it? The Church of true believers will not suffer on the day of the Lord. We will be removed from the earth before the time of terrible trial begins.

While we wait on this time of judgment or the rapture, however, Paul urges us to…(v.8)—> be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. He wants us to demonstrate faith, love, and hope to others and especially as a witness to unbelievers. He also wants us to encourage and build one another up (v.11).

C. Finally, we have Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. The bride (who is not mentioned) is the Church; the bridegroom is Jesus. But who are the 10 wise and foolish bridesmaids?

Interestingly, all ten fall asleep while waiting on the bridegroom whose arrival is delayed. The story then asks us to consider which we would rather be, prepared or unprepared, for when Jesus returns. The prepared ones go in with and enjoy the wedding supper of Jesus, the Messiah. Those unprepared ones, however, miss out. We might say they…”Couldn’t hit the floor if they fell on it,” or that “Wisdom is chasing them but they’re always faster.” They are Christ-followers who are not ready to meet Jesus. In fact, Jesus says to these unprepared ones (at His 2nd Coming), I tell you the truth, I don’t know you. How are they unprepared? They have never cultivated a personal relationship with Jesus.

His final advice to us all is to Be Wise! Be ready! When we Floridians know a hurricane is coming we stock up, don’t we? We make sure we have stock-piled clean water in jugs. We have candles and matches, as well as a battery operated radio, in case we lose electricity. We gather food we can eat without cooking, etc. What would we need to have on hand if we are to be wise about Jesus’ return?

(1) We should intensify our relationship with the Lord;

(2) We might read and meditate more on Scripture;

(3) We could ask for forgiveness of our sins, keeping short accounts with the Lord. Back when I provided mental health in nursing homes (prior to going to seminary in the mid-1990’s), I noticed folks in the final stage of Alzheimers, comatose and vegetative, being fed with a tube in their stomach and hydrated through an IV. Sometimes their relatives asked me why the Lord was keeping their loved one alive in this helpless state. I told them I didn’t really know but I advised them to pray for this person—to pray specifically that God would forgive them for any unconfessed sin.

One family told me they were sure their dear mother had no unconfessed sins. I then told them I was sure their mother was a lovely person, but I wondered how any of us could ever be sure she didn’t have some hidden, long ago sin. I recalled that both of my dying, comatose parents each slipped away about a half hour after I prayed that Jesus would forgive them their sins. This family later reported to me that their mother died during the night after they had prayed this way for her.

(4) Obviously, it is wise to be prayed up, in frequent communication with the Lord. You might ask, “How do I know I am hearing from the Lord?” I recommend you ask the Holy Spirit to guard your prayers from any interference from Satan or his minions, and then pay attention to the thoughts that drop immediately into your head. If they do not contradict the Bible, you can be assured you are hearing from the Lord. Often I find the Lord does not speak to me as I am used to hearing others speak. He uses vocabulary or expressions that differ a bit from what I am used to hearing or saying. This helps me recognize His “voice.”

I believe our lessons today are telling us to pray for our nation to wise up! According to news sources, 76% of Americans today believe our country is clearly moving in the wrong/the unwise direction.

I believe we should also pray that each of us will have the faith to trust that God will protect us as things worsen toward the end. We cannot trust in our own goodness or our intelligence to save us. Those who do will be left behind to suffer God’s wrath. We must, instead, live out a life that tells others we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Finally, I believe we must pray that we will each be prepared– like the 5 wise bridesmaids–at any moment to meet the Lord. None of us knows how long he or she has to live. And none of us knows when the day of the Lord will occur. Let’s all wise up and be ready!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Love in Action

Pastor Sherry’s message for September 10, 2023

Scriptures: Ex 12:1-14; Ps 149; Ro 13:8-14; Matt 18:15-20

A group of 4-8 year olds was asked, “What does love mean?” Here are some of their answers:

Rebecca — age 8—>“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore so my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”

Karl — age 5—>“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”

Chrissy — age 6—>“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”

Danny — age 7—>“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay.”

Bobby — age 7—>“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”

Noelle — age 7—>“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.”

Cindy — age 8—>“During my piano recital I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Chris — age 7 —>“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.”

Lauren — age 5—>“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”

Jessica — age 8—>“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”

(Borrowed from PASTOR LARRY PRESNELL’S BLOG, 2/14/11.)

These kids have the right idea, don’t they? Love is a positive, generous feeling. But it is a feeling expressed in an action. Kids recognize love when they observe a loving action.

Our God tends to express his love in action and wants us to do likewise.

A. Psalm 149 is a psalm of praise to God because He is both our Creator and our Redeemer. He redeemed the Israelites from Egypt by the blood of the Passover Lamb and through His powerful judgment of Egypt. Just as the Israelites (v.3) Praise[d] His name with dancing and ma[d]e music to Him with tambourine and harp following their escape through the Red Sea, we too can and should praise Him for His powerful, redemptive acts on our behalf. Scripture tells us that God is love. If we have eyes to see, we can confirm that He clearly loves us. As we acknowledge each Sunday in our “Joys” of Our “Joys and Concerns Prayers,” we can and do see clear evidence of His love in action in our lives.

B. Paul exhorts us to make sure our actions are loving in Romans 13:8-14. He insists that those who abide by the 10 Commandments are living a life-style characterized by love, as (v.10)—>Love does no harm to its neighbor. Again, as I have mentioned before, the vertical of the Cross represents our love for God (commandments 1-4), while the horizontal, our love for others (5-10). People who love well do not break these laws.

C. Jesus describes a loving way to address conflict between Christians in Matthew 18:15-20. We are not to sweep conflict under the rug and ignore it. And, rather than talk ugly about a person who has offended us—which many choose to do–we are to go to that individual and try to work it through. I recommend you pray before trying to do this. Ask God to give you the words, the wisdom, and the right heart attitude, and also to be working on the other person before you meet. He often, I find, solves the problem before we even begin the needed conversation.

D. Our Old Testament Lesson (Exodus 12:1-14) provides a perfect and memorable example of God’s love expressed in His actions. You may recall that back in Ex 3:7+, God had told Moses:

I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. That was God’s promise: He would create a situation that would compel stubborn Pharaoh to let His people go. The Hebrews had been in Egypt about 400 years—long enough for the Canaanites to have time to come to love the true God–which they never did. So the Lord was ready to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and give them the land occupied by various pagan Canaanite tribes. His method was to judge Egypt with 10 plagues. Each plague was actually a put down of some Egyptian god. Yahweh had declared war on the gods of Egypt:

1st, He turned the Nile to blood—the fish died and no one could drink the water. They had to dig wells. The Egyptians so depended on the river for their water supply and commerce that they equated it with life. By polluting the Nile, God was saying to them, “I, not your river god, am the source of all life.”

2nd, He sent down upon them a superabundance of frogs. Egyptians of that day equated frogs with evil spirits. God is saying, “I can produce animal pests which your numerous gods of nature cannot prevent.”

Similarly, out of dust Moses tosses into the air, God produces 3rd, a plague of lice and 4th, of biting flies. God is saying, “Why aren’t your gods able to counter and destroy these pests?”

5th, God sends disease on their cattle, rams, sheep, and goats–many of which die. The Egyptians had gods for each of these animals. But our God is saying, “I have complete control over animal life, not Osirus, the bull god or Apis the ram god.”

6th, He afflicted the animals that remained—as well as the people—with boils. Even Pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t prevent these painful boils from manifesting. God is saying, “Only I have power over physical health.”

7th, He sends hail, actually fiery ice clumps. Egypt normally gets very little rain. God is saying, “I—not Hephaistos, your god of fire or Porphry, your god of rain—have complete authority over forces of nature.”

8th, God sends locusts to eat up any vegetation left over, then sends them to drown in the Red Sea. Egypt’s gods of nature are obviously helpless to combat any act of the One, True God. Our God is saying, “I can raise up hordes of any destructive creature, deploy them, and then I can put an end to them.”

By now, the Egyptian economy is in ruins, but still Pharaoh will not let his slave labor go free. God then sends the 9th plague, 3 days of complete darkness over all of Egypt–except over the Nile delta where the Israelites live. God is saying, “Your sun god, Re, is powerless before Me.”

Finally, God sends the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn person and animal. Egyptians believed their god, Horus, was the god of life.

They also believed they owed their lives to their Pharaoh, who they believed was divine. But God is saying, “Not so fast, My friends! I am the giver of life and I can take it away when it is in rebellion against Me…even to and including the first born of Pharaoh.

This brings us to chapter 12 and the institution of the Passover: God intended to take the life of every 1st born in Egypt. Those who loved Him, however, were to be spared. Through Moses, He told the Hebrew slaves to select a perfect 1 year old male lamb. They were then to slaughter it on the evening of Abib 14th (meaning young head of grain for the Spring harvest), or the 14th of Nisan (the later Babylonian name). God directed them to re-order their calendar so that Nisan became the first month of their year. Additionally, they were to paint their door frames with the lamb’s blood. The blood of the lamb would signal to the angel or death that they were true believers and their lives will be spared. They were to remain inside their homes, but dressed for travel, as they would be leaving Egypt directly.

Next, they were to eat the roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. Roasting, rather than baking or boiling, was meant to recall the fire of God’s judgment on Egypt. The bitter herbs were to remind them of their tribulations under slavery. Leaven was a metaphor for sin, so the purpose of unleavened bread (like a pita) was to prompt them to remember that something else—the lamb-had paid the price for their sin. They were protected from the angel of death by the blood of the Passover Lamb. The first born of all of those with no blood over their doors died that night. By the next day, all of Egypt wanted the Israelites to be gone!

This is love in action! God protected the Israelite people from the angel of death by the blood of the Passover Lamb with which they had earlier anointed their door frames. The Historic Jewish Passover finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ—it foreshadows or predicts Jesus’ blood shed for us on the Cross. He too was a perfect male lamb—>John the Baptist calls Him, in John 1:29—>…the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He was completely without sin. He was God, the only Son of God, so His blood was the blood of God. No imperfect person would have been capable of atoning for our sins. But the writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus is the once and for all perfect sacrifice for our sins. Peter, on trial before the Sanhedrin, testifies in Acts 4:12 that—>Salvation is found in no one else [meaning Jesus] for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. John tells us in 1 John 3—>This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. What perfect love!

We know that God is love. We also know He daily demonstrates His love for us in action. We must have spiritual eyes to begin to recognize His loving actions toward us. The 10 plagues and the Passover constituted God’s strategy for motivating a despot, a tyrant, to let go of a free labor force of 1-2 million people. The plagues and the Passover demonstrate how far God will go to redeem those He loves. Jesus’ death on the cross proves the same truth again: Our God has died an undeserved but agonizing penalty to obtain our freedom from slavery to sin and death. Like His Father before Him, He has gone to extreme lengths to redeem us.

As the apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:10—>This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Pastor Sherry’s messages will return in October following her vacation.

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

After Suffering Comes…

Pastor Sherry’s message for August 13, 2023

Scriptures: Gen 37:1-28; Ps 105:1-22, 45b; Ro 10:1-15; Matt 14:22-36

In a new twist on an old story, a young woman texts her parents from college:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Just thought I’d share with you my new plans: I’ve fallen in love with a guy named Jim. He quit high school in the 11th grade to get married. About a year ago, he got divorced. We’ve been dating for about 2 months and just decided to get married. I will be moving in with him shortly as we believe I’m pregnant. Don’t worry, though. I dropped out of all my classes last week, but I do plan to finish school at some point in the future. Unfortunately, I’ve been smoking a lot of pot, but intend to quit if it turns out I am expecting.

About 10 minutes later comes a second text:

Mom and Dad,

I just want you to know that everything I’ve texted you so far today is false. NONE of it is true! But, it is true that I made a C- in French and failed my Math class. And it’s also true that I will soon need a lot more money for tuition. Love you! Your Daughter.

(Chuck Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word Publishing, 1998, p.445.)

I hope you’ve never been this frightened, or this manipulated, by someone you love. This devious, scheming young woman shocked then reassured her parents! It’s a sales technique: 1st ask an impossible “big,” then 2nd follow that up with a smaller, more reasonable request (people then tend to acquiesce to the smaller “ask”). Probably without meaning to, she was also illustrating how often, in the Christian walk, we have to endure suffering before we either come into an understanding of why God allowed difficulties to come our way, or enter into a time of blessing.

This truly is the focus of our Scripture lessons today.

A. Our Genesis passage (37:1-12) begins the Joseph narrative.

More chapters of Genesis are devoted to Joseph than to Abraham, his great grandfather; to Isaac, his grandfather; or to Jacob/Israel, his father. One reason is that he represents the nation of Israel. Remember, the name Israel means he who struggles or wrestles with God and with men and who comes through or prevails (though, as I pointed out last week, who can prevail against God?). Joseph endures some very tough times, but, because he is basically a righteous man, he is eventually blessed by the Lord. He also becomes a source of blessing to his family, his nation, to the Egyptians, and to unknown numbers of other Gentiles trying to survive the famine. It is through Joseph that the Lord moves the future leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel to Egypt, and ultimately sets the stage for the Exodus.

A second reason Joseph gets so much biblical coverage is that, as J. Vernon McGee writes, “There is no one in Scripture who is more like Jesus in his person and experiences than Joseph.” (McGee, Through the Bible Commentary: Genesis, Chapters 34-50, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p.43.):

1.) Both births were miraculous;

2.) Both were especially loved by their fathers;

3.) Joseph was set apart by his special coat, while Jesus was set apart by his sinlessness;

4.) Both were ridiculed for asserting they would one day rule over their brethren;

5.) Both were obedient to their fathers at considerable cost to self;

6.) Both were sent by their fathers into danger;

7.) Both were hated and rejected by their brothers (in Jesus’ case, His countrymen);

8.) Both redeemed/saved their brothers.

Our passage today provides the backstory for Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers. The 10 (half) brothers born to Leah and the 2 concubines were murderously jealous of Joseph. They resented their father’s favoritism. It’s never good to favor one child over another. The favored one can ultimately feel guilty or develop an unhealthy arrogance; the non-favored becomes resentful and can be plagued by low self-esteem. Jacob should have known better since his father, Isaac, had favored his twin, Esau. As a licensed psychologist, I can tell you I have seen this again and again: without Jesus, we later become or re-enact as an adult what we hated as a child. These brothers resented his dreams of future grandeur. They also despised the fact that their oblivious father tasked Joseph with ratting them out!

So they plot to kill him, their own flesh and blood. Reuben, the by- now discredited eldest, attempted to rescue him, thinking he would recover Joseph, return him to their father, and perhaps regain some favor with dad. Judah, the one to whom the leadership of the clan had passed after Reuben’s gross disrespect of Jacob, talked them out of murder and into selling Joseph into slavery—a likely avenue to death, anyway, but without having bloodied their hands. These dreadful brothers then sell Joseph to Ismaelite traders (descendants of Abraham’s son, Ishmael) for 20 shekels (another foreshadowing of Christ, who was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.)

B. As our Psalm (105:1-22, 45b) recounts in verses 17-22, God intended Joseph’s descent into slavery—They bruised his feet with shackles, [and] his neck was put in irons—as well as his later rise to prominence—Till what he foretold [in his two dreams] came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. King David, the assumed author of the psalm, relates how Pharaoh freed Joseph and made him master over all of Egypt in the time of a devastating 7 year famine. He also describes how God elevated Joseph—through Pharaoh—to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. Joseph was 17 when sold into slavery. For 14 years, God prospered both Potiphar’s house and the Egyptian prison under Joseph’s supervision and influence. Everything Joseph touched “turned to gold.” Once he was freed, he did instruct Pharaoh and the Egyptian leadership in the meanings of Pharaoh’s dreams. And by saving his family from starvation, he taught his 10 elder brothers and even his father about the sovereignty of God, and the value of forgiveness.

C. As I said last week, our God has not given up on the Jews, His Chosen People. Fortunately for us, we, Christ’s followers, are also God’s chosen people through the saving work on Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sake. We have been grafted into the lineage of Jesus by our belief in Him. We are co-heirs with Jesus, our Lord and our brother. Paul makes it clear in Romans 10:1-15 that keeping God’s Law saves neither us nor the Jews. Since we are sinners who cannot keep it perfectly, the Law simply serves the purpose of proving to us that we need a savior. In verse 9, Paul emphatically asserts what it takes to be saved If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! Jesus has done the hard work of salvation for us. We just respond with belief, with faith in Him.

Verses 11-15 contain Paul’s urgent plea that we, Christ’s Church, reach out to evangelize the Jews. He quotes the prophet Joel (2:32) Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [who believes in Jesus] will be saved. He also quotes the prophet Isaiah (53:1) How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News. I remember a friend’s father telling me in the 8th grade that I had pretty feet. I remember thinking at the time that that felt rather “icky” and I couldn’t imagine why he would say such a thing. Everyone knows our feet are not really that attractive. But the prophet means that the one or ones who convey the Good News to those who haven’t yet taken it in are beautiful in God’s sight, feet and all. Paul’s heartfelt prayer is that his Jewish brothers and sisters come to a saving faith in Jesus. And he believes that those of us who try to evangelize the Jews–who have suffered dreadfully down through the ages–will be particularly blessed by the Lord.

D. I’m not sure Jesus would say it this way, but in today’s Gospel Lesson (Matthew 14:22-36), He urges us to…

1.) Get out of the boat. Let go of our fear. Let go of our pride. Let go of our insistence in our self-sufficiency, our willfulness, our disobedience. Do what God is calling us to do, even if it is emotionally uncomfortable for us.

2.) Keep our eyes on Jesus. Just attending church won’t save us. Even reading Christian books won’t save us. Having wonderful Christian friends won’t save us. These things can help move us in the right direction, but it is having faith in Jesus and confessing our faith aloud that saves us.

3.) And trust in Him to help us do what would be impossible for us—like walk on water—without Him. Our God…is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than all we ask or imagine…. (Ephesians 3:20). I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).

When asked why God allows good people to undergo bad experiences (suffer), the famous Presbyterian preacher, R.C. Sproul, answered, “I haven’t met any good people yet, so I don’t know.” He was, of course, considering the Apostle John’s assertion from 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Or as the Apostle Paul states (Romans 3:10) There is no one righteous, not even one.

The next time you find yourself in a season of suffering, remember that—unlike the college co-ed–God does not manipulate us. He does, however, test us. He allows us to walk through suffering for a season, but always with a purpose. The purpose is to mold and shape our character; to reduce our dependence upon anything but Him; and to deepen or strengthen our faith. And he brings us out of that suffering both transformed and blessed. Look at Joseph. Look at Jacob/Israel and his extended family. Look at Peter. Look at Paul. Look at you! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia, alleluia!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

God Wants to Talk About You

Pastor Sherry’s message for August 6, 2023

Scriptures: Gen 32:1-31; Ps 17:1-9; Ro 9:1-5; Matt 14:13-21

In August of 2001, country singer Toby Keith released a song titled, “I Wanna Talk about Me.” It’s kind of a country rap showcasing a man’s desire to have some equal “air time” with his significant other. Here are a few of the lyrics:

We talk about your work, how your boss is a jerk,

We talk about your church and your head when it hurts.

We talk about the troubles you’ve been havin’ with your brother,

Bout your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex-lover. We talk about your friends and the places that you been,

We talk about your skin and the devils on your chin,

The polish on your toes, and the run in your hose, And Lord knows we’re gonna talk about your clothes!

You know talking about you makes me smile. But every once in a while, I want talk about me…

Wanna talk about I,

Wanna talk about #1, oh my, me, my…

What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see.

I like talking about you, you, you, you usually…

But occasionally, I want to talk about me!

I can’t think about this song without smiling. It sounds like his girlfriend is very self-focused, since it’s hard for him to get a word in edgewise. But if and when he gets the floor, what does he want to talk about? Himself! He wants to “talk about me!”

The song has become a metaphor in my family for thinking only of self. Someone cuts us off in traffic. One of us will smile and say to the others, “I want to talk about me.” Someone cuts in line in front of us at the grocery store, or at the post office, etc., and we’ll be thinking, “I wanna talk about me.” Have you noticed that, even when you politely let someone go ahead of you, often they don’t say thank you or even give you eye contact because…”I wanna talk about me.”

Let’s take a look at what the Lord has to say about this all too prevalent attitude in today’s world.

A. Psalm 17:1-9 was written by King David. Biblical scholars believe it dates from the time before he ascended the throne. God had lost confidence in King Saul and had had His prophet Samuel anoint David as the next King. The jealous and mentally unstable King Saul accurately viewed David as a rival to his throne and set out to kill him. In this psalm, David pleads with God for protection against Saul and any other adversaries.

Yes, David is worried about saving his own skin; but he also tells God (Peterson’s The Message, p.962)I’m not trying to get my way in the world’s way. I’m trying to get Your way; Your Word’s way; I’m staying on Your trail; I’m putting one foot in front of the other. I’m not giving up. David views the Lord as his (and our) protector. David trusts in God to provide him a divine rescue.

David knows we need to take our focus off ourselves and put it on God, first, and then on others. This is the shape of the Cross. The vertical reminds us to love God. The horizontal reminds us to love others. God would have us put our focus on loving Him and then on loving others. A healthy self-love comes third.

B. Our Old Testament lesson, Genesis 32:1-31, provides us with an object lesson in where our love/focus should be directed. Jacob is re- entering the Promised Land after having been an immigrant to Syria for 20 years. In that time, his Uncle Laban had cheated him at his wedding, substituting the less desirable Leah in the dark wedding tent for Jacob’s beloved Rachel. Uncle Laban also changed Jacob’s wages 10 times, always shifting things to Laban’s advantage.

Nevertheless, despite these numerous setbacks, the Lord has prospered Jacob: He leaves Syria with great wealth:

1.) 2 wives and 2 concubines (remember, this is before Moses’ time when the Law was given);

2.) 11 sons and 1 daughter;

3.) A large retinue of servants;

4.) and huge numbers of livestock.

Due to God’s blessings, Jacob returns to the Promised Land as rich as an Arabian prince or an oil sheik.

Focused on his fears that his brother might still want revenge (and is coming to greet him with 400 troops), Jacob sends Esau multiple, generous gifts to sweeten the deal:

1.) 200 female goats & 20 males (220 goats); 2.) 200 ewes & 20 rams (220 sheep);

3.) 30 female camels with young (30+ camels); 4.) 40 cows, 10 bulls (50 cattle);

5.) 20 female donkeys, 10 males (30 donkeys).

This represents approximately 600 livestock! And he still has other flocks with which to sustain his people. He divides his clan into two groups and directs them to separate encampments for protection

Then he prays. At this point, I want to shout out, “Good job, Jacob!” He reminds God of His promises to his grandfather, Abraham, to Isaac, his father, and to him. He admits he doesn’t deserve God’s love and mercy. But he does plead for God’s protection—like David will later—(Peterson’s The message, p.70) Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I’m afraid he’ll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. When he ran for his life 20 years earlier, his focus had been on himself—>“I wanna talk about me.” Now, after 20 years of trials, he has matured: His focus is still on self, but has enlarged to include family and the Lord.

God recognizes Jacob’s maturing faith, but then intervenes to strengthen it. In verse 24, Jacob finds himself engaged in a wrestling match with the pre-incarnate Christ. It’s like Jesus is saying to him, “Jacob, you are less self-focused than you were 20 years ago. But your faith still needs to deepen. In your life, you have wrestled with your twin, Esau…you have wrestled with your Uncle Laban for 20 years. But your first priority must be Me, God!” This then becomes a major turning point in Jacob’s faith: This is why we celebrate the “heal-grabber” as a respected patriarch. He persists. He does not let go of God. He has finally learned it’s not about struggling with God or others. It’s about yielding to God and holding on to Him. Once he comprehends this, Jesus blesses him and changes his name to IsraelGod-wrestlerHe who struggles with God and with men and has come through. (Some translations substitute the word overcome or prevail for come through, but actually none of us can overcome God.)

Our God wants to talk with each of us about us, and He does get the last word. He wants our focus to move from self to Him. He wants us to be generous toward other people, putting their needs above our own.

C. Look at Jesus’ example of this in our Gospel lesson, Matthew 14:13-21. Verse 1 tells us the Lord had just gotten word that King Herod had beheaded His cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus wanted or needed time by Himself to pray and to grieve His cousin’s murder. He tried to sail off to gain some alone-time with His Father. But He was accompanied by His disciples and, when the crowds saw Him depart, they raced around the lake to meet Him where He landed. I hope He was able to take a time- out to regroup and recharge emotionally and spiritually, but He seems hard- pressed for time and opportunity.

Notice He doesn’t act frustrated. Instead, (v.14) He had compassion on them and healed their sick. Additionally, after having taught them all afternoon, He tells His disciples to (v.16)…give them something to eat. They can’t feed this crowd, but Jesus can. He is saying to them, “Trust Me. I can make something from almost nothing [actually, He can make something from nothing]. I can take the little you bring Me and make of it much!”

D. And let’s not forget He does not break His promises. As our Romans 9:1-5 passage demonstrates, even though the Jews of His time rejected Him as their Messiah, He has not rejected them. Many Christians have taken it upon themselves to persecute the Jews because their religious leaders murdered Jesus. But God makes it clear through Paul that He has not forgotten that they are His chosen people. There is no place in the Christian life for us to disdain Jews. Through them, God has worked out His plan of salvation. Through them, God has brought forth the lineage leading up to Jesus. As we read last Sunday in Romans 8:31If God is for us, who can be against us?

God doesn’t want us to just “talk about me,” or be self-focused.

He wants us to focus on Him and on the needs of others. All through Scripture, He urges us to turn away from a concentration on self or selfishness. We are to follow Jesus’ and Jacob’s examples. He wants us to grab ahold of Him and hang on—no matter what. We are to surrender our wills to His, or as AA says, “let go and let God.” And then watch for His often surprising blessings.

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

He Messes with our Messes

Pastor Sherry’s message for 2/25/23


Scriptures: Gen 21:8-21; Ps 86:1-10, 16-17; Ro 6:1-11; Matt 10:24-39


Beth Moore is a fabulous Bible teacher. Over the years, I have taken part in probably well over a dozen of her Bible studies. I recommend her to you. She is a life-long Baptist who has recently become an Anglican. In one of her studies, she made the statement that, “God loves to mess with our messes.” Let me illustrate this with a story from the early ministry of Tony Campolo.

He was a sociology professor who challenged his students, one day, to think about what Jesus might have said to a prostitute. He was hoping to get to evangelize them, quoting from such passages as John 4 and John 8. He wanted to demonstrate that Jesus was compassionate and merciful—much more so than the leaders of any other world religion.

He was stopped in his tracks, however, when a Jewish student in his class spoke up saying, “Jesus never met a prostitute.” The student continued to reiterate his perspective whenever Professor Campolo tried to resume his agenda, asserting, “Professor, you didn’t hear me. I said that Jesus never met a prostitute.” When Campolo persisted despite the young man’s argument, the student then said rather forcefully, “You’re not listening to what I am saying. I am saying that Jesus never met a prostitute. Do you think that when He looked at Mary Magdalene He saw a prostitute? Do you think He saw whores when He looked at women like her? Doc, listen to me! Jesus never met a prostitute!”

This silenced Professor Campolo. He realized he, a Christian, was being taken to school by a Jewish student who seemed to understand Jesus better than he had. (Illustration provided by The Rev Fred Demaray from AHA: The God Moment that Changes Everything, by Kyle Idelman, David C. Cook, 2014.)

The Jewish student makes the point that Jesus didn’t share our mistaken perceptions or attitudes. Instead, He offered grace, He offered mercy. He sees beyond our habitual behaviors to the heart of each of us. He loves us as we are, but also loves us too much to leave us that way. He wants to change our mistaken perceptions and attitudes. He wants to change our sinful behaviors. I believe, along with Beth Moore, that our God loves to mess with our messes—if we let Him! Let’s examine what our Scripture passages today tell us about our Lord’s ability to redeem what we have messed up.

In our OT lesson, (Genesis 21:8-21), we find God acting, in a surprising way, to fix a big mess that Sarah and Abraham had created. Remember, God had promised a child/an heir (so, a boy) to Abraham and Sarah, when Abe was 75 and Sarah 65. Back in Genesis 12:1, God had promised I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. This assumed a large extended family; this assumed a son, but no son had come. Later, when Abraham is about 78 or so, and his son had not appeared as yet, the Promise was reiterated by God in Genesis 15:4. Abraham feared his estate would go to his manager, Eliazer, as was the custom. But God reassured him, saying This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir. Even later, when still there is no heir, Sarah came up with a “bright idea:” I’ve got an Egyptian servant girl. Sleep with her and her child will be your heir.” Abraham was about 85. Hagar was to be a surrogate for Sarah. Today they might visit a sperm bank and be artificially inseminated with am anonymous stranger’s DNA, but they did what was available to them at the time. Though not very clinical, Abraham copulates with her, and Hagar bears Ishmael for them.

As you can imagine, problems then arise between Sarah and Hagar:
Hagar apparently acts like the one of greater status, bragging over being the “baby-mama,” while the infertile Sarah does a slow, jealous burn. This is a mess! They’ve created a mess! Sarah’s bright idea leads to the kinds of unanticipated problems that plague many blended families today. Some years back (preceding seminary), I worked as a middle school counselor for a year. I was walking a troubled 8th grade boy back to class when he said to me, “See that girl over there. She used to be my sister.” I wondered how that could be. I knew his father and mother were divorced. He lived with dad because mother, a nurse, had a drug problem and had lost custody. Dad, however, would move his current girl-friend into their house—often with her children—and these new kids would become his “brothers” and “sisters” for a time. When dad and girl-friend inevitably broke up, the woman and her kids would move away, and this boy would lose his new siblings. In Abraham’s day, as in ours, it was very difficult to blend families of children from different parents.

Nevertheless, as we read last week, God finally acted when Abraham was 100 and Sarah, 90! Sarah conceived Isaac, carried him to term, and they were thrilled! But, YIKES! Ishmael is the first born (maybe as old as 14-15 by then). One day, Sarah overhears him mocking her small son. Having had her fill of Hagar’s bragging and now Ishmael’s contempt, she demands that Abraham drive them away. She may have feared that Ishmael would later kill Isaac in order to inherit; or, as a least one scholar has suggested, she may have read into Ishmael’s remarks a threat to sexually abuse his half-brother, Isaac. She certainly doesn’t trust that he will carefully guard his rival, the Heir. Like a mama bear, she wants Ishmael away from her cub. She convinces a broken-hearted Abraham to run both mother and son off.

Now before we get to what happens to mother and son in the desert, let’s check out a meaningful set of comparisons: Remembering that the Old Testament always points to Jesus, I feel a need to point out to you 9 similarities between the births of Isaac and that of Jesus:


(1) Both were promised. 25 years earlier, God had told Abraham that He would give a son to Abe and Sarah. We are told in Scripture, 750 years before Jesus was born, (Isa 7:14) The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel [God with us].


(2) With both births, there is a long interval between promise and fulfillment: 25 years for Isaac; more like 1,000 years for Jesus, going back to God’s promise to King David in Psalm 89:29 I will establish His line forever, His throne as long as the heavens endure.


(3) The people involved are incredulous when they hear the birth announcements, as they seemed impossible. Genesis 18:12 tells us So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my husband is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Dr. Luke shares in Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” Mary is confused, but humbly concurs. She responds to the angel, “I am the Lord’s servant….May it be to me as you have said.”


(4) Both sons were named before they were born. Remember, Sarah laughed Isaac means he laughs. In Matthew 1:21, the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.


(5) Both births occurred at God’s appointed time. We are told in Genesis 21:2 that Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Similarly, Paul states in Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.


(6) Both births were miraculous–Isaac’s because of the ages of his parents; Jesus, because of Mary’s virginal state.


(7) Both sons brought particular joy to their fathers. Abraham and Sarah both laughed and were delighted with Isaac’s birth. God the Father put His stamp of approval on Jesus at His baptism in Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”


(8) Both were obedient to their fathers, even unto death.
Isaac was about 18 (some say he was as old as 33) when Abraham had him lay upon the altar, prepared to sacrifice him to God’s will. Jesus was 33 years old when He obeyed the Father and submitted to the Cross.


(9) Finally, the miraculous birth of Isaac is a picture of, or a metaphor for the resurrection of Jesus: In Romans 4:19, Paul tells us Without weakening in his faith, he [Abe] faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about 100 years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. As with resurrection, out of death comes life! And, in today’s epistle to the Romans (6:1-11), Paul wants us to understand that since we are “in Christ,” and Christ was resurrected from the dead, we will be too. In verse 4 (Peterson, the Message, p.2041) Paul insists That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father….Then, in verse 8 he adds Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in His life-saving resurrection.

Thank you, God, for covering us with Jesus’ righteousness in baptism. Thank you, Jesus, that You see us not as we are but as we were meant to be.Thank you, Jesus, that You redeem and resolve the messes we make through our ignorance or our willfulness.

Now, let’s go back to God’s care of Hagar and Ishmael (and of Abe): God assures Abraham that a great nation will come from Ishmael. Abe may never see him again, but God tells him that Ishmael will live and prosper/become a great nation. This had to have been hard on Abe, but it also beats sending your son off to war and not knowing if he will survive; or having him die in a car wreck, a drive by shooting, or some incurable disease.

Abe sends the two away with as much food and water as they can carry. Eventually, they run out of water. Hagar knows they will soon die. She places a weakened Ishmael at some distance from her so she will not have to observe his death. Both Hagar and Ishmael—nonbelievers, despite having lived with Abraham for years–are crying, and an angel calls to her, What’s the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation [now Hagar knows his destiny]. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up [for all intents and purposes, he had no father but the Lord]. The Lord provides water. The Lord provides protection from wild animals and hostile drifters. Later, Hagar finds him an Egyptian bride, but God, his heavenly father, makes him into a great nation. Ishmaelites became known as nomads in Sinai and on Paran (present day Iran). They later blended with the kin of Esau, grandson of Abraham through Isaac, to become the Arabs.

We serve a God Who loves to mess with our messes! Our God plans for events (and people) waaaaay in advance. He knows ahead of time what will happen to us. He provides a way for us to survive and to thrive—if we look to Him.
He also redeems our sins/our misguided solutions/our messes:
There is no doubt that God did not approve of Abraham and Sarah’s “plan B.” Sarah’s impatience led to the birth of the Arab peoples, who have always been antagonistic to God’s chosen people, the Jews. Nevertheless, when Abe and Sarah created a mess, God took care of Ishmael. God loves to mess with our messes! My experience is that He often redeems our thoughtlessness, our mistakes, if we only think to ask. I have found that if I am running late and worry I will be demonstrating to another that I don’t value their time, I ask God to intervene, and they end up being late too. As with the Tony Campolo story, Jesus sees us as we are and can be, not as our behavior indicates.

Finally, our God loves us as we are, but also loves us too much to leave us that way. So, be aware: He will mess with your mess!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Immature Christians

Pastor Sherry’s message for February 12, 2023

Scriptures: Deut 30:15-20; Ps 119:1-8; 1 Cor 3:1-9; Matt 5:21-37

About 10 years ago, I was teaching Introductory Psychology at Santa Fe College, in Gainesville, Florida, when I had in my class a young man on the autism spectrum, likely diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder. He was 18 years old, earnest, and smart, but also very concrete in his thinking. He seemed not to be able to comprehend abstract ideas. He told me he had an older brother who was a pharmacist, and his perception was that his brother was their parent’s favorite. He told me how hard he worked to be just as good as his brother, academically, and how important it was to him to make A’s to impress his parents. I noticed in the parking lot that he drove a brand new Ford Mustang GT with racing stripes, so his parents must have favored him more than he acknowledged.

Now the study of Psychology involves a great number of abstract ideas, so I was worried that he would not score well on my tests. Sure enough, he failed the first one. Given the amount of pressure he put on himself, I suspected his reaction to his score would be one of intense disappointment. What I was not prepared for was his startling behavior.

When the other students filed out of the classroom, he threw himself on the floor and had a temper tantrum like that of a 2 or 3 year old. He flailed his arms and legs. He screamed and cried. Believe me, I felt compassion for him in his distress; however, his behavior was thoroughly inappropriate for a college student.

I stood near him and told him, calmly, to stop that. I said his tantrum was not age appropriate. I asked him to get up off the ground and to seek the free counseling that the college offered (which he later did). He needed to learn to control his anger and to manage his distress, and he needed to learn to express negative emotions in an age-appropriate manner. Such a response was immature and would only earn him his peers’ and his professors’ contempt.

Immaturity is the issue that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Let’s back up for just a minute and put Paul’s concern into context. In chapter #2, he had divided humankind into two classes of people: the unsaved and the saved. The unsaved he also called the natural man, or the fleshly man. Such persons either reject the idea that God exists– they are atheists–or, they worship gods they create in their own image, and we call them idolaters. Or they cling to their own wills, believing spiritual things are foolish. They are so fascinated by their own intellects that they believe they can save themselves (I have met many like this in academia).

Paul contrasted the unsaved with the saved or spiritual man. This man or woman has accepted Christ. They are spiritual enough, or practical enough, or wise enough to realize (1) they can receive the wisdom of God; but, (2) they cannot attain righteousness on their own. On other words, they know cannot save themselves—they need Jesus.

Now, in chapter 3, he further divides Christians (the saved; spiritual persons) into two classes: Paul asserts there are Mature Christians, who are cooperating with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. You can see evidence that their life has changed since they came to know Jesus. They are not perfect, but they do most everything they do with the awareness that God is watching. A church in Live Oak has on their sign, “God saw that.” I think that’s funny. It’s also true since God is omniscient and omnipresent. He does see everything. Furthermore, mature Christians do most everything they do with a desire to please the Lord. They are also future thinking, often considering what might be the eternal consequences of their current actions and words. They are constantly learning from Jesus and/or Scripture and desire to share what they learn with others.

Then there are also what Paul calls Carnal or Immature Christians. They are Christians who look like and live like everyone else in the culture. Coming to know Jesus has not changed them at all. The Greek word for carnal is sarkikos, which means fleshly. In Latin and in French, carna means sensual. Thus, the word carnival comes from carna vale—or farewell to the flesh. This is why many cultures celebrate the Tuesday before Lent starts—Fat Tuesday—as the last opportunity for gluttony allowed before the traditional deprivations of Lent set in. This is who Paul meant when he wrote in Philippians 3:19 [they are the ones]…whose god is their belly. Paul thinks of them as “spiritual infants;” they are as immature acting as my former student.

Paul tells them he fed them milk, the basics, because they were too immature to digest meat. They may have come to know Biblical stories, but were probably not familiar with Biblical doctrine. When I arrived at a church in New Orleans to assist my friend, the lead pastor, we discovered the staff were all reading The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. They did not understand why Jesus would not have impregnated Mary Magdalene and left behind a child the Catholic Church worked hard to deny. We shared with them the doctrine that Jesus was sinless as he walked the earth. He needed to be in order to save us. Also, He would not have committed fornication, nor would He marry only to have shirked His responsibility as a husband or father. The staff were “baby Christians.” They hadn’t really studied Scripture (which is both milk, bread, meat, honey), like the Corinthians. Or perhaps they had studied God’s Word, but they had not digested the hard truths they found there (like in today’s Gospel lesson). They weren’t cooperating with the Holy Spirit, so there was no spiritual fruit in their lives, little grace for others, and no true desire to live a life pleasing to Christ.

In verses 1-3, Paul says that the Corinthians are immature, worldly, and carnal Christians. He is convinced his assessment is accurate due to their (a) quarreling (strife)—they are too fascinated with fallen humans; (b) jealousy of (and gossip about) one another; (c) factions; and (d) the fact that they allow gross immorality to go on in their fellowship in the name of toleration. He then reverts back to his arguments of chapter #1they are being carnal, immature Christians when they try to elevate Paul over Apollos, or vice versa. There is not to be any competition, as both are servants of God who do different aspects of God’s work: Paul planted the church and the “seed” of God’s Word in their hearts. Apollos then “watered” that seed as the great preacher and teacher who God used to deepen their faith. They were a kind of one-two punch for Jesus!

Paul wants them and us to be sure that God alone gets the glory. It’s not who the preacher or teacher is–not their personality or their skill set; not even whether we like them or not. It is, instead, whether God is using that person! He rarely ever uses only one person. I have heard other pastors criticize an Ed Young, Jr. and a Joel O’Steen because they preach “Gospel light.” They are both invested in attracting nonbelievers to Jesus. Once people have accepted Christ, they probably then move on to someone like Ed Young, Sr., Charles Stanley, or Dr. David Jeremiah to dig down deep to experience being discipled in the faith. I believe God uses many persons of differing skill sets to bring us to a full, mature faith. Again, Paul, Peter, and Apollos did not compete with one another. All three were doing the work assigned to him, under Christ’s Lordship.

Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 is that he wants both the Corinthian Church, and us, to grow up in our faith! (Remember, I told you last week that God told me to “Grow up!” because I am usually reluctant to preach from Paul’s letters?)

We become mature Christians when we marinate ourselves in God’s Word, the Bible. Make it a practice to read a passage daily. If you don’t understand it, get a study Bible and/or a good commentary to help you. Ponder what you have read and notice how opportunities to apply it come up in your daily life. When I was doing fulltime therapy with folks, I often found the Scripture I had read that morning was immediately relevant to what they were going through, and because it was fresh on my mind, I could share it with them. The Bible consists of God’s thoughts–God’s wisdom–written down for our benefit, ”The Word of God for the people of God.” Let what it says begin to guide your behavior. Let what it says begin to corral and transform your thoughts. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you change the way you live and think so that you line up with how Jesus lived and how He thinks.

We become mature Christians as we notice things like gross immorality in our culture—like drag shows for toddlers and sex change operations for children—and refuse to participate in it ourselves. Pray that those who practice these things come to a saving faith in Jesus, rather than summarily condemning them. Instead of condemning corrupt politicians, pray they discover Christ. Instead of seeking revenge, pray the evil-doer has a life transforming experience with the God you know and love. Finally, look for opportunities to offer nonbelievers knowledge about Jesus. This could include your personal testimony about how faith in Him has changed your life. It might also involve sharing the truth that all of the addictions or immoral practices people are using to fill the God-shaped hole in their lives will never satisfy them as Jesus can and will.

Thanks be to God who desires to grow us up into Mature Christians through our Lord Jesus Christ! Alleluia! Alleluia!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Our Starting Point, Our Standing Place

Pastor Sherry’s message for February 5, 2023,

Scriptures: Isa 58:1-12; Ps 112:1-10; 1 Cor 2:1-16; Matt 5:13-20

Over my years here, you have probably realized that I don’t usually preach from the writings of Paul. I find him often difficult to understand and more often addressing theological points rather than everyday life. But this week, the Lord told me it was time for me to “Grow up!” So, today I will focus on the second chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church. In chapter #2, he focuses on our correct starting point with Jesus and our secure standing point.

But first, let’s look at some humorous examples of various starting points:

(1) Great grandma’s recipe for chicken and dumplings: First, catch a chicken (Aren’t we glad we don’t have to do this today?). I remember this as a little child. My grandparents had a few chickens. Saturday afternoon they would kill one; my grandmother would pluck the feathers and clean it out, and then cook it for Sunday dinner.

(2) In the 1920’s, the University of Michigan had a famous football coach named Fielding Harris Yost. One season, Michigan had been badly beaten by Notre Dame, one of their major archrivals. The atmosphere on the train trip back to Ann Arbor was silent and dismal, as players waited to be thoroughly chewed out. Eventually, Yost stood up in the aisle to address the team. In a calm manner, and with a solemn demeanor, Yost held up a football and explained, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

(3) You may have noticed that I struggle with my weight. Both of my grandmothers were plump (I always thought they were “fluffy” and provided such comfortable laps for a child), so I think I may have been genetically primed to carry extra pounds. At any rate, I have tried almost every diet plan known to humankind: Weight Watchers; The Daniel Diet (based on what Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ate in Nebuchadnezzar’s court); Jenny Craig; The Maker’s Diet (consisting of vegetables like leeks and grains like spelt found in Old Testament times); Keto; and GoLo (or as my son calls it, “NoGo.”). Even when I struggle to take the excess pounds off, I cannot seem to preserve or maintain a reduced weight. I can start, but I can’t seem to successfully stand. Here’s the truth: I know the secret of weight loss, but I just enjoy eating too much of the wrong things. The most effective weight loss strategy—the starting point and the standing place of weight loss–boils down to this truth: Eat Less, Move More.

(Ideas borrowed from the Revs. John Fairless and Delmer Cilton, The Lectionary Lab Commentary, Year A, 2013, p.51.)

Again, I believe this is where the apostle Paul is coming from as he addresses the Church in Corinth (Greece) (1 Corinthians 2:1-16). Here’s the historic situation: Paul had established this church, in about 18 months, from 49-50 AD. The city was a sea port of Greece, numbering about 400,000, and populated by sailors, soldiers, and tradespeople of many races, nationalities, and belief systems. Additionally, it offered more than 1,000 male and female prostitutes to copulate with “worshipers” of the goddess Aphrodite and the god Apollo, in fertility rites.

Needless to say, the prevailing lifestyles were carnal ones—a lot like present day Las Vegas, which panders to about every addiction know to humankind–focused on meeting all sorts of human “needs.”

Since founding the church, a number of problems had arisen, so Paul wrote this first letter to them, from Ephesus, to address the 5 most troubling dilemmas:

(1) Divisions—those who preferred Apollos, or Peter, or Paul. He made short work of this issue in chapter 1. Christianity is not a cult of personality. We are all followers of Jesus Christ. We are to keep our focus on Jesus…End of story (Starting point, standing place).

(2) A case of a man sleeping with his stepmother—YIKES! This sin was a “notorious” one because everyone in Corinth knew about it. It was a disturbing example to nonbelievers. In a later chapter Paul gives the church a choice: the man can stop having sex with his stepmother and repent, or he can be expelled from the church.

(3) Law suits between members. Paul says, “God forbid!” This is not behavior grounded in Christian love. It is also a poor witness to nonbelievers. Paul wants the Corinthians to forgive as they have been forgiven.

(4) Abuses of Christian freedom (using grace as an excuse to continue to live as though we don’t know Jesus). Again, in a later chapter, Paul says in essence, “No, we really don’t have the freedom to do wrong.”

We are to remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. When we fornicate or commit adultery, we bring Jesus into that illicit relationship. Again, YIKES!

(5) And, finally, he addressed the general chaos he had heard reigned during communion. People were hogging the bread and getting drunk on communion wine. Paul calls this a violation of the law of love and charity with our neighbor. It was selfish, indulgent behavior. We are to receive communion decently and in order, not taking more than our fair share.

He begins, in chapter two, to instruct (and correct) them by returning to the starting point, the basics: Remember, before you cook a chicken, you need to have one on hand. If you want to win at football, you need to know how to handle the ball (knowing the rules and having some strategic moves doesn’t hurt either). In other words, this is an “eat less, move more” moment for the Church at Corinth. The basic starting point (and standing place) for the Christian Church is (v.2) …Jesus Christ and Him crucified [and resurrected].

Paul then goes on to tell them (vv.3-4) he is not a great orator or a gifted debater, both of which were skills highly prized by Greeks I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. He spoke as an ordinary person, not caring to draw attention to himself as a great preacher. He claims he had no eloquent words, no clever arguments; just “the Word of God for the People of God.” He says he preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, so all the glory would go not to him but to the Lord.

Next, he reminds them (vv.6-8) that salvation was purchased for us by the Son, but it was planned by the Father. Paradoxically, the Gospel is both simple and exceedingly complex–simple enough for an illiterate or uneducated person to grasp; but also so profound that it challenges the most brilliant minds. He stresses that the “lost”—and even immature believers—won’t get it. Jesus Christ crucified for our sins may seem ridiculous (foolishness) to nonbelievers. Nonbelievers of that day said, He was a nobody from nowhere of importance! And, He was executed as a criminal! Even Satan thought he had defeated Jesus at the Cross. Jesus’ death on the Cross is a mystery, a sacred secret, an unveiling of God’s plan from Old Testament times. These truths were hidden in the Old Testament (hinted at by the prophets, but not explained). They were also hidden from the unsaved world, people like Pilate and Herod, and others who encountered Jesus and never suspected Who He really was: The Son of God; The Creator and Redeemer of the World.

But Paul then asserts that these truths were revealed to us, by the Holy Spirit, and through the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And Paul and the other apostles all devoted their lives to sharing them with anyone who wanted to understand.

This wisdom is still valid and applicable to our lives today. In verses 9-10, Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4 ’What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love Him—these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit has revealed to us God’s thoughts, God’s wisdom. After all, Deep speaks to deep (Psalm 42:7);

(V.13) —This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. God’s thoughts have been preserved for us in God’s Word (the Bible).

Paul wants the Corinthians and us to know that our standing place is secure in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to placate a group of immoral immortals, as pagans do their gods (who often act like out-of-control humans). Our God has done the work of salvation for us. We simply have to say, “Yes, Lord, I believe.” Paul also wants us and them to realize that because we love Jesus, we have the mind of Christ. Through Christ, we are redeemed or ransomed. Through Christ, we are made right with God the Father (our sin is washed away by Jesus’ blood). Through Christ, we are sanctified, set apart for God’s service as works in progress. In Christ, we come to understand the wisdom of God.

So what’s the point for us today in modern-time America? We start right and stand firm/true when we accept and believe that Jesus Christ has saved us. This is not a faith based on human wisdom, but on the wisdom of God–even if nonbelievers consider it to be far-fetched.

As a result, those of us who are in Christ can say that, “Every Day is a good day.” It might not always look like it. It might not always feel like it. But think of this: We close our service each Sunday with a portion of the Kenyan (African, Anglican) liturgy…

All our problems…we send to the Cross of Christ.

All our difficulties…we send to the Cross of Christ.

All the devil’s works…we send to the Cross of Christ.

And all of our hopes…we set on the Risen Christ.

The purpose of this is to remind us, as we leave worship to go out into the world again, that we can give every trouble we encounter to Jesus. We can stand firm on the fact that He is able to take care of it all. We can also stand firm on the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our hope.

Our starting point and our standing place is this: Jesus Christ and Him crucified…and raised from the dead. Halleluiah! Amen!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

What Does God Want From Me?

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 29, 2023

Scriptures: Micah 6:1-8; Ps 15; 1 Cor 1:18-31; Matt 5:1-12

I heard an interesting, true story this week: A high school student I know—Jake–was called down to the office and told another kid—Sam–had accused him of bringing drugs to school to sell. Now Sam had been caught red-handed with illegal substances. When the school authorities asked where Sam got the drugs, he falsely named Jake. They brought Jake in, told him what he had been accused of, and searched him. Jake defended himself by saying he doesn’t do drugs and he certainly would neither bring them to school nor sell them. Because they had Sam’s story 1st, the authorities seemed reluctant to believe Jake. They frisked him and searched his locker and backpack but found nothing. Finally, they let Jake return to class yet would not tell him the name of the student who had falsely accused him.

The grown-ups must have forgotten that this is a small town. Word got out—as it generally always does–and Jake learned the identity of his accuser. Jake’s parents were furious at Sam—and wanted to address the matter with Sam’s parents straight away–but Jake asked them to let him handle the situation. Jake calmly confronted Sam, asking him why he had lied about him. Sam “stone-walled,” would not answer Jake, and would not give him eye-contact.

I was appalled when I heard this and I wondered if this is indicative of the value system of most teens today. Jake, a Christian, has taken a wise stance: he is now praying for his false-accuser…Praying that Sam would come to know Jesus; and Praying that Sam would regret lying and trying to get an innocent person into trouble. I commend him and would only add my hope that Sam comes to know the 10 Commandments—bearing false witness is #9.

Thinking about this incident over the last few days, I realized Jake’s response is right out of our Micah 6:1-8 lesson, as well as our psalm and Gospel:

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah in Judea, and of Amos and Hosea in Samaria, during the 8th century BC. It was a time of great prosperity and wealth in Judah. It was also a time of extensive apostasy. Political corruption was rampant; the rich and powerful felt free to exploit those who were weaker; and many had fallen away from God.

When they did worship Him, their worship was pro-forma, mind-less and rote. Mostly, they just went through the motions. And their moral behavior was despicable. Actually, they were behaving a lot like modern Americans today.

So God appointed Micah as a “whistle-blower” to his time period. His job was to challenge the people on their arrogance, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. He was also tasked with warning them of the judgment to come if they did not turn back to the Lord.

Chapter 6:1-8 forms the climax of Micah’s prophesy: He portrays God as confronting Judah, as though they were adversaries in a court of law.

Listen to Peterson’s paraphrase (The Message) of verses 1-2–Take your stand in court. If you have a complaint, tell the mountains [powerful nations]; make your case to the hills [smaller. Less influential nations]. And now, Mountains, hear God’s case; listen, Jury Earth—For I am bringing charges against My people, I am building a case against Israel. God is telling the world to watch and listen.

But instead of going on the offensive, God asks what He is guilty of that His people have all but abandoned Him. He reminds them of their salvation history with Him:

(1) He has rescued them slavery in Egypt.

(2) He provided them with good leaders like Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

(3) When the king of Moab, Balak, hired the false prophet Balaam to curse them, God protected them by blocking any curses.

(4) He also provided for them when Joshua assumed leadership from Moses (at Shittim), and protected them at Gilgal as they recovered from circumcision. (They had not circumcised anyone on the wilderness march, so all the adult males now needed to take the sign of their covenant with God. Doing so required about 3 days recovery time when they would have been too vulnerable to resist an enemy attack). God had been faithful while they have been faithless.

Then the prophet anticipates the people’s response to God’s indictment: (verses 6-7) —Should we bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would He be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin? They are essentially asking, “What do we do to make amends to God?” “Is God mad because we didn’t do enough?” “Should we do more to try to please Him?” But God does not want extravagant offerings from us. As if we can do something for God! A much later generation will ask the same thing of Jesus, and He will answer (John 6:28-29) —This is the work of God [that you can do], that you believe in Him Whom He has sent [faith in Jesus]. All we can do, and the best we can do, is to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And in verse 8, Micah summarizes the issue: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Listen to the way Peterson paraphrases it: But He’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

They are dwelling in darkness, as are many in our country today. . Psalm 15: 2-3 says [Those who please God are] the one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does not wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others. Sam’s behavior demonstrates he is dwelling in darkness. The folks back then—much like many “religious” folks today–are focusing on external religious practices, while neglecting their internal experience of God. They need to know and relate to God’s heart.

So what does Micah mean in verse 8? This side of the Cross, we know that we must believe in Jesus to be saved. What God wants from us is to demonstrate our faith by living a life that pleases Him:

(1) To act justly means to do what is right and truthful in God’s eyes. Sam lied to get the focus off himself—he threw Jake under the bus. If Sam had acted justly, he would have admitted his own fault and left Jake out of it. To act justly means exhibiting honest practices in business; not cheating on your taxes or your spouse; giving your employer a full day’s work for a full day’s pay (and employers should give their workers the pay they have earned; playing by the rules in sports and cards, etc; in other words, doing the right thing in God’s eyes.

(2) To love mercy means to offer others grace—i.e., treat them better than they deserve. Justice is a great starting point, but it’s not enough. Grace is Jake forgiving Sam for having tried to ruin his reputation and get him into trouble. God has saved us, through Jesus, when we did not deserve it. We offer grace to others because Jesus offered/offers it to us.

(3) To walk humbly with our God means to do God’s will instead of our own. Humility says “God made me and He knows what is best for me. I’m not as smart as He is, so I will submit to Him and follow His will.” Pride, on the other hand, says, “I’m in charge of me and I will do what I want to do.” It puts self ahead of God. In fact, it makes self a god instead of the One Who is God. Prideful people lack a “teachable spirit.” They are unwilling to admit they don’t always know what is best and are therefore unwilling to listen to someone who might be wiser or more experienced.

No wonder God says in Isaiah 66:2–But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.

No wonder Jesus lists humility of spirit as the 1st characteristic to be blessed in the Beatitudes of Matthew. As Peterson phrases it, You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule.

So what’s God want from me, from us? What defines a life that pleases God? First, we must have faith in His Son, Jesus. Next, we try to live a life that is characterized by the following: Acting honestly and rightly; offering grace to others, even when they don’t appear to deserve it; and being humble with regard to God, remembering to be grateful to Him for all of His blessings, and to be obedient to Him, even when it’s hard. I believe Jake pleased God when he confronted Sam face-to-face, rather than castigating him on social media. This righteous behavior took courage and humility. That young man certainly set an example for Sam, and for us.

May we all remember to act justly, offer grace/mercy to others, and walk humbly with our God! Amen!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Our God Prefers Truth over Lying to Influence People

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 6, 2022

Scriptures: Haggai 1:15-2:9; Ps 145:1-5; 2 Thess 2:1-17; Lk 20:27-40

One of the things I most love about our God is that He is a straight shooter. He always speaks the truth, and nothing but the truth, even if folks don’t like it or don’t want to hear it. Truth, real truth, is often a scarce commodity. In this time of elections, for instance, we hear “facts” from a candidate that are called “disinformation”—or outright lies—by his/her opponent. Since they contradict each other, we end up wondering which one is telling the real truth. The same is true of newscasters. Remember the days of the great Walter Cronkite? He detailed the news without spin or opinion. We felt like we were hearing the truth and we trusted him. Telling the truth leads to trust in the person who tells it.

Two stories I read recently highlight this:

(1) The first concerns 2 outrageously wealthy and wicked brothers. They were consummate hypocrites, acting like they were such great Christians on Sundays, and contributing tons of money to various church projects—you know the type—while the rest of the week, they schemed and scammed at work, defrauded their friends and colleagues, and cheated on their wives. (These are the kinds of Christians that non-Christians point to, paint with a broad brush, and use to call us all hypocrites.)

A new pastor arrived who preached Biblical truths with passion and commitment. Under his leadership, the church grew so much that the congregation needed to enlarge their worship space. At about that time, one of these brothers died. The other brother approached the new pastor and offered to cover the entire cost of the building expansion, if the new pastor would claim at the funeral that the deceased brother had been a saint.

Now the new minister had discerned the truth about these two brothers. Nevertheless, he gave his word that he would call the deceased a saint. He took the check to the bank, where he immediately deposited it. He then said the following at the funeral the next day: “This man was an ungodly sinner, wicked to the core. He was unfaithful to his wife, hot-tempered with his children, ruthless in his business, and a hypocrite at church…but compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

(2) The 2nd story comes from a 4th grade class who wrote a letter to their teacher who was convalescing in the hospital from surgery: “Dear Mrs. Fisher, Your fourth grade class wishes you a speedy recovery by a vote of 15-14.”

(Both stories reported by Chuck Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word Publishing, 1998, pp.587-588.)

Two of our passages today demonstrate God’s preference for truth-telling over lying:

A. Haggai 1:15-2:9. The prophet Haggai, another minor prophet, proclaimed God’s word to the Israelite remnant when they returned to the Promised Land after their 70 year exile in Babylon. He ministered during the same period as Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Zechariah. His book is the 2nd shortest in the Old Testament (only Obadiah is shorter).

He gave five messages to the people and each is precisely dated based on the reigns of the kings of Persia. The challenge which proceeds today’s reading (1:1-11) was given on September 1, 520BC. The people had encountered resistance from Samaritans and Arabs around them in their efforts to rebuild the Temple. So when the process became difficult, they wrongly assumed it must not be God’s will to rebuild at that time. God rebuked and redirected the remnant’s erroneous assessment (1:12-15) on September 24, 520. Essentially, the Lord told them, “Au contrare, mes amis. [This is the last that I remember of my high school French.] You have deserted your work on My house to work on your own houses. I am not happy with this! Don’t worry about the resistance because…(v.13) I am with you.” So they jumped to it! (v.15b) on the 24th day of the 6th month in the 2nd year of King Darius.

After they had gathered material and begun again to rebuild, the Lord encouraged the people, (2:1-9) on October 21st, 520. The elderly folks—who had been around to see the grandeur of Solomon’s Temple—were dismayed by how pitiful (to them) the reconstructed temple looked. Solomon’s Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had destroyed, had been a “jewel box,” and one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It had been constructed of marble overlaid with gold, silver and jewels. These poor refugees had no such gold, silver, or jewels; they rebuilt with just rock set upon rock. So God had the prophet tell the political leader, Zerubbabel, the religious leader, Joshua (a different Joshua from the one who had led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land), and all the people, Be strong…for I am with you. The Lord encouraged them by saying (vv.6-9) In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land [in other words, shock and awe everyone]. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations [Jesus] will come, and I will fill this house with glory [because Jesus will be teaching within it]. The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine…the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house…and in this place I will grant peace.

So God conveyed to them the stark truth: “You have abandoned building My house because you got scared, then focused on your own houses. You need to get cracking on My house!” Once they did begin construction, they were disappointed with the results. Again, God redirected them. “I’ve got this. This house will exceed the beauty of Solomon’s Temple, though plain, because Jesus, My Son, will grace it with His divine presence.” Notice: God is honest with them but also tender and encouraging.

2. Luke 20:27-40. In a way similar to that of God the Father, Jesus rebukes and redirects the Sadducees. Remember, the Sadducees were the rich, urbane, religious liberals of the day. They dismissed the Pharisees as fundamentalists, and they curried the favor of the Romans for power and influence. They approach Jesus with a ridiculous issue: How likely is it that a woman would marry one brother after his elder brother had died, on and on through 7 brothers? Brothers 3-7 would no doubt decide she was cursed and would avoid her, or barren and would avoid her.

We see this with Judah’s 1st two sons. Back in Genesis 38, Tamar married Judah’s 1st son, Er. He was so wicked he was put to death by God.

Then, according to the law intended both to provide for and to protect widows—as well as ensure descendants for the dead man–Tamar married Judah’s 2nd son, Onan. Onan was also very evil so the Lord put him to death as well. Judah refused to allow Tamar to marry his 3rd son, Shelah, believing she might somehow cause his death too. My maternal grandmother married five times (but not to 5 brothers). Each died a natural death. Nevertheless, we teased her claiming that marrying her was the “kiss of death” for her husbands.

These Sadducees should have been familiar with this Genesis story, so would have known their example was preposterous. Additionally, as Luke points out, Sadducees didn’t even believe in an afterlife or in a resurrection.

Matthew and Mark both report that Jesus told them they neither knew Scripture nor understand the power of God (they didn’t believe in the supernatural or in miracles). Jesus doesn’t really address their ridiculous case, but instead demonstrates from Exodus 3 that Our God is the God of living persons. He says to them (v.37) But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” [all present tense]. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive. He is the God of all of us on earth and also of those who go on to heaven to dwell—in a different life form—with Him there. He rebukes them for their ignorance of God’s Word and their unbelief, but redirects them to the reality of resurrection.

So what is God saying to us today thru these passages? Among a number of possibilities are the following:

(1) I believe He is asking us, “Will we be honest with people?” Like our God is, like the new pastor in the story was, and like the children were. God the Father enjoined us not to lie, making slander or “bearing false witness,” the 9th of the 10 Commandments. We want to remember that Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life. To our God, truth is not just a virtue or a concept, it is the person of Jesus! Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth, so He too both embodies truth and can lead us to the truth. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern what is true and what isn’t. We can also ask the Holy Spirit to give us the courage to speak the truth, in all situations.

(2) We want to speak truth, but we also want—as best as we can– to speak the truth in love. The Father rebuked the remnant, then also encouraged them. Jesus rebuked the Sadducees, then redirected them, addressing their core theological errors. In both stories I related, the folks involved told the truth, but without much love or compassion.

(3) Lying politicians, newscasters, and others need to beware. Jesus says of Satan, in John 8:44 that…[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lives. Lying helps us resemble the evil one in behavior. Lying is never a good idea. It offends God. Additionally, the truth generally always comes out, then the liar is shown for what he/she is.

This Tuesday, Election Day, let’s watch and see who the American people perceive are the liars, and may the truth-tellers win! And may we resolve always to speak the truth in love.

©️2022 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

The Antidote to Apostasy

Pastor Sherry’s Message for October 16, 2022

Scriptures: Jer 31:27-34; Ps 119:97-105; 2 Tim, 3:14-4:5; Lk 18:1-8

“In the sixteenth century, there was a protestant reformer in England by the name of Hugh Latimer. He was known as a great preacher of his day and as a result he had many opportunities to speak. Once he found that he was to preach before King Henry VIII of England. As he thought about his great responsibility to bring a message before the king he realized that the message that God laid on his heart was not the message that the king would want to hear.

“As he began his sermon he said, ‘Latimer! Latimer! Do you remember that you are speaking before the high and mighty King Henry VIII; who has power to command you to be sent to prison, and who can have your head cut off, if it please him? Will you not take care to say nothing that will offend royal ears?’

“He then paused and continued, ‘Latimer! Latimer! Do you not remember that you are speaking before the King of kings and Lord of lords; before Him, at whose throne Henry VIII will stand; before Him, to whom one day you will have to give account yourself? Latimer! Latimer! Be faithful to your Master, and declare all of God’s Word.’

“Latimer faced the choice: would he preach what man wanted to hear or would he preach what Christ would have him preach. Latimer did take his stand for truth and preached boldly. Eventually, he was martyred by Henry’s daughter the Roman Catholic Queen Mary.” (Borrowed from a website known as “Ministry 127”, 10/15/2022).

What a choice Hugh Latimore faced: Preach God’s word and offend a dangerous monarch; or preach what Henry the VIII wanted to hear and perhaps offend Jesus. Interestingly, he bravely chose to potentially offend the king. King Henry appears to have respected him for it, and had him made a Bishop. It was Henry’s daughter by his 1st wife (Catherine of Aragon), Queen “Bloody Mary,” who had him burned at the stake as a protestant heretic.

Last week, several of our readings focused on apostasy. You may recall that apostasy means turning your back on, or walking away from your faith in Jesus. You’ve been taught faith in Christ and accepted that Jesus is Lord; but you come to reject this faith, for any number of reasons.

I was a person of faith from my childhood until I attended college at 18. I became a Sociology major—sociology is the study of the influence our groups have on our behavior. My groups influenced me away from my faith. It didn’t help that I didn’t want to get up on Sunday mornings to go to church. And, with the arrogance of youth, I had decided I knew better than God, so I believed I could intelligently criticize Him. It was when I turned 28 however, was married, and had my first child that I realized I needed God’s help in raising that child. My husband and I came home from the hospital with this little boy, sat down on the couch, looked at each other, and said, “What now?” We didn’t know what we were doing. Both of us had come from dysfunctional homes. We knew what we didn’t want to do, but we did not know how to go about what we did want. Clearly, I wasn’t as smart or as competent as I thought I was. I had become what Scripture calls, “Humble /poor in spirit.” I realized I needed God. That’s the first beatitude from Matthew 5:3–Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Our Scripture passages today reveal how God’s Word serves as an antidote to apostasy:

1. In 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Paul is urging the young pastor Timothy to maintain church order through preaching God’s Word. Paul commends Timothy in verse 15, saying—…from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. He further asserts that (vv.16-17)—All Scripture is God-breathed [not just written by people, but inspired by God] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man [and woman] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So knowing God’s Word makes you wise. “Your work as a pastor, Timothy (and Sherry) needs to be based upon preaching and teaching God’s Word.” He then charges Tim–and all of us who are Christian ministers–to (v.2) —Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season [when it’s popular and when it isn’t]; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come [and is here, now] when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

I made a friend in Pittsburgh (where I went to seminary)—let’s call her Mrs. Watson—who was a nominal Catholic. She had grown up in the faith, but had fallen away as an adult. She then had created her own set of beliefs by picking and choosing elements from several religions. She called herself a Christian, but also believed in reincarnation. I asked her why she wanted to make her salvation dependent on her own effort–what if she were reincarnated as a cockroach!—when Jesus had already done the work for her?

Back before the Episcopal Church split from Bible-believing conservatives, forming the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA)—liberal theologians were telling people that God was “doing a new thing” (that is, ordaining active gay pastors and marrying gay couples). One heretical bishop from New Jersey told his congregation that it was all right for him to have an affair with his secretary because his wife was physically incapacitated. God may have been doing a new thing, but His new things will not contradict the whole counsel of Scripture. Scripture consists of God’s thoughts written down. It says in several places that He does not change His mind (for example, James 1:17–Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.

I once had a young man come to me who told me God had said it was OK for him to satisfy himself sexually, outside of marriage. He may have heard a voice say that to him, but since that teaching disagrees with God’s Word, I did not think he was hearing from God. After all, Paul said that (2 Corinthians 11:14). —…Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. This message was something this young man wanted to hear to justify what he wanted to do.

As a pastor and preacher, my primary duty is to preach passages from the Bible. The Truth is that sincere believers are hungry and thirsty for what God provides for us in His Word. I’ll never forget the results of an independent study I did in seminary on the history of the Christian Church in Vietnam since the war we fought there. Prior to the war, both the Catholic Church and the Christian Missionary Alliance Church were very active, making converts in Vietnam. After the war, the CMA especially redoubled its efforts. They evangelized a small tribe hidden away in the mountains, having learned their language. The chief confronted them after he heard of Jesus. He asked them, “How long have you known about this Jesus?” “For over 2,000 years,” they replied. “Then,” the chief retorted, “why has it taken you so long to bring this good news to us?” To people trying hard to appease ruthless gods of nature, the Gospel message of God’s deep, abiding love for us is truly Good News. Similarly, a seminary friend of mine took a small parish in North Carolina. After she had preached for several weeks, she was told by a parishioner at the door, “Thank God you preach from the Bible! I was sick to death of hearing sermons about saving the whales, or about championing the Green New Deal.” Paul knew we would get off course, drift away from Jesus, if we preached anything but God’s Word.

2. The psalmist (Psalm 119:97-105) predates Paul but says about the same thing: In verses 97-100 he declares that meditating on Scripture makes a person wiser than their teachers, their elders, or their enemies. If one is able to live by the wisdom he or she reads in the Bible, she or he is also able to discern wrong paths and understand right actions (v.104).

When I arrived at the church I served in New Orleans (around 2003), the staff was reading a book (The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown) that was popular at the time but filled with unorthodox and heretical nonsense. They did not know Scripture, so they had no way of knowing why what they were reading was untrue. My boss and I had to sit down with them and point out where the book departed from the Truth Scripture tells us about Jesus.

“John Wesley used to ask his young men whom he had sent out to preach on probation two questions: “Has anyone been converted?” and “Did anyone get mad?” If the answer was “No,” he told them he did not think the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel, and sent them about their business. When the Holy Ghost convicts of sin, people are either converted or they don’t like it, and get mad.” (Dwight L. Moody, Moody’s Anecdotes, Project Gutenberg, 2009, p. 123).

As the Psalmist writes (v.105)—Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. God’s word shows us the way to go. Like a flashlight in the dark, or a miner’s or fireman’s helmet, it helps guide us to safety.

3. Jeremiah prophesies (in 31:27-34)—even before the people are defeated by the Babylonians—that God will bring them back to the Promised Land. He did bring them back starting about 70 years after they were deported (516 BC). He also brought them back in 1948. They returned to the Land, and to the country Israel, but not to the Lord. That prophetic fulfillment awaits the End Times. Then, the prophet predicts, God will restore Israel—because He loves them—and they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They do not as yet accept Jesus as Messiah; they have not discerned God’s Word rightly.

4. Jesus tells the Parable of the Unjust Judge in Luke 18:1-8. His purpose in telling the story is to encourage them…to always pray and not give up (v.1). However, He is not saying God the Father is like this crooked judge. On the contrary, God the Father is much more moral, much holier than this corrupt official. And He commends the persistent woman, and asks (v.8b) —when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? He will if we are faithful to utilize our antidotes to apostasy: (1) To read and meditate on Scripture—so that it is almost written on our hearts–and (2) to persist in daily conversation (prayer) with God. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Alleluia! Alleluia!

©️2022 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams