Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Despite Rejection

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 26, 2025

Scriptures: Jer 1:4-10; Ps 71:1-6; 1 Cor 12:12-31a; Lk 4:14-30

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln…

“…was defeated seven times for elective office before winning the Presidency of the United States. He certainly defied the odds. And he did not give up.

“Then there was Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh earned all of $85 from his paintings during his lifetime. One hundred years after his death, just one painting alone, Dr. Bachet, sold for the incredible sum of $82.5 million.

“Then there was this itinerant, middle eastern preacher who lived some 2,000 years ago — his ideas were definitely rejected by the people of his hometown, as well as the religious leaders of his time and country. Yet he continued his ministry as he understood it to be — Divine Defiance?

“The point is clear. If Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, or Jesus of Nazareth had let rejection rule their lives, and let it keep them from doing and saying what they felt sure to be right — our world would be incredibly impoverished today.”

(Dianne O’Connell, “Divine Defiance,” www.esermons.com, 1/20/2025)

Consider how often these three must have felt discouraged, frustrated, or ready to give up?: Yet, what great examples to us of the importance of persevering in the face of repeated rejection.

Two of our Scripture passages today illustrate this theme of persevering despite rejection:

A.: Our Old Testament lesson is from Jeremiah 1:4-10, and recounts the divine call to Jeremiah to become the Lord’s prophet.

Jeremiah was probably between 17-20 years old when this takes place.  He was already serving God as a priest in his home town of Anathoth, located just North of Jerusalem. King Josiah was about 22 then, in 626BC, and reigned until he died at age 39.: He and Jeremiah were contemporaries, and likely became friends. Jeremiah served all during the remainder of Josiah’s reign, and continuing also during the reigns of kings Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim (sons of Josiah), Jehoiachin (Josiah’s grandson), and Zedekiah (a third son of Josiah).

Josiah, a good and godly king, had led his people in a revival to turn their hearts back to God; but his sons and grandsons were another story.

Because of their idolatry and wicked behavior, God allowed the last to be defeated and carried off into slavery by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Notice how God calls Jeremiah into His service: verse 5: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.: This is amazing and also a bit intimidating, isn’t it?: It implies that God knows us before we are even conceived, and that He has a plan for our lives—He has given us life for a purpose.: The Lord tells Jeremiah He had determined–even before the young man’s birth–that he would become a prophet and deliver to His people whatever God told him to say.: Jeremiah is a humble young man who replies to God, (v.6): I am only a child, meaning, Yes, I will do it, but I am young and lack much life experience.

In other words, I wouldn’t know what to say!: God’s response must have been very reassuring (v.7): Do not say,’ I am only a child.’: You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.: The Lord assures him He will tell Jeremiah what to say; and He promises to take care of him, even though He was calling him to prophesy divine judgment on Judah and her heretical kings.

If we skip ahead 40 years to the end of Jeremiah’s life and career, we would find that he apparently never made a single convert; after King Josiah, the people ignored or ridiculed his preaching entirely.: He was rejected by his people because of his message, hated, beaten, put in stocks, imprisoned, and charged with being a traitor. He was later called “the prophet of the broken heart” because God’s judgments on his people—and their rejection of God–were so distressing to him.: Actually his emotional response to his rejection mirrored God’s own saddness.: Once, King Jehoiakim cut his hand-written, prophetic scrolls up.: He destroyed them by throwing them into the fire (but God just retold the contents to Jeremiah so he could write them again).

I don’t know about you, but though I would have been proud to speak the Lord’s words to His people, I would also have been exceedingly distressed to have had been so unsuccessful in changing peoples’ behavior.: Jeremiah may have been just as distressed, but he persisted!: He may have been disappointed, but he kept on giving out God’s messages.: He may have been discouraged, but he never gave up!: I think that he stands as an excellent example to us:: He trusted in God’s promise to him and he persevered despite what he probably considered his limited impact.

And, as Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.: Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.: Those lousy kings after Josiah are no longer remembered by anyone, but Jeremiah’s two books of the Bible (Jeremiah and Lamentations) remain available today, 2700 years later!

With what in your life are you struggling today?: With a relative, a co-worker, or an unfair boss?: With an illness or a chronic condition?: With a lack of money or a lack of peace? Jeremiah’s obedience to God, and his perseverance in the face of repeated rejection, inspire and encourage us 

(1) to put one foot after the other, continuing to try to do good where we can; and (2) not to give Satan the victory by caving in to dejection and perceived defeat. 

B.: The same is true of Jesus (as per our Gospel lesson, Luke 4:14-30).: Jesus reads His job description from Isaiah 61:1, and tells His friends and neighbors in Nazareth that they are witnessing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy in Him.: At first, they were impressed with His knowledge and wisdom–until someone spoke up who reminded everyone that Jesus was the carpenter’s son.: This person had placed Jesus in a box and would not consider that He might in fact have become “more than a carpenter.”

His former neighbors were eager to see Him work some miracles, but they were unwilling to alter their perceptions of Him.: John Mark tells us in Mark 6:5: He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them…due to their lack of faith.

Jesus really gets them riled up when He reminds them (v.24): I tell you the truth…no prophet is accepted in his hometown.: Then He further incenses them when He gives them two examples of “outsiders,” Gentiles whom God had provided for, rather than bless Israelites.: There were many widows in need in Israel during the famine and drought of Elijah’s day, but God sent the prophet to minister to a Phoenician woman.: He provided her with a continuous supply of food, and even resurrected her son when he died.: There were lots of Israelite lepers, but God chose to heal the Syrian general, Naaman.: In other words, Jesus is warning them that God will not bless them if they do not believe in His Son.

By this point, they are so enraged that they attempt to kill Him by tossing Him off a cliff.: The fact that He could just disappear from an angry mob should have stretched the box in which they had confined Him.: Surely Jesus was disappointed with their rejection of Him.: He was obviously willing to heal many, but their contempt and anger, their lack of faith, limited what His heavenly Father would allow Him to do there.: Just as with Jeremiah, His own did not believe Him.: So, He moves His base of operations to Capernaum.

I think what is most instructive for us is that is the example Jesus gives us in the face of rejection:: (1) Respond honestly, if given the opportunity.: He was admitting to them that He was the Messiah by saying He fulfills the Isaiah 61:1 passage.: He did not deny the truth even thught hearing it incited them to violence against them.: Don’t deny the truth as you know it, but also (2) don’t reply with anger, name-calling, or physical intimidation.: Years ago, I worked for a woman pediatrician in Tallahassee who gathered several social workers into her practice.: She worked with kids whose conditions did not resolve through the usual medical interventions, so instead, she involved the kids in counseling. I was there to supervise several interns she had working toward licensure, and I counseled some of the parents.: The longer I was there, the more it became evident to me that one of the women I was supervising (though she was married to a man) was having a lesbian affair with the doc.: The woman was good with the kids she counseled, but she viewed their parents as the enemy.: I repeatedly told her she needed to align sufficiently with the parents to change the social and psychological environment they created for their children. She resisted this vehemently.: I told her I could not then recommend her for licensure.: Our boss—and her lover—then demanded I do so despite my reservations.: I had to resign and leave that practice. As my Christian therapist friends helped me move my office, I walked out the door and “shook the dust off my sandals.” (3) Like Jesus, I remained calm, and moved on. The Lord provided me another location to do what He had gifted me to do…and He will do the same for you.

We cannot allow rejection to rule our lives.: We will not win over everyone we encounter.: Let’s remember how Lincoln, Van Gogh, Jeremiah–and even President Trump, whether you like him or not—as well as Jesus, all persevered despite being repeatedly rejected.

In Galatians 6:9, St. Paul encourages us (NLT): So: let’s not get tired of doing what is good.: At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.:  We are not meant to just, “Be calm and carry on,” but to continue to do our best to please God and to trust in Him.

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

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams  

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Light’s On!

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 5, 2025 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Consider the following story:

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

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

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

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

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Touched by God

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 22, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Christmas Joy, All Year Round

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 15, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Recognizing Everyday Saints

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 10, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our response to Him should be one of gratitude.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Mountain-Moving Jesus

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 13, 2024

Scriptures: Job 23:1-10, 16-17; Ps 126; Heb 4:12-16; Mk 10:17-31 

This is apparently a true story:  Years ago, a fellow wrote a letter to the president of Pontiac, a division of General Motors.  His letter spelled out a complaint he had with regard to his new car.  The guy’s family would vote on what flavor of ice cream they wanted after dinner and the man would drive his new Pontiac to town to pick it up.  If they chose chocolate, strawberry, or butter pecan, the car would crank right back up and carry the man back home.  If, however, the family chose vanilla, the car would not start.  The man could not figure out what there was about vanilla ice cream that would cause his new vehicle not to start.

The president of Pontiac was puzzled, wondering if the man was a crank, but he sent an engineer to check into it. The engineer, expecting a nut, was surprised to find a well-dressed, educated man in a nice neighborhood.  That night, the family selected vanilla, so the engineer traveled with the car owner to the ice cream store. Sure enough, the car would not start.  The next two nights, the family chose other flavors and the car started just fine. Several nights later, the family wanted vanilla again, and sure enough—following the purchase—the car would not start.

The engineer could not believe that the family’s flavor choice would have any impact on the car’s tendency to start. He thought to himself,  “Pontiacs don’t operate that way.”  So he was determined to study the problem until he solved the mystery.  Over several days’ observations, he discovered the true issue:  Vanilla, the most popular flavor, was conveniently located toward the front of the store for ease of purchase.  The other flavors were in a larger display case toward the back of the store. Those selections took longer to make, and check out time was lengthier.

Time was the crucial factor, but what relevance did that have to the car starting/not starting?  The engineer discerned that the problem was not due to vanilla but rather to a condition called “vapor lock.”  The other flavors took more time to check out, allowing the car to cool down sufficiently to start.  The vanilla choice took less time to purchase, so the car engine had less time to cool and for vapor lock to dissipate. 

(Source unknown.)

One of my church members who knows a lot about cars says this is why they invented fuel injection engines.  Now you may be wondering what vapor-lock or vanilla has to do with today’s Scripture lessons.

Nothing.  But perhaps an argument could be made that this story simply illustrates that it’s often easy for any of us to draw the wrong conclusions about what causes our troubles.  You have probably heard that many believe our 4 hurricanes in the past 13 months were due to climate change or fossil fuel emissions.  Or you may have heard that the pile up of disastrous storms is due to God’s judgment on either Florida or the USA.  Causation is difficult to identify, and difficult to prove.

This is exactly what poor ole Job is trying to pin down.

A. In Job 23:1-10, 16-17, it’s clear he doesn’t know what he has done to bring about the calamities in his life.  You see, the prevailing belief in Job’s time was that wealth and wellbeing indicated a righteous life, while poverty, chronic illness, and just plain bad luck was due to sinfulness.  This is why Job’s friends worked so hard to “help” him determine his besetting sin.

But Job was pretty clear that he had lived a righteous life.  So, he wanted to meet up with God to try to understand what was going on.   In verses 3-4, he says—If only I knew where to find Him [God]; if only I could go to His dwelling!  I would state my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.  Job wants to meet with God, but can’t find Him.  He wants to plead his case and fall upon God’s grace.  Afterall, other biblical greats did:  Abraham bargained with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous persons could be found there (Genesis 18:20-32).  Sadly there were less than 10 so God wiped the two cities out.  Moses successfully bargained with God not to destroy the rebellious, idolatrous, and ungrateful Israelites (Exodus 32:9-14; Numbers 14:13-20).

In today’s passage, it appears that Job is beginning to believe God is testing his faith (v.10)—But He [God] knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.  Even so, he appears to be depressed.  He worries that God has rejected him.  Chris Tiegreen, the contemporary Christian author of over 60 books, and a successful blogger about biblical themes, writes—Few things are more painful than rejection.  Deep in the heart of every human being is a longing to be known, to be understood and appreciated.  That’s one reason judging others is such a dreadful sin; it rarely takes into account their true selves, and it amounts to a rejection of their value.  From the Garden to the grave, rejection has been at the core of human relationships and fears. 

(Chris Tiegreen, “Job’s Rejection,” www.Filament.com, 10/9/2024)

We can identify with this, can’t we?  To me, rejection ranks right up there as the worse of all emotional hurts.  So here is Job, feeling rejected by God, but still trusting Him enough to want to meet with the Lord and hash things out.  He is still hopeful.  He has not given up on God, despite his troubles.  This is such a good example for each of us.

b. The message of Psalm 126 is actually very similar:  This is a “Psalm of Ascents,” sung by Hebrew pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, which was essentially up hill.  Verses 1-3 celebrate Israel’s return to the Promised Land from exile in Babylon.  Babylon was not their home; exile means being away from our true home.  Refugees from Hurricane Milton in our area now are in a sense exiled from their homes.  Hopefully they will be able to return home soon.  When we humans can’t locate our true home, we often create for ourselves false homes, like money, pleasure, influence, fashion, fitness, power, etc.  

Verses 4-6 are essentially a prayer for full restoration from a troubled world to the conditions of the Garden of Eden.  When that happens, when Jesus comes again, we will all be so happy to be home.  Real return from exile comes from finding and following Jesus.  Job knows he is far from “home.”  He aches to return to a deep connection with his Lord.

C.  The writer to the Hebrews (4:12-15) wants us to know it is “home-safe” (as in baseball, or with my home security system which tells me I am “home safe” when the system is turned on) because Jesus Christ is our great high priest!  The Old Testament high priests could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kipur, the Day of Atonement.  They went into the holiest place in the Temple to intercede in prayer for the nation.  No one could go in there except the high priest; they firmly believed anyone else would die.  In fact, in case the high priest had not made sacrfices for his sins, he had bells attached to his hem, and a rope tied to one foot.  If the bells stopped ringing, the other Levites there knew he had died behind the curtain.  Since no one else could go in to reclaim his body, they would have to pull him out by the rope.

But Jesus Christ so far surpasses human priests that He has entered into Heaven, the true Holy of Holies.  He is continuously in the presence of God, not just on Yom Kippur.  And He makes active, effectual intercession for us with God the Father.  Again, Jesus, God’s Word made Flesh, is able to rightly discern our motives and behaviors, but loves us and forgives us anyway.

 We can count on our Mountain-moving Jesus.  Like Job, we never want to give up on God.  Job’s our model for enduring in the face of hardship.  Even if we don’t understand why we are being smacked again and again by devastating hurricanes; even if we don’t understand why we are so often sick, or in debt—seemingly unable to “get ahead”–or struggling with troubled relationships with family or coworkers, our God wants us to keep the faith.

Remaining connected to Christ is our “true home.” It’s where we experience God’s grace and mercy.  It’s home-safe for recovering from fear or rejection.  It is home-safe for feeling loved and secure.

This is where the rich, young ruler from our Gospel (Mark 10:17-31) missed out.  He claimed to have kept the last 6 commandments, the ones having to do with how we relate to and love others—the horizontal arm of the Cross.  He apparently didn’t keep the first 4, having to do with loving and worshipping God, the very important vertical of the Cross.  His wealth insulated him from needing God.  He’d found security in a false home such that he could not give it up in order to follow Jesus.

I would like to close with this poem about the mountain-moving Jesus:

Lord, I’ve never moved a mountain and I guess I never will.

All the faith that I could muster wouldn’t move a small ant hill.

Yet I’ll tell you, Lord, I’m grateful for the joy of knowing Thee,

And for all the mountain moving down through life You’ve done for me.

When I needed help You lifted me from the depths of great despair.

And when burdens, pain and sorrow have been more than I can bear,

You have always been my courage to restore life’s troubled sea,

And to move these little mountains that have looked so big to me.

Many times when I’ve had problems and when bills I’ve had to pay,
And the worries and the heartaches just kept mounting every day, 

Lord, I don’t know how You did it, Can’t explain the where’s or why’s.

All I know, I’ve seen these mountains turn to blessings in disguise.

No, I’ve never moved a mountain, for my faith is far too small.

Yet I thank You, Lord of Heaven, You have always heard my call.

And as long as there are mountains in my life, I’ll have no fear,

For the mountain-moving Jesus is my strength and always near.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

When God is Hidden, Part 2

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 6, 2024

Scriptures: 10/6/2024, Job 1:1-22, 2:1-10; Ps 8; Heb 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mk 10:1-16

I recently came across a list of laws on the books in various states that are both funny and even weird.  Apparently, it is illegal in…

1. Alabama to wear a false mustache that causes laughter in church. 

2. Delaware to whisper in church.

3. Alaska, to push a live moose out of an airborne plane.

4. Arizona to let a donkey sleep in a bathtub.

5. Arkansas to mispronounce Arkansaw as Ar-kansas.

6. Speaking of Illinois, to take a nap in a cheese factory.

7. Georgia to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket.

8. Louisiana to eat more than 3 sandwiches at a funeral wake, or to let a snake loose at a Mardi Gras parade. 

(Jack Browning, www.onelegal.com , 4/7/2024.)

People can enact some pretty strange rules by which they want us to behave, can’t they?  We have been looking to the Bible this past month to discover what constitutes true wisdom.  Remember, from God’s perspective, wisdom is godly or righteous behavior (just think What Would Jesus Do?) and foolishness is anything but. We’d have to look hard to discover the wisdom behind some of these laws I just mentioned above.

The writers of the Old Testament, the Jews, considered the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job to constitute Wisdom Literature.  Someone has said that Proverbs is optimistic and teaches us that we benefit most when we try to live lives pleasing to God (when we utilize wisdom).  Ecclesiastes claims that human wisdom has its limits, and a life not centered on God is meaningless.  And Job argues that, while God may be hidden as we–even if innocent of wrongdoing–undergo human suffering, we need to remember that (a) Satan is actively making every effort to discourage us from loving God; (b) there is meaning and purpose to our human suffering; and (c) God has not abandoned us but rather is rooting for us as we persevere in faith.

So, this brings us to a second consideration of what we are to do when God appears to be hidden.  Our Scripture passages today provide some powerful answers. 

A.  In Job 1:1-22, 2:1-10, we are introduced to Job—> This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.  In Chapter 1, God (the Father) holds Job up to “the Satan” [in the Hebrew, “Satan” is a title which means he is the embodiment of all evil] as His prime example of a truly good man.  Notice we are told that the Satan had been busy (v.6)—>  …roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.  What’s that mean?  It means that he was sticking his nose in peoples’ business, trying to catch them at their worst so he could accuse them before God.  This is why Scripture calls him “the accuser.”

So what’s he say to God about Job?  “Well, yeah, Job loves You and does what You want him to, Lord, because You have greatly blessed him.

Let me get ahold of him and make his life miserable, and watch how quickly he blames You and turns his back on You!  Wow!  Notice the Satan’s pride?

He is saying, in essence, “I know humankind better than You, God.  I’m sure this guy can’t really love You minus the good things YOU do for him, that is, without all the perks you bestow on people, You aren’t worthy to be loved.”

YIKES!  God is love and God is good.  No wonder pride was the reason Satan was kicked out of heaven.  He hasn’t learned much over the millennia, has he?

God agrees to let Satan test Job, but He places a limit on what the Satan can do to Job–he cannot kill him.  So, poor Job suddenly gets word that Sabeans (raiders) have taken his 500 yoke of oxen (1,000 altogether); his 500 female donkeys who provided milk that was highly prized in those days; and killed all his herdsmen except the lone messenger.  In quick succession, Job also learns his 7,000 sheep have been hit and killed by fire from the sky (lightening? a meteor? a volcano?).  Additionally, Chaldean raiders have swept in and taken off his 3,000 camels.  And worst of all, a tornado hit the house where his 7 sons and 3 daughters were having dinner, and killed them all.  Job is hit with a series of tidal waves or tsunamis, one following hard on the heels after the other.

Job’s amazing response is (v.21)—> Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; May the name of the Lord be praised.  Strickly speaking, Satan (not the Lord) caused Job’s stock market to crash and all 10 of his children to simultaneously die.  Job seems to understand this and so he does not blame God.

Next, we pick up in Chapter #2,with a second test for Job.  Satan asserts to God, “Well, I ruined his finances and his family, but he still loves You because he has his health.  God allows Satan to take Job’s health and watches to see what he does.  Again, do we all notice who is responsible for the dirty work?  Again, it’s Satan, not God.  Furthermore, God believes in Job…think about that: God trusts in Job’s love and fidelity.  Wouldn’t we all love for Him to trust in us to that extent?  So, Satan covers Job’s body with painful, itchy boils.  Job sits on an ash heap, a sign of mourning.  He’s thoroughly grieved and he does not really understand why so many bad things have happened to him, but amazingly he still doesn’t blame God! Instead his wife–who may have only married him for his wealth, etc.—says to him (v.9)—> Are you still holding on to your integrity?  Curse God and die!  She’s really supportive, isn’t she?  Instead of comforting and encouraging Job, she very disrespectfully blows him and his grief off.  Maybe leaving her around while all their children were killed was another part of Satan’s dastardly plan.

Job actually presents an excellent model for us:  We need to remember his story when trouble comes to us.  It is the evil one who causes our troubles.  God allows them as a test, but meanwhile, God is for us, not against us.  Indeed He provides us what we need to meet and even overcome the test.  I am reminded of the present response to the victims of Hurricane Helene in the western Carolinas.  The federal government has been slow to respond, but churches, neighbors, and many non-profit agencies have marshalled resources to rescue, water, feed, and provide shelter to those who have lost so much.

B.  Psalm 8, written by King David, is a hymn of praise to God for creation.  It begins and ends with those wonderful words, O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!  Then it goes on to celebrate God’s formation of the cosmos, from planets and stars to humans and infants.  We could call this a Messianic psalm because it speaks to a time when all persons will revere our Lord Jesus.  As we know, the names of God and of Jesus are not everywhere honored today; many even use them as curse words.  But with Jesus’ 2nd Coming, all will know that God is real, that He exists, and that He rules in power and might.  Those who love Him and believe in Him will discover the truth of what the prophet Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 29:11—> ”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to proper you and to give you a hope and a future.”  Again, our God is for us and not against us.

C.  The writer to the Hebrews (1:1-4; 2:5-12) wants us to know that Jesus Christ is superior in position and power to all of the prophets who have lived and to all of the angels in heaven and on earth.  Previously, God had spoken to humankind through prophets He ordained to communicate His thoughts to us; less often, through angelic beings who came with specific messages to particular persons; and, then through the 40 Holy Spirit inspired authors of the Old Testament written for our edification over 1500 years.  But with the birth of Jesus, the Father has spoken to us through His Son, the full revelation of God.  Or, as Peterson paraphrases it (v.3)—> By His Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end.  This son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature.  He holds everything together by what He says—powerful words.

(Eugene Peterson, The Message, NavPress, 2002, p.2181.)

God has put everything into subjection under Jesus’ authority. And He has made us sons and daughters of God.  This is our position, no matter what life or the Satan throws at us.  For this reason, we can trust in God the Father and we can trust in God the Son, even when we experience trials and tragedies. 

So, when God’s purposes escape us, or when His actions—or seeming lack of action—frustrate us, let us remember…

(1) God is good and God is love.

(2) Thus, His plans and purposes for us are always good.

(3) And when He seems to be hidden from us, we can still, like Job, trust in Him and remain faithful to Him.  Amen!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

When God is Hidden

Pastor Sherry’s message for September 29, 2024

Scriptures: Es 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22; Ps 124; Ja 5:13-20; Mk 9:38-50

For several weeks we have examined the choice between living righteously for God—which the Bible calls ”wisdom”— and living foolishly for self.  The story is told of a burglar who cased a particular neighborhood, looking for evidence of folks who left their house unattended.

He observed one family loading suitcases into their car and decided to return to break into their house that night.  He rang the doorbell and waited for silent confirmation that no one was home. He then picked the lock on the front door and crept inside the home.

He called out, “Is anybody home?”  Expecting silence, he was shocked to hear, “I see you and Jesus sees you.”  Startled and frightened, he called out, “Who’s there?”

The voice again answered, “I see you and Jesus sees you.”

The burglar then switched on his flashlight in the direction of the voice and located a parrot.  He was relieved to hear the parrot say once more, “I see you and Jesus sees you.”  The guy laughed his head off as he switched on the lights.  That was when he saw the Doberman Pincer sitting under the parrot’s cage, beginning to growl.  At this point the parrot said, Attack, Jesus, attack!”

(Chuck Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word Publishing, 1998, pp. 594-595.)

I apologize for using a joke that seems disrespectful to Jesus.  I can’t imagine naming a pet after our Lord.  I mean, come on!  But perhaps the owners rightly viewed the dog, like the Lord, as their protector and guardian of their safety.  And certainly the burglar was unwise to have broken into that house.

To me this story also raises the issue of how we are to act when it appears to us that God is hidden.  The dog owners were not home, but the dog—and the parrot—were both at work.  Jesus prayed to His Father, in Matthew 11:25-26—> I praise you, Father, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned [the religious experts of His day] and revealed them to little children [we believers].  Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.   Jesus appears to be saying that the Father does not always reveal His intentions to us at the time He is working.  But, if we have the faith of little children He does eventually reveal Himself and His actions.

Let’s look at how this truth plays out in the Scripture lessons appointed for today:

A.  Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22 tells the amazing story of how a young woman (counseled by her wise uncle) saves the Jewish people living in the Persian Empire, post Babylonian Exile (500’s).  Unknown to King Xerxes of Persia, he chooses a beautiful Jewish woman to become his wife/queen.

Haman, the King’s “Prime Minister,” hated the Jews, especially Esther’s Uncle Mordecai, a palace scribe.  (Haman is descended from the Amalekites, long-term enemies of the Jewish people.)  He furtively manipulates the King into passing an edict that would allow citizens of his entire empire to attack and kill the Jews on a certain, future date.  Not realizing his queen is Jewish, Xerxes foolishly signs the edict into law.  Once he does so, according to Persian custom, his edict could not be rescinded.

Uncle Mordecai gets a message to Esther encouraging her to ask her husband to overrule his original edict with another which would allow Jews to defend themselves.  Our passage today describes her strategy: She invites the King and Haman to two banquets.  During the first, she does not make her request.  Xerxes is so pleased—and Haman is so flattered—that the King is willing to give her up to half his extensive kingdom.  But she simply invites the two men back to a second banquet.  At the second, she reveals that she is Jewish and asks that the king spare her people who are set to be annihilated.  The King has a short memory and he fails to realize he signed a death warrant for all the Jews in Persia.  Until Esther confronts Haman, Xerxes fails to remember the idea originated with his Prime Minister.

The King is furious and “takes 5” to mull it over.   Haman appears to attack the Queen as she is reclined on her eating couch.  Perhaps he was only frantically begging for clemency.  When Xerxes returns, however, he believes Haman intends to rape his wife in his own palace.  Ironically, Haman is immediately sentenced to death—for abusing the queen—on the very gallows or pike he had erected to hang or impale Uncle Mordecai!

Paul states for us “The Law of Sowing and Reaping” in Galations 6:7-8—> Do not be deceived:  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  I think you would agree the Esther/Haman story is a dramatic example of the boomerang effect of the Law of Sowing and Reaping.  What we hurl out to another can and often does come right back at us.  Other scriptural examples include…

(1) Old Testament Jacob who tricked his blind father, Isaac, into believing he was his father’s favorite twin, Esau; later Jacob’s 10 sons tricked him into believing his favorite son, Joseph, was dead.

(2) Jacob cheated his brother, just as Uncle Laban later cheated Jacob, over and over again.

(3) Paul appears to have authorized the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen; later, Paul is stoned, almost to death on his 1st missionary journey.

If we choose to do the devil’s work, the same kind of evil often later boomerangs back to us.  God’s hand may be hidden in the outworking.

We often only realize He was involved after we look back from the distance.

B. Psalm 124 recounts what happens to those who choose to love God—He protects them!  King David reviews Jewish history and notes how often God has protected His people.  He asks the rhetorical question (vv.1-2)—> If the Lord had not been on our side [what would have happened to us?].  He accurately credits God with having saved Israel from (1) enemies (vv.1-3); (2) The deep and broad waters of the Red Sea and the raging waters of the Jordan at flood stage (v.4). (3) And other overwhelming circumstances of life are also implied—like hurricanes and too much rain, As we and the folks of North Carolina have just experienced with Hurricane Helene.

David is quick to give God the glory in his famous last line:  Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  When we choose to honor God, to trust in God, He blesses us in a positive boomerang.

C. In James 5:13-20, the practical disciple reiterates King David’s point.  God is trustworthy and takes care of us.  If we love and serve Him, He answers our prayers and rescues us from trouble; He listens when we pray intercession for others; and He delights in our praise.  James gives the example of Elijah whose God-directed prayers prevented rain in Israel for 3.5 years.  Then, when again directed by God, his prayers brought on the rain.  James reminds us in verse 16b—> The prayer of a righteous man [woman] is powerful and effective.  There was a period in my life when I believed God was not answering any of my prayers.  I knew enough to pray to Him but I was not living for Him.  Once I turned my life over to Jesus, the Lord began to answer my prayers.  Voila! Righteous living results in prayers that are effective.  What a fantastic, positive, boomerang effect!

D. In Mark 9:38-50, Jesus spells out both a positive and a negative result of the Law of Sowing and Reaping:  Verses 39-41—> Blessings come to those who do miracles and provide physical refreshment to others in Jesus’ name.  Even if the person is not clearly identified as a member of our crowd of Jesus followers, if that person is doing good deeds in Jesus’ name, they and their efforts are blessed.  They may not be of our denomination, ethnicity, citizenship, etc., but if they are for Jesus, we need to be for them.

Conversely, in verses 42-48, Jesus states what happens to the one who causes the innocent to sin—> it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.  It brings to mind pedophiles and child-sex-traffickers, as well as drug dealers, doesn’t it?

There may be a special level of hell for those folks.  Again, if you/we perpetrate evil, it will boomerang back on us.  That concept is so important that we want to make every effort to keep our sin list with the Lord short.

We want to remain committed to Christ.  We probably need to ask His forgiveness daily.

Our God does not always take obvious credit for His work in our lives.  Just because He chooses to remain hidden does not mean He is not working on our behalf.  We can ask for eyes to see how He is at work in our lives.  And we can ask for faith to believe until He reveals Himself.

Meanwhile, this week, let’s try to be aware of the Law of Sowing and Reaping.  The Law of Sowing and Reaping is, like King Xerxes’ edicts, immutable.  Once our actions have put evil into play, we run the dire risk of having it return to us.  But, on the other hand, when we put blessings into play, blessings come back to us. 

With a thought toward reaping God’s best, this week let’s be aware of doing our best toward Him and others. Amen! May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Be Careful What You Ask of God

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 9, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Sam 8:1-20; Ps 138, 2 Cor 4:13-5:1; Mk 3:20-35

The story goes that Wally, from Wellborn, Florida, was vacationing in New Mexico.  He knew there was a famous, annual Chili Cook-Off scheduled for the next day. He arrived and thought to himself, “Lord, how I would love to be a judge of this!  All kinds of great chili recipes and all the beer you can chase it down with…sounds like my kind of heaven!”

As it happened, the man slated to be the 3rd judge had come down with the flu, so our Wellborn friend—standing in just the right spot—got asked to take his place.  “Thank you, Jesus!” he said to himself.  He just couldn’t get over his good fortune!

Here are the scorecard notes from the event:

Chili #1—Mike’s Maniac Monster Chile:

1.) Judge #1—A little too heavy on the tomato.  Amusing kick.

2.) Judge #2—Nice, smooth tomato flavor.  Very mild.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Holy Cow!  What’s in this stuff?  You could use it to remove dried paint from your driveway!   Took me 2 beers to put the flames out.  I hope that’s the worst.  These New Mexicans are crazy! 

Chili #2—El Rancho’s After Burner Chili:

1.) Judge #1—Smoky, with a hint of pork.  Slight jalapeño zest.

2.) Judge #2—Exciting BBQ flavor; needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Keep this out of the reach of children.  I’m not sure what I’m supposed to taste besides pain.  I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver!

Chili #3—Alfredo’s Famous Burn-Down-the-Barn Chili: 1.) Judge #1—Excellent firehouse chili.  Great kick!

2.) Judge #2—A bit salty.  Good use of peppers.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Call the EPA!  I’ve located a uranium spill.  My nose feels like I have been snorting Drain-O.  Pour on the beer before I ignite!

And on it went—until Mike, complaining that his stomach had imploded—passed out.  (Sorry but I cannot credit the source of this story!  I came across it about 12-15 years ago on the internet.  Back then, I was preaching about 6-8 times a year for vacationing pastor friends and did not think—since my sermons were not being reprinted—to provide footnotes.)  The moral of the story:  Be Careful What You Ask of God.

Our OT lesson, 1 Samuel 8:1-20, makes a similar point.  Let’s examine it:

Samuel, the Prophet, followed the last of 12 Judges to rule Israel.  He provided leadership much like that of Moses ad Joshua, and had done an excellent job until he decided to retire.  Apparently without consulting God, he appointed his two sons to succeed him.  You may remember that he had seen the wickedness of Eli’s (the priest who had mentored him) sons and that God had removed them from power and set Samuel in their place. In what must have surely been a senior moment, he forgot (1) only God—not any person—appoints leaders over His chosen people, Israel; and (2) how incompetent and unworthy his own two sons were.  This is a sad commentary on human memory…or perhaps human ego.  Someone once said, “If we don’t remember history, we are doomed to repeat it.”  Eli’s boys had seduced female assistants at the Tabernacle and had taken the best sacrificial meat (God’s portion) for themselves.  Samuel’s boys were almost as bad.  They took bribes from the worshippers they served and they perverted justice.

So the Administrative Counsel or the Call Committee of that time approached Samuel (vv.4-5) and with all of the subtlety of a New Mexican chili, they said, “Samuel, you are old” (he was all of 65).  Didn’t they know that 65 is the new middle age?  Didn’t they recall that Moses lived to 120 and Joshua, to 110?  So 65 was hardly old.  They were trying to justify their demands.  They were inventing excuses!   They added, “Your sons are reprobates!”  This was true.  But the right thing for the Administrative Counsel, or the Call Committee, and even for Samuel to have done would have been to consult God:  Lord, who is Your choice of the next leader or the next prophet over Israel?  Instead, they arrive at their real agenda:  Make us a king, like all the other nations.  They want to be like everyone else.  What parent hasn’t heard this refrain:  I need a phone, a brand of jeans, or a car/truck just like everyone else has?

Now the selective amnesia has jumped to the people!  Have they forgotten that they were singled out to serve God from the time of Genesis 15?  What about when God says in Exodus 19:5–>Although the whole earth is Mine, You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  They had a special and a unique relationship with God.  He ruled over them and they were His people.  As long as they obeyed Him, they enjoyed His provision, protection, and presence.

But Samuel is feeling rejected, so he takes his disappointment to the Lord (v.6).  The Lord tells him essentially, don’t take it personally. It’s not you they are rejecting; it’s Me.  They’ve got a covenant with Me, the Ruler of the Universe.  I have provided for them, daily.  I have protected them, better than any human king could.  It’s ironically true that the only time Israel lacked protection was whenever they would rebel against God.  Time and time again, it was their idolatry and their disobedience that brought them military defeat.  God was always able to care for them.  

But, by this time, they want a human to take God’s place. Amazingly, God tells Samuel to let them have what they want.  Samuels’ mind must have traveled to Deuteronomy 17:14-20—in which God specified what a king should be like: (a) He should be chosen by God; (b) He should be an Israelite; (c) He should be a covenant-keeper (a member of the Jewish faith); and (d) He should live a simple lifestyle—none of this owning 10 palaces, 20 chariots, and 3 yachts sort of thing. 

Furthermore, God also tells Samuel to warn them that having a king will cost them in ways they may not anticipate.  (In other words, be careful what you ask for!) Samuel proceeds to tell them a king will abuse power (there are 5 he [meaning a king] will take’s in the text):  (1) He will reign over them/or oppress them; (2) He will take your sons for soldiers/or institute a military draft; (3) He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  Perfumers was an Old Testament euphemism for concubines.  Samuel was warning them that their daughters will go into servitude, of one form or another.  (4) He will take the best portion of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, your cattle and donkeys—for his personal use.  And, finally, he will take a 10th (in taxes) of your flocks—and you yourselves will become his slaves. Remember, we have long held in America that the power to tax is the power to destroy.

Knowing all of this—being forewarned by God Himself—they still say they want a human king.  Be careful what you ask of God.  Like Wellborn Wally, they get what they thought they wanted.  But look at the heartburn!  They had Saul, then David, then Solomon, all of whom started well and finished badly—though David did repent and reconcile himself to God.  The Kingdom then split into Northern/Israel (10 tribes) and Southern/Judah (2 tribes).  Israel went on to have a succession of 20 kings, all of them bad.  Judah also had 20 kings, only two of whom proved to be good, God-fearing, and honorable, Josiah and Hezekiah.  This was not a stellar record!  God then allowed the flood of the Assyrians in the North and the Babylonians in the South to end the Israelite monarchy.  God cleaned house in 578 BC!  There were no more kings in Israel until the King of Kings, Jesus, arrived on the scene more than a half century later!

The lesson, again, is be careful what you ask of God.  He knows better than we do what we need.  But He also gives us free will.  He lets us decide for ourselves.  Paul reminds us in Romans 1 that, when we insist, God lets us have our way.  Unfortunately for us, when our way differs from God’s, we step out from under His protection and His provision.  And the consequences can be dire.  If only they were no more painful than Wellborn Wally’s   mammoth indigestion!  Think about the times you took control of your life out of God’s hands.  I can.  It wasn’t pretty.  I wish I had made better choices.  I wish I had let go of my own control and let God.  But isn’t it true that “trial and error” learning can be very effective—Once burned, twice learned.  The lesson sticks with us for a long time, but the cost is also often very high.

Let’s take a lesson from our ancestors of the faith, the Israelites.  They were so sure they needed a human king.  1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles all report the trouble that decision brought upon them.  The next time you are tempted to make a major decision for your life, run it by Jesus.   When we trust in humans, we may find our freedoms diminishing.  But as our 2 Corinthians and Gospel (Mark 3:20-35) lessons tell us, our Lord Jesus expands rather than restricts our lives.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we who believe in Him now step confidently from this life to an even better one.  Jesus also expands the meaning of family.  Our faith in Christ binds us together more powerfully than blood ties.  We love and serve a Savior Who loves and blesses us when we seek Him.  Amen!   

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Holy Trinity Sunday

Pastor Sherry’s message for 5/26/2024 

Scriptures: Isa 6:1-8; Ps 29, Ro 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

Last Sunday, Pentecost, I shared with you 13 of the many functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Anticipating today being Trinity Sunday, I also pointed out the individual roles of the 3 members of the Holy Trinity.  In honor Trinity Sunday, let’s review these today and consider Who of the Godhead you tend to feel closest to:  

Maybe you stand in awe of the Father: Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of Days, almighty victorious, Thy great Name we praise.  These are lines to a hymn to God the Father, Creator of the Universe, completely transcendent, wholly other.  He is the Covenant God, meaning He keeps His promises, always.  He is enthroned in Heaven.  He revealed Himself to Moses as (Ex. 34:6-7): The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. He is clearly in command, but never dominates the other two persons.

I was in the 9th grade before I ever learned my step-father had one good thing to say about me.  He was always very critical and I had learned I could never please him.  One day one of his friends gave me a ride home from school and told me how proud of me my dad was.  I was shocked!  I had been elected president of my high school class, but my dad had never said a word to me about it.  Reading the Old Testament through taught me how much my heavenly Father loves me—and you—and how often He says so, and I have been so grateful, and loved Him back, ever since!

Or perhaps you relate best to Jesus, our Brother, Our Savior, Our Redeemer, and Our Friend: What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!…Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.  Here we have a hymn about Jesus.  Jesus is God-in-the- flesh, coming to earth as a vulnerable infant, teaching and healing us, then dying for our sins.  He really helps us learn that God is indeed love.  Jesus too is compassionate, forgiving, and very patient.  If you have watched any episodes of “The Chosen,” you would have to agree that they depict Christ as someone easy to love.  He tried hard to reach us through memorable stories.  And, remember, it was Jesus who said (Jn 14:11), If you have seen me, you have seen the Father, for I and the Father are one.   Again, God-in-the-flesh.  

I was driving in Pittsburgh one winter, on my way to work, when I rounded a curve on a divided highway only to see several wrecked cars all over the road in front of me.  There was no place for me to pull off to avoid the wreck, as there were concrete barriers on both sides.  I downshifted and braked, but hit a patch of “black ice” and went into a spin.  I was then facing southbound in the northbound passing lane, and could see a large utility van headed toward me.  I knew he would soon hit the very same ice and skid into me.  I felt I was a goner.  I quickly prayed, “Lord Jesus, who will raise my daughter?”  My daughter, Meredith, was about 12 or 13; my son, David, was away in college and launched.  But my girl remained at home with me.  The van did hit me.  My airbag bruised my sternum; my glasses flew off and my briefcase went airborne from the back seat to the front.  The front of my little sports car crunched up like an accordian, but nothing was damaged in the cockpit.  Ambulances took a bunch of us involved in the pile-up to be checked out in the hospital.  But I was fine, just bruised and shaken up.  I knew Jesus had saved me and I was so grateful. 

Others gravitate to the Holy Spirit, the immanence of God, the “with us” God: Holy Spirit, Love divine, glow with in this heart of mine; kindle every high desire; perish self in Thy pure fire.   This is a hymn about the Holy Spirit.  He is how we experience God and Jesus now.  The Father and the Son reside enthroned in Heaven; so it is the Spirit Who leads, guides, and directs us here/now.  He tweaks our conscience when we sin;  He intercedes for us when all we can do is groan; and He equips and empowers us for ministry.  This week I had a word from the Holy Spirit.  He directed an intervention in a psychodrama I was to lead.  He told me to do something I had never done before.  I did what He said to do and the results were amazing!  I have learned to always do what He tells me to do, because He is always right.

Each of us may have a favorite, but the truth is the doctrine of the Trinity helps keep us balanced by reminding us there are 3 persons in our one God.  The Trinity also models for us how we are to live:  God lives in loving, cooperative community and we are to do the same!  The Son and Spirit are submitted to the will of the Father; but the Father does not dominate them.  Rather they coexist in steadfast love, mutual respect, and mutual cooperation.  That’s our model.

Let’s see how our Scripture passages today amplify these truths:

A. Our Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 6:1-8 and recalls for us the priest Isaiah’s additional call to become a prophet.  He is apparently praying in the Temple when he has a vision of God the Father.

He relates that King Ussiah, the last good King of Judah, had just died, having reigned 52 years (792-740BC).  Isaiah sees (v.1): The Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  How enormous!  How exciting!  Isaiah is grieving the loss of the good king, but then realizes the REAL KING, God, is still on the throne.

Isaiah is reassured that all is still well.

Isaiah also sees seraphs—6-winged, angelic creatures who normally surround God’s throne.  They are shouting, Holy, holy, holy! for the 3 holy Ones, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their shouts were so loud they shook the Temple foundations, and smoke filled the Temple.  Their job is to search out sin—God’s holiness does not keep company with sin.  In their presence—and in the Lord’s presence—Isaiah becomes mortally aware of his own sinfulness (v.5): Woe to me!…I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.  As one commentator puts it, “Seeing God as holy reminds us deeply and painfully that we are not.”  (J. Fearless and D. Chilton, The Lectionary Lab for Year B, 2014, p.192.)

Job had a similar response to seeing God (42:5-6): My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.  Daniel saw God in a vision and reported (10:8): I had no strength left, my face turned a deathly pale and I was helpless.  We know what happened to Saul/Paul (Acts 9:4-19): he was knocked off his high horse and blinded for 3 days.  Even St. John, Jesus’ close friend, reports (Rev. 1:17): When I saw Him I fell at His feet as though dead.  So, like them, Isaiah expects to at least faint or even to be slain.

Instead, in God’s mercy, one of the seraphim-searcher-outers-of-sin, brings him an antidote.  He touches his lips with a live coal—OUCH!  And says (v.7): See, this has touched your lips: your guilt is taken away and your sins atoned for.  They have been instantly burned away.  Then God issues Isaiah’s call to become the Lord’s prophet: (v.8): Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?  Hebrew has no royal “we,” the king speaking in the plural (for himself and the country).  Instead, this is an Old Testament reference to the Trinity.

B.  Psalm 29, written by King David, poetically describes the voice of God.  He mentions God’s voice 7 times (the number for perfection, completeness).  And every metaphor David uses is a strong one.  Isaiah perceived God as huge!  King David perceived God as loud and commanding.

C. In our Romans passage (8:12-17), Paul continues to list the roles of the Holy Spirit: Verse 13: He puts to death the misdeeds of our body [helps us overcome sin]; Verse 14:  He leads and guides us; 

Verse 15a: He does not lead us into fear, but into sonship/daughtership;

Verse 15b: The Spirit calls us into an intimate relationship with God, in which we can actually call Him Abba [daddy].  Verse 16: He testifies that we are God’s children.  And, verse 17: …we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

D. Finally, in our Gospel passage (John 3:1-17), Jesus is having a dialogue with an open-minded Pharisee, Nicodemus.  Nicodemus, an Old Testament scholar and teacher, wants to know how to enter heaven. Jesus says he has to be born again of the Holy Spirit.  Nick doesn’t understand this, confusing our spiritual birth with our physical one.

Remember, 4 weeks ago, I preached on what it means to be born again:  

(1) We believe in Jesus –so Nick has to have faith in Christ,

(2) And we learn to love Him—this is not so hard to do once we realize all He has done for us.  Being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit:  He leads us into faith in Jesus.  He convinces us to love Jesus.  Jesus is emphatic with Nicodemus:  We do not enter heaven because we know and follow the Law.  We do not enter heaven due to our ancestry or our spiritual or economic rank and privilege.  We enter heaven because of the efforts of the Holy Spirit to bring us into an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Jesus then reminds the Pharisee that no one sees or controls the Holy Spirit.  He shows up when and where God wants Him to be.  We don’t control Him.

I often remind my clients of the Serenity Prayer.  I want to end today with the Serenity Prayer, which always reminds me of the wisdom of the Trinity (The entire prayer is longer, but this is the short, easy to remember version): Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change [others’ behavior, my past, etc.], the courage to change the things I can [myself], and the wisdom to know the difference.  Our triune God grants to us the peace—serenity– that passes all understanding.  Our triune God infuses us with courage when we need it.

Our triune God gifts us with wisdom when we ask.  Amen!  May it be so.

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams