Posted on by Cheryl Norman

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Pastor Sherry’s message for May 5, 2024

Scriptures: Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-5; John 15:9-17

Back in 1984, the singer, Tina Turner, released a song called, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” Some of you may remember the chorus to this song:

What’s love got to do, got to do with it?

What’s love but a second-hand emotion.

What’s love got to do, got to do with it?

Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?

The song had a great tune and was catchy, but the theme was sad. She sang that you can’t trust in love. She sang that she is trying to protect herself emotionally. She was tempted to love again, but feared that if she did, her heart could be broken (and no doubt already had been).

A lot of people go through life this way.  They hold themselves back, afraid to invest in others.  They prefer emotional safety to the potential for hurt and disappointment.  Last week, I talked about how countercultural our God is…this is exactly a case in point:  We are called to love Him and to love others, despite the emotional risk to ourselves.

To quote Tina, “What’s love got to do with it?” Our Scriptures today answer:  Everything!

A. In our Gospel lesson (John 15:9-17) Jesus calls us to love Him, love others, and obey God.  He is essentially repeating and emphasizing the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:37-38)—Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind [Be all in with God].  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.  He also reminds us that we demonstrate or show our love by being obedient to God.  So, even though we might be disappointed or even have had our hearts broken, our Lord wants us to continue to love Him and to love others.  Love is how we abide in Christ—it’s how we stay attached to the Vine.  Sorry, Tina, holding back out of fear is an excuse Jesus would understand but He would not want us to let that fear limit us.

B.  John, the beloved disciple, says pretty much the same thing, but with a slightly different emphasis (1 John 5:1-6): In verse 1, he defines what it means to be born again.  We believe in Jesus and we learn to love Him.  We are born again through our faith, together with our love.  In verse 3, he stipulates how we prove our love for God—This is love for God: to obey His commands.  And His commands are not burdensome….We believe, we love, we obey.  In verses 4-5, he argues that we overcome whatever evil there is in the world not by fighting, but by our faith (typically expressed in prayer).

C. Today, I want to make two points concerning these truths:

1. 1st, we often find what we are looking for, or what we are focused on: The story is told of two fellows who had been in India and happened to be visiting in the home of the same friend.  The guests were talking about mission trips and missionaries.  The first man—who had been in India all of 5 months–said, “I have no use for missions and missionaries.  I spent months there, and didn’t see that they were doing anything; in fact, in all that time I never met a missionary.  I think the church is wasting its money on missions.”  The second fellow was a quiet older gentleman.  He had not spoken up at all until this point.  He now said, “Pardon me; how long did you say you were in India?  ‘Five months.’ ‘What took you there?’  ‘I went out to hunt tigers.’  ‘And did you see any tigers?’  ‘Scores of them.’  ‘It is rather peculiar,’ said the old gentleman, ‘but I have spent thirty years in India, and in those years I never saw a tiger but I have seen hundreds of missionaries.  You went to India to hunt tigers and you found them.  I went to India to do missionary work and found many other missionaries.”

(As reported by Rev. Dr. J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on 1 John, Thomas Nelson, 1991, pp.143-144.)

In the same way, I had never noticed pregnant ladies in bathing suits at the beach, until I became one.  Then I saw them everywhere.  If you drive a Jeep or a Corvette, I am told, you similarly note them wherever you go. The point is that we find what we focus on.  If it’s on becoming broken-hearted, Dear Tina, that’s what we will notice.  But if we can begin to trust in love, we will begin to notice evidence of trust-worthy love all around us.

Neuroscience tells us that our brains are pre programmed to look for the negative in life.  It was probably adaptive back when we were trying to avoid saber-toothed tigers (speaking of tigers).  To habitually think positively, we have to reprogram our brains, deliberately developing new neural pathways.  We have to train ourselves to think positively and this positive thinking is highly correlated with achieving happiness.  Negativity may keep a person emotionally and physically safe, but it does not lead them to happiness.

2. The 2nd point is that any fight we face in the world is God’s to contend with.  He usually does not call us to fight but rather to obey Him in faith.  Paradoxically, Joshua’s battle at Jericho is a perfect example of this (Joshua 6:1-20).  Joshua was God’s choice to succeed Moses as the leader of the children of Israel.  The Lord charged him with taking the Promised Land and conquering the pagans who inhabited it.  Lest you feel sorry for the pagan Canaanites, please note that the Lord gave them over 400 years to accept Him as God and they refused.  They seemed to prefer sacrificing their babies to the fire, and all the sexually perverse religious rituals they performed, to worshipping a holy God.  So He determined that He—who owns the whole earth—would give the land to His Chosen Ones.

In a strategy that is masterful and brilliant, God first stopped up the Jordan at flood stage so all 2 million Israelites could cross over into Canaan (on dry land, as the text makes clear).  Remember the generation that had refused to trust in God to take the Promised Land 40 years earlier had all died out during the wilderness wanderings.  They had experienced the Red Sea Crossing.  Their younger descendants had not.  So God repeats the miracle, both to show them He is with them and to remind them of what He had done for them in the past.

Now bear in mind that this strategy no doubt freaked out the folks of Jericho, who mistakenly thought they were safe until the Spring floods receded. Then when the Hebrew army approached the city, they simply marched around the outside of the city walls.  The Levites carried the Ark of the Covenant and 7 priests blew ram’s horn trumpets, signaling that the Lord will be taking the city.  The soldiers followed, armed, but did not engage the enemy.  They did this once a day, as per the Lord’s instructions, for six days.  Don’t you know the folks of Jericho were wondering, “What in the world are they up to?”  The truth is that our God was engaged in psychological warfare.

On the 7th day (seven being the number for completion or perfection), they marched around the city seven times.  On the 7th trip, the trumpets were blown, the marching army and the encamped women, children, and elderly shouted in unison, and the city walls suddenly collapsed.  Without their massive walls to protect them—and given how psychologically demoralized they must have been–the citizens of Jericho were quickly overcome.

This is such a great example of how God fights for us (2 Chronicles 20:15)—This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours , but God’s.”  We often summarize this passage by saying “the battle belongs to the Lord.”  Back in Joshua 5:14, and prior to the circular marches, Joshua had encountered the pre-incarnate Christ, Who calls Himself, the Commander of the Army of the Lord (Remember, when Jesus comes again, He will slay all the evil people at Armageddon; He will return as the “Commander of the Army of the Lord”).  At this meeting, Jesus told General Joshua God’s strategy and said to Joshua, See I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 

We may not have a similar encounter with Jesus, but it is still true that the battles we believers face belong to the Lord.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12—For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  The forces of evil inhabit this world.  When things look to be inspired by evil, we utilize the main weapons we have—the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) and prayer.  Upset about the economy?  Pray that God would reverse the policies and the governmental overspending that have led to inflation.

Distressed about strife or broken relationships in your family or difficulties at work?  Pray that God will soften hard hearts and bring about peace and reconciliation.  Out of work? Pray that God would supply the right job and help you to have the right attitude as you embark on it. Troubled about your health or your finances?  Pray.  None of these issues is too difficult for God to address and to transform.  On our own, we can’t but He can!

We worship the God who is love.  So “What’s love got to do with it?”  Everything!  Love is the key.  Love is of foremost importance to God–followed closely behind by our faith and our obedience.  We are usually not called to fight; instead, we are called to believe, to trust in the Lord.

If we love God, have faith in Him, and are obedient, we are indeed His children.  He will and does provide for us.  He will and does protect us.  He will and does bless us and shower us with His love!  Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!  Alleluia, Alleluia!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Changed for Good

Pastor Sherry’s message for April 14, 2024

Scriptures: Acts 3:12-19; Ps 4; 1 Jn 3:1-7; Lk 24:36-48

The story is told of Mahatma Ghandi that…”As a young man, [he] studied in London. After learning about Christianity, and after reading the Sermon on the Mount, he decided that Christianity was the most complete religion in the world. It was only later, when he lived with a Christian family in East India, that he changed his mind. In that household he discovered that the word rarely became flesh — that the teaching of Jesus rarely became the reality of Jesus.”

(Susan R. Andrews, “Holy Heartburn,” article in The Christian Century, April 7, l999; p. 385.)

What a shame!  This is the guy who forced Great Britain– through peaceful means–to give India its independence.  He had been baptized.

He had read the Bible, and was particularly inpressed by the “sermon on the mount,” but he rejected Christianity because he did not see people who called themselves Christians living according to the precepts of Jesus.  It was as though these were great ideas, but none could live them out in reality.  Imagine the impact he may have had on India if he had encountered Holy-Spirit-filled Christians like Pastor Terri preached about last Sunday! 

Our faith in Jesus ought to be demonstrated in the way we live our lives, day to day—not just how we behave in Church on Sunday. Let’s see what our Scriptures today tell us about living a life that shows others we have been changed for good: 

A. First we see Peter in Acts 3:12-19.  Peter and John are going to the Temple at 3:00p.m. to pray.  This was the hour of the evening sacrifice when Jesus had died on the Cross.  Remember, the new Christian Church was composed only of Jewish believers at this point, and many continued their Jewish religious observances. 

A crippled panhandler asks them for money, much in the way we see homeless with their signs at the corners of our city streets, or at the on/off ramps of our interstates.  Peter replies, famously, (v.6) Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  What a terrific gift!  Peter and John lift the guy to his feet, and his feet and ankles realign as they are made strong.  The beggar has asked for money, but he receives a healing.  He’s asked for money–provision for a day or two–but Peter and John give him the ability to support himself for the rest of his life.  This is the first recorded miracle of the infant Church.

This incident also prompts Peter’s 2nd sermon.  Once again, he emphasizes the facts that Jesus was real—He lived, died, and truly rose from the dead.  Once again, he asserts the need for repentance for sin and faith in Christ.   Dr. Luke, the physician and author of Acts, tells us 5,000 men (not to mention women and children) at the Temple that day came to faith in Jesus.  (Remember Peter’s sermon on Pentecost resulted in 3,000 conversions).   He’s now preached 8,000 souls into the Kingdom.

Metaphorically speaking, Peter’s hair is on fire!  He knows that Jesus lives and has empowered him to take the Gospel to whoever will hear it.

He is no longer fearful, shaking in his boots!  Peter’s behavior change demonstrates that conviction/faith plus a relationship with Christ (being born again) changed his life for good.

B. Psalm 4 This psalm of David constitutes a prayer for relief.

In it, the King first cries to God for help (perhaps for end of a drought or a victory over an enemy).  In verses 2-3, he inquires of his people why they seek help from fake gods rather than the One True God.  As J. Vernon McGee says, “The refuge of the people of God in the time of trouble is prayer.”  (Through the Bible Commentary on the Psalms, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.42).  We cry out to God with and in our prayers.

King David knows the pressure of life is often very great, so, 

in verses 4-5, he offers his people a correction:  Do not give in to exasperation, anger, or anxiety; instead, put your trust in the Lord.

This is how we live a life centered on God.

Finally, in verses 6-8, David reminds us all that God is good to us and that He offers provision and peace.  Our God is neither asleep at the wheel, nor careless, nor incompetent.  We can place the fate of ourselves and of our loved ones in His hands when we/they are ill or distressed.  We can trust in the power of prayer.  Furthermore, we don’t have to feel totally alone, up against hostile or evil forces, because we are loved and cared for by our God.  A “true believer,” changed for good, lives life with confidence!

In 1st John 3:1-7, the Apostle John urges us to live like we know Jesus.  He is saying that our lives ought to demonstrate the fact that we are, as Paul says, “in Christ.”  Knowing Jesus should make a positive difference in the way we relate to God and to others:  We don’t just talk the talk, spinning the impression that we love Jesus; instead, we actively walk it out.  We try to keep short sin accounts with God, asking for His forgiveness daily.  We cooperate with the Holy Spirit who assists us to behave like Jesus.  We are kind, loving, and forgiving of others.  Our lives truly reflect the difference loving Jesus has made in us.

  John wants us to know that knowing Jesus intimately is going to change us in ways we couldn’t even predict.  If anyone had told me—even 15 years ago—that I would one day pastor a Methodist Church, I would have written them off as delusional.  Think of the behaviors you have changed since coming to know Jesus:  Maybe you’ve stopped cussing; or stopped being so self-centered; perhaps you have curbed being so critical of others; or stopped gossiping or worrying so much.  Have you added some good behaviors, become more generous?  Are you more peace-filled, more compassionate, more forgiving? 

Some time ago, I shared with you what happened to the sailors from the mutiny on the HMS Bounty (which took place on April 28, 1789):  Led by Lt. Fletcher Christian, they mutinied because their Capt., Lt. William Bligh, was so cruel.  But they also rebelled because they had all become attached to Tahitian women (probably topless) when they spent time in Tahiti for repairs.  Apparently they put Bligh and 18 officers in a lifeboat and then sailed the ship back to Tahiti to pick up their girlfriends.  They then located Pitcairn Island—what someone has said is “1,000 miles from nowhere”–put ashore and burned the ship, fearing capture and death (Mutineers were summarily executed in the British Navy in those days).

Most then proceeded to drink themselves to death within 10 years.

The women and their children became afraid of them and avoided them.  The last two men standing, an old guy and a young fellow, then discovered a mildewed Bible at the bottom of a trunk.  They began to read it and doing so changed their lives.  The children were the first to notice a change in them.  Soon they encouraged the women to come see.  The young guy, Alexander Smith, wrote, “I had been working like a mole for years…and suddenly it was as if the doors flew wide open, and I saw the light, and I met God in Jesus Christ, and the burden of my sin rolled away, and I found new life in Christ.”

Eighteen years following the mutiny on the Bounty, a Boston whaler came across Pitcairn Island.  The Captain went ashore, where he found a community of godly people, filled with love and peace.  When he got back to the United States, he reported that he had never before met a people who were so good, gracious, or loving—all due to reading and absorbing the Bible…these folks had been changed for good because they believed in Jesus Christ and followed His precepts for living.

D. Rather than chastise the Apostles for having abandoned Him during His trials and His crucifixion, in this Post-Resurrection Gospel passage, Luke 24:36-48, Jesus greets them with good will.  He offers to dine with them (demonstrating He was not a ghost, as spirits do not eat).  He then opens up for them the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.  What a fabulous Bible Study that must have been!  Messiah Himself teaches them how the Old Testament predicted and described Him, as well as how He fulfilled every “jot and tittle.”  

What grace!  What mercy!  With the possible exception of John (who stood with the women at the foot of the Cross), they had all let Him down.  

He doesn’t retaliate or abandon them.  Instead, He reinstates, reassures, equips, and encourages them.  Additionally, He also goes on to entrust them with a great mission:  take what He has taught them into the world….He overlooks (or simply accepts) their human frailties.   And realizing their potential, He gives them a new purpose for living. 

This is the God we serve; this is the Jesus we believe in.

As Pastor Terri said last week, if we are born again, we have Holy Spirit power.  If we are born again, we will live lives that conform to that of Jesus.

Let us pray:  Lord, help us to live in ways that prove to a new believer—perhaps someone like Mahatma Ghandi—or even to an unbeliever, that loving Jesus really can change us all for the good.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

The Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Sherry’s Message for January 14, 2024

Scriptures: Gen 1:1-5; Ps 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mk1:1-11

The story is told that Dwight L. Moody—the great American evangelist who lived in the later part of the 1800’s—while witnessing to a large group of folks, asked how he might get the air out of a simple drinking glass. One listener shouted out that he should pump all the air out. Moody listened attentively, but replied that pumping the air out would create a vacuum, which would result in shattering the glass. He patiently heard some other suggestions, then took a nearby pitcher of water and calmly filled the glass. “’There,’ he said, ‘all the air is now removed.’ He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

(Illustration borrowed from Today in the Word, September, 1991, p. 30.)

Our Scriptures today each provide examples of the power of the Holy Spirit, perhaps as a way of encouraging each of us to be filled with the Spirit:

A. The Genesis account cited this morning (1:1-5) places the Holy Spirit at the beginning of creation. We are told that the Spirit hovered over the face of the water. Let’s read Peterson’s modern paraphrase of these 1st two verses (The Message, p.20) First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

Then God (the Apostle John tells us this was Jesus) spoke the first element of creation into existence. What came first? Light. He formed light and separated it from darkness. The Holy Spirit empowered the formation of day and night. The Holy Spirit is God’s power source. A former pastor of mine used to explain the Spirit as the electricity that flows behind our walls. We plug into it, and become empowered. But then we sin and pull our plug out and lose our power. The analogy is helpful but somewhat simplistic as the Holy Spirit is not just confined to our walls. Nevertheless, the metaphor poses the question: Are you cooperating with the creative, transformative power of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you staying plugged in?

B. Our psalm (29) compares the powerful voice of the Lord to a storm in nature. We’ve had a few of these this week, haven’t we? We could hear the wind, a very strong wind (65-75 mph; some reported gusts to 105).

We could see our long, leggy, Florida pine trees bending over from the wind’s force. We saw the sky darken, as rain clouds rushed in. The rain commenced and quickly turned into a torrent. If you were in it, you wanted out of it; if you were in your house, you expected the lights to flicker or go out. Some of us did experience temporary power outages.

King David wrote Psalm 29 and it is clear that he is familiar with the voice of the Lord in all its manifestations: (1) Like in Genesis 1, (v.3)—the voice of the Lord is over the waters. (2) (V.4)—the voice of the Lord is powerful. (3) (V.5)—The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. (4)

(V.7)—The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. (5) (V.8)—The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. (6) (V.9)—The voice of the Lord twists the oak and strips the forests bare. David wants us to be aware of God’s mighty power, which He tends to use to (v.11)—…give strength to His people. His Holy Spirit power could function as a massive destructive force. But instead, He intends the Holy Spirit (1) to lead us to the Truth; (2) to heal us; (3) to help us understand Scripture; (4) to be our companion and friend; and (5) to remind us of the teachings of Jesus.

C. On his 3rd missionary journey, Paul traveled to Ephesus from Corinth. He stayed for 2 years, teaching folks at the Greek School of Tyrannus about Jesus. When he realized that 12 disciples (who had come to Christ through the teaching of Apollos) had been baptized by water, but lacked the Holy Spirit, he saw to it that they were also baptized with the Holy Spirit. The baptism of John the Baptist, which was the only one Apollos knew of at the time, is a baptism of repentance for sins, and places us under the leadership of Jesus. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what changes our behavior, our attitudes, and even the words that come out of our mouths. Paul wanted the Ephesian disciples to have the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, but can you discern a difference in yourself as a result of His presence? Do others see evidence of the Spirit’s transforming power in your life?

D. Finally, in our Gospel lesson, the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:1-11), we see that the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus as He submitted to John’s water baptism. Jesus was without sin—He did not need a baptism of repentance, but He underwent the ritual in order to identify with our humanity. When He did, the heavens opened and…the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, empowering Him for His public ministry. He also heard His heavenly Father bless and affirm Him, saying (v.11)—You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.

Even Jesus, the 2nd member of the Trinity, needed the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Him—energizing Him to teach and preach, and empowering Him to do miracles.

Before leaving Florida to attend seminary, I asked some Christian friends to pray with me for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We went out to the beach at night and prayed in a pergola perched in the sand. It took a while, but I felt a strong wind come up and blow in my face. It didn’t exactly howl, but it did moan. If you have ever walked the beach during a “nor-easter,” you know the wind comes at you so strongly that you can hardly take a breath. That’s what it was like for me. Afterward, I asked the others if they heard the moaning wind and if they had had trouble catching a breath. They told me they had neither heard nor felt what I did. God had directed that wind of the Spirit just to affect me. In a similar way, when the Bishop laid hands on me to ordain me much later, I felt a huge weight descend on my head. I wondered if the Bishop was trying to push me through the floor. Later I realized the Hebrew word for God’s holiness is kavod, which also means the weightiness of God. The Lord conferred on me both His Holy Spirit power and His sign that He had set me apart for ministry. Praise God!

Todays’ readings compel us to ask, “Are you cooperating with the creative, transformative power of the Holy Spirit in your life?” Our Lord wants to make us more and more like Jesus—and He has the power to pull it off! Are we assisting this process in ourselves, or are we hindering it? He will not force Himself upon us. We have to agree to baptized with the Spirit. Are we willing to take charge of what comes out of our mouths, instead of just allowing ugliness to slip out? Are we willing to restrict our own behavior, doing what will bless but not harm other people? Do we believe that God is with us in the storm, and that He will see us through it? Do we listen for and hear the voice of the Lord in our lives?

Today, let’s pray for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit on each of us, as we continue to move in 2024: Father God, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—our true Lord Jesus Christ—that you would send your Holy Spirit to anoint each of us with Holy Spirit power. Power to do the ministries You have set out for us. Power to cooperate with the Spirit and be molded and shaped into better people. Transformative power to become more and more like your son, Jesus. We pray this in Jesus’ precious and most powerful name. Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

God’s Perfect Gift

Pastor Sherry’s message for Christmas Eve, 2023

Scriptures: Isa 52:7-10; Ps 98; Heb 1:1-4; John 1:1-14

A pastor wrote, ”Yes, God is our loving and gracious Heavenly Father—but He eternally dwells in unapproachable [ineluctable, unavoidable, inescapable, certain] light. That means that God transcends us and is totally beyond us. In Theology proper a Latin term is used to capture this reality; God is defined as Deus absconditus, which translates as ‘the hidden God’. If God had not initiated revealing Himself to sinful and fallen mankind in the Garden of Eden and onward through the Old Testament; if God had not chosen to come out of His holy habitation—mankind would have hopelessly lived and died without knowledge of Him. Christmas is the time we celebrate God coming to be with us; no longer sending others, like prophets, priests, kings, and angels to give us His Word. Christmas is God Himself no longer sending–but coming.

“We should reflect upon how fortunate we are that God has mercifully and graciously come to us in our dreadfully lost condition. The writer of Hebrews described our distance from God quite simply as, “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). The imagery of God as [a] blazing and consuming fire aptly expresses God’s holy distance. Because of His holiness, God is eternally inaccessible to man. Our God always lives in an atmosphere of absolute purity, far too holy for mortals to ever enter. Note that Hebrews says that ‘our God is [not was!] a consuming fire.’ ”

“But to solve the problem of the God who is unapproachable, God Himself came to be with us—as one of us, to die for the whole world of lost sinners.”

(Dr. John Barnett, sermon entitled, “The Six Names Of Christmas – Immanuel – God With Us,” www.sermoncentral.com, Jul 10, 2018.)

The Scriptures appointed for today share with us God’s motivation for sending Jesus to earth as a tiny baby, as well as what our response to Him should be:

A. Again, the writer to the Hebrews puts it this way in our New Testament reading (Hebrews 1:1-4): In the past, God reached out to us through the prophets (v.1). But, more recently, He …has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The writer to the Hebrews wants us to realize that God reached out to us first. He initiated a relationship with us, not the other way around. First, He sent many prophets (Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc.) to let us know who He is and what He wants of us. When all those efforts fell short—because human beings were lukewarm, or even outright rebellious, in their response–He sent us His One and Only Son.

But Jesus is not just a messenger of God! The Son (v.3)is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. I love the way Peterson expresses it (The Message, p.2181)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! In other words, Jesus is higher than prophets or even angels. He is perfectly human, but also perfectly God. As God encased in baby flesh, He—the Holy One—can interact with sinful us.

B. The apostle John (1:1-14) begins His Gospel essentially asserting what the Writer to the Hebrews later wrotethat God intends to reveal Himself, His glory, through Jesus! Where Luke and Matthew begin with Jesus’ birth stories, and Mark, with Jesus’ entre into ministry, John takes us back to creation, before time and space began. Jesus was present at Creation. John wants to make sure we understand that Jesus, (v.1)the Word, was with God, distinct from the Father; and also that the Word was Godpart of the same deity. They share an identity of being; like the Father, Jesus is fully divine. The Apostle writes in verse 2 that the Father and the Son were in relationship with each other. Additionally, Jesus, the WORD, was the agent of Creation (v.3). God the Father planned it; but all things came into being through the words Jesus spoke. The WORD is life”the Life force.” Life comes to us not just through Him; in fact, His life is our light. Physically, we cannot live without light. Spiritually, His life enlightens (brings light into) ours. In John 8:12 Jesus saysI am the light of the world. As if to reinforce this notion, the 3rd verse of “Silent Night” statesSon of God, Love’s pure light, radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord at Thy birth….

Jesus came to dispel the darkness of unbelief, sin, death, oppression, and bondage. Even though He made us, some of us will–and have– refused to believe in Him. In our rebellion, some of us (what John calls the world) will reject Him and the freedom He offers. But to those of us who have received Him (v.10)–we who have accepted His gift of Himself–He has given another gift: the right to become children of God! We are not biological heirs, not heirs through any human effort; instead, we are spiritual children of God, through Christ’s blood and the Father’s will.

In verse 14, John famously assertsThe WORD became flesh and made His dwelling among us! This is a break with all non-Christian thought: The agent of creation becomes a creature. Peterson describes it this way (The Message, p.1916)

The WORD became flesh and blood

And moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes,

The one-of-a-kind glory,

Like Father, like Son,

Generous inside and out,

True from start to finish.

Jesus came to demonstrate to us, in the flesh and through His behavior, the Father’s nature. He is God revealing God: (1) Behaviorally, (2) Relationally,

(3) Intellectually, and (4) Spiritually. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Healer, our Good Shepherd, our King. Our response to Him must go beyond intellectual agreement! We need to be in a personal relationship with Him.

We need to accept God’s Perfect Gift.

C. Our Psalm (98) anticipates Jesus’ 1st Coming and urges us to celebrate Him with great joy.

D. Our Isaiah (52:7-10) lesson anticipates Jesus’ 2nd Coming with the same excitement and joy.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote (1:17)Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. This Christmas, let us remember that God the Father has given us the Perfect Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. Even if there are no gifts for you under your Christmas tree, God has generously sent Jesus into your life. Because of this, we are truly blessed!

Because of God’s perfect gift of Jesus, we can state the following with confidence (please repeat after me) (Borrrowed from Joel Osteen’s The Power of I Am, Faith Works, 2015):

1. “I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am wearing a robe of righteousness. I am clothed in Christ” (p.42).

2. “God promised me beauty for ashes, joy for mourning. I’m not staying here. I’m moving forward. New beginnings are in my future. The rest of my life will be the best of my life” (p.41).

3. “I have grace for this season. I am strong in the Lord. Those who are for me are greater than those who are against me” (p.41).

4. “I am getting stronger, healthier, wiser. My youth is being renewed like the eagles” (p.38).

5. “I am free. Addictions do not control me” (p.39).

6. “I am blessed. I am prosperous. I have the favor of God” (p.38).

7. Sickness, addiction, poverty, you are temporary. I am a child of the Most High God. I am overcoming you,” by the blood of the Lamb of God (p.44).

Jesus is the gift that just keeps giving! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Alleluia, alleluia!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Saying “Yes” but Living “No”

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 1, 2023

Scriptures: Ex 17:1-7; Ps 78:1-4, 12-20; Phil 2:1-13; Matt 21:23-32

Isn’t it true that we see lots of examples today of folks who have said “Yes” to something or someone, then proceeded to live like they’d said “No”? Some current day examples include the following:

1. A college football player who signs on for a scholarship—including room, board, books, tuition, fitness training, tutoring, and other benefits—then refuses to go to class, to comply with his training regimen, to attend team meetings, or respect his coach.

2. Federal judges who take a vow to uphold the constitution, then bring in verdicts based on their political loyalties.

3. A husband or wife who promises to be faithful to their spouse in their marriage ceremony, then has affairs with others, often including other peoples’ spouses.

4. A money manager/investment specialist who promises to care for your retirement assets, then either invests them unwisely so that they are lost, or steals them to support their own greed.

5. Teachers who train to ethically convey a body of knowledge to our kids, who then try to indoctrinate them into their gender politics or political beliefs.

6. A “Border Czar” who says our Southern Border is secure while letting in millions of illegal immigrants.

7. Doctors who withhold critical information prior to surgery—like “You’ll be on meds the rest of your life,” or “This artificial joint will need to be replaced in 10-20 years”–or who perform surgeries/prescribe treatments that harm rather than heal (e.g., gender reassignment surgery in children).

You can no doubt think of other examples.

Nevertheless, this kind of behavior is abhorrent to our God. He really hates lying, fraud, cheating, willfully misrepresenting, and so many disreputable behaviors we see all too often today. He has shown us in Scripture how He wants us to behave.

Our Scripture passages today each point out in some way the very different standards by which our God urges us to act:

A. Jesus addresses, in today’s Gospel (Matthew 21:23-32), a specific kind of integrity that He and our Heavenly Father want us to practice: Neither is kindly disposed toward those who say “Yes” to God but then live like they have said “No.” He takes the chief priests and the elders—the religious establishment—to school in this passage. He knows that they have become more and more threatened by His popularity, His healings and His miracles, and the content of His teaching. They jump on this opportunity to confront Him publically regarding the source of His authority. They are saying essentially, “What gives you the right to challenge our teachings and the way we tell folks how they should live?”

We might restate what they are saying as “Who died and put You in charge?” Or, “Who do You think You are?”

He wisely side-steps their challenge (He doesn’t dance their dance-steps or play their game). If He had said He is God or that His authority comes from God, they would have charged Him with blasphemy. As in tennis, then, He sends the ball back into their court saying, ”I’ll answer you if you answer a question for me.” Verse 25John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men? If they agreed John the Baptist’s authority came from God, then they would have had to have admitted they were disobedient to God because they dismissed the prophet (Jesus said John was the greatest of all the prophets) as a wild-eyed religious nut and discredited his ministry. But they were afraid to put down John the Baptist in front of the Jewish crowd because he had been very popular with the people. Jesus thus puts them on the proverbial horns of a dilemma; His question positioned them between a rock and a hard place. Realizing this, they refused to answer Him and so He traps them and essentially says, “back at you, Friends!”

The real lesson from Jesus is contained in the parable He goes on to relate. One son says “No” then lives out “Yes,” while the other says “Yes” but lives out “No.” In verse 31, Jesus asks His religious adversaries the indicting question🡪Which of the two did what His father wanted?

They correctly answered that it was the one who said “no” first, then behaved obediently/walked out “yes.” He then points out to them that they have missed the proverbial boat. They have said “yes” they would serve God, but their behavior consistently demonstrates that they do not listen to or obey Him. They have followed their own wills, not the will of the Father. They have become religious judges and critics rather than servants of God who demonstrate the Lord’s love and grace. Their pride and their hardened hearts have led them to say “No” to God. But tax collectors and prostitutes—folks they despise (those who may have originally blown God off, only to accept Him when they realized they couldn’t manage life without Him)–are way ahead of them in their faith journeys. The chief priests and the elders have their credentials; but their lives lack faith in and understanding of the God they claim they serve.

B. Paul, in today’s epistle (Philippians 2:1-13), directs us specifically to live out a lifestyle of humility, caring for others as well as self, and having “the mind of Christ;” i.e., to say “Yes” and then live “Yes.” We say “Yes” to God and live out our “Yes” by having what Paul calls the mind of Christ. This is not just an imitation of Jesus. Instead it is a real life change, a real heart change, a consistent behavior change accomplished in us by the Holy Spirit.

Eugene Peterson paraphrases verses 1-2 in The Message (p.2138) this way: If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think back to our recent experience with Hurricane Idalia. One unexpected result of the loss of electricity was that traffic lights did not work. Without the lights, we should have treated each intersection as a 4-way stop, all drivers taking turns so that each could proceed through safely. Instead, many only thought of themselves and barreled on through. Until the lights were restored through generator power, we took our lives in our hands whenever we approached an intersection. Many people today are unwilling to consider…helping others get ahead. All too often they are …obsessed the getting [their] own advantage. Having the mind of Christ also means being as humble and as obedient as Jesus was and is. It means saying “Yes” to God and living out that “yes.”

C. Our OT lesson (Exodus 17:1-7) provides yet another example of how believers can and do say “Yes” but live out “No.”

How patient God is! How frustrated Moses became! Prior to today’s passage, God has rescued the people from Egypt, opened the Red Sea, wiped out the pursuing Egyptian army, fed them manna and quail, and provided them with water, several times over. Yet they still complain and whine and quarrel. They accuse God of bringing them into the desert to die. They remember their recent history as slaves with fondness—What? It defies logic! But isn’t it just like us? We forget what God has done for us in the face of our most recent pressing need. They should have prayed and trusted that God—who has provided for them many times over—would continue to do so. Instead they fail God’s test of them (Massah or testing) and quarrel (Meribah or quarreling) and the geographic place is named accordingly to memorialize this rebellion.

The same principle remains true for you and me. We need to trust in our God. We need to say “Yes” to Him, and live out our “Yes” to Him because He has proven Himself and His good intentions for us over and over.

D. This is the prevailing message of our psalm today (Psalm 78:1-4, 12-20). Credited to Asaph, it records the historical record of how God’s people, from Abraham to Moses, repeatedly demonstrated “practical atheism.” Dr. J. Vernon McGee says we demonstrate practical atheism when we say we believe in God, and we believe God’s promises, but then act as though we cannot trust Him. The psalm reports the marvelous things God did for His people, as well as how quickly they forgot their past experiences with Him when faced with a new dilemma. They were believers who said “Yes,” but—when encountering a tough patch—acted out “No.”

Let’s agree today not to do this to God. We don’t want to be “practical atheists.” We don’t want to be hypocrites, saying we believe, then living like we don’t. We want to live like we believe God is who He says He is and that He does what He promises He will do. We also want to cooperate with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to have the mind of Christ. Let’s put our new intentions to work immediately by praying that the Holy Spirit would give us each the mind of Christ. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Alleluia, Alleluia!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Render to God

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 22, 2023

Scriptures: Ex 33:12-23; Ps 99; 1 Thess 1:1-10, Matt 22:15-22

Today’s Gospel (Matt 22:15-22) recounts another confrontation between Jesus and Jewish leaders. The story is told that a…young woman…”was soaking up the sun’s rays on a Florida beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came up to her and asked her, “Do you believe in God?” She was surprised by the question but she replied, “Why, yes, I do.” Then he asked her: “Do you go to church every Sunday?” Again, her answer was “Yes!” He then asked: “Do you read your Bible and pray every day?” Again she said, “Yes!” By now her curiosity was very much aroused. The little boy sighed with relief and said, “Will you hold my [dollar] while I go in swimming?” (As relayed by http://www.Sermons.com, 10/22/2023.)

This child was wisely trying to discover if the young woman was trust-worthy and honest enough for him to entrust her with his cash. But in our Gospel lesson today, the Pharisees and Herodians (a political party loyal to King Herod) were neither wise nor honest. They were unwilling to put their trust in Jesus. They really weren’t even all that interested in his input on an issue of doctrine. They were, in fact, hoping to trip Him up and make Him look bad enough to arrest.

If He supported paying a hated tax—and it was hated—they figured He could not have been their Messiah. Additionally, the coin used to pay the tax, a dinar, had Caesar’s image on it. Jews weren’t allowed to put the likeness of a human face on their coins—so this was already an offense to them. Even worse, the inscription on the coin declared that Caesar was the “Son of God” and “High Priest.” They firmly believed their Messiah would never condone such coinage. However, if He told them not to pay the tax, they could turn Him over to Rome as an instigator of rebellion. To defy Rome in those days usually led to painful death.

But Jesus is absolutely brilliant in His answer, isn’t He? He points out that the coin has Caesar’s image on it. Then without committing Himself to either choice they provided, He simply tells them to render (give or deliver) to Caesar what belongs to him and to God, what belongs to Him. Now the Romans had provided a unified coinage, good roads, and law and order throughout the empire. In other words, Jesus is saying that citizens should be expected to pay Caesar for such perks.

But, what has God provided them/us? How about life, for starters? A beautiful world in which to live? Skills and talents with which to make our way in this world? Family, friends, a nation to provide us with a sense of identity, and a sense of belonging in community? And let us not forget, Someone much bigger and more powerful than us to both give us standards to live by, and provide Himself as a divine entity to Whom we may direct our love and worship? Jesus raises the issue of what we should render to God, but He doesn’t specify His answer in this Gospel lesson, does He?

I think a case can be made that our other passages today provide some answers:

A. In our Old Testament lesson, Exodus 33:12-23, Moses expresses to God his wish to know Him (to see Him). We know Moses met with Him on the mountain top to receive the 10 Commandments, additional laws, and the design for the Tabernacle (Chapters 20-31). Did he see God up there? Not exactly. John 1:18 tells us that no one has ever seen God. So Who did Moses see whenever he visited the tabernacle to meet with the Lord? In John 14:9, Jesus says, Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. Jesus is the full revelation of the Father in human form. So, Moses was meeting with the Pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus (in the Old Testament, He is often called “the Angel of the Lord”—not “an angel” but “the Angel”).

One verse before our lesson today reports The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Moses spoke with Jesus but did not see the face of the Father. In this passage, however, Moses expresses a desire to see the Father, face-to-face. He wants to know the Father more intimately. This is what Paul means when he says in Philippians 3:10—>I want to know Christ…. This is what Philip was referring to when he asked Jesus in John 14:8, Lord, show us the Father…. Rev. Dr. J. Vernon McGee writes (Commentary on Exodus, chapters 19-40, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.120)—>”I believe every sincere child of God has a desire to know God.”

Now consider the Father’s response to Moses (v.20)—>You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live. He is going to pass before Moses, but He will shield the man from viewing His face.

Instead, Moses will see God “in his rearview mirror.” In other words, Moses has asked to become very intimate with God and the Lord has allowed it.

What does this mean to us? It means that if we pursue friendship with God as Moses did, our God will allow us this kind of intimacy with Himself.

We can render to God a desire to know Him intimately, to walk with Him daily, and to talk with Him often.

B. Psalm 99 celebrates God’s kingly might and His holiness. It calls upon all believers to praise the Lord. We are to praise Him because

1.) He reigns and is exalted over all the earth;

2.) He is holy and reigns justly. He does what is right, always.

(Wouldn’t we love to see this in our elected officials at all levels?)

3.) He answers prayers.

4.) He is present to His people of old and to us now.

5.) He forgives our sins, yet punishes us when we deserve it.

Verse 6 admonishes us to Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. The psalm reminds us to render to our God worship and praise.

C. Paul commends the infant church in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10), for living out the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. They had turned from idolatry to faith in Christ Jesus. This was their work produced by faith (v.3). They experienced considerable persecution for their faith, but persevered regardless. Second, they labored for the faith because of their love for Jesus (and Paul). Love compelled their obedience to God (and to Paul’s teachings about Jesus). Love for God is expressed by us in our obedience to Him. Third, despite persecution by nonbelievers, their endurance [was] inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (v.3). Their hope was in Jesus’ 2nd Coming—so is ours! Their hope did not reside in human heroes, political movements, presidential candidates, or the alignment of the stars, etc. It rested firmly on Jesus.

Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer once stated, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” The British poet, Alexander Pope, wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” Our own statesman and past president, Thomas Jefferson, said, “I steer my bark [small boat] with hope in the head [God], leaving fear astern [behind].” Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish philosopher (1795-1881), asserted, “Man is, properly speaking, based upon hope, he has no other possession but hope, this world of his is emphatically the place of hope.”

So, like the infant church in Thessalonica, we can render to God…our faith in Him; our love expressed in obedience to Him and in loving gestures to others; and in our continued hope—despite the current world situation–in Jesus’ 2nd coming, when He will make all things right.

So what shall we render (give or deliever) to God? Render to God our desire for intimacy with Him. Today, if you use the term intimacy, many people would assume this is meant in a sexual sense which would be abhorrent to God. Instead, I am referring to intimacy in the emotional and spiritual sense–coming to know God as well as you do your spouse, your children, or your best friend. Render to God sincere worship and praise for His power, righteousness, mercy, grace, and love. Render to God faith, love, and hope. Amen! May it be so!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Both/And

Pastor Sherry’s message for October 29, 2023

Scriptures: Deut 334:1-12; Ps 90:1-6, 12-17; 1 Thess 2:1-8; Matt 22:34-46

The story is told that…

“Isidor Isaac Rabi, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, and one of the developers of the atomic bomb, was once asked how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn’t so much interested in what he had learned that day, but how he conducted himself in his studies. She always inquired, ‘Did you ask a good question today?’

“‘Asking good questions,’ Rabi said, ‘made me become a scientist.’

“In order to ask a good question I think you need to have noble motives behind the question. You have to want to know the truth. The Pharisees, by contrast, already had the answers to their questions. They felt they already knew the truth. How many times have we had it in for someone, asking a question designed to trap them? We do it to our loved ones all the time. In a moment like this we are not trying to learn; we are trying to injure.

“The Pharisees come to Jesus once again with a question designed to do damage to the reputation of Jesus. And once again Jesus proves he is equal to the task. Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? Now, even though this question was used to test Jesus, it is nonetheless an important question. Perhaps in the life of Israel at that time [and in our lifetime today] it was THE most important question.

(Excerpt from a sermon titled “The Two Most Important Questions a Christian Can Answer” as posted on www.sermons.com, 10/29/2023.)

Jesus’ answer to their question came from the Old Testament:

Believing Jews knew the first part, love God above all things, came from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. It was part of the Shema, which believing Jews recite daily Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength [might; mind]. The second, love others as you do yourself, comes from Leviticus 19:18—>Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Jesus combined these two and pointed out (v.40) that—> All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. The Pharisees and their buddies, the lawyers who specialized in interpreting the Law, counted 613 laws handed down by Moses. Jesus summarized them all into these two, both/and. They are also represented in the shape of the Cross. The vertical is our love for God; the horizontal, our love for others. Furthermore, Jesus strongly asserts that all the Law is based on God’s love for them, as was every action and teaching of each Old Testament prophet. WOW!

Knowing they had set out to stump and to discredit Him, Jesus then turns the tables on them, asking them a riddle: (v.42)—>What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? They correctly answer that the Messiah comes from the lineage of King David. Now, He’s got them! “How can Messiah be both David’s son and David’s master?” He’s doing a twist on “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Remember, a crowd was watching and listening to this debate. Many were no doubt delighted to hear Jesus turn the tables, saying in essence,”two can play this game.”

Jesus, God’s Word made flesh, clearly knows His Scripture. He refers them to Psalm 110:1, which He recites from memory—>The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Perhaps the Pharisees and lawyers did not know that Jesus was, through His mother Mary, a descendant of King David, making Him, in effect, David’s-many-generations-later son. Perhaps they did not believe His Father was God, through the Holy Spirit, making Him the Son of God and King David’s Master. He was and is both fully human and also fully divine.

Notice, this ends the public debate. The lawyers and Pharisees have no answer for Him. As the English Anglican Bishop, NT Wright says, “The answer the opponents couldn’t question was followed by the question they couldn’t answer.” (N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone: Part Two, Westminister John Knox Press, 2002, p.93.) If nothing else, this should have proven that Jesus knew and understood Scripture better than they did!

How humiliating for them! At this point, they stop trying to trip Him up in public. Now they will plot a clandestine attack, at night, in the Garden.

But let’s return to the biggest point His enemies missed: The answer to Jesus’ question of them was standing right before them, both David’s son and David’s master! Moreover, He will soon demonstrate the two greatest commandments, through His arrest, crucifixion, and death. He both loved His Heavenly Father enough to give up His life in order to do God’s will. And He loved us enough to take upon Himself the penalty for all of our sins, for all time, past, present, and future. This is extravagant love, poured out on both the vertical and the horizontal plains of the Cross. Again, as N.T. Wright writes, Jesus reveals that He is both King David’s descendant, “the true king of Israel,” and King David’s Lord and Master (Ibid, p.94).

We know the Jews were expecting a militaristic Messiah, a king who, like King David, would defeat all their earthly enemies. The book of Revelation promises us that when Jesus comes a second time, He will indeed arrive as such a conquering monarch. He will eradicate the enemies of God. He will once and for all eliminate sin and death. But in His first coming, He lived out humility and human servanthood. A military Messiah would be unlikely to inspire us to love God or to love others, especially those we dislike. Instead, God the Father knew we needed a humble, righteous, grace-filled and loving Messiah to both teach and to model for us what it looks like to love God and to love others as ourselves.

A unique and modern way of looking at it is that our suffering servant Messiah took on Satan in unarmed combat on the Cross and won! This is a king worth worshipping!

G. K. Chesterton, the famous British author and satirist, said 100 years ago—>“Jesus…tells us to love our neighbors. Elsewhere the Bible tells us Jesus said we should love our enemies. This is because, generally speaking, they are the same people” (repeated from an old sermon of mine in which, unfortunately, I did not cite the source— Sorry! But I do believe the quote is accurate.) The truth is that it is easier to love God than to love our neighbors—especially the irritating ones, or worse yet, the dangerous, sadistic, cruel, and immoral ones. We can do it, but we must be intentional about it. We begin by praying for them, again and again. We continually offer grace to them, just as Jesus has to us. We do not allow them to harm us—we can protect ourselves—but we try to act in a Christ-like manner toward them. As I have related to you before, my step-father (now deceased) was physically and verbally abusive to me during my childhood. I feared him as a child and this fear stayed with me long into my adulthood. I would not visit him and my mother without my own transportation—if things got dangerous, I wanted to have a means of escape. I had forgiven him but I did not trust him for years after I had left to be on my own. We can forgive but also protect ourselves from being re-victimized.

Our Gospel lesson today illustrates for us that Jesus was/is certainly a brilliant debater! He knows His stuff! He even knows His enemies’ motives, and beats them at their own game. He also walked His talk. Unlike His religious opponents, He was not a hypocrite. He meant what He said and said what He meant. I taught my first group of high school seniors in 1970. My wonderful principal—who mentored me as a new teacher—told me to always say what I meant and mean what I said. Especially around classroom discipline, she advised me to never threaten a disciplinary action I was unwilling to carry out. She also warned me that there would always be at least one student who would challenge whether or not I meant it by breaking the rule. She was right, just as Jesus was right.

Jesus truly knew what it meant both to love God above all things—including His own life–and to love us. May we all, by the power of the Holy Spirit, come to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. And may we also learn to love our neighbors at least as well as we love ourselves.

Amen! May it be so!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman · 2 Comments

Family Reunion

Pastor Sherry’s message for August 20, 2023

Scriptures: Gen 45:1-7, 25-28; Ps 133; Ro 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matt 14:10-28

Amy Peterson writes, “…I started reading The Kindness of God by Catholic theologian and philosopher Janet Soskice. In her examination of the etymology of the word kindness, Soskice helped me see it for the first time as a strong virtue rather than a weak one. “In Middle English,” she writes, “the words ‘kind’ and ‘kin’ were the same—to say that Christ is ‘our kinde Lord’ is not to say that Christ is tender and gentle, although that may be implied, but to say that he is kin—our kind. This fact, and not emotional disposition, is the rock which is our salvation.” I paused after reading this sentence to try to take it in, to try to peel the sentimental layers off my definition of kindness and replace them with this fact: to be kind meant to be kin. The word unfolded in my mind. God’s kindness meant precisely that God became my kin—Jesus, my brother—and this, Soskice said, was a foundational truth about who I was. Not only that, but for speakers of Middle English, Lord had a particular meaning—a lord was someone from the nobility, the upper social classes. To say “our kinde Lord” was to say the difference in social or economic status between peasants and nobility was also erased through Jesus the “Lord” being of the same “kinde” as all, landowners and peasants alike. Jesus erased divisions that privileged some people over others.”

(Amy Peterson, Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy, Thomas Nelson, 2020.)

The theme of our Scripture readings today is “Divine Kinship” or “Family Reunion.”

A. It begins with our Genesis reading (45:1-7, 25-28). After having lived in Egypt for about 22 years, Joseph has recognized his brothers and now reveals himself to them. Why would they not have recognized him?

By this time, he did not look Hebrew. They were bearded but he was clean shaven. Additionally, he was wearing an Egyptian wig (Egyptians shaved their heads, due to problems with lice, and were noted for wearing elaborate wigs). There was also his Egyptian style of dress and perhaps an arm bracelet and a jeweled collar signifying being a high Egyptian official. The last time they had seen him, he had been a gangly boy of 17; now he’s 39 years old and no doubt looked very different from the way he had in their last encounter. They also would have heard him speaking Egyptian/Arabic, but talking with them through an interpreter (even though he understood Hebrew). Finally, they were not expecting to see him again since slavery was usually implied a death sentence.

Unbeknownst to them, he has put them through two tests to see if they have changed in the intervening twenty two years. First, he has them leave Simeon behind and promise to bring back Benjamin, his full brother. He is checking to see how honest they are now. They had betrayed him. They had no doubt lied to their father. Will they sacrifice another brother to get what they want? Second, they return and bring back Benjamin, but Joseph has his favorite cup put into Benjamin’s bag of grain, and has his servants accuse their father’s new favorite of theft. Joseph wants to know if they have come to grips with what jealousy cost them in the past. Are they more loyal to Benjamin than they had been to Joseph? Have they developed more compassion for their aging and grieved father?

Apparently so because Judah, their leader, steps up and offers himself (and even his children) in place of Benjamin. Judah recognizes this dilemma is God’s punishment for what they had done to Joseph. He and the others cannot bear to imagine Jacob’s grief over losing Rachel’s only other son, Benjamin.

So, satisfied that his ten half-brothers have truly undergone a moral transformation, he reveals himself to them as their long, lost brother, Joseph. At first, they can’t believe it is him. Then they fear his retribution. But in a truly Christ-like way, he reassures them, [Peterson’s The Message, p.93] am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting [will take place]. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. God uses Joseph to save his father, Jacob/Israel, his brothers, and his whole extended family (a total of 90 people). But Joseph’s wisdom also saves thousands, perhaps millions of Egyptians as well as untold, unnumbered, other Gentiles. What a fabulous and far-reaching family reunion!

B. In Psalm 133, King David continues the theme of family reunion. Verse 1 celebrates —How good and pleasant it is when brothers [and sisters] live together in unity! There is no back-biting, no sarcasm, no jealousy; no murderous rage, no hidden agendas. Instead, such family members experience love, support, and acceptance.

He goes on to mention two metaphors for how rich a blessing this could be: (1) a generous supply of anointing oil, representing empowerment of the Holy Spirit; and (2) abundant dew, highly desired and valued in an arid climate. As troubled and complex as were the kinship relationships in King David’s family, this psalm sets out his longing for this kind of God-inspired love, cooperation, and blessing among brothers and sisters.

C. In Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, Paul continues his case for the Jewish people. True, most at that time, rejected Jesus as their Messiah. But Paul is adamant (v.1) that God has not rejected them, His Chosen People. They have rejected Him but He has not washed His hands of them. Instead, the Lord has a plan for bringing them to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Back in verses 25-26, he wrote —the harvest of the Jews will come after…the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved…. Just as God has been merciful to us, He too will have mercy on the Jews. Many students of the book of Revelation believe the main purpose of the Great Tribulation (assuming the Church has already been raptured) is to turn a massive number of Jews into Jesus-followers. What a grand family reunion that will be!

D. Finally, in our Gospel lesson (Matthew 15, also Mark 7), Jesus delivers a new doctrine and graciously responds to a Gentile woman.

The new teaching is on moral uncleanliness. Yes, it’s a good health practice to wash your hands before eating—but hand-washing has only to do with the physical. Instead, it’s what comes out of one’s mouth that demonstrates one’s spiritual condition. Our moral or spiritual cleanliness—our heart attitudes–are revealed by what we say. This is why we want to work hard to eliminate cussing and gossip and lying and slander from our daily speech. He calls the rule-bound religious leaders of the Jews blind guides, and appears—by this point–to have given up on appealing to them further.

In fact, He leaves the country for the first time, venturing North into Tyre and Sidon (cities in Phoenicia). No doubt He wants a time-out from his Jewish adversaries. But almost immediately, He encounters a persistent Syro-Phoenician, Canaanite, or Gentile woman. Remember, He says (v.24) was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (not Gentiles).

She calls Him (v.22) —Lord, Son of David. She knows He is a descendant of King David. But she is an outsider, not a member of the family. She is an ethnic outsider; she is a religious outsider; and her gender, in those days, made her an outsider as Jewish rabbis would rarely have spoken directly to a woman.

But she has a demonized daughter that no one has been able to heal, and she is desperate. She is begging Him to heal/deliver her child. Jesus makes the point that she does not belong to “the family.” He came to feed the “children of Israel” (v.26)It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the puppies [the Hebrew word here means not adult dogs but the diminutive, puppies]. He is essentially saying, just as in a family, there is an order here —The children (Israelites) eat first; Then puppies get fed, but not from the table and not until the kids are done. He is not telling her she cannot expect help from Him, but rather that there is a set of priorities to His ministry.

She gets what He is saying, steps into His metaphor, and reminds Him (v.27) —…but even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. She knows she does not have a legitimate place at the Jewish table. But even as a nonfamily member, she has faith that Jesus can provide enough that some leftovers will be available to her and to her daughter. Notice, she doesn’t say, Give me what I deserve due to my goodness or my rights, as many today might demand. Instead, (as Timothy Keller asserts in his book King’s Cross , Dutton, 2011, p.89), she implies, “Give me what I don’t deserve on the basis of Your goodness—and, please, I need it right now.”

Jesus commends her faith (The Message, p.1775) —Oh, Woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get! Right then her daughter became well. She entered into His metaphor and responded with belief in Him. Because of her faith, He made her a member of His family.

There is no reason for us to ever feel like we are alone or outsiders. God’s family is made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers. Our weekly worship service is like a big family reunion. We who believe in Jesus Christ are members of God’s family. Come, every Sunday, to be with people who love Jesus and who love you. Amen!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Obeying God

Pastor Sherry’s message for 7/9/2023

Scriptures: Gen 24:34-67; Ps 45:10-17; Ro 7:14-25a; Matt 11: 16-30

I want to share with you a true story told by a Kenyan pastor, Dr. Nicholas M. Muteti (He now ministers in North Carolina). He recalls,

“Nearly thirty years ago, I was a middle school teacher in Kenya. One day I took 20 students, and I told them: “I will do my best to teach you and train you. If you obey me, you will be the best students of this school.” They were excited.

“In a short time, I realized that only some of them were willing to keep up with my training. Some of them said, “It’s too difficult.” Some said, “We have more important things to do.” Some of them said, “You see other students are having more fun than we do.” When they graduated, 2 of them were the best students of the school. Only 2 out of 20.”Download (PDF

(Contributed by Dr. Nicholas M. Muteti on Jun 15, 2011, www.sermoncentral.com)

I wonder if this is how God feels. We each could be absolutely the best we could become, if only we obeyed the Lord. He knows this and sees so few of us trying to live out the Christian life style. I wonder how frustrated He gets with us human beings.

Both Paul and Jesus have a lot to say today about obeying God:

Paul reminds us (in Romans 7:14-25a) that our sinful (carnal) nature does not cease to exist when we become Christians. Oh, if only it did! If anything, we just become more frustrated because now we recognize—and hopefully, regret–our sinfulness. The cry of Paul’s heart is so poignant. Can’t we each identify with him in verse 24 What a wretched man [or woman] I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? I find Peterson’s paraphrase of parts of this passage so helpful (The Message, pp.2043-2044) Yes, I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command [the Law] is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it: I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions.

Paul makes the case that just deciding not to sin is not enough to keep us from sinning. Remember, last week he said (in Romans 6)…

[1] Start with faith in Jesus;

[2] Surrender yourself to God;

[3] Then ask God, the Holy Spirit, to help you live into your new intentions.

We need supernatural help. We need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us to help us live more and more like Jesus.

Jesus, in our Matthew 11:16-30 passage, is speaking about how folks have rejected both His cousin, John the Baptist, and Him. He says they rejected John for being too severe, too austere. Those who have rejected Jesus have done so for the opposite reason. They say he’s too friendly.

Since He eats with tax collectors and sinners, they claim He is a drunkard and a glutton. (YIKES! I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes at the Last Judgment.)

So, He then rejects the cities in which He has spent the most time: Korazon, Bethsaida, and Capernaum—Capernaum had been His headquarters! Most of the residents of these three cities have blown off His teachings, His miracles, and His healings done. To Jesus, they now rate worse than the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, who God fire-bombed. (What might be worse than that? I hate to think it.)

Biblical scholars say it is at this point that Jesus turns from trying to convert the Jewish nation toward appealing to individuals who are open to Him. He offers rest to those who are weary and burdened. He asks them/us to join with Him and learn from Him. He promises rest for our souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Let me digress for just a moment: Jesus had been a carpenter, so He had most likely built wooden yokes for oxen. Jesus would have measured the oxen before fashioning their yoke—like us, all oxen are not of the same size or girth. Then the farmer would have returned about a week later to have the pair fitted with the new yoke. If it had been made to fit exactly, it would not chafe or injure their necks. Jesus is implying that he makes obeying Him individualized and non-stressful, if we partner in the effort with the Holy Spirit.

This is essentially what Paul later repeated, isn’t it? He wrote that we should put our trust in Jesus; we should do as He does, or at least obey what He says; and we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us when our sin natures want us to rebel. As J.Vernon McGee says, “The only place in the world to put that burden [our sins] is at the Cross of Christ.” The reward for this obedience is rest, deep shalom [total wellbeing] peace.

As with last week, the doctrines expressed by Jesus and by Paul are illustrated with a great story from the Old Testament, Genesis 24:34-67. Abraham had become very rich—he was like a prince or a high nomadic potentate by this time. Sarah had died at age 127, so Abraham was probably 137 years old. Before he died, he wanted to secure a bride for Isaac. He wants someone from his extended family, not an idolatrous Canaanite. So he sends his trusted representative to the area of Haran (Iran), to search out a suitable woman from among his extended family.

The servant prays to Abraham’s God and suggests a sign by which to recognize God’s choice of a bride for Isaac. She will encounter him at a well. She will offer him water to drink. She will even draw water for his 10 camels. Additionally, she will extend traditional middle eastern hospitality: water for his feet, food and refreshments, and overnight accommodations for him and his animals. Arriving in Haran, the servant then encounters a beautiful young woman who does exactly that. She gives him water. She draws water for his animals. She invites him home to meet her family. This woman is Rebekah, Abraham’s great-niece, the virgin granddaughter of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. Now of all the wells the servant could have visited, what are the chances that he would run into Abraham’s kin? God has clearly superintended this process. It’s a divine appointment.

The servant recognizes this and offers praise and thanksgiving to God.

In verse 26, we are told Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying,”Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my masters’ relatives.” This woman, Rebekah, is clearly God’s choice for Isaac. The servant tells her the story of how he decided to approach her—he’d asked God for a sign. She doesn’t seem to have difficulty believing him. Then he gifts her with a ring and two gold bracelets.

Her brother, Laban, shows up, hears the story, and also invites Abraham’s servant to their home. Once again, the servant shares his instructions with everyone. No doubt Rebekah is somewhere listening in as the story is retold. Everyone appears to agree she is God’s choice of a bride for Isaac. The servant has surely filled them in on Isaac’s miraculous birth and the divine substitution of the sacrificial ram. They may have been impressed that Isaac seemed to be a man with a God-ordained destiny.

The family is impressed with the costly gifts bestowed on the maiden, signifying that Abraham is indeed wealthy. The bride-price is agreed upon, but by the next morning the family appears to have backed off a bit. In an intimation of things to come—Laban will renege on his agreement with his future nephew, Jacob—Laban, Rebekah’s brother, wants to delay his sister’s marriage. The family urges the servant to wait 10 more days. No doubt concerned for Abraham’s age and health, the servant insists they leave immediately.

In an interesting move in a paternalistic culture, the family members suggest Rebekah be consulted. From what she’s heard and experienced, she is ready to go—off with a servant she barely knows; to a country she’s never seen; to meet a husband she’s only heard of. What an adventure! What a courageous young woman!

What standards might this story point to for us today?

First, we note the faithfulness of the servant. He’s given his word to Abraham to do his best, but otherwise he has no stake in the outcome. Nevertheless, he works hard to fulfill his promise. He is obedient. He prays for the Lord’s favor. He diligently repeats his instructions from Abraham to the extended family members. He clearly does not want to mess up! This is a great example (from about 4,000 ago) of godly obedience.

Second, I am also struck by the willingness and courage of Rebekah. She doesn’t know Abraham from Adam’s house cat. She is looking at marrying a dude she’s only just heard of and never seen. She will be making her home far away from her family—in fact, she never sees them again this side of heaven. What convinces her to take the risk of leaving everything she has ever known? Perhaps she was impressed by the miraculous nature of Isaac’s birth, believing he is a man special to God. No doubt she had heard the story of his almost-sacrificial death, and been impressed with the fact that he could have overwhelmed his aged father’s strength, and taken himself off the altar. Nevertheless, he chose to be obedient to and respectful of his father, and of his father’s God. Maybe she rightfully understood that Isaac was special relationship with God and wished to attach herself to such a faithful and blessed man. And, if she had been a woman of faith, she could see and understand how God had indeed chosen her to be Isaac’s mate. After all, the servant had asked for a complex set of signs, and, without any prior knowledge of them, she had fulfilled each one.

Third, this story has a happy ending. It’s actually a love story. Scripture is God’s love story to us, but He never guarantees us “a rose garden.” He does, however, promise us blessings for faith and obedience. Rebekah gets on her camel and rides to Israel and to Isaac. The evening she arrives, Isaac is out praying. He sees her, the answer to his prayers. She sees him and leaps off her camel, indicating she is both single and eager to meet him. Cue the dramatic music! The faithful servant relates everything to Isaac, who obviously sees Rebekah as the answer to his prayers (and his father’s plans). Verse 67 tells us Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah [now dead], and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

This beautiful story is an indication of what can happen to the righteous—those of us who call upon the Holy Spirit to live obedient lives pleasing to God. Yes, we inherit heaven. But, we can also be abundantly blessed by the Lord here on earth. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Trinity Sunday

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 4, 2023

Scriptures: Gen 1:1-31, 2:1-4; Ps 8; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Matt 28:16-20

Today is Trinity Sunday, traditionally the first Sunday after Pentecost. Many people have come up with metaphors to explain the Trinity—one God in three separate persons—but each of these images falls short somehow. Explaining the Trinity proves to be very difficult. Consider this true story from St. Augustine (396 to 430), Bishop of Hippo or present day Algeria. Many experts today still consider him to be one of the premier theologians of the Christian Church. It is said that,

“One day when St. Augustine was at his wits’ end to understand and explain the Trinity, he went out for a walk. He kept turning over in his mind, “One God, but three Persons. Three Persons–not three Gods but one God. What does it mean? How can it be explained? How can my mind take it in?”

“And so he was torturing his mind and beating his brains out, when he saw a little boy on the beach. He approached him to see what he was doing. The child had dug a small hole in the sand. With his hands he was carrying water from the ocean and was dumping it in the little hole. St. Augustine asked, “What are you doing, my child?”

“The child replied, “I want to put all of the water of the ocean into this hole.”

“St. Augustine asked, “But is it possible for all of the water of this great ocean to be contained in this little hole?”

“And then it dawned on Augustine, “If the water of the ocean cannot be contained in this little hole, then how can the Infinite Trinitarian God be contained in your mind?”

(Borrowed from a sermon by Rev. Gordon Curley, dated November 29, 2010, archived on http://www.Sermoncentral.com).

Again, it is very difficult to explain the Trinity using images like a three-leaf clover (one plant, three leaves), an egg (shell, liquid, solid), or water (ice, fluid, steam) because while these speak to the separateness of the three, they do not adequately describe the unity, the relationships among the persons, or their cooperative work together.

John Wesley (1703-1791), the Anglican pastor who founded our Methodist Church, may have come close. He once used the following analogy to explain the doctrine of the Trinity: He said,

“Tell me how it is that in this room there are three candles and one light, and I will explain to you the mode of the triune God.” “Although each of the three persons of the Holy Community has his own distinct identity, all work together harmoniously as one God to accomplish salvation.”

(Borrowed from Pastor Glen Key from his March 2, 2011 sermon; archived on website http://www.sermoncentral.com)

As it turns out, you won’t find the word Trinity in the Bible. People only began to use this term toward the end of the 2nd century. Theophilos, the Bishop of Antioch in 180 AD, used the term Trias to describe our one God in three persons. Later, the theologian Tertullian (155-220AD) who challenged many developing heresies in the early Church, changed the word to Trinitas. The church leaders who met in Nicea in 325 AD, and later in Constantinople in 381, set this reality as doctrine in the Nicene Creed. It’s a way of describing what the Bible tells us about the reality of God—in essence, One God, but formed of 3 distinct persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

But you will find citations of the three persons of the Trinity:

In John 10:30, Jesus says–>I and the Father are One. Later, in an epistle (1 John 5:7), John says For there are three that testify, the Father, the Word [Jesus], and the Spirit, and these three are one.

The Old Testament also mentions or implies the Triune nature of our God:

Job 33:6 refers to the Holy Spirit The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? [implying more than one person]. The Hebrews never adopted the custom exhibited by later European monarchs of referring to themselves in the plural. If the Hebrew passage said us, it meant literally more than one.

Isaiah also predicts the 1st Advent of Jesus, within Whom will reside many gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-2) A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [lineage of King David]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit [Holy Spirit] of the Lord [God the Father] will rest on Him [Jesus]—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Our Scriptures today all shine further light on the cooperative functions of the members of the Trinity:

A. In our Genesis 1:1-31, 2:1-4 lesson, two members of the Trinity are mentioned: (1) Verse 1 In the beginning God [the Father planned and directed it] created the heavens and the earth.

(2) Verse 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God [Holy Spirit] was hovering over the waters. Hovering here evokes such a lovely image. In the Hebrew it conveys the sense of a mother hen hovering over/covering with her wings her chicks. It’s a protective and a loving action.

(3) Verses 3-26 reveal the orderly mind of God and His attention to detail. The 1st day (v.3), He—John the Gospeler says this He is Jesus, who speaks creation into existence. In John 1:1,3, he tells us In the beginning was the Word [God’s Word made flesh, Jesus, the Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…Through Him [Jesus] all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. That first day, Jesus spoke light into existence. Remember, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.”

The 2nd day (v.6), He created the sky, separating the waters above (rain, dew) from the waters below (oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.).

The 3rd day (vv.9-11), He separated out dry ground from the waters and made vegetation.

The 4th day (v.14), He formed lights in the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars. (Notice, light itself was produced before these celestial bodies were placed in the heavens).

The 5th day (vv.20-24), He produced marine life and birds.

On the 6th day (26), He crafted land-dwelling animals and humankind, the pinnacle of His creation. He said Let us [plural, more than one] make man in our image, in our likeness. Adam, Eve, and the animals were to be fruitful and multiply; and Adam was to serve as a steward or overseer of over the rest of creation, as God’s agents.

So, according to the first chapters of Genesis and of John, all three persons of the Trinity were present at creation. God the Father devised the plan; God the Son spoke it into existence; and God the Spirit was both the power source and the breath (The Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit is ruach which means both breath, wind, and spirit).

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. As we know, the names of God and of Jesus are not everywhere honored today; some use them as curse words. But at Jesus’ 2nd Coming, all will know that God is real, that He exists, and that He rules in power and might. They will then either revere Him or be gone.

C. Both 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 and Matthew 28:16-20 are farewell addresses that include references to the Trinity. As Paul says goodbye to the Church in Corinth, he exhorts them to… (v.11) aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, and live in peace.

None of us is perfect, so what he means by this is grow up! In the first chapters of 1 Corinthians, he takes the believers there to task for being infantile in their faith (preferring milk to meat) and acting out of their carnal rather than spiritual nature. So, he is saying, essentially, “Don’t act like entitled children; learn to live a spirit-filled, disciplined life.”

Additionally, he wants them to pay attention to what he has taught them. He encourages them to try to maintain unity in doctrine and beliefs—which we know presently and personally is difficult. And he wants them to live in peace….We can’t create peace—only Jesus can—but we can conduct ourselves in a way that demonstrates we know Jesus can supply us with the peace that passes all understanding. Then he encourages them to greet each other with appropriate affection—no icky or invasive hugs or kisses.

Finally, he blesses them with a benediction that includes each member of the Trinity (v.14) May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. What a wonderful sendoff!

Jesus’s parting words in Matthew 28 are strikingly similar. We call His final instructions the Great Commission:

(1) We are to go! Through our neighborhoods, our county, our state, our country, to the entire world.

(2) We are to make disciples for Christ.

(3) We are to teach them about Jesus and that they and we are to be obedient to Him.

(4) And we are to baptize them (v.19) …in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Paul died but Jesus promises us to be present with us (through the Holy Spirit) (v.20)…to the very end of the age.

So what does this mean to us on this Trinity Sunday of 2023?

The story is told of a seminary professor who asked his students to close their eyes and see if they could summon up for themselves an image of God.

“After a few moments he had them open their eyes and, if comfortable, share what they saw. Most of them said the same thing: “An old man with a white beard floating in the clouds, looking down at us.” [The professor] then said, “If what you imagine God to be like is anything other than Jesus, then you have the wrong image of God.” Jesus is beautiful, and so are the Father and the Spirit: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 KJV).”.

(Borrowed from The Magnificent Story by James Bryan Smith, InterVarsity Press, 2018.).

We want to remember that God the Father and the Spirit are spirits. Jesus shows us the loving, grace-filled face of the Father, as well as the powerful, healing and sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The truth is that our God exists in 3 persons—all the same God but taking on three personalities or different expressions—all of which is difficult for our finite minds to take in. I don’t understand gravity. I can’t see it, but I know it is real and I don’t plan to test it by jumping off a tall building. I think, until we reach heaven, we probably have to agree with St. Augustine and take the same stance with the Trinity.

©️2023 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams