Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Reading the Signs of the Times

Pastor Sherry’s message for 8/17/2025

Scriptures: Isa 5:1-7; Ps 80:1-2, 8-19; Heb 11:17-40; Lk 12:49-56

It’s pretty difficult for ordinary persons—those who lack the gift prophesy—to predict the future, isn’t it? One of my favorite stories about this phenomenon concerns a guy named Moshe, a medieval Jewish astrologer:

Moshe unwisely “…prophesied that the king’s favorite horse would soon die. Sure enough, the horse died a short time later.

“The king got really angry at Moishe, certain that his prophecy had brought about the horse’s death.

“He summoned Moishe and commanded him, “Prophet, tell me when you will die.” Moishe realized that the king was planning to kill him immediately no matter what answer he gave, so he crafted a careful response.

“I do not know when I will die,” he answered. “I only know that whenever I die, the king will die three days later.”

“Moishe lived a long life”.  (I am sorry that I cannot credit the source as it was unlisted in some old papers of mine.)

It is a good thing to be able to think quickly in times of trouble! Hopefully Moshe learned not to make pronouncements of future events unless directed to do so by the Lord.

In this morning’s Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 5:1-7, the prophet Isaiah is told by God to share the “Song of the Vineyard” with His Chosen People. It is an indictment against the Southern Kingdom. They have not learned anything from observing their Northern Brothers and Sisters get killed and captured by the terrifying Assyrian Army in 722BC. The 10 northern tribes had become idolaters. They lacked faith in God and they were not obedient to Him.  So He removed His longstanding protection (of 500 years) and they were devastated. Rather than look at that experience and determine to do better, the 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin to the South, blithely fell into the same behavioral trap.

So God convenes court and invites Jerusalem and Judah to judge between Him and them.  He shares, in poetic form, a tale of how He (the pre-incarnate Jesus) worked to establish a lovely vineyard. All throughout the Old Testament, the vineyard is a metaphor for Israel. He says He planted His people on a fertile hill. As such, the vineyard would have good drainage, and no problem with the soil.  He removed the stones—probably using them to create a wall about the property. He built a watchtower, from which to guard it from predators, enemies, or squatters. He prepared a winepress, anticipating a good crop of grapes…but sadly, the grapes that grew were bitter. The Lord asks Jerusalem and Judah (v.4, NLT)—What more could I have done for My vineyard that I have not already done? The obvious verdict is Nothing. The Lord did His part, but the Southern Kingdom did not do theirs.

The prophet relays, in verses 5-6, what God’s judgment will be (NLT)—Now let me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:  I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed.  I will break down its wall and let the animals trample it. I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns.  I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it. YIKES! Not only is the Lord going to neither prune nor weed among His people; but He is removing His hand of protection from them.  He had protected them from invasions for over 6oo years.  Now, there would be no walls or hedges to keep trampling or destructive animals like wild hogs or invading armies out.  Additionally, He will also deny it rain—it will experience severe, longstanding drought!  Israel profited from Fall and Spring rains.  Even today, the Fall rains have returned but the Spring ones have not. 

Why is God so put out? Why is He willing to lower the boom on them? How have they earned such costly judgments? Remember Micah 6:8, NIV—What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. He expected them to act justly toward others, but instead found them oppressing the less powerful, those without influence.  He expected them to be righteous (love mercy), but instead found them acting with violence (v.7). 

Now, if we were to read the remainder of Chapter 5, we would see specifically the charges the Lord brought against them (think about modern day America as I present their sins to you):

1. They coveted what others had (Lust of the Eyes). Bigger businesses swallowed up smaller ones. Making a profit became their god—this is idolatry. So (vv.9-10) God sent famine into the land.

2. They habitually engaged in drunkenness and immoral pleasure-seeking (Lust of the Flesh). Like Jeffrey Epstein and P. Diddy, they indulged their carnal natures. Their punishment (v.12) was captivity and death.

3. They continued to sin without shame or conscience (v.18).

4. They attempted to destroy God’s standards of right and wrong (v.20).

5. They were proud of their rebellious selves (v.21)—Proverbs 6:16—There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes [pride; this is listed first, even before murder], a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

6. They had lost all sense of godly values.

The combined punishment from God for #3-6 (human pride and disregard for God’s standards of right and wrong) was God’s judgment, the Babylonian Captivity. If you observe our culture today, all 6 of these offenses against our Lord are rampant. I’m not a prophet, but I believe we are in the last days. We have no idea how long they will last. But, because we worship a merciful God, I also believe we can prevail upon Him, through our prayers and devotion, to give our nation more time to return to Him. 

Now contrast what the Father said through Isaiah with what Jesus says in today’s Gospel, (Luke 12:49-56):   Jesus is rebuking His disciples for making accurate predictions from weather signs,  while neglecting to consider the pain and destruction of the coming judgment upon the earth and all people. Remember, after the Great Flood, God told Noah He would never send flood waters to destroy the whole earth again.

Instead, what does Jesus say will happen (v.49)—I have come to set the world on fire and I wish it were already burning!  It sounds like He is referring to both the fire of Judgment, and the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit.  Remember, at Pentecost, tongues of fire rested over the heads of the disciples. The Bible says our God is a consuming fire. 

Instead, I think the Lord is getting at something more positive for us here. Remember John the Baptist said (Luke 3:16)—I baptize you with water, but Someone [Jesus] is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be His slave and untie the straps of His sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus came the first time to save us, not to judge. Judgment will characterize His 2nd Coming. So this fire He references is Holy Spirit power, a great move of God—a revival–drawing many hearts to Him. 

This won’t happen until after His crucifixion and resurrection. The disciples will see this manifested in them at Pentecost, 50 days later.  What the Lord is saying here is that He wants us to burn with passion for God!

Jesus forces us to make a decision for or against Him. This decision can and does separate us from members of our families and from former friends.

We no longer engage in the same activities. We no longer talk, dress, or even think the same way.  We may not even laugh at the same jokes.  Jesus says this as He is moving toward the Cross. He wants us to be able to discern spiritual truths and separate these out from whatever is circulating in the culture. He wants us to be aware of our relationship to God and to make the necessary adjustments now before it’s too late.         

The Signs of the Times suggest our time to decide to live for Christ—like that of Jerusalem and Judah in the late 500’s BC—is drawing to a close. We don’t want to be guilty of the kinds of things the Lord charged His vineyard with. I guess you could say that how we choose to live our life provides critical evidence of how sincere we are in our commitment to God. 

Consider the following parable written by the playwright, Oscar Wilde:  Jesus was walking through the streets of a city. In an open courtyard. He saw a young man feasting gluttonously and growing drunk with wine. “Young man.” said Jesus. “why do you live like that?” “I was a leper.” said the young man, “and you cleansed me. How else should I live?” Jesus went on and he saw a young girl clad in tawdry finery, a girl of the streets, and after her came a young man with eyes like a hunter. “Young man,” said Jesus, “why do you look at that girl like that?” “I was blind.” said the young man. “and you opened my eyes. How else should I look?” “Daughter.” said Jesus to the girl. “why do you live like that?” “I was a sinner.” she said. “and you forgave me. How else should I live?” Here were three people who had received priceless gifts from Jesus and who used them like that”. (William Barclay. And Jesus Said. Westminster Press, 1970, p. 141). 

Our church sign outside says we have been bought at a price.  Let’s be neither a rebellious nor an idolatrous vineyard.  Let’s read the spiritual signs of the times correctly and live like we know Jesus died for us. Let’s stay under the shelter of our Lord’s wings, close enough to hear His heartbeat. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

The Trouble with Judging

Pastor Sherry’s message for July 27, 2025

Scriptures: Hosea 1:1-10; Ps 85; Col 2:6-19; Lk 131:1-17

I have a good friend in ministry, a Pentecostal pastor, who preaches whatever the Lord lays on his heart.  In our tradition, however, we tend to preach the readings already chosen for us and listed in what is known as “the Revised Common Lectionary.”  Back in 1983, representatives of 19 Christian denominations in the US met and agreed upon 4 Scripture passages—one from each of the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament, and Gospels–to be read each Sunday in each of their churches.  Typically, Methodist (United and Global), Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopalian, and Roman Catholic pastors preach from these selections.  They allow us to touch on much of Scripture over the course of 3 year cycles.

In my 24-25 years of ministry, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover the appointed readings often meet a congregation right where they are that very moment.  We could say that they are Holy Spirit inspired, and they are!  But so too is the method of asking the Lord what to preach.  Back before I went to seminary, in the 1990’s, I was doing nursing home mental health work in Tallahassee, Florida.  There was a very well run nursing home, called Miracle Hill, in the African American section of town that my team and I visited once a week.  All the patients and all of the staff were African American.  We learned they had a preacher come in on the day we visited to hold a service for the residents.  We heard him a time or two and discovered he did an excellent job.  So, we planned our time to complete our paperwork around his sermon time.  He would tell the patients that he and his wife had “gone before the Lord” to get the message he was to present to them.  I had never heard of this before, but I was very impressed with the wonderful messages he brought them weekly. 

This week, I have used both traditions: I have drawn the first 3 readings from the Lectionary.  But the Lord directed me to exchange the 4th reading, the Gospel, for an alternative.  That’s why it’s not what was printed in your bulletin (I know I drive a number of people crazy when I do this).

But when the Lord directs me to focus on a specific passage, I must comply.

He apparently wanted me to preach this morning on the problems with making judgments about others.  Consider the following true story:

“GUILTY AS SIN the headline read just a few years ago. The banks in New Jersey had been robbed systematically, one after the other. What made the robber stand out was his politeness. He just gave the tellers a note which said, “Please place your money in this bag. Thank you.” The newspapers called him the Gentleman Bandit!

“The widespread publicity led to a very unlikely arrest – the suspect was a Catholic priest. His church was appalled but stood beside him, saying they knew he could not be the bandit. They signed petitions, held protest marches and came up with his bail. But the police were certain they had their man. All of the eyewitnesses positively identified him. And the news media dug into his past, to find that in a previous church he had left under a cloud because of financial irregularities in the parish. For a priest he had a pretty expensive lifestyle – his own apartment and a fast car. People whispered his church was probably standing up for him because otherwise they looked like dupes.

“As people across the country watched the story unfold on the news, they were positive this priest had pulled a fast one. He probably had a sociopath personality so he could rob banks during the week and preach the next Sunday without feeling any guilt. No one outside his congregation was standing up for this guy. But then a funny thing happened. The real Gentleman Bandit was caught red-handed. As it turned out, he was the spitting image of the priest. It’s just that he wasn’t the priest. The priest was released, his church threw him a big party, and the news media and those who had prematurely judged him moved on to the next story.”   (Contributed by Pastor Sheila Crowe, http://www.sermon central.com, 7/2017.)

Obviously, one problem with judging others is that we often lack all the facts necessary to make an accurate assessment.  We may think we have correctly discerned the truth—at least from our point of view; but we can do damage to peoples’ relationships and to their reputations by passing along falsehoods we mistakenly think are true.  We especially need to be careful when sharing our views within the hearing of non-Christians.  Unbelievers tend to have heard of Jesus’ words from His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1-2): Judge not lest you be judged, or as the New Living Translation rephrases it: Do not judge others and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  The Bible comments on judging over 180 different times, so we can correctly infer from this that the topic is important to God.

In fact, in the Gospel the Lord told me to address today (Luke 13:1-17), Jesus teaches about our tendency to make judgments about others.  The context is two horrendous events that had recently occurred in Jerusalem:  Pilate had some men from Galilee killed as they offered sacrifices (i.e., were worshipping in the Temple).  The crowd was understandably upset and wanted to know how God could have allowed that to happen.  Many assumed the dead men must have been terrible sinners.

Additionally, 18 men constructing a tower near the Pool of Siloam were killed when the tower collapsed (they must not have had a qualified structural engineer overseeing the build).  Again, the people were wondering if the 18 dead men had been terrible sinners to deserve their fate.  Notice, Jesus does not answer their questions about the victims’ spiritual states.  Instead, He redirects them to consider their own spiritual condition (Matthew 7:3, NLT: Why worry about the speck in your friend’s eye when you have a beam in your own?)

Jesus then tells the crowd the parable of the Fig Tree:  It appears to be barren, yielding no fruit, at the very time the owner should be able to expect a harvest. The owner makes a judgment:  Cut it down.

The gardener (Jesus) offers another perspective:  Let’s be patient, tend it another year, and then decide.  Our Lord recommends grace instead of judgment, continued care instead of condemnation.

There are actually several morals to this story:

1.) Trouble doesn’t always come to a person due to their sins.

My first year of seminary, I saw my savings of $30,000 go up in smoke due to having no health insurance and a house that was a money pit (despite a home inspection stating it was fine prior to purchase).  I would not be so arrogant as to say I was sinless during that time, but looking back, I believe the Lord wanted me to learn He would provide for me when my resources were exhausted.  It was one of a number of similar lessons He provided until I decided I really could trust in Him regarding money-matters.  Additionally, I learned He can only fill us when we are empty (of ourselves and our own resources)!

2.) Another important lesson is that becoming a follower of Jesus does not inoculate us from trouble.  Instead, the evil one paints a target on us.  We need to persist in our faith that the Lord protects us and sees us through whatever trouble the devil sends.

3.) Finally, when trouble comes to someone else, it doesn’t necessarily indicate that we are morally superior to them.  Consider the Central Texas floods.  Did you at any time wonder what they had done to experience such widespread death (135 by the latest count), with over 60 still missing?  Do you think they thought the same thing last year when our area experienced 3 hurricanes?  We are not to judge others.  Instead, the Lord expects us—as with the barren fig tree–to extend prayer and  compassionate care as we are able.

Finally, Jesus demonstrates His compassion for the bent over woman.  She doesn’t even approach Him.  She has been bent over, almost in half, for 18 years.  How uncomfortable and inconvenient this must have been for her.  He sees her in the synagogue, and has mercy on her (on the Sabbath).  He tells her (v.12), Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness [such wonderful words!].  And she stands straight up (no weeks of physical rehabilitation for her!).

The guy in charge of the synagogue gets mad.  Notice he doesn’t directly address Jesus but instead tells the crowd to come any other day to be healed.  He has judged that the Sabbath is for worship alone, so Jesus and this woman are in the wrong.  Jesus correctly calls him—and those who value rules over a person’s well-being–a hypocrite.  He has missed the point of God’s mercy (remember the parable of the barren Fig Tree.)

Now, compare this with the adult life of the Prophet Hosea:  God calls him to be a prophet (1 of 7) to the morally corrupt Northern Kingdom.  But He gives him an especially tough assignment. He is to live out for the Israelites how God feels being in covenant relationship with them.  He is told to marry an unfaithful woman—actually a prostitute (YIKES!  This is a pretty strong statement about how the Lord regards Israel at this time.) Hosea’s lived experience is to remain faithful to someone who is not faithful—with all the attendant heartbreak, humiliation, and public shame and ridicule that entails.

Hosea is remarkably obedient.  He marries Gomer and they have one child, a son.  Some scholars believe this child was truly his son, but others are not convinced.  God tells Hosea to name the child, Jezreel, which means the Lord will scatter—clearly a warning of the invasion and captivity to come.  But it also means not pitied, and bastard.  Poor kid!  None of these translations would be easy to live with.  Since Gomer is adulterous, Hosea has no idea if the next two kids are biologically his:  A girl named Lo-Ruhamah, or Not Loved; and a second boy named Lo-Ammi, not My People.  God is making some strong statements to the wayward Israelites.

Are Hosea or his children to blame for Gomer’s infidelity/sin?  No, God is using them as object lessons to His people—they represent His pain due to their spiritual adultery.  Imagine what Hosea’s neighbors probably had to say; imagine their judgments of Him.  He would have been a laughing stock and considered a weak, spineless man, a “cockhold.”  Imagine what they probably said about each of his children.  They were no doubt bullied and ridiculed by the other kids.  This is yet another reason why we want to be cautious of judging others. 

Think of the falsely condemned Catholic priest.  Thank God the true bank robber, his look-alike, was found and arrested!  Let’s remember we will be judged by God according to the measure we used with others: (Matthew 12:37, NLT): The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.

Let’s pray:  Lord Jesus, we need Your help with this!  Help us to see others with Your eyes.  Help us to speak words of grace and mercy, rather than of judgment and condemnation.  Help us to leave the judgments to You, the One Who sees and knows all, and Who judges with righteousness.  Amen! 

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Do you have JDD?

Pastor Sherry’s message for July 20, 2025

Scriptures: Amos 8:1-12; Ps 52; Col 1:15-29; Lk 10:38-42

I just saw this the other day:  a new diagnosis…just what we need, right?  It’s called JDD, or Jesus Deficit Disorder. 

In our Gospel lesson today (Luke 10:38-42), Jesus identifies what may be the first recorded case of this mental and spiritual condition. Jesus and His retinue are gathered for dinner at Lazarus’ house in Bethany.  Sister Mary—and we assume Lazarus and the 12—are seated at Jesus’ feet, absorbing His teaching; while Sister Martha is bustling around in the kitchen, trying to pull a meal together.  She is anxious, nervous, worried…she fears she won’t be able to manage it, or that it won’t be good enough—you know, the biscuits will burn before the meat or the veggies are done. She looks around for help from Mary, but finds her hanging out with the Lord. At this point, she is perhaps even angry. Because she knows Jesus loves her, she looks to Him to send Mary back to the kitchen to assist with the work.  But what a surprise when the Lord says (v.41): My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.

Jesus correctly diagnoses Martha as being too worried about the details of His visit.  He prescribes the remedy to her anxiety, fear, and irritation: It is to come sit at His feet (to listen and learn).   Seriously, He fed the 5,000 from 5 loaves and two fish—He could have miraculously provided the meal.  We also know that Lazarus was financially well off—no doubt she could have left servants to manage the culinary details.

I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but how many of us realize we, like Martha, have JDD?  Are we too preoccupied with work, relationships (especially the ones that aren’t going well), what’s on our phones, what’s on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat—or any of a number of other activities and behaviors—to spend daily time with Jesus?  Have we developed a habit of taking time out daily to read the Bible or to engage in a conversation with the Lord?  If we don’t want to develop JDD, these two spiritual disciplines are crucial to our spiritual—and even our mental—health. 

In fact, this is the point of all our readings today:

A. Our Old Testament lesson (Amos 8:1-12) is a continuation of what we read last week.  God is telling the Northern Kingdom of Israel that He is done giving them more time!  His judgment is upon them!  Because they worship false gods, like a golden calf; because they don’t love Him and don’t love others; and because they don’t listen to or believe His prophets.

Most people then did not have access to written Scripture.  Local Rabbis and Pharisees may have had Biblical scrolls to study from, but the ordinary person did not have daily access to these.  So, God’s word was mostly spoken, spoken to them through folks He sent to them, like Amos. 

Last week, we focused on how the people then (and now) are out of plumb with God.  The image He uses this time is a bowl of ripe fruit.  Ripe fruit speaks of harvest time; but it’s also indicative of spoilage/rapid deterioration (vv.4-6).  God is saying the Israelites have turned rotten:

1.) The nearly pagan Israelites rob the poor;

2.) They trample the needy;

3.) They can’t wait for the Sabbath to end so they can continue to cheat the helpless in their businesses;

4.) They force the poor into slavery to pay off debt.

So (v.7), God swears on the name of His coming Messiah (the Pride of Jacob), that He is about to punish them severely (Now a promise like that will for sure take place). He will transform their land from lush green to barren, rocky brown.  Worse yet, He will cease talking to them—which He did for the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments.

The Israelites had a case of GDD, God-Deficite-Disorder. We would be wise to see this as a lesson for us too. God’s patience with us can also come to an end. We may gain a stay of execution by demonstrating our love for and faithfulness to Him by frequent prayer and Bible reading. 

B. Psalm 52 is a teaching psalm (a maschil) by King David, the first of four on the end-times. This one focuses on a prophesy of the antichrist (the spirit of the end times is a spirit of deception/delusion). David was himself betrayed to King Saul by someone named Doeg the Edomite. When David and his men were starving in the wilderness, he approached the priest at Nob (1 Samuel 22), who fed them from the 12 loaves of showbread reserved for God. Doeg ratted David out to Saul, who then avenged himself by murdering the 85 priests there and the entire town of Nob. David makes the point that, like Doeg, (vv.1-4) the antichrist will use deceitful words to destroy people.  People, like King Saul, will be deluded and act immorally.  But God tells the prophet to say He (v.5): …will strike you [the antichrist] down once and for all. He will initiate a reign of terror for 7 years—the Great Tribulation—but when King Jesus arrives in all of His power and majesty (2nd Coming), He will destroy the antichrist.

David concludes this psalm (vv.8-9) by reminding himself and us that righteous persons will renew their commitment to God and feel secure.  We who have a close relationship with Jesus will not fear the end times, but rejoice.  Again, the implication is that we need to habitually nurture our relationship with the Lord through prayer and Bible Study. 

C. Paul, in our Colossians lesson (1:15-29), spells out why we want to stay in frequent touch with Jesus.  It’s not just so we can avoid JDD, but because of how immeasurably important Jesus is:

1.) He is (v.15) the image of God the Father, in the flesh. 

2.) He Who came out of eternity (the prototokis), takes priority over like the firstborn) of every other living creature.

3.) (V.16) Through Him, God created everything!  He is the creator of the visible and the invisible. The Apostle John says in John 1:1-4 (NLT): In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through Him and nothing was created except through Him.  The Word gave life to everything that was created and His life brought light to everyone. 

4.) Everything, including us, was created through Him and for Him. We were created for His pleasure. Mostly we tend to disappoint Him, but hopefully we sometimes bring a smile to His face.

5. (V.17) He existed before anything else and He holds all creation together.  Jesus is…”the superglue of the universe.”  Think of the power that is released when atoms are split in an atomic bomb, yet Jesus has the power to hold those atoms together.

(J, Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Colossians, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, pp.133-134.)

6.) (V.18) Christ is the head of the Church, His body.

7.) He is supreme over all who rise from the dead.  So He is the first in everything.

8.) He now resides in Heaven, at the right hand of the Father, but the time is coming when His will is going to prevail over all of creation.

9.) He was and is 100% God, both now and when He came to earth.

We need to be like Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and Martha’s sister.  We need to sit at Jesus’ feet so our souls and spirits can be nourished with His spiritual food.  We want to take time to be with Christ, despite our anxiety or frustrations.  We want to take time to be with Jesus, so as to be geared up and fearless during the judgments to come.  We need to make time in our busy schedules to spend with Jesus so we will not be deceived by the antichrist or the spirit of the age, the spirit of deception or delusion. There is no reasoning with deluded persons. They persist in believing what they do, despite logic or common sense to the contrary. To avoid the diagnosis of JDD, we need to sit at Jesus’ feet through our practices of daily prayer and Bible reading. Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, help us to do just that.

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

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Celebrate Freedom

Pastor Sherry’s message for July 6, 2025, 

Scriptures: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Ps 30:1-11; Gal 6:1-16; Lk 10:1-20

This morning, we pledged allegiance to our flag, heard a wonderful rendition of our national anthem, and prayed about the blessings we have as Americans. Hopefully, we have each thanked God in our hearts for our country and for the freedoms we enjoy based on His provision, our constitution, and our Bill of Rights—and also for those who fought and died to keep us free.

Contrast this, however, with this week’s opening of Alligator Alcatraz, a detention center for violent, criminal, illegal aliens. Located in about the middle of the Everglades, in Ochopee, and hemmed in by alligators and pythons–both apex predators–it is not a place I would ever want to go, would you?  I heard some commentator on TV say that neither gators nor pythons will attack a person.  I immediately thought guy is not from Florida.  I know people who have lost pets to Gators, and who have even had a bull gator chase them into their pickup, attacking their truck bumper in rage, and crushing it. There’s been a meme on social media, featuring a line of gators with Ice hats on their heads, as unofficial, unpaid government agents. Talk about a deterrent!  I would not want to encounter a gator there.  I would self-deport rather than be sent to “Gator Gitmo.”

We don’t have to worry about this, though, do we? One of our members from Thailand is already a naturalized citizen, and another from the Philippines has almost completed the process toward becoming an American citizen. The rest of us in this congregation were born here and are grateful to God for the freedoms we enjoy in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Did you notice that our readings today, coming so soon after July 4th, also focus on freedom, but not political freedom. Instead they stress spiritual freedoms:  

A.  Our Old Testament lesson, from 2 Kings 5:1-14, focuses on one important Gentile (Naaman, commander of the Syrian armies) and two Israelites (the prophet Elisha and a young slave woman serving Naaman’s wife).  Naaman, even though an enemy of Israel, is by every secular criterion to be acclaimed. He has won many battles, so he is a competent professional; he is esteemed by his king and his troops; and he is wealthy.

What he is not is healthy. He has a skin condition all over his body.

Scripture calls it leprosy, but it may not have been what we today called “Hanson’s Disease.”  It may have been psoriasis or eczema.  The young, Jewish slave girl mentions there is a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in Samaria (Elisha), who could heal the man. Naaman’s wife listens and gets word to Naaman, who confides in the king.  The king then gives Naaman leave to go and gifts with which to seek a healing.

But notice his response when he finally locates Elisha’s headquarters:

He becomes incensed over three affronts to his dignity: (1) The prophet never came out to greet or to meet him. So, (2) he did not see Elisha perform any kind of religious rituals.  And (3) the prophet sent him to wash himself 7 times in the muddy trickle of river called the Jordan.  His pride has been offended and-–before God heals him—He wants him freed of this sin.

We know that our God hates human pride:  Proverbs 16:18 (NLT) states, Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.

In James 4:6-7 (NLT) we are told—God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.  So humble yourselves before God….Naaman had to humble himself and follow what he thought were ridiculous directions.

He had to be freed from his pride before God would free him from his leprosy.  Our loving God wants to free us from our sins.

B. The message is very similar in Psalm 30:1-11. This psalm of thanksgiving was written by King David.  Biblical scholars believe David wrote it following being plagued by some profound sickness.  He feared he would die and cried out to God to heal him.  J. Vernon McGee, who was himself cured of cancer, says this is his favorite psalm.  He prayed it daily as he underwent his cancer treatments.  He refers to it as not the “Halleluia Chorus,” but rather, “The Cancer Chorus.”

(McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Psalms, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.168).

King David says the Lord brought him (v.11)—…from mourning into joyful dancing…and clothed me with joy.  Apparently the Lord healed him, freeing him from his illness as well as his grief over being debilitated.

So he ends the psalm with praise and sincere gratitude. 

C. Our Galatians lesson (Galatians 6:1-16) is a continuation of last reading.  Remember, Paul taught the Galatian Church that they no longer had to live as slaves to the Law, but rather by the Christian principle of love—love of God and love of people.   He shared a list of sins we might commit that demonstrate we are not living out the love principle.  And he also taught that there are 9 fruit of the Holy Spirit that indicate we are living out the love principle:  love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, faith, and self-control.

In today’s lesson, he focuses on the fact that (v.8, NLT)—You will always harvest what you plant.  If we sowed peanuts, we will harvest peanuts, not wheat or watermelon.  In other words, we have another Christian principle—we reap what we sow.  Paul goes on to spell it out more fully:  (v.8) Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.  But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.  We are rewarded or punished according to the way we live out our lives here on earth.  This is not an issue of salvation.  If we are in Christ, we are saved.  It does, however, have some impact on the rewards we receive later in Heaven.

As I said last week, this principle frees us from trying to work way into heaven—which we cannot do.  Neither rule-keeping, nor doing good works, nor even circumcision will guarantee our heavenly rewards.  We just need to believe in Jesus and then try not to grow tired of doing good, Loving God and others, and manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

D. In today’s Gospel lesson (Luke 10:1-20), Jesus sends out the 72—His 2nd batch of disciples told to practice and do what He did.

He warns them (v.3) He is sending them into potential danger—so they should expect trouble.  He directs them to minister where they are received (vv.-9).  But where they are rejected, they are to say (vv.10-12)—We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show we have abandoned you to your fate.  And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!  In other words, Jesus did not expect them to succeed with everyone.

Jesus Himself did not succeed with everyone to whom He preached repentance or healed or delivered from demons.  Thus, neither should we get discouraged when we talk to others about Jesus and they reject our efforts.  We sow the seeds, God grants the growth.  I believe Jesus is hereby freeing us from ministry-related guilt.

As we think about July 4th and our national freedoms, let’s also be aware of and grateful for our spiritual freedoms in Christ.

(1) Sometimes being healed from disease requires our agreeing to be set free from a besetting or habitual sin.  It could be pride, or some other negative emotion or behavior.  Whatever it might be, we can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us, and then ask the Lord to forgive us and set us free of it.

(2) When the Lord heals us or frees us from an illness, we should always remember to give God the credit or the glory.  We should always express our gratitude to Him for answering our prayers.

(3) If we can focus on loving God and loving others, we can feel freed from fearing the negative consequences of the Law of Sowing and Reaping.

Believing in Jesus gains us our heavenly reward.  Living out the fruit of the Holy Spirit shows God and others we are trying to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.  Living out a Christ-like life attracts others to Jesus and somehow positively impacts (in ways I honestly don’t know yet but will when I get to heaven) our rewards in Heaven.

(4) And, while we want to witness to others about our faith in Jesus, whether or not they accept Him depends upon them, not us.  We do not have to feel guilty.  As Jesus says in Luke 10:16 Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting Me.  And anyone who rejects you is rejecting Me.  And anyone who rejects Me is rejecting God, who sent Me. 

On this 6th of July, let’s celebrate our spiritual freedoms!  Amen!  

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

We don’t have to live in Fear!

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 29, 2025

Scriptures: 2 Kgs 2:1-15; Ps 77:1-3, 11-20; Gal 5:1, 11-25; Lk 9:51-62

Among the “Joys and Concerns” we offer up to the Lord each Sunday is a request that He bring down the incidence of violent crime in our country.  Thursday of this week, we were confronted with gang-related shootings and a high speed police chase—not in New York, LA, or Chicago—but just a few miles away from us in Lake City.  Perhaps you have even purchased a meal at the Arby’s restaurant where this went down.

My understanding is that two 20 year olds and one 18 year old rode in from Jacksonville with the intent to kill a former felon, Jayden Randall, working at Arby’s on a Department of Corrections work-release program.  The older two entered the restaurant at 11:30am, dressed in black, with guns drawn.  They located Randall, then chased him into the kitchen, shooting him seven times.  He was air-lifted to a trauma treatment center in critical condition.

We pray for his full recovery.  They also shot a high-school student, an innocent by-stander, also employed at the restaurant.  He was treated and released the same day.  We pray he has no residual PTSD.  All three suspects were caught by the Florida Highway Patrol as they gave chase at speeds of 125MPH going north on I-75.

(The Lake City Reporter. Jun. 26, 2025.)

Reading about this made me grateful that none of my loved ones were in that restaurant at that time.  I’ve eaten there and probably many of you have, too.  I was also hopeful that the high school student is okay—that could have been one of our children or grandchildren.  I was also relieved that no other vehicles crashed during the police pursuit on I-75. 

In thinking about the incident since, several things have occurred to me:  (1) We really can’t predict what might happen to us in a given day.  (2) This is the kind of behavior we might expect of people who do not know or love Jesus.  The three suspects were exacting some sort of revenge.  We are taught not to seek revenge, but to pray for them and give them over to Jesus.  (3) Thank God we do know and love Jesus.

Thank God because we know a better way to live—St. Paul calls it a more excellent way– and thank God because He protects us.  As a result, we don’t have to live in fear!

In Galatians 5:1, 13-25, the Apostle Paul reminds us that because we are in Christ—i.e., we put our faith in Him as His followers—we have perfect freedom from having to slavishly live by the Law.  We are saved by God’s grace, through Jesus’ perfect sacrifice of Himself on the Cross.  As Paul says in verse 1, NLT—So Christ has truly set us free.  Now make sure that you stay free and don’t get tied up again to slavery to the Law.  We don’t have to follow a lot of rules to earn our salvation (known as works righteousness).  In fact, we can’t earn our salvation on our own efforts.  We need a Savior and we have one:  Jesus Christ.  He has done all the work for us.

Paul goes on to insist (vv.13-14, NLT) —For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  In other words, we don’t live according to Laws, but rather according to Christian principles:

We’re to deny our sinful natures.  We are to focus, instead, on loving others.

And we are to (v.16) allow the Holy Spirit to guide our behavior (Be subject to the Holy Spirit rather than the Law).

But, there’s a nearly constant internal struggle going on in each of us, isn’t there?  Do what is right (live by the Holy Spirit) Vs. giving into our sinful desires.  Paul then supplies us with a sin list—If we do any of the sins on this “Works of the Flesh” list, we are not cooperating with the Holy Spirit—J.Vernon McGee says that Christians who do these things are Christian Cannibals  (J..Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Galatians, Thomas Nelson, 1991,p.96)..  They devour others in the following ways: 

(1) Sexual immorality tops the list.

(2) Impurity and lustful pleasures are a close second—these 3 sins use others for a person’s selfish pleasure.

(3) Idolatry—worshipping anything other than God, and dragging others into these practices.

(4) Sorcery—calling on or utilizing power not of God, and recruiting others to do the same.

(5) Hostility and quarreling (offenses against loving our neighbors, and providing a poor example);

(6) Jealousy and envy (we are not to covet the blessings of another person);

(7) Angry outbursts (we’re called to be disciplined in the way we express anger—(Eph 4:26)—Be angry but sin not.);

(8) Selfish ambition (we want to be ambitious for God’s purposes only);

(9) Dissension and division (we encourage peace and unity.  I learned recently of a female ordained deacon who stirred up resentment toward the pastor of the church she was serving.  When he fired her, she went to another denomination, told her “sad story of having been abused by her former pastor,” and was rather quickly ordained a deacon by her new boss.  Neither the new pastor nor the new denomination checked with the former boss to learn she spreads dissension.  Since the single best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, they will undoubtedly discover they failed to do their due diligence.

(10) Drunkenness and wild parties (we do not lose our self-control).

Notice Paul follows this up with a list of 9 characteristics/or fruit of the Holy Spirit.  We can tell a person is walking in the transformative power of the Holy Spirit if we can see evidence in their lives of:

(1) Love,

(2) Joy, 

(3) Peace,

(4) Patience, 

(5) Kindness, 

(6) Goodness,

(7) Faithfulness, 

(8) Gentleness,

(9) and Self-control.

The truth is our Lord wants us to manifest this fruit.  In Matthew 13:3-9, Jesus says we are to be fruitful bringing back to Him thirty, sixty, or 100 times what He has given us—and not just with money.  We can’t do this on our own, but we can if we allow Christ to live His life in and through us.

Last week I focused our attention on how Satan uses discouragement as a tool to draw us away from God.  Fear is another very effective tool of his. But we don’t have to fall for it.  We know that [God’s] perfect love drives out all fear (1 John 4:18), and that…God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a strong mind (2 Tim 1:7).  As Paul reminds us (vv.24-25), we can nail our fears to the Cross of Christ.  Think about how we say at the end of our service each Sunday, “All our problems, we send to the Cross of Christ;  All our difficulties, we send to the Cross of Christ; All the devil’s works, we send to the Cross of Christ.”  These are the Bible verses that practice is derived from.  We can go even further and nail our sinful natures to the Cross of Christ.  Additionally, we can ask Jesus to replace our fears, for instance, with love, joy, and peace, the fruit of the Spirit.  In fact, we can ask Jesus to replace all of our sinful tendencies with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

I feel sorry for the 3 thugs from Jacksonville who shot those two people Thursday out of a desire for revenge. They are clearly living out their sin nature!  And where has it gotten them?  They are slaves to the devil and bound for prison and—without true repentance—they are headed to an eternity in Hell.  Let’s hope and pray someone in jail reaches out to them with the message of the Good News of the Gospel.  Let’s hope and pray they ask God’s forgiveness and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Let’s hope and pray they nail their sinful mindsets and antisocial life-styles to the Cross of Christ and exchange them for the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Let’s hope and pray that they, like us, do not have to live in fear or as men who are lost in their sins.

  As I prepared this message, I was reminded of the lyrics to the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” written by a Methodist pastor who had come out of a criminal background, back in 1758:  

Come Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.  

Praise the mount!  I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine *Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

(*An Ebenezer is a physical monument to a significant move of God.)

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Holy Trinity Sunday

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 15, 2025

Scriptures: Pro 8:1-4, 22-31; Ps 8; Ro 5:1-5; Jn 14:15-29

The following two stories illustrate the fact that the Trinity is just too big and too deep for us to get our mortal minds around:

In the first, a young American woman is traveling in France.  She goes into a bookstore and asks the small, elderly Frenchman who waits on her for a map of France.  He spends some moments in the back of the store and then he proudly presents her with an armload of maps, including one for Paris, a 2nd one of Marseilles, and a 3rd one of Lyons. 

The young woman is dismayed and says to the Frenchman, “But I just want a single map of the whole of France.” The older gentleman pulls himself up to his full height and proudly responds, “But Mademoiselle, France is too big to be captured in just one map.”

(Fairless & Chilton, The Lectionary Lab Commentary, Yr. C, 2015, p.195.)

The second concerns a family from India who visited with friends in California.  While there, the parents left their 11 year old daughter with their Christian friends, as they participated in a professional conference.  The family invited the girl to attend church with them on Sunday.  She went along and  quietly took in all she saw and heard.  

When they got back home, the host asked the girl for her impressions.  She then told him, “I don’t understand why the West Coast isn’t included too,” she replied. When they inquired what she meant, she added, “You know, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the whole East Coast.”

(Contributed by Ann Spivack, Reader’s Digest, as shared on www.sermon illustrations.com, 6/10/25.)

Today is both Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday.  Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, and especially to God our Father!  We know that God the Father has both created all creatures on earth and has provided for them.  As our Proverbs lesson tells us (Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31), He also created wisdom.  We can, like King Solomon, ask God to give us wisdom.  Initially, wisdom is personified as a woman, but as we see in verses 22-31, if you examine these proverbs carefully, it’s clear that Jesus, the architect of Creation, is God’s wisdom (“I am the way, the Truth [wisdom], and the life.”  John 14:6).  The Son has redeemed us and reconciled us to His Father.  In our Psalm today (Psalm 8), King David both celebrates the 

Father’s creation and the Son’s second coming in power, when He will put all things into subjection under His feet (Hebrews 2:5-8).   And the Holy Spirit, according to our Gospel passage today (John 14:15-29), is our Advocate, like our defense attorney.  He reminds us of all that Jesus taught, leads us into all truth [wisdom; Jesus], and guides us and sanctifies us (helps us or heals us to) become like Jesus. .

That’s roughly how the three persons of the Trinity separate out their work.  However, we want to bear in mind that St. Augustine of Hippo once wrote,  

“WHOEVER DENIES THE TRINITY IS IN DANGER OF LOSING HIS SALVATION :”  “ YET ON THE OTHER THE SIDE OF THE COIN.”  HE SAID, “WHOEVER TRIES TO UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY IS IN DANGER OF LOSING HIS MIND.”

(As quoted in www.sermoncentral.com, 6/10/2025.)\

Any analogy or metaphor we might use to try to explain the Trinity is probably too simplistic.

So, let’s instead focus today on our passage from Romans 5:1-5.  Paul wants us to be sure we understand all of the benefits we derive from having been saved by Jesus Christ.  He lays it out for us in just 5 pithy verses:

(1) First, (v.1) we have Peace with God the Father.  We all know of folks—and perhaps have experienced ourselves—being cut off emotionally from some family members.  We are related by blood, but for a myriad of reasons do not have any real or meaningful contact with each other.  Maybe they were abusive.  Perhaps their addictive behaviors or their cruelty were just too dangerous for us to be around.  Maybe they lied about us or believed the lies about us told to them by others.  Perhaps every time we are around them, they wound us again.  We or they have decided that spending time together is emotionally dangerous and damaging.  We or they have decided to act like the other person is dead to us to avoid additional pain.  It’s not what God would want from us, but it is a way to keep ourselves emotionally–and perhaps even physically–safe.

But we don’t want to, or have to, live that way with God the Father. Whether we knew it or not, we were cut off from Him, due to our sinfulness, until we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. In other words,  God loved us but was against us until then. However, now, as believers in Jesus, we are justified by our faith. Jesus effected for us a complete and total reconciliation with God the Father.  Remember, God cannot abide sin. Our sin cuts us off from God as though we are the toxic relatives.  But through Jesus’ atoning death on the Cross, He paid the penalty for our sins, past, present, and future.  Our redemption by Jesus saves us from hell, but even better enables us to have an intimate and loving relationship with the Father. This peace with God is a huge blessing!

(2) Next (verse 2), Paul says we now have access to God the Father through prayer.  This is also a tremendous blessing! This is so big that many non-believers mock it. They say things like, “For real!  You really think Almighty God would care about the fact you are worried about your grandchild or that you have an ear ache?”  But we know that He is “the God of the Big Picture” but also “the God of the Details.” He loves hearing from us and wants to share in our lives, even down to the minutia.  If something bothers us and we bring it to Him, He listens.  And if we ask for His help, He responds.

(3) Third (verse 2), we have hope.  I love the way retired Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright puts it: 

“As a result of being justified by faith, we are, in the old phrase, ‘in a state of grace,’ a status, a positon where we are surrounded by God’s love and generosity, invited to breathe it in as our native air.  As we do so, we realize that this is what we were made for; that it is the beginning of something so big, so massive, so unimaginably beautiful and powerful, that we almost burst as we think of it.  When we stand there in God’s own presence, not trembling but deeply grateful, and begin to inhale His goodness, His wisdom, His power and His joy, we sense that we’re being invited to go all the way, to become the true reflections of God, the true image-bearers, that we were made to be.  Paul puts it like this:  we celebrate the hope of the glory of God.”

(N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone, Romans, Westminister John Know Press, 2004, p.83.)

Later in Romans (8:25), Paul will write, And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.  Since we can trust that God works all things together for our good, we can always have hope, despite our circumstances.   After all, we worship “the God of all hope!”

(4) Fourth (verses 3-4), we have Triumph in times of trouble (i.e., we can celebrate in our suffering!). YIKES! This is a hard one to understand! The point Paul is making is that our God uses our suffering—which we will endure in this broken world—to prune us, to transform us, to mold and shape us into the best version of ourselves. The process helps us develop patience or endurance, as we hold on to our faith and hang in.  Patience/endurance, in turn, toughens our character.  And strong character fortifies our ability to hope, even against hope. 

Think about it, we live in a world that wants everything instantly: TV reception, microwaved dinners, and immediate answers to texts!  But God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and God the Holy Spirit call to us to swim against this cultural current. Patience is both a virtue and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our God wants us to develop patience, to strengthen our character, and to always have hope.

(5) And lastly (verse 5), our salvation proves how much God the Father loves us.  He sacrificed His only Son to save us.  We suffer when one of our children or other loved ones have to endure painful medical procedures—imagine how the Father suffered as He watched His only Son endure excruciating pain through His beatings and his crucifixion.  And now, while the Father and His Son dwell in Heaven, He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

Thanks be to God for the creative love of our Heavenly Father, the redeeming love of His Son Jesus, and the sanctifying love of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

The Good Shepherd

Pastor Sherry’s message for May 11, 2025

Scriptures: Acts 9:37-43; Ps 23; Rev 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

Back in 2007, I thought the Lord was calling me to plant a new church. I was living in Tallahassee then and did not believe I was in any way gifted to do this. But, intending to be obedient to the Lord, I decided to check out some successful church plants there to see how they did it.

One Sunday, I attended a large Pentecostal Church called “Genesis”—I liked the name—in their 4th year.  At the time, they were meeting in a high school auditorium, and claimed they had 800 adults (+ numerous kids) attending.

The Pastor that Sunday preached about the trials and tribulations their congregation had experienced during their 4 years of existence:

1.) They had 1200 show up for their Easter Service, but were plunged into darkness when a squirrel ate through a power line.

2.) The school board had reneged on and amended their contractual agreement several times, requiring them to spend more than they had budgeted or expected.

3.) The stage lights didn’t work well and had to be jerry-rigged each week.

4.) The heat and AC controls were locked up in another office so they could not adjust them as needed.

5) The weekly set up and take down had wearied their volunteers and robbed them of energy and focus.

In sum, he said, “Being in this high school has been a nightmare!”

At this point, I was sure he was going to launch into a plea to raise more money so they could buy or build their own sanctuary.  But, surprisingly, the pastor reminded them that the Lord had led them there in the first place!  He had prayed and fasted, and believed the Lord had told him to rent the school auditorium. His wife had prayed and got the same response. His staff had prayed about it and came to the same decision.  Perhaps even more convincing was the fact that the principal of the high school had actually approached them to ask if they wanted to rent his space!

They believed they had received a clear direction from the Lord, jumped on the deal, and assumed it would be, “Easy, all would go well, because the Lord had set this up for us!” 

Now I was there to discover, from someone who was experienced, what is required to start up a new church. I was thinking this was all pretty discouraging until I heard the rest of his sermon.  He admitted they had learned that (a.) Sometimes the right place will feel like the wrong place; (b.) Sometimes the right time will feel like the wrong time;

and (c.) Sometimes, when things don’t go well, we will doubt that we heard God correctly.  Yes, they had had their share of troubles in that school auditorium, but they had also brought 600 people to Christ in their 4 years there. I agree with that Pastor that at times like that, the Lord wants us to remember to remain obedient—to persevere—no matter the set-backs and aggravations. Sometimes, what Jesus is looking for from us is that we trust in Him to use even our hard experiences to train us up in the way He wants us to go.  If we can continue to lean into our Good Shepherd, He will not lead us astray.

In our Gospel lesson today, (John 10:22-30), Jesus has a brief but testy interchange with the Scribes and the Pharisees, in which He makes some important statements:

He is in Jerusalem for Hanukkah (Winter-time, perhaps 4 months prior to His death). Jesus is teaching in the Gentile area of the Temple, Solomon’s Colonnade. He is focused on training up His disciples—the 12 and many others—in the few short months He has remaining. Apparently by this time, He has left off trying to convince the religious authorities of His divine identity. The Scribes and Pharisees are trying to get Him to directly state that He is the Messiah, so they can bring Him up on charges of blasphemy (claiming He is God when He is not).  He responds to them (vv.25-27) I have already told you, and you don’t believe Me.  The proof is the work I do in My Father’s name.  [In other words, My actions speak louder than any words].  But you don’t believe Me [In other words, you don’t get it]… because you are not My sheep.  My sheep listen to My voice.  I know them, and they follow Me.

This is brief but very important lesson, so let’s unpack it now:

First, we are His sheep if we believe in Him. FAITH is what it takes to become a Christ-follower. We have read Scripture and we have taken in what Jesus did and said; or we have seen the huge difference He has made in our own life, or in the life of someone else. (For example, I heard yesterday that a man with stage 4 prostate cancer had been healed in his church last Sunday.)  And so we have come to believe in Him.

Second, when we believe in Him, we can begin to talk to Him and hear from Him. Do you talk to Him?  How do you know when God is speaking to you?  How do know you have heard from Him?

There are actually a number of ways God is speaking to us:

1.) Scripture (God’s Word written) A passage may leap off the page when you ask for God’s direction. I was ready to abandon the ordination process when I checked it out with the Lord and was directed by Him to Psalm 110:4 The sovereign Lord has decided and will not change His mind. That did it for me. I stopped trying to back out.

Or you may read a passage that seems to be written exactly for you in your current situation.  Back in 1984, my husband had left me for another woman.  My heart was broken and I was grieving when someone from my church advised me to read Isaiah 54. I did and was amazed!  Verse 4 reads, Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. I was teaching high school at the time and all my students knew about my situation. I felt emotionally naked, vulnerable, and ashamed. In verses 5-6, the Lord says, “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.  The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected.”  That passage had my initials on it. I knew it was meant for me. I took God at His word that He was my husband, and He has faithfully loved me, provided for me, and protected me ever since!

2.) Through others (especially 2-3 unsolicited comments.)  In the case of the Genesis Church, they had agreement among several folks who were praying separately but came to the same conclusion.

3.) Circumstances (closed vs. open doors). Watch for how things work out. God will guide you through the way in which He sets up events. Consider how you met your spouse or how you came to land a good job. Often the circumstances are pretty curious and unlikely, unless superintended by our God.

4.) A nudge in your spirit.  You will feel led to do or say something that’s unusual for you. Years ago, I was walking early in the morning when I had such a nudge:  Pick up a stick! It was insistent and repeated, so I located a large stick I would consider a cudgel. Seconds later, two huge dogs came snarling out of the woods, intending to attack me. But I had my big stick, shook it at them, and they retreated.

5.) Billboards, bumper stickers, and song lyrics.  My son will be thinking about a concern while in his car, then see a bumper sticker on a car just ahead that perfectly addresses his issue.

6.) Dreams/visions.  Jesus still speaks to us in dreams and visions. I encountered an Iranian man, a new Christian, who had fled to Turkey. Through an interpreter I asked how he had come to know Jesus Christ. His name was Navid and he said Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him in a dream. Jesus said something very consistent with what he had said during the day. As a result, the young man accepted Him. 

7.) Angelic visitation.  The writer to the Hebrews says wethen may not know we have entertained angels. I met an older man in New Orleans while at lunch one day. I had never seen him before and did not see him ever again.  He told me I needed to leave New Orleans, as a category 4 hurricane was coming which would flood the city. This happened 4 months before Hurricane Katrina hit. The church I was pastoring took on 10 feet of water during the storm, but the Lord had moved me back home to Tallahassee 2 months earlier.

8.) A strong Knowing.  Some call this a “a word of Knowledge.”  You know something that you can’t explain how you know it.  It seems to just drop into your head and you just know. This happens to me often when I am counseling people. It’s a gift and a blessing, it is always right, and I thank God for it.

9.) An audible word.  These are rare. I have had one. I was awakened by a deep male voice at about 3-4:00 a.m. back in 1988. I awoke to the echo of the word “reconciliation,” not a word I used much at that time. I then wondered who I was to be reconciled with, but later determined that in my counseling work, I was reconciling clients to God, to others, and to their best version of themselves. In seminary, I spent time studying 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, in which St. Paul says we are all called to a ministry of reconciliation.

We have to practice recognizing God’s voice to get better at it. 

The story is told of a young, rather inexperienced pastor who was trying to teach some little kids about Jesus as the Good Shepherd: 

“He told the children about sheep, that they weren’t smart and needed lots of guidance, and that a shepherd’s job was to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them from wandering off and doing dumb things that would get them hurt or killed.

He pointed to the little children in the room and said that they were the sheep and needed lots of guidance.

Then the minister put his hands out to the side, palms up in a dramatic gesture, and with raised eyebrows said to the children, “If you are the sheep then who is the shepherd?” He was pretty obviously indicating himself.

A silence of a few seconds followed.  Then a youngster said, “Jesus, Jesus is the shepherd.”

The young minister, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, “Well, then, who am I?”

The little boy frowned thoughtfully and then said with a shrug, “I guess you must be a sheep dog.”

(Borrowed from www.bestcleanfunnyjokes.com, 5/6/25.)

Now bear with me a few more minutes as I attempt to be your sheep dog, leading you consider a few more truths about Jesus, our Good Shepherd:

In Psalm 23, an aged King David essentially summarizes for us what he has experienced the Good Shepherd do for him (and what He will do for us). This time, he sees himself not as a shepherd, himself, but as one of God’s sheep. Like a shepherd would do for his flock of sheep, David says God has…

1.) Protected him from harm.  

“Several years ago, in eastern Turkey in the Van province near Iran, there were shepherds who were caring for a flock of 1,500 sheep. They took a break and neglected the sheep while eating breakfast. During those few minutes the sheep wandered away towards a cliff that dropped off into a ravine 15 meters below. The first sheep fell to his death. The next 399 also followed and fell to their deaths. The remaining 1,100 sheep also followed and fell, but because the ravine was already littered with sheep their fall was cushioned and they survived.”

(Pastor Tim Melton, www,SermonSearch.com, May 6, 2025).

2.) Provided food, water, and rest for him;

3.) He had restored him when he had been discouraged or distressed;

4.) Led him in the right or wise direction;

5.) He had given him physical and emotional comfort;

6.) And blessed him spiritually. 

Just like last week, our Revelation passage (7:9-17) provides a picture of what worship is like in heaven. Believers from all times, places, races, and nations will be present to join with the angels in praising our God. The number will include Old Testament saints, all born again Christians, and Jews who will come through the Great Tribulation to believe in Jesus.

St. John then testifies that (v.17) The Lamb on the throne will be their shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of life giving water and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Jesus has been our Good Shepherd in the past, He is our Good Shepherd now, and He will continue to shepherd us in heaven

The important question now is do you know the Good  Shepherd? Are you on intimate terms with Him?

A famous actor on the level of James Earl Jones or Charlton Heston was asked to recite the 23rd Psalm.  He did so and the folks who heard his recitation were mightily impressed.  Then the famous actor asked the old preacher/”sheep-dog” seated nearby to do the same.  His version was not as smooth or polished as the actor’s, but, “when he finished there was not a dry eye in the room. When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied. ‘I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”

(Pastor Steve Jones (www.SermonSearch.com, May 6, 2025)

This is a great day to become close friends with the Good Shepherd!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Worthy is the Lamb

Pastor Sherry’s message for May 4, 2025

Scriptures: Acts 9:1-20; Ps 30; Rev. 5:1-14; Jn 21:1-12

Some years back, I read a book—can’t remember the title—but it was an autobiographical account of an Army doctor in WWI, who died and was taken up into heaven. You may renenber, from our Covid experience, that there was a huge, worldwide influenza epidemic from 1918-1920.  Mostly young people were susceptible, especially those gathered together in army camps, bases, or foxholes. This doctor, whose name I’ve sadly forgotten, was working in an Army hospital at a base in Texas. He was struck down by the disease and appeared to have died. Someone even covered his head with a blanket, the sign to everyone that another soldier had perished. It took several hours before anyone came to remove his body.

But in the meantime, he found himself flying back over his home (planeless) in Virginia, where he saw his mother hanging out clothes to dry, and his father walking over to talk with her. He noted that his parents were safe and well. Then he found himself whisked up into heaven. He reported beautiful, vivid colors, lots of flowers and wonderful smells. Everyone he saw there was happy and healthy. He felt enveloped in love. He even encountered Jesus! He was filled with joy and wanted to stay; but, in short order, Jesus told him his work on earth was not done, so he was going to be sent back. The doctor came back to life just as they were preparing to remove his body for burial. He went on to get well, only to fall into a profound depression that lasted 3 years!  He wrote that he missed heaven so much that he found life as we know it to be profoundly disappointing by comparison. Eventually, he rallied, found meaning and purpose in being a doctor, and went on with his life.

I previously preached here about Jesus’ fish-fry on the beach, and Paul’s dramatic conversion, but today I want to focus our attention on our reading from Revelation.

Revelation chapters 4 and 5 offer us the best report of what Heaven is like in all of Scripture. In Chapter #4, the 90-92 years old Apostle John finds himself “taken up” into the Heavenly throne room. He has a vision of Jesus and receives the Lord’s words for the 7 churches in Asia Minor, but is then directed by Jesus to come up into heaven.

He sees things there that are almost too difficult to for him to put into words. He sees God the Father, seated on His throne, at the very center of a huge gathering. God dwells in dazzling light so overwhelming that John cannot clearly see His face. He tries to describe that light by using the image of light reflected by sunlight on jewels.  Scholars believe the jewel tones he saw were red, white, bright green, and perhaps purple.  Additionally he observes that God is surrounded on His throne by an emerald-hued rainbow. The rainbow is likely reminiscent of the days of Noah.  It seems to indicate the eternality of God’s promises—that is, that God does not break His promises to us, even if we disappoint Him.

Around God’s throne are 24 smaller thrones.  There is considerable conjecture about who the 24 elders are who are seated on the lessor thrones.  Most experts today think they represent “the true Church” or the “Redeemed:” including the 12 patriarchs or leaders of the Old Testament tribes of Israel; and the 12 Apostles from the New Testament.  They are dressed in white, the color of purity and righteousness, and what seems to be the uniform of heaven. They all wear a gold crown on their head, indicating they are a royal priesthood.  

John hears thunder and sees lightening shoot out from God’s throne. In Old Testament times, these signaled God’s presence and often His judgment. John perceives that the One seated on the throne is about to release His judgment on the inhabitants of the earth. Additionally, He notes (1) 7 torches around the throne, symbolic of the full presence of the Holy Spirit.

(2) Then he describes a “glass sea” under the throne, separating God the Father from everyone else there. God is totally holy. He is also, as I often say, large and in charge, so this bit of separation makes sense. 

(3) John is also amazed by God’s Honor Guard–the 4 living creatures (seraphim). They have eyes all over themselves, which looks and sounds very strange but indicates that they are omniscient or all- seeing. They fly about on 6 wings. Their bodies are those of strange, composite beings that may symbolize the apex of created life forms:

(a.) The mightiest wild animal, a lion (known to be ferocious);

(b.) The mightiest domestic animal, an ox (known for its strength);

(c.) The mightiest of all animals, humankind (known for our intelligence)

(d.) And the mightiest bird, the eagle (known for its swiftness).

Obviously these composite beings are capable of protecting God’s space and His person. Who could successfully take them on?

In Chapter #5, we find God the Father holding a scroll in His right hand, the hand of power.  John notes that it has writing on both sides. Typically in those days, people wrote on the front side of papyrus only, as the fibers on front were oriented horizontally while those on the back ran vertically. To have written on both sides indicates that the scroll is filled to overflowing with the decisions and the direction of God.  A number of Biblical scholars believe it contains both the salvation of humankind and the judgment of the wicked. A noted expert on the interpretation of Revelation, Robert Mounce, writes, “The whole story of human history rests in the hand of God.  What simpler or more sublime way of picturing God’s ultimate sovereignty over all history could be found than this picture of the scroll resting in the hand of God?  However strong evil becomes, however fierce be the satanic evils that assail God’s people on earth, history still rests in God’s hand.”

(Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelaton (Revised Ed.), Eerdmans, 1998, pp.82-83.)

Additionally, this scroll is sealed with 7 seals against tampering (again 7, in the Hebrew numbering system, is the number indicating completion). So, we can assume that what’s written therein is perfectly safe against tampering and that what’s written therein is very important!

John hears an angel ask (v.2) Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?  Perhaps eager to learn God’s plans, John bursts into tears because (v.4)…no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. Then one of the 24 elders directs John to stop weeping. because Someone worthy has been found:  the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, Jesus.

But the Jesus who comes forth is not a warrior king in all His resurrection splendor, nor a majestic lion. Rather, He is portrayed as a little lamb who had been sacrificed—alive now (resurrected) but probably evidencing a slit throat. Obviously it takes Someone totally conformed to God’s will—like Jesus—to break the seals. God Himself doesn’t do it, but He has the Mediator, Jesus, bring human history to its foreordained consummation (Mounce, Ibid, p.143).

At this point, we should pause and say, “Worthy is the Lamb!” The use of the Lamb image is both striking and unusual. When people groups want symbols of power for their country, they tend to choose apex predators: Russia has the bear; Britain, a lion; France, a tiger; and the USA, the bald eagle. But God chooses a slain lamb, a typical temple sacrifice for sin. Christ is victorious precisely because He has surrendered Himself to be sacrificed, like a Passover Lamb.  He has triumphed over sin, death, and evil by His death on the Cross.

This particular lamb, Jesus, is powerful because He is depicted with seven horns, an Old Testament symbol for complete and perfect power.

Similarly, He has 7 eyes, representing His all-seeing omniscience.

So the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world steps forward to open the scroll, and all of heaven bursts into song. The 24 elders fall down before Him, surrendering to worship, singing Jesus a new song. They play harps to accompany worship music (I don’t think we will be the ones playing harps, despite what the culture contends).  The elders also offer up golden bowls of incense, which John is told are the prayer of the saints.  Then a myriad of angels join in a powerful chorus.  Finally, John writes (v.13) Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. (Talk about a Halleluia Chorus!)

So what can we take away from our glimpse into God’s throne room in Heaven?  I believe the following insights are worth remembering:  

1.) True power in this world does not rest with human dictators or human governments, but rather with our God.

2.)  God controls the course of human history.

3.) Even the most exalted beings in heaven humbly acknowledge God’s superiority in every way—so should we.

4.)  As God, Jesus knows how human history will end…our history is truly His-Story.

5.) How true then is Paul’s assertion from Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?

6.) When we each get to heaven we will join millions of believers and angels in worship of our God and our Lord Jesus.

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

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

But, What’s Next?

Pastor Sherry’s message for April 27, 2025

Scriptures: Acts 5:27-39; Ps 150; Rev 1:4-8; Jn 20:10-31

The true story is told of a mom of two small children helping them dye Easter Eggs several days before Easter Sunday (Yes, I realize Easter Sunday was last week). Her children were 3YO Dan and 2YO Debbie. As they worked at this craft activity, she taught them the meaning of Easter. She also taught them the Easter acclamation: She said, “Alleluia, The Lord is Risen!”  And the children learned to repeat, “The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!  It turns out their father is a Presbyterian minister.

Dan, the 3YO, wanted to impress his Dad with what he had learned.  So, on Easter morning, he burst into his dad’s bedroom, shouting, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, God’s back!”  Isn’t that adorable?!  Don’t you love the way small children interpret life events?

Yes, Jesus came back from the grave, But, What’s Next? Where does this leave us?  What are we supposed to do now?

As always, our readings today point us in exactly the right direction:

A. Let’s start with our Gospel from John 20:19-31.  We remember from our Gospel lesson last week that some women disciples of Jesus had gone to His tomb to pay their final respects to the Lord—only to find His tomb open, and His body gone.  Before they could get too upset, however, 2 angels appeared to tell them Jesus had been resurrected, and that they were to go report that miraculous news to “the-12-minus-Judas,” which they did.  The guys were of course skeptical, because none of them expected to see Jesus as anything other than dead. 

In today’s passage, it is the evening of Resurrection Day and Jesus appears to the “11-minus-Thomas.”  He suddenly materializes through a locked door.  He has to say (v.19)  Peace be with you! because they were no doubt shocked and afraid. He shows them his wounded hands and feet to assure them He is real and not a ghost. But notice what he does next:  He says again (v.21)—Peace be with you!  Then, He says, As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.  He calms their fears and their excitement.  Then He announces that He is sending them. Of all the things He could have chosen to say to them, He gives them their But, what’s next?  Here’s what’s next for them and for us: They (and we) are to tell others who do not know Jesus, the Good News.  We are to teach them about who He is and what all He did.  We are to pray for them for faith and healing.

B. Our Acts lesson (5:27-39) tells us that this is exactly what the Disciples began to do.  Rather than continue to huddle in the Upper Room, they went to the Temple and began to preach and teach about Jesus. In chapter 4, Peter and John were arrested for this and for healing a beggar.

Peter boldly declares to the Sanhedrin (4:10)—It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified but Whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Peter did not mince any words did he?  The Jewish religious authorities tell them they are not to preach anymore about Jesus.  But again Peter bravely responds (4:19-20)—Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.  The authorities let them go.

By the time of today’s passage, the word has spread that the Apostles are doing what Jesus did, preaching, teaching and healing.  Crowds flock to them. The jealous religious leaders once again have them arrested and jailed. An angel sets the Apostles free, and they resume teaching and healing again the next day. The jealous leaders, who are mad enough to kill them, arrest them again.  Bold Peter again proclaims they have to keep bringing people to Jesus because they are obeying God!  Even if it means being arrested or persecuted, they won’t stop.

At this point, the highly respected Rabbi Gamaliel (Paul’s teacher) wisely speaks up.  He counsels the Sanhedrin to leave the Apostles alone.

If they are zealots acting on their own, their movement will die a natural death; but if they are indeed doing God’s will, the Sanhedrin will not be able to stop them.  Worse yet, they will find themselves fighting against God. His wisdom prevails.

Now, we did not live with Jesus for three years, hear His words, or witness to His healings and deliverances.  But because of what we know from the Bible, and from what Jesus modeled and taught, we realize Jesus is worthy.  As the beginning verses of Revelation (1:4-8) reveal to us, He is our sovereign and everlasting God.  He is worthy of our attention.  He is worthy of our obedience.

D. And our Psalm (150) dramatically proclaims He is worthy of our praise and worship.  Only the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are worthy of our worship.  Our culture now worships money, power, influence, sex, even fashion and one’s social media presence.  We need to be mindful of who or what we worship. The story is told of how the brother of the famous American preacher named Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), came to his church one Sunday to substitute for him. 

A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits. That’s when the minister stood and said loudly, “All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!” 

(Lou Nicholes, November 28, 2017, as presented by  http://www.SermonCentral.com ,4/20/2025).

Hopefully, we come to church to worship none other than our Lord, Jesus Christ.

So, What’s Next?  We cannot just occupy the pews of our church building. The What’s next is to tell those who aren’t connected to Jesus about Who He is, why they need Him in their lives, and how to go about getting connected to Him.  It’s the first thing He told the Eleven—so it must have been very important to Him. One of the purposes for coming to church on Sunday is to become strengthened and equipped to bring others to Jesus. Another purpose for coming to church is to worship Him.

We need to obediently respond to Christ’s command that we tell those we encounter about Jesus. This will require we have God’s peace in our hearts and spirits. We need not stand on street corners or go door to door passing out tracts. Instead, we look for opportunities that the Lord gives us to connect with people, as well as the words to say.

This reminds me of something I heard from Graham Cooke, an Anglican priest, at a healing conference he held some years back at a Vineyard Church in Gainesville, Florida. He said he was in America, somewhere in New England, when he walked into a Starbucks. As he entered, he heard the Lord tell him, See that man seated over there.  I want you to go tell him I will heal his daughter if he prays for her daily. Graham obediently went up to the man to convey this message. The guy asked him not to bother him as he had had very bad news and wasn’t up to talking to anyone. Graham said he had a message from God for him. The guy replied that he was an atheist and didn’t believe in God. Graham replied to him, “Well God believes in you.”  He then told him the Lord knew that he had just learned that his daughter, his only child, had dropped out of college and was prostituting herself to earn money for drugs. The Lord also knew he was broken-hearted. God promised to heal her if the man would pray for her daily for 6 months. The man told Graham that he didn’t know how to pray.  So Graham Cooke wrote a prayer out on a Starbuck’s napkin and directed him to say that to Jesus daily. He also gave him his card so the man could report back whatever happened. Four months later, the guy contacted Graham Cooke to tell him his daughter had left her life of drugs and prostitution, that they were reconciled, and that he was both thrilled and grateful. In fact, both of them had become Christ-followers as a result of this. This is such a great example of (1) a divine appointment, an opportunity set up for Rev. Cooke by the Lord, and (2) also of how the Lord gave him the words to say. As a result, both this man and his prodigal daughter became believers in Jesus Christ.

Finally, we remember that our motivation to tell others about Jesus comes from our devotion to Him and our worship of Him.

Alleluia, He is risen!  The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Resurrection Sunday, 2025

Pastor Sherry’s message for April 20, 2025

Scriptures: Isa 65:17-25; Ps 118:1-2,14-24; 1 Cor 15:19-26; Lk 24:1-12

How many of you enjoy a good mystery?  Briefly, here are two.  See if you can figure them out:

1. “Everyday a gentleman went to work.  Every day, he would ride the elevator all the way to the bottom floor of the high rise apartment building in which he lived.  But when he came home from work, he would ride the elevator back up to only the 6th floor.  Then, he would take the stairs to his apartment many stories higher in the building.  This he did every day, unless it was raining.  If it was raining, he would ride the elevator all the way to the floor of his apartment.  Why?”

2.  Here’s the second one:  “Ann is lying on the floor dead.  There’s broken glass and water all around her.  Stuart is asleep on the couch seemingly oblivious to the death that has occurred.  How did Ann die?”

To keep you from puzzling these two mysteries out while I continue to preach, I’ll tell you their solutions: “In the first one, the gentleman would only go to the 6th floor on his return home from work because that was the highest button that he could reach on the elevator control panel.  He was a short man.  On days that it rained, he had his umbrella with him, and he could use that to punch the button that indicated his floor.” “In the second situation, it might help you to know that Ann is a fish, and Stuart is a cat.  And the glass and water all around Ann on the floor is from her fishbowl that Stuart successfully knocked over.”  The true mystery here is what then kept Stuart from eating Ann? 

(Borrowed from a sermon by Chris Talton, April 15, 2001, www.sermoncentral.com, 3/24/2005)

If we put ourselves in the position of the women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the morning of His Resurrection Day, we would realize they too were presented with several mysteries:

1. The gigantic stone that had sealed the entrance to the tomb had been rolled back.  Who could have done such a thing?  Remember, these ladies had been with Jesus at the Cross.  They had seen Him suffer and die.  They had watched Joseph and Nicodemus remove Jesus’ body from the Cross and transport it for burial in the new tomb nearby.  They also knew the men had hastily anointed Jesus body with embalming ointments and cloths, and had come to neaten things up and complete the job.  Surely they realized no single person could have rolled that huge, heavy stone away.

They probably also knew a contingent of Roman soldiers had been assigned there to guard the tomb.  So what had happened to them?  Had the Romans stolen Jesus’ body?  Had the Jewish religious authorities taken it?  They had to be both puzzled and alarmed.

Cautiously, they stepped inside the tomb to see if His body was there. Instead of finding Jesus’ corpse, they suddenly encountered two “men” in brilliant white clothes–angels.  It’s almost comical that the angels ask them, Why do you look for the living among the dead?  [He is alive!]  He is not here; He has risen.  Literally, the ancient Greek states, He has been raised.  The verb tense implies that God the Father has raised Jesus.

Angels had proclaimed His birth; now angels proclaim His resurrection (The angels and the women are all witnesses to this miracle).  These angels remind them of Jesus’ teachings about His death and resurrection on the 3rd day.  This is a prompt for them to remember. but it’s also a rebuke—”How could you forget something so very important?!!”

Then they do remember, and go to tell the disciples (the next  resurrection witnesses).  The Eleven do not believe them, even though they should have known these women were reliable truth-tellers.  Peter takes off for the tomb, to see for himself (he is now a witness).  Peter probably now knows better than anyone not to doubt the Lord’s words.  But he still wonders (perhaps “marvels”) about what Jesus’ absence in the tomb means. 

This passage (Luke 24:1-12) closes with questions in everyone’s mind about what has happened (big mysteries). 

The accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection are also reported in the other three Gospels, Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; and John 20:1-8.

A. You might want to read them each and compare to get a fuller sense of how the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection responded to the mysteries with which they were presented.

B. Paul, as we know, came to believe in Jesus sometime after the events of Resurrection Sunday.  By then, the mysteries had been explained.

So Paul is intent, in our 1st Corinthians 15:19-26 lesson, that we understand that Jesus’ resurrection is the defining moment of Christianity.

First, back in verses 5-8, he reminds us of who all saw Jesus following His resurrection:  Peter (omitting the women); the 12 minus Judas; more than 500 disciples (maybe he included the women among the 500); Jesus’ brother, James; and Paul himself.

Next, in verses 13-19, Paul asserts that our entire faith depends upon the truth of the resurrection:  Verse 14—If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. In other words, Christ’s resurrection from the dead is incontrovertibly true and forms the basis of our belief in Him.  We worship a God who has the power to bring His Son back from the dead.  I want a strong, powerful God like that, don’t you?  We worship a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son to redeem us.  We worship Jesus, the One and Only, the God Who—because of His self-sacrificing love for us and His obedience to His Father–was willing to cover the cost of our sins.  The sinless Son of God gave up His life so we might have new life, and have it abundantly.  We can connect directly with the Father because Jesus opened the way for us (As He hung on the cross, the massive Temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.)  We can anticipate being resurrected because Jesus opened the way for us.  And, when He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead, He will destroy death…Praise God! 

C.  We don’t know who wrote Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, but it is an ode to joy!  The psalmist invites us to focus on heavenly realities–not the frustrations and disappointments of this life.  Because of the mighty things Jesus will do [has done]—including demonstrating His power over death—we can gratefully rejoice in the Lord and praise Him for our deliverance, provision, and protection.

We are to be thankful to Him because (V.1)—The Lord is good; His love endures forever.  (V.14)—The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.  (V.18)—Prophesying Jesus’s resurrection, the psalmist wrote, I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done…He has not given Me over to death. Jesus was laid dead in a tomb–But He did not remain there as we would have.  He rose again, overcoming death for our sakes!  We are also grateful for the fact that (v.22)—The stone the builders rejected [Jesus] has become the capstone.  The capstone was either (1) a large rectangular stone used as a lintel over a doorway; or (2) a large square or rectangular stone used to anchor or align the corner of a wall; or (3) it might also be the keystone or middlemost stone in an arch.  The capstone (building corner or doorway lintel) or keystone (arch) kept the building from collapsing by supporting what existed beside and above it. The psalmist prophetically meant this as a metaphor for Jesus, who holds all things together for us— no wonder we call Him our Rock and our Redeemer.

Our passage today ends with this line (V.24)—This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

D. Isaiah 65:17-25 reminds us both that Jesus overcame sin and death, and that we too will therefore experience a joy-filled life after death.

After Jesus defeats the forces of evil at Armageddon, God (v.17) will create new heavens and a new earth.  If you read through the book of Revelation, you can tell that our world will be a disastrous mess by the time Jesus appears a 2nd time.  We will probably need a new earth, at a minimum.

Verse 19 tells us that the newly created Jerusalem will be delightful!

God will be overjoyed with His people there; and they too will be very happy, with no one weeping or crying.  Premature death will be an event of the past (no cancers, illnesses, strokes, heart-attacks, eye problems, hearing loss, or sciatic pain).  People will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labors (no warfare or taxes).  All of God’s people will be blessed!  God will answer our prayers before we even finish praying them.  And all animals will become plant-eaters—no more carnivores devouring prey—and will be at peace with each other.

Thanks be to God the mysteries presented the women at the open tomb have been solved.  We are not left to wonder.  Paul wants us to fully appreciate what Jesus has done for us through dying and rising again.  Our psalmist calls upon us to be grateful and to rejoice!  And Isaiah describes a wonderful world ahead for us when the resurrected Jesus comes back to earth.  Let’s celebrate by singing along to Keith and Kaitlin Getty’s version of https://youtu.be/m_063OI38RQ?si=Dre8ll-AV-GHUlPB In Christ Alone.

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams