Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Pedaling in Tandem

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 25, 2026 

Scriptures: Amos 3:1-11; Ps 139:1-18; 1 Cor 1:10-18; Matt 4:12-23

Think about the following stories and see if you can discern the point of each:

(1) The story is told of two men riding a tandem bicycle up a steep hill. After much effort, they finally made it to the top of the hill. The front rider said, “That was a tough ride.” To which the second rider replied, “Sure was, and if I hadn’t kept the brake on we might have slipped backwards.””

Don’t you just know that the front rider was ready to scream at the guy in the back?

(2) “Intending to raise cattle, a family from New York bought a ranch out West. When their friends visited and inquired about the ranch’s name, the would be rancher replied: ‘I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one of our sons wanted the Flying-W, and the other liked the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.’ ‘But where are all your cattle?’ the friends asked. ‘None survived the branding.’”

(Story sources are unknown, Ministry 127.com, 1/20/2026) 

What’s the point of both stories? It’s important to come into agreement.The ranch family needed to agree on a brief name so their cattle weren’t killed. And the tandem two needed to agree to pedal without the brake on so their friendship wasn’t destroyed.

This is where the LORD, through our readings today, is directing us as a church. We are to be a united body focused on our Lord Jesus Christ:

A. This is what Paul is saying to the Corinthian Church (1 Corinthians 1:10-18), isn’t it? They are feuding over which of their leaders/teachers is the best. They have split into factions based on who they favor most. It would be the same if you compared me to the pastors who came before me, or to pastors who have a TV ministry. I am so grateful that you don’t appear to do that. I’m different from all of them—just as they differ from me–and we each have our own special giftings from the Lord. Incidentally, please pray for my continued growth and spiritual maturation.

Our LORD wants each of us to grow and mature spiritually by (1) learning to put Jesus first in all we do—a tall order; (2) learning to love others at least as well as we do ourselves—also a tall order; and (3) by following or obeying Jesus, just like James, John, Andrew, and Simon Peter. We’re not here to compete with one another—like reading faster than anyone else, singing louder, or cooking more dishes to bring to church meals. We’re here to learn a kind of self-giving cooperation not seen enough in our world today. We are to celebrate the centrality, the incomparable importance, of Jesus Christ.

B. Psalm 139:1-18 conveys such a message of reassurance, doesn’t it? It makes the point that our God is omniscient (knows everything), omnipresent (is present everywhere) and omnipotent (is all-powerful). As a result, He knows us intimately our behaviors and our thoughts—even before we speak or write them. We don’t know how He does this, but we know that He does (v.6, NLT)->Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! (Isaiah 55:8-9, in the New Living Translation, says it this way: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”) It also means there is no place we can take ourselves that is beyond God’s awareness—i.e., there is no hiding from God! Wherever we go, God’s (v.10)->hand will guide me, and [His] strength will support me. He can even see us in the dark (vv.11-12).

Next, the psalm informs us that God created our bodies. It was He who decided our gender, our nationality, even the era during which we would live. If we have always hated the size of our hips, or the color of our hair, etc., we might do better to just accept that this is how the Lord meant us to be. The psalmist, King David, writes (v.14)-.Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous. He created us and watched us develop in the womb. 

Better yet, (v.16)-→Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. This is indeed blessed assurance! None of us need ever think we were an accident or that we should never have been born! God called each one of us into being. And our lives have meaning because He had a plan and purpose for us.

C. God’s plan and purpose for James, John, Andrew and Simon Peter was that they would follow Jesus and become fishers of men. In our Gospel lesson today, Matthew 4:12-23, we note that Jesus moved his base of operations from His hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum. This move was precipitated by the fact, as Luke records it, that His hometown friends and relatives rejected His claim (from His reading of Isaiah 61:1) to be the Messiah.

However, God the Father seems to have orchestrated events so that Jesus would locate in this fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum was home to a large number of Roman citizens and folks from other countries—Gentiles all. And, since it was located on two major trade routes—one running East to West, and the other going North-South, connecting Arabia and Egypt to points north of Israel—it was large enough for Jesus to remain relatively anonymous as He interacted with many, and it fulfilled prophecies from Isaiah 9:1-2 and 42:6-7 that Jesus would be… a light to guide the [Gentile] nations.

It was here in Capernaum that He called His first 4 disciples. As He assembled and trained the 12, He cultivated deep relationships with them and sent them out to carry the light of His truth to Jews; and to rescue Gentiles from the darkness of paganism and unbelief.

D. Our Old Testament lesson from Amos 31-11 spells out two important concepts for us:

(1.) First, God is trustworthy and true. The prophet supplies 7 examples of cause and effect, including the following: Unlike the tandem bicyclers, two people who intend to walk together must be traveling in the same direction–not one braking while the other pedals as hard as he or she can. The hunting lion only roars after she has found her prey—if she roared before, the prey would be warned and run off. To trap a bird, the snare must hold some bait. The people of a city in those times realized there was danger approaching when the watchman blew the ram’s horn. The prophet is making the point that God is not capricious!If He punishes His Chosen People, He does so because they deserve it. Not only had they become idolaters, but (v.10)-→”My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the Lord. “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence.” What do you think the Lord would say today about the $9 billion Somali immigrants who have defrauded American taxpayers? Or the $23 million by the California guy who was to have used the funds to feed and house 600 homeless? Instead, one man spent $23 million on his own lavish lifestyle.

(2.) Our God is a good and righteous Father. He definitely knows who the bad actors are. He provides a just punishment for their sins, and He furnishes consequences for their selfishness. Notice, like an effective parent, He also warns them of the punishments to come if they don’t alter their behavior.

I believe the messages the LORD has for us in our Bible passages today are as follows:

We are to focus on Christ Jesus—that’s part of God’s plan for our lives—and this fact should reduce conflict between us.

We can be comforted by the knowledge that each one of us was created by God to fulfill a plan and purpose He set out for us.

It is He Who has called us to be “a light to the nations,” a witness to unbelievers.

And, though He warns us beforehand, He also disciplines those He loves who stray away from His ways.

In his book, The Pursuit of God, Christian thinker and author A.W. Tozer (a Christian Missionary Alliance pastor from the 1920’2 to the 1960’s) wrote the following:

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

This is a powerful image—100 pianos all tuned to the same tuning fork, all in tune and all sounding the same. This is what we become when we worship in unity, focusing our hearts on our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we are transformed when we pedal in tandem with Him.

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Who Led You to Jesus?

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 18, 2026

Scriptures: Ex 12:21-30; Ps 40:1-11; 1 Cor 1:1-9; Jn 1:29-42

Who is/are the person/persons who led you to Christ? At a congregational funeral here a week ago, one eulogist testified that the deceased had spoken into his life when he was in middle school, around age 12. He was from the wrong side of town and was making poor decisions for himself, when the then middle school math teacher took him aside. Due to this teacher’s concern for this boy, the young man “cleaned up his act,” was led to accept Jesus as his savior, and went on to become a pastor and an evangelist. What was particularly amazing was the fact that he then traveled all over the world, bringing others to Christ. Our dear friend influenced this man who then went on to influence many, many others.

I credit my faith to my grandmothers. My father’s mother, a Presbyterian and a high school Biology teacher, made sure I was baptized at age 3 and attended Sunday School. She convinced me that Jesus is real and that He loved me. My mother’s mother, who attended a storefront Pentecostal Holiness Church in West Seattle, made a living cleaning other peoples’ homes. She often took me with her to clean and to attend church. Her service to her church was to clean it on Saturdays. I have memories of helping her, as a 5-6 year old, dust mop under folding chairs. The minister there was a tall (to me), thin woman who wore a crown of braids on her head. I don’t remember anything about her preaching but I knew she liked me and I now wonder if she had something to do with my later call to the ministry.

Much later on, after I had been married for 18 years and divorced, I encountered a woman-friend named Cheryl. She had a Jewish mother and a Baptist father, and a deep Christian faith firmly steeped in Hebrew tradition. We worked together, in the mid-1990’s, on a mobile mental heath team that ministered to four under-served nursing homes. Traveling together by car each day, I noted she saw God’s hand in everything. If an egret flew over the road as we drove to work, she would thank God for the blessing of that simple, but beautiful sight. She would go into raptures, praising God for a field of wild-flowers we passed. When someone was kind to us or gave us a compliment at work, she would also praise God for having prompted them, and thank Him that they had been obedient to pass on that message to us. She taught me by example to look for the goodness and loving kindness of God, rather than focusing on what is wrong in the world. Like King David in today’s psalm (40:1-11), or like Paul in our 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 lesson, she praised God that He hears and answers our prayers, rescues and restores us, and is faithful, true, and trustworthy. She also taught me to pray out loud and without feeling self-conscious. My faith came alive under her tutelage and her example. Attending Cursillo (in 1990) took me from a head to a heart knowledge of Jesus, but hanging out with Cheryl helped me to recognize the hand of God in my life. When I told her one day that I felt called to ordained ministry, she replied, “I know. I have known it for some time.”

In our Gospel lesson today (John 1:29-42), we find three folks who lead others to Christ. First, we see John the Baptist. We know from our Scriptures of last week, that John the Baptists’ job was to prepare people to realize the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. They were to prepare themselves by undergoing a baptism of repentance. In doing so, he had the honor of baptizing Jesus. John tells us the very next day, John the Baptist sees Jesus walking along and says to his disciples (v.29)->…look, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. He points or leads them to Jesus. 

Now why did he call Jesus the Lamb of God? 

(1)In Genesis 22:7-8, Abraham is obedient even to the extent of offering his long-awaited son, Isaac, to God. Isaac asks him-→”Father…the fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering”? Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” The burnt offering was an atonement for sin. A lamb, bull, goat, or pigeon was killed then burnt whole as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. It was a costly and an extravagant offering—the sinner lost economic potential, and no human was allowed to eat any of it. The life of the animal was dedicated to God in place of the life of the sinful person. 

(2) Later, in our Exodus 12:21-30 passage, the Israelite slaves were to take a 1 year old male lamb or goat, without defect. They were to kill it, drain its blood, and sprinkle that blood over their doorways, so when the angel of death swept through Egypt, claiming each first born son, those Israelites who had been obedient were spared. They had been saved by the blood of the Lamb. The Passover Festival then reminded them of when the angel of death had passed over them.

(3) The prophet Isaiah wrote, in Isaiah 53:7-→He [the Suffering servant, the Messiah, Jesus] was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. Using the prophetic tense, which treats future events as though they have already happened, he predicts how Messiah will die. The prophet refers to Messiah as a lamb.

(4) Similarly, the prophet Jeremiah speaks for Jesus in the first person, in Jeremiah 11:19->I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against Me saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; Let us cut Him off from the land of the living, that His name be remembered no more.” In its “nearer fulfillment,” the prophesy was about Jeremiah. His enemies plotted to take his life. But this side of the Cross, we know it also refers to Jesus. Again, there is the image of a lamb being led to slaughter.

You may wonder how John the Baptist knew so much about Jesus. They grew up at some distance from each other, but John’s father was a priest so he would have been steeped in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). He would have known these passages. Further, both Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father from heaven had identified Jesus to him at the time of His baptism. So John the Baptist simple reiterates what he knows: This is the One we have waited for, the One Who was to come.

Next we encounter two of John the Baptist’s disciples who chose to follow after Jesus. They were sincere seekers. We are not told the identity of the second guy—though tradition tells us it was John, the author of this Gospel account—but the first was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. They ask Jesus, very respectfully, Rabbi, where are you staying? To me this is such a strange question. I’d have asked about His knowledge and His credentials: Are you indeed the Christ? May I ask you some questions? May I follow you? Instead, it’s as though they want to know His accommodations. Are you staying here in Bethsaida? In Caesarea? At the Holiday Inn, or the Marriott Courtyard? Jesus graciously replies (v.39)–>Come and you will see->an echo of Psalm 34:8-→Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. He very simply invites them. He encourages them to come and see for themselves. And they do spend the rest of the day with Him. 

At some point, or maybe that day or the next, Andrew leads Peter to Jesus. Andrew prefaces his guidance with his belief that he and John, thanks to John the Baptist, have met the one believed to be Messiah. Andrew introduces his brother to Jesus. Jesus, knowing all things and without having previously met Simon, says his name. He quotes his lineage-→You are the son of John; Simon bar Jonah. Then He proceeds to change Simon’s name to Cephas in Aramaic (a form of Rock/Stone), or Peter in Greek (also meaning Rock). Peter at that point was anything but a rock. However, Jesus is renaming him not for what he is but for what he is to become.  Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Jesus sees us not for what we are at this point in time; but rather for who He means for us to become. 

In addition, isn’t that just how it goes? One person comes to Christ and they tell what they know to another, and that person comes to Christ, and so on. Each one teaches one. The Faith spreads from person to person. This, I think, is the point of today’s Gospel. Someone, or several several someones, led you to Jesus. You respected them, you believed what they had to say, and you observed how they lived. You noted they lived differently from other people, kinder, more grace-filled, more forgiving, gentler, etc., than others in the culture. You saw that they had a personal relationship with Jesus. Because of their story (testimony) and their example, you too drew closer to Jesus. Let’s take time today to thank God for them, and to thank God for their willingness to speak into our lives. And, at this time of embarking on New Year’s Resolutions, let us resolve to be open to obeying the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, leading us to lead someone we encounter to Jesus. Amen!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Resolve in 2026

Pastor Sherry’s message for January 4, 2026

Scriptures: Jer 31:7-14; Ps 84; Eph 1:3-14; Matt 2:1-12

Some dear members of our congregation who have a huge movie collection loaned me a video that I watched several days ago. The name of the film is Purgatory, and it was released in 1999. It featured some actors you might recognize: Sam Shepard, Randy Quaid, and Donnie Wahlberg. The premise is that some famous gunslingers from the Old West, fellows who actually had good hearts, are resurrected to live in the supernatural town of Refuge. They can advance to Heaven if they avoid violence, immoral living, and cussing/dirty language for 10 years. However, if they slip up, an old American Indian from their era collects them and throws them off a cliff into the fires of Hell. The town of “Refuge” is actually Purgatory.

Roman Catholics believe in Purgatory as a place where you burn off your sins until the prayers of your family or others get you released to heaven. This is a very comforting belief because it promises another chance after death to receive forgiveness for our sins. The problem is there is no Biblical support for this belief. In fact, in the parable of Lazarus and Dives, the Rich man vs. the Poor Beggar, Jesus makes the point that there is no coming back from Hell. We make our choice over where we spend eternity by how we choose to live our lives while we are alive.

At any rate, the famous gunslingers include Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, and Billy the kid. They are all doing pretty well at controlling their carnal natures until a gang of about 25 bank robbing killers enters their town.

The 4 are then faced with a terrible dilemma: (1) Strap back on their guns and save the citizens of Refuge from this murderous gang, thereby consigning themselves to Hell; or (2) maintain their good behavior record but let the violent, lawless hoodlums rape and pillage their friends and their town. Following some pretty rotten behavior on the part of the bad guys, the four “fastest guns in the West” decide to sacrifice their eternal future to save their friends. Wild Bill says he’d spent almost 10 years (and his previous lifetime) thinking only of himself, but that it was now time to think of others.

In a massive shoot out, the 4 manage to kill every last bad actor. They are sure they have thus lost their chance at Heaven, and present themselves to the old Indian. However, they are shocked and relieved to discover their sacrificial love and selfless defense of their town has saved them from Hell. 

To those of us who know the Bible, the theology of the movie is obviously faulty: This life is where we make the choice to follow Jesus and are saved—there is no purgatory. Additionally, we are not saved through our own goodness; in fact, we really cannot redeem ourselves—we need Jesus! However, what I liked about it is that they were redeemed by putting the needs of others before their own, even at such a colossal price.

On this first Sunday of 2026, I would encourage us all to resolve to love God and to love others—in ways that are self-sacrificial–before we take care of ourselves. Our Scripture passages today all speak to why this should be the case.

A. Our Old Testament lesson comes from Jeremiah 31:7-14. Speaking for God, the prophet tells the Israelites that even though Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian armies are at the gates of Jerusalem, the Lord promises to eventually bring them back. Following the 70 year penalty for their idolatry and disobedience, they will be returning to the Promised Land. The Lord promises to carefully hand deliver the most vulnerable, like the lame, the blind, children, and nursing mothers. 15 times in chapter 31, He says, I will…,” vowing to redeem them. In spite of their impending defeat and captivity, God is promising, in advance, that He will restore them because He declared, back in (v.3, NLT)-→>”I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.”

Later, in verse 9, He calls Himself the Father of Israel, the collective people, the nation. This is significant because He calls Moses (Job 1:2)–> “MY servant;” King David, too, He refers to as (Psalm 89:3)->”My servant.”

Because the nation of Israel consists of His sons and daughters, He will restore them following their discipline.

(J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Jeremiah, Thomas Nelson, 1991, pp.130-136.) 

We want to resolve in 2026 to love God more than ourselves because we, the Church, are—like Israel—His children.

B. Our psalm (84) describes how someone feels who truly loves God above all things. Verse 10, as paraphrased in Peterson’s The Message (p.1019) reads-→One day spent in Your house, this beautiful place of worship beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palaces of sin. Our worship of God is both a beautiful and a pleasing thing to God. That’s why it’s important for us to be here each Sunday. We honor our God, but we also leave feeling better, elevated, even comforted somehow.

Spending time in God’s House is also safe. The psalmist mentions the sparrows and wrens that nest in the Temple. They are noisy and messy birds, but neither the Lord nor the Levite keepers of the Temple ever chased them off. God’s House is a safe place, a sanctuary.

When we truly Love God more than our own comfort, we make sure we come to worship Him. The writer to the Hebrews said (10:25)-→Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage on another. This is how we do life together. This is how we dwell in Christ.

We want to resolve in 2026 to spend time in God’s House each week as a way of showing both the Lord and our church family that we love Him and them more than we do sleeping in late—or doing all the less important things that compete for our attention here on earth.

C. Our New Testament lesson (Ephesians 1:2-14) is a true celebration of God the Father and of Jesus Christ His Son. Listen to portions of this passage as paraphrased by Peterson in The Message (p.2126)-→How blessed is God! What a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down the earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago, He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ….Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’ re a free people … And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!…It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. It is in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it…, found yourself home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.

In other words, God has adopted us through the saving work of Jesus on the Cross. Like the nation of Israel, we are now His Chosen People, His sons and daughters. Ultimately, with Jesus’ 2nd Coming, God the Father will place all things under the authority of His Son. Because we are God’s children we will be co-heirs with Jesus, sharing in His inheritance. 

We want to resolve in 2026 to love God and to love others better than we love ourselves because—just like the supernatural stagecoach coming to pick up the 4 famous gun-slingers—we want to avoid Hell and share in God’s glory in Heaven.

D. Finally, our Gospel lesson (Matthew 2:1-12) reminds us that wise persons of all times, places, ethnicity, and nationality have sought the Christ. They model for us the appropriate response to Jesus: The wise men seek Him earnestly, even at considerable time and expense to self.  When you locate Him, kneel in reverence and worship Him. Bring Him gifts of your time, talents, and finances. Be aware that there are forces at work who would try to destroy your faith. These include the world, the flesh, and the devil. Recognize and fight against the attempts of these forces to draw you away from God.

We want to resolve in 2026 to love God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ so strongly that nothing can take us away from them.                                            

In 2026, Let us resolve to love God above all things because He is our creator and redeemer. Let us resolve to spend time with the Lord each week, in His house, worshiping Him and sharing fellowship and love with other believers. Let us resolve to do all that is necessary to spend eternity with God and share in Christ’s glory and inheritance in Heaven. Let us also resolve to be watchful, guarding against all attempts of the evil one to pull us away from our Lord and Savior.

The driver of the Heaven-bound supernatural stage coach in “Purgatory” tells the four newly redeemed “The Creator may be tough, but He’s not blind.”  I take this to mean that the Lord has standards but He also is grace-filled. It makes me happy to think that Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid could be in Heaven. But it will make me even happier to arrive there one day and find each one of you there as well. Amen!

©️2026 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

 Baby Jesus: The Divine Threat

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 28, 2025

Scriptures: Isaiah 63:7-9; Ps 148; Heb 2:10-18; Matt 2:13-23

We have spent the past week focused on the sweet baby Jesus.

And He no doubt was a sweet and precious infant. What we tend to forget in this assessment, though, is that He was—and still is–a serious threat to the status quo.

Consider this story told by Anglican Bishop NT Wright, a noted New Testament scholar: After he had preached at a large Christmas service in England, he was approached at the door by a famous British atheist. The man told him, “I’ve finally worked out why people like Christmas.” Wanting to know what the man had gleaned from his sermon, Bp. Wright said to him, “Really? Do tell me.” The man replied, “A baby threatens no one, so the whole thing is a happy event which threatens no one.” Recalling the man’s remarks, the Bishop later wrote:

I was dumbfounded. At the heart of the Christmas story in Matthew’s Gospel is a baby who poses such a threat to the most powerful man around [King Herod, and also Satan] that he rids a whole village full of other babies in order to try to get rid of Him. At the heart of the Christmas story in Luke, too, is a baby who, if only the Roman emperor knew it, will be Lord of the whole world. Within a generation His followers will be persecuted by the empire as “a danger to good order.” Whatever else you say about Jesus, from His birth onward, people certainly found him a threat. He upset the power-games, and suffered the usual fate of people who do that.

In fact, the shadow of the Cross falls over the story from this moment on. Jesus is born with a price on His head…in a land and at a time of trouble, tension, violence, and fear…No point in arriving in comfort, when the world is in misery; no point having an easy life, when the world suffers violence and injustice! If He is to be Emmanuel, God-with-us, He must be with us where the pain is. 

(NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part One, John Knox Press, 2004, pp.13-15.)

It’s true, isn’t it? Jesus was born as a tiny, helpless baby, but He also represented a divine threat.

A. The corrupt and wicked King Herod clearly perceived Baby Jesus as a threat to his reign (Matthew 2:13-23). Historians tell us that Herod, a non-Jewish political appointee of Rome, was by the time of Jesus’ birth, thoroughly paranoid. While he did maintain peace and prosperity in Judea, and engaged in ambitious building projects, he also killed anyone he thought might usurp his throne, including his 1st and 2nd wives, 3 of his sons, and his mother-in-law. He gave orders that when he died, the leading male citizens of Jericho should all be slaughtered so that people would be weeping on the day of his funeral. So it is no surprise that he would also command the deaths of any boy babies, aged 2 and under, from Bethlehem to Ramah, a radius of about 10-12 miles.

(J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, Matthew Chapters 1-13, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.44.)

Matthew goes on in his narrative, drawing a parallel between Moses and Jesus for his Jewish audience. Just as Moses was rescued from annihilation by Pharaoh’s daughter, Jesus is similarly rescued via a dream sent to his step-father, Joseph. Joseph is told to get up immediately, and take Jesus and Mary to Egypt.

He obediently does so, and probably proceeded to practice carpentry there, as a means to make a living for the family. Jesus is thought to have been about 2 or 3YO when they returned to Israel, instructed to do so by an angel in another dream. To demonstrate again that Jesus fulfills the Jewish prophesies of the Messiah, Matthew then quotes Hosea 11:1-→>When Israel was a child, I loved Him and out of Egypt I called My Son. Matthew wants us to understand that Jesus is the new Moses, both a law-giver and a deliverer.

He will obey His Father’s directives, as Moses did; and He will lead us out of our bondage to sin and death, as Moses led the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

Jesus’ mission was huge and represented a divine threat to the status quo. Satan was eager to take Him out! King Herod was Satan’s willing tool in this heinous enterprise. But both were thwarted, praise God!

B. Our Old Testament passage, Isaiah 63:7-9, predicts that our good, loving, kind, and merciful God will send a Messiah (1) to be our Savior; (2) to suffer for our sake; and (3) to personally redeem us. No wonder the powers that be would always see Jesus as a divine threat.

C. Our Psalm (148) is a demand for the entire created order to praise the Lord! It begins in the 1st three verses with a call to all the heavenly angels and all celestial bodies—sun, moon, and stars—to praise God. Then it commands all animals and people to do the same. Verse 5 says–>Let every created thing give praise to the Lord for He issues His command and they came into being. Implicit in the psalm is the thought that we praise God both for His creation and for His redemption. John 1:1-4 tells us that Jesus spoke creation into existence. This kind of tremendous power was and is certainly a divine threat to any worldly order.

D. Finally, we have the New Testament lesson from Hebrews 2:10-18. The writer to the Hebrews wants us to realize that Jesus’s status in Heaven was higher than that of angels, but when He took on the likeness of humankind and came to earth, His status fell to lower than that of angels. Nevertheless, God sent Him to us to (v.10)–>…bring many children into glory, and to fashion Him, through His suffering, into…a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. 

Jesus became a divine threat by becoming a human (verses 14-15)–>Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die [God cannot and does not die], and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

In other words, Jesus presented a divine threat to the devil and to the evil powers and authorities of this world. He had to take on flesh so He could die in our place. As our great High Priest, He offered a once-and-for-all-perfect sacrifice, Himself, to (v.17)-→>…take away the sins of the people. And because He suffered in our place (v.18)->He is able to help us when we are being tested. The divine threat set us free from the clutches of the evil one.

The divine threat, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lives to encourage and strengthen us from His seat of intercession at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Thank God for Jesus! Thank God that He came to earth as a divine threat…intending to pay for our sins; effecting our rescue from the grasp of the evil one; and setting us free from the strangle-hold of our own sin nature.

As we look to Thursday, the 1st day of 2026, let’s be sure to thank God for sending a divine threat to earth in the disguise of a new born baby. 

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

Totally Un-ordinary

Pastor Sherry’s message for Christmas Eve, 2025

As we read the Biblical prophecies and re-experience the journey of the world to Christmas, we tend to forget that the folks in Jesus’ time were just like us—ordinary people.  They were going about their lives just as we do…working, raising kids, cleaning house, cooking meals, visiting with their neighbors, caring for sick relatives or friends, worrying about paying their bills or their taxes, maybe even quarreling with their siblings or their in-laws, etc.  And, hopefully in among all of those activities, they were also loving God and trying to obey Him.  As a licensed Psychologist, I can tell you that–while we have made many technological innovations in the 2000 years since Jesus was born–our human nature has not changed a wit!  Ordinary people back then had many of the same hopes and dreams we do now.  Ordinary people now carry out many of the same functions as they did then.  So I think we can safely say that they were blithely unaware until…“Something truly extraordinary suddenly intruded and changed their lives forever.” (Fairless and Chilton, The Lectionary Lab, Year A, 2013, pp.18-19). Tonight, we celebrate that time that God did something “totally un-ordinary.”  God came calling early Christmas morning.  He broke into human history in a dramatic way:  He announced Himself with a choir of angels, trumpet sounds, and a new, special star in the heavens.  Additionally, He brought us a gift!  The gift was Jesus, God’s only begotten son.  He arrived as a newborn baby, entrusted to two faith-filled, newlywed, young people.  He was and is the gift of God’s love, joy, grace, and forgiveness.  It is in remembrance of this that we give each other gifts at Christmas.

Tonight and in the coming days, let us offer to God our thanksgiving for His great gift of Jesus tonight by recommitting our lives to God, and by living lives of grateful obedience.

Let us pray:  Lord, please help us never to forget the magnificent gift you gave to us in Christ Jesus!  May our hearts overflow with joy and praise!  Come, let us adore Him!  AMEN!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

In whom Do We Trust and Love?

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 18, 2025

Scriptures: Isaiah 7:10-16 ; Matthew 1:18-25

A story dating from the 1930’s or 1940’s is told of a British man rushing to catch a train.  He and his friends needed to make it aboard this particular train or face waiting a long time until the next, which would put them arriving at their destination in the wee hours of the morning.  As he and his friends ran through the station, he accidentally kicked over a small table supporting a vendor’s box of fruit.  Apples tumbled out all over.  The guy and his friends made it to the train with seconds to spare.  As he looked back at the mess they had made, he wondered if he should risk returning to help and miss his train.  Waving his friends on, he decided to turn back to assist the vendor.  He noticed apples everywhere, kicked here and there by hurrying travelers.  He saw a boy of about 9-10, looking dazed and helpless, but doing nothing whatever to retrieve the apples.  

As he got closer, he realized the boy, the vendor, was blind.  The man began to collect the apples and place them in the box.  He could see that many of them were by now badly bruised.  So, he took out his wallet, and handed the boy a twenty.  As he placed the bill in the boy’s hand, he said, “Here, please take this $20.00 for the damage we did.  Hope we haven’t spoiled your day.”  As the man walked away, he heard the boy loudly call to him, saying, “Sir, are you Jesus?”  (Story origin unknown.)

This boy obviously had some notion of who Jesus was and how He might be expected to act.  He thought the man might be Jesus because of his kindness and generosity toward him.  He thought the man might be Jesus because he hadn’t just ignored him, but had made things right.  The man wasn’t Jesus, but he had acted like Jesus, hadn’t he?  He’d righted a wrong.  He had provided for the boy when no one else did.  He was trustworthy and grace-filled.

Our Old Testament and our Gospel lessons point to the fact that our God is worthy of our trust (and our love).  

A.  The context for Isaiah 7:10-16 is the year 734 BC.  King Ahaz of Judah is surrounded by enemies threatening to invade his kingdom:  Rezer, king of Syria and Pekah, king of Israel, have formed a coalition against Ahaz.  So Ahaz is considering aligning himself with either Egypt or with Assyria for safety.

What do we know of Ahaz?  He was a descendant of King David,  a grandson of Uzziah, and son of Jothem, both of whom had been good kings.  He’dbeen 20YO when he ascended the throne and reigned for 16 years.  Unlike his father and grandfather, however, he was a man without faith in the one, true God.  It had been recounted in 2 Kings 16:3-4–>Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.  He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.  Ahaz was apostate.  He worshiped the crude and evil Canaanite deities.  He even went so far as to sacrifice his first son to Molech.

He is faithless but God nevertheless sends the prophet Isaiah to speak to him.  Ahaz erroneously assumed that because he does not worship God, he cannot expect God to help him against his enemies (failing to consider that God might love His people and want them saved, despite their king’s disbelief.).

Isaiah meets him at the source of Jerusalem’s water supply, and also where clothing was washed clean, and informs him that God will not abandon him or Judah.  God tells him, through His prophet Isaiah, that he can even ask for a sign that will indicate that this promise is true.

Ahaz acts pious (v.12)–>Far be it from me to ask God for a sign…I would never test God like that!  He is in a national emergency, but He doesn’t trust God to help him–even given this very trustworthy prophet.  Notice the symbols included in the narrative:  They meet at the access to Jerusalem’s living (flowing) water (an image of Christ from John 4); it is a place where the unclean are made clean; and Isaiah is accompanied by his son, Shear-Jashub (whose name means a remnant will return, thus indicating a future of Judah and Jerusalem). 

Ahaz is looking to the current crisis, but the prophet predicts a long-term solution, Jesus:  He will be born to a virgin; He will be born a son; He will be Immanuel, God with us;  He will eat yogurt (curds) and honey, the food of poor people (available during drought or years of poor agricultural yield); By the time He is 11 or 12YO, the age of reason, the kings Ahaz fears will have been taken over and deported by the Assyrians.  Scholars believe there was probably an Israelite princess then, in Ahaz’ time, who would marry and give birth to a son—proving the near fulfillment of the prophesy.  But, in the longer view, we know this predicted child is Jesus.

B. This ancient story is a clear set up for our Gospel, Matthew 1:18-25.  Matthew relates the tale from the perspective of Joseph.  Contrast Joseph’s trust in God with Ahaz’s lack thereof:  He has learned that Mary is pregnant.

Instead of demanding that she be stoned, as he could have, he (v.19)…was a righteous man [who] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, decides to quietly divorce her.  He loved her and he loved God.  God sends him a dream in which he learns from the Angel Gabriel (v.20]–>Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.  Unlike King Ahaz, Joseph is a man of God and so he believes the angel and is obedient.  He marries Mary and cares for her.  He does not consummate the marriage until after the baby was born.  And he does name the baby Jesus.

What a fabulous segway for Matthew!  Matthew is the Gospeler to the Jews, whose goal was to demonstrate to them how Jesus fulfills the prophesies about the Messiah from the Old Testament.  Immediately he refers to our Isaiah lesson (vv.22-23)–>ll this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to son and they will call him Immanuel, which means, “God with us.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop, NT Wright, claims that until Matthew wrote his Gospel, no one had ever thought of this Isaiah passage as referring to the promised Messiah.  But under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Matthew did. Matthew, in our Gospel passage, attests to the supernatural origin of Jesus.

Jesus is both human (born of Mary) and divine (born of the Holy Spirit).  In Jesus, God Himself is here, God Himself is with us.

(NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone, John Knox Press, 2004, p.7.)

John Ortberg, a Presbyterian pastor and author, writes in his book, God is Closer Than You Think, (Zondervan, 2005, p. 16):  The central promise in the Bible is not, “I will forgive you,” though of course that promise is there.  It is not the promise of life after death, although we are offered that as well.  The most frequent promise in the Bible is “I will be with you.”  This promise is spoken in Scripture over and over again.  Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, King David, the prophets, the Virgin Mary, and the Righteous Joseph all heard the comfort and the promise:  Don’t be afraid, I am with you.  Ahaz was afraid and mistrusted God’s promise to him, God’s sign to him.  He did not love or trust God.  He did align with Assyria against his northern enemies; but, in 722BC, the Assyrians overran Syria and Israel, and made of Jerusalem a vassal state. 

These Scripture passages demand that we think long and hard about Who we trust and love.  They contrast Ahaz’ unbelief with the faith of Joseph:  Joseph too was afraid, but God told him not to be and he was reassured.  In fact, God made him the same promise he had made to the old, idolatrous king:  “The Child will be a sign, Immanuel, God with us.”

We have the same choice as Ahaz and as Joseph:  In Whom do we trust and love?  In our own devices, our own schemes to save ourselves?  Or in the God of love?  In Immanuel, the One who promises to be with us, no matter our stresses, trials, illnesses, or difficulties. 

Our King and Savior now draws near.  Come, let us adore Him.

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Advent Joy

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 14, 2025

Scriptures: Isa 35:1-10; Lk 1:46-55; Ja 5:7-10; Matt 11:2-11

You may have heard this illustration before. Josh McDowell used it in his book, More than a Carpenter, Tyndale House, 1977, p.108:

In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ [from 60 major Old Testament prophesies of Jesus]. He says, “The chance that any man might have …fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.” (one hundred quadrillion) Stoner suggests that “we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly… Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?” Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man…providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”

(Peter Stoner and Robert Newman, Science Speaks, Moody Press, 1976, pp.106-112.)

This account gives us some idea of the incredible veracity, the compelling truth of the Biblical claim that Jesus Christ is God’s Messiah. Not only do Stoner’s (and Newman’s) math computations demonstrate that only one person in all of history could have fulfilled just 6 of the 60 major Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah, but that Jesus–and only Jesus–was the one person who satisfied these prophesies (He also satisfied the other 52 major and 270 minor ones).

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and we just lit the candle representing Joy (and prophesy) in our Advent Wreath. Doesn’t it bring you great joy to realize we worship the One, True King, Jesus Christ our Lord? I read this years ago and it solidified in my mind what I already knew in my heart and in my spirit—Jesus is the One and Only, long awaited Messiah. Our Scripture lessons today all testify to His identity and to His saving actions on our behalf:

A. Let’s begin with Luke 1:46-55, known as Mary’s Magnificat, a psalm of praise to God from the newly pregnant Mother of Jesus. Mary realizes a great honor is being bestowed upon her to become what the ancient Greek Christians would later call the theotokis or God-bearer.  In those days, to be chosen to bear the Messiah was every Jewish girl’s dream. Even though having a child out of wedlock could prove dangerous (she could have been stoned) and embarrassing for her before her family and her small community, Mary believes the Angel Gabriel’s announcement and rejoices in God’s choice of her. She then composes a song in which she primarily praises God. How humble and obedient she was! We could expect the whole psalm to say, “YIPPEE, God picked ME! Hooray, I was His choice!” But instead she proclaims (vv.47-49, NLT)—Oh how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations shall call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy and He has done great things for me. She recognizes that God has truly honored her, and she modestly admits her delight.

But then she proceeds to glorify God for what He is doing through her for His people. She shifts the focus from herself, and sets it upon God’s actions. She proceeds to praise Him for… (1) His mercy to those who respect and revere Him; (2) His past works of power; (3) His surprising, unexpected propensity to reverse worldly fortunes: The lowly are raised up, while the lofty and self-reliant are brought low; and 4) His fulfillment of His promises to Israel: A king from the lineage of David, and a Messiah who will bless all nations on earth. Can’t you just hear her joy as she delights in the plans of God the Father and in the future redeeming work of her soon-to-be-born son?!

B. Just prior to our Gospel lesson today, Matthew 11:2-11, Jesus has sent the 12 out to put into practice all He has taught them.

Meanwhile, He does not sit idle, but continues to preach and teach. John the Baptist (JtB), has been imprisoned for some time now, and—as often happens—he begins to doubt his earlier faith that his cousin Jesus is the Messiah. Remember, he was the forerunner, the prophet to announce Jesus’ arrival. But, rotting away in a dungeon, he begins to doubt his previous certainty. He deploys two of his disciples to ask Jesus (v.3) Are You the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else? 

No doubt JtB expected Jesus to set him free. After all, Jesus’ job description from Isaiah 61:1 promised that Jesus would—…proclaim that captives [would] be released and prisoners [would] be freed. John was probably expecting his immediate emancipation. He may have also been frustrated that it was taking Jesus so long to usher in His Kingdom on earth.

But instead of sending word of eminent release, Jesus reiterates from Isaiah 61:1 that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.

Because He does not reiterate that He will also (NIV)—proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, JtB learns Jesus will not be initiating a jail break. Yes, John, your cousin is the Messiah you proclaimed at the beginning of His earthly ministry; but no, He will not be commuting your sentence. 

Jesus does not meet JtB’s personal hopes. Apparently, it suited God’s purposes for JtB to leave the scene (decrease) so that Jesus’ ministry could increase. If you have watched the various scenes from “The Chosen,” you may have encountered the one that focuses on JtB’s execution. It what seemed to me to be so poignant, the writers have John look out a window, as the executioner’s ax is lifted above his head, and see a lamb grazing. It is as though the Lord wanted to remind him in his last moments that he had done a good job of telling others He was and is the Lamb of God. Jesus does proclaim to those He was teaching that JtB was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Hopefully, John understood this need to exit the world stage and had prepared himself to meet his Maker.

C. In fact, JtB probably knew Isaiah 35:1-10, a Messianic prophesy from 700 years before Jesus’ birth. He would have remembered that in the predicted Messianic or Mellenial Age (the 1000 year reign of Christ) that the material earth will be restored to the time before the Fall. As a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin, God had cursed the ground and the serpent—not the humans. True, life would be harder than it had been for them in the Garden, but only the physical earth and Satan were actually cursed. Paul will later assert (Romans 8:22)—We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Paul had learned from Jesus that creation, too, would be redeemed at Jesus’ 2nd Coming.

Additionally, JtB would recall that the bodies of human beings will be renewed. Verses 5-6 promise that—…the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Think of the vast swath of desert land in our southwest, or the enormous Sahara in North Africa. These lands will be renewed and covered with vegetation and flowers.

Though Jesus accomplished the healing of many individuals in His 1st Advent—we really have no idea of how very many He healed–when He comes again, all of humankind will be spiritually, physically, and emotionally restored. How can we learn this and not experience a welling up within our hearts and spirits of great joy?!!

D. No wonder we have the James 5:7-10 passage. The 2nd coming of Jesus Christ will right all that is now wrong with our world. However, as James counsels us, we need to (v.7)—Be patient, then, brothers [and sisters] until the Lord’s coming. Scripture has told us what to expect.

We just need to wait with faith, as a farmer waits for his/her crops to grow.

We should get ourselves ready to receive our King. James counsels us not to let Him catch us gossiping about or negatively judging others. And we can and should meditate on the lives of the prophets, including JtB, as we wait. They all prophesied the wonders to come In Jesus, but did not get to see them manifest in their own lives.

An anonymous author once wrote: 

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

(Quoted in www.sermoncentral.com, 12/10/2025)

Thank God the Father sent us a Savior! We all needed saving from the penalty of death for our sins and from our carnal tendencies to seek out and indulge in sin. We all needed a divine rescue! We needed the gift of Jesus! 

The song in our hearts today could very well be Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (Music by Beethoven; lyrics by Henrr Van Dyke):

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love;

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, praising Thee, the Sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All Thy works with joy surround thee, earth & heaven reflect Thyrays;

Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise,

Field and forest, vale and mountain, blooming meadow, flashing sea,

Chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessings, ever blest,

Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest;

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother; all who live in love= thine;

Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Lord, please fill our hearts with Joy during this Advent Season. Amen and Amen!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

True, Lasting Peace

Pastor Sherry’s message for December 7, 2025

Scriptures: Isa 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-8, 18-19; Ro 15:4-23; Matt 3:1-12

The story is told that…

”Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.

As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.

The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?

A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.

A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil. 

(Berit Kjos, A Wardrobe from the King, pp. 45-46, as shared on www.sermons.com, 12/3/2025).

This is how we think of true peace, isn’t it? It isn’t the absence of trouble or turmoil, but rather the ability to tune into an inner resource of trust in our God in the midst of commotion and turbulence. This is what Scripture refers to as the peace that passes all understanding (Philippeans 4:7). It doesn’t depend on our circumstances, the thunderous waterfall, the stormy clouds threatening rain, wind, lightening, and thunder. Like that mother bird, we can nest comfortably despite noise and agitating circumstances, because this peace depends upon the quality of our relationship with Christ Jesus. This peace is available to us through prayer—our prayers to the Lord; or asking a friend to pray for us. It is possible for us to achieve this peace. When I counsel anyone, I always rely on a “prayer sandwich.” I begin with prayer that the Lord would help the person calm, order their thoughts, and bring up whatever the Lord wants to heal in our session. At the end of our time together, I offer up to Jesus what the person has shared, asking Him to heal them and help them to experience His presence. Often I have witnessed people cry because at this point because they are so touched by having had someone pray exclusively for them. This tends to send them on their way with the peace that passes understanding.

But the peace described in our Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 11:1-10) today is that dreamed of peace that will come only when Jesus returns to earth a second time. Let’s examine the passage so we know what to look forward to when the time comes.

It consists of a promise from God the Father to the Israelites. It dates from before the time of their 70 exile in Babylon. The Father is going to discipline them for their continuous idolatry and for centuries of rebellion toward Him. From 605 to 586 BC, in a series of 3 deportations, He will allow the Babylonians to defeat and take them off. Some were given good jobs in Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, Abenego, and Daniel—all Israelite princes—were trained for and entrusted with high government positions; so was Mordecai, Queen Esther’s uncle. Others were employed as shopkeepers or craftsmen. But most were enslaved. So God is telling them, even before all this happens, that—despite all evidence to the contrary—He will not have forgotten about them. He will return them to the Land of Promise, Israel; and He will provide for them a new king, Jesus.

Isaiah 11:1-10 is one of the great Messianic Prophecies of Scripture: The prophet proclaims that Jesus is coming a second time, when He will prove to be the best of all Kings. His titles transcend any description of a mere mortal. Back in Isaiah 9:6-7, we are told: For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign of David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The ZEAL of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. In today’s passage, we are told two things: (1) What equips Him to live into these titles; and (2) what His Kingdom will be like, when He finally comes to rule and reign on earth.

Verses 1-3 tell us about His empowerment. Both at His first and His second coming, Jesus will restore the Kingship begun centuries before by King David. There were no additional Davidic kings after the final deportation in 586BC. Kings ruled Jerusalem and Judea, but they were appointed by Rome & were often not even Jewish. Most only gave grudging lip service to God. But Isaiah tells us the Father will usher in King Jesus, a shoot …from the stump of Jesse [David’s father], a branch that will bear fruit (tree = metaphor for Kingdom). Jesus is of the lineage of King David, both from His mother’s side and even his step-father’s. However, because Jesse, David’s father, was a farmer and a shepherd, it can be assumed that Jesus’ beginnings will be rural, humble. He is a commoner whose ancestors were kings. 

He will bear fruit—be effective—because He will be empowered by the Holy Spirit: He will have the Spirit’s wisdom and understanding. He will rule with practical, ethical, and moral skillfulness. He will also have the ability to decide between opposite views accurately. As a college student, I helped with debate contests, not debating myself, but keeping time or whatever was needed. I can remember hearing one side of the debate topic and thinking, “Well, that made sense,” only to become confused as I head the opposite arguments. I realized I had difficulty deciding between two persuasive but opposing contentions. Jesus will be able to see through clever arguments to the truth of any situation, especially as regards discerning evil from good. He will provide wise, powerful counsel, but will need no advice from humans. He will instill knowledge and awe of God. Peterson paraphrases it this way (The Message, p.1226) the life-giving Spirit of God will hover over Him, the Spirit that brings wisdom & understanding, the Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God. Fear-of-God will be all His joy and delight. He will maintain a righteous relationship with God the Father. With Him, there will be no idolatry, no sin, and no rebellious actions. He will do only what pleases the Father.

There will be no one wiser, smarter, or more compassionate than Jesus. Think of His amazing parables; think of His saving, healing acts; think of the many ways He blessed His people. This was true at His First Advent, as a poor, itinerant rabbi and it will be true when He returns at His Second Coming, as the Great and Sovereign King of the Universe.

His Kingdom, when He comes again in Glory, will be one of astonishing justice and peace! In verses 3-5, Isaiah declares—He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.  When Jesus returns, He will not be swayed by appearances, slick arguments, or the presentations of high-powered attorneys. Nor will He fall for shrewd manipulations or clever appeals to legal loopholes. He will supernaturally discern the truth and will decide disputes with true justice. Again, as Peterson paraphrases (pp. 1226-1227): His words will bring everyone to awed attention. A mere breath from His lips will topple the wicked. Each morning He’ll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land. His rule will conform to the will of God. With virtue, He will do the work of God Himself.

Because of His meeting out of true justice, true, lasting peace will reign in the world. The nature of the world will change: Violent predators will coexist peacefully with their prey. Innocent children will be able to lead them out to graze and back in again without fear. A baby will be able to safely play where once only danger lurked. This change in world order did not occur with the First Advent, but it will with the Second. There will be no more pain, evil, or harm. Everyone will be submitted to the rule and reign of Christ. Oh, happy day! I want to be there to experience it, don’t you?!

This passage assures us that there in a glorious future ahead. With the Second Coming of Christ, the peace of the Garden of Eden will be restored. Oppressors will be judged and punished. All of us will be delivered from liars, cheats, scam-artists, thieves, even Satan, and of course the threat of death. Meanwhile , may we all be like that mother bird. May the peace that passes all understanding abide in you this Advent season, as we await the true, lasting peace of Christ. For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. Come, let us adore Him.

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Ready or Not …

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 30, 2025

Scriptures: Isa 2:1-5; Ps 122; Ro 13:11-14; Matt 24:36-44

I thank God I am a little older than I was years ago!: I’ve learned to slow down and not expect as much of myself or of others as I did when I was younger.: About this time of year, I would “get my panic on,” thinking of all the things I “had to do” to get ready for Christmas:

(1) It began with filling a Shoe-box or two, or 10, for Operation Christmas Child.

(2) Then there was the Thanksgiving feast to prepare and hold.

(3) Next I felt compelled to decorate my house, inside and out for Christmas.

(4) And don’t forget my need to survey the Black Friday sales for potential gifts for family and friends.: Be sure to locate and purchase them, then wrap them.

(5) I couldn’t neglect Christmas cards, especially for friends and family who live far away—you know, the ones you only communicate with once a year.

(6) Then I felt compelled to fit in a visit to Christmas on the Square and the Christmas parade here in Live Oak.

(7) I would attempt to find out what gifts my kids and grandchildren particularly wanted.

(8) Daily, I would hum Christmas carols wherever I went and even in the shower. 

(9) I would try to participate in decorating the Church—thanks to all of you who came out to help yesterday.: Isn’t it beautiful?

(10) And finally, I would also try to get my mind into the right head space, remembering that “Jesus is the reason for the season!”

Were you ever this obsessed? I hope not!: I would work for weeks like my hair was on fire!: If you were like me—as a younger person—you reached Christmas afternoon exhausted and on your last nerve.

Fortunately, now that we have more age and experience, we realize it’s not about doing all these things—and doing them perfectly or with panache—but it’s about being.: We can eliminate a lot of the hustle and hassle we used to enforce upon ourselves in this season, and focus on having the right heart attitude as we await the Advent arrival of King Jesus.  

We lit the candle of Hope on this first Sunday of Advent, 2025, because our hope is in our Lord.: Consider this anonymous poem:

Philosophy says:: Think your way out.”

Indulgence says:: “Drink [or eat] your way out.”

Politics [government] says: “Spend your way out.”

Science says:: “Invent your way out.”

Industry says:: “Work your way out.”

Communism says: “Strike your way out.”

Fascism says:: “Bluff [bully] your way out.”

Militarism says:: “Fight your way out.”

The Bible says: “Pray your way out, but…

Jesus Christ says:: “I am the way [out]….”

(J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Isaiah, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.29.)

Our hope is in Jesus…Who He revealed Himself to be in His First Coming; and Who Scripture predicts Him to be in His Second.

Oddly enough on this first Sunday of Advent, our Scripture lessons today all focus on Jesus’ Second Coming:

A. Jesus Himself warns us to be ready for this great event in our Gospel, Matthew 24:36-44.: He says no one—not even He Himself—knows the hour or the day the Father has determined for His return to earth.

It could come as suddenly as the flood in Noah’s day.: People then were blithely unconcerned, oblivious about what was to happen.: They were just going about their lives as if God did not exist.: They were not ready when the flood waters came and swept them away.: I believe Jesus was thinking about the Rapture when He remarked that suddenly one person will disappear while another will be left behind.: Similarly, if burglars break into your home while you are away, you are shocked, stunned, and regret not having been better prepared.: I taught school years ago with a friend in Rhode Island who lived in Providence, on a corner, in a very nice neighborhood near Brown University.: Her family owned a summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, that she and her husband would visit frequently.: Three times while they were out of town their house was robbed.: It seems that burglars then believed houses on corners belonged to wealthier persons (as they are taxed more), so that they expected the loot they would pilfer would be of a higher quality.: She bemoaned the fact that the thieves never took her grandmother’s china, an expensive but unattractive pattern, but stole much of her other valuable stuff.: Three robberies undermined her sense of safety and security in her home and she and her husband ended up moving.: The point Jesus is making, though, is that no one knows the hour or the day of His return, so we need to get ready and live ready.

B. Paul picks up the same theme in Romans 13:11-14.: He sees our need to be ready as crucial (v.11, NLT): This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is:: time is running out.: Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.: He urges us to get ready and stay ready to meet our Lord in person.: He writes, (v.12): So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.: He wants us to behave ourselves, to not give into our carnal natures (v.13): Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in: sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.: He insists we can best be ready for Jesus’ 2nd coming by clothing ourselves with Christ—i.e., act like Jesus.

C. The prophet Isaiah (2:1-5) shares a vision he had of Jesus in His Millennial reign.: King Jesus will reign from Jerusalem, from the old Temple Mount (Mt. Zion), after He has defeated the forces of evil at the Battle of Armageddon.: The word mountain in the Hebrew means a kingdom, an authority, or a rule.: Jesus’ kingdom, authority, or rule will be based in Jerusalem.: It is from there that He will reign over all the earth.

Jerusalem will then have become the most significant place on earth. People from all over the world will journey there to worship the Lord and to learn from Him. They will recognize and acknowledge His transformational and sovereign power.: Additionally, King Jesus will mediate any and all disputes.Weapons of war will be melted down to become farming implements. There will be no more war between nations.

At that time, we will all walk in the Lord’s light. In other words, our God is the only light that overcomes the darkness of sin and evil. We are currently living in what is known as “The Church Age,” beginning at Pentecost and extending until the Rapture.: At the end of the seven years of the Great Tribulation, Jesus will return to earth to establish His earthly rule, and the Church Age will be replaced by “The Kingdom Age.”: We want to be ready to be inhabitants of that new reality.

 (J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Matthew, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.149.)

D.: Psalm 122 was written by King David and in it he prophesies about Christ’s Millennial Reign in Jerusalem.: Pilgrims traveling to the city for any one of the three great feasts would have sung this psalm after David composed it.: Verses 3-5 form an ode or a majestic poem in praise of the city.: And in verses 6-9, David urges us all to pray for Jerusalem.

The prophet Hosea latter penned these words (Hosea 3:5): …Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols!: But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their King.: In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of His goodness.: The first part of this prophesy has come true—no king, prince, or Temple worship being practiced currently in Jerusalem.: The second part—the Jews will return to the city and worship the Messiah—awaits Jesus’ Second Coming.

Our Scripture passages all warn us that Jesus is coming again and we need to be prepared.: The Advent season reminds us to ready ourselves.: Consider this reworking of the Night Before Christmas story:

“Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house

Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.

Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care

In hopes that Jesus would not come in there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,

Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head, 

And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap

Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter, 

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

And what to my wondering eyes should appear

But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray

I knew in a moment that this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head.

It was Jesus!: Returning just like He had said.

And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,

I cried when I saw Him in spirt of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand

Was written the name of every saved [woman and] man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;

When He said, “It’s not here,” my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love

He gathered to take to His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without sound

While all of the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;

I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight.

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear:

The coming of Jesus is soon drawing near.

There’s only one life and when comes the last call—

We’ll find that the Bible was true after all.

(Chuck Swindoll, The tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word Publishing, 1998, pp.86-87.)

Ready or not, here He comes!

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

King of the Cross

Pastor Sherry’s message for November 23, 2025

Scriptures: Jer 23:1-6; Lk 1:67-80; Col; 1:9-20; Lk 23:32-43

This is Christ the King Sunday.  Today we are a week away from beginning the new Church Year (A) with the First Sunday of Advent.  Isn’t it interesting that we end the church year today (not on December 31st) with the passage from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 23:32-43) describing the Crucifixion?  It’s as though the “powers that be” (God the Father and Jesus) want us to remember—as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ first and second sojourns to earth during the season of Advent–that we worship a different kind of King.  Our Lord Jesus is not ensconced in a splendid castle in all manner of pomp and celebratory circumstance.  Instead, this Jesus—our Lord Jesus—is affixed to a cross.

Though thoroughly innocent, he has been found guilty of sedition against Rome and blasphemy against God.  As He hangs in agony, He appears defeated, weak, vanquished, powerless, suffering, dying.  He is mocked, derided by His Jewish and Roman enemies.  He has been stripped of His clothes, which are then gambled over by His Roman torturers.  To fulfill the Prophet Isaiah’s predictions, He was hung between two criminals. 

Isaiah 53:12 reads (NLT) He was counted among the rebels, He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.  Tradition calls them “thieves,” but some scholars believe they may have been accomplices of the murderous rebel Barabbas.  How fitting that Jesus’ cross stood between theirs, in the place where Barabbas would have been.

(The Rev. Mark Barber, www.sermoncentral.com, 11/18/2023).

The people gathered at the foot of the Cross do not yet realize He is a King, the King of Glory.  But as time drags painfully by, two persons begin to discern that Jesus is no ordinary criminal:  One of the rebels notices Jesus does not condemn his executioners, shouting curses at them, as the crucified usually did.  Typically, the crowd verbally harassed and insulted the dying; and in their pain and anger, the dying often hurtled insults and curses back at the crowd.  But, extraordinarily, Jesus doesn’t do this.  Instead, He prays to His Father for them, saying (v.34) Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.  What amazing poise, what extraordinary self-control, what astonishing grace!  This “thief” watches Jesus and begins to see He is responding differently than any criminal ever crucified.  He then defends Jesus to his partner in crime.  And he asks, with an awakening faith, that Jesus would take him with Him into His Kingdom.  Three times, Jesus has been told, mockingly, to save Himself.  He does not save Himself (though He could have).  But, in verse 43, He saves the faith-filling rebel, saying I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.

The second person to notice Jesus’ extraordinarily different behavior and speech is the centurion in charge of the execution detail. He had perhaps witnessed thousands of such capital punishments and had never heard or observed such before.  He says in verse 47 (NIV) Surely this was a righteous man (Then NLT records Surely this man was innocent.)

What a great king Jesus is–forgiving, merciful, generous.  Thank God our King is not like human monarchs!  Many down through the ages have been bullies and despots.  Imagine being a pretty woman in the court of Henry the eighth. YIKES! Or think of the risk a truthful man of integrity took in telling a fickle ruler an unpleasant truth.  But our King Jesus came to serve rather than be served. Instead of causing the deaths of others, He came to suffer and to die in our place.

The Hebrew concept of a king—taught to them by God the Father through the Law and the prophets—was that the king ruled solely under the authority and at the discretion of God.  Our Scriptures today further explain the difference between a secular king and the King of Kings:

A. In Jeremiah 23:1-6, God the Father is castigating the kings, nobility, priests and prophets for their poor leadership of His people.

This is just prior to the defeat of the Southern Kingdom at the hands of the Babylonians.  The prophet Jeremiah warns them of the punishment to come, (v.1, NLT) ”What sorrow awaits the leaders of My people—the shepherds of My sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.  God has been watching.  He knows that false prophets, idolatrous kings, and weak, compromised religious leaders have abused His sheep and lead them astray. 

In a way very similar to that of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 34:11-24), Jeremiah declares they have scattered His flock, rather than gathering them in; driven them away from God rather than drawing them closer; and (v.2) ”Instead of caring for My flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction.  Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.”  God Himself will gather His flock (and bring home the remnant from exile in Babylon), and place better shepherds over them.  Then He prophesies the coming of Jesus (vv.5-6) ”For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.  He will be a King who rules with wisdom.  He will do what is just and right throughout the land.  And this will be His name:  ‘The Lord is Our Righteousness. ‘” Jesus, descended from King David, will be, like him, a shepherd-king.  However, He will be the True Shepherd, the Good Shepherd (John 10), the Great Shepherd, the Eternal Shepherd, a completely righteous king.

B.  Luke 1:68-79 constitutes Zachariah’s Song (the 3rd after Elizabeth’s and Mary’s).  Zachariah, the elderly, priestly father of John the Baptist, had been struck mute by the angel who foretold John’s birth–due to his lack of faith.  Once John the Baptist was born, and Zach agreed he was to be called John, the elderly father was freed up to speak again.  

In this morning’s lesson, he provides a psalm-like song celebrating not just his new son’s role as a Prophet of the Most High, but also as the forerunner to Jesus the Messiah.  Zechariah devotes 2/3rds of his psalm to praising God because He is finally sending His long awaited Messianic King:

The Light is coming into the darkness.  God is sending forth His rescue plan, our salvation.  He, Jesus, will empower us to live without fear (for God will be with us), and (vv.74-75) to serve Him…in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.  Halleluia!  Jesus will be the Best King Ever!

C. Paul, in Colossians 1:10-20, describes Christ the King in even more detail.  He depicts Jesus as having superior strength and power: Verse 16 reads For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him.

Not only did He create all things, but, to this day, He holds them together (Remember my having preached in the past about a minute protein in each of our cells call lamina?  It is a connective tissue and exists in the form of a  cross.  The Cross is literally holding us together!).  Jesus is supreme over all creation.  He contains the fullness of God the Father, the Greek word is pleroma.  It means that Jesus has all the attributes and characteristics of God the Father.  As Jesus said in the Gospel of John, if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father.  And (v.20), through His sacrifice of His life on the Cross for us, He has reconciled us—really all things—to God.

There is no other king like Jesus—He is the King of the Cross and the Best King Ever!

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Of all the things for which we can and should be thankful, let’s remember to express our gratitude to God the Father for sending us such a wonderful, incomparable King in His Son, Jesus our Lord. Amen and Amen! 

Christ the King

©️2025 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams