Sermons

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the adversary (devil). 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the adversary took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘God will command God’s angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the adversary took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, adversary! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.’” 11 Then the adversary left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

 

Romans 5:12-19

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned — 13 sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to life for an age through Jesus Christ our Lord.]

 

The Free Gift

Let me share with you one of my spiritual struggles. You know that I was raised in a fundamental church, there was a dualism firmly entrenched in our belief structure. Now dualism is one of the ways that we describe how people interpret the world around them. As the name implies dualism observes the world as being one of two ways. Things are black or white, bad or good, any choices posed in your life always have one correct answer and one wrong answer. Now not everyone learned to see the world in a dualistic way but this is the thorn in my side. Our traditions tend to come to us in such a dualistic thought process, that we see most of the scriptures as viewing the world in a similar manner. Certainly the author of the letter to the Romans had a similar upbringing, Paul is quite dualistic in his writings and when we read them at face value we come away thinking that our faith is cut and dried, right or wrong.

In this season of Lent we find that the church is asking us to do some searching within ourselves to take stock of how our discipleship is coming along. Are there parts of our personality that might need to be pruned back in order to allow the light of God to touch our hearts? Each of us has been hurt by the society in which we live, through that pain we have developed a system in which we believe that we are not ‘good’ enough or smart enough to be the faithful disciples of Jesus. This is just basic human behavior, each of us experiences similar challenges. Knowing this the author of the story of Jesus going into the desert to be tempted touches on the three major points of contention, physical need, pride and greed. The narrative casts the tempter or devil or adversary against Jesus’ human side and Jesus is successful in not giving in to the temptations. One of the keys of Jesus’ success is that he counters with helpful scripture that reminds him that God is with him and that he can depend on God to help him get through this challenge.

In our second lesson today we find a letter to the Roman church that is attributed to the Apostle Paul. Picking up mid-way through the 5th chapter we find a treatise concerning the concept of grace. This is a complex, abstract concept that might just be the most important building block of our faith. You know that Paul was born later than Jesus and never crossed paths with him while he was alive. Paul was raised in the synagogue and learned everything that a young man was expected to learn when he was going to be a faithful member of the Pharisees. For Paul, at the beginning, the world was very black and white, his dualism runs deep. However, we find in his writings much growth in his life. Paul moves away from his dualistic views and learns how to release some of the need he feels to be in ‘control.’ I remind you that in the context of the writing of this letter there are  many different ways of interpreting what has been written and when we keep in mind the Biblical Greek syntax we should go to the end and work our way back. Unfortunately we have some challenges right up front when we look at our lesson for this morning.

To start with there are only 21 verses in chapter 5, so why does our reading stop at the end of verse 19? When we look at 20 & 21 we discover that it is definitely part of the same thought and should have been included in our reading. When you look at how your Bible is designed you will find that the editors tried to block together each of the different thoughts. If you are looking in the pew Bible turn to page 917, chapter 5 begins and then there is a break between verses 5 and 6. Another break between 11 and 12 where our reading starts. Then we find a break between verses 14 and 15, then again between 17 and 18. When we look at the editorial headings we see that just before verse 12 it says, “Adam and Christ.”  Now all good Hebrews know that the word ‘adam’ means humankind, adam is not someone’s name. However, whoever edited this text makes an assumption that ‘adam’ is a specific person, and we see their dualism creeping into the text, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.” For me the heading here should read something like ‘Law vs. Grace’

Paul goes on to write about how sin is one thing, the law is another and death is yet another. Verse 13b says, “but sin is not reckoned when there is no law,” the very definition of Grace! Jump with me to the end of verse 19 and 21 which suggests that through the life of Jesus the Grace of God or righteousness is bestowed on his disciples. This free gift, from verse 15, is given extra strength because it comes from God and is not man made. So as faithful disciples of Jesus we are covered by the grace of God and even though we sin it is not counted against us because in God’s grace the law does not apply. The idea here is that either we live by the law or we live by the grace. This free gift of God’s grace has been given through the life and obedience of Jesus and as disciples we receive this grace which overrides the laws that informed the Hebrew people all through the Old Testament.

Here in the New Testament, Paul suggests that we are not subject to the laws of Moses because of the life and teachings of Jesus. He theorizes that since Jesus came as the anointed one, the Christ, we are no longer subject to the condemnation of the law. We discover grace which is for all, and it erases the condemnation which is associated with the laws of Moses. 

 

Matthew 17:1-9

1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

 

New Experiences

Think back to a time when you were just starting out. Perhaps learning to ride a bike or how to mix up a batch of cookies. Oftentimes we experience a bit of anxiety when we are about to do something for the first time. I recall the first time I repelled down the face of a cliff. I was probably 12 years old, my family was at a camp that had some wonderful boulders and cliffs available to climb. Even though I had been instructed on how all the gear is top notch and will do what needs to be done there was, for me, some hesitancy when it came my turn to walk off the cliff with only a couple of ropes keeping me from falling. It’s so curious that as we experience new things we expand our horizons, we see the world in a new way. Once I was down to the bottom of this cliff face I couldn’t be stopped. I signed up to do it over and over again. It was so exhilarating to learn more about the safety, knots and different ways that we can lower ourselves along a rock face as well as a descent that takes you away from the comfort of having your feet planted. This is a common human experience, we all get to take our turn experiencing new things.

Our lesson this morning reminds us that Jesus took three of his disciples with him to what should have been a private experience between Jesus and God. Jesus knew that it would be a wonderful learning experience for his disciples to experience his transfiguration. We have had our own transfiguration here this morning too. Stephanie’s ordination is an experience that she has shared with us, you might say that she has made it possible for us to relive our own first steps. Stephanie’s ordination has been a long time coming and it might have been a beginning that she had imagined as a private moment between herself and God, like Jesus’ transfiguration.

In our conversations before this happened Stephanie learned more about this day and the commitment that she has made. She knew most of what she needed to know before the Nominating committee asked her to serve as an officer of the Church. As a Ruling Elder she will not only be using her gifts as a teacher to coordinate our Sunday School, but she has also committed to learning more about our congregation and the greater Presbyterian Church. There are learning opportunities all around us if we will focus on what is happening in the world. Jesus in the story from Matthew has been with his disciples for a while and realized that it was getting close to the end of his ministry among them. He wanted to use his gifts to share his passion with his new friends. He took them up the mountain with him in hopes of igniting in their imaginations how they could be committed to spreading the good news of the kindom of heaven being at hand. 

 

Matthew 5:13-20

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom, a mystery only revealed by God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” — 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what human being knows, what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14 Those who are unspiritual do not recognize the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Those who are spiritual, discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16  “For who has known the mind of God, so as to instruct God?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

The Mind of Christ

I used to think that when I grew up I too would have wisdom and knowledge concerning all things. I looked up to my grandparents and parents. I wanted to be just like them. Did you have someone with wisdom in your life when you were young? Often the wisdom of the elders presents itself not in words but in actions, in the way that they take the time to listen. They take the time to do with you what needs to be done. Often we find ourselves busy with the old rat race and have a hard time letting go of what the culture expects of us. Wisdom, on the other hand, expects something different of us.

In our first lesson Jesus has just finished talking about the beatitudes and now suggests that we are the salt of the earth. Of course in our context we might interpret this as being a bad thing. I’m supposed to stay away from salt, it’s bad for my blood pressure. But in Jesus’ context salt was a valuable commodity. Salt was used as a preservative that helped keep food from rotting before it could be consumed. Not much salt was naturally found in foods so it was important, for the chemical makeup of humans, to ingest some salt as it helps the body retain water and in a desert environment that was a good thing. Then Jesus suggests that we are the light of the world. Living in western Colorado we have the pleasure to find ourselves in very dark places, light has more meaning for us here and now than it does in the city on the hill. Light helps us see the shape and details of things in our world and our discipleship helps others see that following Jesus is different than life without him. Jesus says that you are the light of the world, how does that make you feel? Have you been shining for God lately? Jesus wanted to lift us up and let us know that we are helping others see that compassion is the key to success. Being the light of the world is the goal of anyone seeking shalom, the inclusion of all members of our community. Being light is not easy but it is one of the things that Jesus calls us to as his disciples. We should take the time to observe the world around us. When we see those who struggle every day we have a chance to be the light of the world to them. To shine the light of God’s love into our communities.

 In our second lesson today we find a selection of Paul’s writings to  the church at Corinth. He has just concluded his addressing the separations within the congregation and he suggests that he came to them preaching the good news of God. He didn’t try to wow them with big words but he tried to bring the wisdom of their ancestors to bear. He suggests that those who grew up in the church, who followed the Laws of Moses have wisdom to share concerning how to live in the kindom of God. In our lesson from 1 Corinthians 2 we have two different ideas, well it’s a complex idea with a supplemental ending. The idea starts with verse 6 and wraps up at the end of verse 13 but then we find in 14-16 the most important part of what Paul is trying to say. In the Biblical Greek syntax we know that the impact is held to the last line. So let’s start with verse 16 and work our way back toward the beginning of what Paul wants us to know. Here’s Paul’s major point, we have the mind of Christ.

As disciples of Jesus we have been learning how Jesus acted and what he taught. We have had a chance to learn how Jesus interpreted what God wants from us. Jesus was a keen disciple of his religion, he paid attention to his lessons and knew the Laws of Moses. So for Paul everyone who was in this Jewish congregation had the same teachings as Jesus. Paul reminds them that Jesus’ teachings, this new Way or Path was not different from how they were raised, it was how we embrace the Jewish faith of those who had come before us. Paul wants to show us that we have the mind of Christ which includes the wisdom of the prophets and so many who had come before. At the beginning of verse 16 Paul says, “For who has known the mind of God, so as to instruct God?” No one. But we have the mind of Christ. 

We can go back to verse 14 and find what Paul is suggesting, that as both physical and spiritual creatures it is important for us to practice and grow our spiritual muscles. He says that those who are unaware of their spirituality are not going to recognize and receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. Oh, it’s available to all of us but we don’t take the time to learn how to live in the spirit. Without this spiritual dexterity it would seem as foolishness to us. The word used here is moria, moreeah can also mean absurd or silly. And there’s the rub, it’s a cultural thing, those who were raised in Corinth outside the synagogue would consider these teachings of Jesus as absurd, completely backward from what their culture taught. 

Paul had the privilege of growing up in a family that could afford to educate their children. Paul had been taught not only the words and ideas of his religion but also the practices that enhanced Paul’s experiences. In verse 12 Paul refers to our not being focused on the spirit of this world but our being trained by the Holy Spirit to recognize the gifts of God within us. This is the mind of Christ that we have, to take the time to see and hear what is going on around us. The mind of Christ is to learn how the wisdom of God is available to each of us if we only take the time to learn more about it and how to focus on it. We are quickly approaching the next ‘season’ in the church, Lent. It begins on the 18th with Ash Wednesday. If you are not familiar with Lent you will find that it is a time within the church to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter. Lent is a time of contemplation, sort of like a chance to look back on our lives to determine what is working and what is not. Lent gives us a chance to consider using the mind of Christ in our daily lives.

Using the mind of Christ in our daily lives requires us to focus on what Jesus taught and did in his ministry. Using the mind of Christ requires us to slow down despite what the world tells us to do. Using the mind of Christ can bring not only wisdom into our lives but also peace, grace and forgiveness. 

 

Matthew 5:1-12

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 

Micah 6:1-8

1 Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains,          and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with God’s people, and God will contend with the people. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD.” 6 Then the prophet said, “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before God with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 

On Their Shoulders

Do you recall who taught you how to drive a car? Before you could even sit in the front seat you were learning what needed to be done when driving a car. Your lessons had started before you could reach the pedals. How we learn things takes time and energy on our part and our knowledge builds up like a sand castle. You might recall the story about the woman who was just about to head off to college and she wanted to learn some cooking skills before she left and asked her mother to show her how to prepare the Sunday roast. Of course her mom was happy to show her the process, she got a nice roast from the fridge and promptly cut it in half. Then she put it in the pan and started preheating the oven. “Why do you cut it in half?” she asked. The mother answered, ‘well, that’s how my mother always did it.’ This made the girl curious and she called her grandmother and asked her what the purpose of cutting the roast in half was, the grandmother laughed and said that when she was young and living in a tiny apartment the typical roast was too big to fit in the oven so she would cut it in two so it would fit in the little pan. This became a habit and continued after she had a regular size oven. Sometimes what we learn is based on someone else’s experience. Our spiritual learning is just like that, we cobble together our best understanding of what we see and hear and go from there. Whose shoulders are you standing on today as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

When we look at our first lesson today we find Jesus teaching folks about how the kingdom of God is different from what they had learned as children. He is offering up a different way of doing things in our lives and suggests that our lives will be better if we can change how we live, we will be blessed. You have heard preachers talk about these beatitudes over and over again as you were growing up. Did you ever stop to wonder whose teachings you were learning? Was the sermon based on what your preacher had learned from their studies or were they telling you what someone before them had learned and passed down as a habit? On Thursday my daily meditation spoke about the way that the history of western Christianity has lost some of the mystery and valuable practices of reading the Bible from its writing to now. The existence of the four Gospels in the New Testament is proof that when the Bible was put together it was important to include different ways of looking at the life and teachings of Jesus. Church historians agree that the tendency of the modern church to want to cling to a ‘literal’ understanding or teaching of the scriptures has tied one hand behind our backs. The Sermon on the Mount offers us proof that Jesus observed the same thing in his time, the teachings had become rigid and had lost their meaning because someone along the way decided that they ‘knew best.’

But wait, there’s more! In our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures from the book of Micah we see, yet again, the same challenge. The prophet shares the way that God is confused about their relationship with the people, why don’t the people follow my guidelines? God just wants to make their lives better. A fair portion of the laws of Moses are guidance concerning hygiene for the time and place of the people of God. Some of it is based on old wives tales but none of it is going to hurt or ruin your life.

It turns out that in verse 5 the saving acts of the Lord have to do with the push and pull of tribal conflicts. Part of the issue listed here is that the people were too proud or stubborn to learn from God, from their prophets We see it time and time again through the scriptures, the people refuse to change their ways because they have been taught that what they are doing is perfectly fine. The people of those days are quite happy to stand on the shoulders of Mrs. Smith who taught them Sunday school back in the day. Blessed is Mrs. Smith for being willing to sit with the children and teach them a few stories about Bible Characters. But why didn’t Mrs. Smith teach them about how the Holy Spirit indwells each of us and encourages us to be open to learning how to be better disciples. 

Then in verse 6 the prophet asks, “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before God with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Amen.

 

John 1:29-42

29 The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to the people.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

 

Psalm 40:1-11

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; God inclined to me and heard my cry. 2   God drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 God put a new song in my mouth,          a song of praise to our God. Many will see and be in awe, and put their trust in the LORD. 4 Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. 5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them,          they would be more than can be counted. 6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness          keep me safe forever.

 

What is Salvation?

For a brief time, I was the center of the universe! I’m sure you have some experience with a similar feeling. Everything was about me, if it wasn’t about me it didn’t really exist. I was the king of the world. Our human nature drives us toward self preservation. We will do whatever is needed to survive and that is just natural. It is the way that we were created, our survival instinct is neither good nor bad, it just is, and it serves us well. There are stories upon stories that run through the scriptures that offer us a look at the struggle concerning self preservation. There are plenty of stories that cause us to ask the questions, is that good? Was this what God intended? Can I be a faithful child of God if I am self-centered?

Both of our scripture lessons today touch on this concern about how we are to live our lives. They both touch on what we think God wants and how that plays out every day. If we find ourselves too engrossed with our own cares and stresses, we often miss out on opportunities to be the disciples that we are called to be. Speaking of disciples, we find an interesting lesson in the gospel of John this morning. You know, of course, that the book of John is different from the other three gospels. It was written much later historically and was aimed at a different audience altogether. In the reading we find the story of John the Baptist declaring that Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Messiah. Last week, you might recall, John and Jesus had to negotiate who was going to baptize who. John realized that Jesus was a special type of teacher and humbled himself before Jesus. John the Baptizer was willing to be rescued from his own pride by being baptized himself.

You know how there is a type of order in the universe, how things and events seem to happen to and around you in certain ways? This last week the Men’s group was discussing baptism as the topic of the first section of the book we are studying. Each of us held a different belief and experience about what baptism is. For some of us we hadn’t really thought about it since our own baptism. In the book the author discusses the spectrum of beliefs concerning baptism, from that moment when you become a child of God or are born again, to the idea that baptism is the act of humbling yourself before God as you commit to being a disciple. No matter where you find your beliefs on this spectrum there is a ‘dieing to self’ required when one is baptized. It is a time of realization that one can’t save oneself but is going to require the assistance of others and own up to a dependance on their Creator.

Each of us here is concerned with sharing the Good News in our world. The thing that draws us together each week is the idea that God is with us and has changed our lives in a positive way. Each of us are on a journey in which we take baby steps toward the goal of our baptism, to be the disciples that God has called us to be. This is one of the most pressing topics for the Men’s Group. We talk about what we have experienced as ‘a decline’ in church attendence over the past couple of decades and we wonder if the Good News is still good. We observe our offspring making different decisions than we made. We notice the empty pews in our congregations. We remember when there was standing room only at church in the past. Then our Bible Study lesson dropped in our laps on Monday morning and it was titled, “Online Influencers Teach Christianity to Young People.”

Turns out that the Good News continues to be good and it continues to be a concept that we humans struggle with throughout our lives. We observed the same thing in our lesson from the book of Psalms this morning. The Lectionary offers us only part of psalm 40, it is a psalm in a group of writings that take a good hard look at how God is with us no matter what. It speaks of the way that God rescues us from our poor decisions. Verse 5 says, ‘You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.’ God’s wonderous deeds overwhelm us and leave us in awe. In verse 6 the author says, ‘Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.’ Did you catch that? The Psalmist suggests that God is not looking for ‘things’ like offerings but a relationship with us, ‘you have given me an open ear.’ In the Biblical Hebrew the word is Kawraw which means to dig or dig out. Suggesting that through God’s wonderful deeds we can learn/hear how God is with us, how God offers us not things but wisdom through the word. In our modern way of understanding I would suggest that God not only allows us to hear but also takes the time to listen to us when we are humble enough to turn to God in our times of need or concern.

Allow me to speak for a moment about how the times, they are a changin. Those who study church growth and the social dynamics associated with the ebb and flow of life, have coined a phrase, Inherited Church. The inherited church is just what it sounds like. The term refers to the age-old tradition of carrying on. Keeping up appearances and holding onto the ideas and practices that previous generations taught us. According to the statistics every 500 years there is a re-formation of how we do our religion. The word ‘religion’ comes from the Latin either ‘religio’ or ‘religare,’ both have the prefix ‘re’ which means ‘again.’ Followed by ‘lego’ – read or ‘ligare’ – bind/connect. Both of these root words lead to similar places, a chance to reconnect with our community and to look with fresh eyes at what we have read in the past, the scriptures. The scriptures are often referred to as a living document, they are fresh every time we approach them with the aid of the Holy Spirit. We are in the midst of a re-formation as new generations are taking another look at what God is saying to us in these days. When we become aware that ‘how we have always done it’ is going to have to change we find what is being called the ‘Emerging Church.’

The emerging church is one that finds new and inovative ways of connecting with people and sharing the ‘good news’ of God with us. The emerging church has been growing for some years in many different ways. We in the Presbyterian Church have been working on a program called 1001 New Worshiping Communities. It is a program that has re-imagined how we can engage with our community to share the love of God in our everyday lives. Our Methodist siblings call their program ‘Fresh Expressions,’ and they have very informative books and literature concerning how we, as post-modern disciples can re-connect, religare with the world. In the Bible Study the author made mention that some of the most popular online influencers don’t identify with a denomination. I suspect that each of our denominations brings with it old baggage that needs to be dealt with. According to the Bible Study young people are finding a commonality with the often young influencers who are like them. They are identifying with Christians who are like them, who are willing to share with and listen to them as they learn about the teachings of Jesus.

I titled my sermon today “What is Salvation?” I was working through our reading from Psalm 40 and the word ‘teshooah’ which comes from the root word in Biblical Hebrew that means ‘rescue’ or ‘redeem.’ We find it in verse 10 which says, “I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.” Our Salvation is to be rescued from the pitfalls that life throws our ways, the Psalm begins with David describing an incident in his life where he has been separated from his troops in battle and finds himself hiding in a swamp. Maybe he jumped into a river, maybe they chased him into a wetlands area. God heard his cry and lifted him to a solid footing, a place where he could catch his breath and find safety. That is God with us, that is the salvation that each of us need in these challenging days.

No matter what challenge you are facing you can count on God being with you, you can sing or write about the way that you have been rescued once again by the God who is still speaking through the scriptures. Our rescue is not going to be exactly like someone else’s salvation, each of us is unique and each of us has different needs. But God has come alongside or dwells within and gives us the strength and courage to remain faithful and obedient to our oath to follow Jesus. Each of us is a disciple of Jesus. We are able to read anew the story from thousands of years ago and find a person just like us going through similar life challenges. We will see in their experience that God was with them just like God is with us today. We are the children of God that have been redeemed in many wonderful and unique ways. Thanks be to God!

 

November 9, 2025

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

1 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, siblings, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

 

Luke 20:27-38

27 Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28 and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.” 34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now God is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to God all of them are alive.”

Difficult Passages

How long have you been a disciple of Jesus? Some of us grew up in the church and can claim that we have been practicing for our whole lives. In some cases that is quite a number of years. I’m 63 and I too was brought up in the church. I was raised in a different denomination but the scriptures are the same, the teachings of Jesus are the same and how we are expected to treat others is often similar. Let me share part of my experience with you about difficult passages in the Bible. When I went off to college in my 20’s it was a time of exploration as I needed to find out who I am and what I believed. I went to a Christian University and was given a chance to study the Bible in depth there. As I learned about the many different layers of how we got the Bible, I became aware that what we hold in our hand today is different from what the first Christians had a chance to learn from.

In my 40’s I came to realize that I felt angry for being taught what is called a ‘literal’ reading or understanding of the Bible. I had been taught by well meaning disciples of Jesus that the Bible is the words of God. They didn’t know any better because they had been taught the same thing. When we think of the Bible as having been given to us as a complete book of instructions, we get the feeling that the Bible is more important than other parts of our religion. In seminary I was introduced to the concept that some groups go too far when they hold the scriptures as more than sacred. To the point that some observe that the Bible can become an idol in their lives, the Bible has become more important than other parts of our religion. The Presbyterian understanding of the Bible is that it is a compilation of literature that was put together by people down through the years as a way of sharing their spiritual and religious experiences. All of scripture needs to be read with a lens of Historical Criticism which means that we need to consider the time and place of the writing of those scriptures, who the author was and who their audience was. Because those are important elements influencing what was written.

In our lessons today we find one of the letters from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the church in Thessalonica. In it they caution their readers not to just blindly take as fact what they have been told. Sort of like getting our information from only one place today. We can be easily misled if we don’t compare what we are being told with what our experiences tell us about reality. Seems that some of the people there had heard that the Second Coming had already happened. I once counted all the times that have been recorded that people had claimed the end of the world was about to happen and it is well over 1000. So what they were experiencing had happened before. Paul is saying don’t believe everything you hear, even if you are told that ‘we’ said it. Paul, himself, often suggests that we as followers of the Way need to think critically and ask questions about our religion and the world around us.

 Starting in verse 3 we are cautioned about how to read the signs we observe in the world around us. Paul talks of ‘one’ who is destined for destruction who will raise himself to the level of divinity, caring only for themselves and only taking from the world. Of course this idea isn’t new, all through recorded history there have been people who took control and allowed their ego to justify their mean and destructive behaviors. Later writers will speak of this concept as the “Antichrist,” with plenty of flourish and embellishment of how very bad people can be. Once again an encouragement for us to question and think critically about what is happening in the world. Paul goes on to remind his readers that they need to focus on their faith, to focus on God and what God would have us do. Paul suggests that we need to be aware of what we can control in our lives. We are really only in charge of ourselves, how we behave and what we believe.

In our second lesson there is an interesting interchange between Jesus and some of the religious leaders. Jesus suggests that there are different ways to interpret the concept of the ‘afterlife.’ He was raised with teachings about resurrection and the possibility that our spirit goes on after our physical body expires. His questioners had been taught that once we die nothing goes on afterwards, we are just dead. Part of their argument was that it is ludicrous for us to believe that anything continues when we die. Both of these ideas are representative of Jewish thought and theology. Jesus speaks about how there is a different realm that doesn’t operate like this physical one we find ourselves in right now. Our church follows Jesus’ teachings about resurrection and we may or may not like the idea that there is no marriage in the afterlife. But that is a topic for another sermon.

Where do we go from here? There are many conflicting beliefs in the Bible so how do we proceed? I start with, God is not a meddler. God is not making our lives better or worse depending on how we believe or act. God provides life and love in all of creation for us to discover and enjoy. Jesus on the other hand offers us teachings that suggest that we need to worry about ourselves first, we need to deal with our ego and learn humility and compassion in order to be his disciples in these trying times.

Prayer is our first and best option. When we share our concerns and express our joy and gratitude it helps us focus on God and the work of the kingdom around us. When, in prayer, we listen to what God says we find our healing. The Holy Spirit is at work within us helping us face the traumas that we have gone through. The Holy Spirit brings healing to our spirit so that we can better hear what God has to say to us. God offers us love and peace and hope and joy but we can’t really embrace those parts of God if we are too busy being reminded that we are worthless. Don’t believe the lies that you have been told and don’t blindly believe your religion. God encourages questions and wants to have a healthy dialogue concerning religion. We all have internal work to do and healing that needs to happen in our lives. Don’t get stuck in a rut doing what you have always done, expecting different results. Find prayer in your life each and every moment. We are children of God and that holds 24/7. Amen.