The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, May 23, 2021 (Day of Pentecost)

Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from Acts or the Old Testament (Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14), Psalms (Psalm 104:24-34, 35b), the Letters (Romans 8:22-27), and the Gospels (John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15) Please make any comments concerning the passages you want. Together, let's discuss the Word of God.

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.

There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

These all look to you to give them their food in due season;

when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—

who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

Romans 8:22-27

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

...it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Cove's Celebration Service - Sunday, August 20, 2017

Below is the service I led at Cove Presbyterian Church on August 20, 2017. During the summer of 2017, I preached a series of sermons entitled "Living by the Spirit." Although God has called us and filled us with the Spirit, often our lives don’t actually reflect his presence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about it and claiming to understand how to get it and even judging whether or not others have got it. This we do often and well. What we’re not so good at doing is living it, in other words, living by the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this summer, how we might demonstrate the presence of God through our lives. Using Galatians 5:22-26, we’ll consider the following topics:
✙ Those who live by the Spirit...
✙ Those who live by the Spirit demonstrate love.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit feel joy.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit work for peace.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have patience.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit show kindness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit understand faithfulness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit exhibit gentleness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have self-control.

As with all our services, worship is intended to be a free expression of our love for God and the joy we feel when we accept that love. Of course, there are many ways for us to express that love and joy. So that we can experience a greater sense of freedom and flexibility in our praise, the session decided to move away from a rigid order of worship, with the different elements printed in a very formal way, and to utilize the screen and the worship leader to guide us through the service. Below you’ll find some material that you may need to participate fully in our praise and reverence for God.
We started the service with the announcements. As the Bible entered, we sang "This is the Day that the Lord Has Made.”

Instrumental and vocal music are important to our worship. Songs give us the chance to praise God and to help focus our attention on the theme of the service. During the service, we have the opportunity to sing songs that reflect different musical styles. Since God has called into his church as individuals with a variety of tastes, this offers us the chance to display our sensitivity for our fellow worshipers and to grow in our knowledge of how we might praise God. Our first song was “Give of Your Best to the Master.”

Our prayers represent our communication with God. Of course, as Paul wrote, the Holy Spirit “...intercedes for us with groans too deep for words”; therefore, God already knows our needs. Still it’s important that we put them into words, as well as the regret we feel for our sins and our thanks for all God has done for us.

During the Our Congregational Prayer, we confessed our sins and hear the assurance that we're forgiven.  We also lifted our concerns and needs to God.  We closed this prayer with The Lord’s Prayer. As we collected the offering, Enid and Janice played “Faith Of Our Fathers.” 

God’s word is at the core of the worship service. It’s often reflected in the songs we sing and the prayers we pray. But it’s most clearly present when we read a passage from the Bible, and it’s applied to our daily living in the sermon.

This morning, the messages in this series, Living by the Spirit, are based on Galatians 5:16-26:

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

The focus of the message was on self-control and the title of the sermon was “When the Brownie Knows Our Names.”

Our service ended with the congregation singing "Spirit Song."

Below is the podcast of the service.

Sunday's Sermon - When the Brownie Knows Our Names

During the summer of 2017, I preached a series of sermons entitled "Living by the Spirit." Although God has called us and filled us with the Spirit, often our lives don’t actually reflect his presence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about it and claiming to understand how to get it and even judging whether or not others have got it. This we do often and well. What we’re not so good at doing is living it, in other words, living by the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this summer, how we might demonstrate the presence of God through our lives. Using Galatians 5:22-26, we’ll consider the following topics:
✙ Those who live by the Spirit...
✙ Those who live by the Spirit demonstrate love.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit feel joy.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit work for peace.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have patience.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit show kindness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit understand faithfulness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit exhibit gentleness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have self-control.

Below is a copy of the last message in this series sermon, "Those who live by the Spirit have self-control."

Well, this is it. And even though I feel like singing “The Way We Were,” I won’t do it. And I say that in spite of the fact that right now, “Memories light the corners of my mind, misty water-colored memories of the way we were.” You see, today we end a journey we started way back on June 11, you know, when the world was a simpler place, back when few people outside of the ACC knew much about Charlottesville and few comic book fans associated Wonder Woman with World War One and we all assumed nothing else could go wrong with the air conditioning: good times, good times. But that was then and this is now, and this morning we’re putting a bow on our series dealing with living by the Holy Spirit.

And what a series it’s been. Over the last nine weeks, we’ve looked at what living by the Spirit isn’t. And then we’ve discussed love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and generosity, faithfulness and gentleness. And this morning, well, we’re looking at the one fruit that might actually be the most challenging of all, and right now I’m talking about self-discipline. You see, this is the one trait that all Christians are supposed to have, but that may also be the toughest to show on anything like a consistent basis, at least it is for me. Man, it’s hard to be self-disciplined.

But of course, it’s even harder when the stuff we find most tempting seems to know our name. Let me give you an example. As most of y’all know, on Tuesday, we had a bereavement dinner after the service remembering Paul Welch. And to that dinner, one of the ladies brought these little brownies with a pecan or maybe a walnut on the top. Now, I’ve got to tell you, along with snick-a-doodles and pizzelles and gingerbread, I love brownies. In fact, whenever I see a brownie, not only do I begin to feel a deep hunger inside, but it brings back some of the very best memories of childhood. Anyway, for the dinner someone brought these wonderful brownies, and I know they were wonderful, because I ate one.

And that would have been fine, but for some reason, after everything had been cleaned up and put away, there was one brownie left that the ladies put in the refrigerator, I guess so the deacons could put it out today in the parlor. And so there it was, sitting on the second shelf. And as the week went by, I discovered something strange happening. You see, this wasn’t just any brownie. In fact, I think you could call it mystical, because not only had it somehow developed the power of speech, it knew my name. You see, on Wednesday and Thursday, every time I got a cup of coffee I could hear the brownie speaking to me. And it would say stuff like, “Ed, aren’t you hungry for me” and “Wouldn’t I taste great with that cup of coffee” and “Don’t worry, I don’t have any calories,” you know, stuff like that. Well that’s what happen on Wednesday and Thursday. And on Friday, I could hear the brownie speaking all the way in my office. And then on Saturday, not only could I hear it, somehow it had gotten into my subconscious and I was being drawn, of course against my will, to that little chocolate square on the styrofoam plate. I’ll tell you, just like the sirens drew sailors to the rocks, that brownie was drawing me to the refrigerator. And you know, by yesterday evening, about seven o’clock, both the brownie and its song was so sweet, my resolve, my strength, my inner desire to be disciplined, man, that was melting away. Now that’s what happened to me. But don’t sit there all snug. I think few people could resist a brownie that knows their name.

But of course, if we’re honest with ourselves, self-discipline or the lack thereof isn’t just about food. There’s all kinds of stuff that we allow to draw us away from what we know is right and best and even Christian. And I think our only hope of not drifting away is what Paul considered the ninth fruit of the Holy Spirit. And since, right along with love and kindness and faith, he considered it something all Christians must show, we’re going to talk about self-discipline this morning, specifically what self-discipline is and how self-discipline can be developed and finally, why self-discipline is so important. And like we’ve done nine times before, we’re going to use the Bible to do it. Now that’s what we’re going to focus on during the rest of our time together.

And I’ll tell you, when you’re considering what self-discipline is, I think you have to also spend a little time looking at what it isn’t. And you know, when you’re talking about what self-disciple is all about, I think you really have to go to the Greek word that Paul used in Galatians: ἐγκράτεια. You see, that word literally means “having dominion over self.” And even though all the words Paul used in his list of fruits were offered in Greek because it was in this language that he wrote the letter, with this particular word, the Greek is really important, and I’ll tell you why. “Having dominion over self” or having self-discipline,” well it was considered a virtue by the Greeks, not the Jews. In the whole Greek translation of the Old Testament, this particular word is almost never used, because Jews emphasized obeying God, not disciplining self.

But that wasn’t the case for the Greeks. Self-discipline was considered necessary to live a virtuous life. That’s what they thought. And evidentially, so did Paul. And for him, self-discipline demanded self-control. In other words, a disciplined person was able to control some of his inner drives and impulses. And I think this is something we can see when he talked to the Corinthians about marriage and specifically about why a Christian might need to get married and when he wrote about how living the Christian life was actually like a foot race. For example, this is what he wrote about marriage: “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. This I say by way of concession, not of command. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.” [1 Corinthians 7:3-9] You see, for Paul, self-control involved harnessing the natural feelings that people have for one another. And later in the same letter, he wrote, “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” [1 Corinthians 9:24-27] In other words, being a successful Christian is just like being a successful athlete. They both take dedication and effort and even sacrifice, but not just for the sake of sacrifice. Rather what is done is done for the sake of winning the race. Therefore, on one hand self-discipline is all about self-control.

On the other hand though, it has nothing to do with what we consider self-indulgence. And I think Paul defined what he had in mind with this kind of life-style when he wrote to the Philippians, “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” [Philippians 3:18-20] And remember, for Paul, the opposite of living by the Spirit was satisfying the desires of the flesh. He wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” [Galatians 5:19-21] Now maybe it’s just me, but this seems to be a pretty self-indulgent, self-centered, self-satisfying way to live. You see, it would seem that Paul believed Christians should be self-controlled and not self-indulgent. And that’s what self-discipline is all about.

And how does self-discipline develop? For Paul there seems to be two things Christians need to do. First, to develop self-discipline, we really need to trust God. I mean, I think that’s why he called it a fruit of the Spirit, in other words, something the Holy Spirit works within us. But beyond that, I think it’s important that self-discipline appeared last in Paul’s list. You see, by occupying this final position, self-discipline assumes a place of strategic importance. In fact, you might say that self-discipline is the summation of the previous eight qualities that the Spirit produces. In other words, the work of the Spirit reaches its consummation in self-control. And this virtue enables us to realize every other aspect of spiritual fruit. And so, our ability to control ourselves starts as a gift from God. But second, it’s a gift that needs to be claimed and used in order to do us any good. I mean, it’s like getting a membership to the community center for your birthday, you know so you can get in better shape. That membership ain’t worth a hill of beans if you never go. You see, although God may give us the ability to become “athletic” Christians, we’re still going to have to decide to do the training ourselves. And this is something Paul knew. For example, just listen to what he wrote to Timothy: “If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” [1 Timothy 4:6-10] Of course, training ourselves in godliness is probably going to involve doing things like attending worship and studying the Bible and avoiding criticizing others and assuming that we already know everything worth knowing. You see, we need to trust God and use the tools and opportunities he’s given us; that’s how self-discipline develops.

And why is it important, well, I think that comes down to two benefits. I mean, first, it strengthens our faith, and I’m talking about our faith in God. In other words, the more we focus on getting some control over ourselves and the more we trust God and use what he’s given, the closer we’ll come to him. And you know, I think we can see this link between faith and self-discipline in Peter’s second letter: “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 1:5-8]. You see, self-discipline strengthens our faith in God. But that’s not the only reason it’s important. Second, people who have control over some of their less than beneficial impulses really help others, particularly other believers. Paul wrote this to Titus: “For a [church leader], as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.” [Titus 1:7-9] I’ll tell you, in the church, a leader who can’t discipline him or herself isn’t much of a leader, at lest not for Paul. You see, self-disciplined Christians help both themselves and others, and that’s why it’s important.

Now, I have a question for one of the deacons who set-up the snacks in the parlor this morning. Did you move any brownies upstairs? You see, I already know you didn’t. I just couldn’t resist anymore and so I gave into to the dark chocolate side. I failed in my attempt to be self-disciplined. But as it comes to our spiritual lives, we can be a little better than that. I mean, we can choose self-control over self-indulgence. And we can trust God and use what’s he’s given us. And when we do, we’ll help both ourselves and others. And I’ll tell you, we can do it, even though the brownie may actually know our names.

Sunday's Sermon - Old Faithful

During the summer of 2017, I preached a series of sermons entitled "Living by the Spirit." Although God has called us and filled us with the Spirit, often our lives don’t actually reflect his presence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about it and claiming to understand how to get it and even judging whether or not others have got it. This we do often and well. What we’re not so good at doing is living it, in other words, living by the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this summer, how we might demonstrate the presence of God through our lives. Using Galatians 5:22-26, we’ll consider the following topics:
✙ Those who live by the Spirit...
✙ Those who live by the Spirit demonstrate love.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit feel joy.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit work for peace.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have patience.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit show kindness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit understand faithfulness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit exhibit gentleness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have self-control.

Below is a copy of the eighth message in this series sermon, "Those who live by the Spirit practice faithfulness."

Now I’ve got to tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to a group that seemed more anxious to hear what I have to say. I mean, right now, y’all seem so alert and focused and, well, almost hungry to hear the Word. Of course, I can’t be sure whether it’s the content of my message or the fact that I’m standing between you and a whole bunch of food. Who can tell?

But regardless of the intensity of your desire to be fed, before we dig into all this stuff up here, we’re going to talk about the Bible a little bit, and in particular, the seventh fruit of the Spirit. Of course, we’ve covered some pretty good stuff already. I mean, we started by talking about what living by the Spirit is not. And then, we’ve hit love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and of course, generosity. And as we’ve made this little journey, we’ve looked into the Bizarro World and at those two little naked “Love Is” kids. We’ve considered what’s down in our hearts and the direction the eagle faces on the Presidential seal. We’ve met a friend who’s anything but patient and a character who’s always depended on the kindness of strangers. And then last week, we talked about how bacteria in our guts might make us more generous people. Now that’s where we’ve been.

And this morning, since we’re kind of outside, and we can see the sun shining and hear the birds singing and feel the breeze blowing and smell the food just sitting there, picking up some of that bacteria we talked about last week, I mean, since we’re out of the building, I thought something related to nature would be appropriate for the cover of the bulletin. And because faith or faithfulness is the next fruit of the Spirit, I decided on a picture of Old Faithful. Now tell me that’s not clever.

And even though I assume that most of y’all know why they call this geyser, not geezer, that’s what I see when I look in the mirror, but geyser “Old Faithful,” just to make sure everybody’s on the same page, it’s because the eruptions are incredibly predictable. As a matter of fact, since 2000, it has erupted every forty-four to one hundred, twenty-five minutes. In other words, if you decided to spend a couple of hours around its cone there in Yellowstone National Park, you could be confident that you’d see it shoot a stream of boiling water about 145 feet into the air. Man, you can have faith that it’ll happen.

And of course, that’s what we’re talking about this morning, you know, faith. But it’s not faith in either a geyser or a geezer, rather it’s faith in God, something that Paul believed we should show if we’re living by the Holy Spirit. And so, for the next few minutes, we’re going to talk about faith, and in particular, what it is and what it does.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s pretty important, because even the most dedicated Christian can get a little confused about what the Bible means by faith. For example, I think a lot of folks think faith is really about believing a lot of stuff. In other words, we have faith in God when we believe a set of specific things about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And if that’s what we assume, than the more we know or the more we learn, the more faith we’ll have. And a truly faithful person can explain a lot theological stuff. For these Christians, faith is all about what you know.
But I’ll tell you, that’s really not what the word means in Greek. You see, the word that Paul used in passage from Galatians is πιστίς, and πιστίς doesn’t really mean knowledge, that’s γνώσις or the word σοφία. No, πιστίς refers to trust. And even though, in most English translations, the word is translated either “faith” or “belief” and I understand that faith and belief are sort of connected to trust, I think how we interpret the meaning of the words are somewhat different. And let me show you what I’m talking about. I’m going to read a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans in which he used either the noun πιστίς or the verb πιστεύω. Now, it’s a story of how Abraham showed faith. And every time those two Greek words are used, I’m going to say “trust.” Just listen: “The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he trusted God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things. God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still trusted God and became the ancestor of many nations. Abraham’s trust never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His [decision to] trust made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God. Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. So God accepted him, just as we read in the Scriptures." [Romans 4:17-25] Now, do you see what I mean?

If faith is about what we believe, then it’s about what we know. But if it’s about what and whom we trust, then it’s more like a decision we make. In other words, based on what we might understand, we can make the decision to trust: to trust that God loved us before he created the world and to trust that Jesus entered our time and space so that we might better understand God and so that he might completely identify with us and to trust that right now the Holy Spirit is flowing around and through us, opening our eyes so that we might see and our minds so that we might understand and our hearts so that we might feel. You see, just like we said about love, faith is a decision, a decision that, regardless of what we think we know, will always be a little like stepping into a dark room trusting that there’s a floor on the other side of the door. You see, faith is trust; that’s exactly what it is.

And I’ll tell you, when we make the decision to trust, I think two things change. For example, first, our decision changes our relationship with God. But before I say anything else, let me be clear about this, it doesn’t change God’s relationship with us. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people.” [Ephesians 1:4] No, it’s like a minister told me years ago; we’re going to have to live with the fact that God loves us. But even though it doesn’t change how God relates to us, faith changes how we relate to God. When we decide to trust that God is loving and gracious and merciful and when we decide to trust that he has both redeemed and cleansed us and when we decide to trust that our lives and our destinies are in his hands, we enter a new relationship with God, something that Paul called righteous, a right relationship. You see, it’s through our decision to trust God that our relationship with him is made right and complete. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s exactly what Paul was getting at when we wrote this to the Romans. He wrote, “Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn’t by obeying the Law of Moses. God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life’s blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.” [Romans 3:21-26] You see, when we make the decision simply to trust God, our relationship with God changes. And that’s the first thing that happens.
And second, when we decide to trust, it changes our view of both ourselves and others. You see, when we accept that all those things about God’s love and grace and mercy are true and when we recognize that all that stuff is directed toward us whether we want it or not and when we acknowledge that because of all this, our past has been cleansed and our future secured, in other words, when we trust in God, man, it’s got to change how we see ourselves. I mean, rather than seeing ourselves as slimy sinners who deserve nothing better than Hell or self-sanctified saints who’ve earned their little spot in Heaven, we’re going to see ourselves as we actually are: redeemed sinners whom God has sanctified as saints. And I think this was sort of what Paul was saying when he wrote to the Galatians, “All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.” [Galatians 3:26-29] You see, when we decide to trust in God, we can see ourselves as God’s adopted children. Now that’s the change I’m talking about.

But it also changes the way we see others. I mean, since we’ve decided to trust that it’s God who loves us and who’s made us righteous and who’s adopted us into the family, man, it not about what we’ve done but about what God has done for us, and we didn’t realize it until we trusted, if that’s how we see ourselves, well, it just stands to reason that the same thing applies to other folks, even people we don’t like. I mean, when you get right down to it, God loves them just as much as he loves us, they just don’t know it yet. Therefore, rather than to ignore or condemn, maybe we should share, so that they might decide to trust too. You see, our decision to trust changes the way we see everyone. And that’s the second thing that happens.

You see, just like we can trust that Old Faithful will erupt every couple of hours, we can trust God. In fact, that’s really what faith is all about, you know, trust. And when we make that decision, that decision simply to trust that God is loving and gracious and merciful, not only will it change our relationship with him, it’ll change how we see ourselves and those around us.

Cove's Celebration Service - Sunday, July 30, 2017

Below is the service I led at Cove Presbyterian Church on July 30, 2017. During the summer of 2017, I preached a series of sermons entitled "Living by the Spirit." Although God has called us and filled us with the Spirit, often our lives don’t actually reflect his presence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about it and claiming to understand how to get it and even judging whether or not others have got it. This we do often and well. What we’re not so good at doing is living it, in other words, living by the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this summer, how we might demonstrate the presence of God through our lives. Using Galatians 5:22-26, we’ll consider the following topics:
✙ Those who live by the Spirit...
✙ Those who live by the Spirit demonstrate love.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit feel joy.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit work for peace.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have patience.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit show kindness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit understand faithfulness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit exhibit gentleness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have self-control.

As with all our services, worship is intended to be a free expression of our love for God and the joy we feel when we accept that love. Of course, there are many ways for us to express that love and joy.

We started the service with the announcements. As the Bible entered, we sang "This is the Day that the Lord Has Made.”

Instrumental and vocal music are important to our worship. Songs give us the chance to praise God and to help focus our attention on the theme of the service. During the service, we have the opportunity to sing songs that reflect different musical styles. Since God has called into his church as individuals with a variety of tastes, this offers us the chance to display our sensitivity for our fellow worshipers and to grow in our knowledge of how we might praise God. Our first song was “O Jesus, I Have Promised.”

Our prayers represent our communication with God. Of course, as Paul wrote, the Holy Spirit “...intercedes for us with groans too deep for words”; therefore, God already knows our needs. Still it’s important that we put them into words, as well as the regret we feel for our sins and our thanks for all God has done for us.

During the Our Congregational Prayer, we confessed our sins and hear the assurance that we're forgiven.  We also lifted our concerns and needs to God.  We closed this prayer with The Lord’s Prayer. After we collected the offering, Cady Freeland sings “Break Every Chain.”

God’s word is at the core of the worship service. It’s often reflected in the songs we sing and the prayers we pray. But it’s most clearly present when we read a passage from the Bible, and it’s applied to our daily living in the sermon.

This morning, the messages in this series, Living by the Spirit, are based on Galatians 5:16-26:

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

The title of the sermon is “More than a Gut Feeling.”

During the service, we shared communion. When we gather around the Lord’s table, we believe that even though Christ's body and blood are not physically present in the bread and the juice, he’s with us in a special spiritual way. Jesus is the host of this meal and when we share the communion, we can experience his presence in a special way. For that reason, the elements are spiritual nourishment in Christ by faith. In fact, when the community as the Body of Christ gathers around table and celebrates the Lord's Supper, it’s  “transformed” into the Body of Christ, or “reformed” into the Body of Christ each time it participates in this sacrament.

We begin this celebration by receiving the invitation to gather around the table. And then we prayed together, thanking God for giving us this opportunity to share in his presence. After hearing the meaning of the sacrament, ruling elders brought to the congregation the bread and the cup, that we held until everyone was served. And then, as the Body of Christ, we ate and then drank together.

At the end of the celebration, we again prayed, asking the Lord to help us take the meaning of communion out into the world.

Our service ended with the congregation singing "Let It Start with Me."

Below is the podcast of the service.

I want to thank the following persons who were involved in the service:

Choir Director: Ray Seifert
Organist: Janice Torrance
Bell Choir Director: Sue Willson
Video Technician: Peggy Baldt

Sunday's Sermon - More than a Gut Feeling

During the summer of 2017, I preached a series of sermons entitled "Living by the Spirit." Although God has called us and filled us with the Spirit, often our lives don’t actually reflect his presence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about it and claiming to understand how to get it and even judging whether or not others have got it. This we do often and well. What we’re not so good at doing is living it, in other words, living by the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this summer, how we might demonstrate the presence of God through our lives. Using Galatians 5:22-26, we’ll consider the following topics:
✙ Those who live by the Spirit...
✙ Those who live by the Spirit demonstrate love.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit feel joy.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit work for peace.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have patience.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit show kindness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit understand faithfulness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit exhibit gentleness.
✙ Those who live by the Spirit have self-control.

Below is a copy of the seventh message in this series sermon, "Those who live by the Spirit practice generosity."

Now, when I was a kid, we didn’t measure summer by any kind of official scientific standard. I mean, it didn’t start at the summer solstice, when we enjoy the most daylight of the calendar year. And it didn’t end at the autumnal equinox, you know, when day and night are each about 12 hours long. Now that may be how it’s defined on the official calendar and in The Farmer’s Almanac, but that’s not how I saw it. Instead, for me, summer started on the first day in June and ended on the last day of August. I mean, June 21 to September 22, give me a break; that’s just wrong. Anyway, using my old, reliable three month pattern, right now we’re about to enter summer’s homestretch. Which also means we’re getting close to the end of this series dealing with living by the Spirit.

And to this point, we’ve had six messages. First, we looked at what living by the Spirit is not. And second, we considered how love is a decision and an obligation. Third, we talked about how Christian joy is grounded in faith and how it strengthens those who suffer and how it must be shared among believers. And then, fourth, we focused on Christian peace and how God has called us to live in harmony with ourselves and with God and with one another. And fifth, we dealt with spiritual patience and how it involves humility and love and faith. And then last week, we looked at kindness and how kindness is part of God’s nature and how it should extend to everybody and how it’s only possible with God’s help. Now there’s where we’ve been.

And this morning, we’re going to talk about Christian generosity, or according to the literal meaning of the Greek word that Paul used, the goodness that Christians demonstrate to others. And as a sign that God works in mysterious ways, just this last week I ran across an article that dealt with a scientific explanation for generosity. You see, I have an app on my phone entitled Curiosity. And every day, they post some interesting articles that you might not find out there in world. And on Monday, they posted an article entitled, “Your Microbiome Might Play a Role in Altruism.” And let me read you the first paragraph: “They might be microscopic, but single-celled bacteria are surprisingly powerful. Research has linked certain bacteria in the gut to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and even autism. Now, scientists are beginning to think that bacteria may not just be out to destroy our mental health. They could be responsible for acts of altruism, too.” In other words, some scientists think that bacteria may actually cause us to be generous, and they’ve even done some experiments to support this theory.

Of course, I have no idea whether or not bacteria in my gut makes me put some change in the cup of a homeless person. What I do know, though, is that altruism or generosity or goodness directed to others, well, it’s not always easy to do. I mean, suppose I’m at in intersection and a guy is holding up a sign asking for help. And he’s right there at my window. I’m telling you, at that moment, I can think of all kinds of reasons not to give him a dollar. I mean, I’m sitting on my wallet, and it’ll be really hard to get it out, right? And he looks pretty able-bodied to me; helping him will just give him an excuse to not work and I don’t want to be an enabler, right? And I bet he’ll just take that dollar and buy drugs with it; you know, that’s what they all do, right? Sure they do. And so regardless of what’s swimming around my gut, I avoid eye contact and get moving as soon as I can, you know, before the bacteria kicks in. I’m telling you, being generous isn’t easy.

And that’s why it’s kind of a bummer that it’s the seventh fruit of the Spirit. In other words, for Paul, Spirit-filled Christians are generous. They’re altruistic. They’re good to others. Now that’s what he wrote. And unless we white it out, we’ve got to deal with it. And so, in the next few minutes, we’re going to talk about generosity. And like we’ve done with love and patience and kindness, we’re going to use the Bible to define and better understand how we might do it. Now that’s our focus this morning.

And I’ll tell you, when we take a look at what’s in the Book, I think there are four things we can say about Christian generosity. But before we look at the specifics, let me tell you that, when I read the Scripture, you’re not going to hear the word “generous” used. Instead, it’ll generally be something about being good, but I want you to understand the same Greek word that Paul used in our passage from Galatians was also used in everything we’ll read. And so, having said that, I think there are four things that Paul had in mind when he talked about generosity.

For example, first, for Paul, Christian generosity is always directed away from self. In other words, it’s not about me; it’s about you and us. But I’ll tell you, it’s not just about us; it’s also about them. Generous goodness points out, not in. And I think we can see that in what Paul wrote to the Romans: “If our faith is strong, we should be patient with the Lord's followers whose faith is weak. We should try to please them instead of ourselves. We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself. But as the Scriptures say, ‘The people who insulted you also insulted me.’ And the Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope.” [Romans 15:1-4] And to the Galatians, he wrote: “Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said. You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.” [Galatians 6:6-10] You see, the kind of goodness, the kind of generosity Paul called us to show, first, is all about helping others, not self.

And second, it also may take different forms. In other words, how a person might show goodness, how he or she might be generous, well, it may differ from person to person, you know, depending on what the person has to give. And again, Paul seems pretty clear about this in his letters. But before reading some of this, I think it’s important to remember that Paul lived in a time very different from ours, one with different values and norms; therefore, I think it’s wrong to take an example that Paul used to make a point and assume that he was prescribing institution or even suggesting that we impose the example. Let me show you what I mean. To the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “Slaves, you must obey your earthly masters. Show them great respect and be as loyal to them as you are to Christ. Try to please them at all times, and not just when you think they are watching. You are slaves of Christ, so with your whole heart you must do what God wants you to do. Gladly serve your masters, as though they were the Lord himself, and not simply people. You know that you will be rewarded for any good things you do, whether you are slaves or free.” [Ephesians 6:5-8] Now I don’t think this is Paul being pro-slavery here. Rather he was showing that even slaves could be generous with what they have. I think that’s what he was saying. And I think we should read what he wrote to Titus in the same way. He said, “Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message.” [Titus 2:3-5] Again, I think he was using an example of how women might be generous, given their limited means in the first century. You see, whether it’s our time or whether it’s our talents or whether it’s our money or some combination of the three, generosity can take different forms. And that’s his second point.

And third, for Paul, Christian generosity is impossible with God’s help. You see, it’s not about trying harder. Being generous is actually being more focused on and faithful to God. I mean, I think that’s why Paul called it a fruit of the Spirit. And I’ll tell you, I believe we see this in what he wrote the Romans. Now this is a long passage and so I won’t read it all. But in it, Paul talked about how he wanted to be good, how he wanted to be generous, but he just couldn’t pull it off. He wrote, “I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don't do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. [Romans 7:18-20] And given this situation, all Paul could say was this, “But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me." [Romans 7:23-25] You see, God rescued Paul and enabled him to continue doing what he was called and equipped to do. And later, in the same letter, Paul wrote that this can also happen to us: “Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.”  [Romans 12:1-2] With God’s help, we can be generous. And that’s Paul’s third point.

And finally, for Paul, Christian generosity has power. You see, it really isn’t just about making a personal sacrifice; rather, it’s about changing the world. And I believe this was what he had in mind when he wrote to the Ephesians, “You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful, as you try to please the Lord.” [Ephesians 5:8-10] And to the Thessalonians, he said, “God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God’s power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do. Then, because God and our Lord Jesus Christ are so kind, you will bring honor to the name of our Lord Jesus, and he will bring honor to you.” [2 Thessalonians 1:11-12] You see, when we’re generous and when we treat others well, we’re sharing the good news of the one who really treated us better than we deserve, the one who cleansed our past and locked in our future, the one who’s very life becomes an example of what goodness is all about. This is the one we share through our generosity, and that my brothers and sisters can change the world. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.” [Romans 12:21] Generosity has power, and I believe that’s Paul’s fourth point.

Remember how we started this? I was telling you about how some scientists are trying to establish that generosity may be the result of bacteria. Well, the article ends with this: “So when Ebenezer Scrooge changed his ways on Christmas morning, it could have been the result of those three ghosts or, more likely, the bacteria in his gut finally got their way.” Of course, I don’t know whether that’s true or not. What does seem true, at least to me, is that Paul believed that Christians must be generous
and that Christian generosity is directed away from self, and it may take different forms. It’s impossible with God’s help, and when it’s done, man, Christian generosity has all kinds of power. Now that what Paul wrote. Which means to me, when you get right down to it, generosity is a whole lot more than a gut feeling.