The First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant Celebration Service - Sunday, May 30, 2021

Here's a copy of the podcast of the worship service I led in the First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant, Ohio on Sunday, May 30, 2021. 

Sunday's Message - DOS

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant, Ohio and First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, May 30, 2021.

John 3:1-17 [Contemporary English Version]

There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. One night he went to Jesus and said, “Sir, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!”

Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”

Jesus answered:

I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied:

How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? I tell you for certain that we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. If you don’t believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?

No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!

Sermon Title: DOS

Today is another one of those days that’s really important for two very different reasons. You see, when we check out our regular calendars, this is the Sunday right before Memorial Day, one of the most important days in our civic year. I mean, this is the one day set aside to remember those who’ve died for our country. And I’ll tell you, in my opinion, that’s a sacrifice that we should never forget. Now that’s what it says on the calendar we have on our desks. 

But of course, around the church, that’s not the only calendar we use, because just like we talked about last week, there’s also what’s called the Calendar for the Church Year. And according that particular calendar, today is Trinity Sunday. Now in case you don’t know, it’s always the Sunday right after Pentecost, and it’s set aside to remember what it means for us to say that our one God has three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And I’ll tell you, I believe that’s also something important for us to discuss at least once a year, and I’ll tell you why. Not only is it one of the most important concepts in the Christian faith, in fact, it actually separates us from the other great monotheistic religions, like Judaism and Islam, it’s also something that’s a little bit fuzzy for even life-long believers. And so, I think I’m safe in saying that this morning, we’re looking at two pretty important days.

And for that reason, to help us understand what this Trinity business is all about and since Memorial Day is tomorrow, I’m going to bring in something with which the folks who’ve served in the military, with the exception of the Air Force, might be familiar, and I’m talking about the letters MOS. Now, in case you don’t know what those letters mean, they stand for “Military Occupational Specialty.” In the Air Force, the letters are AFSC, and they stand for “Air Force Specialty Codes.” But I’ll tell you, they mean the exact same thing. You see, if you’re in the Army or the Navy or the Marines, your MOS is your job, you know, your rank and your specialty. In other words, it indicates what you’re suppose to be doing.

And this morning, we’re going to take that concept and apply to God and in particular to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And instead of calling it MOS or AFSC, we’re going to talk about each of their DOS, you know, their Divine Occupational Specialty. Now that’s going to be our focus. And I hope by the end of our time together we’ll have a better understanding not only of what each person in Trinity did and does, but also why that “specialty” might be important to us. And we’re going to use the passage we read from John as sort of a foundation for our discussion.

Of course, if we’re going to look at each member of the Trinity, it probably makes sense to start with the Father. I mean, we usually think in terms of “Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” and so where we’re going to start almost seems preordained. And you know, when we take the one generally called the first person in the Trinity and think about his DOS, I believe that I’m safe in saying that God the Father loves. That’s what he does. That’s his job. Of course that’s not all he does, but to understand the Father, I really believe we need to start with his love. I mean, according to John, “God is love” [1 John 4:8a, CEV] for crying out loud. And I’ll tell you, I think we can certainly see that in the passage we just read. Remember, Jesus said to Nicodemas, “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!” [John 3:16-17, CEV]. You see, the Father loves.

And I’ll tell you, when we use other scripture to unpack what this love is all about, I think it has at least two really important characteristics. You see, first, I believe that the Father’s love is transforming. In other words, it actually changes who we are and how we can relate, but not just to God, also with one another. I mean, just listen to what John wrote in his first letter: Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ is, they don’t know who we are. My dear friends, we are already God’s children, though what we will be hasn’t yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is. [1 John 3:1-2, CEV] You see, it’s through his love for us, that we become his children; man, we become the children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. And so we can say his love is transforming. 

But that’s not all; second, it’s also constant. And I’ll tell you why that’s so important. I mean, it’s wonderful that God loves us and has moved us from strangers to children. But if his love isn’t constant, tomorrow he could just change his mind and to move us back to stranger status, couldn’t he? But praise the Lord, that’s not how God’s love works. As Paul wrote to the Romans: In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! [Romans 8:37-39, CEV] And by the way, when Paul wrote “nothing,” I believe that’s exactly what he meant, that nothing, including us, can separate us from God’s love. 

And I’ll tell you, because the Father’s love is both transforming and constant, we have every reason to feel peace as we live right now and as we move into the future. You see, we can count on not just the Father, but our Father. And why can we do that? Because his Divine Occupational Specialty is love. 

And as to the Son, you know, the incarnation of God himself, the word made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, well, I think we can say that the Son heals. Of course, some of y’all might be a little surprised that I used that particular word rather than “saves,” but I’ll tell you, both “heal” and “save” are translations of the exact same Greek word: σῴζω. Now, there’s another Greek word that means to make well in a medical sense. But more often than not, when we run across the word “heal” in a story about Jesus, it could also be translated “save” or “made whole.” And you know, this idea of healing is definitely behind the image that Jesus used to describe what the Son of Man came to do. I mean, in the passage we read a little while ago, he said, “And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.” [John 3:14-15, CEV] You see, just like the people of Israel were healed by looking at the metal snake that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, Jesus came to bring healing and salvation and life to us. And you know, when you think about what this healing is all about, I believe there are two characteristics that we should keep in mind. You see, first, I think we need to remember that we were healed by a sacrifice made by Jesus and not by anything we said or did nor by anything we gave or promised. In other words, it was done by Jesus Christ without either our help or permission. And I’ll tell you, I think we can get an idea about this sacrifice by reading these two brief passages from Peter: 

You were rescued from the useless way of life that you learned from your ancestors. But you know that you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don’t last forever. You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb. [1 Peter 1:18-19, CEV]

Christ carried the burden of our sins. He was nailed to the cross, so that we would stop sinning and start living right. By his cuts and bruises you are healed. You had wandered away like sheep. Now you have returned to the one who is your shepherd and protector. [1 Peter 2:24-25, CEV]

As I’ve said before, Jesus Christ died on a cross to save the people who drove the nails. And so the healing represented a sacrifice he made. That’s one. 

And second, it was also complete. You see, the cross was enough; it doesn’t have to be repeated or augmented nor does it require anything from us to make it effective. It’s like Paul wrote to the Romans:

Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us. [Romans 5:6-11, CEV]

You see, what Jesus did was sacrificial and complete, and through this act, we’ve been saved. And I’ll tell you, for that reason, we can have hope, knowing that what we didn’t earn, we’re not going to lose. And why can we believe this? It’s because the Son’s Divine Occupational Specialty is healing.

As to the third person in the Trinity, well just like the Father loves and the Son heals, I believe the Holy Spirit inspires. In other words, it does for us what the breath of God did for Adam, it fills us with new life and offers us new possibilities. Remember, Jesus said this to Nicodemas:

I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. [John 3:5b-8, CEV]

You see, the Holy Spirit inspires. And through that inspiration we receive both understanding and power. And I’ll tell you, Jesus was crystal clear about how the Spirit can help us understand when, before his death, he made this promise to his disciples:

I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. [John 16:12-14, CEV]

I’ll tell you, without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we would know squat. You see, it’s the Spirit that opens our eyes so we can see and our ears so we can hear and our minds so we can understand. 

But you know, the Spirit offers more than just understanding; it also empowers us to act. In other words, it gives us the ability to stand up on our hind legs and to face down those who want to stifle the truth and to take that stand with courage and strength. And you know, this is exactly what Jesus said would happen and that’s why he told this to his disciples:

When you are brought to trial in the Jewish meeting places or before rulers or officials, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say. [Luke 12:11-12, CEV]

And a little later, he said, “But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” [Acts 1:8, CEV] 

You see, when you get right down to it, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding so we can know what to do and the power get up and to do it. And for that reason, we can move into our futures with all kinds of confidence. Why? Man, that’s easy; because the Spirit’s Divine Occupational Specialty is inspiration.

Now, I believe Memorial Day should always be special, even among all our other civic holidays. As a matter of fact, in a very real sense, it stands alone. You see, we can celebrate our national independence on the Fourth of July and our veterans on Veterans Day and those currently serving on Armed Forces Day. But on Memorial Day, man, we remember men and women who lost their lives doing what they were called to do. And for that reason, this day should always be special. 

But I’ll tell you, so should Trinity Sunday. You see, this day gives us the chance to focus on something about which we often don’t think, and I’m talking about God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, today gives us the chance to remember how the Father loves and the Son heals and the Holy Spirit inspires and then to claim the peace and the hope and the confidence our triune God offers. And this we’ll know when we approach him like a soldier or a sailor or a marine approaches their jobs and consider God’s DOS.

Sunday's Message - The Trinity: More Than Nice to Know Information

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the Presbyterian Church of Hopedale on Trinity Sunday, June 7.

Matthew 28:16-20

And the eleven disciples went up into Galilee on to the mountain which Jesus directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. And after Jesus came, he spoke to them saying, “All authority is given to me in heaven and upon earth. When you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to obey everything which I have commanded you. And behold, I myself am with you all the days, until the consummation of the age.

The Trinity: More Than Nice to Know Information

When I was in high school, I had teacher named Bill Russell, but don’t get the wrong idea; he didn’t play for the Celtics. No, this Bill Russell taught U.S. History. Now understand, this was in the early seventies, and Mr. Russell was, well, he had sort of a hippie vibe. In other words, although I wouldn’t call him “way out” or “out of sight,” I would say he was kind of groovy. I mean, he must have been about fifty years younger than Mr. Emmett, and his hair was certainly longer than Mr. Gwaltney, and his style was a whole lot more laid back than Mr. Hinshaw. I guess you could say, Mr. Russell was pretty cool. 

Anyway, Mr. Russell had a phrase he’d use fairly often, you know, during his history lectures. Every now and then he’d be talking about something and then he’d say, “And this is ‘nice to know’ information.’” Now, in his class, we all knew what that meant; the stuff he was about to say, well, it wasn’t going to be on the test. You see, him saying that was the cue to close your notebooks and just listen. Of course for a lot of my classmates, it was more like a “get out of jail free” card. In other words, it was the signal that they could start staring out the window or writing personal notes or doing homework for another class. But I’ll tell you, some of us really listened, because usually what Mr. Russell said made you think. And you know, as I recall, some of the best discussions we had as a class were connected to this kind of stuff. You see, generally it was pretty interesting, but not something you needed to really worry about seeing on the next test. It was nice to know information.

And you know, it seems to me that we kind of have that same attitude as we approach the Trinity, you know, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I mean, on one hand, I think we’d all say that we believe it, right; you know, we all believe in the Trinity. And I think we’d also all say that it’s important. In fact, a few years ago, when I was leading a study of world religions over at Cove, we talked about how the Trinity actually separates Christianity from the other two great monotheistic religions. You see, although we’d all claim to worship one God, Christians have a God in the form of three persons, something that neither a good Jew nor good Moslem can understand. For them, one means one. But for us, one means three. And so, on one hand, I think we’ve all bought into the Trinity.

But you know, on the other hand, I also think most Christians are really clueless about what they’re buying. For example, again in that study I was talking about, during the same discussion, I asked the participants to tell me what it meant to say that God was a Trinity, and at least a half dozen of them said, “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” and of course, they were right. But when I followed it up by asking what that meant, man, you could have heard crickets chirp, that is until one person said, with a lot of confidence and a little bit of pride, “Oh, that means God is a Trinity.” You see, those who came to my study believed it; they just didn’t understand it. But you know, it’s interesting, even when we do, I mean, even when we’ve convinced ourselves that the Trinity is like an egg (you know, shell, white, yolk) or it’s like water (solid, liquid, steam) or my favorite, it’s like a sentence (subject, object, verb), my gosh, even when we’ve kind of gotten our minds around it, I don’t think a lot of us see the Trinity as crucial to our personal faith. I mean, even though it may be interesting and lead to all kinds of discussions in a seminary classroom, I’m guessing most of us would agree that our understanding of the Trinity isn’t going to determine our ultimate destinies. In other words, it’s good to know, but I don’t think any of us expect God to test us on it later. And that’s why I guess you could say the Trinity nice to know information, but not a whole lot more.

At least that’s what I think a lot of Christians seem to assume, but you know, in my opinion, that’s a real shame, because I honestly believe Jesus saw it as more than that and I’ll tell you why. Just think about the passage read a little while ago. Now, this was his very last conversation with his followers. And when he was giving them their final instructions, he told them this: “when you go, make disciples of all nations,” right. But then I want you to notice that, to accomplish this task, his disciples should be “baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit...” And remember, he told them this before he even mentioned that they should be teaching anything. Now I think that’s really important. Not only does it say something about baptism, I think it also shows that the Trinity was a pretty big deal to Christ. 

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, it probably should be for us too, and here’s why. Not only does the Trinity remind us of some pretty important things about God, I believe it also can help us deal with a lot of the emotional mess we all feel from time to time. Let me explain what I’m talking about. 

First, when we call God “Father,” I think that identification can remind us that God is free, that God is free from all those things that limit us, that God is free to be everything we need him to be. I mean, just think about some of the words we use to describe God, the Father. For example, we say the Father is omnipotent, in other words, free from that which limits our power. And we say the Father is omniscient, free from that which limits our knowledge. And of course, we say the Father is eternal, free from that which limits our lives. God the Father is simply free, and that’s something we can see when we read The Apostles Creed and say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The Father is free. And I’ll tell you why that’s important. Sometimes I think we all feel like things are a little bit out of control. My gosh, together, we’ve just gone through a pandemic and now we’ve got protests all over the country. And personally, some of us may have lost our job or dealt with the death of a family member or felt helpless as one of our children faced some kind of trauma. I’m telling you, sometimes it feels like life is either unraveling or coming apart at the seams. Well, when those things happen, and they will because they do, I think remembering that God is our Father and that he’s free from all those things which limit us, his creatures and because of that, God is always, and I mean, always in control, well, I think that can give us some real hope as we look into the future. Now let me be clear, I’m not talking about that Polly Anna jazz, you know what I mean, “I have one month to live. My house just burned down. And a greyhound bus just ran over my dog. But Jesus just makes me ‘inside, outside happy all the time.’” No, I’m not talking about that nonsense. Instead, I believe knowing that beyond all the confusion, beyond all the disappointment, beyond all the pain stands God the Father and although he may not be making life easier nor is he explaining why life has gotten so tough, we can be sure that he’s greater than all those things that weigh us down and that in the end he will lead us home. Why, because the Father is free from all the stuff that bind us. That’s one thing we can see when we look at the Trinity.

And second, when we call God “the Son,” I think that can remind us that God is not only free, he’s also loving, and he loves us with a love that’s so deep and profound that it took on human flesh and entered our time and space, a love that we don’t have to find because it’s already found us. And that’s something we see when we read about Jesus Christ, the one who was with those disciples up there on that mountain in Galilee. I mean, whether you’re talking about healing a man born blind or feeding a hungry crowd or dying on a cross to save the very folks who drove the nails, Jesus demonstrated God's love over and over again, didn’t he?  But you know, he also shows his love for us right now in another, more immediate way. You see, because Jesus became like us and because he felt what we feel and because as he hung on the cross he said something that I think every human has thought, in fact, someone may be thinking it right now, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, in other words, because he’s walked in our shoes, we have a God who knows exactly what we’re feeling on our worst day. And I’ll tell you why that’s important. You know, during the thirty-five years I’ve been a minster, I’ve heard a lot problems, many of which I’ve never faced in my life, you things like poverty or physical abuse or frankly, discrimination. Let’s just say that growing up white in the South had it’s advantages. And so, people would talk to me, and even though I think that I could understand what they’re going through, I just wasn’t able to experience their feelings,  because unlike them, praise the Lord, I never endured what they endured. But I’ll tell you, if someone wants to sit down and talk to me about getting laid-off and worrying about how to face the future without a job or health insurance, man, I have a pretty good idea what that person is going through. In other words, given my experiences, I really could feel his pain, because I’ve been right there myself. Well, brothers and sisters, no matter how down we may feel, no matter how heavy our burden becomes, and no matter how overwhelming life seems, God can actually feel our pain because, through Jesus Christ, his son and our savior, as the Indians say, he’s walked in our moccasins. And if that’s not a sign of love, I don’t know what is. And that’s something else we can see in the Trinity.

And third, when we call him “the Holy Spirit,” I think that can remind us that God is not only free and loving, but he’s also present with us right this minute, resting on our church and inspiring our lives and empowering our work. Remember the passage we read a little while ago; at the end of his talk with the eleven, Jesus said, “And behold, I myself am with you all the days, until the consummation of the age.” Now that’s what he said, and you know something, this was exactly what he came to be. You see, before we was even born, Jesus was called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” And brothers and sisters, he still is. I’m telling you, through the Holy Spirit, he’s present with us every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year of our lives. God is with us. And I think that’s something we need to remember when we’re lonely and when we feel isolated and when we think that we’ve been cut off from everybody. We need to remember that we are never alone, not so long as we have brothers and sisters in the holy catholic and apostolic church and not as long as believers can gather together, inspired and empowered by that Spirit, to do the work that God has called and equipped us to do, like obeying the words of Christ himself when he said: “when you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to obey everything which I have commanded you.” Man, we are not alone, that’s something else we can trust, when we remember the Trinity.

You know, as we pass through life, probably most of what we hear just isn’t essential to daily living. And that percentage might actually go up depending on how much time we spend on the internet. Now don’t get me wrong; it may be interesting but not important. But I’ll tell you, I hope that’s not the case this morning, not on a day we focus on the Trinity, because I hope remembering that God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit will remind us that God is free and loving and present with us right here and right now, a reality that, in my book, is certainly more than just nice to know information.