Emmanuel, God-With-Us,
Tonight we have brought our whole selves to celebrate your birth.
We have brought our joys and fear.
Our hopes and sorrows.
Our young and old.
Our laughter and tears.
We have remembered your Holy Nativity.
We know this worship glorifies you and magnifies your name.
We pray that as we bring these offerings before you, that they would also be pleasing to you.
That you would use all that we bring, all that we are, all that we give to you - for your purpose: to make the world a better place, a place where all would know the love of Emmanuel, of God-With-Us, and the joy of Christmas.
May it be so. Amen.
Monday, December 22, 2025
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Baptismal Remembrance Congregational Hymn Sing
Call to Worship for Baptismal Remberance Congregational Hymn Sing
Leader: Remember you Baptism!
People: We remember how Christ was baptized in the Jordan.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember how we are all one in Christ.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember how, dying with Christ, we will be resurrected with him.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember that we are given new life, freedom, forgiveness.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember that we are God’s beloved children.
L: In light of remembering our baptisms, let us worship our Holy God.
Baptism of our Lord
God’s gift, offered to us without price
Acts 2:38-39:
“Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’”
Leader: Remember you Baptism!
People: We remember how Christ was baptized in the Jordan.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember how we are all one in Christ.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember how, dying with Christ, we will be resurrected with him.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember that we are given new life, freedom, forgiveness.
L: Remember Your Baptism!
P: We remember that we are God’s beloved children.
L: In light of remembering our baptisms, let us worship our Holy God.
All: Amen.
Baptismal Remembrance Hymn Sing
Baptism of our Lord
Matthew 3:13-17:
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Today is “Baptism of Our Lord Sunday.” It always falls here, at the beginning of the calendar year, the Sunday following Epiphany. Jesus’s baptism is the start of his public ministry. Before this in Scripture we just have the birth narratives and the story of him as a boy in the temple. Jesus has been growing up, hidden away from the public eye, the stories lost to time - but now, with his coming to the Jordan River, everything is about to change.
John had been baptizing the crowds - this was a baptism of repentance of sins. They confessed their sins, they were washed clean. It was a public commitment to the movement that John preached - that the day of the Lord was coming and with it an end to oppression and reign of justice.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Today is “Baptism of Our Lord Sunday.” It always falls here, at the beginning of the calendar year, the Sunday following Epiphany. Jesus’s baptism is the start of his public ministry. Before this in Scripture we just have the birth narratives and the story of him as a boy in the temple. Jesus has been growing up, hidden away from the public eye, the stories lost to time - but now, with his coming to the Jordan River, everything is about to change.
John had been baptizing the crowds - this was a baptism of repentance of sins. They confessed their sins, they were washed clean. It was a public commitment to the movement that John preached - that the day of the Lord was coming and with it an end to oppression and reign of justice.
Jesus came to the Jordan, not for forgiveness of his own sins, but to be baptized in solidarity with the people he came to save. And, indeed, as he came up out of the water, a dove descended from the heavens and declared Jesus as God’s Beloved Son.
The one for whom John was preparing the way, the one for whom the crowds were waiting, the one that all of creation was longing for has finally come - Jesus, God’s Beloved Son.
It is on this day we remember not only Jesus’s baptisms but our own baptisms, in which we too are sealed forever as beloved children of God.
Let us sing, “When Jesus Came to the Jordan,” UMH 252
Initiated into Christ’s Holy Church
1 Corinthians 11:12-13, 27: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
It is on this day we remember not only Jesus’s baptisms but our own baptisms, in which we too are sealed forever as beloved children of God.
Let us sing, “When Jesus Came to the Jordan,” UMH 252
Initiated into Christ’s Holy Church
1 Corinthians 11:12-13, 27: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
In the United Methodist Church we baptize both children and adults. We will baptize anyone when they are presented or come for baptism - but we only do one baptism in a person’s life. This is because Baptism is the work of the Holy Spirit and there is nothing we can do that will un-do what God has done. This is also the work of what we Methodists call “Prevenient Grace” - the grace that comes before we even know there is grace to be had. And so even as small children we are given the gift of grace and initiated into Christ’s Holy Church.
One of the primary acts of Baptism is incorporating that child of God of any age, into the Body of Christ, into the Church community. In fact, the body of Christ plays an essential role in the act of Baptism. The idea of a “private baptism” is an oxymoron - for in the very act of Baptism, the baptized is welcomed into the fold of community. The congregation makes vows to the person baptized - to nurture them, to teach them, to be an example of Christian love and discipleship to them, to surround them with love and forgiveness, to help them know God and to know God’s love through the congregation. Through you. These are vows we make on behalf of all Christians everywhere and it reminds us just how we are to treat one another in the church. Anything less than love and forgiveness for one another is a breach of our Baptismal promises we made before God.
Baptism recognizes that we are all the Church. We are all the Body of Christ. We are all One in Christ Jesus. Baptism marks each and every one of us as one of God’s beloved people - may we view ourselves and treat each other as such.
Let us sing, “Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters,” UMH 605, vs. 1 & 3
Incorporated [Included] into God’s mighty acts of Salvation
Romans 6:3-11:
“Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed[a] from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Christ’s death and resurrection opened the door for all of creation to be saved through Jesus. Baptism is a celebration of walking through that door, and accepting God’s salvation for us.
We live in a world marked by sin - in which sin is impossible to escape. Every person born is affected by our fallen world - we cannot help but be for the marks of sin are all around us. Sin would have us following selfish desires that are not God’s will. Sin would have us labeling our neighbors as enemies rather than fellow children of God. Sin disrupts our hearts, our relationships, our world.
God has always been at work in our world to show us another way. Baptism places us inside God’s story of salvation. The story of God at work in the world is now our story too.
Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s actions in offering us the path of life over the path of sin. God sending Jesus, God enfleshed, to Earth is a sign of God’s love for us and desire to be in relationship with us. It is through Jesus that we come to know who God is and how God wants us to treat our neighbors. Salvation is a relationship with God and neighbor and sin is anything that separates humanity from God, each other, and all of creation.
One of the primary images in baptism is dying to our old self. When the water is sprinkled, or when the baptized is fully immersed, it represents dying to the ways of sin and death. The hold sin has on us is broken. Under the water, we are dead in the tomb with Christ and dead to sin. Arising from the water, or on the other side of our baptism, we leave the tomb with Christ - a new creation ready to follow the ways of Love and Life rather than Sin and Death.
Baptism shows us intimately the very acts of God’s cosmic salvation. It is the salvation of all of creation - it is also the losing and saving of our very lives.
Let us sing, “Child of Blessing, Child of Promise,” UMH 611, vs. 1, 3, 4
Given new birth through water and the Spirit
John 3:1-8: “Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’”
One of the primary acts of Baptism is incorporating that child of God of any age, into the Body of Christ, into the Church community. In fact, the body of Christ plays an essential role in the act of Baptism. The idea of a “private baptism” is an oxymoron - for in the very act of Baptism, the baptized is welcomed into the fold of community. The congregation makes vows to the person baptized - to nurture them, to teach them, to be an example of Christian love and discipleship to them, to surround them with love and forgiveness, to help them know God and to know God’s love through the congregation. Through you. These are vows we make on behalf of all Christians everywhere and it reminds us just how we are to treat one another in the church. Anything less than love and forgiveness for one another is a breach of our Baptismal promises we made before God.
Baptism recognizes that we are all the Church. We are all the Body of Christ. We are all One in Christ Jesus. Baptism marks each and every one of us as one of God’s beloved people - may we view ourselves and treat each other as such.
Let us sing, “Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters,” UMH 605, vs. 1 & 3
Incorporated [Included] into God’s mighty acts of Salvation
Romans 6:3-11:
“Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed[a] from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Christ’s death and resurrection opened the door for all of creation to be saved through Jesus. Baptism is a celebration of walking through that door, and accepting God’s salvation for us.
We live in a world marked by sin - in which sin is impossible to escape. Every person born is affected by our fallen world - we cannot help but be for the marks of sin are all around us. Sin would have us following selfish desires that are not God’s will. Sin would have us labeling our neighbors as enemies rather than fellow children of God. Sin disrupts our hearts, our relationships, our world.
God has always been at work in our world to show us another way. Baptism places us inside God’s story of salvation. The story of God at work in the world is now our story too.
Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s actions in offering us the path of life over the path of sin. God sending Jesus, God enfleshed, to Earth is a sign of God’s love for us and desire to be in relationship with us. It is through Jesus that we come to know who God is and how God wants us to treat our neighbors. Salvation is a relationship with God and neighbor and sin is anything that separates humanity from God, each other, and all of creation.
One of the primary images in baptism is dying to our old self. When the water is sprinkled, or when the baptized is fully immersed, it represents dying to the ways of sin and death. The hold sin has on us is broken. Under the water, we are dead in the tomb with Christ and dead to sin. Arising from the water, or on the other side of our baptism, we leave the tomb with Christ - a new creation ready to follow the ways of Love and Life rather than Sin and Death.
Baptism shows us intimately the very acts of God’s cosmic salvation. It is the salvation of all of creation - it is also the losing and saving of our very lives.
Let us sing, “Child of Blessing, Child of Promise,” UMH 611, vs. 1, 3, 4
Given new birth through water and the Spirit
John 3:1-8: “Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’”
We have died with Christ and are born anew, given new life. This is done through Water and the Spirit.
Our Baptismal liturgy recounts many of the ways that God has used water in the saga of God’s salvation of God’s people: the deep primordial waters of creation; the ark that floated upon the waters of the great flood; the passing through the Red sea; crossing the Jordan to the promised land; Jesus nurtured in the water of a woman’s womb; the water in which Jesus was baptized in.
It would be a folly however, to view these just as bodies of water, the combination of molecules that gives us H20. This is more than water - it is water and the Spirit. All of this is guided by God, infused with the Holy Spirit who is ever present in our history, our world, and our innermost lives. It is not simply water with which we are baptized - we are baptized by water and The Spirit. We bless this water. We recognize it as holy. We invite God’s Spirit into it, into our midst. Here with us - in the act of the sacrament of baptism and to be a guiding presence throughout our lives.
We are called to new life - to put to death the ways of sin - and, to every day, let the Spirit of God move within us, to sanctify us, to make us more holy. Holiness is simply a life marked by love of God and love of neighbor as self. It is through water and the Spirit that this journey of holiness begins - and it is the Spirit who continues with us on the journey, throughout our whole lives.
Let us sing, Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
Our Baptismal liturgy recounts many of the ways that God has used water in the saga of God’s salvation of God’s people: the deep primordial waters of creation; the ark that floated upon the waters of the great flood; the passing through the Red sea; crossing the Jordan to the promised land; Jesus nurtured in the water of a woman’s womb; the water in which Jesus was baptized in.
It would be a folly however, to view these just as bodies of water, the combination of molecules that gives us H20. This is more than water - it is water and the Spirit. All of this is guided by God, infused with the Holy Spirit who is ever present in our history, our world, and our innermost lives. It is not simply water with which we are baptized - we are baptized by water and The Spirit. We bless this water. We recognize it as holy. We invite God’s Spirit into it, into our midst. Here with us - in the act of the sacrament of baptism and to be a guiding presence throughout our lives.
We are called to new life - to put to death the ways of sin - and, to every day, let the Spirit of God move within us, to sanctify us, to make us more holy. Holiness is simply a life marked by love of God and love of neighbor as self. It is through water and the Spirit that this journey of holiness begins - and it is the Spirit who continues with us on the journey, throughout our whole lives.
Let us sing, Baptized in Water, FWS 2248
God’s gift, offered to us without price
Acts 2:38-39:
“Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’”
We often view Baptism as a choice we make - or our parents or guardians made for us and then we affirmed it when going through Confirmation. And yes, Baptism is a choice - a choice to give one’s self, to give one’s child, over to God. A choice to die to self and be risen with Christ. A choice to love God and to love one another. A choice to be planted firmly in Christian community.
We fail, however, when we view Baptism just a choice we make and not a beautiful, divine gift, given to us by God.
Baptism is a celebration that we are God’s children, adopted into God’s family, and loved dearly and intimately by God - just because we were created by the God of Love.
When the preacher says, “Remember your baptism” - this is what we mean. We are not talking about the year or day or how old you were. We are not talking about the church in which it took place or the minister who presided over the sacrament that day. We are not talking about the details of your baptism. When we say, “Remember you baptism” we are saying: “Remember that you are God’s child. Remember that you are loved by God. Remember that you are God’s beloved.”
From the day we are born, to the day we are baptized, to the day we die and are returned into the arms of God - and every day in between, we are defined by our Baptisms. We are called to live with our Baptism as the primary source of our identity - everything in our lives should be changed because we have been Baptized - because we know God loves us.
After we sing our next hymn, we will have the opportunity to join in a congregational remembrance of Baptism. As we share the liturgy, as you come and touch the water, I invite you to remember your baptism - and above all, know that you are God’s beloved child.
Let us sing, “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry,” FWS 2051
We fail, however, when we view Baptism just a choice we make and not a beautiful, divine gift, given to us by God.
Baptism is a celebration that we are God’s children, adopted into God’s family, and loved dearly and intimately by God - just because we were created by the God of Love.
When the preacher says, “Remember your baptism” - this is what we mean. We are not talking about the year or day or how old you were. We are not talking about the church in which it took place or the minister who presided over the sacrament that day. We are not talking about the details of your baptism. When we say, “Remember you baptism” we are saying: “Remember that you are God’s child. Remember that you are loved by God. Remember that you are God’s beloved.”
From the day we are born, to the day we are baptized, to the day we die and are returned into the arms of God - and every day in between, we are defined by our Baptisms. We are called to live with our Baptism as the primary source of our identity - everything in our lives should be changed because we have been Baptized - because we know God loves us.
After we sing our next hymn, we will have the opportunity to join in a congregational remembrance of Baptism. As we share the liturgy, as you come and touch the water, I invite you to remember your baptism - and above all, know that you are God’s beloved child.
Let us sing, “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry,” FWS 2051
Monday, December 15, 2025
“Even in Our Fear…We are Called Forward” a sermon on Jeremiah 1:4-10 & Luke 1:26-39
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Luke 1:26-39
“Even in Our Fear…We are Called Forward”
Preached Sunday, December 14, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Let’s talk about first steps.
My husband, Zach, and I have two small children literally running circles around us. We are always tired. The other night, right before falling asleep, Zach said to me, “When do you recover from parenting?” Not to burst his bubble of exhaustion but I answered, “I don’t think you do. It just changes.”
When little children take their first steps, you can move the coffee table to the basement. You can set up baby gates. You can put foam pads on the corner of furniture. You do what you can to limit the dangers, limit hard falls and tripping hazards. And yet they still happen and there are many times that you will scoop a crying child into your arms as you check their head for bumps and their knees for scrapes.
Luke 1:26-39
“Even in Our Fear…We are Called Forward”
Preached Sunday, December 14, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Let’s talk about first steps.
My husband, Zach, and I have two small children literally running circles around us. We are always tired. The other night, right before falling asleep, Zach said to me, “When do you recover from parenting?” Not to burst his bubble of exhaustion but I answered, “I don’t think you do. It just changes.”
When little children take their first steps, you can move the coffee table to the basement. You can set up baby gates. You can put foam pads on the corner of furniture. You do what you can to limit the dangers, limit hard falls and tripping hazards. And yet they still happen and there are many times that you will scoop a crying child into your arms as you check their head for bumps and their knees for scrapes.
And there will come a time in their lives when you can’t remove the obstacles. We’re talking metaphorically now. You can’t limit the tripping hazards and the pain they will feel when they fall. And yet, you are still called to help them when they fall. To offer comfort, to be a soft place to land when they’re beat up by the world.
And this example isn’t just for parents - no matter what age you are, think of yourself as the inner child who is taking trembling first steps. Trembling first steps to follow God. Trembling first steps to change direction. Trembling first steps to do a new thing. Trembling first steps to follow a path in front of you that you don’t know where it will lead.
What fear of falling or bumps or scraped knees is holding you back from taking those first steps?
The Rev. Sara Speed captures this sentiment in her poem, “The First Step:”
“Watch any parent. It starts with the first step.
They kneel down. They smile with anticipation.
They reach for their baby, calling and cooing them forward.
And then before they know it, they’re running behind a bike. They’re yelling,
‘Keep pedaling! You got it! I’m right here!’ And they’re jumping up and down,
because that little red helmet passed the mailbox.
And then, just like that, they’re driving circles in the church parking lot.
They’re giving instructions about easing on and off the pedal.
They’re having conversations about curfew and heartbreak.
And then, before they know it, they’re standing in a hospital room.
Their heart is bursting. And they say, ‘Put her head right here.
Rock her gently. Do you remember the nursery rhymes?
You were born for this.’
The first step is always the hardest,
but you, beloved, were born for this.”
While thinking about trembling first steps, let’s turn our attention to the Annunciation. That is what we call this conversation between Gabriel and Mary in today’s Gospel reading. It starts:
And this example isn’t just for parents - no matter what age you are, think of yourself as the inner child who is taking trembling first steps. Trembling first steps to follow God. Trembling first steps to change direction. Trembling first steps to do a new thing. Trembling first steps to follow a path in front of you that you don’t know where it will lead.
What fear of falling or bumps or scraped knees is holding you back from taking those first steps?
The Rev. Sara Speed captures this sentiment in her poem, “The First Step:”
“Watch any parent. It starts with the first step.
They kneel down. They smile with anticipation.
They reach for their baby, calling and cooing them forward.
And then before they know it, they’re running behind a bike. They’re yelling,
‘Keep pedaling! You got it! I’m right here!’ And they’re jumping up and down,
because that little red helmet passed the mailbox.
And then, just like that, they’re driving circles in the church parking lot.
They’re giving instructions about easing on and off the pedal.
They’re having conversations about curfew and heartbreak.
And then, before they know it, they’re standing in a hospital room.
Their heart is bursting. And they say, ‘Put her head right here.
Rock her gently. Do you remember the nursery rhymes?
You were born for this.’
The first step is always the hardest,
but you, beloved, were born for this.”
While thinking about trembling first steps, let’s turn our attention to the Annunciation. That is what we call this conversation between Gabriel and Mary in today’s Gospel reading. It starts:
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’”
I want to focus on the words translated here as “much perplexed.” During Bible study this week, there was some sentiment shared about “much perplexed” not really getting to the root of what Mary was feeling. And I can understand that - I am often “much perplexed” when trying to solve the daily crossword puzzle or when trying to understand why the Instacart shopper thought frozen chopped kale was a good substitute for broccoli. No - “much perplexed” can seem like an under-reaction to an angel just appearing before you and telling you that you are favored by God. The Greek word used here is stronger than our English translation might imply. The Sanctified Art team offers this commentary on the phrase ‘The text says she is “greatly troubled”...suggesting not just inner disturbance but a deep, bodily dissonance. Mary is not simply puzzled— she is shaken, thrown off-balance, possibly afraid for her life.”
Mary is shaken to her core at the appearance of this angel, his pronouncement of her favoredness, and with what the angel tells her - that she will bear God’s son, the Savior of the Nations, the coming Messiah, God-Enfleshed, planted in her virgin womb.
Mary had real reason to be afraid here and not just from the out of nowhere appearance of the Angel - according to Deuteronomical law, an unmarried pregnant woman could be stoned to death in her father’s doorway. And even if there is very little evidence that they often happened, it would still bring her shame and change the whole trajectory of her life.
And so Mary says to the angel - “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
I want to focus on the words translated here as “much perplexed.” During Bible study this week, there was some sentiment shared about “much perplexed” not really getting to the root of what Mary was feeling. And I can understand that - I am often “much perplexed” when trying to solve the daily crossword puzzle or when trying to understand why the Instacart shopper thought frozen chopped kale was a good substitute for broccoli. No - “much perplexed” can seem like an under-reaction to an angel just appearing before you and telling you that you are favored by God. The Greek word used here is stronger than our English translation might imply. The Sanctified Art team offers this commentary on the phrase ‘The text says she is “greatly troubled”...suggesting not just inner disturbance but a deep, bodily dissonance. Mary is not simply puzzled— she is shaken, thrown off-balance, possibly afraid for her life.”
Mary is shaken to her core at the appearance of this angel, his pronouncement of her favoredness, and with what the angel tells her - that she will bear God’s son, the Savior of the Nations, the coming Messiah, God-Enfleshed, planted in her virgin womb.
Mary had real reason to be afraid here and not just from the out of nowhere appearance of the Angel - according to Deuteronomical law, an unmarried pregnant woman could be stoned to death in her father’s doorway. And even if there is very little evidence that they often happened, it would still bring her shame and change the whole trajectory of her life.
And so Mary says to the angel - “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
Let’s take a step back here - almost every single call story in the Bible starts with self-doubt, trepidation, uncertainty, or even downright denial. Think about it - Moses says he can’t do it, no way - he stutters. Jonah runs to the opposite end of the earth. Gideon said he was too weak. Peter denied Jesus. Ananias was afraid of Paul.
Jeremiah - who we heard from in our first Scripture reading this morning - said, “I am only a boy.”
“Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’”
Some background on Jeremiah. The Babylonian Exile is when the elite or ruling class of Israelites was banished from Jerusealem and taken to serve in Babylon. But the everyday people, the people of no great political or religious significance were left behind in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was appointed by God as prophet to them. And a huge concern of theirs was, without the Temple and without the Ark of the Covenant - was God still with them? One of Jeremiah’s main messages to them is this - yes! God is with you always.
But first he says - I am only a boy.
To which God replies, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you.”
Today my question to each of you is this: What is your “I’m only [fill in the blank here].” What is your “How can this be? For I am [fill in the blank here]?”
God, I can’t do it - I’m only in my 30’s.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only an old man.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only a high school graduate.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only, I’m only, I’m only….
How can this be for I am not…strong enough, smart enough, powerful enough, rich enough, magnanimous enough, just…enough.
Where is fear holding you back from the thing that God is calling you to take first steps into? It might be following a call into ministry. It might be a career change. It might be retirement. It might be starting a new ministry in our church or in the community. It might be volunteering for a ministry or for a community group. It might be taking that first step to reconcile a relationship, to offer a hand of forgiveness, to say “I’m sorry.” It might be making a medical decision about treatment options. It might be making the decision to move houses or into assisted living. It might be following a passion, starting a new project, or putting yourself out there in a new way… It might be, it might be, it might be…
And here’s the thing - that first step that God is calling you to take - it might not be this huge thing. It might not move mountains or make headlines - but the Kingdom of God is brought closer to realization here on earth whenever anyone takes a step towards justice, mercy, and love. The Kingdom of God is brought closer to realization here on earth whenever anyone - whenever you - take a step towards more perfect love of God and neighbor as self. The world that was promised to us through the birth of Jesus, a world where all is made right, where “justice shall roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” - a Kingdom without End…we are brought closer to that day every time you take a step towards it. When you trust God. When you love neighbor. When you reconcile with one another.
Even when we are afraid, we are called to take first steps.
The past week I finished a fantasy novel called Spinning Silver and it had this line that resonated with me and stuck with me as I was writing this sermon. The character is saying all the hard things she had endured and she says, “But I had not known that I was strong enough to do any of those things until they were over and I had done them. I had to do the work first, not knowing.”
We might not know we are strong enough to do the thing God is calling us to do. We might think “I am only.” We might think, “how can this be?” But God says to us - “Do not say I am only…” God calls us to say “yes” even if our voice shakes. God calls us to take first steps, even if we tremble. God calls us to move forward, even if we are afraid.
Even when we are afraid - even when there are coffee tables with sharp hard edges or tripping hazards on the floor - we are called to take trembling first steps towards the new thing that God is calling us toward. The fear may be very real - and we are called forward anyway.
And so, back to Mary - she is much perplexed. She is greatly troubled. She is shaken down to her core. She asks “How can this be, for I am a virgin?” And then, and then - despite her fear, despite her self-doubts, despite her misgivings, she says, she chooses to say - “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” It doesn’t say her fear dissipated when she said yes. She simply said yes despite her fear.
And then, the angel departs.
I really like this poem by Luci Shaw entitled “Mary Considers Her Situation” that imagines Mary in this very next moment:
“What next, she wonders,
with the angel disappearing, and her room
suddenly gone dark.
The loneliness of her news
possesses her. She ponders
how to tell her mother.
Still, the secret at her heart burns like
a sun rising. How to hold it in—
that which cannot be contained.
She nestles into herself, half-convinced
it was some kind of good dream,
she its visionary.
But then, part dazzled, part prescient—
she hugs her body, a pod with a seed
that will split her.”
And in this very next moment - after the Angel departs, with all these thoughts flooding through her head, after she took the trembling first steps of saying yes to the angel and to God - Mary takes some other very important steps - she goes to Elizabeth.
You may have noticed our Gospel lesson ended at kind of an awkward place today with the sentence, “In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country.” It’s not even a full sentence, it ends in a comma - it was meant this morning to convey these important next steps that Mary took - she took her first steps of saying yes to God and her very next steps were seeking out community. She went with haste to see Elizabeth.
Maybe Mary went to Elizabeth for protection - away from her father and those who would throw stones.
Jeremiah - who we heard from in our first Scripture reading this morning - said, “I am only a boy.”
“Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’”
Some background on Jeremiah. The Babylonian Exile is when the elite or ruling class of Israelites was banished from Jerusealem and taken to serve in Babylon. But the everyday people, the people of no great political or religious significance were left behind in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was appointed by God as prophet to them. And a huge concern of theirs was, without the Temple and without the Ark of the Covenant - was God still with them? One of Jeremiah’s main messages to them is this - yes! God is with you always.
But first he says - I am only a boy.
To which God replies, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you.”
Today my question to each of you is this: What is your “I’m only [fill in the blank here].” What is your “How can this be? For I am [fill in the blank here]?”
God, I can’t do it - I’m only in my 30’s.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only an old man.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only a high school graduate.
God, I can’t do it - I’m only, I’m only, I’m only….
How can this be for I am not…strong enough, smart enough, powerful enough, rich enough, magnanimous enough, just…enough.
Where is fear holding you back from the thing that God is calling you to take first steps into? It might be following a call into ministry. It might be a career change. It might be retirement. It might be starting a new ministry in our church or in the community. It might be volunteering for a ministry or for a community group. It might be taking that first step to reconcile a relationship, to offer a hand of forgiveness, to say “I’m sorry.” It might be making a medical decision about treatment options. It might be making the decision to move houses or into assisted living. It might be following a passion, starting a new project, or putting yourself out there in a new way… It might be, it might be, it might be…
And here’s the thing - that first step that God is calling you to take - it might not be this huge thing. It might not move mountains or make headlines - but the Kingdom of God is brought closer to realization here on earth whenever anyone takes a step towards justice, mercy, and love. The Kingdom of God is brought closer to realization here on earth whenever anyone - whenever you - take a step towards more perfect love of God and neighbor as self. The world that was promised to us through the birth of Jesus, a world where all is made right, where “justice shall roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” - a Kingdom without End…we are brought closer to that day every time you take a step towards it. When you trust God. When you love neighbor. When you reconcile with one another.
Even when we are afraid, we are called to take first steps.
The past week I finished a fantasy novel called Spinning Silver and it had this line that resonated with me and stuck with me as I was writing this sermon. The character is saying all the hard things she had endured and she says, “But I had not known that I was strong enough to do any of those things until they were over and I had done them. I had to do the work first, not knowing.”
We might not know we are strong enough to do the thing God is calling us to do. We might think “I am only.” We might think, “how can this be?” But God says to us - “Do not say I am only…” God calls us to say “yes” even if our voice shakes. God calls us to take first steps, even if we tremble. God calls us to move forward, even if we are afraid.
Even when we are afraid - even when there are coffee tables with sharp hard edges or tripping hazards on the floor - we are called to take trembling first steps towards the new thing that God is calling us toward. The fear may be very real - and we are called forward anyway.
And so, back to Mary - she is much perplexed. She is greatly troubled. She is shaken down to her core. She asks “How can this be, for I am a virgin?” And then, and then - despite her fear, despite her self-doubts, despite her misgivings, she says, she chooses to say - “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” It doesn’t say her fear dissipated when she said yes. She simply said yes despite her fear.
And then, the angel departs.
I really like this poem by Luci Shaw entitled “Mary Considers Her Situation” that imagines Mary in this very next moment:
“What next, she wonders,
with the angel disappearing, and her room
suddenly gone dark.
The loneliness of her news
possesses her. She ponders
how to tell her mother.
Still, the secret at her heart burns like
a sun rising. How to hold it in—
that which cannot be contained.
She nestles into herself, half-convinced
it was some kind of good dream,
she its visionary.
But then, part dazzled, part prescient—
she hugs her body, a pod with a seed
that will split her.”
And in this very next moment - after the Angel departs, with all these thoughts flooding through her head, after she took the trembling first steps of saying yes to the angel and to God - Mary takes some other very important steps - she goes to Elizabeth.
You may have noticed our Gospel lesson ended at kind of an awkward place today with the sentence, “In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country.” It’s not even a full sentence, it ends in a comma - it was meant this morning to convey these important next steps that Mary took - she took her first steps of saying yes to God and her very next steps were seeking out community. She went with haste to see Elizabeth.
Maybe Mary went to Elizabeth for protection - away from her father and those who would throw stones.
Maybe Mary went to Elizabeth for confirmation - if Mary could see with her own eyes that Elizabeth was pregnant, well into her pregnancy of six months, then that meant that this was all real, the Angel was telling the truth, this miracle really was taking root inside of her. And maybe, above all, Mary went to Elizabeth for companionship, community, wise advice, friendship - for we are never meant to walk this journey alone. We are called to support one another - to take first steps, and next steps, and walk with each other step by step until together we usher in the Kingdom of God.
And when we do - God is that parent, with arms opened wide in excitement and encouragement, celebrating our first steps - and walking with us.
So even when we’re afraid - let us move forward together.
Amen.
And when we do - God is that parent, with arms opened wide in excitement and encouragement, celebrating our first steps - and walking with us.
So even when we’re afraid - let us move forward together.
Amen.
Monday, December 8, 2025
“When We’re Running Out of Hope…God is at Work” a sermon on Matthew 11:1-11 & Isaiah 43:19-21
Matthew 11:1-11
Isaiah 43:19-21
“When We’re Running Out of Hope…God is at Work”
Preached Sunday, December 7, 2025
Picture this with me - a man in the wilderness, wild in appearance, so assured of his actions and words, a force to be reckoned with. He was not a lone crazy man that was ignored by passersby, no - crowds flocked to see him, news of his charisma and his message that justice was coming spreading far and wide.
This man is John the Baptist at the height of his ministry. This is normally where we approach John in the season of Advent - at the height of his ministry, at the pinnacle of his cult of personality. In hungry religious circles, he was the Good News that they so desperately needed - a message that judgement for those who oppressed and lorded power over them was coming. This season marked by a lack of hope was not going to last long.He preached for the brood of vipers to repent, he warned that the ax was at the root of the tree for those who abused power, he promised that someone even greater than he was coming - someone who would usher in the Kingdom of Heaven when all is made right with the world.
But this is not the John the Baptist we heard about in today’s Gospel text. John is no longer the brave and triumphant prophet boldly proclaiming a radical message. No, after he baptized Jesus and Jesus entered the wilderness for 40 days, John was arrested and has been in prison for the entire duration of Jesus’s ministry thus far. He was imprisoned for criticizing and questioning the legality of Herod’s marriage. He preached truth to power and upset those in power…so they arrested him and threw him in prison. John is just about at his lowest.
Last week we read from the book of Lamentations of a person crying out to God in their lowest point: “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit.” John is calling out to God from the depths of the pit. He has been brought low, locked away in a prison cell, knowing that his imprisonment might well end in his death - and as readers of this text - we know that it does eventually lead to his gruesome beheading. His hope is running thin. He sends a messenger to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
There are a couple things going on in John asking this question.
First is the disconnect between John’s vision for the Messiah and the ministry of Jesus. Theologian Stanley Saunders puts it like this: “John’s own ministry, which carried a healthy dose of judgment, seems to have roots especially in Malachi 3:1-5, which says that the one who prepares the way for the day of the Lord’s coming refines and purifies the people with both soap and fire. Jesus’ ministry, in contrast, has focused on healings, exorcisms, and public banquets with tax collectors and sinners—in other words, strong on healing and restoration, but weak on judgment and vindication. As John sits in Herod Antipas’ prison, awaiting death … he may be wondering whether and when the liberation of God’s people from bondage and oppression will really take place.” End quote. And this is not the metaphorical liberation - John is literally wondering if Jesus and his followers are going to come knock down his prison door and release him, free him, liberate him - not just from his cell but from Herod and the powers that be.
The other thing going on in John asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” is that he is wondering if his ministry was all worth it. He is at a low point. “Did I get it all wrong? Did I really hear that voice coming down from heaven when I baptized him? Did my ministry and my life make a difference at all? Did everything I did and everything I am…does it amount to anything?”
How many of us, at some point in our lives, have asked these same kinds of questions? Perhaps at a low point, in the depths of the pit of our inner lives, in days of depression, in days when you’re feeling beat up, undervalued, underappreciated. Perhaps at the end of a career, at retirement, or a time of looking back and wondering…Maybe when adult children are out on their own and making decisions that hurt your heart - did I do enough? Whenever you’re looking back and wondering, “Did I make the right choice? Did I take the right fork in the road?” When you’ve had setbacks…. When, when, when…
“Was all this work worth it? Am I on the right track? Does all I’ve done and am doing amount to anything?”
It is at this point in John’s life and our lives that hope is running thin.
So John sends this message to Jesus and what was Jesus’s response?
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus is performing miracles. Jesus is doing the work of the Messiah, all those things that would herald the coming Kingdom of God. Wholeness…
Except something is missing from that wonderful list. Did you pick up on that? Isaiah 61 talks about that Lord’s Day, the prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling and it says this:
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,”
Jesus’s list has six wonderful things, MIRACLES, amazing things that proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is the one that John was to prepare the way for - the blind see, the lame walk, the leper is cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have Good News….but that’s six things. The number 7 represented wholeness in the ancient Near East and Jewish custom. We are missing the 7th thing - release of the captive.
John would have picked up on this when he received this news in his prison cell.
In other words, Jesus is answering John - Yes! I am the One! You got it right. What you did made a difference…and…your release is not coming. You will not be freed in this life, not by my hand.
Let’s use our Biblical imagination here for a second - what was John’s reaction to receiving this message? Did he have despair that he was not going to be released? Or did it kindle hope for the future work of God, even if he would not be a part of it? His ministry had come to an end - but that did not mean that it was all for naught.
Artist Lauren Wright Pittman did depict this moment of John receiving this news in a piece of art. In the artwork, John is in a dark prison cell but it captures the very moment he hears of Jesus' ministry and a lantern flares, filling the room with dancing light. John’s face is mid-laugh at this joyous news, even as a tear forms in his eye.
John was faithful. He did the work of God. The fruit is being borne and his hope is renewed, even as he is still physically in that dark place.
So let’s turn again to examining our own questions that come from places where our hope is running thin. The Sanctified Art commentary on this text says this about the questions we ask: We selected this passage because far too many of us can relate to John’s exasperation. We may also ask: ‘Have my efforts made a difference? Is God truly at work?’ This week, let’s validate these questions, but also introduce follow-up questions for self-inquiry: Is my hope solely dependent upon outcomes, tangible proof, or positive change? Can I practice hope even when I don’t see the fruits of my labor? Do I trust that God is at work, even if I cannot always see it? Might God be at work in ways I don’t expect?”
Our reading from Isaiah this morning captures God’s answer to us when we ask these questions:
“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
A similar sentiment is captured in the poem, “God in the Kitchen” by The Rev. Sarah Speed. She writes:
“I called home my first semester of college. I told my mom I was fine,
but I was homesick. She must have heard the truth in my voice.
The ache ate at me. It was a long, slow song, a million tiny ants
slurping the juice from a peach. I was tender and bruised,
in the doldrums of it all. But she could hear all of that. So three states away,
she preheated the oven. Three states away,
she tossed blueberries in a thin layer of flour. Three states away,
she dusted a layer of streusel over the soft peaks
of a dozen warm muffins. And three days later,
I unboxed a package from home—
a dozen blueberry muffins, a love letter with my name on it,
a reminder that I was not alone.
If you’re running out of hope, count to three.
God is in the kitchen. She’s just waiting for yeast to rise.”
End quote.
Do you not perceive it? God is at work under the surface. A way is going to spring forth, a deluge of water in the desert, carving out a path. God is at work in the kitchen - we just don’t know it yet. We are called to hope even when we can’t yet see what the outcome will be, when we don’t know what the future will hold, when we don’t know if it all will be worth it. We are called to trust in the unseen, not yet revealed work of God.
Isaiah 43:19-21
“When We’re Running Out of Hope…God is at Work”
Preached Sunday, December 7, 2025
Picture this with me - a man in the wilderness, wild in appearance, so assured of his actions and words, a force to be reckoned with. He was not a lone crazy man that was ignored by passersby, no - crowds flocked to see him, news of his charisma and his message that justice was coming spreading far and wide.
This man is John the Baptist at the height of his ministry. This is normally where we approach John in the season of Advent - at the height of his ministry, at the pinnacle of his cult of personality. In hungry religious circles, he was the Good News that they so desperately needed - a message that judgement for those who oppressed and lorded power over them was coming. This season marked by a lack of hope was not going to last long.He preached for the brood of vipers to repent, he warned that the ax was at the root of the tree for those who abused power, he promised that someone even greater than he was coming - someone who would usher in the Kingdom of Heaven when all is made right with the world.
But this is not the John the Baptist we heard about in today’s Gospel text. John is no longer the brave and triumphant prophet boldly proclaiming a radical message. No, after he baptized Jesus and Jesus entered the wilderness for 40 days, John was arrested and has been in prison for the entire duration of Jesus’s ministry thus far. He was imprisoned for criticizing and questioning the legality of Herod’s marriage. He preached truth to power and upset those in power…so they arrested him and threw him in prison. John is just about at his lowest.
Last week we read from the book of Lamentations of a person crying out to God in their lowest point: “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit.” John is calling out to God from the depths of the pit. He has been brought low, locked away in a prison cell, knowing that his imprisonment might well end in his death - and as readers of this text - we know that it does eventually lead to his gruesome beheading. His hope is running thin. He sends a messenger to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
There are a couple things going on in John asking this question.
First is the disconnect between John’s vision for the Messiah and the ministry of Jesus. Theologian Stanley Saunders puts it like this: “John’s own ministry, which carried a healthy dose of judgment, seems to have roots especially in Malachi 3:1-5, which says that the one who prepares the way for the day of the Lord’s coming refines and purifies the people with both soap and fire. Jesus’ ministry, in contrast, has focused on healings, exorcisms, and public banquets with tax collectors and sinners—in other words, strong on healing and restoration, but weak on judgment and vindication. As John sits in Herod Antipas’ prison, awaiting death … he may be wondering whether and when the liberation of God’s people from bondage and oppression will really take place.” End quote. And this is not the metaphorical liberation - John is literally wondering if Jesus and his followers are going to come knock down his prison door and release him, free him, liberate him - not just from his cell but from Herod and the powers that be.
The other thing going on in John asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” is that he is wondering if his ministry was all worth it. He is at a low point. “Did I get it all wrong? Did I really hear that voice coming down from heaven when I baptized him? Did my ministry and my life make a difference at all? Did everything I did and everything I am…does it amount to anything?”
How many of us, at some point in our lives, have asked these same kinds of questions? Perhaps at a low point, in the depths of the pit of our inner lives, in days of depression, in days when you’re feeling beat up, undervalued, underappreciated. Perhaps at the end of a career, at retirement, or a time of looking back and wondering…Maybe when adult children are out on their own and making decisions that hurt your heart - did I do enough? Whenever you’re looking back and wondering, “Did I make the right choice? Did I take the right fork in the road?” When you’ve had setbacks…. When, when, when…
“Was all this work worth it? Am I on the right track? Does all I’ve done and am doing amount to anything?”
It is at this point in John’s life and our lives that hope is running thin.
So John sends this message to Jesus and what was Jesus’s response?
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus is performing miracles. Jesus is doing the work of the Messiah, all those things that would herald the coming Kingdom of God. Wholeness…
Except something is missing from that wonderful list. Did you pick up on that? Isaiah 61 talks about that Lord’s Day, the prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling and it says this:
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,”
Jesus’s list has six wonderful things, MIRACLES, amazing things that proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is the one that John was to prepare the way for - the blind see, the lame walk, the leper is cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have Good News….but that’s six things. The number 7 represented wholeness in the ancient Near East and Jewish custom. We are missing the 7th thing - release of the captive.
John would have picked up on this when he received this news in his prison cell.
In other words, Jesus is answering John - Yes! I am the One! You got it right. What you did made a difference…and…your release is not coming. You will not be freed in this life, not by my hand.
Let’s use our Biblical imagination here for a second - what was John’s reaction to receiving this message? Did he have despair that he was not going to be released? Or did it kindle hope for the future work of God, even if he would not be a part of it? His ministry had come to an end - but that did not mean that it was all for naught.
Artist Lauren Wright Pittman did depict this moment of John receiving this news in a piece of art. In the artwork, John is in a dark prison cell but it captures the very moment he hears of Jesus' ministry and a lantern flares, filling the room with dancing light. John’s face is mid-laugh at this joyous news, even as a tear forms in his eye.
John was faithful. He did the work of God. The fruit is being borne and his hope is renewed, even as he is still physically in that dark place.
So let’s turn again to examining our own questions that come from places where our hope is running thin. The Sanctified Art commentary on this text says this about the questions we ask: We selected this passage because far too many of us can relate to John’s exasperation. We may also ask: ‘Have my efforts made a difference? Is God truly at work?’ This week, let’s validate these questions, but also introduce follow-up questions for self-inquiry: Is my hope solely dependent upon outcomes, tangible proof, or positive change? Can I practice hope even when I don’t see the fruits of my labor? Do I trust that God is at work, even if I cannot always see it? Might God be at work in ways I don’t expect?”
Our reading from Isaiah this morning captures God’s answer to us when we ask these questions:
“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
A similar sentiment is captured in the poem, “God in the Kitchen” by The Rev. Sarah Speed. She writes:
“I called home my first semester of college. I told my mom I was fine,
but I was homesick. She must have heard the truth in my voice.
The ache ate at me. It was a long, slow song, a million tiny ants
slurping the juice from a peach. I was tender and bruised,
in the doldrums of it all. But she could hear all of that. So three states away,
she preheated the oven. Three states away,
she tossed blueberries in a thin layer of flour. Three states away,
she dusted a layer of streusel over the soft peaks
of a dozen warm muffins. And three days later,
I unboxed a package from home—
a dozen blueberry muffins, a love letter with my name on it,
a reminder that I was not alone.
If you’re running out of hope, count to three.
God is in the kitchen. She’s just waiting for yeast to rise.”
End quote.
Do you not perceive it? God is at work under the surface. A way is going to spring forth, a deluge of water in the desert, carving out a path. God is at work in the kitchen - we just don’t know it yet. We are called to hope even when we can’t yet see what the outcome will be, when we don’t know what the future will hold, when we don’t know if it all will be worth it. We are called to trust in the unseen, not yet revealed work of God.
It reminds me of the beloved song in our hymnal, “Hymn of Promise:” “In the bulb, there is a flower. In the seed, an apple tree. In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”
Of course here in Ohio we know the cold and snow of winter - and we know the cold and snow of winter metaphorically too - when it’s dark too soon and too regularly - when we’re desperate for signs of God at work, but we can’t see it all underneath the frozen ground. We have to trust - God will bring us hope. God is at work, just under the surface.
And here’s another thing about what Jesus said to and about John… Jesus did not condemn John for his doubt in him or his questioning of him. John tells the messengers to go and tell John the Good News and then Jesus still praises John for the type of man and faithful follower of God that he is.
So too, Jesus does not condemn us for our moments of doubt or questions; Jesus does not scold us for our times when our hope runs thin; Jesus does not leave us to our low places…
Jesus says to us - take heart. Have hope. Do not fear. Do you not perceive the new thing I’m doing?
God is at work, just under the surface.
Holy Communion, which we will share today, is an example of God at work beneath the surface. On the surface level, we are all just eating bread from a local bakery and Welch’s grape juice. But when we look closer, we can perceive the work that God is doing just beneath the surface. God is coming to us in bread and cup. God is working among us. God is uniting us in this meal. God is empowering us for the path ahead… Yes, God is at work here, just under the surface.
Of course here in Ohio we know the cold and snow of winter - and we know the cold and snow of winter metaphorically too - when it’s dark too soon and too regularly - when we’re desperate for signs of God at work, but we can’t see it all underneath the frozen ground. We have to trust - God will bring us hope. God is at work, just under the surface.
And here’s another thing about what Jesus said to and about John… Jesus did not condemn John for his doubt in him or his questioning of him. John tells the messengers to go and tell John the Good News and then Jesus still praises John for the type of man and faithful follower of God that he is.
So too, Jesus does not condemn us for our moments of doubt or questions; Jesus does not scold us for our times when our hope runs thin; Jesus does not leave us to our low places…
Jesus says to us - take heart. Have hope. Do not fear. Do you not perceive the new thing I’m doing?
God is at work, just under the surface.
Holy Communion, which we will share today, is an example of God at work beneath the surface. On the surface level, we are all just eating bread from a local bakery and Welch’s grape juice. But when we look closer, we can perceive the work that God is doing just beneath the surface. God is coming to us in bread and cup. God is working among us. God is uniting us in this meal. God is empowering us for the path ahead… Yes, God is at work here, just under the surface.
If we can let go of what was or what our expectations were… to make room for what will be, for what God is doing - a way out of no way…. If we could have but hope and trust that what God is at work doing just underneath the surface will be so so good…
Let us all have renewed hope. Amen.
Let us all have renewed hope. Amen.
Monday, December 1, 2025
“In the Time of Herod…We Long For God To Break In” an Advent 1 sermon on Luke 1:5-13 & Lamentations 3:55-57
Luke 1:5-13
Lamentations 3:55-57
“In the Time of Herod…We Long For God To Break In”
Preached Sunday, November 30, 2025
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new worship and sermon series that will carry us through Christmas. It is called:
Lamentations 3:55-57
“In the Time of Herod…We Long For God To Break In”
Preached Sunday, November 30, 2025
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new worship and sermon series that will carry us through Christmas. It is called:
“What do you fear? Insisting on hope this Advent.”
The sermon series focuses on the narrative in the Gospel of Luke that starts with the words “In the time of Herod…” Our Scripture translation was a little more wordy today: “In the days of King Herod of Judea…” It has long been said that Luke was the more historical of the Gospel writers and he wanted to cement the story of Jesus’s birth in the historical narrative. This opening sentence, however, conveys more than just the year in which these events took place. It also lets us know what kind of world Jesus was born into. It is the important backdrop for everything that is about to happen.
Saying “In the time of Herod…” would be synonymous with saying
“In a time of rampant oppression,”
“In a time of economic disparity,”
“In a time of uncertainty,”
“In a time of instability.”
It sounds like it might be a time not too unlike our own.
If this story had happened “In the time of 2025…” what background knowledge would that give for our stories and lives…
“In a time of stark political divides,”
“In a time of a widening gap between socio-economic classes,”
“In a time of mass deportations,”
“In a time of covid & post-covid,”
“In a time of war and broken peace treaties,”
“In a time of, in a time of, in a time of….” I will let you fill in the blank.
And yet, and yet. In the time of Herod…the angels of God repeatedly say, “Do not fear.” In a time when there was so much to fear, the most repeated phrase in the Christmas narrative is, “Do not fear.”
I believe, in our world, in our times, God is repeating that same phrase to us here and now, today, and across our lives. “Do not fear.” And so this Advent we will explore where we can release fear and hold tightly to hope, peace, love, and joy - the promises of God.
Therefore we are invited this Advent to gently and tenderly examine our fears - the larger fears of our world and the fears of our personal lives, for so often they are deeply intertwined. As we hear the echoes of the angels saying, “Do not fear,” I do not want you to imagine a deep booming voice issuing a command from the heavens to tell us to instantly banish all fear. It is not a scolding command that fills you with shame and doesn’t actually work to make fear just go away. Instead imagine it whispering softly in your ear, in the voice of a loving Divine parent, coming to comfort a child who just had a bad dream. “What are you afraid of? Do not fear. I am here with you.”
It is in the comforting Divine embrace that we are called to release our fears, acknowledging what they are in order to make room instead for hope.
We may never in this life let go of our fears completely. And fear can be lived with in a healthy way, acting as a safeguard and a teacher. But fear cannot be allowed to run our lives and shrink our hearts. I sometimes think of fear as a protective measure for our hearts - for my heart. If I expect the worst, if I don’t dare to hope, then our cruel and harsh world will hurt me less when it eventually disappoints me.
The Rev. Sarah Speed wrote about this in a poem called, “In the Time of Herod.” The beginning of the poem reads:
“I didn’t live during Herod’s time—that brutal, murderous king, God save his soul.
But even hundreds of years later, I know the prayers of his people.
I know the prayers of the mothers and the children under his rule.
I know the prayers of the young men under his angry arm.
I know their prayers, because anyone who has ever lived in this soft world for more than two days
knows how to pray for a miracle.
We rub our hands together.
We fold weary shoulders in,
a cage of bone to protect our bleeding hearts.”
I know that posture, shoulders folded in, a weary weight upon them, constructing a cage around my heart in the hope of protecting it ...but also closing it off to the miracles that God is working in this world…
The poem concludes:
“And when all of that is said and done, we whisper to our creator,
God, break through the yelling and the fear. Break through the violence and the oppression.
Get past the Herods of this world, and come be here.
Like every bleeding heart before, we pray for a miracle.”
Enter Zechariah, praying for a miracle.
Zechariah was living in this world in the time of Herod. As a priest and as a Jewish man, I believe he would have been praying for an end to the oppression of his people. And on a personal scale, as a man, as an individual, he was praying for a child.
He was praying for a miracle - miracles.
The sermon series focuses on the narrative in the Gospel of Luke that starts with the words “In the time of Herod…” Our Scripture translation was a little more wordy today: “In the days of King Herod of Judea…” It has long been said that Luke was the more historical of the Gospel writers and he wanted to cement the story of Jesus’s birth in the historical narrative. This opening sentence, however, conveys more than just the year in which these events took place. It also lets us know what kind of world Jesus was born into. It is the important backdrop for everything that is about to happen.
Saying “In the time of Herod…” would be synonymous with saying
“In a time of rampant oppression,”
“In a time of economic disparity,”
“In a time of uncertainty,”
“In a time of instability.”
It sounds like it might be a time not too unlike our own.
If this story had happened “In the time of 2025…” what background knowledge would that give for our stories and lives…
“In a time of stark political divides,”
“In a time of a widening gap between socio-economic classes,”
“In a time of mass deportations,”
“In a time of covid & post-covid,”
“In a time of war and broken peace treaties,”
“In a time of, in a time of, in a time of….” I will let you fill in the blank.
And yet, and yet. In the time of Herod…the angels of God repeatedly say, “Do not fear.” In a time when there was so much to fear, the most repeated phrase in the Christmas narrative is, “Do not fear.”
I believe, in our world, in our times, God is repeating that same phrase to us here and now, today, and across our lives. “Do not fear.” And so this Advent we will explore where we can release fear and hold tightly to hope, peace, love, and joy - the promises of God.
Therefore we are invited this Advent to gently and tenderly examine our fears - the larger fears of our world and the fears of our personal lives, for so often they are deeply intertwined. As we hear the echoes of the angels saying, “Do not fear,” I do not want you to imagine a deep booming voice issuing a command from the heavens to tell us to instantly banish all fear. It is not a scolding command that fills you with shame and doesn’t actually work to make fear just go away. Instead imagine it whispering softly in your ear, in the voice of a loving Divine parent, coming to comfort a child who just had a bad dream. “What are you afraid of? Do not fear. I am here with you.”
It is in the comforting Divine embrace that we are called to release our fears, acknowledging what they are in order to make room instead for hope.
We may never in this life let go of our fears completely. And fear can be lived with in a healthy way, acting as a safeguard and a teacher. But fear cannot be allowed to run our lives and shrink our hearts. I sometimes think of fear as a protective measure for our hearts - for my heart. If I expect the worst, if I don’t dare to hope, then our cruel and harsh world will hurt me less when it eventually disappoints me.
The Rev. Sarah Speed wrote about this in a poem called, “In the Time of Herod.” The beginning of the poem reads:
“I didn’t live during Herod’s time—that brutal, murderous king, God save his soul.
But even hundreds of years later, I know the prayers of his people.
I know the prayers of the mothers and the children under his rule.
I know the prayers of the young men under his angry arm.
I know their prayers, because anyone who has ever lived in this soft world for more than two days
knows how to pray for a miracle.
We rub our hands together.
We fold weary shoulders in,
a cage of bone to protect our bleeding hearts.”
I know that posture, shoulders folded in, a weary weight upon them, constructing a cage around my heart in the hope of protecting it ...but also closing it off to the miracles that God is working in this world…
The poem concludes:
“And when all of that is said and done, we whisper to our creator,
God, break through the yelling and the fear. Break through the violence and the oppression.
Get past the Herods of this world, and come be here.
Like every bleeding heart before, we pray for a miracle.”
Enter Zechariah, praying for a miracle.
Zechariah was living in this world in the time of Herod. As a priest and as a Jewish man, I believe he would have been praying for an end to the oppression of his people. And on a personal scale, as a man, as an individual, he was praying for a child.
He was praying for a miracle - miracles.
My question is, was he praying for a miracle that he really believed would happen? Was he praying for a miracle with hope in his heart for Divine intervention? Was he praying with the assurance that God was listening to his prayers? Or was he praying the prayers he had prayed for many years, going through the routine of saying them but devoid of the hope they would be answered, let alone heard.
Let’s pause here and ask these questions of ourselves. Are you praying for any miracles? Are you praying with hope? Have you stopped praying for the miracle at all? Have you stopped praying?
In John 14:27 we have this famous line from Scripture, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Do not let your hearts be troubled. That word which we translate as troubled is Zechariah’s reaction to the angel appearing before him. Started, disturbed, agitated.
Do not be afraid. That word, translated as afraid, implies a shrinking of the heart. And yes, since we are entering Christmas time, think of the Grinch who’s heart was two sizes too small. The translation and understanding of this word as “afraid” tells us what we all know because we have experienced it ourselves - in our lives or the lives of people we know - fear shrinks the heart. It can shrink our hearts’ capacities for love. Fear holds our hearts back from loving and treating others as God would have us love and treat them. Fear shrinks our hearts and doesn’t leave room for God breaking into our world and lives with loving action. Fear obliterates our hearts’ desire for hope. It erases even the hope that our prayers are heard at all.
And that’s what I want to focus on today - not on the miracles themselves but on the prayers being heard.
For the miracles we pray for, we know they may or may not happen. More often than not, our world has taught us that they won’t happen, to not even hope for them…and I also think that makes us not even look for them and we miss the small miracles that happen right in front of our eyes.
And yet we know…we know that the healing that we so desperately pray for doesn’t always come in this life but in the soul being healed before the presence of God. We know the child that is so longingly prayed for doesn’t always come. We know that the peace we want to descend on our world may be a long, long way off.
We don’t always get what we want. We don’t always get what we pray for, what we hope for. The mountains don’t move, God doesn’t appear before us as an angel, clear before our eyes. Our prayers aren’t answered in flashing neon lights. And perhaps it causes us to begin to think,
God isn’t listening to me. God doesn’t even hear my prayers.
But what the angel says to Zechariah is, “for your prayer has been heard.”
The same sentiment comes to us from our Lamentations reading this morning. That passage of Scripture is written from the perspective of an oppressed person under Babylonian rule, crying out in personal pain to God.
“I called on your name, O Lord…you heard my plea”
“You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’”
Friends, I don’t want to diminish what it means for God to hear our prayers. I feel so often it has been diminished, brushed off, not seen as the absolute miracle that it is.
I said our prayers aren’t always answered in the way we would want or the way we would hope - we don’t get our big miracles in flashing lights. The healing that the doctors can’t explain. The life-changing news. Whatever it may be…
But. And.
God hears our prayers every time we pray.
God draws near to us when we call out to God.
The God of the universe hears each and every prayer that you pray.
The God who is the Creator of All Things…draws near to YOU.
The God of Love loves you intimately and dearly and listens to every single prayer you say.
This is a miracle.
Our God comes to you like that loving parent who comes to the child’s side when they’ve had a bad dream. God tucks your hair behind your ear, kisses your forehead, and whispers in your ear, softly and surely, “Do not be afraid. I’m here with you…”
And so…
In the time of Herod. In our time. Don’t let fear shrink your heart. Keep on praying with hope and don’t lose sight of the miracle that is God hearing each and every prayer you lift up and drawing near to you.
May it be so. Amen.
Let’s pause here and ask these questions of ourselves. Are you praying for any miracles? Are you praying with hope? Have you stopped praying for the miracle at all? Have you stopped praying?
In John 14:27 we have this famous line from Scripture, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Do not let your hearts be troubled. That word which we translate as troubled is Zechariah’s reaction to the angel appearing before him. Started, disturbed, agitated.
Do not be afraid. That word, translated as afraid, implies a shrinking of the heart. And yes, since we are entering Christmas time, think of the Grinch who’s heart was two sizes too small. The translation and understanding of this word as “afraid” tells us what we all know because we have experienced it ourselves - in our lives or the lives of people we know - fear shrinks the heart. It can shrink our hearts’ capacities for love. Fear holds our hearts back from loving and treating others as God would have us love and treat them. Fear shrinks our hearts and doesn’t leave room for God breaking into our world and lives with loving action. Fear obliterates our hearts’ desire for hope. It erases even the hope that our prayers are heard at all.
And that’s what I want to focus on today - not on the miracles themselves but on the prayers being heard.
For the miracles we pray for, we know they may or may not happen. More often than not, our world has taught us that they won’t happen, to not even hope for them…and I also think that makes us not even look for them and we miss the small miracles that happen right in front of our eyes.
And yet we know…we know that the healing that we so desperately pray for doesn’t always come in this life but in the soul being healed before the presence of God. We know the child that is so longingly prayed for doesn’t always come. We know that the peace we want to descend on our world may be a long, long way off.
We don’t always get what we want. We don’t always get what we pray for, what we hope for. The mountains don’t move, God doesn’t appear before us as an angel, clear before our eyes. Our prayers aren’t answered in flashing neon lights. And perhaps it causes us to begin to think,
God isn’t listening to me. God doesn’t even hear my prayers.
But what the angel says to Zechariah is, “for your prayer has been heard.”
The same sentiment comes to us from our Lamentations reading this morning. That passage of Scripture is written from the perspective of an oppressed person under Babylonian rule, crying out in personal pain to God.
“I called on your name, O Lord…you heard my plea”
“You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’”
Friends, I don’t want to diminish what it means for God to hear our prayers. I feel so often it has been diminished, brushed off, not seen as the absolute miracle that it is.
I said our prayers aren’t always answered in the way we would want or the way we would hope - we don’t get our big miracles in flashing lights. The healing that the doctors can’t explain. The life-changing news. Whatever it may be…
But. And.
God hears our prayers every time we pray.
God draws near to us when we call out to God.
The God of the universe hears each and every prayer that you pray.
The God who is the Creator of All Things…draws near to YOU.
The God of Love loves you intimately and dearly and listens to every single prayer you say.
This is a miracle.
Our God comes to you like that loving parent who comes to the child’s side when they’ve had a bad dream. God tucks your hair behind your ear, kisses your forehead, and whispers in your ear, softly and surely, “Do not be afraid. I’m here with you…”
And so…
In the time of Herod. In our time. Don’t let fear shrink your heart. Keep on praying with hope and don’t lose sight of the miracle that is God hearing each and every prayer you lift up and drawing near to you.
May it be so. Amen.
Monday, November 24, 2025
“Christ the...Humiliated? Lowly? Crucified? King” a sermon on Luke 23:33-43
Luke 23:33-43
“Christ the...Humiliated? Lowly? Crucified? King”
Preached Sunday, November 23, 2025
Wow...what a coronation.
Today’s Gospel reading from Luke, the crucifixion, is when Scripture calls Jesus King - King of the Jews, a sign hung above his head as he was killed by the state in a torturous and brutal way - a way of death that was reserved for those who had committed treasonous crimes against Rome. The sign above his head - why? Was it put there by someone who truly recognized who and what Christ was? Was it put there as a warning to other Jews who were thinking of challenging the social and political order? See - this is what we do to the likes of you. Was it meant to degrade and humiliate, threaten or terrify, or to speak truth in the midst of a horrible scene. Either way, it, along with a crown of thorns, was Christ’s coronation. Where Christ was marked as King.
Let’s compare this to an earthly coronation. And I am going to skip King Charles and talk about Queen Elizabeth because of the hit TV show The Crown which followed Queen Elizabeth’s life. Have any of you ever seen this show? I remember watching the re-enactment of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation with awe.
Elizabeth II was crowned as Queen of England in 1953. They recorded the coronation and broadcast it internationally. Royalty gathered and watched. Elizabeth wore a silk velvet cloak. She was handed the royal orb made of gold, jewels, and pearls, then the scepter with diamonds and sapphires, and the royal ring with sapphire, rubies, and fourteen diamonds and then finally the crown - velvet and with a whopping total of 444 stones. She was given dozens of titles and everyone, including her mother and her husband swore allegiance to her and sang God Save The Queen. When the ceremony was over, she left in a golden carriage.
Christ’s crucifixion, his coronation, on the other hand gives us a stark contrast from the opulence and power from the coronation of the former Queen of England. And lest people think I am just bashing the British monarchy here, our political system celebrates the assumption of power - maybe not with some many precious gems but still with the glorification of power, wealth, prosperity, and popularity. We don’t have kings and coronations but we do have inaugurations - the last several of which cost in the 100s of millions of dollars. All of this wealth and cost and ceremony is in stark contrast to what happened to Christ on that hill of Calvary.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It marks the last Sunday of the church year - next week will be the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year.
Today you may think - careful, Pastor! You're getting too controversial here! And that's because calling Christ King is an inherently controversial statement. Whether it was 2000 years ago when Caesar was King; 100 years ago, when this day was added to the liturgical calendar; or today. 100 years ago, Pope Pius XI added this day to the liturgical calendar that has trickled down through the Catholics and all the Protestants to us here today. What was going on 100 years ago? Mussolini had been in charge of Italy for 3 years and Adolf Hitler had just published Mein Kampf. The Roaring 20s were in full swing - marked by extravagant waste and class divides - soon leading to the collapse of the economy that we know as the Great Depression.
Pope Pius XI wanted to remind the world of where our allegiances as Christians should lay - with Christ the King and no other power or even wealth.
And again, 100 years ago wasn't the only world that needed or needs this message. It is always at the core of who Christians are and who Christ is.
And so, it is on this Sunday that we celebrate that Christ is King.
When we call Christ king, that bucks all the world’s expectations and assumptions about kingship and power.
And that, in turn, makes us question our allegiances to powers of this world that do not embody power in the same way as Christ.
These are not easy topics to examine, they are not easy questions to ask ourselves. They are harder yet to enact in our lives as we withdraw our allegiance from where it should not be and focus more on living and serving alongside Jesus as Lord. We will only skim the surface today and yet I want to say: this is the duty of all Christians who would serve Jesus as King: to do the hard work of self-examination and then the harder follow up actions to make sure that our lives - our words and our actions - serve Christ and no other as King.
First, let’s consider what the world expects of Kings - looking at one of the classic examples of Kingship that I grew up with.
The Lion King.
One of the classic earworms from the Disney classic “The Lion King” is “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” In it Simba sings:
“I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!..
I'm gonna be the main event, like no king was before.
I'm brushing up on looking down.
I'm working on my roar!...
…No one saying ‘do this,’
no one saying ‘be there,’
no one saying ‘stop that,’
No one saying ‘see here.’
Free to run around all day,
Free to do it all my way!”
What Simba sings about being King is in line with our kings, royalty or not, today - a King is someone powerful who can insight fear in their enemies. A King is someone who is in the center - the center of attention, of authority, of everything. A King is someone who looks down on everyone else, seated high on their throne.
We have lots of “kings” in our world today even if they don’t wear a crown. These “Kings” are people who think they are untouchable, who look down on others, who use their power and fear and violence to get their way - from churches, to the streets, to government and beyond - there are kings wherever there is power to be grabbed.
Which brings us back to today and this day in the Christian year that we call “Christ the King Sunday” - what does Christ’s life and death teach us about what it means for Christ to be King?
You know, many wanted Christ to be the kind of king we were just talking about - a king who used violence to grab power. A king who overturned the current seat of power and then assumed the throne himself, a king who would loftily rule…In our world today, 2,000 some years later - it’s so so so tempting to be a revisionist of history and Scripture and to paint Jesus as the King that they wished he would have been. The kind of King we wish Jesus would be. You know, the kind of King who thinks just like us. The Kind of King who is lofty and uses power to extort instead of help. We can easily make Jesus into that kind of king - like many “kings” we have in our world today - but let us not forget that Jesus was put to death by those in power - some “cleaning their hands of situation” but still dirty as it goes today, too…But Jesus is not that kind of King. If Jesus wanted to be that kind of King he could have been. He had followers. He could have told them to take up the sword and fight for him, he could have shamed his enemies, he could have staged a government coup, he could have ruled with an iron fist so that all would be forced to worship him...but Jesus did not choose to be this kind of king. Instead he went willingly to the cross, where he was mocked and humiliated, sided with a criminal on the cross, and then killed.
I want to say that again: …but Jesus did not choose to be this kind of king. Instead he went willingly to the cross, where he was mocked and humiliated, sided with a criminal on the cross, and then killed.
And then...3 days later, Jesus rose from the dead, definitively and defiantly showing us that there is another way to be King. And that way sides with the lowly, the outcast, and the shamed. That way is a path of humility and lowering oneself to be a servant, to wash the feet of others. That is a way of praying for your enemies instead of overpowering them. That is the way of love over hate. Life over death.
In Christ’s death and resurrection, everything we know about power, everything we know about kingship, everything we thought we knew about God - is flipped on its head.
For Christ is King and his realm is The Kingdom of God.
And remember what Scripture tells us about the Kingdom of God:
The kingdom of God looks like a wasteful son being greeted by a loving father, running to him with open arms. The Kingdom of God looks like a shepherd searching for that one lost sheep. The Kingdom of God looks like a weed that overpowers everything else in the garden and provides shelter for the birds. The Kingdom of God looks like a rich man’s feast opened up to the uninvited, the poor and the lame. This is not a Kingdom that any Kings of our world would want to reign over.
For in our world we have kingdoms of power, greed, and violence. Kingdoms would condemn Christ the King to the cross.
The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of forgiveness, empathy, humility, service, and love. Jesus reigns over this Kingdom and invites us to be citizens of it - to remove our allegiances from the Kingdoms of this world and serve Christ as our only and true Lord.
So my challenge to you as we close out one liturgical year and begin another one, as we enter the seasons of Advent and Christmas and implore Christ to come, come into our world once again...my challenge to you is to ask yourself this: If Christ were to come again into our world, into our lives, in the here and now, soon - would Christ find your allegiances to only be to him and the Kingdom of God and not any kings or powers of this world? Are we looking for power ourselves? Or someone to follow and claim as our King...but who is not leading us in the ways of Christ, of love, forgiveness, and humility? Instead, turn your heart to ponder upon what it means for Christ to be King and for Jesus to be Lord in your life and in our world.
Amen.
“Christ the...Humiliated? Lowly? Crucified? King”
Preached Sunday, November 23, 2025
Wow...what a coronation.
Today’s Gospel reading from Luke, the crucifixion, is when Scripture calls Jesus King - King of the Jews, a sign hung above his head as he was killed by the state in a torturous and brutal way - a way of death that was reserved for those who had committed treasonous crimes against Rome. The sign above his head - why? Was it put there by someone who truly recognized who and what Christ was? Was it put there as a warning to other Jews who were thinking of challenging the social and political order? See - this is what we do to the likes of you. Was it meant to degrade and humiliate, threaten or terrify, or to speak truth in the midst of a horrible scene. Either way, it, along with a crown of thorns, was Christ’s coronation. Where Christ was marked as King.
Let’s compare this to an earthly coronation. And I am going to skip King Charles and talk about Queen Elizabeth because of the hit TV show The Crown which followed Queen Elizabeth’s life. Have any of you ever seen this show? I remember watching the re-enactment of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation with awe.
Elizabeth II was crowned as Queen of England in 1953. They recorded the coronation and broadcast it internationally. Royalty gathered and watched. Elizabeth wore a silk velvet cloak. She was handed the royal orb made of gold, jewels, and pearls, then the scepter with diamonds and sapphires, and the royal ring with sapphire, rubies, and fourteen diamonds and then finally the crown - velvet and with a whopping total of 444 stones. She was given dozens of titles and everyone, including her mother and her husband swore allegiance to her and sang God Save The Queen. When the ceremony was over, she left in a golden carriage.
Christ’s crucifixion, his coronation, on the other hand gives us a stark contrast from the opulence and power from the coronation of the former Queen of England. And lest people think I am just bashing the British monarchy here, our political system celebrates the assumption of power - maybe not with some many precious gems but still with the glorification of power, wealth, prosperity, and popularity. We don’t have kings and coronations but we do have inaugurations - the last several of which cost in the 100s of millions of dollars. All of this wealth and cost and ceremony is in stark contrast to what happened to Christ on that hill of Calvary.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It marks the last Sunday of the church year - next week will be the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year.
Today you may think - careful, Pastor! You're getting too controversial here! And that's because calling Christ King is an inherently controversial statement. Whether it was 2000 years ago when Caesar was King; 100 years ago, when this day was added to the liturgical calendar; or today. 100 years ago, Pope Pius XI added this day to the liturgical calendar that has trickled down through the Catholics and all the Protestants to us here today. What was going on 100 years ago? Mussolini had been in charge of Italy for 3 years and Adolf Hitler had just published Mein Kampf. The Roaring 20s were in full swing - marked by extravagant waste and class divides - soon leading to the collapse of the economy that we know as the Great Depression.
Pope Pius XI wanted to remind the world of where our allegiances as Christians should lay - with Christ the King and no other power or even wealth.
And again, 100 years ago wasn't the only world that needed or needs this message. It is always at the core of who Christians are and who Christ is.
And so, it is on this Sunday that we celebrate that Christ is King.
When we call Christ king, that bucks all the world’s expectations and assumptions about kingship and power.
And that, in turn, makes us question our allegiances to powers of this world that do not embody power in the same way as Christ.
These are not easy topics to examine, they are not easy questions to ask ourselves. They are harder yet to enact in our lives as we withdraw our allegiance from where it should not be and focus more on living and serving alongside Jesus as Lord. We will only skim the surface today and yet I want to say: this is the duty of all Christians who would serve Jesus as King: to do the hard work of self-examination and then the harder follow up actions to make sure that our lives - our words and our actions - serve Christ and no other as King.
First, let’s consider what the world expects of Kings - looking at one of the classic examples of Kingship that I grew up with.
The Lion King.
One of the classic earworms from the Disney classic “The Lion King” is “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” In it Simba sings:
“I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!..
I'm gonna be the main event, like no king was before.
I'm brushing up on looking down.
I'm working on my roar!...
…No one saying ‘do this,’
no one saying ‘be there,’
no one saying ‘stop that,’
No one saying ‘see here.’
Free to run around all day,
Free to do it all my way!”
What Simba sings about being King is in line with our kings, royalty or not, today - a King is someone powerful who can insight fear in their enemies. A King is someone who is in the center - the center of attention, of authority, of everything. A King is someone who looks down on everyone else, seated high on their throne.
We have lots of “kings” in our world today even if they don’t wear a crown. These “Kings” are people who think they are untouchable, who look down on others, who use their power and fear and violence to get their way - from churches, to the streets, to government and beyond - there are kings wherever there is power to be grabbed.
Which brings us back to today and this day in the Christian year that we call “Christ the King Sunday” - what does Christ’s life and death teach us about what it means for Christ to be King?
You know, many wanted Christ to be the kind of king we were just talking about - a king who used violence to grab power. A king who overturned the current seat of power and then assumed the throne himself, a king who would loftily rule…In our world today, 2,000 some years later - it’s so so so tempting to be a revisionist of history and Scripture and to paint Jesus as the King that they wished he would have been. The kind of King we wish Jesus would be. You know, the kind of King who thinks just like us. The Kind of King who is lofty and uses power to extort instead of help. We can easily make Jesus into that kind of king - like many “kings” we have in our world today - but let us not forget that Jesus was put to death by those in power - some “cleaning their hands of situation” but still dirty as it goes today, too…But Jesus is not that kind of King. If Jesus wanted to be that kind of King he could have been. He had followers. He could have told them to take up the sword and fight for him, he could have shamed his enemies, he could have staged a government coup, he could have ruled with an iron fist so that all would be forced to worship him...but Jesus did not choose to be this kind of king. Instead he went willingly to the cross, where he was mocked and humiliated, sided with a criminal on the cross, and then killed.
I want to say that again: …but Jesus did not choose to be this kind of king. Instead he went willingly to the cross, where he was mocked and humiliated, sided with a criminal on the cross, and then killed.
And then...3 days later, Jesus rose from the dead, definitively and defiantly showing us that there is another way to be King. And that way sides with the lowly, the outcast, and the shamed. That way is a path of humility and lowering oneself to be a servant, to wash the feet of others. That is a way of praying for your enemies instead of overpowering them. That is the way of love over hate. Life over death.
In Christ’s death and resurrection, everything we know about power, everything we know about kingship, everything we thought we knew about God - is flipped on its head.
For Christ is King and his realm is The Kingdom of God.
And remember what Scripture tells us about the Kingdom of God:
The kingdom of God looks like a wasteful son being greeted by a loving father, running to him with open arms. The Kingdom of God looks like a shepherd searching for that one lost sheep. The Kingdom of God looks like a weed that overpowers everything else in the garden and provides shelter for the birds. The Kingdom of God looks like a rich man’s feast opened up to the uninvited, the poor and the lame. This is not a Kingdom that any Kings of our world would want to reign over.
For in our world we have kingdoms of power, greed, and violence. Kingdoms would condemn Christ the King to the cross.
The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of forgiveness, empathy, humility, service, and love. Jesus reigns over this Kingdom and invites us to be citizens of it - to remove our allegiances from the Kingdoms of this world and serve Christ as our only and true Lord.
So my challenge to you as we close out one liturgical year and begin another one, as we enter the seasons of Advent and Christmas and implore Christ to come, come into our world once again...my challenge to you is to ask yourself this: If Christ were to come again into our world, into our lives, in the here and now, soon - would Christ find your allegiances to only be to him and the Kingdom of God and not any kings or powers of this world? Are we looking for power ourselves? Or someone to follow and claim as our King...but who is not leading us in the ways of Christ, of love, forgiveness, and humility? Instead, turn your heart to ponder upon what it means for Christ to be King and for Jesus to be Lord in your life and in our world.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Call to Worship for Christ the King Sunday, based on Luke 23:33-43
Leader: We come together today to worship Christ the King!
People: We bow at his feet in adoration.
L: Feet that were nailed to a cross.
P: His crown is a crown of thorns.
L: Christ our King, hanging on a cross.
P: What does it mean to worship the Crucified King?
L: We worship a God of humility, of self-sacrifice, of love that goes even to the grave - and beyond.
P: May we live like our king - humble, giving, with love that knows no bounds.
All: We come together today to worship Christ the King! Amen.
People: We bow at his feet in adoration.
L: Feet that were nailed to a cross.
P: His crown is a crown of thorns.
L: Christ our King, hanging on a cross.
P: What does it mean to worship the Crucified King?
L: We worship a God of humility, of self-sacrifice, of love that goes even to the grave - and beyond.
P: May we live like our king - humble, giving, with love that knows no bounds.
All: We come together today to worship Christ the King! Amen.
Monday, November 17, 2025
“The Ground Beneath You” a sermon on Luke 21:5- 9 & Isaiah 65:17-25
Luke 21:5- 9
Isaiah 65:17-25
“The Ground Beneath You”
Preached Sunday, November 16, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Have you ever experienced an earthquake? I have never experienced a real one but when I was studying abroad in Japan during my high school years, I had the opportunity to do a level 7 earthquake simulator. We were sitting at this table in a mock kitchen, and all of a sudden, the room started to shake violently. The lamp overhead swinging back and forth - making the light dance around the room in disconcerting ways. The loud sounds of crashing pots and pans and breaking dishes played over a speaker. We were supposed to grab the pillows on our chairs, use them to cover our heads and get under the table as fast as we could. My friend fell down as she tried to get under the table, literally tipping over sideways. The chairs around us tipped over. You could barely crawl let alone stand, the whole room was swaying, shaking, the ground beneath you couldn’t be trusted.
Have you ever felt like the ground beneath you couldn’t be trusted? I’m no longer talking about earthquake simulators or icy parking lots - I’m talking about when it feels like the ground was just pulled out from under you.
When a relationship has a fall-out. When you get the diagnosis you don't want to hear. When someone we love dies. When we lose our job. When we move from one life stage to another..
And things beyond ourselves, things out of our control - whether that be in our families, our community, our world - there is so much pain, suffering, strife - we want to be able to make it all better but we so often realize we can’t...
It can feel like there is no sure footing, no ground to stand on.
Enter this week’s Gospel reading.
The setting for this reading is the temple. Jesus just watched a widow give her offering in the temple. It is here that the text says:
“When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’”
Jesus is literally talking about the ground beneath them, the walls around them, this magnificent structure that seems so strong, so sturdy, so splendid….
It will all fall. The walls will crumble. The beauty will fade. The very ground beneath you will no longer be there.
Jesus goes on to talk of those times when it feels like there is no solid ground to stand on.
When there are those who claim the name of Jesus but do not live like him. When there are wars and rumors of war. When nation rises up against nation. When there is destruction. Hunger. Illness. Persecution.
Many interpret Jesus’s words here to be a prophecy of a specific time period when the world will be ending. But to read Jesus’s words here in reference to a particular point in time would be misreading them and a misunderstanding of the Biblical genre of apocalypse.
Jesus is speaking in a well known genre of his time, like when he told parables - a genre marked by over-exaggeration. The Bible is filled with the genre of apocalyptic stories. Think about it like this, if you start a story with “Once Upon a Time…” or “It was a dark and stormy night…” People know what kind of story you’re going to tell.
And for the listeners of Jesus’s day, It is the same here in this little apocalypse. This is a genre that takes tricky little stories that seem to be about the future, to say something profound about the present. Will the temple walls one day crumble? Yes. This passage of Scripture was actually written by Luke not long after the temple was destroyed. Remember that the Gospels weren’t written down until decades after Jesus’s death. The scholarship on this varies but remember that Jesus died in about 30 CE. The Temple was destroyed in about 70 AD. And Luke was written in about 80 CE. Does this mean that Jesus didn’t say this? No. That’s not what I’m saying… And. It means that we should also take Jesus’s words as a statement of the present time - his life and the lives of Luke’s readers. For in Jesus’s and Luke’s time there were false teachers. There were wars and rumors of wars. There was nation rising against nation. There was destruction. There was Hunger. Illness. Persecution.
The text through the genre or apocalypse is saying, “Why are you so focused on the temple? On its beauty and its ornateness? And even its supposed sturdiness? Don’t you know how impermanent things really are? Don’t you know how easy it is for the ground to come out from underneath you and for it to feel like there is no solid ground to stand on?”
Now, Jesus does say “why are you talking about the temple?” but he doesn’t say what we should be focusing on instead. Although, right before this passage, he was commenting on a widow giving all she had to the temple - the story of the Widow’s Mite. Maybe it was like whiplash for Jesus - to see a widow giving all she had, to the point of destitution, and then to hear others praising the ornateness of the temple. Maybe Jesus was trying to serve up a little whiplash back to those around him, to pull the carpet out from beneath them, so that as they flayed around trying to find solid ground, their eyes may rest on the poor and needy in front of them instead.
And so as we read these words through the lens of the genre of apocalypse - what does Jesus have to say about our present lives?
Jesus’s words about impermanence. About wars and illness and the ground beneath us crumbling may sound all too familiar to many of us today.
So where do we turn? Where can we find solid ground beneath our feet?
Enter this morning’s text from Isaiah.
The contrast from the Luke text is striking. Instead of crumbling ground, instead of war and destruction, we have something with much more joy and delight. We have an image that is being weaved with words, built around us, built underneath us, an image to give us somewhere firm and life-giving to stand.
This image in Isaiah illustrates The Lord’s Day - this is also a common theme or genre in the Bible. It depicts that day when God redeems all creation, when everything and every one is reconciled to God. A day where God creates a new heaven and a new earth. I firmly believe in this day. I believe that God has the power and the intent to do this, to reconcile and recreate all of God’s creation in perfection and love.
When? I don’t know. None of us know the day or the hour...but I also believe that God has already started this re-creation. And we, you and me, are part of this much, much bigger picture as given to us in Isaiah.
A bigger picture that is full of joy and delight.
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress..”
God - delighting in us. No more weeping, no more distress.
The text says that there will be no more death among children. No more pain.
The text says that all will have homes! That they will plant and reap and benefit and thrive off the land - humanity and creation in harmony and balance with each other.
The text ends “They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.”
It is here, in the hope and the promise, that is a new heaven and a new earth, on God’s holy mountain, where we can find solid footing, solid ground beneath us.
Theologian Walter Brueggeman says this passage from Isaiah “is...an act of daring, theological faith that refuses to be curbed by present circumstance. This poet knows that Yahweh’s coming newness is not contained within our present notions of the possible.”
This image cannot be curbed, cannot be dampened or weakened by whatever our current reality is, it cannot be curbed by whatever mini apocalypse surrounds us...
When our lives turn upside down, when we don’t know which way is up, when everything seems impermeant, when we don’t know what to do, when we are lost...look for signs of the work God is doing in this world.
Looks for signs of the re-creation. Of a new heaven and a new earth.
Of peace being fostered.
Of relationships being restored.
Of love being tended.
Of new life and joy and hope…
Look for signs of God’s Holy Mountain. Trust in the work of God. Trust that you have a role in it, in this beautiful, delightful, restored creation - something that is not like those impermanent walls of the temple, something that will not come crashing down...somewhere where the ground underneath you is solid and firm, trusting in God’s goodness and grace.
May we all be found on such solid ground.
Amen.
“The Ground Beneath You”
Preached Sunday, November 16, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Have you ever experienced an earthquake? I have never experienced a real one but when I was studying abroad in Japan during my high school years, I had the opportunity to do a level 7 earthquake simulator. We were sitting at this table in a mock kitchen, and all of a sudden, the room started to shake violently. The lamp overhead swinging back and forth - making the light dance around the room in disconcerting ways. The loud sounds of crashing pots and pans and breaking dishes played over a speaker. We were supposed to grab the pillows on our chairs, use them to cover our heads and get under the table as fast as we could. My friend fell down as she tried to get under the table, literally tipping over sideways. The chairs around us tipped over. You could barely crawl let alone stand, the whole room was swaying, shaking, the ground beneath you couldn’t be trusted.
Have you ever felt like the ground beneath you couldn’t be trusted? I’m no longer talking about earthquake simulators or icy parking lots - I’m talking about when it feels like the ground was just pulled out from under you.
When a relationship has a fall-out. When you get the diagnosis you don't want to hear. When someone we love dies. When we lose our job. When we move from one life stage to another..
And things beyond ourselves, things out of our control - whether that be in our families, our community, our world - there is so much pain, suffering, strife - we want to be able to make it all better but we so often realize we can’t...
It can feel like there is no sure footing, no ground to stand on.
Enter this week’s Gospel reading.
The setting for this reading is the temple. Jesus just watched a widow give her offering in the temple. It is here that the text says:
“When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’”
Jesus is literally talking about the ground beneath them, the walls around them, this magnificent structure that seems so strong, so sturdy, so splendid….
It will all fall. The walls will crumble. The beauty will fade. The very ground beneath you will no longer be there.
Jesus goes on to talk of those times when it feels like there is no solid ground to stand on.
When there are those who claim the name of Jesus but do not live like him. When there are wars and rumors of war. When nation rises up against nation. When there is destruction. Hunger. Illness. Persecution.
Many interpret Jesus’s words here to be a prophecy of a specific time period when the world will be ending. But to read Jesus’s words here in reference to a particular point in time would be misreading them and a misunderstanding of the Biblical genre of apocalypse.
Jesus is speaking in a well known genre of his time, like when he told parables - a genre marked by over-exaggeration. The Bible is filled with the genre of apocalyptic stories. Think about it like this, if you start a story with “Once Upon a Time…” or “It was a dark and stormy night…” People know what kind of story you’re going to tell.
And for the listeners of Jesus’s day, It is the same here in this little apocalypse. This is a genre that takes tricky little stories that seem to be about the future, to say something profound about the present. Will the temple walls one day crumble? Yes. This passage of Scripture was actually written by Luke not long after the temple was destroyed. Remember that the Gospels weren’t written down until decades after Jesus’s death. The scholarship on this varies but remember that Jesus died in about 30 CE. The Temple was destroyed in about 70 AD. And Luke was written in about 80 CE. Does this mean that Jesus didn’t say this? No. That’s not what I’m saying… And. It means that we should also take Jesus’s words as a statement of the present time - his life and the lives of Luke’s readers. For in Jesus’s and Luke’s time there were false teachers. There were wars and rumors of wars. There was nation rising against nation. There was destruction. There was Hunger. Illness. Persecution.
The text through the genre or apocalypse is saying, “Why are you so focused on the temple? On its beauty and its ornateness? And even its supposed sturdiness? Don’t you know how impermanent things really are? Don’t you know how easy it is for the ground to come out from underneath you and for it to feel like there is no solid ground to stand on?”
Now, Jesus does say “why are you talking about the temple?” but he doesn’t say what we should be focusing on instead. Although, right before this passage, he was commenting on a widow giving all she had to the temple - the story of the Widow’s Mite. Maybe it was like whiplash for Jesus - to see a widow giving all she had, to the point of destitution, and then to hear others praising the ornateness of the temple. Maybe Jesus was trying to serve up a little whiplash back to those around him, to pull the carpet out from beneath them, so that as they flayed around trying to find solid ground, their eyes may rest on the poor and needy in front of them instead.
And so as we read these words through the lens of the genre of apocalypse - what does Jesus have to say about our present lives?
Jesus’s words about impermanence. About wars and illness and the ground beneath us crumbling may sound all too familiar to many of us today.
So where do we turn? Where can we find solid ground beneath our feet?
Enter this morning’s text from Isaiah.
The contrast from the Luke text is striking. Instead of crumbling ground, instead of war and destruction, we have something with much more joy and delight. We have an image that is being weaved with words, built around us, built underneath us, an image to give us somewhere firm and life-giving to stand.
This image in Isaiah illustrates The Lord’s Day - this is also a common theme or genre in the Bible. It depicts that day when God redeems all creation, when everything and every one is reconciled to God. A day where God creates a new heaven and a new earth. I firmly believe in this day. I believe that God has the power and the intent to do this, to reconcile and recreate all of God’s creation in perfection and love.
When? I don’t know. None of us know the day or the hour...but I also believe that God has already started this re-creation. And we, you and me, are part of this much, much bigger picture as given to us in Isaiah.
A bigger picture that is full of joy and delight.
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress..”
God - delighting in us. No more weeping, no more distress.
The text says that there will be no more death among children. No more pain.
The text says that all will have homes! That they will plant and reap and benefit and thrive off the land - humanity and creation in harmony and balance with each other.
The text ends “They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.”
It is here, in the hope and the promise, that is a new heaven and a new earth, on God’s holy mountain, where we can find solid footing, solid ground beneath us.
Theologian Walter Brueggeman says this passage from Isaiah “is...an act of daring, theological faith that refuses to be curbed by present circumstance. This poet knows that Yahweh’s coming newness is not contained within our present notions of the possible.”
This image cannot be curbed, cannot be dampened or weakened by whatever our current reality is, it cannot be curbed by whatever mini apocalypse surrounds us...
When our lives turn upside down, when we don’t know which way is up, when everything seems impermeant, when we don’t know what to do, when we are lost...look for signs of the work God is doing in this world.
Looks for signs of the re-creation. Of a new heaven and a new earth.
Of peace being fostered.
Of relationships being restored.
Of love being tended.
Of new life and joy and hope…
Look for signs of God’s Holy Mountain. Trust in the work of God. Trust that you have a role in it, in this beautiful, delightful, restored creation - something that is not like those impermanent walls of the temple, something that will not come crashing down...somewhere where the ground underneath you is solid and firm, trusting in God’s goodness and grace.
May we all be found on such solid ground.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Prayer of Confession for Christmas Eve
Holy God, tonight is a night of Good News of great joy for all people. Yet we often let our fear be louder than the assurances of angels. We have failed to believe that the Good News is for us. We have not accepted that it is for all people. We have taken joy and put it on the back burner - living lives of apathy. Forgive us for not fully accepting the gift of your Son, Jesus, God-With-Us. May this Good News of Great Joy for all people transform our hearts and lives - for love of God and love of neighbor as self. Amen.
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Gratitude & Generosity Hymn Sing
This hymn sing is meant to replace the sermon portion of an order of worship. There is also an accopmanying Call to Worship.
Call to Worship for Gratitude & Generosity Hymn Sing:
Leader: Scripture tells us to sing hymns to God with gratitude in our hearts.
People: We’ve come today, ready to sing praises to God.
L: We want to live lives of gratitude and praise.
P: We give thanks to God with hearts and hands and voices!
L: Gratitude pushes us towards generosity -
P: With eyes on God, we care for one another.
L: May all that we have, all that we are, all that we give - bring glory to God!
P: And so today we gather with gratitude in our hearts.
All: Let us sing praises to God. Amen.
God Comes First
Colossians 3:1-4:
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”
What are you focused on? Where is your energy going?
There are many voices in this world that compete for our attention. Some are good - those who love us well; good causes that help one another; those that push us to live more holy lives of love; the voice of the Spirit urging us to spend time with God.
Some are…not so good - a thousand advertisements vying for our attention and wallet; ideologies that want us to buy what they’re selling hook, line, and sinker without thinking for ourselves or thinking of the needs of others; the voices that come when we doom scroll that trap us into anxiety, depression, and apathy; the voices that tell us to only care for me, myself, and I; that bog us down in all the things of this world.
Colossians tells us to set our minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth - for our very life is in Christ. Our life is not made up in the abundance of possessions or in the achievements of this life. Our very life is in Christ who has died for us to give us a new, eternal life. A life of hope. A life of glory. A life of love.
The issue is - the things of this world, all those voices that vie for our attention, they confuse our hearts about the things that are really important. We get bogged down, worn down, and left unfulfilled - always searching for more. And so - we need to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Keeping our eyes, hearts, minds, and souls oriented on the things above, helps us keep everything else in its proper place, helps us know what really matters in this life. Jesus, the God who loves us and fills us with the gift of the Holy Spirit comes first - for it is in Christ that our very lives are found.
The issue is - the things of this world, all those voices that vie for our attention, they confuse our hearts about the things that are really important. We get bogged down, worn down, and left unfulfilled - always searching for more. And so - we need to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Keeping our eyes, hearts, minds, and souls oriented on the things above, helps us keep everything else in its proper place, helps us know what really matters in this life. Jesus, the God who loves us and fills us with the gift of the Holy Spirit comes first - for it is in Christ that our very lives are found.
In a moment we will sing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” - many may not know that the author of this hymn, Helen Lemmel, had a serious illness and was left blinded. Her husband, unwilling to take care of a blind wife, left her. It was then, in about 1918, she wrote this hymn. At a time of uncertainty, pain, and darkness in her own life - she penned “turn your eyes upon Jesus.” In doing so, she found what really matters. May we too turn our minds to the things of above.
Let us sing.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, x2, UMH 349
Gratitude Follows
Colossians 3:15-17:
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
When our eyes and our hearts are focused upon Jesus, our priorities fall into place, and we make room for gratitude in our lives.
The exhortation to give thanks or participate in thankfulness, appears about 150 times in the Bible. If our eyes are focused on the things of this earth, we will not experience true gratitude as we will always be seeking for the endless “more.” We will never have “enough” by the standards of the world. We will never be satisfied.
And yet, when Christ dwells in us richly - that is, when we listen to the wisdom of Christ, rely on the peace that the Spirit gives, when we recognize that we are not just ourselves but that we all are one body in Christ - we realize that we have “enough” - for Jesus is all we ever need.
I am not sure that there is a more counter-cultural message than this in our current consumer obsessed world. Can you imagine that Christmas commercial this holiday season, “We’re not selling you anything. You don’t need to buy anything. There is nothing you need but Christ.”
When we focus on God first, it makes room for gratitude in our lives. When we focus on God first, our priorities are in line and we can see all that we have - and all that we share with one another in the body of Christ, comes from God. We can know we are loved and held - and give thanks with psalms, hymns, and voices raised to God.
In a moment we will sing thing hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God” - a hymn we often associate with the holiday of Thanksgiving - which, for many, is a holiday of excess - although there are many in our country who scrimp and save and sacrifice in in order to put food on the table to celebrate that holiday. And that is more in line with the circumstances in which this hymn was written.
Martin Rinckart likely wrote this hymn during or soon after the Thirty Years’ War in about 1636. He was one of the sole surviving ministers in a refugee city - he spent most of his resources in order to be able to feed refugees - meaning he often ate only scraps. It was the time of the plague and he reportedly did over 50 funerals a day. It is under these circumstances that he wrote the words, “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices…”
Would we be giving thanks in the circumstances that Rinckart and his congregation would be in? A life filled with uncertainty, war, loss, hunger, death… Perhaps we would if our eyes were fixed upon Jesus. If we relied solely on Jesus - who gives us peace, keeps us in grace, guides us and frees us - in this world and the next.
Let us sing.
Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102
Simplicity & Contentment Go Hand in Hand
Philippians 4:11-13:
“Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
As we sang that last hymn, we can imagine that Rinckart felt gratitude and contentment even as he lived a hard and simple life.
It may be that simplicity and contentment go hand in hand - this is the secret of Paul’s contentment in times of plenty and in times of need - keep things simple by focusing on God with gratitude and contentment follows.
The lure of abundance and the accumulation of things and wealth has a gravity that weighs us down. Often the more we have, the less content we are. The more we fear losing what we have. The more we place our hope in things that rust, that moths destroy, that thieves can steal.
Simplicity that is rooted in our hearts being oriented toward God, brings contentment. For what do we truly need? What really carries value? Simplicity breaks the pull of the endless drive for more and allows us to focus on what really matters.
Let us sing.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, x2, UMH 349
Gratitude Follows
Colossians 3:15-17:
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
When our eyes and our hearts are focused upon Jesus, our priorities fall into place, and we make room for gratitude in our lives.
The exhortation to give thanks or participate in thankfulness, appears about 150 times in the Bible. If our eyes are focused on the things of this earth, we will not experience true gratitude as we will always be seeking for the endless “more.” We will never have “enough” by the standards of the world. We will never be satisfied.
And yet, when Christ dwells in us richly - that is, when we listen to the wisdom of Christ, rely on the peace that the Spirit gives, when we recognize that we are not just ourselves but that we all are one body in Christ - we realize that we have “enough” - for Jesus is all we ever need.
I am not sure that there is a more counter-cultural message than this in our current consumer obsessed world. Can you imagine that Christmas commercial this holiday season, “We’re not selling you anything. You don’t need to buy anything. There is nothing you need but Christ.”
When we focus on God first, it makes room for gratitude in our lives. When we focus on God first, our priorities are in line and we can see all that we have - and all that we share with one another in the body of Christ, comes from God. We can know we are loved and held - and give thanks with psalms, hymns, and voices raised to God.
In a moment we will sing thing hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God” - a hymn we often associate with the holiday of Thanksgiving - which, for many, is a holiday of excess - although there are many in our country who scrimp and save and sacrifice in in order to put food on the table to celebrate that holiday. And that is more in line with the circumstances in which this hymn was written.
Martin Rinckart likely wrote this hymn during or soon after the Thirty Years’ War in about 1636. He was one of the sole surviving ministers in a refugee city - he spent most of his resources in order to be able to feed refugees - meaning he often ate only scraps. It was the time of the plague and he reportedly did over 50 funerals a day. It is under these circumstances that he wrote the words, “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices…”
Would we be giving thanks in the circumstances that Rinckart and his congregation would be in? A life filled with uncertainty, war, loss, hunger, death… Perhaps we would if our eyes were fixed upon Jesus. If we relied solely on Jesus - who gives us peace, keeps us in grace, guides us and frees us - in this world and the next.
Let us sing.
Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102
Simplicity & Contentment Go Hand in Hand
Philippians 4:11-13:
“Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
As we sang that last hymn, we can imagine that Rinckart felt gratitude and contentment even as he lived a hard and simple life.
It may be that simplicity and contentment go hand in hand - this is the secret of Paul’s contentment in times of plenty and in times of need - keep things simple by focusing on God with gratitude and contentment follows.
The lure of abundance and the accumulation of things and wealth has a gravity that weighs us down. Often the more we have, the less content we are. The more we fear losing what we have. The more we place our hope in things that rust, that moths destroy, that thieves can steal.
Simplicity that is rooted in our hearts being oriented toward God, brings contentment. For what do we truly need? What really carries value? Simplicity breaks the pull of the endless drive for more and allows us to focus on what really matters.
In a moment we will sing the hymn, “Simple Gifts.” This hymn comes to us from the Shaker movement of the 1800s that sought to make little utopias here on earth - they believed in communal living, equality between the sexes, and, above all, simplicity. For them, simple living was the absolute key for being able to connect with God. Free from distractions of this world, simplicity allows us to focus on what really matters - loving God and loving one another.
Simple Gifts, x2, Insert (http://gbod.org.s3.amazonaws.com/legacy/kintera/entry_14599/66/simplegifts.pdf)
Generosity Pours Out to Care of Neighbor
Matthew 25:31-40:
“‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’”
Simple Gifts, x2, Insert (http://gbod.org.s3.amazonaws.com/legacy/kintera/entry_14599/66/simplegifts.pdf)
Generosity Pours Out to Care of Neighbor
Matthew 25:31-40:
“‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’”
When we turn our eyes on Jesus, when we practice gratitude, when we cultivate contentment through simplicity - it is not just about us and God. It’s about our neighbors too.
God wants us to love one another. This is the second greatest commandment - love neighbor as self. When we live lives orientated toward God, God will orient us toward our neighbors and in our neighbors, in the least of these, we will encounter Jesus.
Lives of simplicity and gratitude free our resources and our hearts to serve one another. To feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Welcome the stranger. This is the ultimate sign of a life based in Christ - a life of gratitude and generosity where love overflows to all we meet. Where we consider their needs as our own. Where we see the face of Jesus in every outstretched hand.
Love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin - together they are the wholeness of the life we are called to live as followers of Christ. We love God and thus we love our neighbors and serve them. We love and serve our neighbors and in them, we encounter Jesus, which pushes us back to better love God.
In a moment we will sing the hymn, “Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service” which was written by Abert Bayly. He wrote this hymn in response to a call for hymns focused on social welfare. Having lived through The Great Depression and both world wars, Bayly knew how important it was to serve one another, to support one another, to love neighbor as self, to serve Christ through serving our neighbor. Thankfully, Christ lived his life in such a way that wholly pointed toward God and serving our neighbors. When we are generous - with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness - we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Let us sing.
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service, vs. 1, 2, 4, UMH 581
It All Comes Back to God
James 4:7-10:
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Ultimately, a life that is fully oriented in Christ, recognizing that our life is in Jesus, pushes us to realize that everything in our lives is not ours - it is God’s. There is nothing in our lives that we can hold back from God. We are called to give God everything. Everything in our lives is both a gift from God and belongs to God. We are but stewards - using our lives and resources in such a way that brings glory and is pleasing to the one to whom they belong.
We should hold all that we have loosely - so that it doesn’t hold us back from drawing near to God. As we draw near God, God draws near to us. As we give all that we have to God, God consecrates it and makes our lives holy.
In a moment we will close out of hymn sing with the hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be,” this hymn reflects all the things in our lives that we are called to give over to God. The hymn includes: My moments, my days, my hands, my feet, my voice, my lips, my silver, and my gold, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love, myself - my life - take it all Lord, and let it be.
Singing this hymn causes us to pause and reflect - what in our lives are we holding back from God, what in our lives is keeping us from gratitude, simplicity, and contentment? What in our lives is keeping us from generosity and service? What in our lives is coming between us and God? May we give it all to God - that our whole lives would be in our God. May it be so.
Let us sing.
Take My Life and Let It Be, UMH 399
God wants us to love one another. This is the second greatest commandment - love neighbor as self. When we live lives orientated toward God, God will orient us toward our neighbors and in our neighbors, in the least of these, we will encounter Jesus.
Lives of simplicity and gratitude free our resources and our hearts to serve one another. To feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Welcome the stranger. This is the ultimate sign of a life based in Christ - a life of gratitude and generosity where love overflows to all we meet. Where we consider their needs as our own. Where we see the face of Jesus in every outstretched hand.
Love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin - together they are the wholeness of the life we are called to live as followers of Christ. We love God and thus we love our neighbors and serve them. We love and serve our neighbors and in them, we encounter Jesus, which pushes us back to better love God.
In a moment we will sing the hymn, “Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service” which was written by Abert Bayly. He wrote this hymn in response to a call for hymns focused on social welfare. Having lived through The Great Depression and both world wars, Bayly knew how important it was to serve one another, to support one another, to love neighbor as self, to serve Christ through serving our neighbor. Thankfully, Christ lived his life in such a way that wholly pointed toward God and serving our neighbors. When we are generous - with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness - we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Let us sing.
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service, vs. 1, 2, 4, UMH 581
It All Comes Back to God
James 4:7-10:
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Ultimately, a life that is fully oriented in Christ, recognizing that our life is in Jesus, pushes us to realize that everything in our lives is not ours - it is God’s. There is nothing in our lives that we can hold back from God. We are called to give God everything. Everything in our lives is both a gift from God and belongs to God. We are but stewards - using our lives and resources in such a way that brings glory and is pleasing to the one to whom they belong.
We should hold all that we have loosely - so that it doesn’t hold us back from drawing near to God. As we draw near God, God draws near to us. As we give all that we have to God, God consecrates it and makes our lives holy.
In a moment we will close out of hymn sing with the hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be,” this hymn reflects all the things in our lives that we are called to give over to God. The hymn includes: My moments, my days, my hands, my feet, my voice, my lips, my silver, and my gold, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love, myself - my life - take it all Lord, and let it be.
Singing this hymn causes us to pause and reflect - what in our lives are we holding back from God, what in our lives is keeping us from gratitude, simplicity, and contentment? What in our lives is keeping us from generosity and service? What in our lives is coming between us and God? May we give it all to God - that our whole lives would be in our God. May it be so.
Let us sing.
Take My Life and Let It Be, UMH 399
Monday, November 3, 2025
“Obtained an Inheritance” a sermon on Ephesians 1:11-23
Ephesians 1:11-23
“Obtained an Inheritance”
Preached Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Have you ever received an inheritance?
Perhaps for some of us, we have been left money when a family member died. Or perhaps a piece of jewelry or something special to us and our loved one that was passed on to us. Or even something we gave them - I know I have this little glass penguin that I gave to my grandmother when she was alive and now I have it back - and I am reminded of her when I look at it. Some of us, I know, are left with the responsibility of their parents’ or family members’ houses when they die - and that’s a whole other story, less of an inheritance per say and more of a responsibility to care for.
When we think of the word inheritance we think of large sums of money, estates...perhaps we think of the stereotype of spoiled heiresses or we think of crime movies that start with the reading of a will…
On this All Saints Sunday, I would encourage us to realize that we all have received an inheritance worth far more than anything that can be left behind in a will.
First, from those who we have called saints of our lives, we have received all they had to teach us, all the love they had to give us, and all the memories and moments that makes us who we are because of their love for Christ and us. By saints of our lives, I am referring to those people in our lives who we call saints. Not a saintdom decided upon by an institution, not a saintdom based on miracles performed or any other sort of rubric…but a saintdom based on how they loved Christ and how they loved their neighbor and how they loved us while we shared time with them on earth. These are those people who have the opportunity to remember today and give thanks for. These are the people that we will have the opportunity to remember today. To read their names, to light candles…
And to give thanks for them and all that they have given us - the inheritance they passed on to us. Not an inheritance of things but an inheritance of showing us how to live a life of love. Of showing us what it means to follow Christ, what it means to be a saint. Perhaps of how they participated in a local church community. Of how they talked about their faith. Of how they helped those in need. Of how they had love for us and for others. They left us an inheritance of Love - Love for God, love for neighbor, love for us.
I’d like to pause here for a moment to give an opportunity for you to call to mind those saints from whom you have received an inheritance of love. Say their names - in your hearts, outloud, or to your neighbor sitting next to you. Let’s just spend a moment bringing them to our minds with gratitude in our hearts.
That’s one of our inheritances - the inheritance of those who have loved us well. For which we say, thanks be to God!
And secondly, in Christ we have obtained an inheritance far beyond any other!
Our short but very theologically dense passage today from Ephesians uses the word inheritance three times. I’m going to quote from that passage now for the three times it’s used. But Paul is particularly wordy and uses run-on sentences in this passage - including the longest sentence in the New Testament! So I’m going to use some ellipses here and there to help illustrate our inheritance in Christ.
“In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance…so that we…might live for the praise of his glory.”
“In him you also,...were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people”
And then the last one is part of a prayer toward God: “that…you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…”
Now normally we think of inheritance as something we receive after someone dies. And in the traditional usage of that word, that’s what it means. But the inheritance we have in Christ is not something we have to wait to receive - Christ has already given us his inheritance, in the here and now. Christ’s inheritance is being a beloved child of God. Christ’s inheritance is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Christ’s inheritance that we obtain through believing in Christ is enabling us to live a life for God’s praise and glory, loving God and loving neighbor. In other words, living the life of a saint.
Living the life of a saint…here and now. Today we remember the lives of those we’ve loved who have died. And let’s be honest, sometimes in death, people do get a little white-washed. We don’t want to “speak ill of the dead.” We might forget the rough edges and remember the good times. Or not - each and every relationship is complicated. But, often, in general, we give someone the title of saint AFTER they die. But our inheritance of having everything we need for sainthood is given to us, here and now, in this life.
So what do we need for sainthood?
We need love. Simple as that.
One, we already have God’s love. We are God’s beloved children, adopted by God, and thus full heirs with Christ - and we’ve obtained that inheritance through Christ!
Two, we need the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And we know we have that. The Holy Spirit is given to all of us. The Holy Spirit is our inheritance in Christ. The Holy Spirit is God at work in our lives, here and now, and is with us all, never farther away than our next breath.
And three, we need Grace. Grace is God at work in our lives and God, through the Holy Spirit, is always at work in our lives. As Methodists we have a specific term for the grace that helps us to love better - and we call that sanctifying grace. Sanctifying as in - to make sacred. What is it to be sacred in the Christian tradition? It’s to resemble God or to be of God. And who and what is our God? Our God is the God of love. So we believe that every day, God gives us sanctifying grace - that is, every day, God works in our lives to help us make choices and actions that allow us to love God and to love neighbor as self. And overtime, day after day, we get better and better at it. We find we can more easily choose and show and share love. This is the work of sanctification - the work of becoming more like the God of love - the work of being a saint, here and now.
And well, we have all three of those things! We have God’s love! The Holy Spirit is working in our lives! And God is constantly offering us grace. Isn’t that a marvelous thing when you realize we have all we need to live our lives as saints? We have all we need to choose and show and share love every day - love of God, love of neighbor, love as self.
We already have everything we need to be saints!
Isn’t that a really great feeling? It’s like when you get a craving for cookies or an itch to bake and you haven’t done it in awhile and you walk into your kitchen and you open the pantry and you realize - you already have everything you need! You can bake cookies here and now.
But we also have a bonus ingredient: We have the examples of those whom we call saints in our lives. Those are like the chocolate chips in our cookies - they just make everything better. We have all we need - and we can look to the examples of those who are saints, who have shown us and others their love for God, we can pull on our inheritance from them - our memories, our lessons learned, all the love shared - and look to their examples to know where to go - with everything we could ever need - to choose love every day, love of God and love of neighbor as self - to be a saint.
And so today as we read the names of those who have died in the last year and light candles in honor and memory of the saints of our lives…and as we share in Holy Communion, a meal which surpasses all boundaries of time and place - even the boundary of death - a meal that we share with all the saints of earth and all the saints in heaven - As we do all this, may we remember and give thanks for all those who have shown us and the world the love of Christ. And may we follow in the footsteps of those saints, knowing that we have all we need through the inheritance we’ve obtained through Christ - and live as saints, here and now.
May it be so. Amen.
“Obtained an Inheritance”
Preached Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Boardman United Methodist Church
Have you ever received an inheritance?
Perhaps for some of us, we have been left money when a family member died. Or perhaps a piece of jewelry or something special to us and our loved one that was passed on to us. Or even something we gave them - I know I have this little glass penguin that I gave to my grandmother when she was alive and now I have it back - and I am reminded of her when I look at it. Some of us, I know, are left with the responsibility of their parents’ or family members’ houses when they die - and that’s a whole other story, less of an inheritance per say and more of a responsibility to care for.
When we think of the word inheritance we think of large sums of money, estates...perhaps we think of the stereotype of spoiled heiresses or we think of crime movies that start with the reading of a will…
On this All Saints Sunday, I would encourage us to realize that we all have received an inheritance worth far more than anything that can be left behind in a will.
First, from those who we have called saints of our lives, we have received all they had to teach us, all the love they had to give us, and all the memories and moments that makes us who we are because of their love for Christ and us. By saints of our lives, I am referring to those people in our lives who we call saints. Not a saintdom decided upon by an institution, not a saintdom based on miracles performed or any other sort of rubric…but a saintdom based on how they loved Christ and how they loved their neighbor and how they loved us while we shared time with them on earth. These are those people who have the opportunity to remember today and give thanks for. These are the people that we will have the opportunity to remember today. To read their names, to light candles…
And to give thanks for them and all that they have given us - the inheritance they passed on to us. Not an inheritance of things but an inheritance of showing us how to live a life of love. Of showing us what it means to follow Christ, what it means to be a saint. Perhaps of how they participated in a local church community. Of how they talked about their faith. Of how they helped those in need. Of how they had love for us and for others. They left us an inheritance of Love - Love for God, love for neighbor, love for us.
I’d like to pause here for a moment to give an opportunity for you to call to mind those saints from whom you have received an inheritance of love. Say their names - in your hearts, outloud, or to your neighbor sitting next to you. Let’s just spend a moment bringing them to our minds with gratitude in our hearts.
That’s one of our inheritances - the inheritance of those who have loved us well. For which we say, thanks be to God!
And secondly, in Christ we have obtained an inheritance far beyond any other!
Our short but very theologically dense passage today from Ephesians uses the word inheritance three times. I’m going to quote from that passage now for the three times it’s used. But Paul is particularly wordy and uses run-on sentences in this passage - including the longest sentence in the New Testament! So I’m going to use some ellipses here and there to help illustrate our inheritance in Christ.
“In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance…so that we…might live for the praise of his glory.”
“In him you also,...were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people”
And then the last one is part of a prayer toward God: “that…you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…”
Now normally we think of inheritance as something we receive after someone dies. And in the traditional usage of that word, that’s what it means. But the inheritance we have in Christ is not something we have to wait to receive - Christ has already given us his inheritance, in the here and now. Christ’s inheritance is being a beloved child of God. Christ’s inheritance is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Christ’s inheritance that we obtain through believing in Christ is enabling us to live a life for God’s praise and glory, loving God and loving neighbor. In other words, living the life of a saint.
Living the life of a saint…here and now. Today we remember the lives of those we’ve loved who have died. And let’s be honest, sometimes in death, people do get a little white-washed. We don’t want to “speak ill of the dead.” We might forget the rough edges and remember the good times. Or not - each and every relationship is complicated. But, often, in general, we give someone the title of saint AFTER they die. But our inheritance of having everything we need for sainthood is given to us, here and now, in this life.
So what do we need for sainthood?
We need love. Simple as that.
One, we already have God’s love. We are God’s beloved children, adopted by God, and thus full heirs with Christ - and we’ve obtained that inheritance through Christ!
Two, we need the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And we know we have that. The Holy Spirit is given to all of us. The Holy Spirit is our inheritance in Christ. The Holy Spirit is God at work in our lives, here and now, and is with us all, never farther away than our next breath.
And three, we need Grace. Grace is God at work in our lives and God, through the Holy Spirit, is always at work in our lives. As Methodists we have a specific term for the grace that helps us to love better - and we call that sanctifying grace. Sanctifying as in - to make sacred. What is it to be sacred in the Christian tradition? It’s to resemble God or to be of God. And who and what is our God? Our God is the God of love. So we believe that every day, God gives us sanctifying grace - that is, every day, God works in our lives to help us make choices and actions that allow us to love God and to love neighbor as self. And overtime, day after day, we get better and better at it. We find we can more easily choose and show and share love. This is the work of sanctification - the work of becoming more like the God of love - the work of being a saint, here and now.
And well, we have all three of those things! We have God’s love! The Holy Spirit is working in our lives! And God is constantly offering us grace. Isn’t that a marvelous thing when you realize we have all we need to live our lives as saints? We have all we need to choose and show and share love every day - love of God, love of neighbor, love as self.
We already have everything we need to be saints!
Isn’t that a really great feeling? It’s like when you get a craving for cookies or an itch to bake and you haven’t done it in awhile and you walk into your kitchen and you open the pantry and you realize - you already have everything you need! You can bake cookies here and now.
But we also have a bonus ingredient: We have the examples of those whom we call saints in our lives. Those are like the chocolate chips in our cookies - they just make everything better. We have all we need - and we can look to the examples of those who are saints, who have shown us and others their love for God, we can pull on our inheritance from them - our memories, our lessons learned, all the love shared - and look to their examples to know where to go - with everything we could ever need - to choose love every day, love of God and love of neighbor as self - to be a saint.
And so today as we read the names of those who have died in the last year and light candles in honor and memory of the saints of our lives…and as we share in Holy Communion, a meal which surpasses all boundaries of time and place - even the boundary of death - a meal that we share with all the saints of earth and all the saints in heaven - As we do all this, may we remember and give thanks for all those who have shown us and the world the love of Christ. And may we follow in the footsteps of those saints, knowing that we have all we need through the inheritance we’ve obtained through Christ - and live as saints, here and now.
May it be so. Amen.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Call to Worship based on Luke 21:5-19
Leader: We came to this sanctuary this morning, seeking a safe haven.
People: Our world seems to be in turmoil.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when the ground falls out from under us -
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when violence reigns and kindness is hard to find.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when all seems lost.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: We come today seeking Good news, seeking Hope, seeking sanctuary.
L: May we find it here. For God is at work in our world.
All: May we worship our God who is at work in our world. Amen.
People: Our world seems to be in turmoil.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when the ground falls out from under us -
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when violence reigns and kindness is hard to find.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: Even when all seems lost.
L: Hold fast! God is at work in our world.
P: We come today seeking Good news, seeking Hope, seeking sanctuary.
L: May we find it here. For God is at work in our world.
All: May we worship our God who is at work in our world. Amen.
Monday, October 27, 2025
All Saints Call to Worship
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To sing praises to our God.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To be together in Christian community.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To encounter Christ in the bread and the cup.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To remember the saints who have gone before us.
L: We have come together in worship -
All: Let us worship with all the saints. Amen.
P: To sing praises to our God.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To be together in Christian community.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To encounter Christ in the bread and the cup.
L: We come together in worship this morning:
P: To remember the saints who have gone before us.
L: We have come together in worship -
All: Let us worship with all the saints. Amen.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
“Enough: Defined by Generosity” a sermon on Genesis 28:20-22 & Acts 20:32-35
Genesis 28:20-22
Acts 20:32-35
“Enough: Defined by Generosity”
Preached Sunday, October 12, 2025
When I meet with a family to plan a funeral, I like to take the time to listen to them share about their loved one’s life. Both so that I can honor them and their life as the minister presiding over the funeral - and also to give the family a time to process, to share, to celebrate and give thanks to God.
One question I always ask the family is - what are three words or phrases would you use to describe your loved one? Loving, caring, hard worker, encourager, resourceful, faithful, thoughtful, kind, sweet, generous…these are some of the words that were given to me for recent funerals I’ve done. I don’t think it’s too morbid or too egotistical to spend time reflecting on this question for yourself. When you die and move on from this life, what defining traits do you want to be remembered by? What three words or phrases would you hope that your family would share with the minister? And, are you living your life now in such a way…that that will be your lasting legacy? Asking this question of yourself now, and semi-regularly, helps keep a watchful eye on what is most essential in your life, what your values are, and how you are living them out while you are still six feet above the ground.
On the other end of life, we baptized a beautiful, beloved child of God this morning. We celebrate that so new into this world, her family has made the commitment to raise her in a faith community and for her to know that she is God’s beloved child. This is one of the primary aspects of Baptism that we celebrate when we baptize a baby. Just as in Jesus’s baptism, the voice of God called Jesus God’s beloved son. So we too, in our baptisms, are claimed and celebrated as God’s beloved children. It is our new and primary identity in this life - and for our whole life long - we are beloved children of God.
And a life that is defined by that belovedness, God’s belovedness for us, changes how we live, how we view ourselves and how we treat others. A life defined by belovedness can not be sequestered into an hour a week at church. Belovedness overflows into all areas.
When we are talking about generosity in our sermon series, “Enough,” I believe that knowing that we are truly beloved and living a life of generosity do go hand in hand. Generosity does not come from a life that is parched for love. It comes from one saturated with the knowledge that we are God’s children.
And so, this morning, I’d like each and everyone of us to ask - Do I know that I am beloved by God? Is that belovedness pouring out of me in the form of generosity? Is generosity a defining trait in my life? Am I known as a generous person? Will I be known as one after I die?
And if not - what is holding us back?
One of the primary answers is: fear.
Fear that if we give too much away…we won’t have enough left for ourselves. Or fear that if the bottom drops out from under us, we will find protection, a safety net, in our belongings and bank accounts. Systemic factors definitely influence this fear. Inflation goes up. Unemployment numbers go up…and we hold more tightly to what we have. I do think the fear of, “I won’t or don’t have enough to feed my kids” in a world with increasingly less safety nets is real and valid. But often, the fear comes in and starts when we have more than enough…but the fear of not having enough is still there. There is also the fear, that is less valid, of not having enough for self-gratification. For what I want, for the next vacation, for my daily coffee run…
We cannot let fear overrun our lives. We have to turn our fear over to Jesus. Trust in the God who calls us beloved and let that belovedness overflow in all areas of our lives - including generosity.
This is not the “Prosperity Gospel” that espouses that if you just give a certain percentage or a certain amount then you will have no problems, no job losses, no food insecurities, no medical issues. No - this is not that lie. Living a life marked by belovedness and generosity is a recognition that nothing we have, even our own lives, really belongs to us.
A famous prayer in our tradition is the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt;
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for the or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee;
Let me be full, let me be empty;
Let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things to that pleasure and disposal…Amen.”
Acts 20:32-35
“Enough: Defined by Generosity”
Preached Sunday, October 12, 2025
When I meet with a family to plan a funeral, I like to take the time to listen to them share about their loved one’s life. Both so that I can honor them and their life as the minister presiding over the funeral - and also to give the family a time to process, to share, to celebrate and give thanks to God.
One question I always ask the family is - what are three words or phrases would you use to describe your loved one? Loving, caring, hard worker, encourager, resourceful, faithful, thoughtful, kind, sweet, generous…these are some of the words that were given to me for recent funerals I’ve done. I don’t think it’s too morbid or too egotistical to spend time reflecting on this question for yourself. When you die and move on from this life, what defining traits do you want to be remembered by? What three words or phrases would you hope that your family would share with the minister? And, are you living your life now in such a way…that that will be your lasting legacy? Asking this question of yourself now, and semi-regularly, helps keep a watchful eye on what is most essential in your life, what your values are, and how you are living them out while you are still six feet above the ground.
On the other end of life, we baptized a beautiful, beloved child of God this morning. We celebrate that so new into this world, her family has made the commitment to raise her in a faith community and for her to know that she is God’s beloved child. This is one of the primary aspects of Baptism that we celebrate when we baptize a baby. Just as in Jesus’s baptism, the voice of God called Jesus God’s beloved son. So we too, in our baptisms, are claimed and celebrated as God’s beloved children. It is our new and primary identity in this life - and for our whole life long - we are beloved children of God.
And a life that is defined by that belovedness, God’s belovedness for us, changes how we live, how we view ourselves and how we treat others. A life defined by belovedness can not be sequestered into an hour a week at church. Belovedness overflows into all areas.
When we are talking about generosity in our sermon series, “Enough,” I believe that knowing that we are truly beloved and living a life of generosity do go hand in hand. Generosity does not come from a life that is parched for love. It comes from one saturated with the knowledge that we are God’s children.
And so, this morning, I’d like each and everyone of us to ask - Do I know that I am beloved by God? Is that belovedness pouring out of me in the form of generosity? Is generosity a defining trait in my life? Am I known as a generous person? Will I be known as one after I die?
And if not - what is holding us back?
One of the primary answers is: fear.
Fear that if we give too much away…we won’t have enough left for ourselves. Or fear that if the bottom drops out from under us, we will find protection, a safety net, in our belongings and bank accounts. Systemic factors definitely influence this fear. Inflation goes up. Unemployment numbers go up…and we hold more tightly to what we have. I do think the fear of, “I won’t or don’t have enough to feed my kids” in a world with increasingly less safety nets is real and valid. But often, the fear comes in and starts when we have more than enough…but the fear of not having enough is still there. There is also the fear, that is less valid, of not having enough for self-gratification. For what I want, for the next vacation, for my daily coffee run…
We cannot let fear overrun our lives. We have to turn our fear over to Jesus. Trust in the God who calls us beloved and let that belovedness overflow in all areas of our lives - including generosity.
This is not the “Prosperity Gospel” that espouses that if you just give a certain percentage or a certain amount then you will have no problems, no job losses, no food insecurities, no medical issues. No - this is not that lie. Living a life marked by belovedness and generosity is a recognition that nothing we have, even our own lives, really belongs to us.
A famous prayer in our tradition is the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt;
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for the or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee;
Let me be full, let me be empty;
Let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things to that pleasure and disposal…Amen.”
This is truly a mindset change from the way our world sees ownership, possessions, and the driving urge to put me, myself, and I, first.
Scripture echoes this idea that all we have and all that we are…belongs to God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” - Psalm 24
“The land is mine…you are but aliens and tenants.” - Leviticus 25:23
In the creation narrative in Genesis, creation is given to humanity for us to be stewards of the earth - Stewards are those who take care of something that is not theirs, and stewards are a very common occurrence in the parables that Jesus tells.
Everything - from our money and possessions, the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, our very lives - they all belong to God. We are but stewards of these gifts. This realization makes us ask - How does God want us to use, or steward, these gifts? The answer is to share them generously.
Generosity begets generosity. Generosity includes caring for the poor and the least of these. Proverbs 22:9 wisely states that those who are generous are blessed for they share bread with the poor.
Generosity also binds all together in loving community. In a place where all belong. In a place where we take care of others and are cared for in return.
Because generosity is so important, Scripture helps give guidelines on giving. This is where the concept of the tithe comes in - mentioned several times in Scripture - a tithe literally means “a tenth.” It’s the theological concept that one tenth of what we have - our harvest, our income, whatever that may be - should be given back to God.
I am going to tell you today - don’t get caught up in the number. For many a ten percent gift, ten percent planned generosity, seems so impossible, that the discussion of a tithe actually shuts down all conversation about generosity and smothers the budding inclination towards a more generous life. The thing, the lesson of the tithe, that I want to focus on this morning is giving to God first. We call the tithe first “fruits” so let’s look at fruit as an example: we have ten apples. I am going to go ahead and say these are not Red Delicious apples from the grocery store, a misnomer name if there ever was one. These are delicious suncrisp apples from White House Fruit Farm. So anyway, we have ten delicious apples - and a tithe calls us to give one apple away and live off the other 9. If we give the one away first…and then live off the remaining nine, we may be tempted to take a bite out of that first apple, but it has already gone on to feed another. If we don’t give first, and then use up all nine and then…well, maybe we take a bite out of the tenth. Or we keep the whole tenth apple for ourselves, insteading of giving it away. There are the voices of fear, the voices of consumerism, the voices - a million voices - that tell us there are ways we can spend that apple for our own “happiness” or security - and generosity never happens.
And so, the concept of a tithe is all about making a plan to give, being intentional about giving - and to give first. Calculate the percentage of your giving - just so you know where you’re at. From there you can think about where you want to be without smothering the spark of generosity that has caused you to make an intentional effort to give in the first place.
And a reminder that more money doesn't actually make it easier to give. In 2025, Forbes reported that there were over 3,000 billionaires in the world. In 2017 there were just over 2,000 and that was twice as many as a decade before that. These are part of the systemic issues of class inequality…To put how much money a billion dollars is in perspective…if a billionaire spent roughly the average US YEARLY salary in a single day - it would still take almost 10,000 years for a billionaire to spend all their money. But, and here’s the cincher, billionaires rarely give more than single digit percentages of their money away.
Indeed, the more money you have - often the louder the voices of fear and self-gratification are - and the more removed we become from the generosity that thrives in connected communities.
Here’s a humorous story about this, originally told by Peter Marshall who was the chaplain of the United States Senate for many years:
“There was a man who struggled to tithe even though he had a large income. The man said to Marshall, ‘I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but.... But now… I am earning $500,000 a year and there is just no way I can afford to give about $50,000.’ Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said, ‘I can certainly see your problem. Let's pray about it.’ The man agreed. So Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Heavenly father, I pray that you would reduce this man's salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”
The truth is, regardless of income level - each and every one of us is going to wrestle with questions of contentment and generosity. Each and everyone of us is going to wrestle with how much “enough” is - how much is “enough” to live on. How much is “enough” for happiness…of course for contentment and happiness, there will never be “enough” for those things cannot be found in money and possessions. At Wednesday morning Bible study this last year, there was a point when we were talking about how much is “enough” to be giving away - is a tithe enough? What about giving beyond the tithe and so on and so forth - and for starters, this is a better conversation to be having because it’s coming from a desire to be generous - The desire to be generous, to give what what can, to give all one can, and to give to God and neighbor first.
I want to take a moment and thank you for your generosity here…I know, I know. I thank you for your generosity every week. I imagine some of you who are here weekly may tire of hearing me say, “thank you.” But truly - thank you! Your generosity sustains the life of this church. Your generosity creates beloved and caring community here. Your generosity allows us to gather to worship and to study the Bible and to be community together. Your generosity allows for our church to be a spot for the community to gather - a third space for AA, support groups, girl scouts and more. Your giving allows us to teach children - on Sundays and through the week as part of BUMP - that they are beloved children of God. Your generosity does so much - thank you! And thank you for those who go the second mile too. Jesus said if someone asks you to walk a mile with them, go a second too. The first mile is the generosity that sustains the life and work of this church. Planned and intentional giving - thank you. Many of you have chosen to walk the second mile by giving to our Today, Tomorrow, Together capital campaign to help ensure the longevity of our facilities and ministries for years to come. Thank you ALL.
Let’s take a step back from our context and talk more broadly again as to what happens when we choose to give and let our lives be defined by generosity. As I said in the beginning of this sermon - this is not the prosperity gospel. It’s not give and you will get what you want. AND. Generosity still affects us.
Generosity shapes our lives by the desire for all that we are and all that we have to bring glory to God. Generosity is a form of recognizing that we are God’s children, claimed in our baptism as beloved. We live into this identity when we give to God first - it is a very practical, tangible thing - that centers our intangible belovedness.
Generosity is the antidote that brings us relief from the voices of fear and self-gratification that can control our lives. If left to the world’s devices, we so easily become self-absorbed, money obsessed people who have little room for the joy of generosity in our lives. When we give - to God, our families, our friends, neighbors, and those in need - it opens our hearts, allowing them to be filled with joy.
And, generosity begets generosity. We don’t always see it but sometimes, in beautiful glimpses of the kingdom, the circle is closed. I recently had a conversation with a pastor who was my pastor at a critical point in my life. He played a huge role in my faith formation. About two years ago, His child heard a sermon I preached - and the Spirit spoke through that sermon, saving this child’s faith at a critical point in his life. And then my former pastor, his dad, came and told me. The circle was closed. This happens all the time but we just don’t always see it…
A gift is given that changes someone’s life for the better, allowing them to give a gift, allowing them to give a gift…until perhaps you are the recipient of a gift, a blessing, that makes your life all the better.
When we give, our world looks more like the world God desires for us all - a world marked with generosity and joy and community - a world where all of us live into our identity claimed in our baptisms as beloved children of God which overflows in contentment, joy, and generosity - and it is enough.
Scripture echoes this idea that all we have and all that we are…belongs to God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” - Psalm 24
“The land is mine…you are but aliens and tenants.” - Leviticus 25:23
In the creation narrative in Genesis, creation is given to humanity for us to be stewards of the earth - Stewards are those who take care of something that is not theirs, and stewards are a very common occurrence in the parables that Jesus tells.
Everything - from our money and possessions, the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, our very lives - they all belong to God. We are but stewards of these gifts. This realization makes us ask - How does God want us to use, or steward, these gifts? The answer is to share them generously.
Generosity begets generosity. Generosity includes caring for the poor and the least of these. Proverbs 22:9 wisely states that those who are generous are blessed for they share bread with the poor.
Generosity also binds all together in loving community. In a place where all belong. In a place where we take care of others and are cared for in return.
Because generosity is so important, Scripture helps give guidelines on giving. This is where the concept of the tithe comes in - mentioned several times in Scripture - a tithe literally means “a tenth.” It’s the theological concept that one tenth of what we have - our harvest, our income, whatever that may be - should be given back to God.
I am going to tell you today - don’t get caught up in the number. For many a ten percent gift, ten percent planned generosity, seems so impossible, that the discussion of a tithe actually shuts down all conversation about generosity and smothers the budding inclination towards a more generous life. The thing, the lesson of the tithe, that I want to focus on this morning is giving to God first. We call the tithe first “fruits” so let’s look at fruit as an example: we have ten apples. I am going to go ahead and say these are not Red Delicious apples from the grocery store, a misnomer name if there ever was one. These are delicious suncrisp apples from White House Fruit Farm. So anyway, we have ten delicious apples - and a tithe calls us to give one apple away and live off the other 9. If we give the one away first…and then live off the remaining nine, we may be tempted to take a bite out of that first apple, but it has already gone on to feed another. If we don’t give first, and then use up all nine and then…well, maybe we take a bite out of the tenth. Or we keep the whole tenth apple for ourselves, insteading of giving it away. There are the voices of fear, the voices of consumerism, the voices - a million voices - that tell us there are ways we can spend that apple for our own “happiness” or security - and generosity never happens.
And so, the concept of a tithe is all about making a plan to give, being intentional about giving - and to give first. Calculate the percentage of your giving - just so you know where you’re at. From there you can think about where you want to be without smothering the spark of generosity that has caused you to make an intentional effort to give in the first place.
And a reminder that more money doesn't actually make it easier to give. In 2025, Forbes reported that there were over 3,000 billionaires in the world. In 2017 there were just over 2,000 and that was twice as many as a decade before that. These are part of the systemic issues of class inequality…To put how much money a billion dollars is in perspective…if a billionaire spent roughly the average US YEARLY salary in a single day - it would still take almost 10,000 years for a billionaire to spend all their money. But, and here’s the cincher, billionaires rarely give more than single digit percentages of their money away.
Indeed, the more money you have - often the louder the voices of fear and self-gratification are - and the more removed we become from the generosity that thrives in connected communities.
Here’s a humorous story about this, originally told by Peter Marshall who was the chaplain of the United States Senate for many years:
“There was a man who struggled to tithe even though he had a large income. The man said to Marshall, ‘I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but.... But now… I am earning $500,000 a year and there is just no way I can afford to give about $50,000.’ Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said, ‘I can certainly see your problem. Let's pray about it.’ The man agreed. So Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Heavenly father, I pray that you would reduce this man's salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”
The truth is, regardless of income level - each and every one of us is going to wrestle with questions of contentment and generosity. Each and everyone of us is going to wrestle with how much “enough” is - how much is “enough” to live on. How much is “enough” for happiness…of course for contentment and happiness, there will never be “enough” for those things cannot be found in money and possessions. At Wednesday morning Bible study this last year, there was a point when we were talking about how much is “enough” to be giving away - is a tithe enough? What about giving beyond the tithe and so on and so forth - and for starters, this is a better conversation to be having because it’s coming from a desire to be generous - The desire to be generous, to give what what can, to give all one can, and to give to God and neighbor first.
I want to take a moment and thank you for your generosity here…I know, I know. I thank you for your generosity every week. I imagine some of you who are here weekly may tire of hearing me say, “thank you.” But truly - thank you! Your generosity sustains the life of this church. Your generosity creates beloved and caring community here. Your generosity allows us to gather to worship and to study the Bible and to be community together. Your generosity allows for our church to be a spot for the community to gather - a third space for AA, support groups, girl scouts and more. Your giving allows us to teach children - on Sundays and through the week as part of BUMP - that they are beloved children of God. Your generosity does so much - thank you! And thank you for those who go the second mile too. Jesus said if someone asks you to walk a mile with them, go a second too. The first mile is the generosity that sustains the life and work of this church. Planned and intentional giving - thank you. Many of you have chosen to walk the second mile by giving to our Today, Tomorrow, Together capital campaign to help ensure the longevity of our facilities and ministries for years to come. Thank you ALL.
Let’s take a step back from our context and talk more broadly again as to what happens when we choose to give and let our lives be defined by generosity. As I said in the beginning of this sermon - this is not the prosperity gospel. It’s not give and you will get what you want. AND. Generosity still affects us.
Generosity shapes our lives by the desire for all that we are and all that we have to bring glory to God. Generosity is a form of recognizing that we are God’s children, claimed in our baptism as beloved. We live into this identity when we give to God first - it is a very practical, tangible thing - that centers our intangible belovedness.
Generosity is the antidote that brings us relief from the voices of fear and self-gratification that can control our lives. If left to the world’s devices, we so easily become self-absorbed, money obsessed people who have little room for the joy of generosity in our lives. When we give - to God, our families, our friends, neighbors, and those in need - it opens our hearts, allowing them to be filled with joy.
And, generosity begets generosity. We don’t always see it but sometimes, in beautiful glimpses of the kingdom, the circle is closed. I recently had a conversation with a pastor who was my pastor at a critical point in my life. He played a huge role in my faith formation. About two years ago, His child heard a sermon I preached - and the Spirit spoke through that sermon, saving this child’s faith at a critical point in his life. And then my former pastor, his dad, came and told me. The circle was closed. This happens all the time but we just don’t always see it…
A gift is given that changes someone’s life for the better, allowing them to give a gift, allowing them to give a gift…until perhaps you are the recipient of a gift, a blessing, that makes your life all the better.
When we give, our world looks more like the world God desires for us all - a world marked with generosity and joy and community - a world where all of us live into our identity claimed in our baptisms as beloved children of God which overflows in contentment, joy, and generosity - and it is enough.
Amen.
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