Exodus 1:8-2:10, Romans 12:1-8 and Matthew 16: 13-20

Once a week, we gather in-person or on-line to worship. Before the health safety concerns of COVID19 we also could meet for Sunday School, weekly Bible study, other studies, hands on mission, multi church fellowship and meals together. It’s harder now to have these activities and will be for a while.

And on both sides of a Sunday worship, we have a total of 12 days which have a huge influence on what we see, do, believe, and act upon. In this unchosen season of limited congregational gathering, we need to step up our “spiritual reading” of those 12 other week days! By that I mean step up our paying attention to God’s daily gifts that come from our culture and society. For instance, how do we read the gift of Elvis? This past week was the anniversary of his death. How do we remember him and his gifts of music and entertainment? And other entertainers and public figures? And this past week we remember the anniversary of the Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote. Society and community give us numerous situations to maintain as well as change.

Add to these another hundred events that have somewhere within them a gift from God.

Our three scriptures emphasize the gifts of people in our lives especially in scripture but also in the here and now of our lives today. Exodus speaks of the midwives who obeyed God and saved Moses the infant. Paul reminds of the gifts each believer has to offer to others. And Jesus goes so far as to tell one of disciples that he (Peter and his confession) will be the initial gift that the church will be built on!

So, what can we hear and see during the week, outside our hour of group worship, that reminds us (and those we come into contact with) that God brings the gifts of others to us for blessings and for service!?

How does Elvis still bless us? And the work of another generation of women (and men) to bring forth full participation in our democracy? The gifts of God bestowed upon us are present throughout the week outside the walls of the church. Let us recognize and give thanks on all the days on each side of Sunday’s worship. We see and hear and receive so much from that which is all around us. Let us see God at work blessing us in so many ways day in and day out in the lives and gifts of others.

Sunday we will hear of ancient midwives, disciples, entertainers, church, activists, and even Elvis!

Blessings!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 45:1-15, Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 and Matthew 15:21-28

Fifty-five years ago The Beatles released their hit song “We Can Work It Out.” A song about keeping a romantic relationship going. The list of “working it out” songs seems endless. Another song by the band Canned Heat says, “Let’s Work Together.” Probably very predictable since things go well and then….they don’t.

Our scriptures this Sunday all highlight the theme of not so much our working things out but how, when, and where GOD works things out. Who could see Joseph coming through his ordeal of betrayal, exile, and slavery to the point that he forgave his brothers and was reconciled with them? How could Jews and Gentiles ever be brought together after generations of living so differently from each other? How could a suffering Gentile woman thought of as a “dog” ever find acceptance and healing? Paul and Jesus give us answers and examples.

There is no end to scriptures confidently asserting that “God is all about Providence” or that “working things out” over time. Since we are locked into our past and present we find it hard to see the future. Our only contribution is faith and love in the present. Given how dire our human situations become it is imperative to hear what God is up to. And to hear, as we wait in our troubles and conflicts, that faith and love make a huge difference in our waiting until we arrive at God’s good future.

So, hold on since you are being held by God until that day!

Blessings as we head toward Sunday worship!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Romans 10:5-15 and Matthew 14:22-33

Seems like an early August sermon should be about the end of vacation and leisure and about back to school and work! More celebration than sadness! But this Summer has everything out of whack! We continue under the strain of 2020 perils. Summer routines and work and school and church and community life are way different for most of us this year.

Even so, the scriptures seem spot on. Joseph the youngest son of Jacob is done in by his own older brothers, Peter is sinking in the rough waters, and Paul points to salvation in spite of our failing efforts. Though the fallen world, our weak flesh, and many adversaries make life quite hard and troubled, we are reassured whatever “the evil intent against us, God intends to make good come out of our situation.”

That comes down to a matter of faith. Trust. When you are in the middle of feeling “no way out,” the best attitude, in spite of evidence to the contrary, is to trust that I too will climb out of the hole, come through rough storms, and arrive safe and saved!

Sometimes the best the Church can do while everyone is waiting for rescue is to repeat what it knows best: “All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13. Sometimes the best the Church can do is to wait out the storms……together….in the same boat.

Let’s join together in worship and service and trust this coming Sunday and week ahead.

August blessings!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 32:22-31, Romans 9:1-5 and Matthew 14:13-21

Several will note the professional wrestling reference in the sermon title. WWE (WWF) is one of the most famous wrestling corporations in US history. It struck me that all three of these Bible passages are about “wrestling” (struggling) with someone or something pertaining to the spiritual life.

Jacob wrestles with a “man” (angel?), (God) until Jacob is blessed. But he is also wounded. Paul wrestles and agonizes in Romans with his Jewish heritage, the Old Covenant, his family of origin. Jesus struggles with both the execution of John the Baptist and the demands of the crowds who now flock to Jesus the healer. He needs to be alone for a while in a remote place but the crowds unrelentingly seek him out.

These are examples of “spiritual wrestling.” Wrestling may be the oldest “sport” referred to in the Bible! But here it is not a sport but an intense soul struggle with God and Gods people in a fallen world.

So, this Sunday we will hear references to wrestling entertainment in popular culture as familiar background for far more important spiritual struggles that Jacob, Paul, and Jesus were engaged in. And before we leave worship we will be called to remember our own “soul wrestling” in both our past and in our present.

So, as you know full well John 3:16, some of you will also recall a famous wrestling catchphrase from the Nineties WWE: Austin 3:16 (!). If you are a certain age or had children growing up in that era you may have had to listen and do your best to explain the differences between the Bible passage and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s borrowing 3:16 for his wrestler image. I did!

Read these passages in preparation for worship and consider you own “spiritual wrestling.”

Blessings in your struggles!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 28:10-19a, Romans 8:12-25 and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

In Genesis 13, we see the ongoing story of a scoundrel, a family member known for trickery, and having to be “on the run” as a result of his misbehavior. Yet, our text says God shows up for that son-of-a-gun Jacob!

Here one could say the world and the flesh are having a huge impact on family! The devil’s role is subtle to say the least! Jesus speaks about Satan’s work in Matthew 13. Last but not least, Paul calls us all out and says we all walk according to the flesh if we don’t walk by the Spirit.

The terrible trio: the world, the flesh, the devil. No wonder no generation under the sun escapes tribulation! Like Pogo says, “we have met the enemy and it is us!” He’s a third correct! Two thirds correct?

All the more important is the role of the Church and what it offers in contrast to the Three Big Opponents. The Church tells of what the Scriptures say and points to a Savior and to the brothers and sisters of the Savior. All the more reason to Re-examine every Sunday what we the church are all about. We are reminded of our foes and our “weapons and resources” to meet the perpetual challenges that haven’t gone away! Much weaker, yes, but still around!

Let’s show up Sunday and hear the stories of those foes and what God is still up to when we are Christ followers! Who knows….we might become a “Bethel” for ourselves and those we come into contact with!

Come to worship this Sunday either in person or on the “airwaves!” Who knows when God will show us a Jacobs ladder!

Pastor Barry

Genesis 25:19-34, Romans 8:1-11 and Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Jesus is incredibly patient! He invests in his disciples for a good number of years only to see them falter, fail, flourish, and eventually forgiven. And the “harvest” of that first century planting is going on 2000 years now! The Church of Jesus Christ is still ministering, failing, forgiven, and going forward. It’s a wonder to behold!

The Church has a message of “planting the Gospel seed” here and yon and waiting on the various “soil and souls” to give increase….or not.
It’s both exciting and frustrating.

With six months to go in a rough and questionable 2020, will we the Church keep doing our ongoing “field work” in sharing good/Gospel seed for “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world?” How much of a difference will it make in the USA and the world? We can’t say. The “soil” varies from person to person, place to place. We plant, people respond or don’t, and God’s bountiful harvest will still come about in each generation. Until the End.

So, let’s worship the God who is patient with us and with the many, and will bring to pass the Kingdom with “whosoever will!”

See you Sunday in worship!

Pastor Barry