Ephesians 2:4-7

Ephesians 2:4-7 

English Standard Version 

  The first two words of this verse are some of the most beautiful and hopeful in Scripture.  Remember -- we were dead in sin.  The lights were out.  Doors had been locked.  

  But God...

  God wasn't going to leave us in despair and in death.  God loves us too much.  I love that Paul gives us the reason that God intervenes.  It wasn't because God was lonely or had made a bet that God didn't want to lose.  God loved us so much, and God's love is so great, that even though we were dead, God wanted to find a way.

  Think about this -- remember back to a few verses ago when we were talking about how powerful God is.  God has channeled all of that power into saving you from death.  And not just saving you, but raising you up into the heavenly places.  God loves you and wants to show you the riches of God's grace through kindness.  What better riches are there?  The riches of this world can buy you stuff, but that stuff will break or get lost or might be stolen.  God's riches -- they save you from death and have bought you a place in heaven with Jesus.

  So sleep well, friends.  God's love surrounds you, and the immensity of God's power comes to you in kindness!

Ephesians 2:1-3

Ephesians 2:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  When we think about sin, we don't think of ourselves as dead.  We think of ourselves as having made mistakes, but usually nothing fatal.  They were bad choices, things we could have done better, but it's the same that everyone else is doing, right?  Dead seems extreme.  As a society, we proclaim that as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, it's probably okay.  

  Paul is reminding us that sin is far more serious than that.  Sin has caused a permanent rift between us and God, one that we cannot fix on our own.  Without a solution, we are dead, and we need to take this seriously.  We can't drift on autopilot just assuming that it is fine... sin has created a problem, and we need a solution.

  Fortunately, God came up with a solution.  We were dead, but as Scripture shows us, death isn't the end of the story.  As someone once said, Christ turns death into a gardener, planting seeds that will grow up into something beautiful, something wonderful, something lively.  Thanks be to God that despite our sin, we have hope for life because of what God has done.

Ephesians 1:19-23

Ephesians 1:19-23 

English Standard Version 

 A friend of mine was staying with some very rich people at their house, and he asked them how they cleaned branches off the top of the screened in pool, and the lady looked at him and said, "We have people for that."

  Powerful people delegate.  They send other people to do things, particularly unpleasant things.  

  Jesus is the most powerful person that has ever lived.  Paul is speaking here of the immeasurable greatness of Christ's power.  Christ is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, with all things under his feet.  Do you get the picture of Christ's power?

  This is the same Jesus who ascended the cross to die for you.  Such is his love, there was no delegating.  Christ did it on his own, because he wanted to be sure that your sins were forgiven.  Atonement needed to be made, and there was no delegation.  Christ did it himself, because he loves you.

Ephesians 1:15-18

Ephesians 1:15-18 

English Standard Version 

  This is one of my favorite passages... imagine someone not ceasing to give thanks for you, hoping that the eyes of your heart are opened to know the hope of Christ, the riches of God's glorious inheritance.  How would you feel to know that someone was praying like that for you?  It'd probably be pretty exciting to pray like that for someone else -- it's like giving a gift, where you get so excited about giving a really good gift that it uplifts your spirit, too!  The more you focus on someone else living in the joy of God's hope, the stronger your own hope becomes.  

  I hope you find time to pray for someone like that today, and I hope you let them know.  May your own heart be enlightened by the same Spirit of wisdom and of revelation.

Ephesians 1:11-14

Ephesians 1:11-14 

English Standard Version 

  In the Presbyterian church, we don't often think about the work of the Holy Spirit.  We're so focused on Christ and his mission and ministry, and studying the work of God in creation, that we omit discussion of the Holy Spirit.  Frederick Bruner, a Biblical scholar whom I have much admiration for, wrote a book calling the Holy Spirit the shy member of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit's job is to point us to Christ and to assure us of our salvation, our inheritance, so that we don't become discouraged.  It isn't easy to maintain a constant hope in Christ -- there are roadblocks along the way.  Isn't it good news to know that God realizes this and has, as part of God's identity, an aspect reaching out to us to lift our eyes back to the hills, from whence our help comes?  Such is God's love for you that God has structured salvation in such a way so that you don't become overwhelmed by cares of the world, but rather that you might have moments of hope in the midst of challenges.  This doesn't mean there won't be challenges, but we are invited to be still, to let the Holy Spirit minister to us, to pray for us with sighs too deep for words, as Scripture says, and to remind us of our sealing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:7-10

Ephesians 1:7-10 

English Standard Version 

  Just read that, over and over and over and over and over again.  Christ has redeemed you, despite your sins, through the riches of the grace that are poured over you, and it wasn't a last minute plan to suddenly adjust for some unexpected detours... this has been the plan all along, that everything in the universe would be united around Christ.

  You are part of that plan.

  You are important enough to have been on God's mind from the beginning, and through the end.  I don't understand for a moment how all this works... but I thank God that I can look at the resurrection and trust that it does work.

  So don't doubt that you are beloved and treasured by God.  The riches of God's grace, better than any riches the world can offer, are poured into your life, thanks be to God!

Ephesians 1:3-6

Ephesians 1:3-6 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever dealt with imposter syndrome?  It's that feeling that you don't belong, or that if someone else found out about who you truly were, then they'd surely kick you out.  It's an awful feeling, made worse by the fact that it's rarely based in reality.  I've come to the realization that most of us are simply making it up as we go, doing the best we can to get by.  

  Well, I don't think most of us often feel blameless and holy before God.  I certainly don't.  Do you feel like you've been blessed with every spiritual blessing?  That's a hard thing for most of us to grasp.  Often, when I come before God, I feel like I need to spend a few minutes beforehand stuffing some things in the closet and hoping God doesn't notice!  

  But Paul is writing this because he knows that most of us don't feel this way.  That's why we need to be reminded that our feelings can deceive us.  This is true, regardless of whether we feel it or not.  Our identities have been transformed because of God, and that doesn't matter if you feel that when you wake up.  It's true because of what Christ has done, not because of what we have or haven't done.  It's an identity change -- we have been adopted through an act of sheer grace by Christ.  The more we're reminded, the more opportunities we have to live into it, to let it define us and how we interact with one another.

  But it's true. You belong to God, and the world cannot change that, no matter how much the world may bombard your heart with other messages.  Let Scripture remind you of what is really true -- you are God's!

Ephesians 1:1-2

Ephesians 1:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  What would you write?  If you were to write a letter to a group of believers, encouraging them in their faith, what would you say?  Paul likely wrote this from prison, trying to encourage the believers in unity, reminding them of Christ's holiness, and thus the call for them to live holy lives.  What would you say to such a people?  How would you put Christ on a pedestal, worthy of worship, while also lifting up the people so they are encouraged to emulate Christ.  They're not perfect, and cannot achieve perfection, but need to hear words of support as they struggle with real life.

  It's a hard thing to know exactly what to say.  We all read Paul's letters and think that we could never write anything so clear, so powerful.  I sometimes wonder if Paul would say the same thing -- he allowed the Holy Spirit to speak through him in amazing ways.

  What does it look like for us to do the same today?  How can we encourage someone else?  The Holy Spirit still speaks to us and through us, that the body of believers may be an encouragement.

Psalm 25:1-5

Psalm 25:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  It's hard to be led.  Don't you get anxious if you don't know where you're going?  When I'm sitting on a plane, the pilot usually comes on after they've shut the door and says they're excited to be flying us to Reno, and there's a moment where I wonder what I would do if they said a different city than the one listed on my ticket.  The door's shut and you're on the plane until they open it, but it'd be a weird few hours, thinking you were heading somewhere very different than you actually were.  We don't like giving up control, and to do so without knowledge... that's a hard step for us.

  When it comes to faith, we can easily acknowledge with our words that we trust God and will follow wherever God leads.

  But to actually lean into that, to do that with our hearts and minds, giving up control and accepting that we don't know where the path leads...  Not an easy step to take with our lives.

  But if God is the God of our salvation, then is there another option that leads to true life?  Any other path is simply fooling ourselves that we can save ourselves (which we often try and do).  Only God can save us.  Only God can deliver us.

  So will you truly trust God and lean into the divine mystery?

  Or hold onto the reins yourself, even though you know that you cannot get where you most need to be without the love and grace of God?

Soccer in the rain and the Gospel

Exodus 25:1-9

Exodus 25:1-9 

English Standard Version 

  I have always said that if I lived in downtown Cincinnati, I wouldn't be able to stop buying Reds season tickets so that I could drop in to baseball games whenever they were home.  If I were in walking distance, how could I not go to a game when they were right there?  They're so close... I would have to go.  I'd want to be in the stadium to experience the game.

  Scripture paints a picture of intimacy between God and the Israelites.  One of the first instructions that Moses receives is for an offering, all for the purpose of building a sanctuary, that God may dwell in their midst.  God wants to be near them.  God loves the people and wants there to be a place set aside to spend time with them.  And wouldn't it be even better if it were built out of a freewill offering, motivated by gratitude, given in thanks by the people?

  It makes me ask myself... how do I make time for God?  Where in my life am I creating space to spend time with the God who loves me, whom I love?  Where does that exist, and why do I let so many other things compete for space?  They are louder, but none are lovelier.  So many cause stress and heartache, and yet because they are more demanding, more pressing, I turn to them.  

  May we all pray for wisdom to discern, wisdom to discipline ourselves, that there may be a communion in our lives between us and God, that we may be enriched by God in our midst.

Exodus 24:15-18

Exodus 24:15-18 

English Standard Version 

  All of Scripture is pointing back to the creation story, and all of Scripture is pointing ahead to Christ.  In creation, God works for 6 days, and all things are done, so God rests and enjoys communion with God's creation.  Things are complete.  In the same way, the Lord's glory covers the mountain for 6 days, creating the atmosphere where God can then commune with Moses on the mountain, so that the people of God can be re-created here at Mt. Sinai.  

  This process takes forty days, the same number of days that Christ goes into the wilderness to prepare for his public ministry, the same number of years the Israelites will dwell in the wilderness before they enter the Promised Land.  

  Scripture is a spiral, returning to the same point over and over, and yet the people are different, having grown, having learned about God, traveling forward, ever closer to the fullness of the Kingdom of God.

  We are the same way -- we grow every year as we return to the same points -- to Lent, to Advent, to Easter, to Christmas, to Pentecost.  We change, we grow, and so we are not the same, and every year, we are closer to the fullness of the Kingdom of God.  The more we learn about our past, about our history, the better we understand the future, and the people we are called to be.  We don't leave the past behind, but grow out of it, into a future where the past is redeemed and we are restored to right relationship with God and one another.

Sermon for May 4, 2025 on Mark 9

Exodus 24:1-3, 9-11

Exodus 24:1-3

English Standard Version 

  This is one of the most remarkable passages in all of Scripture in my opinion, and wildly underreported.  We often hear about how God places Moses in the cleft of a rock and God's glory passes over Moses, but we don't think about the earlier part where Moses and Aaron, along with 70 other elders of Israel, go up on the mountain with God and eat and drink.  They dine with God, and they're clearly overwhelmed by God's glory, for their own language falls short in efforts to describe what is under God's feet.  Even the ground is too glorious for words -- they think it's like sapphire, but clearly superior to that.  

  And I will never stop being amazed that after seeing this incredible thing, Aaron and the others allowed a false altar to be built by the people while Moses was up on the mountain.  They witnessed something incredible... and then came down the mountain and presumed God had forgotten about them.  How could they do that?

  It's easy for me to assume that faith was easier back in Old Testament days, when God seemed more real.  But I don't think it was any easier.  People were just like you and I -- impatient and uncertain, always wondering if they were betting their life in the right direction.  So take heart -- it's not just us that have questions and anxiety and uncertainty.  That's been a constant theme of humanity, and God remains faithful still, gracious in the midst of our broken humanity.  God continues to reach out and make a way forward, thanks be to God!

Exodus 20:17

Exodus 20:17

English Standard Version

  I've always heard that this commandment is a reward for keeping all the others.  If we keep the other commandments, we won't want anyone else's life.  We'll be perfectly at peace with our own, at rest with God, and living in harmony with our neighbors.

  Is it true?  

  I'm not sure... but it's a beautiful thing to strive for.  What does it look like to live selflessly today, to worship God out of gratitude, and to give thanks in all things?

  May we seek God today, and join our the song of our hearts with the choir of the angels in celebrating who God is and how great God's love is.