Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

Back in 1990, the group Jesus Jones recorded a song called “Right Here, Right Now,” and it was reflective of a time when the world was changing. Communism was falling. The Berlin Wall was coming down. Once again, we see history being made with the inauguration of our first African-American president, and he came to this point on the shoulders of giants. J.C. Watts, Joe Lewis, Eli Whitney, Jesse Jones, Jackie Robinson, Frederick Douglas, Doug Williams, Tony Dungee and others are people have achieved milestones in African-American history.

Spiritual Giants
Spiritually, we stand on the shoulders of giants. To have an appreciation for our history, to understand those who have made our spiritual lives possible, is vital to our work as Christians. Spiritually speaking, friends and family members may have directly impacted our lives. This was true of Timothy in II Timothy 1:3 where Paul reminds the young preacher from where his faith originated. In John 1:40-41, Andrew runs to bring his brother to the Messiah. Also, in verses 43-44, Philip goes after Nathaniel. James and Jude are both physical and eventually spiritual brothers of Jesus. Perhaps a preacher or a teacher impacted our spiritual lives, men and women who have helped us develop our spiritual identities, who demonstrate faith and character we want to emulate.

We often reinforce the importance of the Restoration Movement of the early 1800s with figures such as Alex and Thomas Campbell. These emphasized the vitality of the silence of the scriptures. Before them, Barton Stone was preaching that the Bible was all that was needed and that God is not random in His salvation. Before him came John and Charles Wesley in the Reformation Movement, teaching about free will and sincere worship. Before that was John Glass who preached there was no national church and the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper. Martin Luther preceded Glass, advocating that all believers are priests and that individuals can find salvation on their own. He believed that scripture – not the Church – is the final authority. Before Luther, John Huss opposed indulgences and encouraged the study of scripture and scripture alone.

Preceding all of these are twelve men who stand before a crowd of thousands in Acts 2. Here, Peter affirms the deity of Jesus. The apostles affirm the resurrection and preach baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Two chapters later, Peter and John claim salvation is in no name but Jesus. In Acts 5:29, facing the same prosecutors who had crucified Jesus, Peter answers them that obeying God is greater than obeying man. Stephen, in Acts 7, calls on his audience to rely on God more than their history and traditions. He states there is a difference between knowing what is right and doing what is right. Philip, in Acts 8, preaches Jesus and baptism to a governmental official from Ethiopia. Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus – what they taught and what they wrote comes from God.

I Thessalonians 2:13 records Paul and II Timothy 3:16-17 both remind the readers of these letters from whom they heard God’s word, and Paul reinforces the divine source of those teachings. Those giants upon which the early Christians relied were standing on the teachings of Jesus in their work.

Shoulders to Stand Upon
We have to be the spiritual giants for future generations, speaking where God speaks and respecting His silence. Future generations of Christians will look back on us. Who will be the heroes of faith for the next generation of Christians? It has to be us. This means we cannot take the comfortable path. Those leaders of the Reformation and the Restoration knew that. They were alienated, imprisoned, exiled, burned, and put to death. We benefit from their sacrifices, and our own paths will be difficult if we are standing for what is right.

Hebrews 11 lists several heroes of faith, and chapter 12 picks up the theme, calling upon us to run our own races with endurance. He cites Jesus as the forerunner of our faith, and we must work if we are to pave roads for those who will come after us. Think about those who have influenced you spiritually. Why would they do that? We must determine that we will continue the spiritual heritage that has been handed to us. Our commitment to one another and our commitment to Christ go hand-in-hand. We are of equal importance in His eyes, and He can provide the love, patience, and endurance that will help us be heroes of faith, examples upon whom our children and grandchildren can look to as examples of faith.

sermon by Tim Smelser

The Challenge of Love

To treat others how we want to be treated, to love one another – they are ideas that look easy on paper. If we take a hard look at ourselves, though, we may find we aren’t so good at these simple concepts. God sets out expectations of how we are supposed to live and treat each other. He sets an example of love, and our challenge is to follow that example, to demonstrate the love of God in our lives.

In our character, God is the pivot point. When we know how to interact and how to react to God, we learn to better interact with those around us. We learn from an early age that God made us and God loves us. We study His power, His mercy, and the many ways He loves us. We demonstrate our love for Him, in turn, when we love others. Without loving others, we do not love God.

Foundations of Love
According to Genesis 1, we are God’s Creation, and He made us in His spiritual image. We understand that authority is a part of Creation. We are His. However, man likes to live by his own authority. In Daniel, for example, both kings Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar need to be reminded of their places. In contrast, Psalm 19 describes the glory of God’s word as portrayed by nature. The psalm speaks of a power before which we must humble ourselves. It is the testimony of I AM as God calls Himself in Exodus 3:14. We are created for the purpose of good works under this authority according to Ephesians 2:10.

John 3:16 describes the love God has for us in the sacrifice He provided and made on our behalves. Paul elaborates on this point in Romans 5:6, describing how undeserving we are of such a sacrifice. He describes our relationship with God as adversarial, but the cleansing power of Christ’s blood bridges the gulf separating us from our Father. He loves us despite the fact that we are unlovable. This love is a model for the love we are to have for one another according to I John 4:19. It is unmeasurable by our standards, but it is also a love that is unconditional. THis is the foundation upon which our love is built.

God Doesn’t Want Us to Hit
Ephesians 5:1 encourages us to be imitators of God in all things, and I John 4:7 equates loving others with loving God. God is characterized by love, and demonstrating unloving qualities separates us from our God. Without love, according to John, it is impossible for us to even know Him. Verse 20 goes as far as to say that we are liars if we claim to love God while harboring animosity and resentment in our hearts. Just as we don’t want our children to hit their friends and classmates, God does not want us striking out at each other. Doing so is contrary to His nature.

God’s will is accomplished through love. Galatians 5:14 calls love the summation of God’s law. Loving one another takes care of the details. Once love is in place, all other aspects of obedience become easier to follow. Many of us are familiar with I Corinthians 13, describing the qualities of love. We often recite these verses at weddings, but Paul is describing more than the love between husband and wife with these words. He is expounding upon the type of love all Christians should have for their fellow man, and Paul even has the audacity to say that anything we achieve ultimately amounts to nothing if we do not have love.

Where then is our love for those around us? God created us. He loves us – completely and unconditionally. In turn, He wants us to demonstrate His love in our lives.

sermon by Kevin Heaton

What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?

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Our world is not always a nice place. We see evidence of violence, sorrow, and hatred everywhere we look. Much of our common history is driven through conflict motivated by religious intolerance, ideological differences, oppression, or wonton cruelty. We are told by many political and even religious leaders to fear the world around us, to distrust those who are different from us, and to suspect anything we don’t understand. We are taught and reinforced to dwell on pain, hatred, and misery.

We live in a world that marginalizes the notion of peace, that chides a loving attitude as naïvety, and that demands conformity rather than embraces understanding. Too often, we laugh at those who would reflect these attitudes. So I want us to consider: what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?

Inspiration from a Song
In 1974, singer-songwriter Nick Lowe released a song called “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” on the album The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz. In 1979, Elvis Costello & The Attractions released a cover of the song on the American version of their album Armed Forces, and his version is probably the most famous.

The lyrics of the song are simple, asking where is the hope in this wicked world? Who can be trusted? Is there only pain, hatred, and misery? Where is our harmony, and what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love, and understanding? We might say the answers to these question are easy. We would say our hope is in God, like David in Psalm 39:7. We might be like Solomon in Proverbs 3:5 who says he trusts in God with all his heart. What do our lives say, however? Do we live like we trust God, or do we pay Him lip-service while we allow secular concerns to stir up conflict, animosity, and distrust in our lives?

The Bible on Peace, Love, and Understanding
Jesus and the New Testament writers have a few things to say regarding peace, love, and understanding.

On Peace. We often make a big deal of Jesus saying in Matthew 10:34 that He does not bring peace but a sword. We use that passage to occasionally defend ugly behavior, and we overlook the fact that the image of a sword is consistently applied to His message in the New Testament – not His people. His word is divisive, but we are to be peaceful. James 3:17 tells us that wisdom from above is peaceable and full of mercy. Jesus, in Matthew 5:9, calls peacemakers sons of God. Peace is listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 along with gentleness in verse 23, and Romans 12:18 calls on us to live peaceably with all men. We are a peaceful people.

On Love. In Mark 12:28-31, a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest command is, and Jesus answers with two – love God and love our fellow man. I Corinthians 13 goes into a long description of what Christian love mean – being humble, hoping for the best, being gentle, patient, etc. – and verse 8 concludes that Christian love is unfailing. Jesus, in John 13:35, calls our love our identifying trait, and I John 4:7 calls those who demonstrate love born of God. Our lives should be defined by the love we show others.

On Understanding. This understanding is more than academic knowledge. It implies empathy, caring, and concern. Galatians 6:2 simply calls on us to bear each other’s burdens. To do this, we must be understanding toward each other. In Matthew 6:14, Jesus calls on us to be as forgiving toward others as we expect God to be of us. Ephesians 4:2 calls us to be gentle and long-suffering in our walk of unity, and Philippians 4:5 says our gentleness should be evident before all. We must be understanding if we are going to be a patient and forgiving people.

What’s So Funny Then?
What, then, is so funny about peace, love, and understanding? The answer is nothing, and when we criticize or mock these qualities in others, we make a mockery of the name we wear. In Matthew 23, Jesus decries the Pharisses’ habits of making mountains of molehills while neglecting the weightier matters. I fear we too often let personal agendas, political affiliations, and societal biases inform or be reflected in our lives more than the qualities demonstrated by our Savior. We cannot be more concerned with being good fiscal conservatives than good Christians; more concerned with following in the footsteps of the GOP that the footsteps of Christ; nor should we make more of our citizenship in this nation than we do our citizenship in Heaven. Jesus was peaceful. He was loving. He was understanding. We should be also.

We have a God who understands our troubles and cares for us according to I Peter 5:6-7. John 3:16 tells us that God’s love for us is so complete He sent His Son to die, and Philippianns 4:7 tells us that we find peace that surpasses understanding in Him. Our God is one of peace, love, and understanding. There is nothing funny about these qualities, and He asks us to live likewise in His image. Our daily lives should demonstrate that we see value in peace, love, and understanding.

sermon by Robert Smelser

The Servant in Isaiah

Genesis 3:15 is the first instance of God revealing His remedy for solving the problem of sin, and that solution is His Son – the ultimate Servant who would die on our behalf. Isaiah records four Servant psalms, describing this One who would sacrifice Himself. In Acts 8, Philip intercepts a eunuch from Ethiopia who is reading Isaiah 53 – one of the Servant songs. Others include Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 49:3, Isaiah 50:4-11, and Isaiah 52:13-Isaiah 53. In these, we see Jesus and His crucifixion, but the eunuch is confused by these and entreats Philip for help.

The Servant of Isaiah 42 is clearly and individual, but chapter 49 calls Him by the name of a nation. Isaiah 50:4 records Isaiah speaking in first person as the Servant. The writers of the New Testament make reference to these Servant passages at least fourteen times in their writings, and they consistently apply these prophecies to Jesus. This I, this Israel, this elect Servant is identified as our Savior.

The Elect Servant
The latter parts of Isaiah 42:1 coupled with Psalm 2 are recognizable from the record of Jesus’ baptism by John. In Isaiah 41-42, God is admonishing His people for their idolatry and their reliance on self. He calls on them to defend their worship of idols, and He concludes that none can answer Him for their actions. The Servant is introduced as God’s answer, as the One He upholds. This Servant will bring justice to the nations. He will be gentle and peaceful. He will establish God’s word throughout the world.

Isaiah 49 further outlines the Servant’s mission. His mouth is described as a sword, and His strength is in God. He is named Israel, a reminder of what the nation of Israel was supposed to be. He is a continuation of God’s promises and a reminder of faithfulness to the descendants of Jacob. Where God’s goal was to bless the nations through Abraham’s line, the nation of Israel wanted to keep God to themselves at the time. Likewise, we cannot forget our roles in blessing the nations through faithfulness to Him. This Servant represents holiness and light. He is salvation and redemption. He loves though He is hated.

Isaiah 50:4 describes the Servant as a dutiful messenger who carries forth God’s word and will. The verses are reminiscent to Deuteronomy 18:18 describing a messenger in whose mouth would reside God’s word. This word comforts the weary, and this messenger submits Himself to the persecutions of standing up for what is right. His ears are open to God’s will, and He calls to those who would obey Jehovah and walk in light. People respond to Him by either trusting in Jehovah or trusting in themselves.

Isaiah 52:13 calls on us to behold His successful Servant, whom none expected to succeed. He will silence the wise and the powerful. He will be exulted in humility, and chapter 53 then describes the humiliation of this Servant. He is one who will live in sorrow, unrecognized by those who should honor Him. He would suffer atrocities and die. All of this is done in our place and for our sake. He intercedes for us and gives us righteousness. He provides spiritual freedom.

Conclusion
This is the Servant of whom the eunuch is learning in Acts 8. Beginning from that single passage, Philip preaches Jesus to him. Jesus was the answer then. He is the answer today. Our confidence cannot be in our selves, our abilities, our possessions, our nation, our leaders, our economy. Our confidence should be in that Servant who came for us, and our lives should be in His footsteps.

sermon by Tim Smelser