2022 Sunday Messages

Our adventures in life are often spawned by events that we prefer would never happen. Such was the case for the Prophet Ezekiel (Ez 1:1-28). I tend to think this was the case for Terah, Abraham’s father when he left Ur of the Chaldeans and ended up in Harran, about half-way to his stated goal of Canaan (Gen 11:27-32). When God spoke to Abram, the journey continued encouraged by God’s promise of land, people and blessings (Gen 12:1-5). As Abram traveled, he listened to God and worshipped. First at Shechem (Gen 12:6-7); then Bethel (Gen 12:8); the Negev (Gen 12:9); Egypt (Gen 12:10); back to the Negev (Gen 13:1-2); and Bethel (Gen 13:3-4) until quarreling broke out between Abram and Lot, his nephew over rights to grazing land (Gen 13:5-7). Quarreling led to family separation (Gen 13:8-13), but continue affirmation to Abram from God (Gen 13:14-17) and further worship from Abram, this time at Hebron (Gen 13:18). When Abram’s faith in God’s promises wavered, he would receive further affirmation (Gen 15:1-5). Which leads to this pivotal verse: Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Paul used this verse to undergird his message that salvation comes through faith (Romans 4:3, 18) James quotes this verse to support his contention that faith must be supported by works (Jam 2:23-24). No matter which side of this controversy you may land, I believe all of us are called to take a leap of faith, to sail away with Jesus as our captain, to live the adventure that includes listening and worshipping and action no matter how difficult the path.

Maybe one of the appeals of the Bible is that it is filled with adventure stories, and the Epiphany, the wise men traveling from the east to Jerusalem and finally Bethlehem is one of the greatest adventures of all time (Matt 2:1-2). Many ironies show up in the story. Certainly wisdom from the east is definitely counter-intuitive for a good Jew (Gen 3:23-24; 4:15-16; Jonah 4:3-5). That a monster like Herod figuring into the story so prominently is also unusual (Matt 2:3-8). Should we then be surprised that very difficult people figure into our stories as well? For the wise men, the star stopped over Bethlehem (Matt 2:9-10), but maybe our star is still moving? No matter, in order to maintain our sense of adventure we need to genuinely worship and extravagantly give (Matt 2:11). God expects our best (Gen 22:1-2), and it disheartens us and saddens Jesus when we give less (Mk 10:17-22). If we don’t have silver and gold, we need to give what we have (Acts 3:3-6). One more irony, generally speaking our greatest gift is our deepest pain.

Pastor Tom brings the HPcc Weekly Gatherings to an end.

A tattered flag flies over a nearby Hardee’s, a reminder of how fragile the union it represents? Do we remain indivisible? Is there liberty and justice for all? Is our democracy stable or teetering on the edge?

For many the church has become either irrelevant, misguided, or downright dangerous as it goose-steps behind religious-nationalistic leadership. If a deranged populist says black is white or 2+2=5, heads bow in submission and arms rise in adoration, while others look on with dismay or disgust.

Every autumn growing up, the Andrews family front yard doubled as the neighborhood football field. Boys from all over Pinecrest would gather after school, choose up sides and slug it out until the sun would tell everyone to go home.

Sometimes those words make me extremely happy, after visiting the dentist for instance. But ironically, they can be exceptionally painful, especially if coming from a long-time friend. I heard those words this past week from a friend of long stories, good laughs and exchanged gifts.

It was the biggest game in my high school career. Jefferson and Stuart vied for first place in the Northern District. The Washington Post even sent out a reporter to cover the excitement…and exciting it was…nip and tuck down to the very end. Actually, my name was mentioned several times in this article, but never in a good way. “Jefferson’s final bid for victory, a follow-up basket by Steve Greenstreet, was disallowed when the officials ruled time had expired. Earlier, Tom Andrews missed a free throw with 12 seconds left that would have tied the game…. Andrews later grabbed a loose ball and threw up the shot that led to the disputed ruling.”

Is it any wonder that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Like the rest of us, I am sure Jesus figured out that little children are a heck of a lot more fun than most any adult.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.       Galatians 4:4-5